George Leslie Gobel

 George Leslie Gobel (May 20, 1919 – February 24, 1991)

He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, The George Gobel Show, on NBC from 1954 to 1959 and on CBS from 1959 to 1960. Born in Chicago, he began his career on WLS radio, on the “National Barn Dance” show, and toured with country music bands, being billed as “The Littlest Cowboy.” During World War II, he joined the Army Air Force, becoming an instructor pilot, and was soon promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant. He also began doing standup comedy for his fellow servicemen, and when he was released from military service in late 1945, he took his comedy act to nightclubs, hotels, and county fairs. Gobel's show used some of television's top writers of the era: Hal Kanter, Jack Brooks, and Norman Lear. Peggy King was a regular on the series as a vocalist, and the guest stars ranged from Shirley MacLaine and Evelyn Rudie to Bob Feller, Phyllis Avery, and Vampira. The centerpiece of Gobel's comedy show was his monologue about his supposed past situations and experiences, with stories and sketches allegedly about his real-life wife, Alice (nicknamed "Spooky Old Alice"). Gobel labeled himself "Lonesome George," and the nickname stuck for the rest of his career. The show sometimes included a segment in which Gobel appeared with a guitar, started to sing, then got sidetracked into a story, with the song always left unfinished after fitful starts and stops.

Gobel was a guest on various TV programs, including: The Andy Williams Show; The Red Skelton Show; The Dean Martin Show; The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford; The Bing Crosby Show; The Dinah Shore Show; Death Valley Days; Wagon Train; The Carol Burnett Show; The Donny & Marie Show; and Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, and made cameos on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. n 1974, he replaced the late Charley Weaver on the game show Hollywood Squares, and in 1981, he won the role of Mayor Otis Harper on the television series “Harper Valley PTA,” which lasted only one season. Gobel was married from 1942 until his death, and had three children. He died on February 24, 1991, about a month after surgery that was intended to improve his mobility after a series of strokes left him unable to walk. He was 71, and is buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.