Phil Harris

Phil Harris cameos on The Jimmy Dean Show but doesn't stick around to meet Rowlf

Phil Harris (1904-1995) was a comedian, bandleader, and recording artist known for his work on radio, records, and as the voice of multiple Disney characters. He was an established bandleader and starred in an Oscar-winning short So This Is Harris (1933) before joining The Jack Benny Program in 1936. Harris played himself as the brash and boozy semi-literate leader of a band of unskilled reprobates. He would frequently burst into his signature song "That's What I Like About the South." He carried the persona into his own series The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show (1946-1954, opposite real life spouse Faye), singing more novelty numbers and old standbys.

Harris remained on Benny's show through 1952, and reunited occasionally on television later, and made occasional films including a dramatic supporting turn in The High and the Mighty (1954, with John Wayne and Robert Stack). He played one of Jerry Lewis's showbiz handlers in The Patsy (1964, along with Peter Lorre). However, his film legacy lies mainly as the voice of Baloo in Disney's The Jungle Book, followed by similar characters in The Aristocats and Robin Hood.

On TV, Harris popped up (unannounced in the show's intro) in the December 17, 1965 broadcast of The Jimmy Dean Show, staying just long enough to welcome Jimmy Dean to California. Other TV work includes guest spots on Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, F Troop, The Merv Griffin Show, Here's Lucy, Fantasy Island, and The Love Boat.

References

• Jim Henson explained the origins of Sam, prior to starring on Sam and Friends while appearing on other variety shows: "I made him originally to use with Phil Harris records."

• Several Phil Harris recordings were used on Sam and Friends (as well as other early appearances), including "George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Robert E. Lee," "The Thing," "That's What I Like About the South," "The Preacher and the Bear," "You Can't Do Wrong Doin' Right" (backed by The Sportsmen), and other solo recordings and as part of a quartet with Dinah Shore, Betty Hutton, and Tony Martin performing "The Musicians" and "How Do'ye Do and Shake Hands" (from Disney's Alice in Wonderland).