Polly Rowles, 87; Actress Best Known for Hanes Commercial

Polly Rowles, 87, a character actress best remembered for her role as a picky inspector in a series of Hanes underwear commercials, died Oct. 7 in a nursing home in Concord, N.H.

Born Mary Elizabeth Rowles in Philadelphia, she graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh and came west under contract to Universal Studios. Her six-decade career began in such 1930s films as “Springtime in the Rockies” with cowboy singing star Gene Autry.

In 1938, Rowles made her Broadway debut in Orson Welles’ production of “Julius Caesar.” She worked on stage for many years, with key roles in such shows as “Time Out for Ginger,” “Richard III,” “Auntie Mame” and “Dark Eyes.”

With a reputation for portraying snippy older women, Rowles landed the 1980s Hanes commercials as Inspector No. 12, intoning the memorable line, “They don’t say Hanes until I say they say Hanes.”