Which actor played Lou Bookman in 'One for the Angels'?

Ed Wynn played Lou Bookman in “One for the Angels.”

The episode aired on October 9, 1959, as the second episode of the original Twilight Zone. Wynn portrays Lewis J. “Lew” Bookman, a kindly sidewalk salesman who sells toys, household notions, and trinkets and is beloved by the neighborhood children.

Bookman is visited by Mr. Death, played by Murray Hamilton, who tells him that he will die at midnight. Bookman persuades Death to delay the appointment until he can make his greatest sales pitch. When Death chooses a young girl named Maggie as the replacement, Bookman uses his final pitch to save her and accepts his own fate.

The role marked an important stage in Wynn’s career. Best known as a comedian and vaudeville performer, he had begun earning serious dramatic recognition after his acclaimed performance in Rod Serling’s “Requiem for a Heavyweight.” Serling reportedly wrote “One for the Angels” especially with Wynn in mind. Wynn later returned to The Twilight Zone in “Ninety Years Without Slumbering.”

Viewers sometimes confuse Ed Wynn with Burgess Meredith or Jack Klugman, two other prominent performers from the original series, but neither played Bookman.