Guy Marks (31 October 1923 â€" 28 November 1987) was an American
actor, comedian, singer and impressionist. A familiar face on TV
sitcoms and variety shows of the 1960s and 1970s, he appeared
regularly on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Dean
Martin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Joey Bishop Show. He had a
natural gift for mimicry, and his impressions of celebrities such as
Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Boris Karloff, and many others were
considered among the best. However, he also could imitate a housefly
on a slippery oil cloth, neon signs, alligators, driftwood furniture,
rubber bands, frozen chickens, frogs, praying mantis, and â€" his
favorite â€" an ostrich, all of which found their way into his act or
in characters he played on TV.He was born Mario Scarpa in South
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of 11 children born to
Ermelindo and Adelina Scarpa, who had emigrated from Italy to America
at the beginning of the 20th century. Ermelindo was a clarinetist with
the RCA recording orchestra under the direction of Josef Pasternack,
and went on to name all of his children after the characters in
operas. Mario was named after the hero in La Tosca, an opera his
mother admired while she was carrying him. Other siblings included
Victoria, Yolanda, Gioconda, Mafalda, Alba, Melba, Thenistocles
(Domisticles) and Aristides. Two additional older brothers died at
ages 2 and 5 due to scarlet fever. In school he spent most of his time
imitating his teachers and frustrating the principal. Marks enlisted
in the US Army on December 12, 1940, and after serving two years,
signed up for a six-year stint in the Merchant Marines. He sailed
around the world, including stops in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Hong
Kong. When he came back to the US, he did various odd jobs, including
bus boy, drill press operator, and even selling flowers. He got into
show business by pure accident, when some friends pushed him up onto
the stage at Palumbo's in South Philadelphia, where he did impressions
of W.C. Fields, Wendell Willkie and The Ink Spots. He found a partner
and worked as a team under the name The Al Mar Brothers, but they soon
fumbled and Marks was back doing more odd jobs. However, he found
pickling hams, driving a cab and construction workâ€"his only other
optionsâ€"unfulfilling, so he decided to give New York a try. While in
the Big Apple he rented a room with five other guys including fellow
South Philadelphians Eddie Fisher, and Al Martino. He began working
nightclubs in New York, Atlantic City and Chicago, and by the end of
the 1950s Marks, Martino and Fisher were all winners on Arthur
Godfrey's Talent Scouts.Marks made his first appearance on The Ed
Sullivan Show on May 29, 1960. From that point on he appeared dozens
of times throughout the 1960s and 1970s on popular variety shows. His
big break came when he was cast as a regular on the 1962â€"63 season
of The Joey Bishop Show. Marks appeared in the first 19 episodes of
the show's second season as Freddy, manager to Bishop's character,
when he was suddenly replaced. Newspapers at the time reported
conflict between the show's star Bishop and his second banana Marks.
Bishop denied it in the press, and many years later would go on to
have Marks on his popular late-night talk show. Next, Marks would make
a memorable appearance in an episode of Dick Van Dyke in 1963 when he
played a love interest for Sally, played by Rose Marie. The episode,
entitled "Jilting the Jilter", featured much of Marks' night-club
routine at the time. Then in May 1964 he appeared on The Hollywood
Palace to perform another of his famous night-club bits, entitled "How
The West Was REALLY Won?". The skit featured Marks' flawless
imitations of Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Robert Mitchum and a
Native American Indian. In 1965 he guest-starred on two
science-fiction programs, My Living Doll and My Favorite Martian. In
the latter on an episode called "The Martian's Fair Hobo", Marks plays
a hobo named Shorty Smith. The character allowed Marks to show off his
talents for imitating animals and inanimate objects, such as foghorns
and frogs. He was second banana again, in 1967, when he was featured
as the American Indian "Pink Cloud" in the 1967 ABC comedy Western
Rango, starring Tim Conway. Despite early favorable reviews, the show
lasted only 17 episodes. In 1969 he appeared on an episode of the
popular The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (TV Series) sitcom, playing a gangster
who sounds a lot like Humphrey Bogart. He ended the decade with an
appearance as a thief trying to hold up Lucille Ball on the Here's
Lucy show. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Marks made frequent
appearances on The Dean Martin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Joey
Bishop Show; on The Merv Griffin Show alone he appeared a total of 15
times over nine years. During this time he also continued to work in
night clubs all over the country and in Las Vegas, performing
alongside Eddie Fisher, Ann-Margret, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Petula
Clark. In a 1974 episode of The Odd Couple, he portrayed a late-night
horror movie host named Igor, who sounded a lot like Boris Karloff.
