Michael Vale

A veteran of the Broadway stage, film and television, Vale appeared in more than 1,300 TV commercials and was best known for his "Fred the Baker," character in a Dunkin'Donuts ad campaign lasted 15 years until he retired in 1997.

The Dunkin' Donuts ads featuring his character Fred, whose signature line was "Time to make the doughnuts," ran for 15 years from 1982 until 1997, when Vale retired.

He followed it up with two more Broadway flops in 1964 before making good with "The Impossible Years," which debuted on October 13, 1965 and did not close until May 27, 1967 after a total of 670 performances. He appeared in four more plays on Broadway in the next decade, but the only hit was Neil Simon's "California Suite," for which he was a standby. While Vale never made much of an impression in movies, he appeared in over 1,300 TV commercials.

He made his Broadway debut in the play "The Egg" in January 1962 in support of star Michael Constantine. The play flopped, lasting a total of only eight performances.

Gazzo's A Hatful of Rain (1957).

Michael Vale, the character actor best known for his role as Fred the Baker in television commercials for Dunkin' Donuts, was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 28, 1922. He studied acting at New York City's Dramatic Workshop and made his movie debut in a bit part in director Fred Zinnemann's cinematic adaptation of Michael V.