Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #320
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 8/22/2003 5:34 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 320
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Penthouse Murder Mystery Revisited/   [ "Tim Hughes" <rekokut@[removed]; ]
      Lee Trent                             [ oldpdb@[removed] (Paul Barringer) ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      crime classics question               [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
      WMAL drops When Radio Was             [ Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed]; ]
      Eddie Carroll/Jack Benny              [ "Jim Cox" <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      Crime Classics                        [ "ASTON" <aston@[removed]; ]
      Correction                            [ "ASTON" <aston@[removed]; ]
      Mothers' sayings                      [ "glen schroeder" <gschroeder10@char ]
      Re: Benny's toupee                    [ "Jan Bach" <[removed]@[removed] ]
      Why No More "Doozies!"                [ "David H. Buswell" <dbuswell@rivnet ]

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

    Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 00:21:59 -0400
    From: "Tim Hughes" <rekokut@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Penthouse Murder Mystery Revisited/ Witch's
     Tale

    Hi again,

    Here is further info on that Penthouse Murder Mystery I was enquiring about:
    According to the disc's (big thick shellac) label, it was produced and
    recorded by "Hollywood Radio Productions, Ltd."  Inside start.  "Processed
    by Columbia Phonograph" company.   In the runoff is etched "SOUNDCRAFT
    PENTHOUSE MYSTERY" The label is beige (once white?) and doesn't have much
    more pertinent information.  The logo is a globe with bolts shooting out of
    it.

    Sadly, the disc is basically defunct now, split into two pieces.  The
    original ebay seller had done a poor packing job on it, I'm told.  However,
    the person whom I got the disc from had been able to transfer it before it
    completely broke, at least.

    I also am curious about syndicated Witch's Tales.  I heard that there were
    two or more companies that syndicated it in the 1930s?  The one that I
    acquired in the Penthouse trade is a 17" green disc that was slightly
    warped.  It says "All Star Broadcasts, Inc" 1775 Broadway, New York"
    "Recorded by Byers Laboratory, New York".  In the runoff is etched
    "JGB-2698".

    And per Mr. Ogden's followup on Guests of Doom, mine came from tape, too, so
    I can't help with further details on that.

    Given the additional info, can anyone here furnish any info on the Penthouse
    Murder Mystery?  Thanks!

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

    Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 07:48:22 -0400
    From: oldpdb@[removed] (Paul Barringer)
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Lee Trent

    In the book,"FROM OUT OF THE PAST" A Pictorial History Of The Lone
    Ranger, the following exerpt is taken.

