What was your most embarrassing incident relative to giving or receiving a gift?
My Dad was not the kind who laughed easily, but two comedians from back in the day, Red Skelton and Moms Mabley, could have him in tears laughing so hard. Mabley, who appeared frequently on the TV variety shows of the late 60s/early 70s, was an older black woman who sounded like she gargled with gravel. For Christmas one year I bought my Dad a Moms Mabley album, and after Christmas dinner the whole family (plus a few extended family members) sat down to listen to Dad's gift. Within minutes, Moms launched into an extremely vivid, vulgar routine that would have embarrassed a longshoreman. Moms was quickly replaced with a Christmas album, I thought my Mom was going to have a stroke. The album disappeared, never to be seen/heard again.
In those pre-internet days, the only Moms we knew was the one we saw on Ed Sullivan, Flip Wilson, and Hollywod Palace. We did not know she was known for her "blue" comedy in her live stage shows and comedy albums.
My Dad was not the kind who laughed easily, but two comedians from back in the day, Red Skelton and Moms Mabley, could have him in tears laughing so hard. Mabley, who appeared frequently on the TV variety shows of the late 60s/early 70s, was an older black woman who sounded like she gargled with gravel. For Christmas one year I bought my Dad a Moms Mabley album, and after Christmas dinner the whole family (plus a few extended family members) sat down to listen to Dad's gift. Within minutes, Moms launched into an extremely vivid, vulgar routine that would have embarrassed a longshoreman. Moms was quickly replaced with a Christmas album, I thought my Mom was going to have a stroke. The album disappeared, never to be seen/heard again.
In those pre-internet days, the only Moms we knew was the one we saw on Ed Sullivan, Flip Wilson, and Hollywod Palace. We did not know she was known for her "blue" comedy in her live stage shows and comedy albums.