Hank Jones: From Hit Records to Disney Classics – Jill Keller, Ph.D. and Stefan R. Sanford, MFA

Photo: Hank Jones

If you are a fan of the beloved Walt Disney classics, you will recognize the presence of the talented Hank Jones. The moment Hank opened the door of his Prescott home, a sense of familiarity set in, followed by an hour and a half of fascinating conversation about classic Disney films, vintage television shows, and memorable music from the 1950s and 1960s.

Early Singing Career

Hank Jones grew up in California’s San Francisco Bay Area and attended Stanford University, where he earned a degree in Communications. He and his best friend, Dean Kay, grew up together and formed the successful singing duo Hank and Dean during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The two young singers spent their summer vacations from college in Hollywood, knocking on doors for two years in hopes of getting their music heard. Their persistence paid off when they signed with RCA Victor. Together, they recorded several hit songs, including Old Devil Moon, Ain’t Got a Nickel, Wishin’ Well, Sing, Boy, Sing, and Billy Boy.

Their success continued when Hank and Dean became regular performers on ABC’s The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, appearing in more than 520 episodes. The demanding schedule required filming five nationally televised programs each week in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1963, Dean Kay was drafted into military service, leaving Hank to reinvent himself and pursue a solo career.

Television and Disney Film Career

Now on his own, Hank Jones transitioned from a singing career to full-time work in television and commercials. He first appeared in 1964 in My Three Sons, where he played the recurring character Pete. Hank’s clean-cut, wholesome screen presence caught the attention of casting directors, who soon began casting him in family sitcoms. This exposure led to appearances on The Patty Duke Show, Petticoat Junction, The Mod Squad, Emergency!, Mork & Mindy, and many other productions.

These early television appearances in family programming during the mid-1960s led to Hank being noticed by Walt Disney, who personally hired him because he possessed the wholesome appeal that perfectly suited Disney’s live-action family productions.

Hank was eventually cast as the friendly and lovable college track athlete Gudger Larkin in the 1968 film Blackbeard’s Ghost. The star-studded cast included Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, Elsa Lanchester, Richard Deacon, and, of course, Hank Jones.

Blackbeard’s Ghost established Hank’s long career as a Disney regular. He went on to appear in numerous Disney productions, including The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band; The Barefoot Executive; The Million-Dollar Duck; Herbie Rides Again; No Deposit, No Return; The Shaggy D.A.; and The Cat from Outer Space.

Hank Jones also appeared in The Smith Family (1972), playing a bellboy alongside Henry Fonda. During an early morning makeup session, Fonda looked over at Hank and remarked, “Hi, Hank. I’m a Hank, too… Just call me that, and we’ll get along fine” (Jones, 2006, p. 174).

In the television movie Ringo (1978), Hank portrayed the twin brother of Ringo Starr in a The Prince and the Pauper-style production. After five hours in the makeup chair, Hank looked so much like Ringo that he was able to visit the NBC commissary, where everyone assumed he was the famous Beatle. Meanwhile, the real Ringo Starr enjoyed a quiet lunch in his dressing room.

Beyond Disney

More recently, the Prescott Film Festival showcased a delightful documentary celebrating Hank Jones’s remarkable career. Beyond Godolphin: The Hank Jones Story, directed by Kevin MacLean, highlights Hank’s many talents and accomplishments. Disney fans will recognize that “Godolphin” refers to the fictional Godolphin College featured in several live-action Disney films of the 1960s and 1970s.

A trailer for Beyond Godolphin: The Hank Jones Story is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rYNTvbk9E

In addition to his singing, film, and television career, Hank Jones has written several books and is recognized as one of the nation’s foremost authorities on eighteenth-century Palatine German immigration and the intuitive, psychological aspects of family history research. Hank says he has been climbing his family tree since he was eight years old and has been researching the Palatines since his Stanford days in the early 1960s.

Hank Jones is one of only about 50 living individuals worldwide who are Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists (FASG), one of the highest honors in the field of genealogy. He has published nine books and countless scholarly articles on genealogy and family history research.

To learn more, visit:
https://www.hankjones.com/https://fasg.org/fellows/henry-z-jones-jr/

Reference

Jones, H. (2006). Memories – The “Show-Biz” Part of My Life. Penobscot Press.