Co*Star: the Record Acting Game
October 11, 2018 12:12 PM Subscribe
Today is the day your bizarrely specific dream comes true: this is your chance to act with Vincent Price in scenes from An Enemy of the People and The Importance of Being Earnest.
-WFMU has preserved the Fernando Lamas Co*Star Record, which consists of scenes from the 1937 comedy The King and the Chorus Girl. No script for this one, unfortunately.
-The Jimmie Rodgers, Pearl Bailey, Virginia Mayo, Caesar Romero, Tallulah Bankhead, Basil Rathbone, Arlene Dahl, "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom, Paulette Goddard, Cedric Hardwick, June Havoc, George Raft, and Don Ameche Co*Star records don't seem to have made it to the Internet.
-WFMU has preserved the Fernando Lamas Co*Star Record, which consists of scenes from the 1937 comedy The King and the Chorus Girl. No script for this one, unfortunately.
-The Jimmie Rodgers, Pearl Bailey, Virginia Mayo, Caesar Romero, Tallulah Bankhead, Basil Rathbone, Arlene Dahl, "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom, Paulette Goddard, Cedric Hardwick, June Havoc, George Raft, and Don Ameche Co*Star records don't seem to have made it to the Internet.
I have one of these with Slapsy Maxie Rosenbloom, and in one of them you actually pretend to hit him.
posted by maxsparber at 12:16 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by maxsparber at 12:16 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
I literally thought this concept was a joke made up on Mystery Science Theater.
Or by Monty Python.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:23 PM on October 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Or by Monty Python.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:23 PM on October 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Today I learned that there's actually a fan site for Vincent Price's voice.
Forget the rest of him. We just like the voice.
posted by Naberius at 12:28 PM on October 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Forget the rest of him. We just like the voice.
posted by Naberius at 12:28 PM on October 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
I literally thought this concept was a joke made up on Mystery Science Theater.
Or by Monty Python.
Or Albert Brooks.
posted by Iridic at 12:31 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Or by Monty Python.
Or Albert Brooks.
posted by Iridic at 12:31 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Or by Monty Python.
Well, I'll be! I know I must have heard this as a kid but I never remembered it. How could I have forgotten "Oh, Charles!"
posted by Countess Elena at 12:40 PM on October 11, 2018
Well, I'll be! I know I must have heard this as a kid but I never remembered it. How could I have forgotten "Oh, Charles!"
posted by Countess Elena at 12:40 PM on October 11, 2018
Fun activity: listen to VP's lines without any accompanying script so you can imagine what he's responding to.
"Yeah, gets you good and tired, makes you sleep well."
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 12:41 PM on October 11, 2018
"Yeah, gets you good and tired, makes you sleep well."
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 12:41 PM on October 11, 2018
THE SPECIFICITY OF MY DREAM OF PERFORMING OSCAR WILDE WITH THE DISEMBODIED VOICE OF VINCENT PRICE IS NOT BIZARRE THE SPECIFICITY OF YOUR DREAM OF PERFORMING OSCAR WILDE WITH THE DISEMBODIED VOICE OF VINCENT PRICE IS BIZARRE SHUT UP
He jumped on a couple of my lines at first, but then we had this really great rhythm going, you know? I thought maybe he could play Algernon for a while, but he wants to keep playing Jack so it's cool it's cool ha ha, ha ha!
*crams muffins into handbag*
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:47 PM on October 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
He jumped on a couple of my lines at first, but then we had this really great rhythm going, you know? I thought maybe he could play Algernon for a while, but he wants to keep playing Jack so it's cool it's cool ha ha, ha ha!
*crams muffins into handbag*
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:47 PM on October 11, 2018 [12 favorites]
See also "You Are Our Guest", track 5, side 2, of Bob and Doug Mackenzie's "The Great White North" album.
posted by hanov3r at 1:20 PM on October 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by hanov3r at 1:20 PM on October 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Witchfindr!
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 2:20 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 2:20 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
This is one of those things that was really cool when it premiered and ripe for derision a couple of decades later.
