------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 512
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Musical shows, WCBS, and talent dist [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
Long running OTR shows [ "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed] ]
Re: Say Goodnight, Gracie [ jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns) ]
One Person Shows [ Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed]; ]
Sponsors and the news [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
Whatever Happened to Live Music? [ Bhob <bhob2@[removed]; ]
CFP: The Radio Conference [ loviglio <loviglio@[removed]; ]
Lone Ranger Meteor show [ Rob Chatlin <rchatlin@[removed] ]
Today in radio history [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
NARA [ Bruce Young <youngsphotos@[removed]; ]
Live remotes [ "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed] ]
World's Fair 1964 [ Neal Ellis <bstenor@[removed]; ]
Words at War--a correction [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
Re: Imagination Theater [ Gerry Wright <gdwright@[removed] ]
Re: Meredith Willson [ StevenL751@[removed] ]
Phil Harris On Film [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
Re: Hank Williams' Death [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
George Burns on stage [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
OTR recreation in Amherst MA? [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
Imagination Theatre [ Henry Howard <hhoward@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 15:47:36 -0500
From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Musical shows, WCBS, and talent distribution
Hi Everybody, I would be interested in when was the end of live regular
music show on radio either local or network? I believe here in Los Angeles
it was around 1960.
Walden Hughes
Well, as I'm sure Mr Munsick will hasten to tell us, the Arthur Godfrey show
was live on CBS and lasted until about 1973.
After I moved to New Haven CT in 1971, I kept the radio in Kinsler Hi-Fi
Service tuned to WCBS in New York. Its all-news format was still quite new
at the time, and the entire operation was tight, professional, and pretty
starchy: crisp stock reports and news coverage and a separation between
opinion, editorial content, and advertising matched only be NPR.
Thus it was a bit odd to hear the heavy-duty news people cut away every
morning for the opening trombone theme of Arthur Godfrey, howayuh, howayuh,
etc. It was thus a sad day when the show ended.
(WCBS still runs in its original format. It's now owned by Infinity or
someone like that. For whatever reason, it doesn't seem that the quality of
the air product (as we former broadcasters tend to call it)has been
maintained as well as it might have. Maybe I've been spoiled by NPR.)
I've been contemplating network radio and its rise and decline. Of course,
television killed radio--even at the height of the OTR era, people were
longing for TV, and you heard a lot about it in jokes on radio shows. And
now network television has clearly run its course, having survived a good
deal longer than OTR. While I don't have a good prediction as to what will
supplant network TV, I do have one theory that might be worth thinking
about. The Theory of Limited Talent states that the percentage of young
artistic talent in the populace is both low and fixed. This would explain
the decline of radio and the rise of TV: all the talent, both on-air and
creative, migrated to TV.
Note the inclusion of the term 'young.' It's easy to forget that the people
who ran OTR shows were, from the perspective of old fogies like me,
essentially kids. I know it sounds sacreligious, but if Freeman Gosden,
Chas. Correll, Jack Benny, Orson Welles, and perhaps even Harry Bartell were
starting their careers in 2003, there'd be no shortage of body piercings and
odd tattoos in the crowd.
I know this is off-OTR, but I don't know of a group that understands show
business like this one. Thus I have to ask: into what enterprises are the
best young show people--musicians, actors, writers, and the rest of the
creators of entertainment heading lately?
M Kinsler
Of course, you wouldn't be able to tell if Jughead was wearing that
crown-shaped hat [removed]
512 E Mulberry St. Lancaster, Ohio USA 740 687 6368
[removed]~kinsler
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 15:48:03 -0500
From: "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Long running OTR shows
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from text/html
Want to thank Stephen Kallis for mentioning the Metropolitan Opera and
Paul Harvey shows. So the Metropolitan Opera doubles the length of The
Breakfast Club by being on air for 72 years as of the first of 2003. Paul
Harvey is an institution and probably beats the Breakfast Club. It seems
like he has been on radio since I was born in 1944.
Andrew Godfrey
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 15:49:19 -0500
From: jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Say Goodnight, Gracie
Re: Michael Biel
Hey, Michael--
Excellent musings on one-man shows!
'Just to correct two possible misimpressions your post might leave:
You say that the actress playing Gracie Allen doesn't really bear a
resemblance to her. But Didi Conn is never SEEN in the play. The
photos and film clips used occasonally as projections on the stage, are
of [removed] (You HEAR Conn, through occasional sound bites, well-woven
into the play's progression.)
