King of Comedy (1925 - September 23, 2006)

Television had a profound change on the world in the last half of the 20th century.  If you grew up in Maine in the last part of the 20th century, you most likely have heard of Eddie Driscoll.  More affectionately known as the King of Comedy, Eddie entertained households for 33 years from Channel 2 in Bangor Maine.

In the early days of television we did not have 200 channels running 24 hours a day.  We were lucky to be able to pick up one or two stations for 12 hours, unless the wind blew the antenna the wrong way.  I have seen more than one dad climbing on the roof to turn the pole until someone would yell “STOP”!  After the second trip to the roof, maybe a rope to lasso the thing and tie it off to a tree so it wouldn’t turn.

Eddie was a talented comedian long before channel 2 gave him a platform to entertain.  He would entertain his coworkers at American Homes in Bangor.  The story at my house was Eddie would chase my Mom around the desks trying to get a date.  Neither is around to tell who was chasing who, or if anyone let themselves get caught but, the memories of Eddie’s comedy would always shine through.  Years later Eddie would develop a skip named “Maaaagret” that is rumored to be named after my Mom or it could have been after an Aunt Maaaagret.

Hopefully, WLBZ will splice some clips of the one man entertainment machine together and share it with the world one day.  To his family, thank you for sharing your Eddie with us.  To the Bangor Metro, the writer Anne Gabbianelli O’Reilly, and Melane, thank you for sharing these memories with us.  If you would like more information, try the following links.

One Ringy Dingy!, Two Ringy Dingy!

For more information about the King of Comedy, check out.  http://www.gilleymedia.com/04/driscoll/default.asp