Our 62nd year!
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The Fathers' Follies is lucky to have among it's ranks Jill Benone. 
A student at Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School while her father was among the first Fathers' Follies participants, Jill grew into the position of writer, director and producer of the Follies for over 20 years. Listed below and on the introduction page for each year's follies, we are pleased to include a "personal perspective" by Jill in which she tells what she knows about that years production and what she found out while doing research for us.
THE FABLE OF THE FABULOUS AND FANTASTIC FATHERS’ FOLLIES There was always a Fathers’ Night. Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School opened in September of 1926. The PTA unit was formed in January 1927, and newspaper coverage appeared in June 1928. "Fathers’ Night" on October 24, 1928, as reported by the Glendale Evening Herald, apparently featured music: community singing, a solo, a reading by "a pupil of Mrs. Hovey", and musical selections by a trio of PTA ladies. Finally, there was an address by Richardson D. White, the Glendale Superintendent of Schools. "Fathers’ Night" of 1929 was held at the Verdugo Breakfast Club located at 1508 Canada Boulevard, a space shared by the D&L Service Station, in a room alternately referred to as "the pavilion" or "the beautiful little auditorium". (1508 Canada is in the triangle directly across from Glendale College. It was a gas station before it became a mini-mall.) According to the Glendale Evening Herald the event was sponsored by the F.P, Newport Company as arranged by its head salesman, Earl R. Oberon who ”presented a varied program”. The PTA President “made a talk” on the importance of fathers taking an interest in the school life of their children. The Evening Herald went on to discuss Miss Sara Chandler, “a resident of the Woodlands, who has a studio, and who executed beautiful Mexican and Spanish dances appropriately costumed”. The PTA Historian’s Book of that year features a charming watercolor sketch of the dancer. There was a presentation about an upcoming bond issue, an "illustrated talk" on the Boulder Dam project and "talks" on American Indian life and "Indian songs The Glendale News-Press was on the scene by April 25, 1934, for a "Hard Times Frolic" dinner and entertainment. Fathers’ Night was combined with PTA Installation at an Open House, which featured a dramatization of "The Courtship of Miles Standish" by "pupils of Mrs. Evelyn Anderson’s room". There were sleight-of-hand tricks, piano numbers, flute solos, and a skit. LET’S PUT ON A SHOW By the late 1940’s several fathers at Verdugo Woodlands were show business professionals.. When John Gurash, who had participated in Fathers’ Night in 1947, was asked by Fathers’ Night Chairman Louis Caldwell to be program chair in 1948, he had a “little idea” for a skit. The result was funny, irreverent, a little topical, and a smashing success. Good-bye, “Fathers’ Night”, and hello, Fathers’ Follies. Among the talented group of men who participated in John Gurash’s “little idea” were Joe Sauers (stage name Joe Sawyer), Al Talliaferro, who created Donald Duck for Walt Disney, television writer Larry Clemmons and Alden Waite. I have always been understood that actor Mike Mazurki appeared in the first shows because he always wanted to play a heroine, but I can find no record of his name in the programs. Mazurki and Sauers were good friends and it is entirely possible that Mike’s appearances were anonymous. Most of the material came from Larry Clemmons, who listed The Bing Crosby Show among his current credits. Clemmons wove old vaudeville skits as well as new material into his scripts, adding a soupcon of various local in-jokes and political observations. Clemmons’ co-writer was Alden Waite, an experienced newspaperman (The Glendale News-Press, among others.) There may have been other writers, but as the early programs were non-specific, they cannot be identified. The skits Clemmons and Waite wrote would work today with a little updating –- the old tricks are always the best, and these writers were pros. Sets were minimal at first, utilizing a black curtain as a backdrop, and sketchy furniture and set dressing. When fathers who were set builders appeared, the look of the shows became not only polished but eventually more and more elaborate. The original volunteer musicians are not noted as such in the program, but are listed as The Verdugo Woodlands “Pops” Orchestra”. Musicians were recruited from the fathers, among whom were Huff Allen, Bob Adolphe (the orchestra leader for twenty years). Al Larson, and Jim Gates. Later, Steve Hill became musical director, leading the singers as well as recruiting and leading the orchestra. In the beginning, newspaper accounts noted that professional make-up men worked on the cast –there is no record relating if they were paid by Follies, by individual contributions, or if they were volunteers recruited by Sauers and Clemmons. Eventually, of