1239 old frothingslosh

Transcription

Munsey –––––––––––– OLDE FROTHINGSLOSH BEER ––––––––––– Page 1
THIRD DRAFT
Cecil Munsey, PhD
13541 Willow Run Road
Poway, CA 92064-1733
USA
PHONE:
E-MAIL:
858-487-7036
[email protected]
Date:
Words:
Rights:
Photos / Illus:
Price:
Periodical:
Category:
Jan. 2010
3,667
First Serial
27
Open
Open
Recent History
“OLDE FROTHINGSLOSH”
A beer made by Iron City Brewing Company (est. 1861),
currently a subsidiary of Pittsburgh Brewing Company
(“It’s flexible; guaranteed to fit any shape glass.”)
Researched and presented
by
Cecil Munsey
Copyright © 2008-2010
Rege Cordic – the creator of Olde Frothingslosh
In 1947 Pittsburgh Brewing formed a new subsidiary, Iron City Brewing
Company and invested $1 Million in an expansion and upgrade of its facilities.
By the mid-1950s Iron City (Fig. 1) had become the best-selling beer in the
Pittsburgh area, where it was especially popular with steelworkers.
(Fig. 1)
Olde Frothingslosh, a “boldly satiric and famous
beer brand” called the “pale, stale ale with the foam on
the bottom” (Fig. 2) was one of Iron City Brewing
Company’s most popular beers – both drinkers and
collectors have long sought to acquire the brand’s cans
and bottles to add to their collection. Through the 1950s
and mid-1960s, 32 different labels were featured on
Olde Frothingslosh bottles (Figs. 3 & 4). Each label
was limited to only 10,000 cases (240,000 bottles) and
was distributed mostly during the holidays.
Rege Cordic (Fig. 5) was one of America’s most
talented and funny radio personalities of the mid-20th
century. He displayed his talent every morning on
(Fig. 2)
Pittsburgh’s radio station KDKA. Radio listeners typically began their days
hearing a dubious trombone rendition of “Up A Lazy River” followed by
Cordic’s, “Hello there, you lovers of good music…and welcome to yet another
chapter of the day-by-day, week-by-week, true-to-life adventures of Cordic &
Company.”
(Fig. 3)
(Fig. 4)
In addition to creating Olde Frothingslosh as one of his on-air jokes, he
established Brick Throwing as a sport, replete with fan rallies, a “Miss Brick”
contest, and the hobby’s official magazine, Thud.
One year he organized a 14-car train for a suburban whistle-stop campaign
by his fictional political candidate Carmen Monoxide.
Perhaps one of his best creations was inspired by near-tragedy. One
December night in 1964, a wayward Pitt student zoomed off the end of the
incomplete Fort Duquesne Bridge, miraculously landing unhurt on the Allegheny
riverbank. Within weeks, hundreds of thousands of cars bumpers were labeled
“Official Entry, Cordic & Company Bridge Leap Contest.” Taking no chances,
police sealed off the bridge with giant concrete barriers.
(Fig. 5)
During most of his 22-year run, Cordic and his group commanded as high
as an 85 share (85% of all radios in Pittsburgh were tuned to “Cordic &
Company” while it was on) in morning drive time. By the end of his tenure in
Pittsburgh, Cordic was reportedly earning $100,000 a year, a huge sum for a radio
host in the 1960s.
Cordic & Company created a notable cast of characters: atrocious punster
Carman Monoxide; the philosophical Slav garbage man Louie Adamchevitz; tipsy
golf pro Max Korfendigas; Omicron, the bottle-shaped Venutian bureaucrat,
incensed when Earthlings returned him for the deposit.
Rege Cordic the pioneering genius of ‘the theatre for the mind (the radio)’
loved a good spoof and in 1953 created a once non-existent brew known as “Olde
Frothingslosh.” In the beginning, this fictitious beer was just that but thousands
of Pittsburghers began to search for the "pale stale ale with the foam on the
bottom." Retailers and tavern owners were inundated with requests for this brew.
Finally, under great pressure, radio station KDKA joined with the Pittsburgh
Brewing Co. in 1954 and released a small run of this beer. Naturally, it was huge
success. The firm also sent out 500 cases (12,000 bottles) of its “Tech” brand
beer with Olde Frothingslosh labels to shareholders in 1955 as a Christmas gift.
The idea was a hit, and the mythical brew became real and was manufactured
each winter for years.
As indicated above, the first the bottles were filled with Pittsburgh
Brewing Company’s Tech brand; and eventually, the flagship Iron City brand
(Fig. 6) became the liquid of choice. Each year a different radio campaign was
created and labels were designed to coincide with the audio theme. The
characters in this spoof supposedly were from England and included Sir Rege
Frothingslosh, the founder (Figs. 7 & 8). He was said to bathe in the beer.
Because the foam was on the bottom, he likened it to a feather bed.
(Fig. 6)
