Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio – Baby Snooks "Golf Tea" (Aired 1939-05-18)

Main Theme:
This classic Baby Snooks episode showcases the comedic chaos that ensues when Daddy (Hanley Stafford) attempts to make a timely golf appointment with his boss, only to be relentlessly—and hilariously—interrupted by his daughter, Snooks (Fanny Brice). The episode blends family humor, wordplay, and the generational misunderstandings that defined the Golden Age of Radio comedy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Chaotic Morning Routine

• Tired Daddy is awakened early by Snooks:

  • Snooks presents "coffee," which is actually water from the goldfish bowl, setting the comic tone.
    • Notable quote:
      • Snooks: “Make believe, Daddy. Make believe it’s coffee.” ([00:39])
      • Daddy: “I got it from the goldfish bowl.” ([01:00])
  • Daddy is frazzled as Snooks demands stories and invents reasons to keep him engaged.

• Failed attempts for peace:

  • Daddy tries to reason with Snooks, only to run into her playful obstinance, culminating in:
    • Daddy: “I’d just like to go one whole day without giving you a spanking.” ([01:17])

2. Pre-Golf Shenanigans

• Snooks' playful logic derails Daddy:

  • She threatens, “If you don’t read me the funnies, your boss is gonna get mad.” ([01:56])
  • Daddy enlists Snooks to call a store to order a bathing suit for Mommy, but her memory mangles the message hilariously:
    • Snooks: “You want a large swimming hole with a pearl colored bell and two summons in it.” ([04:02])
    • Daddy exasperatedly gives up: “Ah, forget it. If she wants to swim, let her wear an apron.” ([04:13])

• Daddy discovers his golf clubs are missing:

  • Snooks admits to giving the clubs to the junk man for funny papers:
    • Snooks: “I gave them to the junk man yesterday.”
    • Daddy: “What for?”
    • Snooks: “For a stack of funny papers.” ([05:13-05:16])
  • Daddy's comic exasperation peaks here, setting up the trouble to come.

3. At the Golf Course: Misunderstandings and Wordplay

• Renting clubs and missing the boss:

  • Daddy has to rent subpar clubs and discovers his boss left already:
    • Daddy: “Cost me $2 to rent these broken down clubs. Then I find the boss didn’t wait for me. I’ll probably get fired, too.” ([05:38])

• Snooks' literal interpretations:

  • She questions every aspect of golf, causing confusion:
    • Snooks: “Is that tea? Looks like dirt.” ([06:43])
    • Daddy explains the difference between “tee” and “tea,” and between “ground” and “ground” in a comically circular exchange:
      • Daddy: “Because one is a beverage and the other is ground.” ([06:54])
      • Snooks: “I thought coffee was ground.” ([06:56])

• Flag and hole confusion:

  • Snooks: “Then why don’t they fix it?” ([07:32])
  • Daddy tries to explain golf terms, but Snooks persists, missing the intent every time.

• Interruptions during Daddy's swing:

  • Daddy pleads for silence to hit the ball:
    • Daddy: “If you ask me one more question, I’ll jump in the bathtub and drown myself.” ([02:37])
    • Snooks jumps in: “Let me run the water, dad.” ([02:41])

4. Snooks Steals the Show

• Snooks' golfing prowess:
  • Daddy, frustrated with his own performance, lets Snooks have a shot.
  • To everyone’s shock, she lands the ball four inches from the cup:
    • Daddy: “Well, I’ll be. What a shot. Dead to the pin.” ([11:39])
    • Snooks: “What do I have to do now, Daddy?” ([11:56])
  • When Daddy reveals the goal is to get the ball into the hole, Snooks shouts in frustration for not knowing sooner.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Opening comedic exchange:

  • Daddy: “Coffee? Looks like plain water to me.”
    • Snooks: “Make believe, Daddy. Make believe it’s coffee.” ([00:35-00:39])

• Snooks' logic about the bathing suit order:

  • Snooks: “You want a large swimming hole with a pearl colored bell and two summons in it.” ([04:02])

• Golf terminology confusion:

  • Snooks: “Is that tea? Looks like dirt.”
    • Daddy: “It is dirt.” ([06:43-06:47])
  • Snooks: “I thought coffee was ground.” ([06:56])
    • Daddy: “Coffee is ground, but this is a different tea and a different ground.” ([06:59])

• On missing the tee shot:

  • Snooks: “You missed it, Daddy.”
    • Daddy: “Ah, tough course. Well, I guess this rented driver’s no good. Oh, I wish I had a brassy.” ([08:47-08:50])

• Snooks accidentally outperforms Daddy:

  • Daddy: “Well, I’ll be. What a shot. Dead to the pin.” ([11:39])

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:25 – Daddy wakes up to Snooks’ “coffee"
• 01:00 – Snooks reveals coffee is from the goldfish bowl
• 01:46 – Explanation about Daddy’s boss
• 03:18 – Daddy gives Snooks the bathing suit order instructions
• 04:02 – Snooks garbles the order hilariously
• 05:13 – Snooks gave away Daddy’s clubs for funny papers
• 05:38 – Daddy rents clubs, worries about getting fired
• 06:43 – Tee vs. tea confusion
• 07:32 – “Fix the hole in the flag!”—classic Snooks logic
• 08:47 – Daddy’s missed shot and golf complaints
• 11:16 – Daddy lets Snooks take a shot; she gets it near the cup
• 11:56 – Frustrated, Daddy calls it a day: “Ah, come on. We're going home.”

Tone and Atmosphere

The episode is rich with zany, fast-paced dialogue and classic parent-child banter. Snooks’ inquisitive nature and Daddy’s mounting frustration capture the heart of family sitcoms from the era, offering timeless slapstick and wordplay. The loving exasperation between the characters grounds the comedy in warmth, as Daddy’s best intentions are thwarted time and again by Snooks’ irrepressible curiosity.

This episode is a delightful snapshot of 1930s radio humor, filled with timeless gags, linguistic misunderstandings, and the kind of familial chaos that’s as relatable now as it was then.