Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #347
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 12/11/2007 4:18 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2007 : Issue 347
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      An unfamiliar story [removed]           [ <radioaz@[removed]; ]
      Fibber & Mollie's Christmas Album     [ "Malibob@[removed]" <Malibob@ea ]
      Re: "Case of the Disappearing Profes  [ FabFicBks@[removed] ]
      the aftershow                         [ John Olsen <jrolsen2@[removed]; ]
      Alive and Well at Christmas           [ Mark Higgins <paul_frees_fan@amerit ]
      Re: Need date for syndicated "Eerie   [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      Oops--Re: Gildy's Baby                [ <radioaz@[removed]; ]
      A tangled Webb Yule actually might e  [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      12-11 births/deaths                   [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      Nightbeat Title                       [ "Paul Thompson" <beachcrows@sbcglob ]
      Scallions                             [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
      Nightbeat episode answer              [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
      bayerische rundfunk                   [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Re: A tangled Webb [removed]           [ Michael Hayde <mikeh0714@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:42:14 -0500
    From: <radioaz@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  An unfamiliar story [removed]

    Today I was listening to a Christmas episode of The Great Gildersleeve from
    12/22/48.  There is a reference to what must have been an ongoing story line
    which I have never heard before.  A baby was found abandoned in Gildy's car.
    In this December 22 episode he had had the baby for about 3 months.

    Does anyone know how this story line eventually played out?

    Ted

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:18:12 -0500
    From: "Malibob@[removed]" <Malibob@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Fibber & Mollie's Christmas Album

    Every holiday season I'm reminded of a 78 RPM album that Jim Jordan
    released in the late 1940s or early 50s.  It was comprised of 3 or 4 78 RPM
    records and contained Fibber, Mollie, Teenie and the King's Men relating
    Christmas stories.  Among the stories was The Brave Little Tailor and the
    King's Men musical version of The Night Before Christmas.

    I owned this record set as a kid and kept it in pristine condition long
    into my adulthood.  Then, a few years ago before digital transfers were
    possible, a fire swept through my neighborhood and sent most of my
    possessions up in smoke. In the years since I've replace most of what was
    important to me but I've never been able to find a copy of that Fibber
    album.  Does anyone have any ideas of where I might be able to find it
    (digital or otherwise)?

    Thanks for your help and Happy Holidays,

    Bob Curti

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:20:25 -0500
    From: FabFicBks@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: "Case of the Disappearing Professors"

    I read with interest Frank McGurn's mention of a  1930s "Eerie Stories" story
    titled 'Case of the Disappearing Professors'.   I've never heard of Eerie
    Stories, but the brief description of the plot  sounds very much like a late
    episode of "Suspense"--- 'Heads You Lose' from  3-11-62.  Might this be a
    case of
    a recycled script, or was this drama  drawn from a classic horror story?  Any
    mention of writer credit in the  Eerie Stories adventure?  Does anyone have
    any more info on Eerie  Stories?

    ---Bob Jennings

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:20:50 -0500
    From: John Olsen <jrolsen2@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  the aftershow

    In one of the Bob Hope shows I've been listening to, he tells the
    audience that the Bell Sisters will be back later, in the aftershow.
    That's a new one on me: the aftershow.

    Apparently, some radio shows continued after the end of the actual
    broadcast.  Can someone shed some light on this, please?

    How many series did an aftershow?  Was it short; one or two musical
    pieces, like an encore?  Or was it longer, running maybe another half
    hour?  Would it include the star, or would he leave and it feature just
    the guest performers?

    I've heard some warmups before the show (Mel Blanc Shows and Phil Harris
    Shows come to mind) but never any aftershows.  Do any recordings of
    aftershows exist?

