There's something inside LOIS LANE # 50 (DC Comics, Cover Date: July, 1964) that stumps even a grizzled Silver Age maven such as myself...
In an incidental bit that has no impact on the story itself - and, thus, requires no further elaboration on the part of writer or artist - Lois pays a visit to Professor Potter, the Silver Age Superman continuity's version of Carl Barks' all-purpose inventor Gyro Gearloose.
In our story, Potter has invented a "TV comedian robot", with interchangeable "COMEDIAN HEADS" that perform the routines of the comic whose "head" is attached. (Click to enlarge!)
In 1964, I watched ALL those guys... yet, there is one I simply cannot name!
In Potter's hand is Phil Silvers! Attached to the robot's body is Bob Hope!
On the console TOP are Jerry Lewis and Jimmy Durante!
On the console BOTTOM are Groucho Marx... and WHOM?
Drawing a blank (...no, it's not Mel Blanc!)...
...I asked Esther, whose "facial recognition skills" far outstrip my own - and she thought it might be Buddy Hackett!
I don't believe the "mystery head" to be round and fat enough, nor the nose bulbous enough, to be Buddy Hackett! Surely, the NECK is too thin, in any event!
But, I really can't figure out who it's supposed to be! Remember, it must be someone who was famous in 1964!
The only thing I can come up with is that it could be Bob Denver as beatnik Maynard G. Krebs from the TV series "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis"!
And then only because DC produced comics based on Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis and Phil Silvers...
...And also published a DOBIE GILLIS title!
Only I just don't think so!
Considering that there were such GIANTS from which to choose - Jack Benny, George Burns, Milton Berle, Henny Youngman, Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason (all of whom could have been easily - and recognizably - caricatured) one wonders how this apparent "mystery man" found his way into this "Pantheon of the Comedy Gods"!
It's not Dick Van Dyke, or Johnny Carson... I'm really baffled!
You're all invited to send your guesses in the form of comments! ...Help a Blogger (...and beloved Disney Comics translator and dialogue creator) out won'tcha?
WAIT! Perhaps that's not a SHADOW under "the unknown comic's" chin... but a BEARD!
If it IS a beard, it COULD be "future Gilligan" Bob Denver as Dobie Gillis' pal "Maynard G. Krebs"!
But, would Maynard G. Krebs (or Dobie Gillis, for that matter) be in the same class of comedic fame as the others? ...Again, I just don't think so! ARRRGH!
I'll bet not even the rest of these guys know who that is!
7 comments:
Lenny Bruce? He certainly had the eyebrows!
Joe: Before I even reached the end of your post, I immediately identified the unknown comedian as Bob Denver in his role as Maynard G. Krebs! So I'm pretty sure that was the intent.
It seems to me not so much a matter of a lesser comedian among the greats as--these are all faces that young readers of 1964 would recognize. To a kid, it doesn't matter so much if one of the persons is not quite in the same league as the others. And if I recall correctly, each of these comedians was a visible presence in the early 60's. I certainly knew who Jimmy Durante was, and Jerry Lewis, and Bob Hope. I wouldn't have recognized Bob Denver at that time because my parents never watched Dobie Gillis. (They barely if at all watched Gilligan's Island, for that matter!) But to many kids of the day, I believe those comedians depicted were all somewhat recognizable.
In any case, I would have been only 4 at the time and not reading comics yet. But within a year--that would change!
Which brings up my wondering about the appeal of the Lois Lane comic book--who were the readers, and how did it last so long? The handful of issues I have read are--well, let's just say a Superman story of the same vintage seems more appealing. This one at least begins with an interesting premise.
I'm quite certain it is Bob Denver, and he is there because DC publishes his comic (and not because he is really a comedy great). He is a better choice than Dwayne Hickman!
Elaine:
As controversial as Lenny Bruce was back in 1964, I doubt he would have been alluded to in a Code-Approved comic of the time.
