Subject: [removed] Digest V2008 #37
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 2/10/2008 12:58 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to:
[removed]@[removed]

------------------------------


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2008 : Issue 37
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Identity Crisis                       [ skallisjr@[removed] ]
  Ubangi's lips                         [ "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed]; ]
  "The Devil's Radio"                   [ Wich2@[removed] ]
  Another column mentioning OTR         [ seandd@[removed] ]
  OTR Fossils                           [ skallisjr@[removed] ]
  The Invisible Man                     [ fmazzar771@[removed] ]
  "The" Guiding [removed]               [ Afanofoldradio@[removed] ]
  RE: Five thoughts on Suspense         [ "Stewart Wright" <stewwright@worldn ]
  Car starters interference             [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 09:18:14 -0500
From: skallisjr@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Identity Crisis

Joe Mackey reports from Those Were The Days,

1940 - Mutual presented the first broadcast of Superman. The identity
of the man from planet Krypton was unknown to listeners for six years.
The secret eventually leaked out that Superman's voice was actually that
of Bud Collyer.

But wasn't the *identity* of the man from the planet Krypton given from
the first broadcast?  I thought everyone was told that it was Clark Kent.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr

(Who, as a child, ate inordinate amounts of Kellogg's Pep because of that
program.)

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 09:18:56 -0500
From: "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Ubangi's lips

Sean wrote:

On one Fred Allen program, Fred complained he had been at an
event outside when it was so hot that "the only shade available
was under a Ubangi's lips."  I remember thinking that if the most
literate popular comedian of that era would pop off with a joke
like that, imagine what the average night club hack must have
been like.

I don't think this was racist in the way some people (most
people?) might take it today. Do an image search for Ubangi on
the Internet or recall some pictures in the National Geographic
or under "Africa" in an encyclopedia and you're likely to come up
with the "Ubangi saucerlips natives." Allen's reference wasn't to
black people having large lips, it was to the Africans who
enlarged their lips to the point of having the bills of a duck
... hence the shade.

Let's not try to rewrite history and intentions like PBS'
"History Detectives."

Bob Cockrum

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 09:21:10 -0500
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "The Devil's Radio"

(That's the title of a terrific song by George Harrison. Worth a  listen, as
it deals humorously with the whole rich panoply of crap riding the  airwaves.)

Ted wrote:

From: _radioaz@[removed]_ (mailto:radioaz@[removed])

I'm not surprised  that fundamentalists would be against radio.  They are
against so many  new ideas.

Historically, there has been some truth to [removed]

a TV channel called
JCTV--they feature some of the most awful music  I have heard in a long
time--all of it rock and heavy metal and all of it  aimed at winning kids
over to the church.

...but here, you make the counter argument. You may not like the sound
of those types of music - but they are "new," and are being used by the
groups you speak of.

I wouldn't be surprised if Billy Sunday, Sister Aimee Semple McPherson  and
Father Coughlin were in great part responsible for evangelicals  adopting
radio as a tool.  I'm sure there are many others.

Well, if we use "Evangelical" in its original, non-purjorative form, as it
was preferred by Dr. Martin Luther as a name for the reformed church,
we have to  largely credit a man,and a show, mentioned on this list before.

Dr. Walter A. Maier began THE LUTHERAN HOUR on Oct. 11, 1930. It pretty
quickly became a National, then an International, show, and continues to
this day.

Best,
-Craig W.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 09:28:02 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Another column mentioning OTR

Here's another old-timer's column that mentions OTR nostalgia, particularly Bergen & McCarthy.

[removed];c=MGArticle&cid=1173354547243

Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 09:52:05 -0500
From: skallisjr@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  OTR Fossils

Many OTR programs aren't in circulation.  Many cannot be, as no audio
recordings survive.  Yet some are still "recorded," after a fashion, and
their adventures can be shared, after a fashion.

In a simpler time, when consumer electronics was a lot less complex, most
homes had no way of recording the programs that were broadcast.  But some
of the stories were adapted to other media, notably Whitman Publications'
Big Little Books and Better Little Books.  Some of the shows were
"novelized," notably Captain Midnight and Jack Armstrong.  The Better
Little Books featuring the OTR adventures pop up from time to time on
flea markets and auctions.

