------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 102
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Re: Gays on radio [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
gay characters in OTR [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
Re: Lahs-ANN--Jel-us [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
Re: Marx Brothers Plagiarism Lawsuit [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Lone Ranger copyright [ "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed] ]
Pronunciations [ Derek Tague <derek@[removed]; ]
Local OTR [ "Albert J. Kopec" <alkb2ng@[removed] ]
Arlene Osborne Wins [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
protein or protein etc. [ CHET <voxpop@[removed]; ]
Kordic and Company [ eloyer@[removed] ]
Cordic & Company [ Backus2@[removed] ]
Old Frothingslosh [ Mark Stratton <cty57251@centurytel. ]
Re: Joe Pyne [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
Re: Firing "bad"performers [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
Buddy Clark [ Alan Chapman <[removed]@verizon. ]
Re: Struts and Frets; On Critics [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 10:46:21 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Gays on radio
I don't think anyone's mentioned yet Ercil Twing (played by Pat
Patrick) on the Edgar Bergan show, who is described by John Dunning as a
"creampuff character" who showed up at odd times. Granted a stereotype,
put I still find him humourous.
Joe
--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 10:46:34 -0500
From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: gay characters in OTR
I'm really digging into my memory here, but I seem to remember a Jack Benny
show where he is on a movie set or something. He is in makeup before
filling, and there is a man named Twinkle doing Jack's makeup. I remember
the character being pretty fey and over the top and being surprised that this
got past the censors. A moment later, the Twinkle character starts talking
about his wife and soon to be born child, and I was confused all over again.
Does anyone remember this episode, or have I gone completely nuts?
-Chris Holm
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 10:46:50 -0500
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Lahs-ANN--Jel-us
Lois Culver tells us that Jim Hilliker wrote:
I would guess a lot of people around the nation from 1949
onward knew how to say it, by the way Jack Webb always said it on Dragnet:
"This is the city, Lahs-ANN--Jel-us, [removed]"
Of course, that line was only used on the TV version of DRAGNET, as was "I'm
a cop." (Derek Tague might call this a "mixed mediaphor")
Michael
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 10:48:04 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Marx Brothers Plagiarism Lawsuit
On 3/3/03 10:45 PM Wboenig@[removed] wrote:
Goodman, of course, was doing "The Camel Caravan" on Tuesday nights
>from mid-1936 to mid-1939. Armed with that clue, do you have the resources
available to possibly confirm this, or otherwise identify the show?
Well, I can tell you that:
"The Camel Caravan" during this period included a weekly movie-star
segment originating at KHJ, a segment which ran about twenty minutes. Not
a definitive clue, since Hollywood Hotel included similar skits, and also
originated during this period at KHJ
The musical director for this segment was Raymond Paige (this in itself
is not a definitive clue, though, since Paige also did the music for
"Hollywood Hotel."
Bill Goodwin was the announcer for the Camel program, as he is on the
circulating "Hollywood Agents" recording. This is a significant clue --
Goodwin never had anything to do with "Hollywood Hotel," which was always
announced by Kenneth Niles, Campbell Soup's favorite announcer.
The format of the Hollywood Agents skit matches the format of the Camel
Caravan Hollywood insert, aside from the "Hotchkiss Packing Company"
billboards. Probably the most accurate theory is that the Marxes took an
aircheck of an actual broadcast and dubbed it onto an audition disc,
adding dummy billboards in order to pitch a proposed series based on the
same characters to prospective clients.
Articles in "Broadcasting" (5/1/37, 4/15/38) discussing the case identify
the program as having been aired in September 1936. (As part of the
verdict, the Marxes were fined $1000 each for the crime of copyright
infringement.) "Broadcasting: identifies the original sketch that was
plagiarized as "The Adventures of Mr. Dibble and Mr. Dabble, Hollywood
Agents," which does seem to reasonably match the content of the existing
recording.
The court in the case ruled that the script used by the Marxes was taken
illegally from a text written and copyrighted by two brothers, Carroll
and Garrett Graham, in 1934. The Grahams had asked damages of $26,000 --
but settled out of court for a payment from the Marxes of $5000. However,
a federal grand jury went on to indict the Marxes on 4/14/37 for the
federal crime of copyright infringement -- and their trial and conviction
followed immediately.