    John

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:58:24 -0500
    From: Mark Higgins <paul_frees_fan@[removed];
    To: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Alive and Well at Christmas

    Just over a month ago, I reported to this digest that OTR was alive and well
    in Southeastern Wisconsin during Halloween.  Today, I'm happy to report that
    the same is true for the Christmas season.
                Last Friday night, Cyndie and I attended the first performance of
    a new script based on Dickens' Christmas Carol, performed by Wisconsin Hybrid
    Theatre (the show program states that "Wisconsin Hybrid Theatre produces
    original adaptations of classic late nineteenth century stories in a
    mid-twentieth century medium for the early twenty-first century audiences and
    their Moms").  The show was a play within a play, with audience interaction
    as the cast assembles for the radio broadcast, sets up, tests, preps the
    studio audience (us) and then performs the Christmas episode of "Frank
    Candor, Detective", in which, in a departure from the normal episode, they
    present an adaptation of the Dickens story (ala Richard Diamond - Christmas,
    1949).  The play is a faithful adaptation of the original, however Jack
    Fontaine, the star, occasionally forgets that he's playing Scrooge, and his
    voice reverts from crusty British to hardboiled detective,
     until the rest of the cast get his attention, or a line in the script jolts
    him back.  The radio cast is eccentric, the studio audience plays Tiny Tim
    (on the back of the "Applause" cue card is the audience's one line "God Bless
    Us, Every One"), and there are sufficient commercials woven into the script.
    The show was very entertaining and funny, and the props, sound effects, and
    equipment helped create a genuine 40's radio studio experience (all the more
    surprising as I don't believe anyone in the group is over 40).  We loved it.
    Check out [removed] for cast photos and info.
                On Saturday, we were in Kenosha , for the Retro Radio Holiday
    Revue, presented by Nita Hunter and her RG Productions group.  The show was
    set at the Kenosha USO Canteen and was dedicated to the women who served
    there between 1942 and 1946.  There was a 4 piece Swing Band with singer
    performing, and then the show opened with a very timely "Yesterday, December
    7th" speech from FDR.  Recreations of 4 OTR Christmas episodes were
    presented: parts of 2 Bob Hope wartime shows, Fibber McGee painting a
    Christmas tree white, Jack Benny buying shoelaces for Don Wilson, and George
    Burns trying to guess what Gracie wants for Christmas.
                The selection of shows was perfect.  I haven't laughed so much in
    a long time.  Also, with the material selected, timing was everything (Jack
    with Mel Blanc, Fibber and Mollie, and George and Gracie), and the cast was
    up to the challenge.  Although there were many great performances, I think
    that special mention should go to Joan Roehre-Joan's Teeny in the Fibber
    McGee skit, and especially to Leslie Utech, whose Gracie Allen was pretty
    near perfect.  She and Doug Despin, as George, were definitely a high point.
    It was a standing room only crowd, and a great time was had by all.  Nita's
    dedication to OTR and the continuation of it's live production is evident.
    Go to [removed] to see rehearsal photos and the publicity
    piece.
                Still coming up later this month is the annual Billie the Brownie
    recreation by members of the Milwaukee Area Radio Enthusiasts on Ron Krause's
    Christmas Eve show on WTKM, Hartford, WI.  We have a special surprise for
    this year's show, but I'll have more on that in a later posting.

    Mark Higgins
    President, Milwaukee Area Radio Enthusiasts

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:05:48 -0500
    From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Need date for syndicated "Eerie Stories"

    From: Frank McGurn:

>     Have a fifteen minute episode of "Eerie Stories"
>     a syndicated from the1930' S  named "The Case
>     of the Disappearing Professors" hosted by
>     Sidney Mason. Can someone furnish me a date?

    Since it is a syndicated series, there is no such thing as a broadcast date.
    With very few exceptions (like Amos 'n' Andy) different stations aired it on
    different dates, sometimes ten or fifteen years apart.  Thus, broadcast
    dates of syndicated programs can be worthless or very deceiving. Now there
    IS something known as the RECORDING date, but since very few OTR
    distributors write down things like the matrix numbers and recording company
    name from the syndicated program discs when they dub them, they blatantly
    lose the information which can sometimes lead to a recording date.

>     Since there is only one episode is available we may never get a date.

    What company recorded or distributed it?  If people with access to the disc
    put this info down with the recording, along with the matrix numbers, then
    even if there is only one program from that series, we might be able to
    determine its relationship with other programs the same company did.  Of
    course, we would need those other programs' numbers as well, in order to be
    able to do this.  It's not your fault, Frank.  It's the fault of the guy who
    found the disc and dubbed it off without noting this information and making
    sure to keep it with the dubs.

