Dan Travanty or Noam Pitlik?

Welcome again to the site that regularly considers Hollywood's enduring mysteries:  

 

Who IS that guy?

Our discussion this week covers a question that's been unresolved for over 60 years: who plays the police detective in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"?  

 

As Variety magazine might put it, "Classic Comic Cameos Clinch Chaos!"  Over 100 mostly comic actors dropped in to play bit parts, including a good helping of those who toiled in supporting roles in TV and movies at the time (1963).  

 

Artwork by Jack Davis

 

But for all the detail about the cast, one name is missing.  Who is the detective in the hat? 

 

Looking over the cast: there's a Dick Cherney as "Detective".  (And try to search for THIS guy.  You won't be able to get past the know-it-all computer insisting you want to know about "Dick Cheney".  They're actually getting dumber.  There is apparently no way to search the internet for "Dick Cherney", with only the name.  Try it yourself if you think I'm kidding.) 

 

I finally found a picture,  of "Dick Cherney, Mad Mad", from an appearance on "Star Trek":

 

Must have been another detective.  Although this actor has an interesting resume, with appearances on popular TV shows, playing even more obscure background characters.  Apparently in the same "silent bystander" category as Tony Regan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are no other unidentified "detective" actors.  Our man might be listed as a "spectator"- there's a couple dozen of them- but I think it's unlikely.  I'm going to say the actor isn't listed.

 

Let's consider whether it's one of these two men: 

I think I've seen an online post discussing one or the other in this role; can't find it now.  In fact, "Mad Mad Pitlik", "Mad Mad Travanti", even "Mad Mad Travanty" (his stage name in 1963) turn up zero info linking either one to this film.  Perhaps the question's never seriously been asked.  

 

It's made a little easier due to the fact that Noam Pitlik once wore his hat the same way.

 

"The Fortune Cookie"

 

We also have Daniel J. Travanti in a hat- which doesn't add anything.

 

"Lost in Space: Collision of Planets"

 

Hmm...how about the ears?  

 

A                                                B                                        C

Do we have any samples of Travanti's ears from that period?  Well, actually yes, his second professional appearance (according to IMDB) was a "Route 66" episode from 1964:

 

Look at that.  No lobe.  Uh-huh!

Ok, first of all, we have to consider it may be neither of them.  Maybe people will write in like an old Dear Abby column- "That's my Uncle Spif!"  I dunno.

 

But in my opinion, there's enough there to think it's probably Noam Pitlik.  

- earlobes (Travanti hasn't got one).

- their hairlines match...do we have one of Travanti's hairline?  Take off that hat!  (Raise your right hand!...)

I can't believe how much these guys look alike.  This is a toughie.  But we have to go with the ear.  They just don't match.  Pitlik's is closer.  (Yes, I know he has two.)  And he's got a bony forehead.  

The closest we can get is that the detective in Mad Mad World is most likely played by Noam Pitlik, or his twin.  Especially when you consider his career, much more of an Old TV Guy than Mr Travanti (about 3 jobs/year in TV and movies for 37 years, plus directing).  In this film, laboring in the full anonymity that usually falls over the efforts of these hard-working folks, turning up who knows where.

 

Bonobo- Cirrus

Well, no podcast yet.  I tried it and broke my headphones.  The tyranny of circumstance.  I don't know what's going to happen on this site.  

The Goon Show

I'm going to change the way this blog is run, and start doing half-hour podcasts every Sunday morning.  It's going to be like a weekly radio program.  

 

Back when I had a radio show, it ran from the middle of the night to dawn.  I'd always give over the last 30 minutes to the Goon Show, a living comic strip that ran on the BBC, 70 or so years ago.  Peter Sellers was one of them, Spike Milligan wrote most of it, a Welsh heldentenor named Harry Seacombe was dragged in somehow-- there they are on the left, Spike, Peter, Mr Greenslade, and Harry.  This week's program is from Feb 15, 1955, "The Sinking of Westminster Pier".

 

I think we'll start readings next week. 

July 4 test post

 The Abe Lincoln Malfunction at the Hall of Presidents.

 Hey, it works!  Our first video file!  Yay!  Happy Fourth of July, everybody!

John Oswald: A Case of Death

This might be the best Spoken Word cutup ever.  It sounds like something from Finnegan's Wake.

Play (9:21)

Rush Limbaugh: I'm a Nazi

I wish I knew who really made this track.  It was some Radio Morning Show, and they had to listen to enough of his voice to put this together, and make it rhyme, and swing!  The other thing about this piece- all that was originally spewed by Limbaugh himself.  Insulting people he disagreed with was his whole concept.  It was kind of like Bizarro Muzak.

Play 

Thinking

 

(That sure is a big dictionary page.) Remember what I was saying last week?  "Old time radio mashup site."  

"Thinking" is a good title for this week.  It's from "The Dental Clinic of the Air", performed on a musical saw by Sam or Stan.  The program is in a collection of Old Time Radio one-shots, on the Internet Archive.  At least it used to be.  I found it just now on a new site called "Radio Echoes".

Thinking.  What do I really want to do, here?  Still want to put up something brand new and weird every week.  Not giving that up yet.  At least weird, if not new.  Perhaps more OTR.

Play (1:42)