Veteran Character Actor Henry Gibson Dies at 73

Henry Gibson, one of my favorite character actors, has died at his home in Malibu after a brief battle with cancer. He was 73. While he did not remain on the show for its entire run, I do not have a memory of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" that does not contain an image of one of Gibson's character portrayals.

Born James Bateman in Germantown, PA, on September 21, 1935, his first professional acting job came when he was only eight, as a touring member of the Mae Desmond Theatre.

After 9 years as a travelling troubadour, he put his professional acting career on hold and finished his education, graduating from Catholic University with a degree in drama.

A little known fact: John became friends with John Voight when they attended the university together. The created a comedy team and called themselves Harold and Henry Gibson, playing southern hillbillies. After graduation, Gibson continued to hone his character, while Voight went on to do more dramatic acting.

Gibson then joined the military, serving as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force in France from 1957 - 1960.

When his military tour was completed, he moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts before returning to the New York stage.

It was in New York that he fleshed out his comedic alter-ego "Henry Gibson", a poet laureate hailing from Fairhope, AL. He derived the moniker from the name of the playwright Henrik Ibsen.

The first time I saw a Henry Gibson performance was when he played a college student in Jerry Lewis' 1963 version of "The Nutty Professor", a role he garnered after appearances on "The Tonight Show" and "The Joey Bishop Show".

In 1968, he joined Goldie Hawn, Ruth Buzzi, Arte Johnson, and Jo Anne Worley in the ensemble cast of "Laugh-In", an hour-long comedy show hosted by Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. For three seasons, he created a variety of comedic characters, usually stoically delivering wry punchlines.

The one I, and most of his fans, remember most was as a meek bard, holding a giant flower and reciting his self-penned satirical poems. His introduction was always, "A poem, by Henry Gibson."

That poetry spawned two comedy albums, "The Alligator" and "The Grass Menagerie" and the book "Flower Child's Garden of Verses."

I was a pre-teen during the "Laugh-In" series run, but I still retain vivid memories of watching this vibrant sketch comedy show with its unusual characters and "mod" wardrobes. At the time, there were all sorts of "ins" - from "love-ins" to "sit-ins". It was part of the non-violent revolutionary movement going on in the country at the time, and it captured a generation. It was also at the end of the free-love '60's and pre-AIDS, and "Laugh-In" had its share of sexual innuendo. Looking back now, the humor seems pretty tame, but at the time, in my conservative Christian home, some of the bits were considered scandalous. Gibson's poet also reflected the times in his dress - usually appearing in a Nehru jacket and wearing love beads.

In addition to the iconic poet character, I remember Gibson's "Parson" character. The Parson appeared during many of the cocktail party scenes that appeared on each episode. He deadpanned tightly written remarks with religious undertones, usually while sipping a cup of tea.

While many people remember the German Nazi from the show, and sometimes attribute the character to Gibson, that persona was created by Johnson. I think some of the confusion comes from the fact that Gibson did later play a Nazi from Illinois in the John Belushi/Dan Ackroyd film, "The Blues Brothers".

Johnson left the show after three seasons along with Gibson. Many of the original cast members left at some point during the first three seasons. While they were replaced, much like the departure of the original Saturday Night Live cast, the show was never quite the same.

After "Laugh-In," Gibson went on to appear in several films, including four with the director Robert Altman, most notably "The Long Goodbye" and 1975's "Nashville", which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of country singer Haven Hamilton. Gibson wrote most of the songs sung by his character in the film, which earned him a Grammy nomination.

Other film credits include: the voice of Wilbur the Pig in the animated film "Charlotte's Web" (1973); Tom Hank's ominous neighbor in "The 'Burbs" (1989); and a bewildered priest in "Wedding Crashers" (2005), which brought back fond members of "The Parson" when I saw the movie.

On television, Gibson made guest appearances on many of the television shows I watched regularly as a child, including "The Beverly Hillbillies," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Love Boat," and "Bewitched."

My children had become acquainted with him through more recent roles. He had played Judge Clarence Brown on ABC's "Boston Legal" and voiced the eye-patched newspaperman Bob Jenkins on Fox's animated show "King of the Hill."

I think it's interesting that Gibson, while born in Pennsylvania, lived in France, and studied in London, made his career on southern or country and western characterizations. His delivery was so natural, I never suspected that he was not from the south.

It's a testimony to his versatility and talent that he was able to span more than four decades and continue to be entertaining to more than one generation.

Gibson, whose wife of 40 years, Lois, died in 2007, is survived by three sons: Jon, a Universal Pictures executive; Charles, a director and two-time Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor; and James, a screenwriter, as well as two grandchildren, Matthew and Miranda, and three sisters.

The family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and Friends of the Malibu Public Library.

The gesture is, indeed, magnanimous, but, in my mind, Henry Gibson will never be without flowers.

Background information from Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) and The Associated Press.