The late Henny Youngman (who I wrote about here) was a funny guy. I tell you he was a funny guy because you'll have no way of knowing this from today's video link. This is a soundie that Youngman made in 1943. Soundies, in case you don't already know, were kind of the music videos of their day. They were short films that were exhibited mainly in little juke box devices that were marketed in candy stores, bars, restaurants and other such establishments.
Youngman became something of a success on Kate Smith's radio show in the late thirties but he had his heart set on movie stardom. As the story is told, when he got an offer to go to Hollywood and make some films, he wanted to grab it but his contract on The Kate Smith Show prevented it. He begged…and the producers said they'd release him only if he helped them find a suitable replacement. He looked around and recommended an act that was then trying to work its way out of burlesque — two comics named Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Kate Smith's producers were skeptical but Youngman convinced them Abbott and Costello could work clean and work on radio…and Henny won his freedom. Of course, it didn't work out the way he'd planned. Just a few years later, Abbott and Costello were the hottest comedians in the movie business and Henny's film career never went anywhere. Today's clip pretty much explains why.