By 1960 Olde Frothingslosh’s popularity had increased to the point that
$200,000 was budgeted to promote it. Slogans and tag lines ran the full gamut:
•• Oh my gosh, it’s Olde Frothingslosh.
•• A whale of an ale for the pale stale male.
•• Brewed from the muddy waters of Upper Crudney on the Thames, just
down river from the glue factory.
•• The castle-like brewery was built in record time; they worked knights.
•• Hippety Hops makes it Tops.
•• Hi dittom dottom, the foam is on the bottom.
•• Neurotically inspected brewed with the exclusive Dank Tank formula.
•• Sold only once a year! One taste will tell you why!
•• Brewed with just the kiss of the mops.
(Fig. 7)
(Fig. 8)
The saga (legend or maybe folk tale) of “Olde Frothingslosh” as imagined and
told by Pittsburg radio deejay, Rege Cordic:
“‘Oh, my gosh! Its Frothingslosh!’ exclaimed the hardy
band of imbibers in the small pub at Upper-Crudney-On-TheThames, England. Their jubilant voices echoed through the
morning mists, ‘By Jove! The foam IS on the bottom!’ In all its
amber glory, the first glass of Olde Frothingslosh Pale Stale Ale
stood before the amazed crowd, the beer floating on TOP of its
own foam. “Messy mussy” was a thing of the past! History had
been made! The distinguished inventor, Sir Reginald P.
Frothingslosh (Fig. 9, 10, & 11) smiled and shared his triumph
with Lady Frothingslosh (Fig. 12). Long years of research and
experiment were finished. Success was at hand; soon after the
world would sing the praises of his unique brew.
“That was a long, long time ago. Today, as we all know,
Olde Frothingslosh is revered around the globe as the first and only
Foam-On-The-Bottom-Beer.
“Some insist that its extraordinary character comes from
the mystic waters of the river by the brewery just downstream of
the glue factory. Others argue that the hops hold the secret.
Shipped in from the far off Province of Hippity, the Hippity Hops
contribute a mystic ‘something,’ but none can say exactly what it
is. The ancient formula remains locked in the vaults beneath the
brewery and in the minds of a few trusted members of the
‘Frothing-staff’.”
(Fig. 9)
(Fig. 10)
(Fig. 11)
(Fig. 12)
The factual story (not a legend or a folk tale) of “Olde Frothingslosh” as truthfully told
by Pittsburgh radio deejay, Rege Cordic:
“Olde Frothingslosh Pale Stale Ale actually originated in
the early 1950s on the comedy radio show, “Cordic & Co.” that I
perpetuated for many years on WWSW and KDKA in Pittsburgh,
PA. In the early morning hours between six and ten, many strange
aberrations can flash through the mind of the hapless chap who
stands there for four hours a day, six days a week making a valiant
effort to sound awake and enthusiastic. Developing our own form
of radio satire, my talented cohorts and I recorded a series of “puton” commercials extolling the virtues of this rare beer with the
famous “Sinking Suds.” While we did many fictional commercials
on the program (Gizzard’s Little Cotter Pins, the Crudleigh V-9
line of automobiles, a breakfast cereal made from weeds:
“Weedies”), by far the most successful was that “Whale Of An Ale
For A Pale Stale Male,” Olde Frothingslosh.
The audience
seemed to enjoy the fables we built around it. We broadcast
stories of the tragic day when a barge filled with beer malt on its
way to the brewery sank in the Thames and the golden goo
infiltrated the water supply of the towns downstream. The good
citizens felt wonderful for days! Shipping problems developed
because the beer was so light, the refrigerator cars weighed less
when loaded than when empty. They literally floated over turnouts
and rough rail joints.
“Another big reason for the singular success of
Frothingslosh was that after a while, it became REAL!
“It came about this way. A certain Mr. S. E. Cowelt was a
regular listener to our show. This imaginative gentleman also
happened to be president of one of Pittsburgh’s largest breweries
[Pittsburgh Brewing Co.]. He suggested that we actually put the
product on the market. Until he explained his scheme, I thought
the poor man was suffering from an attack of “The Vapors.” The
plan, however, was a clean strike of salesmanship: for the
Christmas Holidays he would package his regular brand of beer
under the Olde Frothingslosh label as a special party item. The
sales success of that product in the Pittsburgh area is a tribute to
his wisdom.
“In time, ESQUIRE Magazine (July 1959) devoted an
entire feature story to “The Legend of Olde Frothingslosh.”
Several lesser publications picked up and embellished the story.
At one point, I even found my photo sandwiched in between
several well-endowed lovelies in one of the better “Girly”
magazines. Legend surrounds many of our early attempts to do
