Tag Archives: Nostalgia

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Family Affair Friday: Season 1, Episode 18, One for the Little Boy, 1/23/1967

Whew! After a stressful week, it’s a relief to turn my attention to the Davis family and my weekly Family Affair series. I hope it provides a pleasant distraction for you, too.

Episode 18, “One for the Little Boy” 1/23/1967

Written by: Austin and Irma Kalish. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

A lot of unusual things happen in this episode:

  • Buffy and Cissy wear slacks.
  • We see stock footage of a baseball game.
  • A doorman who’s not Scotty appears.
  • Someone pronounces “Terre Haute” correctly.

The most notable event in this episode, though, comes at the very start. Mr. French receives a summons from her Majesty to serve the royal family during a tour of Commonwealth capitals. (If he’s that connected, why is working for an engineer in New York, anyway?)

back from terre haute

The Davis family returns from a trip to Terre Haute to find him gone.

They don’t have to worry long about how they’ll survive with him—another Mr. French soon shows up to take his place. (In real life, Sebastian Cabot was ill.)

the other french

You’d think that a French swap might cause enough comic high jinx to sustain an episode. This episode’s plot, however, doesn’t really have anything to do with the arrival of Giles French’s brother Nigel.

Instead, this episode revolves around Jody. Spending most of his time with Cissy and Buffy has left him looking for some male bonding. And let’s face it, neither Mr. French is helpful when you want to play catch.

Ted Gaynor helps Bill realize that Jody needs some father-son time.

Ted explains that he was raised in an all-female household--or "petticoat jail," as he puts it. I always sensed that Ted had issues with women, and now I see where it started.

Ted explains that he was raised in an all-female household–or “petticoat jail,” as he puts it. I always sensed that Ted had issues with women, and now I see where it started.

Bill invites Jody to join him and Ted at a baseball game. Jody is thrilled to go, but the adults around him block his view of the action. Eventually, he falls asleep, missing Uncle Bill’s foul-ball catch.

Baseball has the same effect on me.

Baseball has the same effect on me.

Next, Bill plans a weekend fishing trip with Jody, but work threatens to interfere. When he hears that Buffy and Cissy are both inviting friends over on Saturday, Uncle Bill takes pity on Jody. He brings the boy along on his business trip to Rochester (Rock-chester, according to Jody) and plans to take him fishing when his work’s done.

I wonder where Uncle Bill found this nice matronly woman to watch Jody in Rochestr.

I wonder how Uncle Bill found this nice matronly woman to watch Jody in Rochester…and how he found a hotel with walls painted Family Affair green.

Everything on the trip goes wrong—Bill’s work drags on, the camper he’s rented for the fishing trip breaks down, and then they learn the lake where they’re headed has dried up.

bait lady

They learn about the lake from this bait store owner, who sure is a departure from most of the women we see on Family Affair.

Jody keeps saying he doesn’t mind, but Uncle Bill thinks he’s just too polite to confess his disappointment. Finally, Jody explains that just spending time with Uncle Bill made the trip enjoyable for him.

Awww. Cue th

Awww. Cue the Violins of Emotional Resonance.

Commentary

An Uncle Bill-and-Jody episode always warms the heart. Although Jody-centered, this episode has fun Buffy moments.

In this scene

In this scene, she struggles to button the back of her dress, then gives up and puts the dress on backwards.

She also exhibits realistic annoyance at Jody’s temporary monopoly on Uncle Bill.

And,

And apparently she has friends. Who knew?

Overall, this script abounds in cute lines. (For example, when Uncle Bill asks Jody how he can eat cereal without milk, Jody replies that you just have to chew harder.)

