This is the fourth in a series of sidekicks. George Francis Gabby Hayes, shown here with Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers, was born May 7, 1885, was an American radio, film, and television actor. He was best known for his numerous appearances in Western films as the colorful sidekick to the leading man. He did not come from a cowboy background; in fact, he did not know how to ride a horse until he was in his forties and had to learn for film roles. He joined a stock company, apparently traveled for a time with a circus, and became a successful vaudevillian. From 1935 to 1939, he played the part of Windy Halliday, the sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd). In 1939, he left Paramount Pictures in a dispute over his salary and moved to Republic Pictures. Paramount held the rights to the name Windy Halliday, so a new nickname was created for his character, Gabby. As Gabby Whitaker, he appeared in more than 40 films between 1939 and 1946, usually with Roy Rogers, but also with Gene Autry or Wild Bill Elliott. He was also repeatedly cast as a sidekick to western icons Randolph Scott (six times) and John Wayne (15 times, some as straight or villainous characters). Hayes played Waynes sidekick in Dark Command in 1940, which featured Roy Rogers in a supporting role. He became a popular performer and consistently appeared among the ten favorite actors in polls taken of movie-goers of the period. He appeared in either one or both the Motion Picture Herald and Box Office Magazine lists of Top Ten Money-Making Western Stars for twelve straight years and a thirteenth time in 1954, four years after his last film. The western film genre declined in the late 1940s and Hayes made his last film appearance in The Cariboo Trail in 1950. He moved to television and hosted The Gabby Hayes Show, a western series, from 1950 to 1956. He introduced the show, often while whittling on a piece of wood, and would sometimes throw in some tall stories, but he did not appear as an active character in the stories themselves. He died on February 9, 1969, in Burbank, California, at the age of 83.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 16:03:42 +0000
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