Joey Adams | |
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 Adams as the host of the radio showSpend a Million (1954) | |
| Born | Joseph Abramowitz (1911-01-06)January 6, 1911 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 2, 1999(1999-12-02) (aged 88) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
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| Spouse | |
Joey Adams (bornJoseph Abramowitz;[citation needed] January 6, 1911 – December 2, 1999) was an Americancomedian, vaudevillian, radio host, nightclub performer, and author who was inducted into theNew York Friars' Club inMidtown Manhattan in 1977 and wrote the bookBorscht Belt in 1973.[2][3]
Adams grew up in the then-predominantly-Jewish neighborhood ofBrownsville, Brooklyn.[3] After attending the local public school and junior high school, and graduating from high school, Adams went toCity College in northernManhattan, but left before graduating. He had siblings, including a sister and three brothers.[citation needed]
His father Nathan Abramowitz was atailor who later moved to TheBronx.[4] His mother was Ida Chonin.[5]
Joseph Abramowitz changed his name to Joey Adams in 1930, and married his second wife,Cindy Adams, in 1952.[2] For many years Joey (whose "first wife was the sister ofWalter Winchell’s wife"[6]) wrote theStrictly for Laughscolumn in theNew York Post, the same newspaper where 1930-born Cindy established her reputation as a society/gossip columnist.[3]
Adams' career spanned more than 70 years and included appearances in nightclubs andvaudeville shows. For a while he also hosted his own radio show and wrote 23 books includingFrom Gags to Riches,Joey Adams Joke Book,Laugh Your Calories Away,On the Road with Uncle Sam,[7] andEncyclopedia of Humor.The Yale Book of Quotations cites him as being the first to say, "With friends like that, who needs enemies?".[8] He hosted an unsold game show pilot calledRate Your Mate[9][10] based on a 1950s radio show of the same name (also hosted by Adams) in 1951.
On September 7, 1952,The Joey Adams Show debuted onWAAM-TV in Baltimore. The comedy-variety program was broadcast on Sunday nights from 10 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time "with a large weekly talent budget".[11] He made numerous other TV appearances over the years, including onThe Ed Sullivan Show,Howard Stern's 1990s TV shows, andWhat's My Line? He was in thefilmsSinging in the Dark (1956, of which he was alsoexecutive producer),Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title (1966), andSilent Prey (1997). For many years, he hosted aradiotalk show onWEVD in New York.[2] In addition, Adams also hosted the short-lived 1953 game showBack That Fact on ABC.[12]
In 1963 Adams, then serving as AGVA president, helped to finance and organize an August 5 variety show inBirmingham, Alabama, to raise funds for the August 28March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.[13] He shared the stage with many speakers and performers includingMartin Luther King Jr.,Ray Charles,Dick Gregory,Nina Simone,Joe Louis,Johnny Mathis,James Baldwin, andThe Shirelles.[14]
For his civic work, Adams was honored by presidents and statesmen, and he held honorary doctorates in comedy from hisalma materCity College, and fromColumbia University,Long Island University, andNew York University.[3]
Adams died December 2, 1999, atSt. Vincent's Hospital inManhattan, aged 88, from heart failure. Eulogies were delivered by Adams's widow and MayorRudy Giuliani.[1] Services were held atRiverside Memorial Chapel on theUpper West Side.[15] His widow had his remains cremated.[16]
Joey Adams (left), president of the American Guild of Variety Artists, on stage with the Shirelles.
