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George Fenneman

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George Fenneman
Fenneman in Your Funny, Funny Films, 1963
Born
George Watt Fenneman

(1919-11-10)November 10, 1919
Peking, China
DiedMay 29, 1997(1997-05-29) (aged 77)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Game show host, announcer
Years active1942–1993
Spouse
Peggy Clifford
​
(m. 1943)​
Children3

George Watt Fenneman (November 10, 1919 – May 29, 1997) was an American radio and television announcer. Fenneman is best remembered as the show announcer and straight man on Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life. Marx, said of Fenneman in 1976, "There never was a comedian who was any good unless he had a good straight man, and George was straight on all four sides".[1] Fenneman, born in Peking (Beijing), China, died from respiratory failure in Los Angeles, California, on May 29, 1997, at the age of 77.[2]

Early life

[edit]

Fenneman was born in Peking (now Beijing), China, the only child of Edgar Warfield and Jessico "Jessie" (née Watt) Fenneman.[3] He was an infant when his parents moved to San Francisco, California, where he grew up. Fenneman's father was a certified public accountant and worked in the import-export business.[1][4] His mother was an author[5] and a minister of the Divine Art of Living.[4][6] When Fenneman was eight, he wrote and starred in his own drama before his neighborhood friends in the basement of his home.[7] Fenneman grew up in San Francisco's West Portal district.[8]

Education

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Fenneman graduated from San Francisco Polytechnic High School.[8][9] In 1942 he graduated from San Francisco State College with a B.A. in Speech and Drama.[1][10]

Military service

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Poor eyesight and asthma prevented Fenneman from military action in World War II. Fenneman became a broadcast correspondent for the U.S. Office of War Information, where he met Jack Webb, a fellow staff announcer who would later hire him for Webb's Dragnet radio and TV series.[10] Fenneman's work in the Army included announcing the wartime service show Sound Off!.[11]

In the early part of World War II, he and college classmate Bob Sweeney formed a stand-up comedy team and entertained troops at military bases.[12]

Broadcast career

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Radio

[edit]

In 1941, Fenneman was hired by KSFO (AM) radio for $35 per week. He immediately found himself hosting the show Lunch at the Top of the Mark. The 22-year-old Fenneman's first interview that day was the actor Boris Karloff.[13] In 1942, Fenneman took a job as a radio announcer and actor at KGO (AM), increasing his salary to $55 per week.[8] His first acting role on the station was the early California bandit Joaquin Murrieta in the production Golden Days.

Returning to broadcasting in 1946 following World War II, he moved to Los Angeles. "I figured if you're going to be in this business, you've got to be in southern California".[8] In 1948, the George Fenneman Show was heard weekdays at 4:00 p.m. on KECA (AM) radio in Los Angeles. Fenneman was reported to be "one of the better radio voices".[14] In 1948, Fenneman was an announcer for the Abbott and Costello radio show.[15] He became the announcer on the Coca-Cola Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands, heard on over 168 radio stations on the NBC Blue Network.[16][1]

You Bet Your Life

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Fenneman is best remembered as the announcer and good-natured sidekick for Groucho Marx's comedy/quiz show You Bet Your Life. He won the audition as the radio show's announcer in 1947.[16] Fenneman stayed with the show when it moved to television in 1950,[17] on NBC where it remained for 11 years. Fenneman was known as "Groucho Marx's man Friday, who helps him on Wednesdays (on radio) and Thursdays (on TV)".[7]

Fenneman's mellifluous voice, clean-cut good looks, and gentlemanly manner provided the ideal foil for Marx's zany antics and bawdy ad libs.[18]

Robert "Bob" Dwan, director of You Bet Your Life said 'He had a naturally good voice". One day, Fenneman met Dwan at Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles during his lunch hour. Dwan told Fenneman to immediately go to a studio where auditions were being held for a new Groucho Marx program. Dwan said Fenneman's demeanor made him the perfect straight man for the show.[2] Initially hired for $55 per week,[2] Fenneman's salary reportedly grew to "more than $50,000 per year".