        "As you might have guessed, there's even an asterisk
    alongside the list of men who played The Lone Ranger on radio. Like so
    much from the early days, that list, too is in dispute
        We know there were Stenius, Deeds, Graser and Beemer. And
    even Fred Foy. One night when Beemer had laryngitis, the announcer
    played the part.
        But when nights are still and the campfires bright, people
    also talk of a certain photograph that appeared " a few years ago " Dick
    Osgood said, "in one of Los Angeles papers," a photograph that was
    captioned " The Lone Ranger' Heads $25 Million Company."
        The picture showed a handsome and dapper white-haired man
    who was identified as "the original Lone Ranger of 1930 (sic) radio
    fame, 6-ft-4-in Texan Lee Trent". now the president of ConStan
    Industries of Canada, "the worlds largest supplier of vitamin pills."
    The original Lone Ranger?
        Osgood showed the clipping around; no-one associated with
    the program recognized him or even remembered anyone named Lee Trent.
    Yet, when Osgood wrote him Trent wrote back, "Yes I was a voice of The
    Lone Ranger in the beginning under a different name."
        After reading that in Wyxie Wonderland. I also contacted
    Trent. I was put right through on the telephone and found myself
    speaking to a gracious man with a deep glorious voice, a man with a head
    cold that afternoon so his voice was even deeper, a man who told me no
    more than he had to and still remain courteous.
        He eventually wrote me a letter which read in part, "...to
    reach for memories of 50 years ago is not an easy task. At that time the
    Lone Ranger was just another program being released locally on WXYZ in
    [removed] It was only after the late Brace Beemer involvement and the
    program being [removed] The Lone Ranger began to develop a
    legendary aura. For nostalgia buffs, I presume this was wonderful. I am
    not one of them.
        "The memories of those difficult formative months are very
    sketchy, Trents letter continued, and none that I particularly treasure.
    Briefly; I was hired by George Trendle - following usual auditions. I
    preceeded George Stenius, who I recall as George Seaton. My involvement
    was brief, less than two [removed]
        "As for your suggestion that I write a story of my
    participation, this I prefer to decline. I have pursued a career in
    business for the past 25 years and learned very shortly that any
    reference to a theatrical background was no asset."
        He closed by saying, "Perhaps the tone of this letter,
    although certainly not meant to be ungracious, expresses my strong
    desire to maintain my anonymity. May I wish you [removed] " et cetera
    and the letter was signed, Sincerely, CONSTAN CANADA INC' with a
    sprawling scrawl of a signature over the typed "Lee Trent, President."
    It was in late 1982 that he presented that most credible case for
    himself.
        Back in 1968, he was intervied on radio in Vancouver -
    Gasoline Alley artist Jim Scancarelli sent me a cassette copy-and spoke
    of numerous radio, motion picture and television roles. He said he had
    been one of the "Mr First Nighters' on radio's First Nighter (the Little
    Theatre Off Times Square) and in fact, even then (1968) belonged to and
    attended meetings of "The Bridge Is Up," a club of former Chicago radio
    actors that included Lurene Tuttle, Barbra Luddy and Les Tremayne - and
    that he had once done a TV series in the early 50's for the Ford Motor
    Company.
        Speaking of The Lone Ranger, the interviewer said, "It must
    be an interesting thing for an actor such as yourself, to create a
    character like that. It's easy for someone to come along after and carry
    on a character." "Well" Trent said, "I don't know that I gave that a
    great deal of thought at the time because I was young." The interviewer
    signed off the program with "Mr. Lee [removed] a wonderful gentleman
    he is and I just wish you ladies could see his stalwart figure and
    handsome visage. And you can understand by hearing the voice why he was
    so successful in radio. And it is always a pleasure to talk with Mr. Lee
    Trent who created the original role of The Lone Ranger in the early days
    of [removed] "
    The interviewer's guest did not interrupt to correct any of that. In
    Wyxie Wonderland, Osgood concluded that Lee Trent and Jack Deeds
    were one and the same ("I was a voice of The Lone Ranger." Trent had
    told him, under a different name."). It was the only place in the puzzle
    (Osgood felt) that this piece would fit. But I [removed]
        Ted Robertson remembered Jack Deeds as a dapper little man.
    Do you call a fella six-foot-four (Lee Trent) "little"? James Jewell
    told writer Tom Eldrredge that Harold Bud Olencamp was six-four, but
    Olencamp only made personal appearances; he didn't do the role on radio.
    Quien sabe.
      So were Trent and deeds the same person? By God we'll get that
    piece to fit if we have to take a hammer to it.
        To further muddy the waters, Lone Ranger collector Karl
    Rommel recently told me that a caption of an old magazine photo of Jack
    Buetel (Billy The Kid in Howard Hughes' The Outlaw) said that he " also
    played The Lone Ranger in early radio." Jack Buetel? Jack Deeds? His
    co-star in The Outlaw was Jane Russell: her husband gave me Buetel's
    location, I telephoned him immediately, He was too young to have played
    The Lone Ranger on radio, wasn't he? He sure was, he said.
        Lord, the straws we grasp.

    Well there you have it it probably doesn't throw any more light on the
    subject than before, but it is an interesting article and causes a lot
    of doubt and could bring up a good subject for debate, if any of the
    participants were around today, who knows.

    Maybe, if we could find those Mr. First Nighter programs and find the TV
    series for Ford Motor Co. we might know a little more about Lee Trent.

    As I said before this is taken from the book "FROM OUT OF THE PAST" A
    Pictorial History Of The Lone Ranger by Dave Holland.
    The book is 444 pages long and covers everything about the character,
    from radio, movie serials, feature movies magazines and books, comics,
    television, the actors, directors and so on.
    A really great book.

