Joe Besser

Joe Besser

Born: August 12, 1907
Died: March 1, 1988
in 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.

Movies for Joe Besser...

Mystery Reel
Title: Mystery Reel
Released: August 19, 2022
Type: Movie
A look into the subconscious of the 20th century.
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Title: The Three Stooges: Hey Moe! Hey Dad!
Character: Joe
Released: May 5, 2015
Type: TV
Celebrate a century of Stoogery with this long-anticipated collection that will smack you over the head with private home movies, family photographs, and classic clips of their Columbia shorts. From their Vaudeville days, through the Great Depression, two world wars, and decades of classic side-splitting shorts, this is the inside, intimate story of Hollywood’s most beloved group of knuckleheads. The complete OFFICIAL story of The Three Stooges. Packed with Columbia shorts and unseen family footage.
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The Abbott and Costello Show: Who's On First?
Title: The Abbott and Costello Show: Who's On First?
Character: Stinky
Released: February 1, 2011
Type: Movie
Featuring the routines that made them comedy legends like “Who’s On First?,” and “The Lemon Bit,” this digitally restored and re-mastered “Best Of” collection includes six of the Abbott and Costello Show’s most beloved episodes.
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The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 8: 1955-1959
Title: The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 8: 1955-1959
Released: June 1, 2010
Type: Movie
This eighth volume of The Three Stooges Collection features the last 32 digitally remastered shorts from 1955-1959. It also marks the end of an era for a comedy team that to this day remains unparalledled in its success and popularity. In November of 1955 Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack, forcing Moe and Larry to use a stand-in for Shemp on some of the shorts and previously shot footage in others. Moe originally wanted vaudeville veteran Joe DeRita to fill in for Shemp but he couldn't get out of his contract, so Moe went with Joe Besser, who was also well-known on the vaudeville and burlesque circuits. Columbia Pictures closed its short-subjects unit in 1958, thus ending the Three Stooges' run after 24 years and 190 shorts; hald a century later The Three Stooges are entertainment legends.
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Phyllis Diller: Not Just Another Pretty Face
Title: Phyllis Diller: Not Just Another Pretty Face
Character: Self
Released: January 30, 2007
Type: Movie
Phyllis Diller’s brand of comedy is as timeless today as it was in the 1960s, when she became a regular on popular variety and talk shows. From her outrageous costumes to wildly teased hair, Diller was a pioneer among female comediennes, paving the way for future stars. Who can forget her hilarious housekeeping and marriage tips, her beleaguered husband Fang, her cackling laugh and self-deprecating sense of humor? Phyllis Diller: Not Just Another Pretty Face highlights some of her best routines. Special guest stars such as Don Rickles and Dean Martin make this a fun trip back in time.
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Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special
Title: Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special
Character: Curly-Joe (archive footage)
Released: April 29, 2003
Type: Movie
Woody Harrelson hosts a special tribute to the Three Stooges in honor of their 75th Anniversary. In addition to classic Stooges routines, there are feature film clips, ultra-rare shorts, solo appearances, and TV performances, rare home movies, and interviews with Stooge family members and special guest stars. A must for any Stooge fan? Why soitenly!
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The Three Stooges Story
Title: The Three Stooges Story
Character: Joe
Released: May 2, 2001
Type: Movie
You'll see all six of the Three Stooges - brothers Moe, Curly, and Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser, and Curly Joe DeRita - in this exhaustive "Nyukumentary" covering their comedic career in all its goofy glory. Starting in the early 1920s as sidekicks for comedian Ted Healy, the Stooges made their movie debut in Soup to Nuts (1930), and gained their greatest fame in a series of short films for Columbia from 1934-'57. You'll see the Stooges and many of their collaborators from both sides of the camera (actor Emil Sitka, directors Edward Bernds and Jules White) in rare film clips, documentary footage, TV Interviews, and more. Narrated by Mike Eagan
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The Three Stooges: Kings Of Laughter
Title: The Three Stooges: Kings Of Laughter
Released: May 2, 2001
Type: Movie
Three's never a crowd when it comes to the immortal Stooges, as demonstrated by this no-holds-barred, back-to-back compilation of mayhem, wild comedy, and classic routines from TV, film shorts, and features. The boys appear with Steve Allen, Ed Wynn, and original front man Ted Healy as bungling barbers, clueless cowboys, goofy golfers, bumbling beach bums, witless witnesses, hare-brained house cleaners, and more. You'll split your sides when you see Curly as a jumbo jockey who can't mount a horse, Shemp as a ghostly do-gooder determined to reform his partners, and Curly Joe as a near-sighted knife-thrower menacing Larry.
