Once again,
crummyandhardtofind.blogspot.com delivers the kind of hard-hitting investigative journalism that can only be found on this site!
In an earlier posting, I had referred to reviews I had on
IMDB.com. Up until a year ago (since I had last checked), my review for
xmas stinker
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians had appeared under the title:
Jamie Farr Keeps Martian Hams at Bay. Mysteriously, the review had vanished (Don’t worry folks, the others are still there!).
I
hadn’t given the disappearance much thought until recently. I happened to scan the actors on the
IMDB entry for
SCCTM and noticed no credit for Jamie Farr.
Hmmm, could my eyes be deceiving me? I was certain he was in this crummy classic! But according to
IMDB, the character Farr allegedly portrays –
Stobo – is credited to a certain “Al
Nesor”, a Broadway character actor whose most famous role was
Fleagle Eyed Eagle in
Li'l Abner. Not completely satisfied with the answer, I probed further. Googling “Santa Claus Conquers” and “Jamie Farr”, I uncovered some very interesting stuff!
The website
badmovieplanet.com claims: “The Martian playing
Stobo is
not Jamie Farr, as some would have you think. It was Al
Nesor, who also played a character in the
Li'l Abner musical - who everyone also mistakes as being Farr.”
And this from the
NY Times: “Farr was not in
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians during this period, as has often been reported; the cast of that turkey included a Broadway actor named Al
Nesor, who bore a startling resemblance to Farr and played many of the same type roles.”
Seems like the case was settled. But then I stumbled upon this nugget on:
www.alamedatv.org/programs/monster_santa.htmlAuthor Ed Schneider claims: “There has been much debate over whether Jamie Farr (from M*A*S*H) actually appeared in this film. He denies it, but the truth may be he is just ashamed.” Schneider has him credited as “
Stobo”.
To support Schneider’s theory, Jamie Farr’s
Wikipedia entry confirms: “He may also have played a bit part in
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.”
Who to believe?
Investigative work is never pretty, and investigating Jamie Farr is not prettier still. I went to
http://www.jamiefarr.com/ . The site suspiciously lacks a
filmography, usually an indication that there is some work better left “
undiscussed“. In fact, the site contains only a few references to his early career before he charges into M*A*S*H.
A “
Klinger Cover-up?“ You can’t dress this one up, Farr!
As they say the proof is in the
puddin’.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is now in the public domain and available for viewing over the web from many sites for free. So I reviewed the film in detail on
http://www.archive.org/.
I urge you to scan the film for yourself (you don’t have to sit
through the whole debacle). Find “
Stobo“ (he appears several times during the last twenty-five minutes) and tell me: is that Jamie Farr or not?
Here is another interesting fact: according to
IMDB.com,
Nesor was born in 1911, which would make him
54 years old when Santa was made. The
sprightly Stobo was more likely played by someone much younger.
However, my mind was made up after scrutinizing stills from Li’l Abner. I have included a few
vidcaps of Al
Nesor from that film as well as
Stobo pix from
SCCTH. It was difficult to nail
Stobo to Farr or
Nesor vocally, as
Stobo mostly giggles through
Claus; the few lines he did have were delivered at a high, goofy pitch.
But although
Nesor and Farr are doppelgangers, there are slight physical differences that can be detected, specifically around the lines of the mouth (Farr’s are not pronounced), and the sharpness of the nose (Farr’s is rounder). The lines and nose of
Nesor match those of
Stobo.
As a result, I agree with the Times assessment:
Stobo is played by Al
Nesor.
My next steps are to ensure the
Wikipedia entry for Farr is corrected.
Once again,
crummyandhardtofind.blogspot.com is on the job, and justice is served!
