Similiar to The Crazy World?

Have you see Laura Leff's books about The Jack Benny Show?

Look through one of her books.

Very similar to what was done at the Crazy World.

Here's the other volume.

Bern Flynn photo as a child

Here you go:

I have tons of new Idelson photos as a child- but am saving those for January 1st (not really, you can find them under "Bill Idelson" on the left-hand side of The Crazy World.)

"New" article

Added a "new" article (it was on the OTRr Buffet) called "It Might Be Your Family."

This is a very large article and I moved things around to make it easier to read. FIND IT HERE.

Last post for the Crazy World?

Well, today I uploaded what "seems" to be the last post for The Crazy World of Vic and Sade.  I suppose I'll come across more stuff in my lifetime - maybe a few wayward scripts or maybe someone else will make a trek to the library in Wisconsin (I sure hope they do) or magazine articles or audio clips where people tell about a story we don't have (I actually have 2 more of those but I'm waiting on an email that will help determine a date for each.)

I hope we are able to find oodles and oceans of more stuff... but I'm not counting on it.  I never thought we'd have anything close to what we have now!

There is still work to be done though, and I'm busy doing it.  I hope to have about 20 new very cool items for you by the first of January and perhaps a few more after that.  It's never-ending!

I ask again, if you are a fan of the show, I'd like to "interview" you via email and ask you 10-15 questions.  I'd love for you to be a part of what we have going on here.  Feel free to leave a comment of email me at jim.at.the.library@gmail.com.

Photo: Art Van Harvey as a child

The Inter-Ocean Parabolic blog reminds us that this is the year Rush was to die

I've already posted the script, Rush Plots His Future to the Year 2000, earlier this year and I reminded you once that Rush predicted 2012 to be the year of his death - but it's worth mentioning again, since my blog with also "end" (well...) after 2012. Ironic, no?

The Inter-Ocean Parabolic Blog reminds us too.

RUSH: [Reads] Twenty-hundred an' twelve - die, an' have a great big monument with electric lights on it.

Addition to episode 39-12-25

I found a newspaper note that gives some details about some dates of Art Van Harvey's first illness.

Therefore, I added a note to the end of episode 39-12-25 Sorting Christmas Cards (it's the episode where Vic says only one line; I speculate this wasn't Vic at all or at the very least may have been from a transcription disc.)

"Other Stuff" page

On the Crazy World of Vic and Sade website, I've added a page called "OTHER STUFF"; (left hand side, almost at the bottom of the long list of links) - a better name for it might be "The Best of Vic and Sade Notebook" because it contains the tangible materials I find and report here.

I still hope you will frequent this blog, despite "the best of" approach.  It's only provided because so few frequent this blog.

Known nicknames of Russell (from episodes without audio)

These notes were probably taken and distributed by Richard E. Hunton.

6/3/1943 Russell's First Appearance
Rusty - Old Snort

11/24/1943 Vic Brings Home a High-Crown Cowboy Hat
George

11/25/1943 Uncle Fletcher's All-Dressed Up
Helen, Margaret, Walter, Sam, Jeanette, Mr. Whoolsh, Doctor
Sleetch

12/1/1943 B. B. Baugh and the Ten Cent Store Weigh Machine
George

12/3/1943 One Soggy Garbage Wagon Pass
Whitehouse, honey

12/8/1943 Mr. Ruebush's Christmas Foot-Stool
Pete, Old Sport

12/21/1943 Uncle Fletcher asks for lodging for himself and Roy Dejectedly
Doctor Sleetch, Adams

12/30/1943 Roy Dejectedly's Trial Visit
Sam, Skiddoo, Margaret

12/31/1943 Geography Quiz / The Circular Orange
Mister Whoolsh, Whitehouse

1/4/1944 Vic's bottom dresser drawer has been violated
Margaret, Dorothy, Nose-Glasses

1/6/1944 Letter To Walter (another version)
Dorothy, Doctor Sleetch, Margaret

1/10/1944 Hank To Be Drummed Out Of The Lodge
Margaret, Doctor Sleetch

1/11/1944 Who Spotted The First Robin of the Season?
Doctor Sleetch

1/27/1944 Ruthie's Feet Are Growing
Margaret, Foot-Pedal

2/10/1944 Mr. Donohue's Grudge Against Mr. Gumpox
dear, pretty little Russell

2/23/1944 Uncle Fletcher Presents More Old News From Belvidere
Margaret

3/13/1944 Letter From Stella Klank
Helen, Margaret

3/22/1944 Grand Re-Opening of Tea Shoppe
Margaret-honey

3/27/1944 Uncle Fletcher To Pedal Hyena Grease?
Margaret

3/29/1944 Letter from Bess - Wants Sade to Visit
Roscoe, Mr. Whoolsh

4/12/1944 Russell - The Reluctant Knight
George, Doctor Sleetch, Sam, Mr. Whoolsh

4/20/1944 Letter From Bess Delays Card Game
Dorothy

4/28/1944 Grown Men Trading Names!
Dimwit Chimpanzee, Doctor Whoolsh, George

5/3/1944 Russell Has Three Bosses
Cigar-Butt

5/31/1944 The Fascinating Allen McClutch
William

6/20/1944 No More Pretty Boy
Cow-Pasture; Old Friend, Charlie

7/20/1944 Uncle Fletcher's Come-Visit-Me
Charlie, Door-Knob

7/21/1944 Sade and The Revolver
George

8/9/1944Mr. Gumpox Has Lost His Dentures
George

9/19/1944 Vic Is To Be Best Man
Andy

9/20/1944 Reverend V. Cook's Letter
Thumb-clamp, old pal; Sleeve-holder, Old Watermelon-Rind,
My Darling Little Son, Russell; Pete

WAIT - just THREE episodes left

Earlier today I wrote, "Although one never knows what one will find" when I was telling you I only had two episodes left.

Well, I just found another full script, one I do not ever remember seeing before - and it's from 1932, making it the earliest script I have seen, period!  I will post sometime before January 1st.

And you never know what you will find!

Just two episodes left

The long journey of posting episodes is drawing to a close.  There are just two more known episodes to post (although one never knows what one will find.)

I first envisioned this day in July of this year.  I was about 10 episodes from being finished before I was given the notes from The Friends of Vic and Sade.

The amount of episodes is staggering - the 2 episodes remaining will make a grand total of 606 episodes.  Find another website that extensively looks at over 600 episodes!

When the episodes are finished - and after January 1st (the 'Spectacular') I will slowly begin touching things up and making The Crazy World of Vic and Sade an even better web site.

Thanks to everyone who helped make it all possible.

Just don't forget about the last 2 episodes and January 1st!

Thanks,
Jimbo

Coming soon! The Audio Book That Choked Billy Patterson

13 Chapters...

Catnip: Egress to Oblivion? in the Sundance Film Festival

I mentioned sometime back about the superb video about catnip done by Jason Willis.

The video is superb, plus, Mr. Willis is a Vic and Sade fan and added little Vic and Sade references in the video (below are a couple of stills I grabbed from the video showing at least 2 things.)

He claims there are about five... help me find the rest.

Not only is it a superb video - it's been chosen to be in the Sundance film festival.  That's a HUGE deal.  He reads my site - I am so honored!

Here again (worth another mention) is his SUPERB video on catnip:

Photo I have never understood

What's the point of this?

click to enlarge (1943)

Did Sade secretly hate the Brainfeebles?

