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160:. The movies of the 1930s, though, were much too confining for Olsen and Johnson's special brand of nut humor. Ole and Chic recited their lines and played off each other well, but their scripts were too formal, leaving the team little room for their nonsensical comedy. During the summer of 1932, they were featured each week on NBC's (radio) Red Network's
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began as musical entertainers: Olsen played the violin and
Johnson played ragtime piano. They met in 1914 when Olsen hired Johnson to replace the pianist in his College Four quartet. Ole and Chic hit it off immediately and joined forces for a vaudeville act. No joke was too old, no song too corny for
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wherein the team began developing their signature style of observing and commenting on the lunacy taking place around them. The gags and comic premises were borrowed from classic variety entertainment, but Olsen and
Johnson put an original spin on the material through their inspired improvisation in
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to film (unlike the musical, including an apostrophe in the title), with plenty of crazy and sometimes innovative gags. A cab driver literally goes to hell, with Olsen and
Johnson as his reluctant passengers. A serious song by Robert Paige and Jane Frazee is interrupted when a title card crashes on
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Sophisticated
Broadway audiences were unprepared for such chaos: stray props came out of nowhere, comic characters in the audience disrupted the action, Olsen and Johnson dashed on and off the stage in crazy costumes and indulged in cheerfully earthy humor, chorus girls lost their skirts, and
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had been very expensive productions, on a par with
Universal's popular Abbott and Costello comedies. For the remaining two films on Olsen and Johnson's contract, the studio decided to economize, using its salaried contract players and less elaborate staging and settings. In
289:
The film version treated the show as a work in progress: Olsen and
Johnson step out of the picture, stop the action to interact with the audience, and sabotage their own show-within-the-movie by using optical movie effects. This creative use of the film medium got
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tribute. The flabbergasted Olsen greeted family and friends, with frequent breaks for time-honored O & J sight gags. The final guest was Chic
Johnson, who ran on-camera in his familiar stage costume and joyfully reunited with his old friend and partner.
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did not interact with them on-air. The intense and fast-paced segments were titled "The Padded Cell of the Air". As 1932 was a presidential election year, they nominated Mickey Mouse for president. The "Padded Cell" segments are clearly a predecessor of
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in a
Broadway revival, scheduled for Sunday night, February 13, 1977. There was turmoil behind the scenes, however, as comedy star Lewis dominated the production and had serious arguments with producer Cohen, co-star Redgrave, and writer-adaptor
476:
engine. It was hard to adapt Olsen and
Johnson's unpredictable, prop-laden humor to a rigid time slot. Surviving kinescopes of the expensive, short-lived show demonstrate just how hard everyone tried to recapture the old, large-scale
136:. However, Olsen and Johnson both took on the comic role, goodnaturedly chuckling their way through the steady barrage of gunshots, explosions, props plummeting to earth, intrusions from other performers, and input from the audience.
277:, who finds himself suddenly stripped down to his underwear and running a mock track meet. The film goes out of frame, and Olsen and Johnson try to correct the problem themselves. The action is interrupted by scenes from someone
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magic under the limitations of live television. At least the series reflected on the stars' achievement: they had now performed in every form of popular entertainment. The team tried TV again, appearing semi-regularly on NBC's
285:
is still fresh and funny. Copyright issues involving the original stage production have forced the film version out of general circulation in the United States, although a
European DVD has been released.
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movie, and Olsen and Johnson complain to the projectionist. Despite Universal's insistence on a then-customary romance and a "serious plot," somewhat diluting the Olsen and Johnson onslaught,
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vaudeville acts did their trick specialties. The show never played the same way twice. On some nights songs would be preempted by jokes, and on others jokes would be interrupted by songs.
625:. Cohen abruptly closed the show after its out-of-town tryouts, and canceled both the Broadway engagement and an opening-night TV spectacular, forfeiting a million-dollar payment from
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was a comic amalgam of the best—or worst—of vaudeville and burlesque. It gloried in the broadest type of comedy, with no sketch too lowbrow to be included. Technically a
323:. When Olsen and Johnson present themselves at the head office with the announcement "Universal's most sensational comedy team outside!", the studio chief replies, "Oh,
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Olsen and Johnson's shows were so popular that the team franchised them, with road companies headlining similar vaudeville acts and comedians. The 1942 road company of
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and Will B. Able; the show closed after only a few performances. Cohen's plans for a Broadway opening were tabled in favor of a network-television special. A one-hour
152:
Ole and Chic, and the two engaging comics became a minor sensation in the Midwest. Radio enlarged their audience and led to appearances in early talkie movies for
409:, which offered the same frenzied assortment of old gags and new songs. After this show had run its course, Olsen and Johnson mounted yet another variation on
246:, including rubber snakes, breakaway pants and skirts, clotheslines filled with laundry, and even electric buzzers hidden inside some of the theater seats.
