McGee Goes Incognito

The Milwaukee Journal – Aug 10, 1941

Fibber McGee and Molly are just plain Jim and Marion Jordan this summer as they enjoy their air vacation. The top comedians are show above in McGee version of gardening at their San Fernando valley (Calif.) home

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Mr. and Mrs. JimJordan, at their home in Hollywood suburb, packed up their trailer for the annual vacation trip. But they seemed sunk in gloom. So the kids rallied them.

“Gee, Pop,” said their son, “you and Mom don’t act like yourselves.”

“That’s right,” said Sis. “Every year when you pack up to go traipsing around you’re so gay. But now.”

It was true, too—true those annual vacation jaunts through the western mountains had always perked up the Jordans.

They’d get to thinking about the streams they’d fish, the places they’d camp, sometimes by themselves, sometimes in auto camps with jolly people all around.

“Just good friendly folks,” Jim Jordan always used to say to his wife “The salt of the earth. Not prying into a man’s business, just accepting him as another American off on a vacation.”

Anyhow, they finished packing, and looked around to see what had been overlooked Mrs. Jordan pounced on a heap of paper backed books, stowed them in a suitcase.

“Remember, dear,” she said, “we promised to read over these scripts.”

Jim nodded dolefully. The man who has been a farmer’s boy, the wife who had been a coal miner’s daughter, looked at each other. The unvoiced thought was of that movie they had just made their first. They star in it, along with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy and Lucille Ball Radio RKO calls it “Look Who’s Laughing” After this, they’d never be able to knock around the country again without having somebody recognize them in camp and cry, “Oh, I know you, Please give me your autographs.”

“Will, anyhow, dear, they haven’t discovered us yet,” said he.

“That’s right,” said she, perking up. “We can have this last time free from fuss, can’t we?”

“Come on, then, old girl,” said he. “Let’s get going for our last incognito vacation. They’ve only heard us on the air so far, they haven’t seen us yet on the screen. Let’s get going before that happens, so we can knock around without being known.”

So off they set, then, in their car with the trailer the Jim Jordans, plain Americans, who like to be just folks.

But after that movie, “Look Who’s Laughing,” gets out and around, pictured Lame will claim them for its own. Gone then will be the days when they can drive into camp and be accepted by all the other summer nomads, when Jim can pitch horseshoes with the men and boys and Mrs. Jim can sit around with the women and talk.

For then the comfortable mask of anonymity will be stripped at last from the top program team of the air waves, and the newest comedy team of the screen Fibber McGee and Molly. Old Radio Cat

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