Kermit Schaefer
Encyclopedia
Kermit Schafer was an American writer
and producer
for radio
and television
in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for his collections of "blooper
s" — the word Schafer coined for mistakes and gaffes of radio and TV announcers and personalities.
mispronounced the name of then-President of the United States
Herbert Hoover
as "Hoobert Heever" on the air, but Schafer's is believed to be the first attempt at collecting and presenting them. Other similar famous finds of Schafer's include ABC
correspondent Joel Daly
intoning, "The rumor that the President would veto the bill is reported to have come from a high White Horse
souse," and veteran radio host Paul Harvey
breaking into uncontrollable laughter at a story about a pet poodle.
These were collected and released in LP audio collections such as Pardon My Blooper! and Your Slip is Showing, which were briefly popular in the 1960s. A movie version also entitled Pardon My Blooper was released in 1974. These led the way for such later TV shows as TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes
, hosted by Dick Clark
. Schafer himself gained minor celebrity under the nickname "The Blooper Man".
Schafer is historically remembered for an unwitting libel he committed by dramatizing an incident that never happened. In his vinyl record Pardon My Blooper!, Volume 1, Schafer replicated the famous radio show host "Uncle Don
" Carney, who broadcast on WOR
in New York City
to millions of children from 1928 to 1947. In Schafer's brief drama, Uncle Don mistakenly believes his microphone is off, then utters a contemptuous indecency.
Schafer's motivation to recreate Uncle Don included widespread popular rumors, some surprisingly misremembered testimony, and a contemporary, though probably false story in Variety
about one of Uncle Don's many imitators. On April 23, 1930 Variety reported that "about two weeks ago" an unnamed children's bedtime story announcer at an unnamed station in Philadelphia had blurted out — after the show had concluded and he believed the mic power was off — 'I hope that pleases the little b_______' (sic). But — Variety claimed — the mic was open, the Federal Radio Commission
was listening, bundles of complaining telegrams arrived, and the announcer was fired. Indecent language used in front of women and children carried great opprobrium in 1930, yet this stunning story did not appear in Philadelphia newspapers.
Again, no audio existed, so Schafer recreated this blooper. Schafer's "Uncle Don" segued from a gentle goodbye song to the children, then misopedically declared, "We're off? Good, well, that oughta hold the little bastards!" There is absolutely no factual evidence that Uncle Don ever said this, and Schafer's false recording perpetuates an unflattering urban legend
that the real Don Carney spent his life denying.
Another example of a recreated blooper stemming from a second-hand report is that of a Canadian announcer stating "This is the Dominion network of the Canadian Broadcorping Castration
," which utilized one of Schafer's voice actors. This alleged error has also passed on into urban legend
in Canada, although it has never been confirmed as to whether it ever occurred.
Not all of Schafer's bloopers were recreated; one of his Pardon My Blooper albums, for example, included a rare outtake from a 1939 Bing Crosby
recording session for "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" in which Crosby good naturedly starts swearing at his producer for changing the arrangement of the song he was singing. By the 1950s and 1960s transcribed recordings had become more commonplace, particularly for news broadcasts, so Schafer was able to include genuine recordings of some broadcasters, particularly the aforementioned Paul Harvey and Lowell Thomas
, the latter being featured on several occasions.
, who hosted and produced a long-running series of blooper specials (and a weekly program) beginning in the early 1980s and continuing until the present (although Clark himself hasn't hosted any since suffering a stroke in late 2004). By the time Clark picked up the mantle, recordings of bloopers were far more easily obtainable, and in fact were often provided willingly by the producers of films and TV shows as a way of promoting their product. Clark also followed in Schafer's footsteps by releasing an album of bloopers from radio broadcasts. Clark's TV blooper shows always carried a dedication to "Kermit Schafer, Mr. Blooper", and the success of Clark's program led to the development of many imitators which continue to be broadcast as of 2008, and the inclusion of "blooper reels" on DVD releases of TV shows and films has become commonplace.
