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.

Ed Herlihy commercial

Ed Herlihy was another announcer for Vic and Sade.

I recently found him lurking in a promo for a show he hosted, My True Story:

(((HEAR)))

Ed Roberts too

Ed Roberts (instead of Durwood Kirby) does the day after D-Day news in the June 7, '44 broadcast. Roberts was an announcer on Vic and Sade for a while.

I just found something really cool! V&S fans don't miss this!

I just found 2 episodes of Crisco's Radio Newspaper, which was hosted by Bernardine Flynn and Durwood Kirby.

As I've told you before, Flynn was a co-host of a news program; this is the show.  One of the episodes is the June 7, 1944 episode - or the day after D-Day.  I've only listened to a little bit of these myself but I'm anxious to hear more.  The sound seems to be almost crystal clear.

It's not Vic and Sade but...

Here they are:

Crisco's Radio Newspaper. Feb. 29, 1944
Crisco's Radio Newspaper. June 7, 1944

Rhymer formula: lodge regalia example

From my observations, I have noticed that there are certain formulas Rhymer used (this was detailed more in the previous post.)

I'm a 'visual' person and therefore, it's easier for me to explain what I see in my head in a diagram.

The first diagram I'd like to show you deals with lodge regalia.  I did this from the top of my head, so I may have left out a step or two.

This is not a 'wheel' as I described before but it's more of a flow chart.  Check it out:

You see how using this flow chart makes it simple to see about 10-15 episodes all at the same time.  You can also see how these ideas all stem from LODGE REGALIA in red.  One bicycle wheel with spokes, as I see it.  Maybe this is how his mind worked when thinking up episodes.

'Lodge regalia' is simply one idea of 50-75 or so.  I never have counted them.  But they all look like the above, with different words in the boxes.  You can imagine a flow chart on hats:

The red box would be "VIC WANTS A WIDE BRIMMED HAT.'  And well, you know the drill.  It's kind of fun to think about.

Paul Rhymer V&S formulas?

For the past month, I've had this idea about the show.  I realize now that the show was like a wheel to Paul Rhymer.  What I mean by that is that the wheel had 50-75 or so spokes.  He could 'spin the wheel' and it would stop and he'd read the spoke - that's what the episode would be about.

In other words, there really are only about 50-75 or so different topics.  The wheel, of course, was not a real wheel, but it was rather an object in his head.

I hope to demonstrate this more, soon.  I'll let you know.

Projects galore

I'm doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes (mostly writing) - all in preperation for the end of the year and the final Vic and Sade episode posting.

What I really hope is that someone will find 1000 episodes in a warehouse and the celebration will be delayed.  But that's not gonna happen, I don't think.

But in anticipation of that last episode - of which there will be a total of close to 600 (the exact count is unsure) - there will be a bit of a Vic and Sade celebration here and a celebration of my website.  After all, 600 posts is nothing to sneeze at (and that won't be counting the dozens of other features here written by others and myself.)  By the way, if anyone is open to doing an interview about their interest in Vic and Sade, I'd love to give one and post it on the website.  All you have to do is contact me!

So there, you know that.  

Nothing huge, just a quiet affair with my friends and a little more for you to read and explore at the Crazy World.

I will be adding to the Crazy World whenever I find new information and I will always add opinions and such to various episodes after the site is "finished."

I also plan on keeping this blog running and keeping you informed about everything I find that V&S related.

Trickle

It seems like almost everyday I am able to add little bits and pieces of information to the Vic and Sade puzzle.  I just found an article that gives the name of the actor who played Blue-Tooth Johnson during the regular run of the series. 

His name was/is Dick Toerne.

Although, this information was already in Wikipedia - believe it or not.

The fun of "thinking" about the show

I spent practically the entire weekend thinking about the show.  I didn't listen to one episode of it - I simply thought about it.  I literally spent hours with pen and paper, looking out the window deep in thought, putting things together that I've never seen or heard anyplace else.  I tried to get into Rhymer's mind.  It was fun.

