IJBFC Happy Hours - June, 2020
(Name of message originator appears above the line)
Sunday,
June 7th
MPEG
4 Video
1947,
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK.mp4
Rodrigo
Araya 5:02 PM
I
saw the photo of Alois Havrilla.
garth_johnson 5:03
PM
If
I may be slightly political --- I had to tie in D-Day with Mayer's birthday
Laura
Leibowitz 5:04 PM
garth_johnson 5:05
PM
Here
I went and "Meyer" ized the article and I get called out by LL
Laura
Leibowitz 5:05 PM
Do
they show the Ahwanee Hotel? It had to change its name recently, but I
think they changed it back.
5:05
I'm
sorry!
garth_johnson 5:06
PM
No
big deal - better one complaint about spelling than 97
Laura
Leibowitz 5:06 PM
I'm
sure there's still stuff out there that I wrote that has "Meyer" in
it.
Doug
Kiser 5:06 PM
Hello
everybody!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:07 PM
In
fact, I should look at my Marcia Borie biography to see how they spelled it
there since Florence was interviewed for that book.
5:07
Hi
Doug!
5:08
Is
my computer super slow or is it just quiet?
Rodrigo
Araya 5:08 PM
Yeah.
Not too many people in here.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:08 PM
OK.
garth_johnson 5:09
PM
I
have not much to say today
Laura
Leibowitz 5:09 PM
Hey
Rodrigo, how's everything down your way? There's so much going on up here.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:09 PM
Nothing
much.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:10 PM
OK.
I hear about Latin America getting hit with COVID and I worry about you.
5:10
Well,
hey, let's get to the show then.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:11 PM
I'm
listening to another episode.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:16 PM
Doug
- Did we lose you?
garth_johnson 5:17
PM
Need
a few more people to enjoy the show
Laura
Leibowitz 5:17 PM
Exactly.
5:18
Ok,
well let's put it on hold and see who we get next week then!
5:18
Or
on hiatus as the case may be
garth_johnson 5:18
PM
I
can't think of a lock-down routine right now
Laura
Leibowitz 5:18 PM
Thanks
for stopping...now back to your regularly scheduled evening...
5:19
The
Vault
5:19
Have
fun, folks!
garth_johnson 5:19
PM
Till
we meet again ....
Doug
Kiser 5:46 PM
Sorry
I was listening to the show.
5:46
I
got a late start to the show as I got my wife Jill to join me!
Sunday,
June 14th
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:56
PM
hello,
anybody (as Jack said in 1932)
Rodrigo
Araya 4:57 PM
Won't
you tell me when we will meet again...
4:57
Sunday,
Monday or Always...
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:57
PM
Hi
Rodrigo!
Rodrigo
Araya 4:57 PM
Imagine
the Rochmeister singing it.
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:58
PM
my
speakers can't quite handle that much gravelly sound hahaha
Rodrigo
Araya 4:58 PM
I
came up with that because things wrapped up early last Sunday.
4:58
Got
my mail?
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:58
PM
yes,
did you get the pdf of the the Benny book I sent you? Or do I need to send it
again?
4:59
I
sent a LINK to the book on my dropbox files
Rodrigo
Araya 4:59 PM
Haven't
looked my personal mail in the past few days.
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:59
PM
ah
HA a good reason to look : )
5:00
and
now there is this new book, a collection of Jack's first 26 radio scripts from
1932 : )
Rodrigo
Araya 5:02 PM
Howzabout
sharing with the fellers the photo I sent?
5:02
I
know you're there, Garth.
garth_johnson 5:02
PM
Kathy
- You've caused me some grief --- Do I spend $38 Canadian and get a copy from
Amazon with free shipping, Or do I buy a copy, send it to your address and have
you bundle it with that other item.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:02
PM
5:03
Garth,
for special friends, check your email : ) and did you get the link to the
Benny Radio UCalifornia mss from my dropbox account?
Rodrigo
Araya 5:04 PM
I'm
downloading the book. Thanks, Kathy.
garth_johnson 5:04
PM
Yes
reading the e-book yesterday while windows was updating
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:04
PM
yay,
well I will do the same with the new publication, for you : )
garth_johnson 5:05
PM
That
is most generous
Rodrigo
Araya 5:05 PM
The
ad I sent Kathy some time ago is from "The Big Broadcast of 1937".
garth_johnson 5:05
PM
I
saw that Ben commented that "you should get all the credit" you should
reply --- "I want cash!"
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:05
PM
Rodrigo,
its AMAZING! thank you for sharing with me, and us!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:07 PM
One
of the songs from the movie was the FIRST tune Phil Harris' band played in the
show.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:07
PM
well,
I want everybody to know that I arranged for the Jack Benny estate to get 50% of
the few dollars that will result in royalties from the book, it seemed
appropriate. Now Harry Conn is not going to get a penny hahaha
garth_johnson 5:07
PM
Hair!
Hair! sound like a good exchange!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:08 PM
Well,
some extremely thirsty fellows in the desert drank Canada Dry and none of them
said it was bad.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:08
PM
Benny
and Conn (and Mary ) seemed to work together so well from 1932-1935, afterwards
things started to sour. Ben Ohmart is already starting production on volume 2,
hooray!!!!
