RTA 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: The Goon Show, Spike Milligan, My Favorite Husband
9 Sep 2018
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Today he would have been diagnosed with ptsd. Appeared on dumont, moved to nbc, to cbs, and back to nbc. Showed that a radio format could work on tv. Caused a bit of controversy for stars being in the same bed to sleep. Sponsors didn"t want any suggestion of sex. Shows meant to uphold american values (protestantism and capitalism) Interestingly, written disproportionally by second generation jewish writers. Budgets get bigger to experiment in new medium. Radio stars make the jump to tv. Looking to assimilate, while preserving their own culture. Targets a costar of the show (phillip loeb) Berg refuses to fire this star, despite sponsor pressure. Loeb resigns anyways, and later commits suicide. Blackface, as had been previously done, was no longer acceptable. Show defends: the exaggerated flaws contribute to comedy, and doesn"t depict everything in reality. Only place where black people had careers on tv. And no one was a servant or porters.
