Lennie Weinrib's The First Nine Months...

The newly svelte Mark Evanier brings us the sad news of Lennie Weinrib’s passing. In the sixties and seventies, Weinrib’s voice (or should I say voices) seemed to be everywhere but most of us probably remember his ultra-friendly H.R. PUFNSTUF voice. Mark offers memories of his good friend at his site. One of Lennie’s lesser-known performances can be found on this record album, THE FIRST NINE MONTHS ARE THE HARDEST. As always, please pardon my scanner’s limitations when it comes to scanning LPs. Released around 1964, this is essentially a series of skits a la the best-selling FIRST FAMILY albums only here dealing with pregnancy, still considered a bit of a risqué subject at the time. Lennie stars opposite Joyce Jameson, an up and coming starlet who never quite arrived. Joyce had apparently worked with Lennie on stage in the Billy Barnes Revue. The album was written by the team of Bill Persky and Sam Denoff, already veterans and just a couple years away from creating my favorite sitcom, THAT GIRL. The great Carl Reiner directs. It’s been years since I’ve listened to this so I’m sorry to say I can’t offer any details. Based on the hilarious liner notes, I’d have to say it’s a rare gem of comedy but I can’t even plop it on the old turntable and hear Lennie Weinrib’s voice again tonight because my turntable’s been broken for several years. It’s a good picture of Lennie on the back though. He looks happy. I hope he stayed that way. He certainly made a lot of us feel that way over the years.