5:09
wait
until you see the monkeys in the zoo drinking the beverage
garth_johnson 5:10
PM
Now
we know what is on Andrea's list
Rodrigo
Araya 5:11 PM
Today's
Tralfaz post has to do with Canada Dry.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:11
PM
WOW,
that is a great image! Amusingly, she will have relatively few lines on the
show, you will see MARY take a much more prominent place (whereas she definitely
played second banana to Ethel Shutta)
garth_johnson 5:12
PM
Andrea
was mainly Weem's vocalist so not unexpected.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:12
PM
Don
Yowp writes the most amazing things!!!! This post about Jack on Ed Sullivan a
few weeks before the Canada Dry broadcasts began is terrific
garth_johnson 5:14
PM
Don
has that 'Radio Voice' way of writing --- He writes for my local news radio
station.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:14
PM
Garth
I need to send you something I just found in the New York Herald Tribune from I
think 1926, Jack Benny is listed as playing a big NY theater along with Al
Bernivici and a partner called "Bebe Marsh".... so I wonder if its
Babe, or if its Sadye, as Sayde sometimes called herself Marie Marsh.... I will
send it to you
garth_johnson 5:15
PM
Rodrigo
Araya 5:15 PM
Considering
Jack had crossed paths with Babe Marks in the mid-20s.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:16
PM
yes
Rodrigo, we don't know the full story of how much Jack knew the Markowitz
family.... but its fun to find little snippets of information
Rodrigo
Araya 5:16 PM
If
not for her, Jack would have never found Mary.
garth_johnson 5:17
PM
Kathy
that would be interesting --- I've been running down the Kublic Storm this week.
Some things in the time line just don't make sense
Rodrigo
Araya 5:17 PM
"An
ostrich, a polar bear and a camel!"
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:18
PM
and
Garth, here is a bit of exciting potential news, Laura is investigating creating
space on Benny website to post the scans I hope to be making soon from Barbara
Thunell's amazing scrapbooks. My research fund has just bought me a big
scrapbook scanner, so I am hopeful to get started scanning!
5:19
The
first thing I plan to scan is the amazing Friars Club programme/book honoring
Jack and George Burns in I think 1972. Its got a cover by Peter Max, and great
ads and articles inside.
garth_johnson 5:19
PM
I
thought the __current__ Scrapbooking fad had died away ...
Rodrigo
Araya 5:20 PM
Things
haven't returned to normal yet.
garth_johnson 5:20
PM
5:20
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:20
PM
well,
but historical scrapbooks are "hot" in the academic world, as evidence
of fan activity way back when .....
5:22
garth_johnson 5:22
PM
It's
fun what shows up on ebay every now and then --- allows for dating scrapbooks
stuff
Rodrigo
Araya 5:22 PM
This
is CLEARLY from the early 70s!
garth_johnson 5:22
PM
1972
- May 13 to be exact
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:22
PM
I
spent some money and purchased a copy of this, 1972 yes Rodrigo!!! So it will be
the first thing I post from my new scanner : )
Rodrigo
Araya 5:23 PM
"I
want the world to hear how much this Waukegan weasel pays my boy!"
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:23
PM
hahaha
Rodrigo
Araya 5:24 PM
Guess
the episode?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:24
PM
Dennis's
first radio episode?
Rodrigo
Araya 5:24 PM
Nope.
garth_johnson 5:24
PM
It's
not 60/40
Rodrigo
Araya 5:24 PM
Four
years later.
garth_johnson 5:24
PM
Sorry
thats a burns and allen routine
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:25
PM
really,
its a Gracie line?
garth_johnson 5:25
PM
No
Kathy --- I was reading the 1972 program and it seemed right to type
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:25
PM
hahahaha
that is funny
Rodrigo
Araya 5:26 PM
I've
listened to some late 1939 episodes (Thanksgiving and Christmas) and the
characters did sound "off" compared to later seasons.
5:26
Jack
still had his nasal early 30s drawl, Rochester's voice was not raspy enough and
Dennis sounded quite shy.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:27
PM
For
another project, I am downloading all of radio critic John Crosby's rude
comments about Jack Benny and the show. Don Yowp and the Trafalz blogs have
gotten most of them, but there are a coupl on Dennis Day and Mel Blanc his sharp
eyes might have missed.....
Rodrigo
Araya 5:27 PM
Noo
Yawkers preferred Fred.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:27
PM
I
agree with you, Rodrigo!
5:28
Crosby,
in particular, was a HUGE Fred Allen fan, anybody else paled in comparison. JC
especially HATED Bob Hope and Red Skelton, its funny to read his screeds
garth_johnson 5:28
PM
After
reading Crosby I need a few columns from Cynthia Lowry to level off
Rodrigo
Araya 5:29 PM
Henry
Morgan was also another huge F.A. fan of course.
5:29
"Esquire"
writers to.
5:29
Too.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:29
PM
great
point, Rodrigo, and Crosby LOVED Henry Morgan. Its fascinating to trace the
connections between these folks
Rodrigo
Araya 5:31 PM
Seems
the contempt from North-Easterners for L.A. people has lasted forever.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:31
PM
There
is the silliest Crosby profile in Esquire, plays into JC's disdain for female
performers and female audiences. I still think he's snarky and brilliant but
love to call out how poorly he thought of women
Rodrigo
Araya 5:32 PM
One
article bemoaned the fact Allen was off the air (it was speculated he would
retire permanently after not returning in Sep. '43).
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:32
PM
YES,
the East vs West kerfuffle is so interesting to chart in the 40s and early 50s.
But we need to do this, as too many "academic" early TV historians
just assume TV started in Los Angeles. Drives me crazy hahaha
Rodrigo
Araya 5:32 PM
From
1956 yes.
5:33
Until
1955, there were many shows coming from NY and Chicago.
garth_johnson 5:33
PM
Television
was made in New York City?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:33
PM
I
am so grateful for you all, Garth and Rodrigo, for being interested in radio and
TV history... most "academics" are not (see above where it drives me
crazy)
Rodrigo
Araya 5:33 PM
For
some reason, TV left the Windy City after Du Mont folded.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:33
PM
There
is a great book to be written about the history of Chicago TV (and radio before
it)
Rodrigo
Araya 5:34 PM
Anyway,
I think 1945 was the year L.A. replaced N.Y. as the U.S.'s "entertainment
capital".
