Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #393
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 12/23/2005 6:20 AM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2005 : Issue 393
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      OTR Clubs/Damon Runyan Theater audit  [ Rutledge Mann <cliff_marsland@yahoo ]
      Amos 'n' Andy Sponsors                [ James H Arva <wilditralian@[removed] ]
      FM&M on TV                            [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Rexall One-cent [removed]              [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
      12-23 births/deaths                   [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Does "Shaving Cream" ring a Bell?     [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
      XM to broadcast Chistmas Command Per  [ Paul Gough <paulgough@[removed] ]
      Sy Shaffer [removed]                     [ Lee Munsick <damyankeeinva@earthlin ]
      Bold Venture                          [ "jjonz44" <jjonz44@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 09:29:55 -0500
    From: Rutledge Mann <cliff_marsland@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR Clubs/Damon Runyan Theater  audition

    Hi all,

    I'm thinking of joining a national OTR club lending
    library. I'd appreciate any feedback on the audio
    quality of the different groups. A club seems to be
    the economical way to get quality shows.  The one I
    join I'm going to try to decide on a combination of
    quality (very important), value, and accessibility to
    members to its holdings. SPERDVAC I've heard has a lot
    of from transcription stuff, but I'm not exactly sure
    what from their catalog.  It seems to be a good value
    and the members seem to get access to most of the
    collection.  REPS I don't know that much about but
    I've met some very nice people from the club and their
    growing CD catalog seems of pretty decent quality.
    The First Gen group certainly fits the quality
    (arguably the top among the bunch), but doesn't have
    the accessibility I want, as members currently get
    access to a small amount of their holdings, so that
    puts it out of the running for me.
      Ok, so I know a little about SPERDVAC and REPS - my
    question goes out to NARA and RHAC members, two clubs
    which I know almost nothing about.  Perhaps some
    members could fill me in if they have any from
    transcription stuff, etc.
      Also, if SPERDVAC members could fill me in about
    which general libraries have the lo-gen stuff, etc,
    that would be great.  Please make any replies to my
    email, as not to clutter up the Digest.
    (Oh, and other must factors I'm also looking for a CD
    library or lo-gen reel, I don't do cassettes).

    [removed]  I dug into my personal archives and shared a
    rare show not in wide circulation, the audition to
    Damon Runyan Theater - it doesn't have the same cast
    as the series we're familiar with and wasn't made by
    the same company.  Contact me if you don't know how to
    get to usenet.

    Thanks and Merry Christmas to all,
    Trav

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

    Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 09:30:14 -0500
    From: James H Arva <wilditralian@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Amos 'n' Andy Sponsors

    Wasn't Blue Coal a sponsor of Amos 'n' Andy somewhere around the middle
    40's?

    Regards,

    Jim Arva
    --
    James H. Arva
    201 Short St.; Harrisburg, PA 17109; (717) 545-5709
    E-MAIL:  wilditralian@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:20:49 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  FM&M on TV

       Tim Lones wrote --

       > Jim and Marion Jordan was dead set against the show as NBC produced
    it, but because NBC owned the characters, there was not much they could do

       I recall in the ever dimming recesses of my memory of seeing one or
    two of the shows the first time around, or shortly after.  The only
    thing I can remember is Cathy Lewis washing dishes while "Fibber" is
    going on about something.
       I heard a interview Jim Jordan did in the mid-70s and the tv show
    came up.  He used two examples:
       That on the radio show Fibber would buy an elephant (why? who knows?)
    and then brag to Molly about the deal he got.
       On the tv show "Fibber" would try to hide the elephant from Molly.
       IOW, the tv "Fibber" was out of character for something Fibber would do.
       And the same thing with the Gildersleeve tv show, which I have never
    seen.  One writer to the digest a couple of years ago said one of the
    producers of the tv show bragged he had never heard the radio show and
    knew nothing about it.
       Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:  [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 14:47:23 -0500
    From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Rexall One-cent [removed]

    Now that we are considering the Rexall drug stores, the one-cent sale was an
    annual (or more often) event.  "Buy one of Rexpirin at the regular price and
    the second bottle is yours for only one penny more!"  I have two of Rexall's
    programs promoting their one-cent sales.

    They are labeled "Rexall one-cent sale, program 1" and "Program 2."  Graham
    McNamee and the violin of Rubin are featured.  The date is sometime in 1939,
    and each is 15:00.  If anyone wants to trade for these, let me know.  They
    came as a bonus trade along with "GE Excursions in Science." They came from
    ETs and are in excellent audio.

