You probably think it's St. Patrick's Day and in some senses, it is. But it's also Freberg Day over on Shokus Internet Radio. This afternoon, my friend Stu Shostak is welcoming Stan and Hunter Freberg to Stu's Show, two hours of great conversation heard live from 4 PM to 6 PM Pacific Daylight Time. I often recommend this program to you but I especially recommend it this week.
Stan Freberg is, of course, one of my great heroes and I still can't quite believe he's my pal. I first discovered his brilliant comedy records on the old Soupy Sales Show when Pookie and Hippie would mime to them. I guess I was around nine or ten at the time but I somehow figured out that they were records and my father helped me figure out that they were by someone named Stan Freberg. He took me up to a record store up on Westwood Boulevard — located where Junior's Delicatessen now stands, in case anyone cares. I went up to the clerk at the front and said, "Stan Freberg, please." He directed me to the comedy albums, I bought one and my life changed a little that day. Other folks made funny records, of course…but Stan's were hipper and more memorable. Later, I learned he was also a voice actor in many of the Warner Brothers cartoons I loved; that he'd originated the role of Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent on Time for Beany; that he practically invented the funny commercial…and so much more. He'll probably talk about all those things on Stu's Show today.
His partner/wife of the last nine years, Hunter Freberg, will also be heard…and Stu could easily fill two hours with this amazing lady. She's been a corporate placement exec, a TV host, a lecturer, a producer…and now she and Stan jointly run his career and life. He's madly in love with her…and the feeling is mutual and easy to understand.
Hunter and Stan will be Guests of Honor at WonderCon in San Francisco April 2-4 and if you're there, make sure you stop by and meet them. If you can't…well, you can meet them from afar today on Stu's Show. As I said, it airs live beginning at 4 PM Pacific Time. You can figure out when that is in your time zone. Then go to Shokus Internet Radio and click where they tell you to link.
I'm supposed to be there as co-host…not that I'm needed. And though I'm busy, I'm going to try to make it because, well, it's the Frebergs. If I'm not able to participate, it will still be a great show. Tune in and listen — and if you can't do that tomorrow, it reruns for six days after, usually in the same time slot. Consult that website for more details.