Joe E. Brown
Biography
Joe E. Brown was an American comedian and actor whose friendly screen presence and wide, elastic smile made him one of the most popular comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. He grew up in Toledo, Ohio, joined a circus troupe of tumblers at ten, played professional baseball, and moved from vaudeville and Broadway into films in the late 1920s. On with the Show! (1929) made him a star, and at Warner Bros. he headlined musical comedies such as Sally and Hold Everything. He won praise as Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). Later he took character parts, playing Cap'n Andy Hawks in Show Boat (1951) and Osgood Fielding III in Some Like It Hot (1959), and he had a cameo in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). His final film was The Comedy of Terrors (1963). He hosted radio shows, toured as Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey, and received a Special Tony Award in 1948.
81years old at death
- Born Holgate
- Died Brentwood
- Star sign: LeoThe sign runs July 23 to August 22
- Joseph Evans Brown (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 7
- Career span
- 28 years1935 to 1963
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First role
Brown joined the Five Marvelous Ashtons, a touring circus tumbler troupe, in 1902 at age ten, starting his performing career as a child acrobat.
A change of course
Brown later played professional baseball, and even though he was skilled, he turned down the New York Yankees to keep working as an entertainer. He played three seasons before returning to the circus, then vaudeville and Broadway.
A first
Brown played Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey more than 2,000 times, more than any other living actor and in more countries than anyone, taking over the New York company from Frank Fay.
A first
Brown was the radio announcer for the first local Major League Baseball broadcast on WBZ in 1925, calling the Boston Braves against the New York Giants.
Big break
Brown became a favorite with family audiences, then shot to stardom after he appeared in On with the Show! (1929), the first musical comedy that was all-color and all-talking.
Joe E. Brown movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Worked with
Joe E. Brown shares two films with Chick Chandler, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Chick Chandler's page
Bess Flowers's page
Vincent Price's page
Irving Bacon's page
Boris Karloff's page
Bette Davis's page
All films by Billy Wilder
Stanley KramerDirector, 1 film, 1963
All films by Stanley Kramer
All films by Jacques Tourneur
Awards
Two awards and honors.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| Bronze Star Medal | Won | ||
| Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.