IJBFC Chat

[Brad from Georgia] Jack Paar's first TV show was titled "Up to Paar." He claims it failed because no matter how good it was, reviewers would write, "It isn't."

[Steve ^shimp^] Well! (say that in a Jack voice)

[Laura Leff] You've all heard the show with Jack and Fred Allen that sort of "introduced" Paar, right?

[Brad from Georgia] Doing well, Laura. I've had an embarrassment of Jack Benny gifts these last two weeks--our 39th anniversary and Father's Day.

[yhtapmys] Yeah, Laura.

[KayLhota] yes, I have heard it

[Brad from Georgia] I have.

[Laura Leff] Brad - Mazel tov!

[Brad from Georgia] Gracias!

[ed kienzler] Gracie!!!

[Laura Leff] I was struck by how much the Paar show *felt* like a Fred Allen show

[Brad from Georgia] Say goodnight.

[Laura Leff] Sans Alley

[Laura Leff] goodnight

[ed kienzler] goodnight chet

[Laura Leff] goodnight John Boy

[Laura Leff] Get off the commode

[ed kienzler] goodnight david

[KayLhota] the Jack Paar show has a lot of little sketches

[Brad from Georgia] In his autobiography, Paar said that Allen "was his god." In fact, he said that to Fred, who responded, "Poor lad. Five hundred churches in Manhattan, and you're an athiest."

[Laura Leff] Oh man, that's GOOD!

[yhtapmys] And he's got Hans Conried and Elvia Allman.

[Brad from Georgia] Just re-read the relevant portions of the autobiog.

[Laura Leff] It certainly shows that Paar's god was Fred Allen. Like Johnny Carson's was Jack.

[KayLhota] Jack Paar seemed to like working with Hans Conried

[yhtapmys] Jack Carson?

[Laura Leff] It sounds like he's doing a mild imitation of him.

[Laura Leff] Paar imitating Allen

[Brad from Georgia] Though Paar seriously alienated Allen and later on tended to denigrate him a bit--Allen's comedy was "hopelessly old-fashioned," "too rooted in vaudeville," "old hat."

[yhtapmys] I think it's simply the structure of the show, Laura.

[Laura Leff] The inflections in the delivery and all

[Laura Leff] Brad - Oh that's right...he said that of both Jack and Fred.

[Laura Leff] Brad - Didn't Jack "call" him on that once?

[KayLhota] that seems like Jack Paar said more than he should have, because I don't think he intended to insult Fred Allen

[Laura Leff] I'm remembering there was a story there.

[Brad from Georgia] Yes. Odd. He says that being Jack's summer replacement made him instantly famous before the largest radio audience in the world. Allen later referred to Paar as "the young man who made a meteoric disappearance."

[Laura Leff] Kay - I thought he used Jack and Fred as his examples of "old hat"

[Laura Leff] I think it's in one of the biographies.

[KayLhota] Yes, and Jack Paar shouldn't have said that.

[yhtapmys] I wonder what that would have made Ed Wynn.

[KayLhota] It made him sound like a big-head

[Laura Leff] Maybe Milt Josefsberg, because he's got a chapter on Paar.

[KayLhota] Yes, it's in there

[Brad from Georgia] LL--he did, in an interview. Allen was offended. Paar called Ed Wynn "an antique."

[Laura Leff] Yht - Or Eddie Cantor

[Laura Leff] Young whipper snapper

[yhtapmys] What'd he want Cantor to do .. walk off his own show in a huff?

[yhtapmys]

[KayLhota] Good one, Yip

[Steve ^shimp^] Heheheh.

[Laura Leff] Cantor needs to do more bathroom humor.

[Laura Leff] We were just in Europe...they still say "WC" there.

[Laura Leff] So what did you think of the show itself?

[Brad from Georgia] Paar said he always tried to make Jack laugh, without success. Then once Paar, called on to MC a gathering of the Radio Writer's Association, ad-libbed a lot and got a lot of laughs. Jack didn't laugh, but praised him and said, "You know, I'd never try

[Steve ^shimp^] How was the UK IJBFC meeting!??

[yhtapmys] I suppose Mr. Paar felt any humour that wasn't disenchanted cynicism was old fashioned.

[Brad from Georgia] that with a group like this." Paar said, "Well, I don't know any better," and Jack cracked up.

[Laura Leff] Steve - Oh it was fantastic!

[Steve ^shimp^] Great! Good turnout?

[Laura Leff] Steve - Yes...we had about 9 people. Mostly people in the industry...comedy writers and performers.

[Steve ^shimp^] Wow, anyone we'd know?

[yhtapmys] Laura, were u there?

[Laura Leff] Someone said we were "comedy nerds"

[Laura Leff] Yht - Yup.

[Brad from Georgia] Vas you dere, Sharley?

[yhtapmys] !

[Laura Leff] Steve - Probably not, unless you'd heard specific tribute shows.

[yhtapmys] I hopr it was a nice trip.

[Brad from Georgia] The CIA refers to them as COMNERDS

[Laura Leff] Like the writer behind "Funny That Way" was there

[Laura Leff] And a guy who'd done a Marx Brothers tribute

[Steve ^shimp^] Interesting!

[Laura Leff] We'll have video clips on the site eventually with everyone telling their own stories.

[Brad from Georgia] Great!

[Laura Leff] David Benson, who does a one-man Noel Coward show.

[ed kienzler] wow!!

[Laura Leff] And a sword swallower Betty Boop look-alike.

[Brad from Georgia] What does Benson do, come out on stage and be dry for an hour?

[Steve ^shimp^] Wait wait. Back up to da Boop! What?

[Laura Leff] Brad - Dunno...haven't seen the show!

[yhtapmys] Brad, I hear he's mad about the boy, though.

[Laura Leff] Steve - She sat across from me in the tube, and we didn't even know we were going to the same place.

[Brad from Georgia] 'Cause he goes out in the noonday sun.

[Steve ^shimp^] With swords sticking out of her larynx?

[KayLhota] eek

[Brad from Georgia] Bet she made some cutting remarks.

[Laura Leff] Steve - Well, she wasn't swallowing them then, too busy eating dinner.

[Laura Leff] Brad -

[ed kienzler] oh brad

[Steve ^shimp^] Shishkebab?

[Laura Leff] Swordfish

[Brad from Georgia] Say, I'd walk a mile for a calomel.

[Laura Leff] A lot of fun telling stories like Chico Marx and Tallulah Bankhead

[ed kienzler] BRAD!!!

[Brad from Georgia] Oooohh..a NAUGHTY party.

[Laura Leff] Yes, we worked slightly blue. But not a lot.

[KayLhota] I'm sure that was fine

[Laura Leff] We got surprisingly noisy for our small group...just everyone excited and talking.

[Brad from Georgia] Oh, Eddie Carroll called to congratulate Barb and me on our 39th anniversary (she put him up to it) and told a hilarious story about the SPERDVAC recreation of the "Treasure of Sierra Madre" Benny show.

[KayLhota] My husband has been trying to get on the chat for over 20 minutes, but his computer is that slow

[Steve ^shimp^] Then did you all go get locked in the Tower of London overnight and hallucinate?

[Laura Leff] They're probably going to make it a regular gathering since everyone enjoyed it so much.

[Laura Leff] Brad - Is it about the music?