Dwan said "He was the perfect foil for Groucho. We didn't pick him for that reason, however. We picked him because he was very bright, someone who could keep track of the quiz score and do the math on the spot. George's main principle was that he didn't tell the jokes, no matter how good a reply he might have. He knew what his role was, and he was, above all, a gentleman".[18] Fenneman got the job, and was paid $55 a week to start.[2] Groucho frequently encouraged contestants to bet odd amounts, making the arithmetic difficult to keep straight on the fly during a live show. Dwan said "Groucho had a tendency to get them (the show's contestants) to bet odd amounts, like $17.36. So George had a bit of a task".[2] Fenneman said he was " a spring-board of interplay" between him and Marx. "I was the foil for a lot of his wit. It was sheer trauma for me. I showed up every night and prayed".[19]

Fenneman was a resilient target of Marx's frequent mispronunciations of his name ("Feminine") and other light-hearted teasing. "Groucho called Fenneman the male Margaret Dumont", according to Frank Ferrante, who portrayed Marx onstage in Groucho: A Life in Revue. "George took it as the highest praise. Groucho called him the perfect straight man".[2]

Fenneman said "I was the gentleman, the nice fellow. Older ladies who would watch the show would see me as their son. Oh, the letters they used to write, castigating mean old Groucho for being cruel to that nice young man".[19]

When a young female contestant referred to Fenneman as "Mr. Fidderman", Marx ordered Fenneman onstage and accused him of leading a "double life". On one episode Fenneman was suspended in a harness as a substitute for the show's stuffed duck that was dropped from overhead with a $100 payoff in its beak when a contestant said the secret word during every episode. Fenneman's wife said "Everyone had told Groucho 47 times before the show, 'Don't touch him', so George came down, and Groucho immediately came over and pushed him; and he turned upside down. He was absolutely terrified".[2]

Fenneman said of working with Marx, "I can't impress on you too much what it meant to be working with a legend. I was 30 years old and working with this man who was 60 at the time, who'd been the biggest star of all the media".[1]

Success in reruns

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It was customary practice, established in radio, for a successful network series to take the summer months off and return in the fall. A summer-replacement series, usually a musical or comedy half-hour, would fill the established time slot for 13 weeks until the parent program returned. You Bet Your Life was the first network TV series to continue into the summer months, with reruns of some of the previous season's better episodes. To inform the public that these summer broadcasts were repeats and not new programs, the summer show was titled The Best of Groucho.[citation needed]

After You Bet Your Life ended its network run in 1961, NBC's syndication department prepared new versions of the 1950s shows, with all mentions of the original sponsor removed or cropped out of the picture. Because the reruns had already been established as The Best of Groucho, the syndicated version took that title, and was very successful.[citation needed]

Gradually the show fell out of fashion, as faster-paced game shows videotaped in color forced the old, leisurely black-and-white show off the air. The show remained a memory until 1975, when Groucho Marx accepted a huge shipment of old film prints from an NBC warehouse. Producer John Guedel, anxious to see if there was still a market for the show, sold it on a trial basis to a local station for less than $50 for each night. The show became an instant success, prompting Guedel to send the reruns into syndication almost immediately.[20]

George Fenneman remained friends with Marx until the latter's death in 1977.[18] During that year, Fenneman recalled he was walking a frail Groucho Marx back to his bed during one of his last visits and Marx quietly whispered "Fenneman, you always were a lousy dancer".[18]

The Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Show

[edit]

Fenneman also announced the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Comedy Show, sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes. Fenneman said Martin and Lewis would shower him with sheet music or cut off his tie while he was on camera selling cigarettes.[21] On one episode, Fenneman spoofed himself. During a parody of You Bet Your Life, on the broadcast of October 14, 1952, "Groucho Martin" (Dean Martin) asks Fenneman to remind listeners about how "the other couple" is doing. Fenneman said "The sponsor and the sponsor's wife are way ahead with eighteen million dollars".[22]

Game show host

[edit]

Fenneman also hosted many game shows: in 1953, Your Claim To Fame, a panel quiz show sponsored by the Regal Amber Brewing Company of San Francisco,[23] Anybody Can Play in 1958 with Dolores Reed,[24][25] The Perfect Husband, Who In The World and Your Surprise Package in 1961.[21] Fenneman hosted an un-aired pilot episode of Take My Advice, an NBC game show where a celebrity panel offered advice to contestants about how to handle personal problems.[26] In 1966 he hosted two pilot episodes for Crossword, a game show that would be renamed The Cross-Wits in 1975 and aired with Jack Clark as host.

