Joe Bolton (September 8, 1910 – August 13, 1986) was an American radio and television personality whose entire television career was associated with
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
's independent stationWPIX Channel 11 from its first day of broadcasting on June 15, 1948, until his retirement in 1975. He hosted many of the station's children's shows such as ''The Clubhouse Gang'' and ''The Three Stooges Funhouse'' dressed in a policeman's uniform and introducing himself as "Officer Joe Bolton". When hosting ''
The Dick Tracy Show
''The Dick Tracy Show'' is an American animated television series based on Chester Gould's comic strip crime fighter. The series was produced from 1961 to 1962 by UPA.
In the show, policeman Dick Tracy employed a series of cartoony subordinat ...
'', Bolton wore a police chief's uniform.
Biography
Bolton was born in
Flushing, New York
Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...
to Florence Youngling and Joseph Reeves Bolton II. By 1920, his parents were living 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 ...
where his father was a sales manager for hotel supplies.
He started his broadcast career in 1927 as a staff announcer for WOR in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.DuMont Television Network's talent show ''
Doorway to Fame
''Doorway to Fame'' is an American talent show broadcast on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. The series ran from May 2, 1947, to July 11, 1949.
Overview
The series used early television scene-blending technology to project the perfor ...
'' in 1947, but he left DuMont for
WPIX
WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship of Th ...
on May 15, 1948 to be a news announcer and weatherman.
On January 17, 1955, he appeared as "Officer Joe" and hosted ''The Clubhouse Gang'', which featured the '' Little Rascals'' and the theme song " The Whistler and his Dog". WPIX lost the rights to
The Little Rascals
''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 September 1958, he switched to hosting ''The Three Stooges Funhouse'', a showcase of
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 ...
shorts which aired on WPIX weekdays until May 7, 1970, mostly weekdays at 5:30 pm. At one time, he was host of WPIX's ''
The Dick Tracy Show
''The Dick Tracy Show'' is an American animated television series based on Chester Gould's comic strip crime fighter. The series was produced from 1961 to 1962 by UPA.
In the show, policeman Dick Tracy employed a series of cartoony subordinat ...
two-reeler
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s, '' Stop! Look! and Laugh'', in which he had a cameo as "Officer Joe", and in 1965's ''
The Outlaws Is Coming
''The Outlaws Is Coming'' (stylized as ''The Outlaws IS Coming!'') is the sixth and final theatrical comedy starring The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and J ...
'', the last feature film by The Three Stooges, which featured him and eight other local children television show hosts, all cast as Old West's most notorious outlaws.
Bolton appeared at many New York area venues, including Freedomland U.S.A. in
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 ...
, to meet and entertain children. At Freedomland, he hosted appearances by The Three Stooges at the park's Moon Bowl entertainment venue. Bolton and The Three Stooges are featured in the book ''Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History'' (Theme Park Press, 2019).
Bolton retired in 1975 to
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...
, and died in 1986 at
Santa Monica Hospital
UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center is a hospital located within the city of Santa Monica, California. The hospital was founded in 1926, and is a member of the UCLA Health. The hospital is also known internationally for operating its Rape Treatment ...
of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
.California Death Index. His mother's maiden name was Youngling and he was born in New York.
Bolton had two children: a daughter, Catherine Bolton of
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 ...
*''Home Run on the Keys'' (1936) (uncredited announcer in
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one ...
short starring
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
The Outlaws Is Coming
''The Outlaws Is Coming'' (stylized as ''The Outlaws IS Coming!'') is the sixth and final theatrical comedy starring The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and J ...
Sandy Becker
George Sanford Becker (February 19, 1922 – April 9, 1996), who was known professionally as Sandy Becker, was an American television announcer, actor, and comedian who hosted several popular children's programs in New York City. The best known ...