Louis Nye
Louis Nye
Born 01/05/1913 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA

Louis Nye, born Louis Neistat, was an American comedic actor. He was an entertainer to the troops during World War II and is best known for his work on countless television, film and radio programs.

Louis Nye, born Louis Neistat, was an American comedic actor. He was an entertainer to the troops during World War II and is best known for his work on countless television, film and radio programs.

Nye decided to go to New York City, where he worked in radio, playing various roles on soap operas. He recalled "I still think of myself as an actor. In the radio days, I was busy playing rotten Nazis, rich uncles and emotional juveniles -- the whole span -- and the only time I tried to be funny was at parties."

Nye served in the United States Army during World War II, and because he earned laughs by mimicking other soldiers, he was assigned to run the recreation hall. Following his discharge, he returned to New York and began working in live television. He also appeared in several plays on Broadway, and made many appearances on television variety shows such as The Jack Benny Program (including one memorable turn as a crying cab driver), The Jimmy Durante Show, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and The Victor Borge Show.

He earned his greatest fame as a regular on The Steve Allen Show, performing with Allen, Don Knotts, Tom Poston, Pat Harrington Jr., Dayton Allen, Gabriel Dell and Bill Dana. He primarily played urbane, wealthy, and often fey bon vivants; as part of the weekly "Man on the Street" sketches, his characterization of the pretentious country-club braggart Gordon Hathaway, with his catchphrase, "Hi-ho, Steverino," plus Allen's inability to resist bursting into hysterical laughter at his ad-libs, made Nye one of the favorites on Allen's show. When production moved to Los Angeles, Nye went too and became a character actor in Hollywood.

Nye was cast as a guest star on many television series, including Make Room for Daddy; Guestward, Ho!; Burke's Law; The Munsters; Love, American Style; Laverne & Shirley; Starsky and Hutch; Police Woman; Fantasy Island; St. Elsewhere; and The Cosby Show.

Nye played dentist Delbert Gray on several episodes of The Ann Sothern Show from 1960 to 1961, the romantic interest of Olive Smith, played by Ann Tyrrell. Nye also played Sonny Drysdale, the spoiled rich stepson of Milburn Drysdale on The Beverly Hillbillies during the 1962 season. He did six episodes, and received more mail than from anything else he had ever done on television, but the character was dropped. It was rumored that someone in the CBS network, or a sponsor, thought Sonny was too "sissified". However, Nye revived the character briefly during the 1966 season. During this period, Nye appeared in several television commercials for various products, including Rath brand lunch meats and the Better Business Bureau.

Nye appeared as a celebrity judge on The Gong Show during the late 1970s. He also recorded a few comedy LPs, doing a variety of characterizations. Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to reach his potential in movies. Many of his character roles were little more than cameos. Nevertheless, he performed with Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Walter Matthau, Robert Mitchum, Jack Webb and Joanne Woodward, and others. Nye also appeared on the lecture circuit, in concerts and in nightclubs, and did voice work in animation, such as Inspector Gadget with Don Adams.

External links

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0638574

Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1871905

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Filmography (Movies)

Daytime Revolution

Daytime Revolution

Character:Self (archive footage)

Release Date:09/10/2024

The Adventures of Errol Flynn

The Adventures of Errol Flynn

Character:Self (archive footage)

Release Date:05/04/2005

Ted E. Bear: Cub Reporter

Ted E. Bear: Cub Reporter

Character:(voice)

Release Date:01/01/1988

Cannonball Run II

Cannonball Run II

Character:Fisherman #3

Release Date:29/06/1984

The Great Bear Scare

The Great Bear Scare

Character:Dracula (voice)

Release Date:01/10/1983

The Reluctant Dragon

The Reluctant Dragon

Character:St. George

Release Date:01/12/1981

Full Moon High

Full Moon High

Character:Reverend

Release Date:04/08/1981

All Commercials... A Steve Martin Special

All Commercials... A Steve Martin Special

Character:Self

Release Date:30/09/1980

Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty

Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty

Character:Laundry Customer

Release Date:14/02/1980

Li'l Abner in the Dogpatch Today

Li'l Abner in the Dogpatch Today

Character:General Bullmoose

Release Date:09/11/1978

Harper Valley P.T.A.

Harper Valley P.T.A.

