Showing posts with label Duffys Tavern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Duffys Tavern. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
World hunger and radio
You might recall Duffy's Tavern did a show about world hunger (46-05-03 Archie Tells Everyone About World Hunger) which wasn't at all funny. As a matter of fact, it was quite frightening in a lot of ways.
The Adventures of Superman also did a serial about world hunger.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Last day of August: Hodge-podging
I probably write this once a month but it's true; it's getting much harder to find radio information that my readers would like to read.
There's plenty of stuff out there from the 1930's but I know few of you care about that.To top it off, my readership is declining each day on this blog (although, increasing daily at The Crazy World of Vic and Sade.) And I spend many hours here a day looking for stuff and writing and posting.
There are a few more reviews to write but I've spent about 6 hours this week looking for stuff in the newspapers to post and though I have found some ads for OTR Advertisements, I have found only one article to post - and that was a Vic and Sade article about Bernadine Flynn, which I posted in the Vic and Sade Yahoo Group.
I can foresee a day when in order to post, I will HAVE to write and that's not that appealing to me....
I have been listening to a lot of Duffy's Tavern the past week. It occurs to me that the character Clifton Finnegan may get his monicker from Clifton Fadiman, from Information Please. Information Please began in 1938 and Fadiman gave the show instant respect because the man was so classy and intelligent.
Fennigan on the other hand, is a totally classless stooge with no brains whatsoever. Of course, this is pure conjecture on my part...
Are you aware that Gracie Allen played the part of Mrs. North in the film, Mr. and Mrs. North? Yes, the same Mr. and Mrs. North of radio fame...
One thing I will never understand is how popular orchestra radio was - in mono. In stereo, I can understand. But wrapping my head around my grandpop unwinding on the sofa listening to orchestra music without stereo, is beyond me...
Unless you search through the papers like I do, you may have never noticed, or knew this but during the World War II years, it was forbidden for newspapers or radio to print weather maps or give weather reports...
The very first Radio Hall of Fame show broadcast (in 1934) featured Katherine Hepburn. I don't know exactly how much radio Hepburn did but that may have been one of just a handful of shows she did...
©Jimbo 2010/2011
There's plenty of stuff out there from the 1930's but I know few of you care about that.To top it off, my readership is declining each day on this blog (although, increasing daily at The Crazy World of Vic and Sade.) And I spend many hours here a day looking for stuff and writing and posting.
There are a few more reviews to write but I've spent about 6 hours this week looking for stuff in the newspapers to post and though I have found some ads for OTR Advertisements, I have found only one article to post - and that was a Vic and Sade article about Bernadine Flynn, which I posted in the Vic and Sade Yahoo Group.
I can foresee a day when in order to post, I will HAVE to write and that's not that appealing to me....
I have been listening to a lot of Duffy's Tavern the past week. It occurs to me that the character Clifton Finnegan may get his monicker from Clifton Fadiman, from Information Please. Information Please began in 1938 and Fadiman gave the show instant respect because the man was so classy and intelligent.Fennigan on the other hand, is a totally classless stooge with no brains whatsoever. Of course, this is pure conjecture on my part...
Are you aware that Gracie Allen played the part of Mrs. North in the film, Mr. and Mrs. North? Yes, the same Mr. and Mrs. North of radio fame...
One thing I will never understand is how popular orchestra radio was - in mono. In stereo, I can understand. But wrapping my head around my grandpop unwinding on the sofa listening to orchestra music without stereo, is beyond me...
Unless you search through the papers like I do, you may have never noticed, or knew this but during the World War II years, it was forbidden for newspapers or radio to print weather maps or give weather reports...
The very first Radio Hall of Fame show broadcast (in 1934) featured Katherine Hepburn. I don't know exactly how much radio Hepburn did but that may have been one of just a handful of shows she did...
©Jimbo 2010/2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Teeny tiny hodge-podge
Here's a tiny tidbit for you: While listening to multiple episodes of the 21st Precinct the past week or so, I realized that the last call to the Muster Room of each episode is actually about the next episode...
