With the advent of television in the early 1950s , he became known for playing bald, burly men of authority in guest spots and recurring roles on countless series, including "Dragnet," "Lassie," "Father Knows Best," "I Love Lucy," "You Are There" and "Perry Mason." He was perhaps best known for his role as Mayor Stoner of Mayberry on "The Andy Griffith Show" and as Ozzie Nelson's neighbor Darby in "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." But a generation of cookie consumers would recognize his homespun tones as the voice of Ernie the Keebler cookie elf in a long-running series of television commercials. Baer worked steadily in motion pictures and television to the end of his career, appeaing alongside Kevin Kline in"Dave" (1993), against Tom Berenger in "Last of the Dogmen" (1995) and the TV series "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Star Trek: Voyager." In 1993 he also began a long stint on the daytime soap opera "The Young and the Restless" playing senior citizen Miles Dugan. Baer's career was felled in 1997 when he suffered a debilitating stroke that affected his speech.