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

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

    Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 20:20:12 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  12-23 births/deaths

    December 23rd births

    12-23-1873 - Burns Mantle - Watertown, NY - d. 2-9-1948
    writer: "Best Plays" based on Mantle's theatrical yearbook
    12-23-1887 - John Cromwell - d. 9-26-1979
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    12-23-1893 - Anne O'Neal - St. Louis, MO - d. 11-24-1971
    actress: Cynthia Veryberry "Grapevine Rancho"
    12-23-1903 - Helen Troy - San Francisco, CA - d. 11-1-1942
    actress: Telephone Operator "It Happened in Hollywood"
    12-23-1907 - Don McNeill - Galena, IL (Raised: Sheboygan, WI) - d.
    5-7-1996
    host: "Breakfast Club"
    12-23-1911 - James Gregory - The Bronx, NY - d. 9-16-2002
    actor: Captain Vincent Cronin "21st Precinct"
    12-23-1913 - Anton M. Leader - Boston, MA - d. 7-1-1988
    director: "Eternal Light"; "Murder at Midnight"; "Suspense"; "Words
    at War"
    12-23-1922 - Ruth Roman - Boston, MA - d. 9-9-1999
    actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Hollywood Sound Stage"
    12-23-1923 - Ray Kemper - Lankershim, CA
    sound effects: "Gunsmoke"; "Voyage of the Scarlet Queen"; "Fort Laramie"
    12-23-1924 - Floyd Kalber - Omaha, NE - d. 5-13-2004
    news correspondent: NBC; News Anchor for WMAQ and WLS in Chicago
    12-23-1943 - Harry Shearer - Los Angeles, CA
    actor: Member of the Beavers "Jack Benny Program"

    December 23rd deaths
    01-03-1909 - Victor Borge - Copenhagen, Denmark - d. 12-23-2000
    comedian, pianist: "Victor Borge Show"; "Kraft Music Hall"
    01-20-1912 - Paula Stone - New York, NY - d. 12-23-1997
    moderator: "Leave It to the Girls"
    01-30-1862 - Walter Damrosch - Breslau, Germany - d. 12-23-1950
    conductor, commentator: "Baulkite Hour"; "Music Appreciation Hour"
    02-08-1886 - Charlie Ruggles - Los Angeles, CA - d. 12-23-1970
    comedian: "Texaco Star Theatre"; "Suspense"; "This Is My Best"
    04-02-1920 - Jack Webb - Santa Monica, CA - d. 12-23-1982
    actor: Joe Friday "Dragnet"; Pete Kelly "Pete Kelly's Blues"
    04-06-1924 - Mimi Benzell - Bridgeport, CT - d. 12-23-1970
    singer: "Jack Pearl and Mimi Benzell"; "Railroad Hour"
    05-14-1890 - Carlton Brickert - Martinsville, IN - d. 12-23-1943
    actor: David Post "Story of Mary Marlin"; Howard Thurston "Thurston
    the Magician"
    07-01-1901 - Irna Phillips - Chicago, IL - d. 12-23-1973
    actress, writer: Mother Moran "Today's Children"; "The Guiding
    Light"; "Road of Life"
    07-02-1910 - Jeff Alexander - Whidbey Island, WA - d. 12-23-1989
    conductor: "Amos 'n' Andy"; "Light Up Time"; "Tums Hollywood Theatre"
    10-25-1924 - Billy Barty - Millsboro, PA - d. 12-23-2000
    comedian: "Spike Jones Band"
    11-11-1911 - Patric Knowles - Horsforth, Yorkshire, England - d.
    12-23-1995
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    12-30-1884 - Hideki Tojo - Tokyo, Japan - d. 12-23-1948
    prime minister: War Time Broadcasts

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 20:21:17 -0500
    From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Does "Shaving Cream" ring a Bell?
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    Jim Burns posted:

>     I can remember seeing Benny Bell, as a VERY old man, doing the "Shaving
>     Cream" song, on THE UNCLE FLOYD SHOW (the subject here, periodically, of
>     some conversation)--

    In the early 1980s!

    <snip>

    I may be thinking of a Professor Irwin Corey appearance, but I think
    the FLOYD SHOW had to bleep the song!

    In the 1970s and 1980s ,  this one-time New York Times cruciverbalist and
    failed game-show contestant happened to  be the "Official Historian" of "The
    Uncle Floyd Show." As far as I know, I still hold the title being that I never
    formally relinquished it, and nobody has ever usurped it from me.

    As a one-time uncredited writer & secondary cast-member of "The Uncle Floyd
    Show," I can attest that when Benny Bell showed up at the studios in Newark,
    that Channel 68 DID NOT bleep the song "Shaving Cream."  By this time in the
    "Floyd" show evolution, adult humour was the norm wherein. Floyd & Co. would
    push the proverbial envelope without  crossing over , with rare exceptions,
    into the realm of bleep-able.
    To quote Gordon Sinclair, "I was [removed] saw that!"

