The Thursday Geezers/Geezettes Thread

[trof]

Open to all...no secret passwords or handshakes.
I'd just like to hear some reminisces from the over 50 crowd.
(I'm 12 years over 50)

Anybody remember Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy?


Bergen and McCarthy made their radio debut on Rudy Vallee’s Royal Gelatin Hour in 1936 and were an instant success. In 1937, they were given their own show for Chase & Sanborn. Almost immediately, The Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show became one of radio’s highest-rated programs, a distinction it enjoyed until it left the air in 1956.
http://www.radiohof.org/comedy/edgarbergen.html

What always puzzled me is that ventriloquism is a very VISUAL act, and this was on radio.
Kind of like listening to Fred Astaire tap-dance?
:shrug:???

[zanana]

1. Good idea,trof.

I'm one year over 50, so I don't remember Edgar Bergen. Do you remember Walter Brennan as "grandpa" in "The Real McCoys"? Do you remember his "Sacroiliac" problem? I have the same thing! Does it get me any sympathy? N-o-o-o-o--o-o-o-o.

[trof]

2. I sure do.

For some reason Mrs. t. and I always had a mental block about "who played Grandpa McCoy?". It was a standing joke for a long time.
"Who played Grandpa McCoy?", and we'd both go blank.
Once, after we'd finally come up with it we just sat there and said "Walter Brennan" over and over for a minute. Now it's sunk in.

How are things up in Manchestuh? I lived in Merrimack from 1977-1993.
Our daughter went to Derryfield.
Have the leaves turned yet?

[JitterbugPerfume]

3. Hey Trof

can a girl be a geezer, or is this a guys only sorta thing?

[trof]

4. Geezettes welcome!

Did I just coin a new word?
:hi:
on edit-I changed the subject line just for you.

[JitterbugPerfume]

5. Trof , you are

a true geezer gentleman

[trof]

9. We aim to please.

:hi:

[zanana]

20. The leaves are almost ready...

for peeping!

[progressivejazz]

6. Memories come flooding back.

Same age as you. Sure I remember Edgar and Charlie, though Mortimer Snerd was my favorite of that group. I listened to it on radio a few times, but really remember Bergen's appearances on TV, where his lips moved continuously. The legend I heard was that he was once a first-rate ventriloquist but got lazy when he had a format that didn't allow people to see him, and so lost it.

By the way, I also recall a couple of radio shows where they actually had dancers. Very strange.

O.K., here goes. "The Lone Ranger". "The Green Hornet". "Inner Sanctum". "Fireside Theater". "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" (a personal favorite. "The Shadow" (another personal favorite). "Our Miss Brooks". "Jack Armstrong, All-American Boy". "Henry Aldrich". "Junior Miss". "Gunsmoke" (great show). "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts". "The Arthur Godfrey Show (mornings). ALL ON RADIO!

I seem to recall listening to "The Jack Benny Show" well into the late '60s.

[trof]

8. Arthur Godfrey and all the little Godfreys

Yes, I remember all of those.
And Godfrey's jokes about sponsor Lipton (powdered) Chicken Noodle soup. (Did Carol Burnett get her start there, or was it with Gary Moore?}
"Just add hot water. There's some chicken in there somewhere folks, honest there is."
I particularly remember the family listening to Amos and Andy. Wasn't until several years later I learned Freeman godsden and Charles Correll(sp?) were a couple of white guys.

[JitterbugPerfume]

10. I think Carol B

got started with Garry Morre

Remember Durwood Kirby?

That name still makes me smile

[DemOverseas]

17. Do you recall

the singer Julius LaRosa? He had a voice. In fact if he hadn't been canned by Arthur he may have been bigger than Sinatra. I used to see him on the Jerry Lewis telethon ever year.

[trof]

21. Yeah, and I think I remember his firing

on TV.
He sang and Godfrey came out and said "he doesn't know it but that's his swan song".
Some said Godfrey had a mean streak.

[trof]

7. Subject: How's Your Aging?

Appropriately enough, this e-mail just came in from my Nashville cousin.


How's your aging intelligence?

Take the following test presented here and determine if you are losing
it or are still "with it." The spaces are so you don't see the answers
until you have made your own....OK, relax, clear
our mind and.... begin.



1. What do you put in a toaster?

















The answer is "bread." If you said "toast," then give up now and go do
something else. Try not to hurt yourself. If you said, "bread," go to
Question 2.


2. Say "silk" five times. Now spell "silk." What do cows drink?

















Answer: Cows drink water. If you said "milk," please do not attempt the
next question. Your brain is obviously over stressed and may even
overheat. It may be that you need to content yourself with reading
something more appropriate such as "Children's World." If you said,
"water"
then proceed to Question 3.

3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from
blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house
is
made from black bricks, what is a greenhouse made from?

















Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass. If you said "green bricks,"
what are you still doing here reading these questions?? If you said
"glass," then go on to Question 4.

4. If the hour hand on a clock moves 1/60 of a degree every minute then
how many degrees will the hour hand move in one hour?


















Answer: One degree. If you said "360 degrees" or anything other than
"one
degree," you are to be congratulated on getting this far, but you are
obviously out of your league. Turn your pencil in and exit the room.
Everyone else proceed to the final question.

5. Without using a calculator -- You are driving a bus from London to
Milford Haven in Wales. In London, 17 people get on the bus. In Reading,
six people get off the bus and nine people get on. In Swindon, two
people
get off and four get on. In Cardiff, 11 people get off and 16 people get
on. In Swansea, three people get off and five people get on. In
Carmathen, six people get off and three get on. You then arrive at
Milford
Haven.
What was the name of the bus driver?


















Answer: Oh, for crying out loud! Don't you remember? It was YOU!
Now pass this along to all your "friends" and hope they do better than
you
did!

[oneighty]

11. Horse drawn carriage in the barn,

Although the last horse had died years before. The outdoor plumbing us little kids were not allowed to use (Might fall in). The hand pump at the kitchen sink supplied the household water. Dad coming home in his Model A Ford. Sometimes he brought food other than tuna fish and peanut butter. Sunday morning paper now and then:"Katz and Jammer Kids." World war two was waiting in the darkness.

180

[trof]

13. Question for 180:

Did you say something here about knowing or working for Swede Momsen?
Just read Peter Maas's book "The Terrible Hours" about the rescue of the Squalus.

For the rest of you:
Swede Momsen was a naval officer who pioneered submarine rescue, ran the navy divers operation for some time, and was one of the developers of the modern nuclear sub. The book is a good read.

[oneighty]

18. No Trof

I was a little guy then. Our Master Diver in Dive school worked that job (Squalus) though. I like Peter Mass. I never met Swede either.

An aside: The movie "Men of Honor" A BS movie.. Dive school was very serious business conducted in a civilized manner, just like real adults might do.

Been wanting to say that for a long time.

180

[trof]

25. Thought somebody here mentioned Momsen

a while back, and you were the logical suspect.
Thanks for the tip on "Men of Honor".

[SWPAdem]

12. Where to start

I'm not quite 53 but my only memories about radio involve sitting on the front porch (and where the hell did they go?), on a hot summer night, listening to a Pirates game. I know that we only got CBS and NBC until I was 9 or 10.

September Bride
The Peoples' Choice
Jack Benny
Burns and Allen
Gale Storm Show
Truth or Consequences
Masquerade Party
Our Miss Brooks
Walt Disney
Captain Kangaroo
Howdy Doody
I Love Lucy
Wild Bill Hickok and sidekick (Play on your magic harp, Froggy)
All the other westerns...Hopalong, the Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers
Sky King
All the old cartoons with dancing food products and household items
The old movies from the 30s and 40s (which is why I am hooked on TCM)

But, the very best part was just to be a kid back then. We had no other job, than to play. But, I'll save those memories for the next time.

Thanks for the chance to indulge in a semi-senior moment.

[Karenina]

14. Errrraaaa.....

"Wild Bill Hickok and sidekick (Play on your magic harp, Froggy)"

If memory serves me that's "PLUNK YOUR MAGIC TWANGER, FROGGY.

I danced on the Dick Clark Show when it was segregated.

Anyone else remember the rest of these guys?

Jimmy, Karen, Cubby, Annette, Darlene, hmmmm.... (and the $64,000 question is...)

[trof]

15. Froggie the Gremlin -

Wide-eyed puppet frog on the children's storytelling program called SMILIN' ED'S GANG/NBC/CBS/ABC/1951-55. Froggie (voice of Ed McConnell, Arch Presby & Frank Ferrin) was a mischievous, wise-cracking little frog puppet who dressed in a tuxedo jacket and bow-tie. He delighted and perplexed the show's host Ed McConnell and later Andy Devine on ANDY'S GANG/NBC/1955. He appeared each week in a puff of smoke saying "Hi ya kids, hi ya, hi ya, hi ya!" after Smilin' Ed said "Now Froggie, you better become visible. Plunk your magic twanger, Froggie." On the later spin-off series, host Andy Devine summoned Froggie by saying "North or south, east or west, wherever you are, Froggie the Gremlin, we want you to become visible. Plunk your magic twanger, Froggie!"
http://www.tvacres.com/frogs.htm

I remember Froggy on radio.

"It's the Buster Brown Show!!"

"That's my dog Tige, he lives in a shoe!!.
I'm Buster Brown, look for me in there, too!!"

"Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!!"

"Hiya, kids, Hiya, hiya!!"

If you remember those phrases, you must be old enough to remember Froggy the Gremlin, and you might enjoy some of the pictures and information on this page. You may click on any of the pictures on this page to see a larger version.

Froggy appeared on the Buster Brown Show (Smilin' Ed's Gang, Andy's Gang) every Saturday, first on radio, and then on TV. Smilin' Ed McConnell was the first host on both radio and TV, and then Andy Devine appeared on the TV shows.
http://michelesworld.net/dmm/frog/gremlin/gremlin.htm

[SWPAdem]

24. Hey, I made it through the Sixties

Can't expect me to remember everything! Yikes, I think I meant December Bride, not September. I can only blame a serious lack of sleep due to all the big events over the last few days.

[trof]

16. Andy Devine played Jingles

Wild Bill's sidekick.

[bobthedrummer]

19. 54 next month

geezer musician with 54 year old soulmate bass player spouse. We rock.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

22. OK in five years I'll post on this thread

and not a friggin day sooner :D

[trof]

23. aw, c'mon.

Oh, but you already did.
;-)
Go ahead, NOSTALGE about something.

[trof]

26. Thanks, all.

Enjoyed it.
Maybe again Saturday morning?
Be well.
:hi:
trof