Subject: [removed] Digest V01 #60
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 2/22/2001 7:42 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                          The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                             Volume 01 : Issue 60
                       A Part of the [removed]!
                               ISSN: 1533-9289

                               Today's Topics:

     More on Kenny Baker                  ["Susan Olson" <susolson@[removed];  ]
     Re: The Clicquot Club Eskimoes       [Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed]]
     Groucho & YBYL on Radio and TV       ["David H. Buswell" <dbuswell@rivnet]
     FW: "Lost" Shows                     [[removed]@[removed]        ]
     Re: maybe a little more on kenny bak ["Susan Olson" <susolson@[removed];  ]
     Larry Stevens was Dennis Day's Repla ["Susan Olson" <susolson@[removed];  ]
     Kenny Baker and Movies               ["Susan Olson" <susolson@[removed];  ]
     Kenny Baker/Larry Stevens            [JackBenny@[removed]                  ]
     Stevens not Baker                    ["General Manager" <genmanager@radio]
     Even more on the "magic eye"         [Bill Harris <billhar@[removed];    ]
     Remember WENN                        [Bill Harris <billhar@[removed];    ]
     Old Radio Records                    ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
     Baker/Day                            [Udmacon@[removed]                    ]
     Glamor Manor                         [Udmacon@[removed]                    ]
     Another Sorry Wrong Number question  ["Bob Watson" <crw912@[removed]; ]
     tubes                                ["Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed]]
     Don McNeill                          ["Richard Pratz" <[removed]@home]

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 15:47:09 -0500
    From: "Susan Olson" <susolson@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  More on Kenny Baker

    Jell-o again, folks,

    Last time my post was based on fact about Kenny's move off the Jack Benny
    show.  Now, here's my SPECULATION on what might have REALLY taken place:

    Being a young 26-year-old father with a wife and a one-year-old daughter and
    a two-year-old son at home, and working on two radio programs a week, along
    with a hand-full of films, I can just envision his wife saying "You quit one
    of those radio programs RIGHT NOW and spend some time with your family."
    Being a devoted family man and not wanting to jeopardize his new family by
    getting too caught up in the radio/movie "machine," one had to go, and he
    stayed where he could make the most $$ for his family (Texaco Star Theater).
    Of course, unless we could talk to Kenny's wife, we may never know if that
    is what "went down."

    Best Regards,
    Susan
    kennybakerfan@[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 18:06:31 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: The Clicquot Club Eskimoes

    Bill Murtough recalls,

>     How about Harry Reser and his Cliqout Club Eskimos
>     direct from their igloo near Nome, Alaska?

    Coincidentally, I was just looking thru an issue of "New York Radio
    Program Weekly" (6/23/27, to be exact) which contains a rather detailed
    first-hand description of this landmark program:

    "'The Clicquot Club Dog Team Express with its Arctic passengers the
    Clicquot Club Ginger Ale Eskimoes, is on time! And this in spite of many
    stops along the icy trail!'

    "Graham McNamee was speaking before his microphone, in E Studio of WEAF,
    located in the American Telephone and Telegraph Building at 195 Broadway.
    As he finished his announcement the Eskimoes struck up the familiar
    dog-trail march and for a few moments we were chilled by the frequent
    crack of the dog-whip, the jangle of the sleigh bells, and the hoarse
    bark of the huskies as they mushed their way over the icy trail. It was
    so realistic that we shuddered as we looked at Eskimo Tom Starks, the
    drummer. He had his collar open.

    "As the last bark of the dog died in the distance, McNamee dashed back to
    his microphone. 'The Siberian Chamber of Commerce,' he said, "boasts that
    there is no thermometer that will register the temperature of Vladivostok
    -- but the Eskimoes can overcome [removed] so the number 'Vladivostok'
    will be played scornfully. Kick in, boys!'

    "And the boys 'kicked in.' Even McNamee was affected. He stood before the
    orchestra keeping time with a pencil, with the gum he was chewing, and
    with an odd swing reminiscent of the Black Bottom."

    Although the Eskimoes had started out as an all-banjo ensemble, by the
    time of this article they were a nine-piece dance band, made up of Harry
    Reser, lead banjo and guitar, fellow banjoists John Kali, Mike Iucci, and
    Billy Carlino, pianist Bill Wirges, violinist Murray Kellner (aka Kel
    Murray), saxophonist Larry Abbott, tubaist Morris Black, and drummer Tom
    Starks.