Commercial production company

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Fenneman formed the "George Fenneman Productions (Ltd.)" commercial production company in 1962. His first client was the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. He also created commercials for the Paper Mate pen company.[27]

He was the commercial spokesman for Lipton Tea during much of the 1960s, and in that role appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show when The Beatles made their second U.S. TV appearance on February 16, 1964. The entire episode (including commercials) had been taped at Miami Beach, Florida's Hotel Deauville prior to broadcast.[28]

Fenneman also recorded commercials for Philip Morris. From 1978 to the end of his life in 1995, Fenneman was both the public relations spokesperson and commercial announcer for the Los Angeles, California Home Savings & Loan.[2][29]

Television show host

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In 1963, he hosted an ABC television program called Your Funny, Funny Films, a precursor to America's Funniest Home Videos.[18] He was also host of a highly regarded KCET-TV program, On Campus.[21]

On January 14, 1964, Fenneman hosted the half-hour special, Here Comes a Star. During the special, Fenneman led the audience on a tour of the then brand new Hanna-Barbera Animation Studio on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Fenneman interviewed Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera as they readied their newest cartoon show The Magilla Gorilla Show. The show featured story artists, layout men, animators, inkers and painters putting together the first Magilla Gorilla cartoon. The show ended with the completed premiere episode of the cartoon.[30][31]

In 1974, Fenneman co-hosted Talk About Pictures, an Emmy Award-winning program created by Life magazine photographer Leigh Wiener. The show featured a wide-ranging cross-section of photographers and photography collectors including Ansel Adams, Alfred Eisenstaedt and Graham Nash. 130 episodes were broadcast on NBC's Los Angeles affiliate KNBC. The show won a local Emmy award in 1974.[32]

Announcing career

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Fenneman was the announcer for a number of radio shows, including Pete Kelly's Blues, The Orson Welles Show, The Eddie Albert Show and The Hedda Hopper Show. He was also an announcer on television shows as well, including The Life of Riley, The Jim Nabors Hour and The Donny & Marie Show. He was also an announcer on the radio program Go Navy! The Navy Swings. Fenneman described the show as "a labor of love".[11]

Fenneman also narrated many commercial and industrial films including work for Lockheed Aviation and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.[10]

Dragnet

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Fenneman was one of a pair of announcers on Dragnet. He shared narration duties with Hal Gibney on radio and the original 1951 Dragnet television series, and then with John Stephenson when Dragnet returned to TV in 1967. It was Fenneman's voice which announced, "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent", while Stephenson would be heard at the end of the episode describing the court trials and verdicts.[21]

On radio, Fenneman also provided the intro to the finale (and last commercial): "On (date), trial was held in Department (number), Superior Court of the State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial. Now, here is our star, Jack Webb, for (sponsor)".

(Webb frequently took the cue with "Thank you, George" or "Thank you, George Fenneman," as Fenneman was not identified in the show's credits, which were read by Gibney and ended with "Hal Gibney speaking".)

Gunsmoke

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He was the principal commercial announcer for the radio version of Gunsmoke, and frequently introduced "Matt Dillon" (William Conrad) after the episode to extoll the virtues of L&M or Chesterfield cigarettes.[citation needed]

The Simpsons

[edit]

Fenneman narrated The Simpsons season 5 episode "Marge on the Lam" broadcast on November 4, 1993.[33] The episode's closing sequence is a reference to Dragnet. Fenneman recorded the episode's ending in a Dragnet-style summation of the three principal characters' fate.[34]

Residual income from announcing

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Fenneman purchased a 10 percent interest in the You Bet Your Life production company. "I had a good lawyer" Fenneman said. "Instead of the usual residuals, I get a percentage of the gross revenues (from You Bet Your Life)". Fenneman also received residual payments for Dragnet. "Every time you see the show and hear me say 'The story you are about to see is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent', I get a paycheck. A small one, but they add up".[29]

Spurious credits

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Oft-repeated statements that Fenneman is the voice of the US Naval Observatory Master Clock or the National Institute of Standards and Technology's radio station WWV are untrue. Those announcements were actually performed by Fred Covington (1928–1993).[35]

Acting career

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Radio actor

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Fenneman played Buzz, the co-pilot on the radio show I Fly Anything, a radio adventure drama, broadcast on ABC from November 29, 1950, until July 19, 1951.[36][37]

