Salt Lake Telegram | 1943-04-24 | Page 3 | Joe E. Brown Back from Tour Entertaining Men in Pacific

Joe E. E Brown Back From Tour Entertaining Men in P Pacific Ic SAN FRANCISCO April 2 24 UP Comedian tP-Comedian Comedian P-Comedian Joe E. E Brown wowed the boys in the Pacific war area Even captured Japanese recognized his big mouth Joe entertained thousands of fighting men from icy Alaska to the steaming new Guinea jungles on a three-month three memorial tour he had pledged to his dead son On Captain Don Brown of the army air corps Fifteen pounds lighter and his hair turned iron grey Joe arrived from the Pacific Friday and is headed for a rest at his Hollywood home before leaving again for Alaska on another tour Joe made them laugh on every held American-held Island in the I I south Pacific In jungle grass almost up to his shoulders in driving driving driving ing tropical rainstorms in the solemnity of advance base hospitals everywhere Americans were fighting Joe fighting Joe was there with his jokes and patter Japanese prisoners who could speak English said they had seen his Elmer the Great movies They wanted to talk baseball To Brown every performance out there was the greatest show he had ever played Take the night at Milne Mime bay New Guinea he recalled Four thousand kids were out there In the pouring rain They were allaround all allaround allaround around the stand Id I'd tell one joke facing one way and then turn turnaround turnaround turnaround around and tell another Even when they couldn't hear me they'd laugh Then there was the one I played in the grass out in the jungle just just six minutes away from the Japs The grass was up to my armpits and the kids were even hanging from the limbs of trees They were tired and dirty but they laughed