. Schaefer also issued blooper compilation albums for Kapp Records
in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Many of these recordings would be reissued in the 1970s by K-Tel
Records. Schafer also edited a number of books transcribing bloopers, with some books covering certain themes such as bloopers from classified advertising
and television broadcasts.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
for 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...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for his collections of "blooper
Blooper
A blooper, also known as an outtake or boner is a short sequence of a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms of misspoken words...
s" — the word Schafer coined for mistakes and gaffes of radio and TV announcers and personalities.
Early bloopers
Bloopers came into prominence in 1931, when radio announcer Harry Von ZellHarry von Zell
Harry von Zell , born in Indianapolis, made his mark as an announcer of radio programs and an actor in films and television shows....
mispronounced the name of then-President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
as "Hoobert Heever" on the air, but Schafer's is believed to be the first attempt at collecting and presenting them. Other similar famous finds of Schafer's include ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
correspondent Joel Daly
Joel Daly
Joel T. Daly is an American former news presenter. He served as an anchor for Chicago's WLS-TV from 1967 to 2005.- News career :...
intoning, "The rumor that the President would veto the bill is reported to have come from a high White Horse
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
souse," and veteran radio host Paul Harvey
Paul Harvey
Paul Harvey Aurandt , better known as Paul Harvey, was an American radio broadcaster for the ABC Radio Networks. He broadcast News and Comment on weekday mornings and mid-days, and at noon on Saturdays, as well as his famous The Rest of the Story segments. His listening audience was estimated, at...
breaking into uncontrollable laughter at a story about a pet poodle.
These were collected and released in LP audio collections such as Pardon My Blooper! and Your Slip is Showing, which were briefly popular in the 1960s. A movie version also entitled Pardon My Blooper was released in 1974. These led the way for such later TV shows as TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes
TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes
TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes is a television series and a group of television specials that aired in the United States by NBC and, later, ABC from the 1980s to the mid-2000s...
, hosted by Dick Clark
Dick Clark (entertainer)
Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark is an American businessman; game-show host; and radio and television personality. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, which he has sold part of in recent years...
. Schafer himself gained minor celebrity under the nickname "The Blooper Man".
Criticism and controversy
Schafer has come under criticism from TV and radio historians who have noted his deceptive presentations in his albums. If Schafer could not obtain an actual audio recording of the event (as many of these bloopers occurred live and were not always transcribed onto recordings), he would simply hire actors and recreate the event — without offering any disclaimer. This led to some misrepresentations. For example, the blooper by Harry Von Zell described above was not recorded, so Schafer recreated it. Had Von Zell's mispronunciation occurred as the President was being introduced to an audience, as presented by Schafer, it would have been highly embarrassing. However, Von Zell's blooper occurred at the end of a brief presentation in honor of the President's birthday, which, while still embarrassing, was not quite as mortifyingly so as President Hoover was not present.Schafer is historically remembered for an unwitting libel he committed by dramatizing an incident that never happened. In his vinyl record Pardon My Blooper!, Volume 1, Schafer replicated the famous radio show host "Uncle Don
Uncle Don
Uncle Don was a children's radio program which aired on WOR radio from 1928 to 1947. The host was Uncle Don Carney, a former vaudevillie performer who was born Howard Rice in 1897...
" Carney, who broadcast on WOR
WOR (AM)
WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to millions of children from 1928 to 1947. In Schafer's brief drama, Uncle Don mistakenly believes his microphone is off, then utters a contemptuous indecency.
Schafer's motivation to recreate Uncle Don included widespread popular rumors, some surprisingly misremembered testimony, and a contemporary, though probably false story in Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
about one of Uncle Don's many imitators. On April 23, 1930 Variety reported that "about two weeks ago" an unnamed children's bedtime story announcer at an unnamed station in Philadelphia had blurted out — after the show had concluded and he believed the mic power was off — 'I hope that pleases the little b_______' (sic). But — Variety claimed — the mic was open, the Federal Radio Commission
Federal Radio Commission
The Federal Radio Commission was a government body that regulated radio use in the United States from its creation in 1926 until its replacement by the Federal Communications Commission in 1934...
was listening, bundles of complaining telegrams arrived, and the announcer was fired. Indecent language used in front of women and children carried great opprobrium in 1930, yet this stunning story did not appear in Philadelphia newspapers.
