BEN LESSY & BEN BLUE & PATTI MOORE—SIGNED PHOTO-w/COA

Description: SIGNED AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO Ben Lessy (April 29, 1902 – October 30, 1992) was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor.Lessy — born in New York City — was known for a nightclub act done with Patti Moore, the long-time wife of his best friend and agent, Sammy Lewis. They were regulars at Los Angeles nightclubs Slapsy Maxie's and Billy Gray's Band Box. As a consequence, Lessy appeared in over 50 films and television episodes between 1938 and 1981. His first film role was in the two reel Cafe Rendezvous (1938) and his career ended with the Billy Wilder flop Buddy Buddy (1981). Lessy's credits include Music for Millions (1944), Dark Delusion (1947) (the last entry in the Dr. Kildare series),The Pirate (1948) (Lessy's 9th, and final film during his seven years at MGM),The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), Just for You (1952), Gypsy (1962), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Pajama Party (1964), That Darn Cat! (1965), and The Love Machine (1971). His television credits include Make Room for Daddy (1953–59: 32 episodes), The Jack Benny Program (1959–64: 3 episodes), The Cara Williams Show (1964–1965), That Girl (1966), Petticoat Junction (1967), The New Andy Griffith Show (1971), and McMillan & Wife (1976).Lessy passed on October 30, 1992, aged 90 from natural causes. Partial FilmographyFRED ASTAIRESecond Chorus (1940) - Shaw's Second Manager HEPBURN TRACYWoman of the Year (1942) - Punchy For Me and My Gal (1942) - Dough Boy Dan Youth on Parade (1942) - Piano Player Thousands Cheer (1943) - Silent MonkMusic for Millions (1944) - KickebushHer Highness and the Bellboy (1945) - HimselfTwo Sisters from Boston (1946) - Rogetto - Olstrom's Valet Dark Delusion (1947) - NapoleonGARLAND KELLYThe Pirate (1948) - GumboThe Jackie Robinson Story (1950) - ShortyPurple Heart Diary (1951) - HimselfJust for You (1952) - Georgie PolanskySONDHEIMGypsy (1962) - Mervyn GoldstoneIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) - George, the steward I'd Rather Be Rich (1964) - 1st Hunter BUSTER KEATONPajama Party (1964) - FleegleThat Funny Feeling (1965) - Charlie - BartenderDISNEYThat Darn Cat! (1965) - Drive-In Concessionaire The Last of the Secret Agents? (1966) - HarryThe Fastest Guitar Alive (1967) - Indian ChiefThe Love Machine (1971) - Kenny DittoBILLY WILDERBuddy Buddy (1981) - Barney Pritzig (final film role) Ben Blue (December 9 1901 – March 7 1975) was a Canadian actor and comedian whose varied career on stage, in movies, and in television appearances, spanned nearly 50 years. Early lifeBenjamin Bernstein was born in Montreal, Quebec to David Asher Bernstein and Sadie Goldberg. He emigrated to Baltimore at the age of nine, where he later won a contest for the best impersonation of Charlie Chaplin.By age fifteen he was in a touring company, eventually as a stage manager and assistant general manager. He became a dance instructor and nightclub proprietor. In the 1920s Blue joined a popular orchestra, Jack White and His Montrealers. The entire band emphasized comedy and would continually interact with the joke-cracking maestro. Blue, the drummer, would sometimes deliver corny jokes while wearing a ridiculously false beard. The band relocated to the United States, and appeared in two early sound musicals — the Vitaphone short subject Jack White and His Montrealers and Universal's feature-length 2-strip Technicolor revue King of Jazz (1930), with Bing Crosby. In 1930, Blue toured with the "Earl Carroll Vanities". He’d left the band to establish himself as a solo comedian, portraying a bald-headed dumb-bell with a goofy expression. Around that time he dubbed himself 'Ben Blue', later explaining that it would fit better than 'Bernstein' on theater marquees. Producer Hal Roach featured him in his "Taxi Boys" comedy shorts, but Blue's dopey character was an acquired taste and he was soon replaced by other comedians. Later in the 1930s he worked at Paramount Pictures, notably in The Big Broadcast of 1938, and later at MGM in films such as Easy to Wed.In 1950, he had a short-lived TV series, The Ben Blue Show, and was also a regular on The Frank Sinatra Show, guest starring on the summer