Sunday, March 12, 2006

Hal Peary Writes About Gildersleeve


I've been on a GREAT GILDERSLEEVE kick recently. I wrote about the show here a couple of months ago (http://booksteveslibrary.blogspot.com/2006/01/great-gildersleeve.html) and that's what got me started. Premiering as a spin-off (one of the first!) of FIBBER McGEE AND MOLLY way back in 1941, for the most part it comes across on tape as charmingly old-fashioned and yet surprisingly modern even today. Although I have a special fondness for Willard Waterman's version as I performed in a re-creation of an episode with him, Hal Peary will always be the "real" Gildersleeve. Here's a brief piece by Hal himself on the evolution of the character from the liner notes of a 1973 LP re-issue. Is this the last I'll write about THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE? "Well now, I wouldn't say that."

1 comment:

  1. Hal Peary is one of the all time greats, and I am a huge fan of Gildersleeve, thanks for sharing Peary's story...

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