# It's "Taps" for Dobbs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [April 9, 2021, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640 "2021-04-09T01:31:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2021, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640/1 "2021-04-09T01:31:36Z")
[James Hampton, ‘F Troop,’ ‘Longest Yard’ and ‘Teen Wolf’ Actor, Dies at 84 (msn.com)](https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/james-hampton-f-troop-longest-yard-and-teen-wolf-actor-dies-at-84/ar-BB1fqfAX?ocid=msedgntp) **Really obscure** trivia question: What was Trooper Dobbs’ full name? Hannibal Shirley Dobbs He presumably loved The Incredible Edible Egg. RIP! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2021, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640/2 "2021-04-09T14:33:15Z")
Although I remember him from ‘F Troop’ and various other things, the first thing that came to mine was a ‘Leggo of my Eggo’ commercial he did many years ago where he and his (commercial) daughter were vying for an Eggo. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2021, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640/3 "2021-04-09T14:39:19Z")
What kind of cruel god takes Shirley, but leaves Lou unscathed? ---
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640/4 "2021-04-09T23:03:07Z")
I think that leaves Larry Storch (Corporal Agarn) as the only F Troop regular still alive ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640/5 "2021-04-10T14:22:22Z")
Ah, Dobbs! He was a great character. Rest in peace. I can still sing the F troop theme song from memory. What useless junk I have in my head. And Shirley was a common name for males in times past. Surprised the hell out of me when I first learned that. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640/6 "2021-04-10T17:54:57Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I can still sing the F troop theme song from memory. What useless junk I have in my head. > > And Shirley was a common name for males in times past. Surprised the hell out of me when I first learned that. After more than 50 years, I still love _ **F Troop** _. Very few shows were ever cast so perfectly. I’ve always thought the instrumental version of the theme would be a great real-life cavalry march. The same goes for the _ **Hogan’s Heroes** _ and _ **Gomer Pyle** _ themes (for the Air Force and Marines). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ihcd1XInF24/hqdefault.jpg "F Troop 1965 - 1967 Opening and Closing Theme") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihcd1XInF24) I know of one parade (probably on Memorial Day) where a group of WWII vets actually did march to the _ **Hogan’s Heroes** _ theme. It was also the signature tune of the historic site wheer I used to work. A lot of what we consider male and female names weren’t always that way. Evelyn, Florence, and Marion (with that spelling) were all originally male. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640/7 "2021-04-10T18:15:55Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > [quote=“Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan, post:5, topic:939640, full:true”] Evelyn, Florence, and Marion (with that spelling) were all originally male. What some would consider the malest male of all had the given name Marion. And now you know the rest of the story. Good day! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640/8 "2021-04-10T18:24:12Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > A lot of what we consider male and female names weren’t always that way. Evelyn, Florence, and Marion (with that spelling) were all originally male. It was pretty standard back in the day that Marion meant male, with the ‘o’ as in ‘son’. Marian meant female, with the second ‘a’ as in ‘daughter’. And Francis meant male, with the ‘i’ for ‘his’, while Frances meant female, with the ‘e’ for ‘hers’. At least that’s how my 2x great grandpa Francis Marion Schneider explained it to my grandmother way back in the 1920’s. She passed that on to me. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640/9 "2021-04-10T18:27:34Z")
I’ve always liked the name “Marion.” I can imagine a knight or Roman centurion with that name. In the largely forgotten sitcom _ **Broadside** _ (a female version of _ **McHale’s Navy** _), one of the characters was a guy named Marion who had been assigned to the WAVEs because of a mixup over his name! ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640/10 "2021-04-10T20:20:28Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > And Francis meant male I thought it meant _mule_. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-taps-for-dobbs/939640/11 "2021-04-10T20:23:48Z")
_Talking_ mule!