Photo evidence says she might have...

click to enlarge

Character drawings by Eric Scales

Artist Eric Scales graciously gave me permission to use his drawings of Vic and Sade characters.  I think they have added a lot to the website.

I've tried to get him to do more.  Perhaps if you left comments on his blog, he might he inclined to draw some more!

And at least go and visit his website and check out all of his cool drawings!

click to enlarge - it's so cool!

High School clubs

I'm cleaning out my folders and there are MANY THINGS I started to do but later thought better of, simply because of space.

One of those things I began (and believe to be complete) are the high school clubs of Rush and Russell:

 

CLUBS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL

• Better English Club
• Boys Nitroglycerin Club
• Deep Sea Fancy Diving League
• Diesel Engine Club
• Enthusiastic Order of Football Fanatics
• High School Choral Group
• Original Composition Club
• Shakespeare Dramatic Union
• Sophomore Mathematical Research Society
• Student Council
• Public Library Younger Boys Research Club
• Kelsey Street Athletic Association
• Fellowship of Part-time Ushers
• Fraternity of Football Fanatics

Art Van Harvey remembered

This is from the 1970's:

(((HEAR)))

Comparison of Rush and Russell

Originally, the following graphic was going to go into the e-book, but the e-book turned into an audio book... I thought you might like to see it.

"A Christmas Story," commercilization and Vic and Sade

Christmas was the time of year that writer Paul Rhymer took the time to make fun of the most.

He made fun of the commercialization of this time of year (the many Christmas card sellers, for instance) and the badly-written poems inside the cards and the fact that you HAVE to buy a present or send a card for/to other people because they expect it.

In episode 39-12 01 Vic's Christmas Card List, Sade is upset at Vic because he has 57 on his Consolidated Kitchenware and Sacred Stars of the Milky Way card list alone.   Vic doesn't seem to really want to send the cards but feels he has to.  Let's not even get into what Sade feels about his list.  It's also inferred that the argument they have about sending these cards out happens every year.

The same thing or something very similar, happens in 41-11-05 Vic's Christmas Gift List Too Long.

There are also two episodes that show that Vic was always in charge of buying his boss, Mr. Ruebush, a Christmas present every year.  To him, buying the present was drudgery.

Once, Mr. Ruebush elected Sade to do his Christmas shopping for him.

Another time, Smelly Clark "solicited" Christmas gifts from people he hardly knew by sending them letters from (basically) stolen Butler House hotel stationary.  This prompted Rush to want to do the same thing.

Everywhere you look on the show, Christmas is not the traditional, Norman Rockwell idea of Christmas but rather it's about the almighty dollar.

We might assume that Jean Shepard's story (In God We Trust, All Other's Pay Cash) that turned into the film, A Christmas Story, was somewhat based on Paul Rhymer's scripts about Christmas.

Neighbors and Illinois

Do I carry Vic and Sade too far?

The other day, the neighbors were telling me they were about to go out of town for the holidays.  "Going to Illinois" they told me.

I immediately began asking questions. 

"You're not going to Bloomington, are you?"  They replied in the negative.  I asked if they had ever been to Bloomington... and I asked a few more questions.

I left them and I began thinking they probably thought I was being nosy.

It's the Vic and Sade inside of me.

Most disappointing thing about the website?

This interview continues...

Q.  What's the most disappointing thing about the website?

A.  I feel this is without a doubt the fact that so few people comment or participate in other ways.  I work hard on the websites and it's so nice when someone gives me some direction about what what I am doing right or am doing wrong.  There's little interaction.

I'd love to see feedback on the episodes.  Every now and then I'll see a bit there but not much. 

I've come to find out that OTR listeners are not really the type of people who leave feedback.  Sure, every now and then but as a rule, they tend to sit on their hands.  This to me is a disappointment.

Most valuable thing on the website

The interview continues...

Q. This is similar to the question yesterday but it's different -- Out of all of the information on the website, what is the most valuable?

A.  I think, without a doubt, it's the script synopsis' from the University of Wisconsin Library that Barbara Schwarz dedicated part of her life to go over for days or months.

I can't go physically go there myself and most of the dedicated fans probably can't either - what she's done is supply us with about 250-275 episode details we may have otherwise never known about.

While I had done the same thing with the audio episodes, I was able to combine everything in one place and now, everything is cross-referenced.

Bill Idelson spoke in an interview about the scripts and said they would "live on" - but I don't think he ever envisioned what Mis' Schwarz (and her group) have done nor what I have done.  I don't think he imagined a cross-referenced treat for the insatiable fan.  I don't expect he imagined a "shrine" to Paul Rhymer's work.  After all, no matter what is on the website, it's there only because of Rhymer's ideas.  So everything there is a testament to Rhymer.

New magazine article found - Bern Flynn

A very early article (1934) on Flynn with photo showing her sketching... doesn't much look like her to me but few photos of her exist from this period.

Check it out.

Breaking the rules - with Vic, Sade and Rush

Did you ever notice that Vic and Sade took place almost always in the Vic house, front or back porch or out by the garbage box?  Sure you noticed.

But at least twice, Vic "broke the rules."  Once, Rush visited him in his office - where he asked Vic for money for Christmas gift.

Another time, Vic and Sade went to the Brainfeeble house - that really was a "no-no" - but since the Brainfeebles were a GIGANTIC "no-no" anyway, no one really cares.

Rush and Sade were in the attic once (later, Fletcher was up there too...)  In a few episode we have in script form, we are in the Gook's bed!

And of course we are in the basement when Rush and Vic decided to play with electricity, taking turns shocking themselves and Sade and probably Mr. Drummond...

And ___ __ as Russell Miller

David Whitehouse wasn't the only Russell Miller.

In late 1944, Leonard Smith and Johnny Coons each played the part of Russell.  I have no idea what happened to him near the end of the series...

More about Rhymer/Dark Fantasy

Okay get this - just a couple of months prior to the episode of Dark Fantasy that the sound clip (just posted) was the episode, "Uncle Fletcher's Unopened Letter."  Assume the episode of Dark Fantasy was written two months prior...

It very well could be an homage by the Dark Fantasy people to Rhymer and his Uncle Fletcher story.

[I assume you listened to the Dark Fantasy sound clip, which was also about unopened letters.]

Paul Rhymer shows up on "Dark Fantasy" (1942)

"Amy" sent me a note to listen for Paul Rhymer/Chicago in the episode "Letter from Yesterday" in the show Dark Fantasy.

I listened and found such:  (((hear)))

The Merchandise Mart - Chicago studio

Holy smokes - this is where Vic and Sade (and thousands of other programs) were recorded in Chicago...

More about Flynn in Empire Builders

Lots of information here about Empire Builders.  There may even be a photo of Flynn, albeit very grainy... I'd assume it's her but it's such a bad photo I suppose it makes no difference anyway:

Bernardine Flynn, Carl Kroenke and the 9 year old --- Betty White!

Taking a break from working right now to do some fun research (something I love and haven't really gotten to do in a while.)

I came across a show from the very early (pre-Vic and Sade) days... called "Empire Builders" (1931)

Bernardine Flynn was a part of the show, although she wasn't the star.   Here's a segment available with her in it. (You must have RealPlayer)

The baby is young Betty White - yes, that Betty White!  She was 9 years old at the time, I believe.  The conductor is the familiar voice - I'm sure (or almost sure) - of Carl Kroenke - who would play Chuck Brainfeeble years later.

Flynn, as you hear, sounds NOTHING like the Flynn we know!