Perhaps this inspired the legitimate theater segments on Viva Variety, wherein Walter Koenig of "Chekov" fame played the title role in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya with Vulcan-style pointed ears, or where Jim Varney punctuated his droll asides in Wilde's aforementioned Importance of Being Earnest with "Know whut I mean, Vern?"
posted by infinitewindow at 2:21 PM on October 11, 2018
Perhaps this inspired the legitimate theater segments on Viva Variety, wherein Walter Koenig of "Chekov" fame played the title role in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya with Vulcan-style pointed ears, or where Jim Varney punctuated his droll asides in Wilde's aforementioned Importance of Being Earnest with "Know whut I mean, Vern?"
posted by infinitewindow at 2:21 PM on October 11, 2018
I have one of the Co*Star records at home - June Havoc's. I had almost forgotten I owned it!
posted by wells at 2:41 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by wells at 2:41 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Old friend of mine had a huge vinyl record library. Included in this was dozens of this genre. We spent hilarious evenings partaking in various chemicals and "acting" along with Price and others. Great times.
posted by Splunge at 3:03 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Splunge at 3:03 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm ad-libbing, right now.
posted by clavdivs at 3:14 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 3:14 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
*constructing skeleton marionette to play Mike in The Gambler*
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:23 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:23 PM on October 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
This is one of those things that was really cool when it premiered and ripe for derision a couple of decades later.
By a generation for whom the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games were immensely popular.
posted by Zalzidrax at 6:32 PM on October 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
By a generation for whom the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games were immensely popular.
posted by Zalzidrax at 6:32 PM on October 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
I have the Pearl Bailey record, which is delightful, though I missed out on making it a party game.
posted by drapatz at 7:13 PM on October 11, 2018
posted by drapatz at 7:13 PM on October 11, 2018
*crams muffins into handbag*
A haaaandbaaaaag???
posted by basalganglia at 7:39 PM on October 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
A haaaandbaaaaag???
posted by basalganglia at 7:39 PM on October 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Although not "acting" with a star, radio stations in the late 60's to early 1980s(?) often received open-ended interview LPs with much the same format. The record with the prerecorded answers of the music star the label was promoting would arrive with a printed script indicating the questions the local DJ or personality was to insert. The whole thing would then be rerecorded for local broadcast prior to the artist performing in town, or just as promotion of a new LP or the like. I remember a Chick Corea one arriving at my college radio station in 1987 or so. Seemed disingenuous even then. There's a few on YouTube...
posted by acroyear at 10:38 PM on October 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by acroyear at 10:38 PM on October 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
To think, as a child, it never even occurred to me that the radio stations were playing records at all.
When I was like eight, I actually thought the bands were there at the radio station, playing their song. Then they'd pack up and go to another radio station, and some other band would play their song. I thought if you were in a band, that's what you did, drive around from radio station to radio station, playing your song.
posted by Naberius at 4:48 AM on October 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
When I was like eight, I actually thought the bands were there at the radio station, playing their song. Then they'd pack up and go to another radio station, and some other band would play their song. I thought if you were in a band, that's what you did, drive around from radio station to radio station, playing your song.
posted by Naberius at 4:48 AM on October 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
-The Jimmie Rodgers, Pearl Bailey, Virginia Mayo, Caesar Romero, Tallulah Bankhead, Basil Rathbone, Arlene Dahl, "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom, Paulette Goddard, Cedric Hardwick, June Havoc, George Raft, and Don Ameche Co*Star records don't seem to have made it to the Internet.
I am town between shouting "GET ON IT INTERNET" and being the change I want to see in the world.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:31 AM on October 12, 2018
I am town between shouting "GET ON IT INTERNET" and being the change I want to see in the world.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:31 AM on October 12, 2018
Speaking of projects, if you had the full collection, between Price, Bankhead, and Romero, you could do a pretty epic Batman '66 crossover audio adventure with some clever editing.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:56 AM on October 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:56 AM on October 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
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posted by Countess Elena at 12:14 PM on October 11, 2018