[Brad from Georgia] LL-Yep!

User FrankLhota has entered this room.

[Laura Leff] Kay - Mine used to be like that too.

[KayLhota] yay Frank

[Laura Leff] There he is! Welcome, Frank!

[Brad from Georgia] Hi, Frank!

[Steve ^shimp^] Hi Frank

[ed kienzler] hi ya frank!!

[yhtapmys] He'll respond in 20 minutes.

[Laura Leff] Steve - We did walk by the Tower of London, and I commented on it.

[KayLhota] could be, Yip

[Laura Leff] Brad - You should tell that story.

[Steve ^shimp^] The crown jewels aren't in the same place that Jack got locked in anymore. I think they moved them because of him!

[yhtapmys] Pls Brad.

[Brad from Georgia] Well, before the Benny recreation began, they became very aware that next door a Mexican wedding was in progress.....

[yhtapmys] Si

[Brad from Georgia] Mucho loud salsa music, Mariachi band, the whole nuevo yards....

[FrankLhota] ight.

[ed kienzler] SY!!!

[Brad from Georgia] Carolyn persuaded someone to go next door and ask them to be quiet for the next forty minutes or so, and they complied....

[Laura Leff] Carolyn actually did it herself.

[FrankLhota] Sorry, my laptop got really slow after I installed XP SP3.

[Brad from Georgia] Then in the show, Jack as "Humphrey Bogart" enters a cantina, and the background was mariachi music....

[Laura Leff] Frank - I know how it is.

[FrankLhota] I think MS/WIN may be more fatal than LS/SFT

[Brad from Georgia] And Eddie departed from the script: "Gee, this sounds ALMOST as loud as the party next door....."

[Laura Leff] Frank - Good one

[Brad from Georgia] He said he got a rousing round of cheers and applause!

[KayLhota] Great line, Brad

[Laura Leff] Pass the guacamole...

User Mike Amo has entered this room.

[Laura Leff] Hi Mike!

[KayLhota] Hi Mike

[Steve ^shimp^] Hi Mike!

[yhtapmys] Hlo Mike

[ed kienzler] mike hi

[Laura Leff] How's DC?

[FrankLhota] Hi Mike.

[Brad from Georgia] Eddie was so sweet to call us. I found a little thank-you present for him (don't tell him): a vinyl album of the Lettermen, on which is a song that Eddie wrote, "How Is Julie?"

[Mike Amo] Hi kids...great to be back

[Laura Leff] Guacamole Jell-O

[ed kienzler] yuck

[Brad from Georgia] Hello, Mike!

[Steve ^shimp^] Fajita Jell-O

[Laura Leff] Brad - Has he told you the whole story about that?

[ed kienzler] 2x yuck

[Mike Amo] All calm here...I need to be 190 miles southwest to take care of mom'

[Steve ^shimp^] Refried Jell-O

[Mike Amo] s place...she passed away 3 weeks ago

[ed kienzler] delicious

[Brad from Georgia] LL--I have heard some about it, probably not the whole story. I know that Chuck McCann kept missing his cue!

[Mike Amo] Interesting place for the hiccup

[Steve ^shimp^] Sorry to hear Mike, my sympathies.

[Mike Amo] ty

[Laura Leff] Mike - I was going to say...I thought that you'd sent an E-mail on that...

[yhtapmys] Sorry, Mike.

[Brad from Georgia] Condolences, Mike.

[ed kienzler] sorry mike...

[Laura Leff] Brad - Suffice it to say, thereby hangs a very long tale.

[Brad from Georgia] LL--I know a little of SPERDVAC's problems. I'm a member, for one.

[Laura Leff] Mike - Sorry I was in the UK when your E-mail came in. My condolences as well.

[Mike Amo] So what have I missed? Was Eddie on the Jack Paar show?

[Brad from Georgia] No, but Jack was.

[Laura Leff] Brad - No, I mean that story of "How Is Julie"

[Mike Amo] Sorry I couldn't be in L.A. for that

[Laura Leff] Mike - No, Brad was just telling a story about Eddie at SPERDVAC.

[Brad from Georgia] Oh, not the whole story...I knew he had written it, though, and we actually had an old vinyl LP with a sticker on the front promoting that particular song.

[KayLhota] yes, tell more

[Laura Leff] Brad - Yep. Get him to tell you the WHOLE story some time. Something out of a dime novel.

[Laura Leff] So what did you think of the show, Mike?

[Brad from Georgia] The Lettermen used to be one of my wife's favorite pop groups. LL--I do know he had to share credit!

[KayLhota] "Heartaches"

[Steve ^shimp^] Who played the midget sisters? Was that Sara Berner?

[KayLhota] Florence Halop

[Laura Leff] Brad - I interviewed Tony Butala after his birthday party at about 3AM by a hotel pool in Fort Wayne...

[Mike Amo] It was cornier than I'd expected from Jack Paar, but JB's part was pretty good

[Steve ^shimp^] Wow, the one who was on Night Court?

[yhtapmys] Yeah, it sounds like Florence

[Laura Leff] Steve - It sure sounds like it, doesn't it?

[FrankLhota] -amonga

[KayLhota] Yes, she was Billy Halop's sister. Remember he was one of the Dead End Kids?

[Laura Leff] I thought that was Selma Diamond.

[ed kienzler] from night court...

[Steve ^shimp^] Florence Halop replaced Selma Diamond on Night Court.

[Steve ^shimp^] Then she died of cancer as well!

[Laura Leff] She's buried at Hillside Cemetary, BTW

[KayLhota] She was a semi-regular on Jack Paar's show

[Mike Amo] I was surprised to hear Hy Averbach as the announcer

[KayLhota] So was Hans Conried

[Laura Leff] Ah...learned something new.

[Brad from Georgia] I didn't think the writing on Paar's show was all that good. And Paar certainly didn't give Jack any real competition on the "Wait a minute...Wait a minute!" gag. Paar sounded like a twelve-year-old whose voice was changing...back.

[Laura Leff] Yeah, I thought he was a baby cracker.

[Mike Amo] lol, he was having a time...I think JB liked that

[Laura Leff] The "oh, it was under your toupee" was a lousy closing gag.

[Steve ^shimp^] Agreed

[Laura Leff] Sounded like they couldn't think of anything better and ran out of time.

[Steve ^shimp^] I kept thinking they must have had staff wandering around with "don't applaud" cue cards for the audience

[Brad from Georgia] Jack thought Paar was hilarious, but according to Paar, Jack never actually laughed at him. He listened stone-faced to Paar's audition disk, nodded and said, "That's funny," and gave him the summer spot.

[Laura Leff] Steve - Yeah, I was thinking of Paar making the "shhh!" sign to the audience.

[KayLhota] Well, Jack was in his comedy editor mode

[Mike Amo] Actually, Jack reading his own lines only from the show was pretty good

[Brad from Georgia] Johnny Carson said one "That's funny, kid," from Jack was to him like winning the Nobel Prize.

[Laura Leff] When you really know comedy, you can anticipate what's coming and what others will laugh at.

[Laura Leff] Mike - Ah, that was my favorite part.

[Brad from Georgia] Mike--I agree! That was a funny bit.

[yhtapmys] Laura, I thought there were some clever ideas on the show, but Paar just doesn't sound right for some reason.

