He may have been a poster child for Depression era comedy, but Joe Penner
was one rags-to-riches icon who felt no pain from the country’s circa 1930s-’40s
economic crunch.

A Hungarian immigrant who arrived in New York City as a child, Joe Penner
(born Josef Pinter) shed the impediments of his humble beginnings and, by the
age of 28, he harnessed himself to a rising star and rode the radio waves to
fame. The Joe Penner Show debuted in 1933 on the Blue Network. The comedy show
included a variety of skits with zany scenarios, including Penner getting into
trouble with a game warden for catching an undersized fish and Penner applying
for a job in a drugstore as a soda jerk. During its first season, Penner coined
what would become one of the most popular catchphrases in radio history, “Wanna
Buy a Duck?”

The phrase was inspired by one of Penner’s creative props, reminiscent of
his vaudeville days-a live duck in a hand-basket.

Though he never quite got any takers on the duck offer, Penner did see a
great deal of success with his radio show over the next few years. By 1936, the
show moved to CBS radio and later became one of the first radio shows ever
regularly aired in Los Angeles.

During his successful radio run, Penner’s personality was tapped for
several silver screen comedies, including College Rhythm (1934), New
Faces of 1937 (1937), The Day the Bookies Wept (1939) and
Millionaire Playboy (1940). He was also the inspiration for the animated
Warner Brothers character, Egghead (considered to be the forerunner to Elmer
Fudd) and the brother rabbit, Elmer in 1935’s My Green Fedora.

Penner’s star continued to soar, seemingly limitless, until 1941, when a
heart attack claimed his life at the age of 36.

Today, relics from the Penner franchise are worth quite the pretty penny. A
1938 Joe Penner autographed premium photo costs $150. A scarce 1940s photo and
dexterity game brass ring is $800. And a 1938 Cocomalt Big Book of
Comics, featuring Joe Penner is worth $1,000.