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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
Interesting, Juan, to note the (Mexican) Spanish word for pumpkins is calabazas. There is, of course, a cognate word in English, calabash.
As many of us oldsters recall, Jimmy Durante always closed a show with the line, "and good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are." Although it was widely assumed that this referred to his late wife, no one really know who Mrs. Calabash was (he never explained). Does this give us any clues?
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
As many of us oldsters recall, Jimmy Durante always closed a show with the line, "and good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are." Although it was widely assumed that this referred to his late wife, no one really know who Mrs. Calabash was (he never explained). Does this give us any clues?Here's a site which addresses this question, Boby.  The link courtesy of Dr. Bill from another time when this was discussed: http://www.skypoint.com/members/schutz19/durante.htm
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,544 Likes: 1
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,544 Likes: 1 |
"...wherever you are."
The legend as I heard it a long day ago was that Mrs. Calabash was the boarding-house landlady when Durante and his buddies were struggling young actors, and although they were habitually in arrears she didn't throw them out. When Durante made it big he made it a point to thank her publicly for it in this fashion, and then when she died he added "...wherever you are" to the benediction.
The buddies, btw, were named Clayton and Jackson, and the act was known as "Clayton, Jackson, and Durante." Durante was the only real success, and he made it a point to take care of his old partners. (That's in case you're wondering why, now that you think of it, that highly inferior old comic Eddie Jackson always appeared on The Jimmy Durante Show once a year...)
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872 |
Thanks Good Folk for resurrecting happy memories of Jimmy Durante. And thanks whitman for resurrecting dr. bill's post with the URL featuring the Durante smile. I had forgotten the joy that that face brought into my young life.
He was "some pumkins".
Good night, Mr. Durante, we all know where you are.
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Joined: Mar 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
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Jimmy DuranteYou're so right, milum! I loved that guy...the love and sparkle he exuded from the stage was rare gift indeed!  And he even coined a phrase that became part of the language, usually said after getting a big laugh: I got a million of em! I'll always miss him. Shame he had to spend so long a period at the end of his life crippled horribly from some debilitating disease...doesn't seem fair for all the joy he gave folks, but.
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Joined: Aug 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
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I got a million of em!
(very tentatively) why does that line make me think of Milton Berle?
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
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(very tentatively) why does that line make me think of Milton Berle?"Cause he stole it from the Ol' Schnozzola (Durante)! Not uncommon on the comedy circuit! 
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