Monday, May 08, 2006

Allen On Television

Fred Allen (1894-1956) was one of America's greatest radio stars and he frequently gave zest to his jokes by lacing them with a liberal dose of truth. Typical of this tendency are these two quotations about the emerging phenomena of television in the 1950's:

"Television is a new medium. It's called a medium because nothing is well-done."

"Television is the triumph of machine over people."


Allen's observations, of course, are more applicable than ever. (For more information about Fred Allen, you can check out the tribute pages hosted by Comedy-O-Rama right here.)