Guest Cast

Mr. Nigel French: John Williams. Ted Gaynor: John Hubbard. Proprietress: Katey Barrett. Doorman: David Brandon.

john williams credit

John Williams isn’t exactly a member of the guest cast. During his nine-episode tenure on the show, he takes over Sebastian Cabot’s spot in the credits (Which seems a little odd, actually.) Williams is an impressive fill-in. He had a long and distinguished career that was closely associated with director Alfred Hitchcock. His most memorable role was Inspector Hubbard in Dial M for Murder. (He had won a Tony for playing the same role on Broadway.) He also appeared in To Catch a Thief and in several episodes of TV’s Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Brandon would appear in several more Family Affair episodes.

Continuity Notes

Terre Haute, of course. Scotty is mentioned, though not seen. The presence of another doorman is explained–he’s the nighttime guy.

Notable Quotes: “Basically, I’m a cricket man.” Nigel French. “That’s okay, I like caterpillars.” Jody

“Sisters are always doing sister stuff.” Jody

Bonus Feature

TV Guide, April 22, 1967

This article includes a bit about the health problems that led to Sebastian Cabot’s nine-episode hiatus from the series.

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Spin Again Sunday: The Game of Dragnet

dragnet boxI’ve been a big fan of Dragnet since I discovered the late 1960s episodes when I was about 10. When I started listening to old-time radio, Dragnet quickly became one of my favorites in that medium, too. So this Christmas, when my husband presented me with The Game of Dragnet, I was delighted. (By the way, it’s really hard to explain gifts like this to “normal” friends who get jewelry and cookware as presents.)

This Week’s Game: The Game of Dragnet, 1955, Transogram.

The Box: Sergeant Joe Friday, in black and white, gives us a rueful smile, while uniformed officers (in color) pursue a criminal nearby. Shouldn’t Friday be helping them? The box, board, and instructions all include the label “Badge 714” as a kind of subtitle. Remember when syndicated versions of shows that were still airing in prime time ran under alternate titles? Badge 714 was Dragnet’s syndication title.

The Promotional Blurb on the Box: “Do you have the instincts of a detective? Are you adept at interrogation, clever at deduction? You are! Then you must play this drama packed game! Here it is!—a realistic and exciting game of skill, deduction, and luck for teenagers and adults, based on DRAGNET, famous on radio, TV, and in the movies.”

This is actually only about one-fourth of the copy—it is the War and Peace of promotional blurbs.

dragnet board

The Board: The box copy also refers to this a “fascinating and absolutely unique game.” The board, however, is quite generic. Transogram and other companies often produced boards that they could re-purpose for subsequent games. All they would have to do to re-use this design is to swap out the center circle.

suspects dragnet cars

Two “suspects” flanked by police cars. Doesn’t that pink suspect look threatening? The green disc below is one of the numbered, interchangeable suspect bases.

Game Pieces: Six police squad cars in various colors and seven suspects. The latter are bell-shaped pieces of colored plastic that attach to interchangeable green bases. Each base bears a number.

Crime File Cards: The most interesting thing about these is that they have random holes punched in them. This mystified me until I read that in the instructions that they “simulate authentic key-punched police file cards.”

Then, of course, I had to seek out more information about key punching.

dragnet instructions

If you want to play this game, set aside an afternoon for reading the instructions.

Game Play: It’s kind of like Clue, but much more complicated. Before the game starts, suspects are attached to bases and planted at various Suspect Hideouts around the board. Each player receives three police file cards. Each player will try to collect three police file cards that fit the same crime—a crime card, a location card, and an evidence card. Each of these cards also has a number on it. When a player adds the three numbers on their three correct cards together, they will get the number of the suspect they are seeking

dragnet card 2Players move around the board in their squad cards. When they land on a Suspect Hideout, they can look at the suspect’s number and record it on their score pad. When they land on an Interrogation Post, they can ask a yes-or-no question about a suspect (i.e., is the red suspect’s number odd?), as long as they don’t ask directly what the number is. When they land on a Precinct Station, they can take police file cards from other players.

dragnet card 1Once a player has his three cards and knows his suspect’s number, he must go to that suspect’s hideout and then return to police headquarters to win the game.

