Joe E. Ross was a comedian who typically played lovable buffoons and good-natured slobs on TV and stage. He was born Joseph Roszawikz to Jewish immigrants in Manhattan on March 15, 1914. Ross began his career as a singing waiter and tenor in gangster-filled speakeasy clubs after dropping out of high school.
He was quickly elevated to announcing and telling off-colored jokes, and after a comic break at the Queens Terrace in 1938, he built up his image as a "blue comedy" entertainer and impressionist. He performed and emceed at burlesque clubs and various niteries around the Schuster circuit out of Chicago.
World War II military service with the Army Air Corps briefly interrupted his career. After his discharge, Ross headed to Hollywood to pursue standup work. He teamed with comedian Dave Starr and made an inauspicious film debut in the 1955 film Teaserama.
Ross's greatest claim to fame came after he cleaned up his "blue" act for TV. He hit strong notice playing third banana to Phil Silvers on his popular late 1950s series The Phil Silvers Show, and then co-starred on the cult comedy series Car 54, Where Are You? as dim-bulbed police officer Gunther Toody.
Ross was notorious for forgetting his lines and developed his trademark "ooh, ooh" as a way of giving him time to remember his next line. The catchphrase followed him for the rest of his career. He also appeared in various films, including Teaserama, Hear Me Good, and Pennies from Heaven.
In the 1970s, Ross found steady voice work in animated cartoons. He briefly teamed with comedian Steve Rossi on the standup comedy stage and appeared in various films, including How to Seduce a Woman, Linda Lovelace for President, and The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington.
Ross suffered a fatal heart attack on August 13, 1982, while appearing on the clubhouse stage at his own apartment complex. He was survived by his last wife Arlene and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
