Misplaced Pages

George "Gabby" Hayes: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 17:44, 19 September 2023 editKarenthewriter (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users3,618 edits →Death: Added 2 references for info, deleted Need References tag.← Previous edit Latest revision as of 05:31, 27 December 2024 edit undoShelfSkewed (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers292,674 edits Dab link 
(17 intermediate revisions by 12 users not shown)
Line 17: Line 17:
| website = | website =
}} }}
'''George Francis''' "'''Gabby'''" '''Hayes''' (7 May 1885 – 9 February 1969) was an American actor. He began as something of a leading man and a character player, but he was best known for his numerous appearances in B-] film series as the bewhiskered, cantankerous, but ever-loyal and brave comic sidekick of the cowboy stars ], ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hoffmann |first=Henryk |title=Western Movie References in American Literature |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |year=2012 |isbn=978-0786466382 |location=Jefferson, N.C. |pages=80 |language=en}}</ref> '''George Francis''' "'''Gabby'''" '''Hayes''' (7 May 1885 – 9 February 1969) was an American actor. He began as something of a leading man and a character player, but he was best known for his numerous appearances in B-] film series as the bewhiskered, cantankerous, but ever-loyal and brave comic sidekick of the cowboy stars ], ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hoffmann |first=Henryk |title=Western Movie References in American Literature |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |year=2012 |isbn=978-0786466382 |location=Jefferson, N.C. |pages=80 |language=en}}</ref>


==Early years== ==Early years==
Hayes was born the third of seven children in his father's hotel, the Hayes Hotel, in ], a hamlet just outside ]. (Hayes always gave Wellsville as his birthplace, but legally he was born in Stannards.) He was the son of Elizabeth Morrison and Clark Hayes. His father, in addition to operating the Hayes Hotel, was also involved in oil production. His siblings included his brothers, William W., Morrison, and Clark B., and his sisters, Nellie Elizabeth Hayes Ebeling and Harriet "Hattie" Elizabeth Hayes Allen. Morrison Hayes, a ] in the ], was killed in action on July 19, 1918, during ] in ] and was awarded the ] for his actions during the war. The American Legion post in Wellsville is named after Morrison Hayes. His uncle on his mother's side was ], vice president of ].{{Citation needed |date=August 2022}} Hayes was born the third of seven children in his father's hotel, the Hayes Hotel, in ]. (Hayes always gave Wellsville as his birthplace, but legally he was born in Stannards.) He was the son of Elizabeth Morrison and Clark Hayes. In addition to operating the hotel, his father was also involved in petroleum production, an industry which began in that part of the country. His siblings included his brothers, William W., Morrison, and Clark B., and his sisters, Nellie Elizabeth Hayes Ebeling and Harriet "Hattie" Elizabeth Hayes Allen. Morrison Hayes, a corporal in the United States Army, was killed in action on July 19, 1918, during World War I in France and was awarded the ] for his actions during the war. The American Legion post in Wellsville, New York is named after him. George’s uncle on his mother's side was ], vice president of General Electric.{{Citation needed |date=August 2022}}