His only big-screen appearance was in the 1975 film Train Ride to
Hollywood, where he was called upon again to imitate Humphrey Bogart.
Also in 1975 Marks performed his famous "How The West Was REALLY Won?"
routine on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast to Michael Landon. It was
by far the hit of the show, and had host Martin and fellow roaster Don
Rickles howling with laughter. In 1977 he starred alongside Billy
Barty in a sitcom pilot called "Great Day". It told the story of a
group of homeless who contemplate taking jobs to help save their
soon-to-be-foreclosed mission. On an episode of Police Woman called
"Blind Terror" that aired in 1978, Marks appeared along with Sandra
Dee and the show's star, Angie Dickinson. In 1980 he lent his voice
along with Rip Taylor to an animated short called Don't Miss the Boat.
In 1981 he was working with Lucille Ball again, in the only project
she ever directed, the unsold pilot for a sitcom called "Bungle
Abbey". Marks' final role on TV was a featured one in the 1986â€"87
sitcom You Again? as Harry, a poker-playing friend to the show's star
Jack Klugman.Marks attracted international attention with the surprise
novelty hit song "Loving You Has Made Me Bananas", which parodied the
medleys and other popular music conventions of the big band era; the
single first charted in April 1968. It was based on an old night-club
routine of Marks, featuring an affected band singer of the radio era
broadcasting from a remote Pennsylvania town. The song hit #19 on the
Hot Adult Contemporary chart and #51 on the Hot 100. A re-release did
similarly well in 1978, reaching #25 in the UK Singles Chart. The UK
chart showing led to an appearance by Marks on Top of the Pops in May
1978. Two out of the three backing singers accidentally sang "Your
father had the shopfitter blues", while the other one correctly sang
"Your father had the shipfitter blues."
actor, comedian, singer and impressionist. A familiar face on TV
sitcoms and variety shows of the 1960s and 1970s, he appeared
regularly on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Dean
Martin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Joey Bishop Show. He had a
natural gift for mimicry, and his impressions of celebrities such as
Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Boris Karloff, and many others were
considered among the best. However, he also could imitate a housefly
on a slippery oil cloth, neon signs, alligators, driftwood furniture,
rubber bands, frozen chickens, frogs, praying mantis, and â€" his
favorite â€" an ostrich, all of which found their way into his act or
in characters he played on TV.He was born Mario Scarpa in South
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of 11 children born to
Ermelindo and Adelina Scarpa, who had emigrated from Italy to America
at the beginning of the 20th century. Ermelindo was a clarinetist with
the RCA recording orchestra under the direction of Josef Pasternack,
and went on to name all of his children after the characters in
operas. Mario was named after the hero in La Tosca, an opera his
mother admired while she was carrying him. Other siblings included
Victoria, Yolanda, Gioconda, Mafalda, Alba, Melba, Thenistocles
(Domisticles) and Aristides. Two additional older brothers died at
ages 2 and 5 due to scarlet fever. In school he spent most of his time
imitating his teachers and frustrating the principal. Marks enlisted
in the US Army on December 12, 1940, and after serving two years,
signed up for a six-year stint in the Merchant Marines. He sailed
around the world, including stops in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Hong
Kong. When he came back to the US, he did various odd jobs, including
bus boy, drill press operator, and even selling flowers. He got into
show business by pure accident, when some friends pushed him up onto
the stage at Palumbo's in South Philadelphia, where he did impressions
of W.C. Fields, Wendell Willkie and The Ink Spots. He found a partner
and worked as a team under the name The Al Mar Brothers, but they soon
fumbled and Marks was back doing more odd jobs. However, he found
pickling hams, driving a cab and construction workâ€"his only other
optionsâ€"unfulfilling, so he decided to give New York a try. While in
the Big Apple he rented a room with five other guys including fellow
South Philadelphians Eddie Fisher, and Al Martino. He began working
nightclubs in New York, Atlantic City and Chicago, and by the end of
the 1950s Marks, Martino and Fisher were all winners on Arthur
Godfrey's Talent Scouts.Marks made his first appearance on The Ed
Sullivan Show on May 29, 1960. From that point on he appeared dozens
of times throughout the 1960s and 1970s on popular variety shows. His
big break came when he was cast as a regular on the 1962â€"63 season
of The Joey Bishop Show. Marks appeared in the first 19 episodes of
the show's second season as Freddy, manager to Bishop's character,
when he was suddenly replaced. Newspapers at the time reported
conflict between the show's star Bishop and his second banana Marks.
