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| Ed Gardner of Duffy's Tavern |
During the seasonal holiday of December 1946,
Duffy’s Tavern made
the transition from Hollywood to New York. With the entire cast and
crew flying to New York to broadcast from the East Coast, the West Coast
censorship department of NBC, having censored many lines deemed
“unsuitable” for broadcast, wanted to alert the East Coast counterpart.
On December 31, 1946, Don Honrath in NBC’s West Coast Script Division,
sent the following telegram to Richard McDonagh of the East Cost Script
Division:
LAST
DUFFY SHOW HERE THIS WEEK. GARDNER AND WRITERS HAVE FEELING THEY ARE
GOING TO HAVE A GREAT TIME DURING THEIR SOJURN IN NY. AM LEAVING IT UP
TO YOU TO DISILLUSION HIM. AS YOU KNOW, GARDNER IS THE SLICKEST OPERATOR
WE HAVE AND I WOULD LIKE TO MAINTAIN CONSISTENCY WITHIN OUR RANKS BY
SENDING YOU CUTS WE HAVE REMOVED FROM HIS SCRIPTS HERE. A LOT OF DIRT IN
HIS SHOW IS BURIED DEEP AND IF ANY OF OUR MATERIAL WILL BE OF
ASSISTANCE TO YOU, YOU’RE WELCOME TO IT. OBVIOUSLY HE’LL TRY THE SAME IN
THE EAST THAT HE HAS HERE. BEST REGARDS AND NEW YEARS GREETINGS.
On
January 2, 1947, McDonagh sent a reply, accepting Honrath’s offer. “I
am notifying all concerned at this end and you may be assured that the
show will stay clean or else.” The reason behind the network’s intense
scrutiny was the result of Rep. Thomas Lane’s recent public argument
over two of the jokes that, he felt, insulted the Catholic church. The
radio program was singled out by name and the network felt this was bad
publicity. The other reason was prompted by radio comedians, who were
attempting to slip jokes of a taboo nature, past the network censors who
reviewed each script before broadcast. For years radio comedians were
upset that even the mildest joke was deleted from their scripts for
reasons that seemed inane. In retaliation, script writers began slipping
in jokes about the network and the executives in charge. When the
vice-president of NBC initiated a new policy that said radio comedians
would not kid radio on the air, the comedians took action.
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| Fred Allen on NBC Radio |
The debate about comic censorship came to a pinnacle
on the evening of Sunday, April 20, 1947, when NBC cut Fred Allen off
the air briefly during a wisecrack about a mythical network
vice-president in charge of overtime, who received his vacation by
accumulating seconds from the ends of overtime broadcasts. NBC, days
prior to the broadcast, had ordered to “fade” any jokes directed at the
network. When Fred Allen discovered his program was momentarily faded
off the air for a few seconds, he spoke to reporters. “Last week, we ran
over our time and the last part of the program was cut off,” Allen
explained. “I decided to use this in the program and build a joke around
it. But NBC told me I couldn’t kid radio on the air. I don’t mind
suggested changes in my script if it will improve the show any. But this
didn’t offer any improvement. Of course, I refused to make the change.
I’ve been on the air for 15 years and this is the first time anything
like this has happened to me.”
J.
Walter Thompson, the advertising agency representing Fred Allen’s
sponsor, demanded the network reimburse money for the dead air time. “We
buy and pay for half an hour’s time from NBC for this program. And
that’s what we expect to get. Allen was cut off the air for about 35
seconds. So NBC is going to get a bill for the time we didn’t get. And,
oddly enough, on that Sunday night spot, it’s a nice little chunk of
dough.” NBC counter attacked by claiming they estimated the time at 25
seconds. Under contract, if the network had technical issues beyond
their control, the sponsor was not obligated to receive a partial refund
for dead air. What NBC did not realize until it was too late was their
counter attack was also an admission of deliberate dead air and this
mistake cost them.
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| Red Skelton |
Two days after Fred Allen’s censorship, comedians Bob
Hope and Red Skelton both had their radio shows censored on the air.
