IJBFC Chat and Happy Hours - August, 2020
(Name of message originator appears above the line)
Sunday,
August 2nd
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:56
PM
jell-o
again folks, happy sunday August 2
garth_johnson 4:57
PM
Hi
Kathy - Strange to have you talking in my ear and typing here
4:58
Have
your recent Buck Benny inteview playing
Neil
Ottenstein 4:59 PM
Hello
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:59
PM
yikes,
it was fun yakking with Darrel
Laura
Leibowitz 5:00 PM
Hi
folks!
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:00
PM
howdy,
Laura!
5:01
so
what was that you recently acquired, Laura, a large music box?
Tom
V. 5:02 PM
Good
evening ladies and gentlemen!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:03 PM
Yes,
it's a Regina. I had bought a Polyphon on auction a while back and
contented myself with that, but it was really a Regina that I had wanted all
these years.
5:03
Hi
Tom!
Neil
Ottenstein 5:03 PM
Nice
Rodrigo
Araya 5:03 PM
Hello,
anyone,
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:03
PM
well,
hooray! How many different music discs did it come with?
Laura
Leibowitz 5:03 PM
Polyphon
was made in Germany, and they started Regina in the US because it was cheaper to
make their music boxes here rather than import them.
5:04
Kathy
- 15! Haven't even unwrapped all of them yet.
Tom
V. 5:04 PM
Hi
Laura, Kathy, Neil, Garth, Rodrigo and anyone else I missed.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:04
PM
way
cool, Laura!
5:04
hello
Tom and all!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:04 PM
The
tone on this Regina is better than my Polyphon, so I'll sell the latter at some
point.
5:04
Hi
Rodrigo!
5:04
How's
everyone doing tonight?
Neil
Ottenstein 5:05 PM
Doing
okay. I monitored 4 spacecraft maneuvers earlier today. Everything went
well.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:05 PM
Neil
- Are you working for NASA or SpaceX? You know Jack was a big space
exploration fan.
beverly_bennett 5:05
PM
Hello
all!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:05 PM
Hi
Beverly!
Neil
Ottenstein 5:06 PM
A
NASA contractor at Goddard Space Flight Center. Though I've been working
from home of late
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:07
PM
well,
keep 'em flying, Neil! It was great to see the splashdown!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:07 PM
Neil
- As have many of us. Good for you! I salute you on behalf of my
parents, who were both in aerospace engineering.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:07 PM
it
was nice they were able to do that
5:07
Thanks
Laura
Leibowitz 5:07 PM
Not
sure if you saw the interview I did with grandson Michael about attending the
Apollo 11 launch, and watching the moon landing at the White House
garth_johnson 5:08
PM
Neil
- Always remember where the switch for Signal Conditioning Equipment is located
- don't need your network connection going out .
Neil
Ottenstein 5:08 PM
I
haven't
Laura
Leibowitz 5:08 PM
And
my father had a wonderful story about being at the Apollo 13 launch.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:08 PM
Cool
garth_johnson 5:08
PM
Neil
Ottenstein 5:09 PM
I
remember seeing that picture during the recent Apollo documentary that aired for
the anniversary
Laura
Leibowitz 5:10 PM
For
a while I had a card from an Apollo launch on my desk that was signed by Jack.
I think it was...Apollo 9?
Rodrigo
Araya 5:10 PM
When
hung over, Harris nothing better than Grape-Nuts Flakes!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:11 PM
Wah
wahhhhh
Rodrigo
Araya 5:11 PM
Jack
wrote that.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:11 PM
Or
at least his character did
Rodrigo
Araya 5:11 PM
On
the show I'm listening, he made Don include Dennis and Phil in the commercial.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:11 PM
Plenty
of a corn in those grapes
5:12
Ah
ha!
5:12
Hey
Kathy - How's the scanning going?
Rodrigo
Araya 5:12 PM
Now
he's announcing "The Raspberry... Horn Blows at Midnight".
Laura
Leibowitz 5:13 PM
Raspberry
Horn...the kind you'd find in a secondhand store
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:13
PM
thanks
for asking, Laura! First scrapbook is all done, I start on the Second tomorrow!
Can't wait for us to be able to share the images!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:13 PM
And
how are the reviews of the script book?
garth_johnson 5:14
PM
I
will not berry-ate ll for that - I'm not a prince of a guy
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:14
PM
everybody
seems to love the scripts book, and I am so grateful!!! Ben Ohmart the publisher
wants to start right in on volume 2, and I am ready to go!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:14 PM
I
was waiting for a Prince pun from someone...
5:15
Kathy
- OutSTANDING! I can't wait for the 1935 scripts to be out!
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:15
PM
every
day is like Christmas when I scan pages of Barbara Thunell's scrapbook, you turn
the page and go....wow, and hooray!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:16 PM
I
had designs on doing that sort of thing myself, and it's really gratifying to
see someone else take the reins on it. UCLA being a pain in various
anatomical parts just wore me out and killed my motivation.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:16
PM
I
was just thinking that 1932 was one of the few years in which Jack Benny was
broadcasting new shows in August. You all will LOVE August-SEpt-October 1932
scripts, very inventive
Laura
Leibowitz 5:16 PM
Kathy
- By the way, I've been talking with Paul about the interface...slowly. So
don't think that's dying on the vine.
