Download or read book Once a Stooge Always a Stooge The Autobiography of Hollywood s Most Prolific Funnyman written by Joe Besser and published by Moonwater Press. This book was released on 2021-07-03 with total page 566 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BACK IN PRINT AND BESSER THAN EVER! For more than six decades, Joe Besser brought gales of laughter to millions—in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio, in motion pictures, and on television. From his days working as a bumbling assistant to the world-famous Thurston the Magician, he carved out success with his own act—that of a childlike sissy who brandished his foils with a flick of the wrist and such hilarious verbal assaults as “Ooh, you crazy you!” and “Not so f-a-s-t!” From stage to film and television screens, the famed roly-poly comedian left an indelible mark–from starring in his own feature films and short-subject series for Columbia Pictures, to dishing out huge laughs on scores of popular programs of the day, most notably as the malevolent brat “Stinky” on The Abbott and Costello Show, to stepping in to replace Shemp Howard after his death as a member of Three Stooges comedy team. Followed by countless more laugh out-loud performances in movies and on television, from playing the frustrated superintendent, Jillson, on The Joey Bishop Show to voicing Saturday morning cartoons, his legacy still lives on today, thanks to reruns of his classic work. Illustrating a passing age of American humor, ONCE A STOOGE, ALWAYS A STOOGE tells the whole story. Jam-packed with timeless remembrances, Besser vividly recounts it all–the personal ups and downs, the classic skits and routines that became his hallmark, and behind-the-scenes stories of show business icons who enriched his life and career, including Abbott and Costello, Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jerry Lewis, Olsen and Johnson, and many others. Previously unpublished anecdotes incorporated throughout, plus hundreds of new, many rare and one-of-a-kind illustrations and extensive appendices of the legendary funnyman’s stage, film, radio and TV appearances, round out this charming and thoughtfully written memoir. PRAISE FOR THE ORIGINAL EDITION: “An affectionate, thoroughly enjoyable remembrance of a lifetime spent on the road and on the screen.” -- LOS ANGELES TIMES “A fascinating look at the development of American entertainment from a person who managed to experience it all . . .” --PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Download or read book Once a Stooge Always a Stooge written by Joe Besser and published by Roundtable Pub. This book was released on 1984 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Once a Stooge Always a Stooge written by Joe Besser and published by . This book was released on 2020-03-20 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than six decades, Joe Besser brought gales of laughter to millions-in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio, in motion pictures, and on television. From his days working as a bumbling assistant to the world-famous Thurston the Magician, he carved out success with his own act-that of a childlike sissy who brandished his foils with a flick of the wrist and such hilarious verbal assaults as "Ooh, you crazy you!" and "Not so f-a-s-t!" From stage to film and television screens, the famed roly-poly comedian left an indelible mark-from starring in his own feature films and short-subject series for Columbia Pictures, to dishing out huge laughs on scores of popular programs of the day, most notably as the malevolent brat "Stinky" on "The Abbott and Costello Show," to stepping in to replace Shemp Howard after his death as a member of Three Stooges comedy team. Followed by countless more laugh out-loud performances in movies and on television, from playing the frustrated superintendent, Jillson, on "The Joey Bishop Show" to voicing Saturday morning cartoons, his legacy still lives on today, thanks to reruns of his classic work. Illustrating a passing age of American humor, ONCE A STOOGE, ALWAYS A STOOGE tells the whole story. Jam-packed with timeless remembrances, Besser vividly recounts it all-the personal ups and downs, the classic skits and routines that became his hallmark, and behind-the-the scenes stories of show business icons who enriched his life and career, including Abbott and Costello, Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jerry Lewis, Olsen and Johnson, and many others. Previously unpublished anecdotes incorporated throughout, plus hundreds of new, many rare and one-of-a-kind illustrations and extensive appendices of the legendary funnyman's stage, film, radio and TV appearances, round out this charming and thoughtfully written memoir.