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The Three Stooges Greatest Hits!
Title: The Three Stooges Greatest Hits!
Character: (archive footage)
Released: May 15, 1997
Type: Movie
A tribute to the Three Stooges comedy team, featuring old clips and home movies mixed with music performances of Stooge-themed songs.
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My Smurfy Valentine
Title: My Smurfy Valentine
Character: Cupid (voice)
Released: February 13, 1983
Type: Movie
What could be more smurfy than spending Valentine's Day with the most lovable little blue creatures in all of the forest? In this half-hour animated special from Hanna-Barbera, the residents of Smurf Village cheerfully await Cupid's arrival ... but evil lurks nearby. Can Cupid's arrow make a dent in the stone-hard heart of Gargamel, the evil wizard? Will Smurfette's Prince Smurfing ever arrive?
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Title: Yogi's Space Race
Released: September 9, 1978
Type: TV
Yogi's Space Race is a 90-minute Saturday morning cartoon program block and the third incarnation of Hanna-Barbera's Yogi Bear. It ran from September 9 to December 2, 1978 for NBC. The show also appeared on BBC in the United Kingdom. It contained the following four segments: ⁕Yogi's Space Race: intergalactic racing competitions with Yogi Bear, Jabberjaw, Huckleberry Hound and several new characters. ⁕Galaxy Goof-Ups: Yogi Bear, Scare Bear, Huckleberry Hound and Quack-Up as four intergalactic police officers and their leader, Captain Snerdley. ⁕The Buford Files: Buford is a lazy bloodhound who solves mysteries in Fenokee County with two teenagers, Cindy Mae and Woody. ⁕The Galloping Ghost: Nugget Nose is a ghost miner who is a guardian to Wendy and Rita, two teenage cowgirls who work at the Fuddy Dude Ranch. When Galaxy Goof-Ups was given its own half-hour timeslot on November 4, 1978, Yogi's Space Race was reduced to 60 minutes; in early 1979, the "Space Race" segment and Buford and the Galloping Ghost were also spun off in their own half-hour series until September 1979. The series was later aired in reruns on the USA Cartoon Express, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang.
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Title: Galaxy Goof-Ups
Character: Scare Bear (voice)
Released: September 9, 1978
Type: TV
Galaxy Goof-Ups is a half-hour Saturday morning animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions which aired on NBC from September 9, 1978 to September 1, 1979. The "Galaxy Goof-Ups" consisted of Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Scare Bear and Quack-Up as space patrolmen who always goofed-up while on duty and spent most of their time in disco clubs. The show originally aired as a segment on Yogi's Space Race from September 9, 1978 to October 28, 1978. Following the cancellation of Yogi's Space Race, Galaxy Goof-Ups was given its own half-hour timeslot on NBC. The show has been rebroadcast on USA Cartoon Express, Nickelodeon, TNT, Cartoon Network and Boomerang.
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Title: Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics
Released: September 10, 1977
Type: TV
Featuring 45 Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters (classic and otherwise) competing for gold medals in wacky events. Events include racing on ostriches, camels, kangaroos, rickshaws and unicycles, as well as scavenging for creatures like the Abominable Snowman, vampires, and the Loch Ness Monster.
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Title: The Oddball Couple
Released: September 6, 1975
Type: TV
The Oddball Couple was an animated half hour Saturday morning show that ran on the ABC TV network from September 6, 1975 to September 3, 1977. The show was a production of DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in association with Paramount Television and was an animated homage to the Neil Simon play-turned movie-turned hit TV series The Odd Couple, which was ironic because this series premiered the same year that the show to which it paid homage was canceled by ABC. The show initially aired at 11:30am ET the first season and was switched to 12 Noon ET the following season.
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Title: Jeannie
Released: September 8, 1973
Type: TV
Average teenager Corey Anders finds an unusual-looking bottle on the beach, when he opens it a beautiful genie named Jeannie emerges.
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Title: The New Scooby-Doo Movies
Character: Babu (voice)
Released: September 9, 1972
Type: TV
Aside from doubling the length of each episode, The New Scooby-Doo Movies differed from its predecessor in the addition of a rotating special guest star slot; each episode featured real-life celebrities or well known fictional characters joining the Mystery, Inc. gang in solving the mystery of the week. Some episodes, in particular the episodes guest-starring the characters from The Addams Family, Batman, and Jeannie, deviated from the established Scooby-Doo format of presenting criminals masquerading as supernatural beings by introducing real ghosts, witches, monsters, and other such characters into the plots.
