jim henson

(Reposted from 'Brief Window')

Holy cow!
Why doesn't somebody tell me these things?!?

Over four hours of previously unreleased Nichols and May comedy routines, available to be heard online??
It's a bonanza! Who knew?

Head over to Isn't Life Terrible right now and take a listen to a wonderful trove of Mike & Elaine stuff you've likely never heard before...

Follow links to recordings of
Mike Nichols and Elaine May on NBC's 'Monitor':
- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3
- Part 4

Wow, I had no idea.

I stumbled onto this archive just the other day while googling around for information about
The Compass Players, the mid-1950's improvisational theater revue that would a few years later evolve into Chicago's legendary Second City.

For the unitiated, before their long and stellar careers in film,
Mike Nichols and Elaine May had early forays with improv at the Compass Theater that led them to huge stage and television success as a stand-up comedy team.

Their partnership only lasted into the early '60's, and other than 3 LPs they released, there really has not been too much recorded evidence available of their time performing together.
It's a sad state of affairs, and it's never sat well with me.

I was vaguely aware that material from their final LP before they split had been taken from appearances made on 'Monitor', NBC's network radio variety program that ran every weekend from 1955 - 1975.

Personally, I never guessed that other recordings of theirs from that program had existed, or survived.

It's good stuff! I'm still making my way through it, and it's great to hear 'new' Nichols and May, as they do amazing things with improvisation and comedic timing.

Some of the recordings are brilliant, some are not quite, but it's all an unexpected treat - - and again, who knew?!?

It's been interesting to learn more about the Monitor program, too, so I'm also having fun investigating all there is to see and hear at the extensive Monitor Tribute Pages.

- You can read more about Nichols and May in Jeffrey Sweet's book about The Compass Players and Second City; 'Something Wonderful Right Away' or in Gerald Nachman's 'Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s'.

Nachman's book can be previewed at Google Book Search; The chapter on Nichols and May begins on page 318.

UPDATE, 4.5.09: Thanks to reader Mark for bringing my attention to an old video clip of Nichols and May, performing in a commercial for GE refrigerators on live TV...

- Click here for link to Google Video, (via TV Days.Com)

'Epstein' is a short story that appeared in author Philip Roth's first published book,
'Goodbye, Columbus' in 1959.

Like the title novella and other short stories in the book, its theme relates to the concerns of urban American Jews - - specifically in this story, a middle-aged overbearing father and husband with demons of his own.

- Click here to read the album's back cover liner notes, written by Nat Hentoff.

A guess is that the late '60's reissue of this earlier-released recording was meant to coincide with the rise in popularity
Philip Roth had at the time with his bestseller 'Portnoy's Complaint' and the film version of 'Goodbye, Columbus'.

From the LP 'Larry Storch Reads Philip Roth's Epstein'
(original Prestige/Lively Arts release circa 1962, this Prestige LP reissue circa 1969),
Listen to:

Side 1 (timing: 24:04)

Side 2 (timing: 20:53)

(click for audio)

- - OR download both album sides in one 43.6 Mb zipfile.

Larry Storch began his showbiz career as a stand-up comedian and impressionist.

His talent for expertly capturing subtly nuanced voices is evident in this recording.

Storch may be best remembered for his '60's TV sitcom role of Corporal Agarn on 'F Troop', or perhaps by some for his re-teaming with Forrest Tucker a decade later on the Saturday morning kids show, 'The Ghost Busters'.

In addition to many other TV, film and stage appearances, Larry Storch also provided many voices for animated cartoon characters, such as Phineas J. Whoopee on the 'Tennessee Tuxedo' show (performing opposite his childhood pal, Don Adams), 'Cool Cat' at the very end of the Warner Bros. 'Looney Tunes' era, and as 'Drac' in the Archies spun-off 'Groovie Goolies' TV show.


See also:
- Larry Storch seen briefly in a YouTube clip as KAOS DJ 'The Groovy Guru' (again opposite his pal
Don Adams), from the 1968 'Sacred Cows' episode of TV's 'Get Smart'.