[Brad from Georgia] Paar just never seemed to have any warmth to me.

[Laura Leff] Speaking candidly, the show didn't hold my interest until Jack came on.

[Laura Leff] I kept getting distracted by E-mail or whatever and not listening.

[Mike Amo] Did Paar use writers for his TV show? I always figured he was most comfortable just doing his own schtick

[yhtapmys] Mike, he'd have to.

[KayLhota] yes he used writers

[Brad from Georgia] LL--Agreed. I thought the Englishman joke--"Mother is dead, but the drain is open again"--was unfunny.

[Laura Leff] Mike - I don't think you can do a show without some writers. Even Fred Allen had them.

[Mike Amo] lol, LL, I was multitasking when I was listening too

[ed kienzler] allen did not always use them

[KayLhota] I've heard the show a number of times before

[Laura Leff] Brad - Yeah, I didn't listen to most of that whole thing. Just didn't feel worth it.

[FrankLhota] I remember Mort Sahl once said he didn't like performing for show business people, because instead of laughing at jokes, they just point and say "that's funny!"

[Brad from Georgia] Mike--Paar used writers. In his book he complains that the (network-hired) head writer for his summer replacement show was paid a hundred bucks a week more than he was.

[Mike Amo] On tha radio, the writers were obvious...I remember him just kind of being on a roll when he was on TV

[Laura Leff] Frank - Yeah. I have to plead guilty to that as well. But I've learned how to laugh when it's expected of me.

[FrankLhota] I believe Parr used writers on TV as well.

[KayLhota] I've listened to all of the available Jack Paar radio shows, and some of the sketches are funny while a few fall flad

[KayLhota] flat

[Brad from Georgia] Paar claims he later lost his regular network radio show because he not only refused to read ad copy (for Revlon lipstick) but called the head of the company to tell him he thought lipstick was a lousy idea.

[KayLhota] I give them points for trying

[Laura Leff] I was listening to this and saying, "Oh, they're going to do this-and-that," "Ah, yes, this is a good gag," etc.

[Brad from Georgia] The tree surgeon bit went on two minutes too long.

[KayLhota] The first time I heard Hans Conried as a German Professor being interviewed by Jack Paar

[Brad from Georgia] The inevitable Hans!

[KayLhota] I thought, "He sounds just like Sid Caesar!"

[Mike Amo] He was more spontaneous on TV; it was mostly flat on radio...I feel for him if that was the average week

[ed kienzler] he played that well on my friend irma

[Laura Leff] Did Paar ever play a character on any show? I should know that...

[Brad from Georgia] I just recently listened to a Lux Radio Theatre version of "Wizard of Oz," in which Conried was the Scarecrow.

[KayLhota] oh yes

[Laura Leff] Brad - Oh that's got to be good

[ed kienzler] i have that show and it is good

[KayLhota] Laura, I don't recall Jack Paar as a character

[Brad from Georgia] Paar's TV show did rescue Cliff Arquette from obscurity and launched the national career of Charley Weaver.

[ed kienzler] as did hollywood squares

[Laura Leff] Why am I thinking Charley Weaver was on Dennis Day's TV show...I haven't even watched the whole thing.

[Brad from Georgia] I'm not sure Paar would ever be convincing as a character

[Laura Leff] Brad - Yeah, that's why I ask. Just wondering if anyone ever envisioned him as something, and if so, what.

[Laura Leff] Other than something unkind.

[Brad from Georgia] Charley was on a show with Dennis Day, a fix-it shop premise. It didn't last long, and Arquette retired. Paar wondered on the air once "Whatever happened to Cliff Arquette?"

[Brad from Georgia] Arquette resurrected the Charley Weaver character and became a regular on the Paar show.

[Laura Leff] Brad - OK, I must have seen him on some excerpt of it.

[Mike Amo] Didn't Mel Blanc have a fix-it shop show?

[Laura Leff] Launching a million-dollar industry of mechanized bartenders.

[Brad from Georgia] Yes, not very good!

[ed kienzler] yes

[KayLhota] Yes, Mel Blanc's shbow

[yhtapmys] A lame one.

[Laura Leff] Mike - Yup, on radio.

[FrankLhota] Yep: the Mel Blanc Show.

[Mike Amo] lol, they should have learned

[KayLhota] for CBS

[Steve ^shimp^] If it ain't broke, don't fix-it.

[yhtapmys] Si

[ed kienzler] right

[Brad from Georgia] Pity, because Mel was so talented, but it was just badly constructed.

[Laura Leff] So what format would have worked for Mel?

[KayLhota] it was a premise that didn't work well

[KayLhota] Sketch comedy, Laura

[Steve ^shimp^] Looney tunes. The Jack Benny program... etc.!

[yhtapmys] Variety maybe Laura.

[Brad from Georgia] Jack Benny remarked of Paar's summer shows that they were funny, but not well formatted. He thought the skits and songs didn't balance very well.

[ed kienzler] bugs bunny

[KayLhota] doing variations of the same jokes got tiring

[FrankLhota] I thought the writing was weak.

[yhtapmys] I'm not a big fan of most radio sitcoms anyway.

[Laura Leff] The midget sisters reminded me of the Chicken Sisters.

[Steve ^shimp^] definitely.

[Laura Leff] Or the whole thing like so many of Jack's "talent show" bits.

[Brad from Georgia] Yht--I agree. I think Jack Benny's shows were not as funny as they veered more toward sitcom territory.

[yhtapmys] Brad, part of the problem is Paar. He doesn't tie them together well.

[KayLhota] abbadabba abbadabba

[Laura Leff] Brad - Really? Say more.

[Mike Amo]

[Laura Leff] Or define what you mean by "sitcom".

[Laura Leff] Because seems like those are the shows that most people like best.

[Steve ^shimp^] I actually prefer the more "sitcom" Benny shows for sure.

[Steve ^shimp^] (as opposed to ones with good chunks devoted to sketches, for example)

[Laura Leff] Oops...put Brad on the hot seat.

[Brad from Georgia] Oh, I don't know...the shows where the entire half hour is "Jack at Home" don't always seem as spontaneous or joyful as some of the freewheeling shows. I love the adlibs and bloopers!

[Brad from Georgia] I make an exception for the Yosemite shows@

[yhtapmys] Brad, the pacing slows down, too.

[Mike Amo] I agree, Brad

[Laura Leff] Brad - OK, gotcha. I'm the same way.

[Laura Leff] That's why I like the late 30s shows.

[FrankLhota] Jack Benny veered between sitcom and sketch comedy.

[yhtapmys] The sketch shows in the 30s seem to move faster.

[Laura Leff] Frank - Sometimes even week to week.

[ed kienzler] i did not like the benny tv shows as a sitcom

[Brad from Georgia] I really love those end-of-the-season shows. "All I ask is ONE rehearsal! That's ALL I ask!"

[KayLhota] Funny Brad

[Laura Leff] Interesting...I think some of the sitcom ones on TV are better than the sketches.

[yhtapmys] But the characters seem fuller in the sitcommy ones; maybe it's because they're character driver.

[yhtapmys] driven.

[Laura Leff] Jack trying to get Ginger Rogers on the show. I think it's one of the best.

[yhtapmys] Laura, aren't most of the TV sitcom ones really remounted versions of radio shows?

[Laura Leff] And then standing in for Fred Astaire.