Whew! Actually becoming a police detective might be simpler than playing this game.

My Thoughts: This looks like it could be fun, as long you invest the time necessary to master all the rules.

Other Spin Again Sunday posts you might enjoy:

Gomer Pyle Game

Charlie’s Angels Game

Waltons Game

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Family Affair Friday: Episode 17, “All Around the Town,” 1/16/1967

Welcome to another installment in my weekly Family Affair series.

Episode 17, “All Around the Town” 1/16/1967

Written by: Douglas Tibbles. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

Ted Gaynor and his wife are leaving on a cruise, and Uncle Bill, the Davis children and Mr. French are all seeing them off.

You can tell from the twins' wardrobe that this episode will have a high cuteness quotient. Look at Buffy's outfit: The purse! The knee socks! The little white gloves!

You can tell from the twins’ wardrobe that this episode will have a high cuteness quotient. Look at Buffy’s outfit: The purse! The knee socks! The little white gloves!

While French and Cissy are elsewhere, Buffy and Jody hear Uncle Bill inviting “everyone” to dinner. He is talking to some clients who have joined him at the Gaynors’ bon voyage gathering, but the twins assume that the invitation includes them.

“Uncle Bill said everybody,” Buffy notes. “We’re everybody, just smaller.”

They run off to tell French and Cissy that they’ll be leaving the ship with Uncle Bill. This news delights French and Cissy–he wants to meet Miss Faversham for a poetry reading and she wants to attend a Velvet Vultures concert with Freddy.

These two are so relieved to escape child-care duty that they fail to question the plausibility of Bill inviting Buffy and Jody to a dinner with clients.

These two are so relieved to escape child-care duty that they fail to question the plausibility of Bill inviting Buffy and Jody to a dinner with clients.

After French and Cissy leave the ship, Buffy and Jody quickly realize that Uncle Bill has departed, too. Disembarking alone, they watch the ship sail away and then ponder their next move.

At this point, the twins find a $20 dollar bill. Bright children might realize that this money could help them get home. In this episode, however, Jody and Buffy (who has previously been shown doing multiplication) are so dim that it takes them a while to realize that a 2 and 0 together make 20.

At this point, the twins find a $20 dollar bill. Bright children might realize that this money could help them get home. In this episode, however, Jody and Buffy (who has previously been shown doing multiplication) are so dim that it takes them a while to realize that a 2 and 0 together make 20.

Thinking of a story in which Abraham Lincoln walked three miles to give back a nickel, the twins determine to find the money’s owner. Two exceptionally naive six-year-olds wandering around lower Manhattan waving money–no potential for trouble here.

Before long, the kids are hungry and tired.

Before long, the kids are hungry and tired.

Luckily, as the ship was pulling away from the dock, Mrs. Gaynor spotted Buffy and Jody standing alone. Eventually, she convinces her skeptical husband to contact Bill and check on the kids.

We've seen Ted Gaynor several times, but this is our first look at Mrs. Gaynor. Ted totally seems like the kind of guy who would dump her for a younger model.

We’ve seen Ted Gaynor several times, but this is our first look at Mrs. Gaynor. Ted totally seems like the kind of guy who would dump her for a younger model.

Over a three-hour period, Uncle Bill tries to call home but gets no answer.

Concern about what's happening at home preoccupies him when he finally goes out for dinner with the clients he talked to earlier.

Concern about what’s happening at home preoccupies him when he finally goes out for dinner with the clients he talked to earlier.

Finally, he calls Scotty the doorman and learns the French returned from the ship alone and then left the apartment again at 3:30.

(Here’s what I don’t get–French must have left the ship by around 3 p.m. at the latest. Didn’t it seem odd to him that Uncle Bill was going to “dinner” at that hour?)

By the time all the adults meet up again, panic has understandably set in.

By the time all the adults meet up again, panic has understandably set in.

Uncle Bill calls the police.

