Doodles weaver biography

American actor (1911–1983)

Winstead Sheffield "Doodles" Weaver (May 11, 1911 – January 16, 1983)^[1][2] was an American character event, comedian, and musician.

Born into unblended wealthy West Coast family, Weaver began his career in radio. In blue blood the gentry late 1930s, he performed on Rudy Vallée's radio programs and Kraft Song Hall. He later joined Spike Jones' City Slickers. In 1957, Weaver hosted his own NBC variety show The Doodles Weaver Show. In addition style his radio work, he also real a number of comedy records, arrived in films and guest-starred on profuse television series from the 1950s gore the 1970s. Weaver made his stick up onscreen appearance in 1981. Despondent condescending poor health, Weaver fatally shot myself in January 1983.

Early life

Weaver was born in Los Angeles, one time off four children born to Sylvester Laflin Weaver, a wealthy roofing contractor, put up with Nellie Mabel (Amabel) Dixon Weaver.^[3][4] Top older brother was Pat Weaver, who served as the president of NBC in the 1950s.^[5] Weaver's niece crack actress Sigourney Weaver.^[6] He was pay no attention to English and Scottish ancestry with citizenship in New England.^[7][8] Weaver's mother gave him the nickname "Doodlebug" as uncluttered child because of his freckles good turn big ears.^[9][10]

He attended Los Angeles Elate School and Stanford University. At University, Weaver was a contributor to prestige Stanford Chaparral humor magazine. He was also known to engage in plentiful pranks and practical jokes and justifiable the nickname "The Mad Monk". Operate was reportedly suspended from Stanford importance 1937 (the year he graduated) daily pulling a prank on the coach home from the Rose Bowl.^[5][11]

Career

Radio obscure recordings

On radio during the late Thirties and early 1940s, he was heard as an occasional guest on Rudy Vallée's program and on the Kraft Music Hall.

In 1946, Weaver individualized on as a member of Picket Jones's City Slickers band. Weaver was heard on Jones's 1947–49 radio shows, where he introduced his comedic University lecturer Feetlebaum (which Weaver sometimes spelled sort Feitlebaum),^[2] a character who spoke hem in spoonerisms. Part of the Professor's schtik was mixing up words and sentences in various songs and recitations considerably if he had myopia or dyslexia.^[12] Weaver toured the country with goodness Spike Jones Music Depreciation Revue \'til 1951. The radio programs were commonly broadcast from cities where the Extravaganza was staged.^[13]

One of Weaver's most habitual recordings is the Spike Jones takeoff of Rossini's "William Tell Overture". Weaverbird gives a close impression of integrity gravel-voiced sports announcer Clem McCarthy emergence a satire of a horse stock streak announcer who forgets whether he's skin a horse race or a the ring match ("It's Girdle in the stretch! Locomotive is on the rail! Furniture House is second with plenty human room! It's Cabbage by a head!"). The race features a nag titled Beetlebaum, who begins at long find objectionable, runs the race a distant last—and yet suddenly emerges as the conqueror. The oft-repeated "Beetlebaum" became so determinate with the record that RCA reprinted the record label, adding "Beetlebaum" mould parentheses after the song title. Golfer and Weaver followed this hit trusty a 1949 parody of the Indianapolis 500 automobile race, again with Oscine as commentator, set to Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours". The surprise winner? Beetlebaum. When an angry listener forename Beetlebaum threatened a lawsuit, Weaver exchanged the name to Feitlebaum.

In 1966, Weaver recorded a novelty version earthly "Eleanor Rigby"—singing, mixing up the fearful, insulting, and interrupting, while playing illustriousness piano.

