| Nick Danger: The Case of the Missing Shoe | ||||
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| EP by | ||||
| Released | 1979 | |||
| Recorded | January 1979 | |||
| Genre | Comedy | |||
| Length | 12:00 | |||
| Label | Rhino | |||
| Producer | The Firesign Theatre: Philip Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman, Philip Proctor | |||
| The Firesign Theatre chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| The Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide |    [1] |
| Allmusic | [2] |
Nick Danger: The Case of the Missing Shoe is an EP by the Firesign Theatre. It was released in 1979 by Rhino Records.
The Firesign Theatre introduced its Nick Danger character, played by Phil Austin, in 1969 as a 28:11 track on side 2 of its second album How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All .
The character was revived in 1976 for a live show by Austin and David Ossman in 1976. In the 1970s, Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin's Tandem Productions bought the rights to Danger for a TV series to star George Hamilton as Danger; and in 1978, New Line Cinema began negotiations to make a movie starring Chevy Chase as Danger. Both projects ended in development limbo, and rights to the Danger character reverted to the Firesigns. [3]
In December 1978, the Firesign Theatre began writing five short (2:24) episodes of The Case of the Missing Shoe for a possible syndicated daily Nick Danger radio series (similar to Chickenman which aired in the late 1960s). When the syndication went unsold, Austin approached Rhino Records and secured a deal to release the five episodes on a 12-minute extended play (EP) record. Recording began in January 1979. [3]
Five short radio episodes involve Nick Danger's attempt to find out what has happened to his missing left shoe. The plot thickens as he quickly discovers that everyone's left shoe is missing. Each episode begins with a traditional old-time radio style introduction by an announcer with an organ in the background and each show also includes a commercial parody (including commercials for "Ma Rainey's wholesome moleskin cookies" and "Gerald Ford commemorative cheese flags"). Besides Nick Danger himself, some of the other regular Nick Danger characters appear, including Lt. Bradshaw, Nancy, and Rocky Rococo.
This album was issued simultaneously on EP and Cassette.
It was reissued in 2008 as part of The Firesign Theatre's Box of Danger (Shout! Factory 826663–10780),
The Firesign Theatre was an American surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program Radio Free Oz on station KPFK FM. They continued appearing on Radio Free Oz, which later moved to KRLA 1110 AM and then KMET FM, through February 1969. They produced fifteen record albums and a 45 rpm single under contract to Columbia Records from 1967 through 1976, and had three nationally syndicated radio programs: The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour [sic] in 1970 on KPPC-FM; and Dear Friends (1970–1971) and Let's Eat! (1971–1972) on KPFK. They also appeared in front of live audiences, and continued to write, perform, and record on other labels, occasionally taking sabbaticals during which they wrote or performed solo or in smaller groups.
Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers is the Firesign Theatre's third comedy album, released by Columbia Records in July 1970. In 1983, The New Rolling Stone Record Guide called it "the greatest comedy album ever made". It was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1972 by the World Science Fiction Society. In 2005, the US Library of Congress added the album to the National Recording Registry and called the Firesign Theatre "the Beatles of comedy."
Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him is the first comedy album recorded by the Firesign Theatre. It was originally released in January 1968 by Columbia Records.
David Ossman is an American writer and comedian, best known as a member of the Firesign Theatre and screenwriter of such films as Zachariah.
How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All is the second comedy album recorded by the Firesign Theatre. It was originally released in July 1969 by Columbia Records.
Everything You Know Is Wrong is the eighth comedy album by the Firesign Theatre. Released in October 1974 on Columbia Records, it satirizes UFO conspiracy theories and New Age paranormal beliefs such as Erich von Däniken's Chariots of the Gods and claimed psychic Uri Geller, which achieved wide public attention by that time.
The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra is the seventh comedy album released by the Firesign Theatre and released in January 1974 by Columbia Records.
The Firesign Theatre's Box of Danger: The Complete Nick Danger Casebook is a four-CD boxed set of most recorded material by comedy group the Firesign Theatre containing their fictional character Nick Danger, portrayed by Phil Austin. Danger is a parody of the hard-boiled detective genre, and is often announced as "Nick Danger, Third Eye", a parody of the term private eye. Danger stories involve stereotypical film noir situations, including mistaken identity, betrayal, and femme fatales. Danger originally appeared on the 1969 album How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All, and was reprised in various live shows, radio appearances and albums, including the 1979 Nick Danger: The Case of the Missing Shoe, 1984 The Three Faces of Al, and 2001 The Bride of Firesign.
