December Bride: I Love Lucy's other neighbor

You may think of Fred and Ethel Mertz as the neighbors on "I Love Lucy" but From 1954 until 1958 "December Bride" was a situation comedy seen on CBS right after Lucy aired. So December Bride was a Lucy neighbor, too!

Although this series has been long forgotten, LenW's Youtube channel has posted much of the series from washed out reruns on a local station. It is really a hoot for any fan of "I Love Lucy" as the whole series has a "Lucy" aura to it. The laugh track, the music, the set and even the bit players are very familiar.

If you have never seen this series you are in for a treat. Here a a few discoveries I have made as an "I Love Lucy" fan.

The laugh track is the same as from "Lucy." You will often hear the famous "oh-oh" on December Bride (the "oh-oh" lady was supposedly Lucy's mother!).

The series starred Spring Byington, Dean Miller, Frances Rafferty and Harry Morgan. 

Remember Mrs. Porter, the maid hired by Lucy? Mrs. Porter was none other than Verna Felton who played the much more adorable character Hilda in "December Bride"!

Get ready to see a lot of Lucy alumni on the screen or in the credits.

Here's Kathryn Card (aka Mrs. McGillicuddy--Lucy's mom)

Here's Joseph Kerns (who appeared as the theater manager and doctor on "I Love Lucy")

Here's Desi Arnaz himself guest starring in an episode

I even spotted Lucy's stand in Hazel Pierce in the background on at least one episode. 

The background music sounds very familiar. Wilbur Hatch uses incidental music which sounds much like a Lucy episode.

The set looks very "I Love Lucy" like to me. The kitchen door and sink are in the same position as are the open windows leading into the living room area.

Any Lucy fan will recognize these names from the credits

And of course get ready for the Desilu logo!

From what I have read "December Bride" didn't do well when CBS moved it out of its post Lucy time slot. The show later aired daytimes on CBS and was in syndication but never fared too well. One reason is they said children couldn't relate to the story lines as the cast was older. I don't know about that, however it would be great if someone could rescue this show from the archives of oblivion and let us see it again from clear prints! Until then thank you LenW for giving us the rare chance to visit with Lucy's neighbor "December Bride". A real treat.

The Four Lads Book

                               The Four Lads Book by ...  me!

                               available at   

                          www.TheFourLadsBook.com

What has your Nostalgic Rambler been up to lately? I have been writing and researching a book about one of my favorite 1950s groups The Four Lads.

The Four Lads were powerhouse singers of the 1950s with such hits as "Standing on the Corner," "Who Needs You?," "Istanbul," and "Moments to Remember."  Since discovering their records in my grandpa's record cabinet as a child, I have always enjoyed their music. Frank Busseri, Jimmie Arnold, Bernie Toorish and Connie Codarini. The Four Lads.

Writing this book was an interesting experience. I run The Four Lads Appreciation Society on Facebook and many of The Four Lads family members have found us there since the official Four Lads facebook page is no longer maintained and their official webpage has vanished. The Lads fans and family were generous with sharing their time, pictures and memories for the book. One lady donated her daughter's huge 1950s scrapbook of Four Lads pictures and clippings. All the original newsletters are reproduced in the book. They are a treasure trove of material that would have been lost to time if not saved for posterity in my new book.

Connie Codarini's son David Comden was my editor and cheerleader. I was very honored that Kathy Lennon of the famous Lennon Sisters agreed to write the intro to the book. The Four Lads personal stories are included as well. The most intriguing true tale is how singer Bernie Toorish met his daughter Debi for the first time when she was in her sixties. Also included are profiles on most of the "replacement" lads. As the original four retired from the group, other singers kept the music alive into the decades following their 1950s heyday.

The publishing world isn't easy to navigate. I actually had a signed contract to have the book published by Bear Manor Media. Since they specialize in nostalgic type material, I was really looking forward to seeing my manuscript come to life through them. One of my goals was to get this book out before the last of the living original Four Lads Bernie Toorish left us. He was in ill health for quite a while. Bear Manor was unable to get the book out in the time promised. Rather than delay another six months or more, I decided to self publish in the hopes that Bernie would see the book. Unfortunately he passed away in December of 2025.

The book is finished now. The maze of setting up the publishing and webpage is about done. This is a labor of love and it has cost a small fortune to bring "The Four Lads Book" to life. I am proud of what I and the members of the Four Lads Appreciation Society have accomplished. It is my hope that you will help get the word out so that the legacy of The Four Lads and their contribution to Canadian and American popular music will be remembered.

The book's website is www.TheFourLadsBook.com 

Ozzie and Harriet: A old TV friend rediscovered

 From 1952 until 1966 "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" aired on TV. That's a long run. I remember the show from reruns but it never seemed to gain the status of cult following to me and the reruns weren't around much. Maybe it is because the rights to the show were held by Ozzie Nelson himself and syndication from a big studio was not in the cards.

Once in a while we got a glimpse of some faded print or a few selected episodes when the show ran on the Disney Channel years ago. There are also a lot of public domain type DVDs out there that are so washed out you can't tell whether you are watching Ozzie or Harriet!

