Chester Lauck
Encyclopedia
Chester "Chet" Lauck played the character of Lum Edwards on the classic American
radio
comedy
Lum and Abner
.
Chester Lauck was raised in Mena, Arkansas
, where he met his future comedy partner Norris Goff
. Though both began as blackface
comics, they soon found success on local station KTHS with a recurring hillbilly skit, leading to a network series, recorded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1931.
In addition to starring as storekeeper Lum (full name Columbus Edwards, with surname usually pronounced "Eddards"), Lauck also played several other recurring characters, including Cedric Weehunt, Grandpappy Spears, and Snake Hogan. Lauck reprised his radio, role opposite Goff, in seven motion pictures between 1940 and 1956. Lauck adopted grey hair and a moustache on-camera, to better match the picture most audiences would have of his radio character.
In his later years, Lauck recorded new introductions for commercial cassette releases of the series and for syndication. For a brief time during the 1950s he bought and upgraded a ranch fifteen miles west of Las Vegas
, later bought by Howard Hughes. It was turned into Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.
He died on February 21, 1980, aged 78, and was buried in Hot Springs, Arkansas
. Chester Lauck is a member of the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame.
in the radio division.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
Lum and Abner
Lum and Abner
Lum and Abner was an American radio comedy network program created by Chester Lauck and Norris Goff that aired from 1931 to 1954. Modeled on life in the small town of Waters, Arkansas, near where Lauck and Goff grew up, the showed proved immensely popular...
.
Chester Lauck was raised in Mena, Arkansas
Mena, Arkansas
Mena is a city in Polk County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Polk County.It was founded by Arthur Edward Stilwell during the building of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad . It was Stilwell who decided Mena would be the name of this new town along the route to...
, where he met his future comedy partner Norris Goff
Norris Goff
Norris Goff was an American comedian in radio and film best known for his portrayal of Abner Peabody on the rural comedy Lum and Abner....
. Though both began as blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
comics, they soon found success on local station KTHS with a recurring hillbilly skit, leading to a network series, recorded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1931.
In addition to starring as storekeeper Lum (full name Columbus Edwards, with surname usually pronounced "Eddards"), Lauck also played several other recurring characters, including Cedric Weehunt, Grandpappy Spears, and Snake Hogan. Lauck reprised his radio, role opposite Goff, in seven motion pictures between 1940 and 1956. Lauck adopted grey hair and a moustache on-camera, to better match the picture most audiences would have of his radio character.
In his later years, Lauck recorded new introductions for commercial cassette releases of the series and for syndication. For a brief time during the 1950s he bought and upgraded a ranch fifteen miles west of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, later bought by Howard Hughes. It was turned into Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.
He died on February 21, 1980, aged 78, and was buried in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
. Chester Lauck is a member of the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame.
Honors
Lauck was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of FameNational Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame
The NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame is a yearly honor from the National Association of Broadcasters. One inductee from radio and one from television are named at the yearly NAB conference.-Radio:*2011 * 2010 Ron Chapman* 2009 Vin Scully* 2008 Larry Lujack...
in the radio division.