According to a statement by B. Harlan Boll, a family representative, Hickman succumbed to complications of Parkinsons disease on Sunday at his Los Angeles home. It said that he was surrounded by his family when he died.
Hickman continued to be a TV star and actor, and he also had successful behind-the scenes careers as a talent booker, publicist and talent booking agent for a prominent Howard Hughes-owned Las Vegas casino and as a TV programming executive for CBS. However, his connection to Dobie was never lost.
“Oh, my goodness — it’s Dobie Gilis!” “I grew up with your!” Clinton said to him while Clinton was Arkansas governor.
Hickman, a well-known painter and sculptor, said that “now it’s nice” to a reporter at a 2003 exhibition of his work in St. Louis. It’s wonderful to see the impact Dobie Gillis had on a lot baby boomers. They are always kind when I meet them.
In 1995, his autobiography was published, which he co-authored with Joan Roberts Hickman (his wife). It was called “Forever Dobie.”
As a child, Hickman was part of small roles in TV and movies. However, he had to give up acting by 1950 to focus on his studies at Los Angeles Cathedral High School. He entered Loyola University after he graduated.
He recalled that he was in the art program at the time and was headed toward architecture when he called him. He said that he wanted to play a part in “The Bob Cummings Show.”
Hickman was cast as Chuck MacDonald in the role of his nephew, a teenager who wanted to take advantage of Uncle Bob’s actions as Cummings’ Bob Collins character worked for Cummings as a photographer of glamorous girls. Hickman continued his studies and eventually earned a Loyola economics degree.
The Bob Cummings Show (later known as “Love That Bob”) ran from 1955 to 1959. Hickman produced a pilot for Max Shulman that featured a 16-year old Dobie Gillis, a lovelorn teenager who tried to win the hearts of almost all the girls he met, but failed.
“The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” was a hit instantly when it premiered in 1959. It featured sharp humor and a young cast that included Bob Denver and Warren Beatty.
Hickman once stated that Dobie doesn’t get the girl. Hickman once said that Dobie’s false aggressiveness makes him a failure in life. He is always pushed to the bottom and unable to get the girl he wants.
The show aired until 1963. Hickman and Denver were both in their 20s at the time. Viewers saw them move from high school to college and a brief stint in the U.S. army.
William Schallert, a veteran actor and character actor, was their classmate at high school and college. Beatty was replaced by Steve Franken as Gillis’ wealthy archrival. However, Sheila James Kuehl, later elected to multiple terms in the California Legislature, remained Dobie’s only serious suitor. Kuehl’s Zelda Gillroy, also known as Steve Franken, was the only girl Dobie didn’t realize loved him. However, Zelda and Dobie were finally married in 1988 TV movie “Bring Me The Head of Dobie Gillis”.
Hickman continued to appear in films such as “Cat Ballou” starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, and popular 1960s youth-oriented pictures such as “How to Stuff a Wild Bikini,” and “Dr. Goldfoot and The Bikini Machine” as well as “Ski Party.” His acting career was slow in the 1970s, but he still appeared in TV shows such “The Mod Squad”, “Love, American Style”, and “Clueless.”
Denver was a beatnik Maynard G. Krebs, played on “Dobie Gillis”, and then became the lead role in Gilligan’s Island. In 2001’s biopic “Surviving Gilligan’s Island” Hickman appeared in flashbacks as a TV network executive.
Hickman, who had a slow acting career in the 1970s, became a talent director at Hughes’ Landmark Hotel. He also worked ten years at CBS as a program director, overseeing series such as “M.A.S.H.,” Dukes of Hazzard, “Maude,” and “Designing Women.”
In the late 1980s, he began studying painting and saw his work displayed in art galleries all over the country. Dwayne Bernard Hickman is the brother of Darryl Hickman who was a veteran actor in character roles. He was born in Los Angeles on May 18, 1934. At 6 years old, he began acting after his older brother entered the business.
He was married to Carol Christensen from 1963-1972, Joanne Papile from 1977-81, and Joan Roberts in 1983. Joan Roberts is his surviving spouse. Hickman had two sons: John with his first wife and Albert with his third wife.