Apparently for years the heirs of the Nelsons have been working on getting the series released on DVD and it is finally here...at least the first few seasons. 

Of course the Nostalgic Rambler wanted to see this show so the DVDs are part of our daily viewing for now. Season One is on the agenda. It is really a charming show but very slow moving. The opening of the show features the lengthy "here's Ozzie...here's Harriet...here's David...here's Ricky..." which is gets kind of old after the first few shows...we KNOW who they are! The camera doesn't really move around much. "I Love Lucy" was also filmed around this time and you can sure tell the difference between the way the camera angles were thought out on "Lucy" compared to O&H.   

It's fun to watch for famous guest stars...or actors who were not house hold names yet. A very tiny Jerry Mathers aka the Beaver makes an appearance for instance as a trick or treater in a Halloween episode and Ellen Grandma Walton Corby plays Harriet's aunt in a show.

I imagine the later seasons may attract more DVD interest as heart throb Ricky Nelson starts his singing career. In season one he is a little boy far from any imagination of rock star status. The shows revolve around simple themes and yes they are very corny for our times...but as times get more and more complicated it is a great escape to the 1950s past of huge houses, housewives that look like they are ready to appear on a fashion show, men dressed in suits, and kids who are so polite and sweet you may need your diabetic medication. You gotta love the Nelsons and Ozzie and Harriet is a great series to discover for the first time or re-discover again. 

Although a few sponsor tags were left in, it would have been nice to see the original commercials...and there aren't any extras on the DVD but it's worth a look. An MPI Home video release.

Songsmith Jimmy Van Heusen

Through my life I have enjoyed singing (mostly to myself) and many of my favorite songs were originally sung by the likes of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra and....many of those were written by the one and only Jimmy Van Heusen.

Although his name has been familiar to me, I didn't know much of his background. And unlike some of the other songwriters of the 40s and 50s, Van Heusen has not been as recognized as other guys like Irving Berlin or Rodgers and Hammerstein.   

Van Heusen wrote a lot of the songs made famous by Bing Crosby such as "Swinging on a Star" and one of my favorites, the title song to the movie "Going My Way" with Bing and Ingrid Bergman. 

After the Bing era, he became pals and was the main tune-smith for Sinatra.  Jimmy was quite the womanizer and the quote from Sammy Cahn is that Frank "wanted to be Jimmy Van Heusen, but he couldn't pass the physical." Gotta love that one. Poor Frank!

Compared to many famous composers there isn't too much available on Jimmy Van Heusen. Apparently he was a private man and even though he drafted a biography, it was never released. A great biography by Christopher Coppula called "Swinging on a Star" is out there. There was also a PBS special showcasing his life awhile back...but good luck finding that on Youtube or on DVD. 

I have one of his record albums where he plays the piano. It all sounds so effortless. Truly amazing how he came up with so many beautiful melodies.

Since he never had any children, Jimmy's legacy is now under the wings of his nephew, who didn't have anything to do with the music business but is now keeping his memory alive. Very cool and very fascinating. Why didn't I have an uncle who wrote tunes? Not fair!

Jimmys birth name was Chester Babcock. He took his "Van Heusen" moniker from the shirt company, so I guess I'll have to start wearing Van Heusen shirts to support the legacy of yet another one of my idols. I wonder if Jimmy wore Van Heusen shirts!?

Lucy and Desi, A MUST see....Amazon's documentary review

 Since I was a boy I was fascinated with anything that had to do with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Their iconic show "I Love Lucy" has been a constant in an ever changing life. Every time someone writes a book or puts out a movie about them or the show, I get hyper critical as these are "my" people and I want it to be right.

Lucie Arnaz did it right in her 1993 Documentary "Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie." It had many gems including those beautiful color silent family movies of the couple and their family. It's been many years since that documentary was made. What else needed to be told? 

I was not a fan of Amazon's movie "Being the Ricardos." It took too many liberties in telling the story. My review of that film would be a Ricky Ricardo "eye yay yay yay yay."  And yes, since I have devoured every book, newspaper, magazine article and TV interview since the 1970s and watched their work incessantly, any little discrepancy irks me. 

That being told, the newest entry in the Lucy/Desi story is the Amy Poehler production called simply "Lucy and Desi". The simple title is almost as iconic as Desi's book which he called "A Book"... because he said that is what it was!

There's an old big band song that has the lyrics "it seems to me I've heard that song before...." and that's the way I felt about much of Poehler's "Lucy and Desi."  Many of the audio excerpts, pictures and interviews were very familiar. She had access to a lot of material however that was "new", provided by Lucie Arnaz. That made all the difference. That audio of Lucy and Desi telling their stories was woven together in a delightful way. She uses clips of "I Love Lucy" very cleverly to move the story of the real life couple along. It's all the same story I've heard so many times but this time it is fresh once again. So I give it a thumbs up/must watch for old Lucy fans like me or people who say "Lucy Desi who?"  In my mind, I fancy myself as an expert in the area of Lucy and Desi and could have easily put together this documentary. Even though Poehler didn't ask me for any advice (tongue planted firmly in cheek as I write this....) she did great. What a "wundaful" job she did with "my" people's story. 

