"Okay, gang are you ready to play radio? Are you ready to shuffle off the mortal coil of mediocrity? I am if you are." Shepherd
I Googled the quote and that took me to this 1966 article from Harper's:
http://www.keyflux.com/shep/shepharp.htm
The article is a (mostly) accurate view of Shepherd. Much of it would not be socially acceptable today (and rightly so). The article correctly describes Shep's stories as being truth-based but also filled with hyperbole.
This got me wondering: How did Shep pronounce kludge? I mean, it could have been him who put me on the pronunciation track of kludge like fudge. He wasn't being listened to outside of NYC, and maybe Boston and San Francisco. So that may explain why the rest of the country is getting the pronunciation so completely wrong. We may be on the verge of a breakthrough here. Steve Silverman: ALERT!
Can anyone find a recording of Shepherd using the word Kludge? A Bronze Figlagee with Oak Leaf Palms will be awarded.
Check out the Harper's article and the video (above) of Shep talking about THE SECRET PEOPLE.
EXCELSIOR!
Gosh, this guy is the master of the 20 minute monologue!
ReplyDeleteYou can say that again.
DeleteBill. You've got me listening to Jean Sheperd. He certainly had a talent for talking and telling a story. I must have listened to about seven episodes so far. The most resent one was about the heising modulator. This is about the story you've told on the podcast. Where he takes a girl on a date and because his mind is elsewhere, she asks whats wrong. He tells her he can't get his heising modulator to work properly. She suggests he should get his mother to take him to see a doctor. He did figure out what was wrong with the modulator.
ReplyDeleteTrevor