George Hayes grew up in Stannards and attended Stannards School.<ref name="alleganycohist">{{Cite web |title=Photo Gallery: Town of Willing, NY. |url=http://www.alleganycountynylocalhistory.com/TownVillageReservation/TownWilling/TownWilling%20Photo%20Gallery/WillingPhotoGallery.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323081008/http://www.alleganycountynylocalhistory.com/TownVillageReservation/TownWilling/TownWilling%20Photo%20Gallery/WillingPhotoGallery.htm |archive-date=23 March 2012 |access-date=27 April 2011 |page=1}}</ref> He played semi-professional ] while in high school. He ran away from home in 1902, at 17, joined a stock company, apparently traveled for a time with a circus, and became a successful ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rowan |first=Terry M. |title=Who's who in Hollywood! |publisher=Lu lu |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-329-07449-1 |location= |pages=154 |language=en}}</ref> Hayes grew up in Stannards and attended Stannards School.<ref name="alleganycohist">{{Cite web |title=Photo Gallery: Town of Willing, NY. |url=http://www.alleganycountynylocalhistory.com/TownVillageReservation/TownWilling/TownWilling%20Photo%20Gallery/WillingPhotoGallery.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323081008/http://www.alleganycountynylocalhistory.com/TownVillageReservation/TownWilling/TownWilling%20Photo%20Gallery/WillingPhotoGallery.htm |archive-date=23 March 2012 |access-date=27 April 2011 |page=1}}</ref> He played semi-professional baseball while in high school. At 17 he ran away from home, joined a stock company, apparently traveled for a time with a circus, and became a successful ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rowan |first=Terry M. |title=Who's who in Hollywood! |publisher=Lu lu |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-329-07449-1 |location= |pages=154 |language=en}}</ref> He often appeared in comic sketches as "The Rube Constable."<ref>"Sunday Concerts," ''Brooklyn Citizen'', November 14, 1910, p.5</ref>


Hayes married Olive E. Ireland, the daughter of a ] glass finisher, on March 4, 1914. She joined him in ], performing under the name Dorothy Earle (not to be confused with film actress and writer Dorothy Earle).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gordon |first=Roger L. |title=Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures |publisher=Dorrance Publishing Company |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4809-4499-2 |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |pages=110 |language=en}}</ref> Hayes had become so successful that by 1928, at age 43, he was able to retire to a home on ] in ]. He lost all his savings the next year in the ]. Olive persuaded her husband to try his luck in films, and the couple moved to ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bender |first1=Texas Bix |title=The Official Sidekick Handbook |last2=Slim |first2=Too |publisher=Gibbs Smith |others=Texas Bix Bender, James Hough |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4236-1921-5 |location=Layton, Utah |pages=27 |language=en}}</ref> They remained together until her death on July 5, 1957. The couple had no children. Hayes married Olive E. Ireland, the daughter of a glass finisher, on March 4, 1914. She joined him in vaudeville, performing under the name Dorothy Earle (not to be confused with film actress and writer Dorothy Earle).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gordon |first=Roger L. |title=Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures |publisher=Dorrance Publishing Company |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4809-4499-2 |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |pages=110 |language=en}}</ref> Hayes had become so successful that by 1928, at age 43, he was able to retire to a home on Long Island in ]. He lost all his savings the next year in the ]. Olive persuaded her husband to try his luck in films, and the couple moved to Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bender |first1=Texas Bix |title=The Official Sidekick Handbook |last2=Slim |first2=Too |publisher=Gibbs Smith |others=Texas Bix Bender, James Hough |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4236-1921-5 |location=Layton, Utah |pages=27 |language=en}}</ref> They remained together until her death on July 5, 1957. They had no children.


==Film career== ==Film career==
Line 30: Line 30:
]'', 1934]] ]'', 1934]]
] in '']'' (1934)]] ] in '']'' (1934)]]
⚫ After his move to Los Angeles, according to later interviews, Hayes had a chance meeting with the producer ] (originally ''Tremlet C. Carr''), who liked his look and gave him 30 roles over the next six years. In his early career, Hayes was cast in a variety of roles, including villains, and occasionally played two roles in a single film. He found a niche in the growing genre of Western films, many of which were series with recurring characters. Hayes did not come from a cowboy background; he did not know how to ride a horse until he was in his forties and had to learn film roles.


