Biography
George DeWitt was born 30 Dec 1922, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. DeWitt's given name was George Florentine. He was the second of four children (in order; Evelyn, George, Jackie, and Rudy Florentine). DeWitt's father, Joseph, was a police sergeant with the Atlantic City Police Department. As a boy during the Great Depression, DeWitt sang on the street corners in Atlantic City for tips. Later, as a young man during high school, he worked as a singing waiter in clubs around Atlantic City.
DeWitt always knew that show business was his calling. In fact, he had two great passions; entertainment and learning to be a pilot (he became accomplished at both). DeWitt later served his country as a pilot with the US Army Air Corps. Eventually, he entertained in USO tours during WWII. His nightclub and theater stints afterward led to him becoming one of the first comedians to open for Frank Sinatra. One evening, during the 1950s, at the legendary 500 Club in Atlantic City (where George's brother Rudy worked) DeWitt entertained with the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr.). While Sammy Davis Jr. was on stage doing a great job impersonating Jack Benny, DeWitt walked out from the wings, and ad-libbed an outstanding impersonation of Jack Benny's valet Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. Frank and Dean were said to have "fallen out of their chairs in the front row with laughter". This might have been the first time that an African-American entertainer impersonated a white character, while a white entertainer impersonated an African-American character. Soon, DeWitt was playing bigger venues, developing quite an entertainment resume. In September 1953, DeWitt appeared with Frank Sinatra and Bud and CeCe Robinson at the famous Bill Miller's Riviera. DeWitt was known best as the Emcee of the hit TV show Name That Tune (1953). Originally produced by 'Harry Salter' (qv, Name That Tune ran from 1953 to 1959 on NBC and CBS in prime time. The first hosts were Red Benson and 'Bill Cullen', but George DeWitt became most identified with the show. DeWitt could sing well, (Bill Cullen didn't) which was vital to the show's success. CBS dropped the series in the wake of the quiz scandals, even though Name That Tune wasn't implicated as much as Twenty-One (1956) (game show) or The $64, 000 Question (1955). DeWitt made a number of guest appearances on television, including a very unusual appearance on the Frank Sinatra variety TV show with The Three Stooges. He appeared in the movie A Hole in the Head (1959) with Frank Sinatra in 1959. DeWitt hosted another short-lived TV show called Be Our Guest (1960) during the 1960-1961 TV season. He appeared on television shows such as Hawaiian Eye (1959) and Surfside 6 (1960) between 1960-1962. He spent the rest of the 1960s playing club dates in New York City, Miami Beach and the Catskills (the Borscht Belt).
During the 1970s, DeWitt retired from actively performing, choosing to "ghost write" for other comedians. He came out of retirement in 1974, appearing with Dustin Hoffman in the film Lenny (1974). The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress. George DeWitt died from a heart attack in 1979, in Miami, Florida. DeWitt is survived by a son, Jay Florentine (a telecommunications executive) from his marriage to actress Claire Kelly.