5:17
Kathy
- That's about when they were developing the Mary-Jack storyline, right?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:17
PM
well,
it won't sell a million copies, but I am VERY grateful to publisher Ben Ohmart
for investing the funds to do all the typing and page production! It looks swell
(IMHO)
Laura
Leibowitz 5:18 PM
It
looks better than Garbo's shoes...or Gable's ears....or George Bernard Shaw's
beard.
5:18
You
know, why the heck did Conn do so many Shaw jokes? I just have a hard time
thinking that Shaw was that big in pop culture.
5:18
It
strikes me as him trying to be a "literary elite"...or at least
snotty.
5:19
Or
pretentious
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:19
PM
Yes,
folks, in August-SEptember 1932, Mary and Jack flirt, fight, and fall in love,
and confess undying love to each other! (when not interrupted by an
announcer yelling about Canada Dry). They very soon figured out that this was
not conducive to continuing comedy, and she started chasing boys in Olsen's
orchestra within the next episode or two
Neil
Ottenstein 5:19 PM
Interesting
Laura
Leibowitz 5:19 PM
Yep!
That declaration of undying love scene in the taxi warmed the cockles of my
heart when I first read it!
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:20
PM
GB
Shaw was the HIT of the early talkie newsreels, he was old and curmudgeony and
said delightful things, so the newsreels ate it up, that is why Jack's show
talks about him so much. The same with Gandhi's loincloth, he was in the
newsreels A LOT
Laura
Leibowitz 5:20 PM
And
about that time they were pre-empted for a Herbert Hoover speech, weren't they?
5:21
Kathy
- Ok, thank you! That never occurred to me. I figured Gandhi would
be in the news and thus known, but I didn't think about Shaw being that
pervasive.
5:21
He
was the grumpy Gore Vidal of his time.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:22
PM
haha
"grumpy Gore Vidal" is a great line! Its fun to realize that everyday
audiences went to the movies AND listened to radio. "academic scholar"
study the two media entirely separately, but people back in the day enjoyed them
all at the same time...
garth_johnson 5:22
PM
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/g-b-s-as-incorrigibly-humorous-as-ever
britishpathe.com
G.B.S.
As Incorrigibly Humorous As Ever
British
Pathe, the world's leading multimedia resource with a history stretching back
over a century. The finest and most comprehensive archive of fabulous footage
and stunning stills.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:23 PM
Oh
fun! Noted for future viewing!
5:24
Well,
I love Gore Vidal and his turn of phrase, and I think I've seen more GBS lines
in "The Pocket Curmudgeon" than anyone else...although Fred Allen and
Oscar Levant get plenty as well.
5:24
What
else Benny-wise before we go to the show?
5:25
Let's
do it! If you join the chat during the show, please go to the above link!
Laura
Leibowitz 6:26 PM
Yeah,
Goodman Ace and Jane air
6:26
Thoughts
on the show?
Rodrigo
Araya 6:26 PM
This
certainly wasn't the last time Jack would write a song, but it wasn't the
first...
Neil
Ottenstein 6:26 PM
Was
looking at the wiki page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Moon
Wikipedia
June
Moon
June
Moon is a play by George S. Kaufman and Ring Lardner. Based on the Lardner short
story "Some Like Them Cold," about a love affair that loses steam
before it ever gets started, it includes songs with words and music by Lardner
but is not considered a musical per se. (43 kB)
Rodrigo
Araya 6:26 PM
Has
anyone else seen "The Songwriters' Revue"?
Neil
Ottenstein 6:27 PM
Interestingly
enough Lee Patrick reprised her Broadway role as Eileen
Tom
V. 6:27 PM
I'm
thankful that Jack didn't sing much on his shows!
Rodrigo
Araya 6:27 PM
Even
tho Jack's intent that time was to demonstrate how easy it was to write a
"pop" song.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:27 PM
Rodrigo
- I confess I've seen excerpts...need to watch the whole thing!
Rodrigo
Araya 6:28 PM
Wait
a sec...
Laura
Leibowitz 6:28 PM
Tom
- I always get the sense that Jack was self-conscious that he didn't sing well
Rodrigo
Araya 6:28 PM
Here's
the entire short:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhasDXd6XGs&t=809s
YouTube | GoodOldDays
The
Song Writers' Revue (1930)
Laura
Leibowitz 6:28 PM
I'll
make that the opening cartoon next time!
Rodrigo
Araya 6:29 PM
Didn't
realize "Me and My Shadow" had such melancholy lyrics, having only
heard the Sinatra/Davis version.
garth_johnson 6:30
PM
1930
- MGM - The Songwriters Review - 439-11 - Jack Benny and Dave Dreyer
Laura
Leibowitz 6:30 PM
Rodrigo
- Oh, you need to see the Don and Harlow version.
Rodrigo
Araya 6:30 PM
It's
only... a little old shanty... in that old, old shanty town...
Laura
Leibowitz 6:31 PM
I
was going to say it was popularized by Bert Williams, but I think that I'm
confusing it with the melancholy lyrics of his signature song,
"Nobody."
Rodrigo
Araya 6:31 PM
Look
at the roof... so slanty, that it nearly touches the ground.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:31 PM
I'm
thinking I learned that song from Ted Lewis...
Rodrigo
Araya 6:31 PM
How's
that for a Ted Lewis impression?
