WHAT CAN I SAY? IT’S EMMA NUTT DAY!
“I’m very thankful that my first name was not Imma.” —EMMA NUTT
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Who was Imma — I meanĀ EmmaĀ — Nutt….and why do we celebrate her day today? Imma glad you ask-a that question.Ā ForĀ the answer in a Nuttshell, click here:
Emma Nutt, The Worldās 1st Woman Telephone Operator
Hello, Central? (I’d explain what Central was, but it’sĀ less thanĀ central to our conversation.)
I’m calling because, as you can tell fromĀ Emma’s hiring by A.Ā Bell, itĀ was soonĀ clear to him thatĀ this wasĀ bothĀ a Nutt job and a switch for the better. But back in those simpler times, being a telephone operator wasn’t all thatĀ simple:
Even a switchboard manned by a maleĀ in a military school wasn’tĀ off the hookĀ when it came toĀ complications (sorry aboutĀ theĀ clipped picture inĀ this clip, but unfortunately I can’tĀ find this scene inĀ full screenĀ (it’s fromĀ a Billy Wilder filmĀ starring Ginger Rogers):
Telephones have played a majorĀ part in many movies. Here are more of my ‘phoney’ favorites from yesteryear, starting with the one that started it all:
THE STORY OF ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL* (1939), starring Don Ameche as Bell
BELLS ARE RINGING (1960),Ā starring Judy Holliday and Dean Martin
DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954), starring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly
SORRY, WRONG NUMBER (1948), starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster
HIS GIRL FRIDAYĀ (1940), starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell
*If you ever pay a call on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, don’t miss the outstanding ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL MUSEUM at Baddeck. It’sĀ a ringleaderĀ among museums!
Of course, telephones weren’tĀ featured onlyĀ in classic films. Remember this TVĀ skit?
And now I’m going to GET SMART and quit while I’m ahead….andĀ Agent 86Ā is afoot:
Garfield Hug 12:08 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
Lol! That is name I don’t want either!ššHilarious readš
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mistermuse 8:28 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
I have a feeling your inanimate furball wouldn’t want that name either (Garfield Nutt?).
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Garfield Hug 8:59 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink
Nooo!! Garfield Hug is his nameš
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Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC 1:02 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
My father had a Top Secret security clearance level from the time he was a young man working on his Ph.D. (advised by Einstein & Land). After working in the missile program for much of his career, his last job in the Air Force was Congressional Liaison.
He loved to tell the story of the time he and his best friend Miles (a NASA bigwig at the time) both took off their shoes at the same time, held them to their respective ears (a la Get Smart) and said, sotto voce, “Can’t talk now, I’m with Congress,” put their shoes back on and tried to keep neutral faces until the startled Representatives nearby walked away quickly.
Loved this post – for more than that reason, one-ringy-dingy.
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD/EFD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to educate a world!”
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mistermuse 8:30 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
Thank you for that very interesting bit about your father. GET SMART was one of my absolute favorite TV shows in the 1960s.
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Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC 4:53 pm on September 1, 2017 Permalink
It was never missed in my Dad’s houseshold (obviously!) š
xx,
mgh
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scifihammy 2:47 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
Hilarious clips and Yes – The old switchboard was amazing! š
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mistermuse 8:37 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
Thanks. BTW, that’s Rosalind Russell in the AUNTIE MAME clip — the same gal who co-starred with Cary Grant in HIS GIRL FRIDAY (last film on my movie list).
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scifihammy 10:06 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink
š
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Don Frankel 5:58 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
Muse,
Least we forget these guys, the first users of the cell phone.
.
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mistermuse 8:44 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
Phew! That was a close call! š
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linnetmoss 6:16 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
Brilliant! Cell phones figure largely in Liam Neeson’s “Taken” thrillers, but they cannot compare to the oldies š
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mistermuse 8:58 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
Speaking of oldies, I’ll take this occasion to refer back to the “Hello Central” in my post with this clip of a song which was a big hit during WWI when American troops were fighting and dying on the battlefields of Europe:
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linnetmoss 3:53 pm on September 1, 2017 Permalink
Wow, I know who Al Jolson is but that one is new to me!
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mistermuse 4:32 pm on September 1, 2017 Permalink
Al Jolson’s singing could be a bit over-dramatic, but he knew how to put over a song in those days. He recorded HELLO CENTRAL in 1918 near the beginning of his fame as “The World’s Greatest Entertainer” (a title now apparently assumed by our humble President).
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First Night Design 7:30 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
They don’t make ’em like they used to! Lovely to be reminded of the great Lily Tomlin in Rowan & Martin – joyous memories of that particular series of sketches.
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mistermuse 3:03 pm on September 8, 2017 Permalink |
Sorry that I inadvertently overlooked your comment until today. As I mentioned in a Sept. 5 reply to BroadBlogs, Lily’s birthday was Sept 1 and I overlooked that as well when I wrote this post….sure signs that age is creeping up on me. Take my advice and don’t get old! š
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Ricardo 11:57 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
Whenever somebody on Facebook posts “Name something that you remember that doesn’t happen anymore” I put down “Waiting for somebody to get off the phone so you can use it.”
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literaryeyes 8:41 pm on September 5, 2017 Permalink |
Remember party lines? You’d pick up the phone and hear your neighbor talking to someone else, say sorry, hang up, and wait?
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mistermuse 6:48 am on September 6, 2017 Permalink
There were a number of movies in the 1930s & 40s in which party line (or crossed line) scenes with overheard conversations played a part in the plot (SORRY, WRONG NUMBER, listed in my post, was one of them). I personally experienced only a few times picking up the phone and hearing someone on the line….but then, I never was a ‘frequent try-er’ when it came to conversing on the telephone! š
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mistermuse 2:26 pm on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
Coincidentally, yesterday I was looking for quotes I might use in this post and came across this oldie: “If you think the art of conversation is dead, you have probably never stood around waiting outside a public phone booth.” –Evan Esar
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BroadBlogs 3:27 pm on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
You have a mind that is great at putting things together!
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mistermuse 4:42 pm on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
Thank you, but I’m not sure my wife would agree. Every time something goes haywire on the computer, I have to ask her to fix the problem! š¦
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restlessjo 5:02 pm on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
I worked on the Continental Exchange, just off Fleet St., many long years ago and that first scenario looks alarmingly familiar. Many thanks for your kind visit. š š
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mistermuse 5:29 pm on September 1, 2017 Permalink |
You’re more than welcome — it’s a pleasure to visit your blog!
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restlessjo 5:33 pm on September 1, 2017 Permalink
Thank you š
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thefirstdark 3:19 pm on September 5, 2017 Permalink |
Reblogged this on ReBirth: The Pursuit of Porsha.
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mistermuse 6:08 pm on September 5, 2017 Permalink |
Thank you for spotlighting this post.
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BroadBlogs 8:23 pm on September 5, 2017 Permalink |
EMMA NUTT — can’t believe that’s a real name. And the perfect quote: āIām very thankful that my first name was not Imma.ā
Interesting that telephones are featured so much in movies. Something about “the space between” and trying to connect in an imperfect world?
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mistermuse 9:00 pm on September 5, 2017 Permalink |
Indeed. Lily Tomlin practically made a “calling” out of her many telephone company skits like the one in my post. BTW, when I published this post on 9/1, I didn’t realize that 9/1 is her birthday. Belated Happy Birthday, Lily!
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Maria H. 5:24 pm on September 7, 2017 Permalink |
I loved all the puns! Old telephones are before my time, but I cannot imagine having to connect all those different people to each other! It looks really complicated.
Thank you for stopping by and liking my book review for Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. I just posted a new review on another science fiction book, so stop by again if you are interested.
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mistermuse 10:33 pm on September 7, 2017 Permalink |
Switchboard operators in those days must have had a lot of influence because they all had connections (if you still love all my puns after that one, I can only assume that you’re a glutton for punishment)! š¦
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