The long career of Edward Andrews was almost always in non-starring roles, playing a businessman, government official, comedic relief or occasionally going against type to play a villain. Notable movies starring the veteran actor include Advise and Consent, where he played Senator Orrin Knox, Tora! Tora! Tora! (Admiral Harold Stark), and The Absent-Minded Professor (Secretary of Defense). He was a regular on one forgettable TV show, Broadsides, a McHale's Navy clone about women nurses during World War II. His last two films, Sixteen Candles and Gremlins, were released after his death in 1984.