Month: September 2015

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Sometimes I get the strangest emails…

Tonight’s snippet in the email list was “What do you think about the passed out drunk…”

OK.

Thankfully I knew who the sender was, so clicked to read the rest.

There are some wonderful folks out there who love the Three Stooges and work to document all those who have appeared in films with them, either as the Stooges or when they worked separately. My original blog post on Max Broida/Buster Brodie and a photo I added of Max on his Find A Grave memorial helped two of these folks to contact me for more information, and they shared what they knew as well. That was helpful, as I had been researching Max obsessively for a number of months and had some posts almost done. (You can read all the previous Max/Buster posts just by putting his name in the search box above.)

Today we have a mystery from these wonderful Stooge-film-o-philes:

Is Buster Brodie the drunk lying down on the stairs or by the bar?

Bit players and extras were not always credited in films, and Max is not listed as part of the cast in this 1948 short from Columbia Pictures Corporation entitled, “Crime on Their Hands.” The character of the drunk does look somewhat like Max.

The film was made in September of 1947, and released in 1948. Max died of a heart attack on 9 April 1948, at the young age of 62. We have not found any images of him in his last years except the film images in our other posts. Strangely, we know of no family pictures of Max other than what we have shared- that seems odd to have no pictures when there was a family member “in pictures”!

Let us know what you think in the comments section. Could those be Buster’s ears sticking out under the hat in the stairway scene? Looks to be a match, but if the hat is pushed down, they could be just ‘normal’ ears. How about the chin? Looks similar to me. The man in black in the bar scene, however, looks a bit tall, I think- the bartender is 5’6″ per the notes from the Stooge group. (We have tried to find a WWI or II Draft Registration for Max to learn his actual height, but those are still elusive.) Family stories are that he was less than 5′ tall, and the image of Buster with the “Little People” shows that he could not have been much taller than that, especially since he played a ‘Flying Monkey’ in “The Wizard of Oz.” This actor looks slimmer than other images I have seen of Max, but since he was possibly having health problems at that point, he might have been losing weight. Buster had no eyebrows or eyelashes, so if we could enlarge the images enough yet retain clarity, we might be able to tell. (The makeup department could have altered that though.)

It would be interesting to learn if there were letters from Max written back to Pennsylvania, to his father and many brothers. Wonder who ended up with his personal effects after he passed away? He probably had very little, since he was working at a racetrack to try to make ends meet- always a struggling actor. But we might learn just a bit more about Max, if we could find some artifacts in the back of a closet to tell more of his story.

In the meantime, doubtless Max would be very pleased that Buster Brodie lives on to make people laugh, and is remembered. Thank you, family. Thank you, dear Stooge-film-o-philes, AKA the ThreeStooges Fan Club.

Here is a bit more information about the Three Stooges researchers who have helped us get to know Max Broida as Buster Brodie a bit better:

OUR MISSION

To collect, preserve and interpret historically or culturally significant pieces of Stoogeabilia in order to further the enjoyment and appreciation of the Three Stooges and to maintain the legacy of their comedy for future generations.

Containing close to 100,000 pieces of Stoogeabilia, the Stoogeum (rhymes with museum) offers fans a chance to view a vast array of artifacts which celebrate the legacy of this legendary comedy team. The 10,000 square-foot, 3-story building houses anything and everything Stooge. Artifacts from 1918 to the present are on exhibit, including several interactive displays. The Stoogeum also contains a research library, a 16MM film storage vault and an 85-seat theater used for film screenings, lectures, and special presentations. The Stoogeum is also the headquarters of the ThreeStooges Fan Club, one of the nation’s oldest and largest fan clubs with 2,000 members world-wide. An annual meeting of the fan club brings together Stooges relatives, supporting actors, impersonators and fans with the Stoogeum at the hub of the event. The Stoogeum is located at 904 Sheble Lane, Ambler, PA 19002

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Buster Brodie/Max Broida memorial on Find A Grave- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7472866
   Unfortunately his memorial is listed as one for a ‘famous’ person, so FAG administers it rather than family. I did send them edits which they made so that he could be properly linked to family.
2. Buster Brodie page on “The Three Stooges Online Filmography”- http://threestooges.net/cast/actor/826/
3. “The Three Stooges Journal”- http://threestooges.net/journal
   (As a science and history person, I never thought I would put those four words together. But I will admit, as a kid I did ROFL on Saturday mornings at their antics, though even back then, I hated the way they treated women.)
4. “Three Stooges Lost Players” blog- http://stoogesplayers.blogspot.com
5. The Stoogeum- ThreeStooges Fan Club or http://stoogeum.com. (They have a ‘Contact Us’ link if you are interested in joining the fan club or just nyuck nyucking around.)

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

 

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.

 

Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.

 

Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Our ancestor Buster Brodie was somewhat typecast by his appearance- he was very short, and very bald. In fact, his niece stated that he had no hair, no eyebrows, nor lashes.

