So…yesterday in this space, you got to see Larry Griswold, who did a spectacular (and pretty funny) act as a tipsy diver. Today — thanks to Pat Cashin, who told me about this — you get to see a guy who currently does that act…Don Otto. Otto uses some clever sound effects and music but it's basically Griswold's act with a little of Daffy Duck's delivery. I gather he works mostly at state fairs and I'll bet audiences love him.
One thing I always think about when I see an act like this is, "Where's the microphone?" Otto has the advantage of performing in an era of wireless RF mikes so it's probably no big deal for him to be heard by the audience. But go back to that clip of Griswold on a 1951 episode of The Frank Sinatra Show. No wireless mikes then. One or more technicians with boom mikes had to keep 'em wide open and moving wherever Mr. Griswold moved, which was all over the place…and they somehow managed to keep them off-camera. Anyway, here's Don Otto, the Diving Fool…
And while we're at it, here's a little bio of Larry Griswold…