Joey Forman was a renowned American actor and comedian, whose illustrious career spanned multiple decades. Early on, he began performing in local radio shows, honing his craft and building a reputation as a talented entertainer.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Forman's hometown is the largest and most populous city in the state. During his school years, he befriended his classmate Eddie Fisher, who would go on to become a successful singer.
In the late 1940s, Forman and Fisher collaborated on the local radio show "Magic Lady Supper Club". Later, Forman was recruited as an athletic director for Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel, located in the Catskill Mountains of New York. However, his witty remarks impressed his superiors, and he was reassigned as a comedian and entertainer for the hotel's stage shows.
Forman attempted to make a name for himself as a professional comedian, and his efforts paid off when he became one of the winners of the talent show "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" in the late 1940s. While performing in Las Vegas, Nevada, Forman opened for the legendary actor Mickey Rooney, and the two later formed a comedy duo, with Forman acting as Rooney's "straight man".
This partnership led to the co-starring role of Freddy Devlin in the sitcom "The Mickey Rooney Show" and acting roles in Rooney's films "Andy Hardy Comes Home" and "The Big Operator". Although both films were box office flops, the partners went their separate ways.
In the 1960s, Forman appeared regularly on stage and television as a comedian, and also frequently guest-starred in various sitcoms. He played the antagonists Captain Crocodile and Dragonman in "The Monkees", Charlie-Chan parody "Harry Hoo" in "Get Smart", and Ho Ho the Clown in "Bewitched".
In 1968, Forman created a new comedy routine, playing the character "The Mashuganishi Yogi", a parody version of the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He released a comedy album with this premise, collaborating with fellow comedian Bill Dana.
Forman remained a prominent figure in the entertainment industry throughout the 1970s, but his career slowed down in the early 1980s. Among his last notable film roles were the spy comedy "The Nude Bomb" and the science fiction film "Earthbound". "The Nude Bomb" was one of several films based on "Get Smart", and Forman replaced David Ketchum in the role of supporting character "Agent 13".
Sadly, Forman's life was cut short when he died in 1982 due to pulmonary fibrosis, a respiratory disease characterized by the formation of scars in the lung tissues. There is currently no known cure for this disease, which is relatively common in patients over the age of 40.
