Carnegie Hall in Bloom

During the last 20-or-so years of his life, Jack Benny turned years of jokes about his bad violin playing and turned them into box office gold with charity concerts for dozens of symphony orchestras and their venues.

Benny’s parents hoped when he was a boy, he would develop into a concert violinist. But the young Benny Kubelsky wasn’t interested in the practice required. He could play well enough for a vaudeville act when he got into show business, but the violin became a prop when he turned to comedy. And it became part of his radio persona in the ‘30s, with his cast members, guest stars and other comedians ragging him for his (deliberate) bad playing.

His fame—or infamy, perhaps—when it came to his musicianship was put to good use for the first time when he played on the hallowed stage of Carnegie Hall in 1943. The plot of his radio show of January 17, 1943, revolved around his coming performance. It was his first charity benefit; one for the Infantile Paralysis Fund.

Jack wrote about it, somewhat in character (he takes a shot at Fred Allen), in a column published by the Niagara Falls Gazette on July 10, 1943, some months after it took place.

Guest Column: Jack Benny’s Musical Debut
Hello, Folks! This is Jack Benny writing. It seems a little peculiar to face the grinning keys of a typewriter instead of a cold, impersonal microphone, and, besides, I'm tired as I’ve been up all day. Well, anyway . . .
I’d like to tell you about something that happened to me in New York—something few people believe even if I insist on telling about it at every opportunity. (Often making my own openings.)
I played the violin in Carnegie Hall!
A certain alleged comedian, and others of his ilk, have made a good many disparaging remarks about my ability to bring anything but discontent to a violin. I want you to know I studied this belabored instrument for many years and during my first nine years in vaudeville made a good coffee-and-doughnut living with no other medium than this same bit of glued wood and hank of horse hair. But so much for my early Baliban & Katz background.
While in New York during my recent tour of the army camps in the East I was invited to appear at Carnegie Hall along with several other artists to play at the President’s Birthday concert for the benefit of the Infantile Paralysis Fund. The date was January 17, 1943, and there was one evening that had the New York music critics hanging on the ropes.
Deems Taylor was master of ceremonies for the evening and did a very decent job of introducing Isaac Stern, Jan Peerce, Jarmilo Novotna, Oscar Levant, Gladys Swarthout and did an awfully good job of announcing the intermission.

Needless to say, by this time I had tuned my fiddle to within an inch of its life and had read the program a dozen times to reassure myself that it really did say (and here I am quoting so help me!): “Concert debut of Jack Benny, accompanied by Oscar Levant.” Intermission was over, and Isaac Stern came back for a couple of numbers and a fellow named Ezio Pinza sang three songs and then he and Gladys Swarthout did a duet and then there was a great hush in this tremendous hall. Even with all those thousands of people you could hear a pin drop—in fact I heard two drop—and Deems stepped out and said, “Here it is.”
Never have I been more graceful as I glided across the well-worn boards of that hallowed edifice and nodded before the tremendous ovation accorded me. About that time Oscar Levant came skulking out from the wings and seated himself at the grand piano, forget something and went back and brought out a cymbal which he placed beside the piano. Cool, poised and perspiring slightly. I awaited the first crashing chord which was to make history at Waukeegan, Illinois.
Suddenly like a tiger Levant leaped at the piano (a bit of a show-off, Oscar) and started the introduction to my solo. After some ten minutes of this sort of thing I look inquiringly over my shoulder in time to see him smack the cymbal a nasty blow and decided to await my turn. In a moment it was there, my cue, and I was in the groove. With only the slightest rasp as my bow touched the strings, I went firmly and serenely into that old familiar classic—“Love in Bloom.”

Cartoons of 1944, Part 2

The animation industry, in 1944, was looking to the future, but the various studios couldn’t seem to agree on what the future was.

Disney was mixing live action and animation in features. So, naturally, Hugh Harman wanted to do the same thing with a process he called Animaction. Interestingly, Harman doesn’t appear to have patented it, but he did have a patent on a bicycle with Charles McGirl, his studio’s one-time manager. George Pal was stop-moving flexible characters to great success, so John Sutherland and Larry Morey set up a studio to, basically, do the same thing. They managed to get United Artists to distribute their “Daffy Ditties”; U-A hadn’t really been in the animation business since Walt Disney took his cartoons to RKO in 1937. Walter Lantz experimented with plastics. A chap named Robert Place came up with a predecessor to xerography.

But none of this means anything unless you have good stories and characters. And Warner Bros. was about to create a whole pile of new ones. The sadistic version of Tweety made his debut in the second half of 1944. Other characters would follow. Conversely, Famous Studios came up with Gabriel Churchkitten. Gabriel what?

1944 was also the year of talk about television animation. We’ve touched on it here on the blog before. While still at Warners, Bob Clampett got involved with Michael Patrick Cunnings in setting up a TV cartoon studio by September (perhaps as part of his “Tele-Tales” fairy tale show he announced the previous month). It doesn’t appear to have gone anywhere; television was still feeling its way around. Leave it to Paul Terry to talk about animation’s future on the small screen. After all, he later sold his studio to a TV network, not fully realising how valuable his old, B-Grade cartoons were.

Clampett wasn’t the only Warners director hunting around for work. Daily Variety reported on August 31st that Morey and Sutherland had signed Frank Tashlin as supervising director for the “Daffy Ditties.” Tashlin left Warner Bros. Cartoons less than two months after the company took over the studio from Leon Schlesinger.

July 10, 1944
Phil M. Daly column, New York
Dave Laurie, formerly with Walt Disney, has succeeded Lou Moss as head of Walt Lantz's editing dept ..... Moss goes back to the feature editing field.

July 11, 1944

Disney's "Football" Reel Going to Troops First
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—American service men will have first look at Walt Disney's “How to Play Football,” which will inaugurate the new season of Disney shorts with the greatest campaign given an entertainment single []der in years.
Although the National release date has been set for Sept. 15 by RKO Radio, 90 prints of the Disney subject which stars Goofy and is claimed even funnier than "How to Play Baseball," will be distributed through service mediums by the latter part of this month. RKO Radio is campaigning now to have 200 day and date showings of "How to Play Football," and already more than 100 first-runs have been set for the RKO circuit.

July 12, 1944
15 More Pix for UA Plus Color Cartoons
Acquisition of a series of Technicolor cartoons and the approval of releasing deals which will give United Artists 15 additional pictures, some of which have been mentioned as probable releases, were voted yesterday by the board of directors, Edward Raftery, president, announced....
The cartoon series will be the product of Plastic Products, Inc. A long-term deal has been agreed upon here for the delivery of four Technicolor subjects a year. The new cartoon company is headed by John Sutherland, formerly with Walt Disney. Title of the first film is "The Cross-eyed Bull."

July 13, 1944
Phil M. Daly column, New York
• Walt Lantz will up the number of "Woody Woodpecker" Cartunes for Universal from four to seven.

July 14, 1944
Robert Place Patents Cartoon Copying Device
Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Washington—Patent No. 2,351,634 has been granted by the U. S. Patent Office to Robert Place on a method of producing animated cartoons for motion pictures.
One of the problems in the production of cartoons is inaccuracy of reproduction which comes from tracing drawings onto cells by hand. While original drawings are made by highly experienced artists, much of their fine work is lost by other artists in tracing and inking onto cells which finally are photographed against backgrounds.
The photographic device, according to its inventor, will make flawless copies of the original in any desired combination of colors or lines and will eliminate tedious step of manually operating pressure plates and matching individual cells with registration pegs. A somewhat similar process was used by Walt Disney in "Snow White" but certain variations claimed by the patentee are held to be new in the industry.