5:34
Maybe
1946.
garth_johnson 5:34
PM
Media
Experts - all have their own point of view and its usually biased to when they
were 8 years old.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:35 PM
Movies
aren't everything.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:35
PM
yes,
Garth! I bring that topic up a lot in my own history courses, then replicate the
damn thing when I teach a course on 1960s media hahaha
garth_johnson 5:35
PM
Fortunatly
when I was 8, I was listening to Jack Benny radio re-runs
5:36
Sadly
that was 1975
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:36
PM
very
few university courses combine "film" and broadcasting; I framed my
big freshman course to combine film, radio, tv and media up to 1990 (it is,
after all a history course) and there is no textbook that covers all this
stuff..... I have kind of had to write it myself
5:37
Garth
same for me!!!! Jack Benny radio on cassette tapes when I was 10 in 1970, and
forced my little brothers to listen as well, haha its made them the upstanding
citizens they are today
garth_johnson 5:37
PM
is
the problem that the Broadway stage and LA Film people never mingled until TV
took over in the 60's
Rodrigo
Araya 5:38 PM
I
think it's because the "film people" often came from vaude rather than
legit.
5:39
Including
Jack.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:39
PM
well
I have a rather stupid PhD student trying to write a dissertation now on the
ways that Broadway, Film and TV interacted 1945-1960.... there are plenty, but
she will never find them hahaha. Mary Martin in Peter Pan is a good example, and
Twelve Angry Men..... but as I said, she is not very capable
garth_johnson 5:39
PM
And
that would explain why fred allen was popular -- the little show etc.
5:40
The
film of 12 Angry Men - I admire Klugman in that
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:40
PM
We
can find plenty of examples, its just the danger of saying "the entire
industry" thought x and y (which grad students are wont to do)
Neil
Ottenstein 5:40 PM
it
should only take a limited amount of research to find those and other examples
Rodrigo
Araya 5:40 PM
Hi,
Neil!
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:40
PM
Hello
Neil!
Neil
Ottenstein 5:40 PM
Howdy
Rodrigo
Araya 5:40 PM
How
long had you been in here?
Neil
Ottenstein 5:40 PM
I
dropped in a few minutes ago
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:41
PM
Oh
Neil, you should be a graduate student, I would so welcome your willingness to
do research, unlike the lazy folks I do have (hahaha)
Neil
Ottenstein 5:41 PM
I
was a graduate student in physics back in the day
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:41
PM
well,
to turn to a happier topic, does anybody have happy Jack Benny thoughts on a
sunday?
Rodrigo
Araya 5:42 PM
Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, jingle all the way
Work
all night and work all day, and never get no pa-ay!
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:42
PM
I
can add that publisher Ben Ohmart is desperate to get Joan Benny to approve
republishing of Sunday Nights at Seven.....
5:43
Rodrigo,
you seem to be channeling Rochester today!
Neil
Ottenstein 5:43 PM
I've
been listening to The Gang's All Here set - several Jack Benny shows
spotlighting the cast and then a run through various radio shows of the cast
elsewhere or on their own shows. it's been fun so far
garth_johnson 5:44
PM
Rodrigo
Araya 5:45 PM
I
think that's the most common photo of Jack's cast.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:45
PM
and
they all look so happy, gosh we could use more of that in these viral days
garth_johnson 5:45
PM
ok
- not so common
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:46
PM
omg
Garth where did you find that one? I have not seen it before!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:46 PM
Who's
the guy behind the Roch? Larry or Philsie?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:47
PM
I
love the sense of stress on Jack's face, if its like 1944-1945 when he was
facing low ratings and pushback
garth_johnson 5:47
PM
http://booksteveslibrary.blogspot.com/ --
has a few newspaper clippings and various other related stuff
booksteveslibrary.blogspot.com
BOOKSTEVE'S
LIBRARY
A
LOOK AT COMICS, BOOKS, MOVIES, CARTOONS, TELEVISION SHOWS, MUSIC AND MORE POP
CULTURE GOODNESS FROM MY VAST AND VIRTUAL PERSONAL LIBRARY!
5:48
Rod
- with the cyrly hair ... gotta be phil
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:48
PM
and
the tobacco leaf at the end is like pin the tail on the donkey, a wonderful
comic
Neil
Ottenstein 5:49 PM
this
is the set http://www.radiospirits.com/detailsv2.asp?mbprodid=55276
radiospirits.com
RadioSpirits.com
- Jack Benny: The Gang's All...
Old
Time Radio shows from Radio Spirits that have been digitally re-mastered and are
available in cassette, CD, and DVD formats. The Radio Spirits content library
consists of more than 60,000 classic radio shows. This library consists of
popular Old-Time Radio programs, including vintage comedy, mystery, detective,
adventure and suspense programs such as The Jack Benny Show, The Shadow, Fibber
McGee and Molly, Abbott & Costello and much more. Old-Time Radio ecards are
available.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:49 PM
It
might be Phil. Not that the others resemble the actual castmembers.
