BROIDA Family (Click for Family Tree)

Regular readers will note that this is yet another post about Max Broida, who used the stage name “Buster Brodie” for his work in vaudeville and the movies.

Max has been interesting to research- from a character that some family members were not even sure existed, we have learned that he ran away as a teen (or maybe younger) to join the circus. He likely learned the ropes and jokes as a clown there, and honed those skills and his comedy timing when he moved on to vaudeville. Next were silent movies and then the ‘talkies.’ Always a bit player and never truly the star, we have been surprised that Max has lived on in so many hearts. We have heard from movie historians and people who bought his picture at an antique store just because they liked it, and then they sent it on to the family via this blog. Max is included in books and images sold through ebay, etc.- he is an important part of the cult following of the 1932 film, “Island of the Lost Souls.” And we know he is one of the Flying Monkeys in “The Wizard of Oz” though it is hard to tell which, so his work remains as well.

At only 4’9-1/2″ and ~120 lbs. himself, Buster would not have been as intimidating to little kids- he was not too far from kid-sized! He probably had little trouble being the last squeezed into the clown car!

We don’t know if Max ever had a wife or children, so the above image is especially sweet.

To read more details about Max, click here.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. A current as-of-this-post listing of Max Broida/Buster Brodie articles. Please use the search box in the future to see any added. — https://heritageramblings.net/?s=buster+brodie. 

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Original content copyright 2013-2021 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

One more obituary for Max Broida, published in his hometown religious newspaper. Note that he was listed as Max (Buster) Brodie, not Broida, in the second obituary of the article. His death certificate notes his name as Buster Brodie. (Note: We do not believe that Abraham J. Brodie, listed first in the obituaries, is related.)

Use the “Search” box to view more obituaries for Max and stories and pictures of his life.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. See image caption.
2. Buster would have laughed his infectious laugh to see this website about his net worth- http://richestcelebrities.org/richest-actors/buster-brodie-net-worth-2/
3. “A Doctor’s Diary” from 1937- original Buster post updated with the clip available at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvLWOxyiah0.

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

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.)

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

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.

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

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

[NOTE: Photo updated 13 May 2015 with higher resolution scan and enhancements.]

Previous posts (see notes below) about Buster Brodie revealed that his real name was Max Broida, and that he performed in the circus and vaudeville, as well as silent and ‘talkie’ movies.

We were thrilled to receive a comment on the second of those posts from DAC of Austin, Texas, stating that she had a picture of Buster Brodie that she would like to send to someone in the family. A quick email correspondence provided an address for mailing the image, and a bit of provenance: she and her daughter found it in a small antique store in Georgetown, Texas. Once we do a high resolution scan, the image will be donated to the Broida Family Collection at the Saul Brodsky Jewish Community Library in St. Louis, Missouri. We can’t thank DAC enough for rescuing this unique image and then contacting us through the blog to share.

Buster is easy to identify- he was bald by 1928, so it is Buster standing in the back, taller than most of the other people. He is just to the left of the hanging lantern on the far left. His bald  pate blends somewhat with the light background. If the picture is enlarged, one can tell that he was wearing a bow tie. He would have looked very dapper- and his family would be proud, as so many of them worked in the clothing business.

The sign on the Hunt Hotel in Culver City, California, reads as follows:

“Largest Number of LITTLE PEOPLE

EVER ASSEMBLED UNDER ONE ROOF

IN AMERICA

at HOTEL HUNT

CULVER CITY CALIF   OCTOBER 7th 1928″

Of course, research would be needed…

So I Googled ‘Hunt Hotel” and learned that it was still in existence. It is across from, and near to, movie studios, including MGM in its day, and was a wild place full of “movie stars, bookies, and bums.” The hotel was, and still is, used as a location for many film shoots, both interior and exterior- Laurel & Hardy fans may recognize it from some of their films. Stories abound, including that John Wayne won it in a poker game from Charlie Chaplin for $1- apparently untrue. The hotel had fallen into disrepair as the community did, but when the movie studios came back to Culver City, the hotel was purchased and refurbished to its former glory.

At first, the thought was that maybe the get-together in the picture had to do with, “The Wizard of Oz” since the hotel housed many of the Little People who played Munchkins in that movie. But… that movie was released in 1939, and the date on this image was 1928.

More research…

The online article, “The Culver Hotel: Harry C. Culver’s Flatiron of Fun” By Hadley Meares, March 28, 2014 at www.kcet.org provided the reason for this get-together. MGM was filming a version of Jules Verne’s 1874 novel, “L’Île mystérieuse” (“The Mysterious Island”), which was a sort of prequel to “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.” The movie included undersea human-like creatures with a duckbill helmet (head?); the Little People who played these parts were housed at the Hunt Hotel, as had been many Hollywood stars. The article states there were 40 Little People at the hotel in 1928 who posed for this picture- I only count 34.) The hotel topped both numbers in 1938, when 124 Little People were brought from all over the country to stay at the Culver City Hotel- it’s new name- while appearing in “The Wizard of Oz” as Munchkins and flying monkeys.

How did Buster Brodie/Max Broida end up in this group picture? He was short, to be sure, but was not a dwarf as far as we know. Was he a part of the extras in this movie? He is uncredited, if so, and no evidence has yet been found that he was in this movie- except possibly this picture. It is also conceivable that Buster answered a casting call for ‘little people’ for the MGM film- he had been in other MGM productions so this is plausible even though he was likely not technically a Little Person. Another possibility is that some of these Little People were members of “Singer’s Midgets,” a vaudeville group that Buster may have worked with during his time in vaudeville; they appeared in movies in the 1930s, including, “The Wizard of Oz.” Buster had also worked in the circus as a young man, and may have known some of these persons from those years.

The answer to how and why Buster was included in this picture may never be known, but we are so grateful for a genealogical act of kindness by DAC that brought up these questions, and for sharing this special picture with us so we can share with the world.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

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/

The Real Max Broida, AKA Buster Brodie- http://heritageramblings.net/2015/04/10/the-real-max-broida-aka-buster-brodie/

2) Broida Family Collection at the Saul Brodsky Jewish Community Library- http://www.brodskylibrary.org/archives.php

3) Leo Singer/”Singer’s Midgets” article on Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Singer

4) The Hunt/Culver Hotel-

http://www.culverhotel.com/default.aspx?pg=history

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culver_Hotel

http://www.hotelsoftherichandfamous.com/travel/North-America/United-States/California/Culver-City/Hotels/Culver-Hotel

“The Culver Hotel: Harry C. Culver’s Flatiron of Fun” By Hadley Meares, March 28, 2014, is an excellent article, an interesting read, and provided the solution to our mystery-

http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/columns/lost-landmarks/the-culver-hotel-harry-c-culvers-flatiron-of-fun.html

http://www.culvercitynews.org/latest-news/ghosts-and-hollywood-glamour-inhabit-a-landmark/

5) “The Mysterious Island,” 1929, MGM resources-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Island_(1929_film)

http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/M/MysteriousIsland1929.html

http://www.allmovie.com/movie/v103465

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020198/

A fun image of the lobby card from the movie, which may be under copyright so cannot be posted, but worth the click-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lobby_Card_for_the_1929_version_of_The_Mysterious_Island.jpg#/media/File:Lobby_Card_for_the_1929_version_of_The_Mysterious_Island.jpg

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