Andy Devine
(1905 - 1977)Known for his raspy, high-pitched, bicycle-horn voice, large girth and amiable demeanor, Andy Devine was a very popular character actor. He worked mostly in westerns as a sidekick, but easily fit into more contemporary roles as well. Born Jeremiah Schwartz in Flagstaff, Arizona on October 7, 1905, he was a college football star who later yearned to become a movie actor. Arriving in Hollywood in 1926, he started in silent films in bit parts. He was warned that his raspy voice, which resulted from a childhood accident, would be a detriment but he turned it into an asset. He was often cast as a country bumpkin and became a cowboy sidekick with Roy Rogers and others. Among his films were: "The Collegians" (1926) as an extra/athlete, his film debut; "The Relay" (1927) uncredited as a Sophomore; "We Americans" (1928) as Pat O'Dougal; "Naughty Baby" (1928) as Joe Cassidy; "A Soldier's Plaything" (1930) as Doughboy; "Danger Island" (1931) as Briney; "The Spirit of Notre Dame" (1931) as Truck McCall; "Three Wise Girls" (1932) as Chauffeur; "Law and Order" (1932) Johnny Kinsman; "Man Wanted" (1932) as Andy Doyle; "The All-American" (1932) as Andy Moran; "The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble" (1933) as Andy Anderson; "Song of the Eagle" (1933) as Mud; "Horseplay" (1933) as Andy; "Midnight Mary" (19333) as Sam Travers; "Stingaree" (1934) as Howie; "The President Vanishes" (1934) as Val Orcott; "The Farmer Takes A Wife" (1935) as Elmer Otway; "Way Down East" (1935) as Hi Holler; "Chinatown Squad" (1935) as George Mason; "Coronado" (1935) as Pinky Falls; "Small Town Girl" (1936) George Brannan; "Romeo and Juliet" (1936) as Peter, a servant; "Yellowstone" (1936) as Pay Day; "The Big Game" (1936) as Pop Andrews; "A Star Is Born" (1937) as Danny McGuire; "The Road Back) (1937) as Willy; "In Old Chicago" (1937) as Pickle Bixby; "Double or Nothing" (1937) Half Pint; "Yellow Jack" (1938) as Charlie Spill; "Men with Wings" (1938) as Joe Gibbs; "The Storm" (1938) as Swede Hansen; "Stagecoach" (1939) as Buck, the stagecoach driver; "Never Say Die" (1939) as Henry Munch; "Legion of Lost Flyers" (1939) as 'Beef' Brumley; "Geronimo" (1939) as Sneezer; "Torrid Zone" (1940) as Wally Davis; "Hot Steel" (1940) Matt Morrison; "When the Daltons Rode" (1940) as Ozark Jones; "The Flame of New Orleans" (1941) as Andrew, the first sailor; "Mutiny in the Arctic" (1941) as Andy Adams; "Badlands of Dakota" (1941) as Spearfish; "South of Tahiti" (1941) as Moose; "A Dangerous Game" (1941) as Andy McAllister; "North to the Klondike" (1942) as Klondike; "Escape from Hong Kong" (1942) as Blimp; "Timber" (1942) as Arizona; "Frontier Badmen" (1943) as Slim, a cowhand; "Corvette K-225" (1943) as Walsh; "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" (1944) as Abdullah; "Follow the Boys" (1944) as Himself; "Ghost Catchers" (1944) as Horsehead; "Bowery to Broadway" (1944) as Father Kelly; "Sudan" (1945) as Nebka; "Frisco Sal" (1945) as Bunny; "Frontier Gal" as Big Ben; "Canyon Passage" (1946) as Ben Dance; "The Michigan Kid" (1947) as Buster; "The Bells of San Angelo" as Cookie Bullfincher, a role he played in a series of westerns; "The Fabulous Texan" (1947) as Elihu Mills; "Old Los Angeles" (1948) as Sam Bowie; "The Gallant Legion" (1948) as Windy Hornblower; "The Last Bandit" (1949) as Casey Brown; "Traveling Saleswoman" (1950) as Waldo; "Never a Dull Moment" (1950) as Orvie; "The Red Badge of Courage" (1951) as the Cheerful Soldier; "New Mexico" (1951) as Sgt. Garrity; "The Yellow Haired Kid" (1952) as Jingles P. Jones, a role he recreated on a TV series and in a slew of western films; "Montana Belle" (1952) as Pete Bivins; "Island in the Sky" (1953) with John Wayne, as Moon; "Thunder Pass" (1954) as Injun; "Pete Kelly's Blues" (1955) as George Tenell; "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956) as First Mate; "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1960) as Mr. Carmody; "How the West Was Won" (1962) as Corporal Peterson and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962) as Marshal Link Appleyard; "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963) as the Sheriff of Crockett County; "Zebra in the Kitchen" (1965) as Branch Hawksbill; "Ballad of Josie" (1967) as Judge Tatum; "The Roadf Hustlers" (1968) as Sheriff Estep; "Myra Breckinridge" (1970) as Coyote Bill; Disney's animated "Robin Hood" as Friar Tuck; "Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood" (1976) as Priest in dog pound and "The Mouse and His Child" (1977) an animated tale, as voice of The Frog, his last film. On TV he is best remembered for his role as Jingles P. Jones on "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" (1951-56) with Guy Madison. He also was a regular on "Flipper" (1964-65) as Hap Gorman and as himself on "Andy's Gang" (1955-60) a kid's show which featured Midnight, a piano/violin playing cat, Squeaky, a musical mouse and the mischievous Froggy the Gremlin. He also did voices in some animated films including: Disney's "Robin Hood" as Friar Tuck and "A Whale of a Tale" (1976). He married Dorothy House in 1933 and they had two boys: Denny and Ted. They remained married up to his death. His hometown of Kingman, Arizona renamed Main Street Andy Devine Boulevard. He died of leukemia on February 18, 1977 in Orange, California at age 71.
From Great Character Actors, Page 1.
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