    The selections performed on this particular broadcast give a real taste
    of how widely varied the music could be on these early network shows:
    opening with the Russian-themed "Vladivostok," the Eskimoes then
    presented the ballad "I Haven't Told Her, She Hasn't Told Me," the
    Spanish march "Sorella," the Reser banjo solo "Dawn of Tomorrow," a
    bizarre medley of "Song of the Volga Boatmen" and "Me and My Shadow," a
    violin solo "From The Cotton Fields," the low-down "Yellow Dog Blues"
    followed by Haydn's "Gypsy Rondo," the pop tune "If You See Sally," and
    the minstrel number "Darkies' Jubilee." Then followed a small group
    number, with Reser, Wirges, and Kellner combining on "My Hero," which led
    directly into the full orchestra's version of "Kansas City Blues." Two
    more pop selections, "A Little Smile, A Little Kiss" and "She's Got It"
    followed, before the final selection "March of the Gladiators" led into a
    reprise of the "Clicquot March" and the end of the program. That's what
    radio was all about in 1927 -- something for just about every musical
    taste.

    There were no commercial announcements within the program -- only
    McNamee's opening and closing billboards, and the constant mention of the
    Clicquot Club Eskimoes -- which of course reminded the listener of the
    company's "Eskimo Boy Holding A Giant Bottle of Ginger Ale" trademark.
    (The Eskimo Boy was quite familiar here in New England -- the company was
    based in the Boston suburb of Millis, and its products were still
    available thruout the region well into the 1970s.)

    Although the Eskimoes were on the air on and off into 1936, no broadcast
    recordings have ever surfaced. More than a decade after the program was
    last heard nationally, Reser reappeared for Clicquot Club over the Yankee
    Network for a regional series, which was also distributed to a few
    stations by recorded syndication. I've never encountered any of these
    discs, but they may be out there. Reser and the Eskimoes made a number of
    recordings for Victor in the late twenties which capture the unique sound
    of this fun little orchestra -- but hopefully someday recordings of an
    actual early broadcast will surface.'

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 18:08:23 -0500
    From: "David H. Buswell" <dbuswell@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Groucho & YBYL on Radio and TV

    If anyone is interested in the subject of Groucho Marx and his "Your Bet
    Your Life" program on radio and Tv, may I suggest you get a copy of "As Long
    As They're Laughing" by Robert Dwan. It's published by the Midnight Marquee
    Press (2000) of Baltimore and the ISBN is 1-887664-36-X.  The LofC catalogue
    number is 105415.  Price is $20.

    I won't go into the substance of the book because its voluminous, but the
    author was one of the producer/directors of both the radio and TV versions.
    If you'd like some real first-hand insight into Groucho and both modes of
    the program, get it!

    Dave

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 18:08:21 -0500
    From: [removed]@[removed]
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  FW: "Lost" Shows

    After spending the last six months building a fairly extensive
    OTR collection up from nothing - I sometimes wonder how so many
    shows have been preserved.  I know many have been retrieved from
    people who where connected with the shows - either guests or
    studio crew.  However I do wonder how many shows are available
    only because a private individual recorded them off-air.  Let me
    explain the sort of thing I mean :-

    In the UK, we used to have a very long running TV Series called
    "Doctor Who".  It has been out of production for a few years, but
    in it's heyday it was extremely popular.  It started in the early
    60's and many of the episodes still exist in the BBC vaults.
    However the BBC in their infinite wisdom decided to trash many
    other episodes, as they needed the storage space in the 70's.
    This was just before the home entertainment industry of VCR's
    arrived - they simply thought there would never be any call for
    them.  Since then, they have gradually released almost all of the
    remaining episodes on video and have extensively searched the
    world for any copies of the "Missing" shows.  Whilst many have
    been returned from previous overseas sales, some shows do not
    exist at all.  However a couple of private individuals recorded
    the soundtracks of these shows during the original broadcast.
    After being ignored for quite a long time, the BBC have finally
    woken up to this and have retrieved these audio recordings and
    have been releasing them on cd.

    The point of the above ramble is that the world would not have
    the opportunity to enjoy these shows if it hadn't been for those
    illicit recordings.  I wonder how this compares to the world of
    OTR and also I suppose to early US TV.  Are there similar stories
    of shows "Missing" in this way, that have magically surfaced due
    to a single person's efforts ?  If so, how did they manage this ?
    Given the age of these recordings, they must have been extremely
    advanced to make their own recordings at that time.  Also are
    there discoveries still taking place ?  Could there be complete
    undiscivered collections just waiting for someone to fall over
    them - even now when OTR is much higher profile with the rise of
    mp3 and the internet ?

