E-MAIL MEMORIES, PAGE 29
TERRY GLAUDI AIME:
Hi Bob. A friend of mine sent me the e-mail from TD Carey (posted here on
an earlier page) about my Dad, Hap Glaudi, having a part in Gunsmoke. Yes,
it was him. Gunsmoke was on CBS and asked WWL for a local celebrity to play
a bit part as part of a promotion for WWL and Gunsmoke. It was 1964 and
my Dad took my younger sister, Karen and me with him to Hollywood. It was
the first time we flew and our first time in Hollywood. We met Matt Dillon,
Festus, Doc and Miss Kitty. My dad dressed as a townsman with a mustache,
hat, gun and holster and boots. By the time they finished splicing the film,
my dad's part was so quick that if you blinked your eyes you would have
missed him. I do have some pictures of him on the set with the stars. It
was fun and most of all are our memories of being with our Dad.
Unfortunately, my Dad never had a son. He was blessed with three daughters
and a wonderful wife, Millie. He wanted a boy so much, that he named me
after two baseball players. My name is Glen Terry. Maybe someone knows who
the baseball players are ... I think one may be Bill Terry. Anyway, my older
sister was named after him. Her name is Gayloyd. My dad's real name is Lloyd
and he was given the nickname "Hap" at Jesuit High School, short
for "Happy." "Gay" meant "happy" also, so
he put it together and named her Gayloyd. My mother said that she was going
to name the third daughter, so she named her Karen. We all live in the area.
Karen and I live in New Orleans, and Gay lives in Covington.
Thank you for letting me relive those memories and for your wonderful
website.
BOB:
What an honor to be visited on my site by the daughter of a great friend,
Hap Glaudi. Hap was certainly one of the most beloved broadcasters ever
on the airwaves in New Orleans, and a prince of a person.
ERIC TRACY, KFWB, Los
Angeles:
Bob: Joe Cahn, the Commissioner of Tailgating and former owner of the New
Orleans School of Cooking, was in town recently and we were reminicing about
the 'old days' in New Orleans. I loved my 8 years there. It got me thinking
about my old friends so I did a search looking for Bob Ruby. Your website
came up. Thanks for keeping my name alive in the "city that care forgot."
I had a lot of fun looking through your site...in fact, I can't wait to
give Hugh Dillard a call (thanks to you.)
If you'd like some stuff from my NO days, I've got it. Most of it
in boxes in my shed...but soon I promised to go through it and weed stuff
out. Pictures I can get my hands on easily, but I have airchecks, outtakes
of TV commercials done by WWL, some of the crazy characters that were part
of my mix (Sam Adams ... lost him, too), Vic Vickers, the poet laurette
of LSU and more.) Let's stay in touch and as my relics rise to the surface,
I will share.
BOB:
I don't have to do much to keep the memory of Eric Tracy alive here in New
Orleans. You are well and fondly remembered, both from WWL radio and New
Orleans Night People on Channel 26. Thanks for visiting the site.
JIM LOCKE, Montgomery, AL:
Bob: I read with great interest your excellent recollections of the night
Jayne Mansfield died. I am sure that it was a difficult scene to cover.
At the time, I was a youngster of age 13 and was living in Montgomery, Alabama.
My family and I was returning from a long trip in the family station wagon
to visit family in Bakersfield, California. We were returning through New
Orleans; my father was determined to see as much scenery along the way as
possible. We ate a late dinner at a New Orleans restaurant and went to our
motel to check in. There was some problem with the room and, rather than
choose another one, my dad decided to drive on to Mississippi. As we drove
through the late-night darkness I remember waking up as our car slowed.
Up ahead I saw traffic backed up and could see red lights flickering off
of fog that seemed everywhere. As we slowly made our way along, we all knew
there had been a wreck. As we passed the scene we could not see much, except
that a car was jammed underneath the read of a large truck. We knew it had
to be a very bad accident.
We drove further and my dad pulled into an all-night restaurant to
get some coffee for himself, my mom and my grandfather. Though I cannot
be certain, I am almost positive it was what the fellow who wrote to you
described as the White Kitchen. It seemed to be the only place open around.
My dad said some folks inside had mentioned the wreck and thought two or
three people had been killed.
It wasn't until the next morning watching the news in the motel room
that we learned it was Jayne Mansfield. It was so eerie. I will never forget
it.
BOB:
Surreal things happen in this world. That certainly was the White Kitchen
where you stopped that night ... not long after Jayne and the others had
been there, the final stop on their journey into history. It amazes me how
the Jayne Mansfield crash has taken on such a life of its own over the years...like
the mysteries and myths surrounding the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis,
JFK (see picture at top of JFK in New Orleans with Governor Jimmy Davis
and Mayor Vic Schiro) and ... someone well remembered there in Montgomery
... Hank Williams Sr.
TOM WISEMAN, California:
Seeing that picture of Alan Jaeger cracked me up. I went to Ferncrest (2222
Gentilly Blvd) with him and his brother Andrew, then Cor Jesu, before it
merged with St Aloyisius and became Brother Martin. We used to walk down
to the KB's at Elysian Fields and Gentilly and harass Miss Christopher at
the soda fountain. That was right across the street from A&G cafeteria
and Bert's Record's, where I used to stuff my portable tape recorder into
a gym bag and try to tape records instead of buying them. I remember the
one-hour Beatles shows on "TIX" and "TIX PREDICTS THE WEATHER!"
Then we would set all the buttons on the left of the car radio to "TIX"
and the ones on the right to "NOE" so we could switch back and
forth according to which song was on. I used to drink beer at the Barrel,
right next to the Library, across the street from the Pitt and the Steer
Inn. Before it was the Library it was a laundromat and I used to wait for
the bus there on my way to Cor Jesu. When I was fourteen I took Karate lessons
for a while from a Cuban guy named Carlos. Almost every guy in there was
from Chalmette. I was a boy scout with Andre and Rene Mouledoux. Their dad
was the scoutmaster and their older brother Warren was in it as well. My
neighbor, Greg Ostrick, who eventually did some time on the air, had the
call-in thing wired, and he taped it every time he won. He was a pretty
smart guy. Wonder what he's doing now. I live in (sic) California now, but
I so miss N.O. and when I come back I'm going to be sure to visit: BUD'S
BROILER, CAMELLIA GRILL, ST CHARLES AVENUE STREETCARS, CITY PARK, LEE CIRCLE,
LAKESHORE DRIVE, BRUENING'S RESTAURANT, BUCKTOWN, CAFE DU MONDE, MUMFREY'S,
AND CRAZY SHIRLEY'S, (if they are still there).
BOB:
I think those places are all still there. And it's ironic that you and my
good friend Alan Jaeger grew up together ... a WISEMAN and a WILD MAN.
TOM VOELKER:
I enjoy your site. Do you have any information on New Orleans Night People.
It was one of the most memorable (if not one of the best) of all locally
produced shows. Ding-Ding the Singing Bird, Harry the Singing Mailman, Ruthie
the Duck Lady, etc., what a cast of characters! I wonder if any taped exist.
BOB:
That was quite a unique show and fondly remembered. Late night on New Orleans
WWOM-TV Channel 26 and a host of eccentrics. Eric Tracy was the host, and
he just emailed us too (see above). We'll toss the question to him and see
what he says.
BOB ROBIN:
Hey Bob : Great web-site. What a pleasant surprise to hear so many great
memories.
BOB:
It was great WTIX DJ's like you who make it all possible! Your fame lives
on, being mentioned in "The Ballad Of The TIX Tigers."