Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #291
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/28/2003 9:46 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2003 : Issue 291
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Amicus Curiae                         [ "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed] ]
  Bob Hope 1903-2003                    [ "Barnett, Tom L" <[removed]@lmc ]
  RE: Old Call signs                    [ [removed]@[removed] ]
  Our Gal Sunday                        [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
  More Call Leters                      [ "Jim Pogras" <jimpo@[removed]; ]
  Bob Hope will be greatly missed       [ AandG4jc@[removed] ]
  OTR on film                           [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  So long Bob                           [ BH <radioguy@[removed]; ]
  More A&A Questions                    [ Chad Palmer <palmerch@[removed] ]
  WOTW rights                           [ "Randall F. Miller Jr." <rfmillerjr ]
  Crews                                 [ William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed]; ]
  Bob Hope Tribute from Radio Spirits   [ "Steve McLaughlin" <steve@mediabay. ]
  Radio Station Call Letters            [ "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed]; ]
  Henry George Program                  [ LPEVANS221@[removed] ]
  Information, Please                   [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]

______________________________________________________________________

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______________________________________________________________________


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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 09:45:13 -0400
From: "Don  Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed];
To: "otr message" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Amicus Curiae

Rich was asking about "Amicus Curiae." No email address given so I can't
reply off line. Rich, I think you are thinking of the series "Life in Your
Hands." It was a
Chicago based show and did have a character, Jonathan Kegg, who would appear
near the end of a difficult criminal trial to offer his service as "Amicus
Curiae, or Friend
of the Court." The judges always welcomed him with open arms  but the
lawyers
probably weren't too pleased,  It was a fun series, and a favorite of mine.
I used to hear
it in the early 50's. This guy, like Mr. Keen, seemed to have extraordinary
police and
legal authority to do as he liked. I don't recall him ever sending a bill.
But I remember
it as "Amicus Curiae," too, but I guess that was never the official title.

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 09:51:11 -0400
From: "Barnett, Tom L" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Bob Hope 1903-2003

The passing of an era in OTR. May Bob Hope rest in peace.

Tom Barnett

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 11:49:37 -0400
From: [removed]@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  RE: Old Call signs
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How can one leave out WLS for "World's Largest Store," -- Sears, Roebuck.

I grew up at 16th and Karlov, about a mile away from Emil Denemark's
Cadillac dealership and radio tower. My first two crystal sets were one
built from plans in 'Popular Mechanics,' and another the Knight kit sold by
Allied Radio. Neither one of them could bring in any other station than
WEDC, which came in 5x9 from one end of the coil to the other. Oops, I just
remembered that the Knight kit had a tunable capacitor instead of a tunable
coil. It worked the same way, though.

Also, I don't know how anyone can think of WEDC without thinking about
William Brady, their announcer for certain eastern European ethnic
programming (sorry, I could never tell if it were Polish, Bohemian, or some
other slavic language) as well at their classical music program at 10 PM
every Sunday. Brady's voice sounded like it were strained through either
liquor or tobacco, and his delivery stimulated at least one cab driver to
say 'even I could be a radio announcer,' then go on to do so. After each
piece, Brady would intone, in his gutteral monotone, "You have heard . . .
(long silence) The Nun's Chorus from CasONova by Johann Strauss." The
records played were from the early talking machine era, with artists such as
Gigli, Ferrar, and a host of others whose names I didn't know because they
were all from before my time. With 20/20 hindsight, I now realize what a gem
it was and how its likes will not likely be seen again.

  *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 11:51:49 -0400
From: otrbuff@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Our Gal Sunday

After working with her when she was a youngster on the NBC Children's
Hour Milton Cross dubbed Vivian Smolen "the girl with the sympathetic
voice."  Author Robert LaGuardia allowed that Smolen's portrayal of
daytime heroine Our Gal Sunday was "unforgettable."  She played the part
of Sunday with "a plaintive coolness and a dignity that made you feel
that no man was really worthy of her," he wrote.

In late 1958, within literally days of learning that her longrunning
series would be canceled by CBS on Jan. 2, 1959, Vivian married Harold
Klein, an executive in the motion picture industry.  They spent happy
years together, never had children, and eventually retired to Florida's
east coast.  Harold passed away a couple of years ago.  I communicated
with her in 1958 and again in 1997 and 1998, the latter two occasions
while preparing "The Great Radio Soap Operas" (McFarland, 1999).  By 1998
actress Florence Freeman (Wendy Warren, Young Widder Brown) advised that
Vivian was regretfully in the early stages of Alzheimer's.

