
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.

Daytime Revolution

ラリーのミッドライフ★クライシス

The City That Forgot About Christmas

The Judy Garland Show

The Munsters

The Adventures of Errol Flynn

The Jack Benny Program

Kraft Television Theatre

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

One Touch of Venus

刑事スタスキー&ハッチ

Laverne & Shirley

Harper Valley P.T.A.

The Great Bear Scare

The Bob Hope Show

コスビー・ショー

じゃじゃ馬億万長者

The Dick Cavett Show

不思議の国のアリス

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Good Neighbor Sam

Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty

This Is Your Life

Fantasy Island

The Love Boat

The Wheeler Dealers

Police Woman

The Merv Griffin Show

All Commercials... A Steve Martin Special

Burke's Law

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

The Lieutenant

A Guide for the Married Man

Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?

The Last Time I Saw Archie

St. Elsewhere

The Steve Allen Show

裸の町

Zotz!

キャノンボール2

The Mike Douglas Show

The Pruitts of Southampton

The Facts of Life

Aloha Paradise

Kraft Music Hall

The Hollywood Palace

The Stripper

Full Moon High

突撃! O・Cとスティッグス/お笑い黙示録

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

Guestward, Ho!

Sex Kittens Go to College

Mitzi & 100 Guys

Ted E. Bear: Cub Reporter

Charge of the Model T's