Biography
Joey Forman was an American actor and comedian. Early in his career, he worked as a performer in local radio shows.
Forman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the largest and most populous city in Pennsylvania. During his school years, Forman befriended his schoolmate Eddie Fisher (1928-2010), the future singer.
In the late 1940s, Forman and Singer performed together in the local radio show "Magic Lady Supper Club". Later, Forman was hired as an athletic director for Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel, located in the Catskill Mountains of New York. However, Forman's funny remarks impressed his superiors, and they re-assigned him as a comedian and entertainer for the hotel's stage shows.
Forman attempted to become a professional comedian, and was one of the winners of the talent show "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" (1946-1956). While performing in Las Vegas, Nevada, Forman provided an opening act for the famous actor Mickey Rooney (1920-2014). He later formed a comedy duo with Rooney, acting as Rooney's "straight man". This partnership with Rooney led to the co-starring role of Freddy Devlin in the sitcom "The Mickey Rooney Show" (1954-1955), and acting roles in Rooney's films "Andy Hardy Comes Home" (1958) and "The Big Operator" (1959). However, both films were box office flops, and the partners split up.
In the 1960s, Forman appeared regularly on stage and television as a comedian. He also appeared frequently as a guest star in various sitcoms. He played the antagonists Captain Crocodile and Dragonman in "The Monkees", Charlie-Chan parody "Harry Hoo" in "Get Smart", and Ho Ho the Clown in "Bewitched".
In 1968, Forman created a new comedy routine, playing the character "The Mashuganishi Yogi", a parody version of the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918-2008). He released a comedy album with this premise, co-operating with fellow comedian Bill Dana (1924-2017).
Forman was relatively prominent in the 1970s, but his career was slowing down by the early 1980s. Among his last notable film roles were the spy comedy "The Nude Bomb" (1980) and the science fiction film "Earthbound" (1981). "The Nude Bomb" was one of several films based on "Get Smart". Instead of reprising his role as Harry Hoo, Forman replaced David Ketchum in the role of supporting character "Agent 13".
In 1982, Forman died due to pulmonary fibrosis, a respiratory disease in which scars are formed in the lung tissues. There is no known cure for this disease. It is a relatively common disease for patients over 40-years-old.
