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Joe Kirkwood Jr.

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Joe Kirkwood Jr.
Born
Reginald Thomas Kirkwood

(1920-05-30)30 May 1920
Melbourne, Australia
Died7 September 2006(2006-09-07) (aged 86)
Hesperia, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Professional golfer, actor, reporter, television host
Years active1940–1961
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1949; div. 1955)​
Joyce Woltz
​
(m. 1962)​
FatherJoe Kirkwood Sr.
Lobby card with Joe Kirkwood Jr. as the boxer Joe Palooka

Reginald Thomas Kirkwood (30 May 1920 – 7 September 2006), better known as Joe Kirkwood Jr., was a professional golfer on the PGA Tour and a film actor.[1][2] He started going by the name Joe Jr. in the late 1930s.[1][3]

Biography

Kirkwood was born in Melbourne, Australia. His father, Joe Kirkwood Sr., was a golf pro acknowledged as having put Australian golf on the world map. In 1948, father and son both made the cut at the U.S. Open, the first father and son duo to do so (a record they held until 2004). When the younger Kirkwood won the 1949 Philadelphia Inquirer Open, they became the third father and son winners in the history of the PGA Tour.[4] Kirkwood Jr. also won the Ozark Open in 1950 and defeated Sam Snead to win the 1951 Blue Ribbon Open in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Kirkwood served in both the U.S. Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II but was medically discharged from both services for asthma and high blood pressure that he suffered from since childhood.[5] In 1945, Kirkwood was invited by Monogram Pictures to test for the role of boxer Joe Palooka, a popular comic book character. He got the part and starred in Joe Palooka, Champ (1946) as well as ten additional Joe Palooka films through 1951. Kirkwood returned to the role in the 1954 television series The Joe Palooka Story.

In the late 1950s, Kirkwood, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1620 Vine Street, was one of the reporters on the NBC Radio program Monitor. He also hosted a show, "Let's Play Golf", on Los Angeles station KHJ-TV.[6]

Kirkwood and his wife, Joyce Woltz, owned bowling centers in Studio City, Los Angeles and Porterville, California, and owned property in Princeville, Hawaii.[7]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1946 Joe Palooka, Champ Joe Palooka
1946 Night and Day Classmate Uncredited
1946 Gentleman Joe Palooka Joe Palooka
1947 Joe Palooka in the Knockout
1947 Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad
1948 Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
1948 Joe Palooka in the Big Fight
1949 Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch
1950 Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey
1950 Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance
1950 Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle
1951 Joe Palooka in Triple Cross
1961 The Marriage-Go-Round Henry 'Doc' Granger (final film role)

Personal life

Kirkwood married Joyce Woltz in 1962.[8] His first marriage, to Cathy Downs, lasted from 1949[9] until their divorce in 1955.[10] Downs and Kirkwood starred together in The Joe Palooka Story TV series from 1954 to 1955.

Kirkwood died 7 September 2006, in Hesperia, California.[11]

PGA Tour wins

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up Ref
1 22 May 1949 Philadelphia Inquirer Open −12 (68-66-68-74=276) 4 strokes United States Johnny Palmer [12]
2 1 Oct 1950 Ozark Open −18 (69-66-66=201) 4 strokes United States Dave Douglas [13]
3 22 Jul 1951 Blue Ribbon Open −13 (72-66-69-64=271) 2 strokes United States Sam Snead [14]

References

  1. ^ a b Barrett, David (8 October 2010). "Chapter 7: 1949 Philadelphia Inquirer Open/Joe Palooka". Miracle at Merion: The Inspiring Story of Ben Hogan's Amazing Comeback and Victory at the 1950 U.S. Open. Skyhorse Publishing. ASIN B004ULMIR8.
  2. ^ "Golfer Inducted". Gazette and Bulletin. Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. 5 January 1944. p. 2.
  3. ^ "Young Kirkwood Joins Atlanta Club Staff". The Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. 10 March 1940. p. 16.
  4. ^ "Stats Report: Inside the Numbers". PGA Tour. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  5. ^ Joe Kirkwood Jr., Biography IMDb. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  6. ^ https://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/golfd/article/1957jul3.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  7. ^ "Joyce Woltz Kirkwood". Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Behind the Scenes in Hollywood". The Virdette-Messenger. 22 March 1962. p. 4. Retrieved 17 August 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ "Cathy Downs Married to Joe Kirkwood". Los Angeles Times. 10 October 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 6 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Cathy Downs Divorces Actor Joe Kirkwood". Los Angeles Times. 25 February 1955. p. 2. Retrieved 6 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Joe Kirkwood Jr". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Kirkwood Jr. Golf Winner". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 23 May 1949. p. 22.
  13. ^ "Kirkwood Wins in Ozarks". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Associated Press. 3 October 1950. p. 15.
  14. ^ "Joe Kirkwood cards final round 64 to win Blue Ribbon golf tourney". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. 23 July 1951. p. 11.
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