⚫ After his move to Los Angeles, according to later interviews, Hayes had a chance meeting with the producer ], who liked his look and gave him 30 roles over the next six years. In his early career, Hayes was cast in a variety of parts, including villains, and occasionally played two roles in a single film. He found a niche in the growing genre of ]s, many of which were series with recurring characters. Hayes did not come from a cowboy background; he did not know how to ride a horse until he was in his 40s.
⚫ Hayes, in real life an intelligent, well-groomed and articulate man, was often cast as a grizzled codger who uttered phrases such as "consarn it", "yer durn tootin'", "dadgummit", "durn persnickety female", and "young whippersnapper".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marill |first=Alvin H. |title=Television Westerns : Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags, and Sidewinders |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-8108-8133-4 |location=Lanham |pages=10 |language=en}}</ref> From 1935 to 1939, Hayes played the part of Windy Halliday, the humorous "codger" sidekick of ] (played by ]). In 1939, Hayes left that role at ] after a dispute over his salary and moved to ]. Since Paramount held the rights to the name Windy Halliday, they renamed him Gabby Whitaker, in virtually the same role. As Gabby, he appeared in more than 40 films between 1939 and 1946, usually with ] (44 times), but also with ] (7) and ] (14), often working under the directorship of ] (34). Hayes was also repeatedly cast as a sidekick of the Western stars ] (six times) and ] (fifteen times, some as straight or villainous characters). Hayes played Wayne's sidekick in ]'s '']'' (1940), which featured Roy Rogers in a supporting role.


⚫ Hayes, in real life an intelligent, well-groomed and articulate man, often was cast as a grizzled codger who uttered phrases such as "consarn it", "yer durn tootin'", "dadgummit", "durn persnickety female", and "young whippersnapper".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marill |first=Alvin H. |title=Television Westerns : Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags, and Sidewinders |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-8108-8133-4 |location=Lanham |pages=10 |language=en}}</ref> From 1935 to 1939, Hayes played the part of Windy Halliday, the humorous "codger" sidekick of ] (played by ]). In 1939, Hayes left this role at ] after a dispute over his salary and moved to ]. Paramount held the rights to the name Windy Halliday, and Republic renamed him Gabby Whitaker, which was virtually the same character. As Gabby, he appeared in more than 40 films from 1939 to 1946, usually with ] (44 times) and with ] (7) and ] (14), often working under the directorship of ] (34). Hayes repeatedly was cast as a sidekick of the Western stars ] (6 times) and ] (15 times, some as straight or villainous characters). Hayes played Wayne's sidekick in ]'s '']'' (1940), which featured Roy Rogers in a supporting role.
⚫ Hayes became a popular performer and consistently appeared among the 10 favorite actors in polls taken of moviegoers of the period. He appeared in either one or both the ''Motion Picture Herald'' and ''Boxoffice Magazine'' lists of the Top Ten Moneymaking Western Stars for twelve straight years and a thirteenth time in 1954, four years after his last film.


⚫ Hayes became a popular performer and consistently ranked among the 10 favorite actors in polls taken of moviegoers of the period. He appeared in either one or both the ''Motion Picture Herald'' and ''Boxoffice Magazine'' lists of the Top Ten Moneymaking Western Stars for 12 consecutive years and then a thirteenth time in 1954, four years after his last film.
⚫ Westerns declined in popularity in the late 1940s, and Hayes made his last film in the genre in 1950: '']''. He had appeared in 174 westerns.<ref name=ret/> He moved to ] and hosted '']'', a Western series, from 1950 to 1954 on ] and, in a new version in 1956, on ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Terrace |first=Vincent |title=Television introductions : narrated TV program openings since 1949 |year=2013 |isbn=978-0810892491 |location=Lanham, Maryland |pages=173 |language=en}}</ref> The show was sponsored by ], whose products were prominently advertised during the show. Gabby would promote the puffed wheat product by saying to stand back from the screen and firing a cannon loaded with cereal at the screen as a tie in to their ad slogan: "shot from guns". He introduced the show, often while whittling on a piece of wood, and would sometimes throw in a tall tale. Halfway through the show, he would say something else, and at the end of the show, also, but he did not appear as an active character in the stories. When the series ended, Hayes retired from show business. During this time, he made guest appearances on television, including several on ] for his friend ]. He lent his name to a ] series, "Gabby Hayes Western" comics, published by ] from November 1948 until January 1957, and to a children's summer camp in New York.

