Herb Shriner

Herb Shriner

Herb Shriner (b. May 29 1918, Toledo, Ohio - d. April 23 1970, Delray Beach, Florida) was an American humorist, radio personality and television host. Born as Herbert Arthur Schiner, Herb Shriner was best known for his homespun monologues, usually with roots in his adopted home state of Indiana. He was often compared to fellow humorist Will Rogers. [ [http://www.anb.org/articles/18/18-03768-print.html American National Biography Online: Herb Shriner] ]

Early life

Shriner moved to Fort Wayne as a toddler, when his mother, Edith, left his father. Shriner learned to play the harmonica as a grade school student. By the time he was attending Central High School, he had formed a quintet, later an octet, which made frequent local appearances. When the group disbanded, Shriner worked on his own, and when his lip gave out one night during a performance, he filled time by telling homespun stories. The laid-back, deadpan comedy routines became more popular than the music, and soon he was regaling audiences with tales about his fictional (yet never named) Hoosier hometown.

Radio

In 1940, Shriner was hired by NBC for occasional radio appearances, eventually leading to a regular 1942-43 spot on the long-run comedy-variety program, "Camel Caravan". During World War II, Shriner served in a special Army unit and performed in numerous USO shows for soldiers in Europe. After the war, Shriner bounced around on various radio shows, including "The Philip Morris Follies of 1946" with Johnny Desmond and Margaret Whiting.

His big break in 1947 with a Broadway musical review called "Inside U.S.A." The musical performances were generally panned by critics, but Shriner's monologues made the show popular and carried the show for more than a year. During the Broadway stint, in 1948-49, Shriner hosted "Herb Shriner Time," a CBS Radio weekday program with the Raymond Scott Quintet, singer Dorothy Collins, and announcer Durward Kirby.

Television

"Herb Shriner Time" later evolved into a short-lived, five-minute television show. Another TV show on ABC ran for the 1951-52 season. Shriner finally found TV success soon afterward with "Two for the Money," a game show on NBC for the 1952-53 season, then on CBS for three seasons. The show was more of a showcase for Shriner's humor than a true game show, much as "You Bet Your Life" was a showcase for the comedy of Groucho Marx — indeed, the Shriner show was patterned after (some would say a knock-off of) "You Bet Your Life" and was created in response to the success of Marx's show. Despite being a Marx knock-off, the show was successful and Shriner became a household name. (Reruns of "Two for the Money" are occasionally shown on GSN.)

Records

In 1955, Shriner launched the Herb Shriner Harmonica Orchestra with personnel including Dominic (Don Henry) Quagenti, Cham-Ber Huang, Charles Leighton, Frank (Moose) Mitkowski, Victor Pankowitz, Alan Pogson and Alan (Blackie) Schackner. The group recorded two selections ("Tumbling Tumbleweeds" and "Back Home Again in Indiana") for the Columbia LP "Herb Shriner on Stage" (1955). Shriner's fame was fleeting, though. After he left "Two for the Money" in 1956, the show continued with Sam Levenson. Shriner tried another variety show on ABC which lasted two months, and he played a circuit of nightclubs, state fairs, showboats and similar venues.

Personal life

Shriner moved his wife, Eileen “Pixie” McDermott, and three children to Florida to experience small-town life, returning each summer to Angola, Indiana. Shriner invested in real estate and collected vintage automobiles. One of those cars, a Studebaker Avanti, caused the deaths of Shriner and his wife, when the brakes failed. Some of Shriner's other cars can be seen in the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, Indiana.

Herb and Eileen Shriner had one daughter, Indy (named after Indianapolis, Indiana), and twin sons, the actor, comedian and game show host Wil Shriner, named for Will Rogers, and the soap opera actor Kin Shriner, named for Elbert 'Kin" Hubbard, early 20th century Southern Indiana folk humorist, who enjoyed a certain degree of success in show business.

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0795407/ IMDB.com listing for Shriner's career]
* [http://www.gsn.com/specific_page_elements.php?link_id=H56 GSN — Herb Shriner]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7901501&pt=Herb%20Shriner FindaGrave.com — Herb Shriner]
* [http://tvgameshows.net/classicmoment12-8-05.htm TVgameshows.net: Two for the Money with Herb Shriner]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Herb Shriner Show — was the title of two different American television series shown in prime time by CBS during the late 1940s and 1950s. A similar program, also hosted by Herb Shriner, was Herb Shriner Time , which was aired by ABC as part of its 1951 52 lineup.… …   Wikipedia

  • Wil Shriner — Infobox actor name = Wil Shriner imagesize = 200px caption = Wil Shriner birthname = birthdate = birth date and age|1953|12|06 location = New York City, New York, U.S. flagicon|New York flagicon|USA othername = homepage = academyawards = spouse …   Wikipedia

  • Kin Shriner — Infobox actor name =Kin Shriner imagesize = birthdate =birth date and age|1953|12|6 birthplace = New York, New York, U.S. birthname = spouse = emmyawards = Nominated: Outstanding Supporting Actor 1990, 1991, 1993 General Hospital Nominated:… …   Wikipedia

  • Kin Shriner — (* 6. Dezember 1953 in New York City, USA) ist ein US amerikanischer Schauspieler. Sein Fernsehdebüt gab er 1976 in der Serie Der Sechs Millionen Dollar Mann. Ein Jahr später stieg er in die Seifenoper General Hospital ein. Dort spielte er die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Two for the Money (game show) — Two for the Money was an American game show which ran from 1952 to 1957. The show ran for one season on NBC, and four seasons on CBS. It was a Mark Goodson Bill Todman production, and was initially sponsored by Old Gold cigarettes. Humorist Herb… …   Wikipedia

  • List of people from Fort Wayne, Indiana — The following is a list of notable natives, residents, or former residents of Fort Wayne, Indiana.Notable natives and former residentsArtists, designers, architects* Bill Blass, fashion designer * Jack Boyd Buckley, civil engineer * Steven… …   Wikipedia

  • 4th Primetime Emmy Awards — The 4th Annual Emmy Awards, retroactively known as the 4th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards after the debut of the Daytime Emmys, were presented at the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles, California on February 18 1952. The ceremonies were hosted by… …   Wikipedia

  • Список американских телепрограмм по дате начала показа — Содержание 1 2010 е 1.1 2011 1.1.1 Январь 1.1.2 Февраль …   Википедия

  • List of humorists — A humorist is a person who writes or performs humorous material. The material written and/or performed by humorists tends to be more subtle and cerebral than the material created by stand up comedians and comedy writers. The intention is often to …   Wikipedia

  • List of What's My Line? mystery guests — The following is an alphabetized list of persons who were Mystery Guests (originally called Mystery Challengers) on one (or both) version(s) of the United States version of the television game show What s My Line?. Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”