Download or read book I Stooged to Conquer written by Moe Howard and published by Chicago Review Press. This book was released on 2013-07-01 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Telling the full story of the head Stooge, this work reveals the life-long career of a legendary funnyman. Born into a working-class family in Brooklyn, Moe Howard transformed his real-life experiences of getting into mischief with his brother Shemp into the plots that would have millions rolling in the aisles. From childhood, Moe’s ambition was to perform—whether it was plucking a ukulele on the beach, or playing a halfwit on a Mississippi showboat. But he only found success when he joined with Shemp and Larry Fine to play, as the New York Times put it, “three of the frowziest numskulls ever assembled.” As the brains behind the Three Stooges, he went on to act in hundreds of their movies, introducing his little brother Curly into the act when Shemp departed, and, after Curly’s death, partnering with Joe Besser and finally Joe de Rita. This is Moe Howard’s self-penned, no-holds-barred story of the ups and downs of his life, ranging from personal family tragedies to tidbits about career mishaps and triumphs. It overflows with the easygoing charm, generosity, and inspired lunacy of the “wise guy” behind America’s most successful comedy trio.

Download or read book Mousie Garner written by Paul Garner and published by McFarland. This book was released on 1999 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paul "Mousie" Garner's career as a stooge (a "fall guy" or "assistant" to the head clown) began in vaudeville, when he and his partner were firing off jokes and one-liners, as well as leaping over oil-drums. Another part of the act, which could run as often as five times a day, involved Garner getting smashed over the head with plastic ukuleles. Garner's big break came when, across town, funnyman Ted Healy parted ways with his sidekicks, who went on to greater fame as The Three Stooges. Garner was then hired as a replacement stooge-and soon learned that Healy, unlike other slapstick comedians, actually slapped his partners in the face instead of just pretending. Thus was Garner given his first real lesson in the fine arts of stooging, which demanded quick reflexes and perfect timing. In fact, it was Healy who came up with the nickname "Mousie" because Garner was always so jumpy, nervous and quick. Needless to say the name stuck; and Mousie Garner would go on to form "The Rollicking Mousie Garner Trio," join the touring "New Stooges," and work steadily in radio, television, theater, clubs and movies.

Download or read book Paddle Your Own Canoe written by Nick Offerman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parks and Recreation actor and Making It co-host Nick Offerman shares his humorous fulminations on life, manliness, meat, and much more in this New York Times bestseller. Growing a perfect moustache, grilling red meat, wooing a woman—who better to deliver this tutelage than the always charming, always manly Nick Offerman, best known as Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson? Combining his trademark comic voice and very real expertise in woodworking—he runs his own woodshop—Paddle Your Own Canoe features tales from Offerman’s childhood in small-town Minooka, Illinois—“I grew up literally in the middle of a cornfield”—to his theater days in Chicago, beginnings as a carpenter/actor and the hilarious and magnificent seduction of his now-wife Megan Mullally. It also offers hard-bitten battle strategies in the arenas of manliness, love, style, religion, woodworking, and outdoor recreation, among many other savory entrees. A mix of amusing anecdotes, opinionated lessons and rants, sprinkled with offbeat gaiety, Paddle Your Own Canoe will not only tickle readers pink but may also rouse them to put down their smart phones, study a few sycamore leaves, and maybe even hand craft (and paddle) their own canoes.

Download or read book Mantan the Funnyman written by Michael H. Price and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mantan Moreland would become Louisiana s richest gift to the funnyman traditions of Old Hollywood. He would happily wield his charm and charisma as second banana in a slew of films of the 1930s and 40s. Moreland found his place in the spotlight, if not quite the sun, during the waxed-and-waning years of the Great God A mighty Depression as These United States lurched back toward prosperity via warfare. Thus situated, Moreland stood his ground for more than a decade before he found himself maneuvered toward a lower station in an upheaval of Cultural Correction. Mantan Moreland was one of Old Hollywood s most energetic comedians all due respect to the enshrined houses of Marx, Fields, Keaton and Chaplin. And Moreland s story, related in the most direct terms short of his own account, shows him to have been the most resilient, defiant and resurgent of that lot, as well. That is, within the limits imposed by the spirit of the times, a forgetful mass audience, and the disloyal marketplace itself. Hopefully Mantan the Funnyman will help Mantan Moreland find his well-deserved place in the sun.

