George S. Irving (born Irving Shelasky; November 1, 1922 – December 26, 2016) was an American actor known primarily for his character roles on Broadway and as the voice of

Heat Miser In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

in the American Christmas television specials beginning with ''

The Year Without a Santa Claus ''The Year Without a Santa Claus'' is a 1974 stop motion animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name. It is narrated by Shirley Booth (her final ...

'' (1974).

Early life

He was born Irving Shelasky in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

, to Abraham and Rebecca Shelasky, as one of four siblings. His parents were

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

immigrants. When Irving was 13 or 14, he sang in synagogues and churches as a boy soprano. By his final high school year in 1940, he heard about a dramatic school in Boston for those who were not quite draft age and who were tall and had deep voices, so he immediately received a scholarship. In 1942, he worked in the chorus of the St. Louis Muny Opera.

Career

On stage

Irving made his debut in the original 1943 production of '' Oklahoma!'', only to be drafted days later to serve in the United States Army in World War II. He received this role when one of the original actors lost his voice, and Irving went on as his replacement. He explains the following: "I wrote to The Theatre Guild when they were casting ''Oklahoma!'' and asked them to remind Oscar Hammerstein that he knew me a little, and I got an audition and was cast in the chorus".Dale, Michael
'George S. Irving - Still Carrying On' celebrates 60 years in Musical Theatre
June 16, 2004; accessed from December 7, 2012. Irving is best known to Broadway audiences for his performance with

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

and

Jane Powell Jane Powell (born Suzanne Lorraine Burce; April 1, 1929 – September 16, 2021) was an American actress, singer, and dancer who first appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s and 50s. With her soprano voice and girl-next-door ima ...

(successively) in ''

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

'' (1974), and his Tony nominated performance as Sir John in '' Me and My Girl'' (1987). At the 27th Tony Awards, he won the Tony for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for "Irene". In 2008, Irving recreated the three roles he originally played in the ill-fated 1976 Joseph Stein musical ''So Long, 174th Street'', now reworked, revised, and with its original title ''Enter Laughing'' at Off-Broadway's York Theatre Company, and received rave reviews for his rendition of "The Butler's Song". Irving performed his one-man cabaret show to great acclaim at Feinstein's in New York City in November 2008. On December 8, 2008, aged 86, Irving received the 17th Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre.

Productions

*'' Oklahoma!'' (1943) *''

Call Me Mister ''Call Me Mister'' is a revue with sketches by Arnold Auerbach and words and music by Harold Rome. The title refers to troops who are happily returning to civilian life and no longer want to be addressed by their military ranks. The Broadway pr ...

'' (1946) *'' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1949) *'' Two's Company'' (1952) *'' Can-Can'' (1953) *'' Me and Juliet'' (1953) *'' Bells Are Ringing'' (1956) *''

Shinbone Alley ''Shinbone Alley'' (sometimes performed as ''archy & mehitabel'') is a musical with a book by Joe Darion and Mel Brooks, lyrics by Darion, and music by George Kleinsinger. Based on the album ''Archy and Mehitabel: A Back-Alley Opera'', which in ...

'' (1957) *''

Irma La Douce ''Irma la Douce'' (, "Irma the Sweet") is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond, based on the 1956 French stage musical of the same name by Marguerite Monnot and Alexa ...

'' (1960) *'' Bravo Giovanni'' (1962) *''Romulus'' (1962) *'' Tovarich'' (1963) *''

Anya Aanya, Anya or Anja is a given name. The names are feminine in most cultures especially Indian, and unisex in several African and European countries. Origins and variant forms * Aanya or Anya is an Indian name that means inexhaustible, limitless ...

'' (1965) *'' The Happy Time'' (1968) *'' Promenade'' (off-Broadway; 1969) *'' An Evening with Richard Nixon and...'' (1972) *''

'' (1973 revival) *'' So Long, 174th Street'' (1976) *'' Once in a Lifetime'' (1978 revival) *'' I Remember Mama'' (1979) *'' The Pirates of Penzance'' (1981 revival) *'' Copperfield'' (1981) *'' On Your Toes'' (1983 revival) *'' Me and My Girl'' (1986) *''

Busker Alley ''Busker Alley'' is a musical with music and lyrics by the Sherman Brothers and a book by AJ Carothers, based on the 1938 British film '' St. Martin's Lane''. Tommy Tune led a 1995 touring production as Charlie Baxter, a street entertainer in pr ...

