Category Archives: Comedy

Babe Ruth And Lou Gehrig Comedy Record -1927

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A Commercial Recording Release By The Bambino and The Iron Horse

Gehrig and Ruth at League Park Cleveland 1927 photo L Van OeyenRecently I was reading an old New York Times column from October 7, 1956 by Gay Talese in which he wrote about the history of baseball records. Not home run or pitching records, but baseball related music and spoken word records.

In the article Talese mentions that one of the first record companies to release a baseball record was Pathe records in 1928 when they got Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to make a recording explaining how they hit home runs. It did not sell very well. Almost all baseball related recordings have traditionally done poorly with sales, with the exception of Take Me Out To The Ballgame written in 1908 by Albert Von Tilzer and Jack Norworth. Incredibly neither Von Tilzer or Norworth had ever attended a baseball game prior to writing their hit song.

So I searched for the Ruth – Gehrig recording on youtube and couldn’t find the exact recording mentioned in the article, but came up with this version instead. (Click on the youtube video below). Apparently it is the exact same record as in the Talese article, but Talese is mistaken about  the content and the date.

It’s a comedy skit (which is not very funny) advertised Continue reading →

W.C. Fields Will Gave The Bulk Of His Estate To Establish A College For White Orphans

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W.C. Fields Died On A Day He Pretended To Despise, Christmas Day 1946

When His Will Was Read, It Had A Peculiar Racial Provision In It

WC Fields full face and portraitsMovie star comedian W.C. Fields is not well remembered by today’s generation, his cerebral brilliance generally going unappreciated or unrecognized. But those who know comedy such as Monty Python’s John Cleese said of Fields, “At a time when political correctness often stifles honesty and impulse to laugh and genuine wit is in such short supply, I think nothing could be healthier than the re-discovery of this most original, perceptive and unrepentant of comedians.”

When Fields died 68 years ago today on December 25, 1946, his will provided small amounts for family members and friends with the $800,000 remainder of his estate being left to establish “The W. C. Fields College for White Orphan Boys and Girls Where No Religion of Any Kind is Ever to be Taught.”

This strange racial provision seemed completely out of character for a man who treated blacks as equals and stood up for racial equality long before it was popular.  It was at W.C. Fields insistence that his Zigfield Follies friend, the great black vaudeville star Bert Williams, be allowed to join Actor’s Equity. Williams was finally admitted to the association. Fields said Williams was, “The funniest man I ever saw and the saddest man I ever knew.”

So why would Fields put this exclusionary provision in his will? Continue reading →

Gilligan’s Island Cast Related Albums

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The Skipper’s Orgy Album and Other LP’s

album cover Alan Hale's Roman OrgyThis year September 26, marks the 50th anniversary of the premiere of one of television’s all-time classic shows.

Gilligan’s Island originally ran on CBS from September 26 1964 until April 17, 1967 and will be seen forever in re-runs. It spawned an unforgettable theme song and a cast of actors that for better or worse became synonymous with their characters.

Nowadays merchandising and licensing for nearly every quasi-celebrity is the norm. But Gilligan’s Island never took advantage of the popularity of the show and issued albums on behalf of the cast members.

But looking around the web you will find a few albums related to the cast of the show.

Alan Hale’s incredibly titled album, Skipper Alan Hale’s Roman Orgy, would not inspire many of the eleven-year-old fans of the program to purchase it.

Unfortunately it is not a real album, but just one of a series of fake album covers by animator Chris Shapan.album cover Bob Denver Maynard Krebs fake album
Continue reading →

Batman TV Series – Celebrity In The Window Cameos

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Do NOT Be Alarmed Citizen! Batman Series To Finally Be Released On DVD

Sammy Davis Jr., Robin & Batman

Sammy Davis Jr., Robin & Batman

In January it was reported that the long awaited release of the original Batman TV series is finally coming to DVD/Blu Ray sometime in 2014.

Batman which originally aired on ABC from 1966-1968, has been wrapped up in licensing, clearance and legal tangles for years and a whole generation knows Batman primarily from the most recent set of movies and DC comic books.

But for anyone who grew up in the 1960’s or 1970’s, Batman meant the campy TV series starring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin, along with many guest star villains and celebrity cameos.

