Louis Nye
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.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 1.764 |
Birthday | 1913-05-01 |
Place of Birth | Hartford, Connecticut, USA |
Also Known As | Louis & Anita, Louis Neistat, |
1975
Mitzi & 100 Guys
0/0
Mitzi Gaynor in a song and dance hour with an all-male, star-studded ensemble featuring her main guests Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie) a...
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Mitzi & 100 Guys
1964
Good Neighbor Sam
6.3/45
To help his divorced neighbor claim a substantial inheritance, a family man poses as her husband. The ruse spills over into his career in advertising,...
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Good Neighbor Sam
1967
A Guide for the Married Man
5.9/34
A man gives his friend a series of lessons on how to cheat on one's wife without being caught.
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A Guide for the Married Man
1988
Ted E. Bear: Cub Reporter
0/0
Ted E. Bear and friends host a newscast.
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Ted E. Bear: Cub Reporter
1960
The Facts of Life
5.2/25
Middle-class suburbanites Larry and Kitty grow bored with their lives and respective marriages. Although each always found the other's manner grating,...
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The Facts of Life
1981
Full Moon High
4.2/31
High-school quarterback Tony Walker is bitten by a werewolf and transforms into a growling beast that hungrily chases down beautiful girls.
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Full Moon High
2005
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
7.8/5
A documentary about the life of Errol Flynn, with recollections from friends and family.
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The Adventures of Errol Flynn
1960
Sex Kittens Go to College
3.4/14
Collins College needs a new department head for their science department, so Doctors Carter and Zorch consult Thinko, the campus computer, and come up...
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Sex Kittens Go to College
1963
The Stripper
4.7/11
An aging former movie starlet whose Hollywood career went nowhere, now reduced to dancing with a third-rate touring show, finds herself stranded in a...
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The Stripper
1983
The Great Bear Scare
7/2
As Halloween approaches, the bears of Bearbank begin to fear an invasion of monsters from nearby Monster Mountain. As most of the bears prepare to lea...
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The Great Bear Scare
1963
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?
5.7/6
TV star Jason Steel reluctantly becomes the sounding board for his best friends' bored wives, and must fend off their advances while managing his own...
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Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?
1974
Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus
6/5
Partly based on a true story, a little girl writes to the editor of a newspaper concerning the existence of Santa Claus.
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Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus
1961
The Last Time I Saw Archie
5.7/3
Two Air Force friends have fun during their enlistment.
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The Last Time I Saw Archie
1974
The City That Forgot About Christmas
10/2
A young boy's grandfather tells him the story of a city that forgot about Christmas until a carpenter named Matthew comes to town and teaches the chil...
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The City That Forgot About Christmas
1980
Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty
6.5/2
Steve Martin's second NBC special was made up entirely of sketches. Highlights include: Marty Robbins' "El Paso" with monkeys; "The Death Of Socrates"...
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Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty
1981
The Reluctant Dragon
0/0
About a peaceful, poetry-loving dragon, and St. George the dragon-slayer, who is engaged by the villagers to kill him. Together with the help of the d...
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The Reluctant Dragon
1977
Charge of the Model T's
0/0
During WWI, the Germans try to encourages and hires a band of certain Mexican guerrillas and bandits to make trouble on the Texas border and attack th...
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Charge of the Model T's
1963
The Wheeler Dealers
6.2/20
Henry J. Tyroon leaves Texas, where his oil wells are drying up, and arrives in New York with a lot of oil money to play with in the stock market. He...
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The Wheeler Dealers
1962
Zotz!
5.6/14
Jonathan Jones, a professor of ancient languages, comes into possession of an ancient coin. He translates its inscription, which gives him three power...
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Zotz!
1965
Salute to Stan Laurel
0/0
A program featuring original comedy skits written as a tribute to Stan Laurel.
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Salute to Stan Laurel
1980
All Commercials... A Steve Martin Special
6/1
Steve Martin's third NBC special serves as a salute to 1970s television commercials. Taking shots at everything from "Suzy Chapstick" to Palmolive to...
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All Commercials... A Steve Martin Special
1978
Harper Valley P.T.A.
7.2/22
Stella Johnson is a single mother living in the town of Harper Valley. Most of the townsfolk, particularly those on the school PTA, think she is a lit...
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Harper Valley P.T.A.
1984
Cannonball Run II
5.4/312
When a wealthy sheikh puts up $1 million in prize money for a cross-country car race, there is one person crazy enough to hit the road hard with wheel...
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Cannonball Run II
1976
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
4.1/15
A would-be filmmaker and actress shake up the industry with a trick dog who gets discovered by a studio bus driver in the 1920s.
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Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
2024
Daytime Revolution
0/0
For one extraordinary week in February 1972, the Revolution WAS televised. DAYTIME REVOLUTION takes us back in time to the week that John Lennon and Y...
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