Joe Bolton (television personality)

Joe Bolton (September 8, 1910 – August 13, 1986) was the host of the WPIX show "The Clubhouse Gang" and "The Three Stooges Funhouse" as Officer Joe Bolton.[1] Bolton was also the Police Chief host of "The Dick Tracy Show".

Joe Bolton
Born
Joseph Reeves Bolton Jr.

(1910-09-08)September 8, 1910
Flushing, New York, United States
DiedAugust 13, 1986(1986-08-13) (aged 75)
Santa Monica, California, United States
OccupationTV host, entertainer
Years active1927-1975
Known for"The Clubhouse Gang" and other TV shows in the early years of television
Spouse(s)Ceil Bolton
ChildrenCatherine Bolton
Joseph Reeves Bolton IV

Biography

Bolton was born in Flushing, New York to Florence Youngling and Joseph Reeves Bolton II.[2] By 1920, his parents were living in Manhattan where his father was a sales manager for hotel supplies.[3]

He started his broadcast career in 1927 as a staff announcer for WOR in Newark, New Jersey and later at WNEW. He was the announcer for DuMont Television Network's talent show Doorway to Fame in 1947, but he left DuMont for WPIX on May 15, 1948 to be a news announcer and weatherman.

On January 17, 1955, he appeared as "Officer Joe" and hosted The Clubhouse Gang, which featured the Little Rascals and the theme song "The Whistler and his Dog". WPIX lost the rights to The Little Rascals, and in September 1958, he switched to hosting The Three Stooges Funhouse, a showcase of The Three Stooges shorts which aired on WPIX weekdays until May 7, 1970, mostly weekdays at 5:30 pm. At one time, he was host of WPIX's The Dick Tracy Show as "Police Chief Joe".[4]

Bolton also had cameos in two Three Stooges films: Stop! Look! and Laugh (1960), as a customer in a cafe; and in The Outlaws Is Coming (1965), the last feature film by The Three Stooges, which featured him and eight other local children television show hosts, all cast as villains.

Bolton appeared at many New York area venues, including Freedomland U.S.A. in The Bronx, to meet and entertain children. At Freedomland, he hosted appearances by The Three Stooges at the park's Moon Bowl entertainment venue. Bolton and The Three Stooges are featured in the book Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History (Theme Park Press, 2019).

Bolton retired in 1975 to Santa Monica, California, and died in 1986 at Santa Monica Hospital of a heart attack.[1][2]

Bolton has two children: a daughter, Catherine Bolton of Manhattan; and a son, Joseph Reeves Bolton IV of Port Salerno, Florida.

Film appearances

See also

References and notes
  1. "Joseph Bolton 3d, 75, Officer Joe on WPIX". New York Times. August 16, 1986. Retrieved 2007-06-21. Joseph Reeves Bolton 3d, who was known to a generation of young New Yorkers as Officer Joe, the host of children's film programs on WPIX in the early years of television, died of a heart ailment on Wednesday at Santa Monica Hospital in California. He was 75 years old. ...
  2. California Death Index. His mother's maiden name was Youngling and he was born in New York.
  3. 1920 US Census with Boltons
  4. "Tribute to Joe Bolton". Retrieved 2007-06-05. Born in September of 1910, he first gained some attention as an announcer for New York Giants football games, and for appearances in sports newsreels. ... in January 1955, "Officer Joe" began his kiddie hosting duties.
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