Page 12 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, August 1, 2012
■ Jimmy Durante was one of the great American comedy performers of the 20th century. He was an amazing character who worked in films, television, radio and live performances. Jimmy was a very funny man, he was a singer, pianist, actor and comedian - he would stop halfway though a song and tell a joke. His trademarks were a raspy voice and his huge nose which was commonly referred to as his "schnozzola". James Francis ‘Jimmy’ Durante was born in 1893 on the Lower East Side of New York City. His parents had immigrated from Italy and Jimmy was the youngest of four children. When he dropped out of school he became a professional pianist and played in ragtime and jazz bands. He worked with Eddie Cantor in his early days playing piano at a bar in Coney Island whilst Eddie was one of the ‘singing waiters’. Eddie Cantor told the story of the cigar box on top of the piano that contained the pooled tips from all the waiters. The box and the $125 in it mysteriously disappeared and Jimmy was so infuriated he said to Eddie, "How could they do a thing like that!" Jimmy led an investigation to find out who had stolen the cigar box. They never found the culprit but at a reunion many years later Jimmy confessed to his colleagues that he had taken the money and gave them back their share.
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Whatever Happened To ... Jimmy Durante By Kevin Trask of 3AW and 96.5 Inner FM He said he had ‘borrowed’ the $125 to give to his father to pay for three of his relatives to immigrate to the US. He added, "Two of the guys croaked - what a break!" Jimmy married his first wife Jean Olson in 1921. He teamed with his friends Lou Clayton and Eddie Jackson and they performed in vaudeville and Broadway shows. In 1934 he recorded the song Inka Dinka Doo which was very popular in the hit parade and it became his theme song. His film career began when he partnered silent screen star Buster Keaton in a series of short features. Jimmy made his feature film debut in The Wet Parade in 1932. He soon became a popular
● Jimmy Durante screen star and his films included Broadway To Hollywood, Palooka, The Man Who Came To Dinner, Ziegfeld Follies and many others. He became a popular radio star and teamed with Garry Moore in the Durante - Moore Show. He would always ‘murder’ the English language in his sketches. His popular songs included I'm Jimmy That Well-Dressed Man, I Know Darn Well I Can Do Without Broadway, I Ups To Him And He Ups to Me, Umbriago and his great duet with Bob Hope, We're The Boys With The Proboscis. His wife Jean died suddenly in 1943 while Jimmy was on tour. What about some of the great quotes credited to Jimmy Durante: I hate music, especially when it's played. Politics is developing more comedians than radio ever did. Be awful nice to 'em goin' up, because you're gonna meet 'em all comin' down. In 1947 Jimmy teamed with Frank Sinatra
in the film It Happened In Brooklyn. He began in television in 1950 and had a series of successful shows over a period of eight years. His catchphrase at the end of each show was “Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are”. In 1960 Jimmy married Margie Little and the couple adopted a daughter. I loved his cameo performance in the film It's aAMad Mad Mad Mad World in 1963. It is brilliant comedy in the scene where he has a car accident and lays stretched out beside the wreckage - then with his last dying breath his foot kicks a bucket. During his career Jimmy Durante raised money for various charities and his work with handicapped children was exceptional. Jimmy Durante passed away from pneumonia in 1980 at the age of 87 and was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. In 1993, 13 years after his death, Jimmy's vocal version of the song As Time Goes By was used in the film Sleepless In Seattle and went into the hit parade. Kevin Trask The Time Tunnel - with Bruce & Phil Sundays at 8.20pm on 3AW That's Entertainment - 96.5FM Sundays at Noon 96.5FM is streaming on the internet. To listen, go to www.innerfm.org.au and follow the prompts.
