------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2004 : Issue 310
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Vox Pop/"V" For Victory [ Udmacon@[removed] ]
NBC's Fourth Chimes and V for Victor [ Michael Shoshani <mshoshani@sbcglob ]
Art Linkletter on Vox Pop [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
V for Victory sound [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
Pan Pancho?? [ Osborneam@[removed] ]
SKY CAPTAIN [ ilamfan@[removed] ]
Re: Sky Captain and the WOT [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
Jessica Dragonette [ "ellsworth o johnson" <eojohnsonww2 ]
Saturday on Walden Hughes Show [ BryanH362@[removed] ]
Re: Vox Pop [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
9-26 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 19:13:31 -0400
From: Udmacon@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Vox Pop/"V" For Victory
WRVO-FM, Oswego NY has broadcast a "Vox Pop." They probablu have more in
their files.
The dot-dot-dot-dash sound is still being used as an on-the- hour time signal
by WTIC, Hartford CT.
BILL KNOWLTON: "Bluegrass Ramble," WCNY-FM ([removed]) Syracuse, WUNY ([removed])
Utica; WJNY ([removed]) Watertown NY. On the web: [removed]. Sundays: 9 pm to
midnight EST (since 1973)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 19:14:01 -0400
From: Michael Shoshani <mshoshani@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: NBC's Fourth Chimes and V for Victory
Bill Harris wrote::
On the moring of D-Day at approximately 3:18, NBC broadcast the fourth
chime followed by the Morse code V for Victory (dit-dit-dit-dah) which
was repeated five times. The V for Victory signal is on the NBC D-Day
recording but the fourth chime signal just before is missing. Are there
other recordings of NBC broadcasting the Victory signal? If so I would
be very interested.
I don't think you'll find it. The version issued by First Generation
Radio Archives, which I do not believe was edited or otherwise
tampered-with, has not a four-chime sequence, but the single "D#"
chime tone struck (rather clumsily) four times in rapid succession
right before the "V for Victory" Morse Code signal.
About ten or fifteen minutes before that, a four-chime sequence *was*
broadcast, an inverted E-G-C-C signal (the actual notes of that D-Day
chime set are not E-G-C, but rather C-D#-G# -G#. Deagan chimes used
different tones for different models - only the 200 series, with its
miniature-xylophone metal resonators, were G-C-E-G). Presumably this
was NBC's News and Special Events alert, which in itself is the
subject of five different stories from three different people.
In the book "The Fourth Chime", NBC's News and Special Events
Department states that four chimes, the fourth being a repeat of the
last note, were a signal to news staff to scramble to their stations -
its first use in that context being when the Hindenburg exploded.
There was also a fourth chime paging system in the early 30s that was
a repeat of the third note, sent only over the local New York stations
to page specific NBC staff [removed]
What is interesting to me is that the Library of Congress NBC files
hold a 1938 letter from a Marconi station saying that they had read in
some magazine that NBC used a fourth chime to alert their news staff
to a breaking story and was this in fact true?, and a reply from Chief
of Announcers Pat Kelly who said that a) the fourth chime had been
used "some years ago" as a local staff paging system; "At that time,
we used manual chimes and the announcer would be instructed to repeat
the low note after he had rung his regular first three notes. Before
ringing this fourth note, the announcer cut his network channel so
that the fourth note was only heard over WEAF or WJZ here in New York.
Since that time, however, every department of the company is covered
for almost complete [sic] twenty-four hours a day, and I do not recall
any necessity for using this signal during the past four years, though
no order eliminating its use has ever been issued".
This past four years would have included the Hindenburg, and Kelly was
the Chief Network Announcer, network announcers being the people whose
job it was to ring the chimes. At this moment I am actually in email
negotiations with NBC-Universal's legal department, who seem to be
willing to grant permission for me to obtain copies of the Hindenburg
airchecks from the NBC collection at the Library of Congress, so I can
listen and hear if the fourth chime is present. I have a feeling that
the NBC News and Special Events department was making themselves look
a bit more important in 1944, which would not hurt advertising sales
of [removed]
On his web page Bill Harris asks why NBC inverted the G-E-C sequence
on D-Day. After listening to that ringing plus the second one (one
chime rung four times), knowing that the original fourth chime was the
regular G-E-C followed by a second C (Actually, Patrick Kelly's letter
said "the low note" was [removed] it was originally "G", which
is the lowest note on that triad), I simply think that the staff was
anxious and nervous and whoever it was that rang the chimes simply
forgot the correct sequence. Manual chimes had not been used
regularly in New York for over a decade.