Laura
Leibowitz 6:31 PM
Is
everybody happy?
garth_johnson 6:32
PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkNqudYjDqc
Rodrigo
Araya 6:32 PM
Wonder
if "Shanty in Old Shanty Town" was featured in any Canada Dry shows...
Laura
Leibowitz 6:32 PM
Oh
well done, Garth!
6:32
Rodrigo-
There's a pun in there somewhere
garth_johnson 6:32
PM
I
can do things other than posting youtube links
Laura
Leibowitz 6:33 PM
Thanks
Garth Blanc
6:33
Other
thoughts on the show?
Neil
Ottenstein 6:34 PM
I
wonder how much they rehearsed that
Rodrigo
Araya 6:34 PM
Haven't
found the pun, Laura...
Laura
Leibowitz 6:34 PM
Hmmmm...that's
a good question!
6:34
Rodrigo
- I'll let you know when/if I do
Rodrigo
Araya 6:35 PM
"A
Shanty in Old Shanty Town" was a popular hit in the summer/early fall of
1932.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:35 PM
Neil
- Jack would have been rehearsing for his own show as well, since this wasn't
done in the summer. So I'd bet it was limited. But I also thought
that Welles was a perfectionist and wouldn't tolerate that.
6:36
We
need a Welles scholar to say how much he rehearsal he demanded for radio.
Neil
Ottenstein 6:37 PM
Yes,
a conflict there. They made it seem that Jack was doing a lot off the
cuff, but I can't see Welles letting that happen.
garth_johnson 6:37
PM
Neil
Ottenstein 6:37 PM
There
had to be some give and take on the tone between the two of them
Rodrigo
Araya 6:37 PM
Maybe
they did a little warm-up in the 20-25 minutes between the Jell-O show ended and
the Campbell program began.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:37 PM
You
can tell that Jack's ad libbing a couple times, but I don't see Jack being up
for much of that either.
Neil
Ottenstein 6:37 PM
Nice
photo
Rodrigo
Araya 6:38 PM
It
was a good thing the NBC and CBS studios were facing each other.
6:38
As
Mel Blanc and Phil can testify.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:38 PM
Thanks
for that reminder, Garth. I was suspecting that Jack had at least a small
contribution from his own writers. And there's Bill Morrow.
6:39
Rodrigo
- Exactly (running back and forth between studios).
garth_johnson 6:39
PM
1940
- American radio director, actor and playwright Orson Welles (1915 - 1985) sits
at a table, smoking his pipe, with his star, comedian Jack Benny (1894 - 1974),
standing, center, and others during rehearsal of 'June Moon' at the KNX radio
station for the CBS Campbell Playhouse broadcast, Hollywood, California, March
24, 1940. From left: Bill Morrow (standing, writer for Jack Benny); Welles;
Benny Rubin sitting behind Welles); Benny; Ernest Chappell (seated at
table across from Welles); Jack Beloin (sitting facing camera, another Benny
writer). Foreground: Orson?s cast (L-R) Bill Alland, Lee Patrick (center) and
Bea Benaderet. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
Neil
Ottenstein 6:39 PM
Of
course it could be that Orson Welles told Jack he could put together a few of
those mini-segments himself
Laura
Leibowitz 6:39 PM
Jack
Beloin. ED Beloin!
garth_johnson 6:40
PM
I
don't write 'em - I just paste them into the scrapbook
Laura
Leibowitz 6:40 PM
Oh
I know...not meaning to carp at you.
6:40
I
think I said this a few weeks ago, but I don't think that's Ed Beloin.
6:41
Looks
more like Hickey Marks to me, but I don't know why he'd have been there other
than the possibility he'd lost yet another job.
6:43
OK,
shall we call it good for this week?
Rodrigo
Araya 6:43 PM
Did
anyone else see that drawing in the Facebook group? It was by the same artist
who did the "Pin the Tobacco Leaf on the Comedian" one.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:43 PM
Oh
yes, saw those two!
Rodrigo
Araya 6:43 PM
Eddie
Cantor looked like Esky.
6:43
The
mascot from Esquire.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:43 PM
Esky?
6:43
Oh
right
Rodrigo
Araya 6:44 PM
And
did George Burns ever have curly hair?
Laura
Leibowitz 6:44 PM
He
does on some of his sheet music too
6:44
I
think of his hair in the early-mid 30s as wavy
6:44
But
he had nothin' on Phil Harris
Rodrigo
Araya 6:45 PM
He
directed the orchestra with a curling iron...
Laura
Leibowitz 6:45 PM
And
when he got tired of that, he gave it to Mahlon Merrick
Rodrigo
Araya 6:45 PM
At
least he wasn't Lyman. He used a blackjack as a baton.
garth_johnson 6:45
PM
Burns
- And Allens Circa 1933
Rodrigo
Araya 6:46 PM
Wonder
if Whiteman used a pork chop or a chicken leg...
Laura
Leibowitz 6:46 PM
Looks
like George has it slicked down there
6:46
I'm
thinking of a...well...Campbell's Tomato Juice ad I have on the wall downstairs.
6:46
I'll
post a photo of it later.
6:47
OK,
let's call it a wrap for this week. Thanks for joining, and we'll have a
happy hour next week!
