'' (1937) Devine had an ambition to act, so after college, he went to Hollywood, where he worked as a lifeguard at
Venice Beach. His peculiar wheezy voice was first thought likely to prevent him from moving to the talkies, but instead, it became his trademark. Devine claimed that his distinctive voice resulted from a childhood accident in which he fell while running with a curtain rod in his mouth at the Beale Hotel in Kingman, causing the rod to pierce the roof of his mouth. When he was able to speak again, he had a labored, scratchy, duo-tone voice. A biographer, however, indicated that this was one of several stories Devine fabricated about his voice. , 1958 Devine appeared in more than 400 films and shared with
Walter Brennan, another character actor, the rare ability to move with ease from
B-movie Westerns to mainstream feature films. His notable roles included Cookie,
Roy Rogers's sidekick, in 10 films; a role in
Romeo and Juliet (1936), and Danny in
A Star Is Born (1937). He appeared in several films with John Wayne, including
Stagecoach (1939),
Island in the Sky (1953), and
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Devine was generally known for his comic roles, but
Jack Webb cast him as a police detective in ''
Pete Kelly's Blues'' (1955). His film appearances in his later years included roles in
Zebra in the Kitchen (1965),
The Over-the-Hill Gang (1969), and
Myra Breckinridge (1970). in
Stagecoach (1939) ,
Jane Frazee and Devine in
Under California Stars (1948) '' , 6366
Hollywood Boulevard Devine worked extensively in radio, and is well remembered for his role as Jingles,
Guy Madison's sidekick in
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok. Devine appeared over 75 times on
Jack Benny's radio show between 1936 and 1942, often in Benny's semiregular series of Western sketches, "Buck Benny Rides Again". Benny frequently referred to him as "the mayor of
Van Nuys", and Devine served as honorary mayor from 1938 to 1957, when he moved to
Newport Beach. Devine also worked in television. He hosted ''
Andy's Gang'', a children's TV show, on
NBC from 1955 to 1960. During this time, he also made multiple appearances on NBC's
The Ford Show. In addition, he was a guest star on many television shows in the 1950s and 1960s, including an episode of
The Twilight Zone titled "
Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" and appeared in five episodes of the NBC TV series
Flipper in 1964. He played the role of Jake Sloan in the 1961 episode "Big Jake" of the acclaimed anthology series
The Barbara Stanwyck Show, also on NBC. He also played Honest John Denton in the episode "A Horse of a Different Cutter" of the short-lived series
The Rounders. He made a cameo appearance as Santa Claus in an episode of the 1960s live-action
Batman TV series on ABC. The episode, entitled "The Duo Is Slumming", was originally broadcast on December 22, 1966. Devine made his stage debut in 1957 with his portrayal of Cap'n Andy in
Guy Lombardo's production of
Show Boat at the Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, New York. In 1973, he went to
Monroe, Louisiana, at the request of George C. Brian, an actor and filmmaker who headed the theater department at the
University of Louisiana at Monroe, to perform in
Show Boat. He also performed voice parts in animated films, including
Friar Tuck in
Walt Disney's
Robin Hood. He provided the voice of Cornelius the Rooster in several TV commercials for
Kellogg's Corn Flakes. ==Personal life==