Joe Besser
(August 12, 1907 – March 1, 1988) was an American comedian, known for
his impish humor, and is now best remembered for his brief stint as a
member of The Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1956-57. He is
also remembered for his television roles: Stinky, the spoiled mamma's
boy in The Abbott and Costello Show, and Jillson, the maintenance man
in The Joey Bishop Show.
Besser was born in St. Louis, making him the only Stooge member not
born on the East Coast. He was the ninth child of Morris and Fanny
Besser (Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe). He had seven older
sisters, and an older brother Manny who was in show business. From a
young age, Joe was also fascinated with show business, especially the
magic act of Howard Thurston that visited his town annually. When Joe
was 12, Thurston allowed him to play an audience plant (as in
"stooge"). Besser was so excited by this, he sneaked into Thurston's
train after the St. Louis run of the show was over, and was discovered
the next day sleeping on top of the lion's cage in Detroit.
Thurston gave in, informed Besser's parents of the situation, and
trained him as an assistant. The first act involved pulling a rabbit
out of a hat. The trick involved two rabbits, one hidden in a pocket
of Thurston's cape. But young Besser was so nervous that he botched
badly, pulling out the rabbit from the cape at the same time as the
other rabbit was on display, before the trick had been performed. The
audience roared with laughter, and Besser from then on was assigned
comic-mishap roles only.
Besser stayed in show business and developed a unique comic character:
a whiny sissy who flew into temper tantrums with little provocation.
Besser, with his frequent outbursts of "You crazy, youuuuu!" and "Not
so faaaaaast!," was so original and so outrageously silly that he
became a vaudeville headliner, and movie and radio appearances soon
followed.
In 1932, Besser married dancer Erna Kay (born Ernestine Dora
Kretschmer), known as "Ernie". They were neighbors and friends of Lou
Costello, of Abbott and Costello fame. Besser appeared in one of
Abbott and Costello's movies, Africa Screams, which also featured
Shemp Howard of The Three Stooges. Joe and Shemp were old friends,
having met in 1932.
The zany comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, whose Broadway revues were
fast-paced collections of songs and blackouts, hired Joe Besser to
join their company. Besser's noisy intrusions were perfect for the
anything-can-happen O & J format. Besser's work caught the attention
of the Shubert brothers, who signed Besser 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 like Hey, Rookie! and
Eadie Was a Lady. 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 A & C
regulars. When Bud and Lou filmed The Abbott and Costello Show for
television, they hired Joe Besser to play "Stinky," 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.
The Three Stooges: Joe, Larry, and Moe
After Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack on November 22, 1955,
his brother Moe Howard suggested that he and teammate Larry Fine could
continue working as "The Two Stooges." Studio chief Harry Cohn
rejected the proposal. Although Moe legally had approval over any new
members joining the act, Columbia Pictures executives had final say
about any actor who would appear in the studio's films, and insisted
on a performer already under contract to Columbia. At that time (early
1956) Joe Besser was one of the few comedians still making comedy
short subjects at Columbia. He successfully renegotiated his contract,
and was paid his former feature-film salary (more than the other
Stooges earned).
Larry Fine (left) and Besser (right), as "The Original Two-Man
Quartet," serenade Moe Howard in the 1957 short Guns A Poppin.
Larry Fine (left) and Besser (right), as "The Original Two-Man
Quartet," serenade Moe Howard in the 1957 short Guns A Poppin.
Joe 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,
insisting that his humor was more about comedic revenge for being
bullied. (He usually reacted to Moe's anger by wimpily hitting Moe's
shoulder and complaining. "Not so harrrrd!") Besser recalled, "I
usually played the kind of character who would hit others back." He
claimed that Larry volunteered to take the brunt of Moe's screen
abuse. In a 2002 "E Entertainment" episode which used file footage of
Besser, the comic stated that the left side of Larry Fine's face was
noticeably coarser than the other side, which he attributed to Moe's
less-than-staged slaps. (Larry Fine's daughter attributes this, plus
scars to the comic's left hand, from a chemical spill that occurred
when Larry was a child.)
