Gilbert Gnarley
{{unreferenced, date=May 2009 Gilbert Gnarley is a character developed and voiced by Gary Burbank of Cincinnati, Ohio, radio station 700 WLW. His comedy sketches involve prank phone calls to various businesses, organizations, and corporate headquarters, during which it becomes evident that Gilbert is very confused about something. Those who answer the calls may not initially realize that he is confused, but once they discover the source of his confusion, their reactions range from heartfelt compassion to annoyance to fits of laughter, all of which are used for comedic value. Traits of his calls include always spelling his last name for his listener — "Hello, my name is Gilbert Gnarley, G-N-A-R-L-E-Y..." — and never saying "goodbye" at the end of the call, instead saying "Okay? Okay?" repeatedly, inducing the individual to respond either with an affirming "okay" or to hang up. Gilbert is an elderly resident of the St. Pia Zadora Golden Buckeye Retirement Community in Pisgah, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gary Burbank
Gary Burbank (born Billy Purser, July 1941 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American radio personality. He was heard daily on WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio, from June 15, 1981 until December 21, 2007 and nationally as the voice of his fictional character, Earl Pitts, in nationally syndicated commentaries until 2021. Radio career Burbank began his radio career as "Bill Williams" at KLPL in Lake Providence, Louisiana, then adopted the name "Johnny Apollo" when he worked at KUZN in West Monroe, Louisiana. That was followed by stints in his hometown at WMPS in the mid-1960s and then in 1967 and early 1968 at WWUN in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1968 he moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he became an instant hit on WAKY. It was at WAKY that Billy Purser officially became Gary Burbank, a name taken from radio and television legend Gary Owens, who as a regular on '' Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In'' would announce that he was broadcasting from "beautiful downtown Burbank." (Burbank's natural v ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. The term "White House" is often used as a metonym for the Executive Office of the President of the United States, president and his advisers. The residence was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban in the Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical style. Hoban modelled the building on Leinster House in Dublin, a building which today houses the Oireachtas, the Irish legislature. Construction took place between 1792 and 1800, using Aquia Creek sandstone painted white. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) added low colonnades on each wing that concealed stables and storage. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by British forces in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Earl Pitts (character)
:''This article describes Earl Pitts, the fictional radio character. For the Russian spy, see Earl Edwin Pitts.'' Earl Pitts is a fictional character performed by Gary Burbank, a radio personality from Cincinnati, Ohio beginning in 1968. Pitts, who is almost always referred to as "Earl Pitts, Uhmerikun" (as in "American") is a stereotype of a redneck from the Southern United States. As such, Pitts presents a daily "editorial," which always begins with a bugle call of "Assembly", and the words, "Ya' know what makes me sick?" followed by another line like, "You know what makes me s'angry, ah just want to soak mah butt in a bucket of toxic waste?" Pitts then goes off on a rant, either about some cultural topic of the day as seen from a redneck point of view, or an anecdote about his home life or his job at the local tavern. His family and friends—wife Pearl, son Earl Junior, daughter Sandra Dee, and good friend Dub Meeker, among others—figure prominently in many routines. His sig ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Porter Waggoner
Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Porter Wagoner Show''. She became part of a well-known vocal duo with him from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. Known as Mr. Grand Ole Opry, Wagoner charted 81 singles from 1954 to 1983. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002. Biography Early life and career Wagoner was born in West Plains, Missouri, United States, the son of Bertha May (née Bridges) and Charles E. Wagoner, a farmer. His first band, the Blue Ridge Boys, performed on radio station KWPM-AM from a butcher shop in his native West Plains, where Wagoner cut meat. In 1951, he was hired by Si Siman as a performer on KWTO in Springfield, Missouri. This led to a contract with RCA Victor. With lagging sales, Wagoner and his trio played schoolhouses for the gate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Birch Society
The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas. The society's founder, businessman Robert W. Welch Jr. (1899–1985), developed an organizational infrastructure of nationwide chapters in December 1958. The society rose quickly in membership and influence, and was controversial for its promotion of conspiracy theories. In the 1960s the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. and ''National Review'' pushed for the JBS to be exiled to the fringes of the American right. More recently, Jeet Heer has argued in ''The New Republic'' that while the organization's influence peaked in the 1970s, "Bircherism" and its legacy of conspiracy theories have become the dominant strain in the conservative movement. Politico has asserted that the JBS began making a resurgence in the mid-2010s, while observe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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M&M's
M&M's (stylized as m&m's) are multi-colored button-shaped chocolates, each of which has the letter "m" printed in lower case in white on one side, consisting of a candy shell surrounding a filling which varies depending upon the variety of M&M's. The original candy has a semi-sweet chocolate filling which, upon introduction of other variations, was branded as the "plain, normal" variety. Peanut M&M's, which feature a peanut coated in milk chocolate, and finally a candy shell, were the first variation to be introduced, and they remain a regular variety. Numerous other variations have been introduced, some of which are regular widespread varieties (peanut butter, almond, pretzel, crispy, dark chocolate, and caramel) while others are limited in duration or geographic availability. M&M's are the flagship product of the Mars Wrigley Confectionery division of Mars, Incorporated. The candy originated in the United States in 1941, and M&M's have been sold in over 100 countries since 20 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jerry Van Dyke
