Henry Gibson

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BIRTHDAY

September 21, 1935

Germantown, PA

RECENT CREDITS

Boston Legal (TV) Dec. 18, 2007

King of the Hill (TV) May. 20, 2007

Wedding Crashers (FILM) Jul. 15, 2005

The Year That Trembled (FILM) Sep. 12, 2003

Teddy Bears' Picnic (FILM) Mar. 29, 2002

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BIOGRAPHY

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American comic actor Henry Gibson acted professionally since childhood, but didn't gain prominence until his discovery by Jerry Lewis for a role in The Nutty Professor (1963). Gibson quickly developed a comedy act for TV variety shows, in which he passed himself off as a fey, Southern-accented "blank verse" poet. So convincing was this persona that many viewers believed Gibson was a genuine Southerner, though he actually hailed from Pennsylvania. He played a cruder variation of his yokel character as a patron of the "Belly Button" bar in Billy Wilder's Kiss Me Stupid (1964), and was hilarious as a hip-talking Indian in the Three Stooges' feature film The Outlaws is Coming (1965). Gibson might have continued in small roles indefinitely had he not been catapulted to stardom in 1968 as part of the ensemble on TV's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, where his introductory "A poem...by Henry Gibson" became a national catchphrase. Gibson stayed with Laugh-In until 1971, whereupon he launched a reasonably successful career as a straight character actor. One of his best film roles of the '70s was Haven Hamilton, a hard-driving, flag-waving country-western star in Nashville (1975). Gibson not only delivered an expert performance but also co-wrote the songs sung by Haven Hamilton, including the deliberately banal Bicentennial ballad, "200 Years", which opens the film. Henry Gibson continued throughout the next two decades playing strong movie character parts (the neo-Nazi commander in 1980's The Blues Brothers) and bright little cameos (the closet-smoking security guard in 1990's Gremlins 2). Gibson was also ubiquitously available as a guest star on such cable-TV reruns as Bewitched (he played a leprechaun) and F Troop (he was jinxed Private Wrongo Starr).

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Headlines

News Roundup: April 4

Apr. 4, 2002

News Roundup for April 4: Woody Allen's film Hollywood Ending will open Cannes Film Festival The film stars Allen, Tea Leoni, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, George Hamilton and Treat Williams. Jay Leno gives surprise to staff Geri Halliwell writes anothe autobiography Robin Wright Penn joins Robert Downey Jr in a new film Matt Damon goes on stage Ozzy Osbourne will have dinner with th...

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