Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #26
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 1/23/2005 2:21 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2005 : Issue 26
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      OTR research                          [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      I'm My Own Grandpa                    [ "Donald P. Tuttle" <dobbsi5@[removed] ]
      Re: Early Television                  [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
      Evolution of TV (Cross-posted to Kin  [ skallisjr@[removed] ]
      Milton Cross and the Met              [ Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@[removed]; ]
      VALSE TRISTE YET AGAIN                [ C-NO <voxpop@[removed]; ]
      norman corwin                         [ david gerstel <dgerstel@[removed] ]
      Pseudonyms                            [ Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed]; ]
      Re: Milton Cross                      [ Udmacon@[removed] ]
      This week in radio history 23-29 Jan  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      WIXIE SHOWS                           [ Dave Parker <dave@[removed] ]
      Grandpa forsooth!                     [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005 22:53:17 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR research

    I apologize if a posting I submitted was taken in the wrong context.  To
    summarize, the posting was NOT directly intended to denounce the reputation
    of Goldin's site.  The posting was (in the order of the paragraphs) designed
    to:

    1.  Describe briefly how Goldin came to offer the OTR shows when he was
    still in business (Radio Yesteryear), and to point out that entires listing
    episodes previously available are not presently available in circulation
    such as COLUMBIA WORKSHOP and ELLERY QUEEN.

    2.  To give a brief summary of the JUNGLE JIM series, including the facts
    pertaining to the exact number of episodes recorded and broadcast, that they
    exist thanks to surviving transcription discs, and that Goldin's archives is
    not the only source for recordings and information about the radio
    broadcasts - that other episodes not listed on Goldin's site are available
    making more of a complete history of the plot descriptions available (as
    well as pointing out which episodes are not available in circulation).

    3.  I regarded Goldin as "honorable" in my posting for admitting that his
    work isn't free of flaws, and that he has been taking considerable time to
    make corrections to his site as he can.  I cited an example of an author who
    had written a book about a Hollywood star and how they used Goldin's site as
    the ONLY source for OTR information, assuming that site was the gospel.  As
    I stated, "Goldin's site is nice to browse, but be aware that what's listed
    isn't always 100% accurate."

    Goldin and I correspond via snail mail somewhat frequently and Dave sends me
    mailings on occassion of revisions to entries not yet posted on his site,
    and asks for my assistance in details and corrections, etc.  I do submit
    corrections to him, including broadcast logs to shows not yet available.
    About a year ago, I sent him a copy of the LET'S PRETEND log Derek Tague and
    I compiled, including corrections to episodes listed on his site, especially
    where he only had the month and year or just the year of broadcast.

    I myself have admitted publicly that my books are not without flaws (though
    the subject of my books was not mentioned in my posting).  I have written
    two magazine articles in the past that did get published, listing the
    corrections.  One for CBS RADIO MYSTERY THEATER and another for THE HISTORY
    OF THE CAVALCADE OF AMERICA.  My other books do have errors, which are
    discovered AFTER the books were published.  My filing cabinets have a file
    dedicated to each program I have documented, including corrections so that
    hopefully, in the future, when they go out of print, they can be resubmitted
    to a new publisher who can accept a "revised edition."  I could spend 20
    years researching one book and after it gets published, discover that my
    original sources were mistaken.  I have seen studio press releases mis-spell
    names of actors, announce radio programs that never aired, list the wrong
    title, and in many cases such as DuPont's archives, feature two drafts for
    each CAVALCADE script, a pamphlet for each broadcast, and internal
    correspondence from the producers and directors and even then, what I would
    consider an original source for information (especially for episodes that do
    not exist in recorded form), an error could have been discovered after I
    assumed that kind of source shouldn't be mistaken.  It happens.

    The motive behind that posting was to ensure readers of the OTR Digest that
    nothing should be taken with a grain of salt, lest more reference works like
    Hollywood biographies and future OTR postings claim definitive information
    and as everyone knows, there is no such thing as a "definitive" source.
    Only a great source.

    Martin Grams, Jr.

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005 22:54:15 -0500
    From: "Donald P. Tuttle" <dobbsi5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  I'm My Own Grandpa

    Consarn it if Jo Stafford didn't record "I'm My Own Grandma" about 50 years ago under an assumed
    name. It was a "hillbilly" (as the genre was knowed as in them days) format and the feature hit,
    as I  recall, was "timtayshun." That, I believe, was around the time Perry Como had topped the
    charts with his version of Temptation. The "singing" style was pure corn. I forget the name of the
    musical group, but I do recall that she was not listed as Jo Stafford, and it took a bit of
    sleuthing to find out that she was the female vocalist. If I can find out more, I will follow up.

