Temple Tuesday: Seein' Stars!

Frederic “Feg” Seymour Murray (May 15, 1894 – July 16, 1973) was best known as a cartoonist, but as I learned when digging around for this post, he was so much more! Edited from the Lambiek Comiclopedia website:

Frederic Seymour Murray was born in San Francisco. He signed many of his early drawings with “Feggo,”which inspired his nickname “Feg.” Murray trained as an athlete during his youth and became the U.S. National Champion in the 120 yard high hurdles and the 1915 and 1916 U.S. National Champion in the 220 yard low hurdles. He studied graphic arts at Stanford University, where he graduated in 1916. The same year he also became captain of the track team of his university. In 1917, the United States got involved in the First World War and Murray served his country. He did the same thing in peace time when he was selected for the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. There he won an Olympic bronze medal in the 110 meter hurdles.



After his sports career, Murray became a sports cartoonist and columnist for The Los Angeles Times. On October 30, 1933, Murray's signature series ‘Seein’ Stars’ (1933-1951) made its debut. It was basically the equivalent of an illustrated news column with radio, movies and sports as the main focus. The cartoonist told the latest facts about certain celebrities of the day and illustrated this with realistically drawn portraits of these people. As a running gag, Murray often drew a tiny cartoon bear in each drawing, who commented on the information with use of a speech balloon. ‘Seein’ Stars’ was distributed by King Features Syndicate and ran for nearly two decades. The black-and-white version already ended in 1941, but the Sunday pages lasted another decade until 1951. Hollywood child star Shirley Temple owned a personal copy of a 1935 ‘Seein’ Stars’ episode featuring her, Otto Kruger and Maureen O'Sullivan.



By 1938, Murray became a star himself. For one season, he was the host of the popular radio variety show “The Baker’s Broadcast” (1933-1938) on NBC Radio, which starred comedians Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard, better known as ‘Ozzie & Harriet.’ Up until Murray's arrival, the radio show had been broadcast in New York City, but now it relocated to Hollywood. As a tribute, the show was sometimes referred to as “Seein’ Stars in Hollywood,” to tie in with his cartoon feature. On March 13, 1938, his guests were Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi. As a huge horror fan, this was a highlight in Murray’s life. Unfortunately ratings were low and the show was canceled within the same year. In 1939, Murray appeared in a Hollywood movie: the musical comedy “That's Right, You’re Wrong” (1939), built around the popularity of the big band leader Kay Kyser. The picture also stars Adolphe Menjou, columnist Hedda Hopper and a still-unknown Lucille Ball. Murray's role however is nothing more than a small cameo. Feg Murray passed away in 1973 at the age of 79. A posthumous book, Holly-Would (1974) by John Milton Hagen with illustrations by Murray was published by Arlington House a year later.

The first photo in this post came with the following caption:


SHIRLEY TEMPLE PALS WITH CARTOONIST

Little Shirley Temple pauses to chat with her cartoonist friend, Feg Murray, creator of the “Seein' Stars” feature, during the making of her latest picture - “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.” Shirley, whose hobby is drawing pictures with pencil and crayon, is shown her admiring one of Feg’s cartoons.

Below is a closeup of the art that Feg and Shirley are looking at:



Below is a caricature that Murray did of Shirley that came up for auction after Shirley’s passing:



From the auction catalog:

31" x 22" Shirley image. Thick ink drawing on paper is a caricature of young Shirley Temple in tap dancing pose, her dimples and curls well expressed. Pencil signed at the bottom is “To Shirley Love From Feg Murray (see you in the funny papers).” Murray (1907-1962) studied art at Stanford University and became known as an artist, writer, and syndicated columnist. This sketch was a personal tribute to the young star who appeared in his columns over and over again. Early 1930s.

Below is a shot of Fred Stone (the scarecrow in the stage version of “The Wizard of Oz”), Jane Withers, and Feg Murray;



From the caption:

Jane Withers, juvenile actress, and Fred Stone, actor (left), were two enthusiastic admirers at Feg Murray’s exhibit of some of his original cartoons at the Assistance League. Murray (right) displays cartoon to his ardent “fans.” 11-3-1937

Below is family-man Murray reading to his sons, circa 1937:



A few samples of Murray’s Seein’ Stars column featuring Shirley and other top stars of the day:



Shirley wearing her title production number outfit from “Little Miss Broadway”:



Even as a teen, Shirley was featured by Murray:



Below is a clip from the above mentioned Feg Murray cameo from “That's Right, You’re Wrong” (1939), with Hedda Hopper, Lucille Ball, and Adolphe Menjou.



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley and Charlie

It probably sounds very hard to believe that one of the most popular radio programs in the country starred a ventriloquist and his doll, but it’s true. Edgar Bergen (the ventriloquist) and Charlie McCarthy (his not so dumb dummy) had an eleven year run on a radio show sponsored by Chase and Sanborn Coffee from 1937 to 1948. Bergen was the somewhat reserved "straight man” of the act and Charlie was his racy sarcastic counterpart. Together, the "two" made magic. I discovered in 2015 at the Love, Shirley Temple auction that the child star had her very own Charlie McCarthy 20" doll (shown in the photo above) gifted to her directly by Bergen himself. Shirley, Charlie, and Bergen were together in the American Legion Parade in Hollywood, September 20, 1938:



The Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist dolls were made by the Effanbee doll company. The gift might have been the result of a blurb from Silver Screen magazine in October, 1937: “Before leaving for her holiday in Honolulu, little Miss Shirley Temple made only one request of her studio: could she have lunch with Charlie McCarthy? ...Charlie was so pleased when Public Favorite Number 1 asked to lunch with him that he has been insufferable ever since.” Below, Shirley appears on the Charlie McCarthy radio show on NBC, May 4, 1941. The three performed a radio adaptation of the classic fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk.



The Theriault's auction included a photograph of Shirley with Edgar and his Charlie puppet as well as a letter dated October 10, 1938 which thanks the young star for her photograph, noting that “Charlie wanted it for his room, but I thought the den would be a much better place for it.”



Charlie and Edgar paid a visit to Shirley at her Brentwood home in 1941:



A shot of Shirley’s Charlie McCarthy when I saw it on exhibit at the Santa Monica History Museum:



To give you an idea of just how far Edgar/Charlie pushed the censors, here’s a famous dialogue between Charlie and Mae West from December 1937:

Mae: “Come on home with me, honey. I’ll let you play in my wood pile.”
Charlie: "Not so loud, Mae, not so loud! All my girlfriends are listening."
Mae: "Oh, yeah! You’re all wood and a yard long."
Charlie: "Yeah."
Mae: "You weren’t so nervous and backward when you came up to see me at my apartment. In fact, you didn’t need any encouragement to kiss me."
Charlie: "Did I do that?"
Mae: "Why, you certainly did. I got marks to prove it. An' splinters, too."

As a result of that show, West was kicked off the airwaves until 1950.

Here’s a vintage shot of the duo with famed gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. From the accompanying publicity blurb:

Charlie McCarthy challenges Hedda Hopper's hat crown on his radio show. "What time do you feed that thing on your head?" he quips. "I don't have to feed it — I just shot it this morning," replies Hopper, while Edgar Bergen referees, looking like "Old Professor Quiz."



A later shot of them at the famous Brown Derby restaurant; I am guessing from the 1970s.



From my own collection comes a shot of the 15" tall composition Charlie from Effanbee with its original button:



and a 20" Charlie, which strangely enough did not include a monocle, nor is there a hole near the eye, which would have indicated one had not been originally included.



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

The Nixon Family & Disneyland, Pt. 5

The grand opening festivities for Disneyland ’59 continue today with more images from the grandstand.

Vice President Nixon leans over the aisle to talk to Walt, while wife Pat smiles attentively. Daughter Julie is enjoying the entertainment in front of her. I believe the girl above Walt sucking her thumb is one of his granddaughters; possibly Tammy or Joanna Miller.

Note the hand-printed name tag on Nixon’s chair in this color shot:



A few shots from Life Magazine; in this first one, it would appear that Nixon didn’t catch whatever was being hurled into the audience. Pat, Tricia, and Julie are at right:



Art Linkletter is giving Hedda Hopper a run for the money in the hat department:



Last one for today shows some unique entertainment for the opening festivities; it appears to be some kind of African Dance.



Next up: the unveiling of the Monorail.

See more Nixon family photos at my website.

The Nixon Family & Disneyland, Pt. 4

>Who could say “no” to an invitation like that?!?

One of the biggest occasions (and most documented) that the Nixons visited the park was for the June 14, 1959 Monorail/Submarine/Matterhorn dedication. Walt asked Vice President Nixon (see the letter pictured above) if he would be an honored guest for the 5th Anniversary inaugural celebration. Jack Wrather’s (owner of the Disneyland Hotel) personal suite was reserved for the Nixon family for this trip (“I was thrilled to be there!” remembers Julie). It is fantastic to see that Walt was not only interested in creating an amusement park for entertainment, but he was sincerely devoted to solving the problems of this country. Too bad he isn’t still around to help with the traffic problems of today; a Monorail would still be a great solution to our freeway congestion.

On Sunday while Nixon visited with his mother, Pat and the girls got to ride some of the attractions before all the hoopla began. “My father wanted to take his mother to church that morning. It was a special time for them. When he was growing up, the family often attended church three times on Sunday—church was a big part of a family’s social life.” For the big ceremonies, the Nixon family had lunch in Walt’s Apartment above the firehouse and then led the procession down Main Street.

Here’s a photo of the opening ceremonies that kicked off the opening of three major attractions; happily, all three still exist at Disneyland today: The Monorail, The Matterhorn, and The Submarine Voyage (albeit with a theme change). This photo was taken from the grandstand built in Central Plaza for VIP’s and the media, just for this celebration.



The Nixons have just entered the parade route in Town Square:



Here’s the Nixon family riding down Main Street; Julie, Pat, and Tricia in the backseat while Vice President Nixon waves enthusiasticaly to the crowd.



Famed Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, wearing one of her large trademark hats and carrying a parasol, surveys the scene with Nixon:



What follows are two never-before-seen color photos of the grandstand area, sent to me by a Daveland reader.



In this detailed closeup, you can clearly see Walt and Nixon; above them, Hedda’s frilly pink hat stands out like a sore thumb.



Color shot #2:



In this zoomed/cropped photo, you can also see Nixon’s lovely wife, Pat; they don’t come any classier than Patricia Ryan Nixon.



Tomorrow we will continue with this joyous June 14, 1959 celebration. See more Nixon family photos at my website.