B. S. Pully
{{short description|American actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = B. S. Pully
| image = Publicity_Photo_of_B.S._Pully.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Publicity Photo of B.S. Pully
| birth_name = Murray Lerman
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1910|05|14}}
| birth_place = Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date|1972|1|6|mf=yes}} (aged 61)
| death_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| other_names =
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|comedian}}
| years_active = 1944–1970
| spouse =
}}
B. S. Pully (born Murray Lerman; May 14, 1910 – January 6, 1972){{cite news|title=B.S. Pully, Comedian, 61, Dies; Was Big Jule in 'Guys and Dolls' |date=1972-01-08 |newspaper=The New York Times |page=32}} was a New York nightclub comedian and stage actor who created the role of "Big Jule" in the musical Guys and Dolls. He was noted for his blue humor and thick, gravelly voice.{{cite book |title= I Got the Show Right Here |last= Feuer |first= Cy |author-link= Cy Feuer |author2=Gross, Ken |year= 2005 |publisher= Hal Leonard Corporation |isbn= 1-55783-658-2 |pages= 133–134 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFMOS1YIHboC&pg=RA1-PA133&dq=%22B.S.+Pully%22#PRA1-PA134,M1|access-date= 2009-05-01 }}
Biography
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Pully began his career on the Borscht Belt. In an interview with historian Kliph Nesteroff, entertainer Freddie Roman recalled, "B. S. Pully was a burlesque kind of comic. Very low class until he got lucky and got that part in Guys and Dolls, which changed his life. He had a partner. It was B. S. Pully and H. S. Gump [the initials, they explained, meant "bullshit" and "horseshit"]. There was a little nightclub up in the Catskill Mountains -- not attached to a hotel -- and they would spend the summer up there."Freddie Roman to Kliph Nesteroff, Classic Television Showbiz, July 18, 2011.
Pully was under contract briefly to 20th Century-Fox in 1944 and 1945, working in 13 feature films. He played a tough-guy quiz-show contestant in Take It or Leave It (1944), a gruff Christmas-tree vendor in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), and Joe the Bartender in Nob Hill (1945).
He achieved fame originating the Big Jule role in the original Broadway production of Guys and Dolls, appearing in more than 1,000 performances. He also played the role in the 1955 film version. He remained in New York and appeared in guest roles in the New York-based TV series Car 54, Where Are You?
B. S. Pully died of a heart attack in Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at age 61. He was buried in Cedar Park Cemetery, Emerson, New Jersey.
Filmography
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Four Jills in a Jeep | Soldier | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Pin Up Girl | Sergeant | Uncredited |
| 1944 | The Eve of St. Mark | Waiter | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Take It or Leave It | Oliver D. Nelson, Truck Driver | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Wing and a Prayer | Flat Top | |
| 1944 | In the Meantime, Darling | Civilian at Railroad Station | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Greenwich Village | Brophy | |
| 1944 | Something for the Boys | Cab Driver | Uncredited |
| 1945 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Christmas Tree Vendor | |
| 1945 | Don Juan Quilligan | Ed Mossrock | |
| 1945 | Nob Hill | Joe the Bartender | |
| 1945 | Within These Walls | Harry Bowser | |
| 1946 | Do You Love Me | Taxi Driver | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Taxi | Amchy | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Main Street to Broadway | Himself | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Guys and Dolls | Big Jule | |
| 1959 | A Hole in the Head | Hood | |
| 1960 | The Bellboy | Steve – Head Gangster | |
| 1967 | Matchless | Taxi Driver | Uncredited |
| 1968 | Lady in Cement | Man in Strip Show with Transvestite | Uncredited |
| 1969 | The Love God? | J. Charles Twilight | |
| 1970 | Myra Breckinridge | Tex | (final film role) |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Biography}}
- {{IMDb name|0700425}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{Find a Grave|7462668|accessdate=August 10, 2010}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pully, B.S.}}
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:American male stage actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:American stand-up comedians
Category:Male actors from Newark, New Jersey
Category:Comedians from Newark, New Jersey
Category:Burials at Cedar Park Cemetery (Emerson, New Jersey)