Most-valuable feature?

The interview continues...

Q.  Out of all of the features on your Vic and Sade websites, what do you feel is the most-valuable feature?

A.  A very tough question.  But if I may go back to when I knew nothing about Vic and Sade, if I had stumbled across a The Crazy World of Vic and Sade website, I would have been most pleased to find the stories of the characters and the easy way to find the episode they were in.

I think that keeping those individual stories alive and having them written and in audio form is something quite special.

Imagined photos question

The interview with myself continues...

Q. You've added "imagined photos" to your Character website.  What can you tell us about that?

A.  Well as I said, I was hesitant about that.  But I did it.  I've spent way-way-way too much time looking for the "right" photo.  I never ever thought it would be hard.  That's the absolute most difficult job I have with any of my sites.  Sometimes (rarely) it's not hard - but 80% of the time, I may have to look at 100 candidate photos to find the right one.

Photos from the 1930's and 1940's aren't that easy to find on the internet to begin with.  Finding a guy wearing five neckties is even harder (Fletcher knew a guy who wore five neckties at once... finding that photo was ridiculously hard - but somehow, I finally found one!)

It's really so hard that after a while, I would just come to somebody who was famous (Lee Harvey Oswald as a teen is one character, for instance) and just started using them.  Most people won't know who it is - although they may recognize them.  I figure it's a bit of a joke anyway.  There are a lot of "easter egg" photos on the character site - maybe 50-60, I am not really sure.

I remember I used John Dillinger, Butch from The Little Rascals films and just recently I used that guy from the recent Sherlock Holmes films - Robert Downey Jr. as a character. 

I do manipulate each photo enough to where it's a bit skewed. 

Anyway, if I had to do it all over again, I would NOT do it.  It's just too much work.

(By the way, African-Americans from that time period are almost impossible to find on the internet.  Especially males.  Unless they were professional boxers.  CRAZY!)

I'm not exactly sure how many characters are on that website - probably in the neighborhood of 8-900 of them.  That's pretty ridiculous to keep up with as it is - finding the photos was simply a nightmare.

Still, some photos are just perfect.  Having those fit perfect like a jigsaw puzzle was just pure luck. 

And when you find those perfect fits (there might be 75-100 of them) they are kind of funny.  I laugh out loud sometimes when I am over there adding something and see a "perfect fit" photo I found but had forgotten about.  :)

It's fun to go through every photo and see if you recognize them.  I'd say 1 in 8 are "famous" -- there's a bunch of Consolidated Kitchenware executives that are part of the Russian cabinet from the 1950's; there are many, many French movie stars from the early Parisian talkies... stuff like that.

I miss V&S research/Your story

I'm so busy these days that I have little time for researching Vic and Sade.  To tell you the truth, I don't know how much more is "out there" that's retrievable.

I have to think there is a bit more "free" information out there but right now, it really does look near-depleted.  That is until new magazines become available to look through or new newspapers or what have you.

Still, I miss doing that sort of thing.  After the new year, things will slow down where I can start back again.

One thing I do plan on doing is going back through the audio again looking for things I missed the first time.  And I have some other ideas.  And I'm always on the lookout for fans of Vic and Sade and doing an interview with those I haven't yet talked to.  If you are one of those people or know a fan of the show who I haven't interviewed, please send them my way.  Part of saving and preserving Vic and Sade is telling YOUR story.  I want your story on my website.

Please remember the things I do for Vic and Sade is all non-profit.  It's all about preservation.

Question about the Character website

Dancin' with myself...

Q.  You spent a lot of time creating the Character website.  You added imagined photos and all kinds of stuff.  What was the impetus behind that?

A.  When I first created the Crazy World website, I had imagined having all the characters there too.  I wanted everything to be on one website but it was just impossible to do it that way.  The only way to do it was to create another website.

It really doesn't make that much difference as they are both fully cross-referenced (or soon will be) - a monumental task, but it's well worth it.  Now if you want to find something, it's pretty easy to do (there are more things coming to the Character website, I just haven't had time to do these things yet.)

Even if you don't use my websites, you can now use Google and it will direct you to my website(s.)  No one else has the information my sites have and I am pleased about that.  Many hundreds of hours have gone into the building of both.

As far as the "imagined photos" - I was wary of doing it and decided to go ahead.  I worried that it might be the wrong thing but I tell you, it helps me in remembering details, but I am picture-oriented,  That's the way I work.  Others may not be that way.

Louie Johnson, who was going to create a Vic and Sade website many years ago, recently praised my "imagined photos" and since he gives me a thumbs up, I feel I have done the right thing.

The hard work was worth it.  The characters and their stories will survive on the internet now as long as Blogger/Google live.  That was my objective.

Most underrated character

The interview continues....

Q. Who do you think is the most underrated character in Vic and Sade?

A. He's very under the radar but his impact is strong: it would have to be Rooster Davis.

A look at his character page will mystify you; his exploits are strong, yet he's not mentioned in the same breath as Blue Tooth Johnson or Smelly Clark and Rooster seems head and shoulders above each as far as his trouble-making skills.

Question - You spend a lot of time thinking about the series, don't you?

The interview with myself continues:

Q.  You spend a lot of time thinking about the series, don't you?

A.  I do. Especially the last month or so.  But I remember even before I started the project of writing the book where I would spend minutes a day analyzing the show - treating the characters if they were real people.

I have to think Rhymer treated these characters as if they were real entities.  I have to think that to him, Sade was real.  She was someone - probably his mother.  If Sade was made in his mother's image, then she really was his mother, for all intents and purposes.  Therefore, we can psychoanalyze her, so to speak.

I have a lot more to say about that sort of thing in the book.

But yes, I zone out for many minutes a day when I'm not working and watch the squirrels outside; but what I'm really doing is thinking about the family and why certain things happen the way they do.  And honestly, when I listen to other OTR, I tend to wonder where the writer got his ideas.  I listen to Fibber McGee and Molly a lot and right now I'm in the 1950's run of that show; it's hard not to notice many things that you wonder if Don Quinn took from Rhymer.  Not stealing, but just how things are worded or little sayings.  It seems I hear one thing in just about every show.

David Whitehouse's story

Thanks to Louie Johnson, I have in my possession, rare footage of David Whitehouse telling his own Vic and Sade story; about how he got the job and his travels to work everyday.

It's pretty fascinating stuff - and it, along with much more material, will be available to view and hear January 1.

Imaginary characters question - (interviewing myself)

The interview with myself continues...

Q.  What imaginary character do you find the most intriguing?

A.  It's hard to go against characters like Hank Gutstop and B.B. Baugh but I'm going to go off the board here and choose Robert and Slobert Hink.

They are fascinating, no doubt: driving their lawnmower halfway across the state, being behind the underhanded plot to get rid of Vic from the All-Star Marching Team, having odd relatives and friends, being rich, "making long-distance calls promiscuous"... I could go on and on.

And though you ask for a "character" - I view Robert and Slobert as one person.

Disputed Idelson photo: it's him!

Not too long ago, I wondered on this blog if the below photo was really Billy Idelson:

I have recently gotten a lot of photos you probably haven't seen before and many of them are from this same time period (mid 1930's.)

These photos attest that Idelson looked like this at that time.

I'm not going to show my new stash of photos until January 1.

Favorite moment in the audio series?

The interview with myself continues...

