Doodles Weaver Television screen-shot

Winstead Sheffield "Doodles" Weaver (May 11, 1911 – January 17, 1983) was an American comedian. He was the brother of NBC-TV executive Sylvester "Pat" Weaver and the uncle of actress Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... NBC (an abbreviation for National Broadcasting Company, its former corporate name) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Sylvester Pat Weaver (December 21, 1908 - March 17, 2002) was the father of actress Sigourney Weaver. ... Sigourney Weaver (born Susan Alexandra Weaver on October 8, 1949 in New York City) is an Oscar-nominated American actress. ...

Born in Los Angeles, Weaver attended Stanford University, where he was a member of the Stanford Chaparral. A Man was once quoted tto say " Doodles almost ate me one day!" In the 1940's he was a prominent member of Spike Jones' band The City Slickers. He is well remembered for his routine of a frantic and corny call of a horse race ("William Tell Overture", vide infra): "It's Girdle in the stretch! Locomotive is on the rail! Apartment House is second with plenty of room! It's Cabbage by a head!" and so on, segueing into an impression of the gravelly-voiced Clem McCarthy who forgets whether he's covering a horse race or a boxing match. The race features an apparent nag called "Feitlebaum", who begins at long odds, runs almost the entire race a distant last, and suddenly emerges as the winner. Weaver also portrayed a character in the Jones troupe called "Professor Feitlebaum". That name rhymed with, and was often mistaken for, "Beetlebaum" [1]. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University (or simply Stanford), is a private university located approximately 37 miles (60 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco and approximately 20 miles northwest of San José in an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County. ... Stanford Chaparral (also known as the Chappie) is Stanford Universitys humor magazine, established in 1899 by Bristow Adams. ... Spike Jones For the music video and film director, see Spike Jonze. ... Clem McCarthy was a famous broadcaster of horse races and boxing matches from the late 1920s to the early 1950s. ... // Arion, an immortal, extremely swift horse Arvak and Alsvid pulled Sols chariot Baku, horse-bodied dream-eaters Balius and Xanthos, Achilles horses Centaur, part human, part horse Dyaus Pita, the Sky Father, who appears as a horse Embarr, Niamhs horse Epona, Gaulish horse goddess Gandharva, male nature spirits...

After his days with The City Slickers, Weaver hosted humorous children-oriented TV shows, and played eccentric characters in various guest appearances on other shows.

Weaver had a lifelong battle with alcoholism and faced declining health in his later years. He committed suicide by gunshot at age 72.

Quotations

• "On the radio this year I hope to score / With some funny jokes you've never heard before / I resolve not to tell a corny joke / [phone rings] Hello, what's that? The church burned down? Holy smoke!" (from Happy New Year, available on various Christmas novelty CDs)

• "...a man came up to me today and said "Doodles, your hair is getting thin" and I said "Well, who wants fat hair"?" (from "The Man on the Flying Trapeze", on the CD "The Best of Spike Jones", RCA, 1967).

• "(A man said) "Doodles... did you put the cat out"? I said "I didn't know he was on fire."" (op cit).

• (In a motor race at Indianapolis): "Every eye is glued onto that car. It looks very funny with all those eyes glued on it". (from Dance of the Hours, ibid).

Note: The prolonged, hysterical and excruciating antics of Doodles and "Feitlebaum" are also to be found on the cited "Best of..." album.

External links

• Internet Movie Database entry
• 'Doodles' Weaver at The 1966 Batman Site
• 'Doodles' Weaver's Photo & Gravesite