I thought about things - in some ways - that I had never thought about it before.  And I think I have some new information to share and will do that towards the end of the year.  I'm really looking forward to showing you these ideas!

Wikipedia and Vic and Sade

The Vic and Sade page on Wikipedia isn't horrible but it isn't good either.

I've tried to edit the page and there's some kind of bot that always has the changes revert back to what they were.

Some of the stuff over there is just inaccurate.  For instance, "catchphrases:"

"Vic one, Rush nothing" - might be considered a catchphrase.
The others - no, absolutely not.

The catchphrases are obviously:

Vic: Hi-de-hi, ho-de-ho.

Sade: Ish.

Rush:  He doesn't really have one.

Uncle Fletcher:  Fine! / ____ is a good boy!

Russell: He doesn't really have one.

There are things the characters say a lot but I wouldn't consider them catchphrases.  For instance, Vic talks a lot about "antidisestablishmentarianism" and he talks a lot about "women heavily veiled and agitated" but I would consider neither a catchphrase.  There are times that he and Russell interchangably talk about "Homer Heck from Norman, Oklahoma, who didn't even own the socks on his feet" but it's not a catchphrase.

Sade uses the words, "oceans," "squillions" and "trash" a lot and also says "talky-talk" some as well but they aren't catchphrases.

"Catchphrases" is simply one thing I would like to change there but can't.

"Answers" has been updated

The Vic and Sade "answer" page has been updated.

I have added a few references to books that you you go directly to the page online.  Some interesting stuff there.

Second-hand stories

I've not heard from any of you about this subject but I'd truly like to know if you think including the second-hand stories on the site is a good idea?

I truly think it is a good idea, myself and I'll tell you why.  Out of all the second-hand stories I have (which numbers around or so), probably seven of them are relayed via people who were cast members.

The others are from books or from fans of the show who were dedicated enough to be at a live Vic and Sade forum, facing Clarence Hartzell and Bill Idelson, along with several others who knew the show well.  Therefore, I think we can take it for granted that their stories are true.

There are other known situations that happened that are not recorded down on paper (or the world wide web yet) - but were they an "episode?"  We probably will never know.  Will I make them an "episode?"  Maybe.  Probably.  Unless I hear from some of you who disagree with what I am doing.

I'll be busy writing again today, I'll be more active in this space tomorrow.

Writing this weekend

I'll be busy writing a long piece this weekend so I may not write in this space... but I'm still alive.  Back at it on Monday.

Oops, a newspaper error corrected

This one is now correct:

(unknown title, Bernardine Flynn "road manners") March 6, 1944

Several newspaper articles now updated

You can find them all here.

The new ones:

DON AMECHE TRAVELED FAR IN FIVE YEARS 
June 14, 1935

(unknown title; Bernardine Flynn plays Matilda Parker)
January 20, 1937

VIC AND SADE HERE FRIDAY w/photo 
October 16, 1938

(unknown title, Bernardine Flynn "road manners")
March 6, 1944

(unknown title, Leaving the Air) 
September 11, 1944

Vic and Sade newspaper research proves "important"

How important?  Well, important enough to find a mistake a magazine made - and then I made.  And enough info to correct the date as well.

You may remember that I stated the 5th anniversary show featured a talking character, Gumpox.

Well it's all true except it wasn't the 5th anniversary show, but the 6th anniversary show.  So, thanks to a newspaper article, I catch a magazine's mistake.

It also substantiates that Cliff Soubier was the voice of Mr. Gumpox.

Funny that the bet was a HAT of all things...

Being the 6th anniversary also changes the year.

Interesting tidbits today

This is the first of many tidbits I have to share from newspaper (still looking and I think I have 6 new articles - all very small but informative.)

Plus some other things to share throughout the day.

Pegging J. J. J. J. Stunbolt

I JUST found and added this last line to the character bio of Stunbolt:

Vic and Fred/Ted's Salaries

Vic made $39.00 a week and Ted Fred made $32.00.

