I learned last night that actor Arnold Stang passed away on Sunday at age 91. Again, one of those situations where you haven’t heard of somebody in so long that you don’t even know that they’re still alive. He was most noted for his gratingly, high-pitched nasal, Brooklyn accent that definitely commanded your attention. And since he was a diminuitive person, 5′-3″ and 100 lbs., he was usually cast as a nerdy pipsqueak. As such, he is the last of the memorable trio of “pipsqueaks” along with Wally Cox and Don Knotts.
AP
Arnold Stang started his acting career playing roles on live radio programs in the 1940′s and was an immediate success. His wife of 60 years, JoAnne Stang remembers her husband zipping across Manhattan in the 1940s and ’50s, from radio show to radio show, all live and challenging in their own way because all the acting is done through voice, with no facial expressions or body language, she said. He was just about always cast as a teenager until he switched over with introduction of television where he managed to continue pulling it off as a teen for a while until his age couldn’t be disguised anymore.
But he was never lacking for work. Every bit as skilled in drama as he was a comedian, he appeared in many movies. Perhaps his most noted dramatical role was as Frank Sinatra’s druggy sidekick in The Man With the Golden Arm. His Wikipedia entry has a good summation of his acting career that encompassed radio, tv, movies and Broadway theater HERE.
He’s one from a long list of people that I’ve always wished I could tell them “Thanks!” in person for all the enjoyment that they brought to people through their entertaining.
We need to get this equipment checked out now and I have to get some more coffee going. But before we do, let’s take a look at this cute Christmas jingle from Mother Nature that our friend Gil D. sent for our enjoyment:
