‘Dobie Gillis’ star Dwayne Hickman dead at 87

LOS ANGELES — Actor Dwayne Hickman, who played the lovelorn leading role in “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” died Sunday morning, his publicist said. He was 87.

>> PHOTOS: Dwayne Hickman through the years

Hickman died in Los Angeles from complications related to Parkinson’s disease, according to publicist Harlan Boll.

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“Dobie Gillis,” which ran for 147 episodes from 1959 to 1963 on CBS, starred Hickman as a student always looking to get the “better things in life” -- mostly popularity, success, and most importantly, girls, according to IMDb.com. His sidekick, the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs, was played by future “Gilligan’s Island” star Bob Denver.

“Dobie Gillis” followed the fortunes of its hero, his friends and family in Central City. He forever pines, in the words of the show’s theme song, for “a girl to call his own,” and the financial means to do so.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show began with a Gillis monologue that went, “My name is Dobie Gillis and I love girls. I’m not a wolf, mind you. A wolf wants lots of girls, I just want one.”

Hickman also performed in films, most notably in 1965 as a con man in “Cat Ballou” (1965) and in the beach party movies “How to Stuff a Wild Bikini” and “Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine.”

Born on May 18, 1934, in Los Angeles, Hickman appeared in films as a youth, including “The Grapes of Wrath” in 1940, Variety reported. As a teenager, he played the role of Chuck MacDonald in “The Bob Cummings Show,” the website reported.

By the time “Dobie Gillis” ended in 1963, Hickman, then 29, had become so closely identified with the title character that he had difficulty landing other roles, The New York Times reported.

His career over the next few decades saw him work as an entertainment director for Howard Hughes’ Landmark Hotel in Las Vegas, as an advertising man and a network programming executive for CBS, the newspaper reported.

The network job saw Hickman supervise productions such as “Maude,” “M*A*S*H” and “Designing Women,” Variety reported. Hickman also directed various episodes of different half-hour comedies.

Hickman also starred in the 1988 reunion of his signature series, “Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis.”

Hickman was also an artist, painting various house and landscape series in oils, the Times reported.

He was married three times: to actress Carol Christensen, then briefly to singer Joanne Papile. In 1983, he wed Joan Roberts, who he remained married to for the rest of his life, Variety reported. He is survived by his wife and sons, Albert Hickman and John Hickman.

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Photos: Dwayne Hickman through the years Dwayne Hickman, who played the lovelorn leading role in “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” died Jan. 9, 2022, his publicist said. He was 87. Here are some memorable photos of the actor through the years. (CBS/CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images)

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