Jump to content

71 Minute phone interview with Gale


Recommended Posts

I found a delightful audio only interview with Gale Gordon from May 13, 1990 when he was 84 years old. The host of a show called "Speaking of Radio" conducted the interview. (He identifies himself during the broadcast; I forgot to jot his name down to write it here).

 

Gale talks about his early years, radio clips are played, lots of Lucy mentions, & at the end listeners called in to ask him questions. He is such a gentleman, so friendly & well spoken. I also learned things about him I had never known before, including some behind the scenes things from his Lucy shows.

 

The clip is a little touchy, meaning that at times it would just stop playing. I had to refresh, then wait for a blue bar to start loading. When the yellow bar with the actual audio began loading after the blue bar, as soon that was big enough to grab I would pull it forward to where it had previously stopped & it would continue playing..

 

I played this in the background while doing other things & the time flew by. I have always liked Gale & admired his acting. This clip has officially pushed me over into the "I love Gale Gordon" category :) . What a sweet man he was. I wish I could have met him.

 

Enjoy the interview! Here's the link:

 

http://www.speakingofradio.com/interviews/gordon-gale-actor/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a great site.

I called in but the line was busy!

 

Interesting story about the trap door in "L Gets Job at the Bank". This must have happened during rehearsal because they don't do an abrupt job on air. Reminds me of one of my favorite TV-movie magazine article in 1964 about Lucy's injuries doing her own stunts. It mentions the "Bank" incident but says, with possibly some exaggeration:

"Suddenly the cable broke. Only the quick thinking of special-effects man Joe Lambardi saved Lucy and Gale from crashing to possible death."

Other mishaps in the article:

In "Little League", "The banana peel hit her smack in the eye. She was lucky to get only a black eye. She might have lost it."

"White House" "she was thrown from a horse that bucked without warning. Actors, grips and cameramen stopped breathing. The star lay still like a broken doll. After a moment, when her co-workers starting running to her aid, she pulled herself up gamely to a sitting position. At first she didn't or couldn't talk. Then she smiled wanly at the director and asked "Well, shall we give it another try?"

"Waits Up for Chris"--'bouncing on a trampoline could have ended disastrously with one slip.'

And a couple of mystery mishaps:

"On The Garry Moore Show recently, she was bitten by a monkey. An infection set in from that bite."

(???) I didn't think she ever did the Garry Moore Show.

And this one, from a movie I guess. Does anyone know what she's referring to?

"She was nearly drowned by a Great Dane. "The pooch seemed friendly, so friendly that one scene had him eating off my plate. Then came a scene when I was to splash around in Lake Malibu which was then just a muddy pool. I had to pretend to be drowning and yell "Help!" I was yelling for all I was worth when an electrician posted in a tree spotted a water moccasin and sounded the alarm. Everyone went into a panic. I caught the word 'moccasin' and just thought someone had lost a show. Then I saw them waving frantically at me and heard that awful word 'snake'. I started hustling for shore. But my pay, the Dane, sensed something was wrong. He thought I was drowning and jumped in to save me. That was the closest I ever cam to drowning, because he landed on me with all his weight and his big pays kept banging my head under water. Finally we were both pulled out more dead than alive. The snake was gone. I think our thrashing and yelling scared the life out of him."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found a delightful audio only interview with Gale Gordon from May 13, 1990 when he was 84 years old. The host of a show called "Speaking of Radio" conducted the interview. (He identifies himself during the broadcast; I forgot to jot his name down to write it here).

 

Gale talks about his early years, radio clips are played, lots of Lucy mentions, & at the end listeners called in to ask him questions. He is such a gentleman, so friendly & well spoken. I also learned things about him I had never known before, including some behind the scenes things from his Lucy shows.

 

The clip is a little touchy, meaning that at times it would just stop playing. I had to refresh, then wait for a blue bar to start loading. When the yellow bar with the actual audio began loading after the blue bar, as soon that was big enough to grab I would pull it forward to where it had previously stopped & it would continue playing..

 

I played this in the background while doing other things & the time flew by. I have always liked Gale & admired his acting. This clip has officially pushed me over into the "I love Gale Gordon" category :) . What a sweet man he was. I wish I could have met him.

 

Enjoy the interview! Here's the link:

 

http://www.speakingo...don-gale-actor/

 

 

This is a GOLD MINE! Thank you so much for posting this! :HALKING: The "English" broadcast Gale refers to is called "English Coronets" in which he plays a variety of English monarchs including Henry VIII and Charles II. If anyone has audio of this series, I'd die! I'd REALLY die! 11 minutes in, I wonder if Lucy and Gale got together and made a pact to collectively forget The Wonder Show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And a couple of mystery mishaps:

"On The Garry Moore Show recently, she was bitten by a monkey. An infection set in from that bite."

