Reginald Thomas Kirkwood (May 30, 1920 â€" September 7, 2006), better
known as Joe Kirkwood Jr., was a professional golfer on the PGA Tour
and a motion picture actor. He started going by the name Joe Jr. in
the late 1930s.Kirkwood was born in Melbourne, Australia. His father,
Joe Kirkwood Sr., was a golf pro acknowledged as having put Australian
golf on the world map. In 1948, father and son both made the cut at
the U.S. Open, the first father and son duo to do so (a record they
held until 2004). When the younger Kirkwood won the 1949 Philadelphia
Inquirer Open, they became the third father and son winners in the
history of the PGA Tour. Kirkwood Jr. also won the Ozark Open in 1950
and defeated Sam Snead to win the 1951 Blue Ribbon Open in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin.In 1945, Kirkwood was invited by Monogram Pictures to test
for the role of boxer Joe Palooka, a popular comic book character. He
got the part and starred in Joe Palooka, Champ (1946) as well as ten
additional Joe Palooka films through 1951. Kirkwood returned to the
role in the 1954 television series The Joe Palooka Story.In the late
1950s, Kirkwood, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1620
Vine Street, was one of the reporters on the popular NBC Radio program
Monitor. He also hosted a show, "Let's Play Golf", on Los Angeles
station KHJ-TV.
known as Joe Kirkwood Jr., was a professional golfer on the PGA Tour
and a motion picture actor. He started going by the name Joe Jr. in
the late 1930s.Kirkwood was born in Melbourne, Australia. His father,
Joe Kirkwood Sr., was a golf pro acknowledged as having put Australian
golf on the world map. In 1948, father and son both made the cut at
the U.S. Open, the first father and son duo to do so (a record they
held until 2004). When the younger Kirkwood won the 1949 Philadelphia
Inquirer Open, they became the third father and son winners in the
history of the PGA Tour. Kirkwood Jr. also won the Ozark Open in 1950
and defeated Sam Snead to win the 1951 Blue Ribbon Open in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin.In 1945, Kirkwood was invited by Monogram Pictures to test
for the role of boxer Joe Palooka, a popular comic book character. He
got the part and starred in Joe Palooka, Champ (1946) as well as ten
additional Joe Palooka films through 1951. Kirkwood returned to the
role in the 1954 television series The Joe Palooka Story.In the late
1950s, Kirkwood, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1620
Vine Street, was one of the reporters on the popular NBC Radio program
Monitor. He also hosted a show, "Let's Play Golf", on Los Angeles
station KHJ-TV.
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