Editing Andy Devine (section)

==Career==
[[File:Andy Devine in A Star is Born.jpg|thumb|150px|Devine in the film ''[[A Star Is Born (1937 film)|A Star Is Born]]'' (1937)]]
Devine had an ambition to act, so after college, he went to Hollywood, where he worked as a lifeguard at [[Venice, Los Angeles#Venice Beach|Venice Beach]].<ref name=Culver/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bobnolan-sop.net/Reference/Magazine.htm#1946_April_Screen_Stars_ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723031932/http://www.bobnolan-sop.net/Reference/Magazine.htm#1946_April_Screen_Stars_ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 23, 2011 |title=Prairie Tales|last=Lane|first=Frances|publisher=Screen Stars, April 1946, p. 72 |access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref>

His peculiar wheezy voice was first thought likely to prevent him from moving to the talkies, but instead, it became his trademark. Devine claimed that his distinctive voice resulted from a childhood accident in which he fell while running with a curtain rod in his mouth at the Beale Hotel in Kingman, causing the rod to pierce the roof of his mouth. When he was able to speak again, he had a labored, scratchy, duo-tone voice. A biographer, however, indicated that this was one of several stories Devine fabricated about his voice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.froggythegremlin.com/ |title=Froggy the Gremlin |publisher=Froggy the Gremlin |access-date=December 30, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110207175700/http://froggythegremlin.com/| archive-date= February 7, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> His son Tad related in an interview for Encore Westerns Channel (Jim Beaver, reporting from the 2007 [[Newport Beach Film Festival]]) that there indeed had been an accident, but he was uncertain if it caused his father's unusual voice. When asked if he had strange nodes on his vocal cords, Devine replied, "I've got the same nodes as [[Bing Crosby]], but his are in tune."{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}}

[[File:Andy Devine 1958.JPG|thumb|right|Devine with [[Rosemary Clooney]], 1958]]
Devine appeared in more than 400 films and shared with [[Walter Brennan]], another character actor, the rare ability to move with ease from [[B-movie]] [[Western movie|Western]]s to mainstream feature films. His notable roles included Cookie, [[Roy Rogers]]'s sidekick, in 10 films; a role in ''[[Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1936),<ref name="Stanley">{{cite news |last1=Stanley |first1=John |title=Arizona Explained: Andy Devine, professional sidekick |url=http://archive.azcentral.com/travel/articles/20140121arizona-explained-andy-devine-professional-sidekick.html |access-date=June 6, 2023 |work=The Arizona Republic |date=January 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704004419/http://archive.azcentral.com/travel/articles/20140121arizona-explained-andy-devine-professional-sidekick.html |archive-date=July 4, 2015}}</ref> and Danny in ''[[A Star Is Born (1937 film)|A Star Is Born]]'' (1937). He appeared in several films with John Wayne, including ''[[Stagecoach (1939 film)|Stagecoach]]'' (1939), ''[[Island in the Sky (1953 film)|Island in the Sky]]'' (1953), and ''[[The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance]]'' (1962).

He was a long-time contract player with [[Universal Pictures|Universal]], which in 1939 paired him with [[Richard Arlen]] for a series of fast-paced B-pictures (usually loaded with stock footage) that mixed action and comedy; they made 14 over a two-year period. When Arlen left in 1941, the series continued for another two years, teaming Devine with various actors, often [[Leo Carrillo]].

Most of Devine's characters were reluctant to get involved in the action, but he played the hero in ''Island in the Sky'' (1953), as an expert pilot who leads other aviators on an arduous search for a missing airplane. Devine was generally known for his comic roles, but [[Jack Webb]] cast him as a police detective in ''[[Pete Kelly's Blues (film)|Pete Kelly's Blues]]'' (1955), for which Devine lowered his voice and was more serious than usual.