[Brad from Georgia] There's one where (I think) Rochester gets completely balled up in a sentence...three times! Jack finally reads it with him, then says, "ONE rehearsal! I only ask for ONE rehearsal!"

[Laura Leff] Yht - Not necessarily. The one I just mentioned wasn't.

[Laura Leff] Some of them were, though.

[Laura Leff] The one that starts with Jack in a steam cabinet is.

[Steve ^shimp^] The Ginger Rogers one was funny. Maybe he should've taken a loyalty oath and bribed her mother...

[Laura Leff] Or "How Jack Met Mary" or "How Jack Met Don".

[Brad from Georgia] LL--Now that one has funny lines. "Uh-oh! I'm gonna have to dunk the boss in like a tea bag!"

[ed kienzler] but did the sitcoms use the same concept..some one trying to get someone to go on their movie??

[Laura Leff] I also like the one with Edgar Bergen. That has to be done on TV.

[Brad from Georgia] LL--yes, I'd say the sitcommy ones work much better on TV than on radio.

[Laura Leff] Ed - Well, yes, you could say that. But considering the premise is that they're putting on a show, it's hard to come up with something completely new.

[ed kienzler] true...

[Laura Leff] Or the one where Isaac Stern hides in the closet.

[FrankLhota] I always thought that "It's Garry Shandling's Show" was modeled after "Jack Benny" in the way it blended sitcom and sketches.

[Steve ^shimp^] I dunno - The Colmans episodes are very sit-commy, and they are some of the all-time best radio.

[Laura Leff] I think that's great.

[Brad from Georgia] Appropos of nothing, my wife gave me a CD of Phil Harris songs for Father's Day Kinda unnerving listening to Phil warble "The Old Rugged Cross"!

[Laura Leff] Steve - And were redone on TV with the Jimmy Stewarts.

[Steve ^shimp^] Garry Shandling got compared to George Burns a lot with that show, IIRC

[Mike Amo] While mom was in decline the last several months, I'd run loads of Jack TV shows for her...I ran the Beavers trip to the circus and then Ed Sullivan vs. Jack in court 5 weeks before she passed

[Laura Leff] Brad - Oh, that could be good, though.

[Mike Amo] I thought, uh oh, what if she asks for more again...I'd run out

[Laura Leff] Mike - Video library. But oh well...

[yhtapmys] That's cool, MIke.

[Mike Amo] Was going to see if more were out on the more obscure DVDs I looked at online, but didn't have to

[Brad from Georgia] I hope they brought a smile to her face, Mike.

[Mike Amo] We both loved the Sullivan one

[Laura Leff] And a still from it was our cover photo in April!

[Laura Leff] More publicity shot than still.

[Mike Amo] I think her favorite was with Linkletter...after Art interviewed a group of kids, another group of kids came on...Jack and his gang

[Brad from Georgia] LL--I haven't received my copy! I know Barbara renewed for me via PayPal!

[Mike Amo] I know, LL...I was surprised to see that

[Laura Leff] So while we're on this subject, what makes the Tarzan skit work so well?

[ed kienzler] art is great radio and tv...

[Laura Leff] Brad - Are you E-mail or regular mail?

[Brad from Georgia] Regular mail, LL.

[Mike Amo] That reminds me, LL, the one I haven't found on DVD is with Carol Burnett

[Laura Leff] BRB...let me check my list.

[yhtapmys] You lost me, Laura. Which Tarzan skit?

[ed kienzler] harvey korman RIP

[Laura Leff] Mike - Tarzan or Riverboat Gambler?

[Brad from Georgia] I think the Tarzan skit works because Tarzan is a character who, if he were a baseball player, could stand at the plate all day and not be called out. Tarzan strikes forever.

[Steve ^shimp^] Jack and Carol Burnett did a Tarzan skit on TV

[FrankLhota] I use E-mail, unless I need to do it fast.

[Mike Amo] Tarzan...didn't know of the other

[Laura Leff] Yht - The Tarzan skit on TV with Carol Burnett. It's the essence of sketch comedy.

[yhtapmys] OK.

[yhtapmys] I don't think I've seen it in ages.

[yhtapmys] I thought it was on YouTube.

[FrankLhota] The sitcom version of Tarzan became "George of the Jungle"

[Brad from Georgia] Jack seriously cut his hand in taking a fall in that skit. It was bleeding, but he curled his hand and clamped down on the cut and did the rest of the skit. What a trouper.

[Laura Leff] Mike - It's in the video library. It was one of the first I converted.

User yhtapmys has logged out.

User yhtapmys has entered this room.

[KayLhota] oops

[ed kienzler] hi again

[KayLhota] are you back Yip?

[Brad from Georgia] LL--so Tarzan's circumsized now?

[Mike Amo] lol, I thought I'd logged out!

[FrankLhota] Hello, again

[yhtapmys] Oh, *that's* what that does!

[KayLhota] oops

[Brad from Georgia] Oh, wait, wrong kind of converting.

[Laura Leff] Brad - Drop me an E-mail about it. You're not on my distribution list, so I need to check my ledger.

[FrankLhota] You mean the button marked "Trap Door"?

[Brad from Georgia] LL--Will do.

[KayLhota] good one Frank

[yhtapmys] It's not marked anything, Frank. I just wondered what it was

[Laura Leff] Yeah, don't hit the door icon.

[Mike Amo] I could have used the library, but haven't yet...lol, and mom wouldn't have liked watching on a computer...recliner and TV always better

[Laura Leff] Well, the DVDs play in any standard DVD player. But anyway.

[FrankLhota] When will Netflicks carry radio shows?

[Laura Leff] Frank - That's a good question.

[Mike Amo] <---not geek enough, but you can rig your computer to run video to your TV

[Brad from Georgia] I tried to record "George Washington Slept Here" off TNT Friday, but we're keeping our son and daughter-in-law's Jack Russell Terrorists, and one of them chewed on the remote and ruined the recording.

[Laura Leff] I talked with Radio Spirits this afternoon and we were talking about possible marketing outlets.

[KayLhota] I forgot it was on, but I have George Washington Slept Here on a video tape

[FrankLhota] The networks are already suffering from competition from YouTube.

[Laura Leff] And it's also in the video library.

[Laura Leff] Our British friends asked why US TV has so many commercials.

[KayLhota] I copied my video tape of Buck Benny Rides Again onto a DVD

[Laura Leff] Anything else on Jack Paar, or is that topic closed?

[Brad from Georgia] LL-Did you tell them it's because they're more entertaining than the shows?

[Mike Amo] By the way, hope y'all have been doing well! It may have been 3 or 4 months since I've been able to be on here. And root for Faith Prince on the Tony Awards coming up...I've known her since high school and she's up for a big one again

[KayLhota] Some of the Jack Paar shows have some well done sketches

[Laura Leff] Brad - No...maybe you get better commercials than I do. Then again, I watch DVDs mostly (Upstairs Downstairs at the moment).

[Mike Amo] LL-did you tell them that it's one of the few things we don't pay a tax to support...yet

[ed kienzler] good luck to her mike

[yhtapmys] I don't know what else there is to say about it, Laura. Paar just doesn't seem to tie the show together.

[Laura Leff] Mike - Hey, that's a good answer.

