Yogi Yorgesson
| Yogi Yorgesson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Harry Skarbo October 21, 1908 Tacoma, Washington |
| Died | May 20, 1956 (aged 47) Tonopah, Nevada |
| Occupation | Comedian, singer, songwriter |
| Spouse(s) | Gretchen Ross |
| Children | Steven, Eleanor |
Harry Stewart (October 21, 1908 – May 20, 1956), born Harry Skarbo, was an entertainer, singer, comedian, and songwriter. He was best known for his portrayal of Yogi Yorgesson, a comically exaggerated Swedish American.
Harry Edward Skarbo was born in Tacoma, Washington to Hans H. Skarbo (1878-1941) an immigrant from Norway, and Elsie (Gilbertson) Skarbo (1882- 1911) who was the daughter of Norwegian immigrants. After the death of his mother, he was adopted by the Stewart family. Growing up in the Proctor District, he attended Washington Grade School and Stadium High School in Tacoma.
In 1927 Stewart worked as an announcer, weather reporter, newsman and banjo player on KVI, a radio station that had recently started in Tacoma. Stewart developed the character of Yogi Yorgesson while appearing on the Al Pearce radio show from Fall, 1932, to 1937. He then began performing a comedy routine as Yogi in nightclubs. Yogi was originally a Hindu mystic from , but in time his crystal ball act was abandoned in favor of more homespun humor; Stewart nonetheless deliberately tried to make Yorgesson more intelligent than the stereotype of the naive rubes that other Scandinavian dialect comedians were using.
Harry and his wife, Gretchen Ida (Sissell) Ross (1909-1998) moved to Chicago in 1939, where he became a script writer. He kept the Yorgesson character alive, touring occasionally. During World War II, Harry became part of the WBBM production staff in May, 1942. By December Yogi was performing for the station. This, in turn, led to Harry's first published work as a songwriter in 1946, when the King's Jesters recorded his song, "Humphrey, the Sweet Singing Pig," for Vogue Picture Records. Yogi Yorgesson then attracted the attention of a local record company, S&G Records, that was pressing in Los Angeles. His first single, "My Clam Digger Sweetheart"/"I Don't Give a Hoot," was popular enough that Capitol Records purchased the rights to his recordings. The second Yorgesson release was an early version of "All Pooped Out," which Stewart re-recorded later for Capitol. Once Capitol signed Yogi in October, 1949, S&G promoted the singles with ads in trade magazines, and they sold quite well—100,000 copies of the two singles together. Capitol billed their first Yorgesson single, "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas"/"Yingle Bells," as a Christmas special, and sales took off immediately. Advance orders came from all around the nation, so that Capitol announced that they had a hit on their hands. The song debuted on December 10 at number 24. By the following week, both sides were in the Top Twenty, and the week before Christmas saw both sides of the single in the Top Ten. Right after Christmas, "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" reached number five, and the single became one of Capitol's permanent hits—being reissued virtually every year.
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