BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?

Subject: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Iona
Date: 13 May 12 - 03:52 AM

Don't try to pretend that you don't!
I'm doing a research project. Not particularly on the Garry Moore Show, but on one of it's cast members, Ken Carson (who had formerly been a member of the Sons of the Pioneers in the early to late forties). He was on the Garry Moore Show from about 1950 to 1958, I believe. I am not certain on when he stopped on the show.

If any of you have memories of the Garry Moore Show which included Durward Kirby, Denise Lor and Ken Carson, I'd love to hear them. I'm looking for anecdotes of things they did on the show, perhaps even songs they sang, jokes they played, things they said--anything. I've not found but one segment of the show and a few clips. It was very poorly archived, and footage is near to impossible to procure. Somebody's got it, but whom, I don't know.

Note, I am not looking for the more well-known later segment(s) of the Garry Moore Show which had Carol Burnett and all them folks. I'm only looking for the 1950-1958 segments. :)

If anyone has anything at all to offer, I'd be delighted to hear from you!

Thanks a ton!

Iona

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: gnu
Date: 13 May 12 - 03:53 PM

You Tube? I saw some clips there.

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Bill D
Date: 13 May 12 - 06:05 PM

Sure...I watched it all the time. To make it 'folk' related, I remember Garry Moore saying once that in his old neighborhood, status was determined by "how many verses you could remember to 'Abdul the Bulbul Emir'".

They also did a routine about language in which they either composed or 'translated' a French phrase book with such phrases as "I have a red pencil box"....

*trying to remember *Durwood" Kirby stories*

I have not seen anything but a few clips in 50-60 years.

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Bill D
Date: 13 May 12 - 07:42 PM

Well... all these years, and it seems the name WAS "Durward" Kirby. You hear what you expect at 12 years old...

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: maire-aine
Date: 13 May 12 - 07:50 PM

I don't think I was allowed to stay up that late. m

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Bill D
Date: 13 May 12 - 08:05 PM

His first shows were morning shows...I saw some before I went off to school in about 52-53... then I watched "I've Got a Secret" in later years, and the evening Garry Moore show at times.

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Bobert
Date: 13 May 12 - 08:07 PM

Wasn't he the guy with the bad flat top haircut???

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: MarkS
Date: 13 May 12 - 10:17 PM

Wasn't Carol Burnette on the show as well?

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Bill D
Date: 13 May 12 - 10:39 PM

He and George Gobel both had flat-top cuts... and yes... Carol Burnette actually got her start on his shows...

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: catspaw49
Date: 13 May 12 - 11:04 PM

Yeah.....Carol Burnette was a regular later but (as I was just a youngster) I remember Durward well as being such a stiff.   My memory is mainly for the 58 and beyond shows as by that time Iwas 10 and more in touch with the world......if I've ever actually been in touch.................

Alan King was another regular and then the numerous guests, some like Steve and Edie and Mel Torme made everal appearances each season.   Also remember "I've Got a Secret" very well......Gobel did that a lot as did Henry (not Harry/Henry=MASH) Morgan.

Can't help you on what you're looking for though....Sorry.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 13 May 12 - 11:26 PM

As Gnu said, Iona, there are a few on YouTube. Worth taking a look.

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Iona
Date: 14 May 12 - 02:30 AM

Triple 9: you can wager all you've got that I've watched every.single.clip. on YouTube. :D I've found a number of them which had the original cast (Denise Lor, Durward Kirby and Ken Carson), but it seems that the later segment with Carol Burnette, and then I've Got A Secret were much better archived than the original cast segments. Which I should have expected. Nothing worth having is easy to get. ;)

The Garry Moore Show--the part I'm looking for--was originally aired as a morning show, and then in fall of '51 they also aired an evening segment. I'm not completely sure of the timeline of the show, but I know that they had both A.M. and P.M. slots in the duration. But Moore and the producers preferred the morning slot. It was more relaxed (not having the rush that prime time TV does).   

I know that there are a number of archives (in L.A. and N.C.) where you can go and view footage personally, but you can't get a copy or have it transmitted digitally. And since I don't live near either place, I'm in a rut!

If this jogs your memory:
"The director of the Garry Moore Show was Clarence Schimmel, one of the brains behind the program. He could keep up with the lively Moore's antics on camera, and Schimmel was the one who thought up many of the gags that the cast pulled while on air. At one point in the show, he improvised two cameras to create the illusion that Ken and Denise were walking on a tightrope above the audience, a trick that was well appreciated.

Another time, Garry Moore informed the audience, slightly hesitantly, that "it isn't often that they do the more....sophisticated type of numbers, but today they've got a really...beautiful song, and it's called 'Unconditional Surrender'." With that introduction, out onto the stage strutted Ken. Kenny was dressed in a very loud suit, complete with false teeth, wig, and a straw hat perched jauntily on his head. Closely following on his heels (nearly literally), trotted his compatriot Denise Lor, who was no less fitted out, with a rope tied around her waist as a sash and a floral horror of a hat strapped atop her curls. The two, armed with washboard and guitar, proceeded to deliver their number!"

(that's from a soon-to-be-released web page on Ken Carson). I don't know if that sort of brings back memories of incidents on the show, but I hope it did. :)

Thanks for your attempts, y'all. We'll find something yet. :D

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Iona
Date: 19 May 12 - 01:46 AM

*laughs* So, no one cared for ol' Garry and his compatriots? Come on, y'all. I know that some of you've got memories! To quote the Tintin books: "Hrm! Hrm! Stop, little human!"

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: frogprince
Date: 19 May 12 - 12:56 PM

One oddball memory that I'm pretty sure was from the Moore show: a "talking" dog. He had been trained somehow to moan out what was plainly discernable as "I love my momma". I found it a bit creepy, as it sounded so much like a seriously developmentally disabled person. Sort of " I luuuve mmuy mmaaammmaaaa".

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: olddude
Date: 19 May 12 - 02:21 PM

I watched it with my dad everytime it was on. I was young. The only thing I do remember was his heartfelt goodbye when he told everyone about his throat problem. I assume now it was cancer.   Anyone remember Kitty Carlisle?

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: catspaw49
Date: 19 May 12 - 03:57 PM

Kitty Carlisle was cool. As a kid I thought she was kind of elegant but had no idea about her career. As I got older and saw her in many movies I thought even more of her. In high school I first learned of Moss Hart and she took a giant leap when it turned out she was his wife! The final straw was the day I realized that pretty girl in "A Night at the Opera" was indeed Kitty Carlisle.

In her later years I enjoyed her appearances discussing everything from Moss Hart to the Marx brothers. Seems to me sho was a ripe old age when she died. Neat lady.....Yeah, I remember Kitty Carlisle.


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Bill D
Date: 19 May 12 - 04:28 PM

Most of my memories of Garry Moore were later...on "I've Got a Secret" and a few from his evening show. There many running routines on that early morning show, but it WAS 60 years ago.
   On "I've Got a Secret", the focus was the guests, but Bill Cullen & Henry Morgan were funny enough to have their own shows later. Morgan's signature attitude was complaining and semi-rude.

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: GUEST,rangersteve
Date: 19 May 12 - 05:21 PM

New York City has a Museum of Broadcasting. Maybe they can help.
I only remember the night time show. Kirby, Burnette and Marion Lorne. And black entertainers, which was a rare thing. I first saw Bill Cosby and Godfrey Cambridge on the Moore show.

\\\\\\\

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: catspaw49
Date: 19 May 12 - 06:53 PM

BILL......Henry Morgan I recall as you do, a kind of resident smart-ass. But he knew genius when he saw it. Somehow he met a carver from Dover, Ohio named Ernest "Mooney" Warther. They became friends and Mooney carved him a railroad themed chess set out of ebony and ivory. I mention this because if y'all ever get back this way again it is the one place that we must go.

Pictures on the net don't do it justice. Warther's


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Iona
Date: 13 Jul 12 - 05:06 PM

I know that they did bring animals on the show an awful lot, FrogPrince, though I hadn't heard of that one (talk about creepy!) :D One time they brought a boa constrictor on stage and it started to climb up Garry Moore's leg--he shrieked and leapt some feet into the air.... much to the amusement of everyone but Garry!

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Allan C.
Date: 14 Jul 12 - 07:04 AM

I can still picture Carol Burnett performing "The Trolly Song" as in, "Clang, clang, clang! Went the trolly. Ring, ring, ring! Went the bell".
Her rendition was such a hit that I believe they did it more than once.

Let's not forget Vicki Laurence:

During her senior year of high school Vicki sent Carol Burnett a letter which included a local newspaper article mentioning their resemblance. Vicki invited Ms. Burnett to the local fire department's "Miss Fireball Contest" in which she was performing. Ms. Burnett, looking for an actress to play her kid sister on her new variety series, contacted Vicki and made arrangements to come to the event. The rest is television history. "The Carol Burnett Show" premiered in the fall of 1967; the same year Vicki entered UCLA to study Theater Arts. She spent eleven years with Carol, earning one Emmy Award and five Emmy nominations. In 1995 Simon and Schuster published her story. Her autobiography is entitled "Vicki!: The True Life Adventures of Miss Fireball".

It is possible that this autobiography might have a little tidbit or two about Ken Carson.

Oddly, I only remember Ken with regard to his time in the Sons of the Pioneers.

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: pdq
Date: 14 Jul 12 - 02:35 PM

Ken Carson seems to have been able to maintain a career in singing, acting and general intertainment. Born in Oklahoma and part Cherokee, he did OK with or without the Sons of the Pioneers...

"Late in 1931, he became a regular on Stuart Hamblen's popular radio show. A year later, he became a member of the Beverly Hillbillies and formed a lasting friendship with Shug Fisher. He was later part of the Ranch Boys trio and made his film debut in 1934, singing 'The Man On The Flying Trapeze' in It Happened One Night. The Ranch Boys moved to join NBC in Chicago in 1936, initially for a one-year contract but stayed until they disbanded in 1941. Carson then gained his own programme on WGN, where he became known to the Sons Of The Pioneers. In April 1943, they asked him to deputize for Lloyd Perryman, who was drafted for military service. He officially joined the group in June 1943 and his fine tenor vocals became an important part of some of their recordings for Decca Records. Perryman returned early in 1946 but Carson continued to record with the group until December 1947, although officially no longer a group member...."

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: GUEST,olddude
Date: 15 Jul 12 - 12:51 PM

Not me I was way too young LOL ... I loved that show Dad and I would watch it every single time

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: GUEST,olddude
Date: 15 Jul 12 - 12:52 PM

while we are at it, how about sing along with Mitch

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: clueless don
Date: 16 Jul 12 - 09:21 AM

I suspect that this is from the later period, but I remember the show very well. I believe that "Candid Camera" started as a regular feature on the show. They also had a regular feature called "That Wonderful Year" (That Wonderful Year, we hope you'll see ... the past reappear like a memory ... we'll show you the way it used to be ... rememberrrrrr?) Each week they would feature news and music from a selected year.

Don

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Iona
Date: 07 Aug 12 - 05:44 PM

pdq wrote: "Ken Carson seems to have been able to maintain a career in singing, acting and general intertainment. Born in Oklahoma and part Cherokee, he did OK with or without the Sons of the Pioneers...

"Late in 1931, he became a regular on Stuart Hamblen's popular radio show. A year later, he became a member of the Beverly Hillbillies and formed a lasting friendship with Shug Fisher. He was later part of the Ranch Boys trio and made his film debut in 1934, singing 'The Man On The Flying Trapeze' in It Happened One Night. The Ranch Boys moved to join NBC in Chicago in 1936, initially for a one-year contract but stayed until they disbanded in 1941. Carson then gained his own programme on WGN, where he became known to the Sons Of The Pioneers. In April 1943, they asked him to deputize for Lloyd Perryman, who was drafted for military service. He officially joined the group in June 1943 and his fine tenor vocals became an important part of some of their recordings for Decca Records. Perryman returned early in 1946 but Carson continued to record with the group until December 1947, although officially no longer a group member....""

PdQ: Yes, Ken was doing well even before he met the Pioneers! There's a pretty big web page on him here: {CLICKY}

However, I have done a LOT of researching on Ken's genealogy, and I have not found any evidence that he was "Part Cherokee". Lots of people claimed that back then ('specially the cowboy singers), but I don't know where that came from about Ken. His father was born in Indian territory, yes, but wasn't Indian. Ken's birth name was Hubert Paul Flatt (sounds English if nothing else)...the thing that fouls me up is that he has a rather 'exotic' look about him. He's dark, short and handsome. ;) (not really short, even though his nickname was "Shorty"--he stood an extreme average height of 5'10). Future research may discover something...

One error, too, in the 'summary' you posted (that's from Allmusic.com, I think): Lloyd Perryman returned in 1947, not 1946, and Ken recorded with the group into 1948. That's all covered in the page I linked to, though. Even got pictures (one of the Garry Moore Show Cast).

Allan C: I doubt that Viki Laurence's book has anything on Ken Carson, because Carol Burnett and Ken never worked together on the Garry Moore Show. Ken was on the first show which ran from 1950 to 1958. Carol Burnett was on the second show a while later.

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: Iona
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 02:52 AM

Oho! I made a mistake myself. I wrote
"Lloyd Perryman returned in 1947, not 1946, and Ken recorded with the group into 1948"

No, no, you were right. Lloyd returned in 1946. Ken continued recording with the Pioneers until late 1947. I always get mixed up on that--and I call myself an expert on Ken Carson!

Iona

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: GUEST,my grandmother's dog
Date: 03 May 14 - 12:20 AM

It was named Yarnette. She told me she appeared on the Garry Moore Show because the talk "talked" - saying 'I love you.'

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: pdq
Date: 03 May 14 - 01:51 AM

Ken Carson was with the Sons of The Pioneers for less than five years but was a very nice addition.

He had a very clear light tenor voice. He is the lead vocal on the Sons of the ipioneers "Yellow Rose of Texas".

He also provides a spooky etherial "cool, clear, water" in the background or the 1947 re-recording of that Bob Nolan's song.

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: GUEST,Stephanie
Date: 19 Jun 14 - 11:21 PM

The talking dog that was on the show belonged to my mother's friend, Marianna Rabassa, here in Kansas City. They were on the show in about 1955, I think. And he did say, " I love my mama.". I heard him many times. A cute RCA Victor look-alike as I remember.

Subject: RE: BS: Remember the Garry Moore Show?
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 20 Jun 14 - 02:19 AM

Denise Lor Yahoo search page.....scroll down to the 2nd group of videos. There is one of Moore,
Lor and Carson in the first batch, as well.

GfS