    Paul

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

    Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 07:48:42 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

     From Those Were The Days --

    1947 - After many years as a 15-minute daily serial, Jack Armstrong, the
    All-American Boy, was heard for the first time as a 30-minute feature on
    ABC. Remember, if you want to grow up to be big and strong like Jack
    Armstrong, keep these three rules in mind: Get plenty of sleep, fresh
    air and exercise. Make a friend of soap and water, because dirt breeds
    germs -- and germs can make people sickly and weak. And for sound
    nourishment and keen flavor, eat a big bowlful of Wheaties, the
    Breakfast of Champions, with plenty of milk or cream and some type of fruit.

    Joe

    --
    Visit my homepage:  [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 07:50:39 -0400
    From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  crime classics question

    Kathleen Grams wrote, asking about this week's KNX broadcast of "Crime
    Classics".
    She wanted to know if the story was based on actual events, with real people.
    I did a Google search and found a number of sites that refer to the "Crime
    Classics" case or its origin:

    [removed] Women on Trial: The
    Elizabeth Wharton Case
    ... Williams, Philip C. An Examination of Prof. Reese's "Review of the
    Trial of Mrs.
    Wharton for the murder of General Ketchum" Baltimore: Turnbull Brothers,
    1872. ...
    [removed] - 58k -

    [removed]~prsjr/0mary/[removed] William
    P. TONRY Dr., 1840-1905
    ... growing cities, But he finally desided to return to Baltimore, where he
    ... notably those
    of Mrs. Wharton, charged with thepoisoning of General Ketchum, and for ...
    [removed]~prsjr/ 0mary/[removed] - 14k -

    [removed] Arnold History Project
    ... Then she was accused of poisoning Mr. Eugene Van Ness, a neighbor in
    Baltimore. Mr.
    Van Ness was a banker, who knew that Mrs. Wharton owed General Ketchum
    money ...
    [removed] - 45k -

    and this historical telegram, from [removed]

    TELEGRAM TO GENERAL KETCHUM.

    EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, September 20, 1862.

    GENERAL KETCHUM, Springfield, Illinois:

    How many regiments are there in Illinois, ready for service but for
    want of arms?  How many arms have you there ready for distribution?

    A. LINCOLN.

    (By the way, can anyone help with some info on the "Crime Classics"
    program? KNX usually broadcasts well-known series, but I'm in the dark with
    this [removed])

    Hope this helps,
    Herb Harrison

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

    Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 08:16:02 -0400
    From: Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  WMAL drops When Radio Was

    Washington's WMAL (630 AM), which has carried When Radio Was for five
    consecutive hours overnight Sundays (1-6 [removed]), has cancelled the programming
    and replaced it with infomercials.

    To the best of my knowledge, that leaves WAMU ([removed] FM) as the only station in
    the DC market broadcasting OTR.

    WAMU's Sunday evening show, The Big Broadcast, is the station's
    longest-running show. It's been on the air in various formats since 1964,
    originally hosted by the late John Hickman. It recent years the host has been
    Ed Walker who, along with Willard Scott, created the Joy Boys.

    WAMU offers listeners a fine assortment of programs, many in excellent,
    first-generation sound quality. This weekend's schedule is typical:

       The Great Gildersleeve
       Lum & Abner
       I Love a Mystery
       Gunsmoke
       Adventures of Maizy
       Kraft Music Hall
       Suspense
       Adventures of the Falcon
       X Minus One

    For more information, the program's web site is
    [removed], where you can hear the most recent program
    in Real Audio format.

    Art

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

    Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 10:30:22 -0400
    From: "Jim Cox" <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: "Posting to the List" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Eddie Carroll/Jack Benny
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    Last night Eddie Carroll performed his one-man show "Laughter in Bloom" in
    Louisville and was as impressive as I recalled a few years ago at a SPERDVAC
    convention in L. A.  Several members of the Kentuckiana Radio Addicts club
    were in the local audience.  It was a sterling performance lasting nearly two
    hours as Carroll impersonated one of the world's greatest comedians.  He looks
    like Jack Benny, has all of his mannerisms and the spiel is hilarious.  Many
    on this list have seen Carroll do this show elsewhere.  I encourage any who
    may have opportunity in the future to see it.  You won't be disappointed for
    it will be an evening of real joy.