I've just spoken again with Vivian by telephone.  I had already been told
that the Alzheimer's was giving her short-term (recent) memory loss,
although she could recall some pertinent details from the golden age of
radio when she played not only Sunday but Stellas Dallas' "beloved
daughter Laurel" ("Lolly-Baby").  She also made frequent appearances in
several other Frank and Anne Hummert series including Mr. Keen, Tracer of
Lost Persons.  "The Hummerts," she recalled, "were not among my favorites
at all."  Having heard that from some others I knew she was connecting
with reality there.

Vivian is well taken care of.  Harold made sure of that before he died.
He provided a beautiful apartment for her and arranged for her to have a
caretaker every day (a different individual each day).  A young man
handles her financial affairs and legal matters and a woman sets up all
of her medical appointments (she says she sees several doctors regularly
but maintains she is in good health).  She told me she is 86 or 87 now.

The sad thing is that she's virtually alone with only an aged brother
still living who gets there rarely.  She cries a lot and apologizes for
it.  Friends promise to come to see her or call but seldom do so, she
claims.  Although her physical environment is secure and she apparently
has no material needs, she feels quite alone.  At the same time she
doesn't ask for pity.  "Don't feel sorry for me," she says, seeking the
bright side.  "I'll get through it."  She gets mixed up easily and
apologizes for her memory loss but she's obviously still plugged in to
some of what's going on.

I promised to call her frequently and to stop by the next time I'm in
south Florida.  If any of you recall her from her radio days and have an
interest in calling, contact me and I will share her phone number.  If
anybody lives in south Florida or has occasion to visit there and
remembers this actress, it would brighten her day if you could go by.
(Be sure to call in advance.)

Not all radio legends approach the end of their earthly days under happy
circumstances.  Here's one that perhaps a few of us could help at a time
it would be genuinely appreciated.

Jim Cox

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 11:49:49 -0400
From: "Jim Pogras" <jimpo@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  More Call Leters

WERE Cleveland, Ohio - We Engineers Run Everything

--
Jim Pogras      Cleveland, Ohio

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 13:33:01 -0400
From: AandG4jc@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Bob Hope will be greatly missed

Bob Hope passed away Sunday evening of pneumonia. He had a great spirit and
love to entertain. ``Audiences are my best friends,'' he liked to say. ``You
never tire of talking with your best friends.'' After a few guest radio
spots, Hope began working regularly on a Bromo Seltzer radio program. In
1938, he was hired by Pepsodent to create his own show, and that led him to
Hollywood. The last of the truly great comics.
He, like Lucy, will be missed.
Allen

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 14:45:35 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  OTR on film

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr. mentioned:

However, this brings up an interesting point.  Many of the movie
[including serial] adaptations varied significantly from their OTR
origins.  Also, they frequently starred other folk than those who played
the parts in the OTR programs.
One notable exception was The Fat Man, a 1951 film starring J. Scott
Smart in the title role.  Can anyone think of other examples?

Producers at the Hollywood movie studios looked upon radio as a venue for
story ideas.  Many times after a program became famous, a producer would
make an offer to whoever owned the rights to the program to purchase the
"screen rights".  After that, the adaptation would vary depending.  For
series like THE WHISTLER, all the producers needed was a feasible script to
a mystery story, incorporate a few minutes of filming of the Whistler's
shadow against the wall as narrator and whola!  A movie!  In some cases,
simple low-budget B-productions were completed for the sake of the series
and sometimes an excuse to use up studio actors under contract.

CASEY, CRIME PHOTOGRAPHER was adapted for the silver screen as HERE COMES
CASEY (if I recall the title correctly) and it wasn't a fair adaptation.  I
have a film entitled THE CRIME SMASHER, also known as COSMO JONES, THE CRIME
SMASHER in which the opening credits mentions it's based on a radio program
but to date, have found nothing to tell me what radio program it was based
on.

Universal Studios, for example, cashed in on the INNER SANCTUM name through
a series of six, low-budget mysteries crediting Simon & Schuster for using
the Inner Sanctum name (S&S originated and owned and still owns the
trademarked "Inner Sanctum" and "Inner Sanctum Mysteries".)  The movies
however, bore no relation to the radio series except for the name - no
creaking door, no morbid host making jokes, etc.  Purely Universal's attempt
to use stock actors under contract for low-budget, quick-profit mysteries.

