Skip to main content

October 29: Happy Birthday, Jack Pearl



Vass You dere, Sharlie?  That was the question, at least from Jack Pearl's Baron Munchhausen character to the straight man, Charlie, brought to life by Ben Bard and the Cliff Hall, who didn't always believe the good Baron's tall tales.

Pearl, born in one of the world's show biz capitals, New York City, started in Vaudeville and took his comedy act to radio in 1932 on The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air.  It was on that program that the outlandish German caricature, Baron Munchhausen, was born.  Let's recall, though, that he also starred as the host of The Lucky Strike Hour from '32-'34.

Today we celebrate the 1894 birth of the comedy star Jack Pearl.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

1946 Great Crepitation Fart Contest

Not for the faint of heart, here is the remarkable 1946 Crepitation (Fart) Contest (part of the 1946 News Broadcasts Collection ). You'll enjoy the fart-off between champion Englishman Lord Windsmear, and  challenger, Australian Paul Boomer who had stowed aboard a cabbage freighter. The hilarious comedy recording was apparently created a spoof by two Canadian radio sportscasters in 1946, but this 15 minute recording definitely has some gems in it.  Apparently they made several copies, but it was not for distribution. The recording was copied again and again on disc and reel to reel tape. It was distributed underground and played in dark rooms and back alleys around the world. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element This recording is available with many other delightful treats on Random Rarities #7 available on   MP3 CD ,  Audio CD , and  instant download .

April 27, 1932: The First Performance of Ed Wynn on Texaco Fire Chief Show

April 27, 1932:  Ed Wynn , the Texaco fire chief, graced the airwaves for the first time on Texaco Star Theater. Wynn, who enjoyed popularity as a vaudeville performer, gave as a condition to his switch to radio, that a live audience react to his humor.His condition was granted by the network and so began Wynn's career as the first true superstar of radio. Ed Wynn was hosted a popular radio show  on Tuesday nights for most of the 1930s. The radio show was heard in North America and sponsored by Texaco gasoline. On the show Wynn played  as the " Texaco Fire Chief ". He was often seen wearing a fireman's helmet. For this show, Wynn would turned down the offer form The Wizard in MGM's adaptation of The Wizard of Oz , to play a role on that show.

January 27, 1948: Wire Recording introduced the 'Wireway'

  January 27, 1948: The first magnetic tape recorder was introduced by Wire Recording Corporation of America.  ‘Wire Way,’ as it was called, had an integrated oscillator and was sold for $149.50 at the time.