January 29: Happy Birthday, W.C. Fields

Raise your glass to toast a playboy, a consort of the likes of John Barrymore, Anthony Quinn, Cecil B. DeMille, and a hard drinker, comedy icon W.C. Fields.

Fields is known for his acerbic, biting persona, which includes sexism and a general misanthropy. He was a vaudeville and Broadway one-man act, a silent film star, a talkie star, and a radio star.

In 1937, Fields joined the cast of The Chase and Sanborn Hour, popularly remembered as "The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy" show. One of Fields' niches was trading insults with the dummy, Charlie. "Is that your nose or are you eating (insert a vegetable here)" was a standard line from Charlie to Fields, whose nose was not small.

A shorter-lived stint for Fields was as emcee of Your Hit Parade, briefly known as Your Hit Parade With W.C. Fields. His particular brand of comedy kept him on the show for just a month.

If you're looking for a quote for the day, try this one from Fields: "I never drink water because of the disgusting things fish do in it."

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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 .

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February 10: Happy Birthday, Jimmy Durante Actor, personality, voice-over expert and owner of a famous "schnozzola," Jimmy Durante was born on this day in 1893. Jimmy's calling card was his raspy, urbane voice. He hosted the Durante-Moore Show with partner Garry Moore and went solo with The Jimmy Durante Show in 1947. "Dat's my boy dat said dat!" was a catchphrase on the first iteration of the program. Like many shows of the era, The Jimmy Durante Show featured comedy and music. Do you remember guest appearances by: Lucille Ball , Victor Moore, Bing Crosby , and Al Jolson ? After his radio career, Durante voiced the Narrator of the 1969 cartoon special "Frosty the Snowman." He died in Santa Monica on Jan. 29, 1980.

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