![Jon Arthur and Sparkie No School Today 1957](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Jon_Arthur_and_Sparkie_No_School_Today_1957.jpg)
Jonathan Arthur Goerss (June 14, 1918 – February 24, 1982), known as Jon Arthur, was an American entertainer. As Big Jon Arthur, he was the host of the Saturday morning children's radio series Big Jon and Sparkie. Sparkie, "the little elf from the land of make-believe, who wants more than anything else in the world to be a real boy,” was actually the recorded voice of Jon Arthur played at a fast speed.
[ Dunning, John. ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press, 1998.]
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Arthur was born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania
New Kensington, known locally as New Ken, is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It is situated along the Allegheny River, northeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 12,170 at the 2010 census.
History
Like much of Westmoreland Cou ...
to Rev. Daniel Friedrich Goerss, a Lutheran minister, and Esther Eleanor Leverentz. His parents were both from Niagara County, New York
Niagara County is in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 212,666. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word ''Onguiaahra''; meaning ''the strait'' or ''thunder of waters''.
Niag ...
. He was a third-generation German-American; his paternal and maternal great-grandparents all emigrated from Germany. From his home in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, Jon Arthur went to radio school and then began his broadcasting career at radio station WJLS ( Beckley, West Virginia), signing on two weeks after the station went on the air in 1939. Arthur later left Beckley for Ogdensburg, New York
Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and de ...
and soon headed for the West Coast.[ Arthur died in Alameda County, California in 1982.]
''No School Today''
At WSAI in Cincinnati, Arthur began the ''Big Jon and Sparkie'' show, carried daily on 181 ABC stations beginning in 1950. ABC also aired his two-hour Saturday show, ''No School Today'', heard weekly by 12 million listeners on 275 stations. The show's theme song was "Teddy Bears' Picnic
"The Teddy Bears' Picnic" is a song consisting of a melody by American composer John Walter Bratton, written in 1907, and lyrics added by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy in 1932. It remains popular as a children's song, having been recorded by nu ...
" as sung by Ann Stephens. Cincinnati's Don Kortekamp, who was an editor at WSAI, teamed up with Arthur to become the scriptwriter of ''Big Jon and Sparkie''.[
Arthur originally created the character of Sparkie as a young scamp who would interrupt him while he was on the air. WSAI's station manager asked Kortekamp and Arthur to expand this into a radio program. Arthur voiced all of the various characters while Kortekamp provided the scripts for their adventures and Donald Poynter, a local businessman in the novelty business, produced a Sparkie puppet. Kortekamp drew on his memories of his childhood in ]Cheviot, Ohio
Cheviot is a city in west-central Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cincinnati. The population was 8,375 at the 2010 census.
History
In 1818, a Scottish immigrant named John Craig purchased a half section of of Green ...
when creating new characters and the plots for the program. Mayor Plumpfront, the Krausers, Clyde Pillroller, and Eukey Butcha were all based on people he knew while growing up.[ However, in 1951, the station did not renew its contract with Arthur and the program then moved to new Cincinnati studios to continue its ABC radio broadcasts.]
The Saturday morning ''No School Today'' usually featured Sparkie's recounting of the latest serial episode of ''Captain Jupiter'', which he and his friend Rabbit Ears McKester saw at the movies. Reference was often made to Captain Jupiter's arch enemies, Montmorency Clutchrider and Ivan Crusingspeed, who seemed to be featured in name only.
Listeners could write in to the show and be mentioned in the birthday segment. The song "Happy Birthday, Friend" was sung.
While the program was not able to make a successful transition to television, it found a new life for 20 years (1962 to 1982) on the Family Radio
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Network. At one point, Kortekamp had plans to try remarketing the characters and their new adventures.
Other media
The radio program was adapted into the comic book, ''Big Jon and Sparkie'', published by Alden Getz for Ziff-Davis
Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. First founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology-oriented media websites, online shopping-related services, an ...
. Getz also published ''The Daily Weekly'', a promotional newspaper giveaway based on the ''No School Today'' radio program. The comic book ran for four issues.
The radio characters were also among the first media personalities satirized in '' Mad'' when Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...
wrote "Big John" and "Sparkie" into "Robin Hood!" in the fourth issue of the comic book.
During the 1960s, Jon Arthur broadcast middays at WKRC in Cincinnati. Arthur's life story was featured on the radio show '' Unshackled''.[
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References
Listen to
''No School Today''
External links
Bob Cox's Yesteryear
Episodes of Big Jon and Sparkie at the Internet Archive
Big Jon Arthur singing "I Bought Myself a Parakeet"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Jon
Radio personalities from Cincinnati
Radio personalities from Pittsburgh
People from Cheviot, Ohio
1918 births
1982 deaths
American people of German descent