course, make-up crews were – and are – supplied by PTA volunteers. . From their vast experience, the original group had recourse to a wealth of material. Many of the skits they used were tried and true vaudeville These showmen treated their shows as professional productions. That, incidentally, is the trick to the show – it must be treated as a professional production, with great attention paid to details, and an over-all view of the product. The next part of the process is to remember the cast is amateur, and must be instructed in basic stage techniques and theatre etiquette. The core group of men realized all this and adapted their talents accordingly. It is only when these basics are forgotten or ignored that Follies gets in trouble. By 1949, the show had grown. Each skit was assigned to a “captain”, rehearsed separately, and built its own set pieces. When they all came in for polishing during Rehearsal Week (they never called it “polishing”, but that’s what it was) the professional eyes looked at them, tightened them for time, and, I suspect, cut some deadwood. The original group was composed of community leaders, whose names are familiar to long time residents of Glendale. They represented a cross-section of Verdugo Woodlands – businessmen and business owners, doctors, lawyers, Indian Chiefs, electricians, plumbers, a local judge, the owner/ editor of the Glendale News-Press, teachers, administrative educators – pretty much as it is today. In 1949, this group, calling on club and business associates and with the whole-hearted cooperation of the Superintendent of Schools, “bartered” an agreement whereby they were able to move the show to Glendale College in what turned out to be a fifty-year-plus stay. (There is no record of what was used in the “bartering” agreement.) It should be noted that Glendale College did not charge Verdugo Woodlands for the use of their stage, an impressive exhibit of community-school intramural cooperation. Equally, the Dads’ Club was able to help GCC when the college auditorium was being renovated, rendering their stage totally unusable during the school year of 1990. The college’s Theatre Arts Department turned the clubhouse into a black box theatre. The walls were already painted dark brown. The college erected bleacher seating vertically on the south side of the house in front of the fireplace: one row of chairs on the floor, and the second row on the risers, The remainder of the house, facing the fireplace and the seating, became the stage. The long back room on the north side, with temporary make-up tables moved in, was used as the dressing room. Lighting trees lit the stage area and the existing small stage housed the tech equipment. GCC theatre students, in varying degrees, worked on almost all the VW shows. There doesn’t seem to be a record of how they were paid in the beginning although it is known that hours were turned in to the Steering Committee for remuneration. By the late 80s, the students looked forward to the experience every year, receiving a $50.00 stipend and an invitation to the cast party. The partnership between Verdugo Woodlands Fathers’ Follies and Glendale College came to a sad end in 2001, which is addressed later on in this presentation. For over fifty years, Follies’ home stage was GCC, a continuing example of intramural and community cooperation. In the course of this research, I discovered the genesis – and demise – of several legends. “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, sung and danced by a quartet, opened every show for many years. I cannot definitely find the first year this happened, but I suspect it may have been as early as 1948. “Another Op’n’in’ Another Show” with special lyrics, replaced “Show Business” in 1981. By 2003, this was replaced by “Bring On the Follies”. “A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody”, the Ziegfeld Follies signature, closed the show from 1947 for almost thirty years. The 1974 program is the first to indicate the Can-Can was the finale. In the 1960 show, Scene 2 of Around the World in 80 Days calls for “The PTA Song” with special lyrics to be sung to the music of “Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Åy”. “Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Åy” is called for in several of the Cash scripts, always sung as the Can-Can is danced. This is the music to the Can-Can, not Offenbach’s “Gaite Parisienne”. The lyrics of “The PTA Song” immediately follow the outline of the 1960 show. What follows is a description of each show, year by year, pieced together by using whatever is available: a script, production notes, and/or a program, and interviews with VW graduates who have fond memories of the shows. I have relied on my knowledge of how this show works, as well as what I remember. By 1976 through 1997, the descriptions are accurate – I think – because those are the years I wrote and directed. The quotes from the PTA Historian’s Books are noted as such. Any other errors are mine, and I apologize for any mistakes. | ||
| The 1948 show |