    =====
    Donald P. Tuttle

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 08:35:15 -0500
    From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Early Television

    Has anybody read the book "Carter Beats the Devil," by Glen David Gold?
    I started it a while back, and somehow got distracted away from it.
    Which is a pity, because what I read of it was very enjoyable. I
    mention it here because it involves a (presumably highly fictionalized)
    glimpse into early television, and the invention thereof. The book also
    has a great behind-the-scenes feel for vaudeville, and early 20th
    century stage entertainment. I imagine many people on this list would
    enjoy it.

    Kermyt

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 08:38:15 -0500
    From: skallisjr@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Evolution of TV (Cross-posted to Kinescope)

    Jim Cox, speaking of development of early television, observes,

>     A few stations were on the air at the beginning of the 1940s and I
>     think many scholars agree that -- had there been no Second World War --
>     TV would have eclipsed radio far sooner than it did.

    IMHO. World War II hastened the spread of television.  There were many
    technological advances that impacted public consciousness.  The
    development of jet aircraft, radar, long-range guided missiles, and the
    like, topped with nuclear weapons, made the public aware of what they
    perceived to be a quantum leap in "Science."  Certainly in the United
    States, the idea that the sky was no limit helped create the climate for
    great technological change, such as television.  (Also, as I recall, the
    method of mass producing CRTs was developed during the war for radar
    sets.)

    In short, the average consumer was primed for wanting television in a way
    that would not have happened were there no war.  Without consumer
    receptivity, I doubt that many investors would have been motivated to
    sink any cash into the new medium.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: Cross-posting is always a bad idea, as conversations get
    fragmented. We instead encourage folks to post to the list most appropriate.
    --cfs3]

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 08:39:47 -0500
    From: Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Milton Cross and the Met

    Art Funk wrote:

>     This week I heard a promo on my NPR station saying that the Met Opera
>     broadcast this week would be a re-broadcast of a program originally
>     aired in 1959.  I've been waiting all week for a chance to hear those
>     wonderful tones of Milton Cross' voice.  Drat!!!!!  The program was
>     announced by the current announcer [Margaret Juntwait].  Oh, well.

    According to the web addresses for "The Met",

    [removed]
    [removed]

    there have been NO live performances of The Met at Lincoln Center for
    the past two weeks. The Metropolitan Opera is performed throughout the
    week, not just the Saturday afternoon national radio broadcasts. And the
    usual Met season starts in September and I think extends into May, while
    the radio broadcasts don't begin until December, and usuall end around
    April.

    Anyhow, last Saturday, 15-Jan-2005, I happened to tune into WWNO-FM [removed]
    the NPR and Met-Opera affiliate in New Orleans to hear the Opera, but I
    hadn't tuned in at the beginning of the broadcast. Act One was already
    being performed. However, as the first act was over and the audience was
    giving thunderous applause, the announcer doing the voiceover was NOT
    Margaret Juntwait -- it wasn't even a woman. However, it wasn't even
    Peter Allen who announced the Met on radio from the mid-1970s (when
    Milton Cross passed away) until this past Spring. It was indeed that of
    Milton Cross! However, before he finished, the current announcer,
    Margaret Juntwait, cut off the tape and finished out the closing
    announcements of the first act. BTW, the outcue at the end of the
    broadcast and also at the end of each act when they have a station break
    is "This is the Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network".

    The most recent outcue when Chevron-Texaco was still underwriting was
    "This is the Chevron-Texaco Metropolitan Opera International Radio
    Network", quite possibly the LONGEST network outcue ever! Even longer
    than "This is the Red/Blue Network of the National Broadcasting Company
    (g-e-c)". In the 1970s, the outcue was "This is the Texaco-Metropolitan
    Opera Radio Network", before Chevron and Texaco merged, and with the
    exception of the CBC in Canada picking up the feed from the Texaco
    Network in the US, it wasn't yet "international" 'round-the-world.

    Last Saturday, 15-January-2005, was a repeat of the broadcast of Jacques
    Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann", from 7-February-1959. And today,
    22-January-2005, it was a repeat of the broadcast of Verdi's "Aida",
    from 25-February-1967, with Leontyne Price.

    SOME of Milton Cross' closing announcements at the end of eact act for
    both repeats was heard, but again, Margaret Juntwait came in and
    continued the closing announcements and gave the network system outcue.

    I don't know why there were no live performances these past two weeks?
    Are they doing any repairs/renovations at Lincoln Center? Anyone from
    New York City know?

    None of the original "additional material" was included, [removed], the
    original 1959 and 1967 Opera News, nor Texaco Opera Quiz. However there
    was some additional "half-time" material, some of the current Opera News
    info, and also some nostalgic items such as mini-biographies and
    documentaries originally aired in the 1950s/60s. Last week when the
    [removed] opera was rerun, they also played a 1965 interview with Marian
    Anderson.

