
Louis Nye
Actor · 1913 – 2005 · Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Louis Nye, born Louis Neistat, was an American comedic actor. He was an entertainer to the troops during World War II and is best known for his work on countless television, film and radio programs. Nye decided to go to New York City, where he worked in radio, playing various roles on soap operas. He recalled "I still think of myself as an actor. In the radio days, I was busy playing rotten Nazis, rich uncles and emotional juveniles -- the whole span -- and the only time I tried to be funny was at parties." Nye served in the United States Army during World War II, and because he earned laughs by mimicking other soldiers, he was assigned to run the recreation hall. Following his discharge, he returned to New York and began working in live television. He also appeared in several plays on Broadway, and made many appearances on television variety shows such as The Jack Benny Program (including one memorable turn as a crying cab driver), The Jimmy Durante Show, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and The Victor Borge Show. He earned his greatest fame as a regular on The Steve Allen Show, performing with Allen, Don Knotts, Tom Poston, Pat Harrington Jr., Dayton Allen, Gabriel Dell and Bill Dana. He primarily played urbane, wealthy, and often fey bon vivants; as part of the weekly "Man on the Street" sketches, his characterization of the pretentious country-club braggart Gordon Hathaway, with his catchphrase, "Hi-ho, Steverino," plus Allen's inability to resist bursting into hysterical laughter at his ad-libs, made Nye one of the favorites on Allen's show. When production moved to Los Angeles, Nye went too and became a character actor in Hollywood. Nye was cast as a guest star on many television series, including Make Room for Daddy; Guestward, Ho!; Burke's Law; The Munsters; Love, American Style; Laverne & Shirley; Starsky and Hutch; Police Woman; Fantasy Island; St. Elsewhere; and The Cosby Show. Nye played dentist Delbert Gray on several episodes of The Ann Sothern Show from 1960 to 1961, the romantic interest of Olive Smith, played by Ann Tyrrell. Nye also played Sonny Drysdale, the spoiled rich stepson of Milburn Drysdale on The Beverly Hillbillies during the 1962 season. He did six episodes, and received more mail than from anything else he had ever done on television, but the character was dropped. It was rumored that someone in the CBS network, or a sponsor, thought Sonny was too "sissified". However, Nye revived the character briefly during the 1966 season. During this period, Nye appeared in several television commercials for various products, including Rath brand lunch meats and the Better Business Bureau. Nye appeared as a celebrity judge on The Gong Show during the late 1970s. He also recorded a few comedy LPs, doing a variety of characterizations. Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to reach his potential in movies. Many of his character roles were little more than cameos. Nevertheless, he performed with Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Walter Matthau, Robert Mitchum, Jack Webb and Joanne Woodward, and others. Nye also appeared on the lecture circuit, in concerts and in nightclubs, and did voice work in animation, such as Inspector Gadget with Don Adams.
Movies24
Movie5.4ActionComedyWhen a wealthy sheikh puts up $1 million in prize money for a cross-country car race, there is one person crazy enough to hit the road hard with wheels spinning fast. Legendary driver J.J. McClure enters the competition along with his friend Victor and together they set off across the American landscape in a madcap action-adventure destined to test their wits and automobile skills.
Cannonball Run II
1984 · 362 votes
Movie6.0ComedyRomanceA man gives his friend a series of lessons on how to cheat on one's wife without being caught.
A Guide for the Married Man
1967 · 45 votes
Movie4.6ComedyO.C. and Stiggs aren't your average unhappy teenagers. They not only despise their suburban surroundings, but they also plot against it. They seek revenge against the upper-middle-class Schwab family, who embody all they detest: excess.
O.C. and Stiggs
1987 · 22 votes
Movie4.4ComedyA would-be filmmaker and actress shake up the industry with a trick dog who gets discovered by a studio bus driver in the 1920s.
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976 · 17 votes
Movie7.2ComedyTV MovieA 50th anniversary tribute to Bugs Bunny
Happy Birthday, Bugs! 50 Looney Years
1990 · 6 votes
Movie6.6ComedyTo help his divorced neighbor claim a substantial inheritance, a family man poses as her husband. The ruse spills over into his career in advertising, and his recent promotion relies on his wholesome and moral appearance.
Good Neighbor Sam
1964 · 59 votes
Movie7.7DocumentaryTV MovieA documentary about the life of Errol Flynn, with recollections from friends and family.
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
2005 · 6 votes
Movie6.3ComedyRomanceHenry J. Tyroon leaves Texas, where his oil wells are drying up, and arrives in New York with a lot of oil money to play with in the stock market. He meets stock analyst Molly Thatcher, who tries to ignore the lavish attention he spends on her but, in the end, she falls for his charm.
