The Land Across: A Glimpse of Nichols & May
The audio skit “Mysterioso” (1958), an improv to music, has two Commie spies meeting on a public bus in the USA. After they go through sign, counter-sign, counter-counter-sign, and all, they exchange brief professional paranoid observations about their immediate environment. One says, “I don’t trust the conductor, he’s very short” (1:30/4:38).
We turn to chapter 10 of The Land Across by Gene Wolfe:
Interested parties can find the skit by Mike Nichols and Elaine May on YouTube: link to "Mysterioso"
We turn to chapter 10 of The Land Across by Gene Wolfe:
I quoted, “’I don’t trust that conductor. Why is he so short?’”
“And you mean by that . . . ?”
“Nothing. It’s from a cartoon I watched one time, that’s all. Papa Zenon’s pretty short, and it popped into my head.” (109)
Interested parties can find the skit by Mike Nichols and Elaine May on YouTube: link to "Mysterioso"
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Nigel
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Aug 02, 2023 08:57AM
What a great find! Thank you.
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You are welcome, Nigel.Marc Aramini reports that Gene Wolfe told him it was from the cartoon "Rocky & Bullwinkle." This is certainly plausible, but there are many hours of material to weed through, so I have suggested that somebody reach out to the "Rocky & Bullwinkle" fandom to find out exactly where this very short bit is located. Since "Rocky & Bullwinkle" ran from 1959-64, I am still confident that the gag originated with Nichols and May, but it would be wonderful to find it with "Moose and Squirrel."
