Indianapolis Times, Volume 41, Number 287, Indianapolis, Marion County, 11 April 1930 — Page 23

APRIL 11, 1930

illions listen to them ori the radio nightly. v ■J °f auto accessories, cakes and ca hr\ are a-, ninth a part of the daily life of countless families a i j dies “for Ruby and Madame Quee: nlv tin- President of the United States is considered to have the j hear them over the radio are part lie New York Telegram, another Scripps-Howard newspaper, as- mWV > A There are bets up here and the i Douglas Gilbert to interview Amos ’n* Andy and find out what | ' Af 5 fl§| ! according to their mail, coveri tre like in person, how they live, what they do. how they prepare j JHk I such scope as this: broadcasts and thousands of other interesting facts about them. , JjSßgk \ Are they blackfaced? Are tt :,. . things will lie answered in a series of absorbing articles based - ; . f: '' married? Have they any childre • t interviews with Amos n’ Andy themselves. The first article What is v their religion? How Ft.: An, i AA J ■ w, J—r .i . 111..11(1 I ,M< ! i, ‘ u*; . * (i . , The second instalment of “An tHir curled a bit, his eyes m ~ . . v Andy Mill appear on this pi .led, though his face tvasl _ ,/ I Here’s the office of the Fresh Air Taxicab Company of America, Incor- Saturday * i t W* pulated, in full swing. Almost every’ one will realize that Andy, on his s'' n'oeiT'Em !l< lt °' 1 “MymotherTaw'to me a couple m ? jWet--111 I men C.III ! A ” When tlsa PvocVi Axw. TnwirtftL I •■*■ ————

Amos ’n’ Andy. Names to conjure with! .Millions listen to them on the radio nightly. v They are as much a part of the daily life of countless families as a favorite newspaper. Only the President of the United States is considered to have the right of way over them on the a,r. The New York Telegram, another Scripps-Iloward newspaper, assigned Douglas Gilbert to interview Amos ’n’ Andy and find out what tiiev are like in person, how they live, what they do, how they prepare their broadcasts and thousands of other interesting facts about them. All of these things will be answered in a series of absorbing articles based Spn (filbert's interv.ews with Amos 'n' Andy themselves. The first article follows: nan B\ DOUGLAS GILBERT New \ ork Telegram Staff Writer (Coin: • I93'i. b' Tile New York Telegram Corporation. Reproduction In whole or In part forbidden.! JUST like any two cronies ambling down to the postoffice ** and around to see what happened last night while they were sleeping, two ordinary men strolled casually into the mailroom of the National broadcasting Company, at 711 Fifth avenue, the other day to j

see if they had any mail. One was tall and slim and boyish, blond and blue-eyed. His hair curled a bit, his eyes twinkled, though his face was straight. The other was more broadly built, his hair was dark and smooth, his eyes held a look of cosmic sorrow and his mouth evinced cosmic disdain. Work stopped at twenty desks. A few dozen young women, young men clerks and office boys hovered about, friendly. They brought letters by the hundred and heaped them on a big table. Over the stacks the two men sat looking big-eyed at each other. "We is got a lotta mail, sho-sho, chuckled the blonde one, relapsing j into a wistful nasal falsetto. Yu Open 'Em • Check!" announced the other j with solemn and pompous finality,] his voice going deep. “And double-; check!" The sad one sighed aloud. “The > propalition is." he commanded with j great dignity, “tor you to open! 'em." “I ain't, a gonna do it!" replied the blonde youth, drawing up his chest. He beamed at the girls, who beamed back at him from all sides and explained, “Use regusted!" Whereupon the few dozen girls obtained a few dozen letter openers and got busy. And Amos n' Andy took a breath. “Alone at last." sighed Amos in his own pleasant voice. The pair had been besieged by crowds at Grand Central when, on their arrival, a redcap recognized them and started a handshaking bee. Followed by crowds to their taxi, they had driven a roundabout way to a quiet hotel, had registered under strange names, had given “do not disturb" orders to telephone operators and messengers. Like swallows. they had darted into the NBC ( building through a crowd of fans, j Many Types of Letters And now here they are, alone v. ith their silent audience. Here is the pen and pencil, testimony of their public. These are the myriad echoes of the legend they have woven into the great American vulgate. The letters fall into multi-colored drifts—pink, blue, gray, yellow, green and white. They are penned with delicate facility on hand-pressed linen or pressed with arduous pencil into’rough-ruled tablet sheets. They come from mansions and tenements, from hospitals, lodges, clubs and offices. They arrive sometimes at the rate of 10.000 a month, depending on the difficulties in v, hich Amos n' Andy find themselves entangled and never less than 5 000 monthly. One envelope bears for address only a pen and much black ink sketch of pompous Andy pulling the necktie of meek Amos, who says, in the balloon. “I ain't a gonna do it!” From All Over Nation Another, addn sed from Portland, Ore., says only. "Sho. sho—Check and Double-Check —I'se Regusted.” One arrived promptly in the little town of Chicago, the other in the village of New York. Sparkling-eyed Amos grows serious over such letters in the pile as this note from Dr. C. R. Hagen. Valley View Sanatorium, Paterson, N. J.: “A few days ago a lad in the infirmary, who was near the end of the road, rang for the nurse and said, between coughs and gasping for breath, r.s 7 o’clock and I want Amos ’n' Andy!' The nurse replied. Perhaps they will put them on; just take it easy now.' The boy begged, ‘Please go out to the office and tell them I'm dying and I want to hear Amos ’n’ Andy.’ . . In a few moments Amos ’n' Andy were on the air and the lad was contented. 'He breathed his life out at 8 o'clock, his last dark hour made bright by Amos n’ Andy.” . . . Au old lady in Maine writes:—

In private life, minus burnt tork, Freeman F. Gosden Heft), who is Amos, and Charles J. Correll, Andy, look like this. The picture was made recently when they called on President Hoover at the White House,

“I bought Pepsodent on account of you. You are the best on the radio. I am 75 years old and have five good teeth.” They Like It From “wife and children, Mary ’n’ Jim ’n’ Connie,” comes: Dear Amos 'n' Andy—We surely do injoy listening to you every night and like it very much Amos & andy if it aint too much trouble would you please be so kind and say a few words to my husban he is in the hospital in Hines, 111., and we live in Dayton, Ky. I would like for you to say that we all miss him and hope he will be coming home soon.” A housewife explains from her flat in the Bronx: “Sometimes when a family row is on, full force, in our house, why, I just tune in to Amos ’n’ Andy, and, lo and behold, the magic spell you cast over our house is remarkable.” Mash notes, of the kind that pour into Rudy Vallee, are few and far between, and those that come are for Amos, of course. Here is Genevieve: “Dear Friend Amos—You have done just right in putting down your foot on Andy; he certainly has had plenty of time to make out that income tax. And Hear the Girls Talk “X go to business on Fifty-sixth street and Fifth avenue, and you

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just ought to hear the swell looking girls talking about both of you. . . . . Amos, you are supposed to be the dumbbell, but when you talk you certainly say something. You never saw girls hurrying like ours—they won’t stay a second after 5:30. They told our boss they have to be home in time to hear Amos ’n’ Andy or they would quit. “Now, Amos, don't fool any longer with .Andy and you get busy. “How about Ruby? We don’t hear you calling her up any more. “Out of sight out of mind. I wouldn't want you for a sweetheart. “As ever, a true little friend. “GENEVIEVE." “P. S.—l am no old crab, just a nice mamma.” Andy Never Feels Badly Andy, however, doesn't feel badly about Amos’ popularity. The words “that dumbell Andy” are music to his ears. That is the way it must be. If they should quit hating him, the act would be all up. Andy is resigned to it. He isn’t hurt by letters like this from Philadelphia: “By the way, tell Amos not to

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Here’s the office of the Fresh Air Taxicab Company of America, Incorpulated, in full swing. Almost every one will realize that Andy, on his back, is explaining a “big propolition” and that Amos, in a J probability, “ain’t a gonna do it.”