    Record collectors ALWAYS keep the numbers attached to any copies they make
    of it, so that is why we usually can find out the recording dates of almost
    any recording even if we don't have access to the original disc.  This is
    additionally important when some performers make many different recordings
    of the same songs.  With the label name and matrix number, we always know
    which one is which.  Without the number, it is anybody's guess.  Sometimes,
    if the only thing we know is the number, we can still identify the recording
    title and artist.  We do this all the time when the paper labels fall off
    Edison Diamond Discs and all that is left are the embossed numbers.

    To give a recent OTR example, we are able to find the recording dates of
    almost every one of the 140 or so National Radio Advertising Company discs
    from 1929 and 30 that have been recently been discovered.  They were
    discovered by record collectors who know the valuable information hidden in
    the matrix numbers and are keeping the info with the dubs.  If the discs had
    been discovered by OTR collectors, in all probability they would have been
    copied without the numbers and much of the potential to identify the
    recording dates would be lost as soon as the discs disappeared or were
    separated from the dubs.

    If you want to know the date of the Eerie Stories program in question, get
    the recording company and syndicator's names, and the matrix number of the
    disc.  Then we'll start from there.  If you don't have this info, lotsa
    luck.  There's no assurance that this info would reveal a date unless we
    also have information about datable recordings and broadcasts this company
    also recorded so we can compare them.  The more information that is
    collected from more recordings, the greater the likelihood that the dates
    can be found.

>     The story is a weird guy kills 4 professors but
>     keeps their heads alive.

    Speaking as a professor, I hope they caught and executed that guy!

    Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:06:01 -0500
    From: <radioaz@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Oops--Re: Gildy's Baby

    When I wrote asking about Gildy's baby and how the story line got resolved,
    I had only listened to the first half of the show.  By the end of that
    12/22/48 broadcast, the entire thing had been resolved.

    Sorry 'bout that.

    Ted

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:06:37 -0500
    From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  A tangled Webb Yule actually might enjoy

    >From Derek Tague

>     I noticed an irregularity concerning Jack Webb,
>     "Dragnet," and Stan Freberg in the book "Merry
>     Christmas, Baby: Holiday Music from Bing to Sting"
>     (1993, published by Little, Brown and Company)
>     written by rock-'n'roll historians Dave Marsh and
>     Steve Propes.
>     . . . I truly don't believe that the "Yulenet" record
>      really p---ed off Jack [removed], one never knows.
>      Takers?

    C'mon, Derek, ole pal, you know the answer.  It is well known that Webb
    loved the parodies of Dragnet, and even did that famous one himself on
    "Tonight."  I think one of the major uses for this book and others by Dave
    Marsh is as kindling for your Yule Log or Hanukkah candles.  Propes' main
    claim to fame is having written some of the first rock record collector's
    books in the 60s, but the rock research genre has advanced quite a bit since
    then.

    Just like OTR research has improved (in most aspects) since the early years.

    On the other hand, your puns . . . . . . . . .

    (Here's a warning folks,  Never sit between Derek and Ed Clute.  When the
    puns start flying and you get caught in the crossfire, it can be fatal.)
    (And keep an eye out for Charlie.)

    Michael Biel   mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:06:48 -0500
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  12-11 births/deaths

