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Joe Besser

Joe Besser

Actor · 1907 – 1988 · Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

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.

Movies24

  • Movie6.4

    Let's Make Love

    1960 · 187 votes

  • Movie4.7

    Which Way to the Front?

    1970 · 35 votes

  • Movie6.2

    The Errand Boy

    1961 · 59 votes

  • Movie5.2

    Rusty Romeos

    1957 · 5 votes

  • Movie5.4

    The Desert Hawk

    1950 · 8 votes

  • Movie10.0

    Army Daze

    1956 · 1 votes

  • Movie5.3

    Savage Intruder

    1970 · 19 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Dizzy Yardbird

    1950 · 1 votes

  • Movie8.5
  • Movie6.3

    Woman in Hiding

    1950 · 39 votes

  • Movie8.5
  • Movie5.9

    I, the Jury

    1953 · 14 votes

  • Movie6.2
  • Movie5.3

    The Helen Morgan Story

    1957 · 12 votes

  • Movie5.1

    The Story on Page One

    1959 · 6 votes

  • Movie5.2
  • Movie4.0

    Horsing Around

    1957 · 4 votes

  • Movie4.4

    Eadie Was a Lady

    1945 · 5 votes

  • Movie8.0

    The Monk

    1969 · 3 votes

  • Movie5.9

    Mad at the World

    1955 · 8 votes

  • Movie4.3

    It's a Dog's Life

    1955 · 4 votes

  • Movie5.0

    Talk About a Lady

    1946 · 3 votes

  • Movie8.0
  • Movie4.4

    Outer Space Jitters

    1957 · 7 votes

Series24

  • TV6.2

    Love, American Style

    1969 · 21 votes

  • TV7.3

    Batman

    1966 · 617 votes

  • TV5.8

    The Millionaire

    1955 · 4 votes

  • TV6.2

    That Girl

    1966 · 35 votes

  • TV6.3

    December Bride

    1954 · 4 votes

  • TV4.7

    The Gene Autry Show

    1950 · 6 votes

  • TV7.7

    The New Scooby-Doo Movies

    1972 · 268 votes

  • TV7.2
  • TV6.0

    The Mothers-in-Law

    1967 · 5 votes

  • TV8.1

    Scooby's All-Stars

    1977 · 135 votes

  • TV5.0

    The Hollywood Palace

    1964 · 5 votes

  • TV6.7

    The Danny Thomas Hour

    1967 · 3 votes

  • TV6.3
  • TV6.0

    The Joey Bishop Show

    1961 · 5 votes

  • TV7.1

    Jeannie

    1973 · 8 votes

  • TV6.5

    That's Life

    1968 · 2 votes

  • TV8.4

    The Alvin Show

    1961 · 8 votes

  • TV7.8

    The Oddball Couple

    1975 · 5 votes

  • TV6.8
  • TV8.7
  • TV7.2

    Yogi's Space Race

    1978 · 13 votes

  • TV7.0

    Galaxy Goof-Ups

    1978 · 4 votes

  • TV6.3

    The Houndcats

    1972 · 4 votes

  • TV8.0

    The Three Stooges

    1934 · 2 votes