Joseph Henry Ploski (April 16, 1904 – May 17, 1993) was a Polish-American film and television actor. He was known for his appearance in the 1953 film ''

Stalag 17 ''Stalag 17'' is a 1953 American war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen confined with 40,000 prisoners in a World War II German prisoner of war camp "somewhere on the Danube". Their compound holds 630 Sergeants representi ...

'', which starred

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

, Don Taylor and

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

. Ploski Was born in Poland. Initially working as a baker, he saved his money to attend at a

drama school A drama school, stage school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution (such as the Drama section at the Juilliard School); which specializes in the pr ...

. Ploski performed in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, and worked as a

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 c ...

for comedian Joe Lewis. He made his Broadway debut in 1932, and also worked in New York with

Imogene Coca Imogene Coca (born Emogeane Coca; November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on ''Your Show of Shows''. Starting out in vaudeville as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and wishe ...

and Danny Kaye. Ploski’s first screen credit was in the 1936 film '' Lady Be Careful''. In 1938 he appeared in '' There Goes My Heart'' and ''

Romance in the Dark ''Romance in the Dark'' is a 1938 American comedy musical film directed by H. C. Potter and starring Gladys Swarthout, John Boles, John Barrymore, and Claire Dodd. It is one of five films produced by Paramount in the 1930s featuring Gladys Swa ...

''. Ploski appeared in over 200 films including ''

Dr. Broadway ''Dr. Broadway'' is a 1942 American mystery film directed by Anthony Mann (as his directorial debut) and written by Art Arthur. The film stars Macdonald Carey, Jean Phillips, Eduardo Ciannelli, Richard Lane, J. Carrol Naish, Joan Woodbury and ...

'' (1942), ''

The Dark Corner ''The Dark Corner'' is a 1946 American crime film noir directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix and Mark Stevens.. The film was not a commercial success but has since been described as a "Grade A exampl ...

'' (1946), ''

The Reckless Moment ''The Reckless Moment'' is a 1949 American film noir melodrama directed by Max Ophüls, produced by Walter Wanger, and released by Columbia Pictures with Burnett Guffey as cinematographer. It starred James Mason and Joan Bennett. The film is based ...

'' (1949) and '' Experiment Alcatraz'' (1950). His final credit was in 1970 for the film ''

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

''. Ploski’s appearances in television programs included '' Gunsmoke'', '' Bonanza'', '' Tales of Wells Fargo'', ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

'', '' The Fugitive'', ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' and ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

''. During World War II Ploski was inducted into the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, serving as a mess-hall cook. Ploski died in May 1993 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, at the age of 89.

References

External links

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Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ploski, Joe 1904 births 1993 deaths Polish emigrants to the United States Polish male film actors Polish male television actors 20th-century Polish male actors American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors American bakers Vaudeville performers American male comedians 20th-century American comedians