Andy devine wizard of oz
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Andy Devine
Biography
Andy Devine (October 7, 1905 - February 18, 1977) was a rotund, raspy-voiced American character actor and comic cowboy sidekick.
His movie career started in silent films and extended until his death.
He was not named Jeremiah Schwartz at birth, this was a pseudonym during his college football years.
Devine was born in Flagstaff, Arizona. He grew up in Kingman, Arizona, where his family moved when he was a year old. He appeared in more than 400 films and shared with Walter Brennan the rare ability to move with ease from B Westerns to A pictures.
He was a star football player at Santa Clara University, which led to his first film role in the silent The Collegians.
Although it was at first thought that his peculiar voice would prevent him from moving to the talkies, it became his trademark and strongest selling point. Devine's speech was the result of a childhood accident. He had been running with a stake in his mouth and fell, the instrument piercing the roof of his mouth.
He played "The Cheerful Soldier" in The Red Badge of Courage.
Devin
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Andy Devine
For the English actor, see Andy Devine (English actor).
American actor (1905–1977)
Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977)[1] was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in WesternRoy Rogers in 10 feature films. He also appeared alongside John Wayne in films such as Stagecoach (1939), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and How the West Was Won (both 1962). He is also remembered as Jingles on the TV series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok from 1951 to 1958, as Danny McGuire in A Star Is Born (1937), and as the voice of Friar Tuck in the Disney Animation Studio film Robin Hood (1973).
Early life
Devine attended St. Mary’s and St. Benedict's College, Northern Arizona State Teacher's College, and was a football player at Santa Clara University.[2][3] He also played semiprofessional football[3] under the pseudonym Jeremiah Schwartz. His football experience led to his first sizable film role in The Spirit of Notre Dame in 1931.[3]
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Andy Devine: Hollywood’s Sidekick Star
Andy Devine was a big man not just in size but also in heart and soul. Probably the last time anyone called him “Little Andy” was when he was about three. He arrived in Kingman with his Irish-Catholic family when he was at the tender age of one. Nobody could have realized it at the time that the chubby, mischievous youngster would one day be one of Hollywood’s most famous character actors.
Andy’s father Tom had lost his leg while working for the Santa Fe Railroad in Flagstaff where Andy was born. With settlement money he took his wife Amy and family to Kingman where he bought the Beale Hotel. Andy was so full of energy that it seemed he was either getting into mischief or getting hurt in one way or another. The local Mohave Miner reported on February 29th, 1908 that “Andrew fell 13 feet from the rear porch of the hotel sustaining a fracture of his left arm and various bruises.” Another accident would change his life. One day Andy was bouncing up and down on the couch with a curtain rod in his mouth when he fell and damaged his throat
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