Same goes for Matinee Serials.  While some like THE GREEN HORNET, THE LONE
RANGER and THE SHADOW were cleverly written and designed based on the radio
program of the same name, others like CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT and JACK ARMSTRONG
were merely action-packed serials featuring "a hero" with the same name.

In answer to Stephen's question, there were some movies based on radio
programs that were not only fairly faithful to their radio counterpart, but
also featured the original actors reprising their radio characters.
THE LIFE OF RILEY from 1948 featured William Bendix and John Brown as Riley
and Digger O'Dell.
HEAVENLY DAYS, HERE WE GO AGAIN and LOOK WHO'S LAUGHING featured Jim and
Marian Jordan as Fibber McGee and Molly (two of them also featured Bergen
and McCarthy and Harold Peary as The Great Gilderleeve).
Harold Peary also starred as The Great Gildersleeve in four films, THE GREAT
GILDERSLEEVE, GILDERSLEEVE ON BROADWAY, GILDERSLEEVE'S BAD DAY and
GILDERSLEEVE'S GHOST.
Eve Arden and the radio cast reprised their roles for the 1956 movie OUR
MISS BROOKS.

Some of these movies are well worth watching.  THE LIFE OF RILEY comes
highly recommended and won't fail to disappoint for any radio fan.  Others
leave something to be desired like OUR MISS BROOKS which features an open
and closure - that is to say, you see Brooks get hired to the high school in
the beginning of the movie and it closes with the wedding and start of her
honeymoon with her school-teacher love.

Martin

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 15:46:24 -0400
From: BH <radioguy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  So long Bob

Thanks for the memories [removed] you soooo much.

Bill H.

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 16:26:21 -0400
From: Chad Palmer <palmerch@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  More A&A Questions

Hi All,

Sorry to bring this up again, I sent it to Elisabeth directly but never got
a reply so I guess it got lost in Cyberspace.  Hopefully she (or another
one of you can help me out with these)

For instance, I've read mentions here of Amos & Andy Scripts that came from
a microfilm collection.  If these two were so picky about intellectual
property how did their scripts end up on microfilm and is there any way to
get copies of the reels ?  Also why were just these early scripts done on
microfilm and not the later ones?

Lastly on the TV front I was aware most of the DVD & VHS sets out there
came from 16mm film copies but I was surprised to learn that CBS had
recalled all the films of the show when it was taken off the air.  Do you
know if the show still exists in CBS's Vaults or did they destroy or get
rid of the original films so as not to have the controversy resurface again?

Thanks,
Chad Palmer

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 17:06:37 -0400
From: "Randall F. Miller Jr." <rfmillerjr1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  WOTW rights
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Slightly off topic.  Does anyone know who owns the broadcast rights to War of
the Worlds?
As a public radio station in PA we would like to broadcast it, but we need to
obtain permission.
Anyone have any ideas who to contact?

-- Randy Miller
Senior Engineer WITF-TV/FM Radio PA

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Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 17:50:45 -0400
From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Crews

I have noticed lately reference to "crews" on old time radio shows. This
was  television terminology. A television "show crew" consisted of a
basic ten person group of headed up by a technical director, who not only
was "in charge", but also did the video switching. An audio "man" mixed
the sound portion. Three cameramen operated the cameras. Two boom
operators operated the "Mole=Richardson" microphone booms. Two video
operators were in the control room "shading" the cameras. A utility man
who pushed the booms into position and "kicked" the camera cables. That'a
a crew.

However in radio there was basically one engineer who set up his studio,
and did the mixing. If it was an audience show, a second engineer would
arrive for dress rehearsal and the air show to operate studio public
address system.  In later years when we started to use recorded music on
shows , a third engineer operated the turntables. No organized crew. Each
of us was an individual.

Bill Murtough

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 19:10:46 -0400
From: "Steve McLaughlin" <steve@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Bob Hope Tribute from Radio Spirits

Radio Spirits is saddened by the passing of Bob Hope and has prepared a
short tribute, including free audio streams of two classic episodes of the
Bob Hope show.

[removed]

Our thoughts are with Mr. Hope's family. We will never forget the joy he has
given us!

Steve McLaughlin
Executive VP & Chief Technology Officer - Radio Spirits, Inc.

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 19:10:51 -0400
From: "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed];
To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Radio Station Call Letters

KGIL, San Fernando, [removed] for Gil Paltridge, owner
KWLK, Longview, WA - LK for Longview and sister city Kelso

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 20:33:48 -0400
From: LPEVANS221@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Henry George Program

I recently purchased a piece of sheet music at a garage sale that may spark
some interest. It is titled THE HENRY GEORGE THEME SONG, "Smoke Your Troubles
Away". Also on the cover is the following: Sung on the Henry George Program,
Monday nights over the Columbia Broadcasting System. Sponsored by the
Consolidated Cigar Corp., New York City. There is also a photo of two bell
hops (Henry &
George). The copyright is 1930.

