My God, is all I can say.

that is so awesome, thanks for sharing!

Wow! Back when the world was cool, and Hollywood was festooned with creative comic geniuses. You could have practically tripped over them in the forties and fifties, I’ll bet. BTW, Judy Strangis - the actress whom Evanier mentions in passing as Spike Jones’ other niece - is fondly remembered by babyboomers as the perky, breathless, and cute-as-a-bug Dyna Girl (from Krofft’s microbudget “Electra Woman and Dyna Girl” Saturday morning TV show.) I had a desperate crush on her!

That was an incredible story. Just plain awesome.

huh!! what a story!!

Wow. Haven’t been around the Brew much lately (work’s been a bit crazy) but I’m glad I dropped in just in time to catch this post/link!

When I was pretty young, still in the single digits, I drove my parents crazy by playing Spike Jones records over and over again. Later I discovered punk rock, although I think Jones was more about anarchy than Sid Vicious was.

Spike Jones looks exactly like Red Skelton. I take it that was first noticed the better part of a century ago.

Simply… amazingly… terrifically… SPECTACULAR story! Thanks!

Jordan Young’s book kicks ass! It’s one of my all time favorite bios.

Now, was show business ever so much more fun in those days (life containing elements of The New Yorker, early Mad Magazine, and the movie “My Favourite Year”), or were they better at marketing it?

As a cartoonist, I imagine back then I’d be smoking big cigars all day and drawing glamourous models, trading quips with Harpo Marx and Peter Arno, or working in the Marvel Bullpen described by
Stan Lee. Instead, I’m tied to a computer screen, bidding on freelance jobs and reading complicated usurious contracts!

Stupid, stupid reality.

Spike Jones more closely resembled James Cagney than Red Skelton, who was much taller than both. And show business WAS more fun back in those days. At least a lot more fun than it became when it went corporate. We are still living that nightmare now.