Wally offers the latest in TV technology

Another obscure rarity from the dawn of TV. Here Wally Cox, the Funhouse favorite star of Mr. Peepers and friend of “Dufo,” explains the benefits of the new 1949 DuMont TV. The joy of this clip is that it was obviously performed live, and Wally either forgets his lines or badly miscalculates a dramatic pause in his recitation. In any case, it’s from the period before he was cast as Mr. Peepers, and it’s a wonderfully awkward piece of footage. We do so need a “Turner Classic Television” network….



Thanks to Richard Speziale of DVTV for sending this one my way.

Wally Cox and his friend "Dufo"

This week on the show I'm doing a review of the new Mr. Peepers box set, and so I present my fave bit of Wally Cox's stand-up comedy (in fact the only bit of Wally's stand-up that I've heard). It's a terrific single called "Dufo (What a Crazy Guy)" that clearly demonstrates that Marlon Brando's one-time roommate and childhood chum could play things other than a milquetoast, buttoned-down egghead (although that's what brought the dough in, at various times). I wish he had pursued his stand-up a bit more, as Tony Randall, Steve Allen, and other friends of his said his initial routines were very funny. Take a listen -- the visual is just the cover of a Wally-related book, as I have no "Dufo" imagery to go with this audio.