Who was George Crater?

[Hardbopjazz]

I've never heard of him before. And what exactly is a jazz humorist? I sure wish I was at this concert. The best seats were 5 dollars. I've guess this had to be from the early 1960's.

Edited January 1, 2018 by Hardbopjazz

[JSngry]

Crater.

 

http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2016/07/jazz-humor-zoot-finster-series-by.html

http://jazzhistoryonline.com/Jazz_and_Standup_Comedy.html

 

[Hardbopjazz]

Thanks, but I still don't ever recall hearing of George Crater. A Woody Allen kind of humor? 

Edited January 1, 2018 by Hardbopjazz

[JSngry]

Crater, George Crater

 

[Hardbopjazz]

Typo. 

[JohnS]

Interesting post which takes me back a lot of years.

I remember reading some of his stuff in Downbeat and maybe Jazz Review back in the 60s.  Some of it was pretty funny.   I thought Crater was pseudonym but never thought much about it.  Now I know.

Edited January 1, 2018 by JohnS

[BillF]

A favorite album with me and my jazz loving friends c.1960.

Ed Sherman had clearly listened to Lenny Bruce, another favorite of ours.

[paul secor]

13 hours ago, BillF said:

A favorite album with me and my jazz loving friends c.1960.

Ed Sherman had clearly listened to Lenny Bruce, another favorite of ours.

I have the LP too, but hardly ever listen. I guess that it would be a good one to play for jazz loving friends, as you say. To me, Ed Sherman comes off as a jazz-influenced minor league Lenny Bruce. I assume that George Crater was a takeoff on Judge Crater. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Force_Crater

[BillF]

2 hours ago, paul secor said:

I have the LP too, but hardly ever listen. I guess that it would be a good one to play for jazz loving friends, as you say. To me, Ed Sherman comes off as a jazz-influenced minor league Lenny Bruce. I assume that George Crater was a takeoff on Judge Crater. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Force_Crater

I hadn't heard of Judge Crater. A fascinating read!

[paul secor]

2 hours ago, BillF said:

I hadn't heard of Judge Crater. A fascinating read!

I included the link because I thought that most overseas members wouldn't be familiar with his legend - as well as most U.S. members under the age of 50 or so.

21 hours ago, Hardbopjazz said:

I've never heard of him before. And what exactly is a jazz humorist? I sure wish I was at this concert. The best seats were 5 dollars. I've guess this had to be from the early 1960's.

By the way, that was quite a New Year's Eve bill.

Edited January 1, 2018 by paul secor

[JSngry]

Internet dates that concert as 1961.

I've only heard of Judge Crater because of frequent references to the name by Johnny Carson. Nobody where I lived knew who he was, so...thank you internet, eventually.

[paul secor]

Perhaps knowledge of the Judge Crater story was a NYC thing.

[T.D.]

2 hours ago, paul secor said:

Perhaps knowledge of the Judge Crater story was a NYC thing.

Probably, except for the Johnny Carson mentions. 

Growing up in the Midwest, Jimmy Hoffa was the mysterious disappearance of choice, supplanting D. B. Cooper.

[GA Russell]

Paul, it was much more than an NYC thing.  I remember asking my Bostonian mother about it fifty years ago when I was in high school (though I don't now remember why).

[medjuck]

Listening to cds of Coltrane's '61 European tour I was reminded of George Crater's comment "If I hear John Coltrane play My Favorite Things one more time I'm going to strangle Mary Martin."