[Brad from Georgia] I don't know...I couldn't warm to Jack Paar. Odd, because his affect is similar to Dick Cavett, but Cavett seemed more human to me.

[yhtapmys] He's just a boring straight man.

[Laura Leff] Especially to a country where you need a television license.

[Mike Amo] I think it's 100 GBP at TV, can't rmember what I'd heard

[FrankLhota] Two of the long time Tonight Show hosts were big Jack Benny fans: Jack Parr and Johnie Carson.

[yhtapmys] Even Hans Conried sounds subdued.

[Laura Leff] Not Steve allen?

[KayLhota] He does louder comedy in other Jack Paar episodes, Yip

[Brad from Georgia] Paar despised Steve Allen, btw. Accused him of stealing everything from Paar's shows.

[Laura Leff] Really?

[Laura Leff] Interesting.

[yhtapmys] Did Paar like anyone?

[Laura Leff] Did anyone like Paar?

[KayLhota] Hans Conried plays the Fairy Godfather in Jack Paar's Cinderfella sketch

[KayLhota] I liked Jack Paar, Laura. Not loved, but like.

[yhtapmys] Kay, then Paar accused Jerry Lewis of stealing it

[Brad from Georgia] LL--Yep. In his autobiography, he says essentially "Steve Allen tirelessly promotes Steve Allen. He's become famous for that because he can't actually do anything."

[Laura Leff] Egos away!

[KayLhota] yes, it sounds that way

[yhtapmys] Well, he's probably right about the first half.

[Laura Leff] I'm sure Allen could have said the same of Paar.

[ed kienzler] i was going to say

[Laura Leff] Just curious...what was Paar's marital status?

[KayLhota] and to be fair, Yip-- Jack Paar did the Cinderfella sketch in 1947

[Brad from Georgia] He then says Allen took a bit (thinking up funny titles for celebrity books--"Two Things About Me" by Marilyn Monroe) from Paar's afternoon show. Paar told him to stop, Allen told him to kiss off.

[KayLhota] and Doris Singleton, the Princess ended up with the Fairy Godfather

[Laura Leff] Really? Doris Singleton married Hans Conreid?

[Laura Leff] Or was that just the sketch storyline...

[KayLhota] nope-- the sketch

[Laura Leff] OIC

[FrankLhota] The theft charge is easy to make. Give two comics enough time, and one of them is bound to invent something similar to some bit done by the other.

[Laura Leff] Brad - Well, that's understandable. You can't copyright a whole genre like "funny book titles"

[KayLhota] to my knowledge though, Jack Paar sounded like he had a stable marriage, and one daughter, Randy.

[Brad from Georgia] Yes, he did. He met his wife to be on July 3 and they became engaged on July 4.

[Laura Leff] Kay - Interesting. You'd think with someone with such a virulent ego that he'd be like Groucho.

[yhtapmys] What? Paar ordered sea bass?

[Laura Leff] Ed - Were you going to say something?

[KayLhota] Funny one, Yip

[Laura Leff] Hey, I had the sea bass at the UK IJBFC gathering...

[KayLhota] If you can't Sea Bass

[ed kienzler] no just listening...

[yhtapmys] I've got to re-read that George Burns book with the sea bass story.

[ed kienzler] i was saying that to emphazizie

[ed kienzler] sic

[Brad from Georgia] I recommend the Philadelphia Fish & Company if you're ever there and hungry. They have an exellent sea bass dish.

[Laura Leff] I'm just envisioning Hudson the Butler from Upstairs, Downstairs delivering the punch line to the sea bass story.

[KayLhota] Laura, I got the impression that Jack Paar may have tempered that ego with some decent behavior

[yhtapmys] Laura, do you anyone could have pulled off the material better on the Paar show under discussion?

[KayLhota] I have a DVD with a documentary, and he came across as somewhat balanced

[Laura Leff] Kay - Good to know. It's unfortunate when talented people drive everyone away with the ego.

[FrankLhota] When they made "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", were they ripping off "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"?

[Laura Leff] Exhibit A: Keefe Brasselle

[Laura Leff] Oh sorry, I did say *talented* people, didn't I...oh well...

[KayLhota] wow, Laura! Good!

[Laura Leff] (OK, that was harsh...)

[KayLhota] but, I'm laughing

[Brad from Georgia] Frank--The English don't take our movies. Just our lend-lease popcorn.

[KayLhota] Good one, Brad

[ed kienzler] with salt?

[yhtapmys] Where have I heard that one???

[yhtapmys]

[FrankLhota]

[Laura Leff] Actually, the English take plenty of our movies. Everyone was mad about "Sex and the City" while I was there.

[Laura Leff] Women in Ireland were protesting for their right to see it...don't know why it wasn't playing there yet.

[Laura Leff] Go figure.

[yhtapmys] Zzzz

[Brad from Georgia] LL--back in 2000 it was "Friends." Everywhere we went, people were discussing "Friends."

[Laura Leff] Another show I've never watched and never wanted to...

[Laura Leff] But anyhow, back to Jack.

[FrankLhota] Ireland has a prohibition on foreign chick flicks?

[Laura Leff] Frank - Sounds like a good place to be, huh?

[Brad from Georgia] Up in Philadelphia last weekend, the ladies at the table near us in the Art Museum cafeteria were breathlessly discussing the "Sex and the City" movie and wondering where they could buy gladiator sandals.

[Brad from Georgia] I thought of suggesting Rome.

[KayLhota] good one, Frank. But I'm guessing that it will play there, after it goes to other places first

[yhtapmys] Brad *meow*

[Laura Leff] It's ruined the British shoe market. I used to be able to get good, well-made, stylish and comfortable shoes there for a good price.

[FrankLhota] Sound test *bark*

[Laura Leff] No more. All 4-inch heels, etc.

[ed kienzler] sex and the city is hollywood running out of movie ideas

[Laura Leff] Ed - Unfortunately, they ran out of movie ideas a while ago.

[KayLhota] boy, you said it, Ed

[Laura Leff] Get Smart

[FrankLhota] Batman sound test *pow*

[Laura Leff] The Flintstones

[Laura Leff] The Honeymooners

[yhtapmys] Beverly Hillbillies

[Laura Leff] Bad News Bears remake

[KayLhota] Leave it to Beaver

[yhtapmys] Dukes of Hazzard

[Laura Leff] can't go on...too depressing.

[Brad from Georgia] And there will be sequels: "More Sex in the City." "Sex in More Cities." "Unnatural Sex in the City." "Batman Has Sex in the City."

[yhtapmys] Miami Vice

[Laura Leff] Hollywood won't invest in anything they don't see as a sure thing to make money

[ed kienzler] get smart without don adams? cant really be done...

[KayLhota] I expect Get Smart will tank fast

[yhtapmys] Brad.. don't forget the animated Shreks in the City.

[FrankLhota] That leaves only one more film to do: "My Mother the Car"

[ed kienzler] $1 video club

[Laura Leff] I'd love it if it gets people to watch the original.

[KayLhota] like "The Wild Wild West, Sgt Bilko and McHale's Navy remakes

[Laura Leff] Mr. Ed

[FrankLhota] The original "Get Smart" is doing very well on DVD.

[ed kienzler] good idea LL

[Brad from Georgia] Next year M. Night Shyamalan is directing "Test Pattern." It has a surprise ending (the Indian turns around).