⚫ Westerns declined in popularity in the late 1940s, and Hayes made his last film in the genre in 1950: '']''. He had appeared in 174 westerns.<ref name=ret/> He moved to television and hosted '']'', a Western series, from 1950 to 1954 on NBC and in a version in 1956 on ABC.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Terrace |first=Vincent |title=Television introductions : narrated TV program openings since 1949 |year=2013 |isbn=978-0810892491 |location=Lanham, Maryland |pages=173 |language=en}}</ref> The show was sponsored by ], and its products were advertised during the show. In promoting the product, Gabby said to stand back from the screen, and he fired a cannon loaded with cereal at the screen as a tie-in to their ad slogan, "shot from guns". He introduced the show, often while whittling on a piece of wood, and sometimes told a tall tale. When the series ended, Hayes retired from show business. During this time, he made guest appearances on television, including several on '']'' for his friend ]. He lent his name to "Gabby Hayes Western" comics, published by ] from November 1948 until January 1957, and to a children's summer camp in New York.


==Death== ==Death==
] ]
Following his wife's death on July 5, 1957, Hayes first lived at his ranch on ] in California.<ref name=ret>{{cite magazine|magazine=]|date=September 3, 1958|page=1|title=Man Bites Dogie, Or Gabby Hayes Hates Westerns|url=https://archive.org/details/variety212-1958-09/mode/1up?view=theater|access-date=May 14, 2023}}</ref> He later stayed at a 10-unit apartment building he owned.<ref name="Ross">Gabby Hayes Who Died Sunday at 83 Began Career on Stage at Cross Fork, ''The Express'' (Lock Haven, PA), February 11, 1969, page 1</ref> Following his wife's death on July 5, 1957, Hayes first lived at his ranch on Toluca Lake in California.<ref name=ret>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=September 3, 1958|page=1|title=Man Bites Dogie, Or Gabby Hayes Hates Westerns|url=https://archive.org/details/variety212-1958-09/mode/1up?view=theater|access-date=May 14, 2023}}</ref> He later stayed at a 10-unit apartment building he owned.<ref name="Ross">Gabby Hayes Who Died Sunday at 83 Began Career on Stage at Cross Fork, ''The Express'' (Lock Haven, PA), February 11, 1969, page 1</ref>


Early in 1969 he entered Saint Joseph Hospital in ], for treatment of ]. Hayes died there on February 9, 1969, at the age of 83.<ref name="Ross" /> He is interred in the ].<ref></ref> Early in 1969 he entered Saint Joseph Hospital in Burbank, California for treatment of cardiovascular disease. Hayes died there on February 9, 1969, at the age of 83.<ref name="Ross" /> He is interred in the ].<ref></ref>


==Honors== ==Honors==
Two stars on the ] commemorate Hayes's work in the entertainment industry: one for his contribution to radio, at 6427 Hollywood Boulevard, and one for his contribution to television, at 1724 Vine Street.<ref>{{Cite web |title=George 'Gabby' Hayes |url=https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/george-gabby-hayes/ |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the ] at the ] in ].{{Cn|date=March 2023}} Two stars on the ] commemorate Hayes's work in the entertainment industry: one for his contribution to radio at 6427 Hollywood Boulevard and one for his contribution to television at 1724 Vine Street.<ref>{{Cite web |title=George 'Gabby' Hayes |url=https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/george-gabby-hayes/ |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en}}</ref> In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the ] at the ] in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.<ref></ref>


