Hardy Gibson

born: 16 October 1880 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

died: 18 December 1969 Los Angeles County, California, United States of America (age 89)

Scottish-Australian actor and comedian of stage, film, and radio. His Scottish parents, Penelope (Robertson) and James McDonald, settled in Australia, where their children, including James (later known as our subject, Hardy Gibson), were born. In some vital records and publicity, James/Hardy claimed Edinburgh, Scotland, where his parents were from, as his birth place. He first resided in the United States in 1906-07 before returning to the U.S. for good in July 1910, and after performing in vaudeville he entered films with the American Film Company in Santa Barbara, California in 1915. In 1922, he married Nebraska-born actress Florence Ann Gannon (1901-1990), with whom he performed in vaudeville and radio as "Hardy & Betty Gibson." On radio in Los Angeles and San Francisco, they portrayed the characters of "Joe & Cynthia Doakes" (also known as "Doakes & Doakes"). They had two sons, Harry George McDonald (1922-2004) and Jimmy Vincent McDonald (1924-1997).

Real name: James McDonald Height: 5'7"

Films listed on this page: complete Hal Roach filmography.

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1919 Bumping Into Broadway [?] 1919 Captain Kidd's Kids [?] 1919 From Hand To Mouth [?] Acknowledgements: The Harold Lloyd Encyclopedia by Annette D'Agostino Lloyd (book) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJSN-R1V (1920 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q212-3H7H (1922 marriage) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q21J-2BTN (1922 marriage) James Staney McDonald, "U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960" (Ancestry.com) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CL47-876Z (1929 declaration of intention) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCV4-RMW (1930 Census) https://www.fold3.com/document/9409716/ (1936 petition for nat.) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KX3L-SX3 (CA Nat. Index) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXQ4-QF9 (CA Nat. Index) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9CD-NN1 (1940 Census) James McDonald, "U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942" (Ancestry.com) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WYTP-KJW2 (1946 pass. list) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XG8-R3NW (1950 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP6L-FN7 (CA Death Index) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JGSF-92W (Social Security Death Index) https://archive.org/details/variety40-1915-09/page/n107/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (Variety, 17 Sep 1915) https://books.google.com/books?id=HHRJAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA9-PA15&lpg=RA9-PA15#v=onepage&q&f=false (Movie Magazine, Dec 1915) https://books.google.com/books?id=HHRJAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA9-PA16&lpg=RA9-PA16#v=onepage&q=%22hardy%20gibson%22&f=false (Movie Magazine, Dec 1915) https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/48842272/ (Scranton Republican, 06 Sep 1916) https://archive.org/details/motography162elec/page/845/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (Motography, 07 Oct 1916) https://archive.org/details/variety66-1922-03/page/n126/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (Variety, 17 Mar 1922) https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/85919696/ (Brainerd Daily Dispatch, 06 Mar 1925) https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/103580420/ (Oakland Tribune, 27 Aug 1930) https://archive.org/details/radiodoingsthere1820unse/page/n164/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22+doakes&view=theater (Radio Doings, Mar 1931) https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Broadcast-Weekly/1931/Broadcast-Weekly-1931-04-26.pdf (Broadcast Weekly, 26 Apr-02 May 1931) https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Broadcast-Weekly/1931/Broadcast-Weekly-1931-05-31.pdf (Broadcast Weekly, 31 May-06 Jun 1931) https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Broadcast-Weekly/1931/Broadcast-Weekly-1931-06-07.pdf (Broadcast Weekly, 07-13 Jun 1931) https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/457811708/ (San Francisco Examiner, 23 Aug 1931) https://archive.org/details/radiodoingsthere1820unse/page/n465/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22+doakes&view=theater (Radio Doings, Oct 1931) https://archive.org/details/broadcasting89unse/page/n871/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (Broadcasting, 15 Aug 1935) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyri151libr/page/92/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1920 Catalogue of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofco171libr/page/148/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1920 Catalogue of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig263libr/page/596/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1931 Catalogue of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig61libr/page/252/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1933 Catalogue of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig293libr/page/851/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1934 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig81libr/page/9/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1935 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig303libr/page/279/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1935 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig91libr/page/225/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1936 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig121libr/page/56/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1939 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig121libr/page/60/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1939 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig344libr/page/310/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1939 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig363libr/page/79/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1941 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig362li/page/1998/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1941 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig15libr/page/141/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1942 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig373libr/page/980/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1942 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig3334libr/page/34/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (1949 Catalog of Copyright Entries) https://archive.org/details/CopyrightCards1909-1937_Periodicals/19091937GERD-GOD/page/n782/mode/1up?q=%22hardy+gibson%22&view=theater (Copyright Cards) https://archive.org/details/polkscrockerlang1933dire/page/447/mode/1up?view=theater (1933 San Francisco City Directory) https://archive.org/details/polkscrockerlang1934dire/page/426/mode/1up?view=theater (1934 San Francisco City Directory) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPCF-FFDW (son Harry B. G. McDonald's birth, 1922) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8KS-YGW (son Harry George McDonald's marriage, 1945) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP82-NSC (wife Florence Ann [Gannon] McDonald in CA Death Index, 1990) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH43-FW6 (McDonald family in 1920 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL41-JL8H (sister Penelope McDonald's marriage, 1922) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL41-7T99 (brother Bertram McDonald's marriage, 1922) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8JF-Y4S (sister Peggy [Penelope] McDonald's marriage, 1934) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K86Y-KXX (sister Penelope McDonald Reber's marriage, 1944) 1923 Los Angeles City Dir.: Gibson Hardy actor h532 S Fremont av 1933 San Francisco City Dir.: Gibson Hardy h695 35th av 1934 San Francisco City Dir.: Gibson Hardy (Betty) radio artist h695 35th av Jesse Brisson (bio notes and research) This page was last updated on: 04 December 2023