Michael Shoshani
Chicago IL
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 19:14:19 -0400
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Art Linkletter on Vox Pop
Hi everybody,
to answer a question in the last digest all the Vox pop do survive and
Michael Henry is the expert on the show. Last year Art Linkkletter was a
guest at Frank Bresee studio for an interview and he expand that his first
national show was Vox Pop. It would be allot of fun to give Art a copy of
his first show while he is the speaker at SPERDVAC convention on Sunday
morning 11-14-04. Take care,
Walden Hughes
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 19:15:07 -0400
From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: V for Victory sound
BH [removed]
On the moring of D-Day at approximately 3:18, NBC
broadcast the fourth chime followed by the Morse code
V for Victory (dit-dit-dit-dah) which was repeated
five times
I've also seen the written accounts of the 3:18 AM
time, most notably from some 1944 NBC press material,
but in fact the version on the NBC D-Day recording
dates from exactly 3:30 AM, and not 3:18. It may well
have been sounded earlier, but this is not the version
we've all heard.
The 3:30 signal leads into the Allied communique from
London at 3:32, and is preceeded by a funny low-tech
chugging noise which is not identified, but which is
rather clearly a signal to rouse net's affiliate
stations.
CBS, btw, was using its own rather annoying
closed-circuit affiliate-alert system by (or perhaps
specically *for*) [removed] close to some of the
6/6/44 soap operas and you can hear it: short little
pulses near the end of some programs, various numbers
of buzzes to indicate the next program would either be
delayed or cancelled by news [removed] very early
precursor of the CBS 'Netalert' and NBC "Hotline"
systems 20 years later. There's also a wide-range of
Mutual net programs from 1945 which include
closed-circuit announcements during the station
breaks, mostly dry stuff, but quite interesting.
Today, the closed-circuit communicating is done mostly
by audio speaker, on which NY can speak directly to
the affiliates' newsrooms. This works well, though
it's occasionally grating, and is often quite
revealing in ways the networks staffs couldn't
possibly intend--it's too bad there's not recordings
of some of THIS stuff! :)
chris
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 19:15:35 -0400
From: Osborneam@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Pan Pancho??
Just got back from vacation and am going
though a lot of email. I just read Ron Sayles'
wonderful list in digest #307 (what a labor of
love that is!). He mentions:
09-23-1893 - Louis Sorin - NYC - d. 12-14-1961
actor: Pan Pancho "Cisco Kid"
I don't think I've noticed anyone with that name
in the shows I've got. Or perhaps that's
when I've dozed off! Can someone tell me
the character's relationship?
Arlene Osborne
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 19:18:19 -0400
From: ilamfan@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: SKY CAPTAIN
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I caught "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" in the theater - I
thought it was great.
I'm sure that it will fail miserably at the box office. In fact, when I
saw it (only one day after it opened) the 300 or so seat theater only had
about 40 people in it - this is a Saturday night 9 pm show, too! All of the
cool old stuff will go right over the heads of the "yoots" in the typical
movie theater audience.
The movie is a superb pastiche of 1930's/1940's adventure serials. It
has a great faded monochromatic look, with a really "big" feel to it - the
cities are huge and majestic, the evil robots are even bigger than the city
buildings (they almost never show up completely on the screen, as if they are
too big for it!).
Lots of humor mixed in with the action. Frankly, I would have preferred
if they split the movie into 15-minute pieces, and made me come back to the
theater every week in order to see the entire thing! The action moves from
the city, to an island, airborn dogfights to underwater attacks, snowy
mountain peaks to humid jungles. Something for all tastes.
Not the greatest plot in the world, but not too bad - just about the
same plotwise as ANY old adventure serial. This movie is made for us
nostalgia buffs! I missed the WOTW lines (can't believe I didn't recognize
them!) but I did catch when Dex (Sky Captain's buddy) exclaimed in amazement:
"Shazam!". I also caught a quick glimpse of the late '30's comics he was
reading. I'm pretty darn sure that the ray gun that he created (the only
thing that even put a dent in the robots) was copied from a Buck Roger's tin
toy. Pretty sure that I heard some sound effects borrowed from WOTW,
Forbidden Planet, and maybe Day the Earth Stood Still.
Polly Priddy is the perfect Lios Lane copy - tenacious, cute, tagging
along with the action no matter what, to get her story. Almost a little bit
of a girlfriend for our hero, Sky Captain, but not so much to make things
sappy. I don't even remember if they kissed or not. Maybe at the end.