Between Five and Seven Shorts for UA Annually
The recently formed Morey & Sutherland Productions, Inc., will produce between five and seven Technicolor short subjects yearly for United Artists release, the deal being for a three-year period, John Sutherland, vice-president, said yesterday. Animated plastic figures will be featured in the subjects which will be highlighted by music.
First subject, "The Cross-Eyed Bear," is completed, while the second, "Private Pinky and the Flying Jeep," goes into work shortly. Each will cost approximately $25,000 to produce.
Backers of the project are John Landis, Chicago industrialist, and Milton Getz. Both Sutherland and Morey formerly were with Walt Disney.

July 18, 1944
Count Cutelli Stricken
Seattle—Count Gaetano Mazzaglia Cutelli, who supplied the vocal sound effects for film cartoons, died from a heart attack on Sunday while waiting for a train for Vancouver.

July 19, 1944
AAF MOST ACTIVE COAST PRODUCER
First Motion Picture Unit Turns Out More Films
Maj. Rudolph Ising's animation section is now one of the busiest on the lot, with former Hollywood cartoon studio artists recently completing the Army's first all-color all-animated cartoon and several more planned. The first illustrates over 100 lessons in camouflage.

July 24, 1944
Lavin Joins Disney to Handle Live Talent
Jack Lavin, for a number of years the manager of Paul Whiteman, has joined the staff of the Walt Disney Studios, it was learned Friday at the local Disney offices. Lavin will handle live talent for the organization and also will negotiate with music publishers. He will heaquarter here.

July 25, 1944
Phil M. Daly column, New York
• Squawks from PTA and other child welfare groups following release of "The Spooks Will Get You" have led Walt Lantz to rule out stories and sequences dealing with spooks, haunted houses, etc., for future Cartunes.

July 26, 1944
Hand Leaves Disney; May Produce for Rank
West Coast Bur., THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—David Hand, supervising director of Walt Disney Productions, has resigned and has opened negotiations with J. Arthur Rank to establish his own unit in England to make live action and animated feature cartoons. Hand, who was with Disney 14 years, directed and animated the Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony series and served as supervising director on a number of Disney features.

Escapism, Comedy for RKO
Short subjects totalling 171 are on the schedule, including...the Walt Disney cartoons... Walt Disney's feature presentation will be "The Three Caballeros," a Technicolor production itntroducing human and cartoon characters in a Latin American story.

August 4, 1944
11 September Releases Sets Vitaphone Record
An all-time record for number of short subject releases in a single month wili be set by Warner Bros, in September, first month of the 1944-45 season, with a total of 11 Vitaphone subjects, it is announced by Norman H. Moray, short subject sales manager....
Cartoons include "Goldilock's Jivin Bears," "Let It Be Me," "Plane Daffy," "Lost and Foundling," "Booby Hatched" and "September in the Rain," all in Technicolor.

Fairbanks Signs Lilly
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — Jerry Fairbanks of Scientific Films has just signed Lou Lilly, animated cartoon expert, to a long-term contract as production manager for the Paramount-released short series "Speaking of Animals."

August 7, 1944
Phil M. Daly column
• A Paramount color cartoon was the first movie to be shown in four years in the newly liberated area of France, according to a letter from Capt. Charles Schwarz to Bob Denton of Paramount News ..... He didn't mention the title except to say that it was a high spot of the program on Bastille Day.

August 9, 1944
"Warner Cartoons" New Name For Shorts Series
Starting with the 1944-45 releasing schedule next month, all Warner animated comedies formerly known as "Merrie Melodies" and "Looney Tunes" will be called "Warner Bros. Cartoons," it is announced by Norman H. Moray, short subject sales manager.
Change follows the recent taking over of cartoon production activities from Leon Schlesinger, who sold out because of ill health. These shorts will hereafter be made by a new Warner unit set up at the Burbank Studio by Jack L. Warner, executive producer.

August 11, 1944
To Dub in German "Saludos Amigos"
"SALUDOS AMIGOS," already dubbed in French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish, is to be readied in the German language. This is the first Disney picture since "Snow White," to contain German narration, and is to be followed by a Teutonic version of "Fantasia," for the post-war European market.

August 17, 1944
To See Pix to Teach Reading
AI stock to Inspect Them on Mexican Trip
Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Washington—Francis Alstock, motion picture chief for CIAA, leaves for the Coast today and then goes on to Mexico to experiment with the newest thing in pictures—films made by Walt Disney to teach reading. Scored in Spanish, they will be tried out in the Guadalajara area, in an experiment in which the Mexican Ministry of Information is co-operating. At present there are only four shorts which will be shown together with CIAA health films to audiences of children and adults to determine their value. They will be tried on rural groups, then on city dwellers, and finally on mixed groups.
Alstock emphasized that, while he is highly hopeful of the value of the pictures, which would open new vistas to the industry, he will not be able to make any definite comments until after the experiments are completed. Films are not used in American schools to teach reading but if the Mexican experiment works, he said there would probable be a considerable future for such pictures in this country. The animated cartoons feature Mickey Mouse.

August 23, 1944
Disney Adds Cuban Feature
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—Adding a Cuban Technicolor production, tentatively titled "Carnival" to his producing schedule, Walt Disney expects to leave for Havana sometime in September. Group of artists and writers will precede. Disney yesterday accepted an invitation of President Batista to be his guest while in Cuba. Mrs. Disney will accompany. Cuban Government will co-op with Disney in the production.

August 28, 1944
"Evangeline" via Harman
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — Longfellow's "Evangeline," is to be brought to the post-war screen by Hugh Harman Productions as a Technicolor spectacle, budgeted at approximately $l,000,000. Harman's patented “animaction” process will be used in the filming with the title role to be portrayed by a "name" star.

August 29, 1944
Landis Backs Plastic Co.
Chicago — John Landis, Chicago financier, has a substantial interest in the Plastic Company of Hollywood which plans a series of three dimension cartoons reportedly for United Artists release. Edward Sutherland and Will Mori are said to be in line to handle production with the initial subject to be "Cross-Eyed Bull." Landis is making his headquarters on the Coast.

Lantz to Enter Commercial Field After the War
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—Walter Lantz, cartoon producer, will enter the field of commercial pictures after the war. He has several deals to produce for leading manufacturing companies pending, and plans to go to New York late next month to conclude these arrangements.
In entering the commercial field, Lantz will utilize the experience he has acquired while producing subjects for the Navy, including the use of his new transparent-plastics process known as plastograph.

August 31, 1944
Hand To Do Jowett Story In England
West Coast Bur., THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—David Hand, formerly supervising director for Walt Disney, announces he has cleared with British heirs of Benjamin Jowett, English scholar and educator, for complete rights to Jowett's unpublished story, "The Kiss of Death" written in 1881. Hand plans to film this story in England as a feature production before establishing organization to produce animated subjects for the J. Arthur Rank interests. Jowett's story is based on life of Judas Maccabeus, Jewish warrior who florished in the Second Century.

September 5, 1944
Polio Spread Leads to Det. Kid Fend-off
Detroit — Detroit theaters have agreed to drop all special inducements for children in an endeavour to discourage juvenile attendance as the polio situation reaches near epidemic proportion here. This applies specifically to children's matinees, special cartoon parties, extra pictures on matinees, special western bookings and serials. Houses are dropping serials even though playing them regularly each week. Bookers are rearranging schedules to accommodate lost program time with exchanges and booking offices, overloaded in handling necessary readjustments, pulling serials, etc., out of shipments.
Decision has been reached by leading exhibitor representatives in response to pleas of the board of health which warned of the extreme gravity of the local situation. Youngsters are not banned from attendance, but discouraged by lack of usual special attractions angled to them. Arrangement is expected to last until the epidemic clears away.

September 13, 1944
Lantz Borrows Help Under CPA System
West Coast Bur. THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—Taking advantage of the Cartoon Producers' Association plan for greater intra - industry cooperation, Walt Lantz has borrowed five employes from competitive studios to work on "Enemy Bacteria," feature which Lantz is producing for the Navy in association with Universal. Under the plan, members of the CPA will undertake to employ animators and other cartoon specialized persons on layoff from other studios during slow periods.

September 14, 1944
"That's My Baby!" with Richard Arlen, Ellen Drew.
Republic 68 mins.
CREDITS: Associate Producer, Dave Fleischer.

September 19, 1944
Phil M. Daly column
• Now it's "all-star" casts for cartoons, too .... Credit the stunt to Walt Lantz who will use an array of his series characters in "Poet and Peasant".

September 20, 1944
Famous Studios Enlarges Its Cartoon Activities
An expansion of activities at Famous Studios was indicated yesterday by Sam Buchwald, general manager, in connection with the program of 24 Technicolor cartoons for Paramount's 1944-45 shorts program.
A new director, Latimer Tytla [sic], and a new story man, Isadore Klein, have been signed to augment the staff. Both of these men formerly were with the Walt Disney organization. They will concentrate on the development of new characters and story ideas for the new program.
This applies particularly to the Noveltoon series, Buchwald said. Noveltoons are an open series which permits experimentation, and an effort will be made to build up certain outstanding characters. Important in this category is the new character Gabriel Churchkitten. Screen songs also are being stressed in the series. One of these is "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again," which will be released as "When G.I. Johnny Comes Home."
Another old favorite will be "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," with special lyrics by Mack David, creator of "Love, Love, Love."

September 25, 1944
Black Market On Duck Inflames Walt Disney
West Coast Bur., THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—Walt Disney was irate here when apprised of use of his character, Donald Duck, in films made and released in Argentina which show U. S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull in quacking debate with Donald. Disney declared that his studio is taking immediate steps to prevent any further infringement on his Donald Duck character, and has advised Hull of this action.

September 29, 1944
Harman Plans Animation Pic to be Made in Dijon
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—Hugh Harman has announced that his French representative, Marcelle Fabian, is now in Dijon and as soon as conditions warrant will make arrangements with the proper French authorities for the production in Dijon of a Harman “animation” production for worldwide distribution.
Harman and his general manager, E.A. Shafer, expect to leave for Paris as soon as arrangements can be completed with the State Department.

October 2, 1944
Aussies Bid Disney To Produce Cartoon
Canberra, Australia (By Cable)—Walt Disney has been invited to visit this country to investigate possibility of using aboriginal subjects in an animated cartoon film with an Australian theme. The invitation is an official one, extended by the Government, it is announced by A. A. Calwell, Australian Information Minister.

October 6, 1944
Mexican News Writer Hits Language Reels
Mexico City (By Air Mail) — Carlos de Negri, newspaper writer whose daily column is one of the most influential organs of public opinion in this country, has called on the Mexican Ministry of Public Education to make it clear to all the Latin-American countries that Mexico had no hand in the making of the first four cf a projected series of educational cartoons produced in Hollywood by the Disney Studios. De Negri praised the color and appealing drawings in the reels but held that the subjects, designed to teach Spanish, are full of "technical and pedagogic deficiencies." Films are said to have been supervised by three Mexican professors.

October 18, 1944
"Daffy Dittys" as UA Series
John Sutherland and Larry Morey have decided upon the name of "Daffy Dittys" for their new Technicolor animated cartoon series for UA release.

October 31, 1944
Phil M. Daly column
Walt Lantz has finished his 16th Technicolor two-reeler for the Navy on the Universal lot.

November 6, 1944
Chaplin's "Dictator" and 10 Disney Pix for France
Cabled reports that "The Great Dictator" and Disney cartoons were conspicuously missing from the screens in liberated France, in spite of requests from the Allied Information Service, brought an answer from OWI authorities here yesterday.
"Prints are being made on the Charles Chaplin film, in compliance with the request, and 10 Disney subjects have just been made available for French distribution," it was said.

November 10, 1944
Animation Application to Tele, Terry SMPE Topic
Possible applications of animation to television will highlight the featured address by Paul Terry, originator and producer of Terry-Toons, at the SMPE's Atlantic Coast Section meeting in the Hotel Pennsylvania, Nov. 15. His subject will be "Animated Cartoons, — Past, Present and Future."
Meeting's agenda calls for the showing of a motion picture to start the session at 7:30 p.m., and films will also illustrate the Terry talk.

November 20, 1944
Walt Disney Loses Second Move for Meyerberg Retrial
A second move for a new trial by Walt Disney in connection with the suit brought by Michael Meyerberg was denied Friday by Supreme Court Judge Lloyd Church. After granting Disney his motion for re-argument on newly discovered evidence, the judge adhered to his original decision which denied Disney his motion for a new trial.
Action by Meyerberg involved services rendered in refinancing of Disney's firm which resulted in the underwriting of 150,000 shares of 6 per cent preferred stock in Disney Productions having a par value of 53.700,000. Meyerberg was awarded $40,000.

November 30, 1944
Lantz Plans Mexican Survey
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—Walt Lantz will leave Hollywood Dec. 15 for Mexico City to survey possibilities of producing Cartunes there with an eye towards the Latin-American market.

December 6, 1944
Back in Civvies
TOM CODRICK, animation director, formerly with Walt Disney Productions in Burbank, released from Marine Corp.

December 8, 1944
Lantz Announces New "Humanettes" Cartunes
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — Development of a cartune production technique called "Humanettes," a process in which miniature figures of human beings are employed and plans for making a series of four-reel featurettes introducing the system was announced by Producer Walt Lantz.
The process was developed by Lantz and Edward Nassour, Los Angeles manufacturer, who are organizing Lantz-Nassour Humanettes, Inc., which will control patents on the process.

World Peace Short Via Disney for OWI
Washington Bur., THE FILM DAILY
Washington—Negotiations are under way for the production of a short on world peace methods by Walt Disney for the OWI, it was disclosed here by Taylor Mills, OWI pix chief. Mills said it is likely that the short will be a Technicolor cartoon, available in several languages for use by CIAA and OWI overseas as well as domestically.

Show "Caballeros" on Dec. 11
Walt Disney's newest Technicolor feature, "The Three Caballeros," will be trade screened nationally by RKO Radio on Dec. 11. New York City screening will be held in the Normandie at 10:30 a.m.

December 22, 1944
"Three Caballeros" in Debut
Mexico City — "The Three Caballeros," Walt Disney's new feature picture, had its world premiere here yesterday. The event was attended by high-ranking officials from a number of Latin-American countries.

December 26, 1944
Moore Talks Disney Deal
Garry Moore, co-star of the Moore-Durante airer and David O. Selznick contractee, is negotiating with Walt Disney for a series of cartoons based on Moore's air stories. Moore would make the adaptations and do the narrating.

December 29, 1944
"Three Caballeros" Setting Mexico City Record
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — "The Three Caballeros," which had its world premiere at the Alameda Theater, Mexico City, Dec. 22, has broken all first four days' records for an American film in Mexico City, according to Roy Disney, vice-president of Walt Disney Studios, who returned here by air.

REVIEWS

July 5, 1944
"Russian Rhapsody" (Merrie Melodies)
Warner 7 mins. Entertaining
This Technicolor cartoon produced by Leon Schlesinger is a bit out of the ordinary. We see Adolf Hitler flying to Moscow to bomb the city himself. Harassing him all the way is a group of gremlins who do their stuff to the tune of Russian music. They soon make a shambles of the plane—and Hitler. Hitler's discomfiture will give audiences a real boot.

"Tangled Travels" (Phantasies)
Columbia 7 mins. Punny
Hopping around the U. S. with stills of geographical landmarks as backgrounds for the animation, we encounter the babbling mouths of babbling brooks; palm trees taking the shape of human palms; Mrs. Mason and Mrs. Dixon greeting each other over a clothes line; two Southern gentlemen trying to buy you-all a drink in the bayous of Florida; etc., but the best laugh is reserved for the end where the producer shoots the director of the film after screening it in the projection room.

"The Disillusioned Bluebird" (Color Rhapsody)
Columbia 7 mins. Colorful
Outstanding for its color and the Calypso music sung by the familiar voice of Sir Lancelot this one starts with a tough looking bluebird getting caught in an air raid. He hitches a ride on a cannon shell and lands on some distant isle where Calypso Joe, with choral support, gets off a set of verses to dissuade the bird from being disillusioned with the modern world.

July 7, 1944
"Sadie Hawkins Day" (Li'l Abner Cartoon)
Columbia 7 mins. Okay
Color helps put this popular cartoon comic strip across, although Daisy Mae could do with more careful study and animation to par her newspaper portrayals. Sadie Hawkins Day in Dawgpatch is the time when any girl can marry the boy she catches in a race. Daisy Mae tries several stunts to trap our hero but Mammy Yokum always beats her to the punch with some smart angle, thereby saving Li'l Abner for the next episode in this new series.

July 12, 1944
"The Anvil Chorus" (Popeye E3—4)
Paramount 7 mins. Funny
Challenging each other's strength, Bluto and Popeye engage in a series of clever stunts for their latest Technicolor effort. While on shore leave they pass blacksmith's shop where Olive Oyl, the owner, is attempting to lift a very heavy sledge hammer. Both seize the opportunity of illustrating their dexterity in lifting weights, bending hot iron into horse shoes and rims for wagon wheels, etc. In the end Olive Oyl chooses Popeye for her lover while Bluto gets the job of running the shop.

"Lulu in Hollywood" (D-3—4)
Paramount 8 min. Amusing
Satirizing star buildup in Hollywood, this Technicolor cartoon features an amusing sequence wherein poker-faced Lulu is given a series of directions in a screen test which burlesques a popular Russia director and his voice.
She registers the same expression for every type of emotion requested to which the director gives shouts of appreciation and "bravos" for her genius.
Of course her lollypop is important in all of the action; and for the fadeout the director gives her a fatherly kiss, at the World Premiere of her picture, with the "pop" sticking to his mouth and his mustache stuck to her upper lip.

July 12, 1944
"Brother Brat" (Looney Tunes)
Warner 7 mins. Laugh-Loaded
Here we have a Leon Schlesinger cartoon in Technicolor that is good for many laughs. The main characters are Porky Pig and a brat left in his care by the child's mother, a worker in an aircraft plant. The kid makes life hell for Porky. How the latter welcomes the mother's return.

"Springtime for Pluto" (Walt Disney)
RKO 7 mins. Quite Amusing
A very amusing satire on spring is offered by Walt Disney in this Technicolor cartoon starring Pluto. The dog is awakened by the strains of the flute of the spirit of Spring. The scenes that follow show him responding properly to the call of the vernal season. All goes along nicely until certain incidents that befall Pluto cause him to change his mind about the wonders of the Springtime. In animation and execution the short is aces.

August 4, 1944

“Hare Force”
Warner 7 mins. A Howl
Bugs Bunny is up to more of his old tricks in this swell Leon Schlesinger cartoon in Technicolor. The long-eared hero's antics will have no end of laughter from old and young alike. The hilarity gets [] when Bugs is taken in by an old maid, who thereby saves him from death in a snowstorm. There ensues a terrific feud between the hare and a pet dog owned by the old maid. Before it's all over Bugs has the old maid to contend with, and he comes out the winner.

August 7, 1944

"Fish Fry" (Walter Lantz Cartune)
Universal 7 mins. Very Amusing
Clever situation well animated, against a pleasing Technicolor background, points this up as one of the better Andy Panda cartoons. Andy buys a pet goldfish which looks mighty appetizing to a tom-cat. The fish does some very funny bits in eluding the cat until the cat is finally thwarted by the bulldog owner of the pet shop.

August 15, 1944
"Plastics Inventor" (Walt Disney)
RKO 7 mins. Excellent
This latest Donald Duck rates as one of the best of the series. It has a peppy musical background, glorious color, and, above all, belly-laugh comedy situations. Donald follows the instructions coming through his radio on the art of making an airplane out of plastic materials. On his first flight he runs into a rain storm just as the radio announcer warns that the plane is a fair weather contraption and will melt in water. Taking on a variety of shapes, the plane plummets to earth in the form of a parachute. Donald finally turns a hose on the plastic radio, melting the set and the voice of the announcer at the same time.

August 23, 1944
"Jasper Goes Hunting" (Madcap Models)
Paramount 7 1/2 mins. Up to Standard
George Pal has delivered another of his creations worthy of note. Again Technicolor has been put to stunning use in telling the story of Jasper and the Scarecrow. This time the Scarecrow, to prevent Jasper from using a gun on him as a chicken thief, takes it from him as he regales the youngster with a tall story about his adventures as a hunter of big and ferocious game.

"Spinach Packin' Popeye"
Paramount 7 1/2 mins. A Few Laughs
Popeye, lying on a hospital bed, dreams that his gal friend, Olive, questions his physical prowess. To dispute her he shows her scenes from his past performances. She, however, is adamant, and he seems on the verge of losing her. He awakens to find that Olive still thinks he's the mightiest hombre in the world. The footage possesses a fair amount of laughs. It's in Technicolor.

August 28, 1944
"Lucky Lulu" (Little Lulu)
Paramount 7 1/2 mins. Amusing
Little Lulu's latest adventure is a very amusing one. This time the little miss gets into a mess of trouble in search of a horseshoe that she hopes will bring her a change of luck. (She's been getting too many spankings). The horseshoe surely brings her luck—all bad. At the end it's a spanking again. Children and parents will get an equal kick out of the Technicolor cartoon.

"Mr. Fore By Fore" (Phantasy Cartoon)
Columbia 7 mins. Silly
Here is a black and white cartoon whose principal actors are a silly looking golfer who sports a sillier set of golf clubs and a fiendish bull whose snorting endeavors are punctuated with comedy antics. The main theme has the bull trying to teach the golfer how to hit the ball without spoiling the turf.

"The Case of the Screaming Bishop"
Columbia 7 mins. Strictly Juvenile
Mild entertainment is purveyed by this animated cartoon. The action concerns the efforts of a detective and his aide to solve the theft of a dinosaur skeleton from a museum. The dick and his sidekick are patterned after Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Strictly juvenile in appeal.

September 22, 1944

"Big Heel-Watha"
M-G-M 8 Mins. Funny Stuff
An Indian chief offers his daughter in marriage to the brave who saves the tribe from a meat famine. How a dumb warrior goes about winning the prize in this Technicolor cartoon creates much fun.

"Jasper's Paradise" (George Pal Puppetoon)
Paramount 7 1/2 mins. Stunner
In his latest adventure Jasper dreams himself into a paradise composed of luscious pastry. When he partakes of a forbidden cherry at the Scarecrow's tempting the place falls asunder and Jasper and the Scarecrow flee for their lives. The Technicolor effects are stunning indeed in this fine little item.

"Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears" (Merrie Melody)
Warners 7 mins. Fair Offering
In reel's purposely scrambled screenplay, which combines the yarns of Little Red Riding Hood with Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and the composite story told in comedy Negro dialect, there's plenty of action and some amusing moments. The Big Bad Wolf, when Red Riding Hood fails to put in an appearance, decides on devouring Goldilocks, but is thwarted by the Bears' arrival. Inducted into a jive session, the Wolf's tongue is soon hanging out from over-exertion.

September 25, 1944
"The Bodyguard"
M-G-M 8 Mins. Okay for Kids
There are a few laughs for the kids in this Technicolor cartoon about a mouse who gets a fierce bulldog to protect him against the machinations of a cat.