Curiously, many fans enjoy Joe Besser's antics as a solo comedian, but
not as a stooge. The reasons include the reduced level of physical
comedy and his whiny persona, which didn't always mesh with Moe's and
Larry's established characters. Fans who had grown up enjoying the
physical antics of Curly and Shemp will often have no use for delicate
Joe. "Stooge-a-polooza" TV host Rich Koz has even apologized on the
air before showing a Besser short, Third-stooge Joe does have his
defenders -- Koz himself once hosted an episode featuring only Besser
shorts, and Columbia historians Ted Okuda and Edward Watz have written
appreciatively of Besser bringing new energy to what was then a
flagging theatrical series.
Besser was a Stooge 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.
Moe Howard and Larry Fine discussed plans to tour with a live act, but
Besser declined. His wife suffered a heart attack in November 1957,
and he was unwilling to leave without her. Some fans have theorized
that Besser actually preferred to work solo, and left the trio to
pursue other acting jobs. The theory may be true, because that was
indeed the next step Besser took. In later life, Besser honorably
called his Stooges shorts "The Two Stooges featuring Joe Besser" and
praised Moe and Larry in a 1985 radio interview, of which a quote from
said interview was aired on A&E's Biography. Besser said:
“ ...Moe
and Larry, they were the best. I enjoyed every minute of it with them.
In fact, to show you how wonderful they were, I never liked to be hit
with anything. And Larry would always say to me, 'Don't worry Joe,
I'll take it.' Now that's the kind of guys that they were...' ”
After the Stooges
Besser returned to films and television, most notably as the
superintendent "Jillson" for four seasons (1961–1965) of The Joey
Bishop Show, and the voice of Babu the genie in the animated I Dream
of Jeannie series. He also made occasional appearances on the ABC
late-night series, also called The Joey Bishop Show between 1967 and
1969.
Later in life, Joe Besser expressed dismay that fans only recognized
him for his brief tenure with the Stooges. His autobiography title,
Not Just a Stooge, bears this out. The book would later be retitled
and remarketed to emphasize the Stooge connection.
Besser recalled his friendship with the Stooges in an emotional speech
referring to "the four boys" (Moe, Larry, Curly, and Shemp) up in
heaven looking down at the dedication of a star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame in August 1983. He was the only official Stooge to speak at
the event, as Joe DeRita was ill at the time, although he outlived
Besser by five years. Stooge supporting player Emil Sitka (who was
signed as a stooge in 1974 but appeared at no public functions)
officially replaced the late Larry Fine. In early 1975, Moe appeared
on "The Mike Douglas Show," but while Joe DeRita was mentioned, Sitka
was not)
Joe Besser died of heart failure on March 1, 1988 at age 80. His wife
Ernie died on July 1, 1989 from a heart attack at age 89. Both spouses
are buried in the same plot at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale,
California.
In the early 1990s, the heirs of several Stooges filed a lawsuit
against Moe Howard's family, who had amassed control over the team's
finances. The result gave the other heirs more profits, and placed Joe
DeRita's stepson in charge of the Stooge images/sales.
Further reading
* Not Just a Stooge (later retitled Once a Stooge, Always a Stooge) by
Joe Besser with Jeff Lenburg and Greg Lenburg [1], (Knightsbridge
Publishing Co., 1990).
* Moe Howard and the Three Stooges by Moe Howard [2], (Citadel Press,
1977).
* The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three
Stooges Companion' by Jon Solomon [3], (Comedy III Productions, Inc.,
2002).
* The Columbia Comedy Shorts by Ted Okuda with Edward Watz [4],
(McFarland, 1986).
* The Three Stooges Scrapbook by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer,
Greg Lenburg [5](Citadel Press, 1994).
* The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons
to American Icons by Michael Fleming [6](Broadway Publishing, 2002).
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