''Joe Palooka'' was an American

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

about a heavyweight

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

champion, created by cartoonist Ham Fisher. The strip debuted on April 19, 1930 and was carried at its peak by 900 newspapers. It was cancelled in 1984. The strip was adapted to a 15-minute

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 Entertainm ...

radio series, 12 feature-length films (chiefly from

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

), nine

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 th ...

film shorts, a 1954 syndicated television series (''The Joe Palooka Story''),

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

s and merchandise, including a 1940s

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

, a 1947 New Haven Clock & Watch Company wristwatch, a 1948 metal lunchbox featuring depictions of Joe, Humphrey and Little Max, and a 1946

Wheaties Wheaties is an American brand of breakfast cereal that is made by General Mills. It is well known for featuring prominent athletes on its packages and has become a cultural icon in the United States. Originally introduced as Washburn's Gold Meda ...

cereal box cut-out mask. In 1980, a mountain in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

was named for the character.

Publication history

In his home town of

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...

, Fisher devised the character in 1921 after he met a boxer,

Pete Latzo Pete Latzo (August 1, 1902 – July 7, 1968) was an American boxer who held the World Welterweight Championship from 1926 to 1927. Boxing career highlights Latzo was born on August 1, 1902, in Colerain, Pennsylvania, near the heart of coal-mi ...

, outside a

poolroom A billiard room (also billiards room, or more specifically pool room, snooker room) is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table. (The term "billiard room" or "pool room" may also be us ...

. As Fisher explained in an article in ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

'': Many rejections followed before Fisher's strip was finally syndicated by the McNaught Syndicate after Fisher, while employed as a McNaught salesman, sold it to over 20 newspapers. It debuted April 19, 1930, and by 1948, it was ranked as one of the five most popular newspaper comic strips. After Fisher committed suicide in 1955, his assistant Moe Leff drew the strip for four years. Leff had been ghosting on the strip's art since the late 1930s; his first credited strip was September 17, 1956.

Lank Leonard Frank E. Leonard (January 2, 1896 – August 1, 1970), better known as Lank Leonard, was an American cartoonist artist who created the long-running comic strip ''Mickey Finn (comic strip), Mickey Finn'', which he drew for more than three decades. ...

recommended

Tony DiPreta Anthony Louis "Tony" DiPreta (July 9, 1921 – June 2, 2010) was an American comic book and comic strip artist active from the 1940s Golden Age of comic books. He was the longtime successor artist of the comic strip ''Joe Palooka'' (1959–84 ...

, who stepped in starting September 7, 1959, to illustrate scripts by

Morris Weiss Morris S. Weiss (August 11, 1915 – May 18, 2014) was an American comic book and comic strip artist and writer. Active from the 1930s through the mid-1970s, he created the teen-comedy character "Margie" for Timely Comics, the 1940s predecessor ...

(early 1960s to early 1970s) and Ed Moore (mid 1970s on). DiPreta stayed with the strip for 25 years until it ended its run November 24, 1984, when it had dropped to only 182 newspapers. DiPreta then moved on to draw '' Rex Morgan, M.D.''

Toppers

The ''Joe Palooka'' Sunday page had many different toppers over the course of the run. One of the early toppers was ''Fisher's Looney Legends'', which ran from January 10, 1932 to August 27, 1933. During this run, the strip had many alternate titles, including ''Fisher's Dopey Dramas'', ''Fisher's Foolish Fables'', ''Fisher's Historical Hysteria'', ''Fisher's Neolithic Narratives'', ''Fisher's Nursery Rhymes'' and ''Fisher's Poet's Corner''. This was replaced by three longer features: ''Fisher's History of Boxing'' (Sept 3, 1933 – June 20, 1937), ''Joe Palooka's Boxing Course'' (June 27, 1937 – May 1, 1938) and ''Joe Palooka's Album'' (May 8, 1938 – Nov 14, 1943). From 1943–1946, the topper strip rotated between a variety of different features. The most often used titles during this period were ''War Time Anecdotes'' aka ''Fisher's Wartime Whoppers'' (Nov 21, 1943 – Sept 9, 1945), ''Miss Jones'' aka ''The Estimable Miss Jones'' (March 12, 1944 – Nov 11, 1945), ''After It's Over'' (April 8 – Oct 7, 1945), ''Sidewalks of Manhattan'' (Nov 18, 1945 – Feb 24, 1966), ''Charlie the Cook'' (Oct 15, 1944 – Sept 23, 1945), and ''Lady De Van'' (March 3 – July 7, 1946). Other titles used during this period include ''The Atom Age'', ''Captain Tommy'', ''Could Be'', ''Guy Who Married a WAC Sergeant'', ''Fisher's Follies'', ''How To Be Popular?'', ''Letter From Home'', ''Mebbe I'm Wrong'', ''Now That It's Over'', ''Smythe the Murp's Ex-Butler'', and ''Two Thousand A.D.''

