Allens Radio Comedy American Civilization
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To many, Jean Shepherd was a radio genius, magnificent storyteller and more.
He has oftentimes been referred to as “a Mark Twain for our time.” At the same
time, he was a distinctive and strange person who meant dissimilar things to
different people. However, most will universally agree that Jean Shepherd was a
Great American Humorist.
Shepherd was born in Chicago on July 26, 1921 and divided his youth amid
Chicago’s south side and Hammond, Indiana. In the years when Dwight D.
Eisenhower was the United States President, Shepherd was the radical voice of
pop culture in the best sense of the word. But in the purest sense Jean
Shepherd was a humorist, in the classic comic tradition taken from the adages
that “truth is often times found in humor” and likewise that “pain is often times found in
truth”.
Jean Shepherd was a very usual cult radio and cabaret personality in New York
during the 1950′s and 1960′s. One thing that makes Shepherd’s appeal so
universal is the fact that his stories ring unfeigned and nostalgic for listener
whether or not they lived in the era he ordinarily wrote and spoke about.
A famous PBS and talk radio personality, Shepherd was responsible for
creating a good deal of nostalgic humorous pieces of Americana storytelling, which later
led to his being equated to the likes of Garrison Keilor. Earlier, from
1950-1954, Jean Shepherd was a radio DJ on WSAI Radio and likewise appeared on a
nightly comedy show, “Rear Bumpers,” on WLW, in Cincinnati.
Jean Shepherd’s most remarkable and well known accomplishment was perchance the
creation of the indefatigable Ralphie Parker and his quest for a BB gun in the
holiday classic “A Christmas Story”.
In the transition from the “Leave It To Beaver 1950s” to the brave new world
of the volatile Sixties, Jean Shepherd was an influential guide into a realm
of rebellion, non-conformity, art, music and humor.
Well known books by Shepherd include “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” and
“Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories”. But most will do not forget him best for
his fantasti stories narrated in his own voice thru the magic of talk radio.
When it comes to Jean Shepherd radio show stories there is a outstanding bequest left
behind and hundreds of hours of amusement available. Whether you are an
established self proclaimed fan of Jean Shepherd or not, these old radio
stories are a “must listen” for any individual who loves humor, outstanding stories, and the
history of humor.
Luckily, due to the resurgence of interest in nostalgic radio shows hundreds of
great Jean Shepherd sequences are readily available online. The best source for
these (that I have found) is Bookzap. There you may find over
seven hundred sequences of Jean Shepherd radio shows on both CD and DVD disks
with crystalline clear sound quality. I highly commend that you check Bookzap
out!
Of course Mark Twain and Garrison Keilor will always get their due respect as
two of America’s greatest story tellers ever, while Jean Shepherd seldom gets a
mention. But consider this, Jean Shepherd was probably the greatest kazoo
player of the past 50 years, and an passionate defender of it is use. Who else may
say that?
O. M. Wakefield is active in the Old Time Radio Community as a Collector and
Reviewer. He advises folks to visit Bookzap’s
Giant OTR Collections and Radio
Treasury OTR Online Catalogs for wondrous values and data regarding
the Old Time Radio Show possibilities.
From Publishers Weekly
A Stephens College (Missouri) professor of history here examines Allen’s (1894-1956) 20 years in vaudeville, his career in radio from 1933 to 1949, and his characteristic brand of air-wave comedy, and concludes that Allen was a literary humorist who produced “comedy unambiguously aural in accomplishment and appeal.” His humor, as Havig observes, ofttimes involved parody, insult (as in Allen’s long-time feud with Jack Benny); puns; dialect humor (a Chinese-American was a “Yangtse Doodle Dandy”); worldly satire; and sporadorically unfathomed wit (Allen specified life as “a lull among stork and epitaph” and a spinster as “a woman who indulged once too seldom”). Havig’s searching account amuses and informs, providing further proof that the line amid high and popular culture has blurred in our century. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
“A noteworthy example of radio at it is best.”