garth_johnson 5:50
PM
Too
lazy to follow that link - here is the track list - cut - paste 2009 - Radio
Spirits - 19812 - Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny: The Cast Doesn't
Like Their New Contracts 05-02-48, Don Won't Sign His Contract 01-23-49, Jack is
Upset With the Cast 05-08-49, How Jack Met His Cast 05-28-50, My Career as a
Hospital Nurse 03-09-52, Jack's Scrapbook 01-16-49, Cast Introduced 05-29-49;
Halls of Ivy: The Fighting Med Student 05-24-50; The Private Life of Rochester
Van Jones: Girl Friend Problems 05-12-50, The Big Date 05-13-50; The Rochester
Show: Willie Johnson's Big Deal 02-18-50, Clooney Watson, Starlet 02-19-50, Cast
Auditions for The Rochester Show 02-15-50; Here Comes Mr. Kitzel: Audition
12-27-50; Abbott & Costello Show: Lou's Race Horse, Peanut Butter 11-09-44;
Are You a Genius?: Bugs Bunny AFRS 1940's; The Whistler: Brief Pause for Murder
09-11-49; Jeff Regan, Investigator: There's Nothing Like a Pork Chop When Supper
Rolls Around 08-06-50; Are You a Genius?: Porky Pig AFRS 1940's; A Day in the
Life of Dennis Day: Keeping the Radio Station on the Air 04-07-48, Neither Rain
Nor Snow 01-21-48, Dennis Does a Radio Show 01-28-48; Fitch Bandwagon: Will
Benny Renew Phil's Contract 03-09-47; The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show: Hiring
Santa Claus 12-19-48, New York Trip 01-29-50
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:52
PM
Hey
folks, I have got to get rolling down the road, so glad to speak with you
tonight!!! More great Benny things coming, I am so grateful for Laura's support
and encouragement to allow me to add to Benny artifacts! More soon about the
Barbara Thunnell scrapbook scans, have a good evening, Kathy
Neil
Ottenstein 5:52 PM
Cool
Rodrigo
Araya 5:53 PM
Thanks,
Kathy.
garth_johnson 5:53
PM
I
think I'll sign off too --- until newxt week
Rodrigo
Araya 5:53 PM
Good
night.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:54 PM
Good
night. I'll try to drop by next week as well.
Sunday,
June 21st
Rodrigo
Araya 5:00 PM
There'll
be a brief pause for you to say "who cares?"
garth_johnson 5:00
PM
One
way to define an ideal evening, ladies and gentlemen, is to say it’s something
you look forward to with eagerness and look back upon with satisfaction.
Yes,
that’s one way... But an even better way is simply to say, Jell-O Again.
5:02
I
don't know if anyone is going to turn up tonight ... everyone is busy reading
the 1932 scripts
Rodrigo
Araya 5:02 PM
I
was reading Kathy's book.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:03
PM
Hello
Garth and Rodrigo! Happy June 21
Rodrigo
Araya 5:03 PM
Quite
an interesting read.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:03
PM
rodrigo,
I can send you the new scripts collection from May -Oct 1932....
Rodrigo
Araya 5:03 PM
Neil
is here as well.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:03
PM
hello
Neil!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:03 PM
Yes,
please?
5:03
Thanks,
Kathy.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:04
PM
thank
you, Dennis, and Rodrigo, haha
Neil
Ottenstein 5:05 PM
Hello
everyone
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:05
PM
I
have two brand new kittens, who on their first day, have decided that marching
across my keyboard is their favorite activity... I have lost some settings and
need to figure out how to kitten proof the desk, haha
Rodrigo
Araya 5:05 PM
I
wonder if the hyperbolic "All Golden Age actors were repressed
benders" thing might have played a hand on Jack and his fellow comedians
becoming little known among younger generations...
5:06
It
makes the criticism of Rochester look rather innocuous.
garth_johnson 5:06
PM
My
cat never developed the keyboard skills --- she went for the power cord!
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:07
PM
well,
with my 20 year old undergrads, some of it has to do with the media programs
they are regularly exposed to. My 20 year olds know The Office and Friends, and
nothing else. Guess I am very glad for the 1930s-40s movie reruns on TV of my
youth! But radio for my generation was something you had to especially search
out (which I did with cassette tapes from dealers)
5:08
Garth,
yes! on their first day, they are attacking the mouse cord. I am quickly having
to devise cat-proofing. But they stare at the computer screen so I must
entertain them...
garth_johnson 5:09
PM
Just
don't let little paws play with the new scanner
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:09
PM
these
are perilous times, it seems, for discussing the history of racial
representation in old US media. Hopefully there will be new understandings of
the challenges that performers of colors faced. But right now we are in the same
place as 1945, when the young Black performers excoriated their elders for the
compromises they made...
Rodrigo
Araya 5:09 PM
Tralfaz's
post for today has a news item from Jack's 1944 Vancouver visit, just after
Dennis left for the Navy.
5:10
Sometimes
it feels like 1944.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:10
PM
you
bet with the new scanner, Garth! Now to convince Laura to let me library-lend
Barbara Thunell's amazing scrapbooks : )
garth_johnson 5:10
PM
Rod
--- sometimes I feel its 1968
Rodrigo
Araya 5:10 PM
(Of
course I know it's 2020, I'm not Jack's vault guard).
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:11
PM
Hey
Neil, have you been thinking about any particular Benny things lately?
Neil
Ottenstein 5:12 PM
No,
I haven't. I listened to the next disc of that collection which had an episode
of The Whisperer, Jack Regan, PI and Mel Blanc
Rodrigo
Araya 5:12 PM
I
just remembered the reason why I mentioned the "benders" stuff: That
joke about sailors in a 1971 special.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:13
PM
Publisher
Ben Ohmart is gung-ho to start the next volume of the script series, yay!!!!! It
will all come down to when did the stupid misses in my photo-making at the UCLA
archives happen, and when will the UCLA archives ever open again? I think the
pages I missed come in volumes 3 or 4,,,,, so hopefully this viral-quarantine
will end
garth_johnson 5:14
PM
You
people listening and watching all this modern Benny stuff --- I'll share the
beginnings --- Research that's where the fun is!