- Listen to a 1957 novelty 45 released on the Roulette label; a parody of Fats Domino's hit,
'I'm Walkin'', featuring Storch impersonating Prince Philip singing to Elizabeth II.

- For his current activities, click over to Larry Storch on MySpace

My best guess is that this curious 'demonstration' record was intended for radio station use, or perhaps as some sort of sales tool in record shops, but I can't say as I have any real clue...

The seeds of Bop music were sown long before pioneers like Bird & Diz & Monk began sprouting up in the first half of the 1940's.

By 1949, this brand of progressive jazz may have still been a novelty to many, but had gained enough prominence (if not respectability) to warrant reference materials like this recording as a handy guide to the layman.

By 1949, arranger/conductor Paul Weston ('the father of "mood" music') was working as A&R director for
Capitol Records and had his finger on the pulse of popular music and its trends.

The text piece he'd written was adapted as something of an audio documentary, using announcer Tom Reddy as narrator.

(Weston had worked with Reddy often when conducting studio orchestras for radio)

Coincidentally enough, many of the artists cited on this record were under contract with Capitol at the time...

Listen to:
Written by Paul Weston,
Narrated by Tom Reddy -
What Is This Thing Called Bop? (Parts 1 & 2)
(Capitol Records 78, 1949)
(click for audio)

- See also: Paul Weston entry at Space Age Pop.Com

Right off the bat, in discussing humorist Henry Morgan
in this day and age, let's NOT CONFUSE HIM with
Harry 'Colonel Potter' Morgan from MASH and Dragnet.

Two entirely different creatures.

Beginning in 1952, Henry Morgan was a featured guest panelist on TV's 'I've Got A Secret' and several other game shows through the 1960's and into the '70's.

Like many other regular panelists, becoming known as a game show fixture may have eventually overshadowed his previous professional life.
For Morgan, that was as a radio comedian with a dry wit comparable to that of Fred Allen.
If his style also bore similarities to that of author
Robert Benchley, it seems appropriate that the three of them enjoyed something of a mutual admiration society.

Enjoy the audio I've posted here, but please also explore these links to learn more about Henry Morgan.

- Henry Morgan at Wikipedia - - also has links to archives of several complete 'Here's Morgan' radio shows from the early '40's.

- 'Henry Morgan: Fuck the Sponsor', a definitive article on Morgan at WFMU's Beware of the Blog.


The Riverside LP below ⬇ (also issued on Riverside's Judson imprint) found Morgan reprising various monologues he'd performed, many of them dating back to his heyday in radio.

I'll guess that it was recorded around 1957, give or take. (Please correct me if you know better)
I've found one discography that infers that its release was in 1964, but that just seems unlikely to me...

From the 10" LP 'Here's Morgan' (Riverside Records, 195?),
Listen to:

Little Red Riding Rouge
Googie Morgan on Baseball
Advertising
The Truth About Cowboys
The Invention of Time
Hey, Bud

Morgan's own liner notes to the above tracks...

A word about the artist: Mr. Morgan is an Artist.
A few words about these examples of his Art:

1. Little Riding Hood Rouge
The story as told to the Artist (see above) by an Alsatian carver of netsuke on a rainy day in Juin (June).
The dialect employed is that of the Fragonard section of Paris, a district inhabited by fleas, who, it is interesting to note, maintain a market there.

2. Googie Morgan on Baseball
This is anti-British, in a way, but it's not normal to like absolutely everybody.
There are individual Englishmen who are very likeable, but they stay home and let the British enjoy them.
Not one word of the foregoing is true, but I like a bit of controversy now and then.

3. Advertising
There are many more things to be said than there was space for on this record and I hope in future to be able to devote an entire half hour to the subject of advertising. An immense popular demand will do the trick.
Address your letters to "Advertising Council of America, Mason and Dixon Street, City."
If you don't like this material your dealer will be insane to refund your money.

