:For the percussionist see Master Henry Gibson. Henry Gibson (born James Bateman on September 21, 1935) is an American actor and songwriter, perhaps best known as a cast member of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. His stage name may have been based upon that of the dramatist Henrik Ibsen, and he often pronounced his surname as though it were "Ibsen", particularly when performing as "The Poet" on that comedy-variety show.

Henry Gibson was born on 21 September 1935 in Germantown, Pennsylvnia. Before appearing in films and television series, he was a child star on the stage during the 1940s and during the late 1950s and was an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force. His screen debut came in 1963 when he was cast in the Jerry Lewis (I) film Nutty Professor, The (1963). He made two other small film appearances in the early 1960s in Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) and Outlaws Is Coming, The (1965), in which he played a rather hip Indian named Charlie Horse. His breakthrough came in 1968 when he was cast as a member of the regular cast of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (1968). He stayed with the show until 1971, when he left and continued his career as a character actor. His best known film role was probably his performance in Nashville (1975). He played Haven Hamilton, a smarmy Country and Western singer. For this role he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and was awarded the National Film Critics Award for best supporting actor. Gibson's career carried on through the 1980s and 1990s when he appeared in many films, such as Incredible Shrinking Woman, The (1981) and 'burbs, The (1989). He also provided voice-overs for many children's animated series like "Smurfs" (1981), "Wuzzles, The" (1985) and "Galaxy High School" (1986). His most recent appearance have been in the Paul Thomas Anderson drama Magnolia (1999) and the independent film Year That Trembled, The (2002).