Author Archives: depolorization

I Killed Chatty Cathy

Posted on by

One night in the mid 1980’s, I was watching a rerun of “The Twilight Zone.” The episode was called “Living Doll,” and centered around a talking doll named Talky Tina. It turned out that Tina could do a lot more than talk.

Tina was was owned by a delightful little girl named Christie. Christie’s stepfather had become abusive towards her, and Tina would have none of that. Tina went beyond her pre-programmed phrases and threatened Christie’s stepfather, in fact, eventually killing him. I won’t tell you how, so if you’ve never seen that episode, please check it out. Twilight Zone – always great!

Talky Tina actually gave me an idea for a song. No, she did not speak to me, but the episode did. I recalled the “Chatty Cathy” doll of my generation, and how I used to hear her phrases over and over again. Even as a kid, I remember the neighbor girl endlessly pulling Chatty’s ring to initiate her voice recordings. Geeze, really!

Chatty was a cute doll, but come on, I could only take so much. I decided that I needed a funny song to mitigate my childhood trauma, and “I Killed Chatty Cathy” was born, or died so to speak.

My friend Barry, who happens to be a great guitarist, co-wrote the song. Well, we played the song for a number of people, and it seemed like we had a hit.

But what do you do with a weird novelty song about knocking off a talking doll from the 1960’s? Well you send it to Dr. Demento that’s what. Dr. D had a nationally syndicated radio show that played fun and weird songs from every decade. Dr. D’s show is where Weird Al got his start! As it turned out, Dr. D liked the song too.

The song was first played on Dr. D’s show in May of 1987, and was played another four times.

This was the first time I had heard one of my songs on the airwaves. Other than Dr. D, that would not happen again until 2010 (The Tonight Show). It was pretty cool.

I’ve included a YouTube post of the song below, and you can listen to the original broadcast on “The Mad Music Archive” (https://madmusic.com/song_details.aspx?SongID=5000) You can also stream or download it on a number of sites: Spotify, itunes, and others.

I hope that you enjoy the song. If you are a Chatty Cathy lover, I mean no offense, it’s all in fun.

As Dr. D used to say, “Stay Demented!”

Building A Morris Chair

Posted on by

Several years ago, I decided that it was time to buy a Morris chair. I’d seen them in my craftsman books and magazines, and always wanted one.

However, most of the chairs that were in my price range were made overseas. I wanted one that was made in the USA. Of course, those were all pretty pricey.

Plus, I always thought it would be cool to sit in a chair that I made. There was only one problem — these chairs are made of oak, you need a nice table saw and other specialized tools, which I did not have.

I decided that I would see if I could find a precut kit, that required sanding, glue-up, and staining.

After looking around, I contacted a woodworker who actually taught a class on making a Morris chair. I thought about taking the class, but by the time I flew across country, paid for a hotel, meals, and the course, I could have afforded to buy the pricey USA made chair.

Instead, I asked the woodworker if he’d make me a kit. We settled on a price, and several weeks later a fifty-plus pound box showed up.

I began by sanding, lots of sanding with different paper grits. Once sanded, the assembly began. I had to invest in a number of wood clamps, but I have used them many times since.

The pictures below, give you a pretty good idea of the assembly process.

Here is the chair completely glued up. Oh, the supervisor had to come over and inspect my work.

There is a lot that you can do in staining a project. I simply wiped on a red oak stain and later a clear satin finish.

Finally the cushions, not cheap, but I found a local upholstery shop to do the job. It turned out great!

Looking back on the project, I am glad that I did it. Today, there are more purchase options that are reasonably priced, but if you want to get more involved, the kit is a fun way to go.