Man! Not only does he have ALL THAT going for him, but he even gets to be featured on the the back cover of REAL SCREEN COMICS # 15 (Published by DC Comics, Cover Date: December 1947 / January 1948)!
Why, just reading his list of accomplishments and future aspirations is enough to give an average student an inferiority complex! (Click to Enlarge for ease of reading!)
You were OVER SIX FEET TALL... IN HIGH SCHOOL!? ...In 1947, yet?
I've been out of high school for over fifty years, and I haven't reached that yet! And I'm not very... er, "high" on my future chances...
As this is 1947, he even got to hear President Dwight D. Eisenhower BEFORE he was president!
...And, while most of the nation "liked Ike", Ike probably "liked HIM!"
Contrary to the request made above by "The Box in Pink", I cannot "...watch this space for the high school champ of [my] locality", because my high school wasn't built until 1956!
Yeah, I know... That's exactly the kind of excuse-laden, non-positive thinking that never won me any class honors beyond "Most Likely to Collect a Lot of Comic Books".
In addition to our esteemed Mr. Friedman, REAL SCREEN COMICS # 15 featured a number of other role-model types for "what passed for the comic book nerds and geeks of 1947" to aspire to.
On the INSIDE BACK COVER (the REVERSE of Tommy's page) was this...
Then again, if there was anyone I would have wanted to be, had I existed in 1947, it would most likely be the guy in THIS INTERIOR AD!
Seriously, "Tommy" (or Mr. Friedman), if you're really out there, please accept my kidding in the spirit of kindly humor with which it is intended!
Hope it all worked out exactly as you planned!
4 comments:
Man, advertising has always been emotionally manipulative. At first glance I assumed that the hero worship of “Most Popular Boy” Tommy Freidman was to encourage good behavior in the youth. Nope! It’s to advertise Thom McAn shoes.
I am curious, did other issues of Real Screen Comics have ads for Thom McAn shoes? If so, did Thom McAn feature other local “champs”. Or was Tommy Friedman just too strong of an act for anyone else to follow?
I got a lot of laughs outta this blog post: “Ike probably "liked HIM!" That made me cackle. I also hafta give Thom McAn credit, they found a sneaky work around to include General Eisenhower in an ad without asking (or paying) him to endorse their product.
Ryan:
DC Comics did carry lots of PSA pages that highlighted and encouraged good citizenship, up through the 1960s (…I guess after that they considered it a lost cause?), so I can see you making such an assumption. But, not this time… you know, “Commerce’s gotta commerce!”
Running a query over GCD’s database, it would seem that Tom McAn ads like Tommy Friedman’s were more unique, rather than the norm. Of 769 ads logged, most of them fall more on the dramatic side (something I refer to in my GCD indexing as “Product-Spawned Heroics”), such as “How Thom McAn Rescued the Doomed Liner!” or “How Thom McAn Tamed a Tornado!”. …Forget Tommy, I wanna be a Thom McAn shoe!
There were a few like “Best All-Around Boy”, “Outstanding Boy”, and of course “Most Popular Boy”. But, perhaps because they didn’t have “Thom McAn” in the title – much less having the brand be responsible for a long list of dramatized heroic deeds, such ads were in the decided minority!
Finally, if I may step outside my usually humble self for just a moment… I’m glad you enjoyed the “Ike probably liked HIM!” line! Every now and then, in my comics writing or at the Blog, I come up with a gag that I’m really proud of… and that became one of them the moment I wrote it on the fly!
I’d expect that most folks these days would not be overly familiar with Eisenhower’s classic presidential campaign slogan, and not really “get it” even if they could dope-out some kind of a joke through context alone, but it’s especially gratifying to see it appreciated, not only by a golden-oldie like me but by a fine young man (Yes, I REALLY MEAN that!) such as yourself! …Don’t worry, the obligatory joke will follow in the next line!
…Just imagine what you’d achieve by slipping on a pair of Thom McAn shoes, packing some Ray-O-Vac Batteries, and downing a bottle of RC Cola! … Tommy Friedman would end up voting for YOU!
I think I found him! Thomas Friedman of Baltimore's age in this obituary (67 in 1997) roughly aligns with his being 18 in 1947... https://www.baltimoresun.com/1997/06/24/thomas-v-friedman-67-litigated-asbestos-casesthomas/
Unfortunately, the obituary is behind a paywall, but, based on what little info is exposed, it seems Tommy did well for himself indeed.
Sergio, you are INCREDIBLE!
I applaud the diligence it must have taken to unearth this information… especially considering that Thomas Friedman is not exactly as uncommon a name as… oh, say mine! WELL DONE!
There’s even a columnist Tom (or Thomas) Friedman at the New York Times (whom Esther and I attended a lecture by over 20 years ago) who would likely have come up first – or near-first – on any search on the name that you might have tried! Funny that I didn’t think of him until just now… but maybe it’s because the ad referred to its subject as “Tommy Friedman”.
HERE is a link for columnist Friedman…
…And HERE is Sergio’s link for “Thomas (“Tommy”) Friedman. You won’t be able to read much before the Baltimore Sun shuts you out, but it’s definitely worth a look.
I’d concur with Sergio that Mr. Friedman “did well for himself” in life, as the ad predicted, but for having died at the way-too-early age of 67! Rest in peace, “Tommy Friedman”, unlike many former wunderkinds, YOU apparently lived up to the hype!
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