Joe Hayman

Born Joseph Hyman in Philadelphia, Joe Hayman followed his brother Jacob to the vaudeville stage. After a brief partnership with Harry Houdini, Joe changed his last name and started a routine with his wife, Mildred Franklin, as “Hayman and Franklin,” which brought the pair to England. With the success of “Cohen on the Telephone”—the first comedy record sensation, which eventually sold more than one million copies—Hayman returned to America to record a number of follow-up albums and began his film career, writing and performing in English and Yiddish comedies in America and England. Hayman spent his final years in Los Angeles.