September 25, 1944

"Buckaroo Bugs"(Buggs Bunny Special)
Warners 7 mins. Good Comedy
Leon Schlesinger's madcap character, Bugs Bunny, is branded as an outlaw for his raids on gardens out in the Great Open Spaces of the West,—and a price is put on his head. To bring the carrot-munching tough guy to justice, Red Hot Ryder, a Brooklyn cowboy, rides forth, but it would have been better if he hadn't. Bugs gives him a terrific “going over,” landing Ryder and his horse in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Reel, which is in Technicolor, is right up to snuff with predecessors in this laugh series.

September 29, 1944

"Plane Daffy" (Looney Tunes)
Warners 7 mins. Will Get Laughs
Put this one down as amusing madness, with Daffy Duck volunteering to fly a secret message as result of the failure of his buddy Homer Pigeon to return to base. Homer, it is shown, is lured to the lair of Hadda Mari, deadly and beautiful Nazi spy. Daffy's heroic offer promises success, for he is a woman hater,—but unable to hate this one who is so magnetic that the sparks fly. It's zany, but will get laughs. And it's in Technicolor.

"Bear Raid Warden"
M-G-M 7 Mins. Entertaining
A bear finds his activities as an air-raid warden badly handicapped by the tricks of a firefly. The cartoon, filmed in Technicolor, has considerable entertainment value.

"Birdy and the Beast" (Merrie Melodies)
Warner 7 mins. Okay for Kids
Introduced herein is a little bird named Tweety. The Leon Schlesinger Technicolor cartoon deals with a cat's efforts to get its paws on the fledgling, which finally beats the villain with the help of a ferocious dog. Ideal for the kids.

"From Hand to Mouse" (Looney Tunes)
Warner 7 mins. Good
Here's a Leon Schlesinger Technicolor cartoon that will give the kids many laughs. The story is about a smart-alecky mouse who makes a chump of a dumb lion.

October 6, 1944
"Pitching Woo at the Zoo" (Popeye)
Paramount 7 Mins. Good Pitching
This is the best of the series since it went Technicolor. The reel has more than the usual number of laughs. Popeye is kept busy rescuing his Olive first from a wolfish animal keeper and then from a leopard's cage. The exhibitor will have no trouble with this one.

"Abou Ben Boogie" (Walt Lantz Swing Symphony)
Universal 7 mins. For Jive Hounds
A fairly entertaining animated cartoon about a jiving fool doing his stuff with a half-draped cutie. The scene is Siam. The action is fast and furious. The short, which is in Technicolor, makes its appeal primarily to those with jittery feet.

October 20, 1944
"The Cross-Eyed Bull"
UA 10 mins. Excellent
As the first of a new Technicolor cartoon series known as "Daffy Dittys," produced by Larry Morey and John Sutherland, formerly with the Disney organization, this episode in dimensional animation emerges as a highly entertaining and clever subject. Not only is the color and lighting remarkable but the direction and animation is obviously progressive. The story deals with the determination of a cross-eyed bull to win the affections of a dow-eyed lovely by defeating a dangerous bull fighter.

October 30, 1944
"I'm Just Curious" (Little Lulu)
Paramount 7 mins. Cute Stuff
Cute perhaps best describes the latest of the series of Technicolor cartoons. Little Lulu attempts to prove that she's not mischievous at all but merely curious. The short offers many laughs. An asset is a catchy little tune called "I'm Just Curious" sung by the child.

October 31, 1944
"Lost and Foundling" (Merrie Melodies)
Warner 7 mins. A Scream
Audiences will be wowed by this Technicolor cartoon. The film tells the story of a chicken hawk brought up by Sniffles, a field mouse, in the belief the bird is a chicken. The fun stems from the discovery that chicken hawks eat field mice.

"Two-Gun Rusty" (George Pal Puppetoon)
Paramount 7 1/2 mins. Entertaining
The latest of the George Pal shorts has Rusty falling asleep and dreaming he is a two-gun western hero. The film, beautifully done in Technicolor, is an amusing take-off on the westerns.

"First Aiders" (Walt Disney)
RKO 7 mins. Diverting
Pluto is tantalizing by a mischievous kitten when Minnie Mouse, whom he is helping with her first-aid practice, leaves the two alone for a while. The hound tries to get back at the feline but is bested at every turn. Plenty of fun in this Technicolor cartoon.

"Booby Hatched" (Looney Tunes)
Warners 7 mins. Much Amusement
The amusing adventures of a chick that runs around with its body in the shell will be appreciated, especially by the young folk. The short, which is in Technicolor, has excellently produced.

December 6, 1944
"Old Grey Hare" (Bugs Bunny Special)
Warner 7 mins. Funfest
Bugs Bunny and Elmer continue their feuding in this corking Technicolor cartoon. This time we see them old and decrepit in the year 2,000 A.D. But even in the wisdom of old age Elmer is still unable to cope with the wily hare. The short is a succession of laughs. A howl.

"Sunday Go to Meetin' Time" (Blue Ribbon Hit Parade)
Warner 7 mins. Entertaining
A diverting fantasy that leans on music for "much of its appeal. It tells how a nightmarish dream in which he finds himself condemned to Hell throws the fear of God into a Negro lad who has been leading a life of sin. The Technicolor cartoon has been effectively produced.

December 7, 1944
"Puppet Love" (Popeye)
Paramount 7½ mins. Considerable Amusement
Popeye and Bluto the brute tangle again over Olive in the latest Technicolor release in the cartoon series. The rival employs a puppet in the likeness of our hero to get the latter in trouble with Olive. The short, which has many laughs, is one of the better Popeyes.

"How to Play Football" (Walt Disney)
RKO 8 Mins. A Touchdown
This take-off on the sport of football is an extremely hilarious cartoon done in Technicolor. All the various aspects of the game are given "the business." The star is that riotous character The Goof. His antics will bring a gale of laughter everywhere. A solid booking.

December 21, 1944
"Ski For Two" Universal 7 mins. Laughable
This brightly colored Woody Woodpecker cartoon has the wacky bird taking a trip to the Swiss Chard Lodge for a vacation. He meets Wally Walrus, the proprietor, who won't let him in without a reservation, despite the fact that there are no other customers in the place. In order to get some food Woody dresses as Santa Claus and Wally is temporarily fooled until he notices the calendar reading the middle of October.

"Porkuliar Piggy" (Li'l Abner)
Columbia 7 Mins. Won't Hog the Laughs
The latest of the Technicolor cartoon series hasn't much to offer in the way of laughs. Li'l Abner's antics are strictly for the admirers of the comic-strip character. The action revolves around Abner's attempt to keep a pet pig from being stolen, Our hero's behavior is ridiculous rather than funny.

