Joe E. Brown: the Gift of Laughter
From Alibi Ike to Some Like It Hot, Brown Invoked Laughter
May 18, 2008
Joe E. Brown's character in Some Like It Hot, one of the funniest films ever made, invoked the sort of laughter -- laughter with a message -- that embodied his life and his life's work; laughter, he believed, is a gift. And tolerance is the key. His ending line in the film, "...no one's perfect" delivers both messages.
Joe E. never subscribed to bitterness in life. He always saw the bright side, or an opportunity. Rather than dwell on the loss of a son in World War II, he seized the moment and spent many volunteer hours entertaining overseas troops.
Holgate, Ohio, Joe E.'s Birthplace
A train wreck in Holgate (Ohio), generally made up of a population of around 1,200 today, was a major event in the 1960s. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Detroit line used to cross paths at the eastern edge of the town. But an even greater happening in the modest village was a visit from its favorite son, comedic film star, Joe E. Brown.
The son of Mathias and Anna Evans Brown, Joe E. (Evan) was born uneventfully in a small house on Randolph Street, on that eastern edge of Holgate, on July 28, 1892. Some thirty years later, Joe E. was a film star for Warner Bros.
Although he was quite young when his large family moved from Holgate, briefly up north on Route 108 to North Baltimore, then on to Toledo, Joe E. never lost sight of his roots.
Baseball and Comedy
For many years, Joe E. would schedule an engagement in Holgate. He liked to refer to his birth place as the happiest spot in the world. "This is the spot," he would say with that famous wide-mouthed grin. The town would always organize a parade for him, to show him off, and he'd receive a key to the city, a sample of a Joe E. Burger from the Holgate Dairy Bar, and various small tokens of appreciation from a smiling citizenry.
There were always the smiles, and that irresistible laughter following Joe E. around when he was in town. He'd make a big pitch for the local baseball teams and have his picture taken with them in summer months. Baseball was his greatest love other than his family and his comedic career. The diamond game had almost become a career choice for him. When he tackled the pursuit of comedy, instead, some of his many films included baseball hero leads, like Alibi Ike (1935), Elmer the Great (1933), and Fireman, Save My Child (1932).
The Holgate High School baseball field was dedicated for him, and its cornerstone with his name emblazoned on it was preserved when the stadium was renovated.
Laughter Is A Wonderful Thing
Joe E.'s autobiography, Laughter is a Wonderful Thing, published in 1956, is a tour de force in the value of the lessons inherent in hard work, honest love, true humility, and easy humor.
The humor, the laughter, remained throughout his life. Indeed, his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star block delivers his legacy. It includes a very large, grinning mouth print.
--- references from author's newspaper articles