Rodrigo
Araya 6:47 PM
Good
night.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:47 PM
Stay
safe and stay strong, folks!
garth_johnson 6:47
PM
With
three you get pancakes
Neil
Ottenstein 6:47 PM
Thanks
for the fun
Tom
V. 6:48 PM
Goodnight
folks. Always a pleasure!
Sunday,
August 9th
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:54
PM
jell-o
everyone!
garth_johnson 4:57
PM
Greetings
Ladies and gentlemen is every one ready for another hour of entertainment about
Canada Dry Ginger Ale now available Made-To-Order by the Glass at soda fountains
everywhere and JELL-O, with that locked in flavour now setting up in your fridge
for that fine, that light, that mild after dinner desert with no loose ends?
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:58
PM
have
you ever made jello with Canada Dry or other soda? I don't find that the bubbles
last in the gelatin, but maybe I am making it incorrectly.
4:58
Hello
Garth!
4:58
Hey
Garth, would you like a link to the scrapbooks I am scanning? You of all people
deserve a first look!
garth_johnson 4:58
PM
Vodka
is _the_ only liquid substitute for my Jell-o
4:59
Sure
- pass on the link
Laura
Leibowitz 4:59 PM
Hi
folks!
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:59
PM
the
first 3 I have seen are marvelous! Barbara scoured an amazing number of sources,
do not know where she found some of this stuff
4:59
Howdy
Laura!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:00 PM
Garth
- My first roommate in CA made it with a variety of mixes
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:00
PM
Well
I was just emoting about the wonders hidden in Barbara's scrapbooks that we can
make more widely known : )
Laura
Leibowitz 5:00 PM
Orange
and peach jello with vodka and peach schnapps
5:00
lemon
and lime jello with tequila and margarita schnapps
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:01
PM
fraternity
brothers used grain and sometimes Maneshevevevitz
Laura
Leibowitz 5:01 PM
Kathy
- Yes indeedy! I need to see how Paul's doing on the upload
Rodrigo
Araya 5:01 PM
Say,
Mr. Benny. On the way home can we...?
Laura
Leibowitz 5:01 PM
Kathy
- Yowza
Neil
Ottenstein 5:01 PM
Good
evening
Rodrigo
Araya 5:01 PM
Oh,
hullo.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:01 PM
Hi
Rodrigo, hi Neil!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:02 PM
Thanks,
fellas.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:02 PM
Good
evening ladies and gentlemen, this is Orson Welles
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:02
PM
haha
and I am his secretary ms so and so....you all should behave (haha)
garth_johnson 5:02
PM
Has
the microphone been sanitized LL
Laura
Leibowitz 5:03 PM
Hark,
I hear the cannons roar, is it Mr. Welles approaching?
5:03
Hey
Kathy, tell us more about the fun you've found in Barbara's scrapbooks!
garth_johnson 5:03
PM
Laura
Leibowitz 5:04 PM
Man,
Irving may not have been his agent back then, but you wouldn't know it!
Neil
Ottenstein 5:04 PM
any
idea who the artist is?
garth_johnson 5:04
PM
Kathy
- Man-o-Man what a hangover that would be
Laura
Leibowitz 5:04 PM
Looks
like Ripley
garth_johnson 5:05
PM
Too
much sanitizer LL??
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:05
PM
oh
gosh Laura, I will sound like Stephan on Saturday Night Live News,,,,,,the
hot new place is Scrapbook Number 1, where you can learn about Jack's summer
1950 tour, Joan's first divorce, every mention of Jack in the trades, and things
that will never be scanned by newspapers.com
Rodrigo
Araya 5:05 PM
The
Quaker ad is from 1943. Jack was supposed to start the season on Oct. 3.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:06 PM
Yes,
it does look the old Ripley comic strips
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:06
PM
really,
they are WONDERFUL and I so appreciate all the things Barbara collected.... its
more than you can get on any digitized source yet, or in Benny's Wyoming
collection!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:06 PM
I
know it sounds strange considering Jack was working for Grape-Nuts.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:06 PM
Rodrigo
- True, but I'm assuming General Foods owned both brands?
Rodrigo
Araya 5:07 PM
Turns
out I'm wrong, Oct. 3 did fall on a Sunday in 48...
garth_johnson 5:07
PM
In
colour
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:08
PM
well,
the ad agency probably got the right to publicize Jack across everything the
agency owned (like all General Foods products)
5:08
this
does not explain RC cola until we learn who their ad agency was!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:08 PM
Trouble
is... Quaker was not owned by General Foods.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:08 PM
R&R
or BBDO? Too early for BBDO
Rodrigo
Araya 5:08 PM
Lord
and Thomas apparently.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:09 PM
Good
one, Rodrigo
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:09
PM
well,
money talks!!!!! So any deal that agency or sponsor or brother in law works out,
was cool
garth_johnson 5:09
PM
It's
In The Bag - and in the Fridge --- RC was my cola of the 80's
Neil
Ottenstein 5:09 PM
Nice
Laura
Leibowitz 5:09 PM
So
Ruthrauff and Ryan had RC Cola?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:09
PM
also,
Jello or the main sponsor would be less upset about a celebrity plug for a
product considered very different...
Rodrigo
Araya 5:09 PM
The
"Shot from Guns" thing contributed to the confusion over the ad.
