Joe Laurie Jr. (February 24, 1892[1] – April 29, 1954) was an American vaudeville monologist who later performed on radio and on Broadway. He was born in New York City.[2]

On radio he was one of the comedic panelists on the popular joke-telling series, Can You Top This? with Edward Hastings Ford.[3] He also portrayed the character of Sniffy on the Mutual daytime drama, We Were Always Young.[4]

Books

Laurie's jokes were part of Cream of the Crop (Grosset and Dunlap, 1947) along with other members of the Can You Top This? team. He collaborated with Abel Green on the show business history, Show Biz: From Vaude to Video (1951) and then followed with his memoir, Vaudeville: From the Honky-Tonks to the Palace (1953).

Family

Laurie's first wife was his vaudeville partner, Aleen Bronson, in the act, Laurie & Bronson. During the 1940s, Laurie and his second wife, Nellie Butcher (1922–1954), stage named June Tempest, lived in Manhattan. He was survived by his son, Joseph Bryant Hughes Laurie.[5]

Joe Laurie Jr. died in New York City in 1954, aged 63, from undisclosed causes.

References

  1. ↑ "Ancestry Library Edition". search.ancestrylibrary.com.
  2. ↑ DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc.; ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2, p. 160.
  3. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. p. 61.
  4. ↑ Shradow, Karl. "Mutual's Forgotten Soap Operas", Radio Recall, April 2006.
  5. ↑ Profile, imdb.com; accessed August 16, 2017.
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