==Popular culture== ==Popular culture==
] ]
]'' (1951)]] ]'' (1951)]]
⚫ Homage was paid to Hayes in a different way in the 1974 satirical Western '']''. The actor and director ], credited as Claude Ennis Starrett, Jr., played a Hayes-like character. In keeping with a running joke in the movie, the character is called Gabby Johnson. After Johnson delivers a rousing, though partially unintelligible speech to the townspeople, ]'s character stands up to say, "Now, who can argue with ''that''?!", and proclaims it "authentic frontier ]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke5Mr5eCF2U |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/ke5Mr5eCF2U |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title= Authentic Frontier Gibberish|publisher=]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>


⚫ Homage was paid to Hayes in a different way in the 1974 satirical Western '']''. The actor and director ], credited as Claude Ennis Starrett Jr., played a Hayes-like character. In keeping with a running joke in the movie, the character is called Gabby Johnson. After Johnson delivers a rousing, though partially unintelligible speech to the townspeople, ]'s character stands up to say, "Now, who can argue with ''that''?!", and proclaims it "authentic frontier ]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke5Mr5eCF2U |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/ke5Mr5eCF2U |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title= Authentic Frontier Gibberish|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
⚫ In the animated film '']'', the character Stinky Pete the Prospector, voiced by ], is modeled after Hayes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/style/article/The-toys-are-back-in-town-3056722.php|title=The Toys Are Back in Town|date=24 November 1999|website=SFgate.com|access-date=14 April 2016}}</ref> In the film's fictional universe, he is a toy version of a character on the marionette television western ''Woody's Roundup'', where he is a colorful comic relief character. In contrast, the toy is intelligent and well-spoken, a reference to Hayes's contrasting real-life and film personas.


⚫ In the animated film '']'', the character Stinky Pete the Prospector, voiced by ], is modeled after Hayes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/style/article/The-toys-are-back-in-town-3056722.php|title=The Toys Are Back in Town|date=24 November 1999|website=SFgate.com|access-date=14 April 2016}}</ref> In the film's fictional universe, he is a toy version of a character on the marionette television western ''Woody's Roundup'', where he is a colorful comic relief character. In contrast, the toy is intelligent and well-spoken, a reference to Hayes's contrasting real-life and film personas.
⚫ Into a Mighty Carson Art Players sketch on ''The Tonight Show'', ] impersonated Gabby Hayes in a sketch with ]. This sketch has appeared on Carson's syndicated series '']'', which features highlights from his years as ''The Tonight Show'' host.


⚫ Into a Mighty Carson Art Players sketch on ''The Tonight Show'', ] impersonated Gabby Hayes in a sketch with ]. This sketch has appeared on Carson's syndicated series '']'', which features highlights from his years as host of ''The Tonight Show''.
Hayes was mentioned in '']'' episode "]", in which Milhouse becomes Radioactive Man's sidekick, ]; the director of the film comments that Milhouse is "going to be big, Gabby Hayes big!"<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://transcripts.foreverdreaming.org/viewtopic.php?f=431&t=21990|title=07x02 - Radioactive Man - The Simpsons Transcripts - Forever Dreaming|website=Transcripts.foreverdreaming.org|access-date=2017-06-06|language=en}}</ref>


Every year in early July, from 1983 through 1989, "Gabby Hayes Days" were celebrated in Wellsville, New York. The event featured a street sale, square dancing, and Hayes look-alike contests for adults and children. This celebration was eventually merged in the mid-July Wellsville Balloon Rally and gradually disappeared. A street is also named after him in Wellsville, Gabby Hayes Lane.<ref name="alleganycohist" /> Every year in early July, from 1983 through 1989, Gabby Hayes Days were celebrated in Wellsville, New York. The event featured a street sale, square dancing, and Hayes look-alike contests for adults and children. This celebration was eventually merged in the mid-July Wellsville Balloon Rally and gradually disappeared. A street is also named after him in Wellsville, Gabby Hayes Lane.<ref name="alleganycohist" />