Presented here on Youtube (until it is ordered taken down by some corporation) is a compilation of all the cameo appearances of celebrities who happened to coincidentally  look out the window just when Batman and Robin were climbing up or down a building. They then would proceed to have a bizarre conversation with the dynamic duo. Bat Climb photo via www.bat-mania.co.uk:This simple stunt was accomplished by having Adam West and Burt Ward walk on the floor hunched over while the camera was tilted on its side as the celebrity pops out of the floor disguised as a window.

Some of these celebrities like Dick Clark, Jerry Lewis and Sammy Davis Jr. are still recognized by younger audiences today, but many are forgotten such as Suzy Knickerbocker. Take a look for yourself.

The celebrity cameos are in order of appearance on the video:

1. Jerry Lewis

Continue reading →

The Brilliance Of Sid Caesar – Five Of His Great Comedy Sketches

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Sid Caesar, Master Of Sketch Comedy Dies At 91

Sid Caesar Feb 9 1953When certain celebrities pass away it hits me hard. Sid Caesar was always one of my favorite comedians. His death at the age of 91 in Beverly Hills, CA on February 12, 2014, closes the book on the big TV comedy stars during the golden age of prime time television of the 1950’s. Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Red Skelton, Ed Wynn, Jackie Gleason, Ernie Kovacs, Phil Silvers – they’re all gone now.

Sid Caesar’s meteoric rise at breakneck speed from 1950-1954 on Your Show of Shows and from 1955-1957 on Caesar’s Hour was offset by a steep fall into depression with drug and alcohol problems, which took him many years to recover from.

To modern audiences Caesar may be best known for his movie appearances in Grease (1978) as Coach Calhoun and It’s A Mad, Mad Mad, Mad World (1963) as one of the treasure pursuers. But I would say for most people under the age of 40, the name Sid Caesar will draw a blank stare when mentioned. That is a shame.

Here is a sketch that pre-dates the current health food craze by sixty years.

What Sid Caesar accomplished besides entertaining millions with his hilarious sketches that the common man could relate to, was to bring together a staff of talent that influences modern comedy to this day.

The writing and performing staff included Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Neil Simon, Lucille Kallen, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Danny Simon, Mel Tolkin and Larry Gelbart. It is no exaggeration to say the annals of comedy would not have been the same without Sid Caesar.

As the New York Times pointed out in its obituary of Sid Caesar:

A list of Mr. Caesar’s writers over the years reads like a comedy all-star team. Mel Brooks (who in 1982 called him “the funniest man America has produced to date”) did some of his earliest writing for him, as did Woody Allen. Continue reading →

The Worst Vegas Lounge Act & Rock Cover Song Rendition- EVER

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Jon Thor Covering (Butchering) Sweet’s Hard Rock Classic “Action”

What is the worst cover song rendition of a rock song by any person or band  of all time?

Of course that is subjective and debatable, but this may be it.

Don’t be tempted to name any William Shatner cover as the worst. Shatner has a method to his madness.

If you can, stay with this five minute video, it will be worth it for its jaw dropping kitschiness.

Everything is perfect.  The camera shots of the admiring(?) 1970s female audience members. The inexplicable presence in the background on stage of the Watermelon Mountain jug band smiling and standing there doing nothing. The live Vegas orchestration and rearrangement of what was once a great rock song. And the best part, the over the top histrionics of the main act.

So with that summary, on national television, with Merv Griffin doing the introduction, from 1976, here is Jon Thor straight from the Aladdin Hotel’s Red, Hot and Blue Show doing his “Muscle Rock” rendition of Sweet’s Action.

For those who do not know what the original version of Action sounds like, because any resemblance of Jon Thor’s version to a real rock song is purely coincidental, here is Sweet’s original version recorded in 1975.

If you are wondering whatever happened Continue reading →

Before They Were Famous…

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The 4 Nightingales – “Big Hit Everywhere”

4 Nightingales

This rare trade card from 1908 – 1909 advertises a vaudeville group known as “The Four Nightingales.” Two of them went on to worldwide fame. Can you guess who they are?

Scroll down for the answer.

