Joe Penner

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"Joseph Pinter" redirects here. For the Hungarian chess player, see József Pintér.
Joe Penner
Go Chase Yourself lobby card 1938.JPG
Lobby card from Go Chase Yourself (1938) with June Travis, Joe Penner, and Lucille Ball
Born
József Pintér

(1904-11-11)November 11, 1904
Nagybecskerek, (Zrenjanin), Austria-Hungary (now Serbia)
DiedJanuary 10, 1941(1941-01-10) (aged 36)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Occupationradio & movie comedian
Years active1931–1940
Spouse(s)Eleanor May Vogt (1928–1941) (his death)

Joe Penner (born József Pintér; November 11, 1904 – January 10, 1941) was an American 1930s-era vaudeville, radio and film comedian.

Early life[]

He was an ethnic Hungarian born as József Pintér in Nagybecskerek, Austria-Hungary, (present-day Zrenjanin, Serbia). His name was recorded as Josef Pinter on the steerage manifest of the RMS Slavonia, sailing from Fiume, Italy, May 4, and arriving at the Port of New York on May 23, 1907. He was accompanied by his sister, Maria, and their guardian, Istvan Molnar. They settled in Elkhart, Indiana.[citation needed]

Vaudeville and burlesque[]

Joe Penner first made his mark in local entertainments in Indiana.[citation needed] In 1917, his acts in which he dressed as Charlie Chaplin earned him 38 cents per week.[1]

Thanks to his clowning and "Wanna Buy a Duck?" routine, he was soon in small-time burlesque and vaudeville. A high point came when he performed in the Greenwich Village Follies in Chicago in 1926. After this break, he toured in mainstream vaudeville until its gradual demise around 1932.

Radio[]

Penner developed his catch phrases in burlesque. In 1932 he toured in a vaudeville revue with Eddie Tamblyn, father of actor Russ Tamblyn. He was launched on his successful radio career by Rudy Vallée, appearances which led to his own Sunday evening half-hour, The Baker's Broadcast, which began on the Blue Network (a division of (NBC) October 8, 1933. Penner was a zany comic, noted for his famed catchphrase, "Wanna buy a duck?", and his low hyuck-hyuck laugh. Penner's other memorable catchphrase, often triggered by someone else's double entendre remark, was, "You naaaasss-ty man!"
He was voted radio's top comedian in 1934, but a 1935 dispute with the ad agency over the show's format resulted in Penner quitting The Baker's Broadcast on June 30, 1935. Vox Pop began as a summer replacement series for Penner in 1935. A year later, he returned with The Joe Penner Show, which began airing October 4, 1936 on CBS, sponsored by Cocomalt, with Harry Conn as his new head writer.[2]

Films[]

NBC brought together (l to r) Bob Burns, Tommy Riggs, Charlie McCarthy, Edgar Bergen, Rudy Vallée and Joe Penner.

Penner's films include College Rhythm (1934), New Faces of 1937 (1937), Mr. Doodle Kicks Off (1938),Go Chase Yourself ( 1938),The Day the Bookies Wept (1939) and Millionaire Playboy (1940). He was caricatured by Tex Avery and Friz Freleng in the musical cartoon, "My Green Fedora", "Can You Take It?" a "Popeye the Sailor" cartoon (Max Fleischer for Paramount), and several pictures starring the bumbling stooge Egghead. He also made a cameo in the Disney cartoon "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood" in which he says, "Wanna buy a duck?", and then shows Donald Duck on a plate.


After covering the 1932–34 rise of Jack Pearl, Elizabeth McLeod summed up Penner's popularity:

The ultimate Depression-era zany was Joe Penner. A forgotten performer today to most, and little more than a footnote to the average OTR [old-time radio] fan, Penner was a national craze in 1933–34. There is no deep social meaning in his comedy, no shades of subtlety — just utter slapstick foolishness, delivered in an endearingly simpering style that's the closest thing the 1930s had to Pee-wee Herman. An added attraction was Penner's in-character singing each week of a whimsical novelty song, specially written to suit his style. Like Pearl, however, Penner was doomed to early decline by the sheer repetitiveness of his format, even though he remained very popular with children right up to the end of his radio career.[3]

Part of the reason for Penner's relative obscurity in modern times is the lack of surviving recordings of Penner's work. His radio show aired in the early 1930s; widespread recording of popular radio shows began in 1936, just as his show was ending.

Personal life[]

In 1928, he married showgirl Eleanor May Vogt (1908–1946).[4]

Penner died from a heart attack in his sleep in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1941, aged 36.[4] His funeral in Los Angeles was attended by more than 2000 people.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "'Duck' laugh and catch phrases are Joe Penner's stock in trade". The New York Times. April 1, 1934. p. X 11. ProQuest 101047469. Retrieved February 12, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  2. ^ Jordan Young (2014). Writing for Jack Benny and Joe Penner: Interviews with Comedy Writers. Amazon Digital Services, Inc. pp. 1–57.
  3. ^ McLeod, Elizabeth. "Radio's Forgotten Years: Tuning Thru the Great Depression," 1998. Archived 2009-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Radio Recall - MWOTRC".
  5. ^ "Services for Joe Penner". The New York Times. January 17, 1941. p. 20. ProQuest 105515731. Retrieved February 12, 2021 – via ProQuest.

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