Allan Arbus A film, stage and television actor died Friday at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 95 from complications of congestive heart failure.
Arbus was born on February 15, 1918, in New York City to Harry Arbus, his father a trader of mutual funds and Rose Goldberg, his mother an English teacher. Arbus was the youngest of two children. He took up acting in his 40’s after having a successful career in fashion photography with his first wife the late Diane Arbus who took her own life in 1971.
Arbus, will be remembered most for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman on the hit television series “M*A*S*H”. He also appeared in Starsky and Hutch, Cagney and Lacy and Judging Amy. His last television appearance was on Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2000.
Allan Alda, who played Captain “Hawkeye” Pierce, said on Tuesday, “He was so authentic in the role it was hard to believe that he wasn’t that person. He brought a depth to what he faced as a psychiatrist on the show. It helped the audience and actors believe some of the stresses our characters were under.”
In his final appearance on M*A*S*H “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” in 1983, Dr. Sidney Freedman left the characters of M*A*S*H with these last words.
“Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice; pull down your pants and slide on the ice.”
Arbus is survived by his second wife, two daughters from his first marriage and one daughter from his second.
Allan Arbus 1918 – 2013
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