Thee Long Johns in the Limelight !! 

Rock bands performing while wearing only their union suit underwear have entrigued me for years, particularly after I found a large number of them on the internet after starting my Union Suit Fans in the Limelight blog. A surprising number of them were with their guitars and drums, standing in front of microphones in just their long, one-piece underwear,

Here is a re-post of "Thee Long Johns" which I featured herein on July 3, 2018. 

I don't know if they are still rockin' or not. And, if they are, I wonder if they still wear their union suits on stage. If you have run across them lately, let me know.

Here they are for you in case you're a newcomer to my blogs or if you happened to miss this posting from over seven years ago:

Thee Long Johns is a Norwegian band that performs in their Union Suits. This band was first introduced to me by Union Suit Fan, Bay Area Bill. They are the self-proclaimed, "Inbred Outlaw Rock and Roll Band."

Prior to his endorsement and forwarding me pictures of them on stage in their one-piece, buttoned-front, rear escape hatch, long underwear, I had not heard of them. I understood Bill to call them Three Long Johns. After viewing their photos, I emailed Bill, “I count five band members, Bill. Why are they called 'Three Long Johns?'” Probably thinking to himself "you dim-wit," Bill replied, “It's not 'three', it's 'Thee' Long Johns.” 

Ohhh!  

At any rate, Bill and I are happy to present to you “Three Long Johns!” Dang it! I mean "Thee Long Johns!"

Adored by their Audiences, these Bad Boy Scandinavians are Scandalous in their Union Suits! But do they ever have fun, who wouldn't ?!

One band member, the drummer often times wears a red Union Suit. The rest of the guys prefer white:

Checkout their song: "Longjohnsong" and other selections.

Thee Long Johns Just love Hangin' Out 
with each other in their underwear!

And, Speaking of Yentl and Union Suits:

Another scene from the 1983 film wherein Yentl Mendel, while posing as a boy to be accepted into university, visits a tailor shop to be fitted for a new suit, a wedding suit! She has found herself betrothed. Having dressed as a boy, she undresses to her union suit for a fitting by the owner and his son.... 

Answers to More Movie Trivia for Union Suit Fans - Updated November 2nd.

View these spring-time scenes of a college student stripping to his union suit to cool off:

 

Now answer the following questions to win Movie Trivia! You can do this: Your answers are in blue. This Triivia was pretty tough / Final answers are in Red:

Name the 1980's film these scenes are taken from? 

     Yentl is correct, Lonestar Mike, and you are close in saying you believed the movie came out in 1984, but not quite that year. Almost.

And, Mandy Patinkin is not the actor portrayed in his union suit in the scenes I have depicted herein. Patinkin played Avigdor and he had on a lot less than his long underwear when he appeared down at the swimming hole in this film! 

What person was the star, director, co-producer, and co-writer of the screenplay of this movie? Barbara Streisand. Thanks Scott of Scottsdale

What was the major production company?

United Artists. Thanks Chase of Monroe, LA

When was the release date?  November 16, 1983. Nailed it, Thanks Scott

Three Bonus questions:  take a look at this Yeshiva student who had undressed down to his hat and union suit for a cool swim....

Who is this actor and what was his name in this film?

Oops, not one guesser got these: Allan Corduner is the student at the swimming hole in his long underwear. He played Shimmele.

What does "Yeshiva" mean?

Literally, yeshivah is "the act of sitting" which for Jewish students and scholars means "the act of studying." A Yeshiva is a Jewish school, typically for boys especially in older times, that focuses on the intensive review of the Torah and Talmud, sacred texts.

Answers can be made in the comments section below or send me an email: cayersnd@gmail.com

Thanks for participating and a special thanks to United Artists and the cast, crew and producers of the hit, Yentl...Chris

North and South

In the 1985 Miniseries, North and South, soldiers fighting for the north wore union suits. Proof of their wearing one-piece long underwear was presented in the second installment of the triology, Love and War, released in 1986.

The very popular miniseries was produced by Wolper Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

The War Between the States drama first premiered on the ABC television network beginning in November, 1985 as Book I. Book II was then televised in May of 1986. It wasn't until February, 1994 that the final installement, Book III, Heaven and Hell, was shown. 

In Book II, Yankees, captured near Richmond, Virginia in a raid by southern rebels, were led to the notorious and overcrowded Libby Prison. It was a cold and bleak site of confinement, formerly a three-story, brick tobacco warehouse.

There they met Captain Turner, commandant of the Virginian prison, a severely psychotic director. His personal style was to treat the prisoners especially bad and not according to the articles of war. Rather, his modus operandi was to gleefully humiliate and beat the men under his charge. He detested the "invading" northerners.

And especially so, the northern general, George Hazard:

Upon their arrival, he ordered the union soldiers to strip so they could be better searched. Reluctantly with few exceptions, the men of the north removed their uniforms...

 ...until each soldier stood before Turner in only their union suits: 

Even the young drummer boy was reduced to his underwear: 

 

The first officer didn't move quickly enough for Turner, so he was bludgeoned in the belly, 

causing him to collapse to the filthy floor.

The commanding officer, General Hazard, had been made to remove his uniform along with his men, standing in only his union suit before the lower ranked southerner, Turner.

  

When the general demanded to speak to Turner's commanding officer, he was answered with a fist to the belly, followed by an upper cut to his chin which sent him to the floor in pain:

Pulling themselves up from the floor... 

...each man in his underwear was then required to meet Turner at the table in order for him to examine the pockets of their uniforms for money and any valuables they may have possessed. 

Each man in turn, gave up what little money and treasure he had.

"Spit out whatever is in your mouth!" he scolded the first officer:

Finally, Capt. Turner took his leave as General Hazard looked after him:

 

His day will come, thought Hazard. 

Spoiler Alert!  Eventually, Capt. Turner was killed.

 

Union forces freed General Hazard who returned to the North to fight again.

Special thanks to Wolper Productions, Warner Bros. Television, and ABC for this exceptional miniseries which can be viewed streaming on several services or can be rented, as it was for me, at your library.

And a special shoutout to Artie up in Maine for bringing this miniseries to my attention so I could bring it to you.

How did the term "Union Suits" come about?

One account is that "Union Suit" is a designation for long underwear which was, and is, massed produced by workers belonging to a garment union. Thus, union workers made long, one-piece, combined underwear or combinations which became known as union suits, first for women and soon for men and boys. 

Some are convinced that union suits got its name simply because it was the underwear worn by men of the union army in the "War Between the States," the U.S. civil war. Besides North and South, other movies and tv shows depicting underwear in this time period show men and boys wearing union suits rather than two piece long johns. It has been accepted that southern boys wore two piece flannel underwear, red in color.

And finally, many have come to believe "union suit" was the name of the eventual and practical joining of long legged "drawers" with long sleeved undershirts into a single garment. Two pieces of underwear combined into one. Before the invention of union suits and before boxers and briefs, men and boys wore "long johns," two piece underwear.

So which is it. Why is our long underwear (or shudder, "onesies") today called "Union Suits?"