Editing Joe Besser (section)

===After the Stooges===
Besser returned to films and television, most notably as the superintendent Jillson for four seasons (1961–1965) of ''[[Joey Bishop|The Joey Bishop Show]]''. He also made occasional appearances on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] late-night series, also called ''The Joey Bishop Show,'' between 1967 and 1969. Besser also had roles on ''[[The Mothers-in-Law]]'', ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'', ''[[The Good Guys (1968 TV series)|The Good Guys]]'', ''[[That Girl]]'', and ''[[Love, American Style]]''.<ref name=besser/> He provided the voice of the dragon on ''[[The Alvin Show]]'' (1961), and he played Chubby Stone in the episode "Cry Love, Cry Murder" (S3 E25) of the [[Private investigator|private-eye]] series ''[[Peter Gunn]]'' (1961).

Besser also provided voices for several [[Saturday morning cartoon]] series in the 1970s. He voiced the character Putty Puss in ''[[The Houndcats]]'' (1972), bumbling genie Babu in ''[[Jeannie (TV series)|Jeannie]]'' (1973), (inspired by ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]'') and ''[[Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics]]'', and as Scare Bear in ''[[Yogi's Space Race]]'' (1978).<ref name=besser>{{cite book | last = Besser  | first = Joe |author2=Jeff Lenburg |author3=Greg Lenburg  | title = Not Just a Stooge | publisher = Excelsior Books| year = 1984 | location = [[Orange, California]]  | pages = 200–201, 203–205 | isbn = 978-0918283009}}</ref> Besser's career slowed somewhat after he suffered a minor [[stroke]] in 1979, resulting in considerable weight loss.<ref name=besser/> His last role was in ''The Smurfs'' in 1983.

In 1984, Besser co-wrote his autobiography with authors Jeff and Greg Lenburg, ''Not Just a Stooge''.<ref name=besser/> The title reflected Besser's dismay that people only recognized him for his brief tenure with the Stooges, and not for his long career as a solo comedian. However, he eventually softened, realizing that the Stooges continued to bring him his greatest exposure.<ref name=besser/> The book would be retitled and republished as ''Once a Stooge, Always a Stooge'' following his death in 1988.

Joe Besser recalled his friendship with the Stooges in an emotional speech, referring to "the four boys [Moe, Larry, Curly, and Shemp] ... up in heaven" looking down at the dedication of a star to The Three Stooges on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] on August 30, 1983. Stooges co-actor [[Emil Sitka]], the only other Stooge attendee, also spoke; the only other surviving Stooge, [[Joe DeRita]], was ill at the time, though he outlived Besser by five years.<ref name=besser/>

In the spring of 2000, ABC aired a made-for-television movie ''[[The Three Stooges (2000 film)|The Three Stooges]]'', with actor Laurence Coy appearing briefly as Besser. This depiction of Besser has been criticized as being unfairly negative.{{citation needed |date= April 2020}}