Talk:Allan Sherman

My Son, The Box

"My Son, The Box" is a comprehensive 6 CD set including many rare or previously unheard songs. Now available from Rhino Handmade.

I would hesitate to call it "comprehensive" since it contains none of Sherman's pre-Warner Brothers recordings, nor does it contain "Peter and the Commissar," or songs from his stage musical "The Fig Leaves Are Falling," both recorded for RCA Victor. Rich 06:24, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

Simpsons Episode

In the Simpsons episode in which Bart is shop-lifting, bart puts a secret tape in the case for allan sherman so no one will hear it. My english sucks so anyone else can write it if someone likes to.

Death

I vaguely recall that his death was listed as a suicide, but I have no reference. LorenzoB 03:58, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

I had heard that too. I've done searches of newspaper databases for articles on Sherman, as well as databases of obituaries (struck out) and news magazines. Searching online with "Allan Sherman" + 1973 + "suicide" via Google turns up three subscription-only newspaper items that I can't get a look at. Two are from Nov. 21-22, which is around the date of his death, but without being able to see them, there's no way to know that it wasn't simply a case of newspapers reporting his death from emphysema on the same page with some local or famous person's death by suicide, or something even more unrelated. If anyone reads this who has the necessary subscriptions to archives databases, by all means, do the search and see if you can read the newspapers in question. Lawikitejana 06:23, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Definitely not. The NY Times obituary says:

"Los Angeles, Nov 21. Allan Sherman, the rotund entertainer whose comical lyrics set to well-known tunes elevated him to swift international celebrity 11 years ago, died last night while entertaining friends at his home here. According to sherriff's officers, Mr. Sherman, who had been undergoing treatment for empyhsema, asthma, and obesity, died of respiratory failure."

The Chicago Tribune wrote:

"Allan Sherman, 49, the rotund parody humorist, died as he lived -- he went out laughing. He collapsed here last night of a respiratory failure while entertaining friends in his home. His doctor said he had been suffering from emphysema, asthma, and obesity."

I can't find any contemporary sources that suggest suicide, in fact the descriptions all suggest he collapsed suddenly in front of a group of friends. Anson2995 12:37, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Sarah Jackman

Cfortunato undid an edit by lujer, in a disagreement over the theme of the song. lujer said that the lyrics described Sherman asking a woman out on a date, while Cfortunato said that the lyrics were about family gossip. I think a reading of the lyrics [1] shows that lujer is correct, so I'm changing it back. The song is supposed to be a phone conversation, and after Sherman's character (Jerry Bachman) opens by inquiring about Sarah's sister Emily, he says "gee, I'd like to date you." She replies with "No because I hate you." The rest of the song is back and forth, with Jerry pleading for her affection and Sarah continually rebuffing him.

 But don't you think I'm super?
   You're a party pooper.
 No one loves a fat man.
   I'd rather be with batman.
 Don't you even like me?
   If so may lightening strike me.
 I've been shot by Cupid.
   Both of you are stupid.
 Met me for an hour.
   Take a nice cold shower.
 Do I have to beg, dear?
   Kindly break a leg dear.
 Why can't we go steady?
   First give up spaghetti.
 How can I get thinner?
   Give up lunch and dinner.

Anson2995 01:32, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

These lyrics may have been sung on the Garry Moore Show, but they are nowhere on My Son the Folk Singer, and are not part of the hit version or single version of the song. Which is the version that everyone is familiar with. A later rewrite for a live performance is irrelevant. Carlo 22:39, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

You're correct. Sorry for adding to the confusion, but at least now we know the source of the disagreement. Anson2995 01:32, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

And isn't an editor's personal interpretation of the lyrics the dreaded original research? (Ignore me, I've had a loooong day). Studerby 04:00, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

"sometimes incorrectly Alan or Allen"

What is the significance of this portion of the lead? It is generally inappropriate to include incorrect information in an article. If Sherman was miscredited on a record, and if that typo was significant (i.e., if he went by the misspelling thereafter, as Buddy Holly was said to have done), then the information should be noted elsewhere in the article. I'll remove the line for now. Robert K S (talk) 01:38, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Contribution to That Was the Week that Was

