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Bob Jellison
Born
Robert Dow Jellison

(1908-08-21)August 21, 1908
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
DiedApril 21, 1980(1980-04-21) (aged 71)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Iowa[1]
OccupationActor
Years active1930–1970
Spouse(s)Eleanor Dye West
(m. 1937; ?)
Evelyn M. Houlihan
(m. ?; div. 1942)
Louise E. Hutton
(m. ?; div. 1954)
?
(m. ?)

Robert Dow Jellison[2] (August 21, 1908[3][2] – April 21, 1980) was an American character actor of radio, stage and screen, most often seen in comic roles, the best known being Bobby the Bellboy in I Love Lucy.[4][5] He was the uncle of voice actor Bill Ratner.[6][4][7]

Early life and career

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Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Jellison was born into a musical family, the son of singer/choir director James Otto Jellison and singer and pianist Zella Blanche Dow.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Interviewed in 1953, Jellison recalled making his professional debut at age 3 as part of his parents' vaudeville act, working the lyceum and Chautauqua circuits.[15] By no later than 1918, Des Moines audiences had become well acquainted with the then 9-year-old Robert—aka "Bobby" or "Master Robert"—Jellison, actor and "sweet voiced boy soprano."[16][17][18] In January 1920, jellison's performance as Tom Tucker, the midshipmite in Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore, was singled out for praise by the Des Moines Register.[19]

By the fall of 1923, the family had relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where his father became affiliated with radio station WCCO. Subsequent conversations with staff dramatist Marjorie Ellis McGrady led to Bob's employment at the station, initially as a sound effects man,[20] and later as an actor.[21]

One of Jellison's best known radio roles is Enor in Lone Journey. Other shows on which he appeared include Author's Playhouse and Hot Copy,[1] as well as The Sealtest Village Store.[22] His best remembered television role by far is Bobby, a bellhop at the fictional Beverly Palms Hotel, as seen on both I Love Lucy and The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show.[5] Other notable TV credits include Meet Millie and Life with Luigi, while two films reportedly "enlivened [by] his comic antics" are MGM's Too Young to Kiss and the RKO short subject Newlyweds Take a Chance.[23] Another, the 1962 George Roy Hill-Isobel Lennart screen adaptation of Tennessee Williams' Period of Adjustment, features veteran character actors Jellison, Ransom Sherman, Artie Lewis, Norman Leavitt, Lee Krieger, and Herbert Vigran as a sextet of off-key Christmas carolers.[24]

Personal life and death

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Jellison married at least four times. From August 1937 until at least October 1940, he was the husband of Eleanor Dye West.[25][2] His marriages to Evelyn M. Houlihan and Louise E. Hutton each ended via divorce (in 1942 and 1954, respectively).[26][27]

On April 21, 1980, Jellison died of liver disease at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. Survived by his wife, his body was cremated.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b "'Fun Fountain' Returning to the Airwaves Tonight". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 4, 1942. Sec. 3 p. 3.
  2. ^ a b c "Illinois, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP79-2YNK : Sat Mar 09 16:08:44 UTC 2024), Entry for Robert Dow Jellison and National Broadcasting Co, 16 October 1940.
  3. ^ "California, Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGBZ-VBH : 26 November 2014), Robert Dow Jellison, 21 Apr 1980; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
  4. ^ a b Ratner, Bill (March 9, 2015). "Bobby Jellison in Life of Riley 1949". YouTube. "My uncle Bobby plays the nosey neighbor in this scene from a 1949 TV episode of The Life of Riley starring Jackie Gleason. Bobby is best known for playing Bobby the Bellboy in I Love Lucy."
  5. ^ a b Edwards, Elizabeth (2001). I love Lucy : Celebrating Fifty Years of Love and Laughter : The Official 50th Anniversary Tribute. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press. p. 275. ISBN 0-7624-1058-2. "Robert Jellison (regular extra; recurring as Bobby, the Beverly Palms Hotel bellboy)" See lso:
  6. ^ Baker, Joan (2005). Secrets of Voice-Over Success: Top Voice-Over Artists Reveal How They Did It. Boulder, CO: Sentient Publications. p. 96. ISBN 1-59181-033-7.
  7. ^ "'Hit the Deck' to Open July 20th at Music Circus". The Citrus Heights Bulletin. July 17, 1953. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJP6-4LK7 : Sat Aug 31 05:25:53 UTC 2024), Entry for Robert Dora Jellison and James Otto Jellison, 21 Aug 1908.
  9. ^ "Social and Club Happenings of a Day". The Des Moines Register. June 16, 1905. p. 5.
  10. ^ "Capital City Opera Quartet and Accompanist". The Des Moines Register. September 23, 1917. Pt. II, p. 5.
  11. ^ "Services to Be Thursday for Singer, Choir Director". The Minneapolis Star. February 17, 1976. p. 41.
  12. ^ "Past Events". Des Moines Tribune. December 8, 1917. p. 7.
  13. ^ "Mr. Otto Jellison to Take Part". The Des Moines Register. September 23, 1914. p. 7.
  14. ^ "Missionary Society to Entertain Girls at Dinner". The Des Moines Register. December 2, 1917. p. 32.
  15. ^ Kitchen, Katherine (July 31, 1953). "Comic likes To Open All The Culinary Stops With Squab Dish". The Sacramento Bee. July 31, 1953. p. 18.
  16. ^ "One of the Junior Stars in Coming White Sparrow Show: Robert Jellison". The Des Moines Register. January 29, 1918. p. 10.
  17. ^ "Notable Main Event: Robert Jellison". The Des Moines Register. May 5, 1918. p. 10.
  18. ^ [ "Thousands Who Saw Baby Osborne at Kitty Klub Party Voted It Huge Success; The Stars—Bobby Jellison, Betty Susong, Baby Marie Osborne, Kenneth Fye"]. Des Moines Tribune. January 13, 1919. p. 1.
  19. ^ "'Pinafore' Revival Is Artistic Hit; Poise and Polish Marks Presentation of Operetta at Auditorium; Exceptional Work". The Des Moines Register. January 24, 1920. p. 2.
  20. ^ McGrady, Margaret Ellis (June 25, 1936). "Static". The Minneapolis Journal. p. 19.
  21. ^ "Petunia to Relate Jonah's Adventure". Minneapolis Star Tribune. June 29, 1930. pt. III, p. 10.
  22. ^ Wilk, Ralph (August 3, 1945). "Los Angeles". Radio Daily. p. 4.
  23. ^ "'Hit the Deck' to Open July 20th at Music Circus". The Citrus Heights Bulletin. July 17, 1953. p. 4.
  24. ^ "Reverse Coaching". The Hollywood Reporter. May 23, 1962. p. 2. ProQuest 2339742790. In the interests of realism, director George Roy Hill had the six report for an early two-hour singing lesson with Maestro Cepparo. They were required to sing—off-key!
  25. ^ "Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1969", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q212-J39Z : Sat Mar 09 14:16:59 UTC 2024), Entry for Robert D Jellison and Eleanor Dye West, 23 Aug 1937.
  26. ^ "Divorce Suits Filed". The Los Angeles Times. December 25, 1942. Pt. I, p. 13.
  27. ^ "Divorce Suits Filed". The Los Angeles Times. May 19, 1954. Pt. II, p. 12.
  28. ^ Ratner, Bill (Aug 18, 2017). "Bobby the Bellboy: The Archiving of an I Love Lucy Bit Part Player". YouTube.
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