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 18:08:19 -0500
    From: "Susan Olson" <susolson@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: maybe a little more on kenny baker

    Leonard Fass leonardfass@[removed]  wrote:

>     it is a fact that (on ABC) there was a morning or maybe afternoon m thru
>     fri comedy program called glamour manor. the star was cliff arquette.
>     unless it was kenny baker. was kenny baker even on that show. this could
>     have beeny of the 1940*s. does anyone remember?

    Kenny Baker was indeed MC, star and "proprietor" of that "Grand Hotel" every
    weekday morning on ABC in 1946-1947.  Regulars were Sam Hearn as
    "Schlepperman," Barbara Eiler as "Barbara," and Don Wilson as announcer.
    Cliff Arquette continued to make appearances on the program after Kenny took
    over the show in 1946.

    Susan
    kennybakerfan@[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 18:08:44 -0500
    From: "Susan Olson" <susolson@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Larry Stevens was Dennis Day's Replacement

    Larry Durham LDunham509@[removed] wrote:

>     I hope I'm thinking of the right person, but I seem to recall someone

    saying

>     here a while back that Baker was never intended to be a permanent, long
>     term vocalist, but was simply filling in for Dennis Day while he was away

    in >the military service.

    That person was thinking of Larry Stevens, who was hired as a replacement
    for Dennis Day while Dennis served in the military.  Kenny Baker was tenor
    vocalist on The Jack Benny Show from 1935-1939.  When Baker left the show in
    1939, Dennis Day auditioned and got the part ("Yes, Please.")  Baker never
    replaced Dennis, he was PRE Dennis Day.

    Susan
    kennybakerfan@[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 18:09:00 -0500
    From: "Susan Olson" <susolson@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Kenny Baker and Movies

    David Martin <dbmartin@[removed]; wrote about Kenny Baker's leave from the
    Jack Benny Show:

>     I think he left to make [removed]

    Although Kenny Baker was indeed starring and co-starring in films at the
    time, he stayed quite busy in radio throughout the 40s, including "Texaco
    Star Theater" with Ken Murray and then Fred Allen, "Blue Ribbon Town," "Blue
    Ribbon Time," and hosted "The Kenny Baker Show" and "Glamour Manor." After
    he left the Benny program he also co-starred on Broadway with Mary Martin in
    "One Touch of Venus" and was in great demand as a concert singer.  Although
    his name may not ring a bell to most in this day and age, he was a very
    popular singer of popular songs in the 30s and 40s.  Radio Guide reader
    polls can attest to that.  One that I have shows Kenny Baker coming in
    second in popularity only to Bing Crosby (hey, what can ya say?).

    Best,
    Susan
    kennybakerfan@[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 18:09:23 -0500
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Kenny Baker/Larry Stevens

>     I hope I'm thinking of the right person, but I seem to recall someone
>     saying here a while back that Baker was never intended to be a permanent,
>     long term vocalist, but was simply filling in for Dennis Day while he was
>     away in the military service.

    You're thinking of Larry Stevens, who filled in while Dennis was in the
    military.  Kenny Baker was a tenor that preceded Dennis, and became extremely
    popular in his own right.  The gist of why he left was over salary (insert
    favorite Benny cheap joke here).

    We have a more extensive article on Kenny slated for the next issue of "The
    Jack Benny Times".

    --Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 18:46:34 -0500
    From: "General Manager" <genmanager@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Stevens not Baker

    Larry Dunham wrote:

>     I hope I'm thinking of the right person, but I seem to recall someone
>     saying here a while back that Baker was never intended to be a permanent,
>     long term vocalist, but was simply filling in for Dennis Day while he was
>     away in the military service.

    You're referring not to Kenny Baker but instead to Larry Stevens, who was
    Dennis Day's replacement on the Benny program while Day was in the service.

    Harlan Zinck
    First Generation Radio Archives
    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 19:16:13 -0500
    From: Bill Harris <billhar@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Even more on the "magic eye"

    For anyone who may be interested in the technical side of how the tuning
    eye works, I suggest the following web page:
    [removed]~[removed]

    Bill Harris

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 19:16:16 -0500
    From: Bill Harris <billhar@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Remember WENN

    Michael Biel had this to say about "Remember WENN"

>     As the series wore on it became evident that the writers had little

    knowledge

>     of what really went on in radio

    Agree completely, I only watched a few episodes and this show was
    probably the farthest thing from an accurate portrayal of a radio
    station of that era. I found the plots to be over acted and silly at
    best.