television commercials for this “real” beer. Remember that most
local commercials were performed “live” in those pre-video tape
days. Thus, it was that Bob Trow, one of my stalwart partners,
was induced to hang upside-down on a trapeze in the studio to
demonstrate how light the beer was; when Bob was shot from the
chest up with an inversion device in front of the camera lens,
naturally, the beer flowed UP when he removed the cap. Would
you believe that we received complaints from those who missed
the gag and took us literally? Much of the confusion was a tribute
to our stage hands who were able to display foam-on-the-bottom
beer on television by cramming a layer of Styrofoam in the bottom
of a beer glass, pouring in some “normal” beer and scraping away
its genuine collar. On the small tube, one would swear that the
foam WAS on the bottom—even though the bubbles were “rising”
in the wrong direction. The stories go on and on.”
The humorous labels changed every year and became favorites of
collectors. The brewery released new editions of Olde Frothngslosh even after
Cordic left Pittsburgh, continuing until 1982 and then reviving the brand in 1998,
and more recently in 2007.
This beer was a punster’s dream
In 1969, a beauty contest was held to crown a Miss Olde Frothingslosh
(Fig. 13). The “big” winner was “Fatima Yechburgh” (Marsha Phillips [Majors]
in real life). The various Olde Frothingslosh cans issued over the years have
chronicled her life, as follows:
“This winning contestant was from a small town outside of
Pittsburgh. It is considerably smaller since she left. She was
chosen on the basis of beauty, talent, poise and quantity. She’s the
girl all others look down on. Her formula for success is "Think
Big." Her occupation was listed as trapeze artist, and education
has her studying arc welding at night. She reads comic books,
racing forms, cereal boxes and other good stuff. Her hobbies
include soap carving, arm wrestling, skydiving and ballet.”
(Fig. 13)
Cans featuring photographs of “Fatima Yechburgh,” Miss Olde
Frothingslosh (Fig. 14), were produced from 1955 to 1968. In 1974 Miss Olde
Frothingslosh came back with a vengeance (Fig. 15) and in full color. More cans
were reissued in four different colors, including the original brown in addition to
blue, orange and red. In 1975 the cans were issued in purple, yellow, and silver,
followed by a white can in 1976. Pittsburgh Brewing Co. continued issuing a
profusion of other Olde Frothingslosh cans over the years.
Miss Olde Frothingslosh became quite the celebrity around Pittsburgh.
Events like ribbon cuttings, parades and sidewalk unveilings were right up her
alley. She reigned as Miss Olde Frothingslosh for 31 years. Marsha (Phillips)
Majors was her real name. In the spring of 2000, the woman with the big heart
died.
(Fig. 14)
(Fig. 15)
Obituary:
Marsha Phillips / Beer drinkers' Miss Olde Frothingslosh dies
Monday, May 29, 2000
By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Some people go their whole lives without finding their
niche, their place in the world, where they belonged. My aunt
belonged on a beer can.
Marsha Phillips, 54, a 300-pound-plus resident of
Rochester, died of a heart attack Friday in the Medical Center in
Beaver. But not before making her mark as Miss Olde
Frothingslosh, the woman whose largeness was depicted on a
specialty beer produced by Pittsburgh Brewing Co.
In 1968, Marsha was married to my uncle, Ed Majors, and
they used to baby-sit my brothers and me sometimes. Marsha, a
big girl all her life, also was a go-go dancer, billed as "The Blonde
Bomber," who performed in East End places like The Casbah and
Lou's Lounge.
That is how she came to the attention of the people at
Pittsburgh Brewing Company, who were looking for a grand way
to promote their novelty beer, Olde Frothingslosh, billed as "the
pale stale ale with the foam on the bottom." It was really just Iron
City beer inside, but we all know that it's what is outside that
counts.
Except in the case of Marsha. What counted with her was
what was inside. A wonderful, big-hearted woman with a sense of
humor that couldn't be measured in fluid ounces, Marsha shared a
hearty, heady laugh with everyone by donning a bathing suit and
posing for pictures that the brewery put on cans, calendars and
posters.
She received $800 for what was expected to be a one-time
holiday promotion. But the cans were a huge hit, especially with
beer can collectors who were quick to embrace the uniqueness -they tell me she was the first real person to appear on a beer can -and the humor.
Each can told a bit of the Miss Olde Frothingslosh story.
"She's from a small town outside Pittsburgh," the can