forget Ruby Taylor, and I hope he gets his dog back and that he will succeed in pounding some sense into Andy's head. I don't like Madame ! Queen; she eats too much.” Or this one from an up-state farmer: “Hope Amos cheers up after his sweetie leaves New York. Glad to hear Amos talk turkey to Andy. He sure has spunk when his ire gets aroused.” Or such a partial note as this: “Dear Amos—l have heard people saying they don’t like Andy’s dumb talk, but I never pay any attention to them because I think you’re swell. Ever since I saw your real picture in the paper I like you all the more. I guess you think I’m silly writing you a letter, but I couldn’t help it, I like you so much. “My mother said to me a couple of months ago, ‘Now that John Gilbert is married, who is your suppressed desire?’ And I said, ‘Amos.’ “Well, I must say goodby, as mother is calling me to dry the dishes. “With Love . . . xxxxx (kisses for Amos). xx (for Andy). This Cheers Andy But there is an occasional good word for Andy, and Andy is cheering up a bit as he reads:— “Amos ’n’ Andy. You certainly are dandy ... I wonder If you know We love both of you so! “A RED-HEAD LISTENER.” Or friendly advice like this:— “I think Andy the same as Amos, don’t s/ign your name away for the great home bank, let the kingfish do it. Well it is snowing out like 98. ... I hope that Maden Queen will get her SSO back. ... I am a little girl 8 years old and I live in Smethport, Penn., from one of your listeners. . . . “So long. “MARGARET ROSE.” So does young Florence, who adds, “What I was going to tell you was in school a teacher had two tad-

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poles. She named then Amos ’n’ Andy. She teaches kindergarten.” And a suburban housewife in Pelham. who suggests catty incidents culled from her jealous neighbors. From Yonkers a grandmother pleads in shaky handwriting:— “Take good care of yourselves, boys, and don’t catch cold this raw weather. Grandpa always keeps on his red flannels until May Ist.” Gifts Replace Lost Dog We have always understood that the one of the pair w r ho was not talking at the women was the dog. But when the dog no longer barked and it appeared from Amos ’n’ Andy’s conversation that he had been lost no less than four live dogs arrived in the next postal express. And scores of toy dogs. When the Fresh Air Taxicab Cos., Incorpulated, was having income tax difficulties letters offering help arrived from small town lawyers, from most distinguished city counsellors at law, from insurance company presidents and tax specialists. When a rabbit’s foot is mentioned enough rabbits’ feet to trample all the vegetable gardens ip New York

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state arrive for the black-faced pair. Inner tubes, tires, batteries, boxes of auto accessories, cakes and candies “for Ruby and Madame Queen,” ties and sox so loud you can almost hear them over the radio are part of the daily mail. There are bets up here and there, according to their mail, covering such scope as this: Are they blackfaced? Are they married? Have they any children? What is their religion? How do they treat their wives Do they drink? Do they eat pie? Which is taller? “We only try to be human,” said Amos ’ll’ Andy. “We don't try to be funny, or even sensible—just human. So most of the things we talk about really happened to us.” By being their own idea of “human” these two ordinary men have bound a nation’s listeners as no legend ever has. Who are they and what have their lives held? How have they so surely tapped the mainsprings of American laughter and surmise? How have they become so human? The second instalment of “Amos ’n’ Andy” will appear on this page Saturday. BUTLER DEBATERS IN WIN OVER HARVARD Awarded Victory by Audience for Negative on Dry Subject. Audience at a debate between Harvard university and Butler university at Caleb Mills hall Thursday night awarded the Butler negative team victory on the subject “Resolved, That the Harvard debating council plan for enforcement of the eighteenth amendment should be adopted.” The vote was 146 for Butler against 101 for Harvard. The Harvard team argued for legislation against saloons, but state rights to determine legal alcoholic contents of beverages, and federal beverage taxes in states choosing to remain wet. Russia to Cut Meat Rations liv United Press LONDON, April 11.—Meat rations for industrial workers in Russia in certain cities and towns are to be reduced to less than two and onefourth pounds a month, according to the ■paily News Moscow correspondent.

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