How much is Jim Backus worth?
| Net Worth: | $2 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional actor |
| Date of Birth: | February 25, 1913 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.78 m |
About Jim Backus
During the latter half of the 1950s, he recorded two novelty 45 rpm singles, titled “Delicious” and “Cave Man”. The Dirty Old Man was a full-length comedy LP record that was published in 1974 under the Doré label. Sketches on the album were written by Bob Hudson and Ron Landry, who both feature on the album, along with voice-actress Jane Webb. The album was given the title The Dirty Old Man. Additionally, Backus provided the voice of God in the recording of the rock opera Truth of Truths, which was released in 1971 and was based on the Bible.
Backus was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 25, 1913. He spent his childhood in Bratenahl, Ohio, which is an East Side suburb of Cleveland that is situated on the shore of Lake Erie and is encircled by the city on three sides. He was the offspring of Daisy Taylor Backus, whose maiden name was Gilmore, and Russell Gould Backus. He received his diploma from University School in Hunting Valley, Ohio, having completed his education at Shaw High School in East Cleveland, Ohio.
During the postwar era, he was frequently heard on primetime radio programs, such as The Jack Benny Program. Additionally, he portrayed an extremely vain character named Hartley Benson on The Judy Canova Show on the CBS Radio Network, as well as a character named Hubert Updike on The Alan Young Show on the NBC Radio Network. Both of these roles were broadcast on primetime radio networks.
Backus made appearances on Gilligan’s Island throughout all three of the show is seasons during its original run from 1964 to 1967, as well as in subsequent reunion TV films that were produced between 1978 and 1981. Backus’s participation in the third and final film, The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island, was limited to a cameo appearance because he was already experiencing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease by that point. Backus also reprised his role as the voice of Mr. Magoo in a number of revivals that aired between 1964 and 1977. These revivals included What is New, Mr. Magoo? and The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo.
Backus appeared in a number of commercials that were broadcast on television. Over the years, he also contributed his talents as Mr. Magoo to the advertising of the General Electric product line. Backus introduces the Mr. Magoo Soft White light bulb TV advertising campaign for Fall 1963 in the Cinécraft Productions video Bowl ‘Em Over with GE Bulbs (1963), which was produced as a sales training film for the GE Large Lamp Division by Cinécraft Productions. Commercials for General Electric would be broadcast in full color for the very first time on prime-time television programmes like The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson for the very first time. During the 1970s, he was also a spokesperson for the La-Z-Boy furniture brand.
Summing-Up
Among his most well-known roles are those of Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom Gilligan’s Island, the father of James Dean’s character in Rebel Without a Cause, the voice of the nearsighted cartoon character Mr. Magoo, the wealthy Hubert Updike III on the radio version of The Alan Young Show, and Joan Davis’ character’s husband (a domestic court judge) on the television show I Married Joan. Mr. Magoo was In addition, he was the star of his own show, which aired for one season under the name The Jim Backus Show and was also known as Hot Off the Wire.
