There were times when it seemed there were only eight people living in Wistful Vista, and four of them were played by Bill Thompson. The Fibber McGee and Molly program struggled to find its audience in the 30's, but in 1940 the show became a national sensation. That happened because they got the formula right. A true ensemble of cast members was forming, populating Wistful Vista with lovable, eccentric neighbors whom the audience knew would be back each week knocking at the door of number 79, or sometimes barging right in. The McGees had established relationships with each one. Well that's situation comedy. The show was a sitcom to that extent - driven by character. And it's true, four of the most enduring characters were played by Bill Thompson, who shared top billing with Jim and Marion Jordan in Harlow Wlicox's opening each week.
Everybody who grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons has heard Bill Thompson's voice. He was Droopy Dog, of course. And also Spike. He was a lot of cartoon characters, not only for MGM and Hanna Barbera but also Disney. He had appeared in Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan by the time he became a regular on the Johnson's Wax Program.
Born in 1913 to vaudevillian parents, Thompson began appearing on stage at age five, demonstrating his talent for mimic and impressions. His Chicago audition for NBC was a sketch called "An International Broadcast," which required him to assume ten different characters in ten different languages. He was signed up to provide character voices for the network's radio broadcasts - animal sounds too - another talent of his. Thompson provided many bit character voices for McGee and Molly before at last becoming known as The Old Timer, Harotio K. Boomer, Nick DePopolus, and Wallace Wimple.
I don't think Wallace Wimple has made his appearance yet in this 1940 season we're hearing. That's his Droopy Dog voice. Wimple's schitck is that he's got a "big old wife" we never see who answers to the name Sweetieface. We picture an immense woman who dominates and bullies the obviously diminutive Wimple. In 1940 we hear regularly from Horatio Boomer, the town's man-of-all-crime who sounds like Bill Fields and has deep pockets filled with everything except what he's looking for, and "a check for a short beer." We also hear from The Old Timer every week.
The Old Timer calls Fibber "Johnny" and Molly "Daughter" for unfathomable reasons. His "That ain't the way I heared it!" and subsequent launch into his weekly story was an eagerly anticipated feature of the program. This summer The Old Timer will actually go on vacation with the McGees, so we gather he knows them pretty well, despite his insistence on calling them by different names.
In 1943 Thompson joined the Navy, so Wallace Wimple had to join the Navy too. And The Old Timer joined the Seabees. He returned full-time in '46 to reprise the characters he had created before his War service called him away. Between '43 and '46 the program was challenged to come up with new characters. Of course Guildersleeve was long gone by then. Well, Mayor LaTrivia and Doc Gamble would come along eventually - two Wistful Vista neighbors best remembered during the latter years of the program, played by Gale Gordon and Arthur Q. Bryan respectively.
Thompson left show business entirely in 1957 to pursue a business career with the Union Oil Company. (That's right - those Saturday morning cartoons are that old.) He also served as president of the Southern California Area Boy Scouts of America, and worked as a crusader against juvenile delinquency. He died in 1971.
In tonight's episode everybody is mysteriously nice to Fibber - for a change. Even Boomer. Even The Old Timer. Even Guildy. But it drives him buggy trying to figure out why. And while the explanation is a bit of an anti-climax, getting there is boatloads of fun. I'll post "Everybody is Nice to Fibber" at around 8 P.M. this very same day.
