Old Radio Times

2010·2.9 MB·English

by  Old Time Radio Researchers

The Old RadioTimes
The Official Publicationofthe Old-Time Radio Researchers
Jan/Feb 2010 www.otrr.org 2319 Subscribers Number 47
WHATEVER BECAME OF...
RICHARD LAMPARSKI?
by Alan Kleinberger
In 1965, the world wasn’t ready for nostalgia,
or so many people thought. The world was mov-
ing forward, and nothing was more disposable
than the past. The young and the old may have
had very different ideas about where the world
was going, but they could agree that the past
was not worth much of their time.
Into this mindset came a young man who had
been toiling along the edges of Hollywood for a
number of years; he was convinced that the pub-
lic wanted updates regarding notable figures of
the past. In fact, he was convinced that many
people cared about the not-so-notable figures
too. He set about tracking them down, one by
one, and the result was a radio series and a se-
ries of books that tapped a vein of nostalgia in
the public consciousness that few would have
predicted was there in the first place.
Richard Lamparski titled his radio series (and
later the book series) Whatever Became Of ?,
which is about as straightforward a description
as you could want. Because looking backwards
in time hadn’t yet become the full-time preoccu-
pation then that it’s become today, he met with a
great deal of initial resistance, skepticism and
outright hostility. fore the idea hit the mainstream, was that certain
Lamparski recalls that both station managers people were not convinced that the world had
and book publishers were utterly certain that the begun on the day that they were born. Some
only people who would be interested in the pres- people were actually fascinated with the stuff
ent-day whereabouts of Frankie Darrow were that went on years, even decades before their
“old people.” Lamparski tried to explain that the time. Their spiritual descendents today are the
elderly were the last people who would be inter- people under the age of thirty who are willing to
ested – nobody wants to be reminded that their watch movies and television shows that are in
childhood idols were now old and alienated, be- black and white. Back in the Sixties, when talk
cause that would make it difficult to avoid the of expanding one’s consciousness was just get-
conclusion that you’re old and alienated. ting off the ground, the powers that be had a
What Lamparski realized, several years be- hard time imagining anyone’s consciousness ex-
1
panding back in time.
Nevertheless, the soon to be enormous wave
of Nostalgia that we take for granted today was
“in the air.” Lamparaski speaks of going to the
theaters in New York that specialized in old time
movies, legendary venues like the Thalia and the
New Yorker – and in the lobby, and in the men’s
room, people would ask one another “Whatever
happened to Sally Eilers? Remember her?”
Not precisely a eureka moment, but not too far
from one.
Lamparski himself had the benefit of a some-
what unusual childhood. Because of the ever-
present fear of polio that has been forgotten
today but was once part of every parent’s list of
nightmares, Lamparski’s very protective parents
essentially didn’t let their kid out of the house.
An only child, growing up in Detroit, Lamparski
had the benefit of having his parents’ attention
full on and focused, and was essentially raised
as a smallish adult. He says that he barely had
any idea of what a child was, since he never con-
sidered himself one. “I never viewed myself as a
child,” he recounts. “I was me.” First grade was
extremely exotic to him, seeing kids up close for
the first time. He also never had people speak
baby talk to him, so he was verbally precocious
as well.
Lamparski notes that he also never developed
variety programs, big band remotes, anthology
a competitive spirit. He was thoroughly puzzled
drama, genre drama (including Westerns, detec-
by his classmates’ attempts to best him. He
tive shows, supernatural mystery, red-blooded
simply didn’t get it.
action adventure, cop shows, and every variation
Viewing children only from a distance (“from
thereof), fifteen minute soap operas, as well as
my bedroom window, they looked tiny and fasci-
shows for children. Lamparski notes that the lat-
nating”), Lamparski nevertheless did share cer-
ter was just about the only type of show to which
tain fascinations with his distant contemporaries
he didn’t listen. He listened to children’s adven-
– a love of movies and radio. Ventures to the
ture shows (Jack Armstrong, Captain Midnight),
movies once a week cemented his fixation on the
but not to the softer kid stuff like Let’s Pretend.
wider world, and, growing up in the 1930’s, Lam-
Again, young Richard Lamparski operated in a
parski had the benefit of having a unique conduit
sui generis environment. Oh well.
to the outside world, one that most today can
While there was nothing particularly unusual
barely imagine – the world of radio. This was
about Lamparski’s fascination with the two great
radio as it existed long before television, disc
mass entertainment media of his youth, it’s pretty
jockeys, political pundits (well, there was Father
evident that they formed the stuff of his later ca-
Coughlin, but that’s a discussion for another
reer. Lamparski’s claim to fame consisted not
day), or any other elements that now make up
what we listen to in the car when we can’t find only of tracking down the whereabouts of the
that CD we want to listen to. usual suspects, i.e., well-remembered and not-
This was radio consisting of comedy shows, so-well-remembered movie actors, but also the
2
people who portrayed the memorable characters with the stars of I Remember Mama. Interviews
of radio. with the directors of La Mama, perhaps, but that’s
Lamparski’s first job in Hollywood when he as close as it would get.
was a lad of nineteen was delivering teletypes at To the surprise of many, the show was a hit.
