George 'Gabby' Hayes

Hayes died in Burbank, California in 1969. He directed The Curse and The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck. When the series ended he retired from show business. He supported Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman and starred in The Lords of Discipline and White of the Eye. The western film genre declined in the late 1940's and Hayes made his last film appearance in The Cariboo Trail (1950). He moved to television and hosted The Gabby Hayes Show, a children's western series, from 1950 to 1954. David Keith (born May 8, 1954 in Knoxville, Tennessee) is an American actor and director. Hayes was a popular performer and consistently appeared among the ten favorite actors in polls taken of movie-goers of the period.

Hayes also was cast as a sidekick to western icons Randolph Scott and John Wayne. As Gabby Whitaker, Hayes appeared in over forty pictures between 1939 and 1946, usually with Roy Rogers but also with Gene Autry or Bill Elliot. Paramount held the rights to the name Windy Halliday, so a new nickname was created for Hayes' character; Gabby. In 1939, Hayes left Paramount in a dispute over his salary and moved to Republic Pictures.

Hayes played the part of Windy Halliday, the sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd), from 1935 to 1939. Hayes, in real life an intelligent, well groomed, and articulate man, was cast as a grizzled codger who uttered phrases like "consarn it", "yer durn tootin", "durn persnickety female", and "young whipper snapper". Ironically, Hayes would admit he had never been a big fan of westerns. He fortunately found a niche in the growing genre of western films, many of which were series with reoccurring characters.

Hayes briefly retired in the 1920's but lost most of his money in the 1929 stock market crash and had to return to acting. In his early career, Hayes was cast in a variety of roles, including villains, and occasionally played two roles in a single film. Hayes' film career began in 1923 with his appearance in the silent movie Why Women Marry. The couple had no children.

They remained together until Dorothy's death in 1957. Hayes married Olive Dorothy Ireland in 1914. Hayes' early show business career including working in the circus, in vaudeville, on stage, and playing semi-professional baseball. In fact, he did not know how to ride a horse until he was in his forties and had to learn for movie roles.

Hayes was born in Wellsville, New York and did not come from a cowboy background. He was best known for his numerous appearances in western movies as the colorful sidekick to the leading man. George Francis 'Gabby' Hayes (May 7, 1885–February 9, 1969) was an American actor.