Radio’s hypersensitive vice-presidents drew more public laughs than
either of the gold-plated comedians. Hope was cutoff for about 15
seconds following his reference to comedian Fred Allen’s experience.
During a discussion of Las Vegas, Nevada, Hope remarked, “You can get
tanned and faded at the same time.” The fading reference was to dice,
but Hope added, “Of course, Fred Allen can get faded any time…” and
there the audience got the best of radio. The show faded from the air.
On
the Red Skelton program, in the early minutes, Red said, “We might ad
lib something to hurt the dignity of an NBC vice-president. Did you hear
‘em cut Fred Allen off Sunday…” Silence struck again. What the audience
did not hear was, “You know what NBC means, don’t you? Nothing but
confusion, nothing but cuts.” Then he came back on with, “…well, now
we’ve joined the parade of stars.” Hope and Skelton were said to have
referred their scripts to NBC censors, and both were reminded that
ad-libbed material would not be acceptable. NBC had only the remark that
the cut-out material was “objectionable.”
The
silence was not by accident, because someone in the control room opened
a push-button offensive, directed by Clarence L. Menser, vice president
of NBC in charge of programming. Local offices of the broadcasting
company issued the following statement: “Two of NBC’s comedians decided
to have a little fun with the network tonight and both were cut off the
air for about 20 seconds. Bob Hope and Red Skelton decided they would
make some remarks about Fred Allen, and were told that if they did not
debate objectionable material they would be cut off. But Hope and
Skelton ignored the NBC order, and like Allen they were cut off for a
few seconds.”
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| Dennis Day, comedian |
The advertising agencies representing Bob Hope and
Red Skelton followed the avenue of J. Walter Thompson and NBC issued
credits to the sponsor accounts. On the evening of April 23, four
comedians defended Fred Allen and his comrades. When Dennis Day’s radio
girlfriend, Mildred, coming into the room, asked: “What are you doing?”
“I’m listening to the radio,” Dennis replied.
“But I don’t hear anything,” she said.
“I know it,” Dennis replied. “I’m listening to the Fred Allen program.”
Later
that evening, Henry Morgan, on his radio program, said he had seen a
movie, “Smash Up, the Story of a Woman.” He claimed it gave him an idea
for a movie he’d like to make. “Cut-Off, the Story of Fred Allen.” Kay
Kyser claimed the whole controversy was a build-up for his new show, a
new type of quiz program and wanted to thank Allen, Hope and Skelton for
the big send-off. “They were faded for their errors and that’s my new
show -- ‘Comedy of Errors’.” Information, Please also jot in a
jibe on the rival CBS. Ed Gardner jumped the bandwagon on Duffy’s
Tavern, presenting a show based on a political campaign by Archie and
the barkeep remarked: “I think I’ll get Fred Allen to make my campaign
speeches for me during the times he is cut off the air. And then again
-- I don’t think I will. I might want to be vice-president.”
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| Ed Gardner and singer Mary Martin |
None of these comedians faced censorship because,
hours before prime time programming, NBC announced that it had a change
of heart in what the
New York Times referred to as “its running
feud with Fred Allen on the subject of vacation-minded vice-presidents
in radio.” It wanted, said NBC, to forgive and, especially, to forget.
Harried officials of the network most of the day sat around a long table
in their office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and in a complete reversal of
form, decided to try to ring down the curtain on what Radio Row
generally agreed was at best only a sustaining comic opera. An executive
at NBC reported the network considered encouraging other comedians to
make wisecracks about the matter, presumably on the well-substantiated
theory that repetition was the quickest way to kill a joke on the radio.
The four day skirmish between NBC and its radio comics came to a
temporary end when the network agreed to turn the other cheek and invite
the comics to say anything they wanted to about the network.
It
was later discovered that NBC’s decision was swayed because of a
substantial number of letters from listeners, mostly favorable to the
comedian; a protest from the American Civil Liberties Union charging
that Mr. Allen’s rights under the Constitution had been placed in
jeopardy; and reports that Fred Allen made the front pages of the London
press. Late that evening, Kenneth Banghart, while delivering the 11
o’clock news, mentioned Fred Allen. The program continued, loud and
clear. He mentioned Bob Hope and Red Skelton, saying that he understood
that all three comedians had been offered honorary vice presidencies,
without duties and without vacations. To wit, the program continued
uninterrupted until its scheduled close at 11:15.