Meanwhile, darkness has fallen and the twins are scared--so scared that it occurs to them that getting home should really be their first priority, rather than finding the money's owner.

Meanwhile, darkness has fallen and the twins are scared–so scared that it occurs to them that getting home should really be their first priority, rather than finding the money’s owner.

At last, the kids meet a kindly stranger who helps them find their apartment.

How he managed to get them home is a mystery, since they don't know their phone number or their address or even the name of their street, except that it has a 6 and a 2 in it.

How he manages to get the twins home is a mystery, since they don’t know their phone number or their address or even the name of their street, except that it has a 6 and a 2 in it. Sheesh–and they let these kids wander freely around their own city block! Uncle Bill isn’t kidding when he makes all those speeches about not knowing the first thing about parenting.

Somehow, the twins do make it home, to everyone’s relief. Buffy offers her benefactor the $20, and Uncle Bill encourages the reluctant man to take it as a reward. He also promises the man, who is a stone mason, future work opportunities.

Uncle Bill reassures the kids that he's not mad at them. If I were him, I would be pretty pissed at French--he should never have taken off without confirming the children's arrangements.

Uncle Bill reassures the kids that he’s not mad at them. If I were him, I would be pretty pissed at French–he should never have taken off without confirming the children’s arrangements.

Commentary

Implausibilities and inconsistencies aside, this is a favorite episode of mine. It’s scary to watch Buffy and Jody wandering the big city on their own. It’s also touching to watch Jody comforting a scared Buffy.

I like this dark alley shot--it's a change from your usual Family Affair atmosphere.

I like this dark alley shot–it’s a change from your usual Family Affair atmosphere.

Guest cast

Jose: Harry Davis. Ted Gaynor: John Hubbard. Mrs. Florence Gaynor: Andrea King. Scotty: Karl Lukas. Policeman: Vic Tayback. Frenchman: George Dega. Frenchwoman: Danielle Aubry. Chestnut Man: Jack Tesler. Mr. Carvallo: Rodolfo Hoyos. Mr. Gonzales: Gerardo de Cordovia. Mr. Goya: Saverio Lo Medico. Chinese Chef: Tommy Lee. Delivery Man: Harold Fong. Miss Faversham: Heather Angel. Whew! That’s a huge guest cast, with a lot of ethnic diversity.

Random Heather Angel image: It's nice to see Miss Faversham out of her nanny suit.

Random Heather Angel image: It’s nice to see Miss Faversham out of her nanny suit.

Continuity Notes

Vic Tayback’s policeman from Episode 8 returns. We also get Scotty, Ted Gaynor, the Velvet Vultures, a Freddy mention, and a (fuzzy) reference to the Davis address.

Notable Quotes

“Maybe New York is a foreign country.”–Jody, after he tries to communicate with a French couple in the park.

(Actually, New York was like a foreign country to me when I watched this show as a kid. Episodes like this fascinated me because they gave me a glimpse, admittedly distorted, of how city kids lived.)

Today’s Bonus Feature

TV Guide, May 31, 1969

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Old-Time Radio Playlist: Happy New Year, Part 2

Happy New Year!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have found this blog since I started it in August, especially my little group of regular readers and commenters. It’s been fun sharing my eclectic set of interests with you, and I hope you find much to enjoy here in 2013, including:

  • Many more old-time radio playlists, focusing not only on holidays and seasons but on themes ranging from babies, dogs, and cats, to Shakespeare, courtroom drama, and the fourth estate. I will also assemble playlists featuring my favorite screen stars, including Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant, Margaret O’Brien, Bing Crosby, Myrna Loy, and others.
  • Many bizarre words of wisdom from vintage teenage advice books and teen magazines.
  • A new occasional feature called Comic Book Craziness, featuring oddities from my small collection of 1960s and 1970s romance and superhero comics.
  • Some entertaining vintage board games in my Spin Again Sunday series. Coming up in the next two weeks: A 1955 Dragnet game and a 1970s girls career game that was already so retrograde in its own time that it included a disclaimer.
  • Occasional looks at other vintage toys in my collection, including Barbie dolls and accessories, more Fisher Price Play Family toys, Viewmaster reels, Colorforms, Mattel’s Sunshine Family dolls, and others.
  • More posts about classic movies. This is an area I planned to explore more frequently than I have so far. I am hoping to blog about movies at least a couple times a month this year.
  • And, of course, many more installments of Family Affair Friday. We are about half way through season 1, and I am particularly excited about starting season 2—my very favorite.

