Does 'A Christmas Story' give homage to Vic?

I watched 'A Christmas Story' again this morning.

This time I watched a lot more closely.

Darren McGavin's character seems to pay homage to Vic Gook when he first enters.

His first talk is about the White Sox and baseball (Vic was a White Sox fan and loved baseball.) 

Reading from the paper (one of Vic's favorite pastimes), he tells an Uncle Fletcher-type anecdote about a man swallowing a yo-yo.

Then, McGavin's character talks about "Victor" who is the Lone Ranger's nephew's horse.  This is an ode to Bill Cullen (I believe) who is famed in Vic and Sade circles for asking trivia questions about horses (belonging to Mr. Gumpox) in Vic and Sade.

Of course, I could be wrong on all of this... watch the film for yourself (or at least watch the first few minutes of McGavin) and see what you think.

Shep's Army

Gene Bergmann of Shepquest (the Jean Shepard blog) writes to say that his book, "Shep's Army" will be out August 9th; included will be 36 edited transcriptions of Shepard's army stories from his radio shows with an extensive intro by Bergmann.

He also tells me he plans to write about Vic and Sade in a couple of days on his blog so I'll keep you all informed.

Just found: a blog about Jean Shepard

I feel I found a "brother blog" this morning when I found Shepquest - The World of Jean Shepard.  The blog (which seems to updated quite regularly) appears to be run by Eugene Bergmann, the author of at least a couple of books about "Shep."

There also appears to be occasional talk of Vic and Sade there, so if you enjoy Shepard, you will probably enjoy this blog.

Jean Shepard's memories of Vic and Sade

Some people really have an affection for Jean Shepard.  He's the kind of guy I listen to more out of necessity than because I like him.

I do have internet friends who swear by him and of course, I dearly loved the film, A Christmas Story, which would hold a lot more charm if I hadn't seen it so many times, thanks to Ted Turner running it into the ground during the holidays.

Anyway, Shepard once claimed he didn't ever listen to Vic and Sade.  He claimed his mother was the fan and he was only there.  Being there though, the show somehow got into his brain.

Download this Shepard show from the mid-1960's, where he talks about Vic and Sade, Smelly Clark, Four-Fisted Frank Fuddleman and other stuff.

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).