Hugh Herbert
L.S. Coker
Herbert. Here's a blurb about Hugh from http://us.imdb.com
Date of birth (location)
10 August 1887,
Binghamton, New York, USA
Date of death (details)
12 March 1952,
North Hollywood, California, USA
"Shy, stammering and widely popular US screen comedian of the 30's and 40's
whose trademark gesture could be seen in all his fingers fluttering
together, usually accompanied by his other trademark - that "woo-woo!"
exclamation." Former stage actor and playwright - he wrote over 150 plays
and vaudeville sketches - Hugh Herbert went in the early 30s to Hollywood as
comedian. In the 30s he worked mostly for Warner, impersonating often
excentric milionairs, tycoons and dimwitted profesor, in a few movies he
collaborated on the screenplays, e.g. on "Hit Parade of 1941".
He also did "Woo Woo Blues" in 1951.
Stephen
JHaskell
Max Reinhardt's 1939 version of A Midsummer Night's Dream with Jimmy Cagney,
Frank McRae and Joe E. Brown.
Johnny Carson used to reference him occasionally. But the similarity to
Curly is slight. Perhaps Curly's Woo Woo started with Hugh, but Curly took
it to a very different place. To some degree everyone in comedy copies
someone. Remember, Milton Berle "borrowed" his stage persona from Ted
Healy.
jhaskell
L.S. Coker <lsc...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:73AR4.10917$r37.1...@news20.bellglobal.com...
JHaskell
jhaskell
JHaskell <jhas...@ncal.verio.com> wrote in message
news:3917b02d$0$2...@nntp1.ba.best.com...
Hal Erickson
featured a talking soap bubble (voiced by ventriloquist Paul Winchell)
who sounded just like Hugh Herbert.
I've read several posts about Herbert, and I get the impression that
not too many people are familiar with his work. Despite his
trademarked "Woo woo!" (which sounded more like "Hoo hoo!") he was
nothing at all like Curly, nor do I believe that Curly "borrowed" from
him. For one thing, Culy never clapped his hands together in confusion
(a Herbert specialty), nor did he regularly play a drunkard, as Hugh
often did.
In his own Columbia 2-reeler series, Herbert usually played a
henpecked husband, whose wife suspected him of extramarital
"hanky panky", a la Leon Errol. Christine McIntyre often played
Herbert's wife in these comedies, when she wasn't cast as the "other
woman" with whom Hugh was accused of carrying on. According to
director Edward Bernds, Herbert felt that the Columbia shorts were
"beneath" him, and the actor was very lackadaisical about learning his
lines.
If Curly ever imitated anyone, it was Bert Lahr. In his early Columbia
appearances, Curly's "nyuk nyuk nyuk" sounds a lot like Lahr's famous
"nyaang nyaang nyaang!" (Don't you just love onomatopoeia?)
--Hal E
Ltb3105
>
Huh? Are you trying to give me the double talk?
He's talkin' pig latin.....I don't know what he's saying!"
Will you kindly speak English and drop the vernacular?
John Spillane
the sound associated with it (such as buzz or hiss).
Onomatopoeia may also refer to the use of words whose sound suggests
the sense. This occurs frequently in poetry, where a line of
verse can express a characteristic of the thing being...
As a Stooge...It's my duty to posterior.....
JHaskell
the shy lion act in The Wizard of Oz? The mannerisms are almost dead on
Curly. And, sure, the Wizard was shot in 1938 or 39, and Curly had been
around for quite a while, but Burt was already a legend in Burlesque and
Broadway before this time. And the fact that Curly may have borrowed from
Burt should in no way diminish Curly's act. Curly was unique, and he was
smart enough to learn from the best.
jhaskell
Hal Erickson <hl...@execpc.com> wrote in message
news:3919d24c$0$50...@news.execpc.com...
> "nyaang nyaang nyaang!" (Don't you just love onomatopoeia?)
>
> --Hal E
Ltb3105
>the sound associated with it (such as buzz or hiss)
Why didn't ya tell me? SLAP......so, in other words, sound effects????
L.S. Coker
My curiosity is getting the better of me. I'll have to keep and eye out for
a video or TV of Hugh.
Stephen
John Spillane
Borison, Ken [YRK:3423:EXCH]
> The old "Scrubbing Bubbles" TV commercials of the 1960s and 1970s
> featured a talking soap bubble (voiced by ventriloquist Paul Winchell)
> who sounded just like Hugh Herbert.
>
Most of you probably also know Winchell through the stooges feature
compendium "Stop, Look, and Laugh". This film was an attempt to
capitalize on the stooges television popularity and was a poor
representation of Winchell and also badly dissected the original stooges
shorts.
For those of you not familiar with Paul Winchell, he is a true
Renaissance man. You might find the following website of interest:
http://www.paulwinchell.com/
John Spillane
Nyuk,nyuk,nyuk more like "nyaang nyaang nyaang!"in the early stooge
shorts.....such as Three Little Pigskins(1934)and
Horses'Collars(1935)...Men In Black(1934) too.
JHaskell wrote:
>
> Now that you mention it, you can see a lot of Burt Lahr in Curly. Remember
> the shy lion act in The Wizard of Oz? The mannerisms are almost dead on
> Curly. And, sure, the Wizard was shot in 1938 or 39, and Curly had been
> around for quite a while, but Burt was already a legend in Burlesque and
> Broadway before this time. And the fact that Curly may have borrowed from
> Burt should in no way diminish Curly's act. Curly was unique, and he was
> smart enough to learn from the best.
>
> jhaskell
>
> Hal Erickson <hl...@execpc.com> wrote in message
> news:3919d24c$0$50...@news.execpc.com...
> > The old "Scrubbing Bubbles" TV commercials of the 1960s and 1970s
> > featured a talking soap bubble (voiced by ventriloquist Paul Winchell)
> > who sounded just like Hugh Herbert.
> >
RonMaher
>a video or TV of Hugh.
Check the Turner channel...you'll find him in many of the early Warner Brothers
pictures including the Busby Berkeley musicals, like DAMES and GOLDDIGGERS of
1933...
which may even be rented. One of my
favorite Hugh Herbert appearances are in
HELLZAPOPPIN (Universal) with Olsen and Johnson...and in THE VILLAIN STILL
PURSUED HER with Buster Keaton.
Ron Maher, WTMS-1560, Melbourne
L.S. Coker
Stephen
Ed Jones
Dr. Vandell
<bor...@americasm01.nt.com> wrote:
>Hal Erickson wrote:
>
>> The old "Scrubbing Bubbles" TV commercials of the 1960s and 1970s
>> featured a talking soap bubble (voiced by ventriloquist Paul Winchell)
>> who sounded just like Hugh Herbert.
>>
>
Rex Hunt
Dr. Vandell <DrVa...@Midwest.net> wrote:
<snip>
nothing new.
</snip>
Just what did you expect to "DO" anyway?
>>http://www.paulwinchell.com/
>
>
>
>
>
matt
Cummings (Pooh) took over that role.
"Rex Hunt" <r...@cris.bus.indiana.edu> wrote in message
news:8gbrfo$m...@cris.bus.indiana.edu...
Ray Greenberg
wrote:
>I'm interested to hear how he got bounced from the Tigger Movie. Jim
>Cummings (Pooh) took over that role.
I believe the reason he gave on his web site was that they thought he
sounded too old.
Ray G.
Larry: "We're trapped like rats!"
Moe: "You gettin' personal?" (SLAP!)
Dr. Vandell
wrote:
>In article <392a2da1...@news.easynews.com>,
>Dr. Vandell <DrVa...@Midwest.net> wrote:
><snip>
>nothing new.
></snip>
>Just what did you expect to "DO" anyway?
>
>>>http://www.paulwinchell.com/
>>
I expected to do the things NORMALY associated with a personality web
page!
Hear classic sound file or two (none available), maybe look at a few
rare pictures.
There were exactly 2 thumbnail pictures in the "PERSONAL PHOTO ALBUM"
section (one of Mr. Winchell with Lucy Ball so small I could literally
cover it with my thumb!) and neither could be enlarged. The rest were
covers of things being sold (and clicking on them led only to
purchasing info).
I have a great respect for Mr. Winchell and have since childhood, but
this page seems to be nothing more than the idea of an associate
trying to sell old kenescope tape, not a "fan" site.
Keep Taking The Tablets!
The Good Doctor