Q.  What's your favorite moment in the audio series?

A.  There are lots of things that literally make me laugh out loud or snicker, even after hearing them a bunch of times; but the episode that brings the most joy is the episode where Sade is gifted luggage by the Donahues and Rush is told to read the letter from Bess.   No matter how hard he tries, Sade simply won't let him read because she interrupts him a dozen times.

There's no way to listen to that episode and not enjoy it - and though I could easily think of a thousand things to say in answer to this question - and though there are many things I find more fascinating in the way they were constructed by Paul Rhymer - this simple act of reading (or trying to) the letter from Bess is my favorite I think.

An interview with myself - a question a day!

An interview with myself.  A question a day...

Q: Who's your favorite character and why?

A: It would be hard for me to choose anyone other than Rush.  I certainly enjoy Vic, Russell and Uncle Fletcher but I associate with Rush so much... His love for baseball, for example, is something I have always had.  The fact that he can express himself so well yet his parents stifle him.  There are lots of things I see in him that I see in myself.

Sade is really the one member of the family that I do not seem to clique with.  I guess this is because she is a woman and the kind of woman I try to avoid in real life.  I'm not fond of my mind being read (and then my thoughts held against me) and I'm not fond of gossiping magpies either.

Sade has her place on the show but it's just not my thing.

Daws Butler and...?

Daws Butler, the great character actor and voice artist (I believe he was also a member of the Vic and Sadist - a group of men who listened to Vic and Sade recordings in the 1960's and early 1970's) is quoted in an article written in 1977 that he had plans to produce a Vic and Sade type radio show.

It's not clear when he said this so I am not certain what show he was referring to.

See this article.

December research/January spectacular

Because of this enormous project (for me anyway) that I am doing away from the websites, I have not been able to share as much as I would have liked to as of late in this blog.

As a matter of fact, I've been downright stingy.

However, after the book is released and the extras have been released, I will go over everything with you here in this blog.

One of things I have gotten is perspective about Vic and Sade from  people who are either new to Vic and Sade or people who don't like Vic and Sade.

I clearly remember being new to Vic and Sade (it was less than 18 months ago) and I remember the things that I didn't like at first.  It's funny but few people ever bring that up: but I found Vic to be extremely hard to understand (after a while I caught on.)

At any rate, I really don't have time right now to go looking for new things to post here as I have done in the past.  That will change in January.  Also, I don't want to give too much away as to what surprises I have in store for you coming in January.

In case you don't know, I hope to be done with the episode portion of the website by the end of the year.  The episodes should total just over 600 (that itself is monumental, in my opinion.)

I plan to celebrate that occasion.  I will be giving away my book, sharing a brand new interview I have conducted,  sharing many things written by many people, there will be big surprises and many bonus materials.  I have spent many hourse putting this together and I have more ideas as well before the end of the year.

So please be patient with this area!

If I can do it, anyone can do it

A tip: want to make a lot of progress in whatever you are doing?  Be consistent.  Add a little everyday.  Don't force things or get too excited  or worry and think "this is too much work."

If you are consistent and work on whatever project you have every day and chip away at it, eventually, you will get it done.

This "''book"" thing was a headache at the beginning.  I worried about it.  I fussed about it.  I moaned.  I lost sleep.  I fretted to others.

And here it is, less than 2 weeks later; being consistent, working on the task at hand daily - I looked at the book as individual chapters rather than a monumental task - those things helped me keep my head.  When I "kept my head" I was able to start chipping away.

Two weeks ago, I literally thought there was no way I would get finished by the end of the year (my original goal.)  Now, unless some horror befalls me, I am certain I will be done way before Christmas!  And nothing has been short-changed, no goals have been eliminated - as a matter of fact, the ""book"" now is better than I ever thought it would or could be.

Make your goals - no matter how lofty - be consistent every day and I am certain you will attain what you wish for.  If I can do it - anyone can do it.

Thirty episodes "found"

Looking at the archives on the right side of The Crazy World website, I see that via second hand stories found in magazine articles about the show, interviews done with the cast and fans from the 1970's and things I've deduced from things said on the series, I have been able to add thirty episode synopsis' to what we already know.

Thirty episodes probably make up less than 1% of all of the episodes of Vic and Sade that ever existed, but I am still pretty happy with what has been found considering these were all undocumented before I put them on the website.

In the future, people who do logs for Vic and Sade may choose not to recognize these episodes.  I believe this would be a mistake.

Three heads are not better than one

I was trolling through the Character website doing some research this morning when I realized one photo had been used for three different characters!

No, I haven't ever really kept track of what people "look" like but I have a pretty good memory (or so I thought.)  I have found a couple of others over the months where a repeat of a face happened.

It's my bet that few recognized the problem.

I have added 20-25 more audio additions to the right-hand side.  One of these days I can take a week or so to focus again on that site and make it a bit better.  I just haven't had the time - and I certainly don't have the time now - it's just I saw this problem and had to fix is ASAP or it would really bother me.

Nothing right now as far as news or trivia to share with you; I am of course busy working on you-know-what.

The last time I talked to you about it, I was up to an hour.  I'm almost up to an hour and a half to perhaps two hours - although it may be Wednesday before I am through with this part and know the correct time.

(I am only letting you know these tidbits to show you that I really am working on the project.  I'd rather be looking for V&S trivia/tidbits though!)

Bill Idelson - one-sided telephone calls on The Bob Newhart Show

I'm sure this has been pointed out somewhere already... but Bill Idelson wrote a great deal for the Bob Newhart show in the 1970's.

Newhart was the master (on tv/stand-up comedy) of doing the one-sided telephone call.  Idelson, having worked with Paul Rhymer, was the master of writing the one-sided telephone call for radio (I've found no one who writes those bits better.)

Idelson - heavily influenced by Rhymer - made Bob Newhart's one-sided telephone calls even better.

52 minutes

So far, I have put down on audio 52 minutes of the book (that's edited material, too.)

That's 4 chapters plus a very small introduction.

I'm looking at 10+ chapters.  Not sure exactly.

Probably looking at 3-4 hours worth of material?

Uh, Billy Idelson (it says)

Now come on, is this really Bill Idelson?

Uh, Art Van Harvey (it says)

I don't buy it (from OTRR, btw)

Consolidated Kitchenware big shots are Russians

You'd probably never know this unless I told you but finding photos to fit the people on the Character website can be a hassle and time-consuming.

I remember a while back, I was having a hard time finding photos of what I saw as "big shots" to fill some photos for Kitchenware executives.

That was when I found a very large photo of the Soviet's political cabinet in the 1960's - maybe it was the 1950's, I forget exactly.  But their faces were exactly the ones I needed to fill in for Kitchenware executives.

So, many photos of Kitchenware bigshots are reds from the post-McCarthy era.  :)

Vic and Sade was about ordinary people until...

I've been thinking a lot about Vic and Sade lately, as I am "writing" a "book" (not really sure what it will eventually turn into, but it will turn into something.)

At any rate, I have spent hours just thinking.

One thing I have realized is that it's often been said that Vic and Sade were just ordinary people, doing nothing.

That is true.  Until they broke their boundaries.

For instance, Vic was fairly normal at work. The people at Plant #14 were fairly normal too.  There's no real oddballs there.  No more than at your job - maybe even less than at your job.  Mr. Ruebush did a few odd things but really, he was the oddest person that we know of at Plant #14.

But - when Vic went to other plants or read the Kitchenware Quarterly - then he began to interact or mention some very unusual people.

I look at this as Paul Rhymer having to conform at work.  There were certain things he couldn't do at work that he would do outside of work.  At work, he'd be "normal."  Away from work, the crazy man came out.

