Ollie O’Toole

Ollie O’Toole (1912–1992) was an American film and television actor. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, comedian and impressionist with Horace Heidt and later known for his acting in “The Oregon Trail” in 1959, “Mission Impossible” in 1996 and “One of Our Spies is Missing” in 1966. He was married to Mildred L O’Toole. He died on February 25, 1992 at the age of 79 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Around the year 1939, Horace Heidt recruited Ollie O’Toole as a comedian and impressionist. Ollie later became the announcer on the radio program, “Treasure Chest”. Among Ollie’s favorite tricks was tap dancing. He danced with his teeth. Gimmicks aside, he was best known for his impressions of H.V. Kaltenborn, his most popular, Elmer Davis, Fred Allen, Charles Boyer, Katharine Hepburn, Bonnie Baker, Charlie McCarthy and Edger Bergen and Charlie Chaplin. Ollie was an important partner on stage with Art Carney. He was a much overlooked comedian and the perfect complement to Art. The two comics, Art and Ollie, would stand at opposite ends of the stage and take turns doing impressions, one after the other in what was billed as the “Battle of the Impersonators”. The 15 minute skit never failed to trigger a host of guffaws and cheers from the audience. Two of his recorded songs were “I Wanna Make with the Happy Times” in 1940 and “Three Little Sisters” in 1942.