5:10
That's
something you'd expect from a wartime ad, not one from 1948.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:10 PM
Well,
guns were for the war effort, so puffed rice must have been ray-shunned
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:10
PM
ad
agency history and the history of advertising is fascinating! my favorite book
is Roland Marchand, Advertising the American Dream
Rodrigo
Araya 5:10 PM
I
remember a 1950s beer ad with Fred. Was it Schlitz?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:11
PM
and
Cynthia Meyers, A Word From our Sponsor: A history of admen in radio
Laura
Leibowitz 5:11 PM
A
lot of celebs plugged for Schlitz in the 50s. I think I have a Groucho
Marx ad for them
Rodrigo
Araya 5:11 PM
The
"Ol Bassoon" was wearing glasses and was in front of a radio mike.
5:11
Even
tho he had already left radio by then.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:11 PM
Kathy
- So noted. I've had the recent book about Advertising Musicals in my
Amazon shopping list for over a year now.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:12
PM
ooooh
I want to read that one, too!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:12 PM
The
ad was from 1954. "The Big Show" ended in 52,
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:12
PM
Marchand
adn Meyers are my best go-to books, fun to read even if academic
Laura
Leibowitz 5:12 PM
When
Marty and I were working on Volume 3, he asked me to go to the Stanford Library
to go through the trades and find some articles for him. Those ad trades
were fascinating reading.
5:13
The
striking thing to me were the obits. Guys dying in their 30s from all
sorts of tragic things.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:13
PM
and
now you can find all the trades online -- hooray : ) it has transformed my
research
Laura
Leibowitz 5:13 PM
Indeed!
I did not know that!
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:13
PM
Laura
oh yes!!!! The people part is fascinating too
Laura
Leibowitz 5:14 PM
OK,
I have to ask. Who else here got seriously honked off by the portrayal of
Don Draper inventing "It's Toasted" for Lucky Strike in the first Mad
Men episode?
Rodrigo
Araya 5:14 PM
What?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:14
PM
everybody www.mediashist.org
Laura
Leibowitz 5:14 PM
I
was yelling at the TV like a sports fan whose team had just given up three walks
and a grand slam.
garth_johnson 5:15
PM
Dancing
with the stars ???
Laura
Leibowitz 5:15 PM
Kathy
- OK, glad to know that Marty and I weren't alone.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:15 PM
That's
the first time I hear about somebody inventing something that had existed for 40
years before.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:15 PM
Rodrigo
- And that's why I got honked off about it.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:15
PM
and www.worldradiohistory.com
Rodrigo
Araya 5:16 PM
I
remember seeing a Sunday comic ad with Jack and Mary from c. 1937.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:16 PM
I
mean, I know I'm a nerd and all, but that was like having a 1980s car drive by
outside the bar.
5:17
Rodrigo
- And I have ads featuring George Gershwin (who died in 1937) with it plugging
Luckies
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:17
PM
of
course! Don Draper invented NOTHING -- but for the bozos who knew nothing about
advertising history, they learned a few things. Don Draper didn't invent the
"Teach the world to sing" Coke ad, on the last episode, either!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:17 PM
Oh
spoiler alert...I loved that series so much that I haven't been able to bring
myself to watch the end of it yet.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:17
PM
ooooh
Laura I love the irony of Gershwin on smoking, right before his tumor...
Laura
Leibowitz 5:18 PM
Kathy
- True, but I believe that was a brain tumor, not lung.
5:18
Don
Wilson was Gershwin's announcer BTW
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:19
PM
so....our
Univerity of Texas archive recently got all the materials from "Mad
Men" including the historical research they did. We hope to put on a
conference, and my presentation will be "YOU GUYS GOT IT ALL WRONG!"
hahaha
5:19
well,
dead is dead, poor guy....
Laura
Leibowitz 5:19 PM
The
thing is, Matt Weiner's staff has worked with Marty subsequently to ensure that
they're being authentic. I'm told he's usually really careful about that.
5:19
Kathy
- And tragically young. Didn't even make it to 39.
5:20
Kathy
- Oh indeed, so Marty was misinformed about their historical research?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:20
PM
well,
the scriptwriters will want to create narrative hooks, big HIGHS to hang plot
things on. The Luckies ad, and then the Kodak carousel slide projector, were
good hooks
5:20
narrative
trumps history hahaha
Laura
Leibowitz 5:20 PM
True.
Print the legend.
5:21
I
think I told you that I had another author try to pick a fight with me at a
radio convention over the spelling of Mary's real first name.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:21
PM
haha
you got it, Laura! That is a John Ford line, and one of my new projects is all
about exploding that JFord myth hahha
Rodrigo
Araya 5:22 PM
Probably
not many people would have gotten the "Reach for a Lucky Instead of a
Sweet".
Laura
Leibowitz 5:22 PM
Don't
tell me that Orson Welles didn't watch Stagecoach like 50 times before shooting
Kane...
