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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
August 12, 1907
Died
March 1, 1988
Place of Birth
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Also Known As
- Joseph Besser
- The Three Stooges
- Joseph "Joe" Besser
Joe Besser
0.3 Popularity
Biography
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.
Known For
🎬
0.0
Mystery Reel
2022
8.7
Joe
The Three Stooges: Hey Moe! Hey Dad!
2015
8.0
Stinky (archive footage)
The Abbott and Costello Show: Who's On First?
2011
8.0
Self (archive footage)
Phyllis Diller: Not Just Another Pretty Face
2007
10.0
Curly-Joe (archive footage)
Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special
2003
0.0
The Three Stooges: Kings Of Laughter
2001
0.0
Joe
The Three Stooges Story
2001
0.0
(archive footage)
The Three Stooges Greatest Hits!
1997
7.0
Self (archive footage)
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
1994
0.0
Self (archive footage)
Classic Comedy Teams
1986
Credits
🎬
Mystery Reel
2022
0.0
The Three Stooges: Hey Moe! Hey Dad!
as Joe
2015
8.7
The Abbott and Costello Show: Who's On First?
as Stinky (archive footage)
2011
8.0
Phyllis Diller: Not Just Another Pretty Face
as Self (archive footage)
2007
8.0
Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special
as Curly-Joe (archive footage)
2003
10.0
The Three Stooges: Kings Of Laughter
2001
0.0
The Three Stooges Story
as Joe
2001
0.0
The Three Stooges Greatest Hits!
as (archive footage)
1997
0.0
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
as Self (archive footage)
1994
7.0
Classic Comedy Teams
as Self (archive footage)
1986
0.0
My Smurfy Valentine
as Cupid (voice)
1983
7.3
Yogi's Space Race
1978
7.1
Galaxy Goof-Ups
as Scare Bear (voice)
1978
6.0
Scooby's Laff-A Lympics
1977
8.1
The Oddball Couple
1975
8.0
Jeannie
1973
7.1
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
as Babu (voice)
1972
7.7
The Houndcats
1972
5.3
Which Way to the Front?
as Dock Master
1970
4.8
Savage Intruder
as Bus Driver
1970
5.3
The Monk
as Herbie
1969
7.5
Love, American Style
as Tony
1969
6.1
Love, American Style
as Neighbor
1969
6.1
My World and Welcome to It
1969
5.5
🎬
That's Life
1968
6.0
The Danny Thomas Hour
as Hermes
1967
5.0
The Mothers-in-Law
as Bandleader
1967
5.8
The Mothers-in-Law
as Joe
1967
5.8
The Mothers-in-Law
as Tramp
1967
5.8
That Girl
1966
6.1
Batman
as Penguin Supporter (uncredited)
1966
7.3
The Hollywood Palace
as Self
1964
4.5
Hand of Death
as Service station attendant
1962
4.0
The Errand Boy
as Man Watching Rushes
1961
6.1
The Alvin Show
1961
8.3
🎬
The Joey Bishop Show
as Mr. Jillson
1961
5.8
Let's Make Love
as Charlie Lamont
1960
6.4
The Story on Page One
as Gallagher (uncredited)
1959
4.3
The Rookie
as Soldier
1959
0.0
Say One for Me
as Joe Greb
1959
4.5
Sappy Bull Fighters
as Joe
1959
3.3
Triple Crossed
as Joe
1959
4.8
Plunderers of Painted Flats
as Andy Heather
1959
4.5
Oil's Well That Ends Well
as Joe
1958
5.6
Flying Saucer Daffy
as Joe
1958
5.0
Sweet and Hot
as Joe
1958
4.3
Pies and Guys
as Joe
1958
5.2
Fifi Blows Her Top
as Joe Besser
1958
4.7
Quiz Whizz
as Himself
1958
4.7
Outer Space Jitters
as Joe / Joe's Son
1957
4.2
Rusty Romeos
as Joe
1957
4.5
The Helen Morgan Story
as Bartender (uncredited)
1957
5.0
🎬
Horsing Around
as Joe
1957
2.3
Guns a Poppin!
as Joe
1957
4.0
Space Ship Sappy
as Joe
1957
6.0
A Merry Mix-Up
as Joe / Jack / Jeff
1957
5.3
Muscle Up a Little Closer
as Joe
1957
5.3
🎬
Hoofs and Goofs
as Joe
1957
4.0
Army Daze
as Pvt. Joe Besser
1956
0.0
Columbia Laff Hour
as Joe (archive footage)
1956
7.0
It's a Dog's Life
as Dog Catcher (uncredited)
1955
3.0
Hook a Crook
as Joe Besser
1955
0.0
Two-Gun Lady
as Doc McGinnis
1955
4.2
Headline Hunters
as Coroner
1955
3.8
Mad at the World
as Gas Station Attendant
1955
5.7
G.I. Dood It
as Pvt. Joe Marblehead / Homer the Dog (voice)
1955
0.0
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
as Hunter (uncredited)
1955
6.1
The Millionaire
as Chester Pips
1955
5.0
December Bride
1954
5.5
The Fire Chaser
as Eric Loudermilk Potts
1954
0.0
Sins of Jezebel
as Yonkel
1953
4.8
I, the Jury
as Pete, Elevator Operator
1953
5.7
Spies and Guys
as Pvt. Joe Besser
1953
0.0
A Day in the Country
as Narrator (voice)
1953
0.0
General Electric Theater
as Manager
1953
6.4
The Abbott and Costello Show
as Stinky Davis
1952
7.2
Caught on the Bounce
as Joe
1952
0.0
Aim, Fire, Scoot
as Pvt. Joe Besser
1952
0.0
Fraidy Cat
as Joe Besser
1951
0.0
The Desert Hawk
as Prince Sinbad
1950
5.1
The Gene Autry Show
1950
4.2
Dizzy Yardbird
as Pvt. Rodney Marblehead
1950
0.0
Outside the Wall
as The Cook (uncredited)
1950
5.8
Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey
as Carlton
1950
4.0
Woman in Hiding
as Salesman with Drum
1950
6.2
Waiting in the Lurch
as Eric Loudermilk Potts
1949
0.0
Africa Screams
as Harry
1949
5.7
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
as Sharkey Dolan
1948
6.5
🎬
Hour Glass
1946
4.0
Talk About a Lady
as Roly Q. Entwhistle
1946
3.0
Eadie Was a Lady
as Professor Diogenes Dingle
1945
3.3
Hey, Rookie
as Pendleton "Pudge" Pfeiffer
1944
0.0
Hot Steel
as Siggie Landers
1940
0.0