IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Hello all
I've debated for the past several months about what to do with the World of Wonder. I have very little time to devote to myself let alone the blog but I didn't want to end it. I tried something new by posting an e-mail address so that people could post items to share and make it more of a public blog. A majority of e-mail that I received was spam involving me inheriting millions of dollars from foreign investors, how to land single woman over 60 and how to make my penis larger. In between those were e-mails from people asking me to repost items that are no longer available. I had one person share something but I couldn't get the link to work. So, sadly, I am abandoning that part of the blog. I enjoy working on the blog and I do welcome comments and love hearing how people enjoy it. We recently hit the 200 subscriber part. I don't want to let it go entirely but I can't commit the time to it that I once did. I toyed with shutting the blog down but the one thing that I really wanted to keep going were my podcasts. I love them and love putting them together. I feel that by continuing to do these, I can still share great pop culture audio with all of you and still manage to keep the blog running. So, from here on in, I will be posting mostly new podcasts. Occasionally I may post an album or single or a video or what have you, but the majority of new items on the blog will be new podcasts. That being said, the reason I am downsizing to just podcasts is the lack of I time that I can donate to the blog. It's easy to put a series of songs, comedy bits, commercials, etc into a "mix tape" for a podcast but it takes time to sit down and speak to you through them as well. As a result, I will pretty much not be talking through any new podcasts that I post. If I find the time and feel like telling a funny story or two, I may one day set up my microphone and add some commentary but don't be surprised if you don't hear my voice in any of the new podcasts. In addition, it also takes time for me to tell you exactly what it is that I put into the podcasts and keeping track of it is just as time consuming as going back and listening to it to find out what is in it. So, don't expect a play list on the podcasts. If there is a specific track that you are interested in knowing, send me a comment asking about it and I will do my best to let you know who and what it is. Otherwise, treat it like listening to the radio and not hearing the DJ tell you what it is. Let it be what it is meant to be; entertainment for your ears.
In regards to all of the requests to re-up any past sharities that have dead links or are no longer working - all I can say is I'm sorry. I simply do not have time to go back and re-up any of them. Once they are gone, they're gone. Odds are they are out there on-line somewhere as the "sharity blog" community is a pretty incestuous bunch and we all re-use each other's items. Again, it's nothing personal, it's just that I have no time at all to do that. I wish I could go back and re-up everything that has been taken down but it doesn't look like that will happen in the immediate future.
So, thank you for helping me keep the World of Wonder alive and hopefully we can keep it going at least a little bit longer.
That being said, here is the newest podcast. Podcast 22 delivers a lot for your money. Featuring some great songs from William Shatner, Mi Carame, Barnes and Barnes, the Police, the Monkees/Adele and a heaping portion of comedy this time around. Enjoy!



Dartman's Wacky Podcast #22

PODCAST 21!!!!

Here's the newest Podcast coming your way. Lots of fun stuff plus I actually talk in this one! A whole lot of fun. Featuring the likes of Ringo Starr, Del Shannon, Dr. Westchesterson, Juliette Lewis, Prince, Groucho Marx, Tom Jones, Henny Youngman, Juday Garland and more! Enjoy!
Dartman's Wacky Podcast #21

The Best of the World of Wonder: The Genius Of The Marx Brothers

The brothers Marx were by far the greatest comedy team ever! Their mad cap humor extended from the stage and screen right into their real lives! I have so much Marx Brothers stuff that I thought I would post this as a "starter kit" for those who are unknown to the genius of these fine gentlemen! It is actually not one of my personal favorites but it does showcase their comedic talents from their films. It's "The Marx Brothers :Actual Voice Tracks From Their Movies." This came out in the 70s as part of a series of old time film comedians' voice tracks from old movies. Enjoy!

