George Gobel

Squat, easygoing, crew-cut blond George Gobel was born George Leslie Goebel in Chicago, on May 20, 1919. Of Austrian/Scottish descent, his immigrant father, Hermann Goebel, was a butcher and grocer. Following graduating from Chicago's Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1937, the young man won initial Midwest attention singing (billed as "Little Georgie Gobel") on radio. He also toured with country music bands while billed as "The Littlest Cowboy." George's career was interrupted by WWII, in which he served with the Army Air Force as a pilot instructor. While serving, he began doing stand-up for his fellow servicemen and later took to the nightclub, hotel and county fair circuit. His mild-mannered comic delivery, coupled with a cracker-barrel warmness, finally caught fire when the 33-year-old humorist hit the TV waves in 1952. From then on, he focused on comedy rather than singing. George moved into the new TV medium in 1950 as a guest on "The Bill Slater Show," and continued on the talk/musical variety circuit appearing on the self-titled shows of Garry Moore, Spike Jones, and Dinah Shore. Increasing in popularity, he was given a show on his own The George Gobel Show (1954), winning an Emmy award for his efforts. His alter-ego was this hapless, unassuming, hen-pecked husband who tried to breeze through life the best he could. "Lonesome" George's folksy, non-threatening 'little man' appeal, while working so well on TV, did not extend itself on the large screen, although given a couple of chances. Two lightweight comedy showcases offered him as put-upon protagonists in The Birds and the Bees (1956) and I Married a Woman (1958) had a lukewarm reception. After the cancellation of his TV series, Gobel lost severe momentum. From 1958 to 1961, he returned to the clubs and headlined in Las Vegas at the El Rancho Vegas and in Reno at the Mapes Hotel. In 1961, George co-starred with Sam Levene in the Broadway musical "Let It Ride, based on the 1935 original Broadway play "Three Men on a Horse." It had a fairly short run. He was also spotted on such TV shows as "Wagon Train," "Death Valley Days," "Daniel Boone," "F Troop," "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," "The Red Skelton Show," "Love, American Style," "Chico and the Man" and "The Love Boat." George made a resurgence on the late 1960's talk show circuit, notably trading off with Johnny Carson on his popular night time show. In 1974, George became a household name again after replacing the late Cliff Arquette (aka "Charley Weaver") as the bottom left square star on the popular game show The Hollywood Squares (Primetime/Nighttime) (1968). He also appeared as an actor in several TV movies, often cameos, including Benny and Barney: Las Vegas Undercover (1977), A Guide for the Married Woman (1978), Better Late Than Never (1979), The Invisible Woman (1983) and Alice in Wonderland (1985). He returned to film only twice -- in the comedy satire Rabbit Test (1978) (as the President) and the backwoods comedy Ellie (1984) (as a preacher). George won a role on the short-lived series Harper Valley P.T.A. (1981) as a tipsy mayor. The comedian died in Encino, California, on February 24, 1991, at age 71 following bypass surgery. He was survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Alice, and their three children.