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Al Keim's avatar

Or Shari Lewis!

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Annette's avatar

sing along with me . . . "this is the BS that never ends, it goes on and on, my friends"

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Robin D's avatar

He could do worse than being friends.with "Lamb Chop".

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

And he has, at every turn. However, Robin, if you're referring to Richard and not trump, ignore my comment.

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Robin D's avatar

I was referring to Al Keim who mentioned Shari Lewis about Trump's "friends". I loved Lamb Chop.

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

I certainly missed that boat, didn't I? Everyone loved Lamb Chop for being such a, well, lamb chop.

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Robin D's avatar

The cutest, with the cutest voice. No one really new how masterful Shari Lewis really was. She was also a writer, she conducted music, she was great. I was just youtubing some of the later ones.

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Michael's avatar

S predecessor to the Muppets.

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

Michael, please clarify. It looks as though the system dropped some of your note. But the Muppets, oh, be still, my heart.

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Michael's avatar

L.R. - I think I tried to repost it somewhere but the TBR threads and sub threads get so large I get lost in them, part of my LBD problem. I even get lost in my own neighborhood sometimes! I think I was referring to Shari and her hand puppet Lamb Chop?

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

We can let it go, right? These discussion boards do become so unwieldy and I'm often happy to go off in all sorts of directions that lose any connection with the original topics.

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

Yes, a far more serious offense. Present vorpal blades!

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Al Keim's avatar

Shari was a respite in a sea of childhood angst.

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Suzanne's avatar

Soupy Sales was that person for me.

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Celia Smith's avatar

Onions Oregano, White Fang, Pookie!

I don't remember a whole lot of the show, but know I loved it. It ran from 1953-1966.

Just skimmed one on YT and BB King was on it.

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Al Keim's avatar

Was he the guy who sold carrots?

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Robin D's avatar

He was the guy who turned to the camera and told all the kids to take one of those green bills from their parents wallets and send them to him.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/greenmail/

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Suzanne's avatar

I clearly remember that New Year's Day '65 show. I was just a kid, but I knew it was a joke. Soupy and his fans understood one another.

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

Soupy came later, though, didn't he? We -- at least some of us -- were too wise and worldly to send him cash. Selling carrots doesn't ring a bell for me. I remember Sandy Becker by name, but would have to google to find his shtick. There is one performer in my adulthood who fills in nicely for Shari and some of the others: Carol Burnett. A goddess.

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Robin D's avatar

And G-d bless Carol she is still with us and I adore her! ЁЯЩП Don't remember Sandy Becker. Could never stand Soupy.

But TCB show. Of course the classic one where she played Scarlett O'Hara in the green drapes with the curtain rod around her neck and shoulders ЁЯШВ ..the real time laughs between Harvey Korman and Tim Conway when they tried to keep themselves from laughing and they couldn't stop. That show was seriously brilliant and hysterical.

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

Yes, yes, yes. And Carol herself, so genuine, decent, good. Then there was the time I went to see her on Broadway. When she made her entrance, I became breathless at the thrill of knowing that I was in the same room as she.

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Robin D's avatar

I forget how many years apart we are. It's a few but at our tender ages a couple of years can make all the difference, but my parents took me to see Carol Burnett on Broadway. I just looked it up. Fade Out Fade In. 1964 I was 8.

Must have been the same year or the next when the took me to see Fiddler on the Roof.

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

I don't know why I just "liked" your note, Robin. The age thing has me sulking. Had you not mentioned age 8 in '64, I'd have been able to believe that you are the elder here. On the happy side, though, perhaps we were at the same performance. I saw the London production of Fiddler in 1968 -- Chaim Topol.

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Mary Appel's avatar

Amen..Tim was the jewel in the crown

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Robin D's avatar

He was so funny. As much as I love to laugh, comedy is actually my least favorite genre, unless it's smart, not slapstick. I loathe Abbott and Costello, the Three Stooges, and even though I know the Marx Bros were actually brilliant, none of it is my style. But TCB show was a different level. And nothing is funnier, even in real life, trying not to laugh with someone until you finally bust a gut. Literally crying from laughter. That's what it was like with Tim and Harvey..We used to have all those comedy variety shows. I used to love Dean Martin and his roasts. Those were funny...plus even when I was young I thought Dino was sexy as hell...before I knew what sexy was.

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Suzanne's avatar

No; that was Sandy Becker.

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Celia Smith's avatar

No, it was Soupy; I remember it; and see Snopes above in Robin D's post. Or did Sandy Becker do it too?

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Suzanne's avatar

My comment about Becker was in response to Al's question about carrots.

Sandy Becker promoted Maggio Carrots.

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Al Keim's avatar

That's it! It was long after Shari. I must have seen him waxing on about Maggio Carrots while walking by a TV set. Does Jersey still have truck farms? It seemed so odd - selling carrots to kids. With gusto!

