Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #141
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 4/4/2003 12:25 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 141
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Tom on Elizabeth's Find               [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      WAR OF THE WORLDS cast list           [ SanctumOTR@[removed] ]
      It's A Crime, Mr. Collins             [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]
      As I wipe the egg off my [removed]      [ "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@comc ]
      Elizabeth's find                      [ Edward Loyer <eloyer@[removed]; ]
      Elizabeth's new find                  [ "mike ray" <mikeray42@[removed]; ]
      Anthony Tollin                        [ "Kris Stone" <anaheim47@[removed] ]
      Struts and Frets                      [ Harry Bartell <bartell@[removed] ]
      WARMING UP AUDIENCE                   [ "Andolina, Joe" <Joe_Andolina@cable ]
      Peter Paul and Mary                   [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      Elizabeth's great find                [ Ed Kindred <kindred@[removed]; ]
      Apology accepted, [removed]       [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]
      Good thing I'm an OTR fan             [ Smzmurphy@[removed] ]
      BBC documentary series                [ "steven kostelecky" <skostelecky@ho ]
      "Big Town"                            [ Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed] ]
      Elizabeth's "New Find"                [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
      Another April Fools joke?             [ gad4@[removed] ]
      April Fool                            [ "Michael Leannah" <mleannah@charter ]
      Story Arcs and other things.          [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
      Story Arcs/Marian Jordan              [ Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:37:26 -0500
    From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Tom on Elizabeth's Find

>     Boy Elizabeth, wouldn't this be great if it were true,
>     but to see this mentioned on April Fool's Day I don't
>     think anyone on the list can really believe it.

    I did. Next year, I won't even *read* anything Elizabeth posts on/about
    April 1st. So there!

    Herb Harrison

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:37:32 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

     From Those Were The Days --

    1939 - Mr. District Attorney was heard for the first time on NBC. The
    serial about the 'champion of the people' was originally a 15-minute
    nightly program. In June of 1939, the program went to a half-hour weekly
    format. Mr. District Attorney aired until 1952.

    1942 - People Are Funny was first heard this day on NBC

    1949 - Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis debuted in an NBC program that ran
    until 1952.

       Joe

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:39:02 -0500
    From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  WAR OF THE WORLDS cast list

    In a message dated 4/2/03 10:44:28 PM, Ryan Osentowski asks:

>     Is there a source where I can learn of the entire radio cast for War of the
>     Worlds?  I know that Orson Welles, of course, was Professor Piersen and
>     Frank Readick was Carl Phillips.  Who were the other voices?  I think I
>     recognized Ray Collins and Kenny Delmar, but I'm not sure.

    ***Yes.  I copied the actors' names off Howard Koch's personal copy of the
    script some years ago, and Bill Nadel and I put together a cast credits list
    based on voice IDs, the recollections of cast members (including my former
    neighbor Kenny Delmar) and rehearsal-director Paul Stewart.  These credits
    were previously published in Radio Spirits' THE GREATEST OTR SHOWS FROM
    SCIENCE FICTION selected by RAY BRADBURY 60-show set (which I highly
    recommend):

    THE MERCURY THEATRE ON THE AIR  10/30/38: "The War of the Worlds" by H. G.
    Wells, adapted for radio by Howard Koch, Paul Stewart and John Houseman.
    Orson Welles (producer/director); Paul Stewart (associate producer); Davidson
    Taylor (CBS production supervisor); John Houseman (script editor); Bernard
    Herrmann (music); Ora Nichols, Ray Kremer and Jim Rogan (sound effects); John
    Dietz (sound engineer); Dan Seymour (announcer).  Starring Orson Welles
    (Professor Richard Pierson); Frank Readick (Carl Phillips, Operator 2X2L);
    Ray Collins (Wilmuth, Harry McDonald, rooftop announcer); Paul Stewart (New
    York weather announcer, studio announcer #3); Carl Frank (studio announcer
    #2, stranger); Kenny Delmar (Captain Lansing, Secretary of the Interior,
    Bayonne radio operator, policeman); Richard Wilson (Brigadier General
    Montgomery Smith, Langham Field operator, voice of Newark); William Alland
    (Meridian Room announcer, gunner); Stefan Schnabel (observer); William Herz
    (operator 8X3R); Howard Smith.***

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:39:11 -0500
    From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  It's A Crime, Mr. Collins

    Anybody know anything about "Gail Collins", who portrayed the part of
    Gail Collins in the 1956-57 MBS detective series, "It's a Crime, Mr.
    Collins"? This hubby and wife series was on the air for about eight
    months, and since it was transcribed, 24 episodes have survived.

    Although "Mrs. Collins" is a skilled actress, I  can find nothing about
    her in other shows, in Dunning and other OTR standard references. Since
    it seems so unlikely that she would play a character with  the same
    name, it is possible this is an inside joke in OTR, and she was not
    really the same name as her character?

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:39:51 -0500
    From: "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  As I wipe the egg off my [removed]

    Okay, you got me.  Completely suckered me in.

    Although, in my defense, I would like to point out that since I received the
    digest at 12:57am, April 2 the statute of limitations on April Fools' pranks
    had pretty much run out.

    Plus, I accessed the Metropole article on the First Generation Radio
    Archives and there was a mention that "more programs would be released
    soon."  Seemed plausible.

    Well, I'll give credit where credit is due -- it was a great gag, and
    because I WANTED to believe I did.  Definitely better than that coded
    message deal from a previous April Fools' Digest.  I saw that one coming a
    mile away.

    Removing the hook from my mouth, I remain obediently [removed]

    Ivan

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:40:05 -0500
    From: Edward Loyer <eloyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Elizabeth's find

    My only regret is that Elizabeth didn't announce her find by using the
    Code-O-Graph that Stephen and Charlie supplied a couple years ago. Imagine
    the hyper-ventilation we would have all experienced as each number was
    translated and the message unfolded.  Well done Elizabeth!!
    Ed Loyer

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:40:19 -0500
    From: "mike ray" <mikeray42@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Elizabeth's new find

    I don't want to come off as a grumpy old curmudgeon, but I somehow don't see
    the humor of an April fools joke on a subject as important as finding
    transcription discs. There are many of us who wake up each day hoping that
    this might be the day that an important transcription
    disc might be found. I have a top ten list of items I'm hoping will be found,
    and cleaned up before I pass off this mortal coil. Too bad that someone as
    brilliant as Elizabeth would make merchandise of our emotions just to have a
    good laugh on April first. I do hope you enjoyed yourself.
    Regards,
    Mike Ray

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:42:04 -0500
    From: "Kris Stone" <anaheim47@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Anthony Tollin

    I am amazed that Anthony was the only person that didn't fall for
    Elizabeth's April Fool's joke!  Nasty joke Elizabeth!

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:42:10 -0500
    From: Harry Bartell <bartell@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Struts and Frets

    Yesterday's edition of "Struts and Frets" - on its second attempt- was the
    last in the series. I want to thank publicly all of those who wrote me
    on-and-off list.

    Because the idea was a compromise with requests that I write a book, and the
    whole subject was based on the concept of Old Radio, I tried to keep each
    article confined to that medium. Obviously, that didn't work. Radio's
    connections to theater and film, and my own involvement in all three made it
    impossible.

    Two major discoveries came out of the  effort. One was the vast difference
    in perspective between the performer and the collector. The other was my
    abysmal ignorance of so many technical facts and figures about the medium in
    which  I worked for thirty years.

    For example, I never heard  The Lone Ranger, Inner Sanctum, The Shadow,
    Archie Andrews, Captain Midnight. I never sent away for a premium. I did
    have a crystal set, but I don't know a DVD from  an SOS or an MP3 from a
    traffic cop. Burning CD's or cleaning up surface noise are completely beyond
    my ken.

    So, what came out was a bunch of reminiscences and personal opinions. I
    expected arguments but they didn't materialize. I wish they had.

    Harry Bartell

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:42:16 -0500
    From: "Andolina, Joe" <Joe_Andolina@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  WARMING UP AUDIENCE

    I was listening to a Abbott & Costello show the other day, and right before
    the usual audience laughs that the show seemed to always open up with, I
    heard a voice which sounded like Bud Abbott say; "Don't forget, hearty
    laughs." Then the audience broke out with up-roarious laughter as the
    opening theme music started. Before I ever heard something like that, I was
    always under the impression that the audience was laughing at some behind
    the scenes antics from Abbott & Costello right b4 the show started.

    Joe

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:42:46 -0500
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Peter Paul and Mary

    Mark Kinsler wrote:

>     Uh, Peter Paul and Mary were on the Jack Benny program?  Yes, they must
>     have worked at the same time, but here in 2003 it's a bit of a surprise.

    [removed] were on the 1/14/64 show (rerun 4/23/65).  In the first half, they
    do a cute song in response to Jack asking how a folk song about him would
    sound.  Let's see how much of the lyric I can recall (I also donated a copy
    of this to the City of Waukegan last June):

    (Chorus - Trio) Waukegan, Waukegan
    The son that brought you fame
    Jack Benny is his name.

    (Mary) As a baby, Jackie wasn't very much
    He didn't have the skin you'd love to touch
    But in his crib he was a happy thing
    A silver dollar was his teething ring.

    (Chorus)

    (Paul) They say that Jack is really thirty-nine
    But so's my darlin' Clementine
    He's known from here to Timbuktu
    A man whose bills are overdue

    (Trio) He's a cheapskate through and through.
    Wauuuuuuuu-keeeeeee-gaaaaaannnnnnnnnn!

    --
    Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 22:42:58 -0500
    From: Ed Kindred <kindred@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Elizabeth's great find

    <<<<Boy Elizabeth, wouldn't this be great if it were true,
    <<<<but to see this mentioned on April Fool's Day I don't
    <<<<think anyone on the list can really believe it.

    Au contraire amigo mio,
    there is no fool like an old fool.  Mea Culpa
    Congrats to those who saw through this excellent ruse.
    Well done, Elizabeth You really slickered a bunch of us.
    Ed Kindred

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 23:32:19 -0500
    From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Apology accepted, [removed]

    With a barrage of thanks and congratulations arriving in her email box,
    Elizabeth now 'fesses up and offers an apology for not obtaining the
    world's greatest OTR treasure trove.

    However, there are a few factors which kept this stunt from being a
    genuine April Fool's joke, and why many Digesters passed on her historic
    news to other OTR fans and collectors.

    1)  While her message was technically posted on April 1st, there is no
    way she could be assured that would happen (without the collusion of
    Charlie.)  None of us who submit posting to the Digest have any
    guarantee of when it will actually [removed] [removed] or three
    days hence or [removed]   What if it had appeared on April 2nd?

    2)  There was not one clue in this realistic message (other than the
    multiplicity of shows "discovered") to signal that this was other than a
    legitimate, historical message from Elizabeth, of which she has posted
    dozens in the last year.

    3)  Most April Fool jokes, to be fair and not cruel, end with a clear
    statement of "gotcha!" After all, if we had swallowed the two page news
    bulletin, we are entitled to be let off the hook in the closing.  But,
    alas, we were not  afforded that courtesy.

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: I'd like to rebut a few points, if I may, in defense of not
    only this prank, but the joyous April Fool's Day in general.

    1) Although it wasn't necessarily read by everyone on April First, it was
    clearly DATED April First. (I know people who are behind enough in reading
    the Digest that they may not see it for another week or two.) I intended it
    to go out in the earlier issue, but the server had other ideas, slavishly
    following its programming.

    2) There were multiple clues in the posting (and even a clear warning in the
    issue before, directly referencing the date of 4/1 which should have put
    everyone on a heightened state of alert and mistrust), but none so obvious as
    her final paragraph:

>     Look for the first releases in this new series to be available by April
>     1, 2004.

    I mean, what are the odds that a find announced on April Fool's Day would be
    available the FOLLOWING April Fool's Day? C'mon, admit it, folks - she
    practically raised a white flag here.

    3) NO good April Fool's prank ends with a, "gotcha," in my rather experienced
    opinion. A denouncement is the antithisis to a good prank; either the target
    gets it on his own (the "Ah-HA!" moment), or falls, "hook, line, and sinker"
    for the prank, flopping around helplessly on the deck while the prankster
    chuckles.

    In my humble opinion, the success of any well-executed April Fool's prank is
    measured by the percentage of those targeted who fall for it because THEY
    WANT TO BELIEVE IT REGARDLESS OF THE OBVIOUS FALSENESS. Elizabeth has not
    only my gratitude for carrying the ball on my favorite holiday of the year
    when I had nuthin', but has earned my "jester's respect" for succeeding so
    masterfully. It was awe-inspiring, with no apology necessary.   --cfs3]

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 23:32:37 -0500
    From: Smzmurphy@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Good thing I'm an OTR fan

    My son watches a show on PBS called "Zoboomafoo." In every episode, the
    brothers that star in the show go the closet to get what they need for their
    next "cool adventure." When they open the door, everything imaginable comes
    tumbling out on top of them. My boy thinks it's pretty funny. I don't have
    the heart to tell him that it's been done before -- and better.

         Can anything else think of similar references?

    Best to all,

    Mike

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 23:32:57 -0500
    From: "steven kostelecky" <skostelecky@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  BBC documentary series

    Mention has been made of the BBC series, "Who Wears The Trousers?" about
    husband and wife otr teams. I have to quibble with some of their Modernist
    interpretation of gender roles, and the use of actors for long quotes from
    the subjects, but generally have enjoyed it.
    This week focuses on Jim and Marion Jordan and brings up Marian's absence
    and quotes the granddaughter as saying she had a complete breakdown and was
    institutionalized. I have found speculation on such subjects to be rather
    lurid, but I have also heard she had a drinking problem and, as a recovering
    alcoholic, I was sympathetic to her. Now, what I wonder is where both
    stories came from and which is the truth. Anybody know the primary source
    for either?

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 23:33:24 -0500
    From: Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "Big Town"

    A few Digests back, Bob asked if anyone remembered the
    actions of Steve Wilson and Lorilei Kilbourn of the
    "Big Town" Illustrated Press in solving world and
    local problems concerning its citizenry.  Given I've
    seen not the repsonse from me his inquery prompted I
    resubmit it again.

    [removed]

    ---
    conradab@[removed] (Conrad A. Binyon)
       From the Home of the Stars who loved Ranches and Farms
         Encino, California.

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 23:33:32 -0500
    From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Elizabeth's "New Find"

    Oh well, even if it had been for real we probably would have found out that
    Radio Spirits owns the rights to all those programs anyhow.

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 23:33:48 -0500
    From: gad4@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Another April Fools joke?

>     Look for the first releases in this new series to be available by April
>     1, 2004.

    Hopefully this isnt a joke.

    George

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 23:34:02 -0500
    From: "Michael Leannah" <mleannah@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  April Fool

    I for one am not amused by Elizabeth's April Fool joke.

    Mike Leannah
    Sheboygan, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 23:34:10 -0500
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Story Arcs and other things.

    One obvious story arc that all of us appear to have
    overlooked (unless it's mentioned in one of the
    digests I haven't had a chance to read yet) is the
    "Superman Vs. The Atom Man" serial in The Adventures
    of Superman (as well as the multi-chapter stories that
    series had). In fact, last summer when I drove to Iowa
    for the Iowa Summer Writing Festival at the University
    of Iowa, I listened to the entire Atom Man storyline.
    I started as soon as I got on the freeway, and when I
    pulled into the parking lot at the university, Supes
    was about to face the Atom Man in their final battle.

    Seven solid hours of OTR (minus rest stops, of
    course). Not a bad way to pass the time.

    For the record, on the way back, I listened to some
    five part Johnny Dollar stories.

    On other issues, some a bit old, but ones I still
    wanted to comment on: Re: street names: There's a Lois
    Lane in Southfield, MI; and, completely unrelated
    there's a pastor in Pontiac named Kent Clark.

    Re: Listening to M*A*S*H episodes as if it were OTR:
    It works to a degree, but a lot of the humor in the
    show is visual, so much would be lost in the
    translation. Case in point, the episode "The General
    Flipped at Dawn." Harry Morgan (who would return as
    Col. Potter the following year) played General
    Bartford Hamilton Steele ("that's three e's, not all
    in a row.") an insane officer paying the 4077 an
    inspection visit. In one scene, as he's inspecting the
    company, Radar urgently directs Col. Blake's attention
    in the distance, where we see Klinger in one of his
    dresses fast approaching. Blake and Radar can only
    watch in horror as Klinger comes closer to Steele, who
    hasn't yet seen him. Finally, he crosses paths with
    Steele, who affords him barely a glance with, "not
    now, Marjorie. I'm inspecting the troops."

    Now, if you only heard that scene, what would you
    have? Radar telling Blake to look somewhere; Blake's
    groan at whatever he sees, a long period of silence
    (unless the audio version is playing the laugh track;
    personally I turned it off on the DVD), and then
    Steele's comment, with no context behind it.

    Obviously, somebody would have to describe Klinger's
    approach to make that scene work.

    Of course there are other episodes that would work as
    OTR. The one set entirely in the [removed] would work, as
    would the two "interview" pieces with Clete Roberts.
    The former because you hear the sounds of the various
    instruments and the dialogue tells you where you are;
    the latter because the actual interviews are what the
    stories are about, not whether Hawkeye is being
    interviewed in the mess tent or the Swamp.

    And, on the issue of incorrect titles (as discussed on
    the Tom Corbett thread, who decides what is a correct
    title? I own the Nightbeat collection from Radio
    Spirits. The titles it gives are different than titles
    for some of the same episodes once offered by the now
    defunct Adventures in Cassettes. From the
    descriptions, both companies are clearly talking about
    the same episodes, but they have different titles. So,
    who's right, if either of them?

    Rick

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 23:41:19 -0500
    From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Story Arcs/Marian Jordan

              I just received a notice from Audio Classics Archive.
    One of them stood out from among the rest.  It was an
    obvious story arc from the OTR "Red Ryder" series.  The
    title of the episode was "Trouble In Millersville" and from
    what I read, it continued over 3  half hours (3 days).

              Another thing I noticed was in regard to an OTR program
    titled "Fibber McGee and Company".  Was the name of the series
    changed from "Fibber McGee and Molly" to this after Marian
    Jordan (Molly) left?

              While on the subject, I noticed someone was asking
    what had happened to Marian Jordan.  I, too, have heard the
    rumors about her supposed alcoholism as well as nervous
    breakdowns.  I did some checking and discovered that she,
    among others, suffered from a severe case of what came to
    be known as 'mike fright'.  Another OTR performer who suffered
    from this malady was Mary Livingstone, I'm certain there were
    others.   After a while it took its toll on her and led to some attacks
    of nerves.

    Sincerely,

    Kenneth Clarke

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #141
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