Walter Ellery Hogue

A Long Obituary/Short Biography of Walter Ellery Hogue

Some life stories from his memoir, "I Was a Teenage Spy for Howard Hughes"

Walter Ellery Hogue passed away peacefully in his Palm Desert, California home on March 12, 2023, from vascular dementia. He was 87 years old, 3 months short of his 88th birthday.

He is survived by his sister Beth Davis and brother-in-law Ron Davis, daughters Susan Hogue-Staley and Shyama Sachi, and grandchildren Brian Mas, Adam Staley and Olivia Staley. "Wally", as he was called by family and friends, also had two great grandchildren, Lillia and Ellis Mas, who he was able to meet on FaceTime shortly before he died. He has now joined his former wife/eternal soulmate Shantha Sachi and his beloved rescue dogs, Koko and Olivia on "the other side" (as he described the place we go after leaving this world.)

Wally was born in Detroit, Michigan on June 28,1935 to Walter and Mary Hogue and raised in nearby Grosse Pointe Farms with his younger sister Maryann. He was confirmed in St. Paul's Catholic Church on Lake Saint Clair as Walter Ellery Jude Francis Hogue. Walter, after his father, Ellery after his uncle, Jude after the patron saint of hope and impossible causes and Francis after the patron saint of the environment and animals.

When he was a small boy, his father Walter John Hogue worked at The Ford Motor Company in River Rouge as Senior Director of Plant Protection, a corporate union representing the security guards and also had a real estate company. Wally's mother Mary worked at her brother David McCarron's dry cleaners, Mondry Cleaners and the local telephone company.

Wally was born almost 6 years after the 1929 Stock Market Crash which led to the Great Depression and the Detroit area that had enjoyed a booming economy from automobile manufacturing in the 1920s was hit especially hard. Earnings for autoworkers plummeted and many were not fortunate enough to keep, or even find a job. Poverty and hunger were rampant and those with jobs were forced to work long hours for low wages. Many people resorted to bootlegging, the illegal sale of alcohol during the Prohibition. This was common in Detroit because the production of it was still legal in Windsor, Canada where the whisky distilleries were located just across the Detroit River.

The economic pressure led to major clashes at Ford Motor Company between the security guards, automobile manufacturing unions and Ford employees who were intimidated and physically threatened by the security guards not to strike. Many of the Ford guards were roughnecks who resorted to violence to protect corporate interests. All of this took a toll on Wally's father and their home life suffered from the turbulence. Then came the war.

Wally was 6 1/2 years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed in December of 1941 and the country entered World War II. The people of Detroit and its surrounding communities were already involved in the war effort. "Motor City" was known as "The Arsenal of Democracy" because it had adapted its factories to produce airplanes, tanks, vehicles, boats, weapons, ammunition, and electronics to assist its allies overseas. After the United States entered the war, everyday life had changed drastically.

Even in his senior years, Wally could recall the times he practiced getting under his desk along with his classmates during air drills in preparation for the possibility of his elementary school being bombed. His childhood would never be carefree.

But Wally, along with most others in the Detroit area, was also proud and patriotic as evidenced by family photos of him as a young boy child saluting for the camera wearing an army uniform. He would strike this same pose for photos well into his 80s.

While Wally displayed a sincere love of country, the turmoil of these times also bred an enduring anti-violence, anti-war sentiment in him and an inclination to protect and help people who were vulnerable.

Like many Americans then, he turned to entertainment as a much-needed escape from the anxiety of wartime.

He was enthralled by the popular radio comedy shows of the day, his favorite being "The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show". A naturally spirited child who loved to clown around for attention and lighten the moods of others, he was 8 years old in the 3rd grade when his mother bought him a ventriloquism dummy, a replica of Charlie McCarthy, to channel his creative energy. The art of ventriloquism and comedy became a lifelong passion.

After the war, Detroit was in its golden era and Wally did everything he could to enjoy life. He attended St. Paul's Catholic School on Lake St. Claire through high school and acquired his second dummy that he named Tommy McDougal, entertaining family and friends with his new act. McDougal was like a real friend to Wally and he was even mentioned in his yearbook photo caption.