Since becoming part of the blogosphere, one of my greatest pleasures has been discovering so many wonderful bloggers producing entertaining and insightful work. My new year’s resolution is to spend more time reading and commenting on your blogs.

And now, as a New Year’s treat, I present 10 old-time radio episodes.  Enjoy!

“The Strange Case of the Iron Box”

Sherlock Holmes
December 31, 1945

“New Year’s Resolution”

The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show
December 29, 1946

“New Year’s Day”

Henry Morgan
January 1, 1947

“New Year’s Nightmare”

The Mysterious Traveler
January 5, 1947

“Rain on New Year’s Eve”

Quiet, Please
December 29, 1947

“Hot New Year’s Party”

Casey, Crime Photographer
January 1, 1948

“Jack Tries to Get Tickets for the Rose Bowl”

Jack Benny Program
January 4, 1948

“Riley Invites Himself to His Boss’ New Year’s Eve Party”

Life of Riley
December 31, 1948

“The Big New Year’s”

Dragnet
March 8, 1951

“The Old Man”

Suspense
December 31, 1961

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Family Affair Friday(ish): Episode 16, “That Was the Dinner That Wasn’t,” 1/9/1967

Welcome to another installment in my weekly Family Affair series. I’m sorry that it’s late. My husband had to use our laptop last night for actual work–the nerve!

Episode 16, “That Was the Dinner That Wasn’t,” 1/9/1967

Written by: Dorothy Cooper Foote. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

Something’s bothering Cissy. What could it be?

Oh. Ouch.

Oh. Ouch.

If being an orphan isn’t bad enough, she has the least tactful group of friends ever. This is only a slight paraphrase:

Friend 1: Is your mother coming to the dinner, Cissy? Oh…right, sorry.”

Friend 2: Don’t worry, we have a father-daughter dance in the spring! Oh…yeah, sorry.”

Cissy even has to listen as the girls complain about their own mothers.

Cissy even has to listen as the girls complain about their own mothers.

And, to make matters worse, some of her sketches will be on display at this dinner she can’t attend. Did you know Cissy is an artist? Well, she is, as we’ll see shortly.

She hides the reason for her sadness from Uncle Bill, but he knows something is bothering her and wants to help. He spends a lot of time worrying and lamenting his lack of parenting skills. How concerned is he? On his one evening home between two business trips, he actually cancels a date to spend time with Cissy.

Actually, he makes French cancel his date. The woman in question, Maria Cantelli, doesn't take it especially well.

Actually, he makes French cancel his date. The woman in question, Maria Cantelli, doesn’t take it especially well.

As it turns out, Cissy has a date of her own, so Bill tries to mend fences with an unforgiving Miss Cantelli. God forbid he should spend his evening with Buffy and Jody. Hey, they’re not having a major emotional crisis this week.

Random fashion note: Cissy looks pretty in her green date dress.

Random fashion note: Cissy looks pretty in her green date dress.

The next day, as Bill prepares to head for the airport, he’s still clueless about what’s bothering Cissy. Even his suggestion of retail therapy doesn’t help. Cissy’s response is one that few teenage girls have ever uttered: “I have more clothes than I need.”

She's so upset she doesn't even touch this hearty meal French has prepared for her.

She’s so upset she doesn’t even touch this hearty meal French has prepared for her.

At the airport, he meets Miss Cantelli, who’s willing to make nice with him if he apologizes and joins her for dinner.