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A huge clue is “Minnie Marx Manager”

It is The Marx Brothers. From left to right: Milton “Gummo” Marx, Adolph “Harpo” Marx, Julius “Groucho” Marx and Lou Levy.

Gummo Marx Continue reading →

SCTV – The Funniest TV Show Of The Late 70’s / Early 80’s

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John Candy and Cast Lampooning Leave It To Beaver

SCTV cast 1982 clockwise from top left; John Candy, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Andrea Martin and Dave Thomas

SCTV cast 1982 clockwise from top left; John Candy, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Andrea Martin and Joe Flaherty

Canada’s SCTV (Second City Television) was one of the most brilliant comedy sketch shows ever created. The ensemble cast featured John Candy, Robin Duke, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy,  Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O’Hara, Tony Rosato, Martin Short and Dave Thomas.

Early in the series, actor, writer and director Harold Ramis was also a major contributor to the show. Harold Ramis wrote and sometimes appeared in many of SCTV’s bizarre scenarios. Ramis appears in the sketch below as Whitey.

Ramis would go on to do Animal House, Ghostbusters, Caddyshack helping to shape modern comedy.

Airing weekly on late night television from 1976 -1984, the show never achieved critical mass appeal but had a strong cult following.

Having been off the air for nearly 30 years most people under the age of 35 have never seen or heard of SCTV. That’s a shame. Because even though there are some obscure references to celebrities, shows and movies of the past, the comedy holds up pretty well today.

Deadpan and Over The Top Comedy

Here is a sample of one of the funnier sketches from 1977. It’s a take-off of the stereotypical 1950’s All-American family TV show Leave It To Beaver. John Candy plays “The Beaver” in Leave It To Beaver 25th Anniversary Party.

For those who want to experience SCTV, seasons 4 & 5 which aired on NBC are available on DVD. Continue reading →

Our Gang / Little Rascals Star Norman Chubby Chaney No Longer Has An Unmarked Grave

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“Chubsy-Ubsy” Finally Gets A Headstone

Jackie Cooper, June Marlowe, Shirley Jean Rickert, Norman Chubby Chaney, Dorothy DeBorba

Jackie Cooper, June Marlowe, Shirley Jean Rickert, Norman Chubby Chaney, Dorothy DeBorba

Norman “Chubby” Chaney, a star for Hal Roach’s Our Gang comedies, (aka the Little Rascals) had been buried in an unmarked grave at Baltimore Cemetery since 1936. He was the first former cast member to pass away.

Chaney appeared in the early Our Gang sound films from 1929 – 1931, winning a lookalike contest to replace Our Gang heavyweight Joe Cobb.

One of the the most beloved short films of the series that Chaney starred in was where he was competing with Jackie Cooper for their teacher, Miss Crabtree’s (June Marlowe), affection and attention. In that film, Love Business (1931), Chubby said the immortal words, “Don’t call me Norman, call me Chubsy-ubsy.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SMJj8tz_w0

When Chaney died at the age of 21 in 1936 following an operation to correct a glandular disorder, the family had no money to put up a marker in the cemetery.

Finally last year through the efforts of Detroit musician Mikal C.G., money was raised through online donations to put up a headstone. The unveiling ceremony on November 10, 2012, was attended by less than a dozen observers. Whether or not Chaney attracts visitors to his grave, his performances preserved on film will be viewed and enjoyed by countless generations to come.

Two Baseball Greats Pass Away- Stan Musial & Earl Weaver – Remembering An Infamous Interview

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Cardinals Superstar Stan Musial Dies At 92, Orioles Manager Earl Weaver Dies At 82

Plus One Very Dirty, Funny Radio Show Featuring Earl Weaver

If you are like me, Saturday, January 19, 2013 will be remembered by baseball fans as a very sad day because two Hall of Famers died.

Stan Musial was one of the greatest players to ever play the game and was a gentleman on and off the field.

Earl Weaver was supposedly a gentleman off the field. On the field he could be a terror to the umpires.

I’ll leave the comments of greatness to others on both of these legends. While both of these men will get accolades and fond remembrances in the obituary pages, few will mention the outtake reel from “The Manager’s Corner” with Earl Weaver and Tom Marr. Continue reading →