The previous entry erroneously credited Sherman with contributing numerous songs to TW3. In fact, he appeared once on the show and sang "The Dropouts March." I have extensively reviewed NBC records on TW3. The now-deleted comment compared him to Tom Lehrer, who in fact did contribute frequently to TW3, although he never appeared on the show himself. For the record, other songwriters contributed to TW3, most notably the team of Norman Sachs and Mel Mandel. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.39.88.98 (talk) 14:08, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

Weasel Words

"fastest-selling record album of all time" - who says and how many per what period constitutes "fastest-selling? Better to give the facts. What category of record albums? As for "all time", what is the actual period? These types of comments detract from the credibility of the article. Pknkly (talk) 15:10, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

"Sherman was culturally ubiquitous." - Who says? Pknkly (talk) 15:10, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

"in one notable example" - Who says it is notable? Pknkly (talk) 15:10, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

"poor reviews and poorer sales" - From whose perspective and what was said that would be considered poor reveiw? Perhaps citing examples might work. What quantity of "poor reviews" would support this claim - two, three, or over fifty? Who says and what quantity is considered poor sales? Please be specific, use good citations (not other articles that are not weasel like}, or eliminate these types of words. I don't beleive elimination would detract from the article. Pknkly (talk) 15:10, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

I just want to put my 2 cents in. His "My son the nut" CD I've listened to & its funny. My personal fav. song was King Henry VIIII singing to the tune "St. Luis" or something like that. (We'll take you and the queen Out to the geuteen, and shorten you a little bit...) Anyway, you didn't mention that in the article and I was kind of bummed. And what about "Bones" I know that's not the name of it, but it goes like this: "I see bones I see gizzards and bones... ...I see a spine, and it looks devine. It looks a lot like mine, now isn't that strange? ... asparagus tips, and a few paper clips... Thats all I remember of that song, but I think that song is on my son the nut too. Correct me if I'm wrong. BTW- You can erase this if you want, I was just curious. Thanks Wikipedia! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.73.228.5 (talk) 21:52, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

"You went the wrong way, old King Louie", to tune of "You came a long way from St. Louis" :

... but you were bad, you must admit.
We're gonna take you and the Queen
Down to the guillotine
And shorten you a little bit.

"I see bones", to tune of "C'est si bon":

I see hips
And [fourteen?] paper clips.
Three asparagus tips,
Among the lovely bones.

I see your spine,
And your spine looks divine.
It's exactly like mine,
Now doesn't that seem strange?
And in case / you use pay telephones
There's two dollars in change
Among the lovely bones. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.9.237.73 (talk) 21:21, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

And I fondly remember these words from "Here's to the Crabgrass":

Each new appliance
Treats you with defiance
Until it finally falls apart.

Call a repair man,
In a week he’s there, man
To knock your kitchen walls apart. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.9.237.73 (talk) 23:19, 25 November 2009 (UTC)

"Fat Person" and the Marshall Plan

The current material suggests that Allan actually might have been blaming his obesity on the Marshall Plan. In his own words, though, he said, "... before the Marshall Plan was even heard of." He was born in 1926, and thus would have been in his twenties, too late for childhood fattening, at the Plan's time, which was in the late 1940s, shortly after WWII.

Someone who has the time and the gumption (and access to the appropriate source material) might like to write something better. I'd do it right now, but the margins on the page are too small. Snezzy (talk) 15:07, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Sherman was a comedian, keep in mind. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:11, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

The Msrshall Plan had nothing at all to do with fattening children - at least not in America. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 06:33, 26 July 2011 (UTC)

Impressions

It is an extremely sweeping conclusion to say that the "JFK assassination" put and end to Kennedy impressions, and this led to less of Sherman's type of comedy. I presume the JFK assassination is a reference to the death of President Jack Kennedy. I have seen Kennedy impressions since, and to say that one comedians refusal to do any more stopped comedians doing impressions is ridiculous. Furthermore Sherman was not primarily an impressionist. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 06:32, 26 July 2011 (UTC)

Contradictory statements about his popularity

This article can't reconcile these two contradictory statements:

"Sherman's career success was short-lived: after peaking in 1963, his popularity declined rather quickly."

