Besser, Joe

Joe Besser was born on August 12, 1907 in St. Louis (Missouri, USA) into a family of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. He was the ninth child in the family — he had seven elder sisters and one elder brother; Father's name was Morris, mother - Fanny. Joe's only brother, Manny, was a fairly successful comedian. Joe from childhood wanted to be involved in show business, in particular, he was crazy about the speeches of the magician , who annually attended with performances of St. Louis. At the age of 12, after the end of his speeches, he secretly made his way to the circus train on which Tarston was leaving, and he was discovered only the next day in Detroit , sleeping on a cage with a lion. The magician took the boy condescendingly, told his parents that Joe was fine, and took him as his student. At the very first joint performance, Joe failed the trick of getting a rabbit out of an empty hat, as a result of which the “wizards” were ridiculed, and Tarston sent the boy home, where he was immediately transferred to a correctional school.

Growing up, Besser moved to New York and began working on Broadway scenes with the duet “ ”, then with the . For the first time on screen, Besser appeared in 1938 in the short film “Kakurancho”, from 1940 began to act in full-length films, on television since 1949. Actor's role is a whiny self-willed, naughty childish, easily excited and upset at any slightest occasion about a guy. Crown phrases: “You're crazy, you are!” ( You crazy, youuuuu! ), “ Not so fast! ” ( Not so faaaaaast! ) And “Not so si-i- Illy! ”( English. Not so harrrrd! ).

In 1944, Besser signed a contract with Columbia Pictures Studios and moved to Hollywood . There was a dizzying success waiting for him: he starred in films and television series, was a frequent guest of radio programs and Abbott and Costello shows ( Lu Costello was not only friendly, but also lived in neighboring houses), the image and manner of Besser's jokes was parodied several times in the Looney Tunes cartoons (for example, “ ” and “ ”).

On November 22, 1955, one of the Three Thieves , 60-year-old , died. His brother, , and his partner, , decided that they would continue their comedy performances under the new name “Two Goonies”, but the studio management opposed, and Joe Besser became the third “goonie”. He did not adjust to the style of the game and the jokes of his predecessor, but remained a characteristic actor with his style of play, which received mixed reviews from viewers and film critics.

In 1979, Besser suffered a mini-stroke, he became very thin, and from that moment on his acting career ended. Despite the fact that Besser stayed for a short time in the “Three Fools” and starred in a relatively small number of their films, the audience remembered him for his role in this troupe, although the actor starred a lot before and after working in this trio.

Joe Besser was found dead in his home in North Hollywood on March 1, 1988. The cause of the death of the 80-year-old actor was heart failure . He was buried at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale (California). The inscription on Besser's tombstone reads: “He brought love and laughter to the world” ( He Brought the World Love and Laughter ).

Personal life

On November 18, 1932, 25-year-old Joe Besser married a 31-year-old dancer named Ern Kay (the real name of Ernestine Dora Kretschmer ; 1901—1989) ^[3] . The couple lived together all their lives until the death of the actor in 1988. Spouses had no children.

• Jeff Lenberg, Joan Howard Morer, Greg Lenberg. The Three Stooges Scrapbook (1982) , ed. Citadel Press , ISBN 0-8065-0946-5
• Joe Besser, Jeff Lenberg, Greg Lenberg. "Not Just a Stooge" (later renamed "Once a Stooge, Always a Stooge") (1984) , ed. Excelsior Books .
• Jeff Forrester. "The Three Stooges: The Triumphs and the Tragedies of All Time" (2004) , ed. Donaldson Books , ISBN 0-9715801-0-3

• Joe Besser (eng.) On tcm.com