    Jim Cox

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    Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 10:46:15 -0400
    From: "ASTON" <aston@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Crime Classics

    Kathleen Grams-Gibbs asked about Crime Classics and if the stories were
    true.

    Kathy,

    Crime Classics was a CBS Radio Network sustained show that aired beginning
    June 15, 1953 and ended after 52 episodes on June 30, 1954.  There is an
    audition show broadcast on December 3, 1952.  The show was directed and
    produced by Elliot Lewis.

    Mr. Lewis was extremely interested in the great murder cases of history and
    compiled an extensive collection of material.  Much of his material came
    from primary sources.

    The Crime Classics shows are based on his research over the years and this
    series was something he had always
     wanted to produce.

    AVPRO has all but 8 of the 52 program series.

    Don Aston
    avpro@[removed]

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

    Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 11:25:59 -0400
    From: "ASTON" <aston@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Correction
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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    Kathy,

    CORRECTION: AVPRO has all but 2 of the Crime Classics series.  The missing
    shows are #36  03-10-54 "The New Hampshire Tiger and Brad Ferguson" and #38
    03-24-54  "Francisco Pizarro"

    Don Aston
    avpro@[removed]

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    Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 12:20:04 -0400
    From: "glen schroeder" <gschroeder10@[removed];
    To: "otr" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Mothers' sayings

    Hi Hal and listers.

    One of the things I always remember my mother saying is when she told you to
    do something and do it fast, she said you better do it in two shakes of a
    lamb's tail, and every time we came home from some place in the car she
    would say home again, home again jiggity jig.  Hope this isn't too far off
    topic Charley.

    Love Dis List

    Glen Schroeder

    Madison  WI

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

    Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 13:09:04 -0400
    From: "Jan Bach" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Benny's toupee

    Hello Again (a Benny Quote that I always use!)

    Jim Amash said:

>     I also think he (Jack Benny) wore a hairpiece in a filmed segment of his

    radio show from

>     1942 (I think that's the right year).

    "I wouldn't know about that, of course," as Uncle Fletcher would say in Vic
    and Sade, but I do know that he (Benny) wore one in his 1945 film The Horn
    Blows At Midnight which, along with his absolutely smooth complexion (he was
    Lithuanian) helped him at the time to look far younger than his 48 years. I
    also don't know if he wore a hairpiece in his last years (he had pancreatic
    cancer, but it snuck up on him and I doubt that he had time for
    chemotherapy) but I can attest to the fact that he still had all his own
    hair in 1965-66 when he played a concert with the Tampa Philharmonic where I
    played French horn. Six or seven inches taller than Mr. Benny, I was easily
    able to look straight down on his head and give it the real once-over!
    Jan Bach
    P. S. He also played beautifully, but it was amusing to us how nervous he
    got in both the rehearsal and the performance of the Mendelssohn concerto --
    except when he put the violin down to tell some jokes! Then he was as
    relaxed as could be!

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

    Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 16:47:22 -0400
    From: "David H. Buswell" <dbuswell@[removed];
    To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Why No More "Doozies!"
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    Penne Yingling observed that she rarely hears the word "doozie" any more.  I
    suspect the reason is that the word was coined from the Duesenberg motor car
    which was last made 66 years ago.  It was arguably the finest automobile
    ever produced in this country.  The original coined word meant "the finest"
    and was probably spelled "deusie."  The word was clearly a paean to this
    remarkable car which was produced from 1920 to 1937.

    Today, many of the Deusenbergs---especially those made in the thirties---
    regularly bring over $1 million at auctions and private sales.  These cars
    had huge engines (over 250 HP) and could attain 70 mph in second gear and
    well over 100 in third.
    As I recall the highly popular Ford V-8 of the early 30s was about 60 HP.
    One could have bought a fleet of Fords for the cost of one Deusenberg.  Who
    owned Deusies?  Well, at least two of the most popular movie stars of the
    day owned them: Clark Gable and Gary Cooper.

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    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #320
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