Was he even that recognizable a face to the comic book readers of the day? I didn’t have that comic in 1964, but I would have recognized all the other faces from having seen them on TV. They either had TV shows or specials of their own, or would be familiar by their movies playing on TV.
Did Lenny Bruce even have much of a presence on TV, since the heads were for a “TV Comedian Robot”? If so, it was probably on The Ed Sullivan Show or some similar venue.
Scarecrow and Shad:
I originally prepared this post well over a year ago and kept it in my “Drafts” folder to release during my all-too-many periods of (all together now) “horrific business”! I actually have many such posts lying in wait for all of you, so that the Blog remains fresh no matter what’s going on with me. That would also explain why the Blog manages to roll-on, while my personal correspondence completely falls off a cliff.
Oddly, as fate would have it, for the past week I’ve been watching “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” from the “Complete Series” DVD set, and so far have enjoyed the first eight episodes!
So, while I was unsure when composing the post, there’s no doubt that both of you got it right! It is very definitely (future Gilligan) Bob Denver as “Maynard G. Krebs”! Indeed, Gilligan could easily have been a cousin of Maynard, given Denver’s respective portrayals of both.
Beyond that, “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” was a very META show, where each episode opens with Dwayne Hickman’s “Dobie” sitting in a park next to a statue of The Thinker (with Dobie assuming a similar pose) telling the audience about his problem-of-the-week! He might also address “us” during act-in / act-out breaks or just about anywhere during the show.
If you’ve ever seen the turn-of-the-20th-century FOX Network sitcom “Titus”, it also followed a similar format with star and title character Christopher Titus opening each episode in a darkened room, where he switches on a single lightbulb… and tells the audience about his problem-of-the-week! He, too, breaks the fourth wall – or picture tube or plasma-screen, if you will – to address us throughout the show.
…And, until now, I never knew just how much “Titus” (…a favorite sitcom of mine – but, apparently no one else’s… if anyone even remembers it today) owes to “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis”!
Scarecrow:
To your Lois Lane question…
The LOIS LANE title ran for 137 issues (1958-1974), following two “tryout” issues of SHOWCASE in 1957. I’d say the reason for its appeal was twofold…
The immense popularity of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN TV show, which also spawned another character spinoff title SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN 163 issues (1954-1974). In 1974 both features were folded into the giant-sized SUPERMAN FAMILY 59 issues (1974-1982). Along with ACTION COMICS and WORLD’S FINEST COMICS (…not to mention Superman’s eponymous title and his eventual role in what would soon be the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA), DC’s lineup would be sufficiently… er, “super-charged”.
The second reason – and I daresay the more important one – would be to appeal to girls, with a super-comic more specifically aimed toward them, even titling it SUPERMAN’S GIRL FRIEND LOIS LANE. A female lead, combined with a sorta romantic rivalry with Lana Lang and scheme’s to prove that Superman was Clark Kent, worked well with a healthy representation of female names seen in the title’s letter columns… along with a sufficient number of male names as well. WONDER WOMAN and SUPERGIRL fulfilled the same function… and I liked them too!
While these series featured the same cast of characters, the LOIS LANE and JIMMY OLSEN titles had more of a specific focus driven by their respective title characters. LOIS LANE’S recurring themes are listed above though, as we moved into the 1970s, Lois became more of the modern adventure protagonist she always deserved to be.
JIMMY OLSEN’S best moments were actually the stories without Superman (or where he just played a minor role). Oddly, Jimmy Olsen’s trials and (often glory-or-romance-seeking) tribulations often resembled the comic book Donald Duck… in his “quick-success-followed-by-rapid-failure-rate”! And, he had more “incredible-transforming-into-something-else” occurrences than most Silver Age DC characters... and that's saying A LOT!
One of my favorite issues of JIMMY OLSEN which nicely delivered all this was #62 as seen HERE! Everyone should check this one out!
Hope this helps…
Correction... that was JIMMY OLSEN #64!
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