LOS ANGELES -- -- George Gobel, a crew-cut comedian who began performing as a child and turned his song-and-dance act into a 60-year show business career, died Feb. 24. He was 71.
Mr. Gobel died at Encino Hospital here of complications from surgery on a leg artery, said Sam Honigberg, a longtime friend. He had been in the hospital periodically since the operation five weeks ago, Honigberg said.
Mr. Gobel made his debut at age 11, singing on the "WLS Barn Dance" radio revue in his native Chicago. He continued to sing and play the guitar on radio and at county fairs and appeared regularly on "The Tom Mix Show."
He joined the Army Air Corps during World War II and served as a B-26 pilot instructor. After the war, Mr. Gobel began performing in nightclubs and hotels.
His break came after 40 appearances on the "Garry Moore Show" and seven on NBC's "Saturday Night Revue."
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"The George Gobel Show" premiered on NBC in 1954 and became an instant hit. He won an Emmy in 1954 for Outstanding New Personality.
Mr. Gobel also made numerous Broadway appearances, including "Three Men on a Horse" and "Let It Ride."
Mr. Gobel also was a regular on "Hollywood Squares" and "The Tonight Show" in the 1970s and early 1980s.
LORAINE V. KOLIOMICHALIS
Church Member
Loraine V. Koliomichalis, 72, a retired seamstress in Bound Brook, N.J., who was a member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Alexandria, died of cancer Feb. 22 at Alexandria Hospital.
Mrs. Koliomichalis, who lived in Alexandria, was born in Bound Brook, where she lived until moving to Alexandria in 1975.
Her marriages to Herbert F. Brandon and Peter Koliomichalis ended in divorce.
Survivors include two children by her first marriage, Herbert F. Brandon III of Richmond and Wayne D. Brandon of Woodbridge; two sisters, Anne Melesurgo of Bound Brook and Mary Teubner of Sioux City, Iowa; and three grandchildren.
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