Download or read book Lou s on First written by Chris Costello and published by Crossroad Press. This book was released on 2016-05-16 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This intimate portrait of Lou Costello (1906-1959) offers a rare look at one of the most talented comedians of all time. Starting in the 1930s, Costello attained enormous fame touring the burlesque circuits with straight man Bud Abbott (1895-1974). Their live skits (including "Who's on First?"), radio programs, and films such as One Night in the Tropics, Buck Privates, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and In the Navy made comic history. Behind the scenes, however, Costello faced numerous crises: a bout with rheumatic fever that left him bedridden for months, the drowning death of his young son, and constant haggles with Universal Studios over its reluctance to adequately finance productions of Abbott and Costello films. Lou's on First goes beyond Costello's clownish persona to explore his Pagliacci nature: the private demons behind the happy public face, the heartbreaking moments in an otherwise storybook marriage, the business ventures soured by unscrupulous managers, and the true nature of the breakup of his twenty-one-year partnership with Bud Abbott.

Download or read book You re Only as Good as Your Next One written by Mike Medavoy and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-06-25 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An under-read and engaging show-biz memoir.” –The New Yorker "If I had a talent for anything, it was a talent for knowing who was talented." Mike Medavoy is a Hollywood rarity: a studio executive who, though never far from controversy, has remained well loved and respected through four decades of moviemaking. What further sets him apart is his role in bringing to the screen some of the most acclaimed Oscar-winning films of our time: Apocalypse Now, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, and Sleepless in Seattle are just some of the projects he green-lighted at United Artists, Orion, TriStar, his own Phoenix Pictures. "The ultimate lose-lose situation for a studio executive: to wind up with a commercial bomb and a bad movie." Of course, there are the box office disasters, and the films, as Medavoy says, "for which I should be shot." They, too, have a place in his fascinating memoir -- a pull-no-punches account of financial and political maneuvering, and of working with the industry's brightest star power, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Sharon Stone, Michael Douglas, Meg Ryan, and countless others. "Putting together the elements of a film is a succession of best guesses." Medavoy speaks out on how movie studio buyouts have stymied the creative process and brought an end to the "hands-off" golden age of filmmaking. An eyewitness to Hollywood history in the making, he gives a powerful and poignant view of the past and future of a world he knows intimately.

Download or read book Vernon Dent written by Bill Cassara and published by . This book was released on 2010-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vernon Dent. You may not know the name, but you've seen him in countless Three Stooges comedies, usually playing the gruff authority figure. After years of working in the shadows of Moe, Larry, Curly (and Shemp), as well as the great silent film comedian Harry Langdon, Vernon Dent is finally receiving the attention he deserves with this outstanding biography. Written by Bill Cassara (Edgar Kennedy: Master of the Slow Burn), Vernon Dent: Stooge Heavy contains never-before-seen photographs and a massive filmography. Vernon's story is told with the respect it deserves; it is funny, touching, and true. Once read, you'll never forget his name again.

Download or read book My Brother Larry written by Morris Moe Feinberg and published by Last Gasp. This book was released on 1984 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What was it about this unassuming and funny little guy that led five generations of fans to sidesplitting and mindless mirth? Morris "Moe" Feinberg, Larry's younger brother, sifts through 80 years of rich memories and tells true stories about Larry -- his youth and family, and his career, including the origin of the famous "poke in the eye" routine. This is the biography of Larry, always and forever, the Stooge in the middle

Download or read book Nobody s Stooge written by Bill Cassara and published by BearManor Media. This book was released on 2014-12-15 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the HARDBACK version. Ted Healy had a successful, if mysterious life. Starting from the lowest rung of show business, he soon conquered the stages of vaudeville, Broadway and the silver screen. Healy's biography also serves as the backstory to the rise of what became The Three Stooges act. He had an eagle eye in spotting and cultivating the talents of Shemp, Moe, Larry and Curly, who served their apprenticeship in his act off and on from 1923 to 1934. As "father" of the act, he took his stooges to Broadway and Hollywood. Healy is the tree around which some mighty acorns fell. Healy died at age 41, four days after his only child was born in 1937. His passing quickly became one of the most notorious of Hollywood's celebrity death scandals. Was it foul play or natural causes? Author Bill Cassara, a retired law enforcement professional, explores all the possibilities.

