What a glorious way to start the day! Thank you, Mr. Rather, for sharing this. I “heard” and “saw” my father laughing hysterically as I watched this skit.
This brought back a great moment in my life -- getting to perform with Jack Benny. In the late 1960s the Ford Foundation were offering matching fundraising grants for symphony orchestras across the United States. Jack Benny offered to do fundraising concerts to help the orchestras raise money for those grants. Jack Benny could have been a concert violinist but chose to do comedy instead. I was a violinist in the Wichita Symphony about 19 years old. Mr. Benny was 78 years old at the time - twice his joke about being 39 -- and I was about half 39. We had a great rehearsal where we rehearsed all the little skits like Benny firing the concertmaster and a stage hand (really one of the men from the violin section) who brings Jack a music stand, while Benny hands his Strad to the stagehand so he can adjust the music stand, the stagehand knocks out a short cadenza and hands the violin back to Benny who then makes his signature "Well!". At the end of the rehearsal Jack says we've worked hard and now let's have fun playing the concert. And, yes, the concert the next day was a lot of fun to a packed audience. Mr. Benny was onstage for an hour and twenty minutes giving every ounce of his energy to helping people laugh and forget their cares for a while. It was his life's mission and purpose. When I went past the Green Room after the concert, he was asking his assistant "Where are my pills?" He looked a hundred and thirty nine. My lesson from this was to give my all to every performance I did; to give every ounce of my being to it and to everything I do. Mr. Benny has been on my very short list of people I most admire ever since.
As so many are commenting laughing so hard, falling over! Oh the brilliance of physical comedy back then…Sid Caesar was always a hit to watch for my parents. All of us would gather round the old television screen- remember the old console tube tv’s, pulls me right back to my childhood living room…and laugh, laugh, laugh…a lifetime ago…reminds you of how precious it all was! Gosh…Dan, another great smiles on a Saturday, more like howl laughing out loud! Thank you for the memory!
I took a class on Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. These guys were geniuses. It is so true about some comedies not standing the test of time. When seeing some old comedies from the 70’s, I had to cringe at what was considered acceptable humor back in the day. Yet, sometimes I have to cringe at what is considered acceptable humor today.There’s a reason why I Love Lucy is still playing. The show continues to make us laugh even if it is outdated. We sure could use some new capable, highly talented writers of comedies today. We need humor to help us get through the next 20 years.
I laughed hysterically even though this was a little before my time. Maybe because this would have been what my parents & grandparents would have been watching on TV. Thanks for sharing.
My favorite show very much like This is Your Life was Person to Person with Edward R. Murrow. Mr. Murrow is another person on my short list of people I most admire. Read his biography "Murrow: His Life and Times" by A.M. Sperber if you'd like to understand why. Like Murrow pulling off an integrated dinner in a major hotel in the downtown Atlanta, Georgia, without incident in the 1930s! I've been watching for the Edward R. Murrow of our times. Wish he or she would appear and reset the way the media does reporting -- not for money, ratings or sensationalism but for informing and educating the public with integrity. Someone like Lawrence O'Donnell may be that person. I hope so.
Ah...a golden age of television! Pure comedic genius! Caesar, Reiner and the amazing Howard Morris ("Uncle Goopy") were comedic gold. Physical comedy at its finest. I always loved Morris on the Andy Griffith Show as the crazy Ernest T Bass who was always lobbing bricks at people. This kind of sketch comedy, a la The Carol Burnett Show, seems to be a dying art. SNL occasionally comes close, but these old classics have a spontaneity and improvisational feel that makes them all the funnier. Thanks for the reminder, Dan! We can all use laughs these days wherever we can find them...
Uncle Goopy was played by the hilarious comic, but better known voice actor, Howard Morris. He played over 100 characters on "The Flintstones" alone, sometimes two or more in a single episode. He was on "The Andy Griffith Show" as the rock-throwing Ernest T. Bass, who'd kind of "announce" he'd come into town by breaking windows with rocks. His list of voices & shows is phenomenal for a character & voice actor. Thanks for the smile. Will we do Steve Allen's extremely long laugh next week? Tomorrow is May Day. Happy spring & May Day, Mr. Rather & all at Steady!
What a great way to start the day…laughing so hard I cried. Thanks so much!
You needed to give a shout out to Howard Morris as Uncle Goopy!
The physical comedy was brilliant. So fun. Thank you!
What a glorious way to start the day! Thank you, Mr. Rather, for sharing this. I “heard” and “saw” my father laughing hysterically as I watched this skit.
