Before Dr. Demento and “Weird Al” Yankovic grew up to produce zany songs and irreverent parodies, Spike Jones and his talented bevy of slapstick musicians, the City Slickers, were entertaining listeners over the airwaves. Spike Jones: The Legend offers a hilarious sampling of Spike’s multimedia offerings, and includes three DVDs and one CD. With superb comedic timing, even more impressive considering the size of the ensemble, and genuine comedic chops, the City Slickers represent old-style vaudevillian entertainment.

Disc one features two episodes of the Colgate Comedy Hour, hosted by Spike. In addition to performances of tunes like “Glow Worm” and the swingin’ “Cocktails For Two,” wild skits and zany bits keep the pace tuned way up. One of the most charming aspects of the show is the vintage advertisements: not only are the program’s sponsors mentioned at the beginning and ending of the episodes, plugs for them are worked into the show itself by way of sketches performed by the actors.

Disc two greets viewers with two more television episodes, this time of the All-Star Revue, again hosted by Spike. Highlights include Paul and Paulette, a pair of daredevil trampoline artists, and an extremely young Liberace tickling the ivories with violin accompaniment from his brother George. Helen Grayco, Spike’s better half, performs “Cold Cold Heart” with Cuban flair. Clad in a flamboyant dress, Grayco shimmies to bongo beats and flirts with her sultry, cigar-smoking dance partner. The only thing missing is color. No doubt it was fantastic, particularly in the Cuban scene.

The third disc is devoted entirely to special features, of which there are many. One of the most compelling is the section of retrospective commentary by Joe Siracusa, who served as Spike’s drummer from 1946-1952. Decked out in an obnoxious checkered jacket (what else?), Siracusa explains how many of the group’s gags and props were put together. It’s interesting to hear background tales, as well as stories about what happened when gags didn’t go as planned.

In another feature, “Weird Al” Yankovic reveals the extent to which his career has been influenced by Spike and his madcap musical antics. This is particularly interesting, as Yankovic gives a performer’s take on the difficulty of executing the seemingly haphazard choreography the City Slickers made look so easy.

The final disc is an audio CD, featuring radio programs from 1945. Even without the benefit of visual humor, Spike and his cohorts are very entertaining.

Spike Jones: The Legend will appeal to audiences who remember his original programming as well as to new fans (I had never seen him before viewing the set). Rarely these days does comedy make use of the cross-eyed, slapstick, physical farce perfected by Spike Jones and the City Slickers. And that’s a shame, because when is it not funny to see someone fall flat on his face and not get hurt, or to witness someone’s pants slide down to reveal polka-dotted underpants? That’s right, never. Or maybe when you’re taking life a bit too seriously. Until it comes back into style, lovers of vaudeville will have TV archives to tide them over.