Again, no audio existed, so Schafer recreated this blooper. Schafer's "Uncle Don" segued from a gentle goodbye song to the children, then misopedically declared, "We're off? Good, well, that oughta hold the little bastards!" There is absolutely no factual evidence that Uncle Don ever said this, and Schafer's false recording perpetuates an unflattering urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
that the real Don Carney spent his life denying.
Another example of a recreated blooper stemming from a second-hand report is that of a Canadian announcer stating "This is the Dominion network of the Canadian Broadcorping Castration
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
," which utilized one of Schafer's voice actors. This alleged error has also passed on into urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
in Canada, although it has never been confirmed as to whether it ever occurred.
Not all of Schafer's bloopers were recreated; one of his Pardon My Blooper albums, for example, included a rare outtake from a 1939 Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
recording session for "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" in which Crosby good naturedly starts swearing at his producer for changing the arrangement of the song he was singing. By the 1950s and 1960s transcribed recordings had become more commonplace, particularly for news broadcasts, so Schafer was able to include genuine recordings of some broadcasters, particularly the aforementioned Paul Harvey and Lowell Thomas
Lowell Thomas
Lowell Jackson Thomas was an American writer, broadcaster, and traveler, best known as the man who made Lawrence of Arabia famous...
, the latter being featured on several occasions.
Legacy
After his death, Schafer's title of "Keeper of the Bloopers" was passed to Dick ClarkDick Clark (entertainer)
Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark is an American businessman; game-show host; and radio and television personality. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, which he has sold part of in recent years...
, who hosted and produced a long-running series of blooper specials (and a weekly program) beginning in the early 1980s and continuing until the present (although Clark himself hasn't hosted any since suffering a stroke in late 2004). By the time Clark picked up the mantle, recordings of bloopers were far more easily obtainable, and in fact were often provided willingly by the producers of films and TV shows as a way of promoting their product. Clark also followed in Schafer's footsteps by releasing an album of bloopers from radio broadcasts. Clark's TV blooper shows always carried a dedication to "Kermit Schafer, Mr. Blooper", and the success of Clark's program led to the development of many imitators which continue to be broadcast as of 2008, and the inclusion of "blooper reels" on DVD releases of TV shows and films has become commonplace.
Recordings
Seven Pardon My Blooper albums were released in the late 1950s-early 1960s on Jubilee RecordsJubilee Records
Jubilee Records was a record label specializing in rhythm and blues along with novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. Jerry Blaine became Abramson's partner. Blaine bought out Abramson's half of the company in 1947. The company name was Jay-Gee Recording...
. Schaefer also issued blooper compilation albums for Kapp Records
Kapp Records
Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp . David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca Records and RCA Victor Records. Kapp licensed its records to London Records for release in the UK.In 1967, David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc...
in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Many of these recordings would be reissued in the 1970s by K-Tel
K-tel
K-tel International is an "As-Seen-On-TV" company, which is most noted for its compilation music albums, such as "The Super Hits" series, "The Dynamic Hits" series and "The Number One Hits" series...
Records. Schafer also edited a number of books transcribing bloopers, with some books covering certain themes such as bloopers from classified advertising
Classified advertising
Classified advertising is a form of advertising which is particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals which may be sold or distributed free of charge...
and television broadcasts.
External links
- "A Requiem for Uncle Don" (PDF)
- Kermit Schafer mentions at Snopes.com Urban Legend Reference Pages: Sonny Tufts?, Hoobert Heever, That Oughta Hold the Little Bastards! UL summary, and Uncle Don - analytic History of the "Little Bastards" Legend.