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Cliff Arquette | |
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 Arquette in 1941 | |
| Born | Clifford Charles Arquette (1905-12-28)December 28, 1905 Toledo, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | September 23, 1974(1974-09-23) (aged 68) Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Charley Weaver |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Lewis Arquette |
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Clifford Charles Arquette[1] (/ɑːrˈkɛt/; December 28, 1905 – September 23, 1974) was an Americanactor andcomedian. He was best known for performing comedic routines as his alter-ego Charley Weaver on numerous television and radio shows.[2]
Arquette was born on December 28, 1905, inToledo, Ohio, the youngest of four children born to Winifred Ethel Clark (July 30, 1878 – February 12, 1966) and Charles Augustus Arquette (October 23, 1878 – August 12, 1927), avaudevillian.[3] His siblings were Naomi "Jane" Arquette Hammett (1899–1934), Russell Arquette (1901–1982), and Lester Kear Arquette (1904–1969). Cliff was of partFrench-Canadian descent, and his family's surname was originally "Arcouet".[4] Cliff Arquette fathered a son named Alden Arquette in 1921 when he and his girlfriend were 16. Their marriage was annulled (there is no record of the marriage) but there is a record of Alden's birth.[citation needed]
Arquette is credited for inventing the modern rubbertheatrical prosthetic mask, which was flexible enough to allow changing facial expressions, and porous enough to allow air to reach the actor's skin.[5]
Arquette had been a performer in radio, theatre, and motion pictures until 1956, when he retired from show business. At one time, he was credited with performing in 13 different daily radio shows at different stations in theChicago market, getting from one studio to the other by way ofmotorboats along theChicago River through its downtown. One such radio series he performed on wasThe Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok.[6]
Arquette andDave Willock had their own radio show,Dave and Charley, in the early 1950s, as well as a television show by the same title that was on the air for three months. It was when Arquette performed on the shows that he created and inaugurated his performances as his eventual trademark character ofCharley Weaver.[7]
Arquette acceptedJack Paar's invitation to appear on Paar'sNBCTonight Show in 1957.[8] Arquette had previously created the character of "Charley Weaver, the wild old man from Mount Idy.” He would read a letter from his "Mamma" back home. This characterization proved so popular that Arquette almost never again appeared in public as himself, but almost always as Charley Weaver, complete with his squashed hat, little round glasses, rumpled shirt, broad tie, baggy pants, and suspenders. Arquette could often convulse Paar and the audience into helpless laughter by way of his timing and use of double entendres in describing the misadventures of his fictional family and townspeople. As Paar noted, in his foreword to Arquette's first Charley Weaver book:
Sometimes his jokes are old, and I live in the constant fear that the audience will beat him to the punch line, but they never have. And I suspect that if they ever do, he will rewrite the ending on the spot. I would not like to say that all his jokes are old, although some have been found carved in stone. What I want to say is that in a free-for-all ad lib session, Charley Weaver has and will beat the fastest gun alive.[9]
Arquette, as Charley Weaver, hostedCharley Weaver's Hobby Lobby onABC from September 30, 1959, to March 23, 1960. He also appeared as Charley Weaver onThe Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show in 1962.[10]
In 1960, Arquette was honored with a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to radio.
Arquette's Charley Weaver character was a fixture on the TV game showHollywood Squares for many years, always sitting in the lower left corner of the tic-tac-toe board. As a rule, he was given questions about American History, and as a rule, his answers were correct.
A Civil War buff, Arquette opened the Charley Weaver Museum of the Civil War inGettysburg, Pennsylvania, in the 1950s. The museum was housed in a building that had served as headquarters for GeneralO.O. Howard during theBattle of Gettysburg, and remained in operation for about ten years. The site later became the Soldier's National Museum, and closed in early November 2014.[4]
Arquette spent some time hospitalized in the early 1970s due to heart disease. He suffered a stroke in 1972 that kept him off ofHollywood Squares for some time.[11]
Arquette died inBurbank, California, following a stroke on September 23, 1974. He was 68 years old.[7]
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