A/V Geeks 16mm Lunch 4-8-2026

Hello everybody. I'm Skip Alsemar welcome to the AV Geeks lunchtime streaming show where we watch old 16 mm films and eat delicious uh black jelly beans. I have leftovers. Very excited. Uh let's see. We got some great films lined up today. Let's start off with Navajos in the of the 1970s. Enjoy. >> [music] [music] >> In the beginning there was only the land vast, beautiful, and lonely. Then, according to Navajo mythology, first man and first woman ascended through a hole in the earth emerging from the underworld into Dinétah, the land of the people. And they marked its outer reaches with [music] four sacred mountains. Within these imaginary boundaries, the Navajos have ever since found peace for their souls. Beyond only danger and unhappiness. The actual Navajo reservation is an area of approximately 25,000 square miles, mostly in northeastern Arizona, but spilling over [music] into western New Mexico and an area somewhat larger than the state of West Virginia. On this land, >> [music] >> the Navajos have lived for hundreds of uninterrupted years with one tragic [music] exception. From the beginning of the white man's intrusion into the Southwest, first by the Spanish, then by the Americans, the Navajos have made a fierce effort to maintain their own cultural way of because of this desire to remain free and separate. They ran a foul [music] of the United States Army, which rounded them up in 1864 and moved them eastward [music] into New Mexico to a desolate place on the staked plains known as Bosque Redondo, the round grove. Here they languished and died for five long years before the federal government finally allowed them to return to their beloved red rock [music] country. The Navajos named their ordeal the long walk and have ever since reckoned all their dates from this climactic experience. When they returned from their captivity, they numbered less than 10,000. [music] Yet today, with one of the highest birth rates in the world, >> [music] >> their number has grown to nearly 130,000, by far the largest of America's remaining 230 Indian [music] tribes. Today, the Navajos still live much as did their forefathers who survived the long walk home. The Navajo women still wear the traditional long fluted skirts [music] and the brightly colored velveteen blouses as did their grandmothers of long ago. The modern Navajo man, however, dresses much more in the style of the western cowboy, buys bright shirts, boots, and broad-brimmed hats. Most of the women and some of the men, especially the older ones, still wear their hair in the old-fashioned chignon, a vertical knot at the back of the head. It must be carefully combed with a yucca brush and wound tightly with a cloth band. It takes a good deal of time to fix the chignon properly, but then the Navajo women have both the time and the patience for such a job. Jewelry worn by both men and women, even while doing chores, has a dual significance for the Navajo. First, turquoise is considered to be good medicine and good luck, and wearing it helps to ward off the evil spirits. Second, it represents a visible display of the Navajos' savings. In times of difficulty, [music] jewelry can be put in pawn with the trader for needed hard cash and later redeemed when times improve. For homes, most Navajos still use the one-roomed hogans of yesterday, octagonal huts built of cedar logs and covered with mud, together with the branch and leaf-covered summer hogan, >> [music] >> which allows cool relief from the blazing heat. Around the edges of the reservation, where the white man exerts more influence on the Navajo, there are growing numbers of more conventional types of housing. Even an occasional house trailer is seen. But still, most of these houses would be considered substandard in that nearly all lack electricity [music] and running water, or water of any kind for that matter. For water, as it has been for countless centuries, is one of the most precious commodities on this arid reservation. Summer rain clouds well up during the afternoon, and the resulting thunderstorms produce pools of much-needed water for thirsty animals. After only a day or two in the intense heat and the low humidity, the water hole disappears, and all that remains is the dried and parched earth, and again, the animals are thirsty. Water for human use is equally scarce. Some of the need is supplied by numerous natural [music] springs found scattered over the reservation. For those Navajos living near such a source, the spring fills not only the need for drinking water, but also often serves as a community laundry where clothes are washed and people bathe. [music] In an effort to solve the reservation's water problems, the Navajo Tribal Council is digging deep wells throughout the area to help supply those Indians not living near a natural source. Still, many Navajos must obtain their water from sources as far as 20 miles from their hogans. When the Spanish entered the Southwest, they brought with them sheep, goats, and horses, all of which were to have a profound effect upon the Navajo. In truth, they became cultural essentials, those things which [music] men live by, and they radically changed the Navajos' way of life, converting them from nomads into shepherds and to some extent, farmers. For the past four centuries, sheep, together with [music] the sturdy little goats which thrive so well in this arid land, have formed the backbone of the Navajo economy, providing food, wool, and cash. [music] Horses, which were for centuries of prime importance to the very survival of the Navajo, have now declined to a point where they are used mainly for tending sheep and for occasional pleasure purposes by Navajo children. The new [music] beast of burden which has displaced the horse is the pickup truck, now such a common sight that it can properly be considered the universal sign of the Navajo reservation. They are simply >> [music] >> everywhere. However, many of the older Indians, much too poor to afford a pickup, still use their teams and wagons to visit among their friends and neighbors. But when it is necessary to go to town for supplies or to attend a [ __ ] dance, they will manage to obtain a ride with one of their more affluent neighbors who does own a pickup. Because of strong religious and spiritual attachments, this seemingly unproductive land is the only place on earth capable of furnishing nourishment for the Navajo soul. Whatever this land may do for the Navajo soul, it does little to help his physical health as the extremely poor quality of