'' (2005) *'' A Wonderful Life'' (2005)

Voice acting career

One of his more prominent non-Broadway roles was a voice-over for ''

'', in which he played the embittered

opposite Dick Shawn's

Snow Miser ''The Year Without a Santa Claus'' is a 1974 stop motion animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name. It is narrated by Shirley Booth (her final ...

. He did another voice-over for Rankin-Bass as

Mister Geppetto Geppetto ( , ), also known as Mister Geppetto, is an Italian fictional character in the 1883 novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collodi. Geppetto is an elderly, impoverished woodcarver and the creator (and thus 'father') of Pinocchio ...

in '' Pinocchio's Christmas'' and was the narrator of the animated cartoon series '' Underdog'' as well as the voice of Running Board on '' Go Go Gophers''. He also voiced Captain Contagious in '' Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure''. Irving also narrated the popular '' Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark'' Audio Books. Irving returned to television in 2008 after an absence of more than a decade to reprise his role as Heat Miser in ''

A Miser Brothers' Christmas ''A Miser Brothers’ Christmas'' is a stop motion spin-off special based on some of the characters from the 1974 Rankin-Bass special ''The Year Without a Santa Claus''. Distributed by Warner Bros. Animation under their Warner Premiere label (the ...

'', a sequel to ''

'', which premiered on December 13, 2008, on cable's

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

(now Freeform). The show served as the network's first original animated special. The production was nominated for an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...

for Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children by the Los Angeles Chapter of the International Animated Film Society.

Television

Irving was familiar to television audiences of the 1970s as a result of his memorable guest-starring appearance on '' All in the Family'' as Russ DeKuyper, the loudmouthed husband of Edith Bunker's cousin Amelia. He was also a regular in the cast of the short-lived 1976 sitcom '' The Dumplings''. Irving also did some work in commercials for White Owl Cigars in the early 1970s. He appeared as a memorable Baron Mirko Zeta in the New York City Opera production of

Franz Lehar Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see ...

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

, broadcast live in 1996 from the New York State Theater at

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

; during the intermission he talked about the

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

's history and historical inspiration.

Personal life

Irving was married to Maria Karnilova from 1948 until her death in 2001. They had a son, Alexander (of

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...

); a daughter, Katherine Irving (of South Salem, New York), and three grandchildren.

Death

Irving died in Manhattan of heart failure on December 26, 2016, at the age of 94. At this age, he had been the last surviving cast member of '' Underdog''.Tony Winner George S. Irving Dies at 94
; accessed December 29, 2016.

Filmography

*'' Up the Sandbox'' (1972) - Dr. Keglin *''

'' (1974) - Heat Miser (voice) *'' Fore Play'' (1975) - Reverend/Roberto *'' Deadly Hero'' (1975) - Reilly *'' Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure'' (1977) - The Captain (voice) *'' Pinocchio's Christmas'' (1980) - Geppetto (voice) *''

'' (2008) - Heat Miser (voice)

Television

*'' Underdog'' - 124 episodes - (1964-1967) - Narrator / Tap Tap the Chizzler / several Characters (voice) *'' Go Go Gophers'' - 48 episodes (1964-1966) - Running Board / Several Characters (voice) *'' Klondkie Kat'' - 26 episodes (1966-1967) - Major Minor / Several Characters (voice) *'' All in the Family'' - episode - Amelia's Divorce (1975) - Russell DeKuyper *'' Family'' - episode - From Russia With Love (1979) - Alexei Tomaszevski

References

External links

* * *
TonyAwards.com Interview with George S. Irving
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, George S. 1922 births 2016 deaths American male stage actors American male musical theatre actors American male voice actors Drama Desk Award winners Tony Award winners Actors from Springfield, Massachusetts American male television actors American male film actors Jewish American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Massachusetts United States Army personnel of World War II 21st-century American Jews