The Marx Brothers: Actual Voice Tracks From Their Movies

The Late Night Wars

In case you have been living under a rock the past week, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are in a battle royal over the coveted 11:35 PM time slot on NBC TV. I don't usually get political on this blog but in my opinion NBC is screwing Conan royally. I am a bit biased as I have friends who work at The Tonight Show who will lose their jobs because of this, but I really don't understand why NBC is so in love with Jay Leno. Conan has not been given a decent chance at the helm of the greatest late night show in history and he's being ousted for the return of someone who failed miserably in a brand new show. There are those who say that Conan's ratings were bad as well but even NBC has stated that that may be from the weak lead in due to people turning their channels to get away from Leno at 10:00. There are also those people that are voicing their opinion saying that these two guys are going to both make out in the end as Conan stands to make a huge profit if his contract gets pulled. But let's think about everyone who works for Conan. They just recently packed up their lives and their families' lives and moved from New York to California. Now, a mere months later, they are left with no job. Not to mention that they will not be making a huge sum of money the way Conan will if it all falls apart. I think NBC is making a big mistake. All of this makes me miss the days when it was a class act. I am of course talking about the reign of Johnny Carson. He was the true King of Late Night and no one can take his place. During the Carson years, the Tonight Show was more than just an advertisement for the latest movie or tv show. It was an honest to goodness form of entertainment. People were invited on the show because Johnny wanted them on. Not because they had a new movie or a new sit-com or even a new record. It was just people that were on because Johnny felt that they were interesting and people wanted to see them. It was a lot cooler and as far as I'm concerned, it will never be the same. In 1974, Casablanca Records issued a collection of some of the best moments of the Tonight Show on a two record set entitled, "Here's Johnny: Magic Moments From The Tonight Show". It features a roster of guest stars that would rival any late night show: Lenny Bruce, Groucho Marx, Ike & Tina Turner, Bette Midler, Lucille Ball, Pearl Baily, The Smothers Brothers, George Carlin, Billie Holiday, Glen Campbell, George Burns, Buddy Hackett, Jack Benny, Dean Martin, Desi Arnez and more. Here is that two record set for you to enjoy!

Here's Johnny! Magic Moments From The Tonight Show
Here's Johnny! Magic Moments From The Tonight Show Part 2

The 25 Posts of Christmas: Little Gives Us The Dickens

In 1978, my family had yet to have cable. However, my grandparents had it and with it came the holiest of these new cable channels, HBO. Before MTV, HBO was the best reason to watch TV at my Grandparent's house. Around Christmas of that year, HBO aired a special featuring the impressionist, Rich Little. At the time, Rich Little was huge. Though looked at today as tacky, back then he was a bona-fide star! The special that aired on HBO was Little's version of the Dickens classic, "A Christmas Carol". In true fashion, the cast was an ensemble made up of Little doing celebrity impressions. Scrooge was W.C. Fields, Cracthit was Paul Lynde and the Ghosts ranged from Richard Nixon to Humphrey Bogart to Peter Falk to Peter Sellers. Add Jean Stapleton, Groucho Marx, Johnny Carson, Jack Benny, John Wayne, Laurel and Hardy, James Mason, Jimmy Stewart and Truman Capote, and you have, in my humble opinion, a classic! For the next few years, HBO reran the special and it became a staple in my family's holiday viewing. Then it disappeared. I have always remembered it fondly and when I walked into that record store in Santa Monica (see earlier post) and saw the soundtrack from the album, it didn't take me long to spend my money on it. The album is pretty much the audio track from the special. Much like the story records of Star Wars and the like, this features all of the dialogue as well as the music from that HBO classic. It is a Canadian pressing and the cover states that it is the soundtrack from the 1979 CBC special. Obviously, HBO lent the special to Canadian Television a year later. Here is that album. BTW, the original special is finally on DVD. I purchased mine from Amazon and am patiently awaiting it's arrival to relive all of the glory! Here is the soundtrack album to "Rich Little's A Christmas Carol". Enjoy!

