Bataan (CVL 29) - Naval Cruise Book

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The Old Song and Dance Go, Man, Go! K Must Be Good

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Happy Hour Johnny Ray? Among the several activities used to break the monotony of many cruises on the line and in the Okinawa area, was the BATAAN ' S own talent show, appropriately termed Happy Hour. The Happy Hour consisted of BATAAN talent only. Don Cook did a fine job as MC and the many fine acts were enjoyed by all. Ensign Campbell and Ltjg. Berst directed the show. Herman Harper ' s BATAAN Ramblers played very fine hill- billy music. Logan ' s Beeboppers made the joint jump with jive. J. J. Miller ' s rope tricks as- tounded the audience and his jokes had them rolling in the aisles. Larry Dunlap ' s trumpet imitations sounded more like Harry James than the great Mr. Grable himself. One of the outstanding acts of the night was Leon Jones ' pantomime of Eartha Kitt, singing Monotonous. The way he sang it wasn ' t a bit monotonous. Joe Darby, John Cloughley, and Leon Jones gave an almost perfect rendition of the Andrews Sis- ters singing a hit tune. Lee Woodward led a symphony orchestra. The BATAAN Theatre had produced another hit. The eleva- tor stage was the scene of an- other BATAAN Oscar award. Topping off the performance was a pie-eating contest in which pie-faced Scotty Rauber won the two delicious pies. The Happy Hour talent was so enjoyed that they were invited to perform at Club Lorraine in Sasebo, Japan, and at various hospitals in the area. It was re- ported that the show did much to uplift the morale of the wounded men from Korea who The Ramblers SOW the show.

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USO Show We had all seen Raymond Burr in the movies. Usually he was o villain who died in the first few scenes of the movie or was so hated that everyone wished he were dead. One bright morning around nine o ' clock who reported aboard the BA- TAAN with an assortment of lovelies but Raymond Burrr ' He was fresh from Hollywood on a tour of Japan and Korea. To our surprise Raymond Burr was a comedian and a very good one. He was an entirely differ- ent character than the one we ' d known in the movies. His show was come, not only for its originality and h toward the men of the BATAAN. AfJer Liberty? one we will remember for a long time to umor, but for its warmth and friendliness On talking to Mr. Burr, we found him to be a jovial, kind man who would rather do USO shows than act in movies. One would never know him to be a movie villain. He said the rea- son he got the villain job was because of his eyes, which he could make look mean and dar- ing. Another reason, he said, is b3caus3 he died so easily. But he didn ' t die easily with the men of BATAAN. He will always be remembered for help- ing to make us laugh in that far- away land of Japan. Black Magic