[P]

 

P.J. Proby:
  • P.J. Proby was a mid sixties California rocker who had more success overseas than here. He is best remembered today for recording one of the songs Lennon & McCartney gave away, a Spectorian number called "That Means A Lot" which the Beatles later released on their "Anthology 2." A Yahoo search reveals but one P.J. Proby web site: http://home.wxs.nl/~kilkens/proby.htm. For some reason the history part of this site is not functioning, but if you look around a bit, you'll find admissions from Mr. Proby himself that he was often drunk and disorderly in those days. I'm guessing that being on the scene, the Firesigns either knew of this behavior or witnessed it firsthand. Hence the displays of P.J. Proby Wine on "In The Next World, You're On Your Own."  
  • Incidentally, the Mr. Mucklehoney character from that album, and much of that in-store scene, is an hommage to the W.C. Fields classic "It's A Gift," where Fields sees a blind customer named Mr. Muckle waving his white cane too close to a lightbulb display and yells, "Mr. Muckle, honey, please get away from there!" (from Kurtluchs)
  • We'd also like to give equal time to P.J. Proby's good side.  We're told he's not drank since the early ninety's and is still touring and writing music.  We encorage you to visit his site (listed above).

 

CAPTAIN HAPPY PANDITT:
  • Eye in the Sky in the Radio Now News Chopper. [GMIOGMD]

 

PAPOON:

 

PARK AND LOCK IT:
  • "Park and Lock it! Not Responsible" A common yell in FT plays. PICO and ALVARADO yell it a lot. According to the BBOP book, when Peter BERGMAN was young, he and a kid named Bruce Berger opened up a parking lot one night in an empty lot across from an Emporium show in the Midwest. As Peter put it, "We made $50 wearing Cleveland Indians baseball caps, yelling, "*Park and Lock It! Not Responsible!"

 

PHENOMENA:
  • Look's like you've got your phenomena scrambled. See EGGs.

 

PICO:
  • ALVARADO's friend, as in "It's Pico and Alvarado". Another street in Los Angeles. They are also historical references: Pico and Alvarado were the last two Mexican governors of Alta California. There really is an intersection at Pico Blvd, and Alvarado, which used to boast, among other things, a decent Salvadoran restaurant. Much of the area was burned to the ground during the recent Disturbances... (let's just call them, the PHENOMENA :-)

 

PICKLES:
  • Lots of pickles in FT. ROCKY ROCOCO is always carrying some around in a brown paper bag, and often wears Pickle on a Rope perfume. "Pickles down the rat-hole!", says HEMLOCK STONES. On the old "Dear Friends" shows they used to have a squeaky pickle that you could hear every so often.

 

PIG NITE:
  • A fraternity party tradition: The idea is that you have a party and that each fraternity brother is supposed bring the ugliest girl he can find. The one with the ugliest girl gets some sort of prize. That is Pig Nite. Attended by NICK DANGER.

 

Mayor William C. P'nisnose:
  •  The about to be strung up Mayor of Billville. [Boom Dot Bust]

 

PIZZA:
  •  Nick's Swell Pizza has a phone number very similar to NICK DANGER's, when George TIREBITER tried to order one. On TWO PLACES we also hear: SCHNIFTER: Das ist immer alles Aulung und ist rauch mit and potzen Volkswagen und niemann stint und "Swell Pizza!!"
  • Nick also fools ROCOCO in YOLKS by pretending to be a pizza delivery boy. 

 

PLAYER:
  • Another EVERYMAN, in the record "Eat or Be Eaten", who, like BABE, has his adventures in a car.

 

POOH:
  • Winnie the Pooh has influenced a number of FT lines. For example, Tom Teslacle says "It goes in and out like anything," which is a misquote of Eeyore (see TESLACLE'S DEVIANT) In addition, the FT would sometimes read directly from the Books of Pooh for each other's birthdays.

 

POOH STICKS:
  • How the FT guys referred to the yarrow stalks used to throw the I CHING. Gary Fritz writes of the origin of this term from POOH: Pooh Bear tripped while carrying a fir cone over a bridge, and noticed that it eventually came out the other side. Then, being ever the scientist, he dropped two, to see if one came out before the other -- and one did! This was then developed into a game where Pooh, Piglet, Christopher Robin, and the rest of the crew would drop sticks in the water and see whose came out first. And they called the game "Poohsticks."

 

POOP:
  • A character in many FT plays (Principle, and later Judge), who gives speeches with numerous spoonerisms and Freudian slips, eg. "In the words of the Foundry, er.. Founder, Ukaipa Heep (reference to the rock band "Uriah Heep"?),". Appears as Principal Poop in DWARF.

 

POLAR PRO:
  • What you shouldn't drink if you're pregnant, over 80, AND operating heavy equipment. Also, sponsors of the Four Cowboys of the Apocalypse. [GMIOGMD]

 

 PORRIDGE BIRD:
  • A (mythical?) bird which lays its EGGs in the air. Why? See WDTPBLHEITA.

 

PORGIE:
  • Porgie TIREBITER. One of George Leroy TIREBITER's many personas. Apparently motivated by Archie & Jughead, and by the old "Henry Aldrich" radio shows. The old radio show always started out: 

     MOTHER: Henry! Henry Aldrich!
     HENRY: Coming, Mother!
     Firesign translation:
     MOTHER: Porgie.  Porgie Tirebiter!
     PORGIE:  C..C..C..Coming, Mother!
     MOTHER: He's so good with the servants, Fred.
     FRED/ADOLF:  Stop calling me Fred, my name's ADOLF!

 

MRS. CAROLINE P(RESKI):
  • "Mrs. Caroline Preski, you've SOLD OUT!" (Dwarf). Also, makes a cameo appearance on the 666 (highway) with motherboard troubles under her hood. [GMIOGMD].

 

PRESIDENT:
  • A popular ride in the FUTURE FAIR. You get to ask a question of the computer-operated President, and get a free simulfax copy of your question, together with his answer. CLEM broke the President by asking him about PORRIDGE BIRDs. ...PAPOON also ran for President!

 

PRINCESS GODDESS:
  • Firesign's take on Princess Diana. "Even though she's dead, she's a very caring person." [GMIOGMD] Also, see [Pull My String]

 

PROCTOR:

 

PULL MY STRING:
  • The critics are unanimous. They hate Pull My String. A new level of low. A morbid exploitation of the Freshly Dead. The end of film. Princess Goddess had to die to star in a movie of her life. Now, she'll live for you in Pull My String. From Bottom Feedler Films. Also, may or may not refer to the Kerouac flick, "Pull My Daisy" [GMIOGMD]

 

Puzzled Number Crunchers: