Ozzie Nelson - Rutgers' QB in action

Go man, go!

Egg shampoo and stiff brush was key to Ozzie Nelson's hair!

Why Ozzie-Harriet left radio

I hated Gloria... so I killed Gloria this morning

"Gloria" is dead (and gone)

I've written before how much I hate Gloria.  She is a thorn in my side and a pain in my ears.

Today, I did something drastic.  I took a digital knife and I completely removed Gloria from my files.

Okay, so you are wondering what I am talking about.  Let me clue you in:  Gloria is the maid on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in the 1945 and 1946 seasons.  She sounds like this: AUDIO

Now, this is not to say that Gloria (played by Bea Benaderet) is not funny.  The lines themselves are standard one-liner fare and as such, the lines aren't bad.  Ozzie and Harriet aren't great playing "straight men" but then, who really is?  The fact is: her voice makes me crawl up a wall.

I like Benaderet in everything else (although just the thought of her playing the part of Gloria reverberates in my head when I hear her on the numerous other shows she does and I wince considerable.  I cringe; my body quivers... but it subsides eventually and I smile and laugh at Benaderet in other shows.) 

My, she was so versatile that she was in thousands of shows.  It seems like she was in almost every situation comedy in the 1940's!  She was everywhere.  I realize that bit actors and actresses didn't make a ton of money but I wouldn't be surprised if she put away $500 a week most weeks during that time, quite a hefty sum for that kind of work.

But this morning, I finally did something that will make my listening a lot more bearable: I killed Gloria.  What I had been doing is skipping 1945-46 Ozzie and Harriet.  Finally, I sat down with my sound software and I digitally removed Gloria from every Ozzie and Harriet recording she was in.

I know you purist out there are shaking your heads or having convulsions or whatever you purists do when you hear of such. And I guess I won't tell you that I am up to 1948 in Fibber McGee and Molly in removing all the songs and intros; I did keep Harlow Wilcox's commercials.  I guess I won't tell you I am in the process of removing all the songs in Burns and Allen, Jack Benny, Amos and Andy and others.

I realize that removing a character - a real character, not a singer, ad pitchman, dead air or something else - from a radio series rivals something Hitler might do and I am prepared to handle the backlash.  It's not like I am going to take these files and upload them for you or unsuspecting others to download; they are for my personal consumption.

But I hated Gloria.  I killed Gloria.  I'm not sorry I did it.  I'd do it again.

The 5 worst characters on radio sitcoms

As a general rule, I enjoy most radio situation comedies.  However, there were some characters that I just can't stand:

5. Waldo Binney on the Life of Riley (Dink Trout) - I guess the main reason I don't like him is that he's annoying to me rather than being funny.  The show survived fine without him so we know he wasn't crucial.

Another thing, he seemed to steal his character from the Irene Ryan character on the Jack Carson Show.  The characters could be twins (male and female.)  Besides, who wants to listen to someone complain all the time?

4. The Happy Mailman on Burns and Allen (Mel Blanc) - Mel Blanc was a man of 1000 voices and one of those voices was as the Mailman on the George Burns, Gracie Allen Show.  While Mel Blanc was a superb imitator and original voice artist, he (generally) wasn't much of a comedian.

Of course, he seemed to flourish in that role on the Jack Benny show but I digress.  As the mailman, he was one of many annoying, unneeded characters who would show up on the show in the early 1940's.

3. Margaret Davis, the landlady on Our Miss Brooks (Jane Morgan) - Jane Morgan always played the same kind of character, an elderly advice-giver; usually a maid or a landlady.  It really matters not to me on what show or what what role she was in, I thought she was annoying.  She is one of several reasons why Our Miss Brooks is low on my listening totem pole. 

Her voice is grinding, but not near as bad as Portland Hoffa, who would easily make this list, except she was on a variety show (the various Fred Allen shows) and not a situation comedy.

2. Gloria the housekeeper on the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (Bea Benaderet) - By far Bea Benaderet's worst role.  She seems to portrays Gloria as having some sort of speech problem, perhaps a cleft lip.  Sorry, but that's what it sounds like to me.  Ultra annoying, unfunny, unneeded character.

1. Herman the Duck on Burns and Allen (Clarence Nash) - Clarence Nash was actually the voice of Donald Duck (and Daisy) at Disney for years.  I suppose someone on the Burns and Allen show didn't think the Happy Postman was torture enough to listen to so they decided to bring in something more ridiculous and worse-sounding.