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Title: The Houndcats
Released: September 9, 1972
Type: TV
The Houndcats is an American Saturday morning cartoon series produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. The series was broadcast by NBC from September 9 to December 2, 1972, with reruns continuing until September 1, 1973. Thirteen episodes were produced.
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Which Way to the Front?
Title: Which Way to the Front?
Character: Dock Master
Released: September 3, 1970
Type: Movie
Brendan Byers III, one of the richest men in America, has been pronounced 4-F and can't serve his country in its war against Hitler. Byers does not takes "No" for an answer and recruits other 4-F's to fight against Hitler.
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Savage Intruder
Title: Savage Intruder
Character: Vic
Released: January 1, 1970
Type: Movie
An enigmatic young man manipulates his way into working at the decaying mansion of a once prolific, but now reclusive and alcoholic, movie star named Katharine Packard. While the rest of the house staff become suspicious of Vic's intentions, the aging movie queen is smitten. But as Vic begins behaving in more and more erratic ways, it becomes clear that he's far more sinister than his demeanor implies.
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The Monk
Title: The Monk
Character: Herbie
Released: October 22, 1969
Type: Movie
Underworld attorney Leo Barnes hires Gus Monk to safeguard a valuable envelope containing information on a mobster. Monk refuses — until he meets Mrs. Barnes and jumps on a merry-go-round of viciousness and murder.
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Title: Love, American Style
Character: Tony
Released: September 29, 1969
Type: TV
An anthology comedy series featuring a line up of different celebrity guest stars appearing in anywhere from one, two, three, and four short stories or vignettes within an hour about versions of love and romance.
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Title: My World and Welcome to It
Released: September 15, 1969
Type: TV
My World and Welcome to It is an American half-hour television sitcom based on the humor and cartoons of James Thurber. It starred William Windom as John Monroe, a Thurber-like writer and cartoonist who works for a magazine closely resembling The New Yorker called The Manhattanite. Wry, fanciful and curmudgeonly, Monroe observes and comments on life, to the bemusement of his rather sensible wife Ellen and intelligent, questioning daughter Lydia. Monroe's frequent daydreams and fantasies are usually based on Thurber material. My World — And Welcome To It is the name of a book of illustrated stories and essays, also by James Thurber. The series ran one season on NBC 1969-1970. It was created by Mel Shavelson, who wrote and directed the pilot episode and was one of the show's principal writers. Sheldon Leonard was executive producer. The show's producer, Danny Arnold, co-wrote or directed numerous episodes, and even appeared as Santa Claus in "Rally Round the Flag."
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Title: That's Life
Released: September 24, 1968
Type: TV
That's Life is a musical comedy series that appeared on the ABC television network in 1968–69, starring Robert Morse and E. J. Peaker as Bobby and Gloria Dickson. The series focused on the lives of Bobby and Gloria, from their first meeting through their marriage, as their lives progressed, through Gloria's pregnancy and childbirth, as well as Bobby's work experiences at the Miller Chalk Company. Characters often broke into song, in the manner of musical plays and movies. Songs included well-known numbers and original tunes written for the program itself. Well-known stars often guest-starred in one-time roles. Kay Medford had a recurring role as Gloria's mother, Mrs. Quigley, who was often antagonistic to Bobby.
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Title: The Mothers-in-Law
Character: Tramp
Released: September 10, 1967
Type: TV
The Mothers-in-Law is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard as two matriarchs who were friends and next-door neighbors whose children's elopement rendered them in-laws. The show aired on NBC from September 1967 to April 1969. Produced by Desi Arnaz, the series was created by Bob Carroll, Jr., and Madelyn Davis.
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Title: The Mothers-in-Law
Character: Joe
Released: September 10, 1967
Type: TV
The Mothers-in-Law is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard as two matriarchs who were friends and next-door neighbors whose children's elopement rendered them in-laws. The show aired on NBC from September 1967 to April 1969. Produced by Desi Arnaz, the series was created by Bob Carroll, Jr., and Madelyn Davis.
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Title: The Mothers-in-Law
Character: Bandleader
Released: September 10, 1967
Type: TV
The Mothers-in-Law is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard as two matriarchs who were friends and next-door neighbors whose children's elopement rendered them in-laws. The show aired on NBC from September 1967 to April 1969. Produced by Desi Arnaz, the series was created by Bob Carroll, Jr., and Madelyn Davis.