Bishop denied it in the press, and many years later would go on to
have Marks on his popular late-night talk show. Next, Marks would make
a memorable appearance in an episode of Dick Van Dyke in 1963 when he
played a love interest for Sally, played by Rose Marie. The episode,
entitled "Jilting the Jilter", featured much of Marks' night-club
routine at the time. Then in May 1964 he appeared on The Hollywood
Palace to perform another of his famous night-club bits, entitled "How
The West Was REALLY Won?". The skit featured Marks' flawless
imitations of Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Robert Mitchum and a
Native American Indian. In 1965 he guest-starred on two
science-fiction programs, My Living Doll and My Favorite Martian. In
the latter on an episode called "The Martian's Fair Hobo", Marks plays
a hobo named Shorty Smith. The character allowed Marks to show off his
talents for imitating animals and inanimate objects, such as foghorns
and frogs. He was second banana again, in 1967, when he was featured
as the American Indian "Pink Cloud" in the 1967 ABC comedy Western
Rango, starring Tim Conway. Despite early favorable reviews, the show
lasted only 17 episodes. In 1969 he appeared on an episode of the
popular The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (TV Series) sitcom, playing a gangster
who sounds a lot like Humphrey Bogart. He ended the decade with an
appearance as a thief trying to hold up Lucille Ball on the Here's
Lucy show. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Marks made frequent
appearances on The Dean Martin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Joey
Bishop Show; on The Merv Griffin Show alone he appeared a total of 15
times over nine years. During this time he also continued to work in
night clubs all over the country and in Las Vegas, performing
alongside Eddie Fisher, Ann-Margret, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Petula
Clark. In a 1974 episode of The Odd Couple, he portrayed a late-night
horror movie host named Igor, who sounded a lot like Boris Karloff.
His only big-screen appearance was in the 1975 film Train Ride to
Hollywood, where he was called upon again to imitate Humphrey Bogart.
Also in 1975 Marks performed his famous "How The West Was REALLY Won?"
routine on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast to Michael Landon. It was
by far the hit of the show, and had host Martin and fellow roaster Don
Rickles howling with laughter. In 1977 he starred alongside Billy
Barty in a sitcom pilot called "Great Day". It told the story of a
group of homeless who contemplate taking jobs to help save their
soon-to-be-foreclosed mission. On an episode of Police Woman called
"Blind Terror" that aired in 1978, Marks appeared along with Sandra
Dee and the show's star, Angie Dickinson. In 1980 he lent his voice
along with Rip Taylor to an animated short called Don't Miss the Boat.
In 1981 he was working with Lucille Ball again, in the only project
she ever directed, the unsold pilot for a sitcom called "Bungle
Abbey". Marks' final role on TV was a featured one in the 1986â€"87
sitcom You Again? as Harry, a poker-playing friend to the show's star
Jack Klugman.Marks attracted international attention with the surprise
novelty hit song "Loving You Has Made Me Bananas", which parodied the
medleys and other popular music conventions of the big band era; the
single first charted in April 1968. It was based on an old night-club
routine of Marks, featuring an affected band singer of the radio era
broadcasting from a remote Pennsylvania town. The song hit #19 on the
Hot Adult Contemporary chart and #51 on the Hot 100. A re-release did
similarly well in 1978, reaching #25 in the UK Singles Chart. The UK
chart showing led to an appearance by Marks on Top of the Pops in May
1978. Two out of the three backing singers accidentally sang "Your
father had the shopfitter blues", while the other one correctly sang
"Your father had the shipfitter blues."
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