If you enjoy the old serials, or pulp magazines, or OTR, or golden age
comic books, you owe it to yourself to check out this movie on the BIG
SCREEN. I'm looking forward to owning the dvd to catch all of the stuff that
I'm sure I missed, but the theater is the place to see this movie!
Now, as long as they have this great 1930's city complete with traffic
and billboards and so on already SAVED as a huge computer program, all they
have to do is hire some quality actors to play Doc Savage and his crew, and
drop them into the virtual environment. Instant hit. As long as they don't
try to "fix" anything in the Doc mythos along the way.
Go and see Captain Midni - er - Sky Captain. It's really good.
Stephen Jansen
--
Old Time Radio never dies - it
just changes formats!
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 23:44:33 -0400
From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Sky Captain and the WOT
At 03:27 PM 9/24/2004, Max wrote:
Don't worry, this one was shot in black & white, and the color (and
everything else) was added in later with computers. It's every pulp cover
Actually, it was filmed in color - a negative of the film was turned into
black and white. Then it was added back into the color blended via computer
to give that pale look.
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 23:45:24 -0400
From: "ellsworth o johnson" <eojohnsonww2@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Jessica Dragonette
Re RBB post in #309 digest, reference is made to Carmen Dragon.
He had a daughter by that same name. There is a mixup or mis-information
here someway somehow.
I just a few days ago purchased Jessica Dragonettes [removed] 1951 ( that
was her real name )
It gives her husbands name as Nicholas Meredith Turner
On the Internet Movie Database it shows she died at age 70 or 80 thereabouts
depending on her birthdate from a heart attack. ( she was being treated in
a hospital for asthma ) It shows she was survived by her spouse as named
here above. She had no children. Her birthdate is somewhere between 1900 and
1910. but would be hard to prove.
She was born in India and her birth records were lost in a fire in the
convent where she was at an early age As her Mother had died unexpectedly
( sounded to me like from a brain annurisem and her father died almost
immediately after he placed her in the convent from an accident. ( reads
like possibly a car accident ) A sad story if there ever was one.
Now I would like to know where all this info claiming a connection
with her and Carmen Dragon, the composer comes from ?? .How and why ??
I posted a few days ago regarding this biography book I bought was from
[removed] for $ [removed] plus shipping. It is a nice condition HB with
dust cover. They had 75 copies available The copy I have has 322 pages.
There is an another edition of this book with 286 pages. I am guessing this
286 page book is without the many nice photographs on glossy paper that my
copy has.
My book incidentally has Jessicas autograph. She certainly had beautiful
handwriting.
Ellsworth Johnson
Spokane, Wa
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 23:55:13 -0400
From: BryanH362@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Saturday on Walden Hughes Show
Walden Hughes' Yesterday USA program can be heard live via the internet at
[removed] at 7:30 pm PDT.
NOTE : there will be no show on Sunday due to the Lions Club fund raiser
featuring
The Eddie Carroll as on Jack Benny one man show . Go to [removed]
for more
information.
Saturday 9-25-04
A. Classic Interviews : John Dunning interview with Norman Corwin
B. a mix of OTR like Couple Next Door, One Man Family, Fred Allen show
and Lux Radio Theater.
C. YUSA interview with Oran Tucker (replay)
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2004 11:37:05 -0400
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Vox Pop
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In a message dated 9/24/04 3:22:27 PM Central Daylight Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
Now, back to "Vox Pop" - are there airchecks from that popular,
man-on-the-street radio show in the 30's and 40's?
