Episodes
Monday Apr 21, 2008
Nonsense and Melody - Pgm 11
Monday Apr 21, 2008
Monday Apr 21, 2008
We continue in our offerings of "Nonsense and Melody", a mid-1930s Transco syndicated musical comedy program featuring the comedians Gill and Doemling. The program takes place on a cruise ship and a tour of Europe.
In episode 11, the gang continue their tour of Paris. Gill and Doemling go window shopping and to a bar. The vocal group, which is similar to the Rhythm Boys, sings "Mimi"; the female vocalist Jean sings "He's My Man".Sunday Apr 13, 2008
Nonsense and Melody - Pgm 14
Sunday Apr 13, 2008
Sunday Apr 13, 2008
Another program in the series "Nonsense and Melody", recorded and syndicated by Transco circa 1934-35, featuring the comedy team of Gil and Doemling, and transferred from an original red vinyl repressing from Bruce Eels and Associates. This episode, features a wonderful little musical number, "Sweetie Pie", by a vocal trio, the song "Mandy" by the show's female vocalist, and sketches about parlour magic and Paul Revere's ride; Doemling plays a woman in both comedy turns. One of the better shows in the series and really nice sound in this program, by the way.
Saturday Apr 12, 2008
Nonsense and Melody - Pgm 13
Saturday Apr 12, 2008
Saturday Apr 12, 2008
In this entry, the syndicated comedy variety show, "Nonsense and Melody" featuring the comic team of Gill and Doemling. The series was recorded and syndicated by Transco in the mid 1930s and takes place aboard a cruise ship; each show includes music and a comedy sketch based on the theme of the place being visited. In program 13, the group visits Paris. The series isn't well known or widely circulated among OTR enthusiasts, but is a fun example of Depression era snappy comedy with bad puns, unusual and long forgotten songs and performers (such as solo musicians accordian or harmonica), and the occasional bit of risque humor.
RR King, on the OTR mailing list dug up some references to the series. Los Angles Times articles from October 5 and 6, 1934 noted that Frank Gill, Jr. and Bill Doemling were formerly comics at KHJ and were working on the transcriptions for Transco at the Freeman Lang studios; there were 78 shows planned for the series. King also found an ad from the May 20, 1935 El Paso Herald-Post where the show was broadcast over KTSM at 8:15 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9:15 am on Wednesdays and Fridays. He also found references to a series with this title being broadcast through the 1940s on stations in Galveston, Sheboygan, and Chicago and as late as August 1950 in Charleston, West Virginia. I got a group of ten discs comprising twenty shows in the series with almost all being red vinyl repressings of the show done by Bruce Eels and Associates, which bought all of Transco's programs when the firm went through bankruptcy. I'll periodically post others in the series in their original intended broadcast order.