The 67th Wretched Pun of Destiny segment airs on Dave’s Gone By May 2, 2020. Info: davesgoneby.com.
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67.
To broaden the repertory of the Boston Pops, conductor Arthur Fiedler starts booking jazz musicians as guest artists. One of the first is avant-garde legend Sun Ra. Fiedler invites the jazzman to his home to rehearse, and Ra brings along his youngest child Seth to play in the backyard with Fiedler’s dog, a giant St. Bernard.
Breaking for lunch, Fiedler comes out of the house and delights to see how much fun Seth is having with the dog. Eager to join in, Fiedler tells the boy, “Watch this!” He climbs on the dog’s back and rides him around the yard.
Pretty soon, a neighbor hears the commotion, looks over the fence at the scene, and sighs to his wife, “I wish Zero Mostel could see this.”
“Zero Mostel?” says the wife. “Why would he care?”
“Because,” says the neighbor, “it’s Sun Ra’s Son Seth, and Fiedler on the Woof.”