Joseph Evans Brown July 28 1891 July 6 1973 was an American actor and comedian remembered for his amiable screen persona comic timing and enormous smile In 1902 at the age of nine he joined a troupe of circus tumblers known as the Five Marvelous Ashtons which toured the country on both the circus and vaudeville circuits Later he became a professional baseball player After three seasons he returned to the circus then went into Vaudeville and finally starred on Broadway He gradually added comedy into his act and transformed himself into a comedian He moved to Broadway in the 1920s first appearing in the musical comedy Jim Jam Jems Description above from the Wikipedia article Joe E Brown licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia