So long, Henry
 

Henry Gibson

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Henry Gibson, the veteran comic character actor best known for his role reciting offbeat poetry on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," died Monday. He was 73.

Gibson's son, James, said Gibson died at his home in Malibu after a brief battle with cancer.

After serving in the Air Force and studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Gibson — born James Bateman in Philadelphia in 1935 — created his Henry Gibson comic persona, a pun on playwright Henrik Ibsen's name, while working as a theater actor in New York. For three seasons on "Laugh-In," he delivered satirical poems while gripping a giant flower.

After "Laugh-In," Gibson went on to appear in several films, including "The Long Goodbye" and "Nashville," which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. His most memorable roles included playing the menacing neighbor opposite Tom Hanks in "The 'Burbs," the befuddled priest in "Wedding Crashers" and voicing Wilbur the Pig in the animated "Charlotte's Web."

His recent work included playing cantankerous Judge Clarence Brown on ABC's "Boston Legal" for five seasons and providing the voice of sardonic, eye-patched reporter Bob Jenkins on Fox's "King of the Hill." In 2001, Gibson returned to the stage in New York in the Encores! New York City Center production of Rodgers and Hart's "A Connecticut Yankee."

Re: So long, Henry
 

I loved Henry Gibson..just thinking of him on Laugh-In makes me smile..
well that's three-patrick swayze, mary travers and henry gibson
Laugh-In bloopers -

Re: So long, Henry
 

Rowan & Martin was where I remembered him best. I never understood the humour that was in the poetry that he delivered, but it somehow caught my attention & I listened to it. The man was one of the rare comedians who knew how to be funny without being so in yer face & outrageous. I hope God is enjoying his company.