238:, it was best known for its crazy combination of comedy acts, which included clowns, midgets, and animals. Stylistically, the show consistently broke the
429:
ran only three months, closing on January 6, 1951. However, Olsen and Johnson continued to perform in tours and revivals, including a 1959 production at
553:
Johnson died in 1962; Olsen, less than a year later. The two partners had always been close and their final resting places (in Las Vegas) are adjacent.
531:
In the late 1950s illness forced Johnson to retire from the hectic show-business lifestyle, while Olsen continued to work as a solo performer. When
539:, Ole Olsen was on hand to play straight to Berle's antics. This was actually a surprise for Olsen, as his live comic routine was interrupted by
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Olsen and Johnson kept working on the Broadway stage during the 1940s, making occasional trips to Hollywood to fulfill their movie commitments.
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327:! Send them right in!" The chief refuses to deal with Olsen and Johnson again, so Ole and Chic decide to make their own movie. The cast of
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Although Olsen and Johnson were a leading act in vaudeville, their greatest achievement was their "legitimate theater" production of
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and orchestrated mayhem ("anything can happen, and it probably will"). Their most famous production was the play (and later movie)
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himself, and he purchased the rights "from the estate of Olsen and Johnson" in 1966. Within the year Cohen mounted a revival at
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opened, and I studied it like a textbook. I saw it 19 times during its run on Broadway." It was Cohen's fond hope to produce
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Pleased with the film's boxoffice performance, Universal signed the team for three more features.
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Cohen had been impressed by Lynn Redgrave in the TV special, and signed her to appear opposite
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listed by theyshootpictures.com as one of the 1,000 most innovative films ever made.
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Olsen and Johnson continued to preside over rowdy revues into the 1950s, mostly in
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Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America, Vol. 2
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Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America, Vol. 2
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The American Stage and the Great Depression: A Cultural History of the Grotesque
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and Happy Felton in the Olsen and Johnson roles. The 1949 Australian revival of
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Olsen and Johnson's comedy style has often been imitated (most successfully by
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make her Carnegie Hall debut despite strange happenings in a spooky old house.
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comedy team, Johnson glared at them with mock anger and silent epithets.
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Television hired Olsen and Johnson to star in an ambitious variety show,
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496:. Seen Saturday evenings, the brief series also featured ventriloquists
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Children's Television: The First 35 Years: Live, Taped and Filmed Shows
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On June 21, 1953, they appeared together as the "mystery guests" on
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788:, Signet, 1970, revised 1985. (Chapter about Olsen and Johnson)
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the screen, advising one Stinky Miller to go home. Man-chasing
99:(March 5, 1891 – February 26, 1962) were American comedians of
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The Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs: 1946 to 1979
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starred Don de Leo and George Mayo (as "Olsen and Johnson").
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417:(1944). Their final Broadway show was the 1950 production
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569:: "I was an 18-year-old stagestruck college student when
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includes many of Universal's stars and featured players:
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524:. Every time the blindfolded panelists guessed the
222:Described as a rule-breaking exercise in hysteria,
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833:https://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000_h-l.htm
437:, NY, called "Hellz-a-Splashin': An Aqua-cade."
421:, introducing their "discovery," French singer
203:. Assembled and produced by Olsen and Johnson,
781:, Taylor & Francis Group Publishing, 2007.
425:. Unlike the previous Olsen and Johnson hits,
961:Olsen and Johnson - The Zaniest of the Zanies
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767:(Sterling, 1947) (short subject, 12 minutes)
873:. Cambridge University Press. p. 140.
87:(November 6, 1892 – January 26, 1963) and
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214:The show had its start in a revue called
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254:Olsen and Johnson at Universal Pictures
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757:(Universal, 1945) (67 minutes) (with
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729:(Universal, 1943) (80 minutes) (with
713:(Universal, 1941) (84 minutes) (with
46:, television, film, vaudeville, radio
923:, Paterson, NJ, Aug. 9, 1976, p. 19.
919:Alexander H. Cohen to Jack O'Brian,
857:Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven
488:. Their last regular TV series was
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369:(1944), Ole and Chic help singer
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182:Left to right: Chic Johnson,
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859:, iUniverse, 2005, p. 146.
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869:Fearnow, Mark (1997).
855:and Jan MacGillivray,
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999:American comedy duos
565:had long remembered
561:Theatrical producer
465:Fireball Fun for All
452:Fireball Fun for All
985:at Internet Archive
979:at Internet Archive
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325:Abbott and Costello
16:American comedy duo
893:Vincent Terrance,
853:Scott MacGillivray
786:Movie Comedy Teams
765:Johnny at the Fair
563:Alexander H. Cohen
535:was hosting NBC's
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262:decided to commit
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219:live performance.
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807:The Vaudevillians
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678:Country Gentlemen
654:Oh Sailor Behave!
546:This Is Your Life
427:Pardon Our French
419:Pardon Our French
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349:Martha O'Driscoll
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207:opened at
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613:in 1972.
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258:In 1941,
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65:Slapstick
587:Montreal
557:Revivals
506:Bob Bean
472:and its
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44:Stand-up
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279:else's
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