Gaines - A Christmas story: behind the scenes of a holiday classic

Bob Clark Ian Petrella

In fact, Shepherd saw his popularity surge while at WOR largely because of his ordinary sensibilities. His radio show broadcasted regularly on weeknights between 1 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., and he didnt use a script or notes. He spoke on the radio like an elder around a campfire telling stories to his kin. His stories explored the simple aspects of life, often with many diversions, extraneous adjectives and adverbs, and convoluted plot twists that added more flair to the story.

Shepherd occasionally told semi-autobiographical stories about his Old Man, Jean Parker Shepherd Sr., his mother, Ann, and Randy, his kid brother. He often assumed the role of a character named Ralphie, whose life experiences closely mirrored his own. Stories about his childhood were communicated through the fictional Parker family, also of Hammond. In 1964, his stories started to appear in Playboy (for those who read the magazine for the articles). In 1966, Shep released an anthology of Ralphies stories, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, which became a runaway hit and, to this day, has never been out of print.

As Bob Clark listened to the radio broadcast that day, he couldnt help but be reminded of his own upbringing. He was born on August 3, 1939, in New Orleans, but his family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, soon after. Sheps stories reflected Midwestern values and a certain simple charm that had long since been lost by the 1960s, but as Clark realized while he was listening, and as thousands of other listeners nationwide already had discovered, the values typically described as Midwestern are hardly specific to that region of the United States. Sure, Clark had probably never experienced a snow storm in Alabama, and certainly not at the University of Miami, where he attended school for Creative Dramatic Writing after reneging on his acceptance of a football scholarship at Hillsdale College in Michigan, but there isnt a child in the country who didnt wish against the odds for something they wanted for Christmas, even though their parents told them it was not likely to materialize under the tree on December 25.