I always wanted to cry when he sang the goodnight show...when I was a young girl. Whoever thought of those receding circle of lights was a genius. His work should be resurrected for a modern audience. He's one of a kind.
I still remember one night as he was walking off my mother's shaking her head and sighing "Boy, it'll be a sad world when he goes." Seeing these old clips reminds me that she was so right.
I live here in MD. I am 65 yrs. old. I am not lying when I tell you that my father ,born in 1926 in N.Y., where I was born in 1955, told me that his father was a good friend of Jimmy Durante. My Dad told me that Durante's Dad owned a vegetable stand. I only knew my Granddad until Iwas 5 yrs. old & then he passed to Jesus care. I remember him holding my hand & escorting me to the bus for kindergarten! They are all praying for me now& my son 32yrs. old. . FROSTY THE SNOWMAN!!!!!!!
I loved Jimmy when I was a kid I loved this ending. I remember you on Dear John. My husband got a kick out of you the tall guy sitting in back. Good show.
What a wonderful talent this man was. Comedy, pathos, sentimentality, keyboard dexterity, jazz, superb acting in films. You name it, this guy had it all. One of the great entertainers the likes of which you simply will not see again, Goodnight Mrs Calabash wherever you are and also goodnight and God bless Mr Durante wherever you are .
I'm almost 40 now, but I'm SO glad I was raised on all these wonderful old movies. To this day, my favourite actors and actresses are all mostly dead. You can keep all these modern young punks, give me Jimmy Durante, Gene Kelly and Gary Cooper anyday.
Famous for a number of other beloved catchphrases besides the "Good Night Mrs. Calabash ... " ending ... including: " It's a castastrostroke! " ... " I'm mortified! " ... " Surrounded by assassins! " ... " Everybody wants ta get inta da act! " ... " Hotch-cha-cha-cha-cha! " ... and many others, all equally as amusing. Jimmy was one of the real and true great entertainers of all time.
I was a teen when Jimmy had his heyday in TV. He was a "triple-threat" showman, acting, singing and playing the piano. He had a rough voice, but he carried a tune very well. When he sang, you quickly shifted your attention from the sound of his voice (not so great) to the delivery of the lyrics (very good, indeed). At my age (nearing 70), I have a wealth of experience with talent for which kids today will have to patiently wait. Sorry, kids.
My parents and grandparents were from that era and being raised watching these shows (as well as frosty as told by Jimmy which by the way is the only version of the song me and my family will listen to) makes me wish I can travel back to that time and never come back. When I die I want my after life to be the 30s 40s and 50s!! Goodnight Mr. Calabash wherever you are!
According to his sometime stage partner Sonny King, 'Mrs. Calabash" was Jimmy's wife. She was hospitalized in Calabasas, California, and had difficulty pronouncing the city name. It became an inside joke with the Durantes, and when she died, it was truly devastating to him. His "Mrs. Calabash" speech was his way of saying "I love you" to his late wife.
oh boy do I remember this schtick. I had to be about 4 and I was fascinated with this closing routine, because of the little light circles, and how long it took him to get through it all.
@aellarex At a National Press Club meeting in 1966 (broadcast on NBC's Monitor program), Durante finally revealed that it was indeed a tribute to his wife. While driving across the country, they stopped in a small town called Calabash, which name she had loved. "Mrs. Calabash" became his pet name for her, and he signed off his radio program with "Good night, Mrs. Calabash." He added "wherever you are" after the first year.
I was blessed to be born to this generation. Jimmy, it was a pleasure knowing you. It was a pleasure to be living in a time where less gave us more. America has lost its values and we need to turn the hands of time back. If only...
it makes me very sad to watch these clips from such a wonder time and to know that its gone and we can never go back to the way things used to be. The world today is an odd and scary place and people are so cold to one another. Atleast we have clips like this to remind us how wonderful our america used to be.R.I.P. Jimmy we love and miss you.
I remember watching the Jimmy Durante Show when I was a kid in the mid-50's. There was always something poignant about his walking from spotlight to spotlight at the end.
There an album from back then that has just a piano and a drummer. Jimmy sings his best stuff with that. He was so unique that you were entertained with that simple instrumentation for the whole LP.
To everyone out there comparrying the previous generation and times to the new generation and times. Know that just becouse the majority of this new generation have lost all values and morals , it does not meen everyone has. I love jimmy, sanatra,lewis,sammy, the rat pack and more. Iv grown up with them and with the values of respect, intigrity, hard work and perserverence. And heres the kicker. Im only 20. I guess im lucky and thankful to my parents for this upbringing.