On top of his keen sense of humor, Wally was athletically talented. He was a star runner on St. Paul's varsity track team and played right end in football. Always the joker, he once packed the entire team into his car and drove directly onto the field just minutes before a big game was to begin, much to the chagrin of his coach.

But entertainment was always his primary interest. He took a job as an usher during high school at the Punch and Judy Theater in Grosse Pointe so he could watch movies for free and especially enjoyed the comedic Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "Road To" films. As an Irish American, he related to Bing and admired his role as an unconventional priest with a big heart in "Going My Way" which influenced Wally's way of following his heart and supporting at risk youth and the creative goals of women, things he would go on to do continually in his adult life. Wally eventually served as Co-Chairman of the Bing Crosby Commemorative Stamp Committee along with Bob Hope in the 1990s.

He was inspired to become a filmmaker himself as a teenager after he and his cousin David McCarron were invited by their aspiring actress cousin Betty Lou Mooney to the on-location set of the 1953 movie "Niagara" starring Marilyn Monroe and Jean Peters. Betty Lou was the traveling companion of Jean Peters and the two shared a hotel room in Niagara Falls during the production. Wally and David met Marilyn up close and personal when she walked into the hotel room wearing nothing but a towel to borrow a scarf from Jean Peters, an unforgettable moment for the two teens. They were also invited to a dinner with the entire cast, crew and director of the film, Henry Hathaway. The experience had a profound effect on Wally and shortly after graduation, he looked forward to moving to Venice, California near Hollywood to live with his mother, who had since remarried, his stepfather Jack Thorpe and half-sister Beth.

Once in California, Wally enrolled in Santa Monica City College and studied creative writing and theater. He then transferred to U.C.L.A. where he focused on filmmaking. He made a 15-minute silent movie as a requirement for graduation. Inspired by the films of Jacques Tati, who was a master at sight gags and satire, his movie was called "Le Bum " The main character was a Chaplin-esque tramp who interacts with a police officer, a little girl (played by Wally's 11-year-old sister Beth) and a pastor. The rest of the cast and crew were his classmates from U.C.L.A. His Catholic upbringing had to be stirring as the story was about charity and lack of faith but told with a comedic direction. Wally felt he should have received an A for his final grade, but instead, got a C because the assignment was not supposed to be a comedy. He felt the poignancy of his film was lost on his teacher because he didn't understand the power of comedy to provoke serious thought.

During his time at U.C.L.A., he met many more celebrities through his classmates whose parents were in show business. One of his fondest memories was having lunch at a restaurant with his best friend Ronnie Burns and his parents, George Burns and Gracie Allen, stars of radio and television. Sitting at the table listening to one of his childhood idols tell jokes and stories was an experience Wally would never forget. His other close friend was Billy Perlberg, son of producer William Perlberg known for award-winning films including "Miracle on 34th Street", "The Song of Bernadette" and "The Country Girl", another Bing Crosby film costarring Grace Kelly. Wally served as an usher in Billy's wedding in the same party as bridesmaid Marlo Thomas. It was here that he met her father, comedian and actor Danny Thomas who showed him a $1000 bill, the first and last one he had ever seen before. Wally reconnected with Marlo at a book signing in Orange County in 2014 and she remembered him and that day.

Once when Wally was visiting his friend Billy at the Perlberg home, he noticed a shiny new Chevrolet in front and when he came inside saw that singer Dinah Shore was their guest. She had a television show at the time that was sponsored by the auto maker and when he expressed his enthusiasm for her new car, she took him outside again to show him all the details. Dinah would sing in the commercials, "See the world today, in your Chevrolet!"

Wally was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at U.C.L.A. and was known on campus as a "wild brat". The house president was often hauled before the dean because of their shenanigans. The brotherhood was well known on campus for their raucous parties after football games and their legendary annual themed bashes such as "Arabian Nights" which was decorated with Bedouin tents and throw pillows. They served guests a concoction that Wally dubbed, "Kickapoo Joy Juice", a mix of grape juice and a several liquors, whatever they could get their hands on. His fraternity brother and lifelong friend, Chuck Maas, drove to Tijuana to pick up the booze while Wally had been put in charge of the decorations. After testing the joy juice before the party, he had the idea that they needed palm fronds and a real camel for authentic ambience. In his inebriated state, he took several fraternity pledges to cut down the fronds in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel. He cut his hand badly but continued on to the L.A. Zoo to "borrow" a camel. When they got there, they were disappointed to learn that there were no camels there. According to Wally, Chuck was the wildest of the bunch. He often said the "Kappa Sigs" could have been the prototype for the movie "Animal House" starring John Belushi. And Chuck Maas was their "Bluto".

