Does anyone on the board remember this program? I have heard mention of it three times lately and I looked it up on wikipedia.
I was wondering what people thought of it and what they remember of it. I found it interesting that Abe Burrows father of James Burrows was a writer on the show.
Did James Burrows bring back any of the old feel of Duffy’s with Cheers?
Oh well, just curious, hopefully this gets a few replies.
Jim
Well I found some recording here: http://www.freeotrshows.com/otr/d/Duffys_Tavern.html
I listened to the 1943-12-07 guest Bing Crosby episode. I could not make it through the hole program. I gave up 20 minutes in. Some jokes were obvious in-jokes of the time that did not translate well 63 years later and some of the regular characters were too dumb or annoying to put up with.
I think the program might just be too dated.
I will let this thread die away now,
Jim
Was just going to post that Golden Age OTR (an internet radio station) occasionally plays Duffy’s Tavern. They focus on commedy programs from that era, although they occasionally will mix in dragnet or roy rogers or the like, and they do some great sci-fi stuff around halloween.
Anyway, I like Duffy’s Tavern, but it’s nothing special for that era. Yeah, some of the jokes are dated, but that’s to be expected; much of humor is topical. There are better shows out there, certainly- Give me Jack Benny, or even better, Groucho Marx any day.
Hey cool, I will look around for some from those two. I already love Groucho anyway and Benny was the biggest star of Radio if I recall correctly.
Thank you,
Jim
I’m not old enough to remember Duffy’s Tavern but I’m old enough to remember when James Burrows was described as Abe Burrows’ son.
Abe Burrows was a legend of comedy writing. Forget Duffy’s Tavern: Burrows wrote the book for Guys and Dolls, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, Can Can, Silk Stockings, Cactus Flower and several other big Broadway hits, and he was in big demand as a play doctor: if your play needed more jokes, you hired Abe. He won four Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize.
My dad liked the show when he was younger. I never actually heard it myself, but he liked to quote the way the bartender always answered the phone: “Duffy’s Tavern! Duffy ain’t here.”
So where was Duffy all the time, anyway? Or didn’t he exist?
Also, if you care for baseball trivia, WE?, the old Mets’ and Pirates’ catcher Duffy Dyer was named after the show. (His real name is Don Robert Dyer, but his mother asked “How’s Duffy doing?” after he was born, and he’s been “Duffy” ever since.)
Duffy didn’t exist. Archie was the bartender, and sort-of the ‘main character’ of the show, but he did a lot of bits with talking to Duffy on the phone about various things. Miss Duffy (I was never quite sure- sister or daughter) appeared occasionally- usually when they had a handsome, actor-type guest-star that she would ham-handedly try to impress / seduce (and always fail).
I’d also recommend, for those in the old-time-radio-commedy search, “The Life of Riley” (The Digger O’Dell cameos are a riot), “Our Miss Brooks” (A little sappy at times, but still fun), “The Alan Young Show” (May or may not be your cup of tea- I listen to it because I have a friend who has Alan Young’s exact voice and vocal mannerisms), Abbot and Costello (although they get repetitive), and the George Burns and Gracey Allen show.
Groucho is still king to me, though. Listening to ‘You Bet Your Life’ or his cameos on other shows… .The guy has a razor-sharp wit.
I can verify that Miss Duffy was the daughter of the owner and a man hound with a poor singing voice. These appear to be her main running jokes. Mrs. Duffy was also a never seen but occasionly mentioned figure.
I really enjoy the old Burns and Allen TV show, so I will probably like the radio. I tried a few Jack Benny shows and so far I could not keep my interest in them. A&C have always been favorites of mine, but their TV show has not held up real well, so I am not sure what to expect of the radio shows. I want to try a few more Jack Benny shows. Thank you for the excellent input ArrMatey.
pseudotriton ruber ruber, interesting tie-in. I just barely remember Duffy Dyer. I am sure I had his baseball cards. He played during the time I collected cards. He was a good glove, no bat catcher if I remember correctly.