Since April 1969, a band of fishermen has traveled to ], ], for the "Gabby Hayes Memorial Trout Fishing Tournament". These men, known as Gabby Guys, gather annually to celebrate the opening day of the trout fishing season and the memory of Hayes. On April 2019, they celebrated their fiftieth anniversary, which also marked 50 years since Hayes' passing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE GABBY HAYES MEMORIAL TROUT FISHING TOURNAMENT 1969 - 2021 |url=http://www.gabbyhayes.net/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=THE GABBY HAYES MEMORIAL TROUT FISHING TOURNAMENT 1969 - 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Since April 1969, a band of fishermen has traveled to ], Pennsylvania] for the Gabby Hayes Memorial Trout Fishing Tournament. These men, known as Gabby Guys, gather annually to celebrate the opening day of the trout fishing season and the memory of Hayes. In April 2019, they celebrated their fiftieth anniversary, which also marked 50 years since Hayes' passing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE GABBY HAYES MEMORIAL TROUT FISHING TOURNAMENT 1969 - 2021 |url=http://www.gabbyhayes.net/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=THE GABBY HAYES MEMORIAL TROUT FISHING TOURNAMENT 1969 - 2021 |language=en}}</ref>


==Partial filmography== ==Partial filmography==
Line 70: Line 70:
* '']'' (1930) as Ben - Waiter (uncredited) * '']'' (1930) as Ben - Waiter (uncredited)
* '']'' (1930) as Railroad Ticket Seller (uncredited) * '']'' (1930) as Railroad Ticket Seller (uncredited)
* ''She Who Gets Slapped'' (1930) as Poker Player (uncredited), ] * ''She Who Gets Slapped'' (1930) as Poker Player (uncredited), short film
* '']'' (1931) as Sheriff Bill Ryan * '']'' (1931) as Sheriff Bill Ryan
* '']'' (1931) as Jim * '']'' (1931) as Jim
Line 283: Line 283:
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]

Latest revision as of 05:31, 27 December 2024

American actor (1885–1969)
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "George "Gabby" Hayes" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

George "Gabby" Hayes
Hayes in 1953
BornGeorge Francis Hayes
(1885-05-07)May 7, 1885
Stannards, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 9, 1969(1969-02-09) (aged 83)
Burbank, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1902–1956
Spouse Olive E. Ireland ​ ​(m. 1914; died 1957)​

George Francis "Gabby" Hayes (7 May 1885 – 9 February 1969) was an American actor. He began as something of a leading man and a character player, but he was best known for his numerous appearances in B-Western film series as the bewhiskered, cantankerous, but ever-loyal and brave comic sidekick of the cowboy stars William Boyd, Roy Rogers and John Wayne.

Early years

Hayes was born the third of seven children in his father's hotel, the Hayes Hotel, in Stannards, New York. (Hayes always gave Wellsville as his birthplace, but legally he was born in Stannards.) He was the son of Elizabeth Morrison and Clark Hayes. In addition to operating the hotel, his father was also involved in petroleum production, an industry which began in that part of the country. His siblings included his brothers, William W., Morrison, and Clark B., and his sisters, Nellie Elizabeth Hayes Ebeling and Harriet "Hattie" Elizabeth Hayes Allen. Morrison Hayes, a corporal in the United States Army, was killed in action on July 19, 1918, during World War I in France and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the war. The American Legion post in Wellsville, New York is named after him. George’s uncle on his mother's side was George F. Morrison, vice president of General Electric.

Hayes grew up in Stannards and attended Stannards School. He played semi-professional baseball while in high school. At 17 he ran away from home, joined a stock company, apparently traveled for a time with a circus, and became a successful vaudevillian. He often appeared in comic sketches as "The Rube Constable."

Hayes married Olive E. Ireland, the daughter of a glass finisher, on March 4, 1914. She joined him in vaudeville, performing under the name Dorothy Earle (not to be confused with film actress and writer Dorothy Earle). Hayes had become so successful that by 1928, at age 43, he was able to retire to a home on Long Island in Baldwin, New York. He lost all his savings the next year in the 1929 stock market crash. Olive persuaded her husband to try his luck in films, and the couple moved to Los Angeles. They remained together until her death on July 5, 1957. They had no children.

