Tol Avery (August 28, 1915 - August 27, 1973) was an obese American film and television character actor with more than a hundred screen appearances between 1950 and 1981. Noted for his enormous girth and cultured voice, Avery usually played sophisticated and articulate villains, portraying the featured nemesis in seven episodes of Maverick between 1957 and 1962, as well as "Ben Weaver" on The Andy Griffith Show and "Speaker Bert Metcalf" on the short-lived television series Slattery's People in 1964.
Enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army on 27 May 1942 during World War II. He became a 2nd Lieutenant with Armed Forces Radio.
According to an obituary, he was a past president of the California Professional Hypnotists Association.
