The amazing thing, looking back at those cartoons, is how much classical
music was still part of the "general public"' experience.  The cartoons
rely on a public knowing what they're poking fun at.  Show those today
and almost no kid under 30 will know what the fuss is about.

Sadly, not everything funny from the 50s and 60s survives.  I heard a
Smothers Brothers routine on the radio last night that was embarassingly
banal and stupid.  Bugs and his gang were much cleverer.

Alas, would that there were something out there in the popular
entertainment field that drew on classical music for subject or object.
But as a recent study posted in satirical e-zine, The Onion, website
(www.theonion.com) noted:  79% of the American public still doesn't get
it.  Check "it" out.

Eric Kisch