Film career

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
George Hayes, without his facial hair, as the villain Matt the Mute in Randy Rides Alone, 1934
With John Wayne in Blue Steel (1934)

After his move to Los Angeles, according to later interviews, Hayes had a chance meeting with the producer Trem Carr, who liked his look and gave him 30 roles over the next six years. In his early career, Hayes was cast in a variety of parts, including villains, and occasionally played two roles in a single film. He found a niche in the growing genre of Western films, many of which were series with recurring characters. Hayes did not come from a cowboy background; he did not know how to ride a horse until he was in his 40s.

Hayes, in real life an intelligent, well-groomed and articulate man, often was cast as a grizzled codger who uttered phrases such as "consarn it", "yer durn tootin'", "dadgummit", "durn persnickety female", and "young whippersnapper". From 1935 to 1939, Hayes played the part of Windy Halliday, the humorous "codger" sidekick of Hopalong Cassidy (played by William Boyd). In 1939, Hayes left this role at Paramount Pictures after a dispute over his salary and moved to Republic Pictures. Paramount held the rights to the name Windy Halliday, and Republic renamed him Gabby Whitaker, which was virtually the same character. As Gabby, he appeared in more than 40 films from 1939 to 1946, usually with Roy Rogers (44 times) and with Gene Autry (7) and Wild Bill Elliott (14), often working under the directorship of Joseph Kane (34). Hayes repeatedly was cast as a sidekick of the Western stars Randolph Scott (6 times) and John Wayne (15 times, some as straight or villainous characters). Hayes played Wayne's sidekick in Raoul Walsh's Dark Command (1940), which featured Roy Rogers in a supporting role.

Hayes became a popular performer and consistently ranked among the 10 favorite actors in polls taken of moviegoers of the period. He appeared in either one or both the Motion Picture Herald and Boxoffice Magazine lists of the Top Ten Moneymaking Western Stars for 12 consecutive years and then a thirteenth time in 1954, four years after his last film.

Westerns declined in popularity in the late 1940s, and Hayes made his last film in the genre in 1950: The Cariboo Trail. He had appeared in 174 westerns. He moved to television and hosted The Gabby Hayes Show, a Western series, from 1950 to 1954 on NBC and in a version in 1956 on ABC. The show was sponsored by Quaker Oats, and its products were advertised during the show. In promoting the product, Gabby said to stand back from the screen, and he fired a cannon loaded with cereal at the screen as a tie-in to their ad slogan, "shot from guns". He introduced the show, often while whittling on a piece of wood, and sometimes told a tall tale. When the series ended, Hayes retired from show business. During this time, he made guest appearances on television, including several on Howdy Doody for his friend "Buffalo" Bob Smith. He lent his name to "Gabby Hayes Western" comics, published by Fawcett Publications from November 1948 until January 1957, and to a children's summer camp in New York.

Death

Hayes's grave at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills

Following his wife's death on July 5, 1957, Hayes first lived at his ranch on Toluca Lake in California. He later stayed at a 10-unit apartment building he owned.

Early in 1969 he entered Saint Joseph Hospital in Burbank, California for treatment of cardiovascular disease. Hayes died there on February 9, 1969, at the age of 83. He is interred in the Forest Lawn–Hollywood Hills Cemetery.

Honors

Two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame commemorate Hayes's work in the entertainment industry: one for his contribution to radio at 6427 Hollywood Boulevard and one for his contribution to television at 1724 Vine Street. In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Popular culture

John Wayne and Gabby Hayes
The Gabby Hayes Show (1951)

Homage was paid to Hayes in a different way in the 1974 satirical Western Blazing Saddles. The actor and director Jack Starrett, credited as Claude Ennis Starrett Jr., played a Hayes-like character. In keeping with a running joke in the movie, the character is called Gabby Johnson. After Johnson delivers a rousing, though partially unintelligible speech to the townspeople, David Huddleston's character stands up to say, "Now, who can argue with that?!", and proclaims it "authentic frontier gibberish".

