He and Edward Andrews both appeared in Elmer Gantry in 1960. 24 years later they would appear together again as Molly Ringwald's grandfathers in the John Hughes teen classic, Sixteen Candles.
His surviving sister is Ann Philpott of Fresno, CA.
Max appears briefly as Harry Guild in With a Song in My Heart (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.
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.