Harold Boyton Fryar (June 8, 1927 – June 25, 2017) was an American actor and television personality. He rose to prominence as Harlow Hickenlooper, the host of ''

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

Show'' on Channel 6 in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Career

Fryar graduated from

Arsenal Technical High School Arsenal Technical High School, commonly referred to as Tech or Arsenal Tech, is a public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, which is run by the Indianapolis Public Schools district. The school is located on a , multiple buildin ...

and

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

in 1950 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in speech. He began his broadcasting career as an announcer, emcee and writer as a teenager in

, in the mid-1940s. By the 1960s, he had developed his entertainment talents as host of programs geared to young audiences in radio and TV in Ohio.Indiana University (2008)
''Four IU alumni being inducted into the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame''
Retrieved on 30 December 2008. Fryar hosted a local Indianapolis children's show on WFBM-TV that ran from 1960 to 1972 and highlighted the old Three Stooges shorts. He appeared under the name "Harlow Hickenlooper" and was one of a trio of hosts with Curley Myers and Captain Star (Jerry Vance, a.k.a. Larry Vincent). Together, they sang songs and did skits for a live studio audience of children. Fryar fell into the Stooges'

slapstick comedy Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

routines with passion. His idea of Harlow Hickenlooper's personality was for him to be a character for whom nothing ever went right, no matter how hard he tried.Hollis, Tim (2001)
''Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows''
Published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. . Hickenlooper regularly ended up with a (shaving) cream pie in his face.Indianapolis Star (2003)

. Retrieved on 4 January 2009. Fryar also hosted several other children's shows over 43 years in local television. In 1965, Fryar was cast in the Three Stooges feature film, ''

The Outlaws Is Coming ''The Outlaws Is Coming'' (stylized as ''The Outlaws IS Coming!'') is the sixth and final theatrical comedy feature film starring The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry ...

'', playing the part of

Johnny Ringo John Peters Ringo (May 3, 1850 – July 13, 1882) was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County War in Texas during which h ...

. Upon the movie's release, Fryar quickly received a number of complaints from English teachers because he appeared in a movie with the grammatically incorrect title. Many younger children, who went expecting to see his trademark battered straw hat and striped coat, were unable to recognize him in his outlaw makeup. Older children and their parents were able to appreciate the comedy. On October 2, 2008, Fryar was inducted into the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.

Death

Fryar died of bladder cancer on June 25, 2017, in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a pri ...

, at age 90. He is survived by his wife, Henrietta, of 37 years and their four children.Hal Fryar, better known to Hoosiers as Harlow Hickenlooper, dies
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fryar, Hal 1927 births 2017 deaths American male film actors American male television actors American television personalities American children's television presenters Male actors from Indianapolis Indiana University Bloomington alumni People from Franklin, Indiana Deaths from bladder cancer in Florida Arsenal Technical High School alumni