This brought back a great moment in my life -- getting to perform with Jack Benny. In the late 1960s the Ford Foundation were offering matching fundraising grants for symphony orchestras across the United States. Jack Benny offered to do fundraising concerts to help the orchestras raise money for those grants. Jack Benny could have been a concert violinist but chose to do comedy instead. I was a violinist in the Wichita Symphony about 19 years old. Mr. Benny was 78 years old at the time - twice his joke about being 39 -- and I was about half 39. We had a great rehearsal where we rehearsed all the little skits like Benny firing the concertmaster and a stage hand (really one of the men from the violin section) who brings Jack a music stand, while Benny hands his Strad to the stagehand so he can adjust the music stand, the stagehand knocks out a short cadenza and hands the violin back to Benny who then makes his signature "Well!". At the end of the rehearsal Jack says we've worked hard and now let's have fun playing the concert. And, yes, the concert the next day was a lot of fun to a packed audience. Mr. Benny was onstage for an hour and twenty minutes giving every ounce of his energy to helping people laugh and forget their cares for a while. It was his life's mission and purpose. When I went past the Green Room after the concert, he was asking his assistant "Where are my pills?" He looked a hundred and thirty nine. My lesson from this was to give my all to every performance I did; to give every ounce of my being to it and to everything I do. Mr. Benny has been on my very short list of people I most admire ever since.
As so many are commenting laughing so hard, falling over! Oh the brilliance of physical comedy back then…Sid Caesar was always a hit to watch for my parents. All of us would gather round the old television screen- remember the old console tube tv’s, pulls me right back to my childhood living room…and laugh, laugh, laugh…a lifetime ago…reminds you of how precious it all was! Gosh…Dan, another great smiles on a Saturday, more like howl laughing out loud! Thank you for the memory!
I took a class on Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. These guys were geniuses. It is so true about some comedies not standing the test of time. When seeing some old comedies from the 70’s, I had to cringe at what was considered acceptable humor back in the day. Yet, sometimes I have to cringe at what is considered acceptable humor today.There’s a reason why I Love Lucy is still playing. The show continues to make us laugh even if it is outdated. We sure could use some new capable, highly talented writers of comedies today. We need humor to help us get through the next 20 years.
I remember seeing this on TV when it originally aired. It was funny then; funnier now. I laughed just now til I cried. Thanks for the memory.
I laughed hysterically even though this was a little before my time. Maybe because this would have been what my parents & grandparents would have been watching on TV. Thanks for sharing.
My favorite show very much like This is Your Life was Person to Person with Edward R. Murrow. Mr. Murrow is another person on my short list of people I most admire. Read his biography "Murrow: His Life and Times" by A.M. Sperber if you'd like to understand why. Like Murrow pulling off an integrated dinner in a major hotel in the downtown Atlanta, Georgia, without incident in the 1930s! I've been watching for the Edward R. Murrow of our times. Wish he or she would appear and reset the way the media does reporting -- not for money, ratings or sensationalism but for informing and educating the public with integrity. Someone like Lawrence O'Donnell may be that person. I hope so.
Ah...a golden age of television! Pure comedic genius! Caesar, Reiner and the amazing Howard Morris ("Uncle Goopy") were comedic gold. Physical comedy at its finest. I always loved Morris on the Andy Griffith Show as the crazy Ernest T Bass who was always lobbing bricks at people. This kind of sketch comedy, a la The Carol Burnett Show, seems to be a dying art. SNL occasionally comes close, but these old classics have a spontaneity and improvisational feel that makes them all the funnier. Thanks for the reminder, Dan! We can all use laughs these days wherever we can find them...
Truly hilarious . These were the shows which made our parents laugh. And do we ever need that humor now ! The beauty contest is the best! Thank you!
Will probably be laughing all day!! Thank you so much. ❤
That was absolutely delightful! Thank you so very much.
THANK YOU. I NEEDED THE LAUGHS.
Uncle Goopy was played by the hilarious comic, but better known voice actor, Howard Morris. He played over 100 characters on "The Flintstones" alone, sometimes two or more in a single episode. He was on "The Andy Griffith Show" as the rock-throwing Ernest T. Bass, who'd kind of "announce" he'd come into town by breaking windows with rocks. His list of voices & shows is phenomenal for a character & voice actor. Thanks for the smile. Will we do Steve Allen's extremely long laugh next week? Tomorrow is May Day. Happy spring & May Day, Mr. Rather & all at Steady!