It's also known - the more genteel descriptor - as a spit-take, which is demonstrated ably at 2:50 of this clip from his TV show "Make Room For Daddy", which I enjoyed when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I'm not sure network comedies have improved all that much.
This is great! I think someone may have done not the post-modern spin on the "Slowly I Turn" bit, but a kind of mirror image of it.
In Zack Snyder's controversial Batman Versus Superman, a key scene has the war weary Batman turn from cynical nihilist to a real person again once he hears a beaten down Superman plead for his Mother to be saved: *"You're letting them kill Martha. Save Martha!"*.
In an instant, Batman snaps out of it and realizes he had been letting his trauma and resentment turn him into someone he should not be. Contrary to the the hobo in the I Love Lucy bit, Batman *stops* beating Superman and instead turns his attention towards saving Martha. He couldn't save his own mother from dying, but he can redeem himself by saving someone else's.
This really does look a lot like the inverse of the I Love Lucy Martha bit! I'm really glad you laid out the history of this Vaudeville act for me to read, Su. Now I wonder, what does it mean that Vaudeville, a comedy genre meant to be amoral is appropriated in a mythic tale about the battle of good and evil?
Thanks for that insight Ulysses. Your use of the word 'mythic' is on point, because one of the rich sources of thematic material is the myths and legends of yore from every part of the world.
My favorite Sid Caesar skits were when he did foreign characters, mimicking their accents and inserting Yiddish words into the sentences and making up names that always had Yiddish overtones if not actual words. The Catskills spawned the greatest comedians of the 40s through the 60s. The roots of nearly all of Mel Brook's comedies come from his work. I can't think of any comedians today who make me laugh. I think that began with Lenny Bruce and George Carlin. They made us think, but not laugh.
I personally, am thrilled to see, no less luminaries than the 3 Stooges have further immortalized my hometown, (Pittsburgh), in their spin on "Slowly I Turned." Now, how did you ever come up with the idea to write of this piece of Americana? Brilliant. Sheer brilliance. What's next? The real meaning of American Pie? Who killed JFK? Where's Jimmy Hoffa buried? Waiting, breathless...
My introduction to this was via "The Abbott and Costello Show", with Sidney Fields as the hobo and Costello as the stranger.
It's a clear example of a comedy sketch with "legs"- it has broad appeal across years and audiences in part because it remains relatable, but also because of the verve and the excellent comic timing required for it to be enacted.
So right...in doing the research for the article I watched some clips of the sketch being done by high school students. Such performances just don't pass muster. These sketches are deceptively difficult to pull off!
What a great collection of this classic sketch, Su! I remember it well, from Abbott and Costello's rendition.
Maybe one day you will educate us on the origin of what became known as The Danny Thomas Spritz! ;-)
Well I don't know about his "spritz"--but did you know his birth name was Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz?
That is some moniker!
It's also known - the more genteel descriptor - as a spit-take, which is demonstrated ably at 2:50 of this clip from his TV show "Make Room For Daddy", which I enjoyed when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I'm not sure network comedies have improved all that much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9rfn8uKhp8
LOL LOL!
Yes, especially your concluding passages about learning one’s art!
Master Ming-Dao I know you know all about going back to the Source ;-)
This is great! I think someone may have done not the post-modern spin on the "Slowly I Turn" bit, but a kind of mirror image of it.
In Zack Snyder's controversial Batman Versus Superman, a key scene has the war weary Batman turn from cynical nihilist to a real person again once he hears a beaten down Superman plead for his Mother to be saved: *"You're letting them kill Martha. Save Martha!"*.
In an instant, Batman snaps out of it and realizes he had been letting his trauma and resentment turn him into someone he should not be. Contrary to the the hobo in the I Love Lucy bit, Batman *stops* beating Superman and instead turns his attention towards saving Martha. He couldn't save his own mother from dying, but he can redeem himself by saving someone else's.
This really does look a lot like the inverse of the I Love Lucy Martha bit! I'm really glad you laid out the history of this Vaudeville act for me to read, Su. Now I wonder, what does it mean that Vaudeville, a comedy genre meant to be amoral is appropriated in a mythic tale about the battle of good and evil?
Thanks for that insight Ulysses. Your use of the word 'mythic' is on point, because one of the rich sources of thematic material is the myths and legends of yore from every part of the world.
My favorite Sid Caesar skits were when he did foreign characters, mimicking their accents and inserting Yiddish words into the sentences and making up names that always had Yiddish overtones if not actual words. The Catskills spawned the greatest comedians of the 40s through the 60s. The roots of nearly all of Mel Brook's comedies come from his work. I can't think of any comedians today who make me laugh. I think that began with Lenny Bruce and George Carlin. They made us think, but not laugh.
I personally, am thrilled to see, no less luminaries than the 3 Stooges have further immortalized my hometown, (Pittsburgh), in their spin on "Slowly I Turned." Now, how did you ever come up with the idea to write of this piece of Americana? Brilliant. Sheer brilliance. What's next? The real meaning of American Pie? Who killed JFK? Where's Jimmy Hoffa buried? Waiting, breathless...
In a "Slumdog Millionaire" kinda way, I just happen to know the answers to your questions.
1. When asked the meaning of his song American Pie, Don McLean replied "It means I only have to work if I want to."
2. There were multiple shooters. James Files claims to have made the kill shot. See his prison interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8DGv6KSBZI
3. Jimmy Hoffa is buried in Grant's Tomb.
Then where is Grant buried?
No one knows.
It seems you possess a vast, encyclopedic knowledge across countless subjects!
Thanks Bret...I started this Substack as a way to move a lot of info out of my brain...it was taking up too much space;-)
Good idea, from the brain to a blog, essentially, a brain dump.
My introduction to this was via "The Abbott and Costello Show", with Sidney Fields as the hobo and Costello as the stranger.
It's a clear example of a comedy sketch with "legs"- it has broad appeal across years and audiences in part because it remains relatable, but also because of the verve and the excellent comic timing required for it to be enacted.
So right...in doing the research for the article I watched some clips of the sketch being done by high school students. Such performances just don't pass muster. These sketches are deceptively difficult to pull off!
I do. Once they cancel-cultured Robert E. Lee, they stuck Grant in his womb. I mean, tomb.