    Bill Harris

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 19:42:43 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Old Radio Records

    Russ Butler, reminiscing about what he did as a kid, on visiting the Big
    Apple, recalls,

>     [In]NYC, the discount record stores there in the late-1940's just had
>     bins of used and "radio station" (white label- "not to be sold - for
>     broadcast only") vinyl 78's which were so much better quality.  I
>     remember buying 12 for a dollar - all the recent top hits - maybe $5
>     worth and bringing a boxfull back home to Boston.

    Reminds me of something I hadn't thought of for years.  When I was in
    college in the mid-1950s, it was in New York, and I, too, perused the
    record bins.  I got one extremely interesting 45 RPM disk (and why 45?
    beats me).  It was apparently some sort of interview for local music
    stations.  It started with a Hawaiian personality saying "Hello,"
    followed by a significant length of silence.  Then this personality said
    something that was apparently the response to some question, then more
    silence, and so on.  Eventually, he said something on the order of
    thanking "you" for the conversation, and signing off with a big "Aloha!"
    The only thing I can think of was that a local disk jockey had a script,
    so that it would seem to the listeners that the person on the record was
    being interviewed in the DJ's studio.  Never ran into the like again.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 19:45:36 -0500
    From: Udmacon@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Baker/Day

>     I seem to recall someone saying here a while back that Baker was never
>     intended to be a permanent, long term vocalist

    No, that was Larry Stevens. Dennis Day succeeded Kenny Baker

    BILL KNOWLTON

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 19:46:19 -0500
    From: Udmacon@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Glamor Manor

    Quoth Leonard Fass:

>     it is a fact that (on ABC) there was a morning or maybe
>     afternoon m thru fri comedy program called glamour manor. the star was cliff
>     arquette. unless it was kenny baker. was kenny baker even on that show. this
>     could have been of the 1940*s. does anyone remember?

    Indeed Kenny Baker was not only ON "Glamor Manor," he was its star!

    I can remember eating my peanut butter and lettuce sandwich during my
    noontime lunch break from St. Joan Of Arc School and listening to this show.
    Kenny always opened it singing a few lines of "There's A Small Hotel."

    It was pretty bigtime; orchestra, audience and regular cast.

    Now we have to settle for "The View" I guess.

    BILL KNOWLTON: "BLUEGRASS RAMBLE," WCNY-FM: Syracuse, Utica, Watertown NY
    (since 1973) Sundays, 9 pm est: [removed]

    ..other lunchtime goodies included "Grand Slam," Helen Trent, Big Sister,
    Wendy Warren & the News, Our Gal Sunday, and Ma Perkins (you'd hear all of
    them if you were "lucky" enough to be home [removed])

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 21:13:39 -0500
    From: "Bob Watson" <crw912@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Another Sorry Wrong Number question

    Welsa wrote in asking about the Sorry, Wrong Number script that seems to be
    a one woman show.  Unfortunately, I have no answers for that, but it has
    prompted me to write in about something else that has come to my attention
    in the past couple of weeks.

    For years, I have heard about the east coast broadcast of the first time SWN
    was broadcast and that there was a studio error at the end of the show.
    Recently, I found a website that stated it had both east and west coast
    versions for listeners to enjoy.  I thought, "Hot Dog!  I finally get to
    hear the east coast broadcast!"  I was disappointed to hear that the
    broadcast offerred by the website sounded like it was the west coast version
    with the last few seconds edited to sound to maybe duplicate the error, or
    maybe it was edited and that the actual last few seconds was actually the
    east coast broadcast tagged onto the end of the west coast broadcast.  I
    simply figured that whoever provided this version to the website made an
    error and thought that this was indeed the actual broadcast.  But a week or
    so ago, on this very digest, (Digest #46 by OTRChris@[removed]) I saw that
    Suspense was more than likely not rebroadcast to the west coast during the
    time that SWN was first broadcast.  My question is this:  Was there a
    special rebroadcast of SWN to correct the goof for west coast listeners???
    Or was maybe a transciption used and the majority of the broadcast  the same
    as what went out over the east coast with only the studio error corrected.
    I'm very curious, because the west coast version of SWN's first broadcast
    was the very, very first OTR show I ever purchased, and as such, listened ad
    nauseum to it until just about ever gasp Agnes Moorehead uttered in that
    broadcast is forever etched into my brain.  I was just wondering if the
    fellow whose website I visited got an edited west coast broadcast by mistake
    or if there is some other explaination.

