Marlin Hurt (May 27, 1905 â€" March 21, 1946) was an American stage
entertainer and radio actor who was best known for originating the
dialect comedy role of Beulah made famous on the Fibber McGee and
Molly program and the first season of the Beulah radio series.A
saxophone player and vocalist, Hurt was a singer with the Vincent
Lopez band and on records with Frank Trumbauer's jazz group before
becoming part of a vocal trio with Bud and Gordon Vandover billed as
"Tom, Dick, and Harry".When the act was dissolved due to Bud
Vandover's death in 1943, Hurt became a solo performer with a
combination of saxophone and dialect humor.Hurt's inspiration for the
Beulah voice was an African-American woman named Mary who cooked for
his family. While he was using this characterization on The Fred Brady
Show, the summer 1943 replacement for The Bob Burns Show on NBC,
Fibber McGee writer Don Quinn "discovered" Hurt for a widespread
audience, and cast Hurt/Beulah as the McGees' maid on what was one of
the highest rated radio programs.
entertainer and radio actor who was best known for originating the
dialect comedy role of Beulah made famous on the Fibber McGee and
Molly program and the first season of the Beulah radio series.A
saxophone player and vocalist, Hurt was a singer with the Vincent
Lopez band and on records with Frank Trumbauer's jazz group before
becoming part of a vocal trio with Bud and Gordon Vandover billed as
"Tom, Dick, and Harry".When the act was dissolved due to Bud
Vandover's death in 1943, Hurt became a solo performer with a
combination of saxophone and dialect humor.Hurt's inspiration for the
Beulah voice was an African-American woman named Mary who cooked for
his family. While he was using this characterization on The Fred Brady
Show, the summer 1943 replacement for The Bob Burns Show on NBC,
Fibber McGee writer Don Quinn "discovered" Hurt for a widespread
audience, and cast Hurt/Beulah as the McGees' maid on what was one of
the highest rated radio programs.
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