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George "Gabby" Hayes
George "Gabby" Hayes
	Hayes in 1953
Born	George Francis Hayes; May 7, 1885; Stannards, New York, U.S.
Died	February 9, 1969 (aged 83); Burbank, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1902–1956
Spouse	Olive E. Ireland (m. 1914; died 1957)

George Francis "Gabby" Hayes (7 May 1885 – 9 February 1969) was an American actor. He began as something of a leading man and a character player, but he was best known for his numerous appearances in B-Western film series as the bewhiskered, cantankerous, but ever-loyal and brave comic sidekick of the cowboy stars William Boyd, Roy Rogers and John Wayne.^[1]

Early years

Hayes was born the third of seven children in his father's hotel, the Hayes Hotel, in Stannards, New York. (Hayes always gave Wellsville as his birthplace, but legally he was born in Stannards.) He was the son of Elizabeth Morrison and Clark Hayes. In addition to operating the hotel, his father was also involved in petroleum production, an industry which began in that part of the country. His siblings included his brothers, William W., Morrison, and Clark B., and his sisters, Nellie Elizabeth Hayes Ebeling and Harriet "Hattie" Elizabeth Hayes Allen. Morrison Hayes, a corporal in the United States Army, was killed in action on July 19, 1918, during World War I in France and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the war. The American Legion post in Wellsville, New York is named after him. George’s uncle on his mother's side was George F. Morrison, vice president of General Electric.^{[citation needed]}

Hayes grew up in Stannards and attended Stannards School.^[2] He played semi-professional baseball while in high school. At 17 he ran away from home, joined a stock company, apparently traveled for a time with a circus, and became a successful vaudevillian.^[3] He often appeared in comic sketches as "The Rube Constable."^[4]

Hayes married Olive E. Ireland, the daughter of a glass finisher, on March 4, 1914. She joined him in vaudeville, performing under the name Dorothy Earle (not to be confused with film actress and writer Dorothy Earle).^[5] Hayes had become so successful that by 1928, at age 43, he was able to retire to a home on Long Island in Baldwin, New York. He lost all his savings the next year in the 1929 stock market crash. Olive persuaded her husband to try his luck in films, and the couple moved to Los Angeles.^[6] They remained together until her death on July 5, 1957. They had no children.

Film career

After his move to Los Angeles, according to later interviews, Hayes had a chance meeting with the producer Trem Carr, who liked his look and gave him 30 roles over the next six years. In his early career, Hayes was cast in a variety of parts, including villains, and occasionally played two roles in a single film. He found a niche in the growing genre of Western films, many of which were series with recurring characters. Hayes did not come from a cowboy background; he did not know how to ride a horse until he was in his 40s.

Hayes, in real life an intelligent, well-groomed and articulate man, often was cast as a grizzled codger who uttered phrases such as "consarn it", "yer durn tootin'", "dadgummit", "durn persnickety female", and "young whippersnapper".^[7] From 1935 to 1939, Hayes played the part of Windy Halliday, the humorous "codger" sidekick of Hopalong Cassidy (played by William Boyd). In 1939, Hayes left this role at Paramount Pictures after a dispute over his salary and moved to Republic Pictures. Paramount held the rights to the name Windy Halliday, and Republic renamed him Gabby Whitaker, which was virtually the same character. As Gabby, he appeared in more than 40 films from 1939 to 1946, usually with Roy Rogers (44 times) and with Gene Autry (7) and Wild Bill Elliott (14), often working under the directorship of Joseph Kane (34). Hayes repeatedly was cast as a sidekick of the Western stars Randolph Scott (6 times) and John Wayne (15 times, some as straight or villainous characters). Hayes played Wayne's sidekick in Raoul Walsh's Dark Command (1940), which featured Roy Rogers in a supporting role.

Hayes became a popular performer and consistently ranked among the 10 favorite actors in polls taken of moviegoers of the period. He appeared in either one or both the Motion Picture Herald and Boxoffice Magazine lists of the Top Ten Moneymaking Western Stars for 12 consecutive years and then a thirteenth time in 1954, four years after his last film.

