George David Givot (February , â€" June , ) was a Russian-born
American comedian and actor on Broadway and in vaudeville, movies,
television and radio. He was known for speaking in a comedic fake
Greek dialect and was styled the "Greek Ambassador of Good Will". His
best known movie role may be as the voice of Tony in the Disney film
Lady and the Tramp ().Givot stated that he actually did not know who
his parents are; he was adopted by a French family when he was three.
According to official documents, he was born on February in
Ekaterinoslav (now Dnipro, Ukraine), Russian Empire, to Walf
Givistinsky - later William Wolf Givot(-) and Sofya - later Sarah -
Givistinsky (née Garber) (-).According to the census, the family
emigrated to the US in and settled in Omaha, Nebraska. They later
moved to Chicago, where Givot went to high school and college. His
night school journalism instructor became fed up with the class clown
and sent him to see the man in charge of the midnight to am
broadcasts at a radio station, who hired him. Paul Ash heard Givot
perform and gave him his start in vaudeville.Givot was one of the
earliest, perhaps the earliest, Greek dialect comedians, working in
vaudeville, nightclubs, film and radio from the s on. He had learned
some Greek working in a Greek candy store in Omaha as a soda jerk. In
, Billboard magazine reviewer Bill Smith panned his performance in one
East Side venue ("saw him take the prize for dullness"), but praised
him for the same routines in "Billy Rose's mauve decade nitery":
American comedian and actor on Broadway and in vaudeville, movies,
television and radio. He was known for speaking in a comedic fake
Greek dialect and was styled the "Greek Ambassador of Good Will". His
best known movie role may be as the voice of Tony in the Disney film
Lady and the Tramp ().Givot stated that he actually did not know who
his parents are; he was adopted by a French family when he was three.
According to official documents, he was born on February in
Ekaterinoslav (now Dnipro, Ukraine), Russian Empire, to Walf
Givistinsky - later William Wolf Givot(-) and Sofya - later Sarah -
Givistinsky (née Garber) (-).According to the census, the family
emigrated to the US in and settled in Omaha, Nebraska. They later
moved to Chicago, where Givot went to high school and college. His
night school journalism instructor became fed up with the class clown
and sent him to see the man in charge of the midnight to am
broadcasts at a radio station, who hired him. Paul Ash heard Givot
perform and gave him his start in vaudeville.Givot was one of the
earliest, perhaps the earliest, Greek dialect comedians, working in
vaudeville, nightclubs, film and radio from the s on. He had learned
some Greek working in a Greek candy store in Omaha as a soda jerk. In
, Billboard magazine reviewer Bill Smith panned his performance in one
East Side venue ("saw him take the prize for dullness"), but praised
him for the same routines in "Billy Rose's mauve decade nitery":
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