For your Christmas listening pleasure

Who would have thought that a little San Francisco boy in 1920 would make a contribution to American culture for many years to come.

This is the story of a poor little boy who prayed to the child Jesus for a wagon for Christmas. The boy promised that, if he were to receive a wagon, the statue of the baby Jesus from his church's nativity scene would receive the first ride. It is a story of love and faith.

In recent years this story has popped up on Facebook.

In 1953 Webb made this story an episode on Dragnet. It was first filmed as a TV episode, the only Dragnet episode from the 1950's that was filmed in color -- although there are no available color copies known today. It is one of two episode that was done on radio as well as both the 1950's and 1960's run of the TV show. It is also the only time when Jack Webb used a story from outside of Los Angeles but presented it as being in that city. Notice that instead of the usual "The story you just heard is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent," it says "The story you just heard is true. The names and locations were changed."

Another interesting thing about the 1950's version is that just about everyone with a speaking role reprised their role in the 1960's version. The only exceptions, beside Friday's partner (Frank Smith/Ben Alexander in the 1950's version, Bill Gannon/Harry Morgan in the 1960's), are the two boys, the Captain, and Claude Stroup.

The radio version of this episode is actually the soundtrack of the TV version with a few pieces of narration to fill in because there is no video to fill in the blanks. There is an old expression, "A picture is worth a thousand words." In the case, I think that a few words do a better job than the pictures do. Friday's comments after the statue is replaced in the radio version are more powerful than the video without narration on TV.

This episode also has one of the few times where Friday is effectively zinged. When Father Rojas says that the church is unlocked all night, Friday says, "You leave it wide open so any thief can walk in?" to which Father Rojas replies, "Especially thieves."

One more note. In 2012 I wrote an obituary post about a man I was lucky enough to meet. In that post I said I had gone to the event that evening to meet a radio actor I had enjoyed. That actor was Harry Bartell, who played Father Rojas. I enjoyed speaking with Mr. Bartell. I asked him about his skills in speaking Spanish. He said he didn't really know Spanish, he just knew how it was supposed to sound.

Be sure to listen to the scientific research explained in the Chesterfield commercial. The science is settled!!

I hope this adds to your enjoyment and appreciation of the Christmas season.

A Memorable Man

I know that this will be a surprise to regular readers of this blog that I love radio, especially its history. There are some old time radio shows that I really enjoy. About ten years ago, one of my favorite radio actors was to be the guest of honor at a dinner of the Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound. Of course I wanted to go, but I wouldn’t know anyone there.

Not wanting to be late, I arrived at the restaurant about forty-five minutes early. I was told that the room was not ready yet but I could wait in the bar. As I entered the bar I saw a man in a suit, an unusual sight in Seattle. What was also unusual about this man was that he stood only four-and-a-half feet tall. I knew I was in the right place.

I must have looked like a fish out of water. This man walked up to me and asked, "Are you here for the REPS dinner?”

After I said that I was, He said, “Well that’s what I am here for, too. Hi, I’m Dick Beals.” I introduced myself and we talked for a few minutes.

I had never heard the name before, but I was to discover that I had heard that voice. Oh, had I heard that voice. Davey from “Davey and Goliath,” Gumby, Speedy Alka Seltzer. If you have ever heard a radio episode of Gunsmoke where there was a young boy, he was the young boy. He played boys in several radio episodes of Dragnet.

It is not his resume that made him memorable to me. What made him memorable was that he was a real, honest, gracious gentleman.  Later in the evening it was still obvious that I really didn’t know anyone in the room. Two hours after our brief conversation in the bar, after he made the keynote speech about the guest of honor, he came over to me and said, “Matt, are you having a good time?” Two hours later,  not only did he come over to see how I was doing, he remembered my name.

In the days following that dinner I found a copy of his autobiography on Amazon.  The book gave insight into what it was like to be a radio actor. The book also told how he managed a Little League team – a team of physically and mentally challenged players – and that team won their league championship. He would not allow anyone to intimidate or demean him. He would treat everyone with respect and expected the same in return. He earned that respect.

Dick Beals was an inspirational man. Even though he stood only four foot six, he stood tall. I only met him that one evening, but it was a memorable meeting for me.

Mr. Beals has passed away at the age of 85. Rest in peace, sir.