Andy Devine
Andrew Vabre Devine was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature films. He also appeared alongside John Wayne in films such as Stagecoach, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and How the West Was Won. He is also remembered as Jingles on the TV series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok from 1951 to 1958, as Danny McGuire in A Star Is Born, and as the voice of Friar Tuck in the Disney Animation Studio film Robin Hood.
Early life
Devine attended St. Mary's and St. Benedict's College, Northern Arizona State Teacher's College, and was a football player at Santa Clara University. He also played semiprofessional football under the pseudonym Jeremiah Schwartz. His football experience led to his first sizable film role in The Spirit of Notre Dame in 1931.
Career
Devine had an ambition to act, so after college, he went to Hollywood, where he worked as a lifeguard at Venice Beach.
His peculiar wheezy voice was first thought likely to prevent him from moving to the talkies, but instead, it became his trademark. Devine claimed that his distinctive voice resulted from a childhood accident in which he fell while running with a curtain rod in his mouth at the Beale Hotel in Kingman, causing the rod to pierce the roof of his mouth. When he was able to speak again, he had a labored, scratchy, duo-tone voice. A biographer, however, indicated that this was one of several stories Devine fabricated about his voice.
Devine appeared in more than 400 films and shared with Walter Brennan, another character actor, the rare ability to move with ease from B-movie Westerns to mainstream feature films. His notable roles included Cookie, Roy Rogers's sidekick, in 10 films; a role in Romeo and Juliet, and Danny in A Star Is Born. He appeared in several films with John Wayne, including Stagecoach, Island in the Sky, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
Devine was generally known for his comic roles, but Jack Webb cast him as a police detective in Pete Kelly's Blues.
His film appearances in his later years included roles in Zebra in the Kitchen, The Over-the-Hill Gang, and Myra Breckinridge.
Devine worked extensively in radio, and is well remembered for his role as Jingles, Guy Madison's sidekick in The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok. Devine appeared over 75 times on Jack Benny's radio show between 1936 and 1942, often in Benny's semiregular series of Western sketches, "Buck Benny Rides Again". Benny frequently referred to him as "the mayor of Van Nuys", and Devine served as honorary mayor from 1938 to 1957, when he moved to Newport Beach.
Devine also worked in television. He hosted Andy's Gang, a children's TV show, on NBC from 1955 to 1960. During this time, he also made multiple appearances on NBC's The Ford Show. In addition, he was a guest star on many television shows in the 1950s and 1960s, including an episode of The Twilight Zone titled "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" and appeared in five episodes of the NBC TV series Flipper in 1964. He played the role of Jake Sloan in the 1961 episode "Big Jake" of the acclaimed anthology series The Barbara Stanwyck Show, also on NBC. He also played Honest John Denton in the episode "A Horse of a Different Cutter" of the short-lived series The Rounders.
He made a cameo appearance as Santa Claus in an episode of the 1960s live-action Batman TV series on ABC. The episode, entitled "The Duo Is Slumming", was originally broadcast on December 22, 1966.
Devine made his stage debut in 1957 with his portrayal of Cap'n Andy in Guy Lombardo's production of Show Boat at the Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, New York. In 1973, he went to Monroe, Louisiana, at the request of George C. Brian, an actor and filmmaker who headed the theater department at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, to perform in Show Boat. He also performed voice parts in animated films, including Friar Tuck in Walt Disney's Robin Hood. He provided the voice of Cornelius the Rooster in several TV commercials for Kellogg's Corn Flakes.
Personal life
Devine was a pilot and owned Provo Devine, a flying school that trained flyers for the government during World War II.
Devine was a Republican. Devine supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.
Death
Devine died of leukemia at age 71 in Irvine, California, on February 18, 1977.
Filmography
The Collegians as student Around the Bases as Calford baseball player The Relay as sophomore That's My Daddy as sailor Finders Keepers as doughboy and gate guard We Americans as Pat O'DougalLonesome as Jim's friendNoah's Ark as extra Red Lips as a sophomore and as Professor FountainNaughty Baby as Joe CassidyWhy Be Good? as young man at boiler The Divine Lady as extra Hot Stuff as BobJunior Luck His Lucky Day as roadhouse thug Flying High as student admirer Dames Ahoy! as Marine at dance contest Shooting Straight as kibitzer A Soldier's Plaything as doughboy The Criminal Code as Cluck, the convict with a knife Heroes of the Flames as firemanDanger Island as BrineyThe Spirit of Notre Dame as Truck McCallThree Wise Girls as Jimmy Callahan, the chauffeurLaw and Order as Johnny KinsmanThe Impatient Maiden as Clarence HoweDestry Rides Again as stagecoach passenger Man Wanted as Andy DoyleRadio Patrol as Pete WileyFast Companions as Information KidThe Man from Yesterday as Steve HandTom Brown of Culver