PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 7 (AP) —B. S. Pully, the nightclub comedian who created the role of Big Jule, the Chicago gangster, in the musical “Guys and Dolls,” died of a heart attack yesterday in Thomas Jefferson University Hospital here. He was 61 years old and had been staying at a Philadelphia hotel:
Up From Burlesque
A growth in his throat, which gave him a gravel voice even as a child, forced Mr. Pully to become a comedian. The story goes that fellow pupils at his Bronx public school laughed whenever he recited in class.
Mr. Pully started his career on amateur nights, at circuses, carnivals and on the Borscht circuit in the Catskills before he graduated to burlesque. From there he went to Hollywood, where he appeared in small parts in more than 30 films.
Turning to nightclubs, Mr. Pully traveled around the country and developed a reputation for blue humor. “He'd, start his act with a few blue jokes,” his son, Steven, said, “then after some laughs, he'd tell the crowd, ‘You didn't come here to see Mark Twain.’ “
It was not until 1950, however, when he created the role of Big Jule, the dice‐rolling mobster who never loses, that Mr. Pully achieved fame. His foghorn voice was heard in more than a 1,000 performances in the Broadway production. He repeated his success as a Damon Runyon character in the 1955 screen version with Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine and MarIon Brando.
The story of how he was hired for his part in the musical comedy might have been written by Runyon himself. Mr. Pully was asked by Gene Baylos, the comedian, to walk with him to the audition for “Guys and Dolls.” He went into the theater, saw a friend on the other side of the stage and said in his gravelly tones:
“Hello, pal.”
George S. Kaufman, the director, heard the voice, walked over to him and asked: “Do you think you could do a role where you have to play dice?”
Continue reading the main storyMr. Pully pulled out a pair from his pocket and replied:
“You're faded!”
Mr. Pully, when asked, said his initials B.S. stood for “Bernard Shaw.” His original name was Murray Lerman and he was born in Newark.
He returned to the stage in a revival of “Guys and Dolls” in 196G.
Among his film credits were “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” “Pin Up Girl” with Betty Grable, “Something for the Boys,” “Greenwich Village” and “Nob Hill,” all with Vivian Blaine and the last also with George Raft.
In addition to his son, he is survived by his widow, the former Helen Stone of New York, a dancer.
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