Word: libs
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...bing: a distilled, romanticized, possibly fictionalized version of himself. With his regulars (comedian Bob Burns, announcer Ken Carpenter, Jimmy Dorsey's band and then John Scott Trotter's) and a guest list of movie folk, jazzmen and classical musicians, Crosby promoted an air of at-home geniality, ad-lib bon-vivance - almost all of it scripted by Carroll Carroll. The writer shaped and sharpened (that is to say, softened) Crosby's public personality, as other scripters would do in the films. Giddins says Carroll allowed "Bing to be Bing, only more so." He added flourishes to Crosby's facility...
...Most significant, he also exudes that insouciance that made his dialogue sound like an ad lib. When a large angry man shoots a gun at his feet, Bing simply nonchalants, "Whatta hubba." And at the end of his one big speech, telling off a pretty girl's disapproving mom with a final "Nerts!", he turns to storm out the door but instead accidentally walks into a dresser. Quickly he murmurs, "My sense of direction is a little askew," and exits. Maybe Sennett couldn't afford a Take Two, but he had to love Crosby's aplomb in the face...
...Road" films were also famous for allowing the stars to speckle the script with their own bavardage, as usually supplied by the writers on the staffs of their radio shows. These weren't precisely ad-libs, but then this wasn't jazz, it was comedy. The point wasn't to be witty on the spot; it was to suggest an offhand wit that whispered to the audience: Nothing matters, it's only a movie. The blitheness was in keeping with Bing's radio personality, and probably with his real one. Bing enjoyed a genuine or seeming ad-lib; sometimes...
...right that the questions are really liberal? Except for the military-stretched-thin question they're all pretty lib...
...seniors know exactly what I'm talking about. Aren't you pissed? You should be. This mad lib will make that subconscious anger rise to the surface. If you come up with particularly good entries on this example, send it to me and I'll print it next week...