518:, whose voice strongly resembled Peary's and who had known Peary since their radio days in Chicago, replaced Peary in the title role. Waterman refused to appropriate the famous Gildersleeve laugh however, believing Peary alone should have rights to that trademark, but otherwise slipped easily into the role; Peary himself approved of Waterman's approach, at least on radio. When the series briefly moved to television in 1955, Peary remarked that Waterman, who was much taller than Peary, was too large to pull off the role (Peary imagined Gildersleeve as a
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cantankerousness toned down, he was also newly domesticated and appointed guardian of his orphan niece
Marjorie and nephew Leroy. Implicitly well-off though by no means wealthy, Gildersleeve was depicted winding up his lingerie-making company and taking up a new life as Summerfield's water commissioner.
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plot devices, such as running for mayor and engagements to two women. Additionally, Honest Harold's secretary at the radio station, Glory, bears a more than passing resemblance to
Gildersleeve's Water Department secretary, Bessie. Despite these efforts to recreate the quality and ratings of "The
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signed on as the show's regular sponsor. Gildersleeve was transplanted from
Wistful Vista to Summerfield with more than just a locale change—now a bachelor, and now the water commissioner instead of the owner of the Gildersleeve's Girlish Girdles company. With much of his pomposity and
567:) honored native son, Harold Peary, on live radio, with the only award ever issued up to that time, for having completed his ten thousandth (10,000th) radio broadcast. Peary's record remains unsurpassed in the annals of radio.
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Gildersleeve has taken leave of his long-time fencing partner Fibber McGee, and will be starred in his own show, "The Great
Gildersleeve," beginning Aug. 31 at 6:30 pm. on WEAF's hook-up. Harold Peary created the
400:, was drawn through clever word-play and phrasemaking as well as Gildersleeve's earnest stumbling and basically warmhearted nature. His on-screen nemesis was Judge Horace Hooker (
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and other NBC stars, Peary was offered a lucrative CBS deal of his own in 1950, after he chafed over NBC's and Kraft's reluctance to let him use his singing voice more often on
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premiered on August 31, 1941, and became a steady hit for the rest of the decade. Peary's sonorous voice and flustered catchphrases were among radio's most familiar sounds.
500:, mostly by offering the performers better capital-gains terms against the still-high post-war U.S. taxes than NBC was willing to do, Peary signed with the network.
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guested as the station manager), concurrently referencing his
Portuguese heritage. But his best-remembered vocalism would be what radio historians have called his "
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and other radio programs, but his success and popularity as
Gildersleeve set the stage for the character's own program, which became the peak of his career.
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had negotiated fruitlessly to get Peary a bigger stake in the show's ownership. When CBS began luring Benny (also an MCA client) and others away from
249:(July 25, 1908 – March 30, 1985) was an American actor, comedian and singer in radio, films, television, and animation. His most memorable role is as
327:, where he originated the colorful and arrogant Gildersleeve character as a McGee neighbor and nemesis in 1938. He also worked on the horror series
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as Rumson
Bullard, a neighbor who served Gildersleeve the way Gildersleeve had once served Fibber McGee, Gordon's previous character on
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645:. Warner Archives released a DVD collection of the four RKO Gildersleeve movies in January 2013. This five-film set also includes the
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of
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Airwaves of New York: Illustrated Histories of 156 AM Stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921–1996.
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In the 1970s, Peary found work as a voice actor as Big Ben, the whale with a clock in its tail, in two
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Peary's
Gildersleeve proved popular enough that it was thought to try the character in his own show.
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He also appeared in recurring roles in several sitcoms, such as Herb Woodley in the TV version of
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Hastings, Deborah (1985). "Harold Peary, Star of Radio's 'The Great Gildersleeve,' 76, Dies",
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and to give him more part in the show's ownership than he already had. Radio historian
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played veterinarian Dr. Yancey, known better as Doc Yak-Yak and similar to former
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Peary also found occasion to weave his singing voice into show episodes, such as "
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in New York City. Beginning in 1953, he had a one-hour program Monday–Saturday.
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Peary spent most of the rest of his life voice-acting in animated work by
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and owned the intellectual property, refused to move the program to CBS.
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Chuck Schaden interviewing Harold Peary (1971) on Speaking of Radio.com
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and others. He appeared in numerous commercials for products such as:
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The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946–Present
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played Gildersleeve's ego-puncturing maid and housekeeper, Birdie.
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as another Gildersleeve paramour Eve Goodwin, and occasionally
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Other characters in and out of the Gildersleeve orbit included
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1037:"Harold Peary, Star of Radio's 'Great Gildersleeve,' 76, Dies"
945:"Harold Peary, Star of Radio's 'Great Gildersleeve,' 76, Dies"
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in the middle of a talent raid that had already tempted away
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and a charter member of the Hollywood Republican Committee.
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On March 30, 1985, at age 76, Peary died in California at
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Stewart, R.W. (August 3, 1941). "One Thing and Another".
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682:-scripted "Sheriff of Fetterman's Crossing" episode of
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again with the Jordans as Fibber McGee and Molly and
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Jaker, Bill; Sulek, Frank and Kanze, Peter. (1998).