Westerns declined in popularity in the late 1940s, and Hayes made his last film in the genre in 1950: The Cariboo Trail. He had appeared in 174 westerns.^[8] He moved to television and hosted The Gabby Hayes Show, a Western series, from 1950 to 1954 on NBC and in a version in 1956 on ABC.^[9] The show was sponsored by Quaker Oats, and its products were advertised during the show. In promoting the product, Gabby said to stand back from the screen, and he fired a cannon loaded with cereal at the screen as a tie-in to their ad slogan, "shot from guns". He introduced the show, often while whittling on a piece of wood, and sometimes told a tall tale. When the series ended, Hayes retired from show business. During this time, he made guest appearances on television, including several on Howdy Doody for his friend "Buffalo" Bob Smith. He lent his name to "Gabby Hayes Western" comics, published by Fawcett Publications from November 1948 until January 1957, and to a children's summer camp in New York.

Death

Following his wife's death on July 5, 1957, Hayes first lived at his ranch on Toluca Lake in California.^[8] He later stayed at a 10-unit apartment building he owned.^[10]

Early in 1969 he entered Saint Joseph Hospital in Burbank, California for treatment of cardiovascular disease. Hayes died there on February 9, 1969, at the age of 83.^[10] He is interred in the Forest Lawn–Hollywood Hills Cemetery.^[11]

Honors

Two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame commemorate Hayes's work in the entertainment industry: one for his contribution to radio at 6427 Hollywood Boulevard and one for his contribution to television at 1724 Vine Street.^[12] In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.^[13]

Popular culture

Homage was paid to Hayes in a different way in the 1974 satirical Western Blazing Saddles. The actor and director Jack Starrett, credited as Claude Ennis Starrett Jr., played a Hayes-like character. In keeping with a running joke in the movie, the character is called Gabby Johnson. After Johnson delivers a rousing, though partially unintelligible speech to the townspeople, David Huddleston's character stands up to say, "Now, who can argue with that?!", and proclaims it "authentic frontier gibberish".^[14]

In the animated film Toy Story 2, the character Stinky Pete the Prospector, voiced by Kelsey Grammer, is modeled after Hayes.^[15] In the film's fictional universe, he is a toy version of a character on the marionette television western Woody's Roundup, where he is a colorful comic relief character. In contrast, the toy is intelligent and well-spoken, a reference to Hayes's contrasting real-life and film personas.

Into a Mighty Carson Art Players sketch on The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson impersonated Gabby Hayes in a sketch with Roy Rogers. This sketch has appeared on Carson's syndicated series Carson's Comedy Classics, which features highlights from his years as host of The Tonight Show.

Every year in early July, from 1983 through 1989, Gabby Hayes Days were celebrated in Wellsville, New York. The event featured a street sale, square dancing, and Hayes look-alike contests for adults and children. This celebration was eventually merged in the mid-July Wellsville Balloon Rally and gradually disappeared. A street is also named after him in Wellsville, Gabby Hayes Lane.^[2]

Since April 1969, a band of fishermen has traveled to Kettle Creek, Pennsylvania] for the Gabby Hayes Memorial Trout Fishing Tournament. These men, known as Gabby Guys, gather annually to celebrate the opening day of the trout fishing season and the memory of Hayes. In April 2019, they celebrated their fiftieth anniversary, which also marked 50 years since Hayes' passing.^[16]

