Joe McDoakes

Joe McDoakes is the protagonist of a series of 63 black and white live action comedy one-reel short subjects released between 1942 and 1956. The character's name comes from "Joe Doakes," which was then a popular American slang term for the average man. The theme song of the series is "I Know that You Know" (music by Vincent Youmans) from his Broadway musical Oh, Please! (1926), used later in the MGM musical Hit the Deck (1955). The entire series was produced and directed by Richard Bare (d/b/a Richard L. Bare Productions) and distributed by Warner Bros. under their Vitaphone brand. George O'Hanlon, who would later provide the voice of George Jetson, starred as Joe McDoakes. These one-reel shorts were co-written by Bare and O'Hanlon, although Bare usually received sole screen credit as writer.