I’ve said it many times before, in my adapting old time radio shows for Madison, the OTR comedies simply don’t fit. The style of comedy in those series clashes too much with Madison’s style. I’ve looked at “Our Miss Brooks,” “Blondie,” “My Favorite Husband” among others and with Madison’s sarcasm, she simply comes off as mean! That’s why I stick to the dramas. Having all of the actors playing the drama straight is how Madison can poke fun at the world without being a jerk. (Well, most of the time!) So when Julie Hoverson (our Madame La Gimp) suggested this month’s episode from “The Damon Runyon Theatre,” I was very pleased to find the perfect mix of OTR drama and comedy in one show.
A more lighthearted series, the show has a lot in common with “Madison on the Air.” Everything that is happening to these characters is played genuine. The stakes are real. They might be a tad over-exaggerated as characters, but you totally can relate to them and easily follow their adventures, rooting for them along the way. Before this, I had never listened to the series before. I have seen “Guys and Dolls,” both the movie and a staged performance, but even that didn’t educate me on Damon Runyon, the writer, or this world. The “Runyonesque” characters he created are essentially low class people who use heightened vernacular mixed with slang. So they give an air of aloof education, especially by avoiding contractions, but instead of using Ivy League language, use street speak. And to them, they come off as the epitome of sophisticaiton. You can look across decades of comedy that takes from this.
If you want to take a dip into the original 1940’s series, you can find the episodes streaming for free on Archive.org Damon Runyon died in 1946, and the show ran in 1949, clearly made with love for the stories’ creator. But Damon Runyon was also highly celebrated in the sports world as well. He covered baseball for the Hearst papers and was known for finding the quirky and unusual characters on the field and off. He was honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 1960s. His death from cancer prompted Walter Winchell to found “The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation” (which is still in operation today) and was the beneficiary of the very first ever Telethon hosted by Milton Berle. I could go on about his contributions to the world, but the main takeaway is to remember to appreciate those who made a difference in the previous century and not forget on whose shoulders we stand today.
Comedy is hard. Tastes change with every generation. But I do believe that solid character development and insight into the human experience will always be the strongest source of comedy that will endure the decades. Because when it comes down to it, we love to laugh at ourselves.
