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Looking Back - Reminiscing with Jack Lebo
‘From Newsreels To ‘Knuckles’:
Memory Lane And Neat Nostalgia
Another stroll down Memory Lane, in answer to many requests...
DO YOU RECALL... When turn signals were an expensive option? Coal chutes and coal-oil stoves? When any woman in the neighborhood was entitled to yell at any kid caught committing such street crimes as cursing or sneaking cigarettes? When it took five minutes for the television to warm up? Play streets? When, for a dime, the movie theater gave you a newsreel, a “cartoon carnival,” a serial adventure, a double feature, and, sometimes, a comic book with the cover torn off? Punch cards with prizes? Pictures you could color on the back of cereal boxes?
MORE... Keystone Telephone? When boys collected the foil from cigarette packs and girls collected the cellophane, which they braided into chains? Gluing new soles onto your shoes? (which did not last very long) When margarine was white and came with a red-dye capsule? Smith Brothers cough drops? The ruptured duck? When you got your oil checked, windshield wiped and gas pumped without asking and without charge? When most kids didn’t date until late in high school, if then?
STILL MORE... When you used a stick to find out how much gas was in the tank? Playing “knuckles” with a deck of cards? When you bought spaghetti loose and hot dogs in links? When you did not, ever, wear sneakers to school? Galoshes with buckles? A sea of fluttering, or sometime frozen, laundry in every backyard? When male teachers wore neckties? When Prince Valiant got a half-page of space in the Sunday comics?
EVEN A FEW MORE... Do you recall a couple ballads, “More and More,” and “I Should Care”? “Playhouse 90,” television’s first 90-minute drama series? An actor named Slim Summerville? The Kennedy-Nixon debates in the 1960 presidential campaign? The original “Garroway at Large” television show, that came out of Chicago on Sunday nights? The “Toots and Casper” comic strip by Jimmy Murphy? Bessie Smith heading the bill at Gibson’s Standard Theater, 12th & South Streets? Billy “Cheese and Crackers” Hagen starring at the Troc Burlesque Theater in Philly? The Berlin Airlift? “Knock knock jokes?”
*
Secane, PA reader Barbara Daniels writes: “Although I’m a female senior, I also have fond memories of the local sports events in the 1940s and 1950s. Our baseball team used to be known as A’s, then the Phillies, played their games at Municipal Stadium, then Shibe Park, and Connie Mack Stadium. When they won the championship in the 1950s, they were known as ‘The Whiz Kids,’ with such players as Del Ennis, Robin Roberts, Andy Semenick, Curt Simmons, Bubba Church, and a host of others. Perhaps, the most revered was Richie Ashburn (Whitey). I seem to remember the baseball team being known as ‘The Blue Jays,’ then ‘The A’s.”
*
In the 1930s and 40s, Barbara Daniels recalls, our newspapers carried comic strips sections we called “The Jokes” or “The Funnies.” These were beautifully drawn by talented cartoonists. Children were enthralled by the variety of subjects and, even the Mayor of New York City, Fiorello LaGuardia would read them to the kids via the radio on weekends.
Do you recall in the early days “Felix the Cat,” “The Katzenjammer Kids,” and “Betty Boop?” Then there was on radio “Jack Armstrong, The All-American Boy,” and “Tarzan of the Jungle.” In newspapers, there was the amazing adventures of “The Phantom,” also a good guy in the jungle.
A huge favorite among readers was “Alley Oop,” featuring a group of cave men who enjoyed having fun. There was a one-panel cartoon, “Casper Milquetoast,” a quiet wishy-washy man who was ruled by his overbearing wife, and then we had “The Little King,” who roamed around his palace and never uttered a word.
A much-loved comic strip, “Mutt and Jeff,” dealt with everyday events in the life of a tall gent and his shorter best friend. Another charming strip was, “Nancy,” a sweet chubby little girl who lived with her Aunt Fritzi, and shared innocent fun with her boyfriend, “Sluggo.” One of the longest-running strips today is the exquisitely-drawn “Prince Valiant,” with his beautiful wife, Aleta, and the wonderful comedy of everyday life, “Blondie,” with her bumbling spouse, Dagwood Bumstead, and their son Alexander, their daughter, and their pooch. Mr. Dithers, Dagwood’s grouchy boss, completes the fun.
All these comic strips contained clean, innocent, decent story lines. The only present day comparables are “Peanuts,” by the late Charles Schultz, and “The Family Circus,” by Bil Keane.
*
Many readers may not be acquainted with the original names of some of our prominent film and musical stars. Reader Barbara Daniels can help out here, too.
Did you know that John Wayne was originally Marion Morrison; Cary Grant was born Archie Leach; Bob Hope was Leslie Towne, changed that to “Packy East”, when he was a boxer in England. Ann Southern was originally Harriet Lake, and Joan Crawford was born Lucille LeSeur.
Sophia Scicilone became Sophia Loren, and Natasha Gurdin became Natalie Wood. The mighty acting veteran Mickey Rooney was Joe Yule, and Tom Cruise’s original name was Mapother.
