[Harp-L] RIP Maynard



It seems rather silly to admit, but I find myself somewhat saddened over the passing of Bob Denver. Yeah, Gilligan was
just about the stoopidest TV show ever produced and it's a shame that's the role for which he will be remembered, but for me, Bob will always be Maynard G. Krebs from the earlier Dobie Gillis Show.


Maynard was one of my childhood heroes. If it hadn't been for him I never would've heard of Dizzy Gillespie or Thelonius Monk. And do you remember what the "G" in his name stood for? "Walter." When Dobie expressed bewilderment about that fact, Maynard explained, "I was named after my Uncle Edith."

One day in about '61, when I was 10, I saw him walking down the street in Pacific Palisades -- Maynard in the flesh! I ran up to him and asked for an autograph. He said, "Sure, kid, what do you want me to sign?" I had no paper so I suggested he just sign my shirt or my arm, but he just laughed and said, "Follow me," so we walked a block or two to his car. It was a small sportscar -- maybe an MG? -- and he opened the trunk and produced an 8x10 of himself in full Maynard regalia. He signed it, "Like hi, Tom. Bob Denver. Maynard G. Krebs."

I treasured that picture for a long time and wish I still had it, but alas, it seems to have found the same fate as my baseball cards. Aw well. A fond memory never goes away.

RIP Maynard.

--Tom Ball
PS: Obligatory (if peripheral) harp content: On the Dobie show, in addition to bongos and scat singing, Maynard often played the Ocarina, presumably a Hohner.... (?)





This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.