Page 8 - "Is Your Father Dead Yet"? with Allan MacDougall of "Hughie & Allan"

ISSUE : Issue 63

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1993/6/1

I said, "I'll tell you what--I'11 ask my old army buddy Hughie." "Hughie who?" "Hughie MacKenzie." He said, "Oh, God, Hughie used to do minstrel shows with me." Lloyd kept insisting. And finally, he started this show for somebody, created it, called "People and Things." So Lloyd came one night and stopped me when I was going upstairs. He said, "We have the Peo? ple. You and Hughie be the Things! And come up on the show." He said, "What do you want to put on?" I said, "I don't know. Old overalls and old hats, like you see the farmers coming in town from the country Saturday, with a horse and wagon?" "Just the thing," he said. So that's where the outfits came from. We dug them up. The hat that I have on--a friend of mine, Alex Cameron, had a race? horse, and he used to get me to jog it. I was driving buses at that time. And I had the day. I worked 4 hours in the morning and then I was through till the evening, to go back to work. And I was a friend of Alex's, and I used to go up once in awhile. Loved horses anyway. When I told Alex what was going to happen-- I said, "I've got to get a queer old hat of some kind." He said, "I've got one in the house." He was down south somewhere on a convention. He worked for the telephone company, and they had a convention, and so many people were sent from this area. And he was at a dinner or smoker or something. And a fellow had that old hat, and he put it down alongside of Alex. He said, "Don't hurt my hat," he said, "I've had that for so many years." And after awhile, moving around and everything, Alex sat on the hat! Fellow picked it up afterwards and said, "Here, you can have it," he said, "you ruined it. Something to remember me by." And when I told Alex that Hughie and I were going on television, he told me the story of the hat, and he went in the house and brought it--"That's it." I still have it. (Were people ever offended by the way you dressed? Did they feel you were mocking Cape Breton in any way?) This is what we were afraid of, you know. I said to Lloyd, "Will this cause some friction? Because there's still a lot of these fellows com? ing to town on the weekend. And they have a fairly good suit or pair of pants on, but they've got to hitch up the horse and all that, so they pull the overalls on over--this is why the overalls." You'd see them in town, they'd have overalls on. But you look up top and they had a suitcoat on. They were clean and tidy, but they had to be around the horse and climbing up in the wagon and everything, so this is where the overalls came in. (But was there ever anybody said to you that you should wear your nice suit on television?) No. No, no. Like somebody said, "There's Hughie and Allan," you know. Like I just said to Bertha this morning. Peter Gzowski was on. And the first time we were on his show. We walked out, and he said, "Come in, boys, and sit down and talk to me." And we went in and sat down, and he fired some stuff at us, and we told him some crazy, stupid an? swers, you know. Went into a couple of stories that we told him. He was there roaring his head off. Then the show was over.... GREAT FOOD TVust in our stars! *** • NORTH STAR INN NORTH SYDNEY Nova Scotia's Friendly Seaport - Gateway to Newfoundland Travellers to Cape Breton "Unpack Once" Centrally Located to Most Attractions * 75 Rooms - Kings, Standards, Suites * Luxury Suite - Jacuzzi Bath * IHarbour View - Air conditioned * Fishery Restaurant * St. Pierre Rum Bar Overlooking the Newfoundland Ferry Temninal (Exit 21, Highway 105' * indoor Pool and Whirlpool * Kids free with parents * Seniors Discount Ask about the TUESDAY DEAL Tel: (902) 794-8581 Fax: (902) 794-4628 39 Forrest Street, P.O. Box 157, North Sydney, N.S. B2A 3M3 And (Gzowski) said, "Boys, I'm going to have to get you back here again." And just then his producer came along--a big heavy important fellow. And he said, "If you get them back," he said, "they're not coming back with those crazy-looking old overalls and old plaid shirts on," he said. "Put a suit on them. Have you got suits?" I said, "Yeah, I've got a suit, probably just as good as yours." 'Cause I didn't care about him; I probably wouldn't see him any more DON'S FLOWERS Serving Port Hood, Judique, Inverness and Surrounding Areas p. O. Box 179, Port Hawkesbury, N. S. BOE 2V0 Telephone 625-2215 or 625-2717 IIA 1 INHOIRE llV?l HEATING • State of the art heating equipment • Trained heating technicians • Largest Fieet of Home Heating delivery vehicles • Ways to save you money • Budget Payment Plan • FREE Furnace Efficiency Tests IN SYDNEY CALL: STEVE BLUNDON I IRVING 567-3000 '''

Cape Breton's Magazine