I could go further on this subject - and I do - in my upcoming project.

Common, ordinary, American citizen

Not Rush and from 1908

Top Ten Fave Character Names

10. Mr. Brainfunny
  9. Oliver Hidesock
  8. Ed/Dwight Twentysixler
  7. Lester Eggspreader
  6. J.J.J.J. Stunbolt
  5. Jerry Richard Sickbrain
  4. Reverend Kidneyslide
  3. Woodrow Wilson Lincoln-Washington
  2. Hermie Wermie
  1. Cupid and Stupid Golfbake

Ohio Home for the Agreeable

This was probably mentioned in this episode, but the notes I have do not point to a specific episode:

Mis' Keller was once admitted to the Ohio Home of the Agreeable

There's no record if there are armed guards there. (rimshot)

If you recall in this episode, she was anything but agreeable.

No one remembers David Whitehouse (Part II)

I think I pretty much said this once but going over the interviews, I find it very hard to believe that not one announcer, actor or person interviewed could remember the name of David Whitehouse. 

Not only that but they could talk very little about him at all.  Clarence Hartzell did remember that Whitehouse was from Evanston.  That's it.  Nothing else.  That's after about 6 or 7 questions were floated by them.  Not one person even remembered his first name.

That's pretty sad.  Was he invisible?  Memories that bad? 

More on "Vic has a Sore Knee"

Ever since I found the script (Saturday) "Vic Has a Sore Knee", I knew I had found something quite special.

I've already written extensively about it and I have much more to say about it in the ""book"" (or whatever it is) - but Mis' Sarah Cole has written a bit on it and I have added that to the post.  I highly recommend it.

Much better sound: for 40-06-19 Vic's Wide Brimmed Hat

Spent part of the day working on the sound of 40-06-19 Vic's Wide Brimmed Hat  which I know I had fixed but it seems somehow that file got lost somewhere or something (it's hard keeping track of everything!)

At any rate, I have a much cleaner episode up now.  There was a nasty skip in there for one thing that's been eliminated and about 100 pops or more that are now gone (I had to take them out individually, gee what a pain!)

Anyway, that's one that could be fixed so I fixed it.

Pick it up at the above.

Geographical character cross-reference up!

Richard E. Hunton, one of the Friends of Vic and Sade people, did a geographical character cross-reference. 

Unfortunately, as of right now, it's not cross-referenced to my site.  Some spellings of names are different - at times, quite different.

But it's up and it's usable, especially if you are smart enough to kind of know what you are looking for.

Another reminder - many times, the spelling there will be different than the rest of the Vic and Sade sites.

Find it here.

Uncle Fletcher Talks Business?

Guess what I am doing?  Absolutely nothing.

Well, that's not completely true. I'm kind in of in a flux. I have small stuff I am doing but I don't really count that (you may notice some small additions to the website if you look closely.)

However, I'd like to be working on you-know-what (the book or whatever it is.) However, not only is that in flux at the moment but real life is happening and I have to wait for someone to come over to the house and ruin my entire day (probably.) The last two days prior have been wasted as well as I have been trying to work on this project only to see myself fail.

That aside, I came across some real data for you:

In the audio episode Uncle Fletcher's New Lodgings (which seems to have about 10 different titles, including Uncle Fletcher: Come Visit Me or Uncle Fletcher Talks Business or who-knows-what-else) it seems there was a part of the original script that was taken out, probably because of time constraints.

This part is where Fletcher is talking to Russell about his schoolwork:

UNCLE FLETCHER: Cipher out your arithmetic lessons to the best of your ability, solve the various examples correctly on your slate, and the professor won't find it necessary to cuff, cane, or flog you.

Yeah, okay, it wasn't much but I haven't had time to look for stuff lately...

The sound of a scream

In case you haven't noticed, I'm not really a writer.

In case you haven't noticed, I don't have much of a voice.

A written book isn't going to be "good."

An audio book where I am the speaker isn't going to be be good either.

How about I scrap the whole "book" idea?

Instead, why don't I simply simply talk to you about the show I love.  I'll have notes in front of me to keep me on track and I will share my passion with you about the show; after all, I am passionate about the show, right?

I have some quotes, sound clips and ideas to share.

To tell you the truth, I am happy to throw all of my previous work out the window.  It isn't something I was pleased with.  It seemed stiff and dull.

I'm going to have to re-work some things but I'd rather do it this way and have it something I am proud of than some giant ball of tweed (did I just type giant ball of tweed?)

Yeah, my voice still is going to be bad as a horse but that's the way I was made.  I just hope you can imagine me.  As a matter of fact, I've been thinking that MAYBE, once the audio is done, if I have the time, I might can turn it into a video, with photos and closeups of articles and other goodies such as that.

This whole thing has given me a big headache today and I haven't had a headache in years.  But I'll be better tomorrow.

Busy with audio book - with little chance for research

Back at it today.  I was so busy yesterday that I lost track of time.  That's good; when I'm that busy I know I really got a lot accomplished.

But I am far from finished and I need a good many days to get to the point where I can fine tune.

I may not be posting cool stuff in this space today...

Time got away today

I've been busy today.

I recently looked at the clock thinking it was about 10:30am - it was 3:30 pm. That's how busy I have been...

I'm sad when I don't get to do research and today I did none.  I just worked to this "book thing."

e-book is morphing!

I've come to the conclusion that I am not a writer.  (I knew this anyway but now I really know it!)

I also have realized that I can get so much more out of the material I have by supplying sound clips.   I have the clips, I can edit and best yet - I know where things are.

Have you ever listened to the interviews with the cast and wished you had heard what they were talking about?  It just didn't happen.

I believe I can change this and by adding my own material which I have gathered - I think I'll have something special.

But in order to do this by the end of the year (that date has always been the goal) I've got to get going.  It's going to take some time to put this together.

I'll try and post here as often as I can with new material and I'll also let you know how the project is going.

Also, I have some more ideas - a whole sheet of them - for The Crazy World.  I'm not sure if all of the stuff is a good idea or not as I haven't really thought about it all.  In time, I'll let you know what I've been thinking.

But for now - off to working on this monster.

Just because I have them - "Dismal Seepage"

Here are some articles this morning that all deal with "Dismal Seepage." The article make it seem real; as a matter of fact, in a couple of them, I couldn't tell if the guy was kidding or not.

I'm pretty sure though the writer was a Vic and Sade fan.

As stated earlier, subsequent attempts at other Rhymerisms failed. I looked for Spider Plague and a bunch of other stuff. Only my site came up.

More comments for Charlie Razorscum's fish photo

This episode commentary has expanded greatly today.  I happened to listen to that episode again last night and I was struck by something that I hadn't really noticed before.

I also had about a minute sound bite to that episode, if anyone is interested.

Or maybe not

Perhaps I spoke too soon.

The first thing I looked up, "Dismal Seepage" was all over the place.  But everything else I have looked up  is also plentiful - but it's my OWN MATERIAL.

So this has been scrapped.  :(

Vic and Sade Americana in the news - since 1932

I've got a project going; I'm finding Rhymerisms in the news and clipping them out and will start a section just of his Americana.

"Americana" is the word Bill Idelson used several times when describing Rhymer's work.

I believe it perfectly describes some of Rhymer's work.  A lot of his work goes beyond Americana...  For instance, when I think of Americana, the first thing I think of is Norman Rockwell.