Jim
Burns and Allen are different on the radio. Gracie on TV was basically dumb and typically schemeing. Not so on the radio show. In fact for a long time her and Geroge were married in real life but not on the radio. Gracie was more illogical on the radio than dumb. And Gracie was mean to Geroge as well. Not so on TV.
Benny is funny but the thing is a lot of his jokes are running gags. If you don’t go consecutively they are hard to understand. But Jack Benny is hysterical once you get the idea. It’s funny because you know what is coming not because of Jack who was just a straight man.
Like when Jack walks into a store, or no matter where the clerk is always Frank Nelson saying “Yesssss!!!” It’s not that funny in of itself it’s the waiting for Jack to react to the annoying clerk who is everywhere Jack is.
Or no matter where Jack is Sheldon Leonard appears as a thug who gives Jack advice, and the joke is, it always a play on the race track. And then of course Mel Blanc who appears and Jack has to justify. Like when there is a cukoo clock. All of a sudden you hear it then you hear a “woody woodpecker” and “bugs bunny” and Jack says “You don’t think I’m paying Mel Blanc $150 to do just ONE thing in my show do you?”
So a lot of Jack’s humor is dependent on prior listening
Also, you’ll notice, Jack’s running jokes always revolve around -other- actors. From what I understand, Jack was unique in his view of commedy; he didn’t care if -he- was the one getting the laugh, just as long as the show was funny. This isn’t to say he wasn’t funny, but that he did, indeed, work -incredibly- well with others, and a lot of the jokes revolve around his constant interaction with the same people.
“Duffy’s tavern, Archie speaking.”
I always thought Carroll O’Connor was trying for another Duffy’s Tavern with his series Archie’s Place, down to the bartender’s name.
I am listening to some A&C right now.
http://www.freeotrshows.com/otr/a/Abbott_and_costellow_Show.html
Pretty funny even 65 years later. This is the one, 1942-10-15 Bank Robbery.
1943-03-16 At The Circus With Alan Hale is another winner.
Jim
Don’t give up on the Jack Benny Show just yet!! It really is one of the wonders of the Golden Age of Radio. As others have said, appreciation of the show deepens the more you get to know its characters and conventions. The first couple times I listened to it I didn’t understand what the big deal was, but I stuck with it, and it’s now one of my favorite comedies from any medium.
Can’t speak of Duffy’s Tavern, but other radio comedies you might enjoy are Our Miss Brooks (kinda corny, but very classic sit-com formula), and Burns and Allen. (Yes, I know both have already been mentioned in this thread, but a good recommendation bears repeating!)
If you want to try some fun unscripted comedy, check out the high-class quiz show Information, Please! – especially the ones with Oscar Levant.
For suspense, there’s Suspense.
I could go on – OTR is a great hobby, especially in this day of portable MP3 media. Enjoy!
Much of the old radio comedy I’ve heard, while I can see why it was/is funny, it doesn’t actually make me laugh, with a couple of exceptions. “You Bet Your Life” is usually good for a laugh. And “Vic & Sade”: there’s almost always at least one bit of dialogue that cathes me at just the right angle and makes me laugh out loud, even if I couldn’t explain why. It’s radio’s “comedy without a laugh track.”
As long as this thread has evolved into a “plug your favorite OTR comedy”, I would like to recommend Fred Allen, at any point in his long run.
Cool and thanks, it was not like I expected a lot of replies to Duffy’s Tavern when it went off in the forties.
Jim
I have a couple old pre-war radios that I use for kicks and classic radio programs are a natural, it really gives an impression on what home entertainment was like prior to television, hi-fi or stereo surround sound, etc. Radio was the medium of choice for probably 20 years. It’s also important to note that everything was live or nearly so, and basically “clean” humor, except for veiled and not so veiled innuendo. But Dragnet, Gunsmoke, Green Lantern, etc, are great fun to listen to - though it is spooky when a joke goes completely above my head, for some reason.