(???) I didn't think she ever did the Garry Moore Show.

And this one, from a movie I guess. Does anyone know what she's referring to?

"She was nearly drowned by a Great Dane. "The pooch seemed friendly, so friendly that one scene had him eating off my plate. Then came a scene when I was to splash around in Lake Malibu which was then just a muddy pool. I had to pretend to be drowning and yell "Help!" I was yelling for all I was worth when an electrician posted in a tree spotted a water moccasin and sounded the alarm. Everyone went into a panic. I caught the word 'moccasin' and just thought someone had lost a show. Then I saw them waving frantically at me and heard that awful word 'snake'. I started hustling for shore. But my pay, the Dane, sensed something was wrong. He thought I was drowning and jumped in to save me. That was the closest I ever cam to drowning, because he landed on me with all his weight and his big pays kept banging my head under water. Finally we were both pulled out more dead than alive. The snake was gone. I think our thrashing and yelling scared the life out of him."

 

Lucy did appear on The Garry Moore Show in 1961, but the monkey incident happened on Moore's I've Got A Secret in late 1957 or early 1958 (I've got the date around here somewhere). The monkey badly bit two of Lucy's fingers backstage minutes before the show started and Lucy's fingers and arm started to swell. Lucy refused to work with the monkey on the show. I have no idea if Lucy actually went through with the show. I've never been able to find a copy of that show or even seen it listed on any I've Got A Secret episode guide.

 

I believe the incident with the Great Dane was from the movie Next Time I Marry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lucy did appear on The Garry Moore Show in 1961,

 

Wasn't this just a cameo at the beginning of the hour? Where she mimes behind him? I always thought that was an IGAS.

Or was she a full-out guest star on the variety series "the Garry Moore Show" ?

 

Thanks to this site, I'm getting NOTHING done today.

 

Listened to the Eve Arden interview, done in 1975. Eve talked about her plan to do another pilot, which she doesn't seem to be all that wild about...with good reason. This must have been "Maggie and Harry" which she did with Don Knotts. The pilot was shown once and it wasn't very good; easy to see why it wasn't picked up, but you'd think with those stars it would have been better.

 

The interviewer states (in error of course) that "Our Miss Brooks" followed "I Love Lucy" on Monday night "One was on at 8; the other at 8:30". Gracious Eve obviously knows it's not true but just says "Really? I don't remember that".

 

If you listen to Elvia Allman, she sounds a bit like Madelyn.

Ginger's interview was done right after her HL appearance. She spends way too much time talking about the joy one experiences wearing a pair of quality panty hose, say, a pair from JC Penny's, to pick a store at random. You'd think wiggling into a pair of these could potentially be a life-changing experience. ( She has just signed on as the spokeswoman for JC Penny. )

 

These are really great. Too bad they didn't get someone associated with MFH: Denning, Jess Bob or Madelyn or Lucy herself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although this interview covers radio, I sincerely hope he mentioned which TV sitcom he was about to join mid-season in the late 1980s but couldn't at the 11th hour after the studio wouldn't insure him.

 

What??? Where did you get this tidbit?

Was this an established sitcom he was joining? I just hope it wasn't "the Facts of Life", (LWL's competition)--although Gale taking over Charlotte Rae's role might have been....uh, interesting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

Wasn't this just a cameo at the beginning of the hour? Where she mimes behind him? I always thought that was an IGAS.

Or was she a full-out guest star on the variety series "the Garry Moore Show" ?

 

The bit with Lucy miming behind Garry was from when she was guest panelist on I've Got A Secret. Lucy was on The Garry Moore Show, the primetime variety show, to promote The Facts of Life. She shows outtakes from the film. She only interacts with Garry; she's not onstage with Carol Burnett or any other regular. Lucy seems to be having a fun time. It's one of those shows from her post-Ricardo, pre-Carmichael period where she looks completely different from her typical look. She looks good, though!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What??? Where did you get this tidbit?

Was this an established sitcom he was joining? I just hope it wasn't "the Facts of Life", (LWL's competition)--although Gale taking over Charlotte Rae's role might have been....uh, interesting.

 

Gale's nephew told me, and I think Gale himself alluded to it as well in one of those retrospective books on character actors. It was an established sitcom that was adding a "grandfather" or "grandfatherly" character late in the show's run. The only sitcom I can think of that fits that bill is The Hogan Family in the role which ultimately went to John Hillerman (?), but I am open to suggestions. lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...