Download or read book Nobody s Stooge Ted Healy written by Bill Cassara and published by BearManor Media. This book was released on 2014-12-15 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ted Healy had a successful, if mysterious life. Starting from the lowest rung of show business, he soon conquered the stages of vaudeville, Broadway and the silver screen. Healy's biography also serves as the backstory to the rise of what became The Three Stooges act. He had an eagle eye in spotting and cultivating the talents of Shemp, Moe, Larry and Curly, who served their apprenticeship in his act off and on from 1923 to 1934. As "father" of the act, he took his stooges to Broadway and Hollywood. Healy is the tree around which some mighty acorns fell. Healy died at age 41, four days after his only child was born in 1937. His passing quickly became one of the most notorious of Hollywood's celebrity death scandals. Was it foul play or natural causes? Author Bill Cassara, a retired law enforcement professional, explores all the possibilities.

Download or read book Straight Man written by Richard Russo and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-11-09 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hilarious and true-to-life, witty, compassionate, and impossible to put down, Straight Man follows Hank Devereaux through one very bad week in this novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls. • Now the AMC Original Series Lucky Hank. William Henry Devereaux, Jr., is the reluctant chairman of the English department of a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust belt. Devereaux's reluctance is partly rooted in his character—he is a born anarchist—and partly in the fact that his department is more savagely divided than the Balkans. In the course of a single week, Devereaux will have his nose mangled by an angry colleague, imagine his wife is having an affair with his dean, wonder if a curvaceous adjunct is trying to seduce him with peach pits, and threaten to execute a goose on local television. All this while coming to terms with his philandering father, the dereliction of his youthful promise, and the ominous failure of certain vital body functions. In short, Straight Man is classic Russo—side-splitting, poignant, compassionate, and unforgettable. Look for Richard Russo's new book, Somebody's Fool, coming soon.

Download or read book The Three Stooges written by Jeffrey Forrester and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the trio from vaudeville days with comedian Ted Healy, through the 200-plus movies that were instrumental to the survival of their studio.

Download or read book The Complete Three Stooges written by Jon Solomon and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Niagara Falls All Over Again written by Elizabeth McCracken and published by Delta. This book was released on 2002-11-26 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By turns graceful and knowing, funny and moving, Niagara Falls All Over Again is the latest masterwork by National Book Award finalist and author of The Giant’s House, Elizabeth McCracken. Spanning the waning years of vaudeville and the golden age of Hollywood, Niagara Falls All Over Again chronicles a flawed, passionate friendship over thirty years, weaving a powerful story of family and love, grief and loss. In it, McCracken introduces her most singular and affecting hero: Mose Sharp — son, brother, husband, father, friend ... and straight man to the fat guy in baggy pants who utterly transforms his life. To the paying public, Mose Sharp was the arch, colorless half of the comedy team Carter and Sharp. To his partner, he was charmed and charming, a confirmed bachelor who never failed at love and romance. To his father and sisters, Mose was a prodigal son. And in his own heart and soul, he would always be a boy who once had a chance to save a girl’s life — a girl who would be his first, and greatest, loss. Born into a Jewish family in small-town Iowa, the only boy among six sisters, Mose Sharp couldn’t leave home soon enough. By sixteen Mose had already joined the vaudeville circuit. But he knew one thing from the start: “I needed a partner,” he recalls. “I had always needed a partner.” Then, an ebullient, self-destructive comedian named Rocky Carter came crashing into his life — and a thirty-year partnership was born. But as the comedy team of Carter and Sharp thrived from the vaudeville backwaters to Broadway to Hollywood, a funny thing happened amid the laughter: It was Mose who had all the best lines offstage. Rocky would go through money, women, and wives in his restless search for love; Mose would settle down to a family life marked by fragile joy and wrenching tragedy. And soon, cracks were appearing in their complex relationship ... until one unforgivable act leads to another and a partnership begins to unravel. In a novel as daring as it is compassionate, Elizabeth McCracken introduces an indelibly drawn cast of characters — from Mose’s Iowa family to the vagabond friends, lovers, and competitors who share his dizzying journey — as she deftly explores the fragile structures that underlie love affairs and friendships, partnerships and families. An elegiac and uniquely American novel, Niagara Falls All Over Again is storytelling at its finest — and powerful proof that Elizabeth McCracken is one of the most dynamic and wholly original voices of her generation.