The Wheezer Society

Jumpin Java Beans, Batman!

Bandits Rob Stores with Cup of Coffee

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- A thief tossed piping hot coffee at cashiers working at three Grand Rapids stores robbed during a span of less than an hour, injuring at least one clerk, police said.

The Kent County, Mich., Sheriff's Department also was investigating a fourth incident in which hot coffee was splashed to distract a store clerk.

Jerome David Richards, 22, and Katie Lynn Vanderveen, 18, both of Walker, Mich., were arraigned Monday in Kent County District Court on three counts of armed robbery. Both were being held in the Kent County Jail -- Richards on $75,000 bail and Vanderveen on $35,000 bail.

George's Father

NYC: If your idea of the perfect tour of the Lower East Side doesn’t include combing the streets with a mass of tourists, or bulky headphones and a walkman, then just use your mobile phone. Candide Media Works of New York has created a walking tour of the Lower East Side (narrated by Seinfeld’s Jerry Stiller) that can be accessed with an 800 number via mobile phone. Talking Street

The Drunk at the Bar

Hey, when you're eight years old, you'll do anything for attention, so, the funniest guy on television in 1963 was Frank Fontaine aka 'Crazy Guggenheim', the drunk at the bar on the tv show Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine, which ran from 1962-1966. This was prior to the Miami Beach Jackie Gleason Show. So, being the obnoxious kid that I was, I'd get up whenever company came over, put on the hat, and did my best "Crazy" imitation. >>>

Frank Fontaine did the "idiot tenor" schtick just like Jim Nabors on Gomer Pyle, USMC.

Acting like at total drunk goof-ball, I was amazed at the 180 degree transformation. One minute, they were, as one person put it, "grinning, rubber-faced, bobbing and weaving imbeciles who could barely feed themselves". Fontaine's character, "Crazy", had a loud, irritating laugh. He would come from the back of the bar, usually at the request of Joe the Bartender (Gleason), to sing a song or to share stories with Mr. Dunahee, a never seen - off camera local.

Then, the next moment Joe says, "Would you sing something for us, Crazy?" "Surrrrrre Joe!" the total halfwit straightens up, transforms into someone as handsome and poised as 007. The mouth opens wide - viola - Placido Domingo! When the song's over, his shoulders droop, face twists, eyes dim and Crazy re-commits with profound attention to his wet rag bar work.

The Crazy Guggenheim character was based on a real-life friend of Gleason's called "Puke." If you have a RealPlayer from Real Networks you can view a short clip of Jackie Gleason and Crazy Guggenheim

Although I'm not doing many imitations these days, forty years later, it's still pretty funny stuff.

That's Just Terrific

Yesterday we caught a couple of episodes of VH1's "I Love the 70's" series. They showed some clips of Captain Kangaroo, for some reason, on the 1976 segment. I remember the Captain from the 1950's when I was a wee lad. The Capt'n looked pretty old in the clips from 1976. Even in 1976 we were saying that Mr Greenjeans was Frank Zappa's father.

Which leads me to the cartoon stuff - when the Capt'n was on CBS, they were home to two made-for TV Terrytoon properties. Tom Terrific, one of the first characters created by Gene Deitch and his Terrytoons crew, first appeared in 1957. The unlikely adventurer, complete with a funnel-hat, was paired with Mighty Manfred, the Wonder Dog. Filmed in black and white, with little or no backgrounds, the cartoons featured great characterizations, dialogue and story lines. Tom Terrific had the ability to change his shape into anything he wanted. The serialized adventures pitted the duo against such adversaries as Crabby Appleton, The Silly Sandman and Captain Kidney Bean.

I'll search my archives - I know I have a few other pictures of old Tom and Manfred.