Harry Baldwin

[Yhtapmys]

On Fred Allen's show of March 19, 1944, there's this little dialogue in Allen's Alley:

Fred: Mrs. Corn, how do you feel about Victory Gardens?
Corn: For the last two years, I've had Victory Gardens.
Fred: Good for you.
Corn: But something always happens.
Fred: How do you mean?
Corn: Last year, my husband threw some old Vitalis bottles out in the garden.
Fred: Yes?
Corn: When the lettuce came up...
Fred: Yes?
Corn: Every heard had hair on it.
Fred: Well, that couldn't happen with the apples. The apples are Baldwins, aren't they that you have?

Now, I now who Harry Baldwin was and that Harry was bald, and you do too. But the audience at Fred's show broke down over this gag. Did they really know who Harry Baldwin was well enough to make a joke connection? Or is the joke referring to someone else?

Yhtapmys

[JohnM]

Well, before I got to your comment at the end, I just assumed there was a variety of apple called the Baldwin.

A quick search reveals this is the case

The Baldwin is a bright red winter apple, above medium in size or large, and very good in quality when grown under favorable conditions

http://www.applejournal.com/var002.htm

Maybe it was a well known brand of apple back then and that's the less interesting reason for the laugh.

[Yhtapmys]

I wish someone could set up the defaults in this software to edit on this forum.

I mistranscribed. It should be "Every head had hair on it."

Yeesh.

Yhtapmys