“Seldom
has the futility and silliness of unnecessary censorship been more
vividly illustrated,” columnist John Crosby remarked. “The deluge of
criticism which NBC had to take in twenty-four hours was far worse than
anything Mr. Allen by himself could have done.”
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| Fred Allen on NBC Radio |
The bizarre series of events reflected a situation
which had been brewing for some months, if not years. Because, for
better or worse, popular programs on the air were subject to varying
forms of censorship on a pretty regular basis and the issue was neither
as black nor as white as it might have seemed offhand. The most
prevalent form of censorship was almost as old as commercial radio
itself. Comedians on the air had been circumscribed in what they said
because of the perennial fear of broadcasters and sponsors that some
substantial group of potential customers might be offended. Ed Gardner
discovered this with the two jokes that shocked a number of orthodox
Catholics. Fred Allen got the last laugh, when, one week after the
initial fade out, his half-hour radio show was broadcast without
interruption. Allen closed his broadcast with, “Well, we got it all on
tonight.”
When
NBC thought that repetition was the quickest way to kill a joke on the
radio, they soon discovered they were dead wrong. The jokes kept coming
and comedians Jack Benny, Victor Borge, Milton Berle, and George Burns
and Gracie Allen took advantage. The network kept its promise and
avoided censoring the industry reaction to spoofing radio on the radio.
This was, however, only a temporary solution. One year later, it was
known that several top comedians were fed up to a point of seeking a
shift to another network rather than continue under NBC’s strict and
allegedly stuffy code. (CBS succeeded by purchasing Jack Benny and Amos
‘n’ Andy.) The network had begun another form of censorship: thou shalt
not make reference to a rival network. Because Bing Crosby succeeded
where no other comedian had before, transcribing his programs instead of
a “live” broadcast, the network took offense when Crosby, formerly an
NBC product, was now on ABC. The network once again nixed all mention of
Bing Crosby’s rival network show and references to ABC, soon becoming
another sore spot for the network.
In
May of 1947, Ed Gardner came up with a gimmick that could close the
door to vice-president gags. The “gimmick” required an appointment with
Sidney N. Strotz (pronounced like throats), West Coast vice-president of NBC, where Gardner
proposed to Strotz, in person, that the executive appear on a future
broadcast of Duffy’s Tavern. A few months prior, at a special
party for Jack Benny given by Edgar Bergen with assistance of NBC and
Standard Brands at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Strotz was among the guests.
He mingled, cracked jokes and won the hearts of the comedians in
attendance. Since then, Strotz was known among the circles as the only
vice president of the company to have a sense of humor. Knowing Strotz
might not agree to appearing on a comedy program that could take
advantage of the scenario, Gardner offered one stipulation. Strotz
approve of every word of the script before the broadcast.
Jack
Benny once commented that he wished his writers would have come up
with the idea, acknowledging Gardner’s idea as "brilliant," apparently unaware that Strotz was a guest on George Burns and Gracie Allen’s radio program a
year prior.
During the broadcast, Archie became a member of the “Top Ten Record Company” and record sales are so successful that Archie decided he wanted to be a radio comedian. To get a job at NBC as their next great comedian, Archie phoned NBC and convinced Sidney M. Strotz to come down to audition him. To ensure someone would laugh at the jokes, and not him, Archie asks Harry Von Zell to come down to the tavern and become a member of the audience.
VON ZELL: Well, I’m the next thing to a comedian. Every week I stand next to Eddie Cantor. [LAUGHS] Oh, I popped a corny!
ARCHIE: There you are, Harry -- a perfect example of what’s wrong with radio. You put a guy that ain’t funny in front of a microphone and what have you got?
EDDIE: Mr. Archie…
ARCHIE: Eddie! Watch your timing!
EDDIE: Sorry. I just wanted to tell you that Mr. Strotz is here.
