Love of Chair
Encyclopedia
Love of Chair was a recurring sketch
on the television program
The Electric Company
. It was seen primarily during the 1971–1972 season. The sketch was a parody
of classic soap opera
s, and spoofed numerous aspects of these shows:
dressed as a pre-teenaged child). In the early sketches, the only other visible object in the room was a simple wooden chair; later sketches occasionally included one or two additional inanimate objects, but the chair would always be visible in the shot during each sketch. During the regular sketches, the boy never spoke; the only voice heard was that of the off-screen announcer.
The format of each sketch was very simple, and showed very little variation over the course of the first season (with the notable exception of the final episode): After a very brief introduction (featuring a title card for the sketch) ("It's time once again for everybody's favorite soap opera, Love of Chair! As our story begins (sometimes "When we last met the boy"), the boy is sitting", the shot would open on the boy in the room, with quiet organ music playing in the background. Initially the boy would hold himself absolutely still while looking off-camera. After a moment's pause, the boy would move and/or perform a simple action (e.g. Stand up, sit down, pick up the chair, etc.) and stop again. While the boy was motionless, the unseen announcer would use a short phrase to describe the boy's most recent action in the style of the old Dick and Jane
primers, and in a dramatic tone of voice ("The boy stands up!"). After the announcer had completed this description, the boy would perform another movement or action, and would pause again while the announcer described that action.
After the boy had performed several actions and the announcer had described all of them, the background music became much more dramatic and the camera would zoom in on the motionless boy. The announcer would ask several rhetorical questions about what might happen to the boy, the chair, and sometimes the viewers, again in a very dramatic tone of voice: "Will the boy stand up again? Will the chair break? Will you break the chair?" The announcer's final question (punctuated with a sting of organ music) was always ”And...what about Naomi?“ The announcer would then state, “For the answer to these and other questions”—The image would then briefly jump-cut outside of the featureless room to one of the other cast members of The Electric Company asking a quick non-sequitur
(e.g., "What time is it?" “Is this a rerun?” "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"). The image would then jump-cut back to the room with the boy and the chair, with the announcer (apparently unaware of the interruption) concluding, "Tune in tomorrow for Love of Chair!" In the season 1 finale, the last question was posed by the boy who asked the announcer what he did not say before by mentioning Naomi, "What about... what's her name?".
Selected scenes from "Love of Chair" served as the background for the Friday closing credits during the first season.
, who was a producer on the show during the first two seasons and is the mother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal
and actor Jake Gyllenhaal
.
standing on a stage under a banner that read, "What about Naomi?" The cast sang a brief song that repeatedly asked "What about Naomi?" along with other questions about her ("Is she tall?" "Is she fat?"). The final lines of the song ran
What about Naomi?
What about Naomi?
We shall never know.
This was one of the last two Love of Chair segments in which Hinnant spoke, and the song that played was never rebroadcast.
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
on the television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
The Electric Company
The Electric Company
The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
. It was seen primarily during the 1971–1972 season. The sketch was a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of classic soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s, and spoofed numerous aspects of these shows:
- The name of the sketch was based on the long-running TV soap opera Love of LifeLove of LifeLove of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
. - The unseen announcer for the sketch was Ken RobertsKen Roberts (announcer)Ken Roberts was an American radio and television announcer known for his work during the Golden Age of Radio and for his work announcing the daytime television soap operas The Secret Storm, Texas and Love of Life, each for a two-decade span.-Early life and education:Roberts was born on February...
, who at one time had been the announcer for Love of Life. - The sketch featured background organ music similar in style to that of classic radio soap operas, including the use of dramatic strings during a key portion of the sketch.
