 Family Theater presents Marjorie Steele, Chuck Connors, and Charles Bronson. From Hollywood, the Mutual Network in Cooperation with Family Theater presents You, Remind Me of Me, starring Chuck Connors and Charles Bronson. And now, here is your hostess, Marjorie Steele. Thank you, Tony Lafranco. Family Theater's only purpose is to bring to everyone's attention a practice that must become an important part of our lives if we are to win peace for ourselves, peace for our families, and peace for the world. Family Theater urges you to pray. Pray together as a family. And now, to our transcribed drama, You, Remind Me of Me, starring Chuck Connors as Bill and Charles Bronson as Birdie. 40 seconds, I think. Yes, just about 40 seconds, ladies and gentlemen. Left in this, which is the ninth round of the scheduled 10-rounder between heavyweights Wild Bill Callan and Art Fuller, sometimes known as Dancing Art Fuller. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to tell you I've never seen a contest like this one. There's been a complete change in Callan. Callan, you remember, as the man has been favored to win this fight. Wait a minute, he did it again? And that's at least the sixth time, ladies and gentlemen, Fuller faded toward the head of Callan, and then he moved in with a rain of blows to Wild Bill's midsection. Right now Callan is holding on now. He's just holding on as if his life depends on it. No, they're apart now. Callan just threw a left, and another left at the head of Fuller by Dancing Art is moving in anyway. Oh, Callan just took a jarring left. And now a right over the heart, and a left to the midsection. This could be the end of the fight. Now Callan's trying to tie up Fuller again. Dancing Art's not having any. And again, Fuller throws a right to Callan's head. It's not even close, ladies and gentlemen, Wild Bill is reacting almost like he's hit. All guarding of anything but his head is forgotten. He's backing away now, he's covering. And it's a right and a left to Callan's middle. And another right, and there's the bell ending round nine. Both fighters moving toward their respective corners. Callan it would seem in some confusion. You know, ladies and gentlemen, this has been a clean contest all the way. There are no marks on either of these boys' reputations. But nevertheless, there's been something wrong with this fight. Or to be more accurate, something is wrong with a man who was rated to win this fight by a knockout. And I do mean Wild Bill Callan. At the beginning of the fight, he appeared to be in top condition. During the weigh-ins this morning, he seemed to me to be full of confidence. In fact, he seemed to be looking forward to this bout. Tonight is just another rung in the ladder. But something is definitely wrong. From the beginning of the fight, Callan, who was usually regarded as an aggressive fighter, always in there, always pushing, has been on the defensive. And he's not been defending too well against that rain of body blows that Dancing Art Fuller's been dealing up. In fact, from my position here at ringside, I've noticed several times during these last few rounds, one Dancing Art Fuller could have fought with, well, with a good deal more efficiency. Or it might be that Fuller is just as surprised as I am as everyone in this arena is tonight, I think, at Callan's change, or maybe I should say Callan's loss of style. I see Callan's seconds are bending over him now. Got their heads closed, they're talking fast. I don't think Bill is hearing much of the advice. Oh, there's the warning buzzer. All right, ladies and gentlemen, in just a few seconds, the tenth and final round of the main event of this evening, the scheduled ten-rounder between Wild Bill Callan and Dancing Art Fuller, and there's the bell coming out of their corners now. When they touch gloves, center of the ring, Fuller steps back. Oh, look out, look out! Fuller hooked him with a left, a hard, clean, jarring left. Callan's covering up now. Oh, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, I think this is going to be it. Fuller is really going to it now. There's a left hook to the head of Callan, and a right to the body, and a left is down. Wild Bill Callan is down, ladies and gentlemen. And this looks like it. I'm very much afraid for Wild Bill. Shaking his head now. He's trying to get up, but he just can't seem to make it. There's the count. That's just about it for Wild Bill Callan. Ladies and gentlemen, the winner and a very popular win in the arena tonight is Dancing Art Fuller. Hey, you call a fight tonight? Yeah, sure did. That dancing nod, he won. Yes, he did. That's why I'm here. But this is Wild Bill's dressing room. Fuller one. Don't you want to talk to Fuller? I don't know whether Fuller won or whether Callan lost, Bertie. Huh? Well, never mind. Skip it. That's the door, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, that's