Bebe Daniels in "Life With the Lyons"

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Bebe Daniels in "Life With the Lyons"

Postby scottp » Sun Aug 23, 2009 3:01 pm

I was surprised to find out there was a radio sitcom starring film actors Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels Lyon, and that it apparently lasted to at least 1961. Impossible, you say? (That's what I said, about the late end date.) Then I found out it was on the BBC. Britain kept on longer with some things, such as network radio, steam locomotives, and living without butter after WWII.
I just started listening to some of the shows. One from November of 1950 has the same plot as a Burns and Allen from February of 1949. Bebe (Gracie) thinks Ben (George) should become a doctor, and volunteers his services at a hospital. He thinks he's supposed to do "his act" for a charity show, but the doctors want to do a risky experiment on him. And it was just a couple weeks ago I told a friend about that "three-way mix-up" storyline as one of my favorite B&A episodes...
I wonder if... that is, I HOPE... there was some arrangement about reusing plot lines. In those days, few listeners of U.S. radio were likely to hear BBC, so it made sense.
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Postby scottp » Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:12 am

Found another plot (January 1951) similar to a B&A (June 1949)-- a militant feminist known as a "Brigadier" influences Bebe and the other women, much to the dismay of the men.
My favorite joke from that B&A was left out for obvious reasons-- Gracie claims that women led the exploration of the New World. George says "What about DeSoto, LaSalle, and Hudson?" and Gracie replies, "Those brave women didn't ride around in automobiles!"
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Postby scottp » Sat Sep 05, 2009 2:15 pm

I woke up in the middle of an episode (can't figure out which one, but probably from 1952) and a police dispatcher is saying,
"Calling Car 18... Calling Car 18... I haven't heard from you... is it something I said?"
I know I've heard that... was it in a Benny show?

Followed by,
"Calling Car 15... Car 15... Happy Birthday! Now you're 16!"
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Postby scottp » Mon Sep 28, 2009 1:25 am

And now I've come to a running gag, which isn't funny because I didn't get to hear its origin. (The collection is hit-and-miss, over about a decade.)
Teenage Richard Lyon occasionally says, "I don't even know about boats!" and gets laughs. And when the topic is livestock, he says, "I don't even know about goats!" In an episode about lost hats, it's "I don't even know about boaters!"
I figure it probably came from a blooper... which might have come from (wild guess here) a line about the-birds-and-the-bees.

Perhaps when the world interweb reaches Great Britain, I'll be able to ask the older folks if they remember how the joke got started.
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