Kay Edwin Emmert Kuter (April 25, 1925 – November 12, 2003) was an American
actor who appeared on television and in films. He is mostly recognized for his role as farmer Newt Kiley on the CBS sitcoms ''
Green Acres
''Green Acres'' is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to ''Petticoat Junction'', the series was first broadcast on ...
'' and ''
Petticoat Junction'', which shared several characters.
The son of famed Hollywood art director
Leo K. Kuter and silent screen actress Evelyn Edler, Kuter was born in
Los Angeles, California. He performed mostly as a serious actor or "heavy" in many 1960s series, often in a beard, before taking a recurring roles on the two series.
He appeared in many films, including ''
The Last Starfighter'' as Enduran, ''
Warlock'' and ''
Gross Anatomy''. His last film role was in the 2004 film ''Forbidden Warrior''. He also provided voice work for kids' films, including providing the voice of Santa Claus in ''
Annabelle's Wish'' and the voice of Grimsby in ''
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea'', replacing
Ben Wright, who died in 1989.
In his later years, he did extensive voice acting in video games, including playing the bartender Griswold Goodsoup in ''
The Curse of Monkey Island'' and Dockmaster Velasco / the casino croupier in ''
Grim Fandango
''Grim Fandango'' is a 1998 adventure game directed by Tim Schafer and developed and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on pre-rendered static background ...
'', both well-known LucasArts Adventure games of the 1990s. He was probably best known to video game fans as Werner Huber in ''
The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery''. He was the voice of "
Hershey's Kisses" commercials for 14 years.
He made guest appearances on many television series, including ''
The Rifleman'', ''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...
'', ''
Perry Mason'', ''
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...
'',
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction as Anatole in the twelfth episode of the third season, ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' as a Cytherian in the season four episode "
The Nth Degree", and in ''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...
'' as the
Bajoran
The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , ) are a fictional species in the science-fiction ''Star Trek'' franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, owi ...
Sirah in the first-season episode "
The Storyteller". He also appeared on ''
ER'', the ''
Charmed
''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast ...
'' episode "Happily Ever After", the ''
Outer Limits'' episode "
The Premonition" as a "Limbo Being" caught in time, ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'' as the
Latvian Orthodox priest, ''
The X-Files'' episode "
The Calusari
"The Calusari" is the twenty-first episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. It originally aired on the Fox network on April 14, 1995. It was written by Sara B. Charno and directed by Michae ...
" as the head Calusari, and ''
Frasier'' as a vagrant who wants a kiss from
Martin Crane
Martin Crane (born ) is a fictional character from the American television show ''Frasier'', and was played by actor John Mahoney. An army veteran and retired police detective, he is the father of Frasier and Niles Crane.
Biography
Although M ...
.
Kuter died on November 12, 2003, from
pulmonary complications
Perioperative mortality has been defined as any death, regardless of cause, occurring within 30 days after surgery in or out of the hospital. Globally, 4.2 million people are estimated to die within 30 days of surgery each year. An important consid ...
at St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank, California. He was 78, and his death came only four months after his mother's passing at age 103. He was survived by his sister Jeane Kuter Harvey of Las Vegas, Nevada; and by nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. He is buried in
Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery.
Filmography
*''
Sabrina
Sabrina may refer to:
* Sabrina (given name), a feminine given name, including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
People
* Sabrina (actress), stage name of Norma Ann Sykes (1936–2016), a British glamour model and actres ...
'' (1954) - Ernest - Houseman (uncredited)
*''
Drum Beat'' (1954) - Veteran Soldier (uncredited)
*''
Désirée'' (1954) - Lackey (uncredited)
*''
City of Shadows'' (1955) - Bartender Kink
*''
The Cobweb'' (1955) - Patient (uncredited)
*''
Guys and Dolls'' (1955) - Calvin
*''
The Steel Jungle'' (1956) - Stringbean
*''
The Mole People
''The Mole People'' is a 1956 American science fiction adventure film distributed by Universal International, which was produced by William Alland, directed by Virgil W. Vogel, and stars John Agar, Hugh Beaumont, and Cynthia Patrick. The story ...