Wally made money in college by selling vacuum cleaners door to door but was discouraged by housewives slamming the door in his face. He was rescued from this grind when his cousin Betty Lou's husband Jeff Chouinard offered him as job at his detective agency called Mike Conrad and Associates, but it was a really a front for Howard Hughes. Jeff was Hughes' head of security and in charge of keeping an eye on his many young girlfriends who were either aspiring or accomplished actresses.

Wally happily took the surveillance job and was officially a spy for Howard Hughes. He was given a badge that read "Private Detective", an expense account, a car and a pair of binoculars. His dream job didn't last long. He was fired after a couple of years for pursuing one of Hughes' young ladies himself, Yvonne Schubert, Miss Orange County of 1955. Wally felt badly for her because she was kept isolated by Hughes and was missing out on the fun of being a normal teenager. He also wanted to support her in her singing career ambitions (like Bing Crosby's character in Going My Way). Howard Hughes was furious that Wally was spending so much personal time with Yvonne, threatened to have him drafted and tried to personally intimidate him. But Wally refused to stop seeing her. They'd go on long walks together, out to get ice cream, to dance parties and to his frat house to socialize with his friends at U.C.L.A nearby the house Hughes rented for her on Cashmere Street in Westwood. But she was young and naive. She believed Hughes would one day marry her as he had promised. A proposal he had offered a few women simultaneously.

By the Summer of 1957, Wally had gone from being a spy for Howard Hughes at 2 dollars an hour to be a gas jockey for 75 cents an hour at a couple of Standard Oil stations. He then took the "Mellinger" correspondence course on how to import and export new products and prepared to become a world trade millionaire. He secured the marketing rights for the 11 western states on a handheld transistor radio model named "The Constant" that was made in Japan and would soon become the iPod of its day. The American made competition was the Hoffman Transistor radio but the Constant was just as good at half the price. The only other transistor radio company from Japan was the Zephyr.

The manufacturer of the Constant offered Wally the rights to the 11 western states for an order of 50,000 radios. He got Thrifty Drug Company to buy 5,000 on a trial order. Thrifty had stores all over California and are known today as Rite-Aid. After raising the capital and sending them a letter of credit, Wally thought he was on his way to riches and bought a classic 1941 black Buick limousine that used to belong to child star Freddy Bartholomew. While waiting for his ship to come in, he worked pumping gas and lubing cars in Westwood and then Beverly Hills.

About a month later he was watching the nightly news and saw that a typhoon had hit an industrial area in Osaka, Japan. A week later, he received a telegram: "Typhoon destroyed factory. Can't make delivery on transistor radios." Thrifty Drug found another supplier, a relatively new company...named Sony.

Wally continued importing other products and made extra money selling beer steins and cuckoo clocks to his family, friends, fraternity brothers and their families. One item was a musical wine bottle holder that played the tune, "How Dry I Am." Selling novelty products appealed to him because they helped people take life less seriously by having a little fun.

His next venture was the creation and launch of a rubber vinyl space creature toy figure called "Exphobe" in a joint venture called Space Imports, Clas-Sick Creations with three of his drinking buddies from his favorite watering hole Chez Jay in Santa Monica, as the partners. The concept of the Exphobes was that they were so silly they could "remove nervous tension", a phrase from the promotional jingle Wally wrote and recorded in a studio in 1960 on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles featuring banjo music and futuristic spaceship sound effects. This time, it was inner peace through laughter that he focused on, truly believing it could lead to world peace. This concept was the inspiration behind his creative endeavors for decades.

