For some reason I no longer can remember, I recently thought of the comedian Harry Einstein, a somewhat popular figure in the radio days of the late 1940s, as was my favorite, Fanny Brice as “Baby Snooks”.  I was a kid then, and he stuck in my mind mainly because he took the stage name of “ParkYaKarkus“, which I thought was funny.  Parkyakarkus had three children, all boys.  One of the boys was Bob Einstein, who took the stage name of “Super-Dave” Osborne.  Another was a writer, Charles, and the third was, yep, Albert, who eventually became a successful actor/writer on his own, but thinking that his real name might cause confusion with the well-known scientist, he early on adopted the stage name Albert Brooks.

Parkyakarkus was also remembered as being one of the relatively few entertainment figures who died while performing, having suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 54 while participating in a Friar’s Roast of Desi Arnez and Lucille Ball in Beverly Hills, CA.