MORE TERRITORY CROCODILE TALES
■ Alan Erskine, a newspaper editor from Mildura, was fishing on the Finniss River last week, when he noticed a huge five-metre crocodile on the muddy bank nearby. The only problem was that it didn't have a head. Apparently, according to Wildlife Ranger Tom Nicholls, it happens at the end of every wet season -people rush up from the south for some fishing, and take crocodile heads home as souvenirs to have them mounted. I haven't had much to do with crocodiles, apart from having seen them and jumping out of the water at Adelaide River, snapping up dangled chickens in their powerful jaws. Plus a couple on the spectacular Kakadu Yellow Waters cruise. However, when I was up in Darwin with my mate Terry Cullen a few years ago, at a crocodile conference, we went into Arnhem Land somewhere to check on some Fresh Water crocs to see how they were faring with the infestation of the poisonous Cane Toads, which they eat, mistaking them for harmless frogs, and die shortly thereafter. We would catch and measure them, and tag them, or read existing tags, noting all the details for future reference. One activity was undertaken to ascertain their sex. This required inserting one's finger into their "vent" to have a feel around. I opted out of that one! ■ Every year it's the same -there is a headline in the local Darwin paper I'm sure they have the same story and just dust it off! ‘Cold Snap Hits Darwin!’, and the article goes on to say that Darwin residents were "sent scurrying for their blankets last night as the overnight temperature plummeted to 20!" 20° overnight in Melbourne almost has locals the rushing to the beach for some ‘relief’! Darwin is almost the same as Singapore - I once asked a taxi driver: "Every night on the TV news you have sport but no weather- why?" "No point," he said, "the weather is always the same every day!" I've experienced Darwin in the Wet and the Dry. With the former it's raining every day, with spectacular lightning displays, but the latter is extremely pleasant. You always know where you are
The Outback Legend
with Nick Le Souef Lightning Ridge Opals 175 Flinders Lane, Melbourne Phone 9654 4444 www.opals.net.au weather wise, and it's easy to plan things when you know that it's not going to rain. The worst part however is the "build-up", when it spends a few weeks at the end of the Dry, and it tries to rain. The humidity a stifling, and it's then that people supposedly go ‘Troppo’. One magistrate gave a light sentence to a gentleman who had shot his neighbour for mowing his lawn early one morning. "It's understandable," said His Honour, "that's normal behaviour for the build-up!" ■ I don't rage too much against my fellow motorist, but I do note many an instance where I would like to. As everyone laments, it's just getting worse and worse. It happened to a mate of mine a while ago in Alice Springs. He owned a restaurant, and needed a new manager, so advertised. A lady called, and an interview was arranged for the following day at 9am Mike was running a little late, so sped up a little, and entered the round-
about on the Stuart Highway a little too quickly, as did another motorist. He told me that he was slightly in the wrong and cut the other driver off just a tiny bit, but said that because of her speed, she wasn't entirely blameless. She seemed to be in a hurry too. At the next set of lights they both stopped, when she wound down her window and roundly abused him with a raging, expletive-packed invective. They both sped off at the green light, going their separate ways. As he drove up to his restaurant car park, he noticed another car had just pulled in ahead of him. You can guess the rest! As she alighted from her car, Mike said: "Don't even think about it!" I'll bet she regretted that little bit of road rage! ■ Well, the Camel Cup has just been and gone again! You can't escape camels in Alice Springs. There was the camel farm I have previously mentioned, for years, and another one at Stuart Well, 90 kms down the road. And there are herds of wild camels roaming around the desert off the highway, especially down towards the Rock. This year's cup winner, riding Chrissie for the third time, was Phoebe Waters, from Stuart Well. Her dad Neil owns a company called Camels Australia, and Phoebe of course has grown up with them. The cup itself attracted about 6000 people to Blatherskite Park, and raised about $60,000 for local charities. Whilst the event itself went off without a hitch, there was a glitch - five camels escaped; as they're worth about $5000 each, this caused a little consternation amongst the owners. However, happily they were scooped up about 20 kms away near Pine Gap. No threat to national security! ■ There's always some eccentric activity going on in Alice Springs! Apart from the Camel Cup, the annual Postie Bike race also reared its head. Last time, a few weeks ago, it was Miss Universe Australia raising money for Outback kids; this time it was a Ms Australia finalist, Danielle Larch, heading a bevy of old postie bikes, via her project Dovetail Charity.
● Never smile at a crocodile It's always heartening to see how stationery items along the way, and some of the more advantaged mem- providing them with other exciting bers of society, like many service activities which they don't usually enorganisations and charities - Lions, counter. The overall organizer of the ride Rotary, and Variety immediately spring to mind, helping out the least was Mrs Australia 2010, Bobby Murphy, who will go on to represent advantaged, in most cases kids. So the Postie bikes have been Australia in the Mrs Globe Pageant bumping their way along the Stuart in August in California. Excitement all round! Highway, and across sandy desert - Nick Le Souef tracks, to reach kids in remote com‘The Outback Legend’ munities, giving books and toys and
From The Outer
Melbourne
Observer
kojak@ mmnet.com.au
With John Pasquarelli
■ Watching tattooed footballers, cricketers and other sportsmen and sportswomen carrying on with their antics has dulled my interest in following those sports that I was once keen on. Now we have the Olympics and all the carry-on that has become the news - from petulant hissy fits to demands that a woman carry our flag into the arena. Athletes have become part of the celebrity circuit and of course there are plenty of tatts adorning them as well. The dreaded dollar destroyed true amateurism and the Olympics has become just another commercial venture with taxpayers as always footing the bill. Olympic success has its post-Olympic repercussions as fading stars fail to face reality and the recent Grant Hackett meltdown was a sad reminder of this. If we don't do well there will be the usual recriminations and handwringing but all the officials with their good salaries and fringe benefits will determinedly hang on in there. Sport is now big business and there is no going back but who will apply the brakes and bring some common sense on board? Sensible and determined sports ministers who can brush off their bureaucrats and start restoring some order may be the answer but they are just politicians aren't they?