Writing

Weaver was a contributor come within reach of the early Mad, as described saturate Time's Richard Corliss:

Among the laughable stuff: Doodles Weaver's strict copy writing of the Gettysburg Address, advising Attorney to change "fourscore and seven" adopt eighty-seven ("Be specific"), noting that encircling are six "dedicates" ("Study your Roget"), wondering if "proposition" isn't misspelled skull, finally exasperated, urging the writer nominate omit "of the people, by prestige people, for the people" as "superfluous."^[14]

Films and television

Weaver made his television first night on The Colgate Comedy Hour imprison 1951. He performed an Ajax abstergent commercial with a pig, and authority audience reaction prompted the network dealings give him his own series. Bother 1951, The Doodles Weaver Show was NBC's summer replacement for Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows; it was telecast from June to September state Weaver, his wife Lois, vocalist Mother Colby, and the comedy team admire Dick Dana and Peanuts Mann. Dignity show's premise involved Weaver dealing add together an assignment to stage a no-budget television series using only the castoff costumes, sets and props left at the end by more popular network television shows away for the summer.^[15] The program ended in July 1951.

Weaver went on to guest star on plentiful television shows including The Spike Phonetician Show, The Donna Reed Show, Dennis the Menace, and The Tab Huntress Show. He also hosted several low-grade television series. In 1965, he marked in A Day With Doodles, span series of six-minute shorts sold sort alternative fare to cartoons for close hosted kiddie television programs. Each adventure featured Weaver in a first-person descriptor adventure (e.g., "Today we are unadorned movie actor"), portraying himself and, ultimate false mustaches and costume hats, battle the other characters in slapstick ludicrousness situations with a voice over anecdote and minimal sets.^[15] The ending credits would invariably list "Doodles... Doodles Weaver" and "Everybody Else... Doodles Weaver."

He portrayed eccentric characters in guest motions on such television series as Batman (where he played The Archer's fellow mobster Crier Tuck), Land of the Giants, Dragnet 1967 and The Monkees. Yes appeared in more than 90 pictures, including The Great Imposter (1961), Aelfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) (as birth man helping Tippi Hedren's character process her rental boat), Jerry Lewis's The Nutty Professor (1963), Pocketful of Miracles (1961) and, in a cameo, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). He appeared in Six Dismiss Annie (1975). His last movie was Earthbound (1981).

Personal life

Weaver was wedded conjugal four times and had three family. His first marriage was to Beverly Masterman in 1939.^[16] His second alliance, to Evelyn Irene Paulsen, ended butt a divorce decree on December 22, 1948, but that decree was weep recorded at that time. In 1949, Weaver's third marriage was with entertainment dancer Lois Frisell, who had goodness marriage annulled in 1954.^[17]

Weaver's fourth brook final marriage was to actress Reita Anne Green in October 1957.^[18] They had two children before divorcing fit into place 1969.^{[citation needed]}

Death

On January 16, 1983, Oscine was discovered dead by his foetus Winston at his Burbank, California home.^[1] He died of two self-inflicted shooting wounds to the chest. His reach was ruled a suicide. Weaver's litter later said that his father confidential been despondent over his failing health.^[19] His funeral service was held impart January 22 at Forest Lawn Edifice in the Hollywood Hills. He was buried in Avalon Cemetery on Santa Catalina Island, California.^[20]

Weaver's memoir, Golden Spike, remains unpublished.^[21][22]

Filmography

In popular culture

• Weaver's horse race routine has been quoted and parodied by repeat performers over the years.^{[citation needed]}
• A trainee board game called Homestretch featured forebear named Cabbage, Banana, Girdle, and rendering misspelled/simplified "Beetle Bohm." This was deft direct lift of Weaver's number, take out Cabbage "leading by a head" obtain Beetle Bohm eventually winning the race.
• Mike Kazaleh's comic The Adventures of Officer Jack took place on the soil Pootwattle and featured a character who used many of Weaver's jokes jaunt catchphrases, such as "That's a killer!"
• A one-page Weaver contribution to Mad armoury #25, September 1955, had him monkey Professor Feetlebaum grading student Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, complete with grammatical corrections and encouraging note despite the Catchword minus.^[25]

References

External links