1/10/2008
With the presidential primaries all over the news, I’ve been reminded of some of the presidential shtick I’ve done in the past. Quite honestly, I’ve pretty much been a bi-partisan goof- making fun of presidents and presidential wannabes of both parties (and some independent candidates as well!)
We did various stuff back in the Son of Svengoolie days, including visits from Richard Nixon, who was first part of my act while working with Jerry G. Bishop both during his Svengoolie run and when we did morning radio on WMAQ, where “Nixon” was a regular caller on the show! On Son of Sven, he first showed up to take over as host, I think- and did his own song- a parody of Paul Simon’s (the singer, not the beloved Illinois politician) “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” called “50 Ways to Blow Your Cover”, recounting his downfall in the Watergate scandal. I always remember doing that taping, since I was wearing a fake Nixon nose- and I had a killer cold at the time. With the prosthetic nose on, I couldn’t blow my nose, and I was absolutely miserable- which my have helped my characterization!
“Nixon” made a comeback in a fake commercial for a musical on the show- around the time that “Evita” was being promoted, a different musical was running in Chicago- an old George M. Cohan show called “Little Johnny Jones” which, I believe, David Cassidy was starring in. So, we had Nixon come in doing a show called “Little Sonny Sony”- again spoofing the controversy over tapes he allegedly erased…and including a parody of one of the songs that also was appearing in the then-current “Evita” TV commercials!
We also did some Jimmy Carter stuff- I remember some debate that one candidate wasn’t going to attend, and they had decided to represent him with an empty chair- so, we did a bit where there was a debate promoted by the League of Women Boaters (not “Voters”) where various candidates would not be showing up, and more and more empty chairs were slid onto the set!
I also did some Ronald Reagan stuff, including portraying his new press secretary Bonzo (his chimpanzee co-star in the old movie “Bedtime for Bonzo”), and selling a collectible Bonzo commemorative coin, similar to an actual Reagan coin that was then for sale.
I’m sure current fans recall our “Werewolf Dubya” bit that we ran during the “Werewolf of Washington.” Who do you think will be next to show up on one of our programs?(And- will they be easy to imitate? Will somebody –ahem- have to put on a dress?)
We did various stuff back in the Son of Svengoolie days, including visits from Richard Nixon, who was first part of my act while working with Jerry G. Bishop both during his Svengoolie run and when we did morning radio on WMAQ, where “Nixon” was a regular caller on the show! On Son of Sven, he first showed up to take over as host, I think- and did his own song- a parody of Paul Simon’s (the singer, not the beloved Illinois politician) “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” called “50 Ways to Blow Your Cover”, recounting his downfall in the Watergate scandal. I always remember doing that taping, since I was wearing a fake Nixon nose- and I had a killer cold at the time. With the prosthetic nose on, I couldn’t blow my nose, and I was absolutely miserable- which my have helped my characterization!
“Nixon” made a comeback in a fake commercial for a musical on the show- around the time that “Evita” was being promoted, a different musical was running in Chicago- an old George M. Cohan show called “Little Johnny Jones” which, I believe, David Cassidy was starring in. So, we had Nixon come in doing a show called “Little Sonny Sony”- again spoofing the controversy over tapes he allegedly erased…and including a parody of one of the songs that also was appearing in the then-current “Evita” TV commercials!
We also did some Jimmy Carter stuff- I remember some debate that one candidate wasn’t going to attend, and they had decided to represent him with an empty chair- so, we did a bit where there was a debate promoted by the League of Women Boaters (not “Voters”) where various candidates would not be showing up, and more and more empty chairs were slid onto the set!
I also did some Ronald Reagan stuff, including portraying his new press secretary Bonzo (his chimpanzee co-star in the old movie “Bedtime for Bonzo”), and selling a collectible Bonzo commemorative coin, similar to an actual Reagan coin that was then for sale.
I’m sure current fans recall our “Werewolf Dubya” bit that we ran during the “Werewolf of Washington.” Who do you think will be next to show up on one of our programs?(And- will they be easy to imitate? Will somebody –ahem- have to put on a dress?)
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