    Personally, I wanted to hear as much of the original broadcast as
    possible. The rerun from [removed] would have been from the first of the
    two "CBS Radio" years of the Met. NBC-Blue/ABC had carried it all along
    (and [removed] was an NBC-moved-over-to-ABC announcer), but "The Met"
    moved over to CBS Radio for the 1958/59 and 1959/60 seasons. During
    1960, CBS announced that it was doing some major programming changes
    effective right after Thanksgiving 1960, such as cancelling all of the
    last radio soaps (Ma Perkins, Young [removed], etc), Suspense was
    temporarily cancelled (six months later, Gunsmoke left radio and
    Suspense returned for its final year), Have Gun Will Travel was
    cancelled on radio, and CBS also dropped its coverage of the NY
    Philharmonic and the Texaco Metropolitan Opera. There were other changes
    at the CBS Radio Network as well with [removed], such as an hourly
    CBS Radio Newscast for most every hour of the broadcast day. Previously,
    CBS Radio had several newscasts during the day, usually five min's, a
    few 10 or 15 min's, but not anything consistantly for all (or most)
    hours of the day. But with [removed], virtually every hour of the
    "broadcast day" now had a top-of-hour CBS Radio Newscast, and throughout
    the 1960s, most of them were TEN min's long!

    Anyhow, even though CBS Radio dropped its coverage of "The Met", Texaco
    and the Opera created an "ad-hoc" radio network (similar to many sports/
    team/event special networks), lining up stations that still wanted to
    carry the Opera. And this is the case through today.

    Milton Cross was still the radio announcer for "The Met" during the two
    CBS Radio seasons (1958/59, 1959/60), and starting 1960/61 when it went
    to its own "ad-hoc" network until he died in the mid-1970s, and Peter
    Allen then took over.

    But I wonder, since [removed] was still technically also employed by the
    American Broadcasting Company well into the 1960s (and 70s?), did he
    give the CBS system outcue in 1958/59 and 1959/60? Or did some CBS-NY
    booth/staff announcer (such as Art Hanna, Hal Simms, Stuart Metz, Warren
    Moran, Bern Bennett, etc) come in and say "This is the CBS Radio
    Network"? I would assume that [removed] did give the "Texaco Metropolitan
    Opera Radio Network" system outcues in the 1960s and 70s, even if he was
    still technically an ABC employee as well, since there was no real
    "conflict".

    And I assume that during the two CBS years, that the hourly "BONG" was
    turned off during those hours that the Met was on the air!

    BTW, the websites for "The Met" don't mention anything about the two
    CBS Radio seasons, 1958/59 and 1959/60. They only mention ABC (and I
    think NBC-Blue).

    Mark J. Cuccia
    mcuccia(at)tulane(dot)edu
    New Orleans LA

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 08:40:12 -0500
    From: C-NO <voxpop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  VALSE TRISTE YET AGAIN
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    A question was asked about the Boris Karloff version of Arch Oboler's "Valse
    Triste"
         Wasn't "valse triste" the theme for an old time radio show? which one?

    also elliott lewis was so much more than frank [removed] about MANHATTAN
    TOWER which was absolutely the greatest narration of all [removed](well i liked
    it a [removed]) to the extent that i memorized the whole narration when i was
    a kid. i listened to it so often the record started to play what was on the
    other side.
    chet norris

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

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 08:40:18 -0500
    From: david gerstel <dgerstel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  norman corwin

    hello,

    can anyone suggest where to find "free" radio programs of Norman Corwin
    programs?  I would like to listen to a few before committing to purchase.

    thanks

    david gerstel, montreal

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 08:43:54 -0500
    From: Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Pseudonyms

    An excellent resource for sorting out pseudonyms is the Copyright
    database at the Library of Congress
    ([removed]).

    Names will often be listed in the form "Joe Jones (pseud. of Jefferson
    Jehosephat, III)," as the registrant is required to give both names.

    Unfortunately for researchers in the OTR era, the online copyright
    catalogue was introduced effective 1978, and earlier works remain listed
    only in a card catalogue in Washington, which can be searched in person
    or by an LC staffer at considerable expense. Details are in Circular 23
    ([removed]), which is must reading
    before beginning a search.

    In the case of Sam Dann, his work for CBS Radio Mystery Theater would
    have been in the automated catalogue era, so the online catalogue may be
    helpful in answering Paul Evans's question. Unfortunately, as I write
    this, the catalogue is down. Maybe Paul can try later and let us know if
    San Dann was really John D. MacDonald.

    Art

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 11:10:48 -0500
    From: Udmacon@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Milton Cross

    To Art Funk: there was PLENTY of Milton Cross on this and last week's Met
    broadcast reruns. They were the "closings" of each act as well as the final
    curtain call.