Unsure of what year this was said - certainly from an unknown episode.

Notes solve a lot of mysteries - but not all

Just this week we have some old issues tied up thanks to notes from Barbara Schwarz. It's nice to have a resolution to questions from audio episodes and some from the notes themselves.

Some issues remain unresolved - like why did the Donahues move or threaten to move several times?  We suspect it's all about Mr. Erickson, the fact that he wouldn't fix up their house, plus the fact that Mr. Donahue's career was on the upswing and they wanted to move to Oakland Avenue, which apparently was Mis' Donahue's 'dream' (my words, but taking an inference from things said in various episodes.)

But the fact of the matter is, we don't know and we may never know, thanks to Proctor and Gamble - or the war effort.

[There's a funny surprise twist about Mr. Donahue coming in an episode very soon, probably today.]

There's another big mystery or two that will be resolved in The Crazy World before the end of the year.  Actually, one may be resolved in the Character website (which very, very few people bother to view despite the fact that I spend HOURS there working.)  I add stuff to characters from notes so even if you have viewed a regular character before, it's likely to have changed a bit since you've seen it.  There is stuff added all the time (especially since my last push which began near the end of October.)  And it's my guess is that I had added some 2500-5000 words to the various characters - many things that are NOT in The Crazy World and could only be found in notes.

But hey, you don't care about it, fine.

Anyway, many of the remaining episodes have very short notes pertaining to them.  I can see this as Schwarz seeing the end and wanting to finish...  Maybe, maybe not.

One day, maybe after I finish the episodes, I'll write a piece about the still unresolved mysteries of the show.  It would be nice if you thought of one, you could send me an email or leave a comment.

Spiderman in Vic and Sade

"Mr. Spiderman" that is.  From an unknown episode.

Spiderman, the Marvel superhero, began his career in 1962.

Harry Sludge

Yup, the first name of the "town crier" - Mr. Sludge who lives in Mis' Harris' rooming house.

There is an old superstition

There is an old superstition:

"Mashed potatoes on your chin?
Remove your shoe and wipe it off.  
From that day on you're bound to win.  
Spit out silver dollars whenever you cough."

- Uncle Fletcher from an unknown episode

Stories of Gumpox and Rishigan Fishigan often confused

EVEN IN THE METICULOUS NOTES, stories about Mr. Gumpox and Rishigan Fishigan are often reversed.

Why this is is beyond my knowledge.  I can see how they could be confused but even information from AUDIO episodes is somehow confused - so I know there was a confusion somewhere.

For instance, there is a story told by Clarence Hartzell - who when the stories were recorded, must have been close to 80 years old - seems to confuse Gumpox and Rishigan Fishigan, when he tells about a bed hopping across the floor when a long train went by - the longer the train, the farther the bed went.

This story is actually about Rish Fish but Hartzell audibly told it as a Gumpox story.

And some Hank Gutstop stories are attributed to Gumpox, even though they are from audio episodes.

Examine the notes I was given:

All red info is wrong and is really Hank Gutstop's info

This is not a knock on the notes, as I am VERY appreciative of them!  But I am just pointing out that this much information is hard to keep track of (trust me, you would not believe how hard it is.)

Dr. Keevy question that has no answer

+ Why is Dr. Keevy always mentioned in the same episodes as the episodes that involve both Lolita and Pom Pom?  There is a connection between the 3 (plus Vic) that has no explanation (even in the notes.)

To someone that really paid attention (such as the avid listener in the mid 1940's) this may have suggested some sort of infidelity.  Along with the fact that there is a SUGGESTION that Vic hits it off very famously with the 2 ladies - and add in the Keevy thing - this could set a mind to thinking.

Why the stairs were removed in the Bright KY Hotel penthouse

You may remember the episode where Rishigan Fishigan married Jayne Payne.  Well come to find out, he lived in the penthouse.  He did shimmy up the drainpipe to his room.