In terms of promotional photos:
The main advertising image for the show is indeed of George Burns, circa
a few years ago. Playwrite Rupert Holmes (REMEMBER WENN, THE MYSTERY OF
EDWIN DROOD, and, many years ago, for you Top-40 enthusiasts, "The Pina
Colada Song"), and the producers, have the full cooperation of the
George Burns estate. As is typical for Broadway shows, the smaller
posters immediately outside the theatre are of Gorshin's performance.
But OTR devotees might be tickled to be walking down 44th Street, the
heart, really of "The Great White Way," to be greeted, at the Helen
Hayes Theatre, by a giant image, of the one and only, Nathaniel
[removed]!
Best, Jim Burns
PS: Totally apprapos, of nothng!: You mention Will Jordan, a master
impressionist and also a pretty fine actor (Will's also one of the
comedians featured, telling tales, at the Carnegie Deli in, and the
actual framework for, Woody Allen's BROADWAY DANNY [removed]) Will and I
run into each other every once in a while in Manhattan. We once had a
fascinating conversation abou mimicry, or more to the point, creating an
impression. SOME times, as a comedian doing a standup act, or acting in
a skit, you don't necessarily create a dead-on accurate
characterization. But, you're going for an essence, almost, to create a
"portrait" of the personality. It's the actor's, or comedian's, talent,
that can determine the difference between broad characature (sp), or an
accurate distillation of the performer's personna
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 15:49:54 -0500
From: Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: One Person Shows
From: StevenL751@[removed]
> It's an impersonator doing a George Burns act, and not a terribly
> good impersonation in my opinion. Now that still might have worked
> if there had been a dramatic reason for this play to exist and "George"
> was a character in the play, but there's no play here. It's just "George"
> telling the story of his life as if it was a stand-up routine. Steve Lewis
I have not seen Gorshen, so I will not comment on the performance quality,
but I will say that the "genre," if you will, is a wonderful medium for us
to visualize the greats before us. I have, of course, seen Hal Holbrook's
Mark Twain on TV, but I have also seen a well-know actor, whose name, but
not face, completely eludes me, doing James Thurber, James Whitmore's Harry
Truman and a local Vermont lady doing a delightful Eleanor Roosevelt. In
each of these three instances, although there was a modicum of effort to
imitate the real person, the charm AND value of the performances was the
material and presence. The one person show is a fantastic and flexible,
and in most cases, also a low-capital concept. Acting ability and make-up
are not foremost, they only enhance. Some performances need no
enhancement! I am looking forward to see Frank on stage someday.
Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed];
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 15:50:27 -0500
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Sponsors and the news
It was asked:
And did news sponsors have any say on how the news was presented?
Elizabeth responded with:
The only documented example of direct sponsor interference in a
commentary program that I've run across was in late 1935 -- when the
Cream of Wheat Company severed its relationship with
critic/commentator/raconteur Alexander Woollcott over Woollcott's refusal
to stop criticising European dictators.
While not truly an example of a sponsor affecting the opinions of the
commentator,
there is also the incident of Boake Carter. Carter's invective toward
Roosevelt and the
New Deal was becoming a real problem for the administration. But the
administration,
while detesting Carter and his opinions, had not directly involved
themselves with the
policies of the network and its commentators nor Carter's sponsor Philco
Radio.
It wasn't until Carter began attacking the union policies of the CIO. The
union responded
by creating a boycott of Philco products that was too much for Philco to
bear at the time. (The White House too was quietly promoting a consumer
boycott of the products.)
They dropped sponsorship of Boake Carter, normally a death sentence for
such a commentator
who the network would have been more than happy to see gone.
But General Foods, which was headed by an anti-union/anti-Roosevelt
chairman, picked up
the sponsorship and Carter's program continued. CBS knew that there was a
popular base for Carter based upon the letters they received when Philco
dropped Carter. And since GF was willing to pay for the time, they gave the
program a reprieve. White House pressure focused directly on Paley's CBS
with threats of FCC investigations of monopoly. Paley really did not want
Carter broadcasting on his network and decided that he could not afford the
liability and yanked network time from the sponsor for Carter's program in
August, 1938.
