Songs of the Pogo Podcast Episode # 7

THE SOUNDS OF WALT KELLY - The Wonderful World of Walt Kelly

Welcome to the SONGS OF THE POGO Podcast where Hosts Frank Farrell and Ben Masterton recreate the hysterical and imaginative, Wonderful World of Walt Kelly; his writings, songs and comic strip stories mixed in with his personal memoirs and magazine interviews. “The Pogo comic strip was a mostly silent affair so it is interesting to think about the sounds of his work,” says co-host Farrell. “We are bringing sound to the world of Walt Kelly and all of it of course suggested by his particular genius,” Farrell continued.  “Walt Kelly was a great poet and the sounds of the words he chooses are playful and fun to speak and hear,” Farrell’s co-host Ben Masterton chimed in.”

Joining Frank and Ben for Episode 7 – THE SOUNDS OF WALT KELLY - are talented and versatile performers from all over the U. S. of A.; Norm Boucher as Walt Kelly, Darren Stephens as Narrator and Porkypine, Danny Crawford as Albert the Alligator, Jeanette Schwaba as a Bat and Mistress Flurry, Elizabeth Kelly as a Town Gossip, Julia Maish as Pogo and Kevin Blair as Wiley Catt. Ashley Oviedo sings Whither the Starling and Aisha de Haas sings A Song Not For Now. Both songs have lyrics by Walt Kelly and music by Norman Monath.

Walt Kelly (August 25, 1913 – October 18, 1973), was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip Pogo.  He began his animation career in 1936 at Walt Disney Studios, contributing to Pinocchio, Fantasia and Dumbo. In 1941, at the age of 28, Kelly transferred to work at Dell Comics, where he created Pogo, which eventually became his platform for political and philosophical humor. Pogo ran for 26 years in daily newspapers in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

Visit https://www.thesongsofthepogo.com for more about our plans for future episodes and where comments are welcome and/or Email us at songsofthepogo@gmail.com.

This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA Collective Bargaining Agreement.