Character:Kirby Baker

Release Date:02/08/1978

Charge of the Model T's

Charge of the Model T's

Character:Fred Smith

Release Date:04/11/1977

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

Character:Radio Interviewer

Release Date:26/07/1976

Mitzi & 100 Guys

Mitzi & 100 Guys

Character:Self

Release Date:24/03/1975

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

Character:Lee Fong (voice)

Release Date:06/12/1974

The City That Forgot About Christmas

The City That Forgot About Christmas

Character:(voice)

Release Date:01/12/1974

A Guide for the Married Man

A Guide for the Married Man

Character:Technical Adviser (Irving, House Buyer)

Release Date:25/05/1967

Salute to Stan Laurel

Salute to Stan Laurel

Character:Self

Release Date:23/11/1965

Good Neighbor Sam

Good Neighbor Sam

Character:Reinhold Shiffner

Release Date:22/07/1964

Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?

Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?

Character:Harry Tobler

Release Date:25/12/1963

The Wheeler Dealers

The Wheeler Dealers

Character:Stanislas

Release Date:14/11/1963

The Stripper

The Stripper

Character:Ronnie Cavendish

Release Date:19/06/1963

Zotz!

Zotz!

Character:Hugh Fundy

Release Date:03/10/1962

The Last Time I Saw Archie

The Last Time I Saw Archie

Character:Pvt. Sam Beacham

Release Date:27/05/1961

The Facts of Life

The Facts of Life

Character:Hamilton Busbee

Release Date:14/11/1960

Sex Kittens Go to College

Sex Kittens Go to College

Character:Dr. Zorch

Release Date:24/08/1960

One Touch of Venus

One Touch of Venus

Character:Dr. Rook

Release Date:27/08/1955

Television Appearances

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Character:Jeff's Dad

The Steven Banks Show

The Steven Banks Show

Character:Shower Guest

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

Character:Carpenter

The Cosby Show

The Cosby Show

Character:Norman Kirby

St. Elsewhere

St. Elsewhere

Character:Milton Axelrod

Aloha Paradise

Aloha Paradise

Character:

Fantasy Island

Fantasy Island

Character:Mr. Milbanks

The Love Boat

The Love Boat

Character:Louis Nye

The Love Boat

The Love Boat

Character:Barney Briscoe

The Love Boat

The Love Boat

Character:Glenn Dobson

Laverne & Shirley

Laverne & Shirley

Character:

Starsky & Hutch

Starsky & Hutch

Character:

Starsky & Hutch

Starsky & Hutch

Character:Jerry

Police Woman

Police Woman

Character:Myron Drew

Needles and Pins

Needles and Pins

Character:Harry Karp

The Don Knotts Show

The Don Knotts Show

Character:Self

The Dick Cavett Show

The Dick Cavett Show

Character:Self - Guest

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Character:Self (uncredited)

The Pruitts of Southampton

The Pruitts of Southampton

Character:

The Munsters

The Munsters

Character:

The Hollywood Palace

The Hollywood Palace

Character:Self - Comedian

The Judy Garland Show

The Judy Garland Show

Character:Self

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

Character:

Burke's Law

Burke's Law

Character:Hooper

Burke's Law

Burke's Law

Character:James Stock

The Lieutenant

The Lieutenant

Character:

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Character:Self

The Merv Griffin Show

The Merv Griffin Show

Character:Self

The Beverly Hillbillies

The Beverly Hillbillies

Character:Sonny Drysdale

The Mike Douglas Show

The Mike Douglas Show

Character:Self - Co-Host

The Mike Douglas Show

The Mike Douglas Show

Character:Self

Guestward, Ho!

Guestward, Ho!

Character:

Kraft Music Hall

Kraft Music Hall

Character:Self

Naked City

Naked City

Character:The Drunk

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

Character:Self

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

Character:Self

The Steve Allen Show

The Steve Allen Show

Character:Self

The George Gobel Show

The George Gobel Show

Character:Self

This Is Your Life

This Is Your Life

Character:Self

The Jack Benny Program

The Jack Benny Program

Character:Harvey Hollis Pickering

The Jack Benny Program

The Jack Benny Program

Character:The Crying Cab Driver

The Bob Hope Show

The Bob Hope Show

Character:Self

Kraft Television Theatre

Kraft Television Theatre

Character:

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