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Happy New Year! I thought, “Why not think Spring right away on Jan. 1st?”
We kick it off with a Dumb Birthday Game from April 24th, 1994.
Let me remind you here on the first day of the first month of the two thousand and twenty first year that the majority of these podcasts will be DBG’s. That is what my collection is mostly comprised of and also what my good friend Joan recorded as well. I think that’s great as those games clearly lend credence to this channel’s name: Vault of Silliness!
The makers of Goldbond Powder bring you Goldbond Medicated Anti-itch Cream!
We have Emilio Morrata producing!
Marty from Rockland
Michael from Chelmsford
Michelle from Tyngsboro
Anne Marie from Jamaica Plain
Emilio in studio
The exhausted Rob Floyd in traffic
And Tony on the phone who has a question...
Norm had to use three different dates to compile this game one of which included Carol Burnett. We go through the supporting cast on her iconic show which includes some stars you definitely have forgotten and then the uncontrolled laughter begins!
Let’s start this year off with sharing this show with your friends and getting more of you to subscribe and ring the bell!
I DO thank ya!
Castos
https://norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness.castos.com
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/74Z2CAHU1TT9KHCEiEdrkG
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ep-Norm-Nathans-Vault-Silliness/dp/B08JJSR5MF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=vault+of+silliness&qid=1604440081&sr=8-1
Google:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ub3JtLW5hdGhhbnMtdmF1bHQtb2Ytc2lsbGluZXNzLmNhc3Rvcy5jb20vZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiY4PGsu-_sAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness/id1539251258
Thanks for returning to Norm Nathan’s Vault of Silliness for Side B of our post-Christmas broadcast cassette. December 27th, 1991 to be exact.
12/27 - My Mom, Gladys’ birthday! Happy Birthday Mom!
We get right into the Dumb Birthday Game with:
Jerry in Revere
Helen in Dorchester
Richard in Brockton
Dominic from W. Warwick, RI
Mike Epstein in the control room and on the phone
Tony on the phone
Jack Harte in Traffic
It’s a quick game that we finish but closes abruptly because of an ABC News Special Report.
Post DBG Caller: Joanne from Brookline
What did Norm get for Chritmas from his kids, Sonja and Sarah?
Listen as Norm does a dramatic reading of the WBZ Accuweather forecast.
He closes the hour talking about Ted Miller who did the weather reports on Ch.5 back before radar!
Sponsors:
Steve Allen for Resolve
2 from Goldbond Powder with Patrick Palladino Jr from Winchester, MA and Joan Cantwell of Brockton
2 from Keep It In Your Sneaker
A First Night ’92 Promo
And Norm tells us all about Eric Fuch’s Hobby Store
This will be is the last podcast for 2020.
But don’t you worry, I plan on keeping up the Silliness into 2021.
With that said, “See you next year!”
Castos
https://norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness.castos.com
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/74Z2CAHU1TT9KHCEiEdrkG
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ep-Norm-Nathans-Vault-Silliness/dp/B08JJSR5MF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=vault+of+silliness&qid=1604440081&sr=8-1
Google:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ub3JtLW5hdGhhbnMtdmF1bHQtb2Ytc2lsbGluZXNzLmNhc3Rvcy5jb20vZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiY4PGsu-_sAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness/id1539251258
I made a cursory inspection of the cassette stacks to try to find something as close to Christmas as possible.
It would be ideal if I could organize the tapes by date and attempt to coordinate each podcast with the calendar.
And maybe I will someday, but I’m making no promises!
What happens now is when I do come across something dated near or on a holiday, I will try to save it and air it around that time
We didn’t do too bad here as we enter the Vault and dust off a recording of the Dumb Birthday Game (DBG) from 29 years ago! December 26th, 1991.
The players:
Barbara from Newton
Ruth from Boston (Dave Maynard’s Ruth!)
Tim from Newton – Norm cannot understand him and thinks it’s a put-on so he hangs up on him.
Andrew from Natick
Mike Epstein in the Control Room but on the phone
Tony on the phone
Larry in Boston, who replaces Tim...I detect romance in the air with Barbara. At least from Larry’s point of view.
Jack Harte in Traffi
One of the birthdays is Carlton Fisk and because of this I request Norm do his baseball vendor impression.
Norm also adds his Sherm Feller (former Fenway Park/Red Sox PA guy) impression and it prompts a discussion with Ruth that gets rather testy!
Commercials:
2 from Wachusett Mountain and yes, they sing the song!
The Doctors of the Mass Medical Society promoting the use of seatbelts and no drinking and driving!
Ginsana read by Norm – Norm sings a little about it and cracks himself up.
First Night ’92 promo.
There’s also a tease for who is substituting for Tom Bergeron on the morning show.
Thank you for listening and I hope everyone had a Christmas that was just so darn nice.
Castos
https://norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness.castos.com
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/74Z2CAHU1TT9KHCEiEdrkG
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ep-Norm-Nathans-Vault-Silliness/dp/B08JJSR5MF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=vault+of+silliness&qid=1604440081&sr=8-1
Google:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ub3JtLW5hdGhhbnMtdmF1bHQtb2Ytc2lsbGluZXNzLmNhc3Rvcy5jb20vZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiY4PGsu-_sAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness/id1539251258
Surprise! It’s a bonus episode to honor what would have been Norm’s 94th birthday! December 20th, 1926…Happy Birthday, Big Guy!
This time the Vault of Silliness has gifted us with a tape from October 7th, 1990.
It was simply labeled: “One Great Hour of Norm.”
There are a couple of callers that mention how nice it was to have Norm back and how things are going for him at WBZ.
If I recall, this was about the time WBZ made some wacky decisions. They replaced David Brudnoy with the syndincated Tom Snyder and also started airing infomercials that cut into and in some cases replaced air shifts for some on the weekends.
I think it was the infomercial thing that replaced Norm on Sunday’s for 2 hours.
BUT due to listener support with calls and letters to management, Norm was back!
Here’s what coming up:
I was producing and we had the marvelous Lou Ambrosino in Traffic!
Callers featured here are:
Bill “the jazz tuba player” from Newton
George in Quebec
Joe in NH who’s a full-time musician and it’s revealed that Norm knows his dad
Fred from Boston has some jokes
Florence from Westborough – NAAAAHHHMAN!
And Pat on the South Shore closes it out with a great call. He was a National Skiiing Champion who continued to ski even after losing a leg in a car accident.
Other highlights?
We hear about a couple of Norm’s fantasies.
Norm reads an alluring weather forecast peppered with lots of ooos-ahhhs and kisses!
The commercial way-back machine gives us:
Sears Siding
Fiber-All
And Dr. Howard Smith and WBZ Accuweather promos
PLUS…
Norm barely gets through reading a Eucalyptamint commercial.
As I put this episode together we have more than 700 views on YouTube. That’s 700 more than I thought I’d ever get.
I want to thank you all for listening.
Keep liking, subscribing and sharing!
Lastly, I discovered that we have one or more listeners in Germany! Guten Tag and Danke!
Castos
https://norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness.castos.com
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/74Z2CAHU1TT9KHCEiEdrkG
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ep-Norm-Nathans-Vault-Silliness/dp/B08JJSR5MF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=vault+of+silliness&qid=1604440081&sr=8-1
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ub3JtLW5hdGhhbnMtdmF1bHQtb2Ytc2lsbGluZXNzLmNhc3Rvcy5jb20vZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiY4PGsu-_sAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
Apple
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness/id1539251258
Welcome back as we return to November 7th, 1995.
Ed LeClair is producing
Tom Stanton, co-author of Rocket Man: The Encyclopedia of Elton John, is our guest.
Making it even more entertaining are calls from:
Dale
Andrew from Lynn
Dave in Dedham
And Nate from Medway
Saturday Night maybe All Right for Fighting but it’s much better to listen to the Vault of Silliness!
Castos
https://norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness.castos.com
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/74Z2CAHU1TT9KHCEiEdrkG
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ep-Norm-Nathans-Vault-Silliness/dp/B08JJSR5MF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=vault+of+silliness&qid=1604440081&sr=8-1
Google:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ub3JtLW5hdGhhbnMtdmF1bHQtb2Ytc2lsbGluZXNzLmNhc3Rvcy5jb20vZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiY4PGsu-_sAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness/id1539251258
We open Norm Nathan’s Vault of Silliness and grab a recording from November 7th, 1995.
The exciting Ed LeClair is producing
Our guest is Troy James Hurtubise, a man who, while panning for gold as a teenager, was attacked by a grizzly bear.
The encounter intrigued him so much that he started researching them while in college and years later he’s nearing completion of his film: Project Grizzly.
Callers with great questions:
Karen from Lexington
Albert in his car on Rt 2
Jim in the car
Bill from Winthrop
Mick in the car going through a NH tollbooth
Tess from Somerville
Another Jim on his car phone
And Warren who’s also in his car!
Time to curl up with your favorite teddy bear!
Castos
https://norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness.castos.com
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/74Z2CAHU1TT9KHCEiEdrkG
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ep-Norm-Nathans-Vault-Silliness/dp/B08JJSR5MF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=vault+of+silliness&qid=1604440081&sr=8-1
Google:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ub3JtLW5hdGhhbnMtdmF1bHQtb2Ytc2lsbGluZXNzLmNhc3Rvcy5jb20vZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiY4PGsu-_sAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness/id1539251258
A little something different here for Ep 10. The following are excerpts from a few different broadcasts that date from around mid-May, 1991.
It begins with a GREAT call:
16 year-old John in Boston who goes to East Boston High School and talks ALL about the Madonna Concert Film: Truth or Dare.
He also writes stories and asks Norm how he got started in radio.
Back to back beauties from the WBZ Commercial madhouse
Norm then does a dramatization as ‘Walter Lipschitz’ head of the sales dept.
Matt Phipps joins the fun with his traffic report.
Jay Schulman with an Accuweather forecast and then Norm is fed up with Jack’s traffic reports as I throw in some sound effects.
Norm gives credit to all the people involved in putting on the show.
And “Gladys, our strolling accordion player” appreciates my efforts.
Norm struggles to complete reading the news probably because I was saying things to him in his headphones.
The stuff that went on behind the scenes not to mention after the show when we would review the night and go over what was coming up over the weekend…
The absolute best memories!
If you prefer, you may listen on these lovely platforms as well:
Castos
https://norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness.castos.com
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/74Z2CAHU1TT9KHCEiEdrkG
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ep-Norm-Nathans-Vault-Silliness/dp/B08JJSR5MF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=vault+of+silliness&qid=1604440081&sr=8-1
Google:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ub3JtLW5hdGhhbnMtdmF1bHQtb2Ytc2lsbGluZXNzLmNhc3Rvcy5jb20vZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiY4PGsu-_sAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness/id1539251258
We unlock and enter the Vault of Silliness today with a show from Thanksgiving week of 1993, November 21st to be exact. My grandfather’s birthday.
This is a 2-part cast – Part 1 features one of our ‘Game Guests’ where, if you were lucky enough to get through, had a chance to win the featured game!
Part 2 is a Dumb Birthday Game (DBG).
Our guest this time is Tim Walsh, creator of TriBond.
Please feel free to play along at home and stick around for the second half when the lovely and exciting Rod Fritz joins us on the DBG.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Castos
https://norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness.castos.com
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/74Z2CAHU1TT9KHCEiEdrkG
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ep-Norm-Nathans-Vault-Silliness/dp/B08JJSR5MF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=vault+of+silliness&qid=1604440081&sr=8-1
Google:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ub3JtLW5hdGhhbnMtdmF1bHQtb2Ytc2lsbGluZXNzLmNhc3Rvcy5jb20vZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiY4PGsu-_sAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness/id1539251258
Thank you for joining us as we turn back the clock to June 23, 1991 and play the Dumb Birthday Game. Now this was before we had our own theme and I played the ‘Olympics’ music to open the show.
We have SEVEN participants in this one:
Joe the Baker
Judy from Needham
Mike from Marshfield
Scott for Peabody
Mike Epstein on the phone
I’m in studio
And Charlie Sherman from traffic who’s playing for the first time!
Highlights:
Norm explains where guests of the show stay when in town.
A Bob Keeshan, (aka Capt. Kangaroo) birthday leads to astory from Norm about being lost in Chelsea, a pith helmet and a rescue.
We discuss what Norm’s vast estate would auction off for. There are some very desirable items on that list.
Commercial throwbacks:
HP with their ability to Fax…from your PC!
Goldbond
Keep It In Your Sneaker Powder
Clark & White Lincoln Mercury in Newton
Steve Allen for Resolve
Purity Stores has some delicious Alaska Canned Salmon
And a word from your good-looking local announcer.
Thank you for all the views!
Castos
https://norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness.castos.com
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/74Z2CAHU1TT9KHCEiEdrkG
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ep-Norm-Nathans-Vault-Silliness/dp/B08JJSR5MF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=vault+of+silliness&qid=1604440081&sr=8-1
Google:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ub3JtLW5hdGhhbnMtdmF1bHQtb2Ytc2lsbGluZXNzLmNhc3Rvcy5jb20vZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiY4PGsu-_sAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness/id1539251258
We continue with The Swell Music Quiz (SMQ) here on Ep 7.
More fun with the callers:
Jim from Sharon. Or is it Quincy?
John in VT, Andrew in Milton, MA and David in CT keep the Pink Floyd discussion going.
Fred from Yarmouth, ME heard us and had to get up to call
Mary in Taunton who called just to flirt with Norm
Russ on a ‘car phone’
Norm has shocking info about the ‘hipsters’ in WBZ management.
And the exquisite Linda Chase calls in and gives us her best Ethel Merman impression to sing the freshly written, first listen of a SMQ theme song!
The Spots:
https://open.spotify.com/show/74Z2CAHU1TT9KHCEiEdrkG
The Googs:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ub3JtLW5hdGhhbnMtdmF1bHQtb2Ytc2lsbGluZXNzLmNhc3Rvcy5jb20vZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiY4PGsu-_sAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
The Amazonians
https://www.amazon.com/Norm-Nathans-Vault-of-Silliness/dp/B08JJSR5MF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=norm+nathan+vault&sr=8-1
The Castos
https://norm-nathans-vault-of-silliness.castos.com
From the publisher's feed