Here are 10 things you should know about Esther Howard, born 132 years ago today. Following a successful decade on Broadway, she became one of Hollywood’s most prolific character actresses.
Tag: Gracie Allen
A Trip Through Columbia Network Studios!
We recently came across this 1934 pamphlet/game board. It was a handout from WCCO, a Minnesota radio station that began operation in 1922 as WLAG (the call letters were changed to WCCO in 1924). But the pamphlet appears to have been issued by the CBS network, not an individual station. It’s our bet that this was distributed by CBS-affiliated stations across the country.
In 1934, CBS was headquartered in New York City (much of their programming originated from Steinway Hall on West 57th Street in Manhattan), and we can only guess that it’s that facility that’s depicted here (but we encourage more astute radio historians than we are to chime in if we’ve got that wrong—Edit: A more astute radio historian did chime in; see the comments below).
Among the famous (and perhaps now not-so-famous) faces you’ll see on your stroll through the studios are crooner Dick Powell, theatrical impresario Samuel “Roxy” Rothafel, Irving Kaufman (in his Lazy Dan, the Minstrel Man mode—really? Blackface on the radio?), Bing Crosby, Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians, Isham Jones, and George Burns and Gracie Allen, among others.
Click below to see a higher-res version of the image, or to view or download an even larger, higher-res version, click here.
You can't spell "Mother" without OTR
It’s been a bit quiet around here of late—we even missed posting a Pitch Perfect on Monday for the first time since that recurring feature debuted—as we’ve been under the weather (we’re also job-hunting, which, by necessity, claims much of our time), but we did want to share the following:
Mother’s Day, as ads and emails remind all of us relentlessly, is just around the corner, and the good folks at OTRcat.com, purveyors of collections of old-time radio programming, are offering a number of programs free for the streaming.
All the shows have a “Mother” theme, natch, but a number of genres are covered: dramas, cop shows, private eye programs, westerns, and, as you can see below, comedies.
We’re sharing a Burns and Allen program entitled “Gracie’s Mother Visits” that originally aired on May 20, 1948, in which George has an encounter with his mother-in-law that finds him having to repair all the plumbing and electrical wiring in his home.
Burn and Allen: “Gracie’s Mother Visits” (25:09)
We think you’ll find the offerings at OTRcat well worth your consideration, and at these prices—free—they certainly can’t be beat.
P.S. If you’re still in the market for a Mother’s Day present, you could do a lot worse than buying your dear mom a VIP Live365 membership. She’ll be able to listen to Cladrite Radio and hundreds of other Live365 stations commercial-free, and you’ll be showing your support for the music here at Cladrite Radio (we get a cut of membership fees). Just follow the VIP membership link to the left for more info.
In Your Hat, pt. 8
Here’s Chapter 8 of In Your Hat, the 1933 tell-all memoir by Hat Check Girl to the Stars, Renee Carroll, in which she shares tales of by the many celebrities she encountered while working at Sardi’s, among them George Burns and Gracie Allen, Eddie Cantor, George Jessel, Norma Talmadge, George Raft, Wallace Reid, Ginger Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks, and many more.
A STOOGE, in Broadway parlance, is the assist in the act. If you do an accordion routine and a heckler is paid by you to annoy your act from the box, then you’re probably Phil Baker and your stooge eventually becomes as famous as you are. Witness Sid Silvers of Take a Chance fame.
Broadway is full of stooges, both in real life and on the stage. It may sound strange to you but the jester in the king’s court from the time of The Erl King (I don’t know why they insist on spelling Oil as Erl) has been brought down the years until now he is labeled “stooge.” His job is to take he hard knocks, furnish the opportunity for the gag to be sprung, and appear the perfect fool.
When Phil Baker, who pumps a mean accordion, opened in a show in New York and had a stooge in the box doing the regular routine, Al Boasberg, the gagman who writes funny lines for a dozen or more comedians, wired Baker:
| LIKED YOUR ACT STOP THE OLD GENT WITH THE ACCORDION WAS GOOD TOO. |
Gracie Allen, of the famous team of Burns and Allen, is the stooge of the act, even though it is she who pulls all the funny lines. Recently she gave George Burns cause to laugh when she came to him with an idea.
“Georgie, dear,” Gracie said. “I have an idea.”
“Well, let’s forget it,” George answered characteristically, knowing it would bring on the usual headache.
“I’ve thought of a line for our act,” she continued.
“All right,” gave in George. “What is it?”
“I can’t tell you until I’ve gotten a prop.”
“What sort of a prop?”
“A muff.”
“What’s a muff?” George wanted to know.
“It’s one of those things women used to carry around so that they could hold hands with themselves.”
“All right, Gracie, get yourself a muff and let’s have the gag.”
She went to the best furrier on the Avenue and ordered a muff made. It has to be matched sables, four skins, exquisitely sewn. The muff cost $250 and she charged it to Geroge Burns, her husband. She brought it to him one day.
“Here’s the muff, George.”He examined it carefully. He approved.
“I got it at a bargain, George.”
George immediately became suspicious.
“How much, Gracie? How much?” he pleaded.
“Well—er—two hundred and—er—fifty dollars.”
George felt around for support.
“Two hundred and fifty smackers for that thing? Gracie, you’ll ruin me!”
“But it’s a bargain, George, and the furrier let me have it at that price because there are two holes in it!”
And she held up the muff to show him the holes in which one is supposed to insert one’s hands. Burns was nonplused.
“But what about the gag?” he wanted to know. “Is the gag worth $250?”
“Why, George,” giggled the she-stooge, “I just did it. You see, I come on with this muff and you ask me how much I paid for it and I say: ‘I got it at a bargain because it had two holes in it.”
With which Mr. Burns fainted dead away. And that’s how jokes are born in case you’re interested.
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