Norm Nathan's Vault of Silliness with Tony Nesbitt

Let’s begin episode 113 with some Happy Birthday wishes to one of Norms’ daughters, Sonja. Still 39 and holding here on November 19th. Happy Birthday my sister from another mister!

Today also brings us a DBG from November 19th, 1994 that shall be titled: Foot Fetish Radio.

This one starts right away. And besides Sonja, there’s a plethora of interesting people born on this day.

Players:

Alan in Smithfield, RI – a 1st timer

Lois in Fitzwilliam, NH – 1st timer

Marge in IN

Hillary in Buck’s County, PA

Brian McKinley – barely producing, playing in studio and just taking up space

And Jack Harte in Traffic who’s also ‘moonlighting’ on RoadWatch America

Bdays:

Norm’s daughter Sonja is officially recognized for her day of birth and suddenly it becomes an ESL class.

Dick Cavett – he has a foot fetish?

Ted Turner – he had a Fonda Fetish…

Calvin Klein

Jodie Foster

Meg Ryan

Alan Young

Larry King

And Jean Kirkpatrick

Other details:

Norm is woozy because Hillary wants more of him.

Rustling papers is driving her crazy, over and over again.

We find out that some people are famous for being famous.

It’s nice to live in a world of fantasy.

Norm is not very dad-like but more of a freelance single guy, making out with everybody.

A behind the scenes secret is revealed: We perform tests to determine the tackiness, tastelessness and uselessness of DBG prizes.

Jack Benny, Mason Adams and Jim Backus make cameo appearances.

And if you ever wondered where Norm got his last name from…the wait is over!

Ep 113, Foot Fetish Radio, strides its way to your ears in 3, 2 and 1.

Zdravey (Hello)! Kak varvi (How’s it going)? To our new listeners in Bulgaria!

Thank you all so much for joining us again here at Norm Nathan’s Vault of Silliness. Today the Vault has graced us with a DBG from November 8th, 1992. This is a good one with plenty of silly banter.

I have titled it: Locally Sourced

We begin with LOTS of Lottery numbers, some sports scores and then the magnificent DBG Theme.

The Players:

Mark in SC

Hazel in Ontario, Canada

Robert from Everett

Lisa in Topsfield

I’m producing and in studio

And Fred Jendren from Traffic

The Bdays:

Katherine Hepburn

Morley Schaffer

Bonnie Raitt

Patti Page

Dr. Christiaan Barnard

Mary Hart

Rickie Lee Jones

June Havoc

And Leif Garrett

The highlight reel includes:

Quite the list of other locals. You may want to get a notebook and pen to keep track.

The Spirit is here, twice I believe.

We are privy to an on-air affair and it’s really something else. Norm, that sweet talker, is in prime Romeo mode here.

Is it sneaked or snuck?

Jack Benny makes an appearance.

Robert from Everett has thousands of 8x10’s and 16 pounds of make-up.

We close with a Patriot’s promo with Gil Santos and a goodnight from Norm!

Ep 112, Locally Sourced, has been freshly picked for your ears and starts now.

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Let me take a moment to acknowledge the anniversary of Norm’s passing. October 29th marked 26 years. I hope you’re enjoying listening to these on that great radio in the sky as much as I enjoy producing them.

Now from the sublime to the ridiculous… 

We are back for another dive into Norm Nathan’s Vault of Silliness. This time it’s DBG from November 3rd, 1991 which, borrowing a phrase from the game, is titled: The Night of 200 Wolfies.

We start with a lovely Show Open and some Lottery numbers.

Break for some commercials (which I will list in a just a bit) and then the sweet sounds of the DBG Theme

Players:

Paul in Stoughton

Jimmy from Winthrop

Norma from the N. End

Constance in Weymouth

Jack from Laconia, NH

I’m producing and in studio

And Lou Ianazzo in traffic

Bdays with all the sfx:

Bob Feller

Charles Bronson

Michael Dukakis

Ken Berry

Lulu

Roseanne Barr Arnold

James Reston

Adam Ant

And one from November 5th…

Roy Rogers

We are giving thanks early for the cornucopia of commercial content:

Florine Mark for Weight Watchers

Call for Action and the Mass Bar Association Promo for ‘Ask the Lawyer’

Resolve Stop Smoking Kit with Steve Allen

‘Tom & Russ’ for J&C Adams doors, windows, and stuff voiced by Peter Meade

Join WBZ and Jordan Marsh for an evening to benefit Children’s Hospital at the Enchanted Village at Downtown Crossing

Carpet Giant

Our good buddy, Patrick Palladino Jr of Winchester, MA for Gold Bond.