He found a mentor in entrepreneur E. Joseph Cossman, a novelty item importer/exporter and author of "How I Made $1,000,000 In Mail Order" and in 1960 began selling a new educational toy product called "The Ant Farm" that is still sold today. Joe's office was also on Sunset Boulevard, and it was here that "Joe" introduced him to Shantha Sachi, a 22-year-old who had just arrived alone in the States from Southern India to live with a sponsor family near Disneyland. Joe had been corresponding with Shantha who expressed interest in coming to the US and Joe suggested she take out an ad in the Los Angeles Examiner. Bill and Helen Schroeder of Garden Grove responded to the ad and one day in November of 1960, Joe told Wally to go "pick up this girl from India" and bring her to his office. 8 weeks after they met, Wally and Shantha eloped. In January 1961, they drove to Las Vegas in a red and white Cadillac convertible borrowed from a fraternity brother Phil Waterman who was one of the partners in the Exphobe venture. Up to his 80s, Wally would recall the experience and describe the vision of "Shantha's red sari blowing in the wind as they crossed into the desert" as he would describe the scene.

Like Wally, Shantha had big dreams for an exciting life in the entertainment industry. She was an adept pianist with great ambition and drive. She was classically trained but preferred to play American Pop music. She came from a show biz family. Her father C.K. Sachi was a prominent film director in Madras, India and in a similar way to his daughter's taste in music, preferred the Western style of filmmaking and took an Americanized approach to the movies he made. Now Shantha wanted to make a name for herself in the States. Once again, Wally had the opportunity to promote a female singer, this one with even more musical skills.

They juggled their shared creative ambitions with the family life that was soon to begin. Their daughter Susan was born on March 27 of 1962 in Burbank, California where the young couple had settled. Two years later, they moved up north to Redwood City in the San Francisco Bay Area where their second daughter Shyama was born on January 4, 1964, the same day as Shantha's birthday.

With a gift from his mother for a down payment, Wally purchased a two-bedroom home in a nice section of Redwood City and worked as a salesman for office supply companies in the SF Bay Area to support his young family. He was employed by many firms over the years including Addressograph-Multigraph, Peninsula Office Supply, Bostitch, Postalia and others. As a free thinker and independent spirit, he struggled with the constraints of working for someone else and never stayed for too long with any one of the companies.

More than just frustration with day jobs, he was still under the dark cloud that had come over the entire world on November 22, 1963. Shyama had been born a month and a half after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a symbol of hope to young Americans that the end of the Vietnam War might be ended. Grief made working and parenting difficult for Wally. The future was uncertain, it seemed the world was taking a dark turn again, a painful reminder of the traumatic days of World War II.

Saddened but not defeated, Wally committed himself to keeping JFK's dreams alive and became involved in politics. He greatly admired the work JFK had done with his brother Robert Kennedy towards civil rights, improving race relations and ending poverty.

He continued to express his creativity through writing and developing his own novelty products in his spare time through his own business W.E. Hogue Company, but now his projects would have more specific purpose.

He developed a tourist gift called "California Pan Your Own Gold", a prospector's kit with a small can of sand containing specs of gold dust, a plastic pan and a small magnifying glass. He converted the garage of his home in Redwood City into a small factory with canning equipment using aluminum cans from a candle company called Halo. He brought in the paydirt from Patterson Ranch in Patterson, California near Modesto in the Central Valley. The kit was sold at gift shops in Reno, Nevada and San Francisco as well as at the SF International Airport.

In support of Robert Kennedy's focus on economic development to reduce poverty, Wally wanted to use his product to help the unemployed become entrepreneurs as a path to financial independence.

He also put his business and marketing savvy to work to try and help Robert Kennedy become President by volunteering as a phone banker at his headquarters in San Francisco. He reported to campaign manager John Seigenthaler and crafted his own talking points in an outline to differentiate RFK from Minnesota Senator Eugene J. McCarthy since both were Irish American Democratic candidates with similar positions on American concerns. Wally was overheard by Seigenthaler and was asked to come into the conference room to elaborate on his ideas. Parts of the phone script he had written and discussed with Seigenthaler were incorporated into points made by Robert Kennedy in a 1968 discussion with McCarthy and Kennedy on the TV program "Issues and Answers" which aired on ABC on June 1, 1968.

Wally did everything he could to add value to the campaign, including loaning his VW Wagon Bus to shuttle visitors to the headquarters back and forth from the airport. He was given a loaner while his bus was being used, a Citroen that was registered to Sonny Bono. His daughters still remember standing up through the sunroof as Wally gave them rides up and down their street, holding their legs with his right arm and steering the car with his left.