PDF
2020-06-18_-_Jack_Benny_Vaudeville_Quick_Reference_Calendar.pdf
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:14
PM
I
have been working on a project about newspaper radio critic John Crosby -- I
should make his funny essay about "The Whistler" available to Don Yowp
for a posting. Benny did a good take-off
5:15
Garth,
have you seen the article I found in a Wisconsin paper about the fellow who
remembers meeting Jack at a vaude performance and spending the week hanging out
with him? It is so sweet in its sentimental memories
garth_johnson 5:16
PM
No
--- sorry I've missed that clipping
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:16
PM
Garth,
I also mean to post to the FB site something I found in the NY Herald Tribune, a
1928 vaudeville review that mentions Al Bernivici and "Bebe Marsh"
appearing with Jadk Benny. Could that be Babe? did she also do a few assists?
who knows
5:17
Garth
I will post it again!!!! It is very sweet (if to some conservative minds
unsettling)....
garth_johnson 5:18
PM
It
could be --- I did some searching of chroniclingamerica today for the Bernivici
Brothers Vaudeville Dates but only found stuff between 1911 and 1925
Rodrigo
Araya 5:19 PM
Allow
me to correct you on one thing, Kathy: It was Jimmy Wallington, not Wallingford.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:20 PM
Jimmy
also worked with Fred Allen between 1940 and 1944 (the Texaco years).
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:20
PM
here
is the vaudeville note from 1928 mentioning "Bebe Marsh" working with
Bernivici and Benny
PDF
Rodrigo
Araya 5:21 PM
Five
Benny announcers in the photos!
garth_johnson 5:22
PM
thanks
Kathy - -- that's something interesting to chew on
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:24
PM
apparently
Jack likes all the announcers, but wanted to develop the character, and so when
Don Wilson became announcer #10, Benny worked an exclusive contract (at least
for his own show)
5:25
liked
Rodrigo
Araya 5:25 PM
Apparently
Geo. Hicks was the first Jack used as an actual character.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:26
PM
yes,
Rodrigo you will like seeing George Hicks become the obnoxious announcer at the
end of the first scripts volume
garth_johnson 5:26
PM
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:27
PM
great
photo!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:27 PM
I
saw a photo of Havrilla c. 1931 with one of those boxy NBC mikes.
garth_johnson 5:27
PM
One
of the few of Hick's I collected
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:28
PM
Alois
would be the main announcer when Benny started with Chevrolet in March 1933
Rodrigo
Araya 5:28 PM
That
was Claney.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:28
PM
and
yet I think George Hicks was the announcer for Information Please, which is a
HUGELY favorite show of mine (maybe 1938)
Rodrigo
Araya 5:28 PM
Who
I suppose announced Jolson's "Big Six of the Air",
garth_johnson 5:28
PM
1935
- Alois Havrilla, Czecho-Slovakia-born announcer of the National Broadcasting
Company, receives the 1935 Diction Medal for Radio of the American Academy of
Arts and Letters from Dr. William Lyon Phelps
5:30
Jack
at an old RCA 4AA Condensor Mic
Rodrigo
Araya 5:31 PM
When
did Jack first use those ribbon mikes?
5:31
The
world may never know.
5:31
The
RCA 44s.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:32
PM
WOW
that is a wonderful photo find! Garth and all, I can't wait for us to be able to
see the amazing things in Barbara Thunell's scrapbooks. She was a dedicated fan
and so many of her items are things I had not seen before, Hopefully Laura will
soon allow me to start scanning Barbara's wonderful volumes'
5:32
Rodrigo,
is this big square thing called a ribbon mike?
Rodrigo
Araya 5:33 PM
No.
I was talking about the RCA44.
5:33
I
think the boxy ones were condenser mics.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:33
PM
oh
don't worry, I know NOTHING about mikes and so am asking as an idiot amateur
Rodrigo
Araya 5:33 PM
The
BBC used the weirdest mikes in the 20s.
garth_johnson 5:33
PM
Goldin's
logs say it was Milton Cross as the accouncer on Information Please form 1938 to
42
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:34
PM
Oh,
Milton Cross, he's great too, again idiots delight on my end. But sincere love
of Information Please
Rodrigo
Araya 5:34 PM
http://journal.sciencemuseum.org.uk/ImageGen.ashx?image=/media/2159/4-meat-safe-microphone.jpg&compression=90&width=558
(48
kB)
http://journal.sciencemuseum.org.uk/ImageGen.ashx?image=/media/2159/4-meat-safe-microphone.jpg&compression=90&width=558
5:35
Wonder
if George and Gracie used it on their 1929 radio appearance...
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:35
PM
lamb
chops spoken over this, that is wild, would you have to speak down into it, or
was it taller than I assume
Rodrigo
Araya 5:36 PM
It
was called a "meat safe".
garth_johnson 5:36
PM
My
favorite Mic - the RCA 44 Ribbon
Rodrigo
Araya 5:36 PM
I
also remembered that photo with Fred Allen with George and Gracie.
5:37
There
were only two times in which they and Jack all shared networks.
garth_johnson 5:37
PM
This
pic of Allen, Allen and Burns.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:37
PM
amazing
photo, Garth!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:38 PM
Who's
showing his back? Giy Lombardo?
5:38
Guy
Lombardo
Neil
Ottenstein 5:38 PM
very
nice
garth_johnson 5:38
PM
Then
there's a pic for Kathy's next volume Canada Dry the Columbia Years
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:38
PM
So,
Garth, Laura is thinking about various ways to present things like the 1972
Friars roast, or the Thunell scrapbooks, to the fan club, I don't know the
details
5:39
OMG
yes what a wonderful photo!!!!!
5:39
I
had been thinking of the cover photo with NBC on the mike crossed out, hahaha
garth_johnson 5:40
PM
And
a paper clipping ...
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:41
PM
It
turns out that Ben Ohmart is more generous than the University of California
Press when it comes to incorporating illustrations into a publication. With UCP,
I had to provide written permission from the subject of the photo AND the
original photographer! That is why the only illustrations in that book are from
old ads in my own paper collection, geez,,,,
garth_johnson 5:41
PM
There
is the sketch option -- and available for purchase from one of the regular ebay
stores
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:43
PM
well
that image of Benny could be nicked from this Philco ad
5:43
which
comes from a 1932 Benny portrait on the cover of Billboard.....