Partial filmography

The Rainbow Man (1929) as Bill (debut)
Big News (1929) as Hoffman - Reporter
Smiling Irish Eyes (1929) as Taxi Driver
Top Speed (1930) as Western Union Clerk (uncredited)
For the Defense (1930) as Ben - Waiter (uncredited)
Playing Around (1930) as Railroad Ticket Seller (uncredited)
She Who Gets Slapped (1930) as Poker Player (uncredited), short film
Cavalier of the West (1931) as Sheriff Bill Ryan
Freighters of Destiny (1931) as Jim
Oklahoma Jim (1931) as Crooked Gambler (uncredited)
The Nevada Buckaroo (1931) as Cherokee Williams
Pleasure (1931) as Motorcycle Cop
Big Business Girl (1931) as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
God's Country and the Man (1931) as Stingaree Kelly
Dirigible (1931) as Parade Official (uncredited)
The Stolen Jools (1931) as Projectionist (as George Hayes)
Dragnet Patrol (1931) as Private Detective
Play Girl (1932) as Dance Hall Tobacconist (uncredited)
Love Me Tonight (1932) as Grocer (uncredited)
Winner Take All (1932) as Intern at Rosario Ranch
Ghost Valley (1932) as Dave (uncredited)
The Man from Hell's Edges (1932) as Shamrock Cassidy
The Boiling Point (1932) as George Duncan
Riders of the Desert (1932) as Hashknife Brooks
Border Devils (1932) as Dude Sanders
Wild Horse Mesa (1932) as Slack
Sally of the Subway (1932) as Police Lieutenant Paxton (uncredited)
Texas Buddies (1932) as Si Haller
Hidden Valley (1932) as Henchman Gavin - Black Hat
Broadway to Cheyenne (1932) as Walrus
Klondike (1932) as Tom Ross
The Night Rider (1932) as Altoonie
The Fighting Champ (1932) as Pete
Crashin' Broadway (1932) as J. Talbot Thorndyke
Self Defense (1932) as Jury Foreman
Ship of Wanted Men (1933) as Crewman
Ranger's Code (1933) as Baxter
Skyway (1933) as George Taylor
Galloping Romeo (1933) as Grizzly
The Fugitive (1933) as Judge Taylor
Fighting Texans (1933) as Pop Martin
The Sphinx (1933) as Det. Casey
Breed of the Border (1933) as Chuck Wiggins
Devil's Mate (1933) as Collins
Riders of Destiny (1933) as Charlie Denton (The first of a series of John Wayne Lone Star Westerns)
The Gallant Fool (1933) as Dad Denton
The Return of Casey Jones (1933) as Timothy Shine
Trailing North (1933) as Flash Ryan
The Phantom Broadcast (1933) as Police Lieutenant
The Brand of Hate (1934) as Bill Larkins
Monte Carlo Nights (1934) as Inspector Nick Gunby
The Lucky Texan (1934) as Jake Benson
West of the Divide (1934) as Dusty
Blue Steel (1934) as Sheriff Jake Withers
Randy Rides Alone (1934) as Marvin Black aka Matt the Mute
The Star Packer (1934) as Matt Matlock
The Lawless Frontier (1934) as Dusty
The Man from Utah (1934) as Marshal George Higgins
'Neath the Arizona Skies (1934) as Matt Downing (uncredited)
In Old Santa Fe (1934) as Cactus (Gene Autry's screen debut)
The Man from Hell (1934) as Col. Campbell - Banker
City Limits (1934) as Charlie Carter
House of Mystery (1934) as David Fells
The Lost Jungle (1934) as Doctor - Dirigible Passenger
Mystery Liner (1934) as Joe, the Watchman
Beggars in Ermine (1934) as Joe Wilson
The Lost City (1935) as Butterfield
Texas Terror (1935) as Sheriff Ed Williams
Rainbow Valley (1935) as George Hole
Smokey Smith (1935) as Blaze Bart
Tombstone Terror (1935) as Soupy Baxter
The Headline Woman (1935) as Police Desk Sgt. Duffy
Hitch Hike Lady (1935) as Miner
Swifty (1935) as Sheriff Dan Hughes
Bar 20 Rides Again (1935) as Windy
The Eagle's Brood (1935) as Bartender Spike
1000 Dollars a Minute (1935) as "New Deal" Watson
The Throwback (1935) as Ford Cruze
Thunder Mountain (1935) as Foley
Tumbling Tumbleweeds (1935) as Dr. Parker
Welcome Home (1935) as Charles Rogers (uncredited)
The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935) as Lucas (uncredited)
Hop-Along Cassidy (1935) as Uncle Ben
Honeymoon Limited (1935) as Jasper Pinkham
Ladies Crave Excitement (1935) as Dan McCloskey
Justice of the Range (1935) as John Coffin known as Pegleg Sanderson
The Hoosier Schoolmaster (1935) as Pearson
The Outlaw Tamer (1935) as Cactus Barnes
Death Flies East (1935) as Wotkyns
The Lawless Nineties (1936) as Major Carter
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) as Farmer's Spokesman (uncredited)