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Title: That Girl
Released: September 8, 1966
Type: TV
That Girl is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster, New York to try to make it big in New York City. Ann has to take a number of offbeat "temp" jobs to support herself in between her various auditions and bit parts. Ted Bessell played her boyfriend Donald Hollinger, a writer for Newsview Magazine; Lew Parker and Rosemary DeCamp played Lew Marie and Helen Marie, her concerned parents. Bernie Kopell, Ruth Buzzi and Reva Rose played Ann and Donald's friends. That Girl was developed by writers Bill Persky and Sam Denoff, who had served as head writers on The Dick Van Dyke Show earlier in the 1960s.
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Title: Batman
Character: Penguin Supporter
Released: January 12, 1966
Type: TV
Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin.
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Title: The Hollywood Palace
Character: Self
Released: January 4, 1964
Type: TV
The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. Originally titled The Saturday Night Hollywood Palace, it began as a mid-season replacement for The Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months. It was staged in Hollywood at the former Hollywood Playhouse on Vine Street, which was renamed The Hollywood Palace during the show's duration and is today known as Avalon Hollywood. A little-known starlet named Raquel Welch was cast during the first season as the "Billboard Girl", who placed the names of the acts on a placard.
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Hand of Death
Title: Hand of Death
Character: Service station attendant
Released: March 1, 1962
Type: Movie
A scientist spills a new serum in his lab, accidentally inhales its fumes, and turns into a murderous monster who kills anyone he touches.
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The Errand Boy
Title: The Errand Boy
Character: Man Watching Rushes
Released: November 28, 1961
Type: Movie
Paramutual Pictures wants to know where all the money is going so they hire Morty to be their spy. Morty works for Mr. Sneak and gets a job in the mail room so that he can have access to the lot. But all that Morty ever finds is that he can cause havoc no matter what he does.
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Title: The Alvin Show
Released: October 4, 1961
Type: TV
The Alvin Show is an American animated television series. It was the first to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier. It lasted for one season in prime time on CBS, originally sponsored by General Foods, and initially telecast in black and white. The series rode the momentum of creator Ross Bagdasarian's original hit musical gimmick and developed the singing Chipmunk trio as rambunctious kids–particularly the show's namesake star–whose mischief contrasted to his tall, brainy brother Simon and his chubby, gluttonous brother Theodore, as well as their long-suffering, perpetually put-upon manager-father figure, David Seville. The animation was produced by Herbert Klynn's Format Films.
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Title: The Joey Bishop Show
Character: Mr. Jillson
Released: September 20, 1961
Type: TV
The Joey Bishop Show is an American sitcom starring entertainer Joey Bishop. The series premiered in September 1961 on NBC where it aired for three seasons. The series then moved to CBS for its final season. Executive produced by Danny Thomas, The Joey Bishop Show is a spin-off of Thomas' series The Danny Thomas Show.
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Let's Make Love
Title: Let's Make Love
Character: Charlie Lamont
Released: September 8, 1960
Type: Movie
When billionaire Jean-Marc Clement learns that he is to be satirized in an off-Broadway revue, he passes himself off as an actor playing him in order to get closer to the beautiful star of the show, Amanda Dell.
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The Rookie
Title: The Rookie
Character: Soldier
Released: December 1, 1959
Type: Movie
A manic young radio network employee enlists in the army at the end of WWII and finds himself the only new recruit at basic training camp. Military comedy.
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The Story on Page One
Title: The Story on Page One
Character: Gallagher (uncredited)
Released: December 1, 1959
Type: Movie
An adulterous couple is accused of murder after the woman's husband is shot and killed during a scuffle. A high-profile court case tells the story.
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Say One for Me
Title: Say One for Me
Character: Joe Greb
Released: June 19, 1959
Type: Movie
Father Conroy has a parish which serves the acting and performance community. When one of his parishioners gets too sick to work, his daughter Holly finds a job working for a dance club of questionable character, which is run by Tony Vincent. Vincent never made the big time, and Father Conroy tries to look after Holly.
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Sappy Bull Fighters
Title: Sappy Bull Fighters
Character: Joe
Released: June 4, 1959
Type: Movie
Stranded in Mexico, the stooges need a job and a pretty actress friend gets them an engagement at the Plaza de Toros. When they accidentally switch suitcases with that of their friend, they must sneak into her house to retrieve their own and are confronted by her jealous husband who vows to kill them if he sees them again. At the arena where they perform a comedy bullfight (Joe is the matador, Moe and Larry are in a bull costume) the husband bribes the attendants to let a real bull into the ring. Joe knocks the bull out with a head butt and becomes a hero.
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Triple Crossed
Title: Triple Crossed
Character: Joe
Released: February 2, 1959
Type: Movie
Larry is a pet dealer who's seeing Moe's wife while at the same time trying to steal Joe's fiancée. When Moe's become suspicious, Larry attempts to frame Joe as the boyfriend. Larry's plan backfires when Joe catches him and lets Moe deliver some punishment.
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Plunderers of Painted Flats
Title: Plunderers of Painted Flats
Character: Andy Heather
Released: January 23, 1959
Type: Movie
To scare the squatters from the cattle country he claims as his own, rancher Ed Sampson orders the Martin farm house burned. Galt Martin is killed, and his eldest son, Joe, is pistol-whipped. Timmy Martin sees the killer, Cass Becker and points him out when he and Joe are in Painted Flats. Cass forces Joe to put on a gun but Ned East, a retired gunfighter, saves the inexperienced Joe by forcing Cass to draw on him, and Ned is the winner.
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Oil's Well That Ends Well
Title: Oil's Well That Ends Well
Character: Joe
Released: December 4, 1958
Type: Movie
The stooges need money for their father's operation, so they head for the country to prospect for uranium. Instead of uranium, they discover oil on their father's property and all their troubles are solved.
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Flying Saucer Daffy
Title: Flying Saucer Daffy
Character: Joe
Released: October 9, 1958
Type: Movie
Joe accidentally takes a picture of a paper plate which Moe and Larry submit to a magazine as an authentic picture of a flying saucer. Moe and Larry collect a big prize, but when the picture is proven to be phony, they're hauled off to Jail. Joe then gets a picture of a real spaceship and this time he gets the fame and fortune, while Moe and Larry wind up in a sanitarium.
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Sweet and Hot
Title: Sweet and Hot
Character: Joe
Released: September 4, 1958
Type: Movie
Nightclub performer Larry wants Joe and his sister Tiny to join the act. The only problem is that Tiny is afraid to sing in front of people. They take her to a psychiatrist (Moe) who cures her, and the act is a success.
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Pies and Guys
Title: Pies and Guys
Character: Joe
Released: June 12, 1958
Type: Movie
A professor attempts to win a bet by turning the stooges into gentlemen. After some lessons in etiquette, the boys make their society debut at a fancy party. They soon revert to their old habits and a wild pie fight ensues.
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Fifi Blows Her Top
Title: Fifi Blows Her Top
Character: Joe Besser
Released: April 10, 1958
Type: Movie
The stooges reminisce about their wartime romances in Europe. After they finish their tales, they discover that Joe's girl Fifi, whom he left behind in Paris, has moved in next door. The only problem is that she's now married, with a very jealous husband. The husband turns out to be a real cad, and when Fifi overhears him tell about his plans to find a new wife, she clobbers him and goes back to Joe.
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Quiz Whizz
Title: Quiz Whizz
Character: Himself
Released: February 13, 1958
Type: Movie
Joe wins a contest and is promptly fleeced out of his winnings by some con men. When the stooges go to recover his money, the bad guys convince them that they can get rich by posing as children and becoming the wards of a millionaire. The boys go along with the plan, not realizing that the "millionaire" and his pretty niece are in on the scam and are planning to knock them off. The stooges foil the plan and recover Joe's money.
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Outer Space Jitters
Title: Outer Space Jitters
Character: Joe / Joe's Son
Released: December 5, 1957
Type: Movie
The stooges accompany professor Jones on an expedition to Venus, where they discover that the Venusians are planning to conquer the earth with an army of zombies. When the boys learn that they're going to be turned into zombies, they escape. The scene changes to the stooges apartment where we learn they are just telling a bedtime story to their kids (also played by the stooges) while they wait for the baby sitter to arrive. When the baby sitter shows up, she looks like one of the zombies and the boys exit in a hurry.
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Rusty Romeos
Title: Rusty Romeos
Character: Joe
Released: October 17, 1957
Type: Movie
The stooges don't know it, but they are all engaged to the same girl, a gold-digger who plans to get an engagement ring from each of them and then abandon them. When all three show up at her house at the same time, a wild fight ensues, as each stooge accuses the others of making time with "his" girl. The gold-digger gets it in the end (literally) with tacks shot from a repeating rifle.
