Fouhy, Geoffrey’s improv group friend comes back to talk about commercials related to a the Rankin and Bass stop motion Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town! You can catch Fouhy in Improvised History at the Democracy Center in Harvard Square, or in Junebug, a Firefly-inspired improv show (which our own Geoffrey is in, too). The next Junebug appearance is February 23rd, 2020 at Improv Boston.
We kicked off this session by watching a bit of Bruce Springsteen’s live performance of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.
What a hat, huh?
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town with commercials from 1981
We watched through all the commercials up until about 27:35 in this video, and that left us really curious about the sitcoms advertised, so we watched the opening themes.
We just watched the theme song… but wow that was a lot of info. Here’s a breakdown of the facts:
*This is the Story of Gordon Feester
*Born in Ohio the day before Easter
*Graduated from Columbus High in 1962
*Went to college, but got suspended
*Was in the Army (stationed at Fort Hood)
*Never went overseas (Spent a year peeling potatoes and a year copping zees)
*After that he drifted and at times he seemed to struggle but always paid the rent
*By 1974 he owned a grocery store
*Married a woman named Gretchen who hangs around the house
*Gretchen has a son named Terry by a previous spouse
Now he’s open all night, which we repeat rather ominously like… eight? times???
This was A LOT.
Again we only watched the theme, and again… wow.
Leprechaun’s Christmas Gold: Christmas in Killarney
Fouhy notes that the young man is the same model as Jack Frost from another Rankin Bass special.
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After These Messages: Santa's Comin' To Advertise