09.17.09 GOD HATES ILLINOIS NAZIS TOO ;-(

Henry Gibson, leader of the Illinois Nazis in Blues Brothers, the creepy neighbor in The Burbs, original member of Laugh-In, apparently at some point a Ferengi, and most commonly known as “you know, that guy from that one movie”, is dead at age 73.  Cancer again.

Gibson’s breakthrough came in 1968 when he was cast as a member of the original ensemble of NBC’s top-rated “Laugh-In,” on which he performed for three seasons. Each week, a giant flower in his hand, he recited a signature poem, introducing them with the catch phrase that became his signature: “A Poem, by Henry Gibson.”
After “Laugh-In,” he played the evil Dr. Verringer in “The Long Goodbye” (1973), the first of four films in which he appeared for director Robert Altman. Their second collaboration came in “Nashville” (1975), in which Gibson earned a Golden Globe nomination and a National Society of Film Critics supporting-actor award for his performance as unctuous country singer Haven Hamilton. He also wrote his character’s songs.
Born James Bateman in Germantown, Pa., on Sept. 21, 1935, Gibson began acting professionally at age 8. After graduating from Catholic University, he served in France from 1957-60 as an intelligence officer with the Air Force, then studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.
Back in New York, the actor developed the comic persona of “Henry Gibson” (a pun on the name of playwright Henrik Ibsen), a humble, wide-eyed poet laureate from Fairhope, Ala. [THR]

I know we’re all mourning right now, but take solace in the fact that Gibson’s memory will live on forever in my heart, which I eventually plan on transplanting into an indestructible sexbot, whose exploits will be the envy of the entire galaxy for all eternity.  In the name of the father, the son, and the holy sexbot, amen.