Back There

 Here he is: Another giant of comedy. One of many comedic giants who braved the vaudeville circuits, made movies and carried the fledgling television on his shoulders. A member of the Mount Rushmore of comedy alongside Jack Benny, Milton Berle, George Burns, etc.  Bob Hope with a few legends to speak of: George Burns, Milton Berle and Ed Wynn. Bob Hope was born in 1903 in London, but moved to the US shortly after. Like many entertainers born in the early 1900s, Hope got his start in Vaudeville. Vaudeville just seems like this mythical era of entertainment, where giants started off as bottom of the bill small-time acts. Bob Hope was one such act, and like many of these young stowaways, they leapt from its sinking ship and joined radio. This is Hope really took off, and got noticed enough to start making motion pictures, including the Road To series of movies with Bing Crosby. Bob and Bing weren't close friends socially, but they had an unrivaled professional relationship. Their...

 This is intended to be a short little post. I'm thankful that most shows from Back There are incredibly easy to find. Influential shows like The Jack Benny Program, Life of Riley, Mister Peepers among others are easily found on Youtube or the Internet Archive. However, many shows are still under the iron fist of the original proprietor. I'm not entirely against this, but what I really want to know is, why the inconsistency? The first two seasons of The George Burns and Gracie Allen show were done lived to tape, and afterwards the show was filmed. The taped seasons are easily found, but the filmed seasons are protected. At first I thought it was the filming process which made the show protected, but the Jack Benny show was filmed in its final few seasons, yet those episodes are just as easily found as well. Giving this more thought, shows like I Love Lucy, Burns and Allen, Lassie, etc, were run by independent companies, just like most shows are today. shows like Jack Benny and ...

 Steve Allen is the most influential man you've never heard of. For over 50 years, he's been a mainstay of radio and television, delighting audiences and fuming sponsors and networks with his off-the-cuff, spur of the moment antics and increasingly inventive ideas for new shows an new laughs. He was a quick thinker on his feet, and he was truly a man who walked so many future entertainers could run. Purportedly, Steve wasn't a big fan of Elvis,  and believed him to be just a flash in the pan. I don't doubt this,  Steve wasn't a huge fan of new things. Stephen Allen was born in 1920, and joined into radio shortly after the second world war. After achieving success there, he moved on to the rising medium of television, where he truly gained fame through his many shows and appearances, most notably his first hosting of the Tonight Show, a new idea meant to be juxtaposed against the already existing Today Show. Though Steve Allen's Tonight Show didn't last as lo...