Family TV History

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Family TV History

First 16 votes

Last 4 votes

Edgy DC
Dec 02 2008 12:19 PM

I've mentioned before, I'm sure, but my mother in law, now struck hard by Alzheimer's disease, was a wonderful opera singer in her youth.

In the fifties, she was a three-time winner on the Original Amateur Hour Featuring Ted Mack --- the American Idol of it's day, or at least the Star Search, and she made the finals.

I have been in contact with the archivist from the show, and he has located the four episodes in which she appeared, singing the same aria in all four episodes. Two have been restored and can be transferred to DVD --- her initial appearance and her eventual appearance in the finals at Madison Square Garden. They'd each cost me $200 to get the whole episode transferred onto DVD. The other two, not yet restored, would cost me $500. I'd like to buy one for my wife for Christmas.

So those middle two are right out. Five bills, my ass. It's down to her first and last appearances.

Benefits of first appearance:

- She wins! Her face lights up!
- Special guest appearance by Guy Lombardo!

Benefits of the last:

- One of the other contestents was a dance troupe called the Marshallettes, featuring a young Penny Marshall.
- Mom at Madison Square Garden --- that's got to be impressive, win or lose.

Which way to go?

metirish
Dec 02 2008 12:27 PM

I don't think you can lose either way but I would buy the last show , great gift by the way , very thoughtful of you.

Centerfield
Dec 02 2008 12:29 PM

No way. Remember Mom as a winner. First all the way.

Benjamin Grimm
Dec 02 2008 12:29 PM

I voted last. (Although I'm curious about the amount of time in between the appearances. Did they all take place in the same year?)

Anyway, what swung it for me was that it was in Madison Square Garden and that since it contains the finalists, it's probably overall a more entertaining show.

Where would the first show have taken place? In a TV studio? Or a theater that was a smaller venue than MSG?

Either way, it's a terrific idea, and good job tracking down the Ted Mack archivist! (Is he a giant squid?)

And Guy Lombardo! I'm so old I remember when he did the New Years Eve shows with his Royal Canadians.

metirish
Dec 02 2008 12:30 PM

But either way she's a winner.....not to get too sloppy here but it's impressive stuff.

soupcan
Dec 02 2008 12:38 PM

Dude - it's your mom.

Pony up the do-re-mi and go all in for all the episodes.

Benjamin Grimm
Dec 02 2008 12:45 PM

It's his mother-in-law.

I don't think many people would shell out $1400 to see his mother-in-law on DVD. Edgy doing the $200 thing is way cool; he doesn't need to go for the extra $1200. (Although it would help "jolt" the economy.)

Edgy DC
Dec 02 2008 12:45 PM

Well, it's her Mom, though it means as much to me, I think.

And note that the papers say there isn't much dough-re-mi going around this year. There certainly isn't in my household. And she sings the same aria in all four episodes.

The dates were May 6, 1956; May 13, 1956; May 20, 1956; and the finals at Madison Square Garden on September 9, 1956.

metirish
Dec 02 2008 12:50 PM

="Edgy DC"]Well, it's her Mom, though it means as much to me, I think. And note that the papers say there isn't much dough-re-mi going around this year. There certainly isn't in my household. And she sings the same aria in all four episodes. The dates were May 6, 1956; May 13, 1956; May 20, 1956; and the finals at Madison Square Garden on September 9, 1956.

This date in history - September 9

1956

Elvis Presley appeared on television for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show.

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/September-9

soupcan
Dec 02 2008 12:52 PM

My bad I misread your entire post.

I thought it was your mom and the whole dilly cost $500.00.

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Dec 02 2008 01:15 PM

I'm going first

metsmarathon
Dec 02 2008 01:18 PM

first.

themetfairy
Dec 02 2008 01:38 PM

As others have said, you can't go wrong either way.

At first I was going to say the first performance, because it was the first. But it's not like she's all that much younger in the first performance - there are only a couple of months difference between the shows. I'm guessing she was probably all dolled up a bit more for the MSG performance, and probably a little more used to performing on camera by that point. So I'd probably go with the last one.

OTOH, you can just flip a coin and call it a way. Cha Cha will love it no matter which one you purchase.

Edgy DC
Dec 02 2008 01:41 PM

People who got their starton the Amateur Hour

<ul><li>A 19-year-old Frank Sinatra, in the radio days, as part of the Hoboken Four</li>
<li>Ann-Margret, losing out to Arturo Escobar, a Mexican novelty performer who played "Grenada" on a tree leaf</li>
<li> A seven-year-old Gladys Knight</li>
<li>Raul Julia</li><li>Maria Callas</li>
<li>Robert Merrill</li>
<li>Beverly Sills</li>
<li>Louis Walcott, who was a 16-year-old violin prodigy with a particular love and talent for the works of Jewish classical genius Felix Mendelssohn, before growing up to become a race-baiting calypso singer, and notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan. </li>
<li>Pat Boone</li>
<li>Robert Klein, who later made comedic hay out of his doo-wop group losing to a one-armed pianist</li>
<li>Connie Fuckin' Francis</li></ul>Check out this Amateur Hour star. Remember her name.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_PrOgQe6lfA&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_PrOgQe6lfA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Valadius
Dec 02 2008 02:06 PM

I say first. Seeing her win is far better.

Gwreck
Dec 02 2008 02:47 PM

Madison Square Garden, all the way. It's the Garden.

Unless there's video of her at the Metropolitan Opera House or something...

metsguyinmichigan
Dec 02 2008 03:09 PM

I like the first episode better.

What a neat discovery! I'd love to see old movies of my relatives.

holychicken
Dec 02 2008 03:13 PM

If you are going to be a stingy and terrible son ;)

The first one is definitely the way to go. You gotta go with the one she wins.

DocTee
Dec 02 2008 03:18 PM

First.

themetfairy
Dec 02 2008 03:31 PM

Just as a thought - has the archivist seen the two episodes? Does he have an opinion about which performance was better?

Kong76
Dec 02 2008 03:33 PM

I voted for the first.

HahnSolo
Dec 02 2008 06:43 PM

First, and the joy of the discovery.

Edgy DC
Dec 18 2008 02:33 PM

Well, I've got the DVD here on my desktop. So far, I'm disappointed, as none of the video players on my work computer are playing it through without freezing up.

So I've been trying to fast forward through and find her, but it freezes up every few minutes.

No sign of her yet. There's actually a woman who does a Geritol commercial --- they pimp out Geritol without shame on this program --- who looks like her.

Another note is that they seem to be polling the viewing audience by phone as well as post card, so I gather that they don't announce this week's winner until next week. Last week's winner was ukelele-playing pony-tailed ten-year-old heartland girl responding to his questions with cornpone cracks her mother clearly grilled into her.

I've got to say, peeps were less talented in the fifties.

Edgy DC
Dec 18 2008 02:37 PM

Bob Shepherd doing the announcing.

metsguyinmichigan
Dec 18 2008 02:54 PM

Sounds cool!!!

themetfairy
Dec 18 2008 03:44 PM

If it continues to freeze up, contact the guy and have him send you another copy.

For the money you paid, you should be getting better quality.

Edgy DC
Dec 18 2008 04:21 PM

By the way, I found her. She kind of knocks the competition out of the arena.

themetfairy
Apr 01 2009 07:35 PM

How did Cha like the gift?

Edgy DC
Apr 01 2009 08:11 PM

Thanks for asking. She was luke-warm until seeing it. Like I said, her Mom knocks it out of the park, and we were all stilled. Her brother accused me of being a family stalker. He's a Ted Nugent guy.

I should figure out how to upload it.

themetfairy
Apr 01 2009 08:24 PM

Very cool - I'm glad that she enjoyed it :)