'' (1956) - Priest (uncredited)
*''
The True Story of Jesse James'' (1957) - Fleming (uncredited)
*''
Designing Woman'' (1957) - Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
*''
Under Fire
Under Fire may refer to:
Books
* ''Under Fire'' (Barbusse novel) (French: ''Le Feu''), a novel by Henri Barbusse
* ''Under Fire'' (Blackwood novel), by Grant Blackwood in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Jr. franchise series
* ''Under Fire'' (North book ...
'' (1957) - Pvt. Arnold Swanson (uncredited)
*''
The Light in the Forest'' (1958) - Fiddler (uncredited)
*''
The FBI Story
''The FBI Story'' is a 1959 American drama film starring James Stewart, and produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The screenplay by Richard L. Breen and John Twist is based on a book by Don Whitehead.
Plot
John Michael ("Chip") Hardesty (James S ...
'' (1959) - Barber (uncredited)
*''
The Big Night'' (1960) - Mailman
*''
A Time for Killing
''A Time for Killing'' is a 1967 Western film directed originally by Roger Corman but finished by Phil Karlson. Filmed in Panavision and Pathécolor, it stars Glenn Ford, George Hamilton, Inger Stevens, and Harrison Ford (credited as Harriso ...
'' (1967) - Owelson
*''
Watermelon Man'' (1970) - Dr. Wainwright
*''
An Enemy of the People
''An Enemy of the People'' (original Norwegian title: ''En folkefiende''), an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, followed his previous play, ''Ghosts'', which criticized the hypocrisy of his society's moral code. That response inclu ...
'' (1978)
*''
The Last Starfighter'' (1984) - Ambassador Enduran
*''
Zombie High
''Zombie High'' (also known as ''The School That Ate My Brain'') is a 1987 American comedy horror film directed by Ron Link. The film was released theatrically on October 2, 1987, and stars Virginia Madsen as a beautiful young teenager who must ...
'' (1987) - Dean Eisner
*''Frankenstein General Hospital'' (1988) - Larry
*''
Warlock'' (1989) - Proctor
*''
Gross Anatomy'' (1989) - Lecturing Professor
*''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1991, TV Series) - Cytherian (S4:E19 "The Nth Degree")
*''
Love Field'' (1992) - Announcer (voice)
*''
The Seventh Coin
''The Seventh Coin'' is a 1993 independent film directed by Dror Soref and starring Peter O'Toole.
Production
The film is filmed in Jerusalem, Israel, and with the help of Paramount, ''The Seventh Coin'' became Soref's debut as a feature film wri ...
'' (1993) - Professor Walker
*''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...
'' (1993, TV Series) - Sirah (S1:E13 "The Storyteller")
*''
Babe'' (1995) - Man Sitting in Crowd at Sheep Trial (uncredited)
*''
Annabelle's Wish'' (1997) -
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
(voice)
*''
Grim Fandango
''Grim Fandango'' is a 1998 adventure game directed by Tim Schafer and developed and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on pre-rendered static background ...
'' (1998) -
Dockmaster Velasco (voice)
*''
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea'' (2000) - Grimsby (voice)
*''
The Hollywood Sign'' (2001) - Robbie Kant
*''
Grand Theft Parsons
''Grand Theft Parsons'' is a 2003 comedy-drama film based on the true story of country rock musician Gram Parsons (played by Gabriel Macht), who died of an overdose in 1973. Parsons and his road manager, Phil Kaufman (Johnny Knoxville), made a pac ...
'' (2003) - Undertaker
*''
Forbidden Warrior'' (2005) - Yawn (final film role)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuter, Kay E.
1925 births
2003 deaths
Male actors from Los Angeles
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors