Joe Besser
Acting • Born 1907-08-12 – Died 1988-03-01
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.
Filmography
93 credits
Africa Screams
Movie • 1949
Harry
Let's Make Love
Movie • 1960
Charlie Lamont
Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special
Movie • 2003
Curly-Joe (archive footage)
Savage Intruder
Movie • 1970
Bus Driver
I, the Jury
Movie • 1953
Pete, Elevator Operator
Woman in Hiding
Movie • 1950
Salesman with Drum
The Three Stooges Story
Movie • 2001
Joe
Outside the Wall
Movie • 1950
The Cook (uncredited)
The Three Stooges: Kings Of Laughter
Movie • 2001
Hand of Death
Movie • 1962
Service station attendant
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
Movie • 1948
Sharkey Dolan
The Three Stooges Greatest Hits!
Movie • 1997
(archive footage)
Muscle Up a Little Closer
Movie • 1957
Joe
Hoofs and Goofs
Movie • 1957
Joe
Space Ship Sappy
Movie • 1957
Joe
Horsing Around
Movie • 1957
Joe
A Merry Mix-Up
Movie • 1957
Joe / Jack / Jeff
Guns a Poppin!
Movie • 1957
Joe
Sweet and Hot
Movie • 1958
Joe
Quiz Whizz
Movie • 1958
Himself
Fifi Blows Her Top
Movie • 1958
Joe Besser
Pies and Guys
Movie • 1958
Joe
Rusty Romeos
Movie • 1957
Joe
Flying Saucer Daffy
Movie • 1958
Joe
Oil's Well That Ends Well
Movie • 1958
Joe
Outer Space Jitters
Movie • 1957
Joe / Joe's Son
Triple Crossed
Movie • 1959
Joe
Sappy Bull Fighters
Movie • 1959
Joe
The Desert Hawk
Movie • 1950
Prince Sinbad
The Rookie
Movie • 1959
Soldier
Sins of Jezebel
Movie • 1953
Yonkel
Mystery Reel
Movie • 2022
Headline Hunters
Movie • 1955
Coroner
Talk About a Lady
Movie • 1946
Roly Q. Entwhistle
The Story on Page One
Movie • 1959
Gallagher (uncredited)
Which Way to the Front?
Movie • 1970
Dock Master
Fraidy Cat
Movie • 1951
Joe Besser
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
Movie • 1955
Hunter (uncredited)
It's a Dog's Life
Movie • 1955
Dog Catcher (uncredited)
Army Daze
Movie • 1956
Pvt. Joe Besser
G.I. Dood It
Movie • 1955
Pvt. Joe Marblehead / Homer the Dog (voice)
Waiting in the Lurch
Movie • 1949
Eric Loudermilk Potts
Dizzy Yardbird
Movie • 1950
Pvt. Rodney Marblehead
Spies and Guys
Movie • 1953
Pvt. Joe Besser
The Fire Chaser
Movie • 1954
Eric Loudermilk Potts
Aim, Fire, Scoot
Movie • 1952
Pvt. Joe Besser
Hook a Crook
Movie • 1955
Joe Besser
Caught on the Bounce
Movie • 1952
Joe
My Smurfy Valentine
Movie • 1983
Cupid (voice)
Hot Steel
Movie • 1940
Siggie Landers
Columbia Laff Hour
Movie • 1956
Joe (archive footage)
Say One for Me
Movie • 1959
Joe Greb
Two-Gun Lady
Movie • 1955
Doc McGinnis
Plunderers of Painted Flats
Movie • 1959
Andy Heather
Eadie Was a Lady
Movie • 1945
Professor Diogenes Dingle
Hey, Rookie
Movie • 1944
Pendleton "Pudge" Pfeiffer
Phyllis Diller: Not Just Another Pretty Face
Movie • 2007
Self (archive footage)
The Abbott and Costello Show: Who's On First?
Movie • 2011
Stinky (archive footage)
Mad at the World
Movie • 1955
Gas Station Attendant
The Errand Boy
Movie • 1961
Man Watching Rushes
Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey
Movie • 1950
Carlton
A Day in the Country
Movie • 1953
Narrator (voice)
The Monk
Movie • 1969
Herbie
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
Movie • 1994
Self (archive footage)
Classic Comedy Teams
Movie • 1986
Self (archive footage)
The Helen Morgan Story
Movie • 1957
Bartender (uncredited)
My World and Welcome to It
TV • 1969
December Bride
TV • 1954
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
TV • 1972
Babu (voice)
Scooby's Laff-A Lympics
TV • 1977
The Alvin Show
TV • 1961
Batman
TV • 1966
Penguin Supporter (uncredited)
That Girl
TV • 1966
The Joey Bishop Show
TV • 1961
Mr. Jillson
Jeannie
TV • 1973
The Millionaire
TV • 1955
Chester Pips
The Hollywood Palace
TV • 1964
Self
Yogi's Space Race
TV • 1978
The Gene Autry Show
TV • 1950
Hour Glass
TV • 1946
The Houndcats
TV • 1972
The Oddball Couple
TV • 1975
That's Life
TV • 1968
The Abbott and Costello Show
TV • 1952
Stinky Davis
Galaxy Goof-Ups
TV • 1978
Scare Bear (voice)
The Three Stooges: Hey Moe! Hey Dad!
TV • 2015
Joe
Love, American Style
TV • 1969
Tony
The Mothers-in-Law
TV • 1967
Joe
The Mothers-in-Law
TV • 1967
Bandleader
The Mothers-in-Law
TV • 1967
Tramp
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
Manager
Love, American Style
TV • 1969
Neighbor
The Danny Thomas Hour
TV • 1967
Hermes