Al Fike the Modern Minstrel Man 1912 - 1996

By Kay Hoflander

Life in the early 1900s was quite different from today. The pace was slower (or so we believe in retrospect). The music was sweeter. And, one learned life by the living. Then came the roaring Twenties. The pace quickened. The music became more upbeat, spiked with heady mixtures of jazz, ragtime and blues. By the early 1930s the entire country had metamorphosed. Entertainers like Al Jolson, Jimmy Durante and Sophie Tucker were the rage, and country and western was just beginning to come into its own.

Sitting back in his Missouri home and absorbing it all was a young man named Al Fike. Born in 1912, and a schoolteacher by trade, he listened to the sounds of the country growing around him, absorbed them, and made them his own. This collection period continued until the late 1940s when, to the surprise of family and friends, he announced a career change, and the legend of Al Fike the Entertainer was born!

After that, Al Fike, The Modern Minstrel Man, regaled audiences from coast to coast. Whether dressed in candy-striped jacket and straw hit reprising the classics of George M. Cohan or mimicking such greats as Ted Lewis, Durante and Jolson, Al Fike single-handedly kept the traditions of vaudeville alive in this country. He also introduced new music and new stars to his routines so that his show was a virtual performance library of American music, idioms, composers, and styles.

In short, Al Fike was a living legend, preserving and enhancing the traditions of the American musical stage as no other performer has ever done. Seeing The Al Fike Show was a rare opportunity to see an entertainers entertainer perform.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 27, 2006
• ISBN: 9781467812870

Book preview

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© 2007 Kay Hoflander. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 6/21/2007

ISBN: 978-1-4259-6149-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4259-6150-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4678-1287-0 (e-book)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Cover illustration by Al Chapman.

Computer design and enhancement of photos by Joseph Hoflander.

(Author’s note: all photos, unless otherwise indicated, are used with the permission of Al Fike’s family members, Vi Fike and Bill Kneale, and of his friends, Larry Wegner and Dan Hodges.)

Contents

FOREWORD

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

For Abbie Kreek Marriner

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Al Fike and his beloved Rocky Mountains reprinted with permission of The Estes Park Trail-Gazette; John Cordsen, managing editor; Dave Pierce, photographer. Originally published in the Prime of Your Life edition, Autumn, 1989.

FOREWORD

Al Fike – The Modern Minstrel Man

1912-1996

What Hath Age to do with Years

(From Normal Instructor and Primary Plans)

"Youth is not a time of life—it is a state of mind.

It is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, vigor of the emotions.

It is a freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a predominance of courage over timidity,

the appetite of adventure over the love of ease.

This often exists in a man of fifty more than in a boy of twenty."

If Al Fike had a mantra for his life, the above instruction for teachers and administrators might have been it. Al followed this credo when he was a one-room school teacher, a superintendent, and a fine arts supervisor in the 30’s and 40’s in northwest Missouri. He followed it when he decided to retire in 1948 from a long career in Missouri as an educator, move to Colorado, and become a professional entertainer.

Anyone who knew him could attest that he had more spirit of adventure at the age of 50 and beyond than any boy of twenty!

I found the above verse from the Normal Instructor and Primary Plan for teachers tucked in with stacks of memorabilia in a box that came one day with instructions to write his life story. Al told me that he kept the above verse, neatly typed on a card and safely stored in his desk, so he could never forget its message.

Al aptly called the collection he sent me his big box. Also in the box, were letters from the famous and the not-so famous, pictures taken with stars, show bills, ticket stubs, reviews from entertainment columnists, and stacks of memorabilia. Al’s note that came inside with the treasures read, I finally finished sorting through the big box—Mercy! For those of us who knew and loved Al Fike, we remember that Mercy was Al’s favorite expression.

In 1994, Al and I began talking seriously about writing his life story. He started collecting things to include in his big box. Some memories were written on a legal pad, in his distinctive hand. Sometimes he wrote in bold black ink, but more often than not, he wrote in his favorite ink color, bright green. He printed mostly, but, nevertheless, his signature was dramatic, a logo in and of itself. Just like his handwriting, there was never anything uninteresting about Albert E. Fike. Even how he received his name is an out-of-the-ordinary tale. Story has it that his parents could not think of a name for their second-born son until Al’s mother happened to look out the window and saw a Prince Albert Tobacco billboard on the side of the general store. From that moment on, he became Albert, although everyone around him knew that he preferred to be called Al.

At first, the pile of material and photographs in Al’s ‘big box" seemed overwhelming to me. It didn’t take long, however, for me to thoroughly enjoy the experience of finding surprises in the box. There were stacks of show bills, newspaper clippings, entertainment reviews, and personal notes explaining a photo or a letter. There were letters and photos from stars (such as Liberace, Faye Emerson, Judy Collins, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Dinah Shore, Minnie Pearl, Jimmy Durante and Jack Paar); scores of letters from old friends, family, and fans; even personalized cartoons from Fred Neher, a nationally-syndicated cartoonist; as well as notes from politicians and college administrators. A great find included a note from Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and mother-in-law of Al’s dear friend, Faye Emerson.

Also in this box of riches was an original song, The Hot Tamale Man. Al wrote and registered it with the Library of Congress in 1951. Al registered his first original song, The Orchard Swing, with the Library of Congress in 1938. That registration certificate was included with the assortment of memorabilia, but, unfortunately, I could not find the musical score. I also found some of Al’s original poems. One, a hand-written poem, Ye Olde Picture Frame, was a pleasant find in Al’s box of keepsakes. Al used rich, brown terracotta ink and hand-printed the verse on parchment. Regrettably, no date was inscribed. The frame, stamped on the paper in the same ink color, surrounds the poem. One more piece of this glorious storehouse of memories!

Time though, both his and mine, would prevent us from continuing on the book project. My time was taken with the needs of a houseful of energetic boys, and his time was taken by the requirements of old age and illness. Al patiently said to me once just before he died, Just write it when you can and write it nice. Someday, the time will be right.

Now, it is.

Cousin Kay Jean

2006

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Albert (Al) E. Fike in the late 1940’s: superintendent of schools, principal, one-room rural school teacher, fine arts supervisor for county schools, and Methodist preacher.

Timeline

Albert E. Fike

1912-1996

Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending,

ever-improving path.

You know you will never get to the end of the journey.

But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.

Winston Churchill

Life in Missouri

*    Born March 2, 1912, in Forest City, Missouri.

*    Attended Bigelow Grammar School, Bigelow, Missouri.

*    Attended Forest City High School (traveled by train to school daily).

*    Graduated from Forest City High School in 1930.

*    Passed county teaching examinations and obtained temporary teaching certificate in the summer of 1930.

*    First attended Maryville Missouri State Teachers College in the summer of 1930.

*    Began teaching all eight grades in a one-room school in Bluff City, Missouri, and taught there from 1930 to 1934.

*    Taught at Woodville School from 1934 to 1939.

*    Attended college in Maryville every summer from 1930 until 1942 where he graduated with a bachelor’s of science degree in education in 1942.

*    Became one of the first Fine Arts Supervisors ever in Buchanan County, Missouri, from 1939 to 1940.

*    Served in the same capacity in Holt County, Missouri, from 1940 to 1941.

*    Named elementary school principal in Oregon, Missouri, in 1941.

*    During World War II, obtained layman’s license to preach in the Methodist Church, and his efforts kept two rural churches open during the war years.

*    For six summers from 1942 to 1948, attended University of Colorado in Boulder and would return to Missouri for the nine-month school year. During the summers, he participated in Shakespearean Festivals at the Rippon Theater at CU.

*    Became superintendent of schools in Burlington Junction, Missouri, in 1943 and stayed until 1948.

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Al entertaining in the 1950’s in Colorado.

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Al Fike enthralled audiences with his impression of Jimmy Durante at Denver’s premiere night club, the Taylor Supper Club, where he entertained from 1950-1958.

I loo`k to the future because that is where I am going to spend the rest of my life.

George Burns

Life in Colorado

*    Al’s mother died in 1948. He resigned his superintendent of schools’ position in Missouri and decided to stay in Colorado year round instead of just spending his summers there.

*    In the late spring of 1948, Al moved to Boulder, Colorado, and began teaching (in the fall) at Casey Junior High School. He taught there until 1950.

*    Opened a restaurant and tea room in the summer of 1948 in Central City, Colorado. He operated his What Not Tea Room with Bernice Geer, proprietor of Boulder’s Brass Lantern Restaurant.

*    During that same very busy summer of 1948, Al was discovered by Faye Emerson, Hollywood movie star and veteran of the Broadway stage. Al was playing the piano for friends at the Glory Hole Saloon across the street from his What Not Tea Room when Miss Emerson found him. Faye was performing at the Central City Opera House in The Play’s the Thing. She convinced Al to quit teaching and go into show business full time, and she also arranged auditions in New York City for him.

*    Al did a weekly radio show until 1950 on KBOL in Boulder while teaching at Casey Junior High.

*    During the summer of 1949, Al entertained at the old El Rancho Club where he was discovered by the wife of Sammy Toole, owner of the Taylor’s Supper Club in Denver.

*    In 1950, Sammy Toole hired Al to do a solo act between dance sets of the George Yadon Trio at his supper club, officially beginning Al’s professional show business career.

*    Al formed The Taylor Four group later in 1950. For the next eight years, they headlined every entertainment column in Denver and performed nationwide.

*    In 1952, Al built his new home at 1000 Rose Hill Drive in Boulder. Colorado newspapers featured pictures and stories about the modern, split-level, state-of-the-art house.

*    The Taylor Four played nationwide with performances on the Dinah Shore TV Show, the Tennessee Ernie Ford TV Show, Ciro’s in Hollywood, and several major clubs and casinos in Las Vegas.

*    During the 50’s, show biz entertainers from coast to coast began to notice Al Fike, and soon he became a friend of many of the great performers of the day.

*    In 1952 while performing a special gig at The Back Door in Denver, Al invited a 13-year-old girl to the stage to perform because he knew her father, a blind piano player by the name of Chuck Collins. Chuck told his daughter that Al would probably let her sing on his show. The young girl was Judy Collins. Al let her sing a couple of songs and remembered that the audience loved her. Not long after that, he contacted Mike Bisesi in Boulder who owned Michael’s Pub on Pearl Street and told him about Judy, asking Mike to give her