Fritz Feld

German-American screen character actor who appeared in over 140 movies in 72 years, both silent and sound. His trademark gesture was to slap his mouth with the palm of his hand to create a "pop" sound that indicated both his superiority and his annoyance. The first use of the "pop" sound was in If You Knew Susie (1948). Feld often played the part of a maître d', but also a variety of aristocrats and eccentrics; his characters were indeterminately European, sometimes French and sometimes Belgian but always with his particular mannerisms. In the 1938 screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby he played the role of Dr. Lehman. In 1939 He appeared with the Marx Brothers in At The Circus in the small but memorable role of French orchestra conductor Jardinet. In addition to films, he acted in numerous television series in guest roles, including the recurring role of "Zumdish", the manager of the intergalactic Celestial Department Store on Lost In Space, in two Season 2 episodes, "The Android Machine" and "The Toymaker." Zumdish returned in the Season 3 episode "Two Weeks In Space." In 1940, Feld married actress Virginia Christine who was twenty years his junior. They had two sons. Fritz Feld died on 18 November 1993, aged 93, in Los Angeles, California. He was the younger brother of the art director Rudi Feld. Link to Wikipedia biography