Rich Little's A Christmas Carol OST

Super 8 Theater Presents: The Marx Brothers in The Pigskin Caper

In honor of football season, here's the Castle Films digest version of the classic "Horsefeathers". Enjoy!

Super 8 Theater Presents: The Marx Brothers

Here is the Castle Films' Digest Version of The Marx Brothers' classic, "Duck Soup" entitled, "This Is War...?" Enjoy!

September of Soundtracks: The Marx Brothers Get Cultured

In Seattle a few months ago, I came across an LP I had never seen before. It was obviously not a legitimate release but it did intrigue me as it stated that it was the original soundtrack to "A Night At The Opera". I purchased it and sent it home only to hear it a few weeks later when I cam home for a quick week off. To my surprise, it was indeed the soundtrack to the film. The entire soundtrack. Basically, it is the film on record and unlike the story records of the 70s and 80s that featured films on record, this is pretty much the entire film. The only thing that is missing, ironically, are the harp and piano solos by Harpo and Chico. All of the opera songs are here, just not the Marx Brothers' performances. I also had to speed it up as the album features a slower recording of the film. I don't know how that happened but I corrected it for your listening pleasure. Here is that album. Enjoy!

A Night At The Opera OST

BONUS!!!
Here's a re-post of a Marx Brothers album featuring sound clips from their films that was released in the 70s:


The brothers Marx were by far the greatest comedy team ever! Their mad cap humor extended from the stage and screen right into their real lives! I have so much Marx Brothers stuff that I thought I would post this as a "starter kit" for those who are unknown to the genius of these fine gentlemen! It is actually not one of my personal favorites but it does showcase their comedic talents from their films. It's "The Marx Brothers :Actual Voice Tracks From Their Movies." This came out in the 70s as part of a series of old time film comedians' voice tracks from old movies. There's much more from the Marx Brothers coming soon! Enjoy!

The Marx Brothers: Actual Voice Tracks From Their Movies

Let Me Tell You A Story

Today we have a very interesting album to share with you. It's entitled "My Favorite Story". I picked this album up from an antique store about 5 or 6 years ago. They had boxes of comedy records that they just wanted to get rid of. They were all in mint condition and were products of a long defunct radio station. The owner made me an offer I could not refuse and I took the whole lot home for next to nothing. Upon going through the records at home, I came across this one. The cover really intrigued me in that it had the faces of some of the most famous people of the radio era on the cover. The most interesting to me was Groucho Marx. However, other celebrities such as Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Phil Silvers, Danny Thomas, Lucille Ball, Joey Bishop, George Jessel, Gene Kelley, Red Skeleton, Art Linkletter and Jimmy Stewart all graced the cover. Upon listing to the album I was thrilled to learn that each of those stars had their own funny story to tell. Kind of like a book of jokes read by famous people. I loved it and have shared it with many of my friends. Now I share it with you. Hosted by the master of ceremonies, Bing Crosby, here is "My Favorite Story". Enjoy!

My Favorite Story

It's A Marx, Marx, Marx, Marx World Part 2

More great items from the world wide web!

The Marx Brothers in Color!

Here's an oddity: A color test done while the boys were filming "Animal Crackers". They did this color test during a rehearsal. You'll notice that Harpo is out of wig! A rarity if I ever saw one!

As Funny As It Gets

One of the many prizes of my 78 collection is this fine gem from Groucho. It's a children's record called "The Funniest Song In The World" and tells the story of a monkey going amongst the other animals of the jungle and singing what he believes to be the funniest song in the world. One of the many interesting things I find about this record is that with all of the many releases of Groucho on CD, this has yet to see the the surface of a compact disc. Here it is for you now. Enjoy!

The Funniest Song In The World

It's A Marx, Marx, Marx, Marx World

Here are two images I found on the internet paying homage to The Marx Brothers. The first is self-explanitory while the second comes from a Disney cartoon entitled "The Bird Store".