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Herb Voland

American actor (1918-1981)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 20, 2026
Entity authorityQ5733233 ↗
Source-derived summary

Herbert Maurice Voland (October 2, 1918 – April 26, 1981) was an American actor, best known for his various roles on the sitcom Bewitched, as General Crandell Clayton on the sitcom M*A*S*H during seasons one and two, and the film Airplane! (1980).

Career

Voland was born in New Rochelle, New York and attended Columbia University. After graduating, he studied at the American Theatre Wing before beginning his professional acting career on the Broadway stage, where his credits include Farewell, Farewell Eugene (1960) and Someone Waiting (1955).

After World War II, he began appearing on television during the medium's Golden Age and was a regular on such series as Omnibus, The Philco Television Playhouse and Studio One.

Later, he became known for his prolific portrayal of characters on 1960s and 1970s television that were most commonly gruff executives, huff-and-puff military officers, or policemen, either in light sitcoms or crime dramas.

As a member of the cast of television programs, he played Neil Ogilvie on Arnie, Fred Hammond on Love on a Rooftop, Brigadier General Crandell Clayton on M*A*S*H, Harry Masterson on Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and Dr. Butler on The Mothers-in-Law. He also played Osborne, a con artist, on Sanford and Son.

Editorial summary

“Herb Voland” enters the record as american actor (1918-1981). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Herb, Voland and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1918, 1981, 1980, 1960—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1918-10-02. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Herb, Voland and American.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Herb Voland” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Herb, Voland and American provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5733233. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1918, 1981, 1980 and 1960.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Herb Voland”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Herb Voland primary sources, Herb Voland archive and Herb research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Herb Voland”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Herb Voland” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.