[78-L] Investigator [was 1st Family]

[Michael Biel]

David Lennick wrote:
> Them, I never heard of. Interesting. Also interesting is that my two American 
> pressings on Discuriosities 6834 say "Copyright 1955 Radio Rarities Inc." on 
> the jacket and "Copyright 1954 Radio Radio Rarities Inc." on the labels

This is, of course, Sidney Frey.  There are ads for the record in The 
Long Player from his company Dauntless.   I am in touch with his 
daughter who has his files, and I hope to figure this out among many 
other things.

> , and my 
> English pressing on Oriole MG 20006 shows the 1954 copyright date on the jacket 
> and no date on the labels. US pressings have Columbia XTV matrix numbers but 
> I've never seen a copy with actual Columbia matrices (only the numbers).
>   

Oh I have several copies that are actually Columbia pressings. Grey 
labels, standard Columbia layout, standard matrix typefaces.

> It was also issued on Broadside, from scratched discs. Terrible..I got rid of 
> that copy years ago (never had it with a jacket so I don't know what that 
> looked like).  dl
>
>   
It also was incomplete.  I have the full package, thinking that it might 
be an improvement over the original but it sure wasn't.  Can't believe 
that Moe Asch actually paid for someone to do a complete script.  I've 
been meaning to check if the script is of the incomplete recording.  It 
would be embarrassing for the enclosed script to have parts not on the 
record.

> david.diehl at hensteeth.com wrote:
>   
>> Walter Colquitt and John Bubbers issued it in the States in December of 1954. It sold well despite false rumors being spread that proceeds were going to the Communist Party. Haven't played it in a long time but I don't think it holds up the way Freberg does.
>> DJD
>>     

It does!  And actually I like the Cactus Pryor McCarthy spoof on 4 Star 
X93/1661 (6631/32) with the same title "Point of Order" just as much or 
even better than Stan's.   
http://www.honkingduck.com/mc/side/cactus-pryor-co/point-order-senator-and-private-part-one  
Not sure if we are supposed to get audio on this page. 

Last fall at the Friends of Old TIme Radio there was a panel session 
with the families of Bob and Ray, and Bob's widow told some stories 
about the reactions to the skits they did spoofing McCarthy.  They were 
pioneers!   I gotta remember to get the DVD of that session.  Keith 
Olbermann even showed up. 

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com 


>> From: David Lennick [mailto:dlennick at sympatico.ca]
>>
>> Not using the exact audio, unless you count the documentary "Point of Order" as a comedy album. But McCarthy was satirized at the time..by Bob & Ray on the radio, by Stan Freberg ("Point of Order") on record, and skewered by blacklisted playwright Reuben Ship when he returned to Canada and wrote "The Investigator" for CBC Radio. John Drainie spent a few afternoons in a bar in Buffalo watching the hearings and getting McCarthy's drawl down pat. Ironically, when the play was "bootlegged" on LP in the States (bootlegged my ass, the aircheck was smuggled out by the show's producer), it was an underground hit but Drainie couldn't get any work in the States because nobody would admit to having listened to it or finding it amusing.Good night and good luck.dl
>>
>>