I've probably said this before but as time goes on I really like the acting of Sandra Gould. Who's she, you ask? She played Miss Duffy on Duffy's Tavern from 1944-48; you may know her better as "the 2nd Gladys Kravitz" on the TV show, Bewitched. To me, she is perfect for the part of Miss Duffy.
And the more I listen to Duffy's Tavern, I realize the show had some good writing behind it, even though literally dozens of different writers were employed to work on the script week after week.
I don't have a lot to say today - although I did until there were 5 people plus me over at the house today using up all the internet juice and I couldn't get anything done. After a while of trying, I gave up the ghost, so to speak.
Working on finishing Billboard for 1950-51. There aren't that many of them. And though I haven't looked, I think there are very, very few in there after 1951, which means I could be finished with the Billboard site pretty soon.
©Jimbo 2010/2011
 |
| Sandra Gould |
And the more I listen to Duffy's Tavern, I realize the show had some good writing behind it, even though literally dozens of different writers were employed to work on the script week after week.
I don't have a lot to say today - although I did until there were 5 people plus me over at the house today using up all the internet juice and I couldn't get anything done. After a while of trying, I gave up the ghost, so to speak.
Working on finishing Billboard for 1950-51. There aren't that many of them. And though I haven't looked, I think there are very, very few in there after 1951, which means I could be finished with the Billboard site pretty soon.
©Jimbo 2010/2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Review: Duffy's Tavern
If you have never heard Duffy's Tavern before, imagine The Life of Riley, Amos and Andy and Lum and Abner all rolled into one show. What you have are a lot of uneducated-sounding people running a bar, presumably in Boston or New York (I lean to New York) where low-level radio stars pop in now and then. Occasionally a huge star will drop by (Bing Crosby for instance) but that doesn't happen often. More often than not, it's Clifton Fadiman or Colonel Stoopnagle.
Duffy is the bar's owner. You never hear him; Archie (Ed Gardner) talks to him on the phone a lot and you can imagine what he's saying but that's as far as that goes. Archie manages the bar and usually does a pretty bad job of it; it's rare that he ever does anything without making a huge mess out of it.
Duffy's daughter (Miss Duffy, played by many an actress during the show's long run) is just as inept, always looking for a date with the show's male guest star. Too bad she's as dumb as a rock.
And speaking of dumb as a rock, there is Finnegan, perfectly played by Charlie Cantor, who might be the dumbest character in all of radio (or TV as far as that goes.) This being said, Cantor's portayal is usually very funny - as is the performance of all the others on the show. Cantor was so convincing that in fact the Warner Brothers' cartoon guys drew him up in several cartoons, using a voice very much like the one he used in Duffy's Tavern.
Often overlooked, this is truly one of the 10-12 funniest radio shows around. Even Eddie (played by Eddie Green - a rare African-American actor in the Glden Age of radio) is the show's smartest and most-level-headed character by far but is full of funny punchlines.
The show is a machine gun of one-liners and to me, it's very passable entertainment. I listen now and again with interest. I'd give it 2 and half stars.
©Jimbo 2010/2011
 |
| Ed Garner is Archie the manager |
Duffy's daughter (Miss Duffy, played by many an actress during the show's long run) is just as inept, always looking for a date with the show's male guest star. Too bad she's as dumb as a rock.
And speaking of dumb as a rock, there is Finnegan, perfectly played by Charlie Cantor, who might be the dumbest character in all of radio (or TV as far as that goes.) This being said, Cantor's portayal is usually very funny - as is the performance of all the others on the show. Cantor was so convincing that in fact the Warner Brothers' cartoon guys drew him up in several cartoons, using a voice very much like the one he used in Duffy's Tavern.
Often overlooked, this is truly one of the 10-12 funniest radio shows around. Even Eddie (played by Eddie Green - a rare African-American actor in the Glden Age of radio) is the show's smartest and most-level-headed character by far but is full of funny punchlines.
The show is a machine gun of one-liners and to me, it's very passable entertainment. I listen now and again with interest. I'd give it 2 and half stars.
©Jimbo 2010/2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
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