Knowing Robert Kennedy was coming to San Francisco on his campaign trail and that he would be driving through Chinatown in a motorcade to greet the public, Wally made sure he was there to present the gold panning kit to him. As he approached in a convertible, the vehicle was swarmed by the crowd of people who also wanted to meet him. Wally could not make his way close enough to present his product and as the window of opportunity was closing and the car moved further away, he decided to use his old football skills and threw the package into the car, successfully landing it in the lap of one of the passengers with Kennedy. It was quickly retrieved and then tossed from person to person. Wally always thought they must have been concerned it was a bomb.

The presentation may not have gone exactly as Wally had hoped, but he was not one to give up easily. He was inspired by Robert Kennedy's efforts to encourage private industry to locate in poverty-stricken areas to create jobs and the work he was doing with Black community leaders in the Hunters Point-Bayview district of San Francisco. This was a poor neighborhood that was still stinging from the 1966 riots that took place after a white police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old Black teenager as he fled the scene of a stolen car and Kennedy toured the district himself with the press on more than one occasion.

Wally partnered with local businessman Charles Bussey of Daly City, California, a decorated World War II veteran of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, one of 992 African American pilots to win their wings. He was later a hero in the Korean War and then became a pioneer in setting up African American businesses in Hunters Point during the 1960s through a company he established to create jobs for the unemployed in that district called Patimik Corporation. The company offered services in furniture refurbishing, building maintenance, automotive repair, manufacturing of pallets and plywood containers, carpet cleaning and upholstering.

Wally believed his product California Pan Your Own Gold could also be used as an example of entrepreneurship as a path to economic independence. He converted the garage of his home in Redwood City into a small factory to produce the product that was contained in small aluminum cans obtained from a candle company called Halo and wrapped in a gold label. Charles Bussey personally transported large cardboard boxes of these cans to the house for production.

Wally also served as Chairman of "Progress with Patimik Day", an open house at the Patimik headquarters on October 19, 1968, which he sponsored with a group of San Francisco businessmen. The event was attended by civic leaders and executives from companies who supported Patimik including Bechtel, Crown Zellerbach, Lockheed and Southern Pacific.

Another pillar of the community that Wally worked closely with was Sam Jordan, a restauranteur known as "The Unofficial Mayor of Hunters Point. Sam once came to Wally's defense and protected him from being assaulted in Hunter's Point after a meeting at his restaurant. As he was walking out to his car, Wally was approached by a group of young Black men who were more than unhappy to see a white man in their neighborhood after the shooting incident by the police two years earlier. Wally remembered becoming surrounded and just before things got ugly, Sam Jordan stepped out of his restaurant and said, "Back off. He's with me." Given Sam was highly respected, his order was followed immediately. Undaunted, Wally continued his work on behalf of the community.

He also continued to support his wife's musical ambitions as her manager, booking Shantha as a lounge singer/organist in venues around the Bay Area. He built a ramp for his VW bus that he had removed the seats from to wheel in a small Wurlitzer he obtained for her through a promotional arrangement with a music store. One booking was at a grocery store in Redwood City ironically called Key Market where she performed next to the meat section.

But staying positive became harder, even for Wally, the ultimate optimist. There was only so much he could take. His spirit dimmed after the tragic assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and then Bobby Kennedy just two months later in June of 1968. His drive and love of life began to diminish.

To make matters much worse, in 1974, three days before Christmas Eve, his beloved half-brother Bobby Hogue, a young husband and new father, was killed in the line of duty while serving as a Detroit police officer while apprehending a suspect. Although his brother was killed by a Black man, Wally refused to hate. He was well-aware of the pervasive racism in Detroit that existed since his childhood and before, and understood this cycle of hatred led to the tragedy, and he flatly refused to perpetuate it. Nonetheless, he was devasted. His heart was broken and he began to drink more. His career and marriage suffered as a result and he could no longer commit to the causes he cared about. Life had lost meaning for him. The final blow was when Shantha asked for a divorce in 1976 after several years of marital problems.

