Voting Station

George S. Irving

Please vote to return to collections.

Actor

The Resume

    (November 1, 1922-December 26, 2016)
    Born in Springfield, Massachusetts
    Birth name was George Irving Shelasky
    Won the Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for ‘Irene’ (1973)
    Also appeared on Broadway in ‘Oklahoma!’ (1943), ‘Call Me Mister’ (1946-48), ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ (1949-51), Can-Can’ (1953-55), ‘Bells Are Ringing’ (1956-59), ‘Irma La Douce’ (1960-61), ‘An Evening with Richard Nixon and…’ (1972), ‘All Over Town’ (1974-75), ‘I Remember Mama’ (1979), ‘Copperfield’ (1981), ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ (1981-82), ‘On Your Toes’ (1983-84) and ‘Me and My Gal’ (1986-89)
    Recurring role on All in the Family as Russ DeKuyper, husband of Edith Bunker’s cousin Amelia
    Narrated the cartoon series ‘Underdog’ and several ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ audiobooks
    Provided the voice of Heat Miser in the Rankin-Bass special ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’ (1974)

Why he might be annoying:

    He did commercials for White Owl cigars – until he admitted to a reporter from ‘Esquire’ that he preferred a good Havana..
    He said he almost passed out after Gwen Verdon accidentally stepped on his foot during ‘Can-Can.’ (‘She had beautiful legs, but they were like oak trees.’)
    He reprised Heat Miser for the unnecessary sequel ‘A Miser Brothers Christmas’ (2008).
    His response to being asked to write his memoirs: ‘Oh crap! I was just a journeyman actor.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was married to dancer and actress Maria Karnilova for 52 years until her death.
    He was described by one critic as ‘the go to actor for accents of all kinds.’
    He remained a frequent performer in regional theater and off-Broadway into his 80s and 90s.
    He said, ‘Every show I do, the kids say ‘I know your voice, but I can't place it.’ And I just go ‘Tune in next week for another exciting episode of Underdog.’ and they go ‘Yes!’’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 23 Votes: 13.04% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 62 Votes: 61.29% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying