Stan Freberg: Difference between revisions

 

In both his recordings and his subsequent radio shows (1954's ''That's Rich'', 1957's ''[http://www.otr.net/?p=freb The Stan] [[The Stan Freberg Show|Freberg Show]]''), Freberg never backed down from potentially controversial topics. "The Old Payola Roll Blues" was a two-part double-sided narrative that (prematurely) celebrated the demise of rock'n'roll music in the wake of the payola scandals of the 1950s, for instance. Politically-themed sketches from his radio show were often [[Executive Meddling|censored by network executives]]. And his famous 1958 recording "Green Chri$tma$", which viciously skewered the overcommercialization of Christmas, was almost suppressed by a record company terrified of offending powerful advertising agencies. "Los Voraces (The Greedy)" slammed both Las Vegas' opulence and the Cold War ({{spoiler|the ending, in which two battling casinos escalate to detonating a nuclear bomb on stage, which of course destroys the city, was changed to an earthquake in the broadcast. This original ending is now available.}}) Freberg later skewered censorship in "Elderly Man River", which anticipated [[Political Correctness Gone Mad]] by decades with a censor who forces him to change the lyrics of "Old Man River" until it becomes an unrecognizable mess. "Point of Order" mocked [[wikipedia:McCarthyism|McCarthyism]], leading to an executive asking if he'd ever been "part of any groups" leading to Freberg joking "actually I've been a member now for many years of..." the executive turned purple "the Mickey Mouse Fan Club." Despite this, it was still broadcast. Freberg also had difficulties because he refused to accept sponsorship from tobacco and alcohol companies. The combination of his moral stand on advertisers and a network nervous about his politically-tinged humor eventually forced his second radio show off the air after a mere 15 episodes.

 

Although he would continue acting in films (''[[It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]'') and on television (''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]'', ''[[The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.|The Girl From UNCLE]]''; more recent audiences will know him as "Mr. Parkin" from ''[[Roseanne]]''), Freberg's greatest contribution to television was as a creator of advertising.