Leopold Wrobel, 51,of Wingerworth, England is whistling a different tone this week after a court found him guilty in a unique form of criminal nuisance. Wrobel is to spend 20 weeks in jail for continually whistling the theme music to The Addams Family series whenever his elderly neighbors, Michael and Kathleen Sharpe, passed by. The Sharpes testified that Wrobel made them prisoners in their own home for four years by watching and whistling.
Wrobel was convicted of anti-social behavior, but the court found that he continued his harassment.
Mr. Sharpe testified that the harassment actually made his 66-year-old wife’s hair fall out from the stress and associated illnesses.
Wrobel insisted that he was whistling to his dog and that “I couldn’t care less what they do, it’s of no interest to me at all.”
Wrobel strikes me as a perfect jerk, though it remains a bit unclear to me how whistling can be a crime as opposed to rude behavior. In the United States, such cases might be charged as stalking, but Wrobel lives next door. I expect the most likely course would be securing injunctive relief or a restraining order on the basis of a perceived threat and then prosecuting for violation of that order. But what if Wrobel simply changed his tune literally and simply whistled whenever they were around. Could a court honestly say that he is a criminal as opposed to a chronic whistler?
Of course, none of this makes Wrobel any less of a loser, but, as Gomez told Fester, he should not give up hope: omez: “You’ll meet someone. Someone very special. Someone who won’t press charges.”
The Addams Family
They’re creepy and they’re kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They’re all together ooky,
The Addams Family.Their house is a museum
Where people come to see ’em
They really are a scream
The Addams Family.(Neat)
(Sweet)
(Petite)So get a witches shawl on
A broomstick you can crawl on
We’re gonna pay a call on
The Addams Family.
For the full story, click here
Too bad about that “unlearning” thing. 😀
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Oh come on, give it a try.. 🙂
Even the theme song says Appalachia-all the way – Flatt and Scruggs, and by association Kentucky Bluegrass, Roy Clark, the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville and even Pat Boone-who all made appearances!
Like I said, this is even more than I need to remember.
http://www.answers.com/topic/the-beverly-hillbillies
Overview
At the beginning of The Beverly Hillbillies series, the OK Oil Company discovers oil in a swamp in the mountains of Tennessee owned by family patriarch Jed Clampett. Jed moves with his family to the wealthy Los Angeles County city of Beverly Hills, California, where he attempts to live a rural lifestyle despite his wealth. This sequence of events was recapitulated in the title credits for each show and was described in the lyrics of the theme song, so that new viewers would easily understand who the Hillbillies were and why they were in Beverly Hills (although the credits and song portray Jed finding the oil while hunting as opposed to knowing the oil was there but being unaware of the value). Lasting nine seasons and accumulating 7 Emmy nominations, it remains in syndication on several cable stations including TV Land.
Patty,
Wow! Yep . . . when you’ve ridden that train all the way to Hooterville and Petticoat Junction, I’m thinking that is indeed a lot of sugar for the nickel. But now RIL has a definitive thread to point to should the topic of Clampett genealogy come to fore again. Good show! Too bad about that “unlearning” thing. 😀
Now, this is important…
The ‘Missouri’ association had more to do with creator Paul Henning and his wife, Ruth and referenced in an equally popular, geographically mystifying, and fictitious series
entitled ‘Petticoat Junction’ which subsequently starred Bea Bernaderet a/k/a ‘Cousin Pearl’ Bodine’s sister, Kate Bradley.
After being cast as owner of the Shady Rest Motel, ‘Cousin Pearl’ and daughter Jethrine no longer reside at the Clampett mansion in Beverly Hills.