CBS, not a bad way to get a literal foot in the It's difficult to get a fix on how many people tuned
door in show business. His heroes when he tried in, since WBAI was a non-commercial station
to get his start in radio were Robert Ripley (“be- and was on the FM dial (in an era when a sub-
cause I thought he got to meet all of those peo- stantial number of radios came equipped with
ple – of course he didn’t”) and John Nesbit of the only an AM tuner), but it was clear that
Passing Parade (“he told a very good story, and Lamparski was having an impact. And he was
never exaggerated”). His first adult friend was a right - it wasn't the elderly who were tuning in,
woman who had worked as a secretary for Orson
but people who had seen these former stars and
Welles and Rita Hayworth, and had remained
near-stars on TV, in reruns, on the Late Show at
with Hayworth after the two stars were divorced.
three in the morning, and had heard of them sec-
She took young Mr. Lamparski under her wing
ond-hand from their parents.
and gave him his first great lesson in journalism
Lamparski's own theory, which he articulated
– “don’t exaggerate.” She also encouraged Lam-
to the station only once the show wasunderway, was
parski in his dream of being a radio personality,
that older people would avoid the series like the
because she felt he was a good listener.
plague, because it made them feel old. The true
By 1965, when Lamparski’s radio series got
target audience for Whatever Became Of? were
off the ground, radio had already been largely
the movie buffs, and for the most part, these
forgotten. References to radio’s role in the de-
were college kids.
velopment of popular culture in this country were
Most importantly, the interviews did not, as the
limited, virtually non-existent, remarkable when
less empathic members of the media
you consider that the final old-fashioned radio se-
tended to think, consist of portraits of the forgot-
ries had been off the air for only three years at
ten. The radio stars, silent movie stars and
that point. Lamparski’s continuing interest in the
character actors (with an occasional politician
actors who had played Lum and Abner, Amos
thrown in for good measure) were all fondly
and Andy, Ma Perkins and other forgotten fa-
remembered by those old enough to have been
vorites was very much against the grain of main-
stream journalism at the time. Of course, witness to their earlier fame. These were
Lamparski never really considered himself or his individuals who had simply slipped from public
interests to be mainstream. view. The ideal Whatever Became Of? subject
The radio series began in March of 1965, after was someone you recalled very well. You simply
Lamparski approached WBAI-FM in New York didn't know where they were now.
with the idea of conducting a weekly interview It was typical, of course, that with the radio
show, an unadorned half hour of conversation show's success, producers would try to
with some past star of stage, screen or radio. capitalize on it without understanding the funda-
Against all odds, his idea was taken on and the mentals behind that success. Lamparski states
show began. The odds against acceptance were that at a certain point, there was talk of mounting
even greater than they would seem at first a Whatever Became Of? TV series. The
glance, because WBAI was a most unusual sta- proposal was that it would be dropped onto the
tion. WBAI was, in most ways, the ultimate rep- weekend evening lineup right after Lawrence
resentation of the 1960’s, increasingly so as the Welk - whose demographic really did consist of
decade wore on. Offering mostly political com- the older folks Lamparski was trying to avoid.
mentary, discussions, interviews with countercul- Three pilot episodes were filmed, but nothing
ture figures and sporting a consistently came of it.
anti-mainstream tone, WBAI was pretty much the What Lamparski realized and what his would-
last place you would expect to find an interview be TV producers did not was that most of
3
the people he was interviewing were frail and these books wouldn't be complete without
often not especially focused. Audio was Lamparski's observation (found in the series' first
acceptable - the audience could and would envi- volume) that former musical star Harry Richman,
sion the subject as being not so terribly different living in retirement, is in excellent health and has
from the way he or she appeared in their heyday. the companionship of a pet squirrel.