They should have saved this episode for St. Patrick's Day. Green is everywhere.

They should have saved this episode for St. Patrick’s Day. Green is everywhere.

Just then, however, he runs into Cissy’s friend Gail, who fills him in about the dinner.

My God, what's that on Gail's head? It's not even the same color as the rest of her hair.

My God, what’s that on Gail’s head? It’s not even the same color as the rest of her hair.

Bill quickly enlists French’s help to maneuver Cissy to the airport, where he spends some quality time with her without letting her know that he knows about the banquet.

Cissy is very impressed by this "fancy" airport restaurant.

Cissy is very impressed by this “fancy” airport restaurant.

They have a warm conversation, and at one point Uncle Bill offhandedly refers to her has his daughter, rather than his niece.

Cissy is so moved that she dashes off this sketch of Uncle Bill in about two minutes.

Cissy is so moved that she dashes off this sketch of Uncle Bill in about two minutes.

Watching this scene even warms the heart of Maria Cantelli, who was angry about being rebuffed for a second time.

Watching this scene warms even the cold, cold heart of Maria Cantelli, who was angry about being rebuffed for a second time.

Commentary

This is another nice Cissy-Uncle Bill episode; the part where he calls her his daughter is especially touching. Occasionally, though, Kathy Garver’s admiring-niece portrayal strays uncomfortably close to girl-with-a-crush territory.

Feel the love.

Feel the love.

Guest Cast

Patty: Elizabeth Bader. Maria Cantelli: Jacqueline Bertrand. Miss Lee: Betty Lynn. Gail: Diane Mountford. This is Mountford’s second of five appearances and Lynn’s second of four as Uncle Bill’s secretary.

Fun Facts

When Cissy was 12, she wanted to be a nurse.

Continuity Notes

This episode makes specific reference to the death of the kids’ parents.

Ted Gaynor gets a mention.

Random decor note: I like Uncle Bill's sheets.

Random decor note: I like Uncle Bill’s sheets.

Notable Quotes

“If Cissy marries Freddy, will he be our brother or our uncle?” Buffy

Random twin image: Buffy and Mrs. Beasley, who are playing cowboys and Indians with Jody.

Random twin image: Buffy and Mrs. Beasley, who are playing cowboys and Indians with Jody.

Today’s Bonus Feature

TV Guide, November 16, 1968

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Old-Time Radio Playlist: Happy New Year

This is the first installment of a two-part New Year playlist. I’ll post the second part on New Year’s Day. Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!

“The Happiest Person in the World”


Family Theater, January 8, 1948
“Everyone could be happy if they would think happiness into their lives.”
Story: Time is a newspaper, and City Editor Father Time has to break in a new reporter. He gives cub reporter 1948 an assignment to find the happiest person in the world—an assignment that teaches the new year about human nature.
Notable Performers: Life of Riley star William Bendix plays Father Time, while The Great Gildersleeve’s Walter Tetley plays baby 1948.
Referencing Radio: Bendix mentions his own show.
My Verdict: The performers make this entertaining, and the story keeps you guessing about the moral that it’s building to. Actually, it seems to me that the story fails to support the stated moral, which is quoted above. At one point, I thought they were making the point that happiness stems from giving, which made sense. For the characters in this episode, though, happiness stems from external validation, and you can’t just “think” that into being.

“Big New Year’s Eve Party”


The Great Gildersleeve, December 24, 1944
“Be a good boy if you can, but have a good time.”
Story: Gildy rings in 1945 with Leila, but his Delores troubles aren’t over.
Musical Notes: Harold Peary sings a love song…but it’s a good episode anyway.
Interesting History: There’s a reference to 1943 as the year of penicillin and sulfonamide. Penicillin did come into widespread use around that time, but my brief research seems to indicate that sulfa was available earlier.
My Verdict: The jokes seem sharper in this episode than in many Gildersleeve offerings. I like Birdie’s comment when Gildy asks her about preparing an intimate supper: “I fix the supper, Mr. Gildersleeve. The rest is up to you.”
I must be a total nerd (big surprise!) because the lawyers’ club’s mock trial of the old year sounds fun to me. Unfortunately, my New Year’s Eve will be more like Peavy’s.
“Puckett’s New Year”


