MUSIC BREAK: AL JOLSON - AMERICAN BOY

THE LAST ROLE OF LOU COSTELLO

In her affectionate biography of her father, Lou's on First (1981), Chris Costello remembers Lou's rare dramatic appearance on television's Wagon Train:

Howard Christie was now producing Wagon Train for television and a story came up which he felt was right for Dad. He had seen the General Electric Theater episode and felt Dad had the ability todo a beautiful job in a straight acting role. The story was "The Tobias Jones Story," in which Dad played the role of a drunk. Howard very capably describes the situation:

" ... From the moment Lou walked on that sound stage at Universal to do 'Tobias Jones,' there was never any sign of nervousness. He threw every ounce of himself into that part and did a brilliant job as the hopeless drunk, a character named Tobias Jones, accused of murdering a man on a wagon train. He was magnificent."

Harry Von Zell, Dad's old friend who had been the announcer on the Fred Allen Show, was the
official writer for Dad's segment of Wagon Train. He describes a scene which shows just how
dramatic my father could get:

"There was one scene between Lou and the little girl (Beverly Washburn) that runs maybe ten minutes. She's trying to reason with Tobias, reaching into this man to try and bring him out of his funk. Prior to the scene being shot, the makeup lady came over with her tear-producing glycerine to
make him able to cry in the scene. I went over to her and said, 'Why don't we rehearse Lou first
without the glycerine? He might be uncomfortable thinking you have to give him something to produce the tear effect.' She agreed.

"When it came time to shoot, Lou was crying crocodile tears. That little girl reached him so much and
so impressively, he was actually crying real tears. After the show aired, Lou gave Beverly Washburn
all the credit. He inisted it was the little girl who brought out that dramatic quality in him. I don't think it ever occurred to him for one minute that he already had that quality inside him."

Because of the great notices he received for his performance, he was approached by a producer to
star him in a dramatic play on Broadway--but that never took place. Dad's last acting role was now
behind him....

MUSIC BREAK: RALPH FLANAGAN - JOSHUA

THE SINGING SIDE OF JIMMY DURANTE

Before Jimmy Durante became one of the most famous and lovable entertainers of the Twentieth Century, he was a hot piano player and bandleader. Durante was greatly influenced by Scott Joplin and had his first success in show business as a Ragtime piano player starting around 1911. He was billed as "Ragtime Jimmy" and played in New York City and Coney Island. Durante was part of the same wild crowd of early White jazz musicians as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band and Johnny Stein.

When the New Orleans Jazz style swept New York by storm in 1917 with the arrival of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Durante was part of the audience at Reisenweber's on Columbus Circle. Durante was very impressed with the band and invited them to play at a club called the Alamo in Harlem where Jimmy played piano. The band was soon the hottest thing in show business and Durante had his friend Johnny Stein assemble a group of like-minded New Orleans musicians to accompany his act at the Alamo. They billed themselves as "Durante's Jazz and Novelty Band". In late 1918 they recorded two sides for Okeh under the name of the New Orleans Jazz Band, they re-did the same two numbers a couple of months later for Gennett under the name of Original New Orleans Jazz Band, and in 1920 the same group recorded again for Gennett as Jimmy Durante's Jazz Band. 

In 1921, Durante collaborated with an African-American songwriter by the name of Chris Smith on the songs "Let's Agree To Disagree" and "Daddy, Your Mama Is Lonesome For You" which were recorded by Mamie Smith. Durante went on to record with several White Jazz bands in the early 1920s including The Original Memphis Five, Ladd's Black Aces, Bailey's Lucky Seven and Lanin's Southern Serenaders. Jimmy was a solid Ragtime and Jazz piano player, but soon gravitated towards vaudeville as the 1920s wore on. He became part of a comedy music team called "Clayton, Jackson and Durante". By the end of the decade the team was very popular on Broadway and Durante got a role in a play called "Jumbo" which made him a star. In the early 1930s he started to get roles in movies, and became popular on radio and eventually became one of the most popular entertainers in America. On his radio show he joked that he was working on a symphony, but he wouldn't call it "Rhapsody In Blue" or anything like that. He would call it "Inka Dinka Doo". In 1934 he recorded a novelty song with this title and it became his signature tune.

 Durante would make records throughout the 1940s and 1950s for such record labels as MGM and Decca, but it was not until late in his career that his singing career really reached its peak. In 1963, Durante recorded an album of pop standards, September Song. The album became a best-seller and provided Durante's re-introduction to yet another generation, almost three decades later. From the Jimmy Durante's Way of Life album, came the gravelly interpretations of the song "As Time Goes By", which accompanied the opening credits of the romantic comedy hit, Sleepless in Seattle, while his version of "Make Someone Happy" launched the film's closing credits. Both are included on the film's best-selling soundtrack. Durante also recorded a cover of the well known song I'll Be Seeing You, which became a trademark song on his 60's TV show. This song was also featured in the 2004 film The Notebook.

Jimmy Durante was a funny and talented man, but listen to his records (especially the ballad albums of the 1960s), and one will discover how sensitive and wonderful of a man he actually was...

FIVE UNUSUAL THINGS ABOUT DON KNOTTS

The lovable Don Knotts passed away from lung cancer in 2006 with his best buddy and co-star,Andy Griffith, by his side. The actor was best known for his role as Barney Fife in “The Andy Griffith Show,” but he has also given his talents in other projects as well such as Disney’s “The Apple Dumpling Game” and of course, the fun-loving landlord in the 1980’s comedy, “Three’s Company.” No matter what role he took on, Don Knotts always made us laugh. He had a way about him that was unique and a pleasure to watch. Here are five things that you may not have known about this lovable funny man.