The fact is this: the show was one you could really immerse yourself in, even with the Happy Mailman but the stupid talking duck on the show simply ruins it for me.  The duck and the Mailman were on during the same years.  WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

©Jimbo 2010/2011

The lodge: a staple in many sitcoms

Anyone who follows the show, Vic and Sade will know that Vic is not just a member of a lodge, he's wrapped up in it.  His lodge is like a religion to him.

Since the lodge is full of very stupid rituals and yet it's treated with such reverence, there is this comedy yin-yang that makes it almost impossible not to laugh along with Sade, who sees the lodge as a money pit and waste of time.

I've been thinking, "the lodge" shows up quite a bit on other old-time radio (as well as early television):

Amos 'n' Andy - We know that George Stevens is the "King Fish" because he is the head of the "Knights of the Mystic Sea" lodge.  I really don't remember hearing about anything much that goes on there, but we know the lodge is a large part of the show.

Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Close listening will show that Ozzie is a member of an unspecified lodge.   It's rarely mentioned.

Fibber McGee and Molly - Fibber is an Elk and the lodge comes into play in 3 or 4 episodes.  He seems to take the lodge seriously but it doesn't seem to control Fibber's life.

Lum and Abner - Almost every male on the show (excluding Cedric) seems to be a member of the lodge.  The lodge name is never mentioned (or at least, I've never heard it in the many episodes I have listened to.)  For the most part, the lodge seems to be a place to borrow chairs from, more than anything else.  Squire Skimp is a big muckity-muck in the lodge.

Mel Blanc Show - Mel belonged to the lodge and greeted other members of the lodge with secret, silly stuff concerning, "ugga bugga boo" or something similar.  I haven't heard the show in a while but I seem to recall his prospective father-in-law was a lodge muckity-muck and Mel was always trying to impress him and work his way up in the lodge.  (By the way, I hate the show.)

As I mentioned earlier, early sitcom TV had it's share of lodge members.  On the Honeymooners, Ralph and Norton were devoted to the lodge.  Fred and Barney on the Flintstones (which was a knockoff of The Honeymooners) were also lodge devotees.  And I know there were others.

©Jimbo 2010/2011

Ozzie Nelson: working?

Not on your life.  I wrote earlier in the year that Ozzie never works.  And come to think of it, neither do his sweather-wearing friends, either.

However, Harriet tells a different story in this episode of the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet:

©Jimbo 2010/2011

A thorny situation

Thorny drops by on the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - only it's not Thorny, it's John Brown - in the days before Thorny.

Confused?

The joke, the blown line and the silence

Here's Ozzie and Harriet, 450930.  Ozzie tells a joke.  It's not too bad.  Harriet chimes in something.  It's not too bad.  But "David" (not David Nelson but the imposter playing David in 1945) fluffs his line, even though it's a decent line.  But instead of waiting for the laugh than never will come, Harriet moves right along.  That's what you call a "pro."

Still, I thought David's line was worth a laugh, even with the fluff.

(((HEAR)))

Use of the Sam Spade Theme

In the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, the Sam Spade Theme was incorporated into the incidental music. (The clip will be followed by the actual Sam Spade Theme.)
©Jimbo 2010/2011

Nelsons (Ozzie and Harriet)

Paula Winslowe on video

I was checking out an old TV episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and who shows up in the episode I'm watching?  Paula Winslowe!  This was first chance to see her "live."  She is Harriet's friend that comes over to the house and eventually goes bowling with.

You can watch and download the episode yourself, if so inclined.

©Jimbo 2010/2011

Some stars as kids (1935)

Walter Tetley

Bing Crosby

Rudy Vallee

Art Van Harvey (Vic)

Bernadine Flynn (Sade)

Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden (Amos 'n' Andy)

Bill Idelson (Rush on Vic and Sade)

Ozzie Nelson

Harriet Hilliard

Awesome photo dump for April 7th

You've seen the below photo many times if you are a Gunsmoke fan...

But have you ever seen this one?

How many color photos have you seen of Groucho Marx?

Phillips Lord as an actor (1932!!)

Whole milk and apple pie: The Ozzie and Harriet photo dump

Stuff I'd buy if I was a millionaire [#38] ~ PLUS BONUS GOODIES

All photos below can be viewed as very large photos by clicking on them - I think you will enjoy the large photos...

©Jimbo 2010/2011

Review: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard began performing together as early as 1932 as a song team (Ozzie had his own band.)  They actually had a one -of-a-kind act that became popular and many imitated it: it was singing back and forth in a "conversational style."

