A Mister Luther Dingle

 


A Mister Luther Dingle


     This is just the intro to a Twilight Zone episode that Greg committed to memory but it remains a true mystery. It had to be recited in the voice of the great Rod Serling and a cigarette burning in the hand as Rod did in hosting. Poor Rod was a four pack a day man and checked out of heart attacks at 50. The narration as recited by Greg was "A Mister Luther Dingle...a small man with small dreams...trying to hitch a ride on the caboose of the gravy train of life." It was episode 55 overall and number 19 in season two of the classic show aired in 1959. It is perfectly Sterling and the episode in question was titled "Dingle the Strong" that in revisting seems pretty corny. Yet, we knew Luther Dingle well and used the name in other circumstances. I used it leaving messages for the Bobcat at his studio for example. The odd thing is that if you look up the episode and each is listed in detail on Wikipedia, including introductions it reads "Mr. Luther Dingle, a vacuum cleaner salesman whose volume of business is roughly that of a valet at a hobo convention. He's a consummate failure in almost everything, but is a good listener and has a prominent jaw." My respectful nod to Sterling but I like Greg's version better. I would hazard a guess that we all have seen and enjoyed every episode of "the Zone" and loved the great Sterling plus the actor Burgess Meredith who played Dingle. It also features one of my favorite comedians Don Rickles who is obnoxious but put in his place by Dingle.  How in the world Greg came up with this intro is a mystery but I like the sound of it and have often repeated it myself. "You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead—your next stop, the Twilight Zone."





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Athletic Club Flower shop

Image
  Athletic Club Flower shop      This phrase is actually the telephone greeting at Greg's uncle Johnny Tassano's flower shop at 808 W. 8th street near Flower street in downtown L.A. Greg loved the place and culled many a story and line from his experiences at a place he worked and visited fondly. Even when he wasn't employed he drove around with cousin Kent (Kevin Smith) and they had a ball observing the absurdities of modern living in the Southland. The phone was answered by different employees and each had a unique turn of "Athletic Club...flowershopppp" There was owner John Tassano, right-hand man Ronald P. Lord, "Speed," a delivery man, and Carmen who cut flowers and told odd anecdotes such as the origin of pizza. I believe Greg and Kevin could go on for weeks about the people they met on their deliveries as they set forth across the city of the angels to spread floral joy. This might include places to eat, fascinating neighborhoods, cemeteries, lone...
Read more

Oil and gas crowd

Image
  Oil and gas crowd       This one comes from cousin  Kevin's bold political action volunteering for the Fred Harris presidential campaign in 1976. Kevin got a terrific piece on the campaign published as an editorial in the Los Angeles Times and also developed an imitation of the candidates speaking voice. Fred Harris was everything you would want in a public servant  and had come close to being asked to be Vice President but his brand was not widely known. Despite representing Oklahoma as a senator Harris managed to be an admirable liberal who favored the Great Society and economic democracy. Way ahead of his time Fred wanted to wrest control away from corporations and millionaires. He travelled in a recreation vehicle wth young Smith aboard to cut down on costs and was as grass roots as it gets. Fred was married to native-american LaDonna and to this day we have buttons stating "LaDonna for First Lady." Kevin would repeat the phrase from Fred's speeches a...
Read more

alright mother

Image
  alright mother- “You can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what’s in your heart.” —Carol Ann Duffy  Greg was always delighted by a story told by his mother in law about a "sortie" dinner party attended by a Doctor "Putty" Putnam who had been forced to attend an opera by his wife. When asked by a clueless guest if he enjoyed the opera, his response was  "fuck you!" When I was visiting Bear Cove and sitting next to the matriarch Greg goaded her into telling the tale. But a rum n' coke had loosened "Minnie's" tongue and when she got to Putty's answer she blurted a rather hard FUCK YOU!  Roy, hearing his bride curse thusly said across the table "Alright mother!"
Read more