Talk:Tex Antoine

Uncle Weatherbee?

I believe the name of Tex Antoine's character was "Uncle Weathbee," not "Weatherbee." Can anyone confirm? --The News Hound 23:35, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

• I seem to recall that the spelling was actually "Uncle Wethbee." --Wbwn 19:05, 25 May 2007 (UTC)
• "Uncle" was definitely part of his nickname; I'm not sure about the spelling of the rest of it, however.

--jtmatbat 15:51, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Real name

What was his real name? I think Tex was a nickname, and I dont see anyone named Antoine as a surname or given name in the SSDI. --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) 13:36, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

• I remember reading in one of the articles written at the time of his death that his full name (if not birth name) was Herbert Jon Antoine, with "Tex" indeed being a nickname. Unfortunately, I have no recollection now of exactly where I read that, nor do I know where the "Tex" moniker originated in his case. –Wbwn 18:00, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

You have a great Memory: Name: H. Jon Antoine SSN: 449-28-9777 Last Residence: 10028 New York, New York, New York, United States of America Born: 21 Apr 1923 Died: Jan 1983 State (Year) SSN issued: Texas I missed him because I was searching on the full date of his death. --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) 19:47, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

It looks like his dad was an itinerant salesman. Sr. was born in Alabama, and Tex was born in Illinois. The family was in LA by 1930, and by time Tex applied for a SS number he was in Texas. There isn't a single reference to his real name on the Internet. --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) 23:08, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

• Hmm. Sounds like that's where the "Tex" nickname came from, then. Not unlike with the late cartoon director Fred "Tex" Avery, who was born in Texas. –Wbwn 07:10, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Married

This does seem right. I have in my collection a copy of the Nov. 26-Dec. 2, 1966 issue (New York-Metropolitan edition) of TV Guide, and on the 26th a special called (I.I.N.M.) "Around the World" aired on WABC-TV. The hosts were listed as "Suzanne and Tex Antoine." So that 1964 article would bear itself out in that respect. –Wbwn 01:49, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Commercials for Ethyl gasoline?

Wasn't it Mr. Antoine who did a series of TV commercials (they also appeared in magazines) for the Ethyl Corporation? He would draw a cartoon of something, for example a CARROT, and then by adding lines change it into something completely different but with a similar sounding name, like a PARROT. Then he'd say, "Of course, there's a big difference between a CARROT and a PARROT, just as there's a POWERFUL difference between regular gasoline and ETHYL."

This was a long time ago, and perhaps the ads featured a different cartoonist, but I seem to remember that it was Antoine, and if so, this should be included in the bio. The ads were very entertaining, and seen nationwide. 76.247.165.173 (talk) 03:44, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

The Rape "Quip"

Personally, I would only use the word "quip" a) to describe an original and genuinely witty--at least funny!--remark, or b) to sarcastically describe a clearly unfunny one. (The humorist Max Shulman, for instance, liked to have his narrators write "he quipped" after someone else's lead balloon to indicate that said narrators were fools with no sense of humor.) However, the original author of this entry may have had just such an ironic usage in mind, and I have not tampered with it.

Versions of this story vary quite a bit in their description of the rape: was the child five, or eight? Violently raped, or was the rape only attempted? The most detailed story cited here is Antoine's NYT obit, and I have made the text conform to it.

Note that the other citation for that line (census information?) doesn't seem to belong there, and that citation 7 does not much back up specifics in its referent either. Someone should get around to correcting these.

When I was growing up in Antoine's viewing area at the time, I often heard that he hadn't heard anything except the word "rape" and spoke without context, or that he was a little tipsy, or, most believable, both. But the NYT says only that his humor had caused controversies before, and I have no better research to offer. Certainly we suspected him of drinking after the incident, for the brief time he was still on the air; he often appeared pale and shaky. A very sad comeuppance, but what could he have been thinking?

The stuff about Bobby Knight's and Clayton Williams's scandals over the same awful joke does seem sort of relevant, but it's hard to see where to place it. The only change I've made is to make it clear Antoine did not originate the "Confucius" line, which they doubtless heard independently of him.

Mandrakos (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 12:57, 13 June 2016 (UTC)