Yes, there are a few that survive, I even have one on tape somewhere, from
1939. I think it originates from the World's Fair.
Dixon
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2004 14:29:26 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 9-26 births/deaths
September 26th births
09-26-1875 - Edmund Gwenn - Glamorgan, Wales - d. 9-6-1959
actor: Ebenezer Scrooge "Christmas Carol"; "Lux Radio Theatre
09-26-1889 - Frank Crumit - Jackson, OH - d. 9-7-1943
singer, emcee: "Blackstone Plantation"; "Battle of the Sexes"; "Singing
Sweethearts"
09-26-1893 - Fay Holden - Birmingham, England - d. 6-23-1973
actress: Mrs. Hardy "The Hardy Family"
09-26-1895 - George Raft - NYC - d. 11-24-1980
actor: Rocky Jordan "Rocky Jordan"
09-26-1896 - Vaughn DeLeath - Mount Pulaski, IL - d. 5-28-1943
singer: (The Original Radio Girl) "Voice of Firestone"
09-26-1897 - William B. Heyne - d. 3-26-1992
choral director: "Lutheran Hour"; "Lutheran Laymen's League"
09-26-1898 - George Gershwin - Brooklyn, NY - d. 7-11-1937
pianist, composer: "Music by Gershwin"
09-26-1901 - Donald Cook - Portland, OR - d. 10-1-1961
actor: John Morrison "Mother O' Mine"; "Robert Allison "My Son Jeep"
09-26-1901 - Ted Weems - Pitcairn, PA - d. 5-6-1963
bandleader: "Fibber McGee and Molly"; "Sunday Matinee"; "Beat the Band"
09-26-1908 - Sylvia Marlowe - NYC - d. 12-10-1981
harpsichord virtuoso: "Lavender and New Lace"; "Sylvia Marlowe and Richard
Dyer-Bennet"
09-26-1912 - Jacqueline de Wit - Los Angeles, CA - d. 1-7-1998
actress: Ruth Thompson "Meet Mr. McNutley"; Valerie "Second Husband"
09-26-1919 - Barbara Britton - Long Beach, CA - d. 1-17-1980
actress: Pamela North "Mr. and Mrs. North"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
09-26-1925 - Marty Robbins - Glendale, AZ - d. 12-8-1982
country/western singer: "Grand Ole Opry"; "Country Style [removed]"; "Big Sound"
09-26-1926 - Julie London - Santa Rosa, CA - d. 10-18-2000
torch singer: "Guest Star"; "Here's to Veterans"
September 26th deaths
01-02-1915 - Nick Fatool - Milbury, MA - d. 9-26-2000
drummer: (Member of the Big 7 Band) "Pete Kelly's Blues"
02-03-1890 - Charles Correll - Peoria, IL - d. 9-26-1972
actor: Andrew Brown "Amos 'n' Andy"
02-19-1901 - William Post, Jr. - d. 9-26-1989
actor: John Perry "John's Other Wife"
03-08-1929 - Betty Carter - d. 9-26-1998
jazz vocalist: "Jazz Alive"
04-30-1919 - Jack Haskell - Akron, OH - d. 9-26-1998
singer: "Dave Garroway Show"; "Music from the Heart of America"
08-04-1903 - Helen Kane - The Bronx, NY - d. 9-26-1966
actress: (The Boop-Boop-a-Doop Girl) "Today's Children"
08-19-1903 - Muriel Kirkland - Yonkers, NY - d. 9-26-1971
actor: Mary Marlin "Story of Mary Marlin"; Mary Todd "Honest Abe"
10-30-1879 - Eily Malyon - London, England - d. 9-26-1961
actress: Lady Greystroke "Tarzan"
11-13-1932 - Richard Mulligan - NYC - d. 9-26-2000
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
12-23-1887 - John Cromwell - d. 9-26-1979
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"01-03-1900 - Cecil Underwood - Vienna, MO - d.
9-27-1976
producer, director: "Fibber McGee and Molly"; "Great Gildersleeve"
01-09-1898 - Dame Gracie Fields - Rochdale, Lancashire, England - d. 9-27-1979
comedienne, singer: "Gracie Fields Victory Show"; "Gracie Fields Show"
01-12-1896 - Harry Reser - Piqua, OH - d. 9-27-1965
bandleader: "Cliquot Club Eskimos"
05-21-1904 - Robert Montgomery - Beacon, NY - d. 9-27-1981
actor: "Doctor Fights"; "Suspense"; "This Is War"
06-26-1914 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias - Port Arthur, TX - d. 9-27-1956
all-around athlete: "Babe Didrikson Zaharia Sports Show"
07-29-1905 - Clara Bow - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-27-1965
actress: (The It Girl) "Kay Parker in Hollywood"
08-11-1902 - Lloyd Nolan - San Francisco, CA - d. 9-27-1985
actor: Johnny Strange "Results Inc."; Martin Kane "Martin Kane, Private Eye"
08-28-1925 - Donald O'Connor - Chicago, IL - d. 9-27-2003
comedian, actor: "Ginny Simms Show"; "Philip Morris Playhouse"; "Suspense"
10-04-1909 - James Webb - Denver, CA (that is right, CA) - d. 9-27-1974
screenwriter: "Lux Radio Theatre"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #310
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