On the back is the real treasure. There are two photos. One is of the cast in
costume, and the other is the Henry George Orchestra. From the cast photo it
appears that this program took place in a hotel. The cast is as follows: Pete,
Played by Chet Miller (desk clerk ?), Maizie - Harriet Lee (maid), Henry -
Dave Elman (bell hop), George - Don Clark (bell hop), Flo - Georgia Backus
(telephone operator) and Dan - Brad Browne (house detective ?). The music
director
was Harry Salter.

Dunning lists other radio work for Dave Elman, Don Clark, Georgia Backus and
Harry Salter. Does anyone have any other information on this program? Does
anyone know if recordings of this program exist? I never heard of it until I
found this music.

"Henry George, a good 5 cent cigar".

Larry Evans - WA8DDN

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

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 22:03:50 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Information, Please

Bob Hoban asked:

Does anyone know where I may obtain "Information, Please" post 1945
programs?

A bit of trivia regarding the existing INFORMATION PLEASE recordings.
INFORMATION PLEASE was broadcast from 1938 to 1951.  There was a total
number of 510 broadcasts.

There is an estimated (according to Jay Hickerson's ULTIMATE GUIDE and an
updated list recently compiled) total of 223 episodes existing in recorded
form.
Of the 223 episodes known to exist, 220 are dated from May of 1938 to
February 1945.
Only three episodes are known to exist from March 1945 to April of 1951.
That's right.  The majority of the pre-March 1945 episodes exist in recorded
form but after February 1945 - good luck trying to find any.  Why?
Financial reasons to be exact.

Since the programís premiere in 1938, each and every broadcast was recorded
and transcribed for later playback.  Radio programs originating from the
East Coast often included a repeat performance for the West Coast, two hours
later, for the benefit of time zones.  Thus when the program was broadcast
at 8:30 on the East Coast (at Eastern War Time), the West Coast could tune
in to the same broadcast at 8:30 on the West Coast (at Pacific War Time).
Because the program was not scripted, Golenpaul insisted that each and every
broadcast be transcribed.  The Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Inc. agreed to
sponsor the program beginning early 1945.  The terms and agreements of the
contract changed from that of Heinz (the previous sponsor).  As of the
February 12, 1945, Information Please would be broadcast namely, as a weekly
one-half hour show over a national hook-up.  That is to say, when the
program was initially broadcast in New York, it could be heard over West
Coast radio stations at an earlier time slot (thus resulting in the East
Coast's broadcasts airing at a late time slot of 10 and 10:30 [removed]).

This is an explanation of why over 200 broadcasts of Information Please
exist in recorded form, dated before February of 1945, and an estimated 3
broadcasts of Information Please exist in recorded form dated after February
of 1945.

A clause in the contract between Dan Golenpaul and the Socony-Vacuum Oil
Company stipulated that the partnership gave the Compton Advertising, Inc.
(the agency representing the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company) the right, at the
Agencyís expense, to make off-the-line transcriptions of the show, for their
own personal reasons or if they chose to air the program at an earlier time
on the East Coast.  However, after the first three or four broadcasts, the
Socony-Vacuum Oil Company (known publicly as Mobil Oil) didn't want to pay
to have transcriptions made so beginning March 1945, the program stopped
being recorded.

So if anyone has been wondering why certain years are missing from radio
programs when other seasons exist, part of the blame (depending on the
program and the contract arrangements) can be blame shifted to the sponsors.
  When the Parker Pen Company signed on to sponsor Information, Please after
Mobil Oil, their contract stipulated:

CLAUSE FIFTEEN:  Producers grant Sponsor and/or Agency the right to make or
authorize the making of off-the-line recordings of said broadcasts from
which pressings can be made to give to the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast
Guard or other governmental agency for any use they elect to make of the
and/or from which broadcasts may be made over short wave stations located in
the United States for reception abroad.

I figure this little bit of trivia might answer the question people often
ask about regarding the lack of Information Please broadcast after February
of 1945 . . . or spark interesting discussions about where some sources
originate for existing radio programs.  Source of the above came from Bear
ManorMedia's INFORMATION PLEASE book due for publication this October.
Martin Grams, Jr.

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #291
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