1. His Real Name is Jesse

We all know him as Don Knotts, but his real name is actually Jesse Donald Knotts. That was how he was known to his close friends and family. He was born in Morgantown, W. Va. and seemed to love comedy when he was quite young.

2. He started out as a Ventriloquist

In his early days growing up, Knotts decided to try out ventriloquism and seemed to be quite good at it. His wooden companion’s name was Danny. However, he didn’t make a long career out of it as he loved comedy so much that he ended up doing that instead. We are so glad that he did.

3. He Was a Ladies Man

You wouldn’t think that Don Knotts would be a chick magnet but it seems that he was quite a ladies man, according to his daughter, Karen Knotts. Even though he was married three times during his full life, his daughter says that he wowed the ladies in between those marriages.

4. He and Andy Griffith Used to Add Their Own Lines

Some of the classic quips back and forth between Sheriff Andy Taylor and his deputy, Barney Fife, were quite natural. The pair got together to add in their own lines into the show and it worked perfectly. Comedy and humor seemed to come so natural to them that their talent showed on screen.

5. His Legacy Lives On

The legacy of Don Knotts is still going strong thanks to his daughter. Karen Knotts has taken to the road to share some of her special memories of her dad. The intimate show is called “Tied Up in Knotts” as she reminisces about her childhood and also growing up with the beloved actors of “The Andy Griffith Show."

SOURCE

THE WIT OF STAN LAUREL

Stan Laurel (1890-1965) not only was a part of one of the funniest comedy teams of all-time, but his quiet wit was brilliant. Here are some of his timeless quotes through the years...

Humor is the truth; wit is an exaggeration of the truth.

You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be led.

I had a dream that I was awake and I woke up to find myself asleep.

If you had a face like mine, you'd punch me right on the nose, and I'm just the fella to do it.

If any of you cry at my funeral, I'll never speak to you again!

A friend once asked me what comedy was. That floored me. What is comedy? I don't know. Does anybody? Can you define it? All I know is that I learned how to get laughs, and that's all I know about it. You have to learn what people will laugh at, then proceed accordingly.

What business do we have telling people who to vote for? They probably know more about it than we do.

Just before he died, Laurel told his nurse he would like to go skiing. The nurse said "Are you a skier, Mr Laurel?". He replied, "I'm not, but I'd rather be doing that than having these needles stuck in me". A few minutes later he died.

STAR FRIENDS: JACK BENNY AND FRED ALLEN

In 1937, Benny began his famous radio feud with rival Fred Allen. Allen kicked the feud off on his own show, after child violinist Stewart Canin gave a performance credible enough that Allen wisecracked about "a certain alleged violinist" who should by comparison be ashamed of himself. Benny, who either listened to the Allen show or was told about the crack, answered in kind on his own show. And the two comedians were off and running. For a decade, the two went at it back and forth, so convincingly that fans of either show could have been forgiven for believing they had become blood enemies. In fact, the two men were good friends and each other's greatest admirers. Benny and Allen often appeared on each other's show during the thick of the feud; numerous surviving episodes of both comedians' radio shows feature each other, in both acknowledged guest spots and occasional cameos.

On one Christmas program Allen thanked Benny for sending him a Christmas tree, but then added that the tree had died. "Well, what do you expect," quipped Allen, "when the tree is in Brooklyn and the sap is in Hollywood." Benny in his eventual memoir (Sunday Nights at Seven) and Allen in his Treadmill to Oblivion later revealed that each comedian's writing staff often met together to plot future takes on the mock feud. If Allen zapped Benny with a satirisation of Benny's show ("The Pinch Penny Program"), Benny shot back with a parody of Allen's early favourite, Town Hall Tonight. Benny's parody? "Clown Hall Tonight." And their playful sniping ("Benny was born ignorant, and he's been losing ground ever since") was also advanced in the films Love Thy Neighbor and It's in the Bag!.

Perhaps the climax of the feud came during Fred Allen's parody of popular quiz-and-prize show Queen for a Day, which was barely a year old when Allen decided to have a crack at it on The Fred Allen Show—an episode that has survived for today's listeners to appreciate. Calling the sketch "King for a Day", Allen played the host and Benny a contestant who sneaked onto the show using the alias Myron Proudfoot. Benny answered the prize-winning question correctly and Allen crowned him "king" and showered him with a passel of almost meaningless prizes. Allen proudly announced, "Tomorrow night, in your ermine robe, you will be whisked by bicycle to Orange, New Jersey, where you will be the judge in a chicken-cleaning contest," to which Benny joyously declared, "I'm king for a day!"

At this point a professional pressing-iron was wheeled on stage, to press Benny's suit properly. It didn't matter that Benny was still in the suit. Allen instructed his aides to remove Benny's suit, one item at a time, ending with his trousers, each garment's removal provoking louder laughter from the studio audience. As his trousers began to come off, Benny howled, "Allen, you haven't seen the end of me!" At once Allen shot back, "It won't be long now!" Benny was profoundly shaken by Allen's sudden death from a heart attack in 1956. In a statement released on the day after Allen's death, Benny said, "People have often asked me if Fred Allen and I were really friends in real life. My answer is always the same. You couldn't have such a long-running and successful feud as we did, without having a deep and sincere friendship at the heart of it."