Joe Silver

Biography

He was born on September 28, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin and attended Green Bay East High School and the University of Wisconsin.

Silver made his Broadway debut in 1942 in a revival of Tobacco Road. He was in the original production of Gypsy: A Musical Fable (1959) and was nominated for a supporting actor Tony Award for playing nine different roles in Lenny (1971).

In 1947, he made the first of more than 1000 appearances on television, as a panelist on What's It Worth? Two years later, he became a member of the cast of the CBS educational children's television show Mr. I Magination. In 1950, he appeared on the short-lived CBS variety show Joey Faye's Frolics. He was later featured on The Red Buttons Show in the 1950s, and was the second "Captain Jet", host of the children's show Space Funnies in the late 1950s. He played the husband of star Lee Grant's character on Fay in the 1975-1976 season.

His film credits include Diary of a Bachelor (1964), Move (1970), Rhinoceros (1974), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), Shivers (1975), Rabid (1977), You Light Up My Life (1977), Crash (1978), Boardwalk (1979), Deathtrap (1982), Almost You (1985) and Switching Channels (1988). He also provided the voice of "The Creep" in the horror anthology film Creepshow 2 (1987). He also provided the speaking and singing voices of the Greedy in Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977).

Silver died in Manhattan of liver cancer at the age of 66 on February 27, 1989. He was survived by his actress wife Chevi Colton, their son Christopher, their daughter Jennifer, and three grandchildren.