I don't happen to have a copy of "Radio Guide" covering 9/1/36 -- which
*was* a Tuesday, the proper night for "The Camel Caravan." If anyone out
there has this issue, it'd be helpful if you could check the Camel
program's listing for that night and see if the scheduled guests are
listed.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 10:48:28 -0500
From: "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Lone Ranger copyright
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The copyright on The Lone Ranger was sold by Golden Books, a division of
Disney, to a company called Classic Media in New York, NY. I'm not clear on
whether Classic Media is owned by Warner Bros. or merely licensed them to
produce the recent TV movie. Anyone else know?
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 10:48:40 -0500
From: Derek Tague <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Pronunciations
Hi Gang:
Having had worked at Talking Books for nigh on 14 years now, I have
acquire an affinity of and passion for correct and precise pronunciations,
especially since American Foundation for the Blind is required by a
government contract with NLS [National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped] division of the Library of Congress
to ascertain the correct pronunciations of virtually everyword recorded into a
talking book.
Regarding "Los Angeles": while the prevailing pronunciation requires a
soft "j-sounding" "G", the hard "g-sounding" "G" is not incorrect. In fact,
it's listed first in the 1962 edition of "The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of
the World," one of our invaluable reference books.
It's important to gauge the situation presented in a book, much like the
actors in the film "Mulholland Drive" did. I never saw this retro-noir period
piece, but I heard it was rife with characters saying "Los An-guh-leez" for
the sake of keeping in step with the times.
Factor in the G-sound, the J-sound, the strict Spanish H-sound plus "loss"
vs. "lohs" & "-less" vs. "-leez" vs. "-lease" , & you've got a panoply of
combinations to choose from. [Did I just end a sentence with a preposition?].
Paul Harvey pronounces "protein" the old-fasshioned way. When I once heard
him mentioning the Nobel Prize winners in Medicine winning for "their work in
PROTEAN research," it took me a few seconds to mentally evoke OTR commercials
with this pronunciation. One should, nowadays, pronounce it "pro-TEEN" so
that it doesn't get mixed up with "protean," even if one needsto consume
protein to pull off such a protean effort.
Similarly, we request our narrators to pronounce the middle B in the word
"Clamber." Even tho' KLAM-ur is acceptable, we don't want it getting mixed up
with "Clamour."
In closing, I want to say hello to my buddy Harold Ziegler in Missouruh.
See you next month in Cincinnatuh.
yoorz in thuh EE-thur
DAIR-ik TAYG
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 10:48:51 -0500
From: "Albert J. Kopec" <alkb2ng@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Local OTR
Hello!
Discussing KDKA's "Party Line" brings to mind several other locally produced
OTR programs I used to enjoy from the mid- 50's/early 60's: Jean Shepard,
of course, on WOR, William B. Williams on WNEW and an interesting chap with
(I think) a German accent, who would give very animated accounts of
astronomers from the past and their discoveries. The last was on a Chicago
station (WGN, I believe). Does anyone remember the gentleman's name or what
the program was called? My favorite dj of all times was William B. Williams
and his 9:00 [removed] program on WNEW. He favored traditional standards and
jazz, and I recall someone once offering a monetaty incentive (perhaps a
contribution to his favorite charity), if he would play something by Elvis
Presley. I don't remember whether or not he accepted the challenge. His
theme was something called "You Are the One", and I'd dearly love to find a
copy somewhere today. William B. went on to do lots of voice-overs on TV
commercials before passing on at a relatively early age.
Living in an interference-free rural area of upstate New York all my life,
along with a hobby of "DX-ing" (listening for and logging distant stations)
introduced me to many interesting programs even after the demise of OTR
network programming. If only we could return to '. . . those golden days of
yesteryear' and our youth!
Regards,
Albert J. Kopec
Dundee, New York
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 10:49:38 -0500
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Arlene Osborne Wins
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Some of you know that in addition to being an avid OTR collector, I'm also
a video producer. I have several friends who like to produce independent
videos and several years ago, working with these friends, we produced three
totally different videos.
I decided to release all three of these videos onto a single DVD, but I
could not think of a name for the DVD. So, I decided to hold a contest.
Arlene Osborne was the winner with her suggestion of Alien-ation Trilogy.
She wins a free copy of the DVD which has just been authored with directors
commentary tracks and a few out takes. Ellen is putting together the cover
and we will be bringing this DVD with us to Cincinnati and any of the other
conventions that we attend.
The three stories are
1. El Gringo Bravo - A kind of science fiction, zombie, time travel, masked
wrestler story.