The BLB stories aren't quite the originals, as some actions don't
necessarily advance the plot significantly, as when making a pitch for a
radio premium, but they carry all the main points.   Admittedly, some of
the audio charms of an OTR program are gone, but at least the stories
have been preserved, more or less.

[[removed]:  There are some BLBs on OTR characters that were adapted from
other media.  For instance, the BLB, /Captain Midnight and the Moon
Woman/, was adapted from the Captain Midnight newspaper comic strip
rather than the radio show.]

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:09:24 -0500
From: fmazzar771@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Invisible Man

I got into OTR back in the late 1980's and was introduced to it by an old
timer who walked my city streets with a shopping cart and picking cans.
Inside that shopping carriage was an old Fisher Price cassette
player/recorder and a purse filled with OTR tapes. I became his link to the
OTR world and I did mail ordering to get him the shows he always had wished
for. My pal died in 1993 and just recently I stumbled upon a cache of tapes
he left behind. on one of them there was an OTR version of HG Wells Invisible
Man. From what show it came i cannot tell because my friend cut out the
intro's and announced the show in his own voice over and he did the same at
commercial breaks. Can anyone tell me how many, if any, times the Invisible
Man was done on OTR and the names of the shows and dates if possible.

   Thank you

   Frank Thomas

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 14:53:22 -0500
From: Afanofoldradio@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "The" Guiding [removed]
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

An article in the 2-7-2008 edition of the Chicago Tribune mentions how  "The"
Guiding Light', (I still call it that though they have not used that title
since 1976) in order to boost ratings, are now going to use roving  hand-held
cameras instead of using in-studio pedistal cameras-and  using more outside
New
York locations. They do however mention in the story  how it first came on
radio in 1937 so Procter and Gamble could sell soap and  moved to TV and CBS
on
June 30th, 1952 where it has been ever  since!!!

  *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
  ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 14:53:49 -0500
From: "Stewart Wright" <stewwright@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  RE: Five thoughts on Suspense

In [removed] Digest V2008 #36
Richard Carpenter asked
". . .
3) I know that some of the ESCAPE shows were also on SUSPENSE. Was this a
budget move as radio lost its luster and advertising to TV? And did SUSPENSE
use recordings of the ESCAPE shows with new introductions and farewells, or
did SUSPENSE use its own actors, [removed] . . ."

The following is a compilation of information from a post I made in March,
2001 to the Old Time Radio Digest and an article I wrote in 2006 called
"Produce It Again, Sam: The Reuse of Scripts During the Golden Age of
Radio."

New Productions of Previously Used Scripts
	During Radio's Golden Age, a more common practice than replaying
previous aired transcriptions, was the reuse of previously broadcast scripts
for new productions.  The reuse of scripts probably had been an industry
practice since the late 1930's, but definitely became more common as the
fortunes of network radio began to wane in the early 1950's.

	If a script was used again on its original series, it was normally
as a new production and usually with at least a few cast or crew differences
from the original production.  Also, there might have been title, dialog,
and scene changes made in the script.  If the new production was in a
different length time slot, changes could be substantial and entail the
addition or deletion of entire scenes and characters.

	When the script was used on a different series, modifications could
be minor or significant.  Cast and crew changes were to be expected.  Series
specific changes such as opening, closing, and between acts segments and
locale and characters' names were made.  Episode title changes were common.
Dialog alterations might be made.  If the newer series had a different air
time length than the original series, changes might be quite extensive as
mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

	In some cases, it was a matter of economics. Radio networks often
had a limited-time option to reuse a script on its original series or on
another series.  A reduced fee was usually paid to the writer for the
multiple uses of a script.  As network radio was dying, broadcast budgets
became increasingly tight and reusing scripts allowed directors to save
money while still supplying a quality show.

	In other cases, script reuse was a recognition of popularity.
Occasionally, positive listener response was acknowledged with new
productions of a popular script such as "Three Skeleton Key" on ESCAPE and
SUSPENSE and "Sorry, Wrong Number" on SUSPENSE.

