SilentComedyMafia.com

I remember that Douglas and Reiko had a young son that they used to drag on the show with them.

The best thing about Georgie Jessel was Charlie Callas' imitation of him.

I'll bet the spit was flying...

Gary J.

I remember Jack Douglas and Reiko - who very likely sat next to Joey Heatherton and Charlie Callas on The Merv Griffin Show couch - and that scares me! Haven't found a clip of them yet, but here's one of Jessel:

The thing about Jack Douglas and his wife Reiko is that they were never introduced as Jack and Reiko Douglas. The act was called Jack Douglas and His Wife Reiko, kind of like Mr. Peabody and His Boy Sherman. The dialogue would go like this:

Merv: How are you doing Jack?
Douglas: Hurumph.
Reiko: He mad because I forgot to put mik in his mush.
Merv: Mik in his mush?
(Audience howls)
Reiko: Why they laughing?
Douglas: Not mik...milk.
Merv: Oh! Milk in his mush!!
(Audience screams)
Reiko: That's right. Mik in his mush.
Douglas: Hurumph.
(Mrs. Miller falls out of her seat and rolls down the aisle)

Douglas wrote a book titled SHUT UP AND EAT YOUR SHOESHOES that was about their experiences living in Northern Ontario.

Oops - that was supposed to say SHUT UP AND EAT YOUR SNOWSHOES.

Another Jack Douglas tome (I don't know if this one is with or without His Wife Reiko) for reading pleasure:
http://www.amazon.com/My-Brother-was-Only-Child/dp/0671812319/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1281067817&sr=1-1

According to George Burns, Jessel was the wittiest off-stage of the Hillcrest crowd.

In New York, vaudeville took forever to die out. Besides personal appearances, Jessel was the dean of after-dinner speakers in the NYC showbiz community.

For years, I heard about the legendary "owl story" that he used to tell, that people would beg him to tell. It was the untoppable story that guaranteed him a big finish and rousing applause, no matter how many times his audience had heard it. I always wanted to hear it myself.

Finally I got to hear a recording of Jessel telling the owl story. And when it was over, I thought: "That's it?"

I like Jessel's "Phone call to Mama" routine - the one where the Vitaphone track survives but the picture's gone. It's a hoary old chestnut that he's told for years (and would tell for years more) but his timing and delivery are great.