The stairs were removed because they were either struck by a train or were removed because management was afraid the stairs would be struck by a train.

Either way, you'll have to admit, that's pretty funny!

Sweet Esther = magical place

We learned long ago that Sweet Esther was a special place.  It's the place where RJ Konk's eyes magically turned from grey to blue overnight.  It was also the subject of picnic (that to me, sounded a bit fishy.)

Today we learn about Carl D. Feelstroop, who comes from Sweet Esther.  He could "write his name on the surface of water in an ordinary wooden bucket."

They're like wolves pouncin' on Billy Patterson!

Found another lady who sells Christmas cards - someone not previously known about.

They're like wolves pouncin' on Billy Patterson!

New Uncle Fletcher friends

In case I did not make myself specific enough for you yesterday, let me stress and urge you to not miss being a part of the new Vic and Sade Characters listed.  There are complete stories there (at times anyway) and a friend of Uncle Fletcher is almost an episode's worth of information.  For an example:

By the time I am finished, I fully expect 20 or 30 new stories like this from Fletcher that would otherwise be "lost."  Don't allow these stories to die.  Check the character site often!

Florence - the daughter you never knew the Donahue's had

According to the notes I have, the Donahue's have a daughter named Florence. The notes don't say how old she is but I'd reckon she must be 19 or 20 and probably married - and probably moved away.  Otherwise, we would have heard about her.  Rush certainly would have mentioned her if she was his age.  And if she was a little girl, she'd be out and about, which she never is.

Interesting characters uploaded

There are many characters without a episode home - no episode exists in the notes for them - yet the character existed for at least one show.  (It is obvious that some characters lasted more than one show but STILL have no home.)

At any rate, I am in the process of uploading these characters when I come across them in my last final sweep - which again will at least take until the end of the year.

an example of a character from an unknown episode

It is my advice that you should not miss these characters.  They were written about by Richard E. Hunton, who has been noted in various written materials as an Uncle Fletcher "expert" (my word.)

The characters in question have a red box around their photo at the character website. 

Idelson didn't remember B.B. Baugh

I heard audio last weekend where Bill Idelson didn't remember the name B. B. Baugh. Granted, Baugh was around more in the Russell era than the Rush era. But Baugh is right there just behind the Stembottoms, Ike Kneesuffer, Hank Gutstop.... I man he's RIGHT THERE. His character was an important one but is somehow not denoted much when you read about the show in various books and magazines.

Art Van Harvey video

I clipped a portion of Art Van Harvey from an auto dealership commercial/promo piece that looks like it was done in the late 1940's or perhaps early 1950's.  I posted it on Twitter but to be safe, I will post it here as well:




I believe this is the only Art Van Harvey video on the internet.

Character site audio now being denoted

Those characters with audio will now be marked with a ☊ beside their names, making the audio easier to find.  It will be a while before I am finished marking them all as I am trying to signify where the character came from as well.

I'm putting a finishing date on it by the end of the year, just to be safe.

Sorry to interrupt the line of trivia in this space...

I Love Lucy and train

The I love Lucy video clip I made and uploaded today is what I always have had in my mind when I think about the Bight Kentucky Hotel.

Analysis of 600 Vic and Sade programs?

Tomorrow's 2 entries into The Crazy World of Vic and Sade will bring the total to 500 shows that I have put into the site.  I fully expect to input about 100 or so more before the end of the year.

That should be the end of the programs, unless we come across more.

What I'd like to do is go through the audio programs again, one show at a time.  Let's get everyone involved and each put in your input into the comments.  More on this later.

The infamous - but missing - Cora Bucksaddle

Do any reading in books about V&S and you will come across the name Cora Bucksaddle - yet, she only shows up in one audio episode.

Her husband shows up a couple of times in the notes.

Here's the deal: Cora and her husband are divorced.  He lived out near Tatman's vacant lot.  She lived on Virginia Avenue, somewhere on the other side of the street from the Gooks.