His film appearances in his later years included roles in ''[[Zebra in the Kitchen]]'' (1965),<ref>{{Cite web |title=AFI{{!}}Catalog |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/18560-ZEBRA-IN-THE-KITCHEN?cxt=filmography |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=catalog.afi.com}}</ref> ''[[The Over-the-Hill Gang]]'' (1969), and ''[[Myra Breckinridge (film)|Myra Breckinridge]]'' (1970).
[[File:Stagecoach-02 - Andy Devine et George Bancroft.jpg|thumb|right|Devine and [[George Bancroft (actor)|George Bancroft]] in ''[[Stagecoach (1939 film)|Stagecoach]]'' (1939)]]
[[File:Under California Stars (1948) 1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Roy Rogers]], [[Jane Frazee]] and Devine in ''[[Under California Stars]]'' (1948)]]
[[File:Andy Devine Wild Bill Hickok 1956.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok]]'']]
[[File:Andy Devine star HWF.JPG|thumb|right|Devine's star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]], 6366 [[Hollywood Boulevard]]]]

Devine worked extensively in radio, and is well remembered for his role as Jingles, [[Guy Madison]]'s sidekick in ''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'', which the two actors reprised on television. Devine appeared over 75 times on [[Jack Benny]]'s radio show between 1936 and 1942, often in Benny's semiregular series of Western sketches, "Buck Benny Rides Again". Benny frequently referred to him as "the mayor of [[Van Nuys]]". In fact, Devine served as honorary mayor of that city, where he lived, preferring to be away from the bustle of Hollywood, from May 18, 1938, to 1957, when he moved to [[Newport Beach]].<ref>"Andy Devine Named 'Mayor'." ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', May 10, 1938.</ref><ref name=Collura>Collura, Joe. [http://www.classicimages.com/people/article_7950298b-4f07-5c64-abf8-d0e244ac57ec.html "Big Man, Bigger Talent"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110192651/http://www.classicimages.com/people/article_7950298b-4f07-5c64-abf8-d0e244ac57ec.html |date=January 10, 2016 }}. ''Classic Images'', June 25, 2009.</ref>

Devine also worked in television. He hosted ''[[Andy's Gang]]'', a children's TV show,<ref name=Collura/> on [[NBC]] from 1955 to 1960. During this time, he also made multiple appearances on NBC's ''[[The Ford Show|The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford]]''. In addition, he was a guest star on many television shows in the 1950s and 1960s, including an episode of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' titled "[[Hocus-Pocus and Frisby (The Twilight Zone)|Hocus-Pocus and Frisby]]", playing the part of Frisby, a teller of tall tales who impresses a group of gullible alien kidnappers. He played Hap Gorman, a character likewise given to tall tales, in five episodes of the NBC TV series ''[[Flipper (1964 TV series)|Flipper]]'', during its 1964 season. He played the role of Jake Sloan in the 1961 episode "Big Jake" of the acclaimed anthology series ''[[The Barbara Stanwyck Show]]'', also on NBC. He also played Honest John Denton in the episode "A Horse of a Different Cutter" of the short-lived series ''[[The Rounders (TV series)|The Rounders]]''.

He made a cameo appearance as Santa Claus in an episode of the 1960s live-action [[Batman (TV series)|''Batman'']] TV series on ABC. The episode, entitled "The Duo Is Slumming", was originally broadcast on December 22, 1966. In this role, he directly addressed the viewers, wishing them a merry Christmas.

Devine made his stage debut in 1957 with his portrayal of Cap'n Andy in [[Guy Lombardo]]'s production of ''[[Show Boat]]'' at the Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, New York.<ref name=Collura/> In 1973, he went to [[Monroe, Louisiana]], at the request of George C. Brian, an actor and filmmaker who headed the theater department at the [[University of Louisiana at Monroe]], to perform in ''Show Boat''.

He also performed voice parts in animated films, including [[Friar Tuck]] in [[Walt Disney]]'s ''[[Robin Hood (1973 film)|Robin Hood]]''. He provided the voice of Cornelius the Rooster in several TV commercials for [[Kellogg's Corn Flakes]].

Devine was a pilot and owned Provo Devine, a flying school that trained flyers for the government during World War II.