Talk:Fibber McGee and Molly

Interesting related article

You might like to read the article at http://www.rufusputnam.com/byways/1946-12-05.html. Titled "Byways: 12/5/46 -- Visit to NBC Studios," the last two paragraphs tell about activities prior to a broadcast of "Fibber McGee and Molly," giving the author's impressions of some of the people involved in the show. Teblick (talk) 14:44, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

Needs rewrite

This article may need to be rewritten as it appears to draw heavily from (if it's not entirely copied from): http://www.seekj.com/articles/Fibber_McGee_and_Molly --Dubc0724 12:32, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Question

Anyone know whether the Harlow Wilcox mentioned in this article is the same country guitarist who had a hit in America in 1969 as Harlow Wilcox & the Oakies? Chubbles 00:34, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

• Completely different guy. Fibber McGee and Molly's Harlow Wilcox was a radio announcer who died in 1960 at the age of 60. He did take voice training, but the biograpy info I have for him doesn't mention that he ever played an instrument. --Enwilson 03:41, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

• Does anyone know why Harlow Wilcox's name was linked with Harpo? None of my readings seem to address this. Throckmorton Guildersleeve (talk) 19:04, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I think it's just another example of Fibber's nicknaming habit. Like the way he always called Mrs. Uppington "Uppy", He always called Mr. Wimple "Wimp", and Mayor LaTrivia often got "LaTriv". "Harpo" was just a name that sounded close to Harlow. 67.54.188.55 (talk) 16:57, 3 October 2010 (UTC)

Lead is "puffy"

I find the lead a bit peacock and am hoping that an expert with knowledge in the subject can stiffen it up a bit. Any help? Robert K S 08:36, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

Half of this article is "peacock". It sounds as if it were adapted from a written tribute to the show. AlbertSM (talk) 21:53, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Recurring characters

Wallace Wimple (Thompson):

"This character may have contributed to the use of the word "wimp" to describe a weak-willed person."

For what it's worth, the OED dates the word 'wimp"'s origin as 1920: "1920 ADE Hand-made Fables 97 Next day he sought out the dejected Wimp." —Preceding unsigned comment added by Andygx (talk • contribs) 16:51, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Fibbermolly.jpg

Image:Fibbermolly.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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BetacommandBot (talk) 20:35, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Change in licensing for File:Fibbermolly.jpg

As a result of some research, I found the copyrights for these images were not renewed. Full details can be found on the file. Because of this conversation, am changing the licenses of the images in the NBC Parade of Stars portfolio to public domain-copyright not renewed. We hope (talk) 18:00, 16 June 2011 (UTC)

On never having a job

Re: McGee never had a job: In Episode #40; Master of the Kennel, 1/13/36, McGee looks for a job. The dialog reveals his working past.

Molly: "McGee, you haven't done a stroke of work since you sold the store" McGee: "That's why I sold it ... so I could get some rest" — Preceding unsigned comment added by WithGLEE (talk • contribs) 22:29, 23 January 2012 (UTC)

External links modified

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Contradiction

In the crufty "Recurring characters" section describing Wallace Wimple, an editor wrote:

His wife said only one word, "yes," several times during any one show. For instance, if his story was humorous, he would stop periodically and say, "isn't that right, sweetie," and she would reply "yes" with a suppressed chuckle. If the story was about something unpleasant, she would reply "yes" in a scolding tone of voice.****

I have no idea what purpose the four asterisks serve, and they should be removed. At the bottom of this same section, a different editor takes issue with the passage I quoted, but instead of changing the text, he inserts his gain-saying in the article itself, creating a contradiction:

Actually, Wallace Wimple's wife is never heard on the show—whoever wrote this obviously never listened to the program. The "Yes" line is Wallace, chuckling, usually, after explaining that he has done something that might prove fatal to his "Big Old Wife".

This assertion is at least sourced, but this is not how WP articles are edited. We need someone to review these two passages, verify which claim is correct, and ensure that the correct one ends up in the description of the character, and not in a random location much later in the article as it currently is. 12.233.147.42 (talk) 23:39, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

Resolving the contradiction re: Sweetie-Face

I have not previously edited this article but just made an edit to resolve the contradiction discussed in the previous comment. The contradiction now removed is that the article claimed in one place that Sweetie-Face appeared frequently but said only “Yes,” and in another place, the article was later edited to read: “Actually, Wallace Wimple's wife is never heard on the show—whoever wrote this obviously never listened to the program. The ‘Yes’ line [was spoken by] Wallace, chuckling, usually, after explaining that he has done something that might prove fatal to his ‘Big Old Wife.’“

While I do agree that the second and contradictory version would better have been written as Talk and not Wikipedia article material as stated, or even better, written in Wikipedia format and removing the incorrect information earlier posted to the article, nonetheless it is that editor’s alternate version that is correct. I never heard Sweetie-Face speak directly on the show, only as recounted in Wallace’s words, and it was Wallace who would frequently say “Yes!” with a chuckle and hint of menace to Sweetie-Face in response to a question from Molly or Fibber, setting Wimp up for his next joke.

Anyone wishing to revert or modify this change should, I’d suggest, back it up by citing the date of an episode in which Sweetie-Face speaks directly. As the article says, two other generally unheard FM&M characters (Myrt the telephone operator and Fred Nitney the vaudeville partner) did actually appear and speak directly in one episode each despite other website claims that they were always unheard. It is of course possible I just missed the rare episode(s) in which Sweetie-Face does directly speak—but generally, as the cite confirms, she is an unheard regular character. The great majority of FM&M radio shows from Bill Thompson’s/Wallace Wimple’s time on the series are in the public domain and available by free download. Happy Sweetie-Face hunting—if there is such a thing! (If she spoke on-air and was cast to type, I’d expect she might have been played by Verna Felton, the fearsome foghorn who was Dennis Day’s mother on The Jack Benny Program.) — Wensleydale54 (talk) 01:21, 19 May 2016 (UTC)wensleydale54

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Tini or Teeny?

The Wikipedia article gives the name Fibber’s young neighbor as “Tini.” Most other sources have it as “Teeny.” Which is correct? Dog-519 (talk) 00:39, 16 December 2020 (UTC)

Tried their luck...

... with a vaudeville act... followed by the birth of two sons. Hmm. Bit of rewriting recommended here if their vaudeville act was not what is implied by this unfortunate juxtaposition of ideas. --2001:44B8:3102:BB00:188F:ECE1:321F:DB8F (talk) 08:06, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

Smackout

This article contains an error. The real Smackout store was located in Boone County, Missouri. The students who visited it must have been from the nearby city of Columbia, Mo. Not from Columbia College Chicago, which is nowhere near. This story is also mentioned in the article for the radio program "Smackout" and contains the same error. The references cited support the fact that the author(s) of these articles are in error. 174.34.3.123 (talk) 05:26, 26 March 2023 (UTC)