Trivia

Played the stage role of Horace Vandergelder in "Hello, Dolly!" more than 3,000 times opposite such luminaries as Carol Channing, Betty Grable, Ginger Rogers, and Betsy Palmer.

Was cast as Ward Cleaver in the original Leave It to Beaver (1957) pilot. It would be resubmitted later with Hugh Beaumont as Ward Cleaver.

Also acted under the name "Casey Adams".

He and Edward Andrews both appeared in Elmer Gantry, le charlatan (1960) in 1960. 24 years later they would appear together again as Molly Ringwald's grandfathers in the John Hughes teen classic, Seize bougies pour Sam (1984).

Max appears briefly as Harry Guild in Un refrain dans mon coeur (1952) where his vaudeville partner, Don Ross, is played by David Wayne. In the movie, Showalter and Wayne perform a tune entitled "Hoe that Corn," a song written by Showalter.

His surviving sister is Ann Philpott of Fresno, California.