Gracie! Is! Dead?

I got a shock the other ay while listening to this Burns and Allen broadcast. See if you aren't shocked as well! (((HEAR)))

This episode (Christmas Day, 1947) stars George and Jane Wyman of all people. I have no idea where Gracie was.

Who is the real Peavy (Richard LeGrand?)

I'm pretty sure I found Richard LeGrand (he played Peavy on The Great Gildersleeve) - although this is a very different sounding man! This is from Fibber McGee and Molly (49-10-04.)

(((HEAR)))

Gale Gordon as rich Texas oilman on Burns and Allen

Well howdy ya'll. You know, I'm 100% Texan.

And I've recently run into Gale Gordon (surprisingly) playing the part of a millionaire Texan/oil man/cattle man on Burns and Allen in the late 1940's - right yonder before they went on the television.

I like his character a lot!

EXCEPT, I cannot stand his tagline: "Ma'am I like your sense of humor!" When he utters this ridiculous phrase in his ridiculous manner, you'd think he was trying to do a bad Marlin Hurt impression.

A real Texan MIGHT say it like that ONE time. The rest of the time, a real Texas is too busy lookin' for Tacos and doin' Texas stuff than act like a goober.

Molly and Me (from 1938)

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This guy's favorite shows

"This guy" is Jack Palmer, not me.  He likes Vic and Sade the best (by coincidence.)  However, what he wrote about the show gave me chill bumps as I asked the same question on my blog.

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Fibber McGee and Molly article (1956)

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Is Peavy patterened after the Rexall spokesman?

The other day I was listening to The Great Gildersleeve program and I heard Peavy, the drugstore proprietor.  I then recalled the hundreds of Rexall commercials I have heard and I realized how much the Rexall spokeman and Peavy sound alike.  Surely this isn't a coincidence!

Hear for yourself and make your own decision:  (((HEAR)))

Shows you may have never heard of

Perry Mason!

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Dennis Day article - written BY HIS MOTHER!

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George Burns, The Legendary Comedian

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Bergen's beginnings with Charlie and more

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Another article on the beginnings of Amos 'n' Andy

That Little Irishman "LUIGI"

OTR Books - my dying website

Here's a reminder that among my collection of blogs is OTR Books.

What I have tried to do there is to make a place where you can search through books that have to do with OTR or OTR participants.  One of those books is John Dunning's fabulous On the Air.

While you can't read entire books, you can generally read 25-50% of the books there.

I'm not begging you to go have another look but it's a website *I* use all the time and I wonder why you don't?

Taxi driver character on Jack Benny Show

Chances are, unless you are a devoted Jack Benny Show fan, you will not know of the character, whom I call the "Taxi Driver."  From where I am in the show (1948) he has only shown up twice.  I find him hilarious.
 
He's not just a taxi driver.  He's a taxi driver who hates to say "goodbye."

He's played perfectly by... well, I don't know who plays the part.  But man, is he funny!

(((HEAR)))

(From episode #659, 48-06-06 Jack Leaves For Detroit)

Your taste can change!

When I was a kid, I hated onions, lettuce and about 100 other vegetables.  I still don't like all vegetables but onion is now one of my most favorite things.

Three years ago, I was "iffy" on listening to George Burns and Gracie Allen.  The early episodes (up to 1942) are not very good.  Despite the fact that I never liked the duck on there (!!) I listened.  And the postman (Mel Blanc) was someone who I wanted to rip his mailbag open on a very windy day.  But somehow, I now kind of like the postman.

Crazy, aint it?

I used to hate George saying, "Gracie... (tap tap tap)"  Now, it's one of my joys to hear him say it, mainly because I have learned to mimic George.  So I can't wait for those moments to check out my own comedic timing.

For whatever reason, I still don't care for sci-fi.  I recently re-downloaded X Minus One.  My taste hasn't changed - I just don't get it.  I suppose I don't get it like most of you can't get Vic and Sade.  I'll feel sorry for you and you feel sorry for me.

Thanks to all of you people who broaden my horizons.  Thanks to "Boston Blackie,"  I now listen to Halls of Ivy, a show I once avoided because "it's not funny."  Thanks to Sarah Cole, I've been listening to Henry Morgan and I've been trying to like I Love a Mystery.  She probably isn't aware how closely I follow her Tweets.

I like to ask people what they would recommend I listen to?  I like to hear new shows.  I want to find that special show.  It's the only way to go!

You Bet Your Life - extra long

I thought I had seen all the You Bet Your Life shows floating around but here's one I had never seen.  Lots of extra time in this one.

Bergen-McCarthy Part VII is done!

Part VII (the final part) of the Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy files is uploaded now.

I hope if you haven't done so already, you will check out the files.  You will see how clean they turned out.

I'm hoping someone other than Boston Blackie will comment about the files and what you think.

Update

Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy Part VII is finished.  I just have to find a time to upload it.  Hopefully this will happened very soon.

I have a couple of surprises for you.  I am working on removing commercials and improving sound for "Escape."  The main thing is the sound, which isn't horrible to begin with but the volume is very low on almost all episodes.  I am fixing that and equalizing them as well.  I've done about 60 episodes and they sound fantastic.  I hope to be finished with Escape in a couple of weeks or less.

But the big surprise is that I am also working on Gunsmoke - removing commercials and improving the sound.  I hope to have this finished by the end of the year if not sooner.

I envision the following for 2013:

Fibber McGee and Molly - finishing what I have started, which is removing all songs, all openings and all closings. (40% done already.)

Burns and Allen - same as FM&M above. (30% done already.)

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar - Improving the sound and connecting all of the serials, removing the openings on episodes #2-#5 and closings on episodes #1-#4.  The serials will be one long episode.  I'm not going to mess with the non-serials.

This is Your FBI - Removing commercials, improving the sound.

Dragnet - Removing commercials, improving the sound.

This is as far as I have thought ahead.