MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Long before he won over mid-century audiences with his signature bowl haircut and novelty songs, the big-band entertainer known as Ish Kabibble was a law student at West Virginia University.
Born Merwyn Bogue in Erie, Pennsylvania, the future star enrolled at the university in Morgantown in September 1927, choosing it for its proximity to his hometown and its established law school.
“That’s why I went to West Virginia University—it was close,” Bogue recalled in an interview published in the West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia. “And it offered what I wanted to take, law.”
From Morgantown classrooms to the Kay Kyser Band
Bogue spent roughly three years studying at the university before a summer gig in 1930 fundamentally altered his path. That summer, bandleader Kay Kyser brought his orchestra to perform at The Willows in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. When Kyser’s cornet player fell ill, Bogue stepped in to fill the vacancy.
Though Bogue fully intended to return to Morgantown that autumn to complete his law degree, Kyser persuaded him to stay on the road.
“In the fall, I wanted to go back to school,” Bogue recounted. “He talked me into delaying going back, first in the fall, then in the winter, and he kept delaying me for 21 years so I never went back.”
A dual role: Screen goofball and band business manager
Adopting the stage moniker “Ish Kabibble”—derived from the comedic song “Isch ga-bibble” (a mock-Yiddish phrase loosely meaning “I should worry?”)—Bogue became a fan favorite. On stage, he portrayed a gangly, dim-witted character who often interrupted performances to recite nonsensical poems or sing novelty hits like “Three Little Fishes.”
Behind the scenes, however, Bogue was far from the foolish persona he played on screen. Utilizing the sharp analytical skills that brought him to the university’s law school, he served as the official business manager for the Kay Kyser Orchestra from 1931 through 1951, steering the band through its most commercially successful era.
The orchestra gained national fame during its residency at Chicago’s Blackhawk Restaurant and through its hit NBC radio and television program, “Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge.” Hollywood quickly took notice, leading to feature film appearances alongside stars like Lucille Ball, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Kirk Douglas, and Bing Crosby.
A second act in real estate
After the decline of the big-band era, Bogue toured with his own Dixieland outfit and briefly partnered in a comedy act with future television host Mike Douglas. In 1961, he retired from show business to enter the real estate industry in California and Hawaii.
Drawing on his lifetime of audience connection, Bogue became a highly successful real estate manager. He frequently joked that selling real estate was just another form of show business: “The applause happens when they write the check.”