Emil Sitka ~

The Fourth Stooge

        "The most important actor in most Stooges films, besides the Stooges themselves, was the sharp-nosed, wide-eyed Emil Sitka... His presence was such a mainstay of the operation that many thought of him as an undeclared 'fourth Stooge.'"

                                       -Moe Feinberg, Larry Fine's brother

                                         Larry The Stooge In the Middle


 

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To communicate with friends and fans of Emil Sitka, share information about his life and career, preserve the cultural heritage of the Hollywood productions in which he participated, and promote his legacy as The Fourth Stooge.


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EMIL'S FILM #4

ANDY PLAYS HOOKEY


Released Dec. 19, 1946

Producer - Jules White
Director - Edward Bernds

CAST

Andy Clyde
Geneva Mitchell
Minerva Urecal
Dick Wessel
Fred Kelsey
Emil Sitka
Symona Boniface
Heinie Conklin


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EmilSitka.com / Films / #4

ANDY PLAYS HOOKEY
(1946)


Emil Sitka's List of Movies

NO.:
DATE:
PICTURE:
STUDIO:
DAILY SALARY:
STAR:
DIRECTOR:
ROLE:
TYPE:
PROD. NO.:
4
Feb. 14, 1946
ANDY PLAYS HOOKEY
Columbia
$ 35.00
Andy Clyde
Ed Bernds
traffic cop
explosive
4059


Films of Emil Sitka: ANDY PLAYS HOOKEY (1946)
by Saxon E. Sitka

          A few weeks after role number three in AIN'T LOVE CUCKOO?, Emil was called again by Columbia's short subjects department. The star of Emil's fourth film, ANDY PLAYS HOOKEY, was Andy Clyde, a very popular comedian who had the second longest running series of shorts at Columbia, behind only the Three Stooges. He specialized in playing a feisty old man character, and Emil considered him a role model for the "old man" characters he played in later movies.
          In this film, however, Emil's role is an "explosive traffic cop." He's on for 45 seconds and has only four lines, but this was his biggest role yet. And he had a character he could do something with. Emil the cop is writing a ticket when the car he's leaning against gets hit from behind. Jolted from the impact, he falls clear on his back. Emil's first on-screen pratfall!
          But let's let Emil tell it himself. Emil's diary entry for Tuesday, February 14, 1946:

          I was a bit uneasy, true, when I entered the gates of Columbia Ranch again I admit. It was very cold and I was way too early. As, little by little, the deserted streets of this man-made "city" of false fronts came to life I found myself slowly thawing out into more confidence.
          There was Ed Cobb, a very well known cowboy star and another actor in my dressing room. And in a cop's uniform, I felt as though I'd be a mere Keystone Kop - background for the comedian, Andy Clyde!
          But watching this great artist, who puts make-up on to resemble an old man, made me want to be like him. The intense hours of waiting until I got to my "bit" almost had my tongue white again, but by Gosh, when the lights were all set, cameras measured off and Ed Bernds directing I was there with my business well-planted in my mind. What gave me confidence was the director's liking my outline of what I showed him I'd do. Andy Clyde's car hits the one I'm writing out a traffic ticket to, knocking me on my fanny. My scene follows on his running board, which caused even Andy to congratulate me on!

          Emil got his next call within a week of this job, and it was in another Columbia two-reeler. Called BRIDE AND GLOOM, the star was Shemp Howard whom Emil met two months earlier while filming the Republic Pictures comedy feature ONE EXCITING WEEK.

The End

Copyright, Saxon Emil Sitka. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of any portion of this article in any form is prohibited.




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ANDY PLAYS HOOKEY (1946)



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