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:22
PM
oh
please! everything and every factoid has an opposite, and we can choose to die
on whatever hills we want, or admit that everything has several versions, like
spellings of Sadye! or Sadie or Saide!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:23 PM
Well,
he was mansplaining to me about how it WAS "Sadie" because blah blah
blah blah
Rodrigo
Araya 5:23 PM
Or
when Sadye, Sadie or whatever name was actually born.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:23
PM
Rodrigo
I show that Luckies instead of a sweet ad with the large lady on horseback, and
they gasp today at the fat shaming!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:23 PM
Imagine
him standing over me and me sitting at my little vendor table
5:23
Him
going blah, blah, blah, blah and me with my chin on my palm looking at him.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:23
PM
yikes
Laura, you are brave and resilient! And we shall overcome the old men of old...
garth_johnson 5:24
PM
From
the desk of GB himself
Laura
Leibowitz 5:24 PM
And
without changing my gaze, I reached to my right and grabbed a newsletter and
flipped it up so he was looking at the back cover.
5:24
Which
had a picture of Mary circa 1928 signed, "Love, Sadye"
5:25
Took
him a while to take notice of it and process what I was showing him.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:25 PM
Well,
Sadye might have had several birthdates, but they weren't stretched away like
Gracie's (1894 or 1906?)
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:25
PM
hahaha
you are wonderful, Laura! As are all the terrific members of this group : )
Laura
Leibowitz 5:25 PM
And
he finally sniffed at it and said something like, "Well, it was eventually
Anglicized and so now THAT'S the truth."
5:25
But...here's
the thing
Neil
Ottenstein 5:25 PM
Of
course
Laura
Leibowitz 5:25 PM
We
were both right.
5:26
On
her birth record, it's Sadie.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:26
PM
YES,
multiple "right"s
Laura
Leibowitz 5:26 PM
I
think she started doing Sadye to be more "exotic" or whatever
Rodrigo
Araya 5:26 PM
Well,
it was 1928...
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:26
PM
Jack
was no different!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:26 PM
You
are correct!
5:27
Bennie
Benny
5:27
Ben
K. Benny
5:27
Ben
Bernie...oops
Rodrigo
Araya 5:27 PM
Yowsa!
Yowsa! Yowsa!
garth_johnson 5:27
PM
Benjamin
Kribelsky
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:27
PM
Jack
Denny
Laura
Leibowitz 5:27 PM
Jack
Benny
5:27
Chad
DEnby
Rodrigo
Araya 5:27 PM
"I
feel like a feather in the breeze..."
Laura
Leibowitz 5:28 PM
Jack
Bunny
garth_johnson 5:28
PM
Finally
found it
Laura
Leibowitz 5:28 PM
Good
job, Garth...that's the photo I showed him. I have the original gifted to
me by a member of the family.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:28 PM
"I
love to singa,
about
the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a".
5:29
Jack
was right!
garth_johnson 5:29
PM
Not
her most glamourous pic.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:29 PM
Pre-nose
job
Rodrigo
Araya 5:29 PM
You
need a moon, June and spring in a popular song...
Laura
Leibowitz 5:29 PM
But
those pouty 1920s lips
5:29
June
Moo-hoo-hoon
5:29
Actually,
this is a perfect lead in to the show for tonight
5:29
"show"
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:29
PM
yay
Rodrigo
Araya 5:30 PM
OK
Laura
Leibowitz 5:30 PM
https://w2g.tv/mbrm7osc3l5p85x3t9
w2g.tv
Let's
meet on Watch2Gether
Watch2Gether
lets you watch videos with your friends, synchronized at the same time. (5
kB)
https://w2g.tv/static/watch2gether-share.jpg
5:30
If
anyone joins the chat during the show, please join at the above link!
garth_johnson 5:30
PM
Lets
Dive in
Laura
Leibowitz 5:51 PM
Thoughts?
5:52
And
am I crazy, or wasn't there a ballet for Wedding of the Painted Doll?
Neil
Ottenstein 5:52 PM
Jack
brushing away Babe Click was a bit weird
Laura
Leibowitz 5:52 PM
Neil
- Yes, it comes off as very rude.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:53 PM
Indeed
garth_johnson 5:53
PM
Not
something Merv would have mentioned when he interviewed Jack
Laura
Leibowitz 5:53 PM
It
is almost a movie version of the early Canada Dry shows though
5:53
Arthur
Freed standing in for Paul Small.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:54 PM
So
Jack was speaking Yiddish with Dreyer.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:54 PM
Sometimes
it's a little hard to tell Yiddish from German, but I'm sure Jack heard plenty
of Yiddish growing up with Orthodox parents
Rodrigo
Araya 5:55 PM
I
thought it was one of those Eastern European languages considering the joke that
Dreyer was Russian...
Laura
Leibowitz 5:55 PM
Well,
I can assure you it wasn't Russian.
5:56
I'd
have to listen to it a couple more times to figure out the translation.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:56 PM
I
know Jack said "ring" at one point.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:57 PM
I'll
have to listen to it again. And I have to go find that missing ballet.
I'm watching a pretty clear version of it in my head, and I know I didn't make
it up.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:57 PM
Maybe
those were the Albertina Rasch dancers.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:58 PM
one
of the other youtube links was for something that might have been it?
Laura
Leibowitz 5:58 PM
Neil
- Yes, they have a few copies up there. I'll have to look around.
5:58
Garth
- Does IMDB credit the dancers?
Rodrigo
Araya 5:58 PM
The
Rasch troupe appeared on lots of early MGM musicals, primarily shorts.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:59 PM
Good
job...I had to look up the name
Neil
Ottenstein 5:59 PM
Only
a bunch of selfs and a member of the chorus and the sandman
Laura
Leibowitz 5:59 PM
Maybe
someday we'll have to pull this file out of the MGM archives
6:00
OK,
top of the hour. Anything else Benny-wise to discuss tonight?