The Texas Rangers (1936) as Judge Snow
Valiant Is the Word for Carrie (1936) as Bearded Man
Hopalong Cassidy Returns (1936) as Windy Halliday
The Plainsman (1936) as Breezy
Trail Dust (1936) as Windy
Hearts in Bondage (1936) as Ezra
I Married a Doctor (1936) as Train Station Agent
Three on the Trail (1936) as Windy Halliday
Song of the Trail (1936) as Dan Hobson
Call of the Prairie (1936) as Shanghai
Heart of the West (1936) as Windy
Silver Spurs (1936) as Drag Harlan
Valley of the Lawless (1936) as Grandpaw Jenkins
Borderland (1937) as Windy Halliday
Rustlers' Valley (1937) as Windy Halliday
Texas Trail (1937) as Windy Halliday
North of the Rio Grande (1937) as Windy Halliday
Mountain Music (1937) as Grandpappy Burnside
Hills of Old Wyoming (1937) as Windy Halliday
Hopalong Rides Again (1937) as Windy Halliday
Heart of Arizona (1938) as Windy Halliday
Bar 20 Justice (1938) as Windy Halliday
In Old Mexico (1938) as Windy Halliday
Pride of the West (1938) as Windy Halliday
The Frontiersmen (1938) as Windy Halliday
Sunset Trail (1938) as Windy Halliday
Gold Is Where You Find It (1938) as Enoch
Silver on the Sage (1939) as Windy Halliday
Renegade Trail (1939) as Windy Halliday
Days of Jesse James (1939) as Gabby Whittaker
Let Freedom Ring (1939) as 'Pop" Wilkie
Saga of Death Valley (1939) as Gabby Whittaker
The Arizona Kid (1939) as Gabby Whittaker
In Old Monterey (1939) as Gabby Whittaker
Wall Street Cowboy (1939) as Gabby Whittaker
In Old Caliente (1939) as Gabby Whittaker
Man of Conquest (1939) as Lannie Upchurch
Southward Ho (1939) as Gabby Whittaker
Fighting Thoroughbreds (1939) as 'Gramps' Montrose
Dark Command (1940) as Doc Grunch
Wagons Westward (1940) as Hardtack
The Carson City Kid (1940) as Marshal Gabby Whittaker
The Border Legion (1940) as Honest John Whittaker
Melody Ranch (1940) as Pop Laramie
Young Bill Hickok (1940) as Gabby Whittaker
Colorado (1940) as Gabby
The Ranger and the Lady (1940) as Texas Ranger Sergeant Gabby Whittaker
Young Buffalo Bill (1940) as Gabby Whittaker
Robin Hood of the Pecos (1941) as Gabriel "Gabby" Hornaday
Sheriff of Tombstone (1941) as Judge Gabby Whittaker
Red River Valley (1941) as Gabby Whittaker
Jesse James at Bay (1941) as Sheriff Gabby Whittaker
Bad Man of Deadwood (1941) as Professor Mortimer 'Gabby' Blackstone
Nevada City (1941) as Gabby Chapman
In Old Cheyenne (1941) as Arapahoe Brown
Man from Cheyenne (1942) as Gabby Whittaker
Romance on the Range (1942) as Gabby
Sons of the Pioneers (1942) as Gabby Whittaker
Ridin' Down the Canyon (1942) as Gabby
Heart of the Golden West (1942) as Gabby
Sunset Serenade (1942) as Gabby
Sunset on the Desert (1942) as Gabby Whittaker
South of Santa Fe (1942) as Gabby Whittaker
Calling Wild Bill Elliott (1943) as Gabby Whittaker
In Old Oklahoma (1943) as Despirit Dean
Death Valley Manhunt (1943) as Gabby Hayes
Overland Mail Robbery (1943) as Gabby
Wagon Tracks West (1943) as Gabby
Bordertown Gun Fighters (1943) as Gabby Hayes
The Man from Thunder River (1943) as Gabby Whittaker
Mojave Firebrand (1944) as Gabby Hayes
Hidden Valley Outlaws (1944) as Gabby Hayes
Tall in the Saddle (1944) as Dave
The Big Bonanza (1944) as Hap Selby
Tucson Raiders (1944) as Gabby Hopkins
Lights of Old Santa Fe as Gabby Whittaker
Marshal of Reno (1944) as Gabby
Sunset in El Dorado (1945) as Gabby
The Man from Oklahoma (1945) as Gabby Whittaker
Bells of Rosarita (1945) as Gabby Whittaker
Utah (1945) as Gabby Whittaker
Don't Fence Me In (1945) as Gabby Whittaker aka Wildcat Kelly
Along the Navajo Trail (1945) as Gabby Whittaker
My Pal Trigger (1946) as Gabby Kendrick
Heldorado (1946) as Gabby
Home in Oklahoma (1946) as Gabby Whittaker
Roll on Texas Moon (1946) as Gabby Whittaker
Under Nevada Skies (1946) as Gabby Whittaker
Rainbow Over Texas (1946) as Sheriff Gabby Whittaker
Badman's Territory (1946) as Coyote
Song of Arizona (1946) as Coyote
Wyoming (1947) as Windy Gibson
Trail Street (1947) as Billy
Albuquerque (1948) as Juke
Return of the Bad Men (1948) as John Petit
The Untamed Breed (1948) as Windy Lucas
El Paso (1949) as Pasky (Pescaloosa) Tees
The Cariboo Trail (1950) as Oscar aka Grizzly

