Pete Meed
, Maryland |
Joined: December 22, 2003 |
|
Shep fan since: 1960
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1154
|
Comments:
I Became aware of your site, last night 12/21/03, while listening to "20th Century Radio" Show on WCBM-AM 680, Baltimore, MD.
I, heard Shep remark in an interview:
when asked, if he ever considered returning to radio,
"I'll put it to you this way, the money I made from one movie, was more than I made in all my years on the radio..."
The years I listened on WOR, Jean Shepherd spun tales with passion and wit. I hope to learn more here, I was amused to learn that he actually was "out at transmitter!"
I haven't been able to find the version of "Bon Friel Polka" (Strauss) which was Sheps Theme Song.
I wonder if he added the horse winney? I can't imagine how many times I pulled over the covers and waited for that unique sound.
Thanks for your effort. I shall be putting time asside to explore your undertaking.
Pete Meed
|
John Roman
Abingdon, Maryland |
Joined: August 07, 2001 |
|
Shep fan since: 1969
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 659
|
Steve Feinstein
Annapolis, Maryland |
Joined: March 31, 2000 |
|
Shep fan since: 1967
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 32
|
Bud LaVance
Annapolis, Maryland |
Joined: October 22, 2006 |
|
Shep fan since: 1957
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1789
|
Comments:
So I'm not the only one who wore out many a battery on my old transistor radio hiding it under my pillow or being distracted from my homework till all hours of the night back in the late 50's and early 60's. In the late 80's I was in Maine and a member of the Maine Home Builders Association. We wanted to find a copy of the film Phantom of the Open Hearth to show at our organization Christmas party, since I thought all the builders would love it. I think had the episode with the do-it-yourself home kit arriving by boxcar and all the friends (with many cases of beer) helping unload it to help put it together, but the beer got the best of them and the closing scene of that particular episode showed the lumber and prospective builders scattered all over the train yard among the beer cans. We tried finding a copy everywhere to no avail. Then about a month later we found out Shep lived practically next door in Waterville, Maine. He probably could have gotten us a copy or even been a guest speaker at our gathering! Oh well....Excelsior!
|
Burt Shapiro
Baltimore, Maryland |
Joined: September 26, 2000 |
|
Shep fan since: 1974
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 237
|
Joe Kleban
Baltimore, Maryland |
Joined: March 21, 2001 |
|
Shep fan since: 1958
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 523
|
Chas Marsh
Baltimore, Maryland |
Joined: May 17, 2001 |
|
Shep fan since: 1969
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 568
|
Stan Krauson
Baltimore, Maryland |
Joined: August 19, 2001 |
|
Shep fan since: 1956
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 666
|
David Weinstock
Baltimore, Maryland |
Joined: September 05, 2003 |
|
Shep fan since: 1959
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1054
|
Comments:
A small voice in the back of my mind still reminds me of tales with Flick, Schwartz and Brunner, and evenings of Haiku. Maybe my life has been small, but those were some of the best moments of my addled adolesence.
|
Julian deLeyer
Baltimore, Maryland |
Joined: December 21, 2003 |
|
Shep fan since: 1987
Discovered Shep: Saw One of His Movies
Guest No: 1153
|
Comments:
My family have enjoyed ollie hopnoddle and christmas story for quite a while now. I saw Ollie Hopnoddle on PBS and related to this story, I also taped the show, then ran it with the whole family (wife & 2 kids who were about 13 and 11 back then)We have rerun this tape many times and it's just a good simple story. Christmas Story is excellent to. Was there another one about 4th of July ...I remember seeing this on PBS a long time ago, but haven't seen it since.