2. The Poet's Club - Anyone who can explain the meaning of the story
certainly deserves a free cup of coffee. (These are low budget videos)
3. Side Tracked - It stars Conrad Brooks, who some of you may remember from
Ed Woods movies. This is a parody of Star Wars and Star Trek.
Congratulations Arlene. And may the farce be with you.
Fred
[removed]
for the best in old time radio and TV shows
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 11:46:11 -0500
From: CHET <voxpop@[removed];
To: OTR <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: protein or protein etc.
If it were spelled PROTIEN, it would be pronounced
PRO-TEEN, with two syllables.
actually proteen is a youngster who plays for money
chet norris
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 12:28:32 -0500
From: eloyer@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Kordic and Company
Kordic and Company was the staple of the morning in Pittsburgh in the 50's and
60's and around Thanksgiving one waited breathlessly for the Pittsburgh
Brewing
Company (The Iron City folks) to bottle and distribute the annual holiday
production of Olde Frothingslosh that Rege was touting on the airwaves. It was
and still is for me: A pale stale ale for a whale of a male (note the lack of
political correctness and besides 'whale of a person' doesn't rhyme). And,
indeed the foam was on the bottom. Ed Loyer
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 12:28:38 -0500
From: Backus2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Cordic & Company
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To the many present and former Pittsburghers on the list, as well as
anyone who enjoys radio humor, the official Rege Cordic website can be found
at:
[removed]
Don't miss the sound files.
Have a ginger peachy day, compliments [removed]
Dick Backus
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 12:45:50 -0500
From: Mark Stratton <cty57251@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Old Frothingslosh
Old Frothingslosh Beer, the pale stale beer with the
foam at the bottom was actually brewed for awhile by
the Pittsburgh Brewing Company.
I remember the first time I heard about this. I just about
died laughing as my Dad tried to describe this to [removed] was
just a kid at the [removed]
I'd
love to get a recording of his skits.
[removed]
[removed]
Have a great [removed](g)
Mark
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 13:11:10 -0500
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Joe Pyne
George Aust recently posted an interesting piece about Joe Pyne.
I would agree that he was extremely controversial, but not as gross and
irritating as Howard Stern. As I recall, he was truly an "in your face"
personality, and he even had a TV show for a brief period of time. Rush
Limbaugh might be considered the closest contemporary talk show host, but
with a bit more finesse and intelligence.
George further remarked;
It was hard to tell how much of him was an act and how much was real. I for
one took him very seriously, thinking that he was a very dangerous and
borderline out of control man.
Now, I don't wish to have this posting appear to be of the "Kiss & Tell"
variety, but I briefly dated his widow. Sometime after Pyne's death, she
bought and ran a delightful old New England Colonial style country Tavern in
Connecticut. It was the local upscale watering hole in our community. I had
recently retired from the Broadcasting industry, and we had that in common.
In conversations with her, It turns out that Pyne was as nasty and abrasive
a personality as he came across on the air. It seems it was not an "act",
George. :)
Hal(Harlan)Stone
Jughead
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 13:12:54 -0500
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Firing "bad"performers
Chet Norris, in response to Harry Bartell's posting about replacing a motion
picture "star" who simply couldn't "act" on radio, raised the question;
how did the director/producer get rid of him once he was there at the
table???
I for one would love to hear from Harry on that issue, if he was privy to
any details.
I was involved with a similar situation, but it happened much later in time,
and involved a TV Commercial that a "name" actor was hired to do for a new
Colgate product. I recall that "firing" someone was no easy matter,
particularly if the Actor contests the dismissal. Perhaps in Harry's
situation, the "Actor" in question was an honest man, realized his
shortcomings, and silently folded his tent and walked away. Or the producers
may have had to bite the bullet and paid the performer for at least one
episode of the series.
In the case that I was involved in, The Ad Agency hired this LA based "name"
actor, and flew him in from California to do the spots. I'm sure his agent
had negotiated for over-scale talent fees, based on his "stature", so there
was considerable money involved. When it became painfully obvious after an
entire day in the studio (with the meter running for expensive studio crew
time) and getting NOTHING usable on tape, the Client and Agency personnel
were incredibly distraught, and we huddled frequently trying to solve the
problem. I used every trick I knew as a Director to put the guy at ease, and
attempted to salvage the costly production. But to no avail. The actor was
incapable of putting two sentences together, despite the fact that we had a
teleprompter available for him. I think vanity might have been a problem.