Characters and story

Fisher originally changed the appearance of Palooka to fit each reigning real-life champ – until the coming of African-American Joe Louis in the 1930s, at which time the image of the cowlicked blond Palooka remained unchanged. Though his adventures were mostly low-key, he was pumped up by a supporting cast led by girlfriend Ann Howe, boxing manager Knobby Walsh, his mute orphan sidekick Little Max, Smokey, his black valet and later sparring partner and lovable giant Humphrey Pennyworth, a smiling

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

who wielded a 100-pound (45 kg)

maul A maul may refer to any number of large hammers, including: * War hammer, a medieval weapon * Post maul, a type of sledgehammer * Spike maul, railroad hand tool * Splitting maul, heavy wood-splitting tool resembling both axe and hammer People ...

. Like

Ozark Ike ''Ozark Ike'' is a newspaper comic strip about dumb but likable Ozark Ike McBatt, a youth from a rural area in the mountains. The strip was created by Rufus A. ("Ray") Gotto while he was serving in the Navy during World War II in Washington, D ...

McBatt in baseball, ''Joe Palooka'' was intended to exemplify the sports hero in an age when uprightness of character was supposed to matter most. The character was part of an effort among top newspaper cartoonists to sell

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

-era

Series E bond Series E United States Savings Bonds were government bonds marketed by the United States Department of the Treasury as war bonds during World War II from 1941 to 1945. After the war, they continued to be offered as retail investments until 1980, ...

s to the public as a wartime financing initiative. The strip garnered much publicity when cheese heiress Ann Howe and Joe were married on June 24, 1949. The engraved invitations for the event, sent to a select list of celebrities, read: "Mr. Ham Fisher requests the honour of your presence at the marriage of Ann Howe to Mr. Joe Palooka on the afternoon of June 24th in your favorite newspaper." Fisher received formal acceptances from Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, General

Omar Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893April 8, 1981) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. Bradley ...

and Attorney General Tom C. Clark. At the time, the strip was carried in 665 American newspapers and 125 foreign papers.

Etymology

Of uncertain origin, the word ''palooka'' was found in print as early as 1923 and widely used to mean a lout or an inept fighter.

Comic books

Over decades, ''Joe Palooka'' appeared in comic books from several comic book publishers. Early comic books offered strip reprints, but eventually the character was seen in original comic book stories. Secondary characters Little Max and Humphrey Pennyworth each had their own

Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfr ...

series. Joe Antonacci owns the trademark to and has recreated Joe Palooka. A brand new comic book version of the character created by Antonacci and his creative team was published by

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

in 2012. Palooka is reborn as a

Mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

(MMA) fighter. Antonacci's team has also created a sister series of MMA-themed comic books entitled ''Legion of Combat''.

Radio series

On radio, ''Joe Palooka'' was broadcast on

from April 12 to August 18, 1932. With Teddy Bergman in the title role,DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 223. the 15-minute series was heard on Tuesdays and Thursdays, sponsored by Heinz Rice Flakes. Elmira Roessler, Elsie Hitz and

Mary Jane Higby Mary Jane Higby (May 29, 1909 - February 1, 1986)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 129. was an American actress in the era of old- ...

played Ann Howe. Knobby Walsh was portrayed by

Frank Readick Frank Marvin Readick Jr. (November 6, 1896 — December 27, 1965) was an American radio and film actor. Born in Seattle, Washington, Readick was well known for his evil laughter that followed the introduction from ''The Shadow'' radio dram ...

and Hal Lansing. Others in the cast:

Karl Swenson Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978) was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Early in his career, he was credited as Peter Wayne.

and Norman Gottschalk. The announcer was

Harry von Zell Harry Rudolph von Zell (July 11, 1906 – November 21, 1981) was an American announcer of radio programs, and an actor in films and television shows. He is best remembered for his work on ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show''. Life and ...

