LLOYD LESLIE GEORGE

a.k.a. Ken Marvin (Lonzo #1)

Instruments: Vocals
Date of Birth: June 27, 1924
Place of Birth: Haleyville, Alabama
Date of Death:October 16, 1991

The musical comedy duo of Lonzo & Oscar was for many years a fixture at the Grand Ole Opry. Over the act's history of almost fifty years, three different men in succession played the role of Lonzo, while Rollin Sullivan held down the role of Oscar.

The act's beginnings can be traced to the late 1930s, when Kentucky-born brothers Johnny and Rollin Sullivan toured as a duo and made their professional radio debut on WTJS in Jackson, Tennessee. In 1942 Rollin Sullivan joined Paul Howard's Arkansas Cotton Pickers at WSM's Grand Ole Opry, playing electric mandolin. With World War II under way, John Sullivan went into the service.

In 1945 the Sullivan brothers and Lloyd George all worked as sidemen for Eddy Arnold at WSM and on record for the next two years. While with Arnold, Lloyd George and Rollin Sullivan provided comic relief with an act they called Cicero & Oscar. It was Arnold who changed George's moniker to Lonzo.

In late 1947 Lonzo & Oscar left Arnold to become a Grand Ole Opry act in their own right. The following year they scored their biggest hit with "I'm My Own Grandpa" for RCA Victor. In 1950, when Lloyd George left for a solo career under the name Ken Marvin, John Sullivan rejoined his brother, continuing the Lonzo & Oscar tradition of satirizing songs.