Joey Faye

Joey Faye (born Joseph Antony Palladino, July 12, 1909 or 1910 or 1902 – April 26, 1997) was an American comedian and actor.

Born in New York City, he gained fame as a comic in vaudeville and claimed that he created two of vaudeville's more renowned pieces of business, "Floogle Street" (a.k.a. "Susquehana Hat Company") and "Slowly I Turned". In addition to an active career in vaudeville and the legitimate theater, he appeared in many movies and TV shows.

The Republic Theatre was the site of Faye's New York stage debut at age 21. During World War II, he entertained Allied military personnel in Africa and Europe as part of a troupe headed by Marlene Dietrich. He was known for having the "fastest sneeze in the West".

Faye played second banana to Phil Silvers in two Broadway shows, High Button Shoes and Top Banana. He also appeared in the 1954 film. In a Broadway career that stretched between the late 1930s and the early 1990s, he appeared in 17 shows altogether, including Room Service (his Broadway debut) and The Tender Trap. He also appeared in the 1955 movie adaptation, the 1965 revival of Guys and Dolls, and Neil Simon's musical Little Me. Faye was the green grapes in Fruit of the Loom underwear commercials throughout the 1980s.

He appeared as a guest in many TV shows from 1949 through 1984 and a series of short subject films, including Mack & Myer for Hire (1963), about two bumbling plumbers, who rode around in a motorcycle with a sidecar, attempting repairs, but producing chaos.

Faye was married three times—to Eileen Jenkins, Ginna Carr, and Judy Carlin. He once lived in Great Kills, Staten Island.

Faye died of a heart attack in Englewood, New Jersey, on April 26, 1997. He was 87 years old.