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Suzanne's avatar

I agree with you about the strangeness of the carrot sales pitch. I grew up in NJ but moved to FL in the 70's. So I don't know about the truck farms now but those Jersey beefsteak tomatoes were the best!

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Celia Smith's avatar

Oh, so sorry!

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Al Keim's avatar

What did you do?

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Celia Smith's avatar

I disagreed with a post that was replying to someone else. It was about Sandy Becker and the carrots, but I thought Suzanne was replying about Soupy Sales.. I've had a little trouble following the vertical lines, but I think I have it down now.

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

Totally. Alas, I very rarely watched her show back then. I discovered as an adult how good she was. My recall is fuzzy, but I suspect that I saw more of her when she'd be a guest on one or another of the adult variety shows?

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Al Keim's avatar

TV was not something we children had any control of so my memories are brief but profound. They serve as a reminder to me of just how powerful a kind word can be.

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

The power of a kind word sometimes blasts way beyond its moment. It can change a life and the way a person proceeds in the world for a long time or even forever. Thank you for bringing back something I hadn't thought of specifically in a while and of which I need full awareness now. Btw, you've mentioned having had no control of the TV before this. For big fun, though, try Kukla, Fran and Ollie on youtube. It's not only for children.

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Al Keim's avatar

A bit humbling and almost scary when we reflect on our effect and power in everyday life. Dad owned the TV. Mom was too busy. We were not allowed to touch. Life was simple.

N-E-S-T-L-E-S nestles makes the very best CHOOOOOOOOOOOOCLATE.

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Robin D's avatar

I can hear the song. Makes me smile.

We did just great with 13 channels. Test pattern at midnight. Now I have thousands and streaming and can't find a thing to watch.

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

The dial went as far as 13, but not all were functioning channels. I think we had 7 operating channels. The test pattern was always a letdown.

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SUZANNE Marie McAdam's avatar

Wasn't that stupid dog wonderful?

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Al Keim's avatar

Dog? I thought it was a crocodile! With one tooth:-)

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

Heavens, Al and Suzanne, neither crocodile nor dog. Ollie is a dragon. His proper name is Oliver Dragon. One big tooth for all the world to see.

I'm sure he'll make an entrance in this, the first show from California. Remember Madame Oglepuss, the opera singer? I am so happy now. You will be, too, if you overlook the commercialism. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbZHridFg2k

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Al Keim's avatar

Dragons are make believe L.R. (the periods are irksome) everyone knows that. Shari was for real.

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Mary Appel's avatar

Bullwinkle and RockyтЭдя╕П

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

Oh, joy! Rapture! Thanks, Mary.

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Robin D's avatar

Romper Room and Captain Kangaroo but my memories are vague. I think even then I was more into The Jetsons and The Flintstones. I was very precocious. Probably watched with my father haha.

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

No Romper Room for me. Maybe because I was a tad too old for it? I watched Captain Kangaroo just a bunch of times; he was uncomfortable for me. My fare was Howdy Doody (though, from what I see on youtube, I'm sure that Buffalo Bob became creepy to me back then) and Kukla, Fran and Ollie. I don't recall the other one or three shows at the moment. Oh, Ding-Dong School, but at some point, Miss Frances became creepy. Maybe because she seemed to sit so much of the time with tables of the next activity being rolled in from the wings. Perhaps she had a physical difficulty. RootieKazootie wasn't my thing, either.

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Michael's avatar

I'm old enough to remember Ding Dong School and Romper Room and all the rest. Imagine if the Trumpites, using time machines, produced the early children shoes. Laura Loomer instead of Mrs Frances, Hegseth instead of Capt Kangaroo, Pam Bondi instead of Shari Lewis. And worst of all, "Spider" Miller instead of Mr. Rogers! "Won't you be my neighbor?". Talk about creepy!

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

Michael, thanks for the giggles. One correction, though -- if you really did mean children's shoes, that would have been Buster Brown (and his dog, Tige).

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Michael's avatar

Well you're right of course, my fat finger disease! But speaking of shoes do you remember PF Flyers? Or Poll Parrot or those boxes some shoe stores had in the fifties that glowed green when you stuck your foot in them? They were supposed to be X-rays machines to guarantee an accurate foot measurement but I doubt they were the former or did the latter. Still I blame my severe osteoarthritis of the big toe joint on them!

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L. R. Abramson's avatar

Big finger, big toe. Oh, ЁЭШ╡ЁЭШйЁЭШвЁЭШ╡ Michael. I'd know you anywhere. PF Flyer and Poll Parrot sound familiar (isn't PF still around?), but I think I never had them. Buster Brown had a store on our very nearby shopping street. We also had the other chains -- Miles, National, AS Beck -- along with a couple-three higher-priced, privately owned stores. Somehow, though, I recall Buster Brown fondly.

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Celia Smith's avatar

I totally forgot about Ding Dong School - the first show I kind of remember. Was that the one where you could stick a film on the tv screen and draw along (or something like that)?

I don't want to imagine your alternate cast, Michael! Traumatizing at the very least.

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