Dobie Gillis was the prototype for Richie Cunningham of TV's "Happy Days." He was clean-cut, polite and perpetually in love.
For those who didn't grow up with him, we're talking about the '50s TV series, "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," which starred Dwayne Hickman and is now in late-night reruns. But wait, there's more.Hickman, a child actor who's now a director, has written an autobiography, "Forever Dobie: The Many Lives of Dwayne Hickman" (Carol Publishing; $19.95), in which he waxes nostalgic about co-stars like Warren Beatty, who played conceited Milton Armitage; Tuesday Weld, who played the luscious babe Thalia; and Hickman's real-life college pal Bob Denver as the laid-back Maynard G. Krebs. The book is a great gift idea for Dobie Gillis fans. Others needn't bother.