Norm Nathan's Vault of Silliness with Tony Nesbitt

The exciting Emilio Marotta is producing this show from May 7th, 1994.

Exactly 27 years ago to the day. Is this a sign that I’ve managed to organize the Vault not only by year but by month AND date?

That would be correct!

From here on out, I will produce episodes as close to the date of the original show. Most will be from the same week. Occasionally, like today’s podcast, hit the bullseye and match perfectly. 

Soooooo…

Welcome to the ‘Ordinary Guy’ show.

There were no guests booked because Norm demanded to talk to the ordinary people who listen!

For the first time I will include a bottom hour newscast from CNN. Partly because some of the subject matter eerily repeats itself today. But the major reason is we also get a local news update from one of the sweetest men on the planet, Darrel Gould. It was so great to hear his voice again I had to make sure it was part of this. I do believe it was Darrell who gave the Dumb Birthday Game its name. Long before we played with the listeners and WBZ had a live, local overnight newscaster at the top of the hour, Norm would quiz Darrell on some of the celebrity birthdays. Darrel said something about it being the dumbest game and the rest is history.

We also get the pleasure of a full-on Traffic on the Threes report with Jack Harte.

Callers:

The ordinary Fred in Medford

The wonderful Helene From Belmont!

Marge from Indiana who has an excellent motto

Dave from Newton with questions about Woody Herman

Harriet in Quincy with an EXTRA-ordinary story to tell

Commercials:

NEW Gold Bond Medicated Anti-Itch Cream

Topical Tropical News Quiz Promo

Brooks Pharmacy with a sale and a Mother’s Day sweepstakes

A promo for AutoWorks with John Lawlor which aired on Saturday’s at 1pm

Sears Siding

And how about some news about an Alaskan Legislature reporter, Kate Ripley?

Norm teases a bunch of fantastic guests coming on over the weekend including husband and wife team who write a quarterly newsletter called “The Secret Exchange.”

The example story given is of a woman who forgot to wear underwear while on a glass bottom boat. There were a few happy scuba divers waving up at her.

To inquire about/purchase a copy of ‘Bows on Bears and Ties on Tigers,’ please email me at [email protected]

Email the show

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With Spring 2021 now a little over a month old it is time to celebrate it with not only the sound of peepers (I will explain that in a few minutes) but with a broadcast from February 19th, 1994. I know that date may not bring on thoughts of spring but it’s a special episode and I was just so darn thrilled to find it in the Vault.

Due to some thawing weather we were to experience that weekend 27 years ago, it started the discussion of Norm’s hens and when they would start laying eggs again.

You see, hens lay eggs when it’s warm. Heated henhouses make them lay eggs all the time. A regular backyard coop that gets cold in the winter makes them stop until the weather begins to warm up again.

Norm and I were discussing this earlier that day and I had the very silly idea to make it a contest where people would send in postcards with their guess of the date one of his hens would lay an egg. 

Thus “The First Egg of Spring” contest was hatched.

And wait until you hear what the prize was to the whomever guessed correctly.

This spring talk it also segues to talk of the peepers. A peeper is a small frog, about an inch to an inch and a half long, who awaken from their winter slumber as the weather warms (usually late March through April). They make a chirp-like sound that some may confuse with crickets. Norm had a bog at the end of his driveway by the main road. He would risk life and limb and bring a portable tape recorder down there, cars whizzing by and all, to record them. We would then play them on the show every year.

It was a very popular feature. So much so that at one point someone offered us “peeper keychains” to give away on the show. It was a small circle with a peeper sticker on it and when you pressed it, it made the sound! We gave so many of them away as prizes.

In honor of that I will play you a recording from 1992 that Norm made down at the bog. It was on an old cart and I had to do some digital enhancing to try and get the best audio out of it.

To continue that tradition, I have an area nearby that is teaming with peepers every spring. I have recorded them for the last few years and posted it on-line. I will now do that here, every year, and hope it rekindles and keeps Norm’s spirit alive.

You will hear Norm, being the world’s foremost peeper translator, deftly explain what they are saying.

The callers have so much fun talking about the First Egg of Spring and the peepers.

Mark in Newton

Al from Framingham

Tim from Dedham 

Emma from Manchester

All of the craziness breaks way to an eggsellent Dumb Birthday game!

Players:

Roberta

Mark from Cambridge

Our friend Lisa in Topsfield

I’m in Studio 

Emilio Marotta producing and playing

And Jack Harte

Birthdays:

Eddie Arcaro

Smokey Robinson

Justine Bateman – who’s age guesses are briefly interrupted by auto-reverse as the tape continues to side B

Prince Andrew

Jeff Daniels

Event:

What date was Edison granted a patent for his phonograph?

More Bdays:

Tyne Daly

Erma Bombeck 

Postgame we continue with more callers:

Barbara

Eleanor in Quincy.

Matt in his car

This really is a special episode.

90 minutes of fun!

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I hope this is one of those episodes you’ve all been waiting for…

The great STEVE ALLEN joined us on April 11th, 1993 for a fascinating interview.

Now he was supposed to be on at 11pm but no one answered.

I kept trying throughout the hour and finally connected.

His wife, Jane Meadows, answered the phone!

Somehow our scheduled interview didn’t make it into his book, but he was happy to stay and took calls too.

I have to say that it’s never lost on me, as I still get giddy, when I think about the people I’ve spoken to, met and worked with during those years. Especially when we were planning Norm’s 50th Anniversary and I had all these famous, local broadcasters calling my home to set up interviews or coordinate sending in a tape.

Heck, even when I produced the Boston Bruins broadcasts it was always a thrill to be there in the booth, every night, with Hall of Famer, the Chief, Johnny Bucyk.

Radio was all I wanted to do in my life.

I’ve missed it greatly but am so happy to be doing it here.

The Vault has been very kind in its preservation of these great times that Norm and I had together.

I love sharing these times with you.

It’s time to let the interview speak for itself.

Ladies and gentlemen, here is Norm Nathan with Steve Allen.

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To inquire about/purchase a copy of ‘Bows on Bears and Ties on Tigers,’ please email me at [email protected]

Email the show

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We step into Norm Nathan’s Vault of Silliness, sift through the piles of cassettes and find one from April 10th, 1993.

It’s a Dumb Birthday Game featuring:

Wolfie!

Mike and Steve in Ontario, Canada – Accounting students from the University of Windsor.

Linda Chase on the phone and working on a new show theme.

I’m producing and in studio.

And Jack Harte in Traffic.

The Birthdays:

Henry Morgan

Omar Sharif

John Madden

Chuck Connors

Dandy Don Meredith

Sheb Wooley

Events in history:

What year did Walter Hunt received a patent for the safety pin!

And when did Ricky Nelson make his singing debut on Ozzie and Harriet.

We get a Big Daddy’s plug from Wolfie!

Big Daddy’s was a local restaurant in Brighton, MA (still IS). Friday night was take-out night and I and David Brudnoy would order up some subs.

We hear from Ruth Frost from Fruitport, MI and her skin problems and the cooling, soothing relief of Goldbond.

Then Norm teases the next night’s show where Steve Allen will be our guest. I’ll let you in on a little secret, that’s our next episode!

To inquire about/purchase a copy of ‘Bows on Bears and Ties on Tigers,’ please email me at [email protected]

Email the show

[email protected]

Castos

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Thanks again for tuning into Norm Nathan’s Vault of Silliness for Episode 31!

We return to 1992 for another great Dumb Birthday Game. March 6th to be exact.

Our cast of characters include:

Fred from Medford

Debbie from Wellesley

Scott in the car

Chrissy in Taunton

I’m producing and playing

And the Jack Harte in traffic

Bdays:

Ed McMahon

Rob Reiner

Alan Greenspan or should I say, “GreensPUN”

Mary Wilson

Marion Barry

Kiki Dee

David Gilmour

The Event:

When was the first frozen food developed by Clarence Birdseye?

Commercials:

Baby Goldbond with Anna Stout of Lakeville, IL and her baby’s irritating diaper rash.

Explore the intriguing world of water with ‘Terrific Thursdays’ at the N.E. Aquarium!

Norm graces us with a great line when flirting

Norm also asks, “Which came first, the egg or the cheese?”

I’m performing some studio repairs. 

And an important question is posed: What does it all mean?

To inquire about/purchase a copy of ‘Bows on Bears and Ties on Tigers,’ please email me at [email protected]

Email the show

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Castos

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Thank you just so darn much again for tuning into Norm Nathan’s Vault of Silliness for Episode 30! We reach back 28 years and pull out a Dumb Birthday Game from April 4th, 1993.

Featuring a festive cast of thousands!

Don from NY (70 miles southwest of Buffalo)

Pat in Lynn

Mark from Saugus

Jenny from Hanson

John in Attleboro

The excitable Karen Meslener!

I’m producing and in studio

Paul Brennan in Traffic and the WBZ Cellular One Phone Force!

Bdays:

Christine Lahti

John Cameron Swayze

Kitty Kelly

Steve Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers – taking part in the optical illusion picture with the Andrew Sisters, The Mills Brothers and the Inkspots.

Frances Langford, though we cannot confirm if she’s alive or dead.

Hugh Masekela

Date in History!

The city of Los Angeles was incorporated as a city in what year?

Other notable highlights:

Norm does a couple of spot-on, Presidential impressions!

We learn an amazing feat performed by and tragic fate of:

Sidney Lefkowitz.

Additionally, we are informed that before LA was incorporated, the Spaniards stayed at Norm’s cousin Miriam’s house in Marina del Rey.

And could Norm be in line to inherit a fortune?

To inquire about/purchase a copy of ‘Bows on Bears and Ties on Tigers,’ please email me at [email protected]

Email the show

[email protected]

Castos

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Apple

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Spotify

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Amazon

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The organization of the cassette stacks here in Norm Nathan’s Vault of Silliness is forever on-going.

About 93.6 % are filed by year. Now I have to line them up by date/month. That way I can upload new content that’s as close to their original date as possible, which I think will be kinda fun. 

Until that happens, it will be the usual hodge-podge of dates with some, like Epsiode 28 and this one, #29, airing the way I just mentioned, close to their original dates.

This is a Dumb Birthday Game from March 29th, 1992.

Players:

Mike in Medford – 1st time player

The hot-blooded Ruth

The VERY talkative Lisa in NH, who happens to be Dave Currier’s wife! Dave being the other half of Linda and Dave who wrote and recorded Norm’s theme songs.

The wonderful Norma from Boston

I’m producing and playing.

And we have Russ Gannon in Traffic 

Bdays:

Eugene McCarthy

Eileen Heckart

British Prime Minister John Major

Jennifer Capriati

John McLaughlin

Ed Marinaro (which prompts an extensive career retrospective discussion on Nancy Walker…don’t ask, just listen)

Rhea Pearlman

Marlon Brando

The madness closes with an Accuweather forecast accompanied by piano and hiccups.

To inquire about/purchase a copy of ‘Bows on Bears and Ties on Tigers,’ please email me at [email protected]

Castos

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Amazon

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A Dumb Birthday Game from March 28th, 1992 is what the Vault of Silliness has released for us today. It’s loaded with all the sound effects!

Jack Harte opens this one with a story of wall washers, bulb changers, sponges, motor bingo, pre-moistened roadways and oh, so much more!

And you can dance to it!

Players:

Andrew at B.U.

Jack from Boston

The reclusive Roberta

President Ronald Reagan

Tony Nesbitt producing and on the phone from the control room

And our much coveted and gruntled traffic reporter, Jack Harte

Bdays:

Ken Howard

Ed Muskie

Dirk Bogarde

Reba McEntire – Jack Benny and Arthur Godfrey make an appearance

Eric Clapton and Norm gets the blues

Warren Beatty

Sponsors:

Goldbond w/Marie Caruso of West Newton, MA with her jewelry allergy joined by Lawrence Lanzilli, the sun-dried bricklayer of Hallendale, FL and the red, itchy Joan Cantwell from Brockton, MA

Triple the action, triple the testimonials!

Two WBZ Monday Morning News Promos

Post Game:

Merle Pitkin on piano as Norm reads the Accuweather forecast with a live look out the window and the temperature at Mass General Hospital.

To inquire about/purchase a copy of ‘Bows on Bears and Ties on Tigers,’ please email me at [email protected]

Email the show

[email protected]

Castos

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Apple

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Spotify

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Amazon

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Keep spreading the word about our little corner of the internet here in the Teen Canteen and let’s get to 50 subs (then 60. And 70. And…)

The Vault of Silliness gives us the second part of a January weekend we started on the last episode. January 23rd, 1993

With scratchy, transistor radio audio quality I present to you a DBG that features not one, not two, but THREE teenagers playing.

The Players:

Glenn from Brighton, who’s also celebrating his 41st bday.

Michael from Chelmsford who’s 15yrs old

Keri from Indiana – a junior in H.S.

Kristin in East Bridgewater – 17yrs old

Aaron Sawyer AND Lisa Reichwein in traffic

Sid Whittaker and his cardboard cutout producing

And I’m on the phone

The Bdays:

Anita Pointer

Princess Caroline of Monaco

Jeanne Moreau

Richard Dean Anderson

Chita Riviera

Jerry Kramer

Date in History:

Casablanca premiered

Norm divulges he is writing a shocking, behind-the-scenes, tell-all exposé about radio. 

We get some more sage advice from Norm’s Hungarian Gypsy Princess Grandmother.

And before we talk right into the news, a desperate Norm cries out to WBZ management!

To inquire about/purchase a copy of ‘Bows on Bears and Ties on Tigers,’ please email me at [email protected]

Email the show:

[email protected]

Castos

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Apple

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Spotify

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Amazon

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Thank you for joining us again here at Norm Nathan’s Vault of Silliness.

This very special episode is broadcasting from the all-new, plush, but not overly ostentatious Norch Studios and FuzzyWuzzyProductions.

What is a Norch, you ask? My wife and I were discussing what to call the facility. Is it a nook or a porch? And I said, “It’s a Norch!”

And there you have it. Yes, the PUN never stops.

Please like, subscribe, share and I do so enjoy reading your comments so don’t be shy.

The purveyor’s of Norm’s theme songs, Linda Chase and Dave Currier, were in the studio and joined us for the DBG! The night being January 22nd, 1993

We dig into the upcoming week and have a date in history to comprise the game. 

Other players:

Mike, who has his eye on Linda Chase and by the sound of it has had one too many Ovaltine cocktails.

Dave (DJ) in Greenville, PA

Sid Whittaker – producing and playing and hating on Norm.

Tony on the phone

And Jack Harte in traffic 

Bdays:

John Hurt

Linda Blair

Ann Sothern

Piper Laurie

Date in history:

Laugh-In made its debut

Monday Bdays:

Ernest Borgnine

Anita Baker – Really? Because I need a plumber!

Ray Stevens 

We also will hear what Norm has in mind for both Linda and I to wear when we go to the prom.

Norm reveals he has a date!

He lists off some of her talents as well as where they will be going that evening. Stay tuned. You won’t want to miss those details.

Email

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