"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Hans Conried. I suppose you know yours."
It was the centenary on the weekend of that marvellously fruity actor Hans Conried.
When, on his appearance on their show, The Monkees kept disrupting him as he tried to perform his lines, Mr Conried looked straight at the camera and said: "I hate these fucking kids." Unsurprisingly, it was not broadcast.
According to IMDB: "His distinctive voice made him a popular radio performer during the 1930s and 1940s. In the following four decades he had a lucrative second career doing voice work for animated feature films and television productions; he was best known as the voice of "Captain Hook" in Peter Pan (1953)."
He went on to carve a not-insignificant career on US television, in numerous shows including Make Room for Daddy, Love, American Style and The Lucy Show, as well as on stage (he was in the original cast of Cole Porter's 1953 Broadway hit Can-Can).
However, it is for his portrayal of "Dr Terwilliger" (described as the "first gay villain") in the camp classic (and box-office disaster) The 5,000 Fingers of Dr T for which we love him most - especially this scene:
Come on and dress me, dress me, dress me, in my finest array!
Cause just in case you haven't heard
Today is doe-me-doe day!
Dress me in my silver garters, dress me in my diamond studs
Cause I'm going doe-me-doe-ing in my doe-me-doe duds!
I want my undulating undies with the marabou frills!
I want my beautiful bolero with the porcupine quills!
I want my purple nylon girdle with the orange blossom buds
Cause I'm going doe-me-doe-ing in my doe-me-doe duds!
Come on and dress me! dress me! dress me!
In my peek-a-boo blouse
With the lovely inner lining made of Chesapeake mouse!
I want my polka-dotted dickie with the crinoline fringe
For I'm going doe-me-doe-ing on a doe-me-doe binge!
I want my lavender spats and in addition to them
I want my honey-colored gusset with the herring bone hem
I want my softest little jacket made of watermelon suede
And my long persimmon placket with the platinum braid
I want my leg of mutton sleeves and in addition to those
I want my cutie chamois booties with the leopard skin bows
I want my pink brocaded bodice with the floofy fuzzy ruffs
And my gorgeous bright blue bloomers
With the monkey feather cuffs
I want my organdie snood and in addition to that
I want my chiffon Mother Hubbard lined with Hudson Bay rat
Dress me up from top to bottom, dress me up from tip to toe
Dress me up in silk and spinach for today is doe-me-doe day!
DOE-ME-DOE DAY!
So come and dress me in the blossoms of a million pink trees!
Come on and dress me up in liverwurst! and Camembert cheese!
Come on and dress me up in pretzels, dress me up in bock beer suds! Cause I'm gooooo-ing
...doe-me-dooooooooo-ing...
in my doe-me-doe duds!
A work of utter, breathtakingly camp genius - that I rightly featured (as an adjunct, admittedly) to my famous "Top Ten of the most extravagantly camp moments in cinema" post over at Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle.
And, by way of a bonus - a particularly scary scene that was cut [alongside many of the original film's musical numbers, in their entirety, and latterly destroyed] on the grounds of being "too outré" for Fifties audiences:
Hans Georg Conried, Jr. (15th April 1917 – 5th January 1982)
CAMP IT UP! I wonder what would happen if mistress maddie decided to dress me...
ReplyDeleteYou are somewhat obsessed by Maddie, my dear.
DeleteDoe-me-doe day is, however, a masterpiece of campery of which we and she can only stand back and admire in awe... Jx
maddie has a great sense of style and she lives 1 hour from me. she's a good friend.
DeleteI know, sweetie - you're just like Laverne and Shirley :-)
DeleteJx
Loved the Doe-Me-Doe Duds performance from the first time I saw it.
ReplyDelete(There have been several more viewings since.)
I never, ever tire of it. Jx
DeleteThe 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T scared me silly when I was very much younger (at the time, I was [forced into] having piano lessons). Now, I have fond memories and can't believe it was such a flop - it certainly can't have been down to Hans Conried's performance.
ReplyDeleteHe (as allegedly was Dr Seuss) was dreadfully disappointed at the "sanitisation" and myriad cuts that were imposed upon it by the producers. And of course, when calculating a "failure" the statisticians inevitably mean "in America" - whereas it became a cult here and in Europe... Jx
DeleteHans Conried, in America he had a show called 'Fractured Flickers' produced by Jay Ward of Bullwinkle fame. They showed intercut clips of old silent films with funny and silly narrations. Conried also interviewed celebrity guest with joking banter. You can see them on You Tube. (filmed 1962/63 in B+W) -Rj
ReplyDeleteSounds like an intriguing concept ahead of its time... Jx
Delete