And the books that eventually made their You just have to admire Lamparski' s refusal to
appearance were dry enough and distant enough elaborate on that.
to cushion the blow of seeing the inevitable Who could have known that the first volume
"what they look like now" photo. was just the beginning? Apparently
But TV? The show, thankfully, never got off Whatever Became Of? sold well. Really, really
the ground, and Lamparski notes that it would well. Well enough for "Volume Two" to appear
have been "the show that bummed out America." in 1968 (featuring an eclectic mix that included
Score one for radio as the "theater of Thomas Dewey, Abbott and Costello, andNathan
imagination." Leopold. Let's see someone isolate that demo-
In 1967, Crown Publishers got involved, issu- graphic). And three more (helpfully numbered as
ing a collection of two page essays on Whatever Volumes Three through Five) in the years follow-
Became Of? subjects, each one complete with ing. Then, several more volumes numbered Eight
one vintage photo of the subject and one to Eleven, the last one published in 1989. I know,
current photo. While these were frequently based
upon the radio interviews, Lamparski devoted
considerable effort to flesh out the narratives
and add further details that had not been part of
the broadcasts.
Moreover, when read closely, the books re-
veal a rich vein of rather dry humor, something
Lamparski was able to utilize far more effectively
in print than he could have done on tape. His
subjects, human and fallable as they were, had a
habit of interjecting attitudes, delusions, and
observations amply illustrating their powers of in-
trospection or utter lack thereof. When laid out
for the reader, often pointedly without any clarifi-
cation, commentary or reaction, these can be
very, very telling.
In the very first volume, a portrait of Olympic
gold medalist (and former Tarzan) Johnny
Weissmuller notes that the athlete's rowdy sense
of humor failed to impress local authorities in
Florida when he turned in a false fire alarm.
A summary of the career of Clifton Fadiman,
found in the third volume of the series,
turns a bit harsh when, after observing that Fadi-
man's intellectual accomplishments, once
universally admired, seem rather thin when con-
sidered today, Lamparski concludes by quoting
Fadiman as saying "I am not a profound thinker."
Lamparski follows this quote with the
statement that "no arguments have been heard."
A list of puzzling non sequiturs to be found in
4
I know - what about Volumes Six and Seven? A Bankhead, and Dorothy Parker.
mystery to many, but there's a perfectly simple From the very beginning, Richard Lamparski's
explanation - which I'll get to, later. relationship with counterculture radio station
Lamparski recorded his shows in impressive WBA1 was a troubled one. The station's man-
bursts of activity. He recalls that "I might agement had agreed to take on the series in
do three or four shows in one week. Then I'd go a misguided attempt to broaden their demo-
out to the west coast and do one a day for thirty graphic ("they thought, well our stuff is much too
days. Then I might go to Europe and do ten in youth oriented, and so this will appeal to those
fourteen days." older folks who remember the Thirties"), but the
He explains that "I would position the shows everyday staff of the station viewed him with
to my own taste. I would do everything to my own undisguised contempt. This was the Sixties, after
taste - I never had a director, a producer or an all, and while Lamparski was not significantly
agent, so I did everything according to the way I older than most of the young men and women
would want to listen to it. There would be a politi- working at the station, he wore a suit and tie, and
cal person one week, and the next week some- wore his hair a whole lot shorter than they did.
one very silly." Forty years later, the nature of that profes-
sional relationship still provokes his ire. He notes
that if the WBA1 staff had taken the trouble to
talk to him, they would have discovered that he
wasn't far removed from their political views ("I
always opposed the war in Vietnam," he hastens
to note.). But something about the very nature of
Lamparski's show seems to have offended them
- chatting with men and women whose heyday
was decades in the past seems to have outraged
most of the personnel, who no doubt had little
patience for nostalgia at that point in history.
Nostalgia for the Thirties and Forties would have
implied nostalgia for the values of that era, and
that would not have been welcome at WBA1, not
at all. At best, Lamparski' s efforts
would have been dismissed as irrelevant, and
back in the Sixties, that was much more of a
pejorative than it would be today - if nothing else,
we've come a long way in battling prejudice
against the irrelevant.
So, the clash between Lamparski and his
home station (the show was also heard on
several stations on the West Coast and in the
Southwest) came down to establishment vs.
hippie, not something that would have been con-
ducive to a happy working environment. It meant
that the show was often bumped for live discus-
sions of political issues, phone-in shows that ran
over their allotted time, and almost anything else
Not often remembered today are the specials that could go wrong. WBAl's programming was
Lamparski would do in addition to his regular notorious for its freewheeling nature ("those
broadcasts. They were called "High Tea," and he shows were filled with angst"), and that less-
recalls doing them with P.G. Wodehouse, Tallulah than-precise sense of priority seemed to work
5
against Whatever Became Of! more often than
not. If the show was scheduled for nine p.m. on
a Monday or Tuesday night, the odds were pretty
strong that a listener tuning in at that time was
going to hear something else. At best, there might
be an announcement that they were running 90
minutes behind schedule. Listening to the show
required a lot of patience and determination.
