Ben Blue
Encyclopedia
Ben Blue born Benjamin Bernstein, was a Canadian-American
actor
and comedian
.
Born to a Jewish family in Montreal, Quebec
, at the age of nine, Blue emigrated to Baltimore in the United States where he won a contest for the best impersonation of Charlie Chaplin
. At the age of fifteen he was in a touring company and later became 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 emigrated 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).
In 1930, Blue toured with the "Earl Carroll Vanities".
Blue left the band to establish himself as a solo comedian, portraying a bald-headed dumb-bell with a goofy expression. 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, in films such as Easy to Wed
. In 1950, he had his own short-lived TV series, The Ben Blue Show, and was also a regular on The Frank Sinatra Show
.
In 1951, Blue began concentrating on managing and appearing in nightclubs in Hollywood and San Francisco he once appeared in a Reno
nightclub called the dollhouse where he lost $25,000 to its owner Bill Welch. Blue and Maxie Rosenbloom
owned and performed in Hollywood's top nightclub in the 1940s called "Slapsie Maxie's." 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. Ben closed the club three years later because of health problems. Blue made the cover of TV Guide's
June 11, 1954 Special Issue along with Alan Young
, headlining an edition featuring that season's summer replacement shows. He also made appearances in TV shows such as The Jack Benny Program
.
In 1958, he starred in a TV 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 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
, his role was the pilot of the Standard J-1 biplane that flew Sid Caesar
& Edie Adams
. Blue also made an appearance in the 1945 film Ziegfeld Follies
. Ben Blue started making cameos in comedy movies around the 1960s. One of his most-recognized roles in films was as Luther Grilk in The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming
. He especially had a recurring role in Jerry Van Dyke
's TV series Accidental Family
in 1967. He worked his way until his final film appearance, Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
, in 1968. He made one of his last TV appearances in Land of the Giants
in 1969. He was also seen the following year in the Dora Hall vanity syndicated TV special, "Once Upon a Tour".
Ben Blue died in Hollywood on March 7, 1975 and 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 UCLA Library.
Canadian-American
A Canadian American is someone who was born or someone who grew up in Canada then moved to the United States. The term is particularly apt when applied or self-applied to people with strong ties to Canada, such as those who have lived a significant portion of their lives in, or were educated in,...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
.
Born to a Jewish family in Montreal, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, at the age of nine, Blue emigrated to Baltimore in the United States where he won a contest for the best impersonation of Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
. At the age of fifteen he was in a touring company and later became 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 emigrated to the United States, and appeared in two early sound musicals: the Vitaphone
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film process used on feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects produced by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1930. Vitaphone was the last, but most successful, of the sound-on-disc processes...
short subject Jack White and His Montrealers and Universal's feature-length 2-strip Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
revue King of Jazz
King of Jazz
King of Jazz is a 1930 motion picture starring Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra. The film's title was taken from Whiteman's controversial, self-conferred appellation...
(1930).
In 1930, Blue toured with the "Earl Carroll Vanities".
Blue left the band to establish himself as a solo comedian, portraying a bald-headed dumb-bell with a goofy expression. Producer Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
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
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, notably in The Big Broadcast of 1938
The Big Broadcast of 1938
The Big Broadcast of 1938 is a Paramount Pictures film featuring W.C. Fields and Bob Hope. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, the film is the last in a series of Big Broadcast movies that were variety show anthologies...
, and later at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, in films such as Easy to Wed
Easy to Wed
Easy to Wed is a 1946 American musical comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell. The screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley is an updated adaptation of the screenplay of the 1936 film Libeled Lady by Maurine Dallas Watkins, Howard Emmett Rogers, and George Oppenheimer.-Plot:Financier J.B...
. In 1950, he had his own short-lived TV series, The Ben Blue Show, and was also a regular on The Frank Sinatra Show
The Frank Sinatra Show
The title The Frank Sinatra Show may refer to the following series starring Frank Sinatra:* The Frank Sinatra Show * The Frank Sinatra Show...
