Biography
The Schnickelfritz Band, ("schnickelfritz" supposedly being German slang for "silly fellow"), a comedy musical group somewhat reminiscent of Spike Jones (who came later), performs novelty songs in the film Gold Diggers in Paris (1938). Led by Freddie Fisher, who played woodwinds, sang and also composed the song "Colonel Corn" for the band, the band consisted of Stanley Fritts (trombone, drums, jug, washboard), Nels Laakso (cornet, trumpet), Paul Cooper (piano, arrangements), Kenneth Trisko (drums), and Charles Koenig (string bass / tuba). By the time Gold Diggers in Paris was being filmed, Nels Laakso had replaced original trumpet player George Rock, who left to become a key member of Spike Jones's City Slickers. The group, which was billed as "America's Most Unsophisticated Band!", recorded for Decca Records, and were brought to Hollywood by Rudy Vallee after his agent saw them in St. Paul, Minnesota.
According to one source, Gold Diggers in Paris was almost complete at the time the band arrived in Hollywood, so the band's segments were inserted into the film with short intros and reaction shots used to connect them to the rest of the action. The band broke up shortly after doing the film, with Fritts taking some of the members east to become the "Korn Kobblers", and Fisher staying in Hollywood to open a nightclub, where he appeared billed as "The Original Colonel of Corn". Although the Schnickelfritz Band never appeared in another film, Fisher appeared in several others as a band leader.
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