the door. You want to see him? Yeah. Well... What is it, Bertie, huh? Don't tell him I'm out here. You know what I mean. Don't tell him you've seen me. Why not? Wild Bill, he's mad at me. He's mad at you? Why? He just is. Don't tell him I'm here. Okay, I won't tell him, Bertie. Mr. Milton, while you're in there, see if he's all right. I think he's all right. No, I mean, all right. You know, like me. You know, I'm not all right. You know what I mean. He took a lot of punches. Will you do that for me? Yeah, Bertie, sure I will. Yeah? Who's there? Ted and Milton. Open the door, Helen. Honey. Open the door. All right. I'd just like to ask... Oh, Mrs. Callant? Couldn't you come some other time, Mr. Milton? You know, the name is Milton, Mrs. Callant, with an M. Come on in, Ted. Thanks. Can't make him wait, baby. He's a big muck-a-muck in the sports world. Got to let his readers and his radio audience know the scoop, right, Ted? Yeah, it's about the size of it, I guess. Uh, Bertie out in the hall? Well, he told me not to tell you. He says you're mad at him. I mean, why anybody could be mad at that poor, punchy guy? Nobody's mad at him. Open the door, will you, Helen? Sure, Bill. Bertie? Come on, I know you're there. Uh, did you want something, Bill? Come on in here. You're... You're not mad at me anymore, huh? No, I'm not mad. And I want to say I'm sorry I popped off at you, okay? Oh, sure, Bill. Okay. There's no harm. Now, no harm, Bill. Honey, get me a 10 out of my bill, will you? Right. Yeah, now, you're all right, huh? I mean... Yeah, I'm all right. In a lot of ways now, I'm all right. I've made up my mind. I'm going to do what Helen wants. Hey, that's real nice. Now, you let me hear from you. Now, don't forget. You won't forget your old friends, huh? I'll do it. Sure. You'll hear from me, Bertie. Here's the 10, honey. Yeah. Here. I want you to take this. Oh, no, I don't want any money. Take it. It's just my way of saying things. Ah, no, I don't... Would you take it to make me feel better? Well, if it's going to make you feel better... It will. All right, then. I'll take it. And, uh, thanks a lot. That's all right. Yeah, I finally got through to you, huh? I finally got it through my thick head. Boy, it's been a long time, you know, since I outsmarted anybody. It's a long time. But, you know, I used to do that a lot. And nearly every fight, Mr. Milton here, he knows... Oh, sure. He can remember me when I was real good. Oh, sure, sure I can, Bertie. You were tops. Yeah, you know, I was real good. It seems for such a short time. Such a long time ago, too. You know, I can't even remember. You know what I mean. Oh, look, hold it, Bertie. Listen, Callan, would you mind letting me in on all this? Bertie, I'll tell you what. You go out in the hall and wait for me. As soon as I rest up a little more, Helen and I will buy you a cup of coffee, okay? 15 minutes. Hey, wait, this time I'll buy. I got money now, huh? Okay, you can buy it. Wait for us. Uh, how long did you say? About 15 minutes. Right. Poor guy. All right, now will somebody please let me in on all this? And tell me just what he did to rate a payoff? Well, I just don't see that it's any of your business, Mr. Milton. Well, Mrs. Callan, maybe I'd better tell you a thing or two. All right, all right. Now, everybody cool off. What do you mean cool off, Callan? Easy, boy, easy. Easy, sure. You lost a fight out there tonight. So, somebody's got to lose. Oh, is that your only comment? Well, what am I supposed to say? I got a moat in my eye or the lights dimmed? No, my foot slipped? Fuller's just a better man than I am. That's all. Oh, no, sir. No, that's not all. That looked bad out there. It doesn't look so good in here, either. What do you mean? Well, I come in here and find you're trying to pay somebody for doing your favor. Birdie? Well, how does it look? Huh? And then I see you taking it easy. You're not particularly disturbed. Wasn't that fight supposed to be an important step in your career? Are you suggesting, Mr. Milton, there was something wrong? A payoff or something? Well, Bill would never do a thing like that. Why, the very idea is just... Well, it's not even worthy of comment. In fact, you've got a lot of nerve, Mr. Milton, coming in here and suggesting a thing like that. It's ridiculous. Oh, you're protesting too much, lady. You're overplaying the part. Bill should break you in two. For what? Yeah, but didn't you hear the things he said? He as much as said... I know, I know. I mean, he's right. It does look bad. He comes in here and the only one here is my wife. No manager, no seconds. Where are they? Could he know I threw him out? He probably thinks there are picking up winnings on bets I placed on Fuller. Oh, honey, look at it from his point of view. This looks bad and it's going to look a lot worse after he hears what I've got to say. I don't see how it can. Okay, I'll show you. And this is for the record. This was my last fight. This was you... Aha. All right, that figures. Last fight, why go away poor, huh? Oh, no, Ted... And did you even have that punch drunk ex-pug birdie placing a bet for you? No, Ted, you're going to push me too far. You think you're being pushed now, buddy? Wait till you see the morning papers. There were a lot of sports writers in that arena tonight. And if this fight looked as bad to them as it does to me, you'll quit fighting all right, but it won't be any quiet retirement. It's going to be like lightning walking through a forest of tall trees and awful lot of light and an awful lot of noise. So what? We can stand a lot of light. She's right, Ted. We're clean. One of the big sporting goods manufacturers offered me a job a couple of weeks ago. Ted and it'll give me a chance for a home life, so I'm taking it. That's all there is to it. No, sir, it's not. Listen to me, Callan. You're a good fighter. You've got a lot of style, a lot of power. You can go places. And what's more, you know it. We've had about enough, that's all. Sure he could go places, but he'd wind up with his brain scrambled. Oh, that doesn't have to happen. I can name you 100 top fighters came away clean as a whistle. And I can show you a thousand who didn't. Men like birdie who go through life and you follow holidays. Not quite like birdie, honey. If I tell you about birdie, Ted, you can put that in your column and the people will understand. Maybe even let you, what do you call it, cop a lead or steal a march or something on the other sports writers. Yeah? All right, I'm listening. Well, it started when I first met him. Oh, maybe a month and a half ago. I was up at camp training for this fight. I was doing some early morning road work with my manager, Duke Oles, but joined mostly because I insisted on Helen being at camp with us. I remember we were coming down the road on the back three when we saw him. He was standing under a tree by the path and it looked like he was waiting for us. All right, all right. Let's walk it a while. Who's this? Huh? Oh, no. That's all I need. One of those around the place. Who is he? His name's birdie. I've seen him around. I... I'm not a soldier. I'm not a soldier. I'm a fighter, you know, like you. Yeah? You're a wild Bill Callan, ain't you? That's what they call me. You know what? No, what? You know, you remind me of me. Yeah? Well, not now. I mean, you know, when I was in the pink, can I walk along with you? Sure, I guess you're right. Get off the farm. There's no room for you here. On our duke. No! I'll let you have your own way about having your wife up here. I think I made a mistake in letting you go that far. I won't have any punch-drunk ex-pugs around here. Wait, look, I'm not punchy and I don't get many fights no more, but I'm not punchy. Of course he isn't, Duke. What's the matter with you? You think I don't know? Look, this man's a fighter and I think we should show him a little hospitality. What about all the soldiers? They don't give me many fights no more. Duke, I think we can find a place for this man, can't we? Find a place? You mean have him around all the time? Are you out of your mind? Give him a job, Duke. Great Scott! Bill, I... I... All right, all right, you ask for it. I'll do it. Now, if you gentlemen will pardon me, I'll go prepare a place for him. But you'll regret it. I promise you that. Uh... Hey, you got a sweat worked up. You know that's no good to stand still like this. You're earning your keep already. Don't pay no attention to what he said. You know what I mean about being punchy, I mean? Of course not. He your manager? Tries to be, I guess. He don't want any punches around, you know, and it's for a good reason. That could be my job. I mean, keeping them away from you. Why doesn't he want them around? Well, it's a... It ain't no good for a young fighter, you know, like you, like not letting sweat dry on you. You gotta be careful. Always gotta be careful. Uh... What were we talking about? The punches? Yeah, yeah, that's right. Now, if a fighter sees him around, he begins to think, you know? Thinking it could happen to him? What do they call you? Birdie. Birdie? Yeah, that's because some... They think I like your manager things that I hear birds sing, you know? Well, you know what I... You know, the sing when they ain't singin'. But that's not the reason it's... The reason is because I just got one song to sing. Hey, I smell bacon and eggs. We're not far from the house now. You'll be tasting them before long. You're a good man, Wild Bill. I won't forget what you're doing for me. That's nothing, Birdie. No, no, I mean that. I won't forget that. I'm gonna pay you back. You see if I don't. How you do it? Maybe I'll get a fight with a big person and I can split with you. Or maybe better, maybe I'll