as MacThe All American as Andy MoranThe Cohens and Kellys in Trouble as Andy MoranSong of the Eagle as MudThe Big Cage as ScoopsHorse Play as AndyMidnight Mary as SamDoctor Bull as Larry Ward, the soda jerkSaturday's Millions as Andy JonesChance at Heaven as AlThe Poor Rich as AndyUpper World as OscarStingaree as HowieLet's Talk It Over as GravelMillion Dollar Ransom as CarefulGift of Gab as John P. McDougal, the waiterWake Up and Dream as Joe Egbert, aka EggheadThe President Vanishes as Valentine OrcottHell in the Heavens as Sgt. "Ham" DavisStraight from the Heart as EdwardsHold 'Em Yale as LiverlipsChinatown Squad as George MasonThe Farmer Takes a Wife as Elmer OtwayWay Down East as Hi HollerFighting Youth as Cy KippCoronado as Pinky FallsSmall Town Girl as George BrannanRomeo and Juliet as Peter, a servant of Juliet's nurseYellowstone as Pay-DayThe Big Game as Pop AndrewsFlying Hostess as Joe WilliamsMysterious Crossing as CarolinaA Star Is Born as Danny McGuireThe Road Back as WillyDouble or Nothing as Half PintYou're a Sweetheart as Daisy DayIn Old Chicago as Pickle BixbyDoctor Rhythm as Officer Lawrence O'RoonYellow Jack as Charlie SpillMen with Wings as Joe GibbsPersonal Secretary as "Snoop" LewisSwing That Cheer as Doc SaundersThe Storm as Swede HanzenStrange Faces as Hector HobbsStagecoach as BuckThe Spirit of Culver as TubbyNever Say Die as Henry MunchMutiny on the Blackhawk as Slim CollinsTropic Fury as Tynan AndrewsLegion of Lost Flyers as "Beef" BrumleyGeronimo as SneezerMan from Montreal as Constable "Bones" BlairDanger on Wheels as "Guppy" WexelLittle Old New York as CommodoreBuck Benny Rides Again as AndyTorrid Zone as Wally DavisHot Steel as Matt MorrisonBlack Diamonds as Tolliver HiggenbothamWhen the Daltons Rode as OzarkMargie The Leather Pushers as Andy AdamsThe Devil's Pipeline as Andy JenningsTrail of the Vigilantes as MeadowsLucky Devils as Andy TompkinsMutiny in the Arctic as Andy AdamsThe Flame of New Orleans as first sailorMen of the Timberland as Andy JensenRaiders of the Desert as Andy "Hammer" McCoyA Dangerous Game as Andy McAllisterBadlands of Dakota as SpearfishThe Kid from Kansas as AndySouth of Tahiti as MooseRoad Agent as AndyNorth to the Klondike as KlondikeUnseen Enemy as Detective Sam DillonEscape from Hong Kong as BlimpDanger in the Pacific as Andy ParkerTop Sergeant as Andy JarrettTimber as ArizonaBetween Us Girls as Mike KilinskySin Town as "Judge" Eustace ValeKeeping Fit as AndyRhythm of the Islands as Eddie DolanFrontier Badmen as Slim, a cowhandCorvette K-225 as WalshCrazy House as Andy DevineAli Baba and the Forty Thieves as AbdullahFollow the Boys as Andy Devine Ghost Catchers as HorseheadBabes on Swing Street as Joe CostelloBowery to Broadway as Father KelleyFrisco Sal as BunnySudan as NebkaThat's the Spirit as Martin Wilde Sr.Frontier Gal as Big BenCanyon Passage as Ben DanceThe Michigan Kid as BusterBells of San Angelo as Sheriff Cookie BullfincherThe Vigilantes Return as AndySpringtime in the Sierras as Cookie BullfincherSlave Girl as Ben, the fat sailorOn the Old Spanish Trail as Constable Cookie BullfincherThe Fabulous Texan as Elihu MillsThe Gay Ranchero as Cookie BullfincherOld Los Angeles as Sam BowieUnder California Stars as Cookie Bullfincher and Alf BullfincherThe Gallant Legion as Windy HornblowerEyes of Texas as Cookie BullfincherNight Time in Nevada as Cookie BullfincherGrand Canyon Trail as Cookie BullfincherThe Far Frontier as Judge Cookie BullfincherThe Last Bandit as Casey BrownThe Traveling Saleswoman as WaldoNever a Dull Moment as OrvieNew Mexico as Sergeant GarrityThe Red Badge of Courage as the cheery soldierSlaughter Trail as Sgt. MacintoshMontana Belle as Pete BivinsIsland in the Sky as Willie MoonThe Two Gun Teacher Thunder Pass as InjunPete Kelly's Blues as George TenellAround the World in 80 Days as first mate of the 'S.S. Henrietta'No Place Like Home The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as Mr. CarmodyTwo Rode Together as Sgt. Darius P. PoseyThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance as Link AppleyardHow the West Was Won as Cpl. PetersonIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as Sheriff of Crockett CountyZebra in the Kitchen as Branch HawksbillThe Ballad of Josie as Judge TatumShoestring Safari as Colonel HazeltineThe Road Hustlers as Sheriff EstepThe Over-the-Hill Gang as Judge Amos PolkSmoke as Mr. StoneThe Phynx as Andy DevineMyra Breckinridge as Coyote BillThe Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again as Amos PolkRobin Hood as Friar Tuck Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood as priest in dog poundA Whale of a Tale as Captain AndyThe Mouse and His Child as the frog
Television
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok – 112 episodes as Deputy Marshal Jingles P. Jones Andy's Gang – as Host Wagon Train – episode "The Jess MacAbee Story" as Jess MacAbee The Twilight Zone – "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" as Frisby Flipper – 5 episodes as Hap Gorman Batman – "The Duo Is Slumming" as Santa The Virginian – "Yesterday´s Timepiece" Bonanza – "A Girl Named George" as Roscoe Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color – "Ride a Northbound Horse: Parts 1 & 2" Gunsmoke – episode "Stryker" as Jed Whitlow Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color – "Smoke: Parts 1 & 2" as Mr. Stone Alias Smith and Jones – "The Men That Corrupted Hadleyburg" as Sheriff Bintell