favorite running gag

[Maxwell]

I also saw Frank Nelson in one of the JB TV shows available on the Dollar Store DVDs. He played an employee in a clothing store. And he looked just like that picture, only shorter than I thought he would be. I expected him to be taller, and, well, look like the character on the Simpsons.

FN's voice is a character in of itself, so it was kind of strange to actually see the actor performing the lines.

allen

Your take is really interesting to me because I grew up watching Jack on TV in the '50s and '60s and have always known what Frank Nelson looked like. It does stifle the imagination though because I've always seen him in character as the floorwalker, etc. It's fun to hear the perspective of someone who didn't see him until after developing a mental image.

[Frank Nelson]

My favorite running gag has to be Frank Nelson, especially when he would let out a very boisterous "Yeeessssss?" and then insult Jack the same ways he insulted him in the episodes that came before. I think what was so great about FN was that he popped up in so many different episodes playing a variety characters, but always using the same voice and style, and Jack never "notices" it's the same guy, except for the times Jack said "I've seen him somewhere before."


allen

I don't know the name of the episode and I haven't seen it since I saw it about 20 years ago, but it had Jack running into Frank Nelson's character everywhere he went during the show. At the end Jack goes to see a psychiatrist - when Frank Nelson steps out the Dr.'s office & screams "that's him!" and runs out.

Does anyone else remember this episode?

[LLeff]

I don't know the name of the episode and I haven't seen it since I saw it about 20 years ago, but it had Jack running into Frank Nelson's character everywhere he went during the show. At the end Jack goes to see a psychiatrist - when Frank Nelson steps out the Dr.'s office & screams "that's him!" and runs out.

11/30/58, Oscar Levant guest. It's in the video library.

[WaltP]

It's characters like his [Frank Nelson] that work so well in radio. I don't believe I've ever seen a recurring character like FN in a modern TV show.

The closest I can think of is Larry, Daryl, and Daryl from Newhart. Especially when Larry is missing and Daryl and Daryl are giving Bob the third degree!

[WaltP]

I also saw Frank Nelson in one of the JB TV shows available on the Dollar Store DVDs. He played an employee in a clothing store. And he looked just like that picture, only shorter than I thought he would be. I expected him to be taller, and, well, look like the character on the Simpsons.

Your take is really interesting to me because I grew up watching Jack on TV in the '50s and '60s and have always known what Frank Nelson looked like. It does stifle the imagination though because I've always seen him in character as the floorwalker, etc. It's fun to hear the perspective of someone who didn't see him until after developing a mental image.

Interestingly, even though I've seen Frank Nelson on the JB TV show, I still visualize him on the radio as at least half a head taller than Jack. It's the stature of his voice and character that makes him seem tall.