AboutMike Hensel Expertise I will try and answer all questions dealing with television...show names, plots, actors, roles, networks, etc...US shows primarily; not real knowledgeable on TV from other countries...I lean heavily into past, more so than current, television...and, my knowledge dealing with "reality" shows is limited, due to the fact that I really can't stand the genre (my apologies to all the "Reality" fans out there...)
Experience Years of watching and cataloging television shows
Question I would like to know more about Joe E Ross and Beatrice Pons, Iknow Ross is dead but Bea is still alive, I had read Ross had married 11 times any news at all would be great
Answer Well, Henry... I can't find anything of note on Beatrice, but quite a bit on Joe...
Joe E. Ross, born March 15, 1914, died August 13, 1982 was an actor / comedian known for his trademark "Ooh! Ooh!" exclamation, which he used in many of his roles.
Given name : Joseph Roszawikz.
Joe hailed from New York City. Quit school at the age of 16; became a singing waiter at the Van Cortlandt Inn in the Bronx. Promoted to announcer. Added jokes to his routine and became a comedian.
In 1938, appeared at the Queens Terrace, near Jackson Heights, New York. Followed Jackie Gleason as the headline act. Went to Chicago as a burlesque comic.
Served in World War II in the Army Air Corps at Camp Blanding, Florida. Shipped off to England.
After the war, got a job as announcer-comic at Billy Gray's Bandbox in Hollywood. Kept his ties to burlesque intact, appearing in Irving Klaw's feature-length theatrical film Teaserama (1955), a filmed re-creation of a burlesque show.
In 1955, worked at a nightclub in Miami Beach called Club Ciro. Spotted by Nat Hiken and Phil Silvers, who were planning a show called You'll Never Get Rich (later known as The Phil Silvers Show) and loved his comedic talent. Hired on the spot and cast as mess sergeant Rupert Ritzik.
Made Ritzik a memorable character. Ritzik was henpecked, dumb, and greedy, so he was an easy mark for Sgt. Bilko's con games. Whenever Ritzik had a sudden inspiration, he would hesitate and stammer "Ooh! Ooh!" before articulating his idea. Catchphrase came from the actor's own frustration when he couldn't remember his next line.
After the The Phil Silvers Show ended in 1959, Nat Hiken went on to produce Car 54, Where Are You? and cast him in his most famous role as Patrolman Gunther Toody of New York's 53rd Precinct. Fred Gwynne, another Bilko alumnus, played Toody's partner, Francis Muldoon. Toody could usually be counted on at some point to say,"Ooh! Ooh! Francis!". Became so identified with his policeman role that he recorded an album of songs entitled "Love Songs from a Cop." Roulette Records released the LP in 1964.
Personal life was as noisy and troubled as his screen characters. Silvers estimated that Ross was married 11 times.
Also starred as Gronk in Sherwood Schwartz's ill-fated 1966 sitcom It's About Time, which featured two 1960s American astronauts who were thrown back in time to the prehistoric era.
Was a prominent cartoon voice into the 70s, playing the stereotypical bumbling sergeant in many cartoons such as Hong Kong Phooey (as Sgt. Flint) and Help! It's The Hair Bear Bunch (as Botch). His "Ooh! Ooh!" phrase was emulated by Frank Welker in the animated series Fangface.
Died while on stage on August 13, 1982 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 68. Buried in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery.