I found it amusing that on "I Love Lucy" there were three writers for the first few years and a staff of experts you can see on the show credits that run for a few seconds to list them all. This documentary production had a zillion producers/directors/advisors and even make-up people. My my, have times changed! 

I forgive Amy for using the syndicated opening of "I Love Lucy" in telling the story but of course the heart on satin is so iconic that that opening just HAD to be featured. I guess the folks in the documentary COULD have been watching a rerun!

I hope newer generations will continue to discover "I Love Lucy." Despite all the Amazon hoopla, Sirius/XM "Let's Talk with Lucy" show and interest in their lives, I am amazed at bloggers and commentaries of younger people who have never even seen an "I Love Lucy" episode. It just isn't on all over the TV as it was when I was young. 

For anyone out there who wants a few gems from my archives, here are a few links.

My blog where I have digitalized some of my Lucy/Desi archives (I have so much more and really need to start this up again...but time slips away...)  Lucy Archives

An audio interview from Desi recorded off of the TV onto my little cassette player as he visited Detroit for his book promotion (I am so proud that the TCM podcast used my Lou Gordon Show audio....even though I wasn't mentioned....)   Desi Arnaz in Detroit 

And here's a show I just uploaded. It's Desi's radio show Your Tropical Trip

Life has been busy. I am uploading a lot of my old radio airchecks of big band and nostalgia music of the 1940s and 50s, realizing that even though they are from the 1980s,  they are so old now they are a piece of history. Preserving this material for future generations is a goal.  

Oh, and if someone is doing yet another Lucy/Desi project, I'm available! ;)

Remembering WKBD Channel 50, Detroit's Greatest TV Station

 When I was growing up in the Detroit area in the 1960s and 1970s, broadcasting already fascinated me.  Right down the road from my grandparent's house was WKBD Channel 50.

That's where all the TV shows we watched as kids came from, everything from I Love Lucy to Speed Racer.  This wonderful world of television was where I wanted to work.  What a great goal!

Years later and after 4 years of college to learn the broadcasting trade, Channel 50 wasn't interested in hiring me. What a sad thing that was. Anyhow, the legendary station is still there and has always been in the back of my mind.

I did a previous blog about my fascination with "I Love Lucy" which Channel 50 broadcast ad nauseum back then.  When "Lucy" star Desi Arnaz came to town I recorded the audio of his appearance on the famous "Lou Gordon Show" which is on Youtube here. Gordon was a controversial talk show host on Channel 50 and even for today's standards would be considered rude. He even got poor Desi upset by the end of his visit!  The video tapes of Gordon's show were apparently not saved so my audio might be the only copy of Desi's visit to Detroit. 

I was pleased to discover that author Christopher Lock has just published a brand new book on Channel 50.  It's not a boring look at the station today, which is now nothing like it was in the 1960s and 1970s...this book takes us back to the "golden years" of WKBD, with pictures and details of most of the programs that were on back then. 

If you'd like to be transported back to the baby boomer 60s and 70s of Detroit TV, you will love this time capsule. The book is available on Amazon and click on the link to watch Mr. Lock's  Howell Library Talk about Channel 50.

I think he included most of what I remember except for Snipets! 

Memories of Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School in Southfield, Michigan

             A Visit to Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School in Southfield, Michigan

On a recent vacation to my hometown Detroit area, I stopped by Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary school in Southfield. Sad to say, but it is abandoned, closed and run down.

I was a student there when it opened in 1970 and recently found the dedication program my parents attended in 1971. 

Eisenhower was a great Elementary school. I fondly recall sitting in the "commons" area watching the fledgling PBS TV system for the "Electric Company."  The art classes offered everything from a kiln to fire our clay projects to learning paper mache'.  I remember music class and letting us bring in our favorite 45s to play in class. I was already then a mini nostalgic rambler as I brought in songs from "My Fair Lady" or Vaughn Monroe!  I played floor hockey in the gym and gave a performance or two on the stage there for various Christmas programs, probably playing the accordion.

Since we were the first group there, we spruced up the side of the property by planting trees as a student body.  I think we even had a garden.

We raised money for the projects by bringing in popcorn poppers from home and selling popcorn in school. Can you believe it?!

The former President Eisenhower had passed away in 1969 and he was very well loved, thus naming the school after him. Some of the quotes from the dedication ceremony celebrate the man. From his first inaugural address this quote "Almighty God...Give us the power to discern right from wrong...to work for men everywhere."  Powerful words today that probably wouldn't be tolerated.

"Ike", as he was known, said "there is nothing wrong with America that faith, love of freedom, intelligence and energy of her citizens cannot cure."  Wow.

Eisenhower Elementary school is falling apart, much like the values the Ike and the 1950s when he was president idealized.

I'm a bit sad....