Under these circumstances, it's remarkable
that Whatever Became Of? thrived, but that's
what it did. To this day, Lamparski takes consider-
able pride in the fact that the show was consis-
tently listed in the New York Times' "Radio High-
lights" section for that broadcast day. Somebody
over at the Times was listening and was suitably
impressed.
It's not hard to see why. The show fed a need
on the public's part that not only assured its con-
tinuation, but also guaranteed that the book series
would continue, with a new volume turning up
about every other year. Sales must have been
quite brisk, because even today, more than forty
years after the appearance ofthe first volumes,
they're quite easy to find. There are tons of them
The next Bantam volume was labeled as the
out there.
"Second Annual Edition," and that was the end of
Now about those missing volumes. Crown pub-
his relationship with Bantam. He found his way
lished the first five collections, and each of those
back to Crown, and 1982 saw the publication of
had a later mass market paperback edition as
Whatever Became Of? Volume Eight - its number
well. Around 1976, Lamparski received an offer
acknowledging the two Bantam paperbacks as
he couldn't refuse, from Bantam books. Bantam
phantom Volumes Six and Seven. All you com-
wanted the Whatever Became Of? series for
pletists can now sleep at night.
themselves, to be published as mass market pa-
What made Richard Lamparski an outstanding
perback originals. Lamparski couldn't overlook
interviewer? Obviously, much of his strength lay in
what he viewed as a very generous offer, and
his ability to do the research, to track these people
went with Bantam.
down, something that was far more challenging in
Unfortunately, it was a move he regretted al-
the Sixties than it is today. As noted already, Lam-
most immediately. In addition to differences of
parski was a pretty good listener, and this comes
opinion about formatting, editing and other mat-
across in the recordings one hears. He allows his
ters, Lamparski was galled by the fact that
subjects to go on and on, revealing quite a bit
Bantam titled their first Whatever Became Of?
about themselves, without displaying much of an
volume as the "First Annual Edition." Lamparski
agenda of his own.
correctly pointed out that this would be terribly
One clue to the show's success can be found
confusing to readers, who would naturally
in a clear distinction Lamparski makes today. He
assume that the book was a reprint of the Crown
states that he was very much taken aback when
Volume One from several years back. That title
the Nostalgia market ultimately morphed into the
would ensure that Lamparski would lose a sub-
trivia market, when a fascination with minutae re-
stantial chunk of his established readership. The
placed interest in individuals. Lamparski recalls
Bantam collection went out as the "First Annual,"
beings increasingly irked when he would be intro-
nonetheless.
6
duced as the "King of Trivia," something he didn't was the late Goodman Ace. The legendary
feel related to his work at all. He finally snapped radio writer did not bring along his famous wife,
at one interviewer that "I'm not interested in trivia Jane, who would have been a great favorite;
at all. Trivia concerns facts, and I'm interested in instead of speaking to Lamparski as an intervie-
people. There are no trivial people." wee, all he did was schtick. Lamparski admits
Lamparski notes ruefully that some of the that it was probably funny, because people did
most interesting material cropped up after the laugh, but by the end of the interview, he says he
tape recorder was shut. He'd finish the interview, was surprised that Ace couldn't tell from his tone
stick around for a few more questions to flesh of voice that he was, well, really pissed. Ace
out the book pieces, and would make some ran- had held Lamparski at arm's length, and that didn't
dom observation ("you don't seem to have any make for a satisfying interview.
photos of yourself around"). The interviewee Based on the many, many radio actors Richard
might say that "those are in the library" - and Lamparski met during the eight-year run
while they were in there, something would crop of his program, he came away with the unshak-
up "that would make my hair stand on end." able belief that there were no people in show
He credits that phenomenon to the presence, business who enjoyed their work more than net-
or lack thereof, of the tape recorder. "People work radio actors. "They were well paid, well
were very, very conscious of that tape recorder, treated and had a terrific discipline all their own.
and there were many things that they Whenever I made a date to meet one of those
would not say. Once the recorder was off and people, they always arrived in plenty oftime. Even
was put away, my interviews would improve when their personal nature was disagreeable,
immeasurably."
