Meredith Willson on Goodman and Todson

[Matt Ottinger]

For Christmas, my wife found for me a 1955 memoir by Meredith Willson called "Eggs I Have Laid" (not incidentally autographed long ago by the author).   In the book, he touches very briefly on his panelship on The Name's The Same, and in doing so explains the success of the production company from an angle we probably never considered.  I found the paragraph amusing enough to share.

The TV series was the property of the wonder-boy producers, Bill Todman and Mark Goodson.  Without taking anything away from these two young men, I think at least part of their big success is due to the strange sound of their names.  Todman sounds strange because it seems like it really ought to be Todson, and Goodson sounds odd because it seems like it really ought to be Goodman.  Now when you put them together as Goodson and Todman, it is almost impossible to get right.  I mean before you even mention the name of that firm, you have to stop and think.  And when you have to stop and think you are sure to get it wrong and call them Goodman and Todson or Toodson and Godman, and by that time you feel stupid and apologetic and immediately try to make up for it by agreeing to anything they came to see you about, and if only five per cent of you are prospective sponsors, G. & T. are in.

Pretty big words from someone who confused everybody by having A) a girl's name and B) an extra 'l' in Willson.

A punchline to this:  Fifty years later, by which time you would think an author doing even the most minimal amount of research would get it right, Willson biographer Bill Oates refers to the duo as "Bill Goodson and Mark Todman".

[Jimmy Owen]

For Christmas, my wife found for me a 1955 memoir by Meredith Willson called "Eggs I Have Laid" (not incidentally autographed long ago by the author).   In the book, he touches very briefly on his panelship on The Name's The Same, and in doing so explains the success of the production company from an angle we probably never considered.  I found the paragraph amusing enough to share.

The TV series was the property of the wonder-boy producers, Bill Todman and Mark Goodson.  Without taking anything away from these two young men, I think at least part of their big success is due to the strange sound of their names.  Todman sounds strange because it seems like it really ought to be Todson, and Goodson sounds odd because it seems like it really ought to be Goodman.  Now when you put them together as Goodson and Todman, it is almost impossible to get right.  I mean before you even mention the name of that firm, you have to stop and think.  And when you have to stop and think you are sure to get it wrong and call them Goodman and Todson or Toodson and Godman, and by that time you feel stupid and apologetic and immediately try to make up for it by agreeing to anything they came to see you about, and if only five per cent of you are prospective sponsors, G. & T. are in.

Pretty big words from someone who confused everybody by having A) a girl's name and B) an extra 'l' in Willson.

A punchline to this:  Fifty years later, by which time you would think an author doing even the most minimal amount of research would get it right, Willson biographer Bill Oates refers to the duo as "Bill Goodson and Mark Todman".

Oates must have used the Willson book as reference material.  Sadly, Willson never lived to see Mark Goodman hosting the Mark Goodson Production Illinois Instant Riches.

[Matt Ottinger]

Oates must have used the Willson book as reference material.  Sadly, Willson never lived to see Mark Goodman hosting the Mark Goodson Production Illinois Instant Riches.

Oates refers often to Willson's various memoirs, but there's nothing to indicate that this particular mistake was related to the deliberate humor in the Willson paragraph I quoted.  He just appears to have screwed up the names on his own.  In another instance, Oates retells a story that Willson wrote about Margaret Truman performing a duet.  However, in Willson's telling it's clear that HE was Truman's partner in the duet.  Despite referencing Willson's own story, Oates says she sang with Fred Allen.  It's little errors like that which drive me nuts when I read biographies.  When there are mistakes that I recognize it makes me wonder how many more facts are wrong that I don't know about myself.