The All-Purpose "Explain a Reference" Thread

[shimp scrampi]

I thought it might be fun to have a place to explore the occasional contemporary reference in the Jack Benny Program that has somehow slipped away from collective memory. Unlike other more topical shows, there aren't a lot of these references in Jack's program, but here and there there's a bit that leaves me scratching my head. I've thought of doing this for awhile, but I've been slacking. So, from here on out, I'll try to be better about writing these down and posting them here for us to noodle over.

So, I'll start: 4/25/54. Jack & Co are about to have a seance. Dennis mentions he wants the medium to conjure up the spirit of Sherlock Holmes, because he wants to know "who stole the ding-dong". Gets a big laugh from the audience... the gag structure reminds me of of Dennis wanting to know "who the Walking Man" was, long after it had been revealed. What's up with a stolen "ding-dong"???

[Jack Benny]

My favorite of these obscure references is from 1938-12-25 Christmas party episode.

Rochester refers to the three pointed Christmas star, Jack says what happened it used to have five? Rochester replies that it went down two points since last year, and the audiences cracks up.

What we need to know is that after the Great Depression, the market was up and down, and 1938 was a year where everything slid down a few points from the 1937 highs. This was a very funny way to make some timely humor, that wasn't in your face. It's a great little bit.

[LLeff]

So, I'll start: 4/25/54. Jack & Co are about to have a seance. Dennis mentions he wants the medium to conjure up the spirit of Sherlock Holmes, because he wants to know "who stole the ding-dong". Gets a big laugh from the audience... the gag structure reminds me of of Dennis wanting to know "who the Walking Man" was, long after it had been revealed. What's up with a stolen "ding-dong"???

I think this is a reference to a popular song: http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/s/somebodybadstoletheweddingbell.shtml

[shimp scrampi]

Whoohoo, LL, super-sleuth! Thanks.

[Mister Kitzel]

For those who want to hear Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bellyoutube has the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHqtSbecbJI

[Brad from Georgia]

I ought to know this but don't...in the '56 Christmas radio special, there's a running gag with a man searching from his wife and calling "Chloe!" in a long, drawn-out way. I've seen the same gag in MAD Magazine (the Sherlock Holmes parody to be precise), but I don't get the reference.

Who was Chloe, and why is calling her name funny?

[Yhtapmys]

Who was Chloe, and why is calling her name funny?

It's a song, Brad. "Chloe, Song of the Swamp." You can play the intro of the song here:

http://www.spiralfrog.com/pages/album.aspx?albumid=134716&songid=4887506

The Calabasas guy did it on radio. Unless my mind is playing tricks on me, I heard Arnold Stang do the "Chloe!!" yell on a Milton Berle show. And it found its way into a Warners cartoon as well.

Yhtapmys

P.S. It's funny because it's a funny woid. Like "chicken". It's a funny woid!

[scottp]

When Henry Morgan portrayed an "all-night disk jockey" in a sketch on his show, Arnold Stang did the "CHLO-O-O-O--- EEE!"

[Maxwell]

I'd like to add that Spike Jones had a classic recording of Chloe with the vocal by Red Ingle. "Chloooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Where are ya, ya old bat?"

[bboswell]

Here's one that I did some sleuthing on a few years back:

In the 01/19/47 episode (I Stand Condemned) Jack gets a phone call and at the end says: "They want me to be governor of Georgia."

On December 21st 1946, the death of the governor-elect of Georgia caused three different men to claim they were the rightful Governor. It was finally settled in March of 1947. This caused quite a stir, and was the source for quite a few jokes. You can read about it here if you are interested in the history.

[shimp scrampi]

One that's been bugging me for literally decades was a stray reference to "Phil Spitalny". Trouble was, there was little context to the gag and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the name was that they were saying; I thought it was something more like "Silk Ptolemy"!

But for anyone else who's been wondering ... Phil Spitalny and his All-Girl Orchestra! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Spitalny

[grittys457]

An episode I listened to again today has Phil telling Jack that he read what Tallulah Bankhead wrote and "Jack you dog!". Then Mary wants to smack Jack because of it.

Was there an article about her saying that she wanted Jack or used to date or something?

[Mandolynn]

I've listened to several episodes of "The Big Show", which Tallulah hosted (mainly to hear Fred Allen, as I find Tallulah to be rather tedious after a while.) The very purpose of "The Big Show" was to beat Jack Benny and Edgar Bergen in the ratings after the CBS talent raid. I do know there was one episode of The Big Show in which someone made indirect reference to Jack and Tallulah said something like "He who shall not be mentioned" or "We don't talk about HIM!" So I wonder if the reference was more to an exchange in the press, a response Jack made to a question asked in regards to "The Big Show."

[Mandolynn]

An added thought: If I'm not mistaken, I think Phil Harris was on an episode of "The Big Show." He was there one night when Bing was there, or maybe when Bing was supposed to be there but didn't show... I'll have to try and find that episode. It seems to me he said something like, "I wandered in by mistake" or "Someone pulled me in as I was passing by."

[scottp]

That's interesting... I've never known (or wondered) who was on radio opposite The Big Show. (Benny, Bergen/McCarthy, and who else? It was a 90 minute show.)
I've always thought along these lines-- Fred Allen, trying to hang on after being vanquished by a telephone quiz show; Radio trying to hang on vs. Television; Tallulah Bankhead-- Did the world really need two Bette Davises?
And lately, I think of it as very similar to "Good News" from the late 1930s, which also featured star-studded casts and Meredith Willson.