Even if you knew Dale White, you might not know about his previous life, the one he lived before he moved to Utah 15 years ago. He wasn't one to talk about himself.
So I will.
White was a regular on Jack Benny's TV show. From 1955 to 1965, he played the part of Harlow and shared the stage with the likes of Benny, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Carol Burnett on America's favorite show.
And then, he chose to disappear.
On the Internet, there is a posting from November 2001 in which a fan writes, "I've always been fascinated by Dale White — Usually actors on the Benny program, however 'minor' they may be, can be seen playing other roles in movies or other TV series. However, I have NEVER seen Dale White in ANYTHING other than the Benny show! Dale was VERY funny on Jack's show . . . The guy had that deadpan expression and flat, monotone delivery . . . and when he would scowl at Jack and say, 'You never DID like me!' it was HILARIOUS! Does anyone here have any info on Dale White?"
Yes. White quit acting and worked behind the scenes, as he had planned all along.
White passed away last week at the age of 74. There was some mention of his acting career, but there was more made of the type of man he was. He was the neighbor everyone should have, a neighbor said.
"He had a way of making everyone feel wonderful," says longtime friend Spence Kinard. "He told all the women how beautiful they were and meant it. He said that to the ladies at the assisted living center."
Little did most of them know that White had had a brush with fame. After attending Brigham Young University and Utah State University, he went to California to finish his studies at the famed Pasadena Playhouse Theater of Arts. He wanted to be a director, but Jack Benny was looking for someone who looked like Don Wilson to play the latter's son. White got the part in what was supposed to be a one-episode appearance.
"The Jack Benny Show" was broadcast live in front of a studio audience on Sunday nights. There was no videotape from which to edit goofs. Commercials were built into the show. During a break in the show, the actors might sing and tap dance for Jell-O or some other product. The show paved the way for modern sitcoms.
When the show ended, White dumped his acting career. He taught at the Pasadena Playhouse and opened his own film company, White Productions. He opened two live theaters in California, one of them in Sierra Madre, where Tom Hanks got his start. He wrote scripts and directed plays at his theaters. In 1976, he wrote and directed his first feature movie, "Runnin' Free."
"He never did want to be an actor," says White's wife, Marie. "He wanted to be a director. He wasn't a show-off person. He didn't have an ego."
He worked with some of Hollywood's biggest names off the stage. He had lunch with Ronald Reagan, then president of the Screen Actors Guild. He spent a day in Charlton Heston's trailer on the set of "Soylent Green" and between takes Heston did narration for one of White's films. A lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, White also produced countless films for his church.
"He was a dreamer, just full of ideas," Kinard says.
Dale also loved motorcycles and cars. For Saturday's funeral, the family bypassed a ride in the hearse and chose instead to ride in Dale's sky-blue 1950 Cadillac Fleetwood. It was a nice touch, and the kind of thing Dale might have written into one of his scripts.
Doug Robinson's column runs on Tuesdays. Please e-mail drob@desnews.com.