Jerry McCord Van Dyke (July 27, 1931 – January 5, 2018) was an American actor and comedian. He was the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke had a long and successful career mostly as a character actor in supporting and guest roles on popular television series. He made his television acting debut on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' with several guest appearances as Rob Petrie's brother, Stacey. From 1989 to 1997, he played Luther Van Dam on the popular series ''Coach''. Early life Jerry McCord Van Dyke was born in Danville, Illinois on July 27, 1931, to Hazel Victoria (née McCord), a stenographer, and Loren Wayne "Cookie" Van Dyke, a salesman. He was of Dutch, English, Irish, and Scottish descent. Career Early career Van Dyke pursued a stand-up comedy career while still in Danville High School and was already a veteran of strip joints and nightclubs when he joined the United States Air Force Tops In Blue in 1954 and 1955. During the mid-1950s, Van Dyke worked at WTHI-TV ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spam (food)
Spam (stylized as SPAM) is a brand of canned cooked pork made by Hormel Foods Corporation. It was introduced by Hormel in 1937 and gained popularity worldwide after its use during World War II. By 2003, Spam was sold in 41 countries on six continents and trademarked in over 100 countries. Spam's basic ingredients are primarily pork shoulder and ham, with salt, water, modified potato starch (as a binder), sugar, and sodium nitrite (as a preservative). Natural gelatin is formed during cooking in its tins on the production line. Concerns about Spam's nutritional attributes have been raised, in large part due to its high content of fat, sodium, and preservatives. Spam has affected popular culture, including a Monty Python skit, which repeated the name many times, leading to its name being borrowed to describe unsolicited electronic messages, especially email. It is occasionally celebrated in festivals such as Austin's Spamarama. History Hormel introduced Spam on July 5, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM radio stations from 1988 until his death in 2021. Limbaugh became one of the most prominent conservative voices in the United States during the 1990s and hosted a national television show from 1992 to 1996. He was among the most highly paid figures in American radio history; in 2018 ''Forbes'' listed his earnings at $84.5 million. In December 2019, '' Talkers Magazine'' estimated that Limbaugh's show attracted a cumulative weekly audience of 15.5 million listeners to become the most-listened-to radio show in the United States. Limbaugh also wrote seven books; his first two, ''The Way Things Ought to Be'' (1992) and ''See, I Told You So'' (1993), made ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Limbaugh garnered controversy from his statemen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is an American musician. His repertoire includes pop, folk, blues, and old-time rock 'n' roll. Rivers charted during the 1960s and 1970s but remains best known for a string of hit singles between 1964 and 1968, among them " Memphis" (a Chuck Berry cover), " Mountain of Love" (a Harold Dorman cover), " The Seventh Son" (a Willie Mabon cover), " Secret Agent Man", " Poor Side of Town" (a US No. 1), "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" (a 1967 cover of the Four Tops single from 1964), and " Summer Rain". Life and career Early years Rivers was born as John Henry Ramistella in New York City, of Italian ancestry. His family moved from New York to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Influenced by the distinctive Louisiana musical style, Rivers began playing guitar at age eight, taught by his father and uncle. While still in junior high school, he started sitting in with a band called the Rockets, led by Dick Holler, who later wrote a number o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Walmart Greeter
A Walmart greeter is an employee whose role is to wait at the front door of a Walmart store and greet all shoppers who enter. CEO and founder Sam Walton implemented the role nationally in the 1980s. The position is considered to be a big part of the company's identity and culture, as well as one of its most recognized hallmarks. A Walmart greeter stands at the door. The greeter's primary task is to provide a sunny disposition to welcome customers, as well as to cross-check customers' receipts when they leave. History The idea of having dedicated greeters at the front door of a store may have come from an employee of the company, Lois Richard. She was working in the early 1980s as an invoice clerk at the Walmart store in Crowley, Louisiana. The Walmart store in Crowley, which had opened in 1980, was experiencing shoplifting and had a significant "inventory shrinkage" after two years. The initial idea was to have an employee standing at the door in order to try to decrease shoplift ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sound Of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Set in Austria on the eve of the ''Anschluss'' in 1938, the musical tells the story of Maria, who takes a job as governess to a large family while she decides whether to become a nun. She falls in love with the children, and eventually their widowed father, Captain von Trapp. He is ordered to accept a commission in the German navy, but he opposes the Nazis. He and Maria decide on a plan to flee Austria with the children. Many songs from the musical have become standards, including "Edelweiss", "My Favorite Things", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", "Do-Re-Mi", and the title song "The Sound of Music". The original Broadway production, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, opened in 1959 and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, out of n ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |