Arthur Q. Bryan | |
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 Bryan in 1957 | |
| Born | Arthur Quirk Bryan[1] (1899-05-08)May 8, 1899 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 30, 1959(1959-11-30) (aged 60)[2][3] Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1926–1959 |
Arthur Quirk Bryan (May 8, 1899 – November 30, 1959) was an American actor and radio personality. He is best remembered for his longtime recurring role as well-spoken, wisecracking Dr. Gamble on the radio comedyFibber McGee and Molly and for voicing theWarner Bros. cartoon characterElmer Fudd.[4]
Arthur Q. Bryan was born inBrooklyn, New York City, on May 8, 1899. He sang in a number of churches in the New York City area and had plans to be a professional singer. In 1918, he began working as an insurance clerk at theMutual Life Insurance Company.[5][6] He sang tenor with the Seiberling Singers and the Jeddo Highlanders onNBC radio.[7]
He started as a singer in 1926 onWGBS and he continued as a tenor soloist onWEAF in 1928.[6] In 1929, Bryan was an announcer atWOR radio in New Jersey.[8][6] Contemporary radio listings in a daily newspaper indicate that he was still at WOR as late as September 13, 1931.[9] In October 1931, he began working as an announcer atWCAU in Philadelphia,[7] and in 1933 he moved to Philadelphia'sWIP[10] By 1934, he was heard onWHN in New York.[11] In 1938–1940, he was a regular onThe Grouch Club, which aired on theCBS Pacific network[12][6] and was featured in some short-subject films made by the group.[13] Bryan started voicing Elmer in 1940 inElmer's Candid Camera and voiced the character all the way until his death.[6]
Bryan's work in animation did not go unnoticed by radio producers. Although his first forays into that medium were accompanied by instructions that he use the Fudd voice, Bryan soon came to the attention ofDon Quinn andPhil Leslie, the production and writing team responsible forFibber McGee and Molly and their supporting characters, two of whom spun off into their radio hits,The Great Gildersleeve andBeulah. The Gildersleeve character, played byHarold Peary, became series broadcasting's first successful spin-off hit; that plus the onset of World War II (which costFibber McGee & Molly their Mayor La Trivia, whenGale Gordon went into the Coast Guard in early 1942, and "The Old Timer"Bill Thompson was drafted almost a year later) nabbed nearly every other remaining male voice.
Bryan was first hired for the newGreat Gildersleeve series, to play the part of Cousin Octavia's secretary/assistant, Lucius Llewellyn (using the Elmer Fudd voice), and later one of Gildersleeve's cronies, Floyd Munson, the barber. His work on the series (in Bryan's natural voice) so impressed Quinn and Leslie, that Bryan was added to the cast of their main show,Fibber McGee and Molly, in 1943.[6]
In the early 1940s, Bryan played Waymond Wadcliffe on theAl Pearce & His Gang program onCBS.[14] Bryan starred asMajor Hoople (from June 22, 1942, to April 26, 1943), appeared in the cast ofThe Charlotte Greenwood Show,[15] and played Lt. Levinson on radio'sRichard Diamond, Private Detective (from September 6, 1950, to June 29, 1951). In the mid-1940s, he had the role of Duke onForever Ernest.[16]
On May 5th 1949, Bryan appeared as "Clarence, the Guardian Angel" on theScreen Directors Playhouse radio series' rendition ofFrank Capra's filmIt's a Wonderful Life. The episode also starredJames Stewart reprising his film role as "George Bailey".
Bryan first became involved with thefilm industry when he moved to Hollywood in 1936 to become a scenario writer forParamount Pictures.[7][6]
Bryan's live-action work remained largely in uncredited cameo roles, usually employing the Fudd persona, or minor supporting roles in B-movies (like the apoplectic newspaper editor in theBela Lugosi thrillerThe Devil Bat). In the 1940Charley Chase shortSouth of the Boudoir, he speaks in his normal voice, but at one point slips into his Fudd voice while coming on to Chase's wife. He did work steadily, appearing in dozens of films over the years, in such successful releases asSamson and Delilah; twoBob Hope/Bing CrosbyRoad to ... films,Road to Singapore andRoad to Rio; and theOzzie and Harriet featureHere Come the Nelsons. He appeared frequently in live-action short-subjects forWarner Bros. andColumbia Pictures.
Bryan continued as theFibber show's secondary male lead, even after Thompson and (for a time) Gordon returned to the show, and he stayed as Dr. Gamble all the way through its final incarnation on the NBCMonitor series in 1959, as well as playing Floyd on "Gildersleeve" through its conclusion in 1954. Bryan's final original work as Fudd came in the Warner Bros.Edward R. Murrow spoofPerson to Bunny.[6]
Bryan was a panelist on the early TV quiz showQuizzing the News (1948–49). He would be found in numerous productions in the early 1950s predominantly in 1-episode bit parts, such as in the early filmed television comedy,Beulah. He also landed a minor television role in 1955, as thehandyman Mr. Boggs in the short-livedCBS sitcomProfessional Father. OnThe Halls of Ivy, Bryan played Professor Warren, head of the college's history department, a role he also had on the radio program of the same name.[5] On September 17, 1956, he became ill withacute gastritis while rehearsing for an episode forProducers' Showcase called "The Lord Don't Play Favorites", three hours before its airtime. Staging directorBretaigne Windust replaced Bryan during production.[17]
Bryan died of a suddenheart attack at age 60[6] on November 30, 1959, in Hollywood.[18] Bryan is buried inValhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.[citation needed]
The DVD specials for some cartoons such asWhat's Opera, Doc?, inLooney Tunes Golden Collection, include bits of conversation between Bryan and Mel Blanc, affording a rare opportunity to hear them working together and to hear Bryan's natural voice. Bryan's natural voice is also heard as the tired hotel guest inA Pest in the House, in which Bryan "talks to himself"; Elmer Fudd is the hotel manager.[19]
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