Gunsmoke, January 1, 1956
“A man’s gotta make a change once in a while, ain’t he?”
Story: Buffalo hunter Ira Puckett heads to Dodge to kill the man who left him to die in a blizzard. Matt, who doesn’t want to see the old man hang, intervenes.
My Verdict: A Gunsmoke rarity—an episode with no deaths! Puckett is an endearing character, and I like Matt’s efforts to keep him out of trouble. I feel bad for Kitty in this episode—her New Year’s reflections are sad, and Matt sure isn’t going to intervene to help her.

“Gladys Zybisco disappoints Jack on New Year’s Eve”


The Jack Benny Program, December 31, 1939
“What this world needs is a few less people who are making less people.”
Story: This episode follows Jack on New Year’s Eve, as he leaves the broadcast early. He’s in a funk because Gladys cancelled their date.
Interesting History: This episode tosses off many topical references. Jack mentions social security; President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act in 1935, but monthly checks started going out in January 1940. “It can’t happen here” is a Phil punch line; it was also the title of a 1935 Sinclair Lewis novel about fascism. Mary mentions the movie Gone with the Wind, which had just premiered earlier in December.
Celebrity Name Droppings: Mary is attending Ginger Rogers’ New Year’s Eve party. Don is planning to take in Sally Rand’s show; you can do the same through the magic of Youtube.
Musical Notes: Dennis sings “All the Things You Are,” and I actually enjoy his performance, for a change.
Jell-o Hell No Recipe of the Week: Strawberry Jell-o combined with pineapple juice, egg whites, and crushed ice to create pineapple snow, a “foamy rose pink” dessert.
My Verdict: This episode’s unusual structure provides laughs for listeners, if not for poor Jack. Comic highlights are Gladys’ surprise appearance and Phil’s response to “In just a few hours the old year will pass right out.”

“Babysitting on New Year’s Eve”


Our Miss Brooks, January 1, 1950
“Liberty? You can take shore leave!”
Story: Connie takes a job babysitting Mr. Conklin’s nephew on New Year’s Eve; she needs the money to attend a party with Mr. Boynton. Of course, things don’t work out the way she planned.
Celebrity Name Droppings: Famed lion tamer Clyde Beatty gets a mention.
My Verdict: Connie’s attempts to woo the clueless Mr. Boynton are always a hit with me. I love the record scene, in which they express their feelings through contrasting song titles.

Enjoy more old-time radio playlists!

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Weird (and Wonderful) Words of Wisdom: Special Year-End Edition, Part 2

In My Opinion: The Seventeen Book of Very Important Persons, 1966
Edited by Enid Haupt

Today, we receive more wisdom from the 20th century’s cultural leaders, courtesy of Seventeen Magazine. As I told you last week, this book comprises essays from the magazine’s long-running “Talk to Teens” column. Seventeen Editor Enid Haupt edited this book. I hope you will gain some year-end inspiration–and a bit of amusement–from these quotes.

(You’ll noticed I included Joan Crawford quotes in each part of this edition. Her whole essay is a gold mine. She even starts it with a dig at one of her daughters–most likely Christina–for wanting to achieve stardom without doing all the hard work it requires.)

Next week, Weird Words of Wisdom will revert to what it does best–mocking vintage teen advice books.

Quotes from In My Opinion

Vance Packard

Vance Packard

“In my travels during the past year I have found myself talking with at least a dozen women I knew as teenage girls. Some, I must confess, have not aged very gracefully. What impresses me most is that those who were most conspicuously girls of strong-minded integrity then are the most delightfully stimulating adults today.”

