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Comic actor Harold Peary is best remembered for playing the colorful, pompous blowhard the Great Gildersleeve on radio and in four feature films. Born in Portugal but raised in California, Peary was 11 when he began touring in a boys choir. In 1929, he performed in San Francisco as "the Spanish Serenader." He moved to Chicago in 1935 to further his radio career. Two years later, he began appearing regularly on "Fibber McGee and Molly." Peary created the Great Gildersleeve in the early '40s and played it through 1950 when actor Willard Waterman took over the role. Peary went on to appear in a new series, "Honest Harold," but was unsuccessful. He subsequently appeared in a few more films of the '50s and '60s, including Clambake (1967).