the soil produces only meager, poor crops. Because of this inadequate, low-quality food, together with poor water and few modern [music] sanitation methods, hospitals such as this one are kept busy treating the ills of the Navajos. Health conditions on the reservation are among some of the worst in the nation. However, with the acceptance by more and more Navajos of modern medical care, health improvement efforts are making good progress. Also, the Navajos are increasingly willing to accept [music] and undergo modern dental treatment, an area long neglected by most Indians. At many of the reservation hospitals, schools are being conducted to train young Navajo women to become nurses [music] and dental assistants. Navajo women seem to have a natural aptitude for nursing [music] and excel in this type of work. In the recent past, most Indians relied upon the medicine man or singer to administer to their ills through drumming and [music] chanting. But the medicine man is disappearing from the culture as are many other old customs [music] and rituals. Some families are attempting to retain some of the old ways such as this puberty right where friends and relatives gather from all over the valley to help 14-year-old Glenda Jackson celebrate her coming to womanhood. On the last day of the four-day [music] ceremony, the women gather inside the summer Hogan to help Glenda mix and prepare [music] the huge ceremonial cake while at the same time subjecting her to much good-natured kidding. Outside the men dig a large hole which is filled with firewood and burned heating the surrounding earth to a high temperature forming a natural oven. Right at sunset, the coals are removed and the pit is lined with wet corn husks after which the cake batter [music] is poured in by the buckets full. Next, Glenda performs the ancient ritual required by Navajo tradition. After which she scatters the first handful of sacred corn meal over the cake and then is joined by family and friends in spreading the rest. The batter is then covered with another layer of husks then covered with hot coals and allowed to bake all night. At the dawn's first light following a night of prayer and song, the medicine man cuts and blesses the cake after which Glenda will take a bite signifying that now she has entered [music] womanhood. Traditions such as this are becoming lost forever >> [music] >> because the young Navajos are unwilling to learn from their elders the involved and secret rituals of the past. None of the rituals are written down because the Navajos do not have a written language. This eroding away of the old ways is but one of the problems facing today's Navajos. Two of the major problems facing the Navajos are employment and education. Education has been a difficult problem because of the vastness [music] of the reservation and the sparsity of the population. Further complicating the problem [music] is the fact that the language of the reservation traditionally has been the native Navajo tongue with English used only by adults for dealing with the white man. Consequently, few children are able to speak more than a few words of English when they start [music] to school and in most cases their teachers speak little or no Navajo. In an effort to solve this problem, the Tribal Council has [music] instigated a program to train Navajos to be teachers. Children will then have teachers who understand them culturally, who are able to speak their native tongue and who can teach them English as a second language. Also, a program is underway to provide more day schools [music] so children can attend classes nearer their homes thus eliminating the long bus trips each day as now required. Each year [music] over 3,000 teenagers graduate or leave school. Of these, only a little over a third find jobs on the reservation or its fringes. The rest must either remain at home unemployed or leave the reservation and seek work in the white man's society. Older Navajos face this same problem of too few jobs and too many people. The Tribal Council makes every effort to attract outside industry [music] by granting 99-year leases and guaranteeing a large and willing labor pool. However, few companies have taken advantage of the opportunities partly because of the remoteness of the reservation. This plant at Shiprock is one of the companies to the Navajos' [music] extremely fine eye-hand coordination in building delicate electronic components. At Sawmill, Arizona, the Navajos themselves have built the world's largest lumber mill. A coal strip mining operation on Black Mesa near Kayenta employs almost entirely Navajo labor. This operation alone brings millions of dollars annually into the Tribal Council treasury. Much of this money together with royalties from gas and oil are earmarked for the Tribal Educational Fund to provide college scholarships for Navajo youths. Still, even large operations such as this make only a small dent in the overall employment problem as they are able to hire relatively few people. Because of this scarcity of jobs nearly 75% of all Navajos must depend upon some form of welfare simply to survive. The history of the Navajo is that of a people who have for centuries [music] relied upon their own customs and culture to provide the solutions [music] to their problems. It remains so to this day. For the more the Navajo has learned of the white man and his society the more convinced he has become of the worth of his own culture and stronger has grown his desire to remain a separate people. A new awareness of identity and a new tribal pride has taken hold of the Navajo and is sweeping the reservation. Yet while the 20th century has brought many outward changes the Navajo of today driving his pickup truck across the rutted valley floor is inwardly little changed from his great-grandfather who made the long walk home a century ago. >> [music] >> All right. Um next we're going to watch Animals of a Living Reef. Enjoy. >> [music] [music] >> Some of the most productive animal communities in the world are found in the clear sunlit waters around coral reefs. If you swim underwater here you'll soon notice the great variety and numbers of living things everywhere. For coral reefs contain more plant and animal species [music] than any other ecosystem on Earth. The reef itself is made of limestone created by the growth of coral animals and stone-forming algae. This is coral. Living coral. The clumps are actually small colonies of animals growing together in many different shapes. Over thousands of years, these coral animals have played the major part in building up massive limestone reefs in tropical seas in many parts of the world. Reef-building corals are found in the Caribbean mainly around Florida, Cuba the Bahamas and Jamaica. There are coral reefs in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf and off the east coast of Africa. The waters throughout Indonesia have many large reefs and in the South Pacific, most of the tropical islands are surrounded by extensive coral formations. The Marianas and the Caroline Islands Fiji and Samoa and many more. The coast of Western Australia has many beautiful reefs but the longest reef in the world runs down the east coast for about 1,200 miles. It's really a whole network of small coral islands and underwater reefs that have formed in the shallow waters of the continental shelf. This film was made here on the Great Barrier Reef but the animals are similar to those found in coral reefs all around the world. Coral reefs are of great interest to biologists because of the way the sun's energy is trapped and recycled. And it's because they act like this, as living energy traps, that coral reefs often form in tropical seas, which are usually very low in nutrients. So, each is a kind of oasis surrounded by a barren ocean. All this is made possible by a remarkable fact that reef-building corals have large numbers plants, or algae, living within the coral itself. They're too small to see, but these algae use sunlight and the waste products of the coral to make compounds, which the coral then uses for its own nutrition and to make the limestone to build its skeleton. This amazing relationship between coral animals and minute plant cells is the basis of all life on a coral reef. The limestone skeletons of hard corals have gradually built up the reef over thousands of years. Each colony grows on the remains of previous generations to form the reefs we see today. Many corals are also predators. They catch the microscopic animals which drift past in the water. Each stalk on this coral is a single animal. In some places, there are coral overhangs where it's too dark for the algae to live. But here, we find different animals growing in colonies attached to the coral, sponges and gorgonians, which feed on the dead remains of other animals. There are corals here, too, but they don't have algae growing with them. So, they must rely on the food they're able to catch themselves. Each coral animal, or polyp, has a row of stinging tentacles around its mouth, which it uses to paralyze the worms and crustacea it captures in the moving water. Even in these darker parts of the reef, the energy is still being recycled. Sponges filter their food from the seawater. So, do sea squirts. For in the reef community, the waste products of one animal become food for another. Tube worms also trap their food in the water. Flatworms feed by browsing. The surge caused by the turbulent water brings food and oxygen to all the reef dwellers below. Some fish that live here only come out at night. Lobsters also feed at night after sheltering all day in the coral. Moray eels wait to attack small fish. These predators are also an important part of the energy cycle. In the open water along the edge of the reef, you'll see manta rays. They're huge animals, sometimes more than 12 ft across, but feed only on plankton, tiny drifting organisms in the water. They are often accompanied by remoras, or suckerfish. The white-tipped reef shark is another predator, mainly hunting along the edges of the coral platform. Not only are there many different kinds of animals feeding and sheltering around a coral reef, but there are very large numbers of them, as well. Some of them are caught by birds, but they also play a part in the recycling of energy on a coral reef. These birds nest on many coral islands, and over thousands of years, their droppings have supported the growth of trees and plants. Another remarkable thing about a coral reef is that many of the islands are formed from the coral itself. When the tide goes out, the top level of coral is exposed to the sun, wind, and rain. In such conditions, the growth of coral is slowed down or stopped. The animals die, leaving behind their brittle limestone skeletons. The coral living in the shallow water is easily killed by unusual weather conditions, especially when the tide is very low. This is the reason why we see extensive platforms of mostly dead coral when the tide is out. Where the edge of the reef meets the sea, the dead coral has been cemented together by the encrusting algae to form a smooth, hard platform. Waves pounding in along the edge start to break up parts of the reef, gradually turning it to a kind of sand made from the skeletons of coral, algae, shellfish, and other creatures. Also, many fish grind up the coral in their search for food, and in this way produce large quantities of sand each year. In some places, the wind and waves pile the coral rubble and sand into heaps to form islands. Seeds of trees and other plants are carried in by the tides, or by birds which visit the islands, often with seeds tangled in their plumage. Gradually, small plants begin to grow on the coral sand. Then shrubs and trees become established. In time, there are trees large enough for many seabirds to nest in, and so continue the cycle of colonization. The energy and nutrients produced in a reef are circulated each day by the tides, which bring food and water to all the sand dwellers, the shellfish, worms, and crabs. And many birds, like reef herons, feed in the shallow water as the tide is coming in. Other birds find food just above the shoreline. During the summer, female sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. This usually happens at night, or very early in the morning. Each turtle scoops out a large hole in the sand, well above high water mark. Here, she lays about 100 eggs. These will hatch in about 10 weeks' time, and the young turtles must then find their own way to the sea. Turtles are among the world's largest marine reptiles, and except for egg-laying, spend all their lives at sea. On the reef, then, each animal plays some part in the continual circulation of energy. The large fish here is a sweetlip and the smaller striped one is a cleaner fish. The cleaner fish is eating small parasites which live on the sweetlip. In this way, both the cleaner fish and its host have come to depend on each other. These striped fish live very close to staghorn coral. Watch what happens when they're alarmed. There are many other examples of how all the animals here depend on each other and on the reef. This jawfish digs a shelter for itself in the coral sand. Other fish dig burrows in the sand and get food from it, too. The sand is rich in algae, bacteria, and small animals. Each mouthful is filtered and anything which the fish can't eat comes out through the gills. This hermit crab also gets food from the sand and makes a home in empty shells found on the reef. The nudibranch has no shell. The name means naked gill and you can see this on the animal's back. Clams are among the largest shellfish on the reef. They filter the seawater to get their food. The part played in the reef system by some animals, like many of the starfish, is still not known. Many animals on the reef are hard to see. This moray eel is patterned just like the coral itself. Other fish use different patterns. The master of camouflage must be the stonefish, also one of the deadliest animals on the coral reef. It walks across the sand on its fins and has very venomous spines along its back. Coral reefs are truly remarkable places where the sun's energy has been trapped and recycled to produce a community of many different kinds of animals. These collections of living things can be enjoyed by everybody. For as well as being places of great beauty, coral reefs are also underwater habitats that fascinate all those who share an interest in the animal world. >> [clears throat] >> So, yeah, coral reefs are endangered and there's actually been some interesting uh headlines recently about uh ways that they've been um manually uh planting new coral, uh seeding it, basically. Um because we know how important it is to the ocean ecosystem. All right, this next film is long. Uh and this is only part one. Uh one of the things I uh >> [clears throat] >> realized in watching uh Looney Tunes cartoons when I was a kid is like there were all these weird catchphrases. I was like, "What is that? What is that referring to?" And then I would see like a totally different cartoon made by different company, like MGM, referencing the same catchphrase. Or I would see it in a movie. I'd be like, "What What was that?" Well, it turns out they were catchphrases that were from radio shows. Uh and they were very popular at the time. And uh these are This documentary is a great radio comedians and this is part one and we are looking for part two. Um but uh enjoy. Abbott and Costello, what's that old radio doing back there, Bergen? Hello. That's what we started out on that kind of a radio. Yeah, yes, but this is not just an ordinary radio now. Now, it has an attachment. You see, scientists have insisted that sounds do not die. The vibrations keep traveling through space. Abbott and Costello? Yes. And if we have an instrument sensitive enough, we can pick up sounds of the past. This machine will do it. You don't say. Yes. Well, don't give this such a long commercial. Just turn it on. All right, I will. I think it's this one will do it. There, it did. Now, we'll listen >> [music] >> And now we bring you the great radio comedians. 90 memorable minutes of your comedy favorites. >> [music] [bell] >> Hi-ho the radio, radio, radio. HI-HO THE RADIO. >> [music] >> THE RADIO TO YOU, WHEREVER YOU MAY GO. You hear a radio. IN A CAR, AT A BAR. MAKE NO DIFFERENCE where you are, there's one beside your bed. >> [music] >> In every big hotel, and soon they'll have a radio in every prison cell. With radios in taxi [music] cabs, the driver's life is sweeter because it makes a passenger forget to read the meter. They're building models of houses now with one in every room. A woman shopper on [music] THE MOON OF JUNE OF loving bloom. It's the great radio comedians starring Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, George Burns, Jack Benny, Jim and Marian McGee Jordan, Bing Crosby, and the famous original denizens of Allen's Alley, Kenny Delmar as Senator Claghorn, Minerva Pious as Pansy Nussbaum, Parker Fennelly as Titus Moody, and Peter Donald as Ajax Cassidy. You'll also hear from Fred Allen, Bob Hope, Gracie Allen, Marian and Molly McGee Jordan, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, AND OTHERS. AND YOUR ANNOUNCER, Ken Roberts. As the 1940s ended, a real live radio drama was being played in 10 million American homes. The true-to-life story, which asked the question, "Can a homely wooden box with a knobby front and plain cloth speaker continue to find love and success after 20 years in competition with a younger, more attractive medium?" The 1950s answered that question and radio, as we had known it, virtually disappeared. But when the 1940s began, it was a far different story. This little invention had already changed America. Think of it. For the first time in history, a single voice could speak to the entire population simultaneously. >> [music] >> Please Suddenly, we were all sharing the same telephone party line. Lend an ear to my plea. >> [music] >> Tell me that you love me, too. >> [music] >> Me ba dee dee dee dee da da da ba dee [music] dee dee dee da da da By the 1940s, radio was America's most popular art form. Everyone loved it. People arranged their lives so they wouldn't miss their favorite programs. They listened to drama, commentators, music, quiz shows. But the sounds they preferred, year after year after year, were the voices of the people who made them laugh, the great radio comedians. It's Maxwell House Coffee Time starring George Burns and Gracie Allen. >> [music] [music] [music] >> With yours truly Bill Goodwin and the music of Meredith Wilson and his orchestra. >> [music] [music] >> Oh gosh, honey, I feel like a darn fool going to college at my age. I dread that first class. What is your first class? American history. And I'm terrible. When I should have been studying history, I was in vaudeville. Oh, I'll bet you're very good in history. You do, huh? Yesterday the professor asked, "What great American stayed longest in the capital?" I answered, "Al Jolson." GEORGE, EVEN I KNOW BETTER than that. Certainly. Was that Eddie Cantor? YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF YOU GOING TO COLLEGE AND learning things. But honey, my friends are laughing at me. Last night the fellows called up and wanted me to go to a burlesque show with them. I had to say, "I can't, guys. Haven't finished my homework." All right, but when you do go to a burlesque show, you'll enjoy it more because YOU'VE STUDIED ANATOMY. I TELL YOU, HONEY, I'M TOO OLD to go to college. Yesterday we were discussing the Battle of Gettysburg and the professor called on me. Well, what's wrong with that? He wanted an eyewitness account. When I went into radio, practically in its infancy, the big stars of radio then was was Eddie Cantor Chase and Sanborn hour Rudy Vallee and Amos and Andy and then Gracie and myself we came into radio and Jack Benny and and Fred Allen. Everybody was in the first 10 all the time because there were only eight acts in radio. So we're all in the first 10 all the time. All the fellows that were in radio and the women that were in radio, you couldn't keep them out of show business. We'll take Ed Wynn, let's say. Ed Wynn went from radio into television. It was the same Ed Wynn. He was doing the same character he did on the stage. Edgar Bergen was in radio and he did that same thing with Charlie McCarthy in vaudeville. So he took that all with him and we did the same thing. So [clears throat] I don't think anybody really makes the change. I don't think there's a big change. The difference between vaudeville and radio in material was the fact that in in vaudeville you did the same things every week. You were positive that the laughs were there because you had 17 minutes. You knew where every joke was. You knew where the timing was. You knew where they'd laugh. In radio you didn't. You had to do new things every week. You had to have a good delivery. You had to have a personality. You had to have some sort of charisma, some magic that came through the box. Where the blue of [music] the night meets the gold of the day, someone waits for me. >> [music] >> When the moon comes over the mountain. Gracie, how's your cousin? THE ONE WHO DIED? YES. OH, HE'S ALL RIGHT NOW. He And the people that stayed in radio all had it. But they changed material every day and the difficult thing And it wasn't so difficult. You read it. You'd read the jokes or you'd read the dialogue and the property man or the sound man would slam the door, he'd pick up the telephone, he'd you'd say, "Hello." and you'd have the phone conversation and he'd drop the phone and everybody was working and you were taking bows. Radio was much easier than television. Television you got to pick up the phone yourself. That's not easy. Hello? Yes. Oh, yes. Sure. I'll say. What's tonight? Yeah, 7:00? Mhm. Oh, sure. Positively. Yeah. All right. Goodbye. Goodbye. Wrong number. I loved all of show business. When I started when I was I was six or seven years old, I sang with the Pee Wee Quartet, used to pass the hat around. And then I played vaudeville and I was a small-time vaudeville actor until I was 27 years old. And I was very bad but the theaters were worse than I was. And finally I met Gracie. Gracie was looking to do something cuz she was an Irish actress before that. She was working with a fellow called Larry Riley doing Irish sketches and she was a great Irish dancer and a great Irish actress. And Gracie took a look at us and I asked her whether she'd like to work with me and you know, she said she would and from then on I turned out turned out to be a very, very good act because she was very good. Well, I made myself the comedian and I came out on the stage with my hat turned up and a big red bow tie and wide pants and a very short coat and Gracie came out dressed beautifully. She was the straight woman and we played Booton, New Jersey. And there wasn't much of an audience out there but the people liked Gracie the minute they saw and they laughed when she asked the questions and they didn't laugh when I told the answers. You know, I smoked cigars and I wanted to continue smoking. So I gave her all the jokes. When Gracie took over the act when she got to be the comedian, I had all kinds of jokes. I had sarcastic jokes. I had wise cracks and I also had jokes that were off-center that were sort of on the dumb side. Yeah, well, I know I'm dizzy. That's why I like you. I like you cuz you're a nice little dizzy girl. >> YEAH, I KNOW I'M DIZZY. I'm glad I'm dizzy. You're the only dizzy girl that I know that's glad SHE'S DIZZY. YEAH, I'M GLAD I'M A DIZZY GIRL BECAUSE BOYS LIKE DIZZY GIRLS AND I LIKE BOYS. AND THE AUDIENCE loved the dumb jokes and they didn't laugh at the wise cracks and they didn't laugh at the sarcasm because Gracie was a very dainty little thing and they wouldn't accept that from her. Romeo and Juliet is a book written by Shakespeare where a man makes love to a girl on a balcony. YEAH, WELL, THAT'S JUST WHY I DIDN'T read it because I feel if a fellow can't afford to take his girl in the orchestra, he shouldn't take it to a theater at all. And she told the wildest kind of jokes. We called them illogical logic. They made sense but only to Gracie. Those were her best jokes. Say, that's a pretty girl over there. Don't you think so? Yeah, looks like my sister Allen. Does it that? Yeah. And how old is your sister Allen? What is she doing? WELL, YOU KNOW, SHE WAS OFFERED A $40 A WEEK JOB BUT she wants to save money so she didn't take it. So she didn't take it? No, SHE TOOK A $10 JOB INSTEAD. SHE DID? YEAH, BECAUSE she figured if she loses a $10 job instead of a $40 job, she's still saving $30. Well, look, give me a ticket and let's face it. I mean, she's still saving $40. And her sense of concentration was simply marvelous. To Gracie there was there was no audience and there were no footlights. That was a wall as far as Gracie was concerned or just four walls. And if anybody needed a straight man, it was Gracie because she'd never wait for anything. She she talked natural. You know, when when you talk, you don't wait for laughs unless somebody says something, you know, that got to time it which was my job. I wouldn't not with very big lines. My lines were old. Well, I did all kinds of great stuff. Here's a nice little waterproof number, a loose summer number. DO YOU LIKE IT? OH, YES. SAY, YOU KNOW, my brother went in swimming yesterday. He stayed under the water 6 hours. 6 hours? Yes. If you stay UNDER THE WATER 5 MINUTES, YOU DIE. YEAH, I KNOW. HE FOUND THAT OUT. >> HE FOUND that out, huh? How do you like this hat? Here's a nice sailor hat. Yeah, oh, that reminds me of my cousin. You know, my cousin has a lovely new swimming pool. Is that so? Yeah, oh, we were over there yesterday. We had more fun. We were swimming and diving. Swimming and diving? Yes. Believe me, that is a lot of fun. Yeah, and it'll even be better tomorrow WHEN THEY PUT WATER IN IT. Water in it? Yes. We went on the Rudy Vallee show and we did very well. And about a week later we went on the Guy Lombardo show. It was Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians, the sweetest music this side of heaven. And then Lombardo left the show and we took over the show and that's the way we started in radio. >> [music] [music] >> Not only can I make up riddles, George, I can also tell you what you're thinking about. I'm a mind reader. Listen, Gracie, is there anything that phases you? I don't think so. No. All right, now think of something. All right, I'm thinking. Is it green? Is what green? >> Does it hang from the ceiling and whistle? Does what hang from the ceiling and whistle? >> DOES IT RUN ALONG THE FLOOR and sing? Listen. Does it run along the floor and sing? Just a minute. I thought you said that you could read my mind. Well, George, how can I read your mind if you keep on asking me all those silly questions? I'm asking you. Listen, let's talk about something else. How is your brother? My brother? Oh, well, I think they ought to open up all the prisons. It would help prosperity. Wait a minute. That's the wrong answer. No, that's the right answer but you asked the wrong question. And when she was about 34 or 35 years old she said to me, "I can't do this character anymore. I'm too old to be that silly. And I said, "No, you're not because uh if you're born stupid, you stay stupid all your life. You're stupid when you're 1 year old and when you're 10 years old and when you're 80 years old." But your your your your your your dialogue, your your routines have to fit your age. Like when we when I started, we did a joke with Gracie. I had a little whistle and if I said, "I'm going to kiss you." And she said, You see this? That's the policeman's whistle. If any of the fellas get fresh or try to kiss me, I blow that and the policeman comes. >> And the policeman comes? Yeah. Well, GO ON AND CALL THE POLICEMAN. YEAH, WELL, YOU'RE PRETTY LUCKY it's broken from last night. I said, "Now, that joke you can do when you're 22, but you can't do that when you're 35. I said, 'Now, you do jokes like you're putting two roasts in the oven, a small roast and a big roast and when the little roast burns, you know, the big one is done.'" I said, "That fits you when you're 35." So finally, she I convinced her and she went along for the rest of her life playing that character. When your rating drops, when you drop five points at a time or six points or three points, that then there's something against you that night and that means your next rating will go up. Some big event is taking place. But when you start to drop a point at a time and a half a point and a half a point and a point, you're in real trouble. That means you are losing your audience. And we were then together about oh, I would say about eight or nine years. We had two children, Ronnie and Sandy. But we were still doing a street corner act on radio. In other words, Gracie would fight with the announcer. When our rating dropped, I went to all of my friends. I went to Jack Benny and I said, "Jack, I I wish you'd listen to our show. There's something going wrong. Our rating is dropping." He says, "Well," he says, "you're not doing enough double routines." I went to Georgie Jessel and Jessel listened and he said, "You're doing too many double routines." And I went to Eddie Cantor and Eddie Cantor says, "Gracie isn't laughing enough." Somebody said Gracie was laughing enough. Uh then somebody said, "You better use the eight-ball mic," which was out of style. He said, "The eight-ball When you use the eight-ball mic, you had a great rating. But something happened to you after you stopped using the eight-ball mic." So I put back an obsolete mic, an eight-ball mic, did everything. Nothing else already. Finally, at 4:00 in the morning, I was thinking I wanted to unite and want to I wanted to stay in show business. I loved it. And it finally dawned on me. I said, "Our jokes are too young for us. We're much older than the jokes we're telling. We're married people." And that did it. And the next show I went on, I said, "Gracie and I have been married for eight or nine years. We have two lovely children." And from then on, we wrote different jokes. They were older and they fit us. Our rating went up. I dropped by to wish you luck tonight, Janie. I I know you're going to win the award. >> Well, I wouldn't be too sure of that, Gracie. My competition will be very stiff. >> Well, take a few drinks yourself. I THOUGHT OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND was awfully good in the snake pit. >> Oh, but Janie, she had such an easy part. An easy part? Gracie, she had to play a crazy girl. >> I could do that with my EYES CLOSED. JANIE, I'M SURE YOU'RE GOING TO WIN THAT OSCAR TONIGHT. How you know? Gracie, I'm as nervous as a bride. >> then I know just how you feel. I remember my wedding day. >> [laughter] >> Imagine getting so keyed up over the possibilities of getting a little lifeless imitation figure of a man. Well, he he wasn't so lifeless when I MARRIED HIM. AND THE FUNNY THING is after Gracie retired, and I didn't want to retire. So I was retired for the 38 years while I worked with Gracie. I said nothing. All I said was for 38 years, "How's your brother? Then when Gracie retired, I had to go into show business. And I had to open a whole new career for myself, which I did, you know. I started to sing and I started to fool around and become a monologist and make fun of my cigars and here I am. It's the new Edgar Bergen hour WITH CHARLIE MCCARTHY. >> [music] >> I'LL CLIP YOUR Bergen's hair, May. Oh, no, you don't. >> [music] >> And here are Edgar Bergen AND CHARLIE MCCARTHY. RADIO MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR A WOODEN dummy to realize Pinocchio's dream of becoming a real live boy. Charlie McCarthy became one of the most popular stars of all with a little help, of course, from the unique comic genius of Edgar Bergen. You know, Bergen, Yes, Charlie. I've never made a a will. Is there anything I can do? Yeah. Would you take this down? >> Gladly, of course. I, Charlie McCarthy, being of sound mind, uh otherwise in a heck of a mess, that's right. Yeah, yeah. uh do hereby bequeath my telephone book of numbers uh to Skinny Dugan, my pal. And to you, Bergen, I leave all the money you owe me. >> Well, thank you, yeah. Also my pet rat. >> What would I do with a pet rat? >> Why, maybe to teach him to talk. I shall see that all your possessions are disposed of. Well, only if I die. >> Only if you die. Don't go out of your way. >> No, no, I won't. I didn't mean it that way, Charlie, because if anything should happen to you, why I I don't know what I would do. No, no, I I just hate to think about it. Is the thought of work really that unpleasant to you? Charlie McCarthy caught on in such a big way. The fact maybe that they couldn't see him. They couldn't be sure that he was a dummy, you know, because for 3 years I was answering letters, "Is it true that Charlie is not a human being, that you're talking for both of them?" Well, Charlie became famous, so famous that there were many articles with his name on them. >> [music] [music and singing] >> We had the good fortune of receiving quite a few awards. And I'm going to suggest that all the patrol members here indicate their vote for you as an honorary member and a good round of applause for Charlie McCarthy, the schoolboy patrolman. What have you got to say for yourself with this decoration? Well, it's a long story, Bergen. Yeah. It's a long story and a dirty one. Mostly what to the World's Fair, New York and appeared there. Oh, Charlie, how do you like the fair? I think it's wonderful, Mayor. Wonderful. Uh did you bring Dorothy Lamour with you? Yeah, uh Mayor, come come come. Hey, Charlie. Yeah. What sort of exhibits would you like to see? Well, I'll tell you, Grover. Uh how about the girly girly shows, huh? Oh, no, no, no. Some scientific shows. Oh, pooh-pooh. Come on. Girly girly Maybe afterwards. Uh well, move me down. No girly shows. After while. >> Oh, after while. Okay. All the girls say he's a honey. He's not like the other [music] chaps. While they spend all their money, he >> [music] >> spends his time on their laps. He may start for school along the way around, [music] wind up in a pool the other side of town. They never have to call on him to MOW THE LAWN. >> [music] >> CHARLIE IS HIS NAME. I HAD MY FIRST DUMMY. I made it from a a mask, a Halloween mask and and it worked fairly well as a start when I was in the eighth grade. And that was the beginning of uh of my ventriloquism. In my senior year in high school, I got Charlie McCarthy. Uh I saw a newsboy outside of the high school building, a little Irish newsboy in front of Lakeview High School in Chicago, and I sketched a picture of of him in my history book. I took that to the woodcarver who made ventriloquist dummies and I got Charlie from the woodcarver oh, in about May or so, early in May, last of April. And I appeared on a student recital, we called it, in Lakeview High School. That is for all the students and the faculty. Well, I was booked on Chautauqua that summer, so I felt pretty cocky anyway and I knew there was a career ahead of me. Well, I went to vaudeville in the fall and Charlie was a a newsboy, a little urchin with a little beanie on and short pants and and he was selling newspapers. We did this for 10 years all over America, England and Canada and uh then in the '30s, vaudeville started dying out. So, I was booked to play the Helen Morgan Club in New York. I didn't think a newsboy was quite the thing for the nightclubs. I guess it would have worked, but I'd asked Esquire magazine if I could make a dummy of Eskey. They thought it was a good idea, but then they changed their mind. They thought they'd rather have Eskey be known as a magazine rather than a ventriloquist dummy. So, there was nothing for me to do then but to make Charlie the man about town. So, that's how he got a monocle, top hat, and tails. When the head of J. Walter Thompson heard that they'd booked a ventriloquist on the Rudy [music] Vallee show, a ventriloquist, he says, "Well, he damn well better be funny." That was the start. The idea was ridiculous, you know, of a ventriloquist on radio. My own show in originating in Hollywood started in about May of 1937. And that was an hour show. It was a big show. And we had Don Ameche, Dorothy Lamour, and W. C. Fields, and another guest star every week. Being on the air for 20 years, we had to cover an awful lot of subjects, and Charlie got into about everything that a boy could get into. As years went on, I had to add to the cast. >> [music] >> How do you do? Won't you sit down? I What's a good trick? CITY SLICKER. SO, I created the character of Mortimer. And Mortimer, fortunate choice was that he was a direct opposite of Charlie. He was not a good-looking, and he was afraid of the girls. He was bashful, and he was stupid, but he was lovable. Mortimer, do you do you know the name of the stars? Oh, no, I don't know their names. That's Saturn over there. Oh, how do you do? Over there is Mars. What's Mars? Yes. And did you know that Mars and the Earth have the same sun? No, I didn't even know they was married. Then as time went on, I introduced a third character, which was Effie Klinker. Effie Klinker is a bachelor girl. Her life has not been without love. It's just been sad love. It's It's just been tragic. Tell me, Miss Klinker, are Are you married? No. No, I'm not. >> I see. No. Darn it, no. Are you thinking of marrying anyone? >> Yes. Who? Anyone. I DON'T CARE. WELL, NOW, WHAT MUST THIS MAN HAVE to to be your choice? Well, uh first of all, he must be a man. >> He must be a man. And then? I don't care. >> [laughter] >> Those were the three characters I used on the radio show. >> [music] >> Candy accepted Charlie. Charlie resented Candy a little bit because she he had to move out of her room because Charlie had his own room, but they were very good friends. When she was about 3 years old, she would sit on one knee, and Charlie would sit on my other knee, and they would talk back and forth, and she would [music] play along with the thing, and it was just fine. So, I said to myself, "I'm either an awfully good ventriloquist, or my daughter is a little stupid." So, I pressed my luck, and I said, "Candy, isn't it wonderful how Charlie can talk?" And she says, "Yes, it is, Daddy, >> [music] >> but you do move your lips a little." >> [laughter] >> Charlie's style our style of comedy was he was fresh. He didn't show respect [music] either for me or for our guests, and that made for the fun. Well, I think the fact that he that he was a puppet made it harmless, you know, but also I could say things through Charlie that I could never say myself. What's your outstanding memory of radio Charlie, your favorite guest? Well, of course, W. C. Fields has to be number one. >> I guess he does. >> Yeah. Oh, the fights we had. Remember when he said he said to me, "Come over to my house. I'll let you ride piggyback on a buzzsaw." >> Yes, that's right. Yeah. And I said, "Is that your nose, Mr. Fields, or are you eating a tomato?" >> Yes. Yes, it's W. C. Fields. All right. Uh-oh. Can you see him? Well, I can just see a little of him. Yeah. I can see him sticking his nose in the door. Sticking his nose in the door. Yeah. Oh, well, and he'll be 5 minutes before he gets here. Hello, Edgar. How are you? Oh, hello, Mr. Fields. Hello. Uh where's the little woodpecker snack bar? Yeah, well, now, Bill, I I can explain everything about that incident. You see, he was he was setting a skunk trap. That's what he was doing. Thanks for the compliment. >> I didn't mean it that way. That's okay. Nevertheless, the other evening, as I was traversing my garden in search of flora and fauna, Flora is my cook, you know. Oh, I see. That a likable young lady. >> Uh-huh. Makes wonderful crepes. >> Yes. Well, I believe all that, but that's really none of my business. Well, I was walking along when I unexpectedly tripped, and the next thing I knew I was prostrate on terra firma. >> Oh. Which was not unusual in itself, but the circumstances I can see that, but Bill, let's get back to the skunk trap. Remember? >> Oh, you mean Flora? No, no, no, not that. The skunk trap. All right, I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN. YEAH. WELL, I'll tell you, it was quite an experience. As I hurried to the hospital, clang, clang, clang. clang, clang. Yeah, I remember that. After 2 days in the hospital, I took a turn for the nurse. And they took some beautiful X-rays of my legs. Six reels of them. >> Six reels of them. A feature, huh? Well, what did they find, Bill, in there? Well, just as I expected, they found my leg was hollow. >> It is hollow. Good evening, Mr. Fields. What did he say? I said, "Good evening." That's all. >> Let's not jump at conclusions. Charlie, I've been telling Mr. Fields that you want to apologize. Now, isn't that right? Uh yes, it is. Yes, I do, Mr. Fields. I do. >> My lovable little nipper. Remember how we used to fight, Mr. Fields? Foolish, wasn't it? Well, remember the time I said I'd slice you into Venetian blinds? That was a good one, I think. I told her, wasn't it? Remember how I topped you by saying, "That makes me shudder"? >> [laughter] >> WELL, I'LL TAKE YOUR COMPLIMENT. I topped you. Well, the only laugh you ever got was a sneer from a disgruntled TERMITE. WHY PLEASE, PLEASE, GENTLEMEN. I have a feeling I'm afraid Mr. Fields just doesn't love me anymore. That's all. >> Don't tell me I don't love you, or I'll break every bone in your body. People often ask me whether W. C. Fields really hated Charlie, you know, and resented him getting laughs and things. There's no truth in that at all. Fields was a wonderful wonderful character because he was a harmless villain. It was harmless synthetic hate, and you could see through it. He was a great man to work with, and of course, we both agreed this would be the script, and we would assemble it, and then of course, we would both go and dirty it up, or or sneak in little toppers that we wouldn't tell the other one about. Sometimes we'd get so far off that they would have to come and give us the sign, you know, 1 minute you got to quit, or 2 minutes. Oh, then there was another one, of course, that you feuded with. Yeah. Mr. Laughton, Charles Laughton. Hello, Charles. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. You had one fight the one week, and then the next week you both agreed to apologize, and Laughton says, "I apologize for what I said last week." Uh-huh, I remember that. And you know what I said? >> No. I said, "Mr. Laughton, I not only apologize for what I said last week, but for what I'm going to say to you today." Yeah. And then you asked him, "Mr. Laughton, is it true that you played the Hunchback of Notre Dame without any makeup?" That was a good one. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, there were so many of them, like with Clark Gable. So, you're Charlie McCarthy. Uh yeah. So, you're Clark Gable. Well, I'm Edgar Bergen. So, what? Between us, Charlie, to what do you attribute your great success as a Casanova? Will you tell me? Well, now, I really I Oh, come on, Charlie. Oh, I don't know. >> Come on. Come on. You can be frank with me. Yes, I know, but does Gable tell Dietrich? I think I've got a picture of one of your favorite lady friends. Oh, yeah? >> Yeah. Well, let's see. I had a few there. Oh, Marilyn Monroe. Oh, yeah. Yes, indeed. >> Yeah. Remember when you were engaged to Marilyn? Yeah. Prime Minister Churchill, he said, "This is America's darkest hour. If Charles McCarthy insists on marrying Miss Monroe, I have only this to say. Never before has one so little taken so much from so many." Well, then there was one other girl, Charlie. >> Yeah? Yes. One that really was exciting. Mae West was on the show. Oh, boy. We went into hiding afterwards. >> Yeah. When she said hello, it kind of sounded sexy. Oh, hello, short, dark, and handsome. Hello, tall, blonde, and terrific. Say, Charlie, did you smell that perfume? Yeah. Isn't it ravishing? Yes, it is. It's ravishing. It's weakening. So help me, I'm swooning. What is it? Why, it's my favorite perfume, ashes of men. Uh-oh. Ashes of men. Holy smoke. She's not going to make a sinner out of me. Tell me, Miss West, have you ever found the one man in your life that you could really love? Sure, lots of times. You look pretty good to me, Charlie. Come here. You ain't afraid I'll do you wrong. Well, now that you ask, I Oh, you're afraid I'll do you right. Well, I'm slightly confused. I need time for that one, Mae. That's all right. I like a man what takes his time. What's the unusual thing, most unusual broadcast we ever had was it was at Fort Ord, Northern California. We we did the broadcast all the must have been 20 or 30,000 men there. And after the show was over, I do an after show for the men with Charlie and I was doing a routine having fun and they were laughing and an officer came in and he says company 2248 signature report to your barracks immediately. And Charlie says very funny, very funny. So I finished the routine and I anything goes, you know. So it was true and I said what was the gag? He says Japan has just bombed Pearl Harbor, we're at war. Wow, that ended on a note. Um yeah, we're looking for part two. Uh and so hopefully we'll be able to find it and show it this week. But thanks Kevin for the donation today. That's one way you can support us. You can also hit the thumbs up, the like. You can donate via the super thanks button. Um but also you can just keep watching and sharing. That's what we like. Uh I've been resting on a heating pad, feel a little bit looser. Um getting good night's sleep, which is important. And don't get a good night's sleep then I'm a little grumpy bear. Anyways, uh we will see you tomorrow. Everybody have a great rest of your day. We'll talk soon. Bye.