Jean Shepherd

Back when I was in the Army, (63-66), I was stationed at missile bases in PA and then NJ. Both areas were within the broadcast range of WOR from NYC. I used to smuggle my transistor radio to the Guard Shack when on guard duty and listen to the radio to pass the time in a very boring job. There I discovered Jean Shepherd. He told stories from his youth long before he became a writer for Playboy (I occasionally read the articles) and before he wrote the movie A Christmas Story, but you can get an idea of his style from that movie.

I found him fascinating, to say the least. Years later I got a bit nostalgic and started to Google up his name. Lo and behold, others found him as fascinating as I did and they saved many, if not all his broadcasts! His work is now being rebroadcast on WBAI from NYC, and if anyone is the least bit interested, heres the URL: http://www.flicklives.com/Mass_Back/mass_back.asp

You can stream one of his broadcasts on Real Player and decide if you like him. If you do, you can even make your own recordings from the menu provided. It slowly changes over time, adding one and dropping one weekly.

Oddly enough, I have yet to hear a single program that I remember, but that was over 40 years ago.

It was a 4th of July special, and as enjoyable to me as the screenplays for Christmas Story and Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss.

You might get lucky.

I always thought the 4th of July movie was even better than the Christmas Story.

I also remember his saying " Beer is the mother of us all"

:hi: :hug: :loveya:

....I'm bookmarking this for later! A Christmas Story is one of the best movies of all time!! :thumbsup:

He had a fertile imagination.

....hope you're doin' well these days...I sent you an email just last night to yahoo btw! :)

good sign.

Got your email. It was a joke, IIRC, and didn't require a response.

....better off up there where it's cooler too...it's been oppressive here...gettin' a break from the heat for the next few days they say...remains to be seen if they get it right though! ;-)

Up here, it's almost liveable -- most of the time. At other times, it's a bit like Louisiana, but without most of the the humidity. Have I mentioned that I DO NOT miss Louisiana?

IF the self-righteous assholes up here would vote to make my county "wet" instead of "dry" I wouldn't need to drive so far to refill my liquor cabinet.

;-)

...hell they voted to sell on Sunday's in Monroe...never thought it'd pass but it did...guess they were just jealous of Richwood makin' a killin' on Sunday's and had to follow suit...and WM probably will too eventually!! :D

SUNDAY! I cannot believe it. Enjoy!

We're not quite that enlightened up here yet. I have to drive quite a distance to buy stuff and then all they way to Missouri, if I run out on a Sunday.

...I DARESAY! :evilgrin:

:D

seems that the database that it connected to is no longer online. Last summer I could leave the laptop running and it would randomly pick shows. I downloaded a couple dozen mp3s. These are the shows in the original format without the "Mass backwards" stuff added. If they didn't replace the computer at work, they should still be there. Let me know if you're interested

I like to listen in frequently and use my Real One player, but I doubt that I'd have need of a lengthy set of his shows. I do not even record these, even though I have that option.

amazing stuff. WBAI plays his stuff a lot. I think you can stream it wbai.org

"Rambling with Gambling" I always loved march around the breakfast table. I think my mom used it to get us motivated for going to school.

I remember the Bomark missle base on rt 539. Jersey shore bound.

You might also enjoy this http://www.weirdnj.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88&Itemid=28

Philadelphia Air Defense Command. My NJ base was located at Lumberton and it was a Nike-Hercules Site.

It's still my home base. Lumberton was east of Philadelphia as I recall.

Cherry Hill and Moorestown Malls.

I got my first 35m SLR camera at the Cherry Hill Mall.

Gosh, memories flood back! Mt. Holly was a delightful town.

Jean Shepherd stories in book form are just as funny. Besides "In God We Trust" there is "Wanda Hickey's Night Of Golden Memories", both collections of short stories. Still available on Amazon they are a great read. I never missed a night listening. You should remember Long John Nebel too!

and went to Peru with him on an expedition. When we returned, he introduced the two of us.