[Laura Leff] Brad -

[Laura Leff] Frank - That's heartening.

[Laura Leff] Maybe they'll make "The People's Choice" into a movie. Talking dog and all, y'know.

[KayLhota] I'm laughing that that, Laura

[KayLhota] oh, that's funny

[ed kienzler] how about people's court?

[Brad from Georgia] I haven't seen the "Sex in the City" movie, but my daughter told me this evening she thought I might like the sushi scene.

[Laura Leff] Love a crowd where you can do references to Keefe Brasselle and obscure TV shows and people get it.

[Laura Leff] Comnerds we.

[KayLhota] Indeed, we are, Laura.

[Laura Leff] Ed - Wasn't that My Cousin Vinny?

[ed kienzler] no life we have

[FrankLhota] What about the infomercial with the guy cutting his kid's hair with a vacuum cleaner?

[Brad from Georgia] LL--I loved Cleo, the talking basset hound. For a while I wanted to buy a basset hound. And marry it.

[Brad from Georgia] I got better.

[Laura Leff] Frank - Huh?

[yhtapmys] I'm glad you have the CanniBallS to say that, Laura.

[KayLhota] Brad, good one

[Brad from Georgia] "My Cousin Vinny" was partly filmed in my home town.

[KayLhota] Dying here, Yip!

[KayLhota] oh, I liked "My Cousin Vinny."

[Laura Leff] Yht - Yeah. I'm reading a book now that's supposed to be comedy but inspiring me to write snarky comments in the margin.

[yhtapmys] Heh heh

[Brad from Georgia] LL-

[Laura Leff] Based on my CanniBalS experience, I know if I put it down, I'll never pick it up again.

[Brad from Georgia] what's the book?

[FrankLhota] It was an ad for a device you attach to a vacuum to cut hair. I think Ron Popelle invented it.

[Laura Leff] So I'm reading it and doing my pennance.

[Laura Leff] Doctor Whom

[Laura Leff] That's the book.

[Brad from Georgia] LL--I could never get through the C-B-S either.

[yhtapmys] It's missing a preposition.

[Laura Leff] Frank - There's got to be a joke in there

[ed kienzler] doctor who i have a audio tape of that

[KayLhota] Keefe Brazzelle wrote the book to get back at James Aubrey

[KayLhota] I've never read it.

[Brad from Georgia] This girl was named Olive. But her English teacher called her "Of." He was making her a preposition.

[KayLhota] ouch

[Laura Leff] Brad - All the characters are so patently offensive and dislikeable that you end up saying, "I've only got 80 years on the planet...why am I spending any of it with these schmucks?"

[KayLhota] wow, Laura

[Brad from Georgia] LL--I agree. I cannot like a book in which I find not a single character to like.

[Brad from Georgia] Have to like the people. Then I might like the book. Or not.

[KayLhota] that's a shame

[yhtapmys] I've only heard of it from Metz's book on CBS.

[Laura Leff] Or at least be something like "Curse of the Golden Flower" that only lasts for a couple hours and then you can leave it behind.

[Laura Leff] I think it's missing a suppository.

[Brad from Georgia] I know, slightly, Poppy Z. Brite, who is a very talented horror writer, but I can't get into her books at all, alas. They're paperbacks and too small. No, no likeable characters.

[Laura Leff] Doctor Whom is just too over-the-top beat-me-over-the-head-with-a-joke.

[Brad from Georgia] British book, LL?

[Laura Leff] I was hoping it would be like Terry Pratchett. But it's not. It's SO not.

[Laura Leff] Brad - Yup.

[Laura Leff] A.R.R.R.R. Roberts, I think.

[Laura Leff] Looks like he does parodies of different things. E.g., "The Sillmarillion" becomes "The Sellamillion".

[Laura Leff] Sorry to get so far away from Jack.

[KayLhota] I don't mind

[KayLhota] it's been interesting

[yhtapmys] It's Paar for the course around here.

[Brad from Georgia] I read a very poor British parody of Harry Potter. It was basically "Sex joke, variant on a Potter name, sex joke, smarmy "isn't-this-cute" commentary, sex joke..." Just tiresome.

[KayLhota] you said it

[Laura Leff] It's an exercise in why comedy needs editing.

[Laura Leff] No sex jokes here, although an almost-one on the name of The Master.

[ed kienzler] found a book-"Ginny Gordon And the broadcast mystery"

[ed kienzler] from 1957

[FrankLhota] fifty one years ago.

[Brad from Georgia] One of the lines from the Potter parody: "Severeold Snake had named himself, but his snake wasn't severe at all, though it looked rather old."

[ed kienzler] yep

[Laura Leff] "The Glass Bed" was another pennance book for me. OTR pornography...who'da thunk it.

[Laura Leff] Brad - Wow...that sounds like this book.

[Laura Leff] Except the author would then keep doing variations on that for another paragraph.

[KayLhota] I'm still wrapping my head around what I am seeing in the chat

[Laura Leff] Who's the author?

[yhtapmys] The mystery was uncovering who was listening to radio in 1957.

[Laura Leff] Who was?

[Laura Leff] Housewives listening to soaps.

[KayLhota] I wasn't. I was born that year.

[Brad from Georgia] "Do what you will with me, Donald." "All right. I'll cover you with...SIX DELICIOUS FLAVORS of Jell-O! Raspberry, stawberry, cherry, orange, lemon, and lime!" "Yes, Donald, yes!"

[yhtapmys] That's about it.

[KayLhota] yeesh, Brad

[yhtapmys] Stawberry?

[yhtapmys] Stawberry!

[Brad from Georgia] Chewwy, wemon, and wime!

[yhtapmys] Just ONE rehearsal!

[Laura Leff] Sex scene with Don Wilson...yow...not a mental image I ever wanted to have.

[Mike Amo] I was away getting ready for my drive south...also, checked a book for info on all Jack Paar's shows...he only hosted, never acted

[ed kienzler] one of the characters in the book was "Babs Reilly"

[Laura Leff] And now I've got it...dangit...

[Brad from Georgia] LL-Nor did Don's wife, sadly

[Laura Leff] Mike - Thanks for looking that up.

[ed kienzler] chester's daughter wrong spelling

[Laura Leff] Brad - Many of them, so it seems.

[Mike Amo] Also had feuds during his run on the tonight show ith Ed Sullivan and Dorothy Killgallen

[yhtapmys] Mike, I can't picture Paar doing a character.

[ed kienzler] i wonder

[Brad from Georgia] If Paar were alive today...he could be a raap star.

[Mike Amo]

[ed kienzler] brad...

[Laura Leff] He'd have to reverse himself.

[ed kienzler] ouch!!!

[Laura Leff] So any burning Benny questions out there?

User Steve ^shimp^ has logged out.

[KayLhota] ooops we lost steve

[Laura Leff] Was it something I said?

[ed kienzler] bye steve

[Brad from Georgia] We hear that Jack was subject to bouts of depression. How long did they last? How bad were they? And do they come in blue?

[Laura Leff] Maybe he had to run to the WC after the image of the Jell-O sex scene...

[FrankLhota] Steve absent mindedly followed the green arrow.

[yhtapmys] Is Phil there taking a shower?

[Mike Amo] lol, my eyes! @o@

[Laura Leff] Brad - It's hard to say exactly how long they lasted, since no one was there with a clipboard taking notes on them. But...

