Ed Gardner

Ed Gardner
Gardner as Archie (left) with Ransom Sherman, the host of the radio program which replaced Duffy's Tavern for its summer hiatus.
Born	Edward Poggenberg (1901-06-29)June 29, 1901 Astoria, Queens, New York City, U.S.
Died	August 17, 1963(1963-08-17) (aged 62) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupations	Actor writer director
Years active	1931–1962
Known for	Creator and star of the radio's popular Duffy's Tavern comedy series.
Notable work	Duffy's Tavern, The Man with My Face
Spouses	Shirley Booth ​ ​ (m. 1929; div. 1942)​ Simone Hegemann ​ (m. 1943)​
Children	2

Ed Gardner (born Edward Poggenberg; June 29, 1901 – August 17, 1963) was an American comic actor, writer and director, best remembered as the creator and star of the radio's popular Duffy's Tavern comedy series.

Early years

Gardner was born Edward Poggenberg in

Before going into entertainment as a career, Gardner worked as a stenographer, a clerk for a railroad, and a salesman. He became interested in the theater when he worked with publicity for producer Crosby Gaige.^[2]

During World War I, Gardner served in the 7th Regiment from New York.^[3]

Early career

Gardner's initial venture into producing came when he and actor Eddie Blaine joined forces to produce the comedy College (or Collitch)^[2] at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village. It was then that he changed his name, signing the contract with "Ed Gardner", rather than "Ed Poggenburg".^[4]

Gardner was a representative for the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency before going into show business. He began producing for the stage in the early 1930s. He produced the drama play Coastwise on Broadway (1931) and wrote and directed the Broadway comedy After Such Pleasures (1934).

Radio

In the early 1940s, Gardner worked as a director, writer, and producer for radio programs. In 1941, he created a character for This Is New York, a program that he was producing. The character, which Gardner played, became Archie of Duffy's Tavern.^[5]

He found fame on radio with Duffy's Tavern, portraying the wisecracking, malaprop-prone barkeeper Archie. The successful radio program aired on

accent, and sounding like just about every working class New Yorker his creator had ever known, Gardner as Archie invariably began each week's show by answering the telephone and saying, "Duffy's Tavern, where the elite meet to eat, Archie the manager speaking, Duffy ain't here—oh, hello, Duffy."

Duffy the owner never appeared, but Archie did, with Gardner assuming the role himself after he could not find the right actor to play the role. Regulars in the tavern included Duffy's airheaded, man-crazy daughter, droll waiter Eddie, barfly Finnegan and Clancy the cop. The daughter was played by several actresses but began with Shirley Booth, Gardner's first wife, with whom he remained friends even after their 1942 divorce.

Gardner also brought radio directing experience to Duffy's Tavern. He had previously originated the

. He was notorious for hiring as a writer anyone who sounded funny to him in passing, but Gardner ultimately had the final say on each show's script.

In 1949, hoping to be able to take advantage of Puerto Rico's income-tax-free status for future media ventures, Gardner moved his radio show there, but it was not as successful as it was when it originated from Hollywood, California.^[6] Many guest personalities declined to make the journey to appear on the show and it eventually went off the air in 1951.

Gardner invited humorist

, radio's "Col. Stoopnagle," to write scripts and make appearances on the show during its Puerto Rico period.

Films and television

Gardner recreated his role as Archie for the motion picture version, Duffy's Tavern (1945), at Paramount. Besides Gardner, the movie featured dozens of Paramount Pictures stars. Gardner was the producer of the film noir crime/thriller The Man with My Face (1951) for his own company, Edward F. Gardner Productions. It was released by United Artists but was a boxoffice disappointment.

Gardner also tried bringing Duffy's Tavern to television in 1954, starring himself alongside comedians

(Raised on Radio) quoted writer Larry Rhine as saying the film and television failures were in large part due to Gardner's inability to adapt to camera angles. "He thought he could do TV, so he left radio," Rhine told Nachman. "He was a bad actor, and he knew it."

Personal life

Gardner and Booth were married for 13 years, divorcing in 1942. Gardner's second marriage, to Simone Hegemann in 1943, endured until his death and produced two sons, Edward, Jr. (b. 1944) and Stephen (b. 1948).^[3] By 1958, the tall, gangling comedian was semi-retired, living with his wife and sons in Beverly Hills and making only occasional guest appearances, such as a few turns on Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1961 and 1962.

Death

On August 17, 1963, Gardner died at age 62 of a liver ailment at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles.

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Quotes

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Some of Gardner's once-famous malaprops as Archie on Duffy's Tavern include:

• "Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and instead of bleeding, he sings."
• "Leave us not jump to seclusion."
• "Now, don't infirm me that I'm stupid."
• "Fate has fickled its finger at me."
• "Get me the lost and foundling division."
• "There's two kinds of guys go to church—them that doesn't and them that don't."

Selected Filmography

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1961) (Season 6 Episode 22: "The Horseplayer") as Sheridan
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1962) (Season 7 Episode 25: "The Last Remains") as Marvin Foley

References

External links

• Ed Gardner at
  IMDb
• Ed Gardner at the Internet Broadway Database
• Duffy's Tavern
• Photo of Ed Gardner, on far right