The Meanest Old Man in the World Hits 100

Charles Lane really isn't the meanest old man in the world, he just has played one numerous times in films and on TV.

You might remember him as Homer Bedloe, the mean old man who was always trying to shut down the Hooterville Cannonball on Petticoat Junction, but he's usually been some mean old man in whatever show or film he appeared in, an impressive list that includes, according to Mark Evanier, It's a Wonderful Life, 42nd Street, The Twentieth Century, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, You Can't Take It With You, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, The Big Store, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Music Man, State of the Union and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, one of Evanier's faves, and one of mine, too (I used to live in the guest cottage on the estate where the Big W was located).

Later this month Lane will reach his 100th birthday, and Evanier is organizing a campaign to send him congratulatory emails. More info here.