—Back Stage/SHOOT
In 1954, James Thurber wrote: ‘You may count on the thumb of one hand the American who is at once a comedian, a humorist, a wit, and a satirist, and his name is Fred Allen.’ Several decades after his death and more than forty years since his radio program left the air, Fred Allen’s reputation as a valued humorist remains intact. In this book, Alan Havig explores the origins of his comedy, the themes it exploited, the difficultnesses and challenges that faced the radio comedy writer, and Allen’s distinctive success with the one-dimensional medium of radio. Tracing a career that lasted from 1912 into the 1950s and encompassed vaudeville, Broadway revues, movies, radio, and television, Havig describes the “verbal slapstick” style that was Fred Allen’s hallmark and bequest to American comedy. More than a biography of Fred Allen, this is a study of the development of the radio industry, a discussion of American humor, and the story of how one relates to the other.Using a wide potpourri of published and unpublished sources, including the Allen Papers, Havig analyzes Allen’s radio comedy of the 1930s and 40s within the context of the queer vantages and limitations of radio as a medium for comedy. He argues that Allen did not merely transfer vaudeville routines to a non-visual medium as did Eddie Cantor, Ed Wynn, and others. Allen formulated a comedic style that depended on word play, sound effects, and on his audience’s capacity and readiness to imagine a visual world in which his eccentric characters operated.Havig illustrates his story with a great deal of examples of Allen’s humor, with arousing and attention holding anecdotes, and excerpts from radio broadcasts. In accounting for the comedian’s success, he deals with vaudeville, comedy writing, sponsor’s demands and censorship of material, and the organizational world of radio broadcasting companies. Describing radio as “an instrument of wit,” Fred Allen wrote: ‘on radio you could do subtle writing because you had access to the imagination…that was why I liked radio. we had some fun.’ Readers will also have a heap of fun remembering or discovering for the introductory time Allen’s Alley and the magic of radio comedy in it is prime. Alan Havig is Professor of History and American Studies at Stephens College in Columbia Missouri.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #3218768 in Books
- Published on: 1990-08-22
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.10″ h x 5.80″ w x 8.50″ l, 1.25 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 287 pages
Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Fine book about Fred Allen’s radio career and what went into it
By Marie Lamb
While this book is not a barrel of laughs in itself, it’s not meant to be. It’s a scholarly work on Fred Allen’s radio career, and has a factual approach. Alan Havig gives a great deal of detail about Allen’s radio programs and the commercial and other circumstances under which they were created. In Allen’s day, network radio programming was largely governed by sponsors and advertising agencies. The fact that Allen was able to create such great comedy, despite pressure from overly-cautious ad types and network brass, shows his creativity and strength of character. Those of us who are used to Jay Leno and David Letterman fearlessly poking fun at network executives need to remember that, over sixty years ago, Fred Allen took the risks that made their satires possible. Steve Martin is right about comedy not being pretty; a lot of work, sweat and hassles go into the best of it. Once you read this and find out what was behind Fred Allen’s radio career, you will appreciate his jibes against pretentious network vice-presidents and pompous advertising language even more. Enjoy Allen’s shows and books by all means, but also read this to learn about the man and what has behind his work.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
The worst book I’ve read about this great man
By A
This book reads like somebody’s doctoral dissertation. The writing is dry and pedantic. Really awful. Robert Taylor’s book was much better–but of course the best thing would be to read Allen’s two books (Treadmill To Oblivion and Much Ado About Me).
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful.Great book about a brilliant radio show
By A
Fred Allen himself wrote 2 autobiographies. Robert Taylor later wrote another biography of Fred Allen. As far as I know, this book is the only one in existence that centers on only the radio show. It starts out with Fred’s early years in the medium and traces the evolution of the show until it went off the air in 1949. A person who doesn’t know very much about Fred Allen can get a clear picture from this book of who the man was and what made him such a beloved comedian. This book captures the magic of Fred Allen’s unique brand of humor.
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