She is described in the notes as a "handsome divorcee'.  Her real claim to fame though is that she swallowed a shotgun in 1946 - though she and her husband seem to be a product of the early days of the show.

FDR, Jim Jordan and Fred Allen

All those men claimed to be big fans of Vic and Sade.  And of course, Don Quinn, the Fibber McGee and Molly writer and Halls of Ivy creator, claimed Vic and Sade as his favorite show.

Paul Rhymer's imaginary cities

As I sort of discussed the other day, most all of Paul Rhymer's imaginary cities have some sort of bad stigma about them:

Dismal Seepage
Wretched Indian River
Upper Slough
Spider Plague
Slammington (Minnesota)
Sick River Junction
Shockersly (Oregon)
Piscatorial Monster (Mich.)
Lake Smellington
Grovelman (S.C.)
East Brain
Fiendish
East Botchfield
Clinkstaff
Boo, KY.
West Fat, KY.
Yellow Jump

Then you have Sweet Esther, Wisconsin...

Mr. Rogers and Vic and Sade

Mr. (Fred) Rogers (of PBS Fame) used to be a huge Vic and Sade fan.

In an interview, he once talked about "the Ohio Home for the Bland."

In a million years, I could never imagine Mr. Rogers being a fan of Vic and Sade.

Why are all the books about the show so innaccurate?

Forget the two script books and Bill Idelson's book about the show - why are all of the other books that mention the show so innaccurate?

The possible exception being John Dunning's OTR Encylopedia, of which I can only see bits and pieces of, online.  It does look to be mostly accurate.  Of course his source for show information was Barbara Schwarz.

But there are other books and the ones that I can see in Google Books and go through, all are filled with errors.

Some examples from one prominent book:

Raised on Radio: Ishigan Fishigan - and the Gooks lived near Peoria.  Seepage, Ohio (no Dismal.) 

That book does have something right though - Sade went to wash rags sales but never bought wash rags.  Though she had a huge collection of wash rags, I dare you to find an episode where she actually bought any.

Anyway, that's just one book.  Trust me when I tell you, they are all wrong (except what I have noted.)

Colonel Edwards

This was a pet name Rush used for Vic, when he didn't call him "Guv" (or is it "Gov?")  At any rate, I can think of no script where this occurs not in any audio but notes say it's so.

Slow Saturday

Working off and on today with some progress being made - all of it behind the scenes for now (as noted, there are lots of spellings that are different on the scripts than I had them previously.)

Characters hometowns will be a slow project.  I will do maybe two letters each day (did the A's and B's today.)

Did find out some new stuff about the series; many characters are mentioned in Barbara Schwarz's notes but not in the episodes they were in... eventually, they'll go in the character section but unfortunately, many without links.  Still, having their story is important.  But I'll not discuss that until I post them, which may not be until December or later.

Rhymer's Harry Antidisestablishmentarianistic Jackson

For months in 1943 and 1944, Paul Rhymer used the word antidisestablishmentarianistic in his scripts.  Usually, this would be used by Vic or Russell.

Finally, he plays a big joke and names a Thimble Club lady this!  He must have been something else...

Any opinion on the map?

I wonder how important a map is to the site?

Would something like this work?

Russell schmussell

So...........................

I get halfway through the Russell nicknames and I find out the notes aren't complete...

So...........................

So...........................

That's scrapped for now. Ugh.

Caught up with Rush's nicknames - working on Russell's

Finally finished Rush's nicknames (although there are a few episodes with Rush I haven't posted yet and therefore, those nicknames haven't been posted yet.)

Working on Russell now and I expect to be done with it in an hour or so.

This was one of my "big jobs" so I feel good about finishing it.

Perhaps I will spend this whole weekend on the map... At any rate, that's the next big job.

There is another on-going big job I am doing behind the scenes, but doing that a year at a time (error correction duties - of which there are MANY, MANY, MANY still to go.)

