Dwayne Hickman, who was always remembered fondly by a generation of baby boomers for his role as Dobie Gillis, has died. He was 87.
Dwayne Hickman, the actor and network TV executive who despite numerous achievements throughout his life would always be remembered fondly by a generation of baby boomers for his role as Dobie Gillis, has died. He was 87.
"Oh, my gosh — it’s Dobie Gillis! I grew up with you!" former President Clinton told him when the two met while Clinton was governor of Arkansas. Hickman had small parts in movies and TV shows as a youngster, but had given up acting by 1950 to concentrate on his studies at Los Angeles’ Cathedral High School. After graduation, he entered Loyola University.
"The Bob Cummings Show" lasted from 1955 to 1959, and toward the end of its run Hickman made a pilot for author Max Shulman about a lovelorn 16-year-old named Dobie Gillis who pursued, but could never win the heart of, almost every girl he saw. As "Dobie Gillis" continued on until 1963, and Hickman’s and Denver’s characters aged , viewers saw them go from high school to college, as well as to a brief, bumbling stint in the U.S. military,
When Denver, who went from playing beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on "Dobie Gillis" to the title role in "Gilligan’s Island," made the 2001 biopic "Surviving Gilligan’s Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest Three Hour Tour in History," Hickman appeared in flashback scenes as a TV network executive.