"What a Quartet!"

[Drear Grassreek]

This month the chatroom featured Jack’s trip to the barbershop (January 13, 1952 episode). There, he’s treated to a serenade (“Old Mill Stream”) sung by a quartet that Frank Nelson identifies as:

"Billy Goetz, Artie Stebbins, Mervyn Leroy, and Junior Laemmle."

Jack says "What a quartet!"

What's the in-joke here? I recognize 3 as being Hollywood sub-moguls, but who was Artie Stebbins (or “Uncle Artie Stebbins” to Lou Costello)? The writers were having some fun, but I don’t get it. Not sure the audience did either. Any insights appreciated.

[Maxwell]

I recognized two names: Mervyn Leroy, a terrific movie director, and Laemmle (or however it's spelled}. Carl Laemmle ran Universal Studios from its inception into the '30s.

[LLeff]

This month the chatroom featured Jack’s trip to the barbershop (January 13, 1952 episode). There, he’s treated to a serenade (“Old Mill Stream”) sung by a quartet that Frank Nelson identifies as.

You know what's REALLY freaky about this? This show has some really, really bizarre editing on it, and "Old Mill Stream" wasn't the original song in this spot. It was "The Old Songs" and, of course, it was a Lucky Strike commercial. There's a whole scene earlier with Don that has nothing to do with Luckies that is cut, and even individual lines here and there and strange explosions of applause inserted in various places. Obviously someone with too much time on their hands...

[TheSportsmenQuartet]

This month the chatroom featured Jack’s trip to the barbershop (January 13, 1952 episode)....You know what's REALLY freaky about this? This show has some really, really bizarre editing on it, and "Old Mill Stream" wasn't the original song in this spot. It was "The Old Songs" and, of course, it was a Lucky Strike commercial. There's a whole scene earlier with Don that has nothing to do with Luckies that is cut, and even individual lines here and there and strange explosions of applause inserted in various places. Obviously someone with too much time on their hands...

The version they used was the Capitol Records recording of "Old Mill Stream" which was recorded in 1949! Bob Stevens sing lead on the song and he left the Sportsmen about a year earlier. I recall they did this again in the show of 12/7/52, where they spliced in "Red Rose Rag" (Capitol Records) from 1949. Both songs were recorded as part of The Sportsmen's Capitol record, " Barber Shop Harmony".

[LLeff]

The version they used was the Capitol Records recording of "Old Mill Stream" which was recorded in 1949! Bob Stevens sing lead on the song and he left the Sportsmen about a year earlier. I recall they did this again in the show of 12/7/52, where they spliced in "Red Rose Rag" (Capitol Records) from 1949. Both songs were recorded as part of The Sportsmen's Capitol record, " Barber Shop Harmony".

I've also found a Dennis Day song substitution on one of these oddly-edited shows: 1-20-52. Dennis' original song is "Anytime" (I believe originally a hit for Eddy Arnold), but it is substitute with "The Whole World Is Singing My Song", which was recorded on Victor 20-1978 (probably circa 1946 based on the matrix numbers around it).

[FrankNelson]

The version they used was the Capitol Records recording of "Old Mill Stream" which was recorded in 1949! Bob Stevens sing lead on the song and he left the Sportsmen about a year earlier. I recall they did this again in the show of 12/7/52, where they spliced in "Red Rose Rag" (Capitol Records) from 1949. Both songs were recorded as part of The Sportsmen's Capitol record, " Barber Shop Harmony".

I've also found a Dennis Day song substitution on one of these oddly-edited shows: 1-20-52. Dennis' original song is "Anytime" (I believe originally a hit for Eddy Arnold), but it is substitute with "The Whole World Is Singing My Song", which was recorded on Victor 20-1978 (probably circa 1946 based on the matrix numbers around it).

I'm not sure I understand--where these substitutions made for later re-broadcasts of these episodes?

[LLeff]

I'm not sure I understand--where these substitutions made for later re-broadcasts of these episodes?

Join the confused crowd. Ads are clipped, but not Don reading "The Lucky Strike Program" at the top of the show. So they're definitely not an AFRS job, as those were done a lot better and edited differently. There are certain lines taken out, sometimes just a single line or two, and I have no idea why (there's no dated or commercial reference, the line is just GONE). I heard one where Rochester says that President Truman called Jack and asked for five billion dollars. That exchange is clipped, but Jack's musing over the interest on five billion dollars is not. So the result is an exchange about something, a burst of applause, and then Jack--for no apparent reason--calculating the interest on five billion dollars. Very, very clumsy and impossible to psych if you don't have the benefit of a script.

There was another show where there's a whole scene of Don trying to return a $250 coat he got for Christmas because he doesn't like the color, and Jack suggests that Don give him the coat for his birthday so Jack can get the refund. Not a single commercial reference, but it's all gone. Once in a while, a burst of the closing musical theme will be inserted, usually somewhere in the first third of the show. And at the end of most of these hack jobs is an anachronistic ending giving credit to all six writers (George, Sam, Milt, Tack, Hal Goldman, and Al Gordon) with the "Be Happy Go Lucky" theme.

But let's focus on the switching of songs. Switching the Sportsmen could be explained, if you were trying to edit out a commercial. And Charles Michelson would edit music entirely because of rights issues. But switching from one song to another? Maybe if you had the rights to one record and not the one on the show, but...?

Not knowing when this was done and their aim leaves us guessing as to their motives. I'm going to have to cull through any other copies I have of these shows, and hopefully I'll have an unaulterated copy somewhere else.

BTW, the Sportsmen singing "Red Rose Rag" inspired me to listen to that many times over in order to learn the lyrics, which I still know and enjoy.