Louis Nye

 Louis Nye (May 1, 1913 – October 9, 2005)

He was an entertainer to the troops during World War II and is best known for his work on countless television, film and radio programs. Nye served in the United States Army during World War II, and because he earned laughs by mimicking other soldiers, he was assigned to run the recreation hall. Following his discharge, he returned to New York and began working in live television. He also appeared in several plays on Broadway, and made many appearances on television variety shows such as The Jack Benny Program (including one memorable turn as a crying cab driver), The Jimmy Durante Show, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and The Victor Borge Show. He earned his greatest fame as a regular on The Steve Allen Show, performing with Allen, Don Knotts, Tom Poston, Pat Harrington Jr., Dayton Allen, Gabriel Dell and Bill Dana. Nye was cast as a guest star on many television series, including Make Room for Daddy, Guestward, Ho!, Burke's Law, The Munsters, Love, American Style, Laverne & Shirley, Starsky and Hutch, Police Woman, Fantasy Island, St. Elsewhere and The Cosby Show. Many of his character roles in movies were little more than cameos. Nevertheless, he performed with stars such as Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Walter Matthau, Robert Mitchum, Jack Webb and Joanne Woodward, among others. Nye also appeared on the lecture circuit, in concerts and in nightclubs, and did voice work in animation, such as Inspector Gadget with Don Adams.

Louis Nye died of lung cancer. He is interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.