Films and television

Joe Palooka made his film debut in '' Palooka'' (1934) with Stuart Erwin in the title role,

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

as Knobby,

Lupe Vélez María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez (July 18, 1908 – December 13, 1944), known professionally as Lupe Vélez, was a Mexican actress, singer and dancer during the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Vélez began her career as a performer in Mexican ...

as Nina Madero, and

Marjorie Rambeau Marjorie Burnet Rambeau (July 15, 1889 – July 6, 1970) was an American film and stage actress. She began her stage career at age 12, and appeared in several silent films before debuting in her first sound film, '' Her Man'' (1930). She was t ...

as Mayme Palooka. Now in the public domain, the film can be seen online. ''Palooka'' was followed by a series of nine two-reel

shorts (1936–37) starring Robert Norton as Joe and

Shemp Howard Samuel Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Lithuanian Yiddish, Litvak accent. He is ...

as Knobby. He returned to feature-length films in 1946, when

launched a series of 11 low-budget films starring Joe Kirkwood, Jr. as Joe,

Leon Errol Leon Errol (born Leonce Errol Sims, July 3, 1881 – October 12, 1951) was an Australian-American comedian and actor in the United States, popular in the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in film ...

as Knobby and

Elyse Knox Elyse Knox (born Elsie M. Kornbrath, December 14, 1917 – February 16, 2012) was an American actress, model, and fashion designer. Early life Knox was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Austrian immigrants Hermine Sophie (née Muc ...

as Ann Howe. The first in the series was '' Joe Palooka, Champ'' (1946); the series ended 1951, with ''Joe Palooka in Triple Cross''. ''The Joe Palooka Story'', popularly known simply as ''Joe Palooka'', was a 1954 syndicated television series starring Kirkwood and featuring former boxing champion

Maxie Rosenbloom Max Everitt Rosenbloom (November 6, 1906 – March 6, 1976) was an American professional boxer, actor, and television personality. Nicknamed "Slapsie Maxie", he was inducted into '' The Ring's'' Boxing Hall of Fame in 1972, the International Je ...

as Humphrey Pennyworth.

Cultural legacy

South of

on the way to the town of

Mountain Top, Pennsylvania Mountain Top is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 10,982. The Mountain Top CDP is located along Pennsylvania Route 309 (south of ...

is Joe Palooka Mountain, named in the early 1980s by the Mayor of Wilkes-Barre. A granite monument with the likeness of Joe Palooka is located at the base of the mountain at the intersection of PA 309 and PA 437 between Wilkes-Barre and the town of Mountain Top. In September 1948, a limestone Joe Palooka statue (in a flowing cape) was erected on a hill overlooking

Indiana State Road 37 State Road 37 (SR 37) is a major route in the U.S. state of Indiana, running as a four-lane divided highway for 110 miles of its course. At one time, the route ran from the southwest corner of the state to the northeast corner. In the pre- ...

. In 1984, the nine-foot high, ten-ton statue and its base were moved and rededicated to the Town Hall in Oolitic, Indiana. In ''

The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor ''The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor'' (original Spanish-language title: ''Relato de un náufrago'') is a work of non-fiction by Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. The full title is ''The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor: Who Drifted on a L ...

'', sailor Luis Alejandro Velasco refers to a "Joe Palooka" tavern at a port in Mobile, AL, United States, where he and his shipmates, while on leave, went to drink whisky and threw a fight from time to time. In ''

Sometimes a Great Notion ''Sometimes a Great Notion'' is the second novel by American author Ken Kesey, published in 1964. While ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1962) is more famous, many critics consider ''Sometimes a Great Notion'' Kesey's magnum opus. The story i ...

'',

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

skewers one of his characters with this paragraph: "' Tsk, tsk,' said Brother Walker. And, as he had learned the comment from ''Joe Palooka'', it came out 'tisk tisk', the way he assumed it was pronounced." In the 1977 film ''

Smokey and the Bandit ''Smokey and the Bandit'' is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, the film follows ...

'', after having been drawn into a fight and taking a beating, character Cledus "Snowman" Snow (

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

) tells his friend Bo "Bandit" Darville (

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

) over the

CB radio Citizens band radio (also known as CB radio), used in many countries, is a land mobile radio system, a system allowing short-distance person-to-many persons bidirectional voice communication among individuals, using two way radios operating on ...