In the animated film Toy Story 2, the character Stinky Pete the Prospector, voiced by Kelsey Grammer, is modeled after Hayes. In the film's fictional universe, he is a toy version of a character on the marionette television western Woody's Roundup, where he is a colorful comic relief character. In contrast, the toy is intelligent and well-spoken, a reference to Hayes's contrasting real-life and film personas.

Into a Mighty Carson Art Players sketch on The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson impersonated Gabby Hayes in a sketch with Roy Rogers. This sketch has appeared on Carson's syndicated series Carson's Comedy Classics, which features highlights from his years as host of The Tonight Show.

Every year in early July, from 1983 through 1989, Gabby Hayes Days were celebrated in Wellsville, New York. The event featured a street sale, square dancing, and Hayes look-alike contests for adults and children. This celebration was eventually merged in the mid-July Wellsville Balloon Rally and gradually disappeared. A street is also named after him in Wellsville, Gabby Hayes Lane.

Since April 1969, a band of fishermen has traveled to Kettle Creek, Pennsylvania] for the Gabby Hayes Memorial Trout Fishing Tournament. These men, known as Gabby Guys, gather annually to celebrate the opening day of the trout fishing season and the memory of Hayes. In April 2019, they celebrated their fiftieth anniversary, which also marked 50 years since Hayes' passing.

Partial filmography

Comic book appearances

  • Gabby Hayes Adventure Comics #1 (1953, Toby Press)
  • Gabby Hayes Western #1–59 (1948–1957, Fawcett Publications)
  • Gabby Hayes Western #50–111 (1951–1955, L. Miller black-and-white reprints of Fawcett Comics)
  • Gabby Hayes Mini Comics, 5 issues (1951, Quaker Oats giveaway)

References

  1. Hoffmann, Henryk (2012). Western Movie References in American Literature. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 80. ISBN 978-0786466382.
  2. ^ "Photo Gallery: Town of Willing, NY". p. 1. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  3. Rowan, Terry M. (2015). Who's who in Hollywood!. Lu lu. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-329-07449-1.
  4. "Sunday Concerts," Brooklyn Citizen, November 14, 1910, p.5
  5. Gordon, Roger L. (2018). Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Dorrance Publishing Company. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-4809-4499-2.
  6. Bender, Texas Bix; Slim, Too (2011). The Official Sidekick Handbook. Texas Bix Bender, James Hough. Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-4236-1921-5.
  7. Marill, Alvin H. (2011). Television Westerns : Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags, and Sidewinders. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-8108-8133-4.
  8. ^ "Man Bites Dogie, Or Gabby Hayes Hates Westerns". Variety. September 3, 1958. p. 1. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  9. Terrace, Vincent (2013). Television introductions : narrated TV program openings since 1949. Lanham, Maryland. p. 173. ISBN 978-0810892491.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Gabby Hayes Who Died Sunday at 83 Began Career on Stage at Cross Fork, The Express (Lock Haven, PA), February 11, 1969, page 1
  11. Ross, Kathryn, Gabby Hayes remembered as Wellsville Lions Club places 8th historical marker, Olean Times Herald, August 4, 2021
  12. "George 'Gabby' Hayes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  13. George "Gabby" Hayes in the Hall of Great Western Performers
  14. "Authentic Frontier Gibberish". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.
  15. "The Toys Are Back in Town". SFgate.com. November 24, 1999. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  16. "THE GABBY HAYES MEMORIAL TROUT FISHING TOURNAMENT 1969 - 2021". THE GABBY HAYES MEMORIAL TROUT FISHING TOURNAMENT 1969 - 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2022.

External links

Categories: