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08/08/2008: Facing a Jury in 1956


With the help of Friend-of-the-Blog Jeff, I located and purchased the most wonderful book today, Gentle Readers. "Best Television Humor of the Year," edited by Irving Settel. It was published in 1956 and contains long script excerpts from "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," "The Goldbergs," "The Life of Riley," "The Martha Raye Show" and others. All of the shows were in production at the time of publication, and there's something wonderful about hearing, say, Milton Berle discussed in the present tense.

I've only started reading the scripts, and I must say they are heavy on situation and reaction and low low low on jokes. So far, the only real laugh I've had was at a clever stage direction. In an episode of "The Bob Cummings Show," written by Paul Henning and Phil Shuken, there's a bit of physical business indicated for a bit player -- a model hoping to land a job. The stage direction reads:

A very beautiful and shapely model is seated near the office door waiting to be interviewed by Bob. As she hears the door open she quickly crosses her legs, pulls her dress up to jury-influencing height, and assumes a provocative pose..."

"Jury-influencing height." I love it. Sharp, quick, knowing, subtle, and since it's in the stage direction, clearly intended for the reader, and not the viewer of the piece. It feels very contemporary amid the rest of the script. I've always advocated stage-direction humor, and I think this is one of the starkest examples I've seen of how it can pop -- not just as an opportunity for humor, but as a way to create a connection between the writer and the reader, even across decades.

Lunch: Barbeque chicken and more of those Spicy Fries from Ribs USA. Wonderful!