, "Look, you ain't gonna believe this, but I just did my imitation of Joe Palooka."

Filmography

#'' Palooka'' (1934) #'' Joe Palooka, Champ'' (1946) #''

Gentleman Joe Palooka ''Gentleman Joe Palooka'' is a 1946 film directed by Cy Endfield. It was the second of the '' Joe Palooka'' series. Plot The prizefighter Joe Palooka's popularity soars after his manager, Knobby Walsh, explains to reporters how "clean living" i ...

'' (1946) #''

Joe Palooka in the Knockout ''Joe Palooka in the Knockout'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Reginald Le Borg. It was the third part of the ''Joe Palooka'' series from Monogram Pictures starring Joe Kirkwood, Jr. as the boxer and Leon Errol as his manager.Drew p. ...

'' (1947) #''

Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad ''Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad'' is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Reginald Le Borg and starring Leon Errol, Joe Kirkwood, Jr. and Elyse Knox. It was part of the ''Joe Palooka'' series, produced and distributed by Monogram Pictures.Drew p ...

'' (1948) #''

Joe Palooka in Winner Take All ''Joe Palooka in Winner Take All'' is a 1948 American film in the ''Joe Palooka'' series. It was directed by Reginald Le Borg. Cast * Joe Kirkwood, Jr. as Joe Palooka * Elyse Knox as Anne Howe * William Frawley as Knobby Walsh * Stanley Clements ...

'' (1948) #'' Joe Palooka in the Big Fight'' (1949) #''

Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch ''Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch'' is a 1949 American film directed by Reginald Le Borg. It was one in the series of '' Joe Palooka'' films for Monogram starring Leon Errol. It was co-written by Cy Endfield. Cast * Leon Errol as Knobby Wa ...

'' (1949) #''

Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey ''Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey'' is a 1950 film in the ''Joe Palooka'' series. It was directed by Jean Yarbrough. Plot When their car veers off the road en route to their honeymoon, Joe Palooka and new wife Anne are rescued by a sweet lummox, Hum ...

'' (1950) #''

Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance ''Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance'' is a 1950 American film directed by Jean Yarbrough. It was part of the '' Joe Palooka'' series. Plot Knobby Walsh manages the champ, but unless he agrees to promoter Gordon Rogers' demand for 30 percent ...

'' (1950) #''

Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle ''Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle'' is a 1950 American film in the '' Joe Palooka'' series. References External links * 1950 films American black-and-white films Films based on American comics Joe Palooka films {{comics-film-stub ...

'' (1950) #'' Joe Palooka in Triple Cross'' (1951)

Vitaphone two-reelers

(made for

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

) #''For the Love of Pete'' (March 14, 1936) #''Here's Howe'' (June 6, 1936) #''Punch and Beauty'' (August 6, 1936) #''The Choke's on You'' (September 12, 1936) #''The Blonde Bomber'' (November 28, 1936) #''Kick Me Again'' (February 6, 1937) #''Taking the Count'' (April 24, 1937) #''Thirst Aid'' (June 12, 1937) #''Calling All Kids'' (November 20, 1937) All directed by

Lloyd French Lloyd French (January 11, 1900 – May 24, 1950) was an American director of short films, most of them comedies. His best remembered films are several Laurel and Hardy comedies in the 1930s. He also made several musical short films featuring m ...

and starring Robert Norton and

(except the last two with Beverly Phalon and Johnny Burkes).

References

External links

* * {{Webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030308175530/http://www.radiolovers.com/pages/joepalooka.htm , title=Free Old time Radio Shows - Joe Palooka
''The Incredibly Strange Story of Ham Fisher''

at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on October 8, 2016. 1930 comics debuts 1932 radio programme debuts 1984 comics endings American comics adapted into films American comic strips American radio dramas Boxing comics CBS Radio programs Comics adapted into television series Comics adapted into radio series Palooka, Joe Palooka, Joe Palooka, Joe Palooka, Joe Palooka, Joe American film series Harvey Comics titles Harvey Comics series and characters IDW Publishing titles Radio programs based on comic strips Vitaphone short films Warner Bros. short films Comic martial artists Martial arts comics