Gale Gordon (February 20, 1906 - June 30, 1995)

Where do I begin with Gale Gordon? Wow! It should be noted that he was the son of actress Gloria Gordon (1884-1962) who was best known for her portrayal of Mrs. O'Reilly the landlady on both the radio and television versions of "My Friend Irma" starring Marie Wilson (1916-1972). Well first of all I don't think anyone will argue that he was one of the most versitale character actors during the thriving age of radio. He began on "Fibber McGee and Molly" as Mayor LaTrivia in 1935. He went on to have recurring roles on "The Great Gildersleeve", "The Burns & Allen Show", and "The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show." In 1948 he took on the role of Principal Osgood P. Conklin on the Eve Arden (1908-1990) sitcom "Our Miss Brooks." It was in this role that he began to master his craft as a blustery windbag with a huge ego and little patience. On February 11, 1949 he made his first appearance on Lucille Ball's weekly radio series "My Favorite Husband." This wasn't the first time they had worked together and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Shortly after he was given a regular role as Mr. Rudolph Atterbury with Bea Benaderet playing his wife Iris. When "I Love Lucy" was being created Ball wanted Gordon and Benaderet to play Fred and Ethel Mertz but things didn't work out and thankfully William Frawley and Vivian Vance were given the parts. Gordon did however guest star in two 1952 episodes as Ricky's boss Mr. Alvin Littlefield. In 1958 he would guest star again, this time on "The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Presents the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show." Non "Lucy" related television appearances included "Toast of the Town", "Climax!", "The Real McCoys", "Playhouse 90", "Studio One", "Sally", "Pete and Gladys", "The Danny Thomas Hour", "The Merv Griffin Show" and "The New Lassie." In 1962, actor Joseph Kearns passed away suddenly and Gale Gordon quickly join the cast of "Dennis the Menace" to fill in for him. He played John Wilson, brother to Kearns' George Wilson. The show went off the air the following year allowing the 57-year-old character actor to join Lucille Ball on her TV series "The Lucy Show." The 1963-1964 season was the show's second and Gordon joined the cast as the pompous and short tempered banker Theodore J. Mooney. By 1965, Vivian Vance was ready to leave and the show's location moved from Danfield, New York to Hollywood, California. Lucy Carmichael was now employed by Mr. Mooney as his secretary. Week after week he yelled..."Mrs. CARMICHAEL!" And week after week we laughed. In addition to the weekly television series Gordon also appeared on "The Lucille Ball Comedy Hour: Mr. & Mrs." a special that aired in 1964. In 1968, Ball opened the door on her third television series "Here's Lucy" and brought Gale Gordon along with her this time playing her brother-in-law and boss, Harrison Otis Carter. His attitude and temper was the same as Mr. Mooney. "Here's Lucy" stayed on the air until 1974. By then Gordon was 68 and had no intentions of slowing down. Throughout the 1970's Gordon returned to the spotlight to pay tribute to Lucille. He was a roaster at "The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Lucille Ball" in 1975 and a special guest at "CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years" in 1976. In 1977, he played Ralph Kramden's (Jackie Gleason) boss in a special two-hour "Honeymooners" Christmas show. Also that year he rejoined Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance and Mary Jane Croft for the television special "Lucy Calls the President." In this version he played Lucy's father-in-law Omar Whittaker. It would be the last time we would work with Vivian and Mary Jane. In 1980 he was once again at Ball's side for the 90 minute special "Lucy Moves to NBC." Six years later the 80-year-old actor jumped at the chance to co-star in Ball's television series "Life With Lucy" this time playing Curtis MacGibbon, her late husband's business partner. The series was a flop and disappeared after only eight weeks. In 1991, Gordon reprised his role as Mr. Mooney in an episode of the sitcom spoof "Hi Honey, I'm Home" but for me that appearance was eerie and inappropriate. Lucille Ball passed away in 1989...how can Mr. Mooney exist if he doesn't have Mrs. Carmichael to yell at? In 1993, the 87-year-old actor was among many people interviewed for the A&E special "Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie" which was produced by Lucie Arnaz and her family. So to wrap this up..."My Favorite Husband", "I Love Lucy", "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour", "The Lucy Show", "Here's Lucy", "Lucy Calls the President" and "Life With Lucy" not to mention all the specials in between.... After Vivian Vance, Gale Gordon was definitely Lucille Ball's greatest sidekick. With partners like Vivian and Gale...is it any wonder she became the queen of comedy? From Mr. Atterbury to Mr. Littlefield to Judge Phillips to Mr. Mooney to Uncle Harry to Curtis... Gale Gordon will live on forever as one of the greatest "hotheads" who ever lived... "MRS. CARMICHAEL!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering the Cast of "Make Room for Daddy" / "The Danny Thomas Show" (583)

It was one of the longest running family sitcoms in television history.  Right there along side "I Love Lucy", "The Honeymooners", "Father Knows Best" and "My Little Margie" it was one of the most beloved programs of the day.  It began on ABC as "Make Room for Daddy" on September 29, 1953.  After 120 episodes the title changed to "The Danny Thomas Show" and in 1957 the program moved to CBS.  After a healthy eleven year run the show ended on April 27, 1964 after producing 351 episodes total.  In 1970 a majority of the cast returned for the show "Make Room for Granddaddy" which lasted from 1970 to 1971 producing 24 episodes.  The cast was headed up by Danny Thomas who played nightclub entertainer Danny Williams.  Jean Hagen played his wife Margaret, Rusty Hamer played his son Rusty and Sherry Jackson played his daughter Terry.  Jackson played Terry from 1953 to 1958 followed by Penny Parker who played the role from...
Read more

Doris Packer (May 30, 1904 - March 31, 1979)

She began in New York on Broadway and then started appearing on radio. Some of her radio credits include "Henry Aldrich" and "Mr. & Mrs. North." When she became a widow in 1953 she relocated to California where she began appearing on film and on television. Her first film was Meet Me at the Fair. She also appeared in The Perils of Pauline in 1967. She is best remembered as Mrs. Cornelia Rayburn, Beaver's Principal on "Leave it to Beaver." She also had a recurring role on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." Her final film appearance was in Shampoo in 1975... Other Television Credits: "The Great Gildersleeve" "Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre" "The Bob Cummings Show" "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" "I Love Lucy" "Lux Video Theatre" "The Jack Benny Program" "The Thin Man" "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" "Maverick" ...
Read more