The Wheeler Dealers
1963 · 23 votes
Movie5.3DramaComedyMiddle-class suburbanites Larry and Kitty grow bored with their lives and respective marriages. Although each always found the other's manner grating, they fall in love when thrown together--without their spouses--on vacation. On returning home they try to break things off, only to grow closer. A holiday together will finally settle whether they should end their marriages.
The Facts of Life
1960 · 29 votes
Movie4.4HorrorComedyAfter a trip to Romania, popular high school quarterback Tony Walker becomes a werewolf, and struggles to come to terms with his hirsute situation.
Full Moon High
1981 · 38 votes
Movie7.0ComedyStella Johnson is a single mother living in the town of Harper Valley. Most of the townsfolk, particularly those on the school PTA, think she is a little too liberal so they're making things tough for her and her daughter. So she runs for the position of PTA President, which infuriates them. Stella decides to get revenge with the help of her friends.
Harper Valley P.T.A.
1978 · 29 votes
Movie6.1ComedyTV star Jason Steel reluctantly becomes the sounding board for his best friends' bored wives, and must fend off their advances while managing his own fragile relationship.
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?
1963 · 8 votes
Movie3.3ComedyCollins College needs a new department head for their science department, so Doctors Carter and Zorch consult Thinko, the campus computer, and come up with Dr. Mathilda West, who has degrees in lots of things, but turns out to be disruptively attractive as well.
Sex Kittens Go to College
1960 · 18 votes
- Movie8.0DocumentaryTV Movie
A program featuring original comedy skits written as a tribute to Stan Laurel.
Salute to Stan Laurel
1965 · 1 votes
Movie7.0ComedyTV MovieSteve Martin's second NBC special was made up entirely of sketches. Highlights include: Marty Robbins' "El Paso" with monkeys; "The Death Of Socrates"; and "Bizarre Oddities Of The World."
Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty
1980 · 4 votes
Movie6.0ComedyWarTwo Air Force friends have fun during their enlistment.
The Last Time I Saw Archie
1961 · 5 votes
Movie2.0MusicComedyMitzi Gaynor in a song and dance hour with an all-male, star-studded ensemble featuring her main guests Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie) and Jack Albertson (Chico and the Man), plus 28 celebrities as her "Million Dollar Chorus." Songs performed include: "I Got the Music in Me," "The Most Beautiful Guy in the World," and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life."
Mitzi & 100 Guys
1975 · 1 votes
Movie7.2MusicComedyWhile touring a museum, Rodney Hatch, an unremarkable barber, places an engagement ring intended for his girlfriend on the hand of a statue of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. From Mount Olympus, Venus witnesses the event and decides to visit Rodney on Earth by magically inhabiting the statue. Hilarity ensues when she starts to fall in love with Rodney and competes with his girlfriend for his attentions. This television version of Kurt Weill's successful Broadway musical is much more faithful to the stage version than the 1948 Ava Gardner film, which changed the story considerably and cut most of the songs.
One Touch of Venus
1955 · 4 votes
Movie6.0ComedyTV MovieSteve Martin's third NBC special serves as a salute to 1970s television commercials. Taking shots at everything from "Suzy Chapstick" to Palmolive to advertising agencies, this special showcased Martin's genius for physical comedy.
All Commercials... A Steve Martin Special
1980 · 1 votes
Movie10.0ComedyDuring WWI, the Germans try to encourages and hires a band of certain Mexican guerrillas and bandits to make trouble on the Texas border and attack the Stonewall Farm. He plans this so the Americans will have no choice but to send more troops to Texas instead of Europe. Masterminding the plot is a German spy who has, at his disposal, the RX4, a specially equipped weapon-bearing automobile of awesome speed, but a U.S. Army lieutenant carries the day with his own fleet of Model T racers.
Charge of the Model T's
1977 · 1 votes
- Movie
The characters from the comic strip come alive with comedy and music.
Movie7.0FamilyAnimationAs Halloween approaches, the bears of Bearbank begin to fear an invasion of monsters from nearby Monster Mountain. As most of the bears prepare to leave the city, one brave little bear, Ted E. Bear, sets out to confront fear!
The Great Bear Scare
1983 · 2 votes
Movie7.0AnimationFamilyPartly based on a true story, a little girl writes to the editor of a newspaper concerning the existence of Santa Claus.
Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus
1974 · 8 votes
Movie8.4AnimationFamilyA young boy's grandfather tells him the story of a city that forgot about Christmas until a carpenter named Matthew comes to town and teaches the children about Christmas, much to the chagrin of the Mayor and his cronies.
