wacky tacky Icons: Ethel Smith

Ethel Smith

(November 22, 1910 - May, 10 1996)

It becomes increasingly evident in my old age that there is little to be gained by denying the joy that is inherent in many of the things that I love - uncool though they may be.  We have all gone through phases when our devotion to a particular type of food or music or genre of film seems like it would be unending.  Then, the very something for which we were sure our love would ever be fervent is replaced in relatively short order by something newer/better/more interesting.  One of the few passions that has survived the tumult of my many manias is organ music.  I'll listen to recorded organ music but I've also been known to travel far and wide for anything from sacred to secular, classical to jazz - as long as it's played on the organ.

The Spreckels Organ Pavilion at Balboa Park in San Diego
 offers free weekly organ concerts, usually in a classical style.

Mary and world-renowned theater organist, Bob Salisbury, at the
console of the Avalon Theater's Page Organ on Catalina Island. 

The roots of this interest are firmly planted in the front room of my great-grandmother's home where an electric organ took pride of place.  The bilevel keyboards, the flips and switches, the hum of the console as it whirred to life - what was there not to love?  Being an abject failure at any musical instrument more complex than the kazoo (which still manages to trip me up on occasion), I knew there had to be someone who could make the best use of all the knobs, keys, and pedals.  As a child, my heart was filled and my mind was blown when I first got a glimpse of Ethel Smith.  Smith's appearance alongside Donald Duck and Jose Carioca in Walt Disney's Melody Time proved that the organ was for far more than playing hymns at church!

"Blame it on the Samba" - Ethel Smith & The Dinning Sisters

from Melody Time

There is something about those 1940's shoes skittering effortlessly over the pedals that just sends me.  Yes, you may quickly file that under "Things I never needed to know about Mr. Tiny." 

"Tico Tico" - Ethel Smith

In spite of her acclaimed tours of South America (including a residency at The Copacabana in Rio de Janiero), her famous Latin numbers, and the exotic lilt of her name, Ethel Smith was not quite the saucy senorita depicted in Melody Time.  Born in Pennsylvania, her skill as an organist landed her work in nightclubs, on the radio, and eventually in Hollywood movies.  

Bathing Beauty (1944)
(Source)

Easy to Wed (1946)
(Source)

Melody Time (1948)
(Source)

Smith, "Empress of the Hammond (the Hammond B-3 Organ)" earned her status as, what I like to call, a "novelty star."  A novelty star (see Edgar Bergen, The Nicholas Brothers, et al) isn't a movie star in the traditional sense.  A novelty star also wouldn't fall into the category of character actor (see Eugene Pallette, Mary Wickes, Allen Jenkins).  An anomaly of 30's and 40's filmmaking, the novelty star was a performer (usually untrained in acting) brought to Hollywood for a unique talent that could be wedged, however awkwardly, into the plot of a movie for a dash of non sequitur flavor.  The novelty star, as a device of filmmaking, might be odd and totally disruptive to a film's narrative but that is precisely why we love novelty stars, particularly Ms. Ethel Smith. 

"Para Pan Pin" - Ethel Smith

"By the Waters of Minnetonka" - Ethel Smith

"Lero Lero Bem Ti Vi Atrevido" - Ethel Smith

Briefly married to actor Ralph Bellamy, Smith seemed to find more success in music than in love.  She parlayed her movie mojo into a career as a recording artist and publisher of music arranged for the electric organ.  

Ethel gettin' groovy
(Source)

We love Ethel Smith because she was an ambassador of both the Good Neighbor Policy and of electric organ music.  She paved the way for many amazing female organists including one of our favorites, Perry Blackwell.  She played with amazing flair and an abundance of joy that radiated off of the screen. 

"Toca Tu Samba" - Ethel Smith

So, how'd I do?  It is kind of a minefield writing at such length about organs without including some sort of cheesy double entendre.  Have you become a fan of organ music too?  If not, don't tell me; just watch every video in this post over and over until you've been converted.  Consider us your organ donors.

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Book Review: Little Toot

As much as I love trawling thrift stores looking for treasures, the fact is that I am actually pitifully, pathetically, and painfully bereft of the thrifting mojo.  But sometimes the thrifting gods (probably just to mess with my brain by instilling a false sense of confidence) smile upon me.  For some people, their benevolence can be realized in a coveted Catalina swimsuit in just the right size, or a pair of lamps with matching, fiberglass shades, or a Heywood-Wakefield side table for under a million dollars.  For me it is found in the uncovering of a childhood favorite.  Imagine my surprise when at the very same thrift store, where a couple of months ago I found a well-loved copy The Little House,  I found a copy of Little Toot.

