Family Secrets
Mom, what was
Gramma’s last name before she got married?
Kinderschmidt,
why?
Well, I was
just looking for something to watch and saw the credits for the old Margie
Storm show and it had a Barbara Kinder listed as the special assistant to Miss
Storm.
That’s
interesting, why don’t you look on IMDB and see if it says anything.
An hour later
Okay Mom, I
checked on IMDB and it says that Barbara Kinder’s real name is Barbara
Kinderschmidt and that she was the stunt double for Margie Storm for six
seasons.
Well that is
interesting, anything about her being my mother?
No, just that
she was on that show, nothing after that.
Huh, maybe you
should ask your grandmother, she never mentioned anything about being on a TV
show.
A Week Later
Can I ask you
something Gramma?
Sure honey.
Were you ever
an actress?
No
Did you ever
work on a TV show?
Why are you
asking this?
I saw a credit
on the Margie Storm Show for a Barbara Kinder and IMDB said that her real name
was Barbara Kinderschmidt.
Margie Storm, I
haven’t thought about that for years… Yes,
I did pay my way through college working on that.
Wow, what was
that like? Were you actually part of the
show, I mean one of the actresses?
Have you
actually watched the show? I was in
almost all of the episodes, but you probably wouldn’t recognize me. Watch some and then tell me if you can
recognize me.
A Couple Of Weeks Later
I watched a
bunch of those shows on YouTube Gramma, but couldn’t really tell if any of the
actresses were you.
Did you notice
anything about the show in general, anything about the skits Margie was in?
Not really
What about the
ones where she was the bumbling private eye’s equally bumbling secretary?
Not really, but
she did seem to get tied up a lot.
That was really
me.
What?
It was an open
secret back then that Margie liked being tied up, but didn’t want it on her
show and since her husband ran a major TV production company, she got what she
wanted. So it would always show her
starting to be tied up, or being captured, and then having the blindfold and
gag removed, but the parts of her actually tied up were really me.
Wow, that’s
really weird.
Yes it was, and
what was even weird was that she was usually actually tied up, but never
filmed. They said it made it easier to
do the continuity for her rescue if we were both tied up the same at the same
time, but since all that was ever shown was her head while the gag and
blindfold were removed, it didn’t make a lot of sense. But the money was good and they treated me
really well. I got little Christmas
presents from her right until she died.
Wow, my
grandmother the TV star. How come you never
told Mom?
Just never came
up.
A Couple Of Days Later
Really, wonder
why she never told me.
Actually Mom,
if you watch them on You Tube, you can’t really tell who it is. The
woman who is tied up is dressed the same, has the same color hair styled the
same way and really looks like Margie Storm.
You mean Gramma
could just be making it all up, but what about IMDB?
Don’t know,
from what I’ve read, it isn’t always that accurate, and Gramma did have that
stroke and I know you don’t want to hear it, but she could be starting on the A
word.
You’re right, I
don’t want to even think about that.
A Few Days Later
Tell me more
about being on that show Gramma.
Not much more
to tell, Margie liked being tied up, it made for good comedy back then to have
a female assistant that was always getting into situations where she got tied
up, but she didn’t want her being tied up broadcast. So I paid my way through my masters degree
being tied up three, or four hours, maybe two days a week, better than being a
waitress.
And it didn’t
bother you being tied up? Wasn’t it
embarrassing or humiliating even?
Back then the
sketches were all light hearted and in fun, it was a comedy show after all, not
a true crime, make it as grisly as possible, like they do now.
So you weren’t
really tied up then, just sort of looked like it.
Oh no, we were
really tied up, couldn’t get out no matter what.
You mean Margie
was really tied up too.
Not just her,
but it was pretty well understood that if you were a woman and guest starred on
The Margie Storm Show that you would be tied up and gagged somehow. Guess that’s why there were so few repeat
female guest stars, and maybe why a few appeared three, or four, times a
season.
Wow
You probably
wouldn’t recognize most of the women I was tied up with, but I’m sure that your
mother would.
The Next Day
I don’t know
Mom, Gramma’s memories about that show seem pretty clear and match the ones
I’ve watched on You Tube.
Let’s have her
come over and we can watch a few together.
A couple Of Days Later
Do you remember
this one Mom?
That’s Lois
Heaterton, she was one of the young blondes that Bob Hope would always take on
his USO tours. I think she made a couple
movies before getting married to some athlete and settling down into married
life.
And that’s
really you on the floor next to her fumbling around trying to untie her.
The blindfold
makes it hard to recognize me. That was
so you couldn’t tell it wasn’t Margie.
But Margie was
really tied up just the same off camera.
Yup, still
don’t understand why she was tied up exactly the same, when all you ever saw of
her was her head and face when the gag and blindfold were removed. Seemed like kind of overkill for continuity. But it was her name on the title and her
husband was the executive producer, and in complete control, so that is how it
was, and the money was very good.
And being tied
up like that and filmed didn’t bother you?
Not really, a
few hogties were a little tight, and sometimes they stuffed cloth into our mouths
and had us try to talk, but it would just be humorously garbled.
But weren’t you
embarrassed by the way your skirt rode up while you were rolling around on the
floor?
They didn’t
ride up that much and besides nobody but the crew knew it was really me.
Wow Gramma. And you were really tied up, you couldn’t get
loose.
Yes honey, we
were always really tied up.
I checked on
IMDB and the list of female guest stars reads like a who’s who of Hollywood
from the 40s, 50s, 60s and early 70s.
Yes it was, it
really surprised me how often it was an Oscar winner lying there next to me, or
tied on the chair next to me, or that one time when we were tied face to face
and had to hop over to the door in our heels, that one took a few takes because
we were either giggling so bad, or fell down before we made to the door.
Giggling
Around the end
of the third season it almost seemed like going on The Margie Storm Show and
getting tied up was sort of the in thing to do if you were an A list star, or
wanted to be one. So from then on keeping from laughing and giggling
while we were tied up become a major problem.
I never had a problem keeping my composure when I was alone, but when it
was a 66 year old four time Oscar winner saying that it was the best gag she
had in months, it was pretty hard.
Wow, wonder
what something like TMZ would do if a show like that was on today.
Yup, it was a
whole different thing back then.
OK, now I have
to ask this, is that why you never seemed to mind when Jack and Bob tied me and
my friends up, or when they asked to tie you up.
Uncle Bob and
Jack used to tie you two up.
Well not that
often. We were only tied up together a
few times.
But a few of
those were with my friends moms.
Wow
Had to show
them that there wasn’t anything wrong going on, just boys being boys type of
fun.
Well those two
slumber parties where they tied all of us up for six hours wasn’t that much
fun.
Don’t worry
dear, I was out of the way in the bedroom closet before they went down to where
you and your friends were in the basement, and stayed that way until you and
your friends started making noise about breakfast.
Wow Gramma and
none of that bothered you?
It was all in
fun, but a couple of times it did close to being a bladder emergency.
Yes, that was
the worst part.
The producers
and directors always made sure that we knew hours in advance, so we could plan
accordingly, but your brothers didn’t seem to be aware of it.
So who did the
better job of tieing you up, Uncle Bob and Uncle Jack or the people on the
show?
At the
beginning Jack and Bob were pretty clueless, but after a year or so, when they
tied me up, I stayed that way until they let me loose.
What about Aunt
Barb, was she ever tied up?
Your Uncle Jack
started with her and it seems that your Mother saw her tied up a few times and
pestered your Uncle into tieing her up too.
I wouldn’t say
pestered, I just kept asking him and finally he did.
Anybody else
get tied up?
You mean any
other family members?
Yes
My mother
babysat one afternoon and I came home to find her and your mother hogtied in
the living room.
And you joined
us Mom. But I don’t remember any other
times.
When you were
away at camp, your uncles and cousins tied all of my sisters and
sisters-in-law, my Mother, the older female cousins, and me up, during a family
cookout.
Wow that must
have been something to see. What did
Grampa do?
They all said
that they enjoyed the peace and quiet.
OK, you’ve asked
enough questions. Have you been tied up?
No
Not for years.
Maybe we should
get together with your brothers and their families and see what we can do about
that
TBC??
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