Also, Google Ralph Foster Museum, where ‘the Truck’ is featured
-and why…
wiki/Hooterville
Location
The location of Hooterville was never explicitly stated, but it was implied to be in or very near Illinois. In numerous episodes it was said that they were close to Chicago; in one Green Acres episode, Mr. Haney said Chicago was 300 miles (480 km) away. Another time it was said a nearby town was called Springfield, which is also the name of the capital city of Illinois as well as a city in southwest Missouri Springfield, Missouri. Hooterville may also have been in the Ozarks. One of the working titles for Petticoat Junction had been Ozark Widow (another had been Whistle Stop). The cast of another CBS show, The Beverly Hillbillies, had some connection with the characters in Petticoat Junction, when Cousin Pearl contacted Granny to assist with Betty Jo Bradley’s baby; the Clampetts hail from Bugtussle, Tennessee. The name “Hooterville” is actually first used in episode No. 6 of The Beverly Hillbillies by supporting character Jasper “Jazzbo” Depew (Phil Gordon). Sam Drucker, the grocer and postmaster, gives the Zip Code for Hooterville as 40516½. 40516 is the code for Lexington, KY, a city 375 miles from Chicago. Also, Lexington, KY is exactly 55 miles from Springfield, KY which further agrees with the theory of Hooterville being a rural suburb of Lexington (see above correlation regarding a town called Springfield). The name approximates Hooverville – a term used for shantytowns and camptowns that emerged during the Great Depression – but it is also the name of a bucolic town on railroad tracks in western Pennsylvania.[1]
According to “Dave Stein’s Official Petticoat Junction Site”, http://petticoat.topcities.com/page1.htm , the inspiration for Hooterville came from Paul Henning’s wife, Ruth. As a child, Ruth traveled by train to her grandparents’ hotel in Eldon, Missouri. Eldon, Missouri is right at 300 miles, as the crow files, from Chicago. Other than distance and a hotel near the railroad tracks, though, there is little resemblance between Hooterville and Eldon, Missouri.
Exteriors for the twin Hooterville series were shot by Filmways near Jamestown/Sonora, California, a decidedly rural area.
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Beverly HillBillies Episode 6:
imdb.com/title/tt0522680/plotsummary
Grannie wants to go home because folks is so unfriendly no one has come to call. Jed convinces her they should call on them, and they find that people welcome them and give them all manner of gifts when they show up on Halloween in their normal hillbilly clothes. Also, Jed works on getting Pearl to come visit while she’s trying to get hitched to the oilman and find a young man for Jethrine. Written by Anonymous
p.s. This is more than even I wanted to know
And you should have seen Branson in the days before it was little more than a gas station and a bait stand. It’d make you take up the banjo and chase your first cousin! Some say it still does.
From Wiki:
“While Granny frequently mentioned that she was from Tennessee, the series never specified the state from which the Clampetts moved to California. However, they often referred to nearby towns such as Joplin, Branson, and Silver Dollar City, all of which are in southwest Missouri. Early episodes also contained several references to Eureka Springs, which is in northwest Arkansas.”
Any self respecting hillbilly knows the Clampetts were from Bugtussle, Tennessee…
😀
Buddha…I knew that 😉 I was just being a smart ass
Sally,
You’ll be even more insulted to learn that the Beverly Hillbillies were from Missouri.
Hey can I sue my neighbor since he sings the “Beverly Hillbillies” song whenever he sees me and my family?
It’s very insulting, since we’re from Georgia, not Beverly Hills.
Jill:
he is just aksing for some attention. He likes Buddha and MikeS and who wouldnt.
JonAbbey:
where have you been? No posts lately.
Don’t take the bait!
Reading the asenine rubbish that MikeS. and Buddhaman sling only confirms by belief that these are two fruitcakes in search of a brain…………
O.K. I read the article, and based upon the picture of the Sharpes (the victims) I can’t think of a more appropriate response to looking at them than whistling the theme from the Adam’s Family.
zing!
The Wrobels should not have taken this matter to court. They should have responded by whistling the theme song to “The Andy Griffith Show” whenever their neighbor emerged from his home.
Annoying song or not, John Astin is one of the funniest guys ever on television. ‘Nuff said.
With litle else in there to disturb it, it could take up to two weeks to get that annoying ditty out of my head!