Hill
Master Guide
Reged: 10/31/04
Posts: 9120
|
|
If you grew up around New York City in the 60's and 70's, you may already be familiar with Jean Shepherd, the author and satirist who held forth nightly on WOR-AM. His radio work, which showed up in book form finally in his first collection of stories, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash was the basis for the screenplay for "A Christmas Story".
Jean grew up in Hammond, Indiana, which became Hohman, Indiana in his stories. (There is a Hohman Ave. along the west side of Hammond) His actual boyhood home and Warren G Harding Elementary School, important locations in many of his stories and much of his radio work are placemarked here.
I recommend for your listening pleasure the following websites about Shep.
This web page has recordings of his work including "Red Ryder Nails the Cleveland Street Kid", the chapter which became "A Christmas Story" as read by Shep.
Flick Lives has much about Shep, including lots of links.
A web page about Shep's real boyhood home has a picture which looks a bit more modest than the one used for the movie.
2907 Cleveland Street, Hammond, IN. Shepherd's actual boyhood home. His room was upstairs. He became quite a ham radio fiend and had a large antenna out in the yard. In one of his stories he tells about the antenna being hit by lightning whhich was accompanied by a huge blast of thunder. One unsubstantiated account of the family history claims they moved right after that due to damage caused by the lightning strike.
The movie version in Cleveland, OH*
All images from www.flicklives.com except (*) which is from www.achristmasstoryhouse.com
 as Shep would say. Oh, and "Keep your knees loose!"
mp050106
Edited by Hill (12/12/07 03:40 PM)
|
Hill
Master Guide
Reged: 10/31/04
Posts: 9120
|
|
Shepherd's mind devised a great book hoax - the story of
I, Libertine can be found in the link. The attachment is the studios he broadcast from, and where he hatched the plot, including the name of the "novel", with the help of his late-night listeners.
The book was actually written by well-known science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon , and the cover illustrated by Kelly Freas , well known for SF cover art and contributions to MAD Magazine.
Edited by Hill (01/01/08 04:18 PM)
|
bwcox
First Post
Reged: 08/19/05
Posts: 1
|
|
The Location that you posted for Warren G Harding is wrong. That is the current location, not the location where it was when Jean Shepherd went to Harding .
It was just accross the Street in the empty lot just to the west.
Warren G. Harding Elementary School- Constructed in 1924 at 3107 Cleveland Street. Replacement structure built in 1949 at 3211 165th Street, with additions made in 1957 and 1961. Special note- this school was preceeded by a temporary Gibson School founded in 1922.
|
Hill
Master Guide
Reged: 10/31/04
Posts: 9120
|
|
Image: http://www.flicklives.com
Duel in the Snow or Red Ryder Nails the Cleveland St. Kid was the origin of the movie "A Christmas Story". To create the movie, Shep drew from other monologs and short stories he had written describing his childhhood. There is a link to Shep reading the story here >>> http://www.maskmusic.com/other_music.html ( Apparently this url does not like to link so look for and click on " December 24, 1974 - edit - Red Ryder WOR Jean Shepherd (mp3) - (9.34 MB) " near the botttom of the list.
Merry Christmas and enjoy. 
The trailer for the movie
Edited by Hill (12/12/07 02:55 PM)
|
Hill
Master Guide
Reged: 10/31/04
Posts: 9120
|
|
Comparing a picture of the house with a view from Windows Live/Local actually puts the house a few houses down the street, just past the intersection.
The house now has been renovated and made into an attraction celebrating the movie.
Here is the web site.
Google earth view.
Windows Live/local view (before the front windows were changed).
Edited by Hill (12/12/07 02:33 PM)
|
diane9247
Humanitarian
Reged: 01/15/07
Posts: 1862
Loc: Californian in Oregon
|
|
Hill -
I noticed this post before leaving town to spend Christmas with my son & his family. I thought, "hmm, only 'Christmas Story' I know of is by Dickens..." I had never heard of this movie and was a little surprised that it seemed to have a cult-following. I thought nothing more of it...
So, I get to my destination. A trailer comes on TV announcing this will be shown on Christmas Day. My son stops in his tracks, "Ah! Christmas Story's on - I'm watching that!"
My grandson had to turn off his noisy new toys so Dad could have his pop-culture memories in front of the tube.
Diane
--------------------
Women for Women International - For the special needs of women surviving war.
Kiva - Small loans changing lives around the world.
Bukavu Foundation - For the Panzi Women's Shelter & other programs in Eastern Congo.
Room to Read - Change begins with educated children.
|
Hill
Master Guide
Reged: 10/31/04
Posts: 9120
|
|
Quote:
My son stops in his tracks, "Ah! Christmas Story's on - I'm watching that!"
The thing is, it was given cult status mostly by those who had never heard Shep ( I suspect your son if among those too young) on the radio, or for that matter had never heard of Shep. We Shepard afficianados are the ones who hunkered down under the covers with our transistor radios and an earphone from 11:15 to midnight on weekdays. As I mentioned, "A Christmas Story" is several degrees of separation from pure undiluted Shep. Many stories and versions of those stories were cobbled together to make the chapter in his first book which became the screenplay for the movie.
Some months back in college days I actually bought Playboy because I knew Shep would have one of his stories in it (as opposed to all the other months I bought it for its photographic content.  ) I finally bought the 2 disk DVD this year, partly to listen to Shep reading the story - not quite the same as his normally inventive stuff, but good enough to watch every year.
Link to Jean Shepherd: Radio's Noble Savage
Edited by Hill (01/01/08 04:50 PM)
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
View in Google Earth
View in Google Maps
Edit
Reply
Quote
