Joe Besser

Actor

August 12, 1907 (80 years)

† March 1, 1988

Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

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 …

Filmography

7.3

Batman

Penguin Supporter (uncredited)

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.

6.1

Love, American Style

Tony

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.

6.2

That Girl

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.

5.8

The Millionaire

Chester Pips

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.

4.7

The Gene Autry Show

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.

6.3

December Bride

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.

7.7

The New Scooby-Doo Movies

Babu (voice)

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.

7.2

The Abbott and Costello Show

Stinky Davis

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.

6.0

The Mothers-in-Law

Joe

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.

8.1

Scooby's All-Stars

Each episode of this series include multiple segments: The first and last were "Laff-A-Lympics" segments, the other ones were "Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels", "Scooby-Doo" and "Dynomutt" segments. The "Laff-A-Lympics" segments feature 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.

5.0

The Hollywood Palace

Self

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.

6.5

The Danny Thomas Hour

Hermes

The Danny Thomas Hour is an American anthology television series that was broadcast on NBC during the 1967-68 television season.

6.3

My World and Welcome to It

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."

6.8

General Electric Theater

Manager

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.

6.4

Let's Make Love

Charlie Lamont

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.

8.4

The Alvin Show

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.

7.1

Jeannie

Average teenager Corey Anders finds an unusual-looking bottle on the beach, when he opens it a beautiful genie named Jeannie emerges.

7.3

Yogi's Space Race

Yogi Bear and other Hanna-Barbera figures match wits as they race around the galaxy.

8.2

مخمخ و مشمش الثنائي المدهش

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.

6.3

The Houndcats

A team of three dogs and two cats working to serve justice where there is wrong-doing. Each episode begins with the Houndcats receiving orders from their unseen "Chief", whose message is played on an old-fashioned gramophone, player-piano or other devices, parodying the tape recorder scene at the start of most episodes of Mission: Impossible.