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person_profile-Joe Besser

Joe Besser Died at age: 80

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Joe Besser

Date of Birth:

Aug 12, 1907

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Mar 01, 1988

Biography of

Joe Besser

    Joe Besser (born Jessel Besser, August 12, 1907 – March 1, 1988) was an American actor, comedian, and musician, known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1957–59. He is also remembered for his television roles: Stinky, the bratty man-child in The Abbott and Costello Show, and Jillson, the maintenance man in The Joey Bishop The zany comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, whose Broadway revues were fast-paced collections of songs and blackouts, hired Joe Besser. His noisy intrusions were perfect for their anything-can-happen format. Besser's work caught the attention of the Shubert brothers, who signed him to a theatrical contract. Columbia Pictures hired Besser away from the Shuberts, and Besser relocated to Hollywood in 1944, where he brought his unique comic character to feature-length musical comedies. Besser also starred in short-subject comedies for Columbia from 1949 to 1956.

    Besser had substituted for Lou Costello on radio, opposite Bud Abbott, and by the 1950s he was firmly established as one of the Abbott and Costello regulars. When the duo filmed The Abbott and Costello Show for television, they hired Joe Besser to play Oswald "Stinky" Davis, a bratty, loudmouthed child dressed in an oversized Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit, shorts, and a flat top hat with overhanging brim. He appeared during the first season of The Abbott and Costello Show. Besser was cast for the role of Yonkel, a chariot man in the low-budget biblical film Sins of Jezebel, which starred Paulette Goddard as the titular wicked queen.

    After Shemp Howard died of a heart attack, Moe suggested he and teammate Larry Fine continue working as "The Two Stooges". Studio chief Harry Cohen rejected the proposal. Although Moe had legal approval to allow new members into the act, Columbia executives had the final say about any actor who would appear in the studio's films, and insisted on a performer already under contract to Columbia, Joe Besser. At the time, Besser was one of a few comedians still making comedy shorts at the studio.

    Besser refrained from imitating Curly or Shemp. He continued to play the same whiny character he had developed over his long career. He had a clause in his contract prohibiting being hit excessively. Besser recalled, "I usually played the kind of character who would hit others back". The Stooges shorts with Besser were filmed from the spring of 1956 to the end of 1957. His Stooge tenure ended when Columbia shut down the two-reel-comedy department on December 20, 1957. Producer-director Jules White had shot enough film for 16 comedies, which were released a few months apart until June 1959, with Sappy Bull Fighters being the final release.

    Joe Besser was found dead in his home, aged 80, and determined to have died of heart failure.

Photos of

Joe Besser

Photos ( 2 Photos

Filmography of

Joe Besser

Found 34 Movies in total

... 2011

... 2007

Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special

Curly-Joe (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 2003

... 2001

The Three Stooges Greatest Hits!

(archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1997

Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1994

Which Way to the Front?

Dock Master ( Actor )

... 1970

Savage Intruder

Vic ( Actor )

... 1970

The Monk

Herbie ( Actor )

... 1969

Hand of Death

Service station attendant ( Actor )

... 1962

The Errand Boy

Man Watching Rushes ( Actor )

... 1961

Let's Make Love

Charlie Lamont ( Actor )

... 1960

The Story on Page One

Gallagher (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1959

The Rookie

Soldier ( Actor )

... 1959

Say One for Me

Joe Greb ( Actor )

... 1959

Plunderers of Painted Flats

Andy Heather ( Actor )

... 1959

Columbia Laff Hour

Joe (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1956

It's a Dog's Life

Dog Catcher (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1955

Two-Gun Lady

Doc McGinnis ( Actor )

... 1955

Headline Hunters

Coroner ( Actor )

... 1955

Mad at the World

Gas Station Attendant ( Actor )

... 1955

Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops

Hunter (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1955

Sins of Jezebel

Yonkel ( Actor )

... 1953

I, the Jury

Pete, Elevator Operator ( Actor )

... 1953

The Desert Hawk

Prince Sinbad ( Actor )

... 1950

Outside the Wall

The Cook ( Actor )

... 1950

... 1950

Woman in Hiding

Salesman with Drum ( Actor )

... 1950

Africa Screams

Harry ( Actor )

... 1949

Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'

Sharkey Dolan ( Actor )

... 1948

Talk About a Lady

Roly Q. Entwhistle ( Actor )

... 1946

Eadie Was a Lady

Professor Diogenes Dingle ( Actor )

... 1945

Hey, Rookie

Pendleton "Pudge" Pfeiffer ( Actor )

... 1944

Hot Steel

Siggie Landers ( Actor )

... 1940