Zelda Gilroy | |
---|---|
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis character | |
Created by | Max Shulman |
Portrayed by | Sheila Kuehl |
In-universe information | |
Alias | Zelda K. Gilroy |
Gender | Female |
Nationality | American |
Zelda K. Gilroy, [1] portrayed by Sheila Kuehl, is a character from the American sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis , which originally aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. A teenage girl who was bright in academics and excelled in athletics, Zelda was smitten with the handsome, clean-cut teenager Dobie Gillis, played by Dwayne Hickman, who had his romantic sights set on more popular girls. Most of these, however, shunned him for various reasons. Zelda was always there for Dobie and his friend Maynard G. Krebs, portrayed by Bob Denver.
The character originated not on television, but in "Love is a Science", a Dobie Gillis short story written by humorist Max Shulman and included in his 1959 Dobie Gillis short-story collection I Was a Teenage Dwarf. [2] "Love is a Science" was one of several of the Shulman short stories adapted by the author for the Dobie Gillis television program. [2] Originally intended to play Zelda as a one-shot in the TV adaptation of "Love is a Science" on Dobie Gillis in 1959, Sheila Kuehl was upped to recurring and then semi-regular by the show's second season, and continued to appear throughout the run of the program. [2]
Zelda especially irritated Dobie by wrinkling her nose at him. He always wrinkled back; he claimed it was a reflex action (often admonishing her "Now cut that out!"), while she took it as proof that he loved her but didn't realize it yet. Zelda assured Dobie that he would eventually come to realize his love for her through the influence of "propinquity": because he was Gillis and she was Gilroy, they were always going to be seated together through high school and college and would eventually fall in love. [2]
The Zelda character became popular enough to warrant a spinoff pilot, titled Zelda, produced in late 1961 for consideration for the 1962-1963 television season. [3] Despite early enthusiasm for the show at CBS, the network eventually decided to pass on it. [4] [5] Sheila Kuehl, at the time a closeted lesbian and later an openly gay politician in California, later recalled that Dobie Gillis and Zelda producer/director Rod Amateau told her one day that CBS executive James T. Aubrey had found the Zelda character "too butch". [4]
Although Dobie was romantically uninterested in Zelda in the series, in two later Dobie Gillis reunion productions, he was depicted as having married Zelda. In the 1977 TV pilot Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis?, the now middle-aged Dobie and Zelda are seen running the Gillis family's grocery store with the help of Dobie's father Herbert, while the 1988 TV movie Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis showed just Dobie and Zelda running the store. In both productions, the two had a teenaged son named Georgie (played by Steven Paul in 1977 and Scott Grimes in 1988), who was much like Dobie was at his age.
In 1969 Zelda was used as the main source of inspiration for the character of Velma Dinkley from the show Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! , whose main cast was modeled on various Many Loves characters. [6]
Scooby-Doo is an American franchise based on a kids' animated show launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, for Hanna-Barbera. The series features 4 teenagers: Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy, and their talking dog named Scooby, who solve mysteries involving supposedly supernatural creatures through a series of antics and missteps.
Robert Osbourne Denver was an American comedic actor who portrayed Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television series Gilligan's Island, and beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.
Zelda may refer to:
Sheila James Kuehl is an American politician and retired actress, and served as the member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 3rd District and as board chair and chair pro tem. Kuehl was California's first openly gay state legislator, having previously served in the California State Senate and the California State Assembly, where she was the Assembly's first female speaker pro tem.
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5, 1963. The series was adapted from the "Dobie Gillis" short stories written by Max Shulman since 1945, and first collected in 1951 under the same title as the subsequent TV series, which drew directly on the stories in some scripts. Shulman also wrote a feature-film adaptation of his "Dobie Gillis" stories for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1953, titled The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, which featured Bobby Van in the title role.
Daphne Blake is a fictional character in the Scooby-Doo franchise. Daphne, depicted as coming from a wealthy family, is noted for her beauty, red hair, purple heels, fashion sense, and her knack for getting into danger, hence the nickname "Danger-Prone Daphne".
Velma Dinkley is a fictional character in the Scooby-Doo franchise. She is usually seen wearing a baggy orange turtleneck sweater, a short red pleated skirt, knee socks, Mary Jane shoes, and a pair of black square glasses, which she frequently loses and cannot see without. During the winter, she sometimes wears high-heeled boots. She is seen as the "brains" of the group.
Dwayne Bernard Hickman was an American actor and television executive, producer and director, who worked as an executive at CBS and had also briefly recorded as a vocalist. Hickman portrayed Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins' girl-crazy teenaged nephew, in the 1950s The Bob Cummings Show and the title character in the 1960s sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He was the younger brother of actor Darryl Hickman, with whom he appeared on screen. After retirement, he devoted his time to painting personalized paintings.
Fred Jones is a fictional character in the American animated series Scooby-Doo, leader of a quartet of teenage mystery solvers and their Great Dane companion, Scooby-Doo. Fred has been primarily portrayed by voice actor Frank Welker since the character's inception in 1969.
Maximilian Shulman was an American writer and humorist best known for his television and short story character Dobie Gillis, as well as for best-selling novels.
The Bob Cummings Show is an American sitcom starring Bob Cummings, which was broadcast from January 2, 1955, to September 15, 1959.
Joseph Clemens Ruby was an American animator, writer, television producer, and music editor. He was best known as a co-creator of the animated Scooby-Doo franchise, together with Ken Spears. In 1977, they co-founded the television animation production company Ruby-Spears Productions.
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo is an American animated mystery comedy series produced by Hanna-Barbera. It is the eighth incarnation of the studio's Scooby-Doo franchise and depicts younger versions of the title character and his human companions as they solve mysteries, similar to the original television series. The series was developed by Tom Ruegger and premiered on September 10, 1988, airing for three seasons on ABC as well as during the syndicated block The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera until August 17, 1991.
Maynard Gwalter Krebs is the "beatnik" sidekick of the title character in the U.S. television sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, which aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963.
Darryl Gerard Hickman is an American former actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach. He started his career as a child actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood and appeared in numerous TV serials as an adult, including several episodes of the CBS series "The Nanny". He appeared in films such as The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and Leave Her to Heaven (1945).
Arthur James Millhollin was an American character actor.
This is a list of episodes from the first season of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. This season of the series explores Dobie Gillis' life as a junior at Central High School, and is the only season of the series to feature Tuesday Weld and Warren Beatty among the cast.
This is a list of episodes from the second season of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis; the series' on-screen title was shortened to Dobie Gillis starting with this season.
This is a list of episodes from the third season of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis; the series' on-screen title was shortened to Dobie Gillis during this season.
This is a list of episodes from the fourth and final season of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis; the series' title was changed to Max Shulman's Dobie Gillis during this season.