"At the height of his popularity in 1965, Sherman published an autobiography, A Gift of Laughter, and, for a short period at least, Sherman was culturally ubiquitous." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.18.232.137 (talk) 13:16, 24 June 2012 (UTC)

The perils of unsourced assertions in articles. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:33, 24 June 2012 (UTC)

I changed the sentence to alleviate the confusion. If in error, feel free to revert.THX1136 (talk) 22:42, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

lack of sources

there is a severe lack of attribution for the information presented. if his autobiography discusses it, then fine, let's add it, or alternatively, let's get some RS in there, otherwise, we are going to run into trouble. Soosim (talk) 07:24, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Biography

There was a biography of Allan Sherman written in 2013 by Mark Cohen called "Overweight Sensation" and published by the Brandeis Series in American Jewish History Culture, and Life. It has voluminous biographical history of his younger life, as well as his rise and fall from stardom. Cohen specifically sees Allan Sherman as a force in bringing Jewish people trying to blend into American society out into the open by blending Jewish humor with the most American tunes and themes. Something should be written about this in your article. Series: Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Brandeis (May 14, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 1611682568 ISBN-13: 978-1611682564 ~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.56.75.94 (talk) 01:01, 29 June 2016 (UTC)

song "Green Stamps" (music of "Ojos Verdes", which title translates to Green Eyes)

In the talk page about the Studebaker car, I just wrote a "popular culture" item which mentions the above recording by Allan Sherman. I did not create a "Studebaker in popular culture" section in the Studebaker article itself, thinking that my remarks were original research.

In THIS article, I do indeed notice the "Decline" section and the comment that 1963 was a peak year for Allan Sherman. His reference to Studebaker was prompted by the closing (December 1963) of Studebaker's plant in South Bend, Indiana, and notice that this happened after President Kennedy's assassination and before the onset of "Beatlemania", the lead wave of "British Invasion", already noted as having a negative impact on Sherman's career. (As noted, however, he also released "Pop Hates the Beatles".)

Posthumous releases

In the past few years, I have purchased

There Is Nothing Like A Lox ("The Lost Song Parodies of...") - Rock Beat, ROC-CD-3202, 2014

Through The Looking Glass

and

The Fig Leaves Are Falling (last 2 mfgd by "Amazon.com kydc" - is this their on-demand service?)

and have "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" in my to-purchase list, along with seeing that there is a Dr. Seuss album of 3 different stories including his songs with each, along with an album of The Cat In The Hat animated special.

I suspect many of these are illegal bootlegs - all but the 1st? Though the Dr. Seuss estate is usually quick on C&D orders... - but I really don't know anything about them.

I feel like something should be said about these, but I don't know what.

Jbsegal (talk) 22:24, 9 October 2018 (UTC)

His last I've Got a Secret Show

"Sherman was fired from I've Got a Secret in 1958, after guest host Henry Morgan was left short of scripted material by seven minutes.[4] Morgan filled the time by berating Sherman on-air.[4]"

The above is sourced to a newspaper article, which agrees with Sherman's autobiography (which is probably where the article got it from). But that is NOT what happened. The show is on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOgTj3uda5k). It's an awful half-hour where Tony Curtis demonstrates games he played in New York as a kid. The show does not run short of material, in fact they have to rush through the actual game part of the show, and Morgan does no berating, in fact, he seems to be doing he best to make the segment decent. Can this be changed, or is that impossible since the written sources repeat Sherman's story? Carlo (talk) 18:01, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

Other appearances and work

In 1964/5, Milton Bradley issued the game “Camp Granada”. Full name “Allan Sherman’s Camp Granada”. Board is pretty funny map of a nightmare summer camp: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12409/camp-granada

In fact, board is *really* funny: https://embarrassingtreasures.com/2012/12/09/spin-again-sunday-allan-shermans-camp-granada-game-1965/

Sherman also appeared in a TV ad promoting the game. YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eyHLV8Jz3B4 Name of clip: VINTAGE 1964 CAMP GRANADA BOARD GAME - WITH ALLEN SHERMAN SINGING "HELLO MUDDAH, HELLO FADDUH"

Some of this could improve the article. 2A00:23C7:E284:CF00:51EF:1234:EE9B:4A96 (talk) 15:36, 21 April 2021 (UTC)