    December 11th births

    12-11-1882 - Fiorello La Guardia - NYC - d. 9-20-1947
    NYC mayor: "Douglas Corrigan Parade"; "This Is New York"; "Reads the
    Funnies"
    12-11-1883 - Victor McLaglen - Tunbridge Wells, England - d. 11-7-1959
    actor: Captain Flagg "Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt"; Mountie Eric
    Lewis "Red Trails"
    12-11-1894 - Eddie Dowling - Woonsocket, RI - d. 2-18-1976
    host: "We, the People"; "Ziegfeld Follies of the Air"
    12-11-1905 - Pare Lorentz - Clarksburg, WV - d. 3-4-1992
    writer: "Columbia Workshop"
    12-11-1908 - Sally Eilers - NYC - d. 1-5-1978
    actor: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
    12-11-1910 - Samuel Kurtzman - d. 1-14-1998
    writer: "The Bob Hope Show"
    12-11-1911 - Beecher Pete Kirby - Sevierville, TN - d. 10-17-2002
    dobro, guitar, banjo player: (Member Smokey Mountain Boys) "Grand Ole
    Opry"
    12-11-1911 - Sam Levenson - NYC - d. 8-27-1980
    humorist: "Arthur Godfrey Show"; "City Club Forum"
    12-11-1914 - Marie Windsor - Marysville, UT - d. 12-10-2000
    actor: "Escape"; "Suspense"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    12-11-1920 - Eddie Firestone, Jr. - San Francisco, CA - d. 3-1-2007
    actor: Joey Brewster "That Brewster Boy"; William Herbert Murray "One
    Man's Family"
    12-11-1922 - Robert Arden - London, England - d. 3-25-2004
    actor: "America Looks Abroad"
    12-11-1923 - Betsy Blair - Cliffside, NJ
    actor: "Favorite Story"; "Meet Me in St. Louis"
    12-11-1926 - Dick Tufeld - Los Angeles, CA
    announcer: "The Amazing Mr. Malone"; "Space Patrol"
    12-11-1947 - Charles Palliser - Holyoke, MA
    author: "The Journal of Simon Owen"

    December 11th deaths

    01-05-1938 - Lindsay Crosby - California - d. 12-11-1989
    actor: "Bing Crosby Show"
    01-15-1914 - Carlos Ramirez - Tocaim, Colombia - d. 12-11-1986
    vocalist: "Grapevine Rancho"
    01-31-1909 - Walter Coy - Great Falls, MT - d. 12-11-1974
    actor: Michael Lanyard/Lone Wolf "Lone Wolf"
    02-20-1906 - Richard Himber - Newark, NJ - d. 12-11-1966
    bandleader: "Studebaker Champions"; "Your Hit Parade"
    04-14-1914 - Arnold Perl - d. 12-11-1971
    writer: "The Big Story"; "I Fly Anything"; "The Amazing Mr. Tutt"
    04-25-1921 - Robert Q. Lewis - NYC - d. 12-11-1991
    disc jockey, comedian, host: "Arthur Godrey Time"; "Robert Q. Lewis
    Show"
    05-04-1874 - Frank Conrad - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 12-11-1941
    "the father of radio broadcasting" Started radio station KDKA in his
    garage
    05-15-1913 - James Baxter - Yucalpa, CA - d. 12-11-1964
    writer of radio scripts
    05-28-1898 - Andy Kirk - Newport, KY - d. 12-11-1992
    bandleader: (Clouds of Joy) "Andy Kirk and His Orchestra"
    05-28-1912 - Dave Barbour - Flushing, NY - d. 12-11-1965
    orchestra leader, composer, actor: "Electric Hour"; "Chesterfield
    Supper Club"
    06-25-1911 - Reed Hadley - Petrolia, TX - d. 12-11-1974
    actor: Red Ryder "Red Ryder"; Chad Remington "Frontier Town"
    07-07-1911 - Lou Maury - Butte, MT - d. 12-11-1975
    pianist: "What's the Name of That Song?"
    07-16-1888 - Percy Kilbride - San Francisco, CA - d. 12-11-1964
    actor,host: "Paul Whiteman Presents"; "Melody Round-Up"; "Stars in
    the Air"
    08-08-1900 - James Pierce - Freedom, IN - d. 12-11-1983
    actor: Tarzan "Tarzan"
    09-03-1893 - Anthony Collins - Hastings, England - d. 12-11-1963
    composer: "Ceiling Unlimited"
    09-11-1909 - Anne Seymour - NYC - d. 12-11-1988
    actor: "Mary Marlin "Story of Mary Marlin"; Francie Nolan "Tree Grows
    in Brooklyn"
    09-16-1908 - Neil Reagan - Tampico, IL - d. 12-11-1996
    director, announcer: (Brother of Ron) "Dr. Christian"; "Straight Arrow"
    09-19-1910 - Arthur Mullard - London, England - d. 12-11-1995
    actor: Jack (Dad Porter) "Industrial Inaction"; "Brothers In Law"
    10-09-1915 - Lee Wiley - Port Gibson, OK - d. 12-11-1975
    singer: "Lee Wiley"; "Eddie Condon's Jazz Concerts"; "It's Florida's
    Treat"
    11-02-1909 - Fred Lowery - Palestine, TX - d. 12-11-1984
    whistler: (The Blind Whistler) "New Fred Lowrey Show"; "Horace Heidt
    Show"
    xx-xx-1905 - Mary Breckinridge - NYC - d. 12-11-2002
    correspondent: "CBS News of Europe"; "World News Today"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:07:16 -0500
    From: "Paul Thompson" <beachcrows@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Nightbeat Title