Jimmy filmed a number of his half-hour "TEXACO STAR THEATER" shows during 1955-'56 at Desilu, whenever he wanted to take time off from appearing live on NBC every week, to play Las Vegas or whatever else he wanted to do. Most of these filmed episodes were repeated on CBS in the summer of 1957...
It's like Orson Welles once said, there are no more audiences anymore. There are unseen cast members. They are cued on when to laugh, when to applause, all to make the people in front of the camera look good. They dont boo, or hiss, or react, or laugh from a good performer. They are all part of the show. There is NO TV show with a real audience today, not a single one. And that is why VERY few Hollywood actors do live theater. From the Hollywood A-list, none whatsoever.
I was 10 yIears old when we watched, and I mean the whole family, on a Blond metal Cabinet MUNTZ TV with rabbit ears and only 3 channels in Houston Texas. Don't tell me they wasn't the good old days. When I came back to the world in 1967 I was crazy and, and they should have locked me up and they almost did. I had been outside the US for 3 years and didn't have a clue to what had happened to me.
Ernie Kovacs had a brief sight gag on one of his shows where you see a guy dressed like Durante, but you only see him from behind. He starts to walk toward the receding spotlights and when he reaches the last one, he falls through!
I lived in Calabash, North Carolina and according to legend in Calabash, N.C., comedian Jimmy Durante and his troupe passed through the little Brunswick County town sometime in the 1940's stopped at a restaurant to have dinner before his show in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. While at the restaurant, he became smitten with a young restaurant owner who never told Mr. Durante her name. Brunswick County historian Susie Carson says that woman was Lucille “Lucy” Coleman, a claim repeated in Theresa Jensen Lacey’s “Amazing North Carolina.” Soon afterward, Durante adopted his trademark sign-off - “Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!” - for his radio show. According to Coleman’s daughter, Clarice Holden, and others, it was Durante’s anonymous tip of the hat to her mother,. Lucy Coleman died in 1989.
It was indeed a reference to his late wife. She died of heart failure when she was only 46 (on Valentine's Day, no less), and at the time the Durante's lived in Calabasas, a suburb of Los Angeles. The signature line thus became a loving, discreet way to acknowledge her and the unknown location in the universe to which her spirit had gone--"wherever you are."
It's partly true. It was his "nickname" for his first wife who loved the town of Calabash, NC. They stayed there often. He finally stated so at the National Press Club.
On my Wednesday night radio show I always say at the end Goodnight Miss Katie wherever you are. Originally it was for a long distance crush. However a friend of mine also named Katie got diagnosed with cancer so I still use it. It was in homage to this.
@@richcomstock6910 You need to understand folks in North Carolina love to lay claim to anything or everything possible. In 1940 Calabash was just a hardly a speck on the map. In 1980, in fact the population was only 128 people. It is doubtful there was even a restaurant there in 1940.
My mother, knowing I'm a bit of an expert on cartoon voices, once asked me if he did the voice of Spike in the Tom and Jerry cartoons. I'm pretty sure he didn't but whoever did the voice definitely used Jimmy Durante's voice as the basis for Spike's voice.
The dog was known as "Spike" in the "Tom & Jerry" cartoons, 'carrot' {the pup was "Tyke"}, and he did usually had a Durante-ish voice. When Hanna-Barbera created "Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy" for TV's "QUICK DRAW McGRAW" in 1959, they wanted another "Durante" impressionist for "Daddy"'s voice, using Doug Young.
Where are all the real entertainers now? I remember when being entertained didn't man, wardrobe "malfunctions", 'F' bombs, gratuitous sexuality, or graphic violence. It all happened, but when it did it was implied or inferred, not shoved into your sensory organs in an attempt to violate one's sensibilities. I'm not all that old, but I do remember those days, fondly and wish they were still here for the sake of my children and grandchildren and the rest of society too.
@ledzeppelin4892000 Not only was I about to write the same thing, but the fact that your name is ledzeppelin...thank you for reaffirming my faith in mankind...
I'm from Mexico and the first time I heard the song "young at heart" by Jimmy Durante was in a boomerangs spot and I liked so much but I didnt know the singer's name. I asked alot of people and after a long search finally I know it.
I always wanted to cry when he sang the goodnight show...when I was a young girl. Whoever thought of those receding circle of lights was a genius. His work should be resurrected for a modern audience. He's one of a kind.
Good night, Mrs Bouvier!!!
Where ever you areeeeee. Lol.