sing you my song. Birdie stayed on at the training camp and nearly every day I'd hear from my manager about it. Duke was afraid of him and for a while so was Helen. But little by little she warmed up to him as if they shared some secret joke. And then she started singing her old song. Oh, Bill, I wish you had a normal job. That we could get out of this, well, this pseudo-existence. Well, honey, are we gonna go into that again? I don't mean to, but... Well, look, we're livin' all right, aren't we? Don't I make a good living for you? Yes, but there's more to life than money. There's more to living than we see. Now, look, baby, after the full of fight, we'll... Oh, don't say it. I know what's gonna happen. You'll make a big promise to take time off. But it won't happen. Well, what would you have me do? What am I trained for but fighting? The danger. Danger? Men die in the ring. Oh, Helen, don't you think you're being... Oh, they wind up like Pavlov's dogs. Trained to react to bells just like beasts. And for what? So people can go watch them try to hurt each other. It's a sport, Helen, like football or anything else. People go to watch a contest, a great sport. All right, maybe it is. But maybe you should know when you're too old for the punishment of this sport. Bill, the danger... Is largely in your imagination. Now, don't worry. Nothing's gonna happen to me. I pray every night you're right. Let's just enjoy the evening, huh? All right, I'm sorry I startled all this. It's all right. Bill... Yeah? Remember that word Bertie couldn't pronounce? The word he asked me to look up? About what happened to him? Oh, yeah. Well, I finally got around to looking it up. It was patechial. It's a kind of hemorrhage resulting from repeated heavy blows to the head. I didn't tell him, but it means the same as punch drunk, according to the dictionary. Now, honey... I didn't mean anything by it. Don't think that. I just thought you'd be interested. In the weeks that followed, I think maybe God could have pulled my guardian angel off the job at any time, and Bertie would have been there to fill in. He was always around. People would come to watch me spar, but he wouldn't pay them a bit of attention. He'd just stand by, and almost always with a spare head protector. That's enough for today, Bill. Right. Hey, you look good while, Bill. You know you did a real good job in there? Thanks, Bertie. Not even breathing hard. You got good wind. Don't you get tired of carrying that head protector around? You never tell, you know, when a strap is going to break, and you're going to want one? That's why I carried it. I wish I had one had them when I was fighting before. I don't know. These things have been available for a long time. Yeah, but not this good. Maybe not. I was watching you, Bill. You don't keep your guard high enough. You got to keep it high here. Oh, I don't know. They didn't tag me too many times. You got to guard your head. Now, you remember that you got to guard your head. The rest of you, they can patch up pretty good. But not the head. You got to keep that guard up. How is it, Bertie? I mean, if they hurt your head. For some, they say it can be bad. But even me, I was hurt, you know, a little, you know. You told me. Sometimes you forget things. And mostly, I guess, that's the way it is with me. What do you forget? Oh, lots of things. I can remember some of the good things that happened to me. You know, when I was on top, but not too many, you know. Yeah, I think I do. You see, Bill, what happens? Well, it's like a sound in a night. You wake up and then you're not sure you really heard it. I can remember lots of names. There's a Corbett and Jefferies, Tani, and Schmeling. But I can't remember whether I fought them or not. And, oh, I had a wife once. She had hair. It was like gold. Her name, her name was, I don't know. I can't remember. Hey, Bill? Yeah? Bill, you got to keep that guard up. Now, will you promise me? Sure I will. I promise, Bertie. And I kept the promise. Duke shouted at me a couple of times the training camp crowd even laughed, but I kept the promise. Because I couldn't shake Bertie out of my mind. I think of the things he said, and Bertie never said anything just once. You remind me of me. You're going to be a great fighter just like me. But remember, you keep your guard high. They can patch up the rest pretty good, but not the head. Now, you watch your head. When things happen to you, it's like a sound in a night. You wake up not sure you really heard it. I don't know how it might happen to you, but with me now, I took a solid punch and I shook my head trying to come out all the way, you know, to clear it, but I never came out. It never cleared. Now, that's it, Bill. Either he goes or I go. We got a little more than a week left before the fight. I'm not going to stay here and see him ruin you completely. So take your choice. He goes or I do. Oh, maybe you're right, Duke. Maybe you're right. All right. You gonna tell him? Yeah, I'll tell him. I can do it. I'll tell him. I didn't see Bertie again till the night of the fight, and I guess you could say I was in pretty fair shape. That is, I was till I saw Bertie in an aisle seat near my corner while I was on my way to the ring. He had the head protector in his lap. I stopped to say hello. Wish me luck, Bertie. How'd you know my name? No, your name. Oh, hey, you went dancing artfully? It's me, Bill Callan. We were together for almost five weeks. Yeah, I never seen you before in my whole life. Sure you have. I'm the... I'm just like the rest of these people. I come to watch one of these fighters getting all silly. It looks like you're punchy already. All right, Bertie. All right. Hey, hey, wait a minute. Wild Bill, wait. Let go of my robe. Hey, wait. Let me tell you something. Because you've been good to me and because you remind me of me. Now, it's my song. Let go of me. Now, get out of the fight game, Wild Bill. Go ahead. Get out now while you still got the clear head. Or you're young enough for something else. Do what your wife wants. Let go of me. Your punch-drunk bum was so helpful. All right. All right. I'm punchy, Wild Bill. Now, don't be like me. If you've got to go in that ring, you just remember what you promised. Keep your guard high. That's my song, Wild Bill. Don't be like me. I saw him sitting there for the whole fight and watching me like a hawk. And all the time holding that head protector in his lap. I couldn't get him out of my sight or out of my mind. So I guess you could say I was just keeping the promise I made to him. Maybe I didn't really mean to, but I kept it. Uh-huh. And for squeezing you out as a possible title contender, you tip him ten bucks. I'd like to tip him a thousand. Maybe you don't get it, Ted. He was repaying a debt in a pretty big way. He was giving the greatest thing he had to give, the benefit of his experience. A great gift? I've been out at almost seven years now, Ted. That's enough. More than enough. Another year you could go for the title. Next time you're around the gym, Ted, talk to the older fighters, the ones who don't get matched much anymore. See how many caught when they couldn't shake off? I don't think the risk is worth the title. And now, if you'll excuse me, my wife and I have a date with a friend. This is Marjorie Steele again. If you were to make a trip to some other village or town, you'd expect to find it all together different from your own hometown. But then you'd find any community different from your own. You see, in a way, they're like people. Each town or village has a personality of its own, and each has customs slightly different from those of other towns, and even those which might be only a few miles away. And of course, the greater the distance there is between communities, the greater will be the contrast in customs. But no matter how far you travel, in every community you'll find one thing which is in common to all communities. In Berlin, San Loh, in Boston, or in Kiercock, or Gander, in a fishing village on the Irish Sea, or with a nomadic tribe in the Sierra, you'll find the people believe in and acknowledge their dependence on God. And in some of the older settlements, you'll find a traditional custom observed daily. It's the practice family theater recommends each week, daily family prayer. Through family prayer, you assure yourself of God's continued love and his continued blessings. And praying together as a family assures you of something else too, for the family that prays together stays together. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. From Hollywood Family Theater has brought you transcribed You, Remind Me of Me, starring Charles Bronson and Chuck Connors. Marjorie Steele was your hostess. Others in our cast were Lawrence Dobkin, Alice Backus, and Leo Curley. The script was written and directed for Family Theater by Robert Hugh O'Sullivan, with music composed and conducted by Harry Zimmerman. This series of Family Theater broadcasts is made possible by the thousands of you who feel the need for this type of program, by the mutual network which has responded to this need, and by the hundreds of stars of stage, screen, and radio who give so unselfishly their time and talent to appear on our Family Theater stage. To them and to you, our humble thanks. This is Tony LaFranco expressing the wish of Family Theater that the blessing of God may be upon you and your home and inviting you to be with us next week when Family Theater will present Turn On The Lights, starring John Lund. Marshall Thompson will be your host. Join us, won't you? Family Theater has broadcast throughout the world and originates in the Hollywood studios of the world's largest network. This is Mutual, the radio network for all America.