One confusing mystery solved

I do not blame researcher Barbara Schwarz who had her hands full, yet every now and then, I come across inconsistencies and obvious errors (recently, I came across the debut episode of Russell and I made mention how it looked to me as if the dates of first two Russell episodes were flip-flopped.)

Come to find out via another note (and there are MANY) that the dates probably were flipped flopped.

This episode was originally marked June 6, 1944.  Turns out it was June 3.

Not that I'm upset; just showing you how a project this large can be a pain in the neck.

At any rate, I did change the date and the world seems a bit more settled.

Note about "The Stillness of the Afternoon is Broken"

Okay, here's where not having things in order to begin with begins to ruin my life...

A year or so ago, I had no idea the episode just posted even existed.  I knew there was the episode by the same name with Russell.   I had posted that one.  Recently, I came across the script with Rush which I didn't know existed.

So... I have to make an episode for it, changing most everything I had written in the other one.  Blah blah hubbidy hoy...

You get the picture.

It's definitely not easy to conduct business the way I want to when things are not in order.  I have to post out of order constantly.  My apologies on that.

Also in order to make the 3 Hank episodes show up in a row, I have to change the time...

Look, most of this shouldn't be a bother to you.  Just letting' you know what's going on.

Working on nicknames today - and more fixes

I hope to get caught up on the nicknames for Rush and Russell today. 

I also have numerous tiny items to fix - they are everywhere and time-consuming.

Hope to get working on the map as well.  I have come to the conclusion that a map of the area we know exists is impossible for me to do for the website.  I may simply take that area the Gooks do the most living in and make a map of that.

Why is Hank Gutstop is missing?

Though the notes did not seem to emphasize it much, it's important to note that Hank is missing.

I can't tell you anything else now but the episode connects to the next two - thus, three straight episodes deal with the same subject. 

Even when Mis' Keller and Harry Feedburn were getting chummy, we didn't have three episodes in a row on the same subject (1944 seems to be the year we have the most information for the series, both audio-wise and note-wise.  All the remaining two months of notes are about 1944.)

I haven't looked at it that closely but we may have a near complete log of 1944 before it's over with.

Fixed this that and the other today...

...And in doing so, I don't feel like I accomplished that much.  Still, some tangible progress can be seen.

I didn't touch the map today.  Ugh.  A map-making program would be nice.

Still lots of information to put into the site but a lot of it can't be done until all the episodes are on the site.

You know what would be great?  Have the audio episodes turned into scripts!  Who will volunteer to do that for me?  :)

Well, back at it tomorrow!

Some crazy stuff ahead

The last 2 months of my posting (November and December) will cover some odd territory...

You'll find out one other reason Hank has so much sway in town.

Vic and Pom Pom team up on a project.

Rumors about the two will fly.

You'll learn how Hank got his job as a detective.

You'll learn how two of the town's characters simply flip-flopped names!

Fred became Ted - will he become a different name too?

Remember the Missouri Home of the Tall?  Well, coming is over 20 new "homes" for the ____.  Wait until you see this list!

An episode about handguns that's at least 15 years ahead of it's time.

Holiday episodes

I forgot to mention that I added a Holiday Episodes option to the left hand side the other day (this includes all holidays, not just the Winter ones.)

There is getting to be so many options on the left hand side that I may have to put them in alphabetical order.

New - Inventors and their inventions

While doing this, that and the other, I had forgotten something I had started about a month ago, Inventors and their Inventions.  So I finished it.  You can now find this on the left-hand side of The Crazy World.

On tap today: finishing small things

There are a few things to fix and finish before I can go on to the next big thing, which is either the photos (I don't really think I can call that a big thing) or the map, which is a big thing.  At least with the map, I have already started it and... well we'll see how that goes.

Lots of loose ends to tie up though before moving on.  You may not hear from me for a bit.

By the way, I really enjoyed the story about Vic/Kitchenware/train trip.  That is one episode I'd really like to hear!

