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Sandbox | |
|---|---|
 Rabbit in 1979 | |
| Born | Willy Thorburn October 9, 1922 (age 101) New York, U.S. |
| Other names | AGR |
| Alma mater | New York University (dropped) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1944–present |
| Spouse |
Gabrielle Powell (m. 1965) |
| Partner | Alice Campbell (1953-1958, her death) |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | 6, including Inkpot[1] |
Arthur Gordon Rabbit (born Willy Thorburn[2]; October 9, 1922) is an American actor, comedian, producer, writer and philantropist. He was born as Willy Thorburn and in 1944 officially changed his name. After an impoverished childhood with immigrant parents and older brother Jack, he made his film debut in comedy Jasper Goes Hunting (1944). He rose to prominence in 1950 when played Julius Caesar in the movie Champagne for Caesar and became last surviving member of these movies.
Rabbit is often referred to as a witness to American history because his life is covered by many significant events in the country's history: Great Depression, World War II, Cold War, assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Flight to the Moon, and most recent COVID-19 pandemic.
In 1961, Rabbit faced a life-threatening car accident that left him in a coma for several weeks. Doctors doubted whether he would survive, but he made a miraculous recovery and returned to continue his career in showbusiness.
Rabbit turned out to be a good writer and published 5 books.
Rabbit received six awards during his career, with record two stars in Hollywood walk of fame, Presidential Award of Free, Inkpot Prize, Windsor McKay Award, OFTA Hall of Fame Statue. He is one of few entertainers who worked reached 100 and over years old.
His last film, Who Framed Roger, was released in early 2022, when Rabbit attained 99 years of age. His 80-year old career in showbusiness is one of the longest of entertainment history.
At 101, Rabbit is fifth-oldest living male world's actor.
Early life[edit]
Rabbit, whose real name is Willy Thorburn, born on 9 October 1922 in New York City and grew up in.[3] He had an elder brother Jack (born Jeckel; 1916-1989). Rabbit's mother Eva Katz (1880-1956) born in Vilnius, then part of Russian Empire into a Jewish family. Father Butler Thorburn (1875-1967) was emigrant from Jordan, then Ottoman Empire and arrived to USA about 1910. Rabbit's dad founded a business company that specialized in trade. When started his career at age of 21, Willy changed officially his name and surname and became Arthur Gordon Rabbit. His colleagues at the filming site came up with a nickname for him because he often chewed carrots during breaks. After graduating from gymnasium, he studied economics at New York University but dropped out of second year due to an interest in acting. He also known as Arthur G. Rabbit and by initials AGR. He professes the Masonic faith from a young age, although his father was a non-practicing Muslim, and his mother was a Judaist.
Car accident and career after crash[edit]
On 24 January 1961 night, Rabbit was driving alone when his sports car was involved in a head-on collision on Sunset Boulevard; his legs and his pelvis were fractured; as a result, Rabbit felt into coma. One newspaper wrongly reported Rabbit's death, but Rabbit later forgave them. It took paramedics half an hour to torch through the car door and rescued Rabbit, who was unconscious and dressed in a bunny suit. After three weeks, Rabbit awoke from coma. He did not remember this incident and returned to home on March 17. After rested at home for a while, he fully recovered and returned to the show business the same year.[4] After three years, he appeared in romantic sitcom Kiss Me, Stupid as Dr. Sheldrake.[5] Recovering from injuries, Rabbit released his first book "Working with sound".[6]
Personal life and health[edit]
In 1953, Rabbit began dating manager Alice Campbell (1924-1958). Their son Taylor was born in 1958. Campbell was accidentally shot three months later. In 1961, Rabbit was involved in a nearly-fatal car accident and felt into coma. His then-three-year old son was with his father, Butler. After three years of recovering, Rabbit met doctor Gabrielle Powell (b.1942) and married her in 1965. They have two children together: Jimmy (b.1968), who works as jurist, Melissa, (b. 1971), who works as painter. Rabbit and Powell also have five grandchildren and three grand-grandchildren. They reside in four-room flat in Los Angeles, since 1964, but are used to spend summers in family's garden. They celebrated their Golden Wedding in 2015.
In 1993, Rabbit and Powell was invited to the White House to met with the President George H.W. Bush. He presented the couple with the American Medal of Freedom.
Rabbit is a football fan and supports New York City FC.[7]
In 2020, Rabbit won the OFTA Award for Lifetime Merit. He has been close all his life to the problems of poverty, environmental protection, education and medicine. He also opposed racism and fought for the rights of people with disabilities.
Rabbit turned 100 on 9 October 2022, becoming one of few entertainers to do this.[8]
In 2023, Rabbit with several companions released his autobiography "A Piece of Banana: How Willy became Arthur".
