Artie Auerbach
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Arthur Auerbach (May 17, 1903 – October 3, 1957), was an American comic actor and professional photographer who became famous as "Mr. Kitzel", first on the
Al Pearce Albert Pearce (July 25, 1898 – June 2, 1961) was an American comedian, singer and banjo player who was a popular personality on several radio networks from 1928 to 1947. Biography After selling insurance door-to-door during the 1920s, Pear ...
radio show in 1937 then as a regular on the
Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...
radio show for 12 years, and on The Abbott and Costello radio show during the 1940s. He also worked with Phil Baker before joining the Jack Benny Show.


Career


Press photographer

Artie Auerbach had a successful career as a reporter and photographer for the New York tabloid ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
'' and the ''New York Daily News''. Among the more famous stories he covered were the
Lindbergh kidnapping On March 1, 1932, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. (born June 22, 1930), the 20-month-old son of aviators Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was abducted from his crib in the upper floor of the Lindberghs' home, Highfields, in East Am ...
and the
Hall–Mills murder case The Hall–Mills murder case involved Edward Wheeler Hall, an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal priest, and Eleanor Mills, a member of his choir with whom he was having an extramarital affair, affair, both of whom were murdered on S ...
. Reportedly, he once took an illegal picture of a person in the
electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...
. While a photographer, Auerbach had become very popular at private parties by telling
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
anecdotes. It was during his days as a press photographer when Auerbach had the inspiration for the character that would prove to give him his greatest fame. He was on an assignment at a
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 ...
drug store when he heard a voice singing a popular song of the time, " Yes, Sir, That's My Baby" with a strong Yiddish dialect and he loved the voice and personality. He would take that character and evolve it into the lovable and laughable ''Mr. Kitzel''. Auerbach and the druggist who inspired the character, Maurice Adollf, became long-time close friends. Auerbach described Adollf as "a wealthy man who had found peace of mind ... the thing we are all battling to find." When Auerbach began to find work as a comedian, he didn't quit the newspaper, but simply took a leave of absence. However, even by 1941, despite then appearing regularly on various radio programs, he still felt insecure about his future in show business and asked his newspaper for his seventh consecutive leave of absence.


Comedian

Auerbach's career in show business began when he was discovered by Phil Baker who loved his dialect humor. Auerbach was a master of some 30 dialects. Baker introduced Auerbach to
Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, esp ...
, and in 1934 he made his stage debut in the Broadway revue ''Calling All Stars'' as a hillbilly. Auerbach had first submitted comedy sketches for Brown with the intention of selling the material. However, Brown agreed to use them only if Auerbach performed them himself. It was at this point the character of Mr. Kitzel, which means "to tickle or make laugh" in Yiddish, was first performed. Auerbach was then cast in the hugely popular radio program '' The Goldbergs'' and its predecessor '' House of Glass'' (1935). His work included a regular role on CBS' ''The Wonder Show'' (whose sponsor was Wonder Bread) with
Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...
,
Gale Gordon Gale Gordon (born Charles Thomas Aldrich Jr., February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfiste ...
, and
Jack Haley John Joseph Haley Jr. (August 10, 1897 – June 6, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, radio host, singer and vaudevillian. He was best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and his farmhand counterpart Hickory in the 1939 Metro-G ...
in 1938, and appearing as Mr. Kitzel on both
The Abbott and Costello Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
and in the 1943 film ''Here Comes Elmer'', which featured the cast of the Al Pearce radio program. During World War II he performed overseas with the
USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
. However, it was his appearances on ''
The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...
'' which brought Auerbach his greatest fame.


''The Jack Benny Program''

''The Jack Benny Program'' had previously included a Yiddish-accented character, "Shlepperman," played by Sam Hearn, but it was discontinued in the late 1930s. In 1946 Auerbach was hired as a permanent, although only occasional, Yiddish-accented character Mr. Kitzel. In January he made his first appearance as a hot-dog vendor at a Rose Bowl game Jack was attending. His appearance went over so well with the audience and Benny himself that he returned the next week. As the hot-dog vendor he became famous for the
catch phrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
, "De pickle in de middle mit de mustard on top." In 1946 this catch phrase was turned into a
novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...
written by ''Jack Benny Program'' writer
John Tackaberry John Tackaberry (October 9, 1912 – June 24, 1969) was a radio writer for ''The Jack Benny Show''. Early years He was born in Adelaide, Australia and grew up in Oodnadatta, a small railroad stop in the Simpson Desert in the Australian State of ...
and songwriter Carl Sigman, featuring Auerbach as the singer. With the lyrics "The pickle in the middle with the mustard on top. Just the way you like them and they're all red hot," the song became popular in the late 1940s. The song led to his being named ''Man of the Year'' by the National Pickle Packers Association. His other catch phrase was the exclamation "hoo-hoo-hoo-HOOOOO!" usually delivered in response to a question from Jack. Auerbach's Mr. Kitzel was unique among the characters on the show as being the only one not to treat Jack disparagingly. His character moved with the show when it made the transition from radio to television, and he continued to appear until his death. A typical Benny-Kitzel exchange: :Mr. Kitzel: I'll never forget my wedding. When they said, "If anyone has any objections to this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace," a voice from the back hollered, "Don't marry her!" :Jack Benny: Oh, my goodness! Who was it? :Mr. Kitzel: Me, I'm a ventriloquist.


Personal life and death

Artie Auerbach was born in New York City of Polish
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
descent. His father, Wolfgang, was a dancer in London, England, and died at a young age. As a youth, Artie spoke Yiddish in the family home, but, when speaking English, he did not have the accent for which he would later become famous. He was self-educated from patronizing the New York Public Library. He had two sisters. Ed Sullivan's column of March 29, 1938 announced that Auerbach would be marrying Cleo Manning (later Cleo Morgan then Smith). A young actress, Manning achieved some notoriety when she made her screen debut by being kissed by
Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
in the 1941 film
Honky Tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ( tack piano) ...
. Cleo Manning's cousin,
Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...
, at the time a blonde
RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...
star, interceded in the marriage, because Manning was not of age. They were at the license bureau when Ball persuaded them to wait. Auerbach and Manning were later married. Auerbach's second wife, Doris, was much younger than he, and they never had children. On October 3, 1957, Artie Auerbach died of a heart attack at 54 years of age in Van Nuys, California. He had entered the West Valley Community Hospital the previous day as an emergency patient. On the day of his death, Auerbach had been scheduled to begin rehearsals for a part on the Jack Benny television show. He was survived by his wife, Doris, and two sisters.


In popular culture

Mr. Kitzel's catch phrase "hoo-hoo-hoo HOOOOO!" was uttered in the 1957 '' Looney Tunes'' cartoon ''
Now, Hare This ''Now Hare This'' is a 1958 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Robert McKimson and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on May 31, 1958, and stars Bugs Bunny. Plot The story involves Bugs Bunny eluding the Big Bad Wo ...
''. It was said by both The Big Bad Wolf and by
Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring role ...
, voiced by Mel Blanc. He was also quoted multiple times in various other ''Looney Tunes'' cartoons.


References


External links

*
Video
Mr. Kitzel appearance on Jack Benny TV show Sept.15 1953
Script
of Mr. Kitzel appearance on Al Pearce radio show Feb.12, 1942

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auerbach, Archie 1903 births 1957 deaths American male comedians American male radio actors American radio personalities American people of Polish-Jewish descent Male actors from New York City Jewish American male actors Jewish American male comedians 20th-century American photographers 20th-century American male actors Comedians from New York City 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American Jews