Many files, fixed and uploaded!

The following files have been fixed for the better.  I hope you will take the time to compare a few at random and see what a difference has been made!

I'm happy the way they came out.

In the list below, a couple went untouched but I don't remember which ones they are.  These files can also be found here.

Here are the files:

37-05-28 Decoration Day Parade
37-06-04 Sade's Trip to Dwight
37-11-28 Congress and the Supreme Court
38-03-03 Official Host
38-11-30 Vic's New Hat
39-01-02 Lodge Regalia Out On Loan
39-01-16 Flower Garden Arranger
39-03-08 Mr. Erickson's House Repairs
39-04-03 Rush Draws List of Acquaintances
39-04-25 Rotten Davis Phones
39-04-26 Sade's New Luggage
39-05-11 Overnight Guests
39-06-01 Grandpa Snyder Christmas Cards
39-06-05 YY Flirch Tries to Phone Vic
39-06-13 Porch Collapses Rotten Takes Blame
39-07-05 Two Tons of Coal #1
39-08-30 Rush Mad Preselected School Clothes
39-08-xx Vic's Geographical Trip
39-09-06 Office Invoices - Magnifying Glass
39-09-22 Sade Provides Names of Wildflowers
39-09-xx Mr. Gumpox Offers Sade A Stall
39-10-06 Double Feature in Hopewood
39-10-30 Five Christmas Card Salesmen
39-10-31 Blue-Tooth Under Gook Davenport
39-10-xx Rush I Hereby Resign From...
39-11-06 Charlie Razorscum's Fish Picture
39-11-07 Smelly Makes a Speech
39-11-14 Rush House Destroyer
39-11-21 Smelly Clark Solicits Gifts
39-12 01 Vic's Christmas Card List
39-12-xx Rush Is Getting On In Years
39-12-xx Sade Volunteers Rush for Pageant
39-xx-xx Letter To Walter
40-01-02 No Painted Portrait of Big Dipper
40-01-09 Boys Copy Numbers, Sade Tells Gossip
40-01-12 Vegetable Garden
40-01-19 Gumpox vs. Donahue
40-01-22 R. J. Konk's Improved Portrait
40-01-24 Y.Y. Flirch Best Looking Man
40-01-xx Mr. Donahue Gets Promotion
40-02-20 Rush's Good Looks
40-02-27 High School Gossip
40-03-19 Bess Letter; Grocery List on Top
40-03-25 Smelly Clark's Big Date
40-03-27 Vic Fakes the Cornet
40-03-29 No, Vic, No Trip to Chicago
40-04-04 Rush Must Make a Call on a Girl
40-04-17 Vic's Heart-shaped Face
40-04-10 Nicer to Sleep Over for Two Weeks
40-04-15 Milton's Dirt in Fruit Jars
40-04-05 Can Blue Tooth Sue the Bijou?
40-05-03 Engine Cab Ride to Chicago
40-05-06 Working Out Hank's Indebtedness
40-05-15 Vic's Picture Totally Mislabeled
40-05-27 Miz' Scott Getting Too Chummy
40-05-29 Nicer the Goader
40-06-02 Teaching Cigar Smoking to Chinbunny
40-06-14 Freedom Last Day of School
40-06-17 Mr. Sludge to Sleep Overnight at Gooks
40-06-18 June Christmas Card Pressure
40-06-19 Vic's Wide Brimmed Hat
40-06-21 Hank's Job Royal Throne Barbershop
40-06-24 Mr. Gumpox Blows Kisses
40-07-01 Ruthie Has Secrets
40-07-04 Mr. Sludge Calls His Mother
40-07-13 Short Bio of Little Dipper
40-07-22 Mr. Donahue Asks for Demotion
40-07-23 Sade Shows Razorscum Album
40-08-14 Bacon Sandwiches
40-09-xx Mr. Sludge Grows A Moustache
40-10-27 Hot Soup