Theodore Lee Zeigler (June 3, 1926 - December 12, 1999) was an American actor, voice actor and comedian.

Early life

Born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, the last of 11 children, Zeigler was the son of a union organizer who was killed by the mafia in the 1930s. His sister Dodie was a

Ziegfeld girl Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls and showgirls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical Broadway revue spectaculars known as the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), in New York City, which were based on the Folies Bergère of Paris. Descripti ...

and busily worked on stage and on radio. He started working as a fireman at 17, and during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he served in the navy, taking part in the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

and in the

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fo ...

, and surviving to a

kamikaze attack , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

which had sunk his ship.

Career

After the war Zeigler graduated in direction and production at the Goodman Theater School, where he became friend with classmate

Harvey Korman Harvey Herschel Korman (February 15, 1927May 29, 2008) was an American actor and comedian who performed in television and film productions. His big break was being a featured performer on CBS' '' The Danny Kaye Show'', but he is best remembered ...

, with whom in 1954 he formed a short-lived stand-up comedy duo known as Marsh and Field. Zeigler started working on television in the mid-1950s, playing Uncle Bucky for three seasons in the WGN-TV kids show ''Lunchtime Little Theater''. He then worked in Australia, where he hosted the HSV talk show ''

House Party A house party is a type of party where people gather at the residence of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, ...

'', and in Canada, where between 1962 and 1967 he had large success with the CFCF kids show ''Jellybean Comedy Clubhouse'' (also known as ''Lunchtime Little Theater'' and ''The Johnny Jellybean Show''), in which he played the titular character Johnny Jellybean as well as a number of other roles, making extensive use of improvisation. After the cancellation of the show he formed a comedy duo with

Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''Transformers'' animated series, reprising the role many times since 2007. He has also voiced many other c ...

, working mainly on CBC, and in 1970 he decided to move back to the US, settling down in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. In the 1970s Zeigler became a regular on ''

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' was an American variety show that starred American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was ...

'' and in its follow-up ''The Sonny & Cher Show'', and also appeared in ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...

'', ''

The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Ha ...

'', ''

The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show The Hudson Brothers were an American musical group formed in Portland, Oregon, consisting of brothers Bill Hudson, Brett Hudson and Mark Hudson (musician), Mark Hudson. They were discovered by a record producer while recording music at a local st ...

'', '' The Shields and Yarnell Show'', among others. A brain tumor and its treatment kept him out of work for several years, and in the mid-1980s he reprised his activity mainly working as a voice actor for animated series including '' Heathcliff'', ''

Galtar and the Golden Lance ''Galtar and the Golden Lance'' is a 30-minute animated sword and sorcery television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which aired in syndication in 1985–86 as part of ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera''. The show ran for 21 ep ...

'' and ''

Challenge of the GoBots ''Challenge of the GoBots'' (or ''GoBots'' for short) is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, based on the GoBots toyline released from Tonka. The show was first broadcast in syndication on September 8, 1984, then the show joine ...

'', and serving as personal manager for a number of figures of the entertainment industry.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1926 births 1999 deaths Actors from Chicago American voice actors American television actors American stand-up comedians