A comment on Tom Snyder No. 30 sent me looking for airchecks… and boy, did I bump into a Beaut! From www.NotheastAirchecks.com:
Top 40 WCCC jock locks himself in the studio, plays the same record over and over and states he won’t leave the studio until he’s promised a full time job. It’s one of those stunts that is supposed to get the public talking. I have no idea whether this worked for WCCC – but the next I knew, WCCC was AOR. Toward the end of this aircheck then Program Director Rusty Potz comes in and negotiates with Bill. The aircheck just leaves me – speechless!
Go to http://northeastairchecks.com/ and Search for WCCC on that page. It’s a great site! Or if you’re lazy, just click here.
[2021 note: This isn't necessarily the recording of "You Are the One I Love" originally shared by Don.]
The lovely Dinah Sheridan is one of three actresses to play both lead roles in theatrical productions of “Peter Pan.” In her 1934 UK tour, she played Wendy Darling, and in 1936, she played Peter Pan until Elsa Lanchester had finished the London season. Elsa Lanchester is the only “Peter Pan” who also has portrayed the Bride of Frankenstein. (The other two actresses who have played both Wendy and Peter on the stage are Lila Marivan (Peter in 1919, and Wendy in 1923) and Joan Greenwood (dates unknown). What breakfast food powered the performances of the other actresses has been lost to time.
Every once in a while – or so it seems – Tom’s personal interests and hobbies were catered to by the guest-booking department on The Radio Show. It’s hard to imagine that radio network executives desperately wanted an hour of “The Best of Jack Benny,” but Tom did that show, and more than once, with able assistance from Marty Halperin of Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters. (Another show preserved by Bryan Olson – thanks!)
Hey – we’re live again! And, depending on how you look at it, we’re either about 24 hours late… or six days early with this.
Of course, at the moment, our post headlines are still too big, the pictures aren’t all in yet, and the rotating images in the header have nothing whatever to do with the content of this blog. But those aren’t reason enough to delay new posts.
It’s March 15, 1995 – Jerry Lewis’s 69th birthday, and he’s appearing on Broadway in Damn Yankees, which is damn ironic, because major league baseball has been closed down by a strike.
Hoist a colortini for Bryan Olson – this is from his collection of CBS shows.
After 27 consecutive weekly Sundays presenting Tom Snyder’s The Radio Show, Isn’t Life Terrible ran out of raw material (i.e., no more cassettes in the collection) and it appeared we had reached the end of the road.
But turn, if you would, toward St. Paul, Minnesota and tip your hat, send good karma, and make a toast with your very next Colortini to Bryan Olson, a Video Producer at Real Life Video who also saved tapes of Tom Snyder’s Radio Show. Bryan kindly offered to share his programs with us, and he’s put time and effort into getting them here in the proper format.
Bryan, speaking for all of us who appreciate good radio, great interviews, and the unique perspective and presence of Tom Snyder… we’re in your debt.
The first program from Bryan’s collection dates from May 30th, 1989, when Tom welcomed George “Spanky” McFarland, star of the Hal Roach (and later, MGM) Our Gang Comedies. (At right, a sad Spanky sports his signature chapeau in the company of fellow Hal Roach star Charley Chase). Spanky started his movie career at age three and appears in many of the Gang’s best shorts as well as its only feature, General Spanky.
Bryan removed the commercials from the hour-long segment. It’s priceless.
This 50 minute clip (actually two “Nightside” segments pasted together) answers some fundamental questions.
Would life truly be better if:
Frank Fontaine was still imitating disabled people for laughs?
TV characters occasionally announced they were leaving to use the bathroom?
We stopped making fun of truly ignorant, truly arrogant people who choose politics as their career?
Better if we sterilized our 16-year-olds?
Better if Paul Simon stopped writing anti-christian songs that agitated the lunatic fringe?
Better if ZipLoc bags were easier to use?
Better if TV earthquake movies were more easily comprehensible to the blind?
Better if retailers didn’t project the “worst holiday season ever,” like clockwork every Thanksgiving?
Better if Eve Arden were still with us? If Presidents made mistakes?
Remember: if our money becomes worthless… their investment becomes worth even more, because they could take the money they saved and put in in an envelope and forget about it until morning, when they would open it up to see what their share of the national debt would be.
Touche. Right On.
Sad to say, this could be the last TS post for awhile. If I find another horde of tapes, you can bet I’ll put them up here. But I may be indisposed for a few weeks and in no condition to go horde-hunting. Until then – sleep tight, America.
A fascinating hour with Tim Phelps, one of the authors of Capitol Game, all about the Anita Hill – Clarence Thomas scandal which almost precluded Thomas’s ascent to the Supreme Court. The interview is complete, and is followed by a partial hour of open phones.
In 1970, attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington filed suit in a U.S. District Court in Texas on behalf of Norma L. McCorvey (under the alias Jane Roe). This broadcast of The Tom Snyder Show features Sarah Weddington as the 20th anniversary of the still-controversial decision that legalized abortion approached. The story of McCorvey, who interrupted the confirmation hearing of Sonia Sotomayor as as part of an anti-abortion protest, is sad and startling.
In the second hour, actor Alan Rachins (L.A. Law) is interviewed (The recording ends slightly before the conclusion of the interview).
The post before this one has a Bob Elliott appearance on David Letterman. Bob Elliott occasionally did a pretty passable Peter Lorre impression – so here’s a great clip of Bob’s son Chris attempting to imitate another famous horror icon: Jay Leno.
Here’s the audio from a 70’s appearance on David Letterman’s Late Night NBC series. Letterman mentions their recent Carnegie Hall appearances. I was at one of those shows and remember being stunned by the applause that greeted obscure character names. “With me is Dr. Daryl Dexter,” Ray would say, and the audience would burst into wild applause… knowing full well that Dr. Daryl Dexter was “The Komodo Dragon Expert.”
"Isn't Life Terrible" is a Charley Chase short from 1925. The title was derived from a 1924 D.W. Griffith film, "Isn't Life Wonderful?" Other Charley Chase film titles that ask questions are "What Price Goofy?" (1925), "Are Brunettes Safe?" (1927), and "Is Everybody Happy?" (1928). Chase abandoned his titles with question marks for titles with exclamation points during the sound era.
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