House Peters Jr., Mr. Clean Actor, Dies at 92

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- House Peters Jr., the actor best remembered for his incarnation of the original Mr. Clean, died yesterday of pneumonia at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 92. From the late 1950s and into the early 1960s, Mr. Peters was the bald-headed and white-clad iconic face of Procter & Gamble's household cleaners, helping to shape the product's image for decades to come. Other than playing Mr. Clean, he filled more than two dozen supporting roles in his acting tenure -- a career that spanned 1935-1967 and includes "The Lone Ranger," "Gunsmoke," "The Twilight Zone" and "Lassie." "He always played the heavy," Mr. Peters' son Jon told the AP, referring to his father's seemingly typecast persona as villain. "Even though he wasn't happy about being cast in those roles, he worked really hard at it." In his autobiography, "Another Side of Hollywood," the actor who played Mr. Clean describes his life growing up as the son of professional actors in Beverly Hills. His father, Robert House Peters Sr., has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Born Jan. 12, 1916, in New Rochelle, N.Y., as Robert House Peters Jr., Mr. Peters received a Golden Boot Award in 2000 for his collective contributions to the Western genre. He is survived by his wife, Lucy Pickett, a daughter, two sons and four grandchildren. P&G did not return calls for comment by deadline.

House Peters Jr., Mr. Clean Actor, Dies at 92

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