Born on March
29th, 1946 in New York, NYC teacher turned comedian Dennis Wolfberg brought to life
the character of Gooshie in Quantum Leap. From the pilot episode "Genesis" to
the series finale "Mirror Image," Wolfberg became one of the most well-loved
characters from the series.
Dennis'
acting and writing credits include 5 episodes of Quantum Leap, 1 movie, appearances with
both Johnny Carson and David Letterman, as well as 2 short television spots during the
late 1980's. Below is a filmography of Dennis Wolfberg.
·Best of the
Improv Voulme 4 (2002) Source
·Comic Strip Live! Source
·The Clairvoyant - Comedian
(1982)
... aka The Killing Hour (1985) (USA: video title)
... aka The Killing Kind (1985) (USA: video title) Source
·Late Night With David Letterman -
Guest - 860428 (1986) Source
·Quantum Leap - Gooshie -
Genesis - (1989) Source
·Quantum Leap - Gooshie -
Mirror Image (1993) Source
·Quantum Leap - Gooshie -
Killin' Time (1992) Source
·Quantum Leap - Gooshie -
Lee Harvey Oswald (1992) Source
·Quantum Leap - Gooshie -
The Leap Back (1991) Source
·The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
- Guest - Show #4488 (1992) Source
·Teacher
Teacher (1990) (TV)
Directed by: Frank Chindamo
Writing credits: Frank Chindamo, Dennis Wolfberg
Genre: Comedy / Short
Tagline: Yous 2 kin lern good thinks in skool.
Plot Outline: Dennis Wolfberg relives some of his finest moments as a
teacher, and proves that in a tough classroom, a good sense of humor is the most essential
weapon.
Runtime: USA: 4 min Source
·Frank
Chindamo's Shorts
A collection of Frank
Chindamo's comic short subjects, which explore modern mishaps related to such subjects as
phone sex, radio psychology, jelly donuts, styling mousse, angry cats, blind dates,
bondage, and Gilbert Gottfried with x-ray vision.
Starring: Bill Rutkowski, Phoebe Legere, Gilbert Gottfried, Richard
Belzer, Davis Rules, Tommy Koenig, Ken Dashow, Angela Scott, Maxine Lapiduss, Dennis
Wolfberg, Margaret Whitton, Larry Amoros, Joe Franklin, Bob Nelson, Sue Kolinsky,
and Howard Feller
Director: Frank Chindamo Source
Where did Wolfberg
get his look? Well, his famous bug-eyed facial contortions were his own, but he was know
to visit Riquette Hofstein, who does private beauty consultations at her Beverly Hills clinic, Riquette
International. Her star-studded clientele includes celebrities such as Ally Sheedy, Joan
Van Ark, David Hasselhoff, Elizabeth McGovern, Morgan Fairchild, and comedian Dennis
Wolfberg, as well as studio executives, doctors and attorneys. Source
Sound
and video clips!
Teaching Kids
Rascals Comedy
Club routine
During his stand-up comic days, Dennis became
well-known for many of his original quotes and bits. From the Improv to "The Tonight
Show," Wolfberg loved to entertain the crowds. We have a hilarious six-minute sound
clip of one of Wolfberg's comedy routines titled "Teaching Kids," plus a
27-minute routine from Rascal's Comedy Club! These clips are 'Al's Place-rated' PG-13
and is not for young children's ears.
The
following exerpts are quotes by Dennis from many of the venues he played during this
fantastic career.
"She was 102. She didn't have wrinkles,
she had pleats ... There's one advantage to being 102. There's no peer pressure." Source
"We
delivered our child via natural childbirth, the procedure invented by a man named
Lamaze--the Marquis de Lamaze, a disciple of Dr. Josef Mengele, who concluded that women
could counteract the incredible pain of childbirth through breathing. I think we can all
agree that breathing is a reasonable substitute for anesthesia. That's like asking a man
to tolerate a vasectomy by hyperventilating. Lamaze expects the husband--me--to be there,
so that I can witness this festivity. I did not want to be there. This was remarkably
painful for my wife. There was nothing my presence could really do to relieve her pain. In
other words, I didn't see why my evening should be ruined too." Source
"I had to go
to analysis. They told me I had an unresolved Oedipus complex, which, according to them,
meant I want to sleep with my mother. Which is preposterous. My father doesn’t even
want to sleep with my mother." Source
"If
we had a girl, my wife wanted to call her "Sue" -- a lovely name, but which for
Jews is generally a verb." Source
"I didn't practice abstinence, I
*perfected* it!" Source
"What they put
women through today when they're having a baby! They don't want to medicate them, as
compared to previous generations. When my mom had me, she had so much medication, she
didn't wake up till I was 7." Source
Your
post reminded me of a joke by Dennis Wolfberg - he was talking about what doctors mean
when they say "You might experience some discomfort." His response was
"Saying that I might experience discomfort is some what akin to telling someone in
the path of a tidal wave they might experience moisture." Source
Dennis Wolfberg (who used to
refer to Gooshie as "the Gooshmeister") was once promised that if there was any
more Quantum Leap after "Mirror Image," he would be allowed to contribute
his own dialogue for the role in future appearances. Unfortunately, that cannot happen
now, because Dennis died on October 3, 1994 in Culver City, California after a two-year
battle with melanoma cancer. He is sorely missed. Source
Obituary for Dennis Wolfberg
Dennis Wolfberg, the stand-up comedian who
played the "little guy with bad breath" Gooshie, died of cancer on Monday,
October 3, 1994. The following is his obituary as it appeared in Daily Variety.
Daily Variety
October 4, 1994
by Thomas Walsh
Dennis Wolfberg, 48, whose facial contortions
and slice-of-life standup style brought him wide recognition on the national comedy
ciruit, died of cancer Monday at his home in Culver City.
Wolfberg became a fixture on "The
Tonight Show" and starred in an HBO special in early 1992. He also had a recurring
role as a strange scientist on NBC's "Quantum Leap," and in April 1993
"Entertainment Tonight" aired "A Day in the Life of Dennis Wolfberg,"
focusing on his relentless touring schedule.
He appeared at clubs in Washington, Denver,
Chicago, Boston, Florida and New York, and a representative said he was twice named
America's top male comic in votes by clubgoers and owners nationwide. In 1990 he won an
American Comedy Award as best male standup.
Born in Long Island, N.Y., Wolfberg taught
sixth-grade students for 12 years in the South Bronx before leaving for a full-time comedy
career in 1979. Though he battled cancer for at least two years, he continued to work
through the end of August. At the time of his death, he was negotiating a deal for his own
TV show.
Wolfberg is survived by his wife, Jeannie,
who's also a comic, and three sons.
In lieu of flowers, family suggests donations
to Dennis Wolfberg's Melanoma Gene Therapy Fund, c/o UCLA Johnson Cancer Center
Foundation, 9-667 Louis Factor Building, 10833 Le Conte, Los Angeles CA 90024-1781; or the
Wolfberg Children's Educational Trust, 15456 Ventura Blvd., Suite 300, Sherman Oaks CA
91403.
A service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday
at Hillside Memorial Cememtary. Source
*The above information was
in part found on many internet sites. Credit is given next to each exerpt borrowed from
another website.
|