George O'Hanlon (November 23, 1912 – February 11, 1989) was an American actor and writer. He was best known for his role as Joe McDoakes in the
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
' live-action ''
Joe McDoakes'' short subjects from 1942 to 1956 and as the voice of
George Jetson
George J. Jetson is a fictional character from the animated television series ''The Jetsons''. He is the patriarch of the Jetson family. He is the husband of Jane Jetson and the father of teenage daughter Judy and son Elroy.
Fictional character ...
in
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
's 1962 prime-time animated television series ''
The Jetsons
''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produced f ...
'' and its 1985 revival.
Early life
George O'Hanlon was born on November 23, 1912 in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
Career
Film
From the early 1940s, O'Hanlon was a character actor in feature films, usually playing the hero's streetwise, cynical friend. He appeared in features for various studios while continuing the Joe McDoakes role for Warner Bros. After the McDoakes series lapsed in 1956, O'Hanlon returned to character work, mostly in television (two rare post-McDoakes movie appearances are in ''
Bop Girl Goes Calypso
''Bop Girl Goes Calypso'' is a 1957 American United Artists film directed by Howard W. Koch and starring Judy Tyler. It features calypso music by the Bobby Troup Trio and bassist Jim Aton.
Plot
Working on a thesis, college student Bob Hilton perf ...
'' and ''
Kronos'', both from 1957).
Television
In the 1953–54 season, O'Hanlon appeared several times on
NBC's ''The Dennis Day Show''. In 1957, he played Charlie Appleby on an ''
I Love Lucy
''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
'' episode, "
Lucy and Superman
"Lucy and Superman" is an episode of the sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', and was first broadcast on January 14, 1957 on CBS. The episode was written by Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf. Directed by James V. Kern, it is the 13t ...
". O’Hanlon played a character listed as “Caldwell” in a 1958 episode of Maverick, entitled “Rope of Cards”, S1 E17. In 1958, O'Hanlon played a New York publicist for a fashion model, Loco Jones (
Barbara Eden) in the syndicated romantic comedy ''
How to Marry a Millionaire
''How to Marry a Millionaire'' is a 1953 American screwball comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco and written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays ''The Greeks Had a Word for It'' (1930) by Zoe Akins and ''Loc ...
''.
In 1962–63, he voiced one of his most prominent characters,
George Jetson
George J. Jetson is a fictional character from the animated television series ''The Jetsons''. He is the patriarch of the Jetson family. He is the husband of Jane Jetson and the father of teenage daughter Judy and son Elroy.
Fictional character ...
in the original ''
The Jetsons
''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produced f ...
'', a role he would reprise over 20 years later in two additional seasons from 1985 to 1987.
In the autumn of 1964, he appeared as a cab driver in the 13-episode
CBS drama ''
The Reporter'' starring
Harry Guardino. In 1966, O'Hanlon appeared opposite
Jackie Gleason
John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...
as Ralph Kramden's loudmouthed "bum brother-in-law", on Gleason's first TV show of the
1966-67 season. He also made various appearances on ABC's ''
Love, American Style
''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...
'', a series for which he wrote the teleplays and also directed several episodes.
In 1971, O'Hanlon appeared as a bear trainer on ''
The Partridge Family
''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from Se ...
'', season 2, episode 6, "Whatever Happened to Moby Dick?", a drunk in ''
The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to:
Neil Simon play and its adaptations
* ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon
** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play
*** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...
'', season 2, episode 6, "Murray the Fink" and a drunk in ''
Adam-12
''Adam-12'' is an American television police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they patrol the stre ...
'', season 4 episode 1, "Extortion".
Writer
Apart from acting, he wrote screenplays and also wrote the storyboard for nearly all of the Joe McDoakes shorts. He wrote stories for television series in the 1960s such as ''
Petticoat Junction
''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and B ...
'', ''
77 Sunset Strip'', and wrote episodes for Hanna-Barbera's ''
The Flintstones
''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...
''. He also auditioned for the role of
Fred Flintstone, but lost to
Alan Reed; however, he was remembered when it was time to cast ''The Jetsons'' and
Morey Amsterdam, the original choice to voice the lead male role, was unavailable due to sponsor conflicts. He once said: "George Jetson is an average man, he has trouble with his boss, he has problems with his kids, and so on. The only difference is that he lives in the next century."
Personal life
O'Hanlon was married to Inez Witt from 1932 to 1948. After divorcing her, he married actress
Martha Stewart
Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pub ...
in 1949; they divorced in 1952. In 1953, O'Hanlon married actress Nancy Owens; they had two children (actor George O'Hanlon Jr., and daughter Laurie O'Hanlon, a registered nurse). They remained married until his death.
[
]
Death
In the mid-1980s, Hanna-Barbera revived ''The Jetsons'' and brought back its original voice cast of O'Hanlon, Daws Butler, Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...
, Don Messick
Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ...
, Penny Singleton
Penny Singleton (born Mariana Dorothy McNulty, September 15, 1908 – November 12, 2003) was an American actress, singer, dancer and labor leader. During her 60-year career on stage, screen, radio and television, Singleton appeared as the ...
, Jean Vander Pyl
Jean Thurston Vander Pyl (October 11, 1919 – April 10, 1999) was an American voice actress. Although her career spanned many decades, she is best known as the voice of Wilma Flintstone for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon ''The Flintstones''. In a ...
, and Janet Waldo
Janet Waldo (born Jeanette Marie Waldo; February 4, 1919 – June 12, 2016) was an American radio and voice actress. In animation, she voiced Judy Jetson in various Hanna-Barbera media, Nancy in ''Shazzan'', Penelope Pitstop, Princess from ''Batt ...
. O'Hanlon had suffered a stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
and was blind and suffering from limited mobility. He recorded his dialogue in a separate session from the other cast members by having all lines read to him by the recording director Gordon Hunt and then recited one at a time.
On February 11, 1989, just after recording dialogue for '' Jetsons: The Movie'',[ O'Hanlon complained of a headache and was taken to Saint Joseph's Hospital in ]Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
where he died of a second stroke. According to Andrea Romano Andrea Romano may refer to:
* Andrea Romano (voice director) (born 1955), American casting director, voice director and voice actress
* Andrea Romano (politician) (born 1967), Italian politician
* Andrea Romanò
Andrea Romanò (born 23 July 1 ...
, who was Hanna-Barbera's casting director at the time, O'Hanlon found it difficult to read and hear, and in the end, he died doing what he loved. The film was dedicated to him, along with ''Jetsons'' co-star Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...
who died nearly five months later. Both were replaced by Jeff Bergman
Jeffrey Bergman (born July 10, 1960) is an American voice actor and impressionist who has provided the modern-day voices of various classic cartoon characters, most notably with ''Looney Tunes'' and Hanna-Barbera.
Bergman was the first to repla ...
to finish the movie.
O'Hanlon was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Cemetery in Westlake Village, California
Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vill ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Production work
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohanlon, George
1912 births
1989 deaths
American male film actors
American male television actors
20th-century American male actors
American male voice actors
American television writers
American male television writers
People from Brooklyn
Male actors from New York City
Hanna-Barbera people
Burials at Valley Oaks Memorial Park
Screenwriters from New York (state)
20th-century American screenwriters
20th-century American male writers