Lauren Bacall was born as Betty Perske, and, of course Lucille Ball was Lucille McGillicuddy. New Jersey’s favorite singer, Connie Franconero, became Connie Francis, and another Connie, Connie Stevens, was born Concetta Ingolia.
A good name was Doris Kappelhoff, who became America’s favorite vocalist, Doris Day. Maurice Mickelwhite became prominent actor Michael Caine. James Stewart from England had to change his name to Stewart Granger, because we already had our hometown boy Jimmy Stewart in America.
In the vocalists category, we have Antonio Di Benedetto, now known as Tony Bennett, and Dino Crocetti, who later became Dean Martin. Later, he was followed by Philadelphia’s Mario Lanza, who was born Freddie Cocozza. One of the most prominent names of all is Brooklyn, New York’s Bernie Schwartz, who became none other than Tony Curtis.
So Many of these stars later acquired nicknames, which easily identified them. John Wayne was “Duke Wayne,” Ronald Reagan, was known as “Dutch “ Reagan; Al Capone, the notorious racketeer, was called “Scar Face.” Luigi Luciano was “Lucky” and then there was “Bugsy” Segal, both mobsters from the 1930’s.
Glamorous Betty Grable was “The Blonde Bombshell,” and Rita Hayworth was “The Look.” Evelyn Keys was known as “Casey,” and the extra sexy Marilyn Monroe was simply, “M-M-M-M-M-M-M.”
Baseball fans all knew the beloved Joe DiMaggio as “the Clipper,” and Ali as, “the Greatest!” One of the country’s best boxers, Joe Frazier was “Smokin’ Joe,” and stand-up comic Don Rickles is “Mister Warmth.”
Late night talk show host Johnny Carson began his career as a magician and he called himself “The Great Carsoni.” Friends called prominent film director Elia Kazan by the nickname “Gadge.” Following one of his top-selling recordings, Sammy Davis Jr. was nicknamed “the Candy Man.”
Popular recording artist Mel Torme was known as “the Velvet Fog,” If you listen to DJ Sid Mark, on the air every Sunday morning for the past 55 years on WPHT, you will hear the extraordinary voice of the one and only Francis Albert Sinatra from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sid has been at it for the past 55 years. Ask Sid anything about Frank and he’s got the answer. Frank Sinatra carries several nicknames. Among them, “Ole Blue Eyes,” “The Voice,” and “Chairman of the Board.”
*
Looking Back appears each month. Do you have a memory you’d like to share? Drop a line to: Jack Lebo, Looking Back, 37 Locust Lane, Levittown, PA 19054, or call (215) 943-8870, email: [email protected].
Memory Lane And Neat Nostalgia
Another stroll down Memory Lane, in answer to many requests...
DO YOU RECALL... When turn signals were an expensive option? Coal chutes and coal-oil stoves? When any woman in the neighborhood was entitled to yell at any kid caught committing such street crimes as cursing or sneaking cigarettes? When it took five minutes for the television to warm up? Play streets? When, for a dime, the movie theater gave you a newsreel, a “cartoon carnival,” a serial adventure, a double feature, and, sometimes, a comic book with the cover torn off? Punch cards with prizes? Pictures you could color on the back of cereal boxes?
MORE... Keystone Telephone? When boys collected the foil from cigarette packs and girls collected the cellophane, which they braided into chains? Gluing new soles onto your shoes? (which did not last very long) When margarine was white and came with a red-dye capsule? Smith Brothers cough drops? The ruptured duck? When you got your oil checked, windshield wiped and gas pumped without asking and without charge? When most kids didn’t date until late in high school, if then?
STILL MORE... When you used a stick to find out how much gas was in the tank? Playing “knuckles” with a deck of cards? When you bought spaghetti loose and hot dogs in links? When you did not, ever, wear sneakers to school? Galoshes with buckles? A sea of fluttering, or sometime frozen, laundry in every backyard? When male teachers wore neckties? When Prince Valiant got a half-page of space in the Sunday comics?
EVEN A FEW MORE... Do you recall a couple ballads, “More and More,” and “I Should Care”? “Playhouse 90,” television’s first 90-minute drama series? An actor named Slim Summerville? The Kennedy-Nixon debates in the 1960 presidential campaign? The original “Garroway at Large” television show, that came out of Chicago on Sunday nights? The “Toots and Casper” comic strip by Jimmy Murphy? Bessie Smith heading the bill at Gibson’s Standard Theater, 12th & South Streets? Billy “Cheese and Crackers” Hagen starring at the Troc Burlesque Theater in Philly? The Berlin Airlift? “Knock knock jokes?”
*
Secane, PA reader Barbara Daniels writes: “Although I’m a female senior, I also have fond memories of the local sports events in the 1940s and 1950s. Our baseball team used to be known as A’s, then the Phillies, played their games at Municipal Stadium, then Shibe Park, and Connie Mack Stadium. When they won the championship in the 1950s, they were known as ‘The Whiz Kids,’ with such players as Del Ennis, Robin Roberts, Andy Semenick, Curt Simmons, Bubba Church, and a host of others. Perhaps, the most revered was Richie Ashburn (Whitey). I seem to remember the baseball team being known as ‘The Blue Jays,’ then ‘The A’s.”
*
In the 1930s and 40s, Barbara Daniels recalls, our newspapers carried comic strips sections we called “The Jokes” or “The Funnies.” These were beautifully drawn by talented cartoonists. Children were enthralled by the variety of subjects and, even the Mayor of New York City, Fiorello LaGuardia would read them to the kids via the radio on weekends.
Do you recall in the early days “Felix the Cat,” “The Katzenjammer Kids,” and “Betty Boop?” Then there was on radio “Jack Armstrong, The All-American Boy,” and “Tarzan of the Jungle.” In newspapers, there was the amazing adventures of “The Phantom,” also a good guy in the jungle.
A huge favorite among readers was “Alley Oop,” featuring a group of cave men who enjoyed having fun. There was a one-panel cartoon, “Casper Milquetoast,” a quiet wishy-washy man who was ruled by his overbearing wife, and then we had “The Little King,” who roamed around his palace and never uttered a word.
A much-loved comic strip, “Mutt and Jeff,” dealt with everyday events in the life of a tall gent and his shorter best friend. Another charming strip was, “Nancy,” a sweet chubby little girl who lived with her Aunt Fritzi, and shared innocent fun with her boyfriend, “Sluggo.” One of the longest-running strips today is the exquisitely-drawn “Prince Valiant,” with his beautiful wife, Aleta, and the wonderful comedy of everyday life, “Blondie,” with her bumbling spouse, Dagwood Bumstead, and their son Alexander, their daughter, and their pooch. Mr. Dithers, Dagwood’s grouchy boss, completes the fun.
All these comic strips contained clean, innocent, decent story lines. The only present day comparables are “Peanuts,” by the late Charles Schultz, and “The Family Circus,” by Bil Keane.
*
Many readers may not be acquainted with the original names of some of our prominent film and musical stars. Reader Barbara Daniels can help out here, too.
Did you know that John Wayne was originally Marion Morrison; Cary Grant was born Archie Leach; Bob Hope was Leslie Towne, changed that to “Packy East”, when he was a boxer in England. Ann Southern was originally Harriet Lake, and Joan Crawford was born Lucille LeSeur.
Sophia Scicilone became Sophia Loren, and Natasha Gurdin became Natalie Wood. The mighty acting veteran Mickey Rooney was Joe Yule, and Tom Cruise’s original name was Mapother.
Lauren Bacall was born as Betty Perske, and, of course Lucille Ball was Lucille McGillicuddy. New Jersey’s favorite singer, Connie Franconero, became Connie Francis, and another Connie, Connie Stevens, was born Concetta Ingolia.
A good name was Doris Kappelhoff, who became America’s favorite vocalist, Doris Day. Maurice Mickelwhite became prominent actor Michael Caine. James Stewart from England had to change his name to Stewart Granger, because we already had our hometown boy Jimmy Stewart in America.
In the vocalists category, we have Antonio Di Benedetto, now known as Tony Bennett, and Dino Crocetti, who later became Dean Martin. Later, he was followed by Philadelphia’s Mario Lanza, who was born Freddie Cocozza. One of the most prominent names of all is Brooklyn, New York’s Bernie Schwartz, who became none other than Tony Curtis.
So Many of these stars later acquired nicknames, which easily identified them. John Wayne was “Duke Wayne,” Ronald Reagan, was known as “Dutch “ Reagan; Al Capone, the notorious racketeer, was called “Scar Face.” Luigi Luciano was “Lucky” and then there was “Bugsy” Segal, both mobsters from the 1930’s.
Glamorous Betty Grable was “The Blonde Bombshell,” and Rita Hayworth was “The Look.” Evelyn Keys was known as “Casey,” and the extra sexy Marilyn Monroe was simply, “M-M-M-M-M-M-M.”
Baseball fans all knew the beloved Joe DiMaggio as “the Clipper,” and Ali as, “the Greatest!” One of the country’s best boxers, Joe Frazier was “Smokin’ Joe,” and stand-up comic Don Rickles is “Mister Warmth.”
Late night talk show host Johnny Carson began his career as a magician and he called himself “The Great Carsoni.” Friends called prominent film director Elia Kazan by the nickname “Gadge.” Following one of his top-selling recordings, Sammy Davis Jr. was nicknamed “the Candy Man.”
Popular recording artist Mel Torme was known as “the Velvet Fog,” If you listen to DJ Sid Mark, on the air every Sunday morning for the past 55 years on WPHT, you will hear the extraordinary voice of the one and only Francis Albert Sinatra from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sid has been at it for the past 55 years. Ask Sid anything about Frank and he’s got the answer. Frank Sinatra carries several nicknames. Among them, “Ole Blue Eyes,” “The Voice,” and “Chairman of the Board.”
*
Looking Back appears each month. Do you have a memory you’d like to share? Drop a line to: Jack Lebo, Looking Back, 37 Locust Lane, Levittown, PA 19054, or call (215) 943-8870, email: [email protected].