Rhymer is sometimes Rockwell and sometimes he turns Rockwell on his head.  Is that Americana?

I haven't looked it up, but Americana to me means items or speech that influenced Americans so much that it carried over past the time it was popular.

Is that the real definition?

Wikipedia says: Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States.

So yeah.  But speech can be Americana too, can't it? It doesn't have to be tangible.

Paul Bunyan and Babe aren't tangible but tell me that's not Americana?

Anyway, I'm collecting newspaper stuff that has to do with Rhymerisms... it should begin showing up today on the Crazy World.

Six new articles up!

SIX new articles for your perusal; five from magazines and one from a newspaper (some include "new" photographs.)

Burn out?  Nah people, I've got stuff to do/find!

Blowing your mind #4 - new Idelson audio

I called this #4 because there are two scripts...

So while you wait for me to put those up, you can listen to this interview from 2007: Bill Idelson is interviewed by Tom Heathwood.

This has to be one of Idelson's final interviews for radio.  It's a large file and the interview lasts almost 2 hours (although there are 3 episodes of Vic and Sade in there you can by-pass if you want.)

There is a few bits of new information in there.  But to be honest, a lot of it is the same stuff he has been over before in interviews.

Download it or listen here.  I'll eventually break this down and put on Idelson's interview page.

Blowin' your mind #2 - the funniest script ever!

I shouldn't tease you like this - but this script - from 1933 - is hilarious!!  The funniest thing I have seen in Vic and Sade.

Rush was a different character in 1933 - he's pesky and inquisitive and... well, you'll see!

I'm working on putting it up now, it may take some time.

PLUS - there is another script just found, also from 1933.  It's quite good too.  These scripts certainly haven't been seen by too many people.  Neither one was in the notes I got from Barbara Schwarz (although the title of one of them was mentioned.)  So, they are "rare" so to speak.

I should have them both up in an hour or two.

This is big news!

Blowing your mind #1 - Van Harvey the Mason

In hoc spittle dum cluck, cornacopia est bich hin ut agricola dim switch.  Spinach goom bundiboba fim!

Hello... I'm gonna blow your mind today!

You hang on tight.  Tight.  I've got some things that will blow your mind today.  I mean it.

If you love Vic and Sade, you're gonna love today!  :)

1933, Vic and Sade, World's Fair in Chicago

There is strong evidence that the episode "Tarzan In The Kitchen" (rebroadcast Friday, 8-11-33) was broadcast as a special from Chicago World's Fair-Children's Day.)  There is a photo there which has just been posted of the family at the World's Fair.

I also found a very nice Art Van Harvey bio, which I put a link to on his page.

Talk of the Town

Until today, I had never seen this article about Paul Rhymer.  I hope you will read it.  (It's a PDF file - you may have to give it a second.)

New 'Friends of Vic and Sade' Tribute

A tribute to Barbara Schwarz and the others in the "Friends of Vic and Sade" fan club.

37-11-28 Congress and the Supreme Court running out the ears

Last week, I found a near pristine copy of Congress and the Supreme Court, without an intro.

Today, I found another pristine copy, with the intro.

Download available.

Additional info added to an episode

xx-xx-xx Father and Son Banquet now has a sound clip and some more information has been added.

'79 article mention Vic and Sade

Catnip and Vic and Sade

Jason Willis (@jason_willis on Twitter) sent me a link to his film about catnip (Catnip: Egress to Oblivion.)

In the film, which is hilarious, he drops Vic and Sade references through it!

1947: Vic and Sade indeed was syndicated

It's amazing what falls into my lap.

I was given something that tells me that in 1947, Vic and Sade was syndicated and 260 episodes were re-run. 

So now we know.  That's like Monday - Friday for a whole year.

The amazing voice change of David Whitehouse!

Louie Johnson turned me to the fact that David Whitehouse was in an NBC production of Tom Sawyer in 1947.

With a little hunting I found it.

David played Tom Sawyer.

And just to prove to you that this is true: (((listen)))

Now here's a bit of Whitehouse as Tom Sawyer in 1947: (((listen)))

Hard to believe, isn't it?

Something I want to do in 2013

I want to transcribe one script a month.  I'd really like to do one a week... we'll see how that goes.  I'm shooting for 12.

I think what I'll do is pick the best scripts and work my way down.

If anyone wants to help - even if you will just do one script - that would help.

Mr. Gumpox Has Lost His Dentures script added

Added  the script for 44-08-09 Mr. Gumpox Has Lost His Dentures.

Louie Johnson's notes #6 - Chicago's Cullerson hotel - and Chief Cullerson

I'm excited as I got some more notes from Vic and Sade researcher Louie Johnson.  He writes:

from Vic and Sade Characters

There's a series on History Channel called something like "Underground" where the host travels around the world investigating what lies beneath various cities.  I was watching a few weeks ago when he was doing a show in Chicago. In particular focus was a mob-controlled hotel which was basically a brothel and speak-easy that also had underground rooms for gambling with convenient escape tunnels.  Many of the police were bought off and didn't bother with the place anyway, and it was widely regarded as the seediest hotel in Chicago.  It was pretty much out of business by the 1940's.  The name of the establishment? The Cullerson Hotel !!! I have never in all my V&S research heard any reference to this place.  Isn't it just like [Paul] Rhymer to name his police chief after the most corrupt hotel in the history of Chicago?!  I immediately Googled Cullerson Hotel, but almost all the links that resulted pointed to your site, including Police Chief Cullerson  and The Bright Kentucky Hotel.  So I haven't found any other info about the Cullerson Hotel.

=============

I was pretty excited about this too.  I did some research this morning and found the hotel was actually called the Cullerton Hotel rather than Cullerson.

Still, they may be related.  We may never know, but I appreciate this information and we might come across something else one day that will connect the two.

Flynn in 1 woman Thimble Club

Removed 'Garbage Box Mystery Solved'

I obviously made a mistake somewhere; there is no "Garbage Box Mystery Solved" episode, the garbage box mystery was solved in the Garbage Box Mystery episode.

You confused?  Yeah me too.

Gaggles

Not only have I posted a 'gaggle' of the episodes locked away on somebody's transcription discs, but I also 'found' an episode I had lost. 

No, this is not a "lost" episode, it was just an episode that I had lost and not put on board when last I changed the website; it's actually been lost for 6-7 months.  It was this episode.  It had been posted long ago...  But stuff happens, as they say.

The recent episodes aren't quite finished, I've yet to put any info in the character database for them; looks like I will get to that tomorrow.

Meanwhile, there may be more episodes coming today, still looking.

Remember to tell someone on the internet about Uncle Fletcher and Paul Rhymer this week for me!

Don't let Vic and Sade Americana die!

Okay, so if you are reading this notebook of mine, you think you are a huge Vic and Sade fan.  Well, you probably are.

But if you still want to be amazed, go to the character website and choose Uncle Fletcher on the left-hand side and read everyone of the stories he told.  You'll be amazed at them.  They all are craving to be read and heard by people who aren't fans.

The upcoming book I am writing will give a small taste of them and I hope we can draw some interest from those who have no idea who Uncle Fletcher or Paul Rhymer are.

But how do we do that?

Those stories are simply too good to sit there and rot.  Do your part.  Mention Uncle Fletcher and his stories on the internet sometime this week, will you?  Mention Paul Rhymer in a different place.  Let's not let this Americana die.

Van Harvey gets a month's vacation

The way I figure it, the vacation was approximately August 1 - September 1, 1942:

You'd figure he's back by 9-11-42 (it's a lodge episode.)  He's not in any of the other episodes listed here.

Just interesting to me that they would get a month's vacation.  I don't think Van Harvey was ill at this time.

Idelson audio interviews

Going back over the Bill Idelson audio interviews that are broken down by question... there quite a bit of information in all of the interviews.  Lots of stuff you won't find anywhere else.

I'm so very happy we have those!

More about the 1947 transcription run in Pittsburgh

1947 was post-war - meaning if Pittsburgh really did have a set of discs to run (mentioned here) there's at least a chance - albeit how tiny it may be, that there is a run of discs available that no one knows about.

Of course, that could be the audio we have today and know about.  But who knows?  Sounds to me most of what survives is recorded on tape.  Meaning, they had to come from radio - maybe from this Pittsburgh run.

We may never know.  100 years from now a bunch of discs might show up.  Or it could be today...  You never know!

Phony Vic and Sade folklore

It seems to me that most people writing about Vic and Sade (in books, articles, etc.) use other stories from other books and that weren't accurate to begin in.

I mentioned a while back that Gumpox and Gustop have been confused by more than one source; there are other stories that plain just did not happen.

I've read three different places where Sade and her friends would often drop by the Little Tiny Pheasent Feather Tea Shoppy.  The fact of the matter is, Sade is only known to visit the shop twice in the series - once She, Vic and Rush had planned to visit Gutstop (the hostess.)  The other time is when the Thimble Club VP bought the restaurant and Sade went with some Thimble lady friends for the grand re-opening (that one wasn't even an audio episode so until it was posted here, only a handful of people knew about it.)

I've mentioned this before but Miss Bucksaddle (or perhaps Backsaddle - I've seen it both ways) is mentioned over and over in the early magazine articles.  Either she really was a big figure (I doubt) or someone appreciated the funny name and printed it and thus a chain began.

Freeman Scudder

I was just reading, doing some research for the book and I came across the name Freeman Scudder.

Scudder was on the show pre-1936. He was a mute boy and a friend of Rush. He was actually on the show, meaning, he was right there... Well, what I mean to say is, since he could not be heard, he was actually a character who didn't have to be "hidden."

According to the article, Rush would interpret what his friend was communicating.

The agony of bad audio - Mr. Filpot becomes Mr. Steelpump

I just have to laugh.

Listening to the newer version of Congress and the Supreme Court this week and looking at my own notes from the episode, show me that I had written down "Mr. Filpot" as being the gentleman mentioned in the show that works at Yamilton's.

Turns out his name is actually "Mr. Steelpump."  That's how bad the audio was.

Crazy.

Did Vic and Sad run again on transcription beginning in 1948?

This article seems to say so... Did they have the entire run of shows, you wonder? Where are those discs if they were run in Pittsburgh only?

QUESTIONS QUESTIONS QUESTIONS!

New Third Lieutenant Stanley story

Here. From an unknown episode. It's near the bottom,and deals with a locomotive.

A story without a home

I found a story I haven't ever seen before from Vic and Sade.  It's not a V&S story, it's a 3rd Lieutenant Stanley story only.

It's worth repeating and I want to share it but there's no place to put it, since it has "no home."

I'll have figure out what to do with it.  Even in this late stage of the game I come up with problems!

Some former Google pay-per-view newspaper articles now free

You may see me post some new Vic and Sade newpspaer articles in the future.

It seems some former pay-per-view articles are now free.  It's now just a matter of looking and posting.

There are many Vic and Sade articles I'd love to post but they cost $4 each to access and since my web site runs on fumes and there is no income for such expenditures, they lie there unseen by use.

Of course if anyone wants to donate your money to me, I would use it dig up these articles for use to read.

Q&A updated

At the Crazy World, the Answers page has been updated.

I recently had a long email conversation with an expert about the existing Vic and Sade transcription discs (there are 6 or 8 I forget) that exist; these are episodes we collectors have not heard. 

There's some information there that probaly won't please you but there's still hope.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Careful that Nicer Scott doesn't come over to your house to humiliate you because of your spoon size.

Three leads to new episode turn into nothing

You can't hit a home run everyday.

Today's search was fruitless; after finding a couple of clues, my trot went sour.  Meh.

However, you never know what will turn up tomorrow.  I'm astounded at the stuff I still find despite I am always on the lookout for stuff.  It still shows up and I wonder why didn't I find this sooner? 

The internet is full of goodies, we just have to find them.

C'mon internet, groove me a fastball.

Found "something"

Just to let you know what is going on, I've just found an interview about Vic and Sade that I haven't heard before and maybe more...

More details later.

Finding sound-improved episode was pure luck

When I found the new version of Congress and the Supreme Court this morning, it was done by pure accident.

Here's what happened:

I was on a quest to find Vic and Sade advertising.  I had found four pieces and another was on the horizon, it was only a matter of tracking it down.  While tracking it down, I came across NBC Recollections at 30 - from 1956.

The advertisement from Vic and Sade I was seeking was on that page.  Perhaps NBC re-ran a Vic and Sade program in 1956 on NBC Reccollects.

Bingo, they did!

I went to OTRR to see if that episode existed.  It did!

I downloaded it.  Now, what episode is it?  I listened closely.  Ah, the Supreme Court episode - which is really not an episode of Vic and Sade at all.  It's from The Magic Key.

Still, it's Vic and Sade.

Often, it's looking for something else that leads you to a treasure.  This too can be said of Thomas Edison etc.

That's two sound improvements I've found and 8 others were given to me about a year ago plus 2 others that most of us did not know existed.

Now, just 3700 to go.

I love solving mysteries

Just the other day, I pondered after the newly found Vic and Sade advertisement.

By accident today, I came across the following comic/Crisco ad, which I don't think I had ever seen before:

enlarge it!

Sade looks almost identical in both; I assume they were drawn by the same person.  Rush and Vic may or may not look the same - at any rate, I'm convinced they were drawn by the same hand.

Also by chance, I found a comic that was written by Paul Rhymer and drawn by someone name Chenoweth in 1939:

My appreciation of David Whitehouse grows

Yeah, at first I didn't care for David Whitehouse.  After listening to him for a month of so, I began to appreciate his sense of timing, his laugh and his character began to grow on me.  I actually like Russell now.

I believe a mistake was made when Rhymer tried to quietly turn him into Rush.  I cannot stomach it when Sade calls him "Willie" (that should have been reserved for Rush/BILL Idelson.)  And as I have stated before, I don't think he should have done many of the same scripts as Rush did.  The comparisons are inevitable because the audio exists.

Still, the more I hear Whitehouse as an actor, the more I enjoy him. 

Dun from Kleeburger's podcast

Hopefully you saw/have heard the Dun from Kleeburger's podcast.

Apple Spoon Giggle

I enjoy the odd names for some foods that Paul Rhymer gave us.  Apple Spoon Giggle sounds delicious and I think I may want that at the end of my Thanksgiving meal.

Though you won't find 'apple spoon giggle' on the internet (except on my site), you wonder if maybe these dishes with odd names were something his grandmother, mother or wife had called ____. 

Some dishes are regionally called different names, despite the fact that they might be the exact same recipe.

Louie Johnson note #5 - Rhymer's tonal director

It's unfortunate but this is the last of Mr. Johnson's notes.  He wrote:

In reading scripts, I enjoy reading PR’s tonal directions. One in particular strikes me as exemplary of Rhymer’s word economy:

Sade: (brief sulky giggle). 