4. The Truth About Cowboys
These remarks were made in the belief that no cowboy has a machine which will play LPs.
If any cowhoy should happen to hear this stuff, I plead with him to remember that he and I are Americans and must stand together against a hostile world.
Anybody will teIl you what a great kidder I am, too.

5. The Invention of Time
Originally this was a sketch with four or five actors in radio.
I've made it into a monologue because, among other things, we needed something in this space.
Also, it might bring back memories to some old die-hards who remember radio before the war. Any war.

6. Hey, Bud
Like many of the characters on this disc, this one is from an old radio monologue.
He was invented during the days of gasoline coupons.
This sneak could get you nylons, meat - - anything that was in short supply.
I remember he got sugar by distilling Coca-Cola.
-HENRY MORGAN


During the 1940's Morgan was often tagged as
'the bad boy' of radio.
His brand of satirical humor was popular with audiences as he worked his way up to a half-hour network show.

His reputation for on-air disrespect to his sponsors was notorious. The playful irreverence displayed during his commercial announcements could just as easily escalate to transparent disdain.

Though it never seemed to hurt the sales of the product he was hawking, (or his ratings) it got him in trouble regularly, and several sponsors tired of his services.

During WWII, Morgan's show came to an end when he joined the military in 1943.
The excerpts archived below are from one of the shows he had following his post-war return to radio.

Hearing a few of these barbs, I'm struck by how that brand of 'biting the hand that feeds you' still sounds pretty risky.
I think a contemporary media personality would still have trouble getting away with it today.
It's too smart, and it's assumes that the audience is that smart as well.

Listen to the following commercial announcements from the Henry Morgan ABC-Radio Eversharp-Schick Program, featuring Henry Morgan, announcer Charlie Irving, and Bernie Green's Orchestra (1946-47):

Saves You Time #1
Razor Comparison Test
A Startling Announcement
I'll Say One Thing For The Razor...
Greetings From Eversharp-Schick
Leading Atheletes
Shavathon #1
New Years Resolution
Without An Audience, Yet
Push-Pull, Click-Click
Aristocracy
Commercial Announcement For Kids
Singing Commercial
Shavathon #2
Saves You Time #2
A Startling Testimonial
Bored Sophistication
Banner Year
Trumpet Goof
The Greatest Invention
Saves You Time #3

(click for audio)

- - OR download all 21 Eversharp-Schick Commercial tracks in one 24.4 Mb zipfile.

A light dusting of snow on the ground, the trifling inconvenience of grabbing gloves and a hat before heading outside, and as my mind over-dramatizes weather conditions, my thoughts turn to the poetry of Robert Service. ➤

In the 1890's, while still in his early twenties, Robert Service left a banking job in Scotland and traveled to Canada with dreams of becoming a cowboy.

Hired by a banking firm, they sent him to their branch in the Yukon territory.
Inspired by the vast Canadian wilderness and his exposure to the colorful characters living there, Service began writing poetry about the West and its gold miners.




Despite the difference in era and experiences, it can be said that Service and quintessentially American storyteller ⬅ Jean Shepherd were kindred spirits.

Both wove intricately embroidered tales from things they saw and lived.

At this point, Shepherd will always be best remembered as the narrator and author behind the 1983 film 'A Christmas Story'.

Prior achievements included several books of short stories, a few records, TV productions, and many live concert/lecture appearances, and additionally, memories of his legendary late-night radio broadcasts on New York City's WOR from 1956 - 1977 endeared him to generations of listeners.

See also:
- Flick Lives.Com - A Salute to Jean Shepherd
- Robert Service - Selected Poetry

From the LP
'Jean Shepherd Reads Poems of Robert Service'
(Folkways Records, 1975),
Listen to:

Shepherd's introduction to
'The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill'

The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill
(click for audio)

Over the course of more than fifty-or-so odd years,
Al "Jazzbo" Collins (1919 - 1997) was by definition one of the coolest voices in radio.
A professional hipster.