I represent the estate of Jimmy
Durante. I have a court order demanding an immediate halt of
this unauthorized imitation.
@@larryjester Oops...too late. Mrs. Calabash has issued a writ over-riding your court order. (Good one)....
@@larryjester
Weeeellll, would it be alright with you if I just lay down in the street and die!?
My grandpa used to sing this all of the time ... :) sweet memories. Goodnite Grandpa, wherever you are. HUGS
This great actor of so many talents deserves much more attention!
I went to Easter Island recently. It blew my mind. And yes, people really oughta pay this guy a little more attention.
I still remember one night as he was walking off my mother's shaking her head and sighing "Boy, it'll be a sad world when he goes." Seeing these old clips reminds me that she was so right.
all the comments are right on target about him being a superb entertainer and also it's so nice to hear a full orchestra for background music.
The best sign off in TV history.
I live here in MD. I am 65 yrs. old. I am not lying when I tell you that my father ,born in 1926 in N.Y., where I was born in 1955, told me that his father was a good friend of Jimmy Durante. My Dad told me that Durante's Dad owned a vegetable stand. I only knew my Granddad until Iwas 5 yrs. old & then he passed to Jesus care. I remember him holding my hand & escorting me to the bus for kindergarten! They are all praying for me now& my son 32yrs. old. . FROSTY THE SNOWMAN!!!!!!!
I agree Featureman!
I loved Jimmy when I was a kid I loved this ending. I remember you on Dear John. My husband got a kick out of you the tall guy sitting in back. Good show.
Buenas Noches Señora Bouvier Donde Quiera Que Este Adios :(
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Jjaja
What a treasure this man was
"you could warm your hands on this man"
What a wonderful talent this man was. Comedy, pathos, sentimentality, keyboard dexterity, jazz, superb acting in films. You name it, this guy had it all. One of the great entertainers the likes of which you simply will not see again, Goodnight Mrs Calabash wherever you are and also goodnight and God bless Mr Durante wherever you are .
Well said, John
Mrs Calabash says good night Mr. Durante, wherever you are!
the young folks don't know what they missed...whereveryouare
I'm almost 40 now, but I'm SO glad I was raised on all these wonderful old movies. To this day, my favourite actors and actresses are all mostly dead. You can keep all these modern young punks, give me Jimmy Durante, Gene Kelly and Gary Cooper anyday.
How can anyone dislike this?! Four people must not have their heads screwed on.
Every time we stayed all night with my grandparents my grandpa would tell all the grandkids that. Wonderful memory!!
Famous for a number of other beloved catchphrases besides the "Good Night Mrs. Calabash ... " ending ... including: " It's a castastrostroke! " ... " I'm mortified! " ... " Surrounded by assassins! " ... " Everybody wants ta get inta da act! " ... " Hotch-cha-cha-cha-cha! " ... and many others, all equally as amusing. Jimmy was one of the real and true great entertainers of all time.
I was a teen when Jimmy had his heyday in TV. He was a "triple-threat" showman, acting, singing and playing the piano. He had a rough voice, but he carried a tune very well. When he sang, you quickly shifted your attention from the sound of his voice (not so great) to the delivery of the lyrics (very good, indeed). At my age (nearing 70), I have a wealth of experience with talent for which kids today will have to patiently wait. Sorry, kids.
I love jimmy Its great that your dad knew him. I got a million of them. Thanks
As a 5 year old I asked a lot of questions, maybe too many. When I asked where he was going my grandfather said to heaven. I cried.
He looks like he was a sweet person. :(
Probably the greatest, most memorable, show close in the history of tv.
My parents and grandparents were from that era and being raised watching these shows (as well as frosty as told by Jimmy which by the way is the only version of the song me and my family will listen to) makes me wish I can travel back to that time and never come back. When I die I want my after life to be the 30s 40s and 50s!! Goodnight Mr. Calabash wherever you are!
Remembered with lots of love and goosebumps.
You were #1
I loved this man and his TV program, what wasn't there to love! He made you feel comforted and happy, no matter your problems!
an absolute talent jimmy had it all and he was gracious and humble , a beautiful human being
Love his cameo in Mad, Mad world. Nobody kicked the bucket better.
Money buried under a BIG W
When television was young... and this country had grace and character. American of those days has long ago passed.
one of the all time greats. Sing,act and comedian, I believe he could make it big even now.
Few hosts today can meet his grace.
And goodnight, Mrs, Calabash........wherever you are!!!!!!!
Boy does this bring back the memories!!!
I remember watching this show when i was young .....Brings back a lot of memories.
According to his sometime stage partner Sonny King, 'Mrs. Calabash" was Jimmy's wife. She was hospitalized in Calabasas, California, and had difficulty pronouncing the city name. It became an inside joke with the Durantes, and when she died, it was truly devastating to him. His "Mrs. Calabash" speech was his way of saying "I love you" to his late wife.
oh boy do I remember this schtick. I had to be about 4 and I was fascinated with this closing routine, because of the little light circles, and how long it took him to get through it all.
i just wish our world was like those long long days ago
Yes, we probably all have out Mrs or Mr Calabash. Thanks for all the memories Mr Durante.....
@aellarex At a National Press Club meeting in 1966 (broadcast on NBC's Monitor program), Durante finally revealed that it was indeed a tribute to his wife. While driving across the country, they stopped in a small town called Calabash, which name she had loved. "Mrs. Calabash" became his pet name for her, and he signed off his radio program with "Good night, Mrs. Calabash." He added "wherever you are" after the first year.
Yup! Definitely the best sign off in TV history.
Abe Simpson brought me here
I was blessed to be born to this generation. Jimmy, it was a pleasure knowing you. It was a pleasure to be living in a time where less gave us more. America has lost its values and we need to turn the hands of time back. If only...
Thank you. Today's generation will never know (nor understand) what we had back in those days. And you are so right --- if only...
He was so big in the old days. Now he's almost forgotten. My parents always watched his show when I was a little boy.
it makes me very sad to watch these clips from such a wonder time and to know that its gone and we can never go back to the way things used to be. The world today is an odd and scary place and people are so cold to one another. Atleast we have clips like this to remind us how wonderful our america used to be.R.I.P. Jimmy we love and miss you.
A true giant of an entertainer. That was Jimmy Durante. Thanks for this post.
lol, this guy is awesome.
Jimmy is the man.
I remember watching the Jimmy Durante Show when I was a kid in the mid-50's. There was always something poignant about his walking from spotlight to spotlight at the end.
What a gentleman he was. He had a lot of class.
PC or in a series of a out of the ark music songs for every assembly out of the ark music harvest song out of the ark music a com hallelujah
That was a great series.
I remember. He was also on radio.
And goodnight, Mr Durante, may your legacy endure forever. Wherever we may be to share the memories.
There an album from back then that has just a piano and a drummer. Jimmy sings his best stuff with that. He was so unique that you were entertained with that simple instrumentation for the whole LP.
My parents loved this man
To everyone out there comparrying the previous generation and times to the new generation and times. Know that just becouse the majority of this new generation have lost all values and morals , it does not meen everyone has. I love jimmy, sanatra,lewis,sammy, the rat pack and more. Iv grown up with them and with the values of respect, intigrity, hard work and perserverence. And heres the kicker. Im only 20. I guess im lucky and thankful to my parents for this upbringing.
Ah...the lights....I always wanted to see the show with the lights at the end of the show. Thanks for posting this fond memory.
Jimmy filmed a number of his half-hour "TEXACO STAR THEATER" shows during 1955-'56 at Desilu, whenever he wanted to take time off from appearing live on NBC every week, to play Las Vegas or whatever else he wanted to do. Most of these filmed episodes were repeated on CBS in the summer of 1957...
Love it haven't seen that in years lol
It's like Orson Welles once said, there are no more audiences anymore. There are unseen cast members. They are cued on when to laugh, when to applause, all to make the people in front of the camera look good. They dont boo, or hiss, or react, or laugh from a good performer. They are all part of the show. There is NO TV show with a real audience today, not a single one. And that is why VERY few Hollywood actors do live theater. From the Hollywood A-list, none whatsoever.
Gone just over 30 years.
Good Night Mr. Durante, wherever you are!
Love that guy
Classic enough said
COOL song!
R.I.P. your the Best.,,.p
Awesome! Thanks for posting this video.
What a nice fellows.
I was 10 yIears old when we watched, and I mean the whole family, on a Blond metal Cabinet MUNTZ TV with rabbit ears and only 3 channels in Houston Texas. Don't tell me they wasn't the good old days. When I came back to the world in 1967 I was crazy and, and they should have locked me up and they almost did. I had been outside the US for 3 years and didn't have a clue to what had happened to me.
Last film...mAd Mad world...
His voice wasn’t particularly “beautiful, but it had spirit and character. It was also very genuine, he sang every song like he meant every word.
Timeless!!
Goodnight,Jimmy.God bless you.