    Great to hear ol' Milton [removed]

    BILL KNOWLTON: "Bluegrass Ramble," WCNY-FM ([removed]) Syracuse, WUNY ([removed])
    Utica; WJNY ([removed]) Watertown NY. On the web: [removed]. Sundays: 9 pm to
    midnight EST (since 1973)

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 11:10:56 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  This week in radio history 23-29 January

     From Those Were The Days --

    1/23

    1937 - In an article published in Literary Digest, Edgar Bergen
    mentioned that he made his dummy pal, Charlie McCarthy, the beneficiary
    of a $10,000 trust fund to keep him in serviceable condition and repair.

    1/24

    1930 - Ben Bernie (Benjamin Anzelwitz) began a weekly remote broadcast
    from the lovely Roosevelt Hotel in NYC.

    1942 - Abie's Irish Rose was first heard on NBC replacing Knickerbocker
    Playhouse. The program was based on the smash play from Broadway that
    ran for nearly 2,000 performances. Sydney Smith played the part of Abie.
    Rosemary Murphy was played by Betty Winkler.

    1/25

    1937 - NBC presented the first broadcast of The Guiding Light.

    1944 - The character, a black maid named Beulah and played by a white
    man, Marlin Hunt, aired for the first time on Fibber McGee and Molly.
    The spinoff, Beulah, became a radio series in 1945.

    1/26

    1947 - The Greatest Story Ever Told was first heard on ABC.

    1/27

    1931 - NBC introduced listeners to Clara, Lu 'n' Em on its Blue network.
    The show became the first daytime radio serial when it was moved from
    its original nighttime slot.

    1948 - Wire Recording Corporation of America announced the first
    magnetic tape recorder. The 'Wireway' machine with a built-in oscillator
    sold for $[removed]

    1956 - The CBS Radio Workshop was heard for the first time. This first
    broadcast featured Aldous Huxley narrating his classic, Brave New World.

    1/28

    It was on this night in 1940 that Beat the Band made its debut on NBC,
    with the Ted Weems band. Beat the Band was where listeners' questions
    were selected in the hopes of stumping the band. If a listener's
    question was chosen, he or she received $10.  The questions were posed
    as riddles: What song title tells you what Cinderella might have said if
    she awoke one morning and found that her foot had grown too large for
    her glass slipper? If the band played the correct musical answer, Where
    Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?, the listener lost.

    When Raleigh cigarettes sponsored Beat the Band, the listener who beat
    the band won $50 and two cartons of cigarettes ... Raleighs, of course.
    When the sponsor changed to General Mill's Kix cereal, if the listener
    beat the band, he/she won twenty bucks and a case of Kix cereal.

    1934 - As a result of a compliment paid on this day, by Walter Winchell,
    in his newspaper column; a local disc jockey began receiving several
    offers from talent scouts and producers. The DJ became known as the
    Redhead, adored by thousands in Washington, DC and, later, by millions
    across the country on CBS radio and TV. His trademark (strumming a
    ukulele and delivering down-home patter) endeared him to fans for many
    years. We remember the broadcasting legend, Arthur Godfrey. "I wanna go
    back to my little grass [removed]"

    Joe

    --
    Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 13:30:47 -0500
    From: Dave Parker <dave@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  WIXIE SHOWS

    Hi folks---I just tracked down Tony Caminita - one of the  original
    sound efx guys for the Lone Ranger,  Challenge of the Yukon, and
    Green Hornet. He's  -a really neat man long-since retired.  Tony
    shared this little gem of a boo boo I'd never heard before. Frank
    Russell said it on a Ranger in his patented "old man" voice."All you
    men who can ride a gun and shoot a horse -follow me!"

    Most of you know the mis-spoken lines attributed to Frank, but also
    to Gilly Shey and Ted [removed] lines were meant to be "All
    right Gents, get your guns up!" --But entered the airwaves as "All
    right guns, get your gents up-OK guns, get up your [removed] gents
    with guns, get up!  Aw hell, just SHOOT em".

    I believe it all except the "hell". George Trendle would have fired
    anyone who said that ON THE SPOT!  Truth to tell, there weren't many
    boo boos on those shows.  I was on 'em for 4 years and I never heard
    ONE mistake.

    If anyone out there in radio-land knows about any other on-air flub
    dubs from the WXYZ shows-please let me know.  I'm compiling them for
    my in-production video documentary on those fabulous old days.

    				hi yo silver

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 14:36:55 -0500
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Grandpa forsooth!

    Buck Saunders, speaking of "I'm My Own Grandpa," asks:

>     Does anybody else remember that record from that far back?

    Yup.  Not only do I recall the record, son, I was there -- many times --
    when Grandpa Jones or Homer and Jethro performed it onstage on the Grand Ole
    Opry at the Ryman Auditorium on Saturday nights or at WSM's Friday Night
    Frolics in Studio C at the National Life Building.  Some of us admit to
    being older than we look.  Of course, we were only kids then!

    Jim Cox

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #26
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