At his lowest point, things would have likely continued to spiral downward. But them he met a special man named Reverend Harold Plume. Harold was given the gift of healing with his hands by what is now called quantum healing. He had a small chapel on Main Street in Redwood City and Wally began attending regularly and receiving healings. He quit drinking with Harold's help and through the support of Alcoholics Anonymous. Wally always said that turning to "The Higher Power" is what saved him. He became close friends with Harold and his wife Bertha and wanted to help them spread the word about the importance of faith, love and forgiveness. And once again, he used his business skills to help raise awareness of Harold's work and healing mission. He suggested that Harold use him for demonstrations and became the registered agent of the church, St. John's First Chapel of Healing.

Wally's creative juices began flowing again. And this time without any influence from alcohol. In 1978, he started writing and performing stand-up comedy. He served as a judge in the San Francisco International Comedy Competition and started a comedy newsletter called "Immediate Release" with the creator of the contest, his writing partner, Frank Kidder. His next publication was a solo effort that he called "Guffaw" which he described as, "the internationally unknown comedy newsletter." He created a comedy products business in the same name with the slogan, "An Alternative to War" in line with his belief that laughter could bring about world peace.

He also performed several times with a comedy improv group called "Spaghetti Jam" out of a small back room of The Spaghetti Factory restaurant in the North Beach section of San Francisco. One of the featured performers was Robin Williams in the days before he became famous on "Mork and Mindy".

In 1980, the election year when Ronald Reagan ran against Jimmy Carter, Wally co-wrote and directed a political satire comedy album called "Peanuts, Popcorn, the Presidency." In a nod to Reagan's film, "Bedtime for Bonzo" he formed a campaign to elect Bonzo for President and dressed up like a gorilla at comedy clubs and other SF venues including The San Francisco Press Club where he participated in a mock debate with the famous clown Wavy Gravy who had created a parodic campaign for the 1976 United States presidential election, called Nobody for President that continued in the 1980, 1984, and 1988 presidential elections. Bonzo for President posters were included as a bonus inside the comedy albums that he also designed the covers for and were "printed under protest" according to the back cover. The front photograph was taken by his friend, Max Weiss who was the founder of Fantasy Records and former manager of Creedence Clearwater Revival and comedian Lenny Bruce.

"Peanuts, Popcorn, Presidency" was the recording debut of San Jose comedian Kevin Pollak who was in his early 20s at the time and who went on to become a successful actor with roles in major films including "A Few Good Men", "Grumpy Old Men", "Casino", also playing the father-in-law character in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" on Amazon Prime for five seasons.

Political satire brought both of Wally's worlds together and his commentary on the back cover of his comedy album captures his motivations for creating it:

"America is a great country with a great sense of humor. This album is made possible by that sense of humor. It was fun to do...It pokes fun at our leaders who are big enough (we hope) to laugh with us at the jokes made about them...It is much better than throwing rocks. The turbulence of our times begs for a release other than violence...Why not a good laugh?

'Peanuts, Popcorn, The Presidency' is dedicated to the prospect that someday, people everywhere will have the human right to openly make jokes about their duly elected leaders. Until that time, we who have that right must continue to scoff at adversity with a good quip, laugh at hard times with a satirical comment and tell others to buy this album so we can keep our creditors happy...Together we shall make them laugh." - W.E. "Wally" Hogue

Wally continued to perform stand up after the 1980 election. In one of his routines, he used his ventriloquism skills with a puppet he made from a golf sock that belonged to Bing Crosby that he had purchased at an auction by Katherine Crosby at Butterfield's in 1982. Wally's sock puppet act received mention in the San Francisco Chronicle by well-known columnist Herb Caen.

Wally surrounded himself with interesting friends including writers, filmmakers and artists. One such friend was cartoonist Frank Hill, creator of a syndicated comic strip called "Short Ribs" that ran in the Redwood City Tribune and other newspapers. Together they created a line of novelty products and merchandise with Frank's illustrations including t-shirts, buttons and mouse pads featuring his character, Captain Mouse.

Another interesting friend he worked with was Carolyn Hoskins who he met through the NFL Alumni Association's "Caring for Kids" program that he volunteered for. Both were associate members of the organization; Carolyn's late husband Bob had played with the San Francisco 49ers from 1969-1975 before passing away in 1980. Wally and Caroline both contributed to the association's annual Jerry Rice Toy Drive at Christmas and he supported Carolyn's Domini Hoskins Black History Museum and Learning Center, a traveling tribute in the Bay Area with hundreds of exhibits and thousands of items named after her grandson who inspired the collection after telling her that the only person of importance that his school assigned projects on as a subject for Black History Month was Martin Luther King, Jr. Today after more than 20 years, her exhibit includes hundreds of displays devoted to inventors, musicians, athletes and political leaders, among others.

