Mr. Harris & Mr. Martin

Hey pallies, likes our Dino-bro Otto Bruno at his self-tagged blog (clicks on tagg of this Dino-gram to goes there) continues to put the accent on our Dino with this great post featurin' patter 'bout our Dino and Mr. Phil Harris....includin' that stellar clip from the Dino-show where our Dino and Mr. Phil "enjoy a little toddy for the body."

Thanks to our pallie Otto for spreadin' more and more Dino-love at his pad. Dino-delightedly, DMP

Mr. Harris & Mr. Martin

June 11th, 2010 | Classic Radio, Random Musings

I was thinking this morning, as I often do, about the late, great, Phil Harris. Mr. Harris is not as well remembered today as say, the man for whom he worked for so many years, Jack Benny. Harris was the bandleader on the Jack Benny radio show for about seventeen years. His popularity on the Benny program led to his own show on radio with his lovely wife Alice Faye. Following his successful twenty year radio career he occupied his time doing some voice work – most famously as Thomas O’Malley Cat in Disney’s The Aristocats and Baloo the Bear in Disney’s The Jungle Book.

If ever there was a name that didn’t fit with the image of Disney, it was Phil Harris. As Frank or Dean used to say, if there had been an Olympic U.S. Drinking Team, it would have consisted of Frank, Dean, Jackie Gleason, Phil Harris and maybe Toots Shor. That’s why the pairing of Phil Harris and Dean Martin was such a natural – both played the parts of good-time boys looking to avoid hard work and sit back and enjoy a little toddy for the body.