Jim Jordan (actor)

Jim Jordan

With wife Marian, as Fibber McGee and Molly
Birth name James Edward Jordan[1]
Born (1896-11-16)November 16, 1896[2]:247
Peoria, Illinois
Died April 1, 1988(1988-04-01) (aged 91)
Beverly Hills, California
Show Fibber McGee and Molly
Style Comedy
Country United States
Spouse(s) Marian Jordan
(m. 1918; her death 1961)
Gretchen Stewart
(m. 1962; his death 1988)
Children Kathryn; Jim, Jr.[2]:247

James Edward Jordan (November 16, 1896 – April 1, 1988)[1] was the American actor who played Fibber McGee in Fibber McGee and Molly and voiced the albatross Orville in Disney's The Rescuers (1977).

Biography

Jordan was born in 1896 on a farm near Peoria, Illinois. He attended St. John's Church in Peoria, and his family eventually sold the farm and moved into Peoria. It was at church choir practice that he met Marian Driscoll, whom he married on August 31, 1918.[2]:247

With Marian

Jim Jordan went on the vaudeville circuit, both as a solo act and with his wife, Marian, at various times until 1924. They went entirely broke in 1923, having to be wired money by their parents to get back to Peoria from Lincoln, Illinois.[2]:247

Jim and Marian Jordan got their major break in radio while performing in Chicago in 1924; Jim said he could give a better performance than the singers they were listening to on the radio, and his brother Byron bet $10 that Jim couldn't do it. By the end of the evening, Jim and Marian had their first radio contract, at $10 per show for 26 weeks as The O'Henry Twins, sponsored by Oh Henry! candy.[2]:247

After Marian

Marian Jordan died in April 1961.[1][2]:252 Jim Jordan married Gretchen Stewart (1909-1998), the widow of radio comic Harry Stewart (Yogi Yorgesson) in 1962; they remained married for the rest of his life,[1] and he remained in semi-retirement.[2]:252

In 1988, he died at the age of 91 in Los Angeles from a blood clot in his brain, caused by a fall at his home.[3] He is buried next to Marian Jordan in the Saint Ann section of Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, and is next to the plot of Sharon Tate.[1]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Jim Edward "Fibber McGee" Jordan". Find a Grave. Jim Tipton. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dunning, John (1998). "Fibber McGee and Molly, comedy.". On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. LCCN 96-41959.
  3. ↑ "Jim Jordan, Radio's Fibber McGee, Is Dead at 91". Associated Press in the New York Times. 2 April 1988. Retrieved 2009-08-08. Jim Jordan, who delighted audiences for two decades as the well-meaning but bumbling Fibber McGee in the classic radio show Fibber McGee and Molly, died today at the Beverly Hills Medical Center. He was 91 years old. Mr. Jordan had been hospitalized for more than a week, in a coma with a blood clot in his brain caused by a fall at his home, according to a family friend, the radio and television performer Fran Allison. Mr. Jordan never regained consciousness after the accident.
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