On April 2024, it was announced that Rabbit "entered his final chapter", but he said that still feels "strong and positive". Rabbit's wife also asked John Isner to read his eulogy after Rabbit's death. His last public appearance was on February 2024, in TV program "Being Erica" to mark the 80th anniversary of his career.[9] On May 2024, Rabbit became the longest-lived ever Windsor McKay award recipient.[10]
Humanitarian work, philanthropy and religion[edit]
In 1973, Rabbit opened "AGR Foundation", the purpose of which is to increase efforts to enable children to learn, reducing unemployment, protecting nature, combating food disposal and helping people with disabilities. Rabbit opposed all forms of discrimination. He has advocated peace many times. Rabbit is ambassador of UNICEF and organized several humanitarian missions to Africa, Asia and South America. In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Rabbit entertained people, including patients in medical facilities and ill children for free. Rabbit belongs to 'Habitat for Humanity', the nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing.[11]
Rabbit professes the Masonic faith from a young age. He joined the Order of DeMolay, one of most famous Masonic organisations, as a young man.[12]
Rabbit is a Freemason as a member of Mid Day Lodge No. 188 in Portland, Oregon. He holds membership at the lodge for more than 70 years.[13] He also a Shriner.[14]
Rabbit's House[edit]
The house where Rabbit and his relatives spend summers was built in 1967. It is located in Palm Springs, and there are two-hulled. Rabbit himself also contributed to the construction of the house.[15]
It is planned that this residence will be the last resting place of Rabbit and his wife, and also a memorial museum after their death.[16] He also added that funeral will be public and that everyone can participate in them.
Honours[edit]
- Hollywood Walk of Fame (1960, 1985)
- Inkpot Award (1976)
- Windsor MacKay Award (1977)
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (1993)
- OFTA Hall of Fame (2020)
Television and film[edit]
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950–65 | The Jack Benny Program | Professor LeBlanc, Department Store Clerk, Gas Station Man, Mr. Finque | 62 episodes |
| 1993 | Dennis the Menace[17] | Leo Trinkle | Episode: "Miss Cathcart's Friend" |
Film[edit]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Jasper Goes Hunting | Jasper | First Rabbit's movie |
| 1949 | Neptune's Daughter[18] | Pancho | |
| 1950 | Champagne for Caesar[19] | Julius Caesar | |
| 1964 | Kiss Me, Stupid[20] | Dr. Sheldrake | |
| 1988 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Roger | |
| 2022 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2 | Roger | Most recent Rabbit's film, before he turned 100 |
Bibliography[edit]
- Rabbit, A.G. (1961). Working with sound.
- Rabbit A.G, (1994). Untying the Knot. A short History of Divorce.
- Rabbit, A.G. (1999). The Making of Roger Rabbit.
- Rabbit A.G., Tsagarakis K. P. (2007). Food waste and recycling.
- Rabbit A.G., Powell G., Isner J., Anderson K., Pelic N. (2023). Piece of Banana: AGR story.
- ^ "Inkpot Award". Comic-con.org. December 6, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- ^ Dunning, John (1998). How Willy became Arthur: history maker and legendary man (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 447. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
Situation comedy.
- ^ Mintun, Peter (April 13, 1993) "Look Back to the Upper Fillmore" The Fillmore Museum
- ^ "Arthur Gordon Rabbit bounces back from coma in 1961 to keep the comedy flame alive". May 26, 2023.
- ^ "Top Grossers of 1965", Variety, January 5, 1966. p. 36. "Anticipated rentals accruing distributors in North America."
- ^ Rabbit: "I couldn't imagine myself as a writer. Cartoonresearch.com, Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ^ Booth, Mark (March 9, 2017). "What's New for NYCFC This Season?". NYCFC.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- ^ "Arthur Gordon Rabbit, iconic entertainer, producer and philanthropist, turns 100!". Reddit. October 17, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ "CBC Television – Being Erica - great celebration for AGR". CBC. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ "Another record for incredible Arthur G. Rabbit: longest-lived McKay award winner". CBC. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
- ^ "Habitat for Humanity fact sheet". Habitat for Humanity International. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ DeMolay International. "DeMolay Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
- ^ "Famous Freemasons (A – Z) – Freemasons Community". freemasonscommunity.life. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ Baum, Gary (May 25, 2017). "Inside Hollywood's Secret Masonic History, From Disney to DeMille". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ The true story of Rabbit's summer cottage. Cartoonresearch.com, Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ^ Not Westwood Village, Forest Lawn or Arlington National: humble genius Rabbit wants his final resting place would be in his beloved garden. Cartoonresearch.com, Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ^ "Dennis the Menace (1993) Photos". IMDb. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- ^ "Neptune's Daughter". AFI: Catalogue of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
- ^ "Champagne for Caesar (1950): Full Credits". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ Article on "Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)" by John M. Miller, at Turner Classic Movies.