George "Gabby" Hayes

George Frances "Gabby" Hayes

(1885-1969)

by Dave Bourne

Left: George Hayes as "Gabby" and right, in real life a handsome man with his wife, Olive, at the Harwyn Club

Known to fans as “Gabby,” George Hayes was the quintessential sidekick. The character of Gabby which George referred to as “the old fella,” was basically an adaptation of “Uncle Varn” Phillips, an entertainer that Hayes knew from his childhood days. Phillips portrayed a rustic character with high button shoes who danced the Buck and Wing. By the time George was fifteen and beginning his own career in vaudeville, he had the character of “the old fella” down pat. His movie career began in 1929 with “The Rainbow Man.”

George Hayes as "Cactus" in In Old Santa Fe with Ken Maynard, 1934

“The old fella” emerged full blown in Hayes’s portrayal of Cactus in the movie “In Old Santa Fe” in 1934. This same movie marked Gene Autry’s and Smiley Burnette’s entry into the movie business.

George Hayes as Dr. Parker in Tumbling Tumbleweeds, 1935

Hopalong Rides Again, 1937

George Hayes as "Windy Halliday" with William "Hopalong Cassidy" Boyd in Bar 20 Justice, 1938

(photo courtesy of Les Adams)

Originally paired with William Boyd as Windy Halliday in the Hopalong Cassidy series, he left for Republic Pictures in late 1938 over a disagreement with studio chief Harry Sherman. Sherman would not allow him to use the Windy appellation at Republic and so the Gabby name was born. Eventually he became Roy Rogers’ sidekick and his film career continued until his last feature “The Cariboo Trail” with Randolph Scott in 1950.

George Hayes with young Roy Rogers

At the end of 1941, the Sons of the Pioneers joined Roy Rogers and Gabby was in many of their films.

Red River Valley, 1942

Man from Cheyenne, 1942

South of Santa Fe, 1942

Sunset on the Desert, 1942

Romance on the Range, 1942

Sons of the Pioneers, 1942

Sunset Serenade, 1942

Heart of the Golden West, 1942

Lights of Old Santa Fe, 1944

Bells of Rosarita, 1945

Man from Oklahoma, 1945

Utah, 1945

Sunset in El Dorado, 1945

Gabby, Dale and Roy in Don't Fence Me In, 1945

Along the Navajo Trail, 1945

Song of Arizona, 1945

Roy, Dale and Gabby in Rainbow Over Texas, 1946

My Pal Trigger, 1946

Roll On, Texas Moon, 1946

Home in Oklahoma, 1946

Heldorado, 1946

He had his own show on NBC for two seasons introducing old westerns. When his wife Olive died in 1956 George retired completely from show business. He was plagued with heart problems and passed away after a second heart attack in 1969. George Hayes will be forever remembered as Gabby, “Yer durn tootin'."

Gabby during his cruise to Hawaii in 1965 on a Matson liner.

(photo courtesy of Bruce Hickey)