And Keep It In Your Sneaker

Other highlights:

We lost Thanksgiving but it was recently found down in Cohasset?

A Half-hearted Jack Benny makes an appearance.

Norma does an excellent impression of a wind tunnel and later Norm adds his own sfx. 

Norm reveals he was filling out his letter of resignation during the game.

Players wishing me a long and happy marriage. Norm adds if it’s an unhappy marriage it’ll seem a whole lot longer. Norm was prophetic about that.

Norm makes a bold statement regarding this particular game.

Norm gives some insider information on where and how Bob Raleigh stores and accesses his pens.

I get to feel the power of ending a call.

And we end the game with a cryptic message from Paul.

Norm fills the time before news with the weather and tells us about a new program starting that very Sunday morning from 7-9am…Neil Chayet and Looking at the Law. It was replacing Dr. Howard Smith who had high-tailed it to the West Coast.

Norm sends it to News after he teases us with a history question.

The News Sounder segues nicely into the Traffic Sounder and a report from Lou Lou Lou Ianazzo.

A very moving Accuwx forecast with Dave Bowers and Norm trying to sound like he’s on public radio. 

This all gives way to another Show Open and Norm gives the answer to the that pre-news question.

EP 111, The Night of 200 Wolfies, races its way to your streaming devices in 3, 2 and 1.

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Hello everyone. Welcome to Norm Nathan’s Vault of Spookiness.

We have a hauntingly good show for you today that has risen from the October 30th, 1995 archives. Let’s call this one Norm-O-Ween.

Norm was joined by 2 guests. First up was Linda Spencer, author of Knock on Wood. As you may have guessed from the title it’s about all sorts of superstitions and the history behind them. I STILL have this book in the Nesbitt Tomb of Tomes.

During the interview a question arises regarding witches riding brooms. There are other sweeping thoughts that will whisk you away because we take a few calls.

Tony on a pay phone at Logan Airport with some broom news

Joan from S. Weymouth with more info from the ‘newsbroom’

Helen from Weymouth

Debbie in Malden

Kevin in Abbington – who then disappears?

A caller who adds some other cool ‘witch-story.’

Norma from the N. End on hats, umbrellas, poles and cracks.

And our male listeners get some advice on how to meet a mate by naming clean socks, getting in bed backwards and dreaming…what?

Some static starts to come through on the tape…and you know what that means? Time to clean the tape deck!

Next is Haunted Hotels: A Guide to American and Canadian Inns by Robin Meade.

They talk about/mention hotels in MA including Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury. Now they only mention it here, but I will share a story with you. That’s where my wife and I had our experience with the ghost of Jerusha Howe.

Norm also refers to a previous guest Laurie Jacobson who wrote Hollywood Haunted and Robin has some great stories to add.

Episode 110, Norm-O-Ween, howls it’s way to your ears, now.

We are back and healthy for Episode 109 which is a SMQ from the esteemed Ed Mullen Collection. This one hails from October 20th, 1993. Mike Epstein was producing.

We begin with a Darrell Gould intro to Jack Harte and then Accuwx with Dave Ryan.

The usual suspects comprise the panel with the addition of a beautiful moll: Linda Chase, who joins us later.

Before we start, Norm mentions he had been to the Portsmouth Music Hall for the Harry W. Jones Memorial Education Fund jazz concert (and he wore a tie!) Featured artists were: The Tommy Gallant Trio, Dave McKenna, Dick Johnson, The Swing Shift, Herb Pomeroy, Gray Sargent, Marshall Wood, Donna Burn, Les Harris Jr., plus relatives of Harry Jones, Sharon Jones Jenkins & Tom Jones.