replacement show Saturday Night Revue in 1954.Blue made the cover of TV Guide′s June 11, 1954 Special Issue along with Alan Young, headlining an edition that covered that season's summer replacement shows. He also made appearances in TV shows such as The Jack Benny Program and The Milton Berle Show.In much of the 1950s, Blue began concentrating on managing and appearing in nightclubs in Hollywood and San Francisco, California. He once appeared in a Reno, Nevada nightclub called the Dollhouse where he lost $25,000 to its owner, Bill Welch. Blue and Maxie Rosenbloom owned and performed at Slapsie Maxie's, Hollywood's top nightclub in the 1940s. Again, in the 1960s he opened a nightclub in Santa Monica, California, called Ben Blue's. It quickly became the "in" place and night after night was packed with top celebrities. Blue closed the club three years later because of health problems. In 1958 he starred in a television pilot called Ben Blue's Brothers, in which he played four different parts. The show did not get picked up by a network, but the pilot was seen in 1965.In 1964 Blue was indicted by a federal grand jury on six counts of tax evasion for the non-payment of more than $39,000 (approximately $383,000 today) in income taxes from the nightclub he operated, the Merry-Go-Round, in Santa Monica, California. The case was contested for five years, before he pled no contest to a single count of evading corporate tax. He was fined $1,000, with the payment suspended.Blue had a recurring role in Jerry Van Dyke's television series Accidental Family in 1967. His film roles included many cameo appearances. In It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), he portrayed the pilot of the Standard J-1 biplane that flew Sid Caesar and Edie Adams. In The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966) he played the town drunk. Other film appearances included small roles in The Busy Body with Richard Pryor (1967), A Guide for the Married Man (1967) and Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968). He made one of his last television appearances in Land of the Giants in 1969. He was also seen the following year in the Dora Hall vanity syndicated television special, "Once Upon a Tour". Personal lifeBlue married his first wife, Mary, in New York in 1922. They had a daughter, Jeanne, in 1923. Mary was granted a divorce from Blue on 3 December 1937 in Los Angeles. He was ordered to pay $600 (approximately $13,000 today) monthly alimony. The judge told him: "You are no exception to the rule that theatrical careers do not last long, and yours already has been a long one." Blue later married Axie Mae Dunlap (1916—1990). Their two children were sons Tom and Robert.Blue died in Hollywood, California, on March 7, 1975. He was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.After his death, his career papers covering 1935 to 1955 were deposited in the Special Collections at the University of California, Los Angeles Library. FilmographyThe Arcadians (1927) - Simplicitas SmithCollege Holiday (1936) - Stage HandFollow Your Heart (1936) - HimselfTurn Off the Moon (1937) - LukeHigh, Wide, and Handsome (1937) - ZekeArtists and Models (1937) - Jupiter PluviusThrill of a Lifetime (1937) - SkipperThe Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) - MikeCollege Swing (1938) - Ben VoltCocoanut Grove (1938) - Joe De LemmaParis Honeymoon (1939) - SitskaPanama Hattie (1942) - RowdyFor Me and My Gal (1942) - Sid SimmsThousands Cheer (1943) - Chuck PolanskyBroadway Rhythm (1944) - Felix GrossTwo Girls and a Sailor (1944) - BenTwo Sisters from Boston (1946) - WrigleyEasy to Wed (1946) - Spike DolanMy Wild Irish Rose (1947) - HopperOne Sunday Afternoon (1948) - NickIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) - Biplane pilotThe Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966) - Luther GrilkThe Busy Body (1967) - Felix RoseA Guide for the Married Man (1967) - Technical Adviser (Shoeless)Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968) - Man with a RazorThe Sky's the Limit (1975) - Ben Insured Boxed Media MailShipping For $6.00 WithinTwo Business Days of Payment

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End Time: 2025-01-07T16:32:05.000Z

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