"The Three Caballeros"
RKO-Disney 70 Mins.
LIVE ACTION AND ANIMATION COMBINED IN PIC THAT IS RIOT OF FUN AND COLOR.
Once more Walt Disney has worked his magic to make the exhibitor the gift of a delightful piece of entertainment. From a popular point of view his latest feature easily outranks his others, being a potpourri of fun and frolic.
The film, which combines live action and animation with remarkable results, allows the imagination to run riot, attaining flights of fancy that are amazing and fantastic. It moves at a dizzy pace in relating the adventures of three happy-go-lucky souls, Donald Duck, and two fine-feathered friends from Latin America, Joe Carioca and Panchito, a cowboy. Disney employs colors with a profusion and a madness that leaves one breathless. Some of the effects achieved in Technicolor are out of this world.
The production has no formal structure. This results in many surprises and many unexpected moments of hilarity. Not knowing what is coming next is what makes the film so intriguing and holds the attention so closely.
Disney's combinations of live action and animation are often startling. They rate the picture as a remarkable technical achievement. In these sequences Disney and his staff outdo themselves.
"The Three Caballeros," a worthy contribution to the good-neighbor policy, takes Donald on a visit to Mexico and Brazil, offering many interesting glimpses at the two countries, with beautiful girls galore appearing in some of the scenes. Donald picks up Joe Carioca and Panchito on the way, the three having a rollicking time.
Among those who are seen in the live action sequences are Aurora Miranda, Carmen Molina and Dora Luz.
The film makes generous use of music and dances of Mexico and Brazil.
CREDITS: Producer, Walt Disney; Production Supervision and Direction, Norman Ferguson; Production Manager, Dan Keefe; Sequence Direction, Clyde Ceronimi, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts: Story, Ernest Terrazzas, Ted Sears, bill Peed, Ralph Wright, Elmer Plummer, Homer Brightman, Roy Williams, William Cottrell, Del Connell, James Bodrero; Musical Direction, Charles Wolcott, Paul J. Smith, Edward Plumb; Lyrics, Ray Gilbert; Art Supervision, Mary Blair, Ken Anderson, Robert Cormack; Process Effects, UB Iwerks; Film Editor, Don Halliday; Sound, C. O. Slyfield; Live Action Sequences Photographed by Ray Rennahan; Art Direction, Richard F. Irvine; Choreography, Billy Daniels, Aloysio Oliveira, Carmelita Maracci.
DIRECTION the best.

Mirandy

Wildlife is frolicking or resting around a sleepy mountaineer at the start of the Walter Lantz cartoon “Pass the Biscuits, Mirandy.”



The hillbilly wakes up and starts a-firin’ his rifle.



The animals freeze in panic for 19 frames (see first drawing below) while he shoots off another bullet. Then they get out of the scene. These are consecutive drawings, one per frame.



Paul Smith is the only person to get an animation credit.

The name “Mirandy” in the title song of the cartoon seems to have been inspired by Mrs. Marjorie Edith Bauersfeld, a former Chautaqua gospel singer and Mack Sennett comedienne who played Mirandy on a Los Angeles radio show in 1930 as a member of the singing Beverly Hill Billies. She later appeared on other radio shows as a kind of Ozark philosopher, as well as with the Gilmore Circus, and was an early star on KECA TV, hosting a gardening show. A dark red rose was named for her character in 1948 (Marian Jordan, radio’s Molly, played Mirandy on the National Farm and Home Hour in the late ‘20s; Bauersfeld apparently took her place).

The song “Pass the Biscuits, Mirandy” was penned by Carl Hoefle and Del Porter. The pair sold the song to Republic for use in the film “Hi Neighbor” (Variety, April 21, 1942). Walter Lantz then bought it for final Swing Symphony cartune of 1942-43 series (Variety, January 18, 1943). Bugs Hardaway was editing the story by February (Variety, March 1) and the short was due to be released in July (Variety, July 8) but apparently didn’t get a national release until August 23rd. Porter was with Spike Jones’ orchestra, among the many who recorded the song. Porter sings on the cartoon and the goofy-sounding chorus is provided by the voice of Goofy, Pinto Colvig.

Grabbing Betty

Betty Boop tries to get away from the circus ringmaster (William Pennell) but trips over a rock outside her tent in “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” (1932). The ringmaster simply reaches out, grabs the crying Betty by the butt and hauls her back in.



Fortunately, Koko the Clown comes to her aid. No one can take Betty’s boop-oop-a-doop away. Except the Hayes Office in 1934, which didn’t quite approve of scenes as above.

Tonight For the First Time

By all rights, the debut of the “Tonight” show on September 27, 1954 should have been a smooth success. After all, it didn’t just pop onto the screen. It had been hyped by NBC’s president for seven months. It had been on the air in New York for over a year as “The Steve Allen Show.” Allen and his people simply picked up and moved over to the network, adding an hour at the end and five minutes at the beginning. What could possibly go wrong?

An awful lot, it appears.

Some of it was out of the control of Allen and his production team. Stations across the network joined the show in progress, much like they did on the “Today” show which made for multiple, and awkward, sign-ons. Getting affiliates to sign up for “Tonight” had been difficult and time-consuming (local stations had already spent money on old movies they could run instead and not share any commercial revenue with the network). And Knickerbocker Beer, the main sponsor of Allen’s local show in New York, demanded a local show. So Allen was forced to do 15 minutes on WBNT before going on the network and taking WBNT along with him.

New York Herald Tribune writer John Crosby watched the network debut and outlined every failure in his syndicated TV column. As a side-note, Wally Cox appeared on Martha Raye’s show on NBC the following evening. Raye was supposed to appear on the “Tonight” debut to plug her season-opener but never showed up.

Allen in Dark But He Makes ‘Tonight’ Shine
By JOHN CROSBY
NEW YORK, Oct. 6—“Tonight,” the latest of Sylvester L. Weaver's brain children, exploded all over the midnight air from here to Omaha the other night and from the exasperated noises emitted by its proprietor, Steve Allen, I guess everything went wrong that could go wrong. Still, if Allen can be that funny when things get fouled up, I hope they never them straightened out.
“Tonight” (NBC-TV, 11:30 p. m. to 1 a. m. EST Mondays through Fridays) is the companion piece of “Today” and “Home” and like those two shows it embodies what Mr. Weaver is wont to call the magazine concept of selling. In brief, that means that instead of being assaulted by one sponsor, we are assaulted by about eighty-three. As a matter of fact, “Today” in 1953 did have exactly eighty-three sponsors ranging from General Motors to Appian Way Pizza Pie Mix.
Allen's Humor.

At the very outset Mr. Allen, looking decidedly harassed, announced: “Boy, have we ever been making last minute changes around here. I admit that's not funny in Omaha. We were going to show you the Empire State Building. The Hudson River was going to flow the other way—but somebody goofed. This is ‘Tonight’ and I want to give you the bad news right now. This show is going to go on and on and on, forever. This is the Hudson Theater. I think it sleeps 800 people. This show—well, it’s not a spectacular. It’s kind of a monotony. And if this show is anywhere near as successful as ‘Today’ and ‘Home,’ they’re going to put on another show called ‘Son of Tonight’.”
That's the kind of humor Allen has—a sort of late at night, earthy, “Aaah, the hell with it” kind of humor that is entirely suitable to that hour. Apparently, NBC had sent out a Cadillac with a remote unit aboard that was supposed to bring in something or other but the driver got pinched or something. “This is the first network that ever got a ticket.”
Stations kept either latching on to the program or dropping it at fifteen minute intervals and Allen kept hopelessly saying hello to the newcomers and goodbye to the others and trying to explain what it was all about to the new arrivals. “I’ve never done such a confusing program in my life. I think we started about noon.” And he tried to explain again to the people in the midwest about that Cadillac, concerning which we in the east were already hopelessly confused. “We’re all going to hold hands and have a community sleep. Synchronize your sleeping pills.”
Long Schedule.
Allen had a long, impressive schedule on a clipboard which he kept riffling through to find out what was supposed to be happening at that precise moment—but none of the things that were supposed to be happening were happening. His guest star, Wally Cox, appeared with his copy of the schedule and said: “I’ve been looking at this schedule and I guess I better leave.” Cox started to walk off but Allen got him back. “No, that would be giving you short shrift,” said Allen. Then he added: “Short shrift—that’s a good name. General Foods ought to put out something called Short Shrift. Buy a box of Short Shrift.
“Or you could buy a box of Long Shrift and have it shortened,” suggested Cox—and then went into his “Gee, what a crazy guy routine which is about as funny as anything can be.
Every so often, the out-of-town stations dropped the show for one minute to sell things and this left Allen with one minute of time and his New York audience and nobody else. It’s a tough assignment, one minute. “I’ve got some 34-second jokes,” he announced. “And I’ve got a dance that takes 42 seconds. But I haven’t got any 57-second jokes.”
During the rest of the hour and a half, Allen played the piano; a girl singer named Pat Marshall sang “Fine and Dandy;” Gene Rayburn gave the news and participated in a sketch with Allen; and there was an interview with Willie Mays, the most interviewed man since Charles A. Lindbergh. But mostly it was just Allen. At one point, wandering through the audience, he asked a young lady if she wanted to wave at anyone at home.
“No, I guess they're all asleep,” said the young lady.
“Thanks,” muttered Allen. “Thanks a lot. There goes a $4,000,000 advertising account.”
For future shows we are promised big name stars, and interviews with theatrical folk, and service features—and, oh, all sorts of things. I expect eventually everything will be neat and tidy and run like clockwork. But it won’t be nearly so much fun.