The City That Forgot About Christmas
1974 · 5 votes
Series24
TV7.6Talk ShowThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · 97 votes
TV5.8ComedyTalk ShowThe Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · 11 votes
TV6.8Talk ShowThe Merv Griffin Show
1962 · 12 votes
TV8.1ComedyThe off-kilter, unscripted comic vision of Larry David, who plays himself in a parallel universe in which he can't seem to do anything right, and, by his standards, neither can anyone else.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
2000 · 980 votes
TV6.3DramaComedyPassengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins.
The Love Boat
1977 · 199 votes
TV6.8Talk ShowThe Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.
The Dick Cavett Show
1968 · 22 votes
TV5.7DramaSt. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series starred Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd and William Daniels as teaching doctors at a lightly-regarded Boston hospital who gave interns a promising future in making critical medical and life decisions.
St. Elsewhere
1982 · 93 votes
TV7.0ComedyFamilyThe Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.
The Cosby Show
1984 · 515 votes
- TV5.9DramaComedy
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963 · 8 votes
TV7.5Talk ShowTonight Starring Jack Paar is an American talk show hosted by Jack Paar under The Tonight Show franchise from 1957 to 1962. It originally aired during late-night. During most of its run it was broadcast from Studio 6B inside the RCA Building. The same studio would also host early episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Its theme song was an instrumental version of "Everything's Coming Up Roses", and the closing theme was "So Until I See You" by Al Lerner.
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1957 · 6 votes
TV5.7DramaCrimeNaked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”.
Naked City
1958 · 13 votes
TV7.3Action & AdventureDramaStreetwise Detective David Starsky partners up with a more intellectual partner, Kenneth 'Hutch' Hutchinson, to protect citizens and patrol the streets of Bay City.
Starsky & Hutch
1975 · 209 votes
TV6.9ComedyFamilyJed Clampett's swamp is loaded with oil. When a wildcatter discovers the huge pool, Jed sells his land to the O.K. Oil Company and at the urging of cousin Pearl, moves his family to a 35-room mansion in Beverly Hills, California.
The Beverly Hillbillies
1962 · 139 votes
TV6.2DramaBurke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.
Burke's Law
1963 · 12 votes
TV6.5Sci-Fi & FantasyDramaA magical island hosted by Mr Roarke and Tattoo where weekly guests learn valuable life lessons in their pursuit of fulfilling their dreams. Not all dreams are fulfilled as expected.
Fantasy Island
1978 · 130 votes
TV6.4Action & AdventureCrimeSergeant “Pepper"” Anderson, an undercover cop for the Criminal Conspiracy Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department, poses undercover from mob girl to prostitute.
Police Woman
1974 · 33 votes
TV7.0ComedyFamilyThe Bob Hope Show hosted by Bob Hope, debuted on April 9, 1950. During the 1952-1953 season, NBC rotated with other variety shows in a Sunday night block known as "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (Sept. 1950 to Dec. 1955). Also known as, "The Chevy Show with Bob Hope." When the first special debuted in October of 1950 it was the most expensive television program made up to that point - costing an astronomical $1,500 a minute to produce. Bob Hope had his own television show and radio show at the same time. For the next three seasons, The Bob Hope Show was broadcast once a month on Tuesday nights, giving Milton Berle a week off. Bob ended his radio show in April, 1956. Bob Hope also had another show by a similar name, "The Bob Hope Show (All Star Revue)". In addition, he performed in "Specials" for many years. It is the longest running variety program in television's history with a record of 45 years of televised entertainment.
The Bob Hope Show
1950 · 5 votes
TV6.2ComedyThe Steve Allen Show
1956 · 6 votes
TV7.1ComedyFamilyBest friends, roommates, and polar opposites, Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney work together at the Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee and keep each other's spirits up at home.
Laverne & Shirley
1976 · 75 votes
TV7.8DramaKraft Television Theater is an American, well-received anthology series presenting live television dramas.
Kraft Television Theatre
1947 · 5 votes
TV7.7Action & AdventureAnimationThe continuing adventures of paranormal investigators Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, their secretary Janine Melnitz and their mascot ghost Slimer.
The Real Ghostbusters
1986 · 303 votes
TV6.4RealityThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet", which continued to be used in Chevrolet advertising for several more years after the cancellation of the show.
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956 · 5 votes
TV7.8ComedyLaugh along with funnyman Jack Benny as he brings his underplayed humor to TV along with regular performers from his radio show days.
The Jack Benny Program
1950 · 17 votes
TV7.9ComedySci-Fi & FantasyA family of friendly monsters that have misadventures all while never quite understanding why people react to them so strangely.
The Munsters
1964 · 488 votes