In the Next World, You're on Your Own was the last comedy album recorded by the Firesign Theatre for Columbia Records. It was released in October 1975.
The Three Faces of Al is a 1984 comedy album by the group Firesign Theatre. It features the group members reprising their most popular characters from earlier collaborations, notably hard-boiled detective Nick Danger and his nemesis, Lieutenant Bradshaw.
Dear Friends is the Firesign Theatre's fifth album to be released on Columbia Records. It is a compilation album, collecting the Firesigns' choice of the best comedy sketches from their nationally syndicated radio program produced from September 1970 to February 1971.
Not Insane or Anything You Want To is the sixth album released by the Firesign Theatre on Columbia Records. It was released in October 1972 and includes some material that was recorded in the studio as well as some material that was recorded before a live audience. The full title is listed on the spine of the record album as Not Insane or Anything You Want To. The abbreviated title Not Insane appears on the front of the album cover, while Or Anything You Want To appears on the back cover. It is usually referred to simply as Not Insane.
Papoon for President is a comedy compilation album released in 2002 by the Firesign Theatre. George Papoon is a fictional US Presidential candidate invented by the group in 1972 for their filmed radio broadcast Martian Space Party, in which Papoon is nominated as the candidate of the "Natural Surrealist Party". The album is a compilation of material originally released in the film and the 1972 album Not Insane or Anything You Want To, plus material from 1976 and 1980. The first and last tracks contain interviews of Phillip Proctor and Peter Bergman done by Steve Marshall, broadcast on NPR both before and after the 1972 United States presidential election. These interviews were released on a promotional recording, A Firesign Chat with Papoon, by Columbia Records in November 1972.
TV or Not TV is the first album by the comedy duo Proctor and Bergman. It was originally released in 1973 by Columbia Records.
Forward Into the Past is a 1976 compilation album by the Firesign Theatre. It presents the "Greatest Hits" from their nine Columbia albums and includes two tracks that were previously released only on a single.
Just Folks... A Firesign Chat is a 1977 comedy album by the Firesign Theatre. The material is based on previously unreleased material from their 1970–1972 radio shows Dear Friends and Let's Eat!. It was the only record the group made under a new contract with Butterfly Records, after the cancellation of their ten-year Columbia Records contract.
Fighting Clowns is a 1980 album by the Firesign Theatre. It is unique among Firesign Theatre albums because it is primarily made up of songs rather than the group's usual audio theater or sketch comedy pieces. Many of the songs on this album were recorded live in front of an audience while some of the songs and much of the linking material was recorded in the studio. Cover artwork was done by Phil Hartman.
Radio Now Live is a 2001 comedy album by the Firesign Theatre, recorded from a live performance on a 1999 West Coast tour. Its main concept is based on material from Firesign's studio album Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death, but also contains material based on older albums How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All; Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers; I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus; and Anythynge You Want To.
What This Country Needs is the second comedy album by the duo Proctor and Bergman of the Firesign Theatre. It was originally released in September 1975 on Columbia Records, and was among the Firesign Theatre's last Columbia albums, along with In the Next World, You're on Your Own and Forward Into The Past. It was recorded from a live performance at The Bottom Line which contained material adapted or re-used from their 1973 studio album TV or Not TV, plus several new sketches.
Nick Danger is a fictional character created by the comedy group The Firesign Theatre, portrayed by Phil Austin. Danger is a parody of the hard-boiled detective, and is often announced as "Nick Danger, Third Eye", a parody of the term private eye. Danger stories involve stereotypical film noir situations, including mistaken identity, betrayal, and femmes fatales. Danger originally appears on the 1969 album How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All, and is reprised in the 1979 Nick Danger: The Case of the Missing Shoe, 1984 The Three Faces of Al, and 2001 The Bride of Firesign.
"He’s based on the [Dashiell] Hammett Sam Spade character, but as I got more into writing him over the years, he’s become much more like [Philip] Marlowe. I love [Raymond] Chandler’s writing.”