[Laura Leff] Phil's washing off the Jell-O

[FrankLhota] Hey, at least Jelly is healthier than lucky strikes.

[Mike Amo] wemmon!

[Laura Leff] as best as I can tell, they varied in length from a few hours to a few days.

[Brad from Georgia] It's hard to picture Jack depressed. He seemed to be up for such impulsive things--taking off to tour America, based on which way the car was pointing....

[Laura Leff] Jack was able to take joy in little things, as we know, so things could pull him out of it.

[KayLhota] so, he bounced out of those bouts fast

[KayLhota] fluffy towels

[ed kienzler] smells nice

[Laura Leff] And there are stories about how he'd fire someone, and then send them a big gift a few days later.

[Mike Amo] I was putting reference book away and Fred Allen fell off his Treadmill to Oblivion

[yhtapmys] Gee, I can't picture him firing anyone.

[Brad from Georgia] I've told about my friend who played in an orchestra that Jack did a benefit for. He always said, "I wish I could be like Mr. Benny, taking such joy in every little thing."

[Laura Leff] But I think in many ways, Jack was a very lonely person.

[Brad from Georgia] Many comedians are.

[yhtapmys] Well, Laura, if YOU had to share a house with Mary....

[Laura Leff] Yht - Oh yes he could. Almost fired Rochester many times.

[yhtapmys] For being late? OK.

[KayLhota] Rochester would run late?

[Laura Leff] Yht - Well, there you go. After a while, he didn't really have anyone to come home to.

[Brad from Georgia] On the board, I talked about Robert Asprin's passing. Funny, funny writer, but he had such deep sessions of depression that his wife left him.

[Mike Amo] Yay, Faith is singing, and they made her look old real good again

[Laura Leff] Yht - And he'd fire Fred deCordova sometimes.

[FrankLhota] It seems like many of the top comedy people showed symptoms of manic depression.

[Laura Leff] I think it happened later in life more.

[yhtapmys]

[Laura Leff] I'm sure Jack was happy when he was doing his thing with the orchestra since he really loved the violin.

[Laura Leff] When I think of Jack depressed, there's a picture from Life Magazine that always comes to mind.

[Brad from Georgia] One of the bios says that Jack hated passing seventy and approaching eighty. He never really lied about his age, but he really would have liked to stay 39 forever.

[KayLhota] doing what he loved would have helped him around the blues

[Mike Amo] lol, a singing montage...they've gone on to Young Frankenstein (Tony's on East Coast)

[Laura Leff] Well, let's take that apart for a second...he was 39 in 1933.

[FrankLhota] Let's face it, at some point aging does throw off your timing.

[Laura Leff] Just barely started his radio career.

[Laura Leff] Movie career was kind of so-so.

[Mike Amo] I remember reading an article probably from JB Times where Jack wondered why anyone would be interested in those old (radio) shows

[ed kienzler] on ed sullivan the year before 1932

[FrankLhota] I'm glad he made "To Be Or Not TO Be" however.

[Brad from Georgia] LL--OTOH, he'd not yet run into the "YESSSSSS?" guy.

[Laura Leff] So 39 was sort of a nexus time for his career.

[yhtapmys] Yeah, Laura, because he made his name in vaudeville and that was really ending.

[Laura Leff] Just a pure guess on my part, but I bet he would have been happier freezing around the end of the 30s or the late 40s.

[Laura Leff] But that's only a guess.

[Brad from Georgia] LL--You're probably right.

[KayLhota] there is sense to that.

[ed kienzler] maybe your right LL...

[Laura Leff] Sorry if I'm being overly analytical about it.

[KayLhota] life in general was good, it was before the smuggling, and WW2

[Brad from Georgia] The bios also say that he tended to have crises of confidence all his life--he was always sure that THIS current show wasn't any good at all, just before going on the air and getting huge laughs.

[Mike Amo] Sigh, 39 would be fine with me...I alternate between that and 87

[yhtapmys] 1987>

[yhtapmys] ?

[Mike Amo] Folks tell me I look really good for 87

[ed kienzler] HOW OLD!!!

[Brad from Georgia] "How Old Cary Grant?" "Old Cary Grant Fine. How You?"

[ed kienzler] and I thought i looked good for 48...

[ed kienzler] NOT!!!

[Mike Amo] <---53, but the 18-year-olds at McDonald's told me that a couple years gao

[Mike Amo] ago even

[Brad from Georgia] "Every year they move the camera back another ten feet...this year, I'm in Hollywood, and it's in Pasadena."

[Laura Leff] I remember that show.

[ed kienzler] from memphis to st jpe...

[Brad from Georgia] They loved me in St. Jpe.

[ed kienzler] joe..ooops!

[Laura Leff] How Jack Met Dennps

[Brad from Georgia] They loved me in St. Oops.

[Laura Leff] St. Oppnagle and Budd

[Mike Amo] gaop

[Laura Leff] fajklfdsa

[KayLhota] freewheeling

[Laura Leff] yeah

[Brad from Georgia] "I Want to Play the Bongo, Way Out in Pago-Pago.

[Laura Leff] Did I answer your question about Jack's depression?

[Brad from Georgia] Yes. Now I am sad.

[Laura Leff] Oh Gee Say Gee You Ought to See My Gee-Gee from the Fiji Isle

[Laura Leff] OK, I'm going to sing Billy Murray songs to cheer you up

[Brad from Georgia] We're On Our Way to Apalachicola F-L-A

[Laura Leff] When You're In You're In in Indiana

[Laura Leff] (OK, that's Nora Bayes...who had an affair with Jack...)

[Laura Leff] When You're In You're In with Nora Bayessss....

[yhtapmys] Laura, probably another reason he didn;t like aging.

[Brad from Georgia] In Nome The Nights Are Six Months Long....

[Laura Leff] Yht - Not being able to have an affair with Nora Bayes again?

[Brad from Georgia] Oh, the Phil Harris CD my wife got me has "Minnie the Mermaid" on it...a clean version of what I recall as an absolutely filthy song.

[Laura Leff] I know Minnie the Moocher, but not Mermaid.

[ed kienzler] chicken of the sea

[KayLhota] I got a copy of the Phil Harris Movie "I Love a Bandleader"

[Brad from Georgia] "Last night I slept with Minnie the Mermaid / Down at the bottom of the sea / Minnie lost her morals, / Down among the corals, / But oh what a time she showed me..."

[Laura Leff] So what else Benny-wise is on folks' minds?

[Laura Leff] Hmmm...Steve never came back.

[Laura Leff] See, why are there no clever lyrics like that any more?

[yhtapmys] Kay, is it a short?

[FrankLhota] There Phil Harris plays him un-PC novelty hit "Darktown Poker Club".

[KayLhota] no, it's a feature from Columbia 1945

[KayLhota] Rochester is his sidekick

[Brad from Georgia] Phil's version: "Last night I dreamed of Minnie the Mermaid, down at the bottom of the sea; I forgot my troubles down among the bubbles when Minnie the Mermaid kissed me..."

[yhtapmys] Oh, gee, now I know what you mean.

[Laura Leff] Wow, that is family friendly...

[yhtapmys] I'm sure I saw a review of it in a paper of that era.

[Brad from Georgia] "Darktown Poker Club" is on the CD too.