Whether everything was eventually “neat and tidy” and “run like clockwork” is a matter of definition. Allen’s “Tonight” show didn’t become the homogenised, overly structured late night show that you see today. It was organised—even live TV has to have some organisation—but always spontaneous, meaning just about anything could happen. Incidentally, “Tonight”’s long-time director under Allen, Bill Harbach, was interviewed about his career by Kliph Nesteroff on his Classic Showbiz site. You can read all three parts HERE.

You may be wondering why critic Crosby didn’t mention the Man on the Street interviews or sketches involving his stock players. That came later, when Allen went into prime time on Sundays against Ed Sullivan. Next week, we’ll hear from one of those stock players.

Into the Picture

Here’s a perspective sequence from Tex Avery’s “What Price Fleadom” (1948). A bulldog is chasing a flea. Then the dog starts hopping exactly the same way as the flea, which is pretty funny. Next, Avery gives a little perspective bonus in an old gag to theatre audiences. The flea hops into a picture on the wall.



The bulldog chases after him, initially filling the screen. I’ll bet this surprised the theatre audience.



Avery’s unit was in transition around this time. Walter Clinton, Robert Bentley and Gil Turner received the animation credits.

A Familiar Gag

You know the joke. A musical instrument is rigged to blow up whenever Bugs Bunny hits the right note on the old song “Endearing Young Charms.” Bugs always plays the wrong note and the frustrated Sam or Daffy or whoever shoves him out of the way to show him how to play the song correctly and—well, you know the gag.

Here’s the end result from “Show Biz Bugs.”



The gag was also used in “Ballot Box Bunny” (with Yosemite Sam), “Rushing Roulette” (a Format Films Roadrunner-Coyote short) and “Booby Traps” (a 1944 Snafu cartoon). It may have been in others; it sure seems like it. The musical gag was probably concocted by Warren Foster. He wrote “Ballot Box Bunny” and “Show Biz Bugs” and likely “Booby Traps” (it was animated by the Clampett unit and Foster had been writing for Bob Clampett). Foster had run a music studio in New York City before he got into animation.

Frank Nelson on Jack Benny

He made his fame out of one word—“Yes.”

Of course, it sounded like more than a word when he got through with it. Radio and TV audiences howled with laughter as he stretched the word like a rocket of silly putty, screeching it into the air.

Frank Nelson was a fine dramatic actor and announcer (Lux Radio Theatre), but people loved his “Yes” character on the Jack Benny show and eventually he wound up doing some variation of it on other comedy shows.

Like just about everything on Benny’s show, the character evolved over time. Nelson began appearing on the programme in the mid-‘30s periodically doing a non-masculine floorwalker who got huffy with Jack. From this came the man who was ostensibly there to serve Jack Benny—a ticket taker, a real estate agent, a clerk, and so on—but insulted him instead, beginning with an enthusiastic “Ye-e-e-e-e-s?” whenever Benny tried to get his attention.

Nelson gave a number of interviews about his career to old-time radio show hosts, but I’ve found a newspaper piece he did while his Benny career was still going strong. This is from the Knickerbocker News of Albany, New York, May 20, 1961. The sidebars accompanied the main story. Nelson gives his opinion about why Jack Benny remained so popular for years. His observations in the sidebar about Jack Paar, who was an 18-week summer replacement for Benny in 1947, are interesting.

THE HAPPY HECKLER
Nelson Finds Jokes Few, Laughs Plenty In 27 Radio-TV Years With Jack Benny
By WALTER HAWVER
FRANK NELSON figures he's had “a fair run” on the Jack Benny Show—27 years. “I hope it will last,” he laughed.
Chances are it will last as long as Benny does. And the way this eternal 39-year-old is going—three Emmys in three years—this could be some time.
Nelson is one of a long list of characters who are as much a part of the American comedy scene as Benny himself. Only announcer Don Wilson has been with Jack longer.
You know most of the others whose careers at one extended time or another were intertwined with Benny's: Eddie (Rochester) Anderson, Jack's long-suffering vallet [sic]; Mel Blanc, the man of many voices; singer Kenny Baker and, more recently, Dennis Day; Artie (Mr. Kitzel) Auerbach; Sam Hearn, the "Hey, Rube" figure; Sheldon Leonard (now producer of the Danny Thomas Show), the cliche gangster; Benny Rubin, the tout; bandleader Phil Harris, and, of course, Mary Livingstone.
It's easy to see why Benny has stuck with the same general group of people. As Nelson points out:
“Going back to the radio days (Jack started in 1932), the script hasn't changed. Analyze his scripts. Read his dialogue. You'll seldom find a joke. He relies on situations that turn into funny things.
“Mention money. Anything free. You know what Jack's reaction is going to be.”
As Allen Sums It Up
Nelson might have added as Steve Allen did in his book, "The Funny Men:"
“The first reason we laugh at Jack is, of course, that we have been conditioned for over 20 years to do so. A thousand and one examples of this sort of emotional conditioning come readily to mind. If a motion picture director wants to terrify us, he need only present Boris Karloff. A composer need only to change a major chord to minor to change our mood from pleasant to sad. Jack reaps tremendous rewards from this simple truth.”
Nelson's role as a happy heckler is part of this conditioning.

This It the Way It Goes
I asked him to describe the role that has become his career:
“I'm the fellow that heckles Jack. Wherever Jack goes and runs into trouble, he usually bumps into this fellow.
“It's not known to the general public, but when he calls me anything, it's usually 'Mr. Nelson.' Mostly, he says: 'Oh, it's you again.' And I give him a long drawn out, 'Y-e-e-e-sss.”
This association with Benny has proved limiting though profitable to Nelson. In radio, he was able to do many characters — “leads, heavies, dialects, things of this nature.” But, in TV:
“People see and associate my face with a voice and I'm trapped. Few producers will take a chance on casting me any other way. It's simple enough for a Red Skelton to take on a serious role. The producer just announces that a star is going to try something different and the public eats it up. This isn't the case with a rank and file actor.”
Nelson has tried to break away from his “typing.” He shaved his mustache and got himself a butch haircut. “The only person I made an impression on was my wife,” he said.
“She was annoyed.”
Benny Is Easy to Work For
What's Benny like to work for?
“Very easy. He knows what you want and expects you to do it. Never in the years I've been with him have I heard him get mad at a performer, or lose his temper. In the radio days, the cast all knew what they were there for, knew what he wanted from them. We spent very little time in rehearsal. In TV, of course, the problems are greater and we work longer, but, even then, rehearsal time is reasonably short.”
Frank worked more often when the Benny show was on radio. “In those days, I did 25-30 shows a year. Now I do six or seven.”
What about the in-between times? “I work as all actors do. I did a lot of Lucy shows, Our Miss Brooks, Joan Davis, Eddie Cantor, Donald O'Connor, anything that comes along—Ann Sothern, Danny Thomas. But always the same character.”
Paar Hits Par
A fellow named Jack Paar once took over the Jack Benny Show for two weeks. It's said this was the turning point in his career but Frank Nelson recalls that Paar didn't come off well at all.
“It was right after the war, I guess about '46, '47, somewhere in there. Paar was an odd sort of fellow even in those days and didn't come off very well with the audience. When they didn't react to his jokes, he'd lecture them. This just made them withdraw more.
“He didn't do any radio for about two years after this experience. The kind of show he does today, he's fine for, but to me he's an unsure individual. He shouldn't be, but he is.”
Look-Alikes Confuse Fans
Frank Nelson and Mel Blanc look quite a bit alike. Their hair lines are the same, both have mustaches, both are on the heavy side. This can prove confusing to their fans.
“We were walking out of the studio one day,” Frank recalled, “when two young ladies rushed up with autograph books. One looked at me, then at Mel and gasped:
‘Why, they're two of you,’ Mel said ‘I’m his brother.’ I agreed and they walked away satisfied.”