Neil
Ottenstein 5:43 PM
That
is cool
garth_johnson 5:44
PM
December
9, 1933 Billboard
Rodrigo
Araya 5:44 PM
"This
is George Olsen speaking, and I know you are thoroughly bored of Jack Denn...
Ben Bern... our master of ceremonies".
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:46
PM
hahaha
Rodrigo! Jack did have problems with Jack Denny and Ben Bernie
5:46
I
mean about rights to a registered vaudeville name...
garth_johnson 5:46
PM
Are
you sure it's not Goodman Ace talking?
Rodrigo
Araya 5:46 PM
Wasn't
Winchell the one who had "problems" with the "Ole Maestro"?
5:47
I
know that Jack got his definitive name from him.
5:48
And
that the Winchell-Bernie thing was just like Jack and Freddie.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:48
PM
Rodrigo,
yes that was quite the manufacturered feud. The mid 1930s had a bunch of them,
eh? its a miracle that the Benny-Allen feud worked as well as it did. I think
the ultimate revenge is how in the 1940s that Benny and Allen made the feud
comedy GOLD in their reminiscences of vaudeville days, long after any connection
to Young and Rubicam ad agency that started it
5:49
Garth,
do you know of any good overview of Goody Ace's career? I would like to learn
more about him....
5:51
Looking
over the condolence letters that Mary Livingstone donated to the Benny archives
at U Wyoming, the letter from Goody Ace is one of the best (and he published
some version of it)
garth_johnson 5:54
PM
Kathy
I'd like one too, but haven't found anything yet as he's a tertiary
character in my research ..
5:54
Goody's
newspaper work would be a starting point
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:54
PM
well,
folks, it seems like everyone is dispersing for the evening. Rodrigo, you will
get an email! Garth and Neil, you all are also amazing, and all of you, if you
can help me encourage Laura to temporarily share scrapbooks for scanning, yay
Neil
Ottenstein 5:55 PM
yay
Rodrigo
Araya 5:55 PM
Good
night. All aboard! Away we go!
Neil
Ottenstein 5:55 PM
Good
night
garth_johnson 5:55
PM
Here
we are again - happy as can be ... all good friends in Jolly good Company
Sunday,
June 28th
Rodrigo
Araya 5:00 PM
Canada
Dry Made-to-Order Ginger Ale
5:01
Now
available at soda fountains and drugstores as well as in bottles
garth_johnson 5:01
PM
Try
the big economy size
5:02
So
read any good books lately?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:02
PM
great
ad!
5:03
the
most amusing thing to me is that supposedly Jack became famous for saying
"nickel back on the bottle" frequently, but I can't find that in the
scripts! Maybe he ad-libbed (a rarity for him)
Rodrigo
Araya 5:04 PM
There
were quite a few ad-libs in the early shows, judging by the scripts.
garth_johnson 5:05
PM
Hey
Kathy any leads on the mystery gifter?
Neil
Ottenstein 5:05 PM
Hello.
Good evening
garth_johnson 5:06
PM
Welcome
Neil!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:06 PM
Ladies
and gentlemen....
5:06
It's
Town Hall Tonight!
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:06
PM
haha
thanks for asking! I wonder if it might be the graduate students in my
department. There was a hint in mid-May that they were giving me a going-away
present, but then I never heard anything
5:06
Hello
Neil, and I love Town Hall Tonight!
garth_johnson 5:06
PM
You
are going somewhere?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:07
PM
I
also hope that Baby Yoda does not grow up too quickly, They only let Baby Groot
be tiny for one film
garth_johnson 5:08
PM
I
had a mental nightmare ---- "Tiny Toons"
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:08
PM
Oh,
lucky me, I just won't be graduate advisor any more, yay!!!!! I have a
two-semester research leave coming up, Which means I am going away from the
Dean, and the Chair and the Graduate students, but get to hang out with you all
on the internets : )
Rodrigo
Araya 5:08 PM
Yipe!
garth_johnson 5:09
PM
More
time to research newspapermen
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:10
PM
you
bet, this is a fun project. I am working with a PhD student, we are researching
and then co-authoring an article on John Crosby and Jack Gould's radio
journalism 1946-1952. And part of that is creating databases of everything those
two wrote about during the period.
garth_johnson 5:10
PM
Not
familiar with Gould
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:11
PM
Another
project is about Francis Ford, older brother of John Ford, a silent action-film
pioneer. But I won't bother the Benny website with that hahahha
5:12
Jack
Gould was the critic/reporter for the New York Times. He's more of an industry
insider-reporter. But the radio folks considered Gould and Crosby to be the two
most important voices in this rise of radio criticism (which scared the
networks, performers and ad agencies like crazy)
garth_johnson 5:12
PM
say
the secret word and a Cunard appears
5:13
I
better duck
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:13
PM
So
I tried to talk to Jack Gould's son, who published a collection of Gould's early
TV newspaper columns. But the son (a retired UTexas history professor)
supposedly didn't much like his dad, and would not talk to me more than a few
sentences. So I will try to do well by them...
Rodrigo
Araya 5:14 PM
Do
you imagine Phil leading the Kollege of Musical Knowledge?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:14
PM
hahaha
on the Groucho reference! SO>>>>>>>> now that I
have bought this scanner, I hope I can convince Laura to lend me some of Barbara
Thunnell's scrapbooks. She has so many photos and things I had never seen in
there, we will have a field day trying to identify the things.
5:15
I
bet Phil would also spell it with a K!!!!!! I wonder if Phil is considered
a good bandleader. And what makes a good bandleader?
garth_johnson 5:15
PM
Rod
- yup -- 1944-08-09, 16 and 20 all exist -- haven't listened to them i
some time
Rodrigo
Araya 5:16 PM
He
thought that a review of him with "them big words" such as
"abominable", "stagnant" and "turbulent" was good.
garth_johnson 5:16
PM
What
makes a good band leader -- one that would have us singing "Amazing
Grace" right now
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:16
PM
I
love it when Phil and Jack "read" their reviews
Rodrigo
Araya 5:17 PM
That
was from the "Musical Curio", er "Courier".
garth_johnson 5:17
PM
Rodrigo
Araya 5:19 PM
Phil's
bandmembers wouldn't play a recorder well...
Neil
Ottenstein 5:19 PM
Nice
photo
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:19
PM
that
is a great photo. HAHA my very good friend just admitted to sending me the
Yodas, I had no idea it was her, hahahaha joke's on me
5:20
Has
anyone ever seen "So This is Harris?" the musical film short from like
1934? I have not
Rodrigo
Araya 5:20 PM
I
did.
garth_johnson 5:20
PM
Singing
in the shower!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:21 PM
Phil
was leading the band at the Coconut Grove, with women at his feet. The husband
of one hates the voice of him...
5:21
While
he makes some bootleg.
garth_johnson 5:21
PM
lets
try this ...
Flash
Video
1933-08-13_-_fil_-_so_this_is_harris_-_clip_-_sing_in_the_shower.flv
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:22
PM
gracious.
Supposedly when Phil started on the Jack Benny show, their voices sounded very
alike. so they encouraged Phil to do the southern drawl
garth_johnson 5:22
PM
Drat
these computers!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:22 PM
The
both of them end up at the same golf course, with Jimmy Finlayson as the
instructor.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:23
PM
Mark
Sandrich was the director of So this is Harris, and I think that connection got
him the contract at Paramount to try to make better Jack Benny movies, in
1939....
garth_johnson 5:23
PM
5:24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl15TkTs3RY
YouTube | Ednay
Arkspay
The
Irrepressible Phil Harris
Rodrigo
Araya 5:26 PM
Howzabout
a letter-writing contest?
garth_johnson 5:26
PM
I'll
take "A"
Rodrigo
Araya 5:27 PM
All
you have to do is express in twenty-thousand words why you like Canada Dry
Made-to-Order Ginger Ale.
garth_johnson 5:27
PM
If
we cut and pasted a few of Laura's newsletters and a couple of Benny books would
we win?
Neil
Ottenstein 5:28 PM
That
was a fun video
Rodrigo
Araya 5:28 PM
In
order to enter you go to a drugstore or soda fountain and order a glass of
Canada Dry in the presence of the mayor of your hometown and an actuary.
5:29
This
contest will end abruptly next Sunday evening.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:29
PM
hahahaha!!!!!
Mark Sandrich's family gave his scrapbook to the Academy Award Library; there
was not too much new in it, but some sweet things about shooting Man About Town.
Apparently Sandrich's secretary was named Trudy, and that is now Trudy the
ostrich got her name.
garth_johnson 5:29
PM
Here's
something else to watch to kill some time
1929-04-20_-_fil_-_the_installment_collector.mpg
Rodrigo
Araya 5:30 PM
I
heard that about Trudy. But I forgot how Carmichael got his name.
garth_johnson 5:31
PM
Gas
Men that service the Paramount lot beware!
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:31
PM
now
that I do not remember off the top of my head. Nice piece from Don Yowp this
week with a Rochester interview that mentions Carmichael. I have been impressed
that Benny fans in the 1950s remembered the bear when he had not been on the
radio show since 1940.....
5:32
Carmichael
may have been some of the earliest work Mel Blanc did on the show
Rodrigo
Araya 5:33 PM
Probably
the earliest known as the 1936 episode he appeared in is incomplete.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:34
PM
oh
ho, if we look at which episode that was, I might have the script to it.....
Rodrigo
Araya 5:36 PM
It
apparently was from the time Jack had just established himself in the Coast,
while Boasberg and Beloin were writing after Conn left.
5:37
Let's
see, Mel appeared in 1936, and then occasionally between February 1939 and the
fall of 1941 approx. Became a regular in the fall of '43.
garth_johnson 5:37
PM
I
found a source of stock photographic material that I had not seen before -
primarily because it is German --- Much I've seen elsewhere but a few items like
the one above I hadn't seen before. Added another 300 or so pictures to
the collection.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:38
PM
ah
ha, I have those, I can look and see if Mel's name is used, or if a sound effect
is cued. A fellow named Pinto Colvig did the earlier Maxwell noises?
5:38
WOW
Garth, great find! Send me the name of it, if you don't mind, for me looking for
Ford/Cunard photos if there are any
Rodrigo
Araya 5:39 PM
Goofy's
voice also did the voice of Lenora the horse after the Mawell was turned into
scrap.
garth_johnson 5:39
PM
1937
- Evansville Courier - Pinto Colvig, left, veteran Hollywood sound effects man,
helps Jack Benny demonstrate the ancient Maxwell that Benny has been bragging
about during his Sunday night broadcasts over the NBC-Red network in recent
weeks. It's Colvig who makes the realistic Maxwell sounds that have
"taken-in" more than one Benny fan.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:39
PM
wow
that is a great article find!!!!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:39 PM
Colvig
left for Florida in early 1938.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:39 PM
That
Installment Collector short was amusing
Rodrigo
Araya 5:40 PM
And
I suppose Mel began doing the Maxwell in 1947-48.
garth_johnson 5:40
PM
Poor
Lenora
Neil
Ottenstein 5:41 PM
What
an expression on his face
Rodrigo
Araya 5:43 PM
I
remember that Kathy commented last week that her students were not interested in
any comedy before "Friends" and that they much liked the bawdy
comedies of its kind (Chuck Lorre's shows come to mind)...
