George O'Hanlon

George Samuel O'Hanlon (November 23, 1912 – February 11, 1989) was an American actor, comedian, writer and director. He was best known for his role as Joe McDoakes in the Warner Bros.' live-action Joe McDoakes short subjects from 1942 to 1956 and as the voice of George Jetson in Hanna-Barbera's 1962 prime-time animated television series The Jetsons and its 1985 revival.

Early life and career
George O'Hanlon was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 23, 1912.

From the early 1940s, O'Hanlon was a character comedian in feature films, usually playing the hero's streetwise, cynical friend. He appeared in features for various studios while continuing the Joe McDoakes role for Warner Bros. After the McDoakes series lapsed in 1956, O'Hanlon returned to character work, mostly in television (two rare post-McDoakes movie appearances are in Bop Girl Goes Calypso and Kronos, both from 1957).

Television
In the 1953-54 season, O'Hanlon appeared several times on NBC's The Dennis Day Show. In 1957, he played Charlie Appleby on an I Love Lucy episode, "Lucy and Superman". In 1958, O'Hanlon played a New York publicist for a fashion model, Loco Jones (Barbara Eden) in the syndicated romantic comedy How to Marry a Millionaire.

In 1962-63, he voiced one of his most prominent characters, George Jetson in the original The Jetsons, a role he would reprise over 20 years later in three movies.

In the autumn of 1964, he appeared as a cab driver in the 13-episode CBS drama The Reporter starring Harry Guardino. In 1966, O'Hanlon appeared opposite Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden's loudmouthed "bum brother-in-law", on Gleason's first TV show of the 1966-67 season. He also made various appearances on ABC's Love, American Style, a series for which he wrote the screenplays and also directed several episodes.

In 1971, O'Hanlon appeared as a bear trainer on The Partridge Family, season 2, episode 6, "Whatever Happened to Moby Dick?", a drunk in The Odd Couple, season 2, episode 6, "Murray the Fink" and a drunk in Adam-12, season 4 episode 1, "Extortion".

Writer
Apart from acting, the comedian wrote screenplays and also wrote the storyboard for nearly all of the Joe McDoakes shorts. He wrote stories for television series in the 1960s such as Petticoat Junction, 77 Sunset Strip, and wrote episodes for Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones. He also auditioned for the role of Fred Flintstone, but lost to Alan Reed; however, he was remembered when it was time to cast The Jetsons. He once said: "George Jetson is an average man, he has trouble with his boss, he has problems with his kids, and so on. The only difference is that he lives in the next century."

Personal life and death
In 1953, O'Hanlon married Nancy Owens, a fellow actor, and they had two children (actor George O'Hanlon, Jr., and daughter Laurie O'Hanlon, a registered nurse). They remained married until his death.

In the mid-1980s, Hanna-Barbera revived The Jetsons and brought back its original voice cast of O'Hanlon, Daws Butler, Mel Blanc, Don Messick, Penny Singleton, Jean Vander Pyl, and Janet Waldo. O'Hanlon had suffered a stroke and was blind and suffering from limited mobility. He recorded his dialogue in a separate session from the other cast members by having all lines read to him by the recording director Gordon Hunt and then recited one at a time.

O'Hanlon died of a second stroke on February 11, 1989, while recording dialogue for Jetsons: The Movie. According to Andrea Romano, who was Hanna-Barbera's casting director at the time, O'Hanlon found it difficult to read and hear, and in the end, he died in the recording studio doing what he loved. The film was dedicated to him, along with Jetsons co-star Mel Blanc who died nearly five months later. Both were replaced by Jeff Bergman to finish the movie.

He is interred in Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Cemetery in Westlake Village, California.

