Biography
Herbert Rudley had barely left his teens when he won a scholarship to Eva Le Galleine's Repertory Theater in the early '30s. The experienced gleaned with this organization led to Rudley's being cast in his first Broadway play,
Elmer Rice's We, the People. In films since 1940's
Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Rudley's best movie role was as
Ira Gershwin in the 1945 biopic
Rhapsody in Blue. He matured into character parts in the 1950s, usually playing suave villains or bristly military types. Herbert Rudley was a regular on several TV series, most prominently as
Eve Arden's husband on the 1967 sitcom
The Mothers-in-Law. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide