Anecdotes

Hymer was a brawny, barrel-chested character actor who had made a successful career out of playing not particularly bright cops, gangsters, sidekicks, etc., much like Nat Pendleton, until an incident in the late 1930s effectively killed his career. He was known to have a bad drinking problem, and one day he apparently showed up for work drunk at a picture he was making for Columbia. When this was reported to Columbia chief Harry Cohn, he ordered Hymer thrown off the lot. Enraged, Hymer burst into Cohn's office. Finding him gone, Hymer took out his frustrations by urinating on Cohn's desk. While many who hated Cohn--which was most everyone in Hollywood--applauded Hymer's action, the powerful studio chief had him blackballed in the business, and consequently he found work in only two films for the next year. His career picked up somewhat in the next few years, but usually in smaller parts than he had before and some in which his character didn't even have a name. He died in 1948.

To honor the much under-appreciated actor, keyboardist-drummer Scott Allen Nollen (aka "Flavin") and guitarist-vocalist Todd Jacobsen (aka "Hobbes") formed the progressive rock band "Hymer" in 2014. Jacobsen's son, Quentin (aka "Dr. Q") also contributes vocals and keyboards. Their first CD, "Driving in Circles" will soon be followed by "Hymenosis" and "To Be or Not to Be: All Kinds!".

Son of playwright John B. Hymer and actress Eleanor Kent.