From Those Were the Days:

1939 - The CBS Radio network aired The Adventures of Ellery Queen for the first time. An interesting twist came near the end of the program when the show was stopped to allow a panel of experts to guess the solution of the night’s mystery.

1961 - Gunsmoke was broadcast for the last time on CBS Radio. The show had been on for nine years. It was called the first adult Western. The star of Gunsmoke was William Conrad, who would become a major TV star (Cannon, Jake and the Fatman), as well. When Gunsmoke moved to TV, James Arness filled Conrad’s boots. (Ivan--Not really.)
8:39:40 PM    comment []  trackback []  

“Well…no…”

Blogging will be light for the next day or two, as I’m currently training a relief auditor at the hotel and that sort of eats up a lot of the free time I use to listen and write about new old-time radio programs. I lucked out last night, though; I took along some Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis broadcasts recently purchased from Terry Salomonson and I managed to preview a couple before having to handle the continental breakfast. (This chore is normally overseen by someone else, but they’re getting a much needed rest for the next three days, and it has been decreed that I take charge in her absence.)

Dean and Jerry appeared on radio in their own starring comedy-variety series in two distinct runs over NBC Radio; the first debuted April 3, 1949 and was titled The Martin & Lewis Show. NBC signed the comic duo for a series in the wake of CBS’ very successful “talent raids” and spared no expense in promoting the show—but it failed to secure a sponsor, and after a series of shifting time slots petered out January 30, 1950. I’ve always been partial to these early broadcasts because they showcase the team on what is essentially the cusp of their amazing career, plus they featured some really off-the-wall guest stars, from Peter Lorre to John Carradine to William Boyd (a.k.a. Hopalong Cassidy).

NBC decided to try again with the boys beginning October 5, 1951 as a result of their phenomenal success in films like My Friend Irma (1949) and That’s My Boy (1951) and on television’s The Colgate Comedy Hour, only this time the series was retitled The Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Show. (This time, they were able to get a sponsor to pay the bills in the form of Chesterfield, Anacin and Dentyne-Chiclets.) The story goes that the network wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about Lewis but was mad about Martin, and so each broadcast would introduce Dean as “your master of ceremonies.” Dean would then sing a number, after which Jerry would noisily make his entrance, as in this example from November 16, 1951:

JERRY (singing): “Pardon me, boy…is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo…track 22…”

DEAN: Hey, Jerry…Jerry…Jerry!

JERRY: What’s with the “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry?” I’m not triplets…

DEAN: Triplets? I’m not even sure your mother had one child!

JERRY (goofy voice): Now you listen here, Dean… (back to normal) I’m tired of you pickin’ on me…I’m gonna tell you off…

DEAN: Go ahead, I’m all ears…

JERRY: Well, you shoulda had ‘em clipped when they did your nose…

DEAN: There you go with your insults again…you always hurt me, Jerry…you want to irritate me…you go out of your way to aggravate me…

JERRY (fey voice): Tell the truth…aren’t I a rascal?

DEAN: I’ll tell you what you are…you’re loud, coarse, vulgar and uncouth!

JERRY: So that’s why Frank and Ava didn’t invite me to the wedding…

DEAN: Jer…now…let’s stop this arguing…I wanna have a serious talk…

JERRY: Speak up! I’m all ears…

DEAN (laughing): You shoulda had them off when you clipped your head…

The more shows that I listen to from the 1951-53 period, the more I become a fan—and it certainly helps that these particular episodes are in extraordinarily fine audio, thanks to Terry. The programs are interesting notably due to the participation of a young Norman Lear, who scripted the Martin & Lewis shows with partner Ed Simmons. As with the 1949 programs, the guest stars on these M&L outings were decidedly offbeat; the November 16, 1951 features Shelley Winters, who does a sketch with the boys entitled “A Spot in the Shade” (a take-off on A Place in the Sun [1951]) and she even shows off a little singing talent as she joins Dean & Jerry in a rendition of “Row, Row, Row.” The second show I previewed is from the following week, and singer-actor Dennis Morgan pays the comic duo a visit:

DENNIS: Say, Dean…everyone warned me about coming down here tonight and appearing on this show…you know, I don’t get it…that was a very nice, dignified introduction…everything seems to be calm and peaceful here…and…I don’t see any animal…

DEAN: Animal? Oh, you must have heard about Jerry…

DENNIS: Oh, that’s it! This Jerry…tell me, what’s he like?

DEAN: Like nothing the world has even known…here he comes now, you judge for yourself…

JERRY: Hey, Dean—what happened to the… (goofy) Egad! A stranger in our midst!

DEAN: Aw, Jerry, take it easy…why don’t you just settle down and say hello to…

JERRY: Wait a minute, don’t tell me! Don’t tell me, Dean…I know who he is…he’s Jack Carson’s brother!

DEAN: You’re wrong, Jerry—this is Dennis Morgan…you see…

DENNIS: Uh, you better let me explain it, Dean…look, Jerry…Jack Carson and I are not brothers…it’s just that…well, for many years we’ve been linked together cinematically…

JERRY (fey): Well, there’s one Hollywood marriage that lasted…

Although it’s become somewhat de rigeur to mock Jerry Lewis (you know the story, “How funny can he be if the French like him?”), I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a fan—but I will argue that he was at the peak of his comic powers when he worked alongside Dean Martin; most of my favorite Lewis films are the ones featuring the team: Sailor Beware (1951), Living it Up (1954), Artists and Models (1955), etc. I mentioned yesterday that Paramount will be soon be unleashing Lewis to DVD come October 12; it would certainly be nice if some of the M&L movies were dusted off as well.
8:29:29 PM    comment []  trackback []