|
Lorraine Whittlesey
Baltimore, Maryland |
Joined: January 27, 2004 |
|
Shep fan since: 1966
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1216
|
Comments:
Thanks to Joe Wall for his link and a reminder of how good radio broadcasting can truly. be
|
Drew Stewart
Baltimore originally Philadelphia, Maryland |
Joined: February 27, 2001 |
|
Shep fan since: 1963
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 477
|
Lois and Al Al Elieff
Bethesda, Maryland |
Joined: December 29, 2000 |
|
Shep fan since: 1960
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 373
|
Mike Kuffel
Bowie, Maryland |
Joined: May 06, 2000 |
|
Shep fan since: 1992
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 187
|
Bill Killen Killen
Bowie, Maryland |
Joined: March 17, 2001 |
|
Shep fan since: 1967
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 516
|
Mark Rockmore
Columbia, Maryland |
Joined: February 01, 2006 |
|
Shep fan since: 1960
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1619
|
Comments:
Like many other 'Boomers' I used to listen to Shep under the covers at home on the South Shore of Nassau County,NY with my tranistor radio tuned to WOR. Earlier I used to listen to Long John Nebel and his guests who were the earliest 'abductees' from alien visitors et al. With Jean, I always enjoyed his tales of his summer working at the steel works, as when the gondola car tipped over and molten metal consumed the Tin Plate shop, or the rats (decribed as 'footballs with legs') that ate through the Coke machine. Following that his Army days dealing with that secret weapon RADAR which would fry you if you were too close to the power source. Of course, his stories of Flick, Schwartz, and Wanda Hickey still live in the printed word. His readings of the poems of Robert Service were insipiring. His radio ads for Volvo, or Prexy's (The hamburger with a college education) I can still hear in the ol'cabeza. Shep even had a few short 30min. shows on WORTV Ch.9 in the early 60's where he had the talent of playing music on his head, for one.
Shep was truly a brillant ad hoc story-teller, a skill that cannot be found today on US radio. Excelsior, You fatheads!
|
Tim Pohle
cumberland , Maryland |
Joined: February 20, 2004 |
|
Shep fan since: 1970
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1226
|
Comments:
Listen on wor radio
|
Gary Schmidt
Dunkirk, Maryland |
Joined: December 20, 2007 |
|
Shep fan since: 1970
Discovered Shep: Saw his TV show
Guest No: 2648
|
Owen Tucker
Ellicott City, Maryland |
Joined: January 02, 2017 |
|
Shep fan since: 1968
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 2933
|
Comments:
Sometime between grade 5 and 6 my family moved to new N. J. neighborhood …it took sometime to build up a new group of friends, and during that time (in the late 60s) my father, a mid western native, gave me an old radio that he found discarded… together we tested each tube and replaced the bad ones. We used a volt meter to make sure that connections were good and replaced the solder if needed. That summer, I had my very own AM radio in my bedroom. Each night at 9:15 I tuned in to WWOR where Jean Shepherd became a life long friend. flicklives is a bit like a reunion as I now live in Maryland. I'm amazed by the effort that's gone into this web site. I don't think Shep would have appreciated it but I sure do…
|
Robert Sheehan
Frederick, Maryland |
Joined: October 24, 2005 |
|
Shep fan since: 1968
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1535
|
Comments:
Listened to Shep late at nite in the latter part of the 1960s, along with Barry Farber, at WOR. He was often spoken of favorably by WBAI personalities such as Steve Post, Bob Fass, and Larry Josephson and touted as their inspiration. Radio became pretty unlistenable after the free form talk era ended, which really had its hey day in NYC radio for a while and was practically invented by the likes of Jean Shepherd. The radio suits said it was self-indulgent boring radio. However, all of the pre-programmed music and asinine telephone talk that replaced it was what really ruined a wonderful medium.
|
Kurt Manwiller
Frederick, Maryland |
Joined: January 19, 2006 |
|
Shep fan since: 1968
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1611
|
Comments:
As a kid I would lay in bed in the dark and tune around on my Japanese transistor radio to try to see what I could find. I found Sheperd fading in and out on WOR. For quite a while I didn't know who he was - just when and where he was on the dial. Later NPR syndicated his shows, and I listened to them on FM without all the static. Like many - I was greatly influenced during my formative years, and perhaps never took anything seriously - or at least without a grain of salt as a result. Now I have all the books, and as of a couple of years ago - about 900 of the shows in MP3 format. I think that I was pretty lucky to have him there when I needed him...as do many others. Excelsior !
|
Hal Kennedy
Gaithersburg, Maryland |
Joined: February 21, 2000 |
|
Shep fan since: 1960
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 11
|
Richard Richard
Gaithersburg, Maryland |
Joined: April 14, 2000 |
|
Shep fan since: 1963
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 86
|
Jayson Spiegel
Gaithersburg, Maryland |
Joined: November 28, 2006 |
|
Shep fan since: 1969
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1840
|
Comments:
One of my fondest memories growing up is listening to Jean Shepherd on WOR on a green transistor radio. I still order Bloody Charlies and sing "The Bear Missed the Train" at Jewish wedding. Shepherd is timeless. My 16 year old son actually ignored Play Station so he could finish reading In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash.
|
Henry Dumbrowsy
Gambrills, Maryland |
Joined: August 20, 2003 |
|
Shep fan since: 2003
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 798
|