Long John was a lot nicer guy in person than on the radio where I thought he could be rather brash -- except when someone called in and threatened suicide.

I first read IGWT a brazillion years ago, sitting outside a book store in San Bernie CA. I was :rofl: because the description of The Old Man's battles with the coal burning basement monster exactly matched some of my own father's go arounds.

If you're a Mid-west first wave baby boomer, Shepherd's books are a must read.

I'd be addicted to Shepherd at 10 or 11 PM and then Long John came on with The Way Out World till the wee hours.

Oh, and I just added "A Christmas Story" to my Netflix queue

I remember how angry I was when the Long John show was dropped and replaced by some young upstart named....Larry King!

I suppose we all gotta go eventually, but he was a legend to many.

I could listen whenever I wished, and I DID!

I lived in northern New Jersey in the 1960s and had a friend whose parents listened to Jean Shepherd on WOR all the time. Luci was their youngest child and with the 2 other kids were much older, she got to do things that were probably not age appropriate, like going to the Limelight in the Village to see a Jean Shepherd performance. Luci turned me on to Shepherd when we were in 6th grade and I'd listen to his WOR radio programs at night with my transistor radio tuned way low. I begged my mother for his book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash for Christmas. One day when were were in 7th or 8th grade, we heard an announcement on the program that Shepherd was doing a performance at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, a local college. So a couple of us got our parents' approval (and money for tickets), got my mom to drive us over and pick us up and attended. It was great - one of his lines about Hackensack, both the river the college campus was on and the city of the same name right across it - made us howl. "Hackensack, Hackensack - it sounds like an old Indian upchucking." Thanks for a good memory and a cool link.

and elsewhere with whom I have shared this information. I didn't think I was alone in my admiration of his talent, but it seems that I was among the vast majority.

and, if you think Hackensack is funny, how about Ho-Ho-Kus?

always made me laugh. I lived in Cresskill, with the Tenakill Brook flowing through town, and surrounded by Tenafly, Demerest, Dumont and Alpine. And of course there was always Paramus and the Oritani Indians.

We used to go to to a Chinese restaurant there when I was a kid- I think it was called the China Chalet

Long, LONGtime fan of Jean Shepherd...

Redstone

If you listen to Keith Olbermann, you'll hear echoes of Jean Shepherd in the writing and in the delivery. Shep was obviously a big influence on him.

Shepherd was a genius at capturing the American culture in words. Like Garrison Keillor and Mark Twain.

My hero.

Something similar to what Steven Spielberg did with "Amazing Stories". Using the many, many Jean Shepherd stories and his broadcasts as voice-over narration. Are you listening Mr. Spielberg??:-)

"jean shepard's america"

http://www.flicklives.com/television/JS_America/js_america.htm

you can by the dvd here: http://www.sheptapes.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=85

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a1ERMfdtB0

...which had about half the storyline from "A Christmas Story" (including the leg lamp and the guy who ordered a kit house from Sears), except a) this was done before the movie and b) it was done better.

and also of Long John Nebel. I'll have to check out their work and see what they were all about- good way to get to know my dear departed daddy a little better.

BTW, he also tuned in "Rambling with Gambling" every morning.

As long as we're being nostalgic, anyone of a certain age from the NYC area remember "The Make-Believe Ballroom" with William B. Williams? Another part of the soundtrack of my childhood.

It's Make-Believe Ballroom time
The hour of sweet romance
Here's your Make-Believe Ballroom
Come on children, lets dance.

The theme was sung by The Modernaires with the Glenn Miller band. The original host was Martin Block in the 30s and 40s. Here in NYC it was on WNEW radio. William B. took over in the 50s with his famous opening,"Hello world."
Great memories.

The receptionist in my office used to have it on in '83.

Didn't Williams die suddenly?

I loved that show. I don't know where to hear that music on the radio anymore, except for Jonathan Schwartz's weekend shows on WNYC.