.
In 1951, Blue began concentrating on managing and appearing in nightclubs in Hollywood and San Francisco he once appeared in a Reno
Reno
Reno is the fourth most populous city in Nevada, US.Reno may also refer to:-Places:Italy*The Reno River, in Northern ItalyCanada*Reno No...
nightclub called the dollhouse where he lost $25,000 to its owner Bill Welch. Blue and Maxie Rosenbloom
Maxie Rosenbloom
Max Everitt Rosenbloom, known as Slapsie Maxie was an American boxer, actor, and television personality.-Life and career:...
owned and performed in Hollywood's top nightclub in the 1940s called "Slapsie Maxie's." Again, in the 1960s he opened a nightclub in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, called "Ben Blue's". It quickly became the "in" place and night-after-night was packed with top celebrities. Ben closed the club three years later because of health problems. Blue made the cover of TV Guide's
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
June 11, 1954 Special Issue along with Alan Young
Alan Young
Alan Young is an English-Canadian actor and voice actor, best known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney films, TV series and video games...
, headlining an edition featuring that season's summer replacement shows. He also made appearances in TV shows such as The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.-Cast:*Jack Benny - Himself...
.
In 1958, he starred in a TV 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 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
, his role was the pilot of the Standard J-1 biplane that flew Sid Caesar
Sid Caesar
Isaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar is an Emmy award winning American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.- Early life :Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York,...
& Edie Adams
Edie Adams
Edie Adams was an American singer, Broadway, television and film actress and comedienne. Adams, a Tony Award winner, "both embodied and winked at the stereotypes of fetching chanteuse and sexpot blonde." She was well-known for her impersonations of female stars on stage and television, most...
. Blue also made an appearance in the 1945 film Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies (film)
Ziegfeld Follies is a 1945 Hollywood musical comedy film directed by Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth, Robert Lewis, Vincente Minnelli, Merrill Pye, George Sidney and Charles Waters...
. Ben Blue started making cameos in comedy movies around the 1960s. One of his most-recognized roles in films was as Luther Grilk in The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming is an American comedy film. Based on the Nathaniel Benchley novel The Off-Islanders, the film was directed by Norman Jewison and adapted for the screen by William Rose....
. He especially had a recurring role in Jerry Van Dyke
Jerry Van Dyke
Jerry Van Dyke is an American comedian and actor. He is the younger brother of comedian and actor Dick Van Dyke, and made his acting debut on The Dick Van Dyke Show with several guest appearances as Rob Petrie's brother, Stacey...
's TV series Accidental Family
Accidental Family
Accidental Family is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC during the first part of the 1967-68 U.S. television season.-Synopsis:The series stars Jerry Van Dyke as a widowed comedian, Jerry Webster, who bought a farm in the San Fernando Valley to serve as a place for him to raise his son, Sandy, when...
in 1967. He worked his way until his final film appearance, Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? is a 1968 American comedy film with Doris Day, directed by Hy Averback. Although it is set in New York City during the major blackout of November 9, 1965, in which 25 million people scattered throughout seven northeastern states and Ontario, Canada lost...
, in 1968. He made one of his last TV appearances in Land of the Giants
Land of the Giants
Land of the Giants was an hour-long American science fiction television program lasting two seasons beginning on September 22, 1968 and ending on March 22, 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen. Land of the Giants was the fourth of Allen's science fiction TV series. The show was...
in 1969. He was also seen the following year in the Dora Hall vanity syndicated TV special, "Once Upon a Tour".
Ben Blue died in Hollywood on March 7, 1975 and was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California, USA. Many Jewish people from the entertainment industry are buried here.-Notable interments:*Irving Aaronson, composer...
in Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
. After his death, his career papers covering 1935 to 1955 were deposited in the Special Collections at the UCLA Library.