We’re doing a different show today…
The Ed Wynn Show
Originally broadcast on CBS, 9 PM ET, December 24, 1949
Background: Since this is a “new” show, some background is involved.
Ed Wynn had, by this point, been around for a long time, doing radio from 1932 on and off until 1945. Known for his slapstick clown routines, he made the jump to television more out of necessity than progression: he hadn’t had a consistently aired radio show since the 1930s and his career was beginning to suffer for it, plus he was being pigeonholed with his clown act. So, starting in 1949, CBS gave him a chance hosting one of televisions first comedy/variety shows. Originating in Los Angeles, only the West Coast CBS affiliates saw the show live with kine scope versions of the show being broadcast in the East some two weeks later.
Which brings us to this particular evening, Christmas Eve, 1949…
Plot: Conventional comedy bit with guest star Desi Arnez, leading to some interplay with Arnez’s wife, Lucille Ball.
Analysis: First off, this is a very edited bit, only three minutes from a 30-minute show, but it is historic as the first time Lucy and Desi appeared on television together. It’s worth watching for that and seeing that Desi just cannot keep a straight face through most of the bit. The radio show heard referenced is My Favorite Husband, plots of which would be used later for when Lucy and Desi would do their own show together two years hence.
It’s really too short and it is, after all, a guest spot to critique beyond those bare statistics, but if you’re a classic television historian, it’s worth seeing just for that – history.
If you are interested in seeing the segment, it’s available as part of the I Love Lucy Complete Series set (http://www.amazon.com/I-Love-Lucy-Complete/dp/B000TGJ8B2/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1284067162&sr=1-1) but also available as part of an individual disc release, I Love Lucy: The Movie and Other Rarities (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lucy-Movie-Other-Rarities/dp/B00363WGIC/ref=sr_1_10?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1284067162&sr=1-10).
Next time, we’ll review the 1948 and 1949 years in television and then it’s time to cowboy up.
And, for a later “great Ed Wynn experience” on DVD, check out “One for the Angels” on THE TWILIGHT ZONE Season 1 collection. It was the second episode of the series – and one of the best overall.
ReplyDeleteFor someone whose voice was parodied so often over the years (Wally Gator, Mayor McCheese, and so many more), he should really be far better known than he is.
Oh, absolutely. He did do more drama later in his career just to survive and we'll discuss that when we get to Twilight Zone.
ReplyDeleteAs for his voice, well, it is said imitation is the sincerest form of flattery: Wynn's voice had to be distinct for radio since it's auditory, plus he did a lot of voice over work for the cartoons (Alice in Wonderland, for example) so it's not that surprising that we would get so many imitators.
And Wynn is just the tip of the iceberg. We'll talk about a lot of TV personalities as we go along, I assure you.