(with apologies to Irwin Corey)
This is from Wikipedia: "Professor" Irwin Corey (born
July 29, 1914) is an American comic, film actor and activist, often billed as "The World's Foremost
Authority". He introduced his unscripted, improvisational style of stand-up comedy at the well-known San Francisco club, the hungry i." I believe he’s still alive. He performed until very recently. I agree with everything he says--&
sometimes that scares me!
Some of you geezers &
geezerettes will remember the comedienne, Totie Fields, who died in 1978. She was pretty hefty, as you’ll see in the
video below. She always wore beautiful
gowns, but never in black. She said she
tried wearing black once & it didn’t make her look thin. One day she came onstage wearing a gorgeous
dress & the women went wild. She
told them it was a size 3. Everyone
laughed. She said she paid $5,000 for it
(in the 70’s) & at that price, it‘d better be a size 3! She & her husband, Georgie, had a
wonderful marriage. She said that she
told Georgie when they got married that she could only excel in one room;
either the kitchen or the bedroom. They
hired a cook. Later in her life, she
lost a breast to cancer & a leg to diabetes. She asked her husband why he stayed with
her. He gave the best possible answer I
can think of. He said, “I didn’t marry
you for parts!” This is her, in a dress
that was very stylish at that time:
I was trying to describe a dish I
had eaten at a Parisian restaurant to my sister-in-law. It was the best thing I had ever eaten! I asked, “Nat, have you ever had an orgasm
over food?” Her response was, “Is there
any other way?”
John, our bank manager, who is a
good friend, once called me from work & asked me how well I knew our
gardener. I thought that was a rather
personal question & asked him why he wanted to know. It seems I had signed his check simply
“Fran”. I told him to go ahead &
cash it. John was very convenient to
have as a friend. We were about to leave
on a European vacation (before credit cards) & had forgotten to get Traveler’s Checks. We called him before
leaving for the airport & he drove to our house & issued them while
sitting on our couch. He worked for Bank
of America, so our kids used to call him “Mr. America”.
Bud was in a different B of A branch & wanted to cash a very large check. They told him they would have to get an OK from our branch manager. Bud said that they could call, but John would say to give him anything he wants. The bank officer stepped away so she could make the call without Bud overhearing her. He could see her starting to laugh. She returned & said John told her, “Give him anything he wants!"
We had a fire in our kitchen. The previous owner, herself on in years, had
her father living with her. She wanted a
shiny floor & didn’t want her dad slipping on wax, so she laid down a coat
of lacquer. My cleaning woman, Pearline,
was removing it, a little each week, with nail polish remover, which we bought
by the gallon at a beauty supply. When
she got to the back porch the fumes were ignited by the dryer. I grabbed a kid under each arm (we only had 2
at that time) & Pearline, the kids & I ran next door. My neighbors called the fire department &
I called Bud at his office & very calmly--I thought--explained what was
happening. Bud says my entire
conversation was, “The house is on fire!
We’re next door--we’re all fine!!”
He turned to my brother-in-law, who was in his office at the time &
said, “I think I’d better go home.” My
neighbor ran to our house, got the hose from the backyard & stood in the
dining room, playing the water into the kitchen. He had a view of the front door & said he
couldn’t believe what he saw. He (&
I) had always pictured firemen as rushing into the burning building, swinging
their axes. He told me that he was
yelling, “IN HERE!! IN HERE!!’ while
each fireman stopped to wipe his feet on the doormat.
Another fireman story: The
granddaughter of one of my friends is married to a fireman. She loaded their new baby in the car &
went to join her sisters at a restaurant for their first post-birth lunch. While getting the baby out of the car seat,
she cut her hand on something--not badly, but it was bleeding & wouldn’t
stop. She asked their waitress for a
Band-Aid. She was told they didn’t have
any, so she asked to see the manager.
