Frank Gorshin dies at 72

A fast look around Google shows he was, at the very least, a guest on Squares, IGAS and Stump the Stars. Wouldn't have been surprised if he was a Mystery Guest on WML at some point, but I didn't see any immediate confirmation.

I'll be tuning in to CSI to see him in action one more time. Wish I could have seen him in this:
http://www.rupertholmes.com/theatre/saygoodnightgracie.html

The agent that the news report quoted is almost certainly our old pal Fred Wostbrock, who's represented Gorshin for years. I almost had a chance to have dinner with Gorshin a few years ago on one of my LA trips, but I had another commitment.

Right you are, M.O.: as confirmed at Mark Evanier's 'News From Me.'

Yes, Fred Wostbrock and Frank Gorshin were good friends. I learned on May 5th that Frank was rapidly losing his battle against lung cancer.

I was contacted earlier this morning for a comment; I'll re-print it here.

>>The times I spent with Frank were memorable. He had both a stinging wit and a caring heart.

Besides enjoying his humor, sharing a couple of dinners with Frank gave me a great deal of insight into a couple of niches of show business I'd known little about. Gorshin had been among the elite in stand-up comedy, with decades of success in Vegas showrooms and the top TV variety programs; he had countless stories about his many appearances on the Ed Sullivan show. Additionally, he had been a prominent performer in films and dramatic television, and seemed to know every film star and rising starlet.

Frank was perhaps the most gifted of the impressionists, using his body and face to fully capture the essence of a celebrity before even saying a word. In that regard, Frank was nothing less than an artist. While his talent was immense, I don't believe he was the least bit arrogant. He seemed content to spend quiet time over coffee and cigarettes with friends in a dark corner of a restaurant. With Gorshin's passing we lost a piece of America's great entertainment legacy.<<


Randy
tvrandywest.com

On an SCTV parody of "What's My Line?" called "What's My Shoe Size?", one of the star panelists was supposed to either be "Kirk Douglas" or "Frank Gorshin" imitating Douglas. I may be confusing this, unfortunately, with the "Merv Griffith Show" sketch in which "Fred Travelena" was portraying Gomer Pyle. I haven't seen either in some time.

R.I.P. Frank :((

Toss in some "Password" as well.

He was eyewitness to history on February 9, 1964 as one of the artists the night The Beatles first performed for Ed Sullivan. I seem to remember that Mitzi McCall and Charlie Brill, who were also on that night, tell stories about how it wasn't the greatest night to be a comedian, when everybody in the audience was there to see something else.

At any rate, his performance that night can be seen on DVD as part of a four-episode volume featuring the complete Ed Sullivan Shows in which The Beatles performed.

And two game show favorites who were making their first appearance on Sullivan that same night, Mitzi McCall and Charlie Brill, tell about their experience on this episode of Ira Glass' public radio show "This American Life":

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/ra/281.ram

The episode is entitled "My Big Break." Their segment starts about 6:20 into the program and lasts about 18 minutes.

Frank Gorshin frequently appeared on "Rhyme and Reason" as well, and he contributed to a memorable moment....

"What do you say to an ice cream cone?" Well, you look at it and you say.... 'Hello, Cone!'

At least Robair and I thought it was funny. (It was Robair who reminded me about this, in fact.)

The best game show memory I have of Frank Gorshin is when he was a guest on "Rhyme and Reason". The rhyming phrase was "How do you make an ice cream cone?" Frank is called on first. He says, "How do you make an ice cream cone? Well, you look at it and say," and then in this rake voice like he was at a singles bar he says, "HELLO, CONE." By itself it's not funny, but that simple little phrase had everyone in absolute hysterics on the set, including Conny Van Dyke (and you all remember how she used to laugh). For the rest of the show, whenever someone needed a cheap laugh they'd say, "Hello, cone!" It was a crackup and for years I referred to Gorshin as the "Hello, cone" guy.

That was the real secret to Gorshin's appeal. Rich Little would use this big brush, but Gorshin would work more minimalist, with subtlety and restraint.

One other Gorshin observation. There's a TV commercial on some DVD for a beer in which Gorshin summons Marlon Brando as in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (this was well before "The Godfather"). He does such an incredible job bringing out the insecurities nd hesitations of Brando. In fact, during the last 20 seconds of the ad, Gorshin says absolutely nothing -- but he's still doing Brando. Even with the sound turned down on your TV you could tell who he was doing -- very few impressionists can do that.

A number of years ago, we saw Frank at Resorts in Atlantic City doing his version of "A Christmas Carol". Surprisingly good.

Mr. Gorshin was also in one of Goodson-Todman's movie ventures, 1966's "Ride Beyond Vengeance."

I got this info on ToonZone.net, which is set as my homepage. Frank will be missed.