    Around that time, I had also attended Dr. Demento revues at the NYC club The
    Bottom Line, which, at one time or another ,featured Demento show perennials
    such as Weird Al Yankovic, Tiny Tim, Eddie "the Old Philosopher" Lawrence,
    Sheb Wooley/Ben Colder,  Bobby "Boris" Pickett, Benny Bell, and "Uncle" Floyd
    Vivino.  Usually at these live adults-only shows, the "Doctor" and the tummler
    would perform multi-versed (some established, some improvised on the spot)
    renditions of "Shaving Cream" with the "Uncle"  on the piano. When the song
    was finally over after about ten minutes, Benny Bell would actually sing "You
    all thought I was going to say  "s--t.'"

    That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

    You all thought I was going to say e---r,

    Derek Tague

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    Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 20:23:27 -0500
    From: Paul Gough <paulgough@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  XM to broadcast Chistmas Command Performance

    I heard an announcement on XM channel 4 ("40's and
    whole lot more" that the two-hour Christmas 1945
    Command Performance hosted by Bob Hope will be
    broadcast at 10 [removed] Eastern Christmas Night. It does
    not show in the weekly email of specials that they
    sent out.

    Paul Gough

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

    Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 23:18:21 -0500
    From: Lee Munsick <damyankeeinva@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Sy Shaffer [removed]

    Once again I have sad news to report regarding one of "The Little Godfreys".
    Trombonist Sy Shaffer has passed away in New Jersey, on December 10th.

    At the beginning and end of every broadcast segment, we heard those familiar
    sliding trombone notes leading into "Seems Like Old Times", the Godfrey theme
    song which he "borrowed" from Carmen Lombardo.  Sy Shaffer was the trombonist
    and sometimes silly giggling vocalist on various Arthur Godfrey recordings
    like "Slap 'Er Down Agin, Paw" and "The Too Fat Polka".  Sy was a regular on
    the Godfrey programs for many years.

    He had far more widespread credentials than that.  In the 1930s he was a
    sideman in various big bands, and was heard on many big-band network remote
    broadcasts.  In the mid-1950s, he left the long-term Godfrey assignment to
    become the musical director and conductor of the Vienna State Opera in
    Austria.  In my collection, there are at least 2 Westminster LPs of him
    conducting that group.

    After a few years in Europe, Sy returned to Manhattan and created a so-called
    "jingle factory" successfully producing many, many familiar advertising
    commercials and themes.  In semi-retirement, he moved to Florida and became a
    distinguished Professor of Music at a Florida university.  If one would like,
    one may do a Google on his name, which will produce a number of glowing
    tributes to him written by various former students who laud this
    knowledgeable, talented veteran musician and academic for contributing
    greatly to their education and subsequent careers.

    Sy Shaffer passed away on December 10th in New Jersey, where he had been
    living with his daughter Lynne after the death of his beloved wife Ruth, some
    years before.

    My wife Charlotte and I were fortunate to be able to include Ruth and Sy
    Shaffer among our friends.  We were honored to know him, both personally and
    musically.  Rest well, Sy.

    Holiday greetings from Lee Munsick

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

    Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 08:20:15 -0500
    From: "jjonz44" <jjonz44@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Bold Venture
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    In researching titles and play dates for Bold Venture I have come across some
    conflicting data.  Hopefully someone here may be able to clarify.

    Most popular logs indicate 78 shows were produced.  Many of these logs also
    indicate or cross reference Ziv production numbers where available.

    My research indicates only 52 shows were produced.  I submit the following
    information to substantiate this claim.
    1. LA times article (51-01-11) about Bogie and Becall.  In the article it
    states they signed a 5 year contract with ZIV productions.  Included in the
    contract "Bogie and Lauren are scheduled to star in 52 (not 78) half-hour
    radio programs titled Bold [removed]".
    2. Confirmed 52 consecutive weekly play dates for BV in LA.  04-19-51 to
    04-10-52, KFI 6:30pm.
    3. Confirmed 52 consecutive weekly play dates for Syracuse NY.  04-11-51 to
    04-02-52, WYSR 10:30pm.
    4. Converstation with Jerry H, who told me he had a transcription disc titled
    "Venezuelan Island" #52 - Final Program"

    Many people are always concerned about NY play dates.  Though of no
    consequences to this particular issue, the show did run for two short periods
    (36 total episodes) in NY.  It also had a short run in Chicago.

    I am trying to prepare an accurate log for this popular series.  If anyone
    can
    offer positive proof that more than 52 episode were indeed produced I would
    appreciate it.

    jj

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    End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #393
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