The manager repeated (with a very customer-unfriendly attitude) that
they didn’t have Band-Aids. Her husband
had told her that restaurants are required to have them for their
employees. She told that to the manager,
who just walked away. She called her
husband at the fire station & he said not to worry--he’d take care of
it. A couple of minutes later, a fire
truck pulled up to the restaurant & four fully uniformed firemen came
rushing in. Her husband (one of the
four) shouted, “I understand someone here needs a Band-Aid!!!” As I said about our bank manager, it helps to
know the right people!
I saw a news spot last year, Prof Corey is living in NYC. He can be seen begging for money from cars as they pass. He is begging for some charity but he is still quite solvent if not a bit touched. I love people who are a little touched.
ReplyDeleteYou don't beg for charity do you?
No, I don't--but I MAY be a bit touched!
DeleteThat woman is HILARIOUS :) I love it.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought so!
DeleteI'm really beginning to look forward to your fun-filled posts. I do remember Totie Fields; she was hysterical and I remember feeling sad when she passed away. Do you remember Moms Mabley? I liked her too.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU!! I remember her very well--& how about Foster Brooks?
DeleteI loved the one where the lady bounced into the fire in the house next door. And I remember Totie Fields too and also felt sad when she died.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of cartoons out there--I try to pick out the best 4 or so each time. Nothing but the best for my followers!
DeleteTomorrow will be fishducky's art corner on my blog. I thought I mentioned it to you to post here, but it's OK, people always come to see your art.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't, but if you let me know in the future I'll put it in my post.
DeleteShows what happens when I go away for awhile..... I come back and Fishducky is all decked out with a blog and funny too. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteI recall the name, Toby Fields, but I don't remember where she did her comedy.... did she have a show of her own?
I liked the cartoon of the woman bouncing off the trampoline and into another fire. Reminds me of the cliche ..... out of the frying pan and into the fire. I'm an old slapstick addict and I still laugh at pratfalls but that humor seems to have gone out with the hat pin.
Fun blog, Fran. Great job.
I didn't want my own blog, but the devil (actually Elisa) made me do it. I've been posting since June--glad you like it!!
DeleteI don't think Totie Fields ever had her own show. As I remember, Merv Griffin loved her. She was on his show a lot!
I know you, so I definitely know the right people. I'm glad Bud came home when you had a fire. Dr. X would have hung up on me.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Was he really that bad?? Our house was only about 2 miles from his office but still...
DeleteYeah. He was really that bad. We got hit by lightning one time (went into the telephone and then my arm -- back in the days of land lines) and he hung up on me. He claimed later that he thought I was yelling because I saw a spider. Oy, was that man full of crap. Still is. Poor New Mrs. X. She has no idea what's coming her way.
DeleteI am SO glad you're no longer with him!!
DeleteAlways a bright spot when I see a post from you. And I love the dancing chicken. I think you should give the dancing chicken a permanent spot! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks! If it were a dancing duck, I definitely would!! Do you think it looks anything like a duck at all?
DeleteSame species. Hey, they're related. ;)
DeleteI've never heard of Totie Fields before, but she's hilarious! I'm going to have to look up some of her stuff on Youtube.
ReplyDeleteThat's because you're still a baby!
DeleteTotie was a hoot! I also love the fireman stories..although what woman doesn't!?!
ReplyDeleteJust can't resist a man in uniform, can you?
DeleteDear Fishducky, thanks so much for the two videos. I'd laughed with Totie Fields before but I'd forgotten about Irwin Corey. When he said "if we only hat twofathers instead of forefathers," I laughed outloud! Thank you for making this day so enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThe fireman stories were a treat and I so liked that cartoon of the woman landing on the canvas after jumping from one burning building and then bouncing right back into another one! Comics are a gift to the Universe. Peace.
You're welcome! I love cartoons, too!!
DeleteHi, Many thanks for stopping by Pen and Paper. Great post, I love the combination of videos and cartoons. Nice to have met you, I've enjoyed visiting, PW.
ReplyDeleteNice meeting you, too! Come back, don't be a stranger!!
Delete