Rodrigo
Araya 6:00 PM
Listened
to the show tonight...
6:00
There
was another duet between Mary and Phil.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:00 PM
Rodrigo
- I think you were the one who inspired it!
garth_johnson 6:00
PM
...
somebody page me ---- busy rewatching my older copy of the short --- didn't see
anything different
6:01
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020432/fullcredits?ref_=ttloc_ql_1
IMDb
The
Song Writers' Revue (1929) - IMDb
The
Song Writers' Revue (1929) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses,
directors, writers and more.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:01 PM
Oh
you're listening to late 30s shows
Rodrigo
Araya 6:01 PM
Dennis
wanted to change his surname to Hassenpfeffer.
garth_johnson 6:01
PM
Ann
Dvorak only (un) credited dancer
Rodrigo
Araya 6:02 PM
And...
is it me, or were tattoos a fad in the early-mid 40s?
Laura
Leibowitz 6:02 PM
Oh
ironic...she married Dennis' brother, didn't she? Or am I confusing my
Anns?
garth_johnson 6:02
PM
Ann
Blyth
Rodrigo
Araya 6:02 PM
Imagine
that... Dennis Legally Hassenpfeffer...
Laura
Leibowitz 6:02 PM
Rodrigo
- I think that was because of the military
6:02
Garth
- Thank you.
Rodrigo
Araya 6:03 PM
And
Jack told how he got in the Navy in 1917.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:03 PM
OK,
thanks for stopping and enjoying the fun. See you next week!
Rodrigo
Araya 6:03 PM
Good
night.
Laura
Leibowitz 6:03 PM
Rodrigo
- Which I'm sure is not based on the truth!
Rodrigo
Araya 6:03 PM
I'm
sure he wasn't stationed at Terminal Island.
Neil
Ottenstein 6:03 PM
Thanks.
Have a good week
garth_johnson 6:04
PM
Dennis
was in the pacific
Sunday,
August 16th
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:56
PM
jell-o
again folks!
garth_johnson 4:57
PM
Good
evening
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:57
PM
Hiya
Garth! I sure do love your new database!
garth_johnson 4:58
PM
And
when I plug in the "more recent" clippings, you can date the pictures
by their captions
kathy_fuller_seeley 4:58
PM
wow,
you are amazing
garth_johnson 5:00
PM
This
has been a project about 9 years in the making --- I finally found a plug-in for
the content management software I use that will take in a small spreadsheet and
automagically make it appear as an article
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:00
PM
so
Garth. do you follow any other entertainers to the extent you do Benny? Your
level of knowledge is SO extraordinary!!!!
5:01
and
how did YOU get interested in Jack Benny, Garth? I imagine we are about the same
age...
garth_johnson 5:02
PM
No
--- I got hooked on Jack or is that Jacked on Benny back in the '70s and nobody
else interests me to the same degree of fananticizm
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:03
PM
haha
that is wonderful, same for me (except for my early film history jonesing haha)
Neil
Ottenstein 5:03 PM
Good
evening
Rodrigo
Araya 5:03 PM
Hello,
anybody...
Laura
Leibowitz 5:03 PM
Hi
folks!
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:03
PM
Hello
Neil! I hope the weather is OK where you are (108 here in Austin Texas ugh)
5:03
well,
the gang's all here, hello Rodrigo and Laura!
Neil
Ottenstein 5:03 PM
We've
had rain the past two days, took the temperature from high 80s/90s to the
mid-70s
Rodrigo
Araya 5:04 PM
I
had the sniffles the other day and got some cough drops made in Los Angeles.
(this
didn't really happen)
Laura
Leibowitz 5:04 PM
Gee
Garth...would you be open to me connecting you to the person who offered to do
the IJBFC database?
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:04
PM
Rodrigo,
that I hope is better than smudge pots!
garth_johnson 5:04
PM
The
igloo has reached a cozy 84, I may have to go to the root celler where it's 20
degrees cooler - until I turn on the Phil Harris
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:05
PM
well,
all I can hope for is better in September!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:05 PM
I'm
told we had a tremendous thunderstorm here this morning...very unusual for this
area. The thunder woke me up a number of times.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:06
PM
Laura
atleast its not a fire tornado!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:06 PM
Amen
5:06
Kathy
- I hear there was a shooting in your area, just reported.
Rodrigo
Araya 5:06 PM
Can
you think about another Harris-ism?
garth_johnson 5:06
PM
LL
- Sure -- I hate databases, but doesn't everybody
Laura
Leibowitz 5:06 PM
In
the Austin area, I mean.
5:06
Garth
- Too true. At least all the semi-organized hoarders do.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:06
PM
yep,
crazy person about 2 miles from here, shooting up people who approached his
house. Lord love the USA....
Laura
Leibowitz 5:07 PM
Kathy
- Good Gawd
5:07
When
the house next door to mine was rented, the tenant posted a rant on the fence
that anyone approaching the house would be shot.
5:08
So
we have our share of loons out here too.