This platter was the first of his hip fairy tale recordings, reciting adaptations that Steve Allen had been presenting in the pages of Downbeat magazine.

The two would collaborate and revisit the concept many times over the course of many years. (With and without pianist Lou Stein.)

Listen to:
Al 'Jazzbo' Collins, with Lou Stein at the piano -
Little Red Riding Hood - A Grimm Fairy Tale For Hip Kids (Adaptation by Steve Allen)
(Brunswick Records 78, 1953) (click for audio)







Listen to:
Al 'Jazzbo' Collins, with Lou Stein at the piano -
Three Little Pigs - A Grimm Fairy Tale For Hip Kids (Adaptation by Steve Allen)
(Brunswick Records 78, 1953) (click for audio)







➤
Another example of Steve Allen's 'fractured' fairy tales, from the September 23rd, 1953 issue of Downbeat.

(click to ENLARGE)
➤











































⬇ ⬇
From the same issue of Downbeat, a full-page mail-order ad for the sheet music to this record.

Yes, that's right, the
*sheet music*.
⬇ ⬇












































(click on image to ENLARGE on a new page!)

⬅ Wally Wood's illustration of Jazzbo broadcasting from his mythical Purple Grotto, from 'What's All This Jazz About Jazz?', a story appearing in MAD magazine #31 in 1957.

(Via Bhob Stewart's Potrzebie)

Factoid: It was also in 1957 that Jazzbo was briefly the host of NBC-TV's 'Tonight Show', during a five-week interval in between hosts Steve Allen and Jack Paar.












Follow these links for further info on Al 'Jazzbeaux' Collins (the spelling officially changed in 1969):

- His entry at allmusic.Com

- The Purple Grotto.Com - - A tribute site with background, interview excerpts, and audio airchecks.

- A Jazzbo page at the Stinking Badges Homepage

This essay by Robert Benchley (1889 - 1945), American humorist, author, actor, and member of New York's famed Algonquin Round Table, appeared in his book 'Of All Things', first published in 1921.

Its incisive observations are timeless in their relevance.

This recording of Benchley's work was produced in 1983, as read by Bob Elliott, one-half of the prolific and sublime comedy team of Bob and Ray.
⬅



See also: (click for links)
- The Official Bob and Ray Website

- Works by Robert Benchley available at Project Gutenberg

- Some other valuable information about newts can be found here, and here, and also here.

- (Addendum, 11/10/07) Benchley's 1935 Oscar-winning film short, 'How To Sleep' and more at Schadenfreudian Therapy.



From 'The Best of Benchley, read by Bob Elliott'
(Caedmon LP, 1983),
Listen to:

The Social Life of the Newt (click for audio)




Still further Benchley info
may be found at:
- The Robert Benchley Society
- Nat Benchley.Com








(Benchley portrait by Al Hirschfeld) ⬇



"...And, after all, what more has life to offer?"


- Further ADDENDUM: By request, another Benchley classic - -

Click here and listen to "Carnival Week in Sunny Las Los"

- - read by radio humorist Henry Morgan, circa 1969.

(Almost seven months ago, I posted 'Ode To A Cow' from this album as one of my very first entries while I was setting up this blog. I've had a few requests since then to post more cuts from it. Here's the whole shebang, often with an excess of surface noise intact. Enjoy!)

Prior to many years as a genial host of game shows, talk shows, and variety shows on TV, Garry Moore was announcer, sidekick, and straightman to Jimmy Durante on his radio show.

One of his featured bits as 'Durante's Boy' was
'Culture Corner'. This album collects some of those 'original monologues with music'.
(Please try to disregard what looks suspiciously like old bloodstains on the weathered album cover.)


From Garry Moore's 'Culture Corner' 78 album set, (Decca Records, 1946)
Listen to:

Song Satire
Elsie, The Glow Worm
Rondelay For a Rabbit
Ode To A Cow
Little Red Riding-Hood
Hugh, The Blue Gnu

(click for audio, and good luck with the sound quality on a few of these)