Vance Packard, journalist and social critic, author of The Hidden Persuaders, a groundbreaking work about advertising

Shelley Winters

Shelley Winters

“Although I am no longer the blonde bombshell of my early career, I often find myself acting that part because I feel I won’t be accepted as an educated, intelligent woman. These feelings limit my social world considerably. The discipline of study, of developing your mind so that it wants to study and likes to and considers it fun, which I have seen in many young people, I have never acquired. These feelings of inadequacy have made me make life decisions which have proved to be terribly serious mistakes.”

Shelley Winters, Academy Award-winning actress

Artur Rubinstein

Artur Rubinstein

“American girls marry much too young. I don’t believe a girl should marry until she finds the right person, and knows it deeply. I don’t care if she doesn’t marry until she is 35.”

Artur Rubinstein, pianist

Dr. J. Roswell Gallagher

Dr. J. Roswell Gallagher

“If these are your primary concerns–amounting to something and getting high marks–if you put these first and all else subordinate to them, what may this do to your feminine feelings and attitudes and role, to your regard for what is really good and really important, and to those people who cannot achieve your sort of success?”

Dr. J Roswell Gallagher, Boston physician specializing in adolescents

Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford

“Most women look as if they dressed in the dark and made up in a closet. They needn’t, for the essence of chic is simplicity. Chic begins with cleanliness–that wonderful sense of being freshly bathed and powdered and perfumed.”

Joan Crawford, Academy Award-winning actress

Philip Roth

Philip Roth

“Novels do not pussyfoot around. They can leave you sulky, angry, fearful and desperate. They can leave you dissatisfied with the life you are living. Sometimes, upon finishing a book, you can’t help but dislike yourself–for being smug or narrow or callous or unambitious…Novels can make you skeptical and doubting–of your family, of your religion, of your country; they can reveal to you that the kind of person you happen to be or think you want to be isn’t really worth being.”

Philip Roth, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist

Rosalind Russell

Rosalind Russell

“You’ll know us (parents) by the pride in our eyes and by our outstretched arms. No, we won’t smother you. We promise. We want to stand by you, not over you. We want to talk with you, not dictate to you. We want to talk frankly, not nag you. We want to discipline you because we’re supposed to. We want your cooperation to help us be better parents. We want your respect, and most of us know we must earn that respect. We want you to forgive our mistakes or at least try to overlook them. Above all, we want to love you, and you cannot deny us this because we loved you first.”

Rosalind Russell, Tony Award-winning actress

Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger

“Travel while you are young and still are free of responsibilities. See what a big, broad, beautiful land we have here, then maybe a foreign land or two. See that there are honest, hard-working people in every corner of the globe, all quite certain that their own way of living, their local geography, their music, etc, is the most beautiful.”

Pete Seeger, folk singer

Jean Dalrymple

Jean Dalrymple

“Seventeen is a darling age…It is an age to enjoy, to savor and to appreciate, especially if you are a girl, because then you are lovely. Everything about you is fresh and springlike–your body, your mind, and your soul.”

Jean Dalrymple, playwright and theatrical producer

Rod Serling

Rod Serling

“Only the Lord knows how many adults are forced into psychoanalysis at age thirty-five because of sweeping a problem under the rug at age twelve or thirteen.”

Rod Serling, television producer

park

“Like morality, good taste recognizes the existence of other people. Good taste requires that we care about other people’s feelings sufficiently to discipline our behavior.”

Rosemary Park, president of Barnard College at the time this book was written

Eileen Farrell

Eileen Farrell

“The successful human being, as I see him, is willing, even eager, to expose himself to new experiences and ideas. He welcomes contact not only with those who agree with him, but with those who don’t–not necessarily to persuade them to his way of thinking (though that’s always a possibility) but to learn something about theirs. That’s the only way to replace prejudices that create fear–with the knowledge born of conviction that gives courage. And with courage, everything is possible!”

Eileen Farrell, concert and opera soprano

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