Film and television actor

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He appeared on screen in the 1951 film The Thing from Another World as "Dr. Redding",[38][39] Fenneman was a neighbor of The Thing from Another World's director, Christian Nyby. A spontaneous on-set script revision convinced Fenneman his future was not in movie acting. Producer Howard Hawks took a long scientific speech away from Robert O. Cornthwaite's character Dr. Carrington, preferring to give exposition to a minor character (Fenneman). The scene was "the most difficult to shoot" in the science fiction film. Fellow cast member Kenneth Tobey said "George didn't even know what he was talking about, and it took him thirty takes to get through the speech". As a radio performer accustomed to reading from a script and not used to quick memorization, Fenneman stumbled over the technical gobbledegook ("We have the time of arrival on the seismograph..."), resulting in multiple takes of the scene. In the final film, viewers can see the other actors trying not to smile as Fenneman spouts the lines.[40]

In the 1950s, he made appearances in serialized science and nature themed segments on The Mickey Mouse Club, including a February 1957 appearance as Dr. Bill Richards, who undertakes a difficult expedition into the wilderness in The Secret Of Mystery Lake.[41]

Fenneman portrayed Randy Rambo in The Tom Ewell Show episode "The Prying Eye," broadcast on March 28, 1961.[42] On October 20, 1966, he appeared as a newsman in "The Yegg Foes of Gotham", episode 48 of the Batman TV show.[43]

In 1967 Fenneman appeared in the film adaptation of the Broadway show How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as himself. In the film, he portrayed the host of a new television show who is introduced as "George Fenneman". He is credited at the end as "TV Announcer".

Personal life

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George and Peggy Fenneman, 1958

Fenneman married his college sweetheart, Margaret "Peggy" Jane Clifford in 1943.[2][44] They had three children. He died from respiratory failure at his home in Los Angeles, California, on May 29, 1997, at the age of 77.[2] Fenneman's body was cremated, and the location of ashes is unknown.

Awards

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  • 1981 — Hollywood Walk of Fame, 1500 Vine Street (location)[45]
  • 1974 — National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles Chapter, Regional "Emmy" Award, Information Series - Talk About Pictures.[32]
  • 1956 — Best Announcer, Television Critics of the United States, Motion Picture Daily and Fame magazines
  • 1955 — Best Announcer, Television Critics of the United States, Motion Picture Daily and Fame magazines
  • 1954 — Best Announcer, Television Critics of the United States, Motion Picture Daily and Fame magazines
  • 1953 — Best Announcer, Television Critics of the United States, Motion Picture Daily and Fame magazines
  • 1951 — Best Announcer, Television Critics of the United States, Motion Picture Daily and Fame magazines

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1951 The Thing from Another World Dr. Redding Uncredited
1953 Tanga-Tika Narrator
1953 Mystery Lake Bill Richards
1954 Stormy, the Thoroughbred Narrator
1954 The World Dances Narrator
1958 A Question of Romance Quizmaster
1960 Ocean's 11 On Phone Talking to Sheriff Wimmer Voice, Uncredited
1960 The Horse with the Flying Tail Narrator
1967 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Himself / TV Announcer
1969 Once You Kiss a Stranger Announcer
1971 Big Jake Narrator (voice) Uncredited
1981 The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell Himself / TV Announcer PBS, 1981–82
1983 Those Wonderful TV Game Shows Himself / TV Announcer NBC, 1983–84
1991 Here He Is... The One, The Only... Groucho Himself / TV Announcer HBO, 1991–92
2005 The Naked Monster Narrator (voice) Final film role

