 When you analyze why there
seems to be such a disproportionately high percentage of inventors
who created these two types of products, it makes perfect sense.
These two sports are very hard to master, so there's always a market
of golfers and fishermen who will buy nearly anything that promises
to help improve their golf game or fishing. Golfers and fishermen,
by their very nature, have to be optimistic in order to continue
their hobbies.
The same could be said of Cubs fans, but I digress.
An inventor named Gary was born in 1943 in Bristol, Conn., as the
youngest of two brothers. Or it may have been Ottumwa, Iowa, because
for some reason Ottumwa just sounds right for him, but I'm not sure.
His father worked for a clock company, and his mother directed a
local theater and was also a professional dancer.
Gary invented a "fish attractor device" that he named "Chum
Magic." The device holds chum (bait) and floats on the water. He
claimed that it would help you catch three times more fish than
normal. This reminds me of the time that my brother once caught 45
fish in an hour on the Niemann Family Farm. Personally, I always
thought that he was just fooling us by catching the same fish over
and over again, but whether you catch 45 different fish, or the same
fish 45 different times, it's still a pretty good hour.
Now back to our story. Gary had a habit of carrying around a
teddy bear, and what's surprising about this is the fact that he did
this not just as a child but also as an adult. For 7 1/2 years --
from 1972 to 1979 -- he carried it around with him on his job! You
could say that it had something to do with the fact that he was born
with a deformed left hand, but that wasn't the real reason.
He and his wife, Elisabeth, have two sons, and he has a daughter
named Gena Gayle from his first wife. Gena went into acting, despite
Gary's early advice against it.
Gary has two other patents in addition to his Chum Magic fish
attractor device. Chum Magic never achieved the kind of commercial
success that Gary did in his day job, which you may have heard of.
Maybe it would help if I gave you his full name: Gary Burghoff.
[to top of second column]
 |
 If that name doesn't ring a bell, then maybe his "hometown" of
Ottumwa, Iowa, will.
Why Ottumwa, Iowa?
Because that was the hometown of the fictional character Gary
Burghoff played in the TV show "M.A.S.H." He played Radar O'Reilly.
Here are a few other interesting
facts about Gary Burghoff:
-
He played the role
of Charlie Brown more than 1,000 times in the off-Broadway
production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." It was this
role that led the producer of "M.A.S.H." to give him the screen
test that led to his role of Radar in the movie.
-
The reason you
never saw his deformed hand on the show is because the cameras
never showed it, often using props to hide it.
-
He was the only
actor to star in both the original "M.A.S.H." movie and the TV
series.
-
The man formerly
known as Radar O'Reilly has written a couple of books about pets
and even had his own show about pets on PBS in 1999. He also
paints and sells his own collections of wildlife art.
-
As an accomplished drummer, Burghoff
recorded albums and played in jazz clubs across the country.
"M.A.S.H.," by the way, went on far longer than the Korean War
did. It was on TV for 11 seasons, while the Korean War lasted for
three years.
[By
PAUL NIEMANN]
Paul Niemann's column is syndicated
to more than 70 newspapers. He is the author of the "Invention
Mysteries" series of books and can be reached at
niemann7@aol.com.
Copyright Paul Niemann 2009
(Other
columns) |
