Joe Palooka
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Joe Palooka (begun April 1930, ended November 24, 1984) was a comic strip about a heavyweight boxing champion, drawn by Ham Fisher and various assistants and successors. Tony Di Preta, who started on the strip in 1970, one year before Fisher's retirement, carried on until the strip itself ended.
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 blond. Though his adventures were mostly low-key, he was pumped up by a good supporting cast, led by the lovable giant Humphrey Pennyworth, a smiling blacksmith who wielded a 100 pound (45 kg) maul the way most of us would swish a walking stick. Like "Ozark Ike" McBatt in baseball, Palooka exemplified the sports hero in an age when uprightness of character mattered most.
From 1945 to 1961, Joe Palooka was published in comic book form.
Joe Palooka was first seen in the movies in 1934 with Stuart Erwin in the title role but did not return to the screen until Monogram Pictures began producing a series of eleven Joe Palooka films beginning in 1946. The Monogram films starred Joe Kirkwood, Jr. as Joe Palooka, Leon Errol as boxing manager Knobby Walsh, and Palooka's love interest, society-girl Anne Howe, played by Elyse Knox.
In 1954, The Joe Palooka Story was made into a television series starring Kirkwood and featuring former boxing champion Maxie Rosenbloom.
Joe Polooka motion pictures
- 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)
References
- Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, CA: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0970007701.
External links
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