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Vosburgh, Dick (June 30, 1997). "Obituary: George Fenneman". The Independent.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Van Gelder, Lawrence (June 6, 1997). "George Fenneman, 77, Dies; Courtly Foil for Groucho". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "George Watt Fenneman in the U.S., Consular Reports of Births, 1910-1949". ancestry.com. December 5, 1919. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Lemaire, Rene Watt (1970). "Rene Watt Lemaire: Recollections of Life in Lander County, Nevada; Battle Mountain Business; and the Nevada State Senate". www.archive.org. University of Nevada Oral History Program. p. 8. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  5. ^ Fenneman, Jessico Watt; Stander, Marjorie Hobson (1936). The Art of Living. San Francisco, California. OCLC 123300936.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ "Divine Art of Living". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. September 5, 1953.
  7. ^ a b "Distinguished Target" (PDF). TV Radio Mirror. New York, New York: Macfadden Publications. March 1956. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d Malaspina, Rick (December 6, 1981). "George Remembers Groucho". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California.
  9. ^ "$1,500 reward offered in theft of cornerstone". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. December 9, 1987. p. A2.
  10. ^ a b c Galloway, Doug (June 5, 1997). "George Fenneman". Variety. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Cecil (August 15, 1958). "Top Announcer Dignified Emcee". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Copley News Service. p. 8. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  12. ^ Anderson, Nancy (August 28, 1977). "Funnyman Sweeney now producer". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Ohio, Cincinnati. Copley News Service. p. 147. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  13. ^ Long, Tom (October 15, 1989). "Monarch Parade Rolls, by George!". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Santa Cruz, California. p. 2. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "Radio in Review - News and Comment" (PDF). Radio Life and Television. Los Angeles, California: Carl M. Bigsby. August 15, 1948. p. 9. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  15. ^ Forsberg, Bruce (May 31, 2009). "Abbott & Costello Radio Log". docplayer.net. DocPlayer, Inc. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Korman, Seymour (October 27, 1957). "My War With Groucho". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  17. ^ "George Fenneman, Groucho's Sideman Dies". The Fresno Bee. June 5, 1997. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  18. ^ a b c d e "George Fenneman, Sidekick To Groucho Marx, Dies at 77". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 5, 1997.
  19. ^ a b "George Fenneman - Groucho's Foil Is Back". Des Moines Tribune. December 11, 1974.
  20. ^ Marx, Andy (March 2, 2013). "The day my grandfather Groucho and I saved You Bet Your Life". BoingBoing.net. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  21. ^ a b c d Oliver, Myrna (June 5, 1997). "George Fenneman; 'You Bet Your Life' Announcer". Los Angeles Times.
  22. ^ Hayde, Michael (2003). "Martin & Lewis On The Radio Part Two: The 1951-53 Series". Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  23. ^ Leichter, Jerry (September 13, 1953). Ross Reports on Television. Television Index, Inc. p. 6.
  24. ^ "George Fenneman becomes quizmaster in Anyone Can Play". The Times-Tribune. Scranton, Pennsylvania. July 5, 1958. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  25. ^ Clemens, Samuel. "Tall and Tawny", Classic Images. September 2022
  26. ^ Terrace, Vincent (September 28, 2018). Encyclopedia of Unaired Television Pilots, 1945-2018. McFarland, Incorporated. p. 229. ISBN 9781476672069.
  27. ^ Rich, Alan (August 8, 1962). "Fenneman Forms TV Film Firm". Valley Times. North Hollywood, California. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  28. ^ "Forgotten Icons of Broadcasting: George Fenneman". wentyworld.com. 4 April 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  29. ^ a b Maksian, George (September 1, 1977). "He took it all from Groucho". Daily News. New York, New York.
  30. ^ Buchner, Chris. "The Magilla Gorilla Show". www.saturdaymorningsforever.com. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  31. ^ "I've Got A Gorilla For Sale. Magilla Gorilla For Sale!". www.pruiksma.com. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  32. ^ a b "The Photography of Leigh Wiener - Talk About Pictures". www.leighwiener.com. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  33. ^ "Marge on the Lam". The Simpsons.com. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  34. ^ Kirkland, Mark (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Fifth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Marge on the Lam" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  35. ^ Schmidt, Richard (December 2004). "Reflections on Ten Years of Network Time Service". Proceedings of the 36th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval (PTTI) Meeting: 123. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  36. ^ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 336. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 2019-10-09. I Fly Anything, adventure drama.
  37. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
  38. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  39. ^ Fuhrmann, Henry "A 'Thing' to His Credit." Los Angeles Times, May 25, 1997. Retrieved: April 20, 2012.
  40. ^ McCarthy, Todd (2000). Howard Hawks - The Grey Fox of Hollywood. Grove Press. p. 480. ISBN 9780802137401.
  41. ^ "George Fenneman". www2.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on February 11, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  42. ^ Leszczak, Bob (2012). Single Season Sitcoms, 1948-1979 A Complete Guide. McFarland, Incorporated. p. 187. ISBN 9780786493050.
  43. ^ "Batman: The Yegg Foes of Gotham (TV)". www.paleycenter.org. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  44. ^ "Births + Marriages + Deaths - Notices of Intentions to Wed". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. July 15, 1942. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  45. ^ "George Fenneman". walkoffame.com. October 7, 1981. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
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