It’s time to explain the rules, categories, and prizes that no one will understand until around 2:15am.

The callers that fill the quiz are as follows:

Joe from Hyde Park

Kevin in Providence, RI

Fred from Medford

Rich from Dorchester

Ann in Quincy

Ritchie in Winthrop

‘Dial tone’ Diane in Duxbury

Dave in Madison, WI!

Dave from Plymouth

Gil in Salem, MA

Yomico from Shadyside, OH

Diane in Duxbury

Michael in NH

Andrew in Norwell

Joan from Hull

Colin from Hingham

Alex in Somerset, PA

John in Bedford

Rob from Duxbury

Al in Eastie

Helene in Belmont

Nancy from Exeter, NH

Kate from Beverly

Faye in Waltham

Don in W.Va

Denise from Brookline

Michael in JP

Other highlights:

Ed and Norm had just seen Linda at Ken’s Steakhouse. Tony had seen here at Natalie’s

The Teen Canteen chanting for news!

Norm has an Oreck and likes to keep his house spotless. So clean you could eat off the floors.

Norm worked really hard on his musical comedy questions and nobody is asking for them!

And are we in for quite the variety of Commercials which are entertainment in and of themselves:

The show ‘Falsettos’

WBZ Afternoon News Promo

Barry and Elliot for Jordan’s Furniture

Silver City Dodge

The London sensation! The Madness of George the III.

Pilgrim Healthcare

EarthTunes at the NE Aquarium

‘Skates of Gold’ at the Boston Garden

Baby Gold Bond

VT Teddy Bear Co read by Arthur Godfrey and a cameo by Jack Benny with full musical accompaniment by the panel

Aloise Avrilla for Oreck Vacuums

James Rife and Jim Brown for Gold Bond

The queasy Linda Kern and Hazel Dew for Marezine

And Kas Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner

Episode 109, The Swell Music Quiz, Ed Mullen Collection V2, makes a sojourn to your speakers in 3, 2 and 1.

Before we begin you may have noticed a bunch of repeat postings of previous episodes. The issue that has been plaguing us has been corrected and, in order to test that, we had to repost. It looks sloppy but I don’t want to delete them as they have received views.

Thanks for your patience. Now everyone should be able to enjoy the shows on their desktops and laptops.

Hopefully it’s the last of the glitches.

Welcome to Norm Nathan’s Vault of Silliness very own October Surprise or should I say ‘Vault-tober Surprise?’

The fam and I have all caught the ‘Vid. For three of us it’s Round 2 for the other two it’s their first time. We all ended up with what amounts to a bad head/chest cold.

That’s not the surprise though. Because of feeling under the weather, we are just going to start this episode and let it fly! I can tell you it’s a NNS/DBG/NNS from October 16th, 1993. As for who’s playing and all those other details…we’re gonna find out together. And, based on the notes on the cassette, the surprise continues after the show!

Ep 108, The Vault-tober Surprise, begins now.

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This week’s episode is a DBG from October 5th, 1996 which I’ve titled, “Age-vantages.”

Tom Howie was producing.

We begin with quite the intro for Jack Harte from Norm.

Norm laments the transitions of the season but because he is a doctor, please take off everything and he will only look at you in a medical manner. Jack believes it all starts with windows going from opened to closed and that brings on general malaise.

There’s some Kyrie and Bobo talk (Norm’s Newfoundland dogs).

We are informed that people walk all over Norm because he’s too good of a person and Jack wastes no time requesting Norm’s help with something.

The subject of growing old comes up along with it’s advantages and disadvantages.

We get some incredible wisdom and insight from a stupid guy Norm knew and everyone’s favorite HGPG. 

The Players:

Jack Harte

Mike from Marlborough

Joanne from Everett

Charlie in Malden

And Betty from Sudbury

During the introductions we venture into the “what exactly is middle age” territory and what age was it hardest to turn.

The Birthdays:

Bill Dana

Glynis Johns

Karen Allen

Donald Pleasance…no, wait…

Steve Miller

Sir Bob Geldof

Diane Cilento, Sean Connery’s ex-wife…on second thought

Some Dead Bdays:

Chester A. Arthur

Ray Crock

And Alan Ludden

The game ends with an Historic Event question:

In what year was The World Series first broadcast on radio?

Other highlights:

Joanne hearing static and another station on the line. Norm says turn it up it’s probably a lot better than this.

Newfoundland dogs help everything.

Norm was not a hunk.

Norm’s friend, Sydney Gelpi (sp?), had his own room with pin-up pix on the walls. 

Mike needs socks.

WBZ is older than Norm.

Norm remains terribly behind in sending out prizes but in the end, it doesn’t matter because it’s all junk.

Norm’s father describing the younger Norm.

And Jack was at a charity function that his fine lady, Moneen was hosting where a 25-piece Big Band and singer Toni Ballard were performing.

Let’s get the candles lit on Episode 107, “Age-vantages”…now.

Thanks for joining us again as we close out September 2022 with a Norm Nathan Show from September 29th, 1996. This one is titled: BillyBobNorm.

Steven Adams was producing.

Also thank you for sticking with us, listening on your phones and from every other platform where we cast with no damn issues! Still no resolution to our little problem on YT. And with no response from my queries as to what’s goin’ on…I find that YouRUDE.

Before we dive into this episode, I’d like to say, “namaste” to our new listeners in India!

Here we go:

Billy Clyde’s got his dander up in an excited dialogue with Norm about music, then and now! 

Norm teases guest Bob Hernandez who’ll be playing his game Significa!

And, again, Norm is WAAAAY behind in tacky, junk gift mailings.

To DBG or not to DBG, that is the question?

Shayna in traffic…or not…orrrrrrr?

Kevin in Dorchester

Wally in Waltham

With a malfunctioning peepers keyring in need of replacement we have Marge in IN

Jim in Lowell and another subject arises: banned records. Not BAND records but banned records.

We now roll on to Bob Hernandez and the aforementioned game, Significa! Bob will give ask 3 questions. Answer all three and WIN! Significa was 4 pack of small travel games covering varying subjects: History, Geography, Literature and more.

Callers:

Debbie in Malden

Bill from Lynn

Marian in Easton

Jenny from Plymouth

Joanne in North Reading

Ken from Roslindale

Christopher in Lowell

Christine from Worcester

Bob in Waltham – maybe not

Joe from Melrose

Anne in PA

Kelly from Weymouth

Bob is back!

Dorothy in Bridgewater

Doug from Newton

Michael in Chelmsford

Whitney

Horace in Brookline

Matt in Weymouth

Laura from PA

Lynne in Malden

Joel from Natick

Ken in Cambridge

Lisa from upstate NY

Bob in Leominster

Bill from Braintree

Bob in Richmond, VA

Geri in Everett

John from Boston (aka Chauncy without the extra accent!)

Heather in Wilmington, MA

Priscilla from Weimar, PA

Fred in Kennebunk, ME

Vivian from Malden

Beth in Boston

Jay from Dorchester

Loose ends…

Callers hearing Norm with an echo and a whoosh! 

Traffic reporters are a happy lot hoping for a big traffic jam. 

Jim says Norm has a nice singing voice and Norm mentions he’ll be singing with a The Bob Bachelder Band to benefit Self Esteem Boston at the Wonderland Ballroom in Revere. He had rewritten all the lyrics to Cole Porter’s “You’re the Top.”

Stay tuned as I will replay that magnificent performance.

And a question is posed, “Where’s the Gong?”

Ep 106, BillyBobNorm, begins in 3, 2 and 1.

We have another NNS/DBG/NNS from September 21st & 22nd, 1996.

Title: Cruising the Radio Waves

Tom Howie was producing.

We begin with a couple of jokes from a caller, Bruce the skip to Norm talking to Linda about sports talk shows, negativity and talking like an ass.

Now on to caller, Elizabeth, whom Norm hasn’t spoken with in a long time. She was former WBZ producer Eddie LeClair’s fiancé. We learn that’s not the only thing that can be referred to as former.

There’s a caller asking about Norm’s recent trip to Bermuda, his daughters, Sonja and Sarah, glaucoma and a renown eye doctor.

We move to Norm talking about all the wacky National Day of stuff such as: Dear Diary Day, Ice Cream Cone Bday, Long Count Day, National Centenarians Day, National Good Neighbor Day and more. 

It’s time for the DBG!

Members of the Panel:

Jim in MI

Elizabeth from Allston

Michael in JP

Michelle and Todd from Salem, MA

Shayna in Traffic? Maybe not.

Bdays:

Tommy Lasorda

Shari Belafonte

Debbie Boone

Joan Jett

Scott Baio

Bob Lemon

There’s some weird noises and other discussions before we get to a date in History question:

When did Fiddler on the Roof open on Broadway?

A ton of fun is had during the game with impressions, great talk about Jack Benny and skit recreations.

Jim in MI was using the GE SuperRadio III and picking WBZ up nicely.

Elizabeth and Norm talk for a while longer after the game. She had spoken to Ed before she played and relates his thoughts to Norm.

Norm mentions that he hosted “A Child’s Guide to Instruments of the Orchestra.”

We Break for news.

He announces what he’s going to do but does it quietly because other stations steal our ideas. He gives out the phone number even though he’s tired of seeing it scrawled on the bathroom walls.

We come back with a caller, Don, complaining about a WBZ promo and a Beatles song.

Joan Jett was a guest star on The Highlander tv show? Sheena Easton too?

There was a concern that the classical audience is getting older and older but that fear is put aside with a call from Robin in Lynn. She and her 8-year-old love classical music and would be going to the Symphony!

Norm expounds on the virtues of musical tastes including mine.

Shirley in MI was so happy that Norm was back from his trip.

Next is Ron who praises Elizabeth and her call.

Then Beatrice in W. Roxbury – Happy to have Norm back from his trip too. Talks about Arthur Fiedler and tells a story of being at Symphony Hall where everyone was waiting for Fiedler to arrive. He was late because he helped fight the Vendome Fire. He was an honorary firefighter and took that very seriously.

Our last caller was Jim who was also in Bermuda but on a different cruise. They talk about the high cost of living on the island.

We end with a classic tag line from Norm.

Episode 105, Cruising the Radio Waves, sets sail to your ear canals…now.

Let me take a minute to thank YT for not doing anything again this week about the publishing issues we all experience when you’re trying to listen on a regular ol’ computer. You guys do nothing and do it extremely well. So, thanks again.

Let’s start the frivolity!

Episode 104 is a 31-year-old DBG from September 14th, 1991. I’ve titled it: Voices in the Night

We begin with Norm’s Show Open with some extra fun thrown in as we segue directly to the ‘original’ DBG theme.

Norm defines not only the game but really what his and now this show is all about. If someone asks you about it, you can use his words to describe it: A silly concept that creates moments of hilarity.

Players:

Charlene in Braintree

Paul from Malden

Pat in Melrose

Lenny from Charlestown

I'm producing and on the phone from Master Control and saying hello to a few hard-working ladies.

Jack Harte says hello to some hard-working ladies as well.

Truthfully there wasn’t much difference between them. Norm seemed to be familiar with one of the names Jack mentioned.

Bdays w/ALL the SFX:

Joey Heatherton

Mary Frances Crosby

Clayton Moore

On to 9/16

Alan Funt

Ed Begley Jr. – back again because we had him on the previous episode which was from 1993 so if you recall that show, subtract 2.

Peter Falk – back again as well for another ‘look.’

B.B. King

Lauren Bacall – a ‘noteworthy’ return also from the last episode

Other things:

Could a tape of Jack laughing become a collector’s item?

It was Farm Stand Day. Norm wasn’t sure he was going to attend as he forgot to shave. I told him the ladies love the scruff. Because of that he just may reconsider. He may even be there early.

I left Norm reading some headlines for the bottom hour news update to honor the newsman part of his career.

And we close it with a couple of commercials:

Camelot at the N.S. Music Theater and Waldron Bay Real Estate properties commercial with some smoooooth jazz as the background music.

Episode 104, Voices in the Night, begins transmission to your ears, now.