ESCAPE and SUSPENSE
	There were many scripts that first aired on ESCAPE that were later
produced on SUSPENSE. The use of these recycled scripts occurred from the
mid-1950's onward when the budget for SUSPENSE was cut.  Also, some scripts
that originally aired on SUSPENSE were later reused for productions on
ESCAPE.

	Thirty scripts written for ESCAPE were subsequently produced on
SUSPENSE.   Script alterations were made in series openings and closings,
and in some cases, dialog.  The new productions generally had different cast
and crew members.  Reused scripts included such classics as "A Shipment of
Mute Fate," "Leiningen Versus The Ants" and "Three Skeleton Key."  Two
scripts written by actor John Dehner, "Lily and the Colonel" and "The Man
With The Steel Teeth," were used on ESCAPE by director Antony Ellis and
reused when Ellis directed SUSPENSE.  Director William N. Robson adapted the
Ambrose Bierce short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" for ESCAPE in
1947 and later reused the adaptation three times while he was directing
SUSPENSE.   (See below for the list of scripts shared by ESCAPE and
SUSPENSE.)

Common Directors
	Three well-known radio directors -  William N. Robson, Norman
Macdonnell, & Antony Ellis - directed both ESCAPE and SUSPENSE.  They
sometimes recycled quality, previously-written scripts that were still under
network option.  Also, these directors may have reused scripts they were
familiar with because it gave them the opportunity use a script of known
quality or to fix something that didn't quite work in its first production.

	When he directed SUSPENSE, Antony Ellis reused some scripts from the
time period when he wrote for and directed ESCAPE:  "A Study In Wax," "The
Game," and "Classified Secret."  The script for "The Cave" written by Ellis
was used on at least three series:  first ESCAPE, then SUSPENSE, and finally
ROMANCE.  Ellis directed SUSPENSE and ROMANCE when "The Cave" was produced
on those series.

Signing off for now,

Stewart

SHARED ESCAPE and SUSPENSE SCRIPTS
Lost Special
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle/Jack Fink
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  09/30/1943
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Sir Arthur Conan Doyle/Les Crutchfield
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  02/12/1949

Back for Christmas
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  John Collier/William Spier & John Collier/William
N. Robson
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  12/23/1943 & 12/23/1956
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   John Collier/Robert Tallman
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  12/24/1947

Man Who Liked Dickens
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Evelyn Waugh/Richard Breen
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  10/09/1947
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Evelyn Waugh/John Meston
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  12/21/1952

Action
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   C. E. Montague/Les Crutchfield
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  04/04/1948 & 07/21/1949
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  C. E. Montague/Antony Ellis
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  10/05/1953

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Ambrose Bierce/William N. Robson
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  12/10/1947
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Ambrose Bierce/William N. Robson
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  12/09/1956, 12/15/1957,  & 07/19/1959

Cave, The
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Antony Ellis
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  12/24/1950
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Antony Ellis
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  12/20/1955

Classified Secret
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Antony Ellis
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  04/12/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Antony Ellis
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  11/22/1955

Command
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   James Warner Bellah/William N. Robson
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  12/06/1049 & 12/06/1950
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  James Warner Bellah/William N. Robson
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  09/14/1958

Country of the Blind
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   H. G. Wells/John Dunkel
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  11/26/1947, 06/26/1948, & 03/20/1949
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  H. G. Wells/John Dunkel
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  10/27/1957 & 12/13/1959

Crossing Paris
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Marcel Ayme/John Meston
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  08/25/1950
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Marcel Ayme/John Meston
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  06/02/1957

Flood on the Goodwins
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   David Divine (aka Arthur Durham Divine) /James Poe
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  11/01/1949 & 07/24/1954
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Arthur Durham Divine/James Poe
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  07/14/1957

Game, The
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Antony Ellis
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  08/30/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Antony Ellis
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  03/15/1955

I Saw Myself Running
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Antony Ellis
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  02/22/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Antony Ellis
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  05/24/1955

Leiningen Vs. The Ants
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Carl Stephenson/Robert Ryf
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  01/14/1948, 01/17/1948, 05/23/1948, & 08/04/1949
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Carl Stephenson/Les Crutchfield? & Carl
Stephenson/Robert Ryf?
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  08/25/1957 & 11/29/1959

