Not the Father of Old-Time Radio — just a sperm donor

    The Old Codger will always be a sort of one-lunged animal,
    never rounded and perfect, as a cockroach, say, is perfect.
                                                     — H.L. Mencken, 1926

He's an ageless radio legend who has outfoxed the actuaries, but he's a far from commendable role model. WFMU's third-string program host Courtney T. Edison, a.k.a. The Old Codger, has been called many things during his century-plus life, and the consensus can be distilled in four words: increasingly, unremittingly, irredemptively unhinged. Ugly and Uglier, rolled into one. He's been around too long and nobody knows how he got here. He won't quit and he won't die. But we refuse to concede the Codge a regular air slot. If you ignore pests, they go away, right? Eventually??

When you're dealing with an obsessed, post-geriatric 78 rpm disc-hoarding Ukulele Ike fan, "eventually" is a theoretical concept. One WFMU staffer (who wishes to remain anonymous) speculated that the Codger will attend each of our funerals.

But did you know that for a 1943 Columbia Records ad, the Codge modeled for artist Jim Flora?

Comments

[Cheese Snob Wendy]

Is it just my imagination, or have the Old Codger's ears gotten less pointy since 1943? Did they grow out, or did he have them snipped, like they do to certain breeds of dogs?

[caroline]

there's no way this guy's real! people like this don't exist anymore!

[Irwin Chusid]

Wendy: You're astute for noticing. Codger's "earpeaks" were blunted by sonic abrasion caused by prolonged exposure to worn styluses burrowing through shellac.

Caroline: I passed along your understandable skepticism to the Codge. He admits it's hard to believe how ancient he really is. In fact, the AARP considers him beyond his sell-by date. His social security number's only three digits. Most of his friends are nimble youngsters in the 85 to 105 age group. But Codge insists he can cut a rug better than all those hepcats — even with a bum gam!

[Parq]

I can't even begin to tell you how much brighter my life is since they started podcasting Courtney's back pages. Just knowing that three hours of my working life (in an office with no web access and too close to the ESB even to begin trying to pick up the air signal) will be spent in the OC's company makes work seem a more attractive fate. (I should probably tell him all this myself, but I know he doesn't hold with email and I can't remember his phone number. Was it 7? 4? Dang!)

I have noticed something in particular while in these Ipod-fed reveries. Courtney frequently starts sentences with the phrase "You've probably never even heard of . . ." The thing is, the name that follows this phrase is almost always someone that, in fact, I have heard of. I am almost infuriatingly smug about this.

[Trish Lewis]

My life has become so much brighter since discovered the Old Codger. Why, the man is a breath of fresh air! Long Live the Codger!!