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Andrews in the Twilight Zone episode "Third from the Sun"

Edward Andrews (October 9, 1914 - March 8, 1985) was an American actor, most familiar today for his role as Howard Baker in Sixteen Candles.

He was born in Griffin, Georgia, the son of a minister. He began acting on stage in 1926 and had progressed to Broadway by 1935.

In 1936, Andrews debuted in the world of cinema, in the movie Rushin' Art. It was not until 1955, however, that he appeared in his second movie. He was cast as the subversive and corrupt character of Rhett Tanner, head of a knock-them-off political machine, in The Phenix City Story.

While Andrews' film acting career began in earnest in his forties, the actor is mostly strongly thought of (and was consistently typecast) as a grandfatherly type, and thus he is most strongly associated with his roles in later movies. Among his roles are many soft and friendly businessman characters.

Well-known films in which Andrews acted include The Harder They Fall, in which he played Jim Weyerhause, The Young Savages, in which he appeared as R. Daniel Cole, Elmer Gantry, in which he was memorable as George F. Babbitt, The Absent-Minded Professor and Son of Flubber, in both of which he played the Defense Secretary, and Avanti!, in which he was a very convincing agent of the State Department.

Starting in the 1960s, he also began acting in television series. He played the character of Charley in the 1966 dramatization of Death of a Salesman, and constantly acted throughout the 1970s as Elton Dykstra on The Intruders, Ernest W. Stanley on The Man Who Came to Dinner, and Mayor Massey on The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton.

In 1984, he played the character of Howard Baker in John Hughes' Sixteen Candles, his most famous and most grandfatherly (he turned 70 the year of the casting) role, and his first movie since the beginning of the 1980s. He also played Mr. Corben on Gremlins, filmed later the same year as Sixteen Candles, which would be his final movie.

Just after the release of his best-remembered film, Edward Andrews died of a heart attack in 1985.

• Edward Andrews at the Internet Movie Database