Up for auction "Laugh-In" Henry Gibson Hand Signed 3X5 Card. This item is certified authentic by Todd
Mueller Autographs and comes with their Certificate of Authenticity.
ES-4422E
Henry
Gibson (born James
Bateman, September 21, 1935 – September 14, 2009) was an American
actor, singer, and songwriter. His best-known roles include
his time as a cast member of the TV sketch-comedy series Rowan & Martin's
Laugh-In from 1968 to 1971, the voice of Wilbur in the 1973
film Charlotte's Web,
his portrayal of diminutive country star Haven Hamilton in Robert Altman's 1975 film Nashville, his role as the "Illinois Nazi"
leader in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers,
his performance opposite Tom Hanks in 1989's The 'Burbs, a small role in Magnolia, his role as the family priest in Wedding Crashers, and his recurring role as Judge Clark
Brown on Boston Legal. Gibson
was born September 21, 1935 in Germantown, Philadelphia,
the sixth of seven children of Edmund Alberts Bateman and his wife Dorothy (née
Cassidy). He attended Saint Joseph's Preparatory
School, where he was president of the drama club. After
graduating from the Catholic University of
America in Washington, D.C., he served as an intelligence officer in
the United States Air Force with
the 66th Tactical
Reconnaissance Wing in France from 1957 to 1960.[3] Early in his career as a professional
entertainer, he developed a comedy act in which he played a poet from Fairhope, Alabama. He adopted the stage name Henry Gibson,
which is an oronym for the name of famed
Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. He is
also known to have used the name Olsen Gibson. Gibson's performing career began
at the age of seven.[ He appeared in many stage and theater
productions. Gibson made many appearances on Tonight Starring Jack Paar between
1957 and 1962, often reciting his poetry. In 1962, his appearance coincided
with guest-host Jerry Lewis. Lewis,
charmed by Gibson's demeanor, subsequently cast him in The Nutty Professor (1963).
Gibson's career took off following this film appearance. That was followed
in 1964 by his poetry-reciting cowboy character Quirt Manly on the popular
show The Beverly Hillbillies.
Around this time, Gibson also appeared on an episode of My Favorite Martian. Gibson
spent three years as part of the Laugh-In television
show's cast, where he was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1971. He often played
"The Poet", reciting poems with "sharp satirical or political
themes". Gibson would emerge from behind a stage flat, wearing a Nehru jacket and "hippie" beads and holding an outlandishly large
artificial flower. He would bow stiffly from the waist, state "[Title of
poem] — by Henry Gibson" in an ironic Southern US accent, again bow
stiffly from the waist, recite his poem and return behind the flat. Gibson's
routine was so memorable that John Wayne actually performed it once in his own
inimitable style: "The Sky — by John Wayne. The Sky is blue/The Grass
is green/Get off your butt/And join the Marine(s)!", whereupon Wayne left
the scene by smashing through the flat. Gibson also regularly appeared in the
"Cocktail Party" segments as a Catholic priest, sipping tea. He would
put the cup on the saucer, recite his one-liner in a grave and somber tone,
then go back to sipping tea. In 1962, Gibson had issued a comedy album on
Liberty records, entitled Alligator. The album was rereleased in
1968, now entitled ...by Henry Gibson, following his success
on Laugh-In. The liner notes perpetuated the origin story of his
being a country boy from Fairhope, Alabama. The album did not reach the
Billboard Top 200 in either release. In 1968, Gibson appeared on the television
show Bewitched as Napoleon Bonaparte. He appeared on Bewitched in 1970 as Tim
O’Shanter, a leprechaun. Around this time, Gibson also made recurring
appearances in the 1969–1974 anthology Love, American Style. During
the 1960s, Gibson had appeared on The Dick Van Dyke Show reading
the poem "Keep a-Goin'", which he later turned into a song in
the Robert Altman movie Nashville (1975). Notably, he was nominated for
a Golden Globe Award for
his portrayal of Haven Hamilton in the film and won the National Society of Film
Critics award for the role. The Nashville Tennessean called
Gibson "the male superstar most surely to be in line for an Academy
Award" and hailed his performance as being "so real to Music Row
habitués as to be frightening." Gibson appeared in three other films directed
by Altman: The Long Goodbye (starring Elliott Gould), A Perfect Couple, and Health. In 1978, he appeared in The New Adventures Of Wonder Woman as
the arch-villain Mariposa. Two years later, he appeared on The Dukes of Hazzard as
Will Jason (Squirt) in the second-season episode "Find Loretta Lynn".
The same year, he played the leader of the "Illinois Nazis" in
the John Landis film The Blues Brothers;
this became one of his best-known film roles. The next year, he appeared
in The Incredible Shrinking
Woman. In the 1989 Joe Dante comedy The 'Burbs, starring Tom Hanks, Gibson played the villain. He reunited with
director Dante a year later when Gremlins 2: The New Batch was
released in 1990, performing a cameo as the office worker who is caught taking
a smoking break on camera and fired by the sadistic boss. 1996 saw him playing
an unusual dramatic role as former train conductor Robinson in the independent
film Color of a Brisk and
Leaping Day with Michael Stipe. That year, he was also the voice of Adolf Eichmann in Keith Gordon's film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Mother Night. During 1999, Gibson made an appearance
in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia as an eccentric barfly who antagonizes
former child prodigy Donnie Smith, played by William H. Macy. Gibson also worked frequently as a voice actor in animation, most notably portraying Wilbur
the pig in the popular Hanna-Barbera children's movie Charlotte's Web (1973).
He later worked for the company again on the cartoon The Biskitts. Additionally, Gibson's voice work was
featured on The Grim
Adventures of Billy & Mandy as Lord Pain, King of the Hill as reporter Bob Jenkins, and Rocket Power as grouchy neighbor Merv Stimpleton. Later
television work included a guest role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine playing
the Ferengi Nilva in the 1998 episode "Profit and Lace". Gibson also had a leading role in a
season 5 episode of Stargate SG-1 entitled "The Sentinel"
as the character Marul. His last major roles were in the 2005 film Wedding Crashers as Father O'Neil, and on the
television show Boston Legal as
supporting character Judge Clark Brown.