Henry Gibson

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Henry Gibson (born September 21, 1935 in Germantown , Pennsylvania , † September 14, 2009 in Malibu , California ; actually James Bateman ) was an American actor and songwriter . In the USA he was best known for his regular appearances in the sketch comedy series Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In in the late 1960s.

life and work

Gibson was born James Bateman, son of Dorothy (nee Cassidy) and Edmund Albert Bateman. In Washington, DC, he attended and graduated from the Catholic University of America drama . During the 1950s he served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force . During the same time he developed a work in which he portrayed a poet with a southern accent. During this period he took his stage name Henry Gibson , based on the name of the Norwegian poet Henrik Ibsen .

Gibson made his first acting experience on stage during his childhood in the 1940s. His film career began in the film The Mad Professor by Jerry Lewis , followed by appearances in individual episodes of various series. During an appearance on the Dick Van Dyke Show , he performed the poem Keep A Goin ' , which he later made into a song for the film Nashville . He won the NSFC Award and was nominated for other film awards for his role as the cringing country musician in this film.

However, Gibson had his breakthrough with his appearances on the sketch comedy show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In , in which he was regularly seen for three years. One of his key roles was “the poet”, as whom he often recited poems with sharp-tongued, satirical or political content. These appearances followed a fixed, simple scheme of distinctive style. He also played a regular role in the show segment “Cocktail Party” as a Catholic priest who takes a sip of tea, recites a one-liner with serious, dry comment while he is putting the cup down, and then finally takes another sip of tea.

Gibson, with his distinctive facial features, is known to international audiences primarily through two of his feature film roles. On the one hand there is the comedy My Devilish Neighbors , in which he played the main villain role in 1989, and on the other hand the cult film Blues Brothers by John Landis from the year 1980, in which he played the leader of the "Illinois Nazis". His film work comprised well over a hundred roles, often working in television series, but also as a voice actor in animation films, such as the pig Wilbur in the children's film Zuckermann's Farm - Wilbur im Glück from 1973.

Henry Gibson won the 1975 NSFC Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Nashville . In 1976 he was nominated in the same category for the Golden Globe and, together with others, for the Grammy in the category Best Soundtrack . Gibson received another Best Supporting Actor nomination for his 1971 work on the comedy show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In .

Henry Gibson married Lois Joan Geiger in April 1966 , with whom he was married until her death in May 2007. From their marriage there were three sons. His son Charles Gibson was in both 1996 and 2007 in the category Best Visual Effects with the Oscar awarded. Another son, James Gibson , is a screenwriter and writer. Jon Gibson, Gibson's third son, now works in Universal Pictures' finance department .

Henry Gibson died of cancer at home a week before his 74th birthday. He was buried in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles .

Filmography (selection)

Individual evidence

  1. Biography on Filmreference.com (Eng.)
  2. Biography in the IMDb (engl.)
  3. Dennis McLellan: Actor was original cast member of 'Laugh-In' . In: Los Angeles Times , September 17, 2009, p. A24. Retrieved September 14, 2009. 

Web links