Coming Up Next, Boys and Girls...

There was a time, you youngsters reading here today, when local TV stations had kids shows in the afternoon with a live host. He’d ad-lib silly things and introduce some cartoons. Some of these shows were among the funniest things ever put on TV. Ever. If you get your hands on Tim Hollis’ book Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows, you can learn about them.

Kids couldn’t get enough cartoons but, after a while, TV stations in the early ‘60s felt they needed to do something besides run the same packages of Warner Bros. and Popeyes over and over and over. So syndicators, looking at the success of Hanna-Barbera in the TV field, offered new cartoons to fill time. Hanna-Barbera, itself, was among them, producing the Lippy the Lion/Touché Turtle/Wally Gator shorts. Not only could the cartoons be used individually on a kids show with a live host but, stations could turn them into 15-minute, half-hour or any-length blocks to fit holes in morning or late afternoon programming. Ingenious, those syndicators.

A couple of cartoon series offered in 1962 and 1963 were at the opposite ends of the scale. “The Funny Company” was an outgrowth of criticism of cartoons by do-gooder groups that felt all children’s programming should be like a school house. So producer Ken Snyder offered a series with an educational component.



Sponsor reported on August 19, 1963 that WOR-TV in New York was going to spend a million dollars advertising the cartoons which it planned to air in a 90-minute block. Ah, but a problem cropped up. Mattel had exclusive advertising rights. And the FCC said “no.” Said Sponsor on September 23, 1963:

Sponsor must be identified, FCC rules on Mattel case
FCC last week put its foot down on proposed exception to the sponsorship identification requirements by a kiddie cartoon series. In response to a request from California toy manufacturer, Mattel, for a waiver of the rule in the “Funny Company” program, FCC said Mattel sponsorship would have to be announced by stations carrying the series. Commission says present instance is similar to the “Living Should be Fun” program offered in 1961, not overly sponsored, but in effect underwritten by Foods Plus, in exchange for spot announcements by stations. FCC rules the sponsorship had to be acknowledged. Mattel bought exclusive distribution rights in U.S. and Canada for the “Funny Company” program, helped finance pilot film. Through its advertising agency, the company has offered to take adjacent spots at a cost that will reimburse the stations for the cost of rights to use the program. FCC holds this as the same as sponsorship. Also, Mattel has exclusive rights to merchandise toys, games, et al, based on the program characters. The toy company wanted to let stations offer the program to other sponsors, but if Mattel has to be named, fewer stations would use the program, it claimed. FCC was not beguiled by reproachful argument that the commission would, in effect, be discouraging sorely needed “good children’s programs.” The law is the law: identify, says FCC.

Regardless, “The Funny Company” settled into the WOR schedule, listed for 90 minutes every weekday beginning at 3:30 p.m. Despite that, the local-area TV station which ran the cartoons when I was a kid inserted them as part of its animation blocks in the morning and afternoon. I don’t recall any mention of Mattel.

Down the dial at WPIX Channel 11, “The Funny Company” was going up against another cartoon series from 4:30 to 5. It wasn’t educational in the slightest, unless you wanted to learn how to make comically bad cartoons. “The Mighty Hercules” was “A Trans-Lux Television presentation produced by Adventure Cartoons for Television, Inc.” Trans-Lux had scored a TV success in the late ‘50s by reviving Felix the Cat, thanks to the help of veteran New York animators, and Famous/Paramount studio stalwarts Jack Mercer and Win Sharples. Weekly Variety, on February 7, 1962, announced the series (then called “The Amazing Adventures of Hercules”) would consist of 130, 5½ minute cartoons. Again, New York animators were paid to sit at their lightboards, and Jack Mercer and Win Sharples were brought in.

Some animation historians say it looks like those New York animators had copies of the Superman model sheets from their Fleischer studio days as the Man of Olympia’s design (attributed to George Peed) looks a lot like the Man of Steel. Despite the extremely limited animation, there must have been cost problems. Mercer and David Hartman, who played Hercules, disappeared, and their voices replaced with Canadian (read “cheaper”) talent from Montreal. TV hosts Jimmy Tapp and Helene Nickerson (“Miss North American Van Lines” of 1960) and CFCF radio programme director Gerry Bascombe took the roles. Nickerson’s performance as the evil villainesse is unintentionally hilarious; she sounds like she’s spent her life smoking five packs a day. In fact, “unintentionally hilarious” aptly describes the cartoons, right from the get-go with Johnny Nash wailing about “Iron in his thighs.” Just don’t try to watch more than a couple in a row. A couple in a row, Herc, a couple in a row.



If you’re wondering what else was for sale to cartoon-hungry stations, Sponsor listed the 18 distributors at an NAB trade exhibition in its April 1, 1963 edition. The trade publication pointed out close to all syndicated film sales were being made directly to stations. Here’s what was being offered:

CBS Films: Deputy Dawg (third series).
Desilu Sales: Rod Rocket, 130 3½-minute cartoons with authentic space background.
Jay Ark Film: Bozo’s Cartoon Storybook, 52 cartoons, featuring lead-ins by Bozo, in color.
King Features Syndicate: Beetle Bailey-Barney Google & Snuffy Smith-Krazy Kat, 150 new cartoons based on the comic strip, in color; Popeye, 220 tv cartoons starring Olive Oyl’s boyfriend, in color.
MGM TV: MGM Cartoons, 135 fully animated cartoon comedies.
NBC Films: Astroboy, 52 half-hour cartoon series.
Official Films: Cartoons, 41 cartoon: Little King, Bunny Bear [sic], etc.
Screen Gems: Top Cat, 30 half-hours animated cartoons, produced by Hanna-Barberra [sic], wall [?]; Hanna-Barbera Cartoons: Touche, Wally, Lippy, 156 five-minute cartoons in color.
Trans-Lux Television: The Mighty Hercules, 30 5½-min. cartoons about Hercules and his enemy, Daedalus; Felix the Cat, 260 four-minute cartoons starring the well known cartoon character.
United Artists Associated: Popeye Cartoons, 234 theatrical animated Popeye cartoon adventures; Warner Bros. Cartoons, 337 theatrical animated Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and others.
Video House: Out-of-the-Inkwell, 100 5-minute cartoons created by Max Fleischer, featuring Koko the Klown in colour.
Walter Reade-Sterling: Capt’n Sailorbird Cartoons, group of 184.



Of course, there were others being syndicated and then there were cartoons on networks. And that brings us to our last photo from Sponsor in 1963. People were employed to dress up in large cartoon character costumes and make appearances at department stores, fairs, TV stations and so on. Hanna-Barbera promoted Yogi, Quick Draw McGraw and even Wally Gator this way. But I feel sorry for the poor young guy who was forced to wear a huge Mr. Magoo head at a bowling alley.



I’d rather watch 50 “Hercules” cartoons in a row than be forced to wear that.

Well, maybe not.