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Joe Besser Collection

You Crazy, Youuuuuu! Joe Besser developed his own comic persona that was as silly as it was loveable. Best known for his two-reel short features and becoming one of the Three Stooges, Joe was also a favorite of Old Time Radio!

Joe Besser

9 old time radio show recordings
(total playtime 4 hours, 1800 min)
available in the following formats:

1 MP3 CD
or
5 Audio CDs


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Play a sample episode from January 25, 1948:

"On the Train to Hollywood"



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Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

Joe Besser as one of the three stoogesJoe Besser was a man born to play comedy. Born to immigrant parents in St Louis, Joe was the youngest of nine kids, seven of them sisters. Joe's one older brother, Manny, was already in show business doing Yiddish comedy. Joe became fascinated by show business, especially magic.

An enterprising kid, Joe was working as a Western Union delivery boy, distributing handbills for the Fox Theater, and plugging songs for a sheet music store. When ever he could get away with it, he would sneak away from school to catch a matinee at the local vaudeville house. The highlight of Joe's childhood years came when the Great Howard Thurston's traveling magic show made its annual stop in St Louis.

Joe BesserFrom the first time young Joe saw the spectacle he began sneaking backstage to talk with the magician and beg to become part of the act. Every time the great magician would put Joe off, promising "when you get a little bit older, will discuss it." It must have been frustrating for a thirteen year old boy to have his dreams dismissed for five years in a row, and in 1920, Joe sat and watched as the workers loaded the props and scenery onto a waiting freight train.

The next morning, when the train reached Detroit, Thurston found Joe sleeping on top of the lion's cage. The magician first wired the Besser family in St. Louis, then agreed to let the youngster become part of the act. Joe's first onstage assignment was to assist in the pull the rabbit from the hat trick. This trick involves two rabbits; while one is displayed, the second is hidden in the magician's cape. Joe was so nervous at his first appearance that he pulled the second rabbit out while the first was still on display. The audience roared with laughter, Thurston reassigned Joe to "comic mishap" roles, and Joe began to discover that he had a more promising future in comedy rather than sleight of hand.

Joe developed a distinct comic character that was whiny, bratty, easily excitable, and prone to outbursts. His cries of "You crazy, Youuuuuuu!", "Not So Harrrrrrd!" or "Not so Fassssssst!" were incredibly silly and a sure fire hit with audiences. This was a superb fit for the rapid fire vaudeville team of Olsen and Johnson, but the Shubert Brothers hired Joe away,signing him to a theatrical contract. Joe appeared in a few Shubert reviews, including the Passing Show of 1932.

Joe BesserIn short order, Columbia Pictures out bid the Shuberts, and Joe began making two-reel comic shorts. Along the way, he found time to make a few appearances on Red Skelton's first radio show, Avalon Time. Joe also had several memorable appearances on The Jack Benny Program, notably when Jack took the company to the East Coast to appear on military posts in 1943.

Several radio comedy hosts were begging for Joe to make a guest appearance on their shows. Joe was a terrific foil for Milton Berle on Uncle Miltie's Let Yourself Go, and when Berle appeared as a featured guest on Philco's Radio Hall of Fame, one of his bits was trying to teach Joe Besser how to get girls. Besser's comic persona became well enough established that it became a favorite parody for the Looney Tunes characters.

Joe Besser occasionally substituted for Bud Abbott on the Abbott and Costello radio show, and when the team made the move to the small screen, they cast Joe as an oversized bratty kid named Stinky.

When Shemp Howard passed away in 1955, brother Moe Howard's first thought was that he and Larry Fine would continue as the Two Stooges, but studio executives nixed the idea. They insisted that Joe Besser, who was already under studio contract, become part the new third Stooge. Besser was hesitant to take the physical abuse that is a Stooge's lot ("Not So Harrrrrd!"), but managed to word extraordinarily well with Larry and Moe.

Joe Besser was the only Stooge present when the Star commemorating the Three Stooges was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street.

Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

These classic recordings are available in the following formats:

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  • MP3 CDs are delivered by mail. These archival quality MP3 CDs are playable in your computer and many MP3 player devices.



    9 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00. Total playtime 4 hours, 1800 min
    9 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00
    total playtime 4 hours, 1800 min
    Add MP3 CD Collection to Cart

    1. 9 shows – total playtime 4 hours, 30 minutes
    2. Avalon Time 390610 E 023 Dinner At Restaurant Better.mp3
    3. Avalon Time 390617 E 024 At University.mp3
    4. Avalon Time 390624 E 025 Policemans Ball.mp3
    5. Jack Benny Program 430117 465 Spoof On Information Please.mp3
    6. Jack Benny Program 430207 468 Jack Is Late For Program.mp3
    7. Jack Benny Program 480125 640 On Train To Hollywood.mp3
    8. Jack Benny Program 550102 904 Rose Bowl Parade.mp3
    9. Let Yourself Go 450606 Guest Al Jolson.mp3
    10. Radio Hall Fame 451104 99 Unveiling New 1946 Philco.mp3
  • MP3 downloads are available instantly after purchase!



    9 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00. Total playtime 4 hours, 1800 min
    9 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00
    124 MB – total playtime 4 hours, 30 min
    Add Instant Download Collection to Cart

    1. 9 shows – 124 MB – total playtime 4 hours, 30 minutes
    2. Avalon Time 390610 E 023 Dinner At Restaurant Better.mp3
    3. Avalon Time 390617 E 024 At University.mp3
    4. Avalon Time 390624 E 025 Policemans Ball.mp3
    5. Jack Benny Program 430117 465 Spoof On Information Please.mp3
    6. Jack Benny Program 430207 468 Jack Is Late For Program.mp3
    7. Jack Benny Program 480125 640 On Train To Hollywood.mp3
    8. Jack Benny Program 550102 904 Rose Bowl Parade.mp3
    9. Let Yourself Go 450606 Guest Al Jolson.mp3
    10. Radio Hall Fame 451104 99 Unveiling New 1946 Philco.mp3
  • Standard Audio CDs are delivered by mail on archival quality media with up to 60 minutes on each CD and play in all CD players



    9 recordings on 5 Audio CDs. Total playtime 4 hours, 30 min
    9 recordings on 5 Audio CDs
    total playtime 4 hours, 30 min

    Joe Besser Disc A001

    1. Avalon Time 390610 E 023 Dinner At Restaurant Better
    2. Avalon Time 390617 E 024 At University

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Joe Besser Disc A002

    1. Avalon Time 390624 E 025 Policemans Ball
    2. Jack Benny Program 430117 465 Spoof On Information Please

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Joe Besser Disc A003

    1. Jack Benny Program 430207 468 Jack Is Late For Program
    2. Let Yourself Go 450606 Guest Al Jolson

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Joe Besser Disc A004

    1. Radio Hall Fame 451104 99 Unveiling New 1946 Philco
    2. Jack Benny Program 480125 640 On Train To Hollywood

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Joe Besser Disc A005

    1. Jack Benny Program 550102 904 Rose Bowl Parade

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00

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