Bill Alton

Bill Alton was one of the founding members of Chicago's Second City, along with Edward Asner, Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers and others. Both his wife, Dolores Alton, and his ex-wife, Zohra Lampert, were also members of the troupe. He got involved with the "Second City" while attending the University of Chicago after fighting in World War II. He also appeared with "The Compass". His live theatrical debut was in "Three Blind Mice", with Melvin Douglas and he also appeared on That Was the Week That Was (1962) and General Electric Theater (1953). He went on to appear in numerous television commercials such as the Thom McCann "Man in the Shoe" until the early 1970s, when he switched to directing. A winner of numerous awards for his direction of such commercials as "You're the Cream in my Coffee" and "Take the Nestea Plunge", Bill retired from directing in the 1980's to begin teaching acting in New York City and at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. Late in life, Bill appeared on Broadway in "Our Town", which was taped for broadcast on PBS and "UbU" with Oliver Platt. Bill passed away at the Actor's Fund Retirement Home in Englewood, New Jersey in 1998.