    Frank McGurn asked for the date of the Nightbeat story that has Dolly
    Graham framed for the automobile accident death of Paul Thompson's
    wife. Thompson in the plot is a candidate for the State Senate.

    The title is Railroaded and was broadcast 6-19-52.

    A disclaimer: I never have and do not plan anytime soon to run for the
    State Senate.

    Paul Thompson

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

    Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:40:49 -0500
    From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Scallions

    Derek Tague spoke of the Christmas Dragnet novelty 45. For some
    reason I chose that as my Christmas present to my father one year (I
    also got my mother one of those chimps contemplating a human skull
    for Mother's Day once). He pretended to be pleased. But Mr. Tague's
    tagline, "Most people call them "green onions when they're really
    'scallions' " became a family tagline for as long as my parents
    lived. I still throw it into a conversation from time to time,
    whenever the topic of green onions comes up, but, for some reason, it
    never gets a laugh anymore.

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

    Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:41:11 -0500
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Nightbeat episode answer

    Frank McGurn asked about the Night Beat episode in
    which a girl is framed for a traffic accident.

    Radio Spirits titles the episode "Young Girl Framed
    For Murder" and gives the broadcast date as 6/19/52 on
    NBC. It was side A of cassette #1691. Side B was
    "Showgirl is a Pickpocket or is She?" dated 8/14/52.

    Whether these are the actual titles, or generic
    descriptive titles Radio Spirits made because there
    was no actual title, I don't know.

    But I hope that answers your question.

    Rick

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

    Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:33:59 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  bayerische rundfunk
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    I came across a letter with the name bayerische rundfunk, who was apparently
    involved with a radio program in the late 1940s or early 1950s.  For the life
    of me, I cannot find the radio show he was involved with, regardless of the
    reference guides I consulted.  Does anyone know what the name of the radio
    show was?
    Martin

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

    Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:59:12 -0500
    From: Michael Hayde <mikeh0714@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: A tangled Webb [removed]

    "Yours from the Wreath-er" asks:

>      So, why would Jack Webb have any objections
>      to "Yulenet?"

    AKA, Stan Freberg's "Christmas Dragnet."  Derek
    mentioned my book, "My Name's Friday," where I wrote
    that Webb LOVED Freberg's first DRAGNET parody, the
    dual-sided smash "St. George and the Dragonnet" b/w
    "Little Blue Riding Hood."  My source for Webb's
    reaction was mainly Freberg's autobiography, "It Only
    Hurts When I Laugh."

    I have no information about Webb's reaction to
    "Christmas Dragnet," but I seriously doubt he was
    angered by it.  Freberg doesn't mention any such
    thing.  "Merry Christmas, Baby: Holiday Music from
    Bing to Sting" came out five years after Freberg's
    book, so clearly the authors didn't rely on that for
    their information.

    It's most likely, given the "Sapphire" anecdote Derek
    related, that the authors were projecting their
    perception of what Webb's reaction must have been.
    There are still those who believe that Jack Webb WAS
    Joe Friday.  It's strange; no one who sees Webb in
    "The Men" or "Sunset Boulevard" or "Appointment with
    Danger" sees anything other than a fine actor playing
    a role.  But (perhaps because he's directing himself)
    Webb in DRAGNET - any of its incarnations - must
    represent Webb himself, and not a character
    interpretation.  Even Peggy Webber's son fell into
    that trap; she told me he used to refer to Webb as
    "Ol' Ramrod."  And yet Webb himself parodied Friday on
    many occasions, some of which are on OTR programs (Bob
    Hope, Martin & Lewis).  With that evidence, how can
    anyone really doubt that he was an outgoing,
    personable guy with a sense of humor about himself and
    his creation?

    Michael

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #347
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