I will be honest, just like The Little House, I never owned the book Little Toot, which actually made finding the book all the more exciting.  I was introduced to the charming story as one of the animated sequences from Disney's cartoon revue, Melody Time, as sung by The Andrews Sisters. 

Little Toot is the story of a boat who, in his neurotic desire to become the best and most efficient tugboat,  nearly kills two cruise ships full of unsuspecting passengers, myriad dock workers and pedestrians, himself, his father, and potentially, a bevy of marine life as well.  It is the unflinching examination of father-son relationships, betrayal, forgiveness, and redemption.  It explores themes of self-loathing, bullying, depression, alienation, and most importantly, water safety - pretty heavy stuff for a children's book.

The boat in question
Don't be deceived by his cheery expression; this is an
emotionally disturbed tugboat teeming with
psychological troubles, pent-up angst, and unresolved
daddy issues.

Anybody would feel discouraged if all they could muster
 was "a gay, small - toot-toot-toot."

Happy one minute, sad the next, they were going to rework 

the story with trains instead of boats and call it "The Bi-Polar Express."

(Forgive me, my intention is not to make light of depression
or mental illness but that one made me laugh)

Okay, so maybe I was reading a little too much into the story.  Truth be told, Little Toot is an eager tugboat that makes a few mistakes but learns some valuable lessons along the way.  Published in 1939, Little Toot is a solid children's book with amazing, watercolor illustrations.  Here are just a few of the plates from the book.  I think it is cool how consistency was not an issue for Gramatky; as long as the key elements were there, Little Toot was sometimes a cheery, pudgy-faced, button-nosed, line drawing and sometimes he was heavy-browed, awash in color, and had dark, shoe-button eyes.

Papa Toot

The many faces of Little Toot

My favorite illustration in the book
The blue and the red in the water had me searching
for some 3-D glasses!

I love how strongly influenced the animators were by Gramatky's beautifully rendered watercolors.  You'll see that now as you enjoy Little Toot, as interpreted by the fine folks at Disney Studios.  Come on, it's a no-brainer.  The Andrews Sisters, plus Disney, plus a zippy little tug boat - what's not to love?

"Little Toot" (1940)

I know there was a greater power at work when I found Little Toot.  Just the night before, Mary asked me to pick a song at random and sing it and what song do you think I chose?  Hmmmm?  "Won't you ever grow up Little Toot?"  With the forces of the cosmos on my side, I am currently working on a song entitled, "New Car, Free House, and Five Million Dollars."

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Encinitas Boat Houses Ahoy!

When roadside architectural interest is combined with habitable living quarters, a wacky tacky angel gets its wings.  In Encinitas, CA the world-famous boat houses have been maintaining their steady course for over 80 years!

In 1928, Miles Miner Kellogg, using building materials reclaimed from a defunct dancehall, built the S.S. Encinitas and the S.S. Moonlight.  Obviously inspired by ocean travel, Kellogg's twin boat houses are permanently docked on 3rd St. in old Encinitas.  Despite appearances to the contrary, the boat houses were never seaworthy crafts, they were only ever intended as residential properties.

Land Lovers Delight!
It would be easy to get your "sea legs" whilst smelling the salt air from the decks of these twin ships.

As is true with most interesting, 20th-Century, vernacular architecture, the future of the boat houses had been in serious jeopardy over the years.  In 2009, the Encinitas Preservation Association, through public and private donations, purchased the structures and guaranteed the future of the boat houses by placing them in the public trust.

The S.S. Moonlight was named after The Moonlight Dancehall
from which the wood for the houses was procured.

The boat houses cut a striking figure on a street dominated by traditional dwellings.  The structures are  painted in a nautical color scheme of red, white and blue and come complete with decks and portholes.  Upon their purchase in 2009, the boat houses were open for public tours; they are now rental properties.

Imagine how much stress would have been relieved from Cary Grant if only he and Sophia had opted for a boat house instead of a houseboat!

Houseboat (1958)

While the boat houses are not tugboats, we couldn't help but think of one of our favorite cartoons - "Little Toot" from Disney's Melody Time (1948).

"Little Toot" (1948)

The Encinitas Boat Houses

726 & 732 3rd St.

Encinitas, CA

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny