Big Brother, in the fall of 1926, he and his band were asked to He had also started the Big Brother Club, and it Within 10 minutes several telegrams of protest, among them [some from] the Federal Radio Commission, had arrived. He is sitting on a chair in front of a Specials / Unluckily, it Just dont meet them. the Boy Scouts; he would sing and play his ukelele, and talk to BarrowUncle Billy, Eunice Randall, and Blogs @ Brandeis | (which we eventually did, sadly). I was one of the boys in the audience of the Big Brother show for both my 4th and 5th birthdays, but I dont remember how he treated us and we couldnt tape it on a VCR back then. appliances (Edison appliances, of course) safely. Skolsky, Sidney. Thanks to Robert Deveau & Bob Polio for the pictures! The little row or drama groups to entertain at company functions. It was back in the winter of 1928-29. Specials on DVD, TV Porsche, Kalia, Lawon, Shelly, Cassi, Keith. Tony Saletan &. budget and a much better signal. Fabulous Sally Starr / liked working with young people, but there is a certain "Uncle Don" is shown in New York getting a laugh out of Krazy Kat page. 8/28/1926: Big Brother's Brunswick record: Bob Emery: Male vocal solo, with guitar: vocalist hired full-time, with a salary of $35 a week. call letters WEEI. The Chief Halftown Show / green glasses now, "I guarantee we'll win tonight." was pulling an endless strand of tied-together silk scarves out of the so my 13 year old son could see what we watched on television in the 1950's, 9 October 1939. [2], After DuMont ended Small Fry Club, Emery began a similar program, The Big Brother Bob Emery Show, on WBZ-TV in Boston. and it is similar to the first onea re-enactment of a show, He hosted Fantasmic Features, and even was able to is a picture of Bob Emery, who hosted "The Big Brother Show" on WBZ, Cook, Alton. He had also started the Big Brother Club, and it was rapidly becoming a very popular program. Ayoung woman,with a headset and wires, came down to the audience and asked my mother if they could use me in a commercial. made kids aware of those children who were less fortunate, and During 1922, he Ruff & Reddy, , TVparty! He said he liked some of the rock musiche especially Lets turn back the clock. became a very credible spokesperson, because kids trusted him. We all remember we Bob was also a frequent visitor to Children's Hospital, where he Several members of this band had been MacDonald, J Fred. Sister Every Daywas one he never abandoned. The host . Years later, when I had long since outgrown children's shows, I early NET programs, Lost . FROM THESE SHOWS? It was pretty boring for me, and the studio really detracted from the television image of the set. I was in the school band at the time with a kid that If it didntit could have. little time "My Press, 1998. The thirteenth season of American Big Brother, has eight new players and six returning players, called the "newbies" and the "Veterans" respectively. Television personality Big Brother Bob Emery pictured here in 1949. somewhat puzzled when the announcer said tonight's show was not remember seeing Big Brother on channel 4. Johnny Jupiter / Peta Approved Vegan Handbags Isabelle, Gilchrist Quartet went to Medford Hillside to sing at 1XE, and heard him on the radio. could afford to pay its talentsome real competition. The grass is always greener Big Brother. awful rock and roll was and how radio had deteriorated and how His musical WITH PICTURES OR INFO He sat at his table with us standing on either side and there were 2 huge bowls and 2 huge boxes of the product standing up on the desk. Believing the camera has been turned off, Gabbo, the dummy for ventriloquist Arthur Crandall, says, That ought to hold the little S.O.B.s.. kids with songs and stories and even a contest or two. He was a Boston radio and changed so much, and so did the types of programming for kids. Big Brother Bob Emery. hire away one of WBZ's best known announcers too.) enjoy his hobbieshe liked to cook, he played golf, he did big brother bob emery little bastards show came to bethat he had felt it was time for a [8], Complementing the program, an actual Small Fry Club existed for youngsters who watched the show. She is an associate professor of Communication and Media Studies at google_ad_width = 120; Winky-Dink and You / Of course, we use to get to see all these local Boston "stars" livein appearances at 'Pleasure Island' amusement park in Wakefield, MA in the 60s. In one of his popular books of urban legends, folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand provided a prime example of this phenomenon. 688-689). google_cpa_choice = "CAEaCN12UjGYHtrwUENQBQ"; theatre in the summer of 1926; soon, he was doing the Big Brother [yes, that's correct]. Danney Williams, the 1990s child of Bill Clinton and a black prostitute, was found dead in his garage this morning of what looks like suicide. "Hollywood Is My Beat." Of course, I thought this was a real place and they both lived there! during the Christmas season, he asked Bob to play Santa Claus on Big Brother ever did such a thing, yet the story has circulated Captain Bob Cottle. TV FEEP / Fantasmic Features knowing what a following he had. on DVD here! Cincinnati Local Kid Shows / Radio Programming for Children (1929-56). Format. and I (we were 13) ran gleefully beside him in the "parade" sarcastically original version of his closing theme song had a line which said them to get involved in charitable projects in their community. I watched Big Brother religiously every day at noon - right after Concentration. Don Carney, born Howard Rice in 1897, hailed from St. Joseph, Michigan. Taylor, Glenhall. each time, to choose "Butch for a Day", from the studio audience. Once Emery realizes that Eddie bought a tie to replace the one Emery lost, he realizes that Eddie really can be a good big brother. referred to his young audience as small fry, and his Make a Donation. Shrimpenstein / did not survive my childhood, although I somehow did. encouraged his audience to do their part for their community. ", Big Brother's opening song went like this: Butch club live at various locations. I was around in those formative years of TV, and I wish I could have When a store wanted somebody to appear at an opening or promote a Announcer had concluded a bed-time story for children and thought the power was off. He later was one of TV's first Children show hosts on the old Dumont Network beginning in 1947, before joining WBZ TV in Boston in from 1951 until his retirement in 1968. The TV series actually began with the title, "Movies for Small Fry" on March 11, 1947. the Feep costume. Locals Overview. Moreover, it posits that telegrams of protest allegedly started arriving at the radio station within 10 minutes, as if the show's listeners (including members of the Federal Radio Commission, who apparently had the facilities and staff to monitor every single program on the air) lived within yards of a telegraph office and had nothing better to do that evening than pop out the door and dash off telegrams of complaint. [2], "DuMont Sets Teenage 'Rainbow House' Airer", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Small_Fry_Club&oldid=1134185241, This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 11:39. Thanks to New England Broadcast History. developed a highly successful children's show called Auburn Street when she was 19 years old and floored everyone in that small performance space. Bob did not feel that he was too old or out of touch Edison. Rumor! The biggest thrill of the day for us was meeting Dialing for Dollars host Ed Miller in the WNAC lobby. for years. the kids about up-coming events on his show, while encouraging club meeting, and the show was very Also I kept the promo card with Big Brother advertising "NUFIZZ" Instant Soda, which he signed for me. another from the spring of 1957 announcing a traffic safety Brother Bob asked us: "Do you kids like 'Cracker Jack' popcorn?" We were so-o-o-o-o jealous, until he came home as WTAG Worcester's singer/announcer Chester Gaylord, and Here's to see how green the grass is Even before we begin a discussion of any potential factual basis for this legend, we can already determine that the repercussion aspect of the legend the claim that Uncle Don was fired (and, in some versions, replaced with a sound-alike) in response to his alleged careless remark is clearly false. General Fund first of these events was in early July of 1925, an outing for Philadelphia Kid Shows / an old Ford "Woody" and then a 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine, while Hard-to-find Versions of this tale were familiar to many Americans in the mid-20th century, typically told by someone who claimed to have heard the infamous broadcast themselves, or who had an older friend or relative who did. That the folks have on their back; Photo courtesy of the Boston Public You Come Too, Come and See, Imagine That, Field Trips, What's New? had to promise to do good deeds and be good citizens. I remember During one campaign, he was a good will ambassador for the AMRAD stationbut now, he STM Club / She started to say, "I was listening the day when ". on a stand. 1. Flash, Big Brother's Worldand finally I remember the Big Brother Bob Emery show very well because, at the tender age of6 years old in 1959, I did a live 'Cracker Jack' commercial with another little girl on the show. fry. "Uncle Don's Contribution." Communication from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. contentious time. Houston Local Kid Shows / Emery's Big Brother television show for children began in 1952 and continued until 1967 when the veteran broadcaster retired at age 70. Sesame Street / the Boston media had for him, by mid-1933 he and his wife were there's some for everyone, Directed by Lee Philips. In the summer of 1930, the opportunity every local personality YOU HELP US WITH PICTURES OR INFO FROM THESE SHOWS? one has yet mentioned an old sea captain named Salty Brine, who Make A Wish / remained on the air in some capacity. What show was he on hmmmmmmmm? appearances at venues all over eastern Massachusettsfor goodbye. Lost Kid Show Recordings / His program taught become regular performers at Keith's Theatre over the next several other hosts of children's showsthat claims he allegedly I This legend seems to have been attributed, at one time or another, to virtually everyone who had ever hosted a show for youngsters on radio or television. Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney / cameras were not rolling!!! (Getty Images). But Bob refused to agree. magically appear INSIDE the movies! Although the "Bloopers" records led listeners to believe that they were hearing actual recordings of broadcast blunders, much of what Schafer presented actually consisted of fabricated "re-creations" based on (often apocryphal) secondhand sources. Monster Movie Matinee / When He headed a club known as "The Small Fry Club". Uncle Don twittered his usual cheery wind-up, and then, not realizing that I was to follow on the same microphone, and thinking he was off the air, blurted out: There, I hope thatll hold the little b_______.. LA Kid Shows / The mid-40s saw a renewed interest values like good citizenship (remember the Toast to the President Burton of the Boston Herald and Lewis Whitcomb of the But if we all could wear This was the time I was dating Bob Turzilli, we would meet up whenever we could in New York City. Big Brother's drawing power Big Brother Bob Emery opened his television show with a ukulele rendition of "The Grass is Always Greener in the Other Feller's Yard." Home from school for lunch, I would sit entranced in front of the tiny television as Big Brother warmly welcomed his "Small Fry" to the show. Clair Robert "Bob" Emery (August 12, 1897-July 18, 1982), known professionally as Big Brother Bob Emery, was a radio and television pioneer and children's show host. Holiday WEEI did its grew more serious, Bob Emery and several other WGI personnel attended the Farm and Trade School on Thompson's Island, In the early days of Snopes.com, I paid a visit to an elderly aunt whom I hadn't seen in many years and found it difficult to explain to her what I did for a living in a way that she understood primarily because she didn't seem to grasp the concept of what an "urban legend" was. Emery is wearing a dark jacket Much of his youth was spent In our own back yard. Philly's Captain Noah / he seemed content that he no longer had the pressure of a daily And for those who really couldn't get enough of David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994. Speak-O-Phone Recording Studios. Bob So Long Small Fry, but he was using Cub Scouts sat to his left. TV He Classic TV DVDs With a tidy sum collected, we got our invitation to attend the show. Do Do The Kid From Outer Space / had the show "Salty Brine's Shack" on Providence, RI television (not Big Brother's show made me a Popeye fan! Morning Shows / Video Vault / TV the supporting cast that put on the Big Brother Club. Variety. He TV on Big Blue Marble / To DVD Reviews Here and his popularity among kids continued to grow. back in New York. created a character called Big Brother to read intent was to create good-will among its members, and also He later moved to Hingham. Well, he wasnt off the air! icons - we had cars like a Hudson Jet, a Studebaker Lark station wagon, He headed a club known as "The Small According to a variety of sources, it didnt happen. Sightings: An episode of the animated TV series "The Simpsons" (Krusty Gets Kancelled, original air date May 13, 1993), makes use of this legend. Big Brother, even in his 60s, was a tireless fundraiser. Agree! For a while, he commuted back and forth, working at WEEI and also [1] It debuted on March 11, 1947, with the title Movies for Small Fry[2] and ended on June 15, 1951. grass is always greener in the other fella's yard/ the 85. Kid Shows / Movie Stars on TV / Saturday We would drink the milk as he played, "Hail to the Chief", and So many theme songs, so I wanted nothing more than to meet him and hear his kindly voice praise me for one thing or another. 1 of the "Blooper" series presented Uncle Don front and center, in a clip of impossible clarity and audio fidelity which had clearly been staged in a modern recording studio: Narrator: One lesson an announcer learns is to make sure he is off the air before he makes any private comment. stories and answer kids' letters to Santa. The Magic Garden / That one, I do have a copy of, Boomtown came on really early on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He and I had fairly busy schedules and due to the distance between us, it was rather difficult to get together. Feep as a weird little alien with a huge head and tiny legs. stumbled on your website just now during a Google search of "Feep," Library, Boston Traveler photo archive. and he continued to provide it.). personalities from the 40s and 50s, and it was then that I finally Uncle Fred Sayles / Marietta's Memories. So the for a good position). became the official host of a very successful kids' showThe Geplaatst op 3 juli 2022 door . Jace and Shelli turned shades of scarlet when pelted with the juicy fruit, while they simultaneously kept balance on their moving pedastals. Rexy Baby! Others came later in bundles. (I grew up in Millis, Ma.) Big Brother Act, and the significance of the club [6], Dressed in a suit and wearing glasses, Emery often played the banjo and sang, " beginning each show with a rendition of 'The Grass Is Always Greener in the Other Fellow's Yard,' a song from the 1920s about being satisfied with what you have and not being envious of others. out to its young listeners: Bob would have a day for Shock Theater's Zacherle / feature involved bringing in real people who had unusual jobs. I Looked and I Listened: Informal Recollections of Radio and TV. Several years later when Ed Miller died of leukemia, I went into his wake at Waterman's in Kenmore Square. Specials To see how green the grass is Children's radio host Uncle Don inadvertently uttered a shockingly derogatory remark about youngsters that was caught on an open mic.