Comic book appearances

Gabby Hayes Adventure Comics #1 (1953, Toby Press)
Gabby Hayes Western #1–59 (1948–1957, Fawcett Publications)
Gabby Hayes Western #50–111 (1951–1955, L. Miller black-and-white reprints of Fawcett Comics)
Gabby Hayes Mini Comics, 5 issues (1951, Quaker Oats giveaway)

References

^ Hoffmann, Henryk (2012). Western Movie References in American Literature. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 80. ISBN 978-0786466382.
^ ^a ^b "Photo Gallery: Town of Willing, NY". p. 1. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
^ Rowan, Terry M. (2015). Who's who in Hollywood!. Lu lu. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-329-07449-1.
^ "Sunday Concerts," Brooklyn Citizen, November 14, 1910, p.5
^ Gordon, Roger L. (2018). Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Dorrance Publishing Company. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-4809-4499-2.
^ Bender, Texas Bix; Slim, Too (2011). The Official Sidekick Handbook. Texas Bix Bender, James Hough. Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-4236-1921-5.
^ Marill, Alvin H. (2011). Television Westerns : Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags, and Sidewinders. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-8108-8133-4.
^ ^a ^b "Man Bites Dogie, Or Gabby Hayes Hates Westerns". Variety. September 3, 1958. p. 1. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
^ Terrace, Vincent (2013). Television introductions : narrated TV program openings since 1949. Lanham, Maryland. p. 173. ISBN 978-0810892491.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b Gabby Hayes Who Died Sunday at 83 Began Career on Stage at Cross Fork, The Express (Lock Haven, PA), February 11, 1969, page 1
^ Ross, Kathryn, Gabby Hayes remembered as Wellsville Lions Club places 8th historical marker, Olean Times Herald, August 4, 2021
^ "George 'Gabby' Hayes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ George "Gabby" Hayes in the Hall of Great Western Performers
^ "Authentic Frontier Gibberish". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.
^ "The Toys Are Back in Town". SFgate.com. November 24, 1999. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
^ "THE GABBY HAYES MEMORIAL TROUT FISHING TOURNAMENT 1969 - 2021". THE GABBY HAYES MEMORIAL TROUT FISHING TOURNAMENT 1969 - 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2022.