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foil Judge Hooker. The new show also borrowed a few
253:, which began as a supporting character on radio's "
51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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1062:"Peary, Harold (Actor) « Speaking of Radio"
1248:The Harold Peary Show on Old Time Radio Outlaws
1199:"Film Notables Open Drive for G.O.P. President"
16:American actor, comedian and singer (1908–1985)
1014:On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
613:with the Jordans as Fibber McGee and Molly,
525:At CBS, Peary began a new situation comedy,
923:. Broadcasting. October 1, 1932. p. 22
904:. Broadcasting. October 1, 1932. p. 22
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1108:Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1979).
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552:lasted only one season of 38 episodes.
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867:"portuguesefoundation.org - For Sale!"
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1313:People from San Leandro, California
1035:Hastings, Deborah (April 1, 1985).
555:On the March 21,1951, broadcast of
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565:Chief Justice of the United States
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1323:20th-century American male actors
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460:Peary would also feature in four
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268:Born as José Pereira de Faria in
1131:"Harold Peary - Rotten Tomatoes"
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1177:"Vox Jox: Changes of Theme"
1017:. Oxford University Press.
193:Remains scattered into the
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1303:American male voice actors
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843:Torrance Memorial Hospital
811:Gibraltar Savings and Loan
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1011:Dunning, John. (1998).
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270:San Leandro, California
163:San Leandro, California
1338:California Republicans
1225:Historical Newspapers.
1135:www.rottentomatoes.com
714:The Dick Van Dyke Show
702:Fibber McGee and Molly
652:Peary also was in the
641:with Lucille Ball and
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593:The Great Gildersleeve
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508:The Great Gildersleeve
366:The Great Gildersleeve
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346:The Great Gildersleeve
324:Fibber McGee and Molly
282:The Spanish Serenader"
256:Fibber McGee and Molly
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557:The Harold Peary Show
550:The Harold Peary Show
548:Great Gildersleeve",
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528:The Harold Peary Show
514:remained on NBC with
438:as Floyd the Barber,
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292:had several parts in
149:José Pereira de Faria
1112:. Ballantine Books.
756:Love, American Style
605:Gildersleeve's Ghost
571:Films and television
350:Kraft Cheese Company
182:Torrance, California
45:improve this article
959:"Harold Peary Dies"
786:Post-network career
610:Look Who's Laughing
404:), who oversaw his
994:The New York Times
845:after suffering a
790:Peary worked as a
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581:Petticoat Junction
462:Great Gildersleeve
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340:, which sponsored
1219:Los Angeles Times
1204:Los Angeles Times
1041:Los Angeles Times
877:on March 15, 2009
794:at radio station
732:My Mother the Car
726:The Addams Family
647:Seven Days' Leave
638:Seven Days' Leave
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1239:Harold Peary
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1183:September 5,
1181:. Retrieved
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1138:. Retrieved
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1092:. Retrieved
1090:(in Spanish)
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1068:December 14,
1066:. Retrieved
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906:. Retrieved
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881:December 14,
879:. Retrieved
875:the original
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847:heart attack
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43:Please help
38:verification
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1273:1985 deaths
1268:1908 births
803:Rankin-Bass
792:disc jockey
776:(1976) and
680:Rod Serling
675:Perry Mason
654:Walt Disney
633:Gale Gordon
561:Earl Warren
504:Kraft Foods
452:Gale Gordon
440:Ken Christy
425:dirty laugh
309:, in 1935.
201:Occupations
1262:Categories
1118:0345255259
927:August 29,
918:"Wheatena"
899:"Wheatena"
853:References
831:Republican
478:Jack Benny
410:serialized
402:Earle Ross
383:Fred Allen
348:, and the
330:Lights Out
274:Portuguese
264:Early life
232:Republican
155:1908-07-25
71:newspapers
1166:. p. 125.
1140:April 24,
1120:. p. 199.
1094:April 24,
1046:April 24,
1025:. p. 293.
976:April 24,
971:0190-8286
744:That Girl
689:The Loner
421:Mel Blanc
260:in 1938.
224:1923–1979
101:July 2017
1223:ProQuest
1088:Facebook
908:April 6,
669:Clambake
649:movie.
296:Wheatena
210:Comedian
815:Charmin
696:Blondie
591:films (
319:Chicago
85:scholar
1162:
1116:
1021:
969:
763:pop.
656:movie
617:, and
603:, and
583:, 1969
456:McGee.
239:Harold
213:Singer
184:, U.S.
165:, U.S.
87:
80:
73:
66:
58:
921:(PDF)
902:(PDF)
837:Death
819:Faygo
761:Faygo
708:Willy
666:film
488:, in
472:With
398:McGee
298:ville
284:, in
278:Perry
272:, to
247:Peary
207:Actor
92:JSTOR
78:books
1243:IMDb
1185:2014
1160:ISBN
1142:2023
1114:ISBN
1096:2023
1070:2020
1048:2023
1019:ISBN
978:2023
967:ISSN
929:2019
910:2015
883:2020
805:and
796:WMGM
753:and
171:Died
145:Born
64:news
1241:at
498:NBC
494:MCA
474:CBS
385:'s
317:In
303:NBC
243:Hal
47:by
1264::
1201:.
1133:.
1086:.
1039:.
965:.
961:.
869:.
849:.
817:,
813:,
723:,
717:,
621:;
599:,
595:,
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1187:.
1144:.
1098:.
1072:.
1050:.
980:.
931:.
912:.
885:.
746:,
740:,
734:,
728:,
691:.
258:"
241:"
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114:)
108:(
103:)
99:(
89:·
82:·
75:·
68:·
41:.
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