That is so interesting the genesis of the rubber chicken! You have one up on me as I don't think I have EVER seen one of those things in person not being held by Fozzie or other onscreen character.
Last year my family and I visited a town for their hot mineral springs, but we also walked around the cute old timey Main Street area. One of the buildings was a straight up vaudeville theater that seemed to still be in operation! My 12yo was asking "what's vaudeville?" and so what I replied was, "it's sort of the original SNL!"
I would say out of the current crop of SNL players, Sarah Sherman is the one who is the most vaudeville with her very outlandish visual gags and exaggerated vocal delivery. But you don't see that kind of acting nowadays huh? Another great article Sheila and thanks for stirring fond memories of my family trip!
Thanks Marmi! As I said, until I saw my friend's daughter with Pox, I did that mental scan and realized it was only on TV, cartoons, and even then mostly for show. I can't remember actually seeing a comic bean another comic on the head with this thing. Maybe a trip through the Sid Ceasar or Milton Berle vault would yield something different :) That theatre sounded really cool and, I'm guessing, quite rare to be in operation. Pretty awesome. You're right about Sarah Sherman...I think her style is definitely a nod to vaudeville-burlesque (not the strip tease variety; it began as satire), slapstick...that great kind of physical comedy that men seemed to dominate in the early to mid-twentieth century, but ladies were getting their (literal) kicks in to be sure! That style/approach has been slightly muted in a popular audience sense, but it's still an undercurrent in the craft, right? Good stuff! :)
Educational, interesting, and hilarious--you hit the trifecta! I didn't know I wanted or needed the history of the rubber chicken, but I was wrong. So interesting and faceted. The bit about the Brits affixing them to their rifles is 'reality is stranger than fiction' come to life. So bizarre!
I too grew up watching the Muppets and though I remember Fozzie Bear having a rubber chicken, I also don't recall him using it. It was basically part of his costume. Great observation. And though I've seen his schtick many times, I never really connected the dots that he was a send-up of the old style comedian. He was just Fozzie Bear. I guess that's how it goes when you discover something when you're young.
BTW, your pictures are breathtaking. So purple and lush. Beautiful work!
Thanks my friend! And now you have an extra card of "weird stuff you probably didn't know you wanted to know" to play at Thanksgiving dinner! So many things are like that or to paraphrase Fozz: What the hey? Where did this thing come from, but really WHY do we still have it? Something that didn't quite make it in, there is a Rubber Chicken Museum (the only existing, thankfully) in Seattle. Someone really let a very strange genie out of the bottle with this one. :) (and thanks on the photogs...we simply lucked out this year with these blooms...yowza!...says the girl without allergies ;) )
That is so interesting the genesis of the rubber chicken! You have one up on me as I don't think I have EVER seen one of those things in person not being held by Fozzie or other onscreen character.
Last year my family and I visited a town for their hot mineral springs, but we also walked around the cute old timey Main Street area. One of the buildings was a straight up vaudeville theater that seemed to still be in operation! My 12yo was asking "what's vaudeville?" and so what I replied was, "it's sort of the original SNL!"
I would say out of the current crop of SNL players, Sarah Sherman is the one who is the most vaudeville with her very outlandish visual gags and exaggerated vocal delivery. But you don't see that kind of acting nowadays huh? Another great article Sheila and thanks for stirring fond memories of my family trip!
Thanks Marmi! As I said, until I saw my friend's daughter with Pox, I did that mental scan and realized it was only on TV, cartoons, and even then mostly for show. I can't remember actually seeing a comic bean another comic on the head with this thing. Maybe a trip through the Sid Ceasar or Milton Berle vault would yield something different :) That theatre sounded really cool and, I'm guessing, quite rare to be in operation. Pretty awesome. You're right about Sarah Sherman...I think her style is definitely a nod to vaudeville-burlesque (not the strip tease variety; it began as satire), slapstick...that great kind of physical comedy that men seemed to dominate in the early to mid-twentieth century, but ladies were getting their (literal) kicks in to be sure! That style/approach has been slightly muted in a popular audience sense, but it's still an undercurrent in the craft, right? Good stuff! :)
Only you would dance all this together so perfectly and teach us and make us laugh in the process. A pox upon us all!!! 💜💜💜
HAA!! Pox is ready for her close-up! Clearly! Thanks my friend 💗🙏🏻🥸
Educational, interesting, and hilarious--you hit the trifecta! I didn't know I wanted or needed the history of the rubber chicken, but I was wrong. So interesting and faceted. The bit about the Brits affixing them to their rifles is 'reality is stranger than fiction' come to life. So bizarre!
I too grew up watching the Muppets and though I remember Fozzie Bear having a rubber chicken, I also don't recall him using it. It was basically part of his costume. Great observation. And though I've seen his schtick many times, I never really connected the dots that he was a send-up of the old style comedian. He was just Fozzie Bear. I guess that's how it goes when you discover something when you're young.
BTW, your pictures are breathtaking. So purple and lush. Beautiful work!
Thanks my friend! And now you have an extra card of "weird stuff you probably didn't know you wanted to know" to play at Thanksgiving dinner! So many things are like that or to paraphrase Fozz: What the hey? Where did this thing come from, but really WHY do we still have it? Something that didn't quite make it in, there is a Rubber Chicken Museum (the only existing, thankfully) in Seattle. Someone really let a very strange genie out of the bottle with this one. :) (and thanks on the photogs...we simply lucked out this year with these blooms...yowza!...says the girl without allergies ;) )