Earle Ross (March 29, 1888 - May 21, 1961) was an American radio and film actor.
While in school he became interested in dramatics and was usually cast as a villain or an old man because of his unusual voice characteristics. In 1908 he worked with Colonel Bill Selig in his first 5-reel movie film The Holy Cross. In 1912, he ventured to the East Coast and worked on Broadway in such shows as Where the Trail Divides and Cost of Living. From there, he started his own chain of theaters but went broke in the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
Ross became a radio broadcast pioneer and had his own show, The Earle Ross Theater of the Air and also starred in Inspector Post, a continuing radio drama. In 1936 he appeared in various films such as Cavalry, Stormy Trails, and Riders of the Whistling Skull.
Ross's most memorable role was that of Judge Horace Hooker on The Great Gildersleeve, He also appeared on The Billie Burke Show, Lux Radio Theater and The Mel Blanc Show.
Earle Ross died of cancer, aged 73, on May 21, 1961.
Source: Wikipedia