Regular readers of Cinema Retro are well-acquainted with Joe Sirola, the star of stage and screen who is also known as The Voice-over King. Joe has been the voice behind countless high profile commercials over the years, but he's just landed a high profile gig as Sluggy Patterson, the fictional character who allegedly created the legendary game of Punchdub, which revolves around Volkswagens. For decades, people have punched another person in the arm whenever they spot a VW on the road. The company has now turned this phenomenon into a clever marketing plan and it's the centerpiece of VW's TV commercials. Joe Sirola has thus far recorded four ads that appear on the VW web site in which he plays Sluggy, a crusty senior citizen who describes the rules of the game and how he created them. Response has been so good that "Sluggy" now has his own blog, Twitter and Facebook pages where VW fans share their observations about playing Punchdub.
At a time of life when most people would be comfortably retired, Joe is at the top of his game. His voice-overs are omnipresent in American media and when he isn't singing at the Met, he's performing his acclaimed one-man stage presentation of The Ages of Man. When we called him to congratulate him on the VW association, he was on the golf course with Elke Sommer. Some guys have it tough...To view Joe's VW ads and the Sluggy blog, click here
(Joe Sirola wrote about co-starring with Clint Eastwood in Hang 'Em High in Cinema Retro issue #6 and about his friendship with Richard Burton in issue #7)