Elmore Vincent
Elmore
Vincent (also seen at bottom left in the Mardi Gras Gang photo) was a
sawmill worker from Tacoma who dreamed of becoming a radio singer.
After his ninth audition at KJR, he was finally hired in 1929 for a
modest $32.50 per week salary. He first appeared on the Mardi Gras Gang
program as the “Northwest Shanty Boy,” singing lumberjack songs in a
tenor voice with yodel arrangements. Looking for an additional role on
the program, Vincent created a new comedy character - the word-mangling
“Senator Frankenstein Fishface”. He was an instant hit. In 1934, NBC
asked Vincent to bring his Fishface character to San Francisco to join
the cast of Meredith Willson’s “Carefree Carnival” network show. In
later years, Vincent was a regular on the Lum n’ Abner radio show and
“Little House on the Prairie” TV series.
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