Later they got married and had children.  Not too long after that - In the early 1940's, they got a job on The Red Skelton show.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet began shortly after Red Skelton was drafted in 1944.  They would never look back as the radio show lasted almost 10 full years and then vaulted into television with the very same show - and that show lasted 12 years!  They were probably the most-successful show business family of their generation and it can be argued, of all time.

The radio show is one of my absolute favorites.  If you take a look at my Top 75 list, you will find them down at #65.  The reason for this is simple.  The first year of the show included Bea Benederet portraying a maid named, "Gloria."  The character she portrays is one that I frankly just cannot stomach.  Her voice is irritating to me.  She's not funny.  And though this is just my personal opinion, is one of the worst characters ever written for radio.  To put it even more bluntly, with her on the show, the show stunk.  And the producers probably agreed as she was gone after one year. 

I'll skip the first year and put that out of my head; let's explore the series a bit further:

The Nelson family was headed by husband and father Ozzie, a young 30-something year old husband and father who seemingly had no job.  No job is ever mentioned, he's never at work and how the family makes ends meet, we'll probably never know.  Perhaps they inherited a fortune...  we can only guess.

 Instead of working, Ozzie like to goof around the house.  He and Harriet would have conversations that would generally lead to the topic of the show at hand; Ozzie thinks the boys don't read enough, Ozzie thinks the boys watch too many movies, etc. Ozzie thinks he is a know-it-all.  I don't say that in a bad way but Ozzie thinks he realizes all the problems the family is encountering and has the solution to every problem.

What eventually happens is that Ozzie generally gets carried away with enthusiasm and actually makes a bigger mess out of whatever he is trying to fix.

Ozzie writes letters to the paper and demands the street light on the corner gets fixed.  He even thinks about running for office.  He never realizes what a horrible politician he'd make because he knows it all.

He often will go next door and visit neighbor Thorny (aptly played by John Brown) who is, in a lot of ways, a mirror image of Ozzie.  Thorny will give him some dumb advice that will make the situation even more difficult for Ozzie to solve.

Despite all of the negatives against him (after all, he is a sitcom father of the 1940's - at least 70% of them are portrayed clumsy idiots) he is sensitive and caring and is a great dad and husband.  He tries his best, wants to do what's right but is incapable of making things turn out correctly.

His comedic timing is very good and he will often deliver a line while stuttering, for even more effect.  In short, he does a good job as the lead comedian on the show.

This is where Harriet steps in.  She is smart, conservative and Midwestern.  She is as homespun and American as apple pie.  With a great (and beautiful)  head on her shoulders, she is able to help pull Ozzie out of mess after mess and she will do it in a way that looks like he actually solved the problem himself.

While he is a bit loud and egotistical, she remains elegant, quiet and in some ways invisible - but her hand is always silently guiding Ozzie along to do the right thing.

She doesn't have a paying job either but she is at least busy continuously with housework and seeing that the kids and Ozzie get fed regularly and sets about doing the normal things you would expect a 1940's nuclear family radio mom to do.  She was the best wife and mother anyone could possibly want. 

While she never plays Ozzie's foil, she does often ask him pointed questions that makes him think and this in turn often changes his mind about one thing or the other.  She gingerly prods him because it is really her - not Ozzie - that knows what's best for the family.  She was superior to Ozzie in almost every way but few realize it.

They have the occasional argument but everything in the show is done in the spirit of fun and there is always forgiveness.

The two boys on the show were real-life sons David and Ricky. In the first few years, other, less-talented actors were used. Their parts were minimal and there's not much to write about them. As a matter of fact, David is hardly worth mentioning either. He delivers his lines well but the funny stuff is given to the younger Ricky, who had great comedic timing and a superb delivery that few child actors ever have.

Ricky consistently delivers smile after smile on the show, especially when given larger parts (most of the scripts were actually written by Ozzie himself and one of the strengths of the show is the writing.) Ricky would eventually turn into a mega singing star in the 1950's all the way to the 1980's.

While the very nuclear Nelson family was a pie-in-the sky look at America, it really has been the focal point of my many conversations dealing with entertainment of that era. And it's no wonder as it was a darn funny show.

If I include the first year of the show, I'd rank it about #65 on my list of 75 best. But when I forget about the awful first year and rank the show aside from that, I would probably rank it somewhere much higher -- probably around #17 or #18. That shows you how much I disliked the show with Benederet and how much I liked the show without her.

©Jimbo 2010/2011

My favorite gal

I think I'm in love with Harriet Hilliard.

Did you know [#05]

Did you ever realize that for most of the Ozzie and Harriett run, 1847 Rogers Brothers was the sponsor of the show - and that the Nelson's address was 1847 Rogers Road?

Inspired by real life