Earl Bennett, 87, was "Sir Frederick Gas" with Spike Jones' Band
mack
Oct. 4, so says the LA TIMES.
Garrett
Earl Bennett, aka "Sir Frederick Gas," dead at 87
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Hanna-Barbera TV series editor Earl Bennett, better-known to the public as
comedian Sir Frederick Gas during a seven-year stint with Spike Jones And
His City Slickers, died Thursday in Woodland Hills, California. He was 87.
Bennett's career as a film editor included the Hanna-Barbera series
Frankenstein Jr. And The Impossibles (1966), Fantastic Four (1967), The
Cattanooga Cats (1969), Where's Huddles? (1970), and The C.B. Bears and
Scooby's Laff-A-Lympics (both 1977).
After leaving the Jones circus in 1954, Gas was a member of the UPA editing
staff. He was mostly involved in voiceovers for commercials. Later, he
joined H-B's staff as a sound effects specialist.
He edited five episodes of the 1964-65 series Famous Adventures of Mr.
Magoo, as well as 1962's Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol, the first
made-for-TV animated special. He handled sound effects in the 1959
theatrical cartoon Bwana Magoo, and had an uncredited voice role as a
prospector in Magoo Beats The Heat (1956).
Bennett was a sound effects editor for the H-B series Scooby-Doo, Where Are
You! (1969), Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! (1971) and Speed Buggy
(1973). He edited The Ghastly Ghost Town, a 1972 episode of The New
Scooby-Doo Movies.
As Sir Frederick Gas, he appeared in 19 episodes of the very live-action The
Spike Jones Show in 1954.
In 1947, he had roles in the movies Sarge Goes to College (as Eddie) and The
Egg and I (an uncredited appearance as a reveler at a country dance).
He was born Earl Fred Bennett on November 5, 1919 in Kansas City, Kansas.
In addition to a career as a film editor, Bennett was also an accomplished
artist, having studied under Thomas Hart Benton. He was a graduate of the
Kansas City Art Institute, specializing in painting and sculpture.
After graduating, he turned to the stage, getting a long run in the Ken
Murray revue Blackouts.
Jones caught Bennett's nightclub act in 1947 and soon offered him a place
with the City Slickers; he was looking for front men to replace Doodles
Weaver, who was leaving the ensemble.
Jones had credited Sir Frederick Gas as a gag on several recordings already,
but placed the mantle of Gas on Bennett, who knew how to burp.
Gas also specialized in over-the-top Yiddish accents, vocalizing parodies of
"Ghost Riders in the Sky" (with Dick Morgan) and "Tennessee Waltz" (with
Sara Berner). His version of "Ghost Riders" angered the song's original
composer, Vaughn Monroe, and "Tennessee Waltz" sometimes had trouble getting
airplay.
He appeared on the Jones TV shows, often wearing a huge, unruly mop of hair,
from 1951 to 1954, when Mousie Garner replaced him. Bennett and the other
City Slickers were in the 1954 Universal Studios film Fireman, Save My
Child.
Bennett painted in his leisure time following his retirement.
Earl Bennett is survived by sons Kenneth and William Summers, their spouses,
five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are
being handled by Pierce Brothers Valhalla Mortuary, (818) 763-9121.
MJ Emigh
Now, what about that guy with the bangs who's mouth was perpetually open sideways? Who was THAT guy? Also very well-known from the '54 TV show. I guess Doodles and Ish will always be most associated with the Slickers, but there were some guys who got all that screen time that year.
MJ Emigh
robtpost...@gmail.com
> I got two email already! Yeah, I KNOW that Ish wasn't in the Slickers, but people generally recall it that way. He just fits the scheme. He was pretty cool, nonetheless.