Joey Adams (born Joseph Abramowitz; January 6, 1911 – December 2, 1999) was an American
comedian, vaudevillian, radio host, nightclub performer and author, who was inducted into the
New York Friars' Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Ma ...
in 1977 and wrote the book ''Borscht Belt'' in 1973.
Early life
Adams grew up in
Brownsville, Brooklyn
Brownsville is a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The neighborhood is generally bordered by Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant and Cypress Hills to the north; East New York to the east; Canarsie ...
, "a predominantly Jewish section of the borough at the time of his birth."
[ After graduating from the local public school, junior high school, and high school, Adams continued to City College, but left before graduating. His siblings included a sister and three brothers.
His father Nathan Abramowitz was a ]tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
who later moved to the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. His mother was Ida Chonin.
Career and married life
He changed his name to Joey Adams in 1930, and married his second wife, Cindy Adams
Cynthia "Cindy" Adams (née Heller) is an American gossip columnist and writer. She is the widow of comedian/humorist Joey Adams.
Early life and education
Adams was an only child raised by her mother after her parents divorced.
Marriage to J ...
, in 1952.[ For many years Joey (whose "first wife was the sister of ]Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...
’s wife") wrote the ''Strictly for Laughs'' column in the ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'', the same paper where 1930-born Cindy established her reputation as a society/gossip columnist.[
Adams' career spanned more than 70 years and included appearances in nightclubs and ]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 ...
shows. He also hosted for a while his own radio show and wrote 23 books, including ''From Gags to Riches,'' ''Joey Adams Joke Book,'' ''Laugh Your Calories Away,'' ''On the Road with Uncle Sam'' and ''Encyclopedia of Humor.'' ''The Yale Book of Quotations
''The Yale Book of Quotations'' is a quotations collection focusing on modern and American quotations. Edited by Fred R. Shapiro, it was published by Yale University Press in 2006 with a foreword by Joseph Epstein, . Prior to publication it was re ...
'' cites him as being the first to say, "With friends like that, who needs enemies?". He also hosted an unsold game show pilot called ''Rate Your Mate'' based on a 1950s radio show of the same name (also hosted by Adams) in 1951.
On September 7, 1952, ''The Joey Adams Show'' debuted on WAAM-TV in Baltimore. The comedy-variety program was broadcast on Sunday nights from 10 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time "with a large weekly talent budget". He made numerous other TV appearances over the years, including on ''The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...
'', Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, '' The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terr ...
's 1990s TV shows, and ''What's My Line?
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'', and was in the films ''Singing in the Dark
''Singing in the Dark'' is a 1956 black-and-white motion picture about a Holocaust survivor suffering from total amnesia who comes to the United States. It stars Yiddish language film actor Moishe Oysher in his only English-language film perform ...
'' (1956, of which he was also executive producer), '' Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title'' (1966), and ''Silent Prey'' (1997). For many years, he hosted a radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...
on WEVD
WEVD was an American brokered programming radio station with some news-talk launched in August 1927 by the Socialist Party of America. Making use of the initials of recently deceased party leader Eugene Victor Debs in its call sign, the statio ...
in New York.[ In addition, Adams also hosted the short-lived 1953 game show ''Back That Fact'' on ABC.
]
Honors
In 1963 Adams, then serving as AGVA president, helped to finance and organize an August 5 variety show in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, to raise funds for the August 28 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...
. Adams shared the stage with numerous speakers and performers, including Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
, Dick Gregory
Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afric ...
, Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...
, Joe Louis, Johnny Mathis, James Baldwin and The Shirelles
The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFad ...
.
For his civic work, Adams was honored by presidents and statesmen, and he held honorary doctorates in comedy from his '' alma mater'' City College, and from Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, Long Island University, and New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
.[
He was active in the ]New York Friars Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Madi ...
and was president of the American Guild of Variety Artists AGVA. He was appointed as Commissioner of Youth for the City of New York by Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. emulating Fiorello LaGuardia
Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City from ...
's civic-mindness in recognition for his efforts in battling juvenile delinquency on behalf of the AGVA Youth Fund. Governor Nelson Rockefeller also encouraged him to spread his program throughout the entire state, and eventually it moved westward to California.
Death
Adams died December 2, 1999, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, aged 88, from heart failure. Eulogies were delivered by Adams' widow and Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Services were held at Riverside Memorial Chapel. His widow had his remains cremated.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Joey
1911 births
1999 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American non-fiction writers
American columnists
American game show hosts
Jewish American writers
Jewish American male comedians
Writers from Brooklyn
20th-century American Jews