5:44
But
it's not that the low-key comedy Jack and his fellow humorists mastered has
disappeared.
garth_johnson 5:44
PM
According
to a gift I got this week 2/12/39 First mention of polar bear
Rodrigo
Araya 5:44 PM
Jack
thought that was a birthday gift from Allen.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:48
PM
poor
horse indeed! Well, my undergrads AND grad students have very little
patience for history; little understanding or willingness to think about
contexts of the past. I hope that this starts changing SOON. Until then, we can
keep digging up history for our own pleasure and edification. But it does make
the prospect of teaching history a little dreary. Please see my delight, above,
at having the next two semesters OFF, yay!!!!!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:48 PM
Well,
the thing is that many people see classic humor as either too bland, cerebral or
surrealistic to be enjoyable.
5:49
And
Jack's show could fit all three descriptors.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:49 PM
Talking
about surrealistic humor, I've been watching the Do Not Adjust Your Set
DVD set. Quite fun.
garth_johnson 5:50
PM
Kathy - follow the link --- but I'll let you filter out The Other Francis Ford
Rodrigo
Araya 5:51 PM
He
never did the kind of jokes Cantor did (save for the Vanities), there were some
history-related jokes, and the later radio seasons were quite cartoony.
5:53
And
some TV episodes were quite surrealistic too--like the one with Jack golfing.
5:53
Two
words: talking squirrel.
5:53
Are
you still conscious? Hmmm...?
garth_johnson 5:55
PM
Best
golf parody I've watched - "City Golf" by Wayne and Shuster ---
Take downtown Toronto Ontario and turn it into a golf course https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK02be8w8yA
YouTube | retronewfoundland
Wayne
and Shuster September 19, 1971: City Golf
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:55
PM
Garth,
have I mentioned that there is a Canadian grad student who wants to do archival
work in the Wayne and Shuster collection, and is looking for advice. Cool!
5:56
Thank
you for the Francis Ford links to the German archives! There is a surprising
amount of his stuff in Europe (I am talking the 1910-1922 work), such as at the
EYE Museum in Amsterdam and the french film archives, hooray!
garth_johnson 5:56
PM
Kathy
- David Lennick is the one to ask -- His Mother and Father both worked with
W&S
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:57
PM
cool!
garth_johnson 5:57
PM
Sylvia
was the original Calperina in "Rinse the Blood Off My Toga"
Neil
Ottenstein 5:57 PM
I've
never seen any Wayne and Shuster before. This golf broadcast is great
garth_johnson 5:58
PM
Oh
no - I've created a monster
5:59
Jack
and Ed Sullivan were fond of the boys too.
Rodrigo
Araya 6:00 PM
I
had thought the "Are you lis'nin'"? Hmmm?" was by Eddie Cantor.
Only recently I found out that line was by Tony Wons.
garth_johnson 6:01
PM
I
don't think this picture would go over well in today's "P.C."
envirnment
kathy_fuller_seeley 6:02
PM
yikes,
maybe not.
Rodrigo
Araya 6:02 PM
The
sole presence of Bob Hope might upset some unfortunately.
6:03
Like
Milton Berle, his later "horndog" routine hasn't aged well.
6:03
But
otherwise, they would have fallen from relevance after the 70s demanded more
"macho" men.
kathy_fuller_seeley 6:04
PM
oh
gosh there are some great Francis Ford photos in the german archive, including
this later one from his best character role part in 1935's Steamboat Round the
Bend
garth_johnson 6:05
PM
I'm
glad you found a "Coppola" of tidbits there.
kathy_fuller_seeley 6:05
PM
hahaha!
Benny fan club member Ben Schwartz is slowly writing a book, that is 1/3 about
Bob Hope and 1/4 about Benny in vaudeville and other things. I keep sending Ben
articles from radio critic John Crosby, who DESPISED Bob Hope, hahahahaha
6:06
I
have also learned many ways to MIS-spell Coppola from ebay sellers, yikes
Rodrigo
Araya 6:06 PM
What
NY radio critic did NOT hate Coast comedians?
garth_johnson 6:06
PM
kathy_fuller_seeley 6:07
PM
omg
that they insisted on having Kermit the Frog say nice things about Hope in the
American Masters episode haha
Neil
Ottenstein 6:08 PM
What
a look there
kathy_fuller_seeley 6:08
PM
Actually,
John Crosby loved Fred Allen, Edgar Bergen, Jimmy Durante, Fibber and Molly,
most of Burns and Allen, Benny actually (altho used him as whipping boy). Crosby
just could not stand Hope or Skelton hahaha
Rodrigo
Araya 6:08 PM
But
NY critics loved Allen and Morgan. And so did "Esquire".
garth_johnson 6:08
PM
I
better lay off the Ballentine's or I'll need to watch come "Matt
Helm" movies
6:09
(some)
movies --- already too drunk to type right
Rodrigo
Araya 6:09 PM
Hangin'
around with Remley again?
6:10
I
thought he was still in prison for stealing a cow.
garth_johnson 6:10
PM
Rodrigo
Araya 6:14 PM
Are
you sleeping? Hmmmm...?
garth_johnson 6:14
PM
Now
Remley could probably teach me guitar --- the idiot I had when I was a
teen couldn't and me being left handed I could have gotten farther than a couple
months study
Neil
Ottenstein 6:15 PM
I
need to move on. Thanks for the chat and pictures and videos
garth_johnson 6:15
PM
yup
time to tie a ribbon around the old oak tree
Rodrigo
Araya 6:16 PM
Good
night then.
6:16
Thanks
for the book, Kathy.
garth_johnson 6:16
PM
Kathy
don't spend all night looking at old pictures
kathy_fuller_seeley 6:17
PM
OK,
only a little bit. I STILL have 500 John Crosby articles to tag, ugh! goodnight
all, from Rexall