[KayLhota] I loved the movie

[Laura Leff] Have folks seen movies with Rochester solo in them?

[yhtapmys] No.

[KayLhota] Cabin in the Sky?

[Laura Leff] Like "Cabin in the Sky" or "Green Pastures"

[Laura Leff] or "Gone With the Wind"

[KayLhota] Gone With the Wind

[ed kienzler] yes it a mmmmw

[Mike Amo] Cabin in the Sky rocks

[yhtapmys] He's billed as Eddie Anderson, I presume.

[KayLhota] Tales of Manhattan he plays a preacher

[Laura Leff] Ed - Right, that too.

[ed kienzler] he plays cab driver...

[Brad from Georgia] LL--seen both of those. Of course in 'GWTW' Eddie is all but unrecognizable.

[Laura Leff] Yht - Eddie "Rochester" Anderson in some.

[Laura Leff] What Price Hollywood

[Brad from Georgia] "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." Eddie's a cab driver.

[Laura Leff] Cabin in the Sky is highly recommended if you haven't seen it.

[KayLhota] excellent

[ed kienzler] it's a great movie brad

[Laura Leff] He plays Noah in Green Pastures.

[Brad from Georgia] It is a good movie! Good blend of fantasy and unreality, unlike, oh, say, "The Horn Blows at Midnight"

[KayLhota] I ought to pull out "The Meanest Man in the World" again

[Brad from Georgia] Kay--I really like that movie!

[Laura Leff] You know, I haven't watched that one in years.

[ed kienzler] an all star cast

[Laura Leff] Dennis has surprisingly few movies on his own.

[KayLhota] I've never been able to sit through "The Big Broadcast of 1937"

[Laura Leff] Kay - Really, why?

[KayLhota] I taped it 20 years ago, and I just couldn't sit still through it

[ed kienzler] how about BBB of 1938

[KayLhota] now, that one I love

[Laura Leff] The Better Business Bureau of 1938

[KayLhota] maybe it was that the movie was on TV land loaded with commercials

[ed kienzler] sorry laura Big Broadcast of 1938

[Laura Leff] Ed - No problem...just teasing.

[yhtapmys] Who doesn't love Shep Fields.

[Laura Leff] Kay - Yeah, that does kill it.

[KayLhota] it's disjointed to start with, and with the interuptions I couldn't stick with it

[ed kienzler] i even had seen college swing

[Laura Leff] Kay - Yeah, that's true. Definitely not a consistent plotline.

[KayLhota] I liked College Swing

[ed kienzler] with jackie coogan dancing

[ed kienzler] with betty grable

[Laura Leff] College Swing vs. College Holiday

[ed kienzler] his wife then

[KayLhota] I ought to pull out the Big Broadcast of 37 and see if I can make it through

[Brad from Georgia] Benny Goodman, Benny Fields, Jack Benny...the BBB Big Broadcast of 1937

[ed kienzler] brad good one

[Laura Leff] I like the "Hi Ho the Rad-dee-oh" number.

[KayLhota] I have it, and it's dumb not to look at it sometime, especially after having taped it 20 years ago

[Brad from Georgia] Can't remember...are George and Gracie in the '37 Big Broadcast? I'm pretty sure they are, having typed the question.

[yhtapmys] I think so.

[Laura Leff] Kay - Don't feel too bad. I've got lots of books I bought 20+ years ago and haven't gotten around to reading yet.

[ed kienzler] ra-di-o love it

[Laura Leff] Brad - Thought so.

[KayLhota] 20 years seem to fly by as we get older, huh?

[Laura Leff] Like Harpo Speaks. It's become the penultimate book I bought a long time ago, want to read it, and haven't yet.

[ed kienzler] george and gracie in the 1938 movie

[Laura Leff] Kind of my own personal Marcel Proust.

[KayLhota] oh, Laura! I loved Harpo Speaks!

[ed kienzler] filmed in 1937

[Brad from Georgia] LL--I've just ordered SON of Harpo Speaks! No kidding.

[ed kienzler] HUH?

[Laura Leff] Brad - I decided that I'd order that when I'd read the original.

[KayLhota] I hope you'll enjoy it, Brad. I thought Bill Marx was very interesting

[Brad from Georgia] I'm looking forward to it.

[FrankLhota] After 20 years, you don't have read "Why I want to be President" by Jerry Brown.

[Laura Leff] Oh, it was funny at the UK dinner...someone said Steve Stoliar, and everyone knew exactly who it was.

[Brad from Georgia] Oh, great. the Jack Russell's scratching at the door to go out. Guess I have to go. Bye all, I enjoyed it!

[KayLhota] good one, Frank

[yhtapmys] OK, Brad.

User Brad from Georgia has logged out.

[Laura Leff] Frank - He used to be our mayor...

[ed kienzler] and another radio movie "radio days"

[Laura Leff] Bye Brad Belatedly

[yhtapmys] I see Schlepperman was in the BBB 37

[Laura Leff] Hallo Strenger...

[FrankLhota] R

[Mike Amo] <waves to Brad from chat transcript>

[Laura Leff] So what else Benny-wise is on everyone's mind?

[yhtapmys] And Marjorie Reynolds/

[Laura Leff] Any requests for a show for next month?

[yhtapmys] And Larry Alder.

[Laura Leff] Yht - Who later toured with Jack during the war.

[FrankLhota] The R in RKO stood for radio... Fortunately, when they entered the TV era, they didn't rename the studio TKO.

[KayLhota] the Casablanca sppof?

[Laura Leff] Both of them

[Laura Leff] Frank - I think it was TKO before then...

[ed kienzler] fight time...

[yhtapmys] Yeah, Laura, that's why I mentioned it.

[yhtapmys] I guess that's where Jack met them.

[Laura Leff] Kay - Summer. Doing something other than regular shows.

[KayLhota] The Horn Blows at Midnight?

[KayLhota] Ford Theater?

[Laura Leff] Hmm...have we done that one before?

[Laura Leff] I'm game for it, but can't remember.

[KayLhota] Oh-- George Burns and Jack Benny as Gypsies from the Burns and Allen show

[Laura Leff] OK...so next question is if I have that...

[Laura Leff] BRB

[Laura Leff] Yep, got it.

[Mike Amo] Back with musical interlude

[ed kienzler] sounds great!!!

[Laura Leff] OK, we'll do that next time.

[yhtapmys] That was Phil and the orchestra. Now, Laura

[yhtapmys] 's back.

[ed kienzler] YEA!!!

[Mike Amo] Excellent

[Laura Leff] Anything else, or should we call it good for this month?

[Mike Amo] It's all good

[KayLhota] yes, this was fun

[KayLhota] very interesting discussion

[Laura Leff] In the words of Chef Gordon Ramsey, $#@*$#@&$#*(@$&#@*($#@*($#!!!!

[yhtapmys] Almost as good as Paar on the Tonight Show.

[Mike Amo] Good to catch up with y'all again...LL, hope you had fun in England

[ed kienzler] I'm calling for a pizza so time to go...

[KayLhota] goodnight

[Laura Leff] Mike - Definitely did. Also plenty of Guinness in Ireland.

[ed kienzler] and call dominos

[Laura Leff] Have a good one, folks!

[ed kienzler] BYE!!!

User KayLhota has logged out.

[Mike Amo] Take care y'all