5:08
OK,
back to Benny.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:08
PM
I
had been in charge of investigating sexual assualts on the UT campus, and very
glad the VIRUS now keeps people apart from one another, but there is no
accounting for folks with weapons. Luckily that is out of my jurisdiction
5:08
hooray
back to Benny!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:09 PM
Kathy
- Good thing you're not in Georgia. I'll let you see that one for
yourself.
5:09
So
tell us about this database, Garth!
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:09
PM
I
have never been more grateful for the first research leave in 28 years, starting
TUESDAY!!!! yay!
garth_johnson 5:09
PM
Well
as many people know I collect image files of Benny and his associates
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:09
PM
Garth
is building wonderful things
Laura
Leibowitz 5:09 PM
Hallelujah!
As Jack would tell you, timing is everything.
garth_johnson 5:10
PM
Well
It got kind of big
5:10
So
when data management is a problem you toss everything into one big box and
forget a bout it
Laura
Leibowitz 5:10 PM
I
have my share of that right here in this room.
garth_johnson 5:11
PM
thats
what I did - there is a Content management system called Joomla - runs nicely on
old computer hardware and has the benifit of being free
Neil
Ottenstein 5:11 PM
Then
you can go excavating later and wonder at what you have (edited)
Laura
Leibowitz 5:11 PM
Neil
- I do that with regularity!
garth_johnson 5:12
PM
So
I managed to mung a bunch of my newspaper clipping files from 1908 to 1919 into
something of a reasonable order and tossed them into Joomla
Laura
Leibowitz 5:12 PM
Ah,
metadata
garth_johnson 5:12
PM
Out
pops what I am working with in a format that is somewhat presentable
Rodrigo
Araya 5:12 PM
Mairzy
doats and dozy doats...
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:12
PM
"mung",
like he said, yah (says Dennis)
garth_johnson 5:14
PM
over
at my own server http://96.55.108.171/cms is where select people can
find things, but be warned it is fluid - some times not there - as I am not
running a proper Dev/Ops environment on my hobby
96.55.108.171
Home
A
collection of material related to the career of the forever 39-year-old
entertainer, Jack Benny.
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:14
PM
Garth
you are a technological genius!!!!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:15 PM
If
you want, I just bought a subscription to some cloud space to house a similar
effort. Happy to have you put it there if you'd like!
5:15
And
that should take care of your DevOps issue.
garth_johnson 5:15
PM
Currently
its just the newspaper clippings, but after some processing I'll add the
magazines etc...
kathy_fuller_seeley 5:16
PM
and
Neil, Rodrigo and other folks, there is more COOL stuff coming, as Laura is
allowing me to scan the amazing scrapbooks assembled by member Barbara Thunell
over a 50 year period, yay!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:16 PM
Sounds
like we're all working towards similar ends!
Neil
Ottenstein 5:16 PM
Nice
garth_johnson 5:16
PM
Dev/Ops
is easily solved - do the development on my little Raspberry Pi and leave the
4th Gen I5 with 4 TB of storage handle the Benny stuff
5:17
As
I say --- this is a hobby
Laura
Leibowitz 5:17 PM
Fair
enough. And I respect your desire to keep it on your own server.
5:17
OK,
anything else or should we go to the show?
garth_johnson 5:18
PM
We
want Benny! We Want Benny! We Want Benny!
Laura
Leibowitz 5:18 PM
I
haven't previewed these video files, so I hope they work.
5:18
If
you join while the chat is in progress, please join us at the above link!
5:19
Er,
while the show is in progress...
Rodrigo
Araya 5:48 PM
I
never... I never... I never... I never saw that coming.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:48 PM
that
was loads of fun
Laura
Leibowitz 5:48 PM
Wish
I could have truly watched it with you!
garth_johnson 5:48
PM
Think
of what fun a MP3 player would be
Neil
Ottenstein 5:48 PM
quite
a surprise.
Laura
Leibowitz 5:49 PM
I've
had so many people comment to me on that episode.
5:49
Saying
how it gave them nightmares, etc.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:49 PM
not
surprised
Laura
Leibowitz 5:49 PM
Other
thoughts on the show?
garth_johnson 5:50
PM
Carson
was better than Rock Hudson in the Hugh Downs variation
Neil
Ottenstein 5:51 PM
has
Jack done that android Jack joke other times?
Laura
Leibowitz 5:51 PM
Yes
5:51
people
often call it the Benny bot
5:51
There
are a couple other episodes where the sponsor says they're going to save money
by replacing Jack with a robot
5:52
People
often wonder if it's hanging around some prop room in CBS still.
5:52
I
think they use the same bot
garth_johnson 5:52
PM
Close
the door
Laura
Leibowitz 5:53 PM
What
else? Nice to see Johnny showing off his range of skills
5:53
Oh
yes, and Senor Wences!
5:53
That
was the 1959 special
5:53
But
that's not a bot, that's just Jack sitting in a cabinet.
5:54
Anything
else?
Neil
Ottenstein 5:54 PM
there's
a 1955 Jack Benny episode with an even younger Johnny Carson
Laura
Leibowitz 5:54 PM
I
almost picked that one, but wanted the one with the bot to see people's
reactions.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:55 PM
the
bot definitely was great to see
Laura
Leibowitz 5:55 PM
OK,
let's call it good for this week, and I'll see you all next week! Stay
cool and thanks for stopping!
Rodrigo
Araya 5:55 PM
Good
night.
Neil
Ottenstein 5:55 PM
thanks