Format
The scene was always set in a room with bare featureless walls and floors, and focused on the actions of a boy (played by Skip HinnantSkip Hinnant
- Career :Hinnant's first major role was as Cathy's boyfriend Ted on The Patty Duke Show from 1963 to 1965, and Schroeder in the original cast of Clark Gesner's You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown during its original off-Broadway run in 1967, where his brother, Bill Hinnant, played Snoopy.He is best...
dressed as a pre-teenaged child). In the early sketches, the only other visible object in the room was a simple wooden chair; later sketches occasionally included one or two additional inanimate objects, but the chair would always be visible in the shot during each sketch. During the regular sketches, the boy never spoke; the only voice heard was that of the off-screen announcer.
The format of each sketch was very simple, and showed very little variation over the course of the first season (with the notable exception of the final episode): After a very brief introduction (featuring a title card for the sketch) ("It's time once again for everybody's favorite soap opera, Love of Chair! As our story begins (sometimes "When we last met the boy"), the boy is sitting", the shot would open on the boy in the room, with quiet organ music playing in the background. Initially the boy would hold himself absolutely still while looking off-camera. After a moment's pause, the boy would move and/or perform a simple action (e.g. Stand up, sit down, pick up the chair, etc.) and stop again. While the boy was motionless, the unseen announcer would use a short phrase to describe the boy's most recent action in the style of the old Dick and Jane
Dick and Jane
Dick and Jane were the main characters in popular basal readers written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp and published by Scott Foresman, that were used to teach children to read from the 1930s through to the 1970s in the United States...
primers, and in a dramatic tone of voice ("The boy stands up!"). After the announcer had completed this description, the boy would perform another movement or action, and would pause again while the announcer described that action.
After the boy had performed several actions and the announcer had described all of them, the background music became much more dramatic and the camera would zoom in on the motionless boy. The announcer would ask several rhetorical questions about what might happen to the boy, the chair, and sometimes the viewers, again in a very dramatic tone of voice: "Will the boy stand up again? Will the chair break? Will you break the chair?" The announcer's final question (punctuated with a sting of organ music) was always ”And...what about Naomi?“ The announcer would then state, “For the answer to these and other questions”—The image would then briefly jump-cut outside of the featureless room to one of the other cast members of The Electric Company asking a quick non-sequitur
Non sequitur (absurdism)
A non sequitur is a conversational and literary device, often used for comedic purposes. It is a comment that, because of its apparent lack of meaning relative to what it follows, seems absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing....
(e.g., "What time is it?" “Is this a rerun?” "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"). The image would then jump-cut back to the room with the boy and the chair, with the announcer (apparently unaware of the interruption) concluding, "Tune in tomorrow for Love of Chair!" In the season 1 finale, the last question was posed by the boy who asked the announcer what he did not say before by mentioning Naomi, "What about... what's her name?".
Selected scenes from "Love of Chair" served as the background for the Friday closing credits during the first season.
Naomi
The Naomi mentioned in the segment refers to Naomi FonerNaomi Foner Gyllenhaal
Naomi Gyllenhaal is an American screenwriter. She has written the screenplays for several feature films, including Running on Empty , Losing Isaiah, and most recently Bee Season. She is...
, who was a producer on the show during the first two seasons and is the mother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Margaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father's films...
and actor Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
.
Final Love of Chair skit
In the final “Chair” sequence, which was shown only in season 2, the sketch started normally. However, after performing a few actions the boy turned to face the camera and angrily interrupted the announcer who just said as always, "As our story begins, the boy is sitting" to declare "No, he isn't! The boy is quitting!" The background organ music suddenly stopped, and the camera changed to show a previously unseen door in a corner of the room. The boy slams down his baseball cap and quickly walks across the room and through the door, slamming it loudly behind him. After a moment's silence, the shocked announcer sputtered, "But...what about Naomi?" The scene then faded to black—and reopened on the entire cast of The Electric CompanyThe Electric Company
The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
standing on a stage under a banner that read, "What about Naomi?" The cast sang a brief song that repeatedly asked "What about Naomi?" along with other questions about her ("Is she tall?" "Is she fat?"). The final lines of the song ran
What about Naomi?
What about Naomi?
We shall never know.
This was one of the last two Love of Chair segments in which Hinnant spoke, and the song that played was never rebroadcast.