Harry Wiere (23 June 1906 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

– 15 January 1992), Herbert Wiere (27 February 1908 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

– 5 August 1999) and Sylvester Wiere (17 September 1909 in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

– 7 July 1970), known collectively as the Wiere Brothers or the Three Wiere Brothers, were a comedy team who appeared in 1930s and 1940s films, and as live performers from the 1920s to the late 1960s.

History

The Wiere Brothers were vaudeville performers who occasionally appeared in films and television. Their films include ''Hands Across the Border'' in 1944 with

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

, ''

Road to Rio ''Road to Rio'' is a 1947 American semimusical comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Written by Edmund Beloin and Jack Rose, the film is about two inept vaudevillians who stow away on ...

'' in 1947 with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

and

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

, and ''Double Trouble'' in 1967 as three detectives on the hunt for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. In 1962, the Wiere Brothers had their own

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

called, ''

Oh! Those Bells ''Oh! Those Bells'' is a 1962 United States Comedy, comedic television series starring The Wiere Brothers about the misadventures of three brothers who work in a Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood theatrical supply shop. It aired from March 8 to M ...

'', that aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

. The show was created by

Jules White Jules White (born Julius Weiss; hu, Weisz Gyula; 17 September 190030 April 1985) was a Hungarian-American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges Early years White began working in mo ...

who had previously directed

the Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

and

Andy Clyde Andrew Allan Clyde (March 25, 1892 – May 18, 1967) was a Scottish-born American film and television actor whose career spanned more than four decades. In 1921 he broke into silent films as a Mack Sennett comic, debuting in ''On a Summer ...

in short-subject films for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. ''Oh! Those Bells'' included a lot of

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

comedy but only 13 episodes were aired. The team was still appearing on television in 1970 on shows such as ''

The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 a ...

'' and ''

Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan ...

'' and were still touring the same year. But after Sylvester's death in July 1970, Harry and Herbert Wiere discontinued their act. Harry Wiere did make one appearance on the TV series ''

The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel ''Cyborg'' by Martin Caidin, starring Lindsay Wagner that aired from January 14, 1976, to May 13, 1978. ' ...

'' in 1976 as the Tipsy Man. One of their popular acts of the 1960s involved the three brothers playing the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and

bass fiddle The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

, and Mildred Seymour, their accompanist, performing a classical piece on the grand piano. Herbert would try to do a serious number on the violin but would get frustrated with his brothers'

hillbilly Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas west ...

antics. With a shrug, Herbert would stop playing and decide to balance the violin on his chin. Harry would then notice Herbert's accomplishment and would take the guitar and balance it on his chin. This left Sylvester smiling blandly at the audience, still plucking his bass fiddle. When Sylvester sees Herbert and Harry balancing their instruments on their chins, he would do a long take, turning from his brothers to his huge bass fiddle and then back at them. Then, finally Sylvester would lift the bass fiddle in the air and balance it on his chin for the finale. The Wiere Brothers appeared in four royal variety performances for the Queen of the United Kingdom. Inga Wiere, a sister of Herbert, Harry and Sylvester Wiere, was married to dancer

Jon Zerby Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Kim Darby Kim Darby (born Deborah Zerby; July 8, 1947) is an American actress best known for her role as Mattie Ross in the film ''True Grit'' (1969). Early life and film career Darby was born Deborah Zerby in Los Angeles, the daughter of professional da ...

is their daughter.

Films

* ''

Variety Hour ''Variety Hour'' is a 1937 British musical film, musical comedy film directed by Redd Davis and starring Charles Clapham (actor, born 1894), Charles Clapham and Bill Dwyer (actor, born 1887), Bill Dwyer. It is a revue show featuring a number of pe ...

'' (1937) * ''

Vogues of 1938 ''Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938'' (also known by its shortened form, ''Vogues of 1938'') is a 1937 musical comedy film produced by Walter Wanger and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Irving Cummings, written by Bella Spewack and S ...

'' (1937) * ''

The Great American Broadcast ''The Great American Broadcast'' is a 1941 comedy film directed by Archie Mayo. It stars Jack Oakie, Alice Faye and John Payne. Plot Impoverished roommates Rix Martin and Chuck Hadley have dreams of being the first to operate a coast-to-coast ra ...

'' (1941) * ''

Swing Shift Maisie ''Swing Shift Maisie'' (also known as ''Swing It, Maisie'') is a 1943 romantic comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod. It is the seventh in a series of 10 films starring Ann Sothern as Maisie, preceded by ''Maisie Gets Her Man'' (1942) and fol ...

'' (1943) * '' Hands Across the Border'' (1944) * ''

Showboat Serenade A showboat, or show boat, was a floating theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi River, Mississippi and Ohio River, Ohio rivers, to bring culture and entertainment to the inhabitants of riv ...

'' (1944) * '' Take It or Leave It'' (1944) (includes clip from ''The Great American Broadcast'') * ''

'' (1947) * '' Double Trouble'' (1967)

Television

* The Jerry Lewis Show (1958) * Ford Festival (1951) * Toast of the Town aka The Ed Sullivan Show (1953) * The Bing Crosby Special (1954) * The Colgate Comedy Hour (1955) * Producers' Showcase: Rosalinda (1956) * Toast of the Town aka The Ed Sullivan Show (1957) * The Garry Moore Show (1959) * The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1960) * The Perry Como Show (1960) * ''

'' (CBS) (1962) (13 episodes) * The Hollywood Palace (1964) * The Sammy Davis Jr. Show (1966) * Rowan and Martin's Laugh In (1969) * The Bionic Woman: Mirror Image (NBC) (1976) (Harry Wiere appears as Tipsy Man)

''Oh, Those Bells!''

* "Forget Me Nuts" (March 8, 1962) * "Unfriendly Friendship Club" (March 15, 1962) * "Murder in the Jungle" (March 22, 1962) * "Money Mix-Up" (also known as "Movie Money") (March 29, 1962) * "Seal of Approval" (April 5, 1962) * "Too Many Spooks" (April 12, 1962) * "Monkey Sitters" (April 19, 1962) * "The Wallet" (April 26, 1962) * "Ma Scarlet" (May 3, 1962) * "Short Change" (May 10, 1962) * "Mexican Holiday" (May 17, 1962) * "Scratched Fender" (May 24, 1962) * "Camping Trip" (May 31, 1962)

Notes

External links

*
Oh, Those Bells!

"A little fancy, fun & frolic from The Wiere Brothers, the famous Continental Speciality Artists" (1931) on YouTube

The Wiere Brothers on YouTube

Wiere Brothers scene in ''Road to Rio'' (1947) on YouTube

The Wiere Brithers, Chopin skit (1951) on YouTube

''Oh! Those Bells'' opening credits (1962) on YouTube

Jerry Lewis Presents the Wiere Brothers (sketch) on YouTube

Katherine Hopkins and the Wiere Brothers on ''The Merv Griffin Show'', April 6, 1975, on YouTube
{{authority control American comedy troupes Show business families Vaudeville performers