Harold Boyton Fryar (June 8, 1927 – June 25, 2017) was an American actor and television personality. He rose to prominence as Harlow Hickenlooper, the host of ''

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

Show'' on Channel 6 in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

Career

Fryar graduated in 1950 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in speech from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

. He began his

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...

career as an announcer, emcee and writer as a teenager in

, in the mid-1940s. By the 1960s, he had developed his entertainment talents as host of programs geared to young audiences in radio and TV in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

.Indiana University (2008)
''Four IU alumni being inducted into the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame''
Retrieved on 30 December 2008. Fryar hosted a local Indianapolis children's show on WFBM-TV that ran from 1960 to 1972 and highlighted the old Three Stooges shorts. He appeared under the name "Harlow Hickenlooper" and was one of a trio of hosts with Curley Myers and Captain Star (Jerry Vance, a.k.a.

Larry Vincent Francis Fitzgerald "Larry" Vincent (June 14, 1924—March 8, 1975) was an American television horror host, famed for his character Seymour, who presented—and heckled—low-budget horror and science fiction movies on ''Fright Night'' on KHJ-TV and ...

). Together, they sang songs and did skits for a

live studio audience A studio audience is an audience present for the recording of all or part of a television program or radio program. The primary purpose of the studio audience is to provide applause and/or laughter to the program's soundtrack (as opposed to canned ...

of children. Fryar fell into the Stooges'

slapstick comedy Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

routines with passion. His idea of Harlow Hickenlooper's

personality Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, m ...

was for him to be a character for whom nothing ever went right, no matter how hard he tried.Hollis, Tim (2001)
''Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows''
Published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. . Hickenlooper regularly ended up with a (shaving)

cream pie A cream pie, crème pie, or creme pie is a type of pie filled with a rich custard or pudding that is made from milk, cream, sugar, wheat flour, and eggs. It comes in many forms, including vanilla, lemon, lime, peanut butter, banana, coconut, a ...

in his face.Indianapolis Star (2003)
''Harlow Hickenlooper and Curley Side by Side Once Again''
. Retrieved on 4 January 2009. Fryar also hosted several other children's shows over 43 years in local television. In 1965, Fryar was cast in the Three Stooges feature film, ''

The Outlaws Is Coming ''The Outlaws Is Coming'' (stylized as ''The Outlaws IS Coming!'') is the sixth and final theatrical comedy starring The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and J ...

'', playing the part of

Johnny Ringo John Peters Ringo (May 3, 1850 – July 13, 1882), known as Johnny Ringo, was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County ...

. Upon the movie's release, Fryar quickly received a number of complaints from

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

teachers because he appeared in a movie with the grammatically incorrect title. Many younger children, who went expecting to see his trademark battered straw hat and striped coat, were unable to recognize him in his outlaw makeup. Older children and their parents were able to appreciate the comedy. On October 2, 2008, Fryar was inducted into the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.

Death

Fryar died of bladder cancer on June 25, 2017, in Bradenton, Florida, at age 90. He is survived by his wife, Henrietta, of 37 years and their four children.Hal Fryar, better known to Hoosiers as Harlow Hickenlooper, dies
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fryar, Hal 1927 births 2017 deaths American male film actors American male television actors American television personalities American children's television presenters Male actors from Indianapolis Indiana University alumni People from Franklin, Indiana Deaths from bladder cancer Deaths from cancer in Florida