    Thanks,
    Bob

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 22:09:22 -0500
    From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  tubes

    Those of us who actually had to work with them don't miss tubes one bit.
    They were noisy, hot enough to bake every other component in the set, they
    broke, they became microphonic, they were expensive even when they were the
    only technology available, they required a minimum of a 200 watt power
    supply, and the very fact that they were installed in sockets testified to
    their inherent unreliability.  Nobody was sorry to see them disappear in
    1970--I certainly wasn't.

    The old radios are fascinating from a historical standpoint.  It's
    fascinating to see how things were done with the technologies then
    available, but you're not missing anything if you listen to OTR through
    solid-state electronics.

    The restoration of an old radio is a rather tricky business and always
    expensive.  That's because most of the insides must be replaced because of
    age: every capacitor, every high-value resistor, and as many of the coils as
    can be managed must be removed and replaced by new components which look
    reasonably authentic.  My friend Brad Torelli was a master at this, and he
    charged accordingly.  I could get an old radio working again, but I just
    repaired--I didn't restore, and something else was likely to fail again
    fairly soon.  When I realized this, I stopped repairing tube equipment of
    any type.

    I mention this because there is a certain amount of hobby activity in the
    old radio business, and there are some shady operators engaged in it.  The
    appropriate newsgroup is [removed]+phono. Some good and some
    not-so-good people have participated therein: there were some antique
    dealers with whom I'd prefer not to associate who used to do a lot of
    advertising there.

    My own feelings are that by listening to OTR on the highest fidelity
    equipment available we honor the artists and engineers who produced the
    shows.

    M Kinsler

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

    Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 23:25:46 -0500
    From: "Richard Pratz" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: "OTR (Plain Text Only)" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Don McNeill

    I enjoyed reading Russ Butler reminiscing about the live radio and TV shows
    he saw growing up, as well as the "listening rooms". Growing up in the 40's
    & 50's in Chicago, I recall one store in the "Loop" that had listening
    booths, but they frowned on us kids spending too much of our day in them.
    They wanted to sell the 78's and discouraged us from just spending the
    afternoon listening for free! I saw a few radio & TV shows as a kid, but a
    lot of it depended on the taste of my folks. After all, they drove the
    [removed] I just tagged along. The program I remember seeing the most was
    Don McNeill's Breakfast Club, 1933-68. If my memory serves, he broadcast
    from the Merchandise Mart.  But again, I just tagged along in whatever
    direction my folks pointed me. I went to many of McNeill's broadcasts and
    always felt strange. Why? Because the studio audience was comprised mostly
    of women, all wearing hats (and some with white gloves) as was the fashion
    back then. We sat on metal folding chairs and I (a mere boy) had to crane my
    neck to see what was going on past all those darn hats!  Listening at home,
    I had visions of Don and the gang sitting around a real breakfast
    [removed] especially when they "marched around the breakfast table". I
    was disappointed to see it was actually  just a largish metal black table
    with two boom mikes over it. No ham and [removed] scripts, cups of coffee
    and ashtrays.  I remember all the running gag jokes about the size of
    McNeill's [removed] fullness of the studio orchestra when it struck up a
    [removed] the women loved Johnny [removed] we all howled at Aunt
    Fanny (Fran Allison) in full costume, and gag man Sam Cowling. "Fiction or
    Fact from Sam's Almanac". This is an excellent opportunity to ask about
    Cowling. Anyone out there know what became of him or more about his career
    other than The Breakfast Club? I can't find him listed in any of my OTR
    source material.  I was also impressed with how willing all the "gang" were
    to sign autographs.  Wish I still had mine. And I was struck how everyone in
    that studio actually prayed at prayer time!  I peeked, and saw most all eyes
    were closed and heads were bowed as Don [removed]"Each in his own word, each
    in his own way, bow your heads and let us pray".  Wonder how well praying
    would go over in an audience participation show today (are there still
    any?). There would  probably be demonstrators outside the studio objecting!
    McNeill was a "God" in [removed] elsewhere around the country too I
    presume.  Is there anywhere on the net I can listen to his show again? What
    was the name of his theme song? Anyone else have memories of seeing live OTR
    shows?

    Rich

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #60
    ******************************************

    Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
      including republication in any form.

    If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
       [removed]

    For Help: [removed]@[removed]
    To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

    For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
      in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

    To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

    To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]