Wally's interests in social justice and comedy came together when he and his daughter Shyama produced a comedy benefit for the Youth Council of the San Mateo Chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. along with the Open Door Committee of the San Mateo Unitarian Univeralists. The featured performer for the seven years the event ran at the San Francisco Punchline Comedy Club was Brian Copeland who went on to become an award-winning actor, author, playwright, television and radio talk show host. His one-man play, "Not a Genuine Black Man," went on to become the longest-running solo show in San Francisco theatrical history with over 800 performances.

But more than comedy, the greatest joy in Wally's life came from being a grandfather. He enjoyed annual trips to Yosemite with his family and ex-wife, a friend to him for the rest of her short life which ended at just 57 from ovarian cancer. Not only did he appreciate the beauty of nature, but he also intuitively understood its tremendous healing powers on the body, mind and spirit, making his namesake St. Francis, patron saint of animals and the environment a perfect fit.

Wally loved to travel and in his golden years, visited many places including London, New York, and Sedona, Arizona. A trip to his hometown of Grosse Pointe in 2014 for his 60th high school reunion with his daughter Shyama and sister Maryann was especially sentimental. He brought his dummy McDougal and delighted his old friends with a special act he wrote for the event.

He also kept in touch with his old college buddies well into his 80s and attended their annual reunions held around U.C.L.A. football games.

Wally's 80th birthday was celebrated at his old watering hole, Chez Jay's in Santa Monica, a restaurant and bar that is still operating today, now a California landmark. He had a second birthday party that year in San Francisco in the home of his old friend from the comedy community, Gail Simon, wife of José Simon, creator of the annual Comedy Day festival in Golden Gate Park. José and Wally were both friends of Robin Williams from their early improv days together. Wally kept in touch with both over the years, often reuniting backstage at Comedy Day where Robin would perform as special headliner even after he achieved international fame. Wally introduced Robin Williams to his friend Dr. Penny Patterson, founder of the Gorilla Foundation, a preservation in Woodside, California and to his great ape friend who lived there, Koko the Gorilla. Wally enjoyed playing with Koko who was highly intelligent and the only gorilla to communicate using American Sign Language. After Robin learned about the foundation and the work Dr. Patterson was doing to educate the public about endangerment from a letter Wally had written to solicit his support and meeting Koko himself, he became a spokesperson for the organization.

By 2011, Wally had retired from his work as a security guard at Sacred Heart Catholic School in San Francisco where he was a beloved and wise grandfatherly figure to the students there. He moved into the home of his late stepfather Jack Thorpe in Palm Desert. After a mini stroke two years later, his daughter Shyama became his in-home caregiver. The move south allowed Wally the opportunity to reconnect with his family in Southern California including his sister Maryann, his cousin Pat and several nieces and nephews.

While in the desert, he learned about the benefits of laughing yoga, an ancient practice from India, from his neighbor and good friend, Linda Dempster and became good friends with instructor Guru Ramesh Pandey, "The Laughing Yogi". Like Wally, he also understood the many therapeutic effects of laughter on the body, mind and spirit.

Wally's golden years were fun filled times spent at the beach flying kites, going whale watching, walking his dogs in parks, trips to Disneyland, enjoying the local golf range and attending festivals, live theater, movies, comedy clubs, and museums including the Palm Springs Air Museum where he boarded a restored World War II plane and flew into the wild blue yonder at 80 years old. And Wally finally got to ride a camel...at the Living Desert Zoo in Palm Desert.

He made the world a better place, and a far more interesting one, too. He will be deeply missed, fondly remembered and forever loved.

To make a charitable donation in the name of Walter E. Hogue to one or more of the non-profit organizations he supported, please visit:

The Domini Hoskins Black History Museum and Learning Center

https://hoskinsblackhistorymuseum.org/

St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital

www.stjude.org

Comedy Day

www.comedyday.org

The Laughing Yogi

www.laughingyogi.org

The Gorilla Foundation

https://www.koko.org/