Editing Johnny Gilbert (section)

===Stage and early television career===
A few years after graduating from high school, Gilbert resided in Florida for three months working as an [[emcee]], during which he received on-the-job training and learned to walk on stage, speak in front of a public crowd, and tell jokes and stories.<ref name= officialbio/>

The [[Dead End Kids]], a group comprising young actors such as [[Leo Gorcey]], [[Huntz Hall]], and [[Gabriel Dell]], were organizing a revue. Gilbert joined the group and played throughout the southwestern United States for 16 weeks.<ref name="Milwaukee Sentinel" /> When they played in [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], Virginia, Gilbert got special billing.<ref name= officialbio/>

In the 1950s, Gilbert joined the [[United States Army]]'s [[Seventh United States Army|Seventh Army]] [[Special Services (entertainment)|Special Services]] in [[Germany]],<ref name="jeopardycom">[https://www.jeopardy.com/sites/default/files/files/press-release/2018-08/johnny-gilbert-gwr.pdf VOICE OF ‘JEOPARDY!’ JOHNNY GILBERT EARNS GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ TITLE FOR LONGEST CAREER AS A GAME SHOW ANNOUNCER FOR THE SAME SHOW.] [[Jeopardy!|Jeopardy.com]]. Retrieved May 24, 2021.</ref> and was cast as the lead in ''[[Xanadu: The Marco Polo Musical]]'', an original [[musical comedy]] inspired in part by the [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] poem ''[[Kubla Khan]]'', which chronicles [[Marco Polo]]'s trip to China. The company toured throughout Western Europe, performing for servicemen and civilians alike.<ref name="Milwaukee Sentinel" />

After resigning from the service and returning to the U.S., Gilbert continued singing and hosting in clubs.<ref name="Milwaukee Sentinel" /> One day, a manager of a well-known group in Philadelphia asked Gilbert if he was interested in auditioning for television.<ref name= officialbio/> He said yes, and received his first television assignment as a singer and emcee on [[WDSU]] in [[New Orleans]].<ref name="Jeopardy">{{Cite web |title=Bio of Johnny Gilbert |url=http://www.jeopardy.com/showguide/bios/johnnygilbert/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105212526/http://www.jeopardy.com/showguide/bios/johnnygilbert/ |archive-date=November 5, 2010 |access-date=November 2, 2010 |website=[[Jeopardy!]] |publisher=official website}}</ref>