ARCHIE: Oh, Von Zell, get up off your knees. Well, good evening, Mr. Strotz. Welcome to Duffy’s Tavern. I hope you’ll pardon the appearance of the joint.
STROTZ: Don’t apologize, Archie… I like the place. [BREATHES DEEPLY] Ahhh… this dead air… just like NBC.
ARCHIE: Yeah, huh? Well, we’ve all been waitin’ for you.
STROTZ: Yes, I’m sorry I was held up but I had trouble selecting my new office furniture.
ARCHIE: Trouble?
STROTZ: Yes. We Vice Presidents have quite a bit of trouble getting desks to fit our feet.
ARCHIE: Well, big job -- big feet. Say, how does a guy get to be an NBC Vice President anyhow?
STROTZ: Very simple. You start out as an NBC guide and then you wander into an empty office and stay there until a little man comes along and puts gold letters on the door.
ARCHIE: Hey, you really got a sense of humor. You don’t seem like the kind of a guy that would be annoyed by comedians.
To prove he is as funny as Jack Benny and Charlie McCarthy, Archie hands Strotz a list of questions and Archie delivers the punch lines. Old vaudeville jokes referring to “Mr. Bones” and asking Archie if he likes bathing beauties. “I don’t know,” Archie responds. “I never bathed any.” Strotz is not convinced so he decides to trade places: Archie will be a vice-president while Mr. Strotz becomes a comedian.
STROTZ: Wait a minute… I just thought of a joke.
ARCHIE: You did, huh? Is it clean?
STROTZ: Of course it’s clean. It seems that there was a traveling salesman who stopped at a farmhouse and he knocked at the door… [LONG PAUSE] …so the following summer, the farmer’s daughter showed up with a gold bracelet.
EDDIE: What happened to the middle of the joke?
STROTZ: Yeah.
ARCHIE: Sorry, Sid, but as Vice President I had to fade you off the air. We have to do those things, old man, even if it means cutting our own Strotz.
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| Ed Gardner on Duffy's Tavern |
The broadcast may have also resolved the bout
between comedians and NBC. During the first week of November, weeks
after the new season of comedies premiered on the network, top comedians
on the NBC skein are reportedly happy with the new attitude of
management toward censorship of script material. The consensus of NBC
comedians was that the network had at long last adopted a healthy
approach toward censorship in which arbitrary rulings of the blue pencil
boys were to be avoided in favor of a more reasonable policy of giving
jokesters the benefit of the doubt.
Reaction
of gagsters was brought into the open during the good-will mission of
NBC programming vice president Ken Dyke, whose Hollywood junket was made
primarily to consult with comic stars and hear their gripes. After a
series of confidential talks with Eddie Cantor, Red Skelton, Art
Linkletter, Ed Gardner and Jack Benny, it was learned that Dyke assured
them that the web was operating under a new policy which would prevent
recurrence of incidents similar to last season. Dyke reassured gagsters,
however, that there would be no attempt to muzzle jokesters if material
used is funny and free from dirt. Although none of the comedians
divulged to reporters any details of their talks with Dyke, it was
evident that the executive’s visit had done much to clear the air and
erase ill feeling which existed prior.
Closing chapter to this story: In November, conferences were held with NBC talent, sponsors and agencies for the purpose of developing new methods to eliminate objectionable broadcast material which “might be offensive to American families listening to NBC programs.” NBC was receiving enthusiastic cooperation from all of the principal commercial shows and the new policy would be applied should it become necessary to fade a program because of objectionable script. First, NBC will inform both agency and client if any part of a script was found objectionable. Failing to obtain cooperation in the climination of objectionable phrases, both client and agency will be informed that the program would be faded for at least 30 seconds and the following announcement made on the network: “The National Broadcasting Company regrets the necessity of interrupting this program in order to delete which, in its opinion, would be objectionable to listeners in many American homes.” This cut and announcement would become standard, and NBC executives expressed the hope that with the better understanding now existing between NBC clients, agencies and talent, there would be few, if any, cases where it will be necessary to use it.
The above information is taken from the soon-to-be-published book about Duffy's Tavern from Bear Manor Media.
