Joe Palooka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joe Palooka (April 1930 - November 24, 1984) was an American comic strip about a heavyweight boxing champion, created by cartoonist Ham Fisher. With various assistants and successors, the strip lasted for over half of a century and spun off movies and a TV series.
Fisher committed suicide in 1955. Tony DiPreta took over the art for the strip and Morris Weiss took over the writing of the comic's story line. DiPreta and Palooka turned out to be a long-lasting and winning one-two combination; DiPreta worked on the strip for 31 years, at which time it finally ended its run in 1984.
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 Palooka remained unchanged as a cowlicked blonde. Though his adventures were mostly low-key, he was pumped up by a supporting cast led by lovable giant Humphrey Pennyworth, a smiling blacksmith who wielded a 100 pound (45 kg) maul the way most would swish a walking stick. Like "Ozark Ike" McBatt in baseball, Joe Palooka was intended to exemplify the sports hero in an age when uprightness of character was supposed to matter most.
In 1932, the Joe Palooka radio show aired on CBS.
From 1933 to 1961, Joe Palooka was additionally published in comic book form by various comic book publishers. The early comics book versions were often reprints of the daily comic strips, but they later featured their own original stories.
Image:JoePalooka-WinnerTakesAll.jpg Joe Palooka was first seen in movies in 1934, with Stuart Erwin in the title role. He returned to the screen in 1946, when Monogram Pictures began producing a series of eleven B-movies. The Monogram films starred Joe Kirkwood, Jr. as Joe Palooka, Leon Errol as boxing manager Knobby Walsh and Elyse Knox as Palooka's love interest, society girl Anne Howe.
In 1954, The Joe Palooka Story was made into a television series starring Kirkwood and featuring former boxing champion Maxie Rosenbloom.
[edit] Joe Palooka films
- Palooka (1934)
- Joe Palooka, Champ (1946)
- Gentleman Joe Palooka (1946)
- Joe Palooka in the Knockout (1947)
- Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad (1948)
- Joe Palooka in Winner Take All (1948)
- Joe Palooka in the Big Fight (1949)
- Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch (1949)
- Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey (1950)
- Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance (1950)
- Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle (1950)
- Joe Palooka in Triple Cross (1951)
[edit] Listen to
[edit] References
- Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, CA: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1.
- Toonopedia entry
