Lew Lehr in Beauty Parlor for Men , Fox Movietone News
Baboonia (1935), dir. Martin E. Johnson
Martin Johnson, the explorer/documentary director, wrote narration for Baboona. Doubling Johnson's voice, Lew Lehr delivered it uncredited.
Lehr's chirp and Humpty Dumpty hauteur signalled silliness to film and radio audiences in the 30s and 40s. For Fox Movietone News, he narrated (and often acted in ) slapstick skits that separated Fox featurettes of peace treaties, beauty contests, and footage of ceaselessly marching armies.
Lehr's voice released the animal imp confined in the human bottle. His signature line—akin to Bugs Bunny's "What's up, Doc?"—was "Monkeys is the cwaziest peoples."
Jews Flee from Palestine....Lew Lehr Visits Coney Island...
Mexico Deports ex-President. Fox Movietone News. Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald, July 16, 1936
Osa Johnson, two assistants, and Martin Johnson
on location at Lake Paradise, Kenya, 1928