Previous posts have described Max Broida, the man, and the stage and screen actor Buster Brodie, who were one and the same. We have a few more images from films he was in, so let the show begin!

“So You Want to Keep Your Hair” was a 1946 Richard L. Bare Productions film in which the American Everyman, named Joe McDoakes, realized he was going bald so he tried everything to stop his hair loss. There was a series of the Joe McDoakes shorts- this one was just 11 minutes long; the next was ” So You Want a Television Set,” released in 1953, but we don’t know that Buster Brodie was in any of the others. These films would be shown along with a ‘double bill’ (2 movies in a row). Buster did not play the title character, and we have been unable to find the film, so don’t know exactly how he fits into the plot.

Buster seemed to get patted on the head a lot. This was probably a function of his height, as well as that bald pate. Wonder which came first- the pats and they made him bald? Or did all those pats on the head just shine it up for him?

He is a series of images from a 1941 film called, “Miss Polly.”

Miss Polly walked down the aisle of the town meeting, and acknowledged Buster, who was playing one of the townspeople.

Miss Polly continued on, but then, it had to happen:

It’s that pat on the head again.

Wonder if the lighting crew went crazy with the reflections?

In 1944, the country was in the midst of war, and Banner Productions provided a romp through a haunted house with Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges and two other characters. Buster played, appropriately, “Baldy,” and was in a picture on the wall in the haunted mansion. Ghosts and Barney the Giant Gorilla kept the plot moving, with an advertising tagline of, “Three crack-brained clowns trapped in a haunted house with a runaway gorilla!” Sorry I missed it.

And then there is the 1935 sports-crime-comedy-drama film (really? that’s a movie genre??) called, “Kentucky Blue Streak” in which Buster had a small role. (OK, pun not intended originally but it fits.)

The scene is the race track at about 51 minutes into the movie, and a line of jockeys are walking along the stands on their way to saddle up. They all have hats on, and all are very short and pretty young looking. The woman with the light-colored dress says haughtily, “Hmmm, those jockeys are just little boys.” Buster was the next in line, and when he hears the comment, he doffs his hat, saying, “I thank you, lady.” Everyone laughs- Buster was great at getting a laugh with just a few words. (But do note his voice- that may be why he did not get many speaking parts in the movies, but did fine in vaudeville in earlier years. Rudolph Valentino had the same problem.)

The film makers had some fun with this film. The ‘meet cute’ at about 12 minutes in is interesting- they have hot dogs at the racetrack but they are in round buns and stick out at the ends! (Maybe hot dog buns had not yet been ‘invented’? But I am not researching that this late at night- especially because I would probably end up writing a social history piece about the hot dog and bun, and not stay focused on finishing this post.) Real Kentucky Derby racetrack scenes are incorporated to add realism- the cars are very cool. Also, C.C. Burr, of ‘C.C. Burr Productions’ played a cameo, as a jockey.

One very interesting thing in the movie caught my attention at the predictable end, and I had to go back and listen again. When they are calling the race at the end (about 52 minutes into the movie), the #3 post position horse is named, “Time Out.” The rider’s name is “Buster Brodie.” I was so surprised to hear that in the movie! Wonder how all the other ‘riders’ were related to the movie or writers.

“Kentucky Blue Streak” was made in 1935, but maybe there was a bit of foreshadowing, and we can only wonder why the name of the horse “Time Out” and Buster Brodie as its ‘rider’ were mentioned in the film. Variety– the entertainment professional’s newspaper- stated in Buster’s obituary that he had been in pictures for 20 years, “in addition to selling mutual tickets at race tracks recently.” It was probably hard for Buster to make it with just film work. Looking back on his life and career, we can see the irony of this film and his ‘second job’ during his later years.

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. See also, especially for availability of films:
   1. “Talented Tuesday: Max Broida-Now Starring as Buster Brodie”- http://heritageramblings.net/2015/04/07/talented-tuesday-max-broida-now-starring-as-buster-brodie/
   2. The Real Max Broida, AKA Buster Brodie- http://heritageramblings.net/2015/04/10/the-real-max-broida-aka-buster-brodie/
   3. “Talented Tuesday: A Bit More Buster Brodie”- http://heritageramblings.net/2015/04/28/talented-tuesday-a-bit-more-buster-brodie/
2. Watch “Kentucky Blue Streak” online: http://free-classic-movies.com/movies-03b/03b-1935-05-01-Kentucky-Blue-Streak/index.php
3. IMDb.com– This used to be the “International Movie Data Base” with volunteers posting all the details of favorite movies. The website is now owned by Amazon.com but still a good (although not always complete) source of information.
4. “Buster Brodie” – Buster Brodie/Max Broida obituary in Variety, 14 Apr 1948.

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

 

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.

 

Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.

 

Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.