It took thirty years, but Lamparski managed to
set down for posterity some of the more
extraordinary admissions in a pair of books he
published recently - Hollywood Diary and New
York Diary.
Of course, some guests weren't put off by the
tape recorder at all. His interview with
Ireene Wicker, the famous "Story Lady" of chil-
dren's radio, was one of his easiest. He asked
her how she got her start in radio, and she
talked. For thirty minutes. She would have talked
for another thirty, but Lamparski signaled that he
was running out of tape.
The Story Lady's interview also reflected a
phenomenon that Lamparski dealt with in his
recent memoirs. Her husband was Victor J. Ham-
mer, a wealthy art dealer and brother of famous
business tycoon Armand Hammer. The Story
Lady's husband was openly hostile to Lamparski,
who realized that the man didn't approve of his
wife's former showbiz life. Time after time,
Lamparski would be turned down for an interview
by a female former celebrity, only to be rewarded
with acceptance when he contacted her again
some time later - after she was divorced
or widowed.
One guest Lamparski recalls not liking at all
7
when they heard that I wanted to talk about longer any novelty to being the one tracking the
Mister District Attorney or some such show, they old faces down. Nostalgia had gone big busi-
would enjoy themselves immensely." ness, with regular newspaper features, maga-
Lamparski also mentions that he was a friend zines and many, many other books devoted to
of the late Mary Margaret McBride, who had her the subject. Lamparski's relatively straightfor-
own view of this subject. "She said that when you ward, one might say humanist approach, didn't
listened to a television performer being inter- have the sense of uniqueness that would set it
viewed, most of what they talked about were apart from the others mining the same mother
complaints. Radio people enjoyed their work. Of lode.
course, television is a hell of a lot more work than It's also worth noting that by Volume Eleven,
radio was. There were things you had to worry Lamparski was no longer able to mix the
about that you would never worry about in radio. old with the obscure. The earlier volumes had
Like maybe you didn't shave that morning, or you consisted of interviews with former celebrities
were wearing the same tie that you'd worn the who had gone obscure, but who had been a very
day before." big deal in their day. Gene Tunney, Charles
One element Lamparski believes may have Lindbergh, and the stars of Amos n' Andy were A-
troubled radio actors was the lack of personal list has beens, one could say. By volume
recognition. "I never met an actor who didn't want eleven, Lamparski was forced to bring us up to
to be recognized. Radio actors simply didn't date on some people who hadn't been all that
have that." He recalls Lowell Thomas being large in the public consciousness in the first
turned away from a network newsroom on the place. A little Carmel Myers goes a long way.
day Kennedy was assassinated, because the Our hero lay low for a time, but continued his
security card simply didn't recognize him. investigations. In 1981, he had published
The last straw in Lamparski's troubled rela- Hidden Hollywood, a volume examining the for-
tionship with his home base came in 1973. A mer homes of yesteryear's superstars, noting
trip to Europe had yielded a lengthy interview their location, history and eventual demolition. As
with 1930's superstar Louise Rainer. While noted, he has recently generated the twin
largely forgotten today (due to her decision to re- volumes Hollywood Diary and New York Diary,
tire relatively young), Ms. Rainer was huge in detailing some of the relationships he forged
the years before the Second World War. She is during the Sixties and Seventies with his inter-
one of the few actresses to have garnered two view subjects, as well as with some of the more
Best Actress Oscars - consecutive, no less. She's colorful members of showbiz found on either
been reclusive in the years since her retirement coast.
and lives in Germany, so Lamparski's ability to Now well into his seventies, Lamparski re-
get an hour's worth of conversation from her mains very much aware of show business
was quite a coup. history and does his best to keep up. The most
Unfortunately, nobody will ever hear that inter- surprising thing about the man himself? When
view, because the folks at WBAl lost it. When he asked about file copies of his radio shows, his
was informed that the tapes were missing, Lam- books and any other showbiz detritus, he states
parski sought out the head engineer. Had the simply that "I'm not very nostalgic or sentimental
tapes been misplaced? Accidentally wiped? myself." Who'd have thought?
Damaged? The only response he could get
was that "these things happen."
It was all too much, and that was it for the Edited by Bob Burchett
audio series. The books continued for another
[email protected]
decade and a half, but by the 1980's, the para-
Distributed by Jim Beshires
digms had shifted. Everybody was doing nos-t
algia. People were more interested in the Good [email protected]
Old Days than ever before, but there was no
8
M E N T # 4
S U P P L E
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9
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