LEAVE IT TO LITTLE BEAVER

 

 

Leave it to Little Beaver

At first glance some readers may be led to believe that this article has some connection to the Leave it to Beaver TV series starring Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow.   Understandably since Tony Dow ( who played Wally from the aforementioned TV series)  is a featured guest at this year’s SHOWCASE. However, the Little Beaver in this article is a young Navajo boy who shared adventures with western hero Red Ryder and who was played on radio, at one time or another , by three of our special guests.  Red Ryder began as a comic strip in 1938 but Republic Pictures bought the movie rights soon after.  It was not long and there were Red Ryder comic books, a radio series and movie serials.  Tommy Cook portrayed Little Beaver in the 12 chapter movie serial The Adventures of Red Ryder released in June of 1940.   Tommy would follow the series to radio in the same role when Red Ryder appeared on the Blue Network in 1942 and later on Mutual.  It’s status as a national program was short lived.  From the fall of 1942 until the series ended in 1951, the program was heard only on the West Coast stations of the Mutual Don Lee Network (generally Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm Pacific Time).  Tommy recalls taking several connecting buses across town to get from home to the studio.  Although his parents were generally there to pick him up after the broadcast to drive him home.  Franklin Breesee, who has made prior appearances at REPS SHOWCASE, was also cast in the part of Little Beaver, from 1942-1946, as an alternate to Tommy and also to Henry Blair when Henry assumed the role from 1944-1947.   Tommy Cook and Frank Bresee have maintained a long friendship from their days on Red Ryder and continuing to the present day.  Frank Bresee has spent many years of his adult life documenting those bygone days of radio and hosted the long running radio show Those Golden Days of Radio.  “Speaking of radio”, Tommy says  “Those were some great days.  I don’t want to forget them.”
In 1947 young actor Johnny McGovern took over as Little Beaver and held the role until 1950.  “I succeeded Johnny as Little Beaver on Red Ryder” recalls Anne Whitfield. “His voice changed!  . . .  so they cast me because my voice was not going to change.”  Anne doesn’t remember how long she played the part but she doesn’t think it was for very long.  ” They probably figured that the show was not going to last very long when they realized they had a kind of effeminate sounding Little Beaver” she muses.    Sammy Ogg is credited as taking on the role until the series ended in 1951.
Tommy Cook,  Johnny McGovern and Anne Whitfield . . . they all played Little Beaver . . . and will be appearing April 15-16-17 at the REPS SHOWCASE.

 

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GREGG OPPENHEIMER — SON OF LEGENDARY I LOVE LUCY CREATOR – BRINGS CLASSIC RADIO DETECTIVES BACK TO THE MICROPHONE

Gregg Oppenheimer

Gregg Oppenheimer describes himself as a grown-up child of Hollywood being the son of the late I love Lucy creator-producer-head writer Jess Oppenheimer.   After his father’s death in 1988, Gregg spent several years doing research to complete his father’s unfinished memoirs. In the process he became one of the world’s foremost authorities on I Love Lucy, renewing old friendships with many of the individuals who contributed to the show in front of and behind the cameras.  The resulting book, published by Syracuse University Press, is Laughs, Luck…and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time, which went through seven printings in hardcover before its release in paperback.    From 2000 to 2006 Gregg worked with CBS and Paramount Home Entertainment as producer of the I Love Lucy DVDs, a project for which he received the 2004 and 2005 TV DVD Awards in the “Best 1950s Series” category. In 2007 he executive-produced I Love Lucy: The Complete Series, an all-inclusive 34-disc set comprising the entire saga of the Ricardos and the Mertzes, from the long-lost Pilot to The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours. 

 

Since 2007 Gregg’s contributions to the REPS SHOWCASE have been monumental.   He has been a stalwart supporter of the cause, producing,  directing, and writing numerous old time radio show re-creations, including The Maltese Falcon, The Fred Allen Show, The Jack Benny Program, and Pinocchio.   The productions he has produced at REPS SHOWCASE have been a wonderful mix of drama and comedy (which often includes live music),  proving that Gregg has indeed inherited his father’s creative talent.

 

This year Gregg turns his craft towards radio crime solving as he brings back to the microphone,  cases from the files of two legendary radio detectives –  Sherlock Holmes and Richard Diamond.   Gregg is tasked with unraveling the mystery in a manner that is both enjoyable to the audience and keeps them in suspense.  The Sherlock Holmes radio stories were often action packed and filled with atmosphere and featured great music and sound effects.  In this production, Holmes is tasked with solving the case of a purported “suicide” which Holmes suspects to be murder.  Witness the case unfold Saturday Afternoon,  April 16th.

 

Richard Diamond will be a featured attraction on Friday evening April 15th.   Dick Powell was the star of the Richard Diamond radio series.  Diamond was a light -hearted detective who often ended each episode singing to his girl friend.  The program began on NBC on April 24, 1949 as part of NBC’s great parade of new shows, created by Blake Edwards.   Edwards began in the 1940s as an actor, but soon turned to writing screenplays and radio scripts before turning to producing and directing in film and television.  His best-known films include Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Days of Wine and Roses, 10 and the hugely successful Pink Panther film series with British comedian Peter Sellers.  The Richard Diamond radio series aired until 1953 and would be resurrected for television in 1957 starring David Janssen.   The case that Gregg has selected to “showcase”  involves a beautiful young woman who believes that someone is trying to kill her and hires Richard Diamond to protect her.
Gregg will be bringing Sherlock Holmes and Richard Diamond to the REPS Radio Sound stage with a full cast of outstanding actors many of whom appeared in the some of the best remembered radio shows of yesteryear.
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David Pollock Author of ‘Bob & Ray: Keener Than Most Persons’ Gives Homage to Legendary Team

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the recent passing of Bob Elliott ,who was one half of the comedy duo of Bob and Ray, it seemed fitting to pay tribute to the legendary comedy team.  For almost 45 years, until the death of Elliott’s comedy partner Ray Goulding in 1990, Bob and Ray entertained millions of radio listeners and television viewers.  Spoofs of other radio programs and man in the street interviews were staple  as were commercial parodies.   The pair were first heard on Boston radio station WHDH in 1946 and continued on the air for over four decades on NBC, CBS , and Mutual networks. Their last program was heard on National Public Radio in 1987.   Author David Pollock, who has had a life long appreciation for the comedy pair, tells the story of Bob and Ray in his 2013 biography,  Bob & Ray: Keener Than Most Persons which is described by  Doug McIntyre of the Los Angeles Daily News as “a must-read for fans of B&R or anyone interested in radio when it was still a creative force.”   This is a welcome biography that chronicles  their career with extensive detail.  Along the way , Pollock shares the history of the two men and provides insight into their personal lives and documents the origins of the team’s best known comedy bits which were key to the teams success and longevity.
The author himself has his own comedy credentials. David Pollock has written for the Carol Burnett Show , All In the Family, M*A*S*H*, Cheers, and Frasier, and even nightclub material for the legendary Jack Benny.  There is certainly no one better to document and  lead a tribute to  the Peabody Award winning comedy team.
David  Pollock author of Bob & Ray: Keener Than Most Persons will be featured Saturday morning at 11:00 am.  However,  you can find him at the REPS SHOWCASE all weekend long. He will have copies of his book so please make a point to come and see us.

 

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