It may come as a surprise to some, but show
business is not always glitter and sparkle.
As evidence for this not-too-profound statement
the Wallace and Ladmo troupe may be offered as
a prime example.
Last weekend the popular KPHO_TV performers
were booked to play an oper-air performance at
the Tempe Shopping Center. As showtime neared,
and nearly 1,000 anxious youngsters and parents
gathered, Wallace's alter ego, Bill Thompson,
started looking for the stage on which he and his
fellow entertainers were to perform.
"There was no stage," Thompson said. "Instead,
they carted out a bright orange truck with
'City of Tempe Garbage Truck' written on the side
I explained that it was unsuitable because it
had sides and the people couldn't us performing
from the back of the truck.
"The truck,"he added,"still had some garbage in it."
The driver, listening to Thompson's complaint,
drove off in search of a more suitable vehicle.
He returned in 10 minutes saying everything was
locked up and the show would have to come from
the truck-or nowhere.
Thompson helped jockey the vehicle into a position
which would afford a view to the largest portion
of the audience. The microphones were hooked up
to the nearby utility pole and everything was set.
But when the mikes was plugged in, it was
discovered that the power was off and no one
could turn it on.
The show, however, must go on.....
"We did 15 minutes of pantomine and some loud
screaming," Thompson said. "Without mikes and
with that many people we were as helpless as a
disc jockey without any discs."
Pausing a moment, he added with a wistful smile,
"People have said our show was a lot of garbage.
Do you suppose someone was trying to tell us
something?"