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Major Bowes Original Amateur Hour Clock |
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| This clock was a tribute to
Major Bowes' classic radio show, "The Major Bowes' Amateur Hour", an early
version of the "Gong Show". This clock was made by
United, a company noted only for its cheap and ugly clocks. This
clock is radiant in its ugliness, a monument to bad taste. It is a
large clock, about 12 inches wide, and 10 inches high.
Immortalized in slush-cast pot metal and phony bronze finish are four hopeful kids. One boy is playing the accordion, another a Sousaphone, and two girls are singing their little hearts out. And there's old Major Bowes, with an evil grin on his face, getting ready to gong them back to the sticks, their brief moment in the limelight about to end. Two misshapen RCA microphones and a radio tower in the background complete the cacophonous scene. As a bizarre, cartoon-like finishing touch, the designers saw fit to include a small light bulb in the bell of the Sousaphone. In fairness to Major Bowes and his Amateur Hour, though, it should be noted that a skinny Italian kid from Hoboken, New Jersey got his start on that show in 1935. His name was Frank Sinatra.
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