Film

 * The Death Kiss (1932) - Bystander / Man Sitting on Curb (uncredited)
 * High Gear (1933) - Reporter / Spectator in Grandstand (uncredited)
 * Beggar's Holiday (1934) - Bellhop (uncredited)
 * The Girl Friend (1935) - Chorus Boy in Play (uncredited)
 * Hollywood Hotel (1937) - Casting Assistant (uncredited)
 * Blondes at Work (1938) - Third Newsboy (uncredited)
 * Women Are Like That (1938) - Page (uncredited)
 * My Lucky Star (1938) - Student in Girls of Hampshire Hall Skit (uncredited)
 * Secrets of an Actress (1938) - Flowers Delivery Boy (uncredited)
 * Brother Rat (1938) - Orderly (uncredited)
 * The Adventures of Jane Arden (1939) - Crapshooter (uncredited)
 * Daughters Courageous (1939) - Dancer (uncredited)
 * Hell's Kitchen (1939) - Usher (uncredited)
 * Dust Be My Destiny (1939) - Man at Bank After Robbery (uncredited)
 * A Child Is Born (1939) - Young Husband (uncredited)
 * Swanee River (1939) - Ticket Taker (uncredited)
 * The Fighting 69th (1940) - Eddie Kearney (uncredited)
 * Saturday's Children (1940) - Office Worker at Party (uncredited)
 * Sailor's Lady (1940) - Sailor
 * The Bride Wore Crutches (1940) - Copy Boy (uncredited)
 * City for Conquest (1940) - Newsboy (uncredited)
 * Spring Parade (1940) - Peasant (uncredited)
 * The Great Awakening (1941) - Peppi
 * Navy Blues (1941) - Sailor (uncredited)
 * Moon Over Her Shoulder (1941) - Bellboy (uncredited)
 * Man from Headquarters (1942) - Weeks, Reporter
 * Yokel Boy (1942) - Teller (uncredited)
 * A Gentleman After Dark (1942) - Hotel bellboy (uncredited)
 * Remember Pearl Harbor (1942) - Radio Operator (uncredited)
 * Criminal Investigator (1942) - Powers
 * Joe McDoakes shorts (1942–1956) - Joe McDoakes
 * Ladies' Day (1943) - Bond Buyer (uncredited)
 * Action in the North Atlantic (1943) - Navy Pilot (uncredited)
 * All by Myself (1943) - Buck (uncredited)
 * Two Tickets to London (1943) - Sailor (uncredited)
 * Hers to Hold (1943) - Coast Guardsman with Tommy Gun (uncredited)
 * Corvette K-225 (1943) - RCAL Wireless Operator (uncredited)
 * Nearly Eighteen (1943) - Eddie
 * Resisting Enemy Interrogation (1944) - American Pilot at Headquarters (uncredited)
 * The Hucksters (1947) - Freddie Callahan (uncredited)
 * The Spirit of West Point (1947) - Joe Wilson
 * Heading for Heaven (1947) - Alvin Ponacress
 * Are You with It? (1948) - Buster
 * The Counterfeiters (1948) - Frankie Dodge
 * June Bride (1948) - Scott Davis
 * Joe Palooka in the Big Fight (1949) - Louie
 * Zamba (1949) - Marvin
 * The Tanks Are Coming (1951) - Sergeant Tucker
 * Room for One More (1952) - Minor Role (uncredited)
 * The Lion and the Horse (1952) - 'Shorty' Cameron
 * Park Row (1952) - Steve Brodie
 * Cattle Town (1952) - Shiloh
 * Battle Stations (1956) - Patrick Mosher
 * Kronos (1957) - Dr. Arnold Culver
 * Bop Girl Goes Calypso (1957) - Barney
 * The Vanishing Duck (1958) - George (voice, uncredited)
 * The Million Dollar Duck (1971) - Parking Attendant
 * Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972) - Ted
 * Charley and the Angel (1973) - Harry, Police Chief
 * Rocky (1976) - TV Commentator
 * The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987 TV movie) - George Jetson (voice)
 * Rockin' with Judy Jetson (1988 TV movie) - George Jetson (voice)
 * Jetsons: The Movie (1990) - George Jetson (voice, died in production; character finished by Jeff Bergman;  posthumous dedicated in memory)

Television

 * Make Room for Daddy (1955–1961) - Policeman, Chick
 * I Love Lucy (1957) - George Appleby (1957)
 * Maverick (1958) - Morton Connors, Cousin Elmo & Caldwell
 * The Jetsons (1962–1963, 1985–1987) - George Jetson, additional voices
 * The Partridge Family (1971) - Bear Man
 * Mission: Impossible (1973) - Captain Douglas
 * Sanford and Son (1974) - Drunk
 * Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1974) - Herb Evans
 * The Flintstone Kids (1986–1988) - Additional Voices

Production work

 * Joe McDoakes (1942–1956) (screenwriter for most of the shorts)
 * The Rookie (1959) (director and screenwriter)
 * The Gallant Men (1962–1963) (writer) - 2 episodes
 * 77 Sunset Strip (1963) (writer) - 2 episodes
 * For Those Who Think Young (1964) (screenwriter)
 * Petticoat Junction (1965) (writer) - 2 episodes
 * The Flintstones (1966) (writer) - Episode: "Curtain Call at Bedrock"
 * Gilligan's Island (writer) (1965–1966) - 2 episodes
 * The Jackie Gleason Show (1967) (writer) - 1 episode
 * I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew (1968) (writer)
 * Love, American Style (1973) (writer) - 1 episode