LOS ANGELES When he began making the theater circuit in his native Hartford, Conn., comedian Louis Nye had his sights set on becoming a serious actor.

But after a string of dramatic roles in theater and radio, it was in the Army that Nye found out just how funny he could be. Soon after, a career that would last more than half a century took off in a new direction.

Nye, who created a national catchphrase when he belted out ``Hi Ho, Steverino'' on Steve Allen's groundbreaking 1950s TV show, died Sunday following a long battle with long cancer, according to his son, Peter Nye.

Nye, who pronounced his first name ``Louie,'' was born on May 1, 1913, in Hartford, Conn., where he began his career in theater before moving to New York City to enter radio.

A master of voices and accents, he could go from being droll one moment to prissy the next. He could also switch effortlessly from comically evil Nazis to bumbling Russians.

``He has a great business card from that time that lists something like 15 accents that he could do,'' his son recalled with a chuckle, adding his father's impersonation of former Russian leader Nikita Khruschev was so dead-on that the son once failed to recognize him when they came face to face.

On ``The Steve Allen Show,'' which ran from 1956 to 1961 under various names, he quickly endeared himself to audiences as Gordon Hathaway, the effete, country-club snob who would welcome Allen's arrival with the ``Hi, ho, Steverino!'' salutation.

After the show's run ended, Nye appeared often on TV game shows, in films and as a regular on ``The Ann Sothern Show.'' He was often cast as the second banana, never the lead.

He teamed with Allen again in 1967, on ``The Steve Allen Comedy Hour,'' a CBS variety show in which he also portrayed Gordon Hathaway. His cohorts that time included Allen's wife, Jayne Meadows, Ruth Buzzi and John Byner, among others.

He also guest starred in such shows as ``St. Elsewhere,'' ``The Love Boat,'' ``Laverne & Shirley'' and ``The Munsters'' and appeared frequently as a guest on ``The Jackie Gleason Show,'' ``The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' and other variety and talk shows.

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