Joseph Forman (November 18, 1929 – December 9, 1982) was an American comedian and comic actor.

Biography

Born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Forman appeared on the late 1940s local radio show the Magic Lady Supper Club along with his school friend, singer

Eddie Fisher Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, ''The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress Eli ...

. The pair travelled to upstate New York to the Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel in the Catskill Mountains. Forman was originally an athletic director, but his funny remarks led the management to place him on the stage as a comedian, though Forman wished to become a serious actor. Forman broke into show business after winning an

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') was an American radio and television variety show which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting '' Arthur G ...

program. He first attracted attention in Las Vegas as the opening act for

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

and also Rooney's

straight man The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the ...

. He also co-starred in Mickey Rooney's 1954–1955 NBC

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

'' The Mickey Rooney Show: Hey, Mulligan'', as Mickey's best friend, Freddy, and appeared with him in the films '' Andy Hardy Comes Home'' (1958) and '' The Big Operator'' (1959). He guest-starred in an unaired 1963 episode of the situation comedy ''

Don't Call Me Charlie! ''Don't Call Me Charlie!'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC during the 1962-1963 television season on Friday nights from 9:30 pm to 10:00 pm Eastern Time. Created by Don McGuire, the 18-episode series starred Josh Peine, Linda Lawson ...

''. Forman was considered a standard

Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York, straddling both Upstate New York and the no ...

comic, and he performed standup comedy both live and on television (including shows like '' The Hollywood Palace''). He also took on comedic roles in films and on television. Forman appeared in two episodes of ''

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

'', first as jealous kids show host "Captain Crocodile" in an eponymous episode, then as

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

n criminal "Dragonman" in "Monkees Chow Mein". He also appeared in three ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the '' James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, ...

'' episodes, including two episodes as "Harry Hoo", a parody of

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alt ...

. He also appeared in the final episode of the first season of ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker (auth ...

'' as a touring comedian performing for U.S. troops in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

as well as in Episode #18 during the third season of ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...

'' as Ho Ho the Clown. He also had roles in films such as the Jerry Lewis film '' The Errand Boy'' (1961) as an audio director, '' The Wheeler Dealers'' (1963) starring

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including '' The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's ''The Ameri ...

and Lee Remick, '' The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz'' (1968), the cult film ''

Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies ( Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called '' sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, ...

'' (1968) as a tough New York cop, and '' Linda Lovelace for President'' (1975). Forman distinguished himself from the field by inventing a character called "The Mashuganishi Yogi", a parody of the

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 1918

. In 1968, working with Bill Dana, he produced a comedy album consisting of a faux press conference, in which he responded to mostly-straight questions with funny answers, speaking in a stereotyped Indian accent. He was accompanied with a

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form i ...

ist, "Harvey Shankar", a parody of

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

(played by Dana).

Later years/death

In later television appearances, he would sometimes reprise his Yogi character. Forman died on December 9, 1982 from pulmonary fibrosis.Comic Forman dies at 53
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Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forman, Joey 1929 births 1982 deaths Male actors from Philadelphia American male comedians American male television actors American male film actors American male stage actors Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors