DOODLES WEAVER

Unlike his brother Pat (president of NBC and father to Sigourney Weaver), Winstead Weaver looked like a "doodlebug" (his own mother's opinion!) and acted like one, being a cornball comic/singer all his life.

The dude named Doodles gained fame with a manic William Tell horse race routine on a Spike Jones novelty single. He did a sequel, "Dance of the Hours" as a car race. Doodles also loved spoonerisms, mispronouncing song lyrics in frantic gibberish till he'd clear his mind with a bellowing "OOOOH!" That, along with deliberately awful jokes, made a hit out of "Man on the Flying Trapeze." You can hear Spike Jones ask "Are you in voice, Winstead," at the beginning.

He worked with Jones on stage and on radio for many years, but was fired for a lethal combo of alcoholism and natural nutsiness. He had bit parts in movies, notably the 1940 version of "Li'l Abner," and in 1951 prevailed upon brother Pat to help him land a summer TV show on NBC which went nowhere. He turned up on "You Bet Your Life" as an unknown contestant. After Doodles admitted his profession was a comedian, Groucho sympathetically hoped he'd get somewhere with it. In 1965 Weaver briefly had a notoriously desperate 6-minute "Day with Doodles" syndicated kiddie show. Nothing worked too well.

Throughout the 60's The Dood took minor roles in sitcoms, from "Dick Van Dyke Show" to "The Monkees" to "Batman" (as "Crier Tuck). His curly hair, tubular head and large eyes helped the comic ambience of any scene, even if his lines were few.

The older he got, the more bitter and disillusioned he became. 1948, when he issued his novelty tunes with Spike, was probably Doodles' best year. 1983 would be his worst...in fact, despite of or because of alcohol and pills, be couldn't stand to live more than a few weeks into 1983.

Not too many years earlier, Doodles went into the studio one last time to make a solo disc. He offered some updated spooner routines and he even tried to work his dentures through his classic Feetlebaum routine...which was now more of a trotter than a horse race.

Here's a six pack with samples of Doodles' hit singles, radio tunes and final recordings. All Weaver wanted was to get some laughs, and even if you're not a corn-comedy buff, he Dood it. He succeeded mightily several times, and in every sense of the word, he was always trying.



Cop a Doodles... DO! (Right here)
Update: the mid-October "inactivity purge" doomed Doodles at Rapidshare, but here's an upload of two rarities for you, Doodles doin' it on the old Spike Jones radio show. No Rapidshare waiting, either. Instant gratification
TWO DOODLES!

SPIKE JONES TRANNIES

Racially incorrect, obsessively fond of burps, and totally driven by a desire to "depreciate" good music, Spike Jones had some novelty 78rpm hits. For a while. He even had his own radio show and TV series. Briefly. Very briefly. His film career is basically the hard to find "Fireman Save My Child" (1954) an Abbott & Costello movie ultimately made by Hugh O'Brian and Buddy Hackett and re-worked to also star Jones (but not Barbara Walters).
Now regarded as a comic genius, his RCA sides consistently in print for 60 years, Jones got laughs doing everything from setting fire to a woman ("My Old Flame") to blowing raspberries at Hitler ("Der Fuehrer's Face"). His touring show gave audiences a chance to roar over clothing louder than the music and a never-ending parade of goofy sight gags involving pants falling down and midgets running around.
Never quite respected in his lifetime for his ill winds and sickly strings, Spike and his "City Slickers" may have gotten a bit further than more Opry-esque artists like the Hoosier Hot-Shots, but remained a "novelty act," one best known for recordings in the late 40's.
Slogging into the 60's, road-warrior Jones grimly declared that rock music was beyond satire. He had low-selling albums on Verve and Liberty, and the brilliant "Spike Jones in Stereo" concept album didn't impress anyone either. He even tried to "go straight" with "His New Band." As The Beatles burned up the charts Spike smoked himself into an early grave. He was 54. He died on May 1st, 1965.
A new generation might know Spike Jonze better than the original, and have no idea who "Chloe" was (or that this song was even a parody), but many still treasure the breathtaking bravado of "the band that played for fun," led by a square-headed Cagney look-alike who could chew gum and conduct music at the same time, often bouncing his baton off the floor and back into his fist.

Since the RCA stuff is easy to find, here are some "trannies" to give a better idea of Spike's live sound. Transcription discs and radio moments show off Spike's big band as well as his cheerfully grotesque sensibilities, which included ethnic stereotypes during wartime.
By the Beautiful Sea
Liebestraum
Horsey Keep Your tail Up
Oh By Jingo
Red Wing
Der Fuehrer's Face
Never Hit Your Grandma with a Shovel
You're a Sap, Mr. Jap
Pack Up Your Troubles
Down in Jungle Town
Come Josephine in my Flying Machine
St-St-St-Stella

Spike Jones Trannies HERE