See also Biography Index (A) :: Filmography Index (A) :: Discography Index (A)

A show-stopping comic for decades, actor Arnold Stang started out as a youngster on radio. Born in 1925 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, just north of Boston, the scrawny youngster auditioned at age nine for radio`s "Horn and Hardart`s Children`s Hour" and won a part, which set off a two-decade stint as one of radio`s most amusing personalities. Moving to New York, his squawk-y, unmistakable voice was featured on the kiddie program "Let`s Pretend" and the beloved Gertrude Berg classic "The Goldbergs". As a feisty, talented second banana, he traded quips with the best of them: Eddie Cantor; Jack Benny; Fred Allen; Fanny Brice; Milton Berle, you name it. He performed his first legitimate play on Broadway at age 12 with "All In Favour". Arnold subsequently moved with Milton Berle to TV in the late 1940s and found a very comfortable comedy niche. On the satirical "Henry Morgan`s Great Talent Hunt" (1951), he was a regular member of the stock company as a nerdy teen named Gerard. Plucky, bespectacled geeks who usually had sand kicked in their face became his specialty. While on radio in the 1940s, Arnold also started lending his talents to cartoon voice overs, beginning with Popeye the Sailor`s pal Shorty, later moving into a lengthy hitch as "Hoiman" the mouse in Paramount`s "Herman and Katnip" series. His best known Brooklynesque animal character, of course, was in the Joseph Barbera - William Hanna 1961 classic cartoon series "Top Cat" (1961), playing the slick, smart-alecky title role that was very reminiscent of Phil Silvers` Sgt. Bilko character from "The Phil Silvers Show" (1955).