Lily and The Colonel
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   John Dehner
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  05/03/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  John Dehner
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  05/17/1955

Man from Tomorrow
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Irving Reis
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  08/23/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  09/01/1957

Man Who Stole the Bible, The
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   John and Gwen Bagni
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  05/05/1950 & 08/30/1951
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  John and Gwen Bagni
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  11/25/1956

Man Who Won the War
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Robert H. Buckner/William N. Robson
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  02/28/1950
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Robert Henry Buckner/William N. Robson
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  10/05/1958

Man Who Would Be King
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Rudyard Kipling/Les Crutchfield
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  07/07/1947 & 08/01/1948
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Rudyard Kipling/Les Crutchfield
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  05/31/1959

Man with the Steel Teeth, The
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   John Dehner
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  03/15/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  John Dehner
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  02/17/1955

Outer Limit
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Graham Doar/Morton Fine & David Friedkin
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  02/07/1950
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Graham Doar/Morton Fine & David Friedkin
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  02/15/1954 & 03/17/1957

Rim of Terror, The
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Hildegarde Teilhet/William N. Robson
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  05/12/1950
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Hildegarde Teilhet/William N. Robson
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  12/02/1956

Second Class Passenger
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Perceval Gibbon/William N. Robson
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  01/07/1948, 01/10/1948, & 07/28/1949
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Percival Gibbon/William N. Robson
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  01/20/1957

Shipment of Mute Fate
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Martin Storm/Les Crutchfield
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  10/15/1947, 03/28/1948, 03/13/1949, & 07/07/1950
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Martin Storm/Les Crutchfield
Martin Storm/Les Crutchfield
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  01/06/1957
04/03/1960

Sleeping Draught, A
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Westin Martyr/Antony Ellis & Westin Martyr/S. A.
Boldt
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  10/01/1950 & 04/05/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Westin Martyr/Antony Ellis
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  06/19/1956

Study in Wax, A
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Antony Ellis
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  02/01/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Antony Ellis
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  08/16/1955

Sundown
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Joel Murcott
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  06/23/1950
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Joel Murcott
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  05/04/1958

The Island
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Millard Kauffman
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  07/11/1951 & 03/08/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Millard Kauffman
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  01/12/1958

Three Skeleton Key
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   George Toudouez/James Poe
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  11/15/1949, 03/17/1950, & 08/09/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  George Toudouez/James Poe
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  11/11/1956 & 10/18/1958

Tramp, The
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Antony Ellis
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  03/01/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Antony Ellis
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  07/25/1956

Two Came Back
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Jules Archer/Savage Dollar
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  08/04/1950
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Jules Archer/Joseph Cochran & Ronald Dawson
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  06/05/1960

Vanishing Lady, The
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Alexander Woollcott/William N. Robson
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  02/01/1948, 02/07/1948, & 01/10/1950
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Alexander Woollcott/William N. Robson
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  04/07/1957

Zero Hour
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Ray Bradbury/Antony Ellis
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  10/04/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Ray Bradbury/Antony Ellis
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  04/05/1955, 05/18/1958,  & 01/03/1960

*Elementals
ESCAPE Writer/Adapter:   Stephen Vincent Benet/Meyer Dolinsky
ESCAPE Air Date(s):  10/21/1953
SUSPENSE Writer/Adapter:  Stephen Vincent Benet/Meyer Dolinsky
SUSPENSE Air Date(s):  06/12/1960
* Originally aired on RADIO CITY PLAYHOUSE 02/14/1949

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 14:54:10 -0500
From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Car starters interference

Richard Carpenter mentioned that some car starters introduced static while
listening to the radio or watching television.  Yes, some starters did that.
My experience was that these were all Ford cars.
    "Hey, the neighbors are starting their Ford!  Look at the [removed] to
the radio."
    They must have fixed that since the static is gone.

Recalling the roles of Hal Peary, I notice that his Gildersleeve
replacement, Willard Waterman, is often on the Whistler and some other
shows.  I think Waterman was on these shows before and after his appearance
on Gildersleeve.

Ted Kneebone /  1528 S. Grant Street, Aberdeen, SD  57401
Phone: 605-226-3344 / OTR: [removed]
St Marks: [removed] /

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2008 Issue #37
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