Joe! What do you know, Joe?

Harvey B. Dunn was born August 19, 1894, in Yankton, South Dakota. I think this is the first performer I've covered born in the 19th century -- wow! So today would be his 131st birthday.

To put that in perspective, the first commercial radio broadcast in the United States took place on November 2nd, 1920, when Harvey was 26 years old. (Not that he would have heard it; even three years later, only about 1% of American households owned a radio receiver.)

So things get a little tricky researching the story of an actor so old. A lot of his work would have been in live theater and on radio, records of which are lost to time. Yes, we know all about someone like Lucille Ball's vaudeville and radio work, thanks to dedicated researchers and academics--but this is Harvey B. Dunn we're talking about here. An affable fellow to be sure, but probably less inspiring to scholars than Lucy.

Except, I did find a pretty comprehensive review of his career from a YouTube channel called Zeus Brothers Entertainment. Worth checking out if you're at all curious about Dunn, the man, the myth, the legendary owner of a trained parrot.

On MST3K, Dunn appeared in three experiments: #404 - Teenagers from Outer Space, #423 - The Bride of the Monster, and #613 - The Sinister Urge. A rare three-fer!

Unlike some B-movie actors though, Dunn had a ton of really decent parts in film and television over the years, so even though he was a regular in Ed Wood's films, they weren't his "big break" or his "last gasp" -- they were just another job.

So, happy birthday Grandpa Joe! We hardly knew ye!

He tampered in God's domain.