Ernie Kovacs had a brief sight gag on one of his shows where you see a guy dressed like Durante, but you only see him from behind. He starts to walk toward the receding spotlights and when he reaches the last one, he falls through!
I lived in Calabash, North Carolina and according to legend in Calabash, N.C., comedian Jimmy Durante and his troupe passed through the little Brunswick County town sometime in the 1940's stopped at a restaurant to have dinner before his show in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. While at the restaurant, he became smitten with a young restaurant owner who never told Mr. Durante her name.
Brunswick County historian Susie Carson says that woman was Lucille “Lucy” Coleman, a claim repeated in Theresa Jensen Lacey’s “Amazing North Carolina.” Soon afterward, Durante adopted his trademark sign-off - “Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!” - for his radio show. According to Coleman’s daughter, Clarice Holden, and others, it was Durante’s anonymous tip of the hat to her mother,. Lucy Coleman died in 1989.
It was indeed a reference to his late wife. She died of heart failure when she was only 46 (on Valentine's Day, no less), and at the time the Durante's lived in Calabasas, a suburb of Los Angeles. The signature line thus became a loving, discreet way to acknowledge her and the unknown location in the universe to which her spirit had gone--"wherever you are."
Not true. It was a tribute to his late wife.
It's partly true. It was his "nickname" for his first wife who loved the town of Calabash, NC. They stayed there often. He finally stated so at the National Press Club.
On my Wednesday night radio show I always say at the end Goodnight Miss Katie wherever you are. Originally it was for a long distance crush. However a friend of mine also named Katie got diagnosed with cancer so I still use it. It was in homage to this.
@@richcomstock6910 You need to understand folks in North Carolina love to lay claim to anything or everything possible. In 1940 Calabash was just a hardly a speck on the map. In 1980, in fact the population was only 128 people. It is doubtful there was even a restaurant there in 1940.
Love it! Thanks
My mother, knowing I'm a bit of an expert on cartoon voices, once asked me if he did the voice of Spike in the Tom and Jerry cartoons. I'm pretty sure he didn't but whoever did the voice definitely used Jimmy Durante's voice as the basis for Spike's voice.
The dog was known as "Spike" in the "Tom & Jerry" cartoons, 'carrot' {the pup was "Tyke"}, and he did usually had a Durante-ish voice. When Hanna-Barbera created "Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy" for TV's "QUICK DRAW McGRAW" in 1959, they wanted another "Durante" impressionist for "Daddy"'s voice, using Doug Young.
Goodnight Mr. Durante!
GOOD NIGHT friends
Amen.
Goodnight Mrs. Bouvier...wherever you are.
I always thought Jimmy said 'Goodnight Mrs.Calabash,whoever you are.' Thanks for clearing that up,also to who Mrs.Calabash was.
Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!
Good night, Mrs Calabash wherever you are!
Goodnight, folks! Signing out!
It is always about the audience.
good night every body
Goodnight Ms. Chaos~ ;)
"It's buried there, under... under a big W!"
I'd switch this classy man with any of today's douche bags in a heartbeat, he was a great man truly...
Goodnight maw maw where ever you are
classic
@Blackjesus3 You got that right that is what one calls a classic
Really I know Jimmy Durante and the rest of the stars of the 50s and 60s because of my parents... not the fricking Simpsons.
Makes you wonder if this was the inspiration for the ending of Mister Rogers neighborhood. I'm willing to bet it was
Good night.
There was only one Jimmy Durante. As some one once said, "you could warm yourself on this man"
What a treasure this beloved man was
Where are all the real entertainers now? I remember when being entertained didn't man, wardrobe "malfunctions", 'F' bombs, gratuitous sexuality, or graphic violence. It all happened, but when it did it was implied or inferred, not shoved into your sensory organs in an attempt to violate one's sensibilities. I'm not all that old, but I do remember those days, fondly and wish they were still here for the sake of my children and grandchildren and the rest of society too.
@Solipx wow the LARRY Glick show I listeh to that sho all night many of nights I WONDER WHAT EVER HAPPEND TO HIM im FROM THE MIDWEST
@ledzeppelin4892000 Not only was I about to write the same thing, but the fact that your name is ledzeppelin...thank you for reaffirming my faith in mankind...
Where's the part where he sings, "We've had a few laughs, but now it's time to go. Au revoir, auf wiedersehen, and inka dinka doo?"
Jimmy the schnoz...classic!!
I'm from Mexico and the first time I heard the song "young at heart" by Jimmy Durante was in a boomerangs spot and I liked so much but I didnt know the singer's name. I asked alot of people and after a long search finally I know it.