declared. "It's considerably smaller since she left."
Another can in another color told of her appearance in a
parade.
"Only one problem ... Miss Frothingslosh's float ... had to detour a
few blocks because of the Seventh Street Bridge weight limit.
"But Miss Frothingslosh kept her chins up and waved happily to
the surging crowd."
The beer itself had always been offered to Western
Pennsylvania with a chuckle. First produced in the 1950s, Olde
Frothingslosh was a splash from the creative juices of disc jockey
Rege Cordic of KDKA Radio. The novelty beer was produced
every Christmas, and the public drank it up.
My aunt came into the picture in 1968, when the brewery
thought of tweaking the promotion with a campaign built around a
fictional woman they called "Fatima Yechbergh," winner of a
make-believe beauty contest.
My aunt was Fatima Yechbergh -- and all the guys loved
her – especially the beer-can collectors.
Unbeknownst to many of us, there is a dedicated segment of
society that holds beer cans close to its heart. For members of the
Beer Can Collectors of America, their passion doesn't end once
they've drained the last drop from a can.
Will Hartlep, 56, of Mt. Lebanon, is a past president and
charter member of the Olde Frothingslosh chapter of the BCCA,
founded in 1973. The chapter has 128 members and is one of a
hundred across the United States. Hartlep recalled how the
original brown Miss Olde Frothingslosh cans were "a hot item"
when they debuted.
"We used to run ads in trade magazines, offering to trade
those cans for original cone-top beer cans, and we'd get responses
from all across the country," he said.
The response was enough for Pittsburgh Brewing to continue
reissuing the cans every year. They would usually send Marsha a
complimentary case of beer -- which she never drank -- but for the
most part, her contribution by then seemed complete.
She and my uncle divorced and she went to work as a
cashier at the Conway railroad yards. She also did time as a plussize clothing model, a wig model, a real estate agent and a
designer of floral arrangements. In 1979, she married Norman
Phillips, but she always maintained a friendship with her exhusband. In fact, she maintained lasting friendships with everyone
she met.
In 1976, Marsha was the guest of honor at the BCCA's
national bicentennial convention in Philadelphia. Hartlep said she
was "the hit of the party. Everyone wanted to meet her. They stood
in line for hours to get her to autograph their cans."
Phillips recounted how the crush of the beer can collectors
became so intense that the convention had to provide security for
Marsha, "big burly bodyguards" just to protect her.
Like most everything about life, Marsha laughed about it.
Later, in the early '80s, Pittsburgh Brewing Co. decided to
update the promotion. They paid Marsha another $1,000 and had
another photo shoot, this time in color. Marsha also agreed to
three personal appearances, including one at Station Square.
People -- admittedly, most of them beer can collectors -- turned out
in adoring droves.
"All beer can collectors would instantly recognize her," Hartlep
said. "I'm not so sure the average person on the street would.
“But Marsha was happy with that.
In the '90s, Marsha's health began to decline. She suffered
from heart disease, diabetes and post-polio syndrome. She was
bed-ridden for a time and had to have kidney dialysis for the last
couple years of her life. But she continued to be upbeat and called
and corresponded with her friends, family and fans. "She had the
most beautiful handwriting," Phillips said. "People loved getting
notes from her.
"She was absolutely delightful," Hartlep said. "There was a
beautiful girl inside that big woman.
And the cans remain popular. Hartlep said that while few
collectors might have the complete set of Olde Frothingslosh cans,
‘most people who collect have at least a few’ – So, a piece of my
aunt -- an important piece -- can be kept by everyone.
“Marsha -- Mrs. Phillips -- was a 1963 graduate of Beaver
Area High School. Her husband’s brothers Chip Fortune of
Rochester and Daniel Fortune of Salem, Ohio; and their children,
five nieces and one nephew, whom she adored, survive her.
“If you don't mind, I'll consider myself a nephew as well.
“Friends will be received tomorrow from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9
p.m. at the J.T. Anderson Funeral Home, 205 College Ave.,
Beaver. The funeral will be there at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
“The Olde Frothingslosh chapter of the BCCA is having a
meeting Saturday at Pittsburgh Brewing's Ober Brau Haus.
Hartlep assured me that the members would have a moment of
