Cortez Peters from Washington, DC: “I’m the world’s fastest
typist”
Peters was making headlines for his
typing prowess as far back as 1922. In
1934 he founded the Cortez W. Peters Business School in Washington, DC, one of
the first vocational schools for African-American students to learn business
and civil service skills. After his
death in 1964, his son, an equally gifted typist, would continue the family
business. Here, he performs a clever
rhythmic typing routine backed by Norman Paris on the piano, as well as an actual speed
demonstration.
Bernard George from Brooklyn, New York: “That was not a real
radio…I made those sounds – I’m a ventriloquist”
George
claims to be chief engineer of
Minitone Electronics and demonstrates what appears to be a miniature
radio. The static, interference and garbled sounds that came out of the radio
were all noises he was creating. There
is no indication that George ever used this odd talent professionally.
Special guest Peter Lind Hayes brings
with him Mrs. Lila Masson, the current Mrs. America. Masson had just won the title on November 23,
Thanksgiving Day, in Fort Lauderdale. Hayes tests the panel (separated into teams by
gender) with questions and tests posed to Mrs. America contestants, including a
cake decorating challenge. The original
Mrs. America contest ran from 1938 until 1968.
Contestants were judged not only on poise and attractiveness, but on a
number of homemaking activities. The
pageant was revived in 1977 and still operates today, though it is not nearly
as visible as in past years. Hayes has
written Twenty-Five Minutes from Broadway (Duell, Sloan & Pearce 1961).
This site was created with the Nicepage