(It may well have been that he needed glasses to read a teleprompter, and
wearing them would have spoiled his image). But he wouldn't admit to it. We
took long breaks, and left him in his dressing room so he could memorize his
lines, but even that didn't work. And this spot was what we basically
referred to as a simple "stand-up", with the performer looking into the
camera and extolling the virtues of the product.
By the end of the day, The Client and Ad agency finally realized that he was
incapable of giving even a barely acceptable performance, and was let go. I
then became a hero of sorts, and recommended another actor from the West
Coast who was a friend of mine, (who they all knew by reputation), and who
they agreed would be perfect for the spots. I called him at home, checked
his availability, put the agency on the phone to talk talent fees involved,
they then hired him on the spot. He took the "red eye" (overnight) flight to
New York, I left the set standing in the studio, he showed up the next
morning, and we were done in about three hours. (From make-up to wrap.)
Now came the hard part. Apparently, the AD Agency refused to pay the talent
fee involved, and the "bad" actor (or his agent) filed a grievance with the
Performers Union. The Ad Agency contacted me and asked my help in meeting
with the union representatives and present my version of the situation. I
could do much more than that. Since we were shooting on Videotape (my
preferred medium) I had hours of footage that could be easily screened for
the Union reps. Every bit of footage visibly and painfully documented just
how terrible inept the first performer was.
They had no defense, and the case was closed.
Hal(Harlan)Stone
Jughead [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 13:28:56 -0500
From: Alan Chapman <[removed]@[removed];
To: OldRadio Mailing Lists <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Buddy Clark
Buddy Clark was born Samuel Goldberg in Dorcester, Mass. in 1912.
Starting in the early 30s, he began appearing regularly on Boston radio
as a guest performer. He joined the band of the "King of Swing" Benny
Goodman in November, 1934, and was often featured with the Goodman band
on the "Let's Dance" radio programs for the NBC radio network.
After leaving the Goodman band he was mostly a fixture on network radio.
He was a staff vocalist for the CBS network for a time, appeared as part
of the regular cast on the Ben Bernie Show for NBC Blue Network; "Your
Hit Parade" with the Lenny Hayton Orchestra for CBS in the late
thirties, a program called "Melody Puzzles" in 1938 with Freda Gibson
(Georgia Gibbs) and the orchestra of Harry Salter also on NBC Blue
Network; and "Buddy Clark's Summer Colony" with Hildegard and the Leith
Stevens Orchestra in 1939 for CBS. Clark also appeared with Wayne King
and Vincent Lopez on weekend radio during the late 30s.
He appeared regularly with the David Broekman orchestra on NBC Blue
beginning in 1942 until he went into the Army. After his discharge in
1945, he returned to network radio with a starring role on "The
Carnation Contented Hour" (I believe the First Generation Radio Archives
has some of these shows in their library). Later radio appearances
included "The Spike Jones Show" for CBS in 1947, and "The Chesterfield
Supper Club" for NBC in 1949.
As an aside, my family had a personal connection with Clark. His mother
and my mother grew up together in the South End of Boston, and remained
friends until his mother passed away. My older cousin Phil grew up on
the same block, and went to school and Shul with Buddy, though Phil was
a couple of years younger so while they weren't close friends.
I still have a couple of 78s of duets Buddy Clark sang with Dinah Shore
that Mrs. Goldberg gave my mother, as well as a couple of LPs that were
released sometime after his death.
There's a fairly complete career bio/discography on Clark at:
[removed]~jaymar41[removed]
Alan Chapman
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 14:01:07 -0500
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Struts and Frets; On Critics
In the latest edition of STRUTS AND FRETS, Harry Bartell asked, "So who were
the radio critics?" His piece went on to assign the role of critic to the
listening audience, and to the ratings that were meant to quantify their
pleasure or displeasure with a program.
However, there was at least one newspaper critic whose opinions reportedly
mattered to radio's bottom line: John Crosby of the New York Herald Tribune.
I'm not sure how long Crosby had been writing his reviews, which were
syndicated in several major cities, but certainly by 1949 his was an
important voice. Jack Webb credited Crosby's 6/11/49 review with saving
DRAGNET when NBC's NYC executives didn't understand why they were sustaining
a crime drama with absolutely no action.
For those who are interested, the entire review can be read here:
[removed]
Any additional information about Crosby and his influence would be welcome,
I'm sure! And were there any similar reviewers in other cities?
Michael
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #102
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