Just three words set the mood, intent, and duration of her remark.  There could be no question in the actors’ minds – what did he really want?  No. It’s all there.  That’s the mark of a real genius.

A little insight into my e-book

Heck, I don't even know if you can call it an e-book.  But whatever it is, I'm working hard on it.

I'm not gonna tell you much of anything about the book but I will tell you it will have a few "bonus" sections.  One of the bonus sections is quite large and is about my 10 audio favorite/best episodes with new commentary and in some cases, a great deal of the script is in there, which will be unique as none of these scripts (except one) has ever been printed on the internet before.  My favorite episode will include the whole script (transcribed by me of course) and will be an internet first.  There may be other full scripts as well, it all depends on time.

Back to work.  I'll probably be pretty quiet today in this space but you can always check to see.

Thinking, writing - you find things

These past couple of weekends, I've been doing some heavy duty thinking and writing about the show.

I think about the show a lot anyway but concentrating on the show and writing down memories and ideas and feelings, wow, it opens up some avenues and things that are kind of important and fascinating.  Vic and Sade wasn't just a radio show; it was Paul Rhymer's life.  Somehow, when you take a look inside the show that way and you have a bit of knowledge and insight about the show, things are revealed.  Maybe things about Rhymer, who knows for sure?

I can tell you that I have some things to reveal to you at the end of the year that may startle you and the whole OTR community.

Maps page

I've made a map page for the Crazy World.  No, there's no map of the city the Gooks live in (yet) there but I did find a very cool Illinois map from 1940, and I cut the Peoria/Bloomington area and made it a good size and easily readable.  There's a chance I will include more of that map at a later time.  I also found a mileage chart for Illinois which will come in handy (it includes Bloomington.)  I also added a railway map of Illinois but I'm on the lookout for a better one than the one I have there now.

Louie Johnson note #4 - Rhymer's hyphenated words

Louie Johnson left some great notes; I'm really appreciating his insight. You can tell he listened to the broadcasts and read the scripts with a hunger and that's something I can appreciate. Louie wrote:

Another thing I notice in the scripts is the tons of hyphenated words. It interests me that most of the words people hyphenated back in the 30’s and 40’s are no longer hyphenated: drug-store, horse-thief, floor-lamp, and on and on and on.

I had often wondered about this myself, although it only seems to happen when Vic is calling Rush a nickname.  I'm not at all certain how the grammar worked back in the 30's and 40's so I'll not comment one way or the other.

I will say, as someone who listens to a lot of OTR, that some words have completely changed over the years as well as have their pronunciation (a couple examples of pronunciation include: protein and Los Angeles.)

Whitehouse Whiteside Whitehouse

The mind is a dangerous thing.

I know David Whitehouse's name is David Whitehouse.

Yesterday, I read something that named him as David Whiteside.

My mind tricked me into believing it, even though I knew better and I went and changed the hundreds of times 'Whitehouse' appears in the blog to 'Whiteside.'  Why?  Because I am an idiot, apparently.

I wake up today and think, that was dumb, his name is Whitehouse, not Whiteside, despite what an erroneous newspaper article says.

So I have to change them all back.  Sigh.  It will take about 2 hours worth of work or more.  In other words, 4 hours will be wasted on an error by yours truly.

So if you see "David Whiteside" on the blog, don't fret, I'm fixing it.

My Vic and Sade book?

I began writing last week and what was a large piece has pretty much turned into a very small book.

It won't be like the pieces you read in the newspaper or magazines, you know: Vic is played by Art Van Harvey...  This is a much deeper piece, dealing with all kinds of things.  I don't want to give up any details.  But I do want to say I am excited about it and it will be an arm of the website, so it's not really a book - perhaps we could call it an E-Book.  So not only will we have a sort of Vic and Sade encyclopedia/commentary, but also an small book of my thoughts about the show.

How large a project are we talking about?  Well, a whole other website's worth.  You'll see it by the end of the year, along with many other surprises I have in store for you.

Louie Johnson note #3 - Jean Shepard

Louie Johnson sent me some notes a while back; he writes:

Jean Shepherd denied being a fan of Vic and Sade, insisting he acquired the humor by osmosis from his mother, who was indeed a fan.  I vividly recall his frequent use of “Dismal Seepage, Ohio” and his use of quasi-Latin “In hoc agricula conc, in est spittle auc.”  At the time I assumed these were his inventions.  Wrong.  Much later I discovered Vic and Sade, and realized Shep’s extensive borrowing of Rhymer-humor indicates someone who, despite his denials, must have been a devoted fan of the series.  Another example comes to mind:  a name frequently used by Shepherd – Ocky Dildock.  I’ve recently found two scripts where Rhymer uses the name Ocky: Ocky Needermyer (5-2-44, Howard, The Runaway) and Ocky McMasterson (3-18-44, Letter From Stella Klank).

Louie Johnson note #2 - Ironized Yeast

Louie Johnson is/was a Vic and Sade researcher - or at least, a big fan of the series.

He passed on some thoughts to me a while back and I'm glad I have a place to share them.

Here, he writes about Ironized Yeast, the first sponsor of the show:

I was making a note about Ironized Yeast and abbreviated it “I.Y.”  While collating my notes, it caught my eye and I said it aloud.  It sounded funny, and it makes me wonder if Ironized Yeast had a part in the creation of Y.I.I.Y. Skeeber.

Makes perfect sense to me.  I can also add that Y.Y. Flirch had a brother named I.Y. Flirch.  I'm not sure if he was only a character in the early days (when Ironized Yeast was the sponsor) or not.  I'm not at all sure when I.Y. Flirch was on the show...

Louie Johnson note # 1 - Potato(e)

Louie Johnson is a Vic and Sade researcher.  I think he used to be a lot more involved a few years ago.

Anyway, he sent me his own personal observations about a few things.  I will try and share those here today and tomorrow.

In several scripts Rhymer (or is it one of the women in the typing pool?) spells potato with an e on the end: 'potatoe.'

You may remember Vice President Dan Quayle was widely taken to task for spelling it the same way. This makes me wonder if maybe that spelling is a regional habit?

Billboard magazine and Flynn

A Billboard magazine review of Daytime Radio Newspaper.

New ad found

It's actually not new, I just didn't know I had it.  I've had since 2010.  But I didn't realize it:

1938

Sade looks a bit like Sade but who are those other people?

The Vic and Sade monster

I've spent some time this morning going back and seeing how I got involved with Vic and Sade.  I'm doing this by going and reading my diatribe in some forums.

I first listened to Vic and Sade in May of 2011, if you can believe that.  I began the Crazy World of Vic and Sade web site on June 1, 2011.  That means as of today, that's been 532 days.  By the end of the year, 579 days will have passed.  Currently, there are 519 episodes on the website.  You might recall my computer was down for a week and I was in the hospital another time more than 2 weeks (almost died even!)

By the end of the year, there should be at 550 episodes give or take a dozen.  And I'll be done with the episodes.

But back to the subject at hand; I see how I became more immersed in the topic as the days went by.  My problem was there were few who would participate in talking to me about the show.  Even today, I can't get enough of it.  It goes beyond listening to the show, it's about devouring it.  Maybe it's a sickness - I dunno.  Maybe I'm a Vic and Sade monster.

I've not found anything to cure this.  Even the blogs aren't fully an outlet for it.

So, I shrug.  I have no idea what to do.  I feel alone sometimes; an island.

I'm not waxing poetic, I'm telling you the truth.