Dennis Day's gay double-entendres?

[bboswell]

Dennis: "There's nothing wrong in being gay!"

Does anyone else remember this line from a Grape Nuts-era episode? Obviously this line was being used only in the pre-1970s version of the definition of "gay" but it was a punchline of a joke that went like this:


Jack: That book Louella Parsons wrote is really swell, it's called "The Gay Illiterate."
Phil: Hey wait a minute Jackson, don't get personal.
Jack: Phil, I wasn't talking about you, I just mentioned the title of the book, "The Gay Illiterate."
Dennis: Yeah, there's nothing wrong in being gay!

I don't know the date of the episode, but it was guest starring Groucho Marx, and it happens about 20 minutes into the show.

I know this doesn't have anything to do with Dennis' character being gay, but it is an interesting aside! It is also quite a jolt when listening to it with today's ears.

[Huxley]

Holy smoke, I would never be able to remember that, verbatim no less! It's 20.20 into the 1944 episode, 'Guest Groucho Marx'. This link leads to that MP3.

http://www.antiqueradios.com/shows/inde ... 4%20Season[url]

I've actually heard that episode recently, but was more laughing at Phil Harris to realize the possible significance of Dennis's comment. When this thread first started I didn't give the possibility any credit but now I would have to consider that there may be some merit to it afterall.

[shimp scrampi]

Wow, that is comedy aging like a fine wine! Too funny. I love it when the language changes and adds a whole new meaning to old dialogue. I can't think of any Benny examples but there is also the changing of the older meaning of the word "stoned" from 'drunk' to 'baked on drugs'. There are a lot of examples of that in Green Acres - Eddie Albert randomly being accused of being "stoned"!

[bboswell]

I can't think of any Benny examples but there is also the changing of the older meaning of the word "stoned" from 'drunk' to 'baked on drugs'.

There is one example I can remember of the word "High" showing how it has mutated in the same way. I don't remember the set-up, but Phil's punchline went something like:

Phil: A natural mistake for a chap who's always high.

interesting!

[haverpopper]

There is one example I can remember of the word "High" showing how it has mutated in the same way. I don't remember the set-up, but Phil's punchline went something like:

Phil: A natural mistake for a chap who's always high.

Oh! I think I just listened to that show today! It went something like...

Phil: Jackson! That's no altitude to take!

Jack: That's attitude.

Phil: A natural mistake for a chap who's always high.

[bboswell]

Oh! I think I just listened to that show today! It went something like...

Phil: Jackson! That's no altitude to take!

Jack: That's attitude.

Phil: A natural mistake for a chap who's always high.

Ahha! I think that's it!

Another show just entered my brain... Wasn't there an episode where Dennis was going to have a "coming out" party? Or maybe they mentioned him coming out of a closet or something? (OK, maybe this is just my overactive imagination making things up, or I might be getting confused with Dennis' own show, or maybe even another OTR show all together!) The possibility of errors on my part has no bounds!

[Huxley]

Doesn't ring a bell but I'll link it if I find it.

[epeterd]

As far as gay being a term meaning homosexual, it was apparently used that way occasionally back then also. In the movie Bringing Up Baby, Katherine Hepburn's character steals Cary Grant's clothes while he's in the shower. He ends up having to put on a very fluffy, feminine robe. When her aunt later asks him why he's wearing it, he says, apparently exasperated, "Because I just went gay all of a sudden!" Great movie. And of course, CG was rumored to be at the least bisexual.

[Gerry O.]

As far as gay being a term meaning homosexual, it was apparently used that way occasionally back then also. In the movie Bringing Up Baby, Katherine Hepburn's character steals Cary Grant's clothes while he's in the shower. He ends up having to put on a very fluffy, feminine robe. When her aunt later asks him why he's wearing it, he says, apparently exasperated, "Because I just went gay all of a sudden!" Great movie. And of course, CG was rumored to be at the least bisexual.

Yes, and there are other examples of the word "gay" meaning homosexual back then too.....

The 1941 Broadway musical-comedy "Let's Face It" had a Cole Porter song called "Farming", which tells about famous celebrities buying farms, planting crops and raising livestock (which was quite a fad among show business people at that time):

Don't inquire of Georgie Raft,
Why his cow has never calfed,
Georgie's bull is beautiful
but he's gay!