The world situation was changing rapidly by this time and CBS was looking
toward new directions in their news handling. Carter, who rarely left his
homestead (he broadcast directly from his home), was becoming out of touch
and did not fit into the future as Paley was envisioning his network's move
into coverage of the news.
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 15:50:42 -0500
From: Bhob <bhob2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Whatever Happened to Live Music?
Re whatever happened to live music: On New Year's Day, BBC Radio 3 airs
their annual global World Music Day -- ten hours of live music from five
continents: [removed]
A few selected segments from part one:
[removed] Te Vaka, a nominee in the Radio 3 Awards for World Music, bring us
the music of Polynesia from a middle-of-the-night New Zealand. Visit
[removed]
[removed] One of Finlands hottest folk-based bands, Värttinä, perform live
from Helsinki. Visit [removed]
[removed] Fresh from the country’s December elections, one of Kenya’s
leading bands, Kayamba Afrika, sing traditional and topical acappella
music from the BBC’s studio in Nairobi. Visit [removed]
[removed] Nick Spitzer in Lafayette, Louisiana introduces Feufollet, a young
Cajun band who are bringing new life to the almost-lost francophone
songs of the southern United States. Visit [removed]
Bhob @ RADIO DRAMA @
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 15:50:48 -0500
From: loviglio <loviglio@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: CFP: The Radio Conference
I am writing to let you all know about a conference on radio I am helping to
organize along with radio scholars from the US, Great Britain, Canada, and
Australia. Its called quite simply, The Radio Conference: A Transnational
Forum.
Its being held in Madison Wisconsin July 28-31, 2003. My hope is that the
conference will bring together academics, activists, producers, performers, and
listeners.
To see the complete call for papers, please visit our website:
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 15:51:01 -0500
From: Rob Chatlin <rchatlin@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Lone Ranger Meteor show
Can anyone provide the dates/titles for this series?
I know one is "The Butterfield Stage" but it's not part one.
thanks,
rob
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 15:51:38 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in radio history
>From Those Were The Days --
12/31
1940 - As a result of a dispute between the radio networks and ASCAP
(the American Society of Composers and Publishers), the radio industry
was prevented from playing any ASCAP-licensed music. The ban lasted for
ten months. An ASCAP competitor, BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) made
giant strides, expanding to include 36,000 copyrights. Many radio
stations had to resort to playing public domain songs, such as marches
and operas, to keep their stations on the air. Even kids songs were
played over and over again until the ban was lifted. One of the most
popular songs to be played was Happy Birthday to You; which was
performed in many different languages just to get past the ban. The
original song is now, in fact, a copyrighted piece of music, though it
wasn't at the time.
1947 - Roy Rogers, 'the King of the Cowboys', and Dale Evans were
hitched in marriage. They rode off into that sunset together for over
fifty years.
1/1
1923 - The very first radio broadcast of the Rose Bowl was beamed in Los
Angeles over KHJ.
1925 - Lucrezia Bori and John McCormack of the famous Metropolitan Opera
in New York City made their singing debuts on radio this day. The
broadcast over WEAF encouraged others to sing on radio.
1927 - The very first coast-to-coast network radio broadcast of the Rose
Bowl was made. Graham McNamee provided the play-by-play on NBC.
1930 - The Cuckoo Hour, was heard for the first time on the NBC Blue
network.
Joe
--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 16:12:39 -0500
From: Bruce Young <youngsphotos@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: NARA
I received my renewal notice for North American Radio Archives the other
day. Does anyone know what is going on with this group?
Bruce Young
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 16:28:42 -0500
From: "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Live remotes
I was wondering if anyone would know where I could hear a sample online of
what a live band remote sounds like. My OTR collection is heavily into
comedies and detective shows and would like to branch out into music and
variety type shows.
Andrew Godfrey
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 16:58:40 -0500
From: Neal Ellis <bstenor@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: World's Fair 1964
I am looking for any radio broadcasts either from or about the 1964-65
World's Fair in New York. I would assume that WOR must have done
something.
Neal Ellis
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 18:38:40 -0500
From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Words at War--a correction
This morning I received a letter from a relative in Toronto who had just
completed reading "Words at War." In his letter, he suggested a
correction in a photo caption. The book features a photo of Norman
Corwin, Arch Oboler, Fletcher Markle and Elliot Lewis. My cousin
recognized that I had mislabeled Markle and Lewis.
My cousin also mentioned that during World War II, Lorne Greene was the
CBC's chief announcer and that because of his deep blooming voice, during
the war, Greene was called "the Voice of Doom."
Howard Blue
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 18:39:26 -0500
From: Gerry Wright <gdwright@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Imagination Theater
Richard Fisher asked: 'Can anyone tell me anything about "Imagination
Theater"?'
A visit to the show's web site <[removed];
should answer all of your quesitons.
Gerry Wright
ZoneZebra Productions
San Francisco
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 18:40:29 -0500
From: StevenL751@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Meredith Willson
In a message dated 12/31/2002 4:06:09 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
1. Meredith Wilson is listed as one of the orchestra leaders for the
"Burns and Allen" program at one time. Is this the same Meredith Wilson
who most people connect with the musical "The Music Man?"
Yes, it's the same man (actually spelled Willson). He was also the
orchestra leader on several other radio shows, most notably Tallulah
Bankhead's "The Big Show".
Steve Lewis
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 18:39:04 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Phil Harris On Film
Fred Berney discusses a short subject starring Phil Harris.
He appeared in full-length features. One really fine performance is in
"Goodbye, My Lady," where a subteen boy in the rural South finds a
Basenji dog. A well-acted drama that can be classified as a tear-jerker
in a minor key.
Also, he was in several Disney films. At least, his voice was. He was
the voice of Thomas O'Malley Cat in The Aristocats, and he was the voice
of Baloo, the bear, in The Jungle Book. His work in The Aristocats was
extremely well done.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 18:48:32 -0500
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: OldRadio Mailing Lists <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Hank Williams' Death
"Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed]; mentioned:
Incidentally if you want to feel old, it's the 50th anniversary of Hank
Williams' [removed]
Which took place right here in Knoxville, though his young chauffeur,
hired to take him to a performance in West Virginia, resolutely drove
his corpse the whole way in Hank's blue convertible Caddillac. Hank
occasionally made live appearances on local radio station WNOX (which
broadcast the syndicated _Tennessee Barn Dance_ and _Midday
Merry-Go-Round_), but I don't believe he did so during this vist; he
was just passing through. Local performers, including [removed] Morris,
will celebrate his last night on earth this evening at a New Year's
Performance in the old movie palace the Tennessee Theater, which can
be seen in
the movie _October Skies_.
--
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
~David Fasold
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 19:22:00 -0500
From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: George Burns on stage
I have not seen this play but I have seen other one-man shows about a
celebrity/historic person, including Hal Holbrook's "Mark Twain" and Robert
Morse's "Tru" which was about Truman Capote. Particularly in the latter I
was not looking for some true-to-life impersonation, merely the suggestion.
As for younger people and their ignorance of George Burns. In 1975 at age
79 he won an Oscar for best supporting actor in "Sunshine Boys." But many
of them really remember Burns from "Oh God" which was made in 1977, (with 2
sequels in the 80s.) It was a major hit movie and Burns made new fans who
knew little of his golden past with Gracie. My daughter was 15 in 1982 and
we entered the elevator at a hotel in Lake Tahoe going down to the lobby.
The only occupant of the elevator was George Burns who my daughter
immediately recognized and gushed over. He was incredibly sweet and
charming. So a lot of 30-somethings do remember George, if not George and
Gracie. George never really left the spotlight and continued working until
shortly before his death at age 100 in 1996. He always referred to Bob
Hope, who was 7 years younger and will reach age 100 next May, as "kid".
Of course we all have our own subjective criteria in place when we view any
media and it's hard to argue against any one's particular reaction, but from
what I've read I expect to be pleased when and if I see it.
~Irene
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 20:29:18 -0500
From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR recreation in Amherst MA?
I know of a venue in Amherst, MA which may be interested in hosting OTR
recreations. Does anyone know of any groups in that area which do OTR
recreations
Howard Blue
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 21:29:30 -0500
From: Henry Howard <hhoward@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Imagination Theatre
Imagination Theatre is written by Jack French and usually produced
by Jack or his wife Pat.
The series has been on the air at least since 1996, producing
a weekly show. Some are studio productions, others are recorded
before a live audience.
See [removed]
In addition to stand alone programs, IT has produced series that include:
Test Drive, Peggy Delaney, Midnight Cab, Flynn, Becker, Harry Nile.
You can hear 2 or more hours a day on XM Radio, or find a station
that carries it weekly.
Henry Howard
radiodrama digest moderator
[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #512
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