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Horsing Around
Title: Horsing Around
Character: Joe
Released: September 12, 1957
Type: Movie
A sequel (sort of) to "Hoofs and Goofs", The stooges are taking care of their sister Birdie who has been reincarnated as a horse. When they learn that her mate "Schnapps", a famous circus horse, is about to be destroyed, they got to the circus grounds to rescue him. The stooges are successful, and Birdie and Schnapps are reunited.
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Guns A Poppin
Title: Guns A Poppin
Character: Joe
Released: June 13, 1957
Type: Movie
Told in flashback, Moe is on trial for assaulting Larry and Joe. It seems that Moe was in debt and suffering a nervous breakdown so Larry and Joe took him to the country for rest and relaxation. After a marauding bear ruined the peace and quiet, their cabin became the scene of a shoot-out between the sheriff and an escaped outlaw. The boys captured the bad guy, and the reward would have paid Moe's debts, but the crook escaped and Moe went after Larry and Joe with an ax.
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Space Ship Sappy
Title: Space Ship Sappy
Character: Joe
Released: April 18, 1957
Type: Movie
An eccentric scientist tricks the stooges into joining himself and his daughter on an expedition to Venus. On Venus, the boys go exploring and encounter some cannibalistic amazons who plan to devour them. The stooges escape and take off in the spaceship which goes wildly out of control. As the ship is about to crash, the scene changes to the annual meeting of the Liars Club, where the stooges win the prize as the biggest liars in the world.
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A Merry Mix-Up
Title: A Merry Mix-Up
Character: Joe / Jack / Jeff
Released: March 28, 1957
Type: Movie
The stooges appear in triplicate as three sets of triplets who were separated a long time ago. Their reunion causes confusion and troubles for various wives and sweethearts, but it all works out in the end.
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Muscle Up A Little Closer
Title: Muscle Up A Little Closer
Character: Joe
Released: February 28, 1957
Type: Movie
Joe is engaged but can't get married until he recovers the engagement ring which has disappeared. The stooges suspect the ring was stolen by Elmo, a beefy bully, who works at the same factory they do. They confront Elmo in the company gym, but he's too tough for them. Fortunately Joe's girl is even tougher, and she gets Elmo to confess and return the ring.
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Hoofs and Goofs
Title: Hoofs and Goofs
Character: Joe
Released: January 31, 1957
Type: Movie
Joe dreams that the stooge's sister Birdie has died and been reincarnated as a horse. The stooges take Birdie home but must conceal her from the snoopy landlord. They succeed, but more complications ensue when Birdie gives birth to a colt. Joe wakes up to suffer some abuse from the real Birdie (Moe in drag), when he tells her he dreamed she was a horse.
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Army Daze
Title: Army Daze
Character: Pvt. Joe Besser
Released: March 22, 1956
Type: Movie
Joe is drafted into the army of Starvania, and falls in love with Olga, a beautiful Starvanian WAC, but Joe's sergeant also has his eyes on Olga. But Joe wins her hand when he captures two spies in the Colonel's office.
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Columbia Laff Hour
Title: Columbia Laff Hour
Character: Joe (archive footage)
Released: January 1, 1956
Type: Movie
A Columbia Pictures feature, featuring 4 unedited shorts, released between 1947-1956, featuring Shemp Howard.
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It's a Dog's Life
Title: It's a Dog's Life
Character: Dog Catcher (uncredited)
Released: December 23, 1955
Type: Movie
A bull terrier tells his life story, from the streets of the Bowery to a life of luxury.
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Hook a Crook
Title: Hook a Crook
Character: Joe Besser
Released: November 24, 1955
Type: Movie
Joe Besser and Jim Hawthorne are detectives trying to recover stolen jewels. They see a necklace on a furry arm, and deduce that a man wearing a fur coat was the thief. They, instead, encounter a gorilla.
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Two-Gun Lady
Title: Two-Gun Lady
Character: Doc McGinnis
Released: October 15, 1955
Type: Movie
A young woman teaches herself to become a sharpshooter so she can hunt down the three men who murdered her parents. She finds a sheriff who is willing to help her track them down.
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Headline Hunters
Title: Headline Hunters
Character: Coroner
Released: September 15, 1955
Type: Movie
A rookie reporter in pursuit of an expose gets tangled up with big-time mobsters.
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Mad at the World
Title: Mad at the World
Character: Gas Station Attendant
Released: May 13, 1955
Type: Movie
A neighborhood is terrorized by group of young juvenile delinquents called The WolfPack. When a young father's infant child is seriously injured because of the WolfPack, he decides that the police aren't working fast enough to catch the ones who hurt his baby and sets out to infiltrate the gang himself and mete out the punishment they deserve.
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G.I. Dood It
Title: G.I. Dood It
Character: Pvt. Joe Marblehead / Homer the Dog (voice)
Released: February 17, 1955
Type: Movie
Joe Besser has a fight with an army sergeant before he is drafted, and when he arrives at camp, finds the sergeant is his NCO and not adverse to taking revenge. When some documents are missing, the commanding officer offers a promotion to anyone who finds the. Joe and the sergeant get into a fight in the kitchen, and Joe discovers the paper. He is promoted to sergeant and the sergeant is busted to a private.
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Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
Title: Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
Character: Hunter (uncredited)
Released: February 2, 1955
Type: Movie
Harry and Willie are scammed into buying the Thomas Edison studio lot by a man named Gorman. They decide to follow Gorman's trail to Hollywood where, unbeknownst to them, he has taken the identity of a foreign film director. The lads wind up as stunt doubles in film the which Gorman is now shooting, while the conman tries to have the bungling pair done away with before they realize who he really is.
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Title: The Millionaire
Character: Chester Pips
Released: January 19, 1955
Type: TV
An anthology series that explored the ways sudden and unexpected wealth changed life for better or for worse. It told the stories of people who were given one million dollars from a benefactor who insisted they never know him, with one exception.
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Title: December Bride
Released: October 4, 1954
Type: TV
December Bride is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959, adapted from the original CBS radio network series that aired from June 1952 through September 1953.
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The Fire Chaser
Title: The Fire Chaser
Character: Eric Loudermilk Potts
Released: September 30, 1954
Type: Movie
Hospitalized Eric Loudermilk Potts tells his story to a golddinging nurse. He's a bridegroom who misses his own wedding because he can't stop chasing fire trucks. Fiancee Mae breaks up with him to marry milksop Wilber at her father's insistence. But Eric's butler Simmons is determined to help true love, and arranges for Eric to crash the wedding and win Mae back.
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Title: The Lone Wolf
Released: January 1, 1954
Type: TV
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Sins of Jezebel
Title: Sins of Jezebel
Character: Yonkel
Released: September 4, 1953
Type: Movie
The aging king of Israel, Ahab, falls under the influence of a young and beautiful but scheming Pagan woman named Jezebel and, against the advice of his advisers and the prophet Elijah, marries her. Her plan to introduce her idols to Israel angers God, who wreaks vengeance on Israel.
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I, the Jury
Title: I, the Jury
Character: Pete, Elevator Operator
Released: August 14, 1953
Type: Movie
After his best friend and war buddy is mysteriously gunned down, Mike Hammer will stop at nothing to settle the score for the man who sacrificed a limb to save his own life during combat. Along the way, Hammer rides a fine line between gumshoe and a one-man jury, staying two-steps ahead of the law—and trying not to get bumped off in the process.
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Spies and Guys
Title: Spies and Guys
Character: Pvt. Joe Besser
Released: April 4, 1953
Type: Movie
Joe Besser is sent on a spying mission with a beautiful female officer. Things, as usual when Joe is involved, don't go well and they are captured and about to be executed. The girl drops her cape to reveal she is scantily clad (the high point), the enemy is confused and she and Joe escape.
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A Day in the Country
Title: A Day in the Country
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: March 13, 1953
Type: Movie
Two boys and their grandmother visit a farm. Filmed in 3-D.
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Title: The Abbott and Costello Show
Released: December 5, 1952
Type: TV
Bud and Lou are unemployed actors living in Mr. Fields’ boarding house. Lou’s girlfriend Hillary lives across the hall. Many situations arise leading to slapstick and puns.
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Caught on the Bounce
Title: Caught on the Bounce
Character: Joe
Released: October 9, 1952
Type: Movie
Joe Besser needs money to pay back a loan of $2500 and travels to ask his aunt for the money. She boards the train, along with a man who looks like a wanted bank-robber, and tells Joe she needs $2500 herself and can not help him. Between them they capture the bank robber and split the $5,000 reward.
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Aim, Fire, Scoot
Title: Aim, Fire, Scoot
Character: Pvt. Joe Besser
Released: March 13, 1952
Type: Movie
Joe and his sergeant fall for the same girl.
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Fraidy Cat
Title: Fraidy Cat
Character: Joe Besser
Released: December 13, 1951
Type: Movie
Hired as guards to protect an antique shop, Joe and Jim run into a gorilla who has been trained by a gang of thieves to rob the store.
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The Desert Hawk
Title: The Desert Hawk
Character: Prince Sinbad
Released: August 5, 1950
Type: Movie
A desert guerilla, with flashing scimitar, opposes a tyrannical prince and marries the caliph's daughter.
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Title: The Gene Autry Show
Released: July 23, 1950
Type: TV
The Gene Autry Show is an American western/cowboy television series which aired for 91 episodes on CBS from July 23, 1950 until August 7, 1956, originally sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum.
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Dizzy Yardbird
Title: Dizzy Yardbird
Character: Pvt. Rodney Marblehead
Released: March 9, 1950
Type: Movie
Joe is in the army, and his sergeant is determined to make a soldier out of Joe if he has to kill him to do it.
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Outside the Wall
Title: Outside the Wall
Character: The Cook (uncredited)
Released: February 8, 1950
Type: Movie
Larry Nelson, paroled from prison after serving nearly half of his thirty-year sentence, is determined to not fall into the clutches of the law again, and takes a quiet job at a country sanitarium. Thete, he meets and falls for a nurse, Charlotte Maynard, and he knows the only way to enter her web is to have a lot of money, for Miss Maynard is somewhat of a gold-digger.
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Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey
Title: Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey
Character: Carlton
Released: February 5, 1950
Type: Movie
Newlyweds Joe and Anne Palooka are delayed in their honeymoon plans by the helpful Humphrey Pennyworth and by considerably-less-helpful manager, Knobby Walsh.
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Woman in Hiding
Title: Woman in Hiding
Character: Salesman with Drum
Released: January 6, 1950
Type: Movie
As far as the rest of the world is concerned, mill heiress Deborah Chandler Clark is dead, killed in a freak auto accident. But Deborah is alive, if not too well. Having discovered a horrible truth about her new husband, Deborah is now a “woman in hiding,” living in mortal fear that someday her husband will catch up with her again. When a returning GI recognizes Deborah, however, she must decide whether or not she can trust him.
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Waiting in the Lurch
Title: Waiting in the Lurch
Character: Eric Loudermilk Potts
Released: September 8, 1949
Type: Movie
Joe's fiance doesn't like his obsession for chasing fire engines.
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Africa Screams
Title: Africa Screams
Character: Harry
Released: May 4, 1949
Type: Movie
When bookseller Buzz cons Diana into thinking that his friend Stanley knows all there is to know about Africa, they are abducted and ordered to lead Diana and her henchmen to an African tribe in search of a fortune in jewels.
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Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
Title: Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
Character: Sharkey Dolan
Released: June 1, 1948
Type: Movie
A fast-talking salesman is "kidnapped" by a town, which intends to use him in its annual race with a rival community.
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Title: Hour Glass
Released: May 9, 1946
Type: TV
Hour Glass is the first regularly scheduled variety show shown on American network television. It ran on NBC from May 9, 1946 until March 1947.
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Talk About a Lady
Title: Talk About a Lady
Character: Roly Q. Entwhistle
Released: March 28, 1946
Type: Movie
A country girl, wanting to break into show-business, comes to New York City and, by her actions, manages to restore the optimism of a jaded and disillusioned nightclub owner. Eventually, she marries the manager of one of the man's nightclubs.
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Eadie Was a Lady
Title: Eadie Was a Lady
Character: Professor Diogenes Dingle
Released: January 24, 1945
Type: Movie
In this amiable Columbia B musical, society girl Ann Miller escapes her Back Bay family by performing in the chorus line in a burlesque house. But trouble starts when her boss (William Wright) decides to build her up as a star. One of the many bread-and-butter Columbia productions graced by the contributions of Cole’s in-house dance studio. Cole dances behind Miller in “I’m Gonna See My Baby.” --Museum of Modern Art
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Hey, Rookie
Title: Hey, Rookie
Character: Pendleton "Pudge" Pfeiffer
Released: April 6, 1944
Type: Movie
Musical comedy star Jimmy Leighter wants to get away from show biz and his leading lady Winnie Clark, so he joins the Army. There he gets the order to put on a show, Winnie Clark appears in a camp show, hears about his task and offers him his help. He thinks, she does it for her publicity only, so he doesn't want to know anything about this, till he finds out, that she has no such intentions.
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Hot Steel
Title: Hot Steel
Character: Siggie Landers
Released: May 24, 1940
Type: Movie
Matt Morrison gets his old college chum Frank Stewart a job at the steel foundry where he works. Trouble quickly ensues.