Birth nameHarold V. Goldstein Birth information10 December 1923, Schenectady, New York, USA BioHarold Gould earned a Ph.D. in theatre and taught speech and drama at Cornell University. Pursuing some off-Broadway work in the 1950s, he decided to practice what he preached, and became a full-time professional actor in the 1960s. He has appeared in hundreds of TV shows since, usually playing a father, grandfather or other authority figure.