silence for Marsha, and then someone will make a toast. ‘Followed
by a beer.’”
As a tribute to her years of service, Pittsburgh Brewing Co. donated the
money for her headstone.
Cordic couldn’t resist Los Angeles
In 1965 Cordic couldn’t resist Los Angeles’ KNX (Fig. 16) invitation to
succeed Bob Crane as their morning drive-time deejay. Crane left KNX to star in
his own TV show, Hogan’s Heroes. Cordic’s show did not transplant as
successfully as he and KNX had hoped. It was canceled after only 18 months and
KNX switched to an all news format. However, he began a stable career as a
supporting player in films and TV-and as a voice talent for HBO as well as in
dozens of cartoons. He had a regular role in the 1968-69 detective series “The
Outsider” starring Darren McGavin. Cordic also appeared in a few motion
pictures, including Woody Allen’s “Sleeper,” Newman’s Law; and “The Wild
Party.” His voice was heard in others, as the clock, for example, in the 1977 film
“The Mouse and His Child.”
(Fig. 16)
Rege Cordic, born in 1926, passed away from
brain cancer in Los Angeles on April 16, 1999 (Fig. 17).
His most lasting contribution to humor, and incidentally,
to beer can and bottle collecting, was Olde
Frothingslosh.
The following is a photographic collection of
some of the more-than 30 cans featuring Cordic’s
imaginative creation, Miss Olde Frothingslosh:
(Fig. 17)
(Fig. 18)
(Fig. 20)
(Fig. 19)
(Fig. 21)
(Fig. 22)
(Fig. 23)
(Fig. 24)
(Fig. 25)
(Fig. 26)
(Fig. 27)
Selected references
BOOKS
__________ One Hundred Years of Brewing – A complete History of the
Progress made in the Art, Sci8ence and Industry of Brewing in the World,
particularly during the Nineteenth Century: Chicago and New York: H.
S. Rich & Co., Publishers, 1903, p. 390.
Anderson, Will. The Beer Book to American Breweriana: Princeton, New
Jersey: The Pyne Press, 1973, pp. 58 and 66. (Library of Congress #7379519 and SBN 87861-057-X)
Van Wieren, Dale P. “American Breweries II.” West Point, PA – Eastern Coast
Brewiana Assn. 1995.
PERIODICALS
Alden, Robert. “Advertising: Frothingslosh Makes a Splash,” New York
Times, December 6, 1960, p. 71.
DeParma, Ron. “Pittsburgh Brewing Improves Market Share,” Tribune
Review, January 30, 1996, p. D3.
Fahey, Allison. “Iron City Beer: It’s A ‘Burg Thing,” Brandweek. January 25,
1993, p.14.
INTERNET
http://www.allaboutbeer.com/collect/collect/frothingslosh.html
http://www.encyclopedia.cm/doc/1G1-63603107.html
http://craftoneunion.org/home/id54.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regis_Cordic
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/olde_frothngslosh
http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/129810251.html
http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5513
FAIR USE NOTICE
Fair use notice: Some material in this article was originally published by the sources above and
is copyrighted. It is offered here as an educational tool to increase further understanding and
discussion of bottle collecting and related history. It is believed that this constitutes “fair use”
of the copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you
wish to use this material for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner(s).
Website notice:
WEBSITE CONTACT INFORMATION
http://www.CecilMunsey.com
More than 1,000 free-to-copy well-researched articles
and other materials of interest to bottle collectors and historians
Cecil Munsey, PhD
13541 Willow Run Road
Poway, CA 92064-1733
Phone: 858-487-7036
Email: [email protected]
INTERNET AFFINITY
Affinity notice: [The author of the material featured on (http://www.CecilMunsey.com) uses and
contributes to the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. which is a nonprofit charitable organization
dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of free, multilingual content,
and to providing the full content of these wiki-based projects to the public free of charge. The
Wikimedia Foundation operates some of the largest collaboratively edited reference projects in the
world, including Wikipedia Commons (http://www.wikipedia.org), fourth most visited website in
the world. It also operates Wikimedia Commons a multimedia repository that hosts over
4,500,000 multimedia files.]
#
#
#
#
#

1239 old frothingslosh

Transcription

Similar documents

Take Part In The largest beer Festivals In Maryland

Info Sheet - DuClaw Brewing Company

"Cloudy with a chance of delicious: Cask ale," Sharp, December 2009

Florida Keys Jewelry

It`s about beer: Bayou Teche Brewing group

StarteRs MAIN courseS StarteRs

stock up save - Real Canadian Liquor Store

TEEN AREA - Oak Lawn Public Library

Brussels Beer Odyssey

Kegerators 101