John Gielgud

Longtime lover Martin Hensler, 30 years his junior, died just a few months before Sir John. Hayes died in Burbank, California in 1969. Instead of being rejected by the public, he got a standing ovation at his next stage appearance, and the roller-coaster to de-criminalise homosexuality in England and Wales began. When the series ended he retired from show business. He was convicted of "lewd behaviour" (cottaging) in 1953. 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. He was knighted in the 1953 coronation honours, became a Companion of Honour in 1977 and was admitted to the Order of Merit in 1996. Hayes was a popular performer and consistently appeared among the ten favorite actors in polls taken of movie-goers of the period.

He won an Academy Award for his supporting role as a sardonic butler in the 1981 comedy Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, and his performance in Shine (1996) was critically acclaimed. Hayes also was cast as a sidekick to western icons Randolph Scott and John Wayne. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was jokingly said that he was prepared to do almost anything for his art. 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. As he aged, Gielgud began to adapt more to changing fashions in the theatre, appearing in plays by Harold Pinter. Paramount held the rights to the name Windy Halliday, so a new nickname was created for Hayes' character; Gabby. Unlike Olivier, he remained primarily a stage actor, and so the rivalry between them was minimal. In 1939, Hayes left Paramount in a dispute over his salary and moved to Republic Pictures.

His film roles included: Benjamin Disraeli in The Prime Minister (1940), Cassius in Julius Caesar (1952), and George, Duke of Clarence to Laurence Olivier's Richard III (1955). Hayes played the part of Windy Halliday, the sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd), from 1935 to 1939. Although he began to appear in British films as early as the 1930s, he would not make an impact in the medium until the last decades of his life. 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". His Hamlet of 1936 was particularly admired. Ironically, Hayes would admit he had never been a big fan of westerns. He starred and directed in many Royal Shakespeare Company productions at Stratford-upon-Avon. He fortunately found a niche in the growing genre of western films, many of which were series with reoccurring characters.

He trained at RADA and had his initial success as a stage actor in classical roles. 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. John Gielgud was born in Kensington in London, and had a head start in the theatrical profession, being a great-nephew of Ellen Terry. In his early career, Hayes was cast in a variety of roles, including villains, and occasionally played two roles in a single film. Sir Arthur John Gielgud OM CH (April 14, 1904–May 21, 2000) was an English theatre and film actor, regarded by many as one of the greatest of his time. 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.