George and Peggy
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Antony and Cleopatra. Albert and Victoria. Porter and Dolly. There are many dynamic duos throughout history.
The Duos
Antony and Cleopatra
(Actually it's Lynn and Timothy)
Albert and Victoria
Porter and Dolly
And among the dúos dinámicos to arise in the 20th century was George Gobel and Peggy King. At one time their fame actually eclipsed that of Porter and Dolly. True, in the 1950's there was a sizeable population subgroup in the United States that knew of and were even fans of Porter and Dolly. But everyone knew George and Peggy.
Today Porter is remembered as a titan of Country Music and Dolly has become an icon. But among people who find entertainment by perusing videos that were produced at the dawn of television, they wonder just who was this George Gobel who was one of a placeholders for the X's and O's on the original Hollywood Squares when it was hosted by Peter Marshall.
George begin sitting among the Squares in 1974 and continued for nearly 500 episodes. But those whose introduction to the tube came during its first mature decade - that is, the 1960's - knew George as the guest comedian who kept appearing on popular talk and variety shows. He was funny enough but mostly he was someone that their parents liked. Certainly the kids never really thought that much about where George got his start.
But those from the Swinging Sixties who now delve into George's background are shocked! shocked! to learn that George actually began his career as a bonafide Country and Western singer. He was - get this - a member of Chicago's famed radio show, the WLS Barn Dance, which at one time was a bigger draw than the Grand Ole Opry.
Billed as "Georgie" Goebel - yes, there was an extra "e"in his surname - he first appeared at age 11 and became a regular in 1933 at age 13. In what would be an embarrassment for any teenager, his mom drove him to the radio station each week.
"Georgie's" instrument of preference was the ukulele and because it was not a listed instrument, he could avoid paying union dues. When not playing on the radio he toured with his own band "Georgie Goebel's Barn Dance Band" and even cut four sides on the old 10-inch 78's: "Billy Richardson's Last Ride / Berry Picking Time", and "A Cowboy's Best Friend Is His Horse / Night Herding Song". Georgie Goebel's Barn Dance Band continued until World War II where Georgie, now 21, became George and joined the Army Air Force.
George himself acknowledged that many people were surprised to learn that he was a B-26 pilot and flight instructor. As he told the story, George had been stationed at Altus Air Force Base in southwestern Oklahoma because that's where the government felt that he could do the most good. He also pointed out that by his efforts no Japanese airplanes ever made it east of Tulsa.
After the war George resumed his singing career but because of his mild manner and somewhat bewildered persona he naturally drifted towards comedy. He began appearing on the infant medium of television starting with The Ed Sullivan Show in 1948 and then later on The Gary Moore Show. By 1954, he had become popular enough that NBC decided to give him his own program.
This was the time that television producers called a shovel a shovel and George Gobel's show was billed as The George Gobel Show. It was a fairly typical half-hour variety show and featured both regular co-stars and famous guests who would join George for the inevitable "skit".
Among the regulars was singer Peggy King. Peggy's repertoire was largely popular music in the style of the Big Band era, and she proved to be the most popular of George's co-stars. Over the duration of the show from 1955 to 1960, she released four albums and sixteen singles. She did broach into cinema and her most visible appearance was as a nightclub singer in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.1 Although she continued to sing and act during the 1960's and 70's, her most active years were those with George.
Footnote
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy was the penultimate Abbott and Costello movie and was released in 1955. Their last movie was the now largely forgotten Dance with Me, Henry from the following year.
In Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy the credits list Bud as playing Pete Patterson and Lou as Freddie Franklin. During the movie, though, they call each other by their real names.
As true for many of the Big Band and jazz singers, with the rise of the digital age there was renewed interest in Peggy's work and she's released four albums since 1980. Her most recent album, Songs a la King was issued in 2015.
Peggy appeared on about half of George's shows and was perhaps unfairly overshadowed by George's celebrity. When she was the "famous mystery guest" on What's My Line, she signed in with her name but the superimposed identification on the screen was "George Gobel's Girl". And the final identification was made when Fred Allen asked "Are you a friend of Mr. Gobel's?" Her albums and singles, though, were released without reference to George in the titles.
Today, of course, many of the old television shows are available for viewing. And yes, these include the George Gobel Show. And you can also catch George on replays of the Hollywood Squares.
George's answers - the famous Hollywood Squares "zingers" - were among the best, although perhaps not at the level of Meisterzinger Paul Lynde. But George was certainly, as the business executives say, a competitive player. For instance, when called on by the contestants, the Q & A with George might run:
| Peter Marshall: | Mr. Gobel, true or false. Drinking five martinis a day can destroy your brain. |
| George: | I'd have to say the answer is "The Man of la Mancha." |
| Peter: | Researchers in Sweden have developed a new cure for a bad habit by eating shaggy Maine mushrooms. What habit does it cure? |
| George: | Eating shaggy Maine mushrooms. |
| Peter: | George, which is longer, The Queen Mary [ocean liner] or the longest sausage ever made? |
| George: | The sausage but it doesn't have shuffleboard. |
| Peter: | Mr. Gobel, true or false. The author of the book entitled You are Safe from Burglars has been charged with six counts of burglary and one count of forgery. |
| George: | Oh, that's nothing. The author of The Joy of Sex is in a rest home. |
| Peter: | George, according to the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, who should you let ravish you always with her love? |
| George: | Well, in my Bible, it's Angie Dickinson. |
| Peter: | Mr. Gobel, a printer named John Dunlap lost something very important and very famous almost 200 years ago. What was it? |
| George: | Well, the moral of the thing is to not stand too close to a printing press. |
| Peter: | Back in the old days, when Great Grandpa put horseradish on his head, what was he trying to do? |
| George: | Get it in his mouth. |
And of course, there is George's classic of game show repartee:
| Peter: | George, what is the most common cause of stooped shoulders? |
| George: | It's when your tie is caught in your fly. |
References and Further Reading
"George Gobel", Variety, March 3, 1991.
Zingers from Hollywood Squares, Gail Sicilia (Complier and Editor), Popular Library, 1974.
More Zingers from Hollywood Squares, Gail Sicilia (Complier and Editor), Popular Library, 1978.
Backstage With the Original Hollywood Squares, Peter Marshall, and Adrienne Armstrong, Rutledge Hill Press, 2002.
The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Johnny Carson (host), George Gobel (guest), March 6, 1969.
What's My Line, Peggy King (mystery guest), John Daly (host), Arlene Francis (panel), Bennett Cerf (panelist), Dorothy Kilgallen (panelist), Arlene Francis (panelist), CBS, August 28, 1955.
"Georgie Goebel", The WLS Barn Dance, History of WLS Radio.
"The WLS Barn Dance", History of WLS Radio
"George Gobel Discography", Discogs.
"George Gobel", Discography of Early American Recordings.
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, Bud Abbott (actor), Lou Costello (actor), Marie Windsor (actor), Richard Deacon (actor), Peggy King (actor), Universal, 1955.