Joey Forman

Joey Forman (November 18, 1929 – December 9, 1982) was an American comedian and comic actor. He first attracted attention in Las Vegas as the opening act for Mickey Rooney. He also co-starred in Mickey Rooney's 1954–1955 NBC sitcom The Mickey Rooney Show: Hey, Mulligan, as Mickey's best friend, Freddy, and appeared with him in the films Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958) and The Big Operator (1959).

Forman was considered a standard Borscht Belt comic, and he performed standup comedy both live and on television (including shows like The Hollywood Palace). He also took on comedic roles in movies and on television. Forman appeared in two episodes of The Monkees, first as jealous kids show host "Captain Crocodile" in an eponymous episode, then as Asian criminal "Dragonman" in "Monkees Chow Mein". He also appeared in three Get Smart episodes, including two episodes as "Harry Hoo", a parody of Charlie Chan. He also appeared in the final episode of the first season of M*A*S*H as a touring comedian performing for U.S. troops in the Korean War as well as in Episode #18 during the third season of Bewitched as Ho Ho the Clown. He also had roles in films such as the Jerry Lewis film The Errand Boy(1961) as an audio director, The Wheeler Dealers (1963) starring James Garner and Lee Remick, the comedy The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968), and the cult film Candy (1968) as a tough New York cop.

Forman distinguished himself from the field by inventing a character called "The Mashuganishi Yogi", a parody of theMaharishi Mahesh Yogi. In 1968, working with Bill Dana, he produced a comedy album consisting of a faux press conference, in which he responded to mostly-straight questions with funny answers, speaking in a stereotyped Indian accent. He was accompanied with a sitarist, "Harvey Shankar", a parody of Ravi Shankar (played by Dana).

Later years/death

In later TV appearances, he would sometimes reprise his Yogi character. Forman died in 1982 from pulmonary fibrosis.