Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #269
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/10/2003 7:21 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 269
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Hi Yo Silver                          [ "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed] ]
      Re: Shadow of Fu Mchu; Radio Spirits  [ SanctumOTR@[removed] ]
      War of the Worlds on WKBW             [ Ronald Plumb <ronplumb@[removed]; ]
      GIlderleeve                           [ William Brooks <webiii@[removed]; ]
      Booze by phone                        [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      racist language                       [ Michael Berger <intercom1@attglobal ]
      COUNTERSIGN                           [ Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed]; ]
      WWII broadcasts online.               [ "[removed]" <ddunfee@[removed]; ]
      drinking comedy                       [ "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed]; ]
      The Source of "the Sauce"...          [ Wich2@[removed] ]
      Dan Rather                            [ William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed]; ]
      Rexall and Rio                        [ Richard Carpenter <sinatra@ragingbu ]
      Lee Munsick regrets he's unable [removed]  [ Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed] ]
      Og, Son of Fire trivia                [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      The Hitch-hiker                       [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Re: "The Big Broadcast"               [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Joy La Fleur                          [ "Marcus Antonsson" <[removed] ]
      Part 15                               [ "Arte" <arte@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:08:18 -0400
    From: "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Hi Yo Silver

    Sandy Singer commented in bulletin 266 about "Hi Yo Silver", as used by The
    Lone Ranger actor George Seaton in the first programs that began in 1933.
    I, for one, was not there, nor do any recordings of programs from this time
    exist, so I can't state positively what is true and what is not.  However,
    this version of how the famous call originated is a new one that can be
    added to the half-dozen or so that already exist in various accounts of the
    origin of the program.  Supposedly, according to Trendle himself, and Dick
    Osgood, the call was a variation of "Heigh Ho", the English hunting call.
    I'm a little skeptical of George Seaton's version in that the Ranger was
    supposed to already be in the saddle when he cut loose with this, rather
    that replace a simple, "Here, Silver", or a whistle.  Certainly, none of the
    other versions I have heard or read suggest that the Ranger used the phrase
    without already having gained his saddle.
    As to just who is heard calling, "Hi Yo Silver" on the later radio programs
    and on television, Brace Beemer did do his own calling after taking over the
    role when Earle Graser was killed in an auto accident in 1941.  (The very
    first shows may be an exception).  When the program was added to television,
    George W. Trendle insisted that Earle Graser's version be used on the
    soundtrack because he liked it better.  (Graser once entered a nightclub
    contest with Horace Heigt as emcee to see who in the audience could call "Hi
    Yo Silver" best.  He didn't even make the runoff!)
        The voice of Clayton Moore was not used on TV, as he never really got it
    down right.  Later in the series, which began in 1949 and lasted until 1956,
    if you listen carefully, and on the syndicated versions, which don't use the
    original opening, you'll hear the voice of Fred Foy!
    And yes, "Hi Yo Silver" was used as a password by American troops, who could
    also hear the program over AFRS.

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:14:55 -0400
    From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Shadow of Fu Mchu; Radio Spirits

    In a message dated 7/8/03 9:49:35 PM, Rick Keating writes:

>     I wondered if anyone knew if this was the
>     same storyline available from Radio Spirits a few
>     years ago, and if so, whether it's complete.

    ***Actually, the "Shadow of Fu Manchu" collection was released by the
    Minneapolis-based Metacom, not Radio Spirits. --Anthony Tollin***

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:15:03 -0400
    From: Ronald Plumb <ronplumb@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  War of the Worlds on WKBW
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Does anyone have a copy of the WKBW version of The War of the Worlds? I was
    in Buffalo at the time of the original broadcast and have mentioned it to
    several friends, telling them how good it was. They seemed skeptical that it
    could be as good as the original and would like them to hear it. It used to
    be available for listening on the Internet but it disappeared. Please let me
    know if you have a copy and what you want for it.

    Ronald Plumb

    Please visit my website -

    [removed]

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

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:15:20 -0400
    From: William Brooks <webiii@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  GIlderleeve

    Bill Schell,

    According to Dunning's book Gildersleeve ran from August 31, 1941 to
    March 21,1957.
    1941 to 1946 airing Sunday at 6:30 pm.
    1946 to 1954 airing Wednesday at 8:30 pm
    There was a schedule change beginning in 1954 where the show went to
    a 15 minute format,
    weeknights at 10:15pm
    In 1955 the show went back to a 25 minute format, aired Thursdays at
    8pm until March 21 1957.

    Further checking shows that on June 6, 1954 a show about "Getting Rid
    of Aunt Hattie" aired and was the last show of he season and he last
    show sponsored by Kraft. The show re-appeared in the fall in the 15
    minute format with various sponsors.

    There is no show theme that shows Bronco and Marie in a spat, however
    4-7-54 has Bronco taking French lessons and Marie getting jealous;
    and 4-14-54 Bronco brings his young attractive boss home for dinner
    and Marie gets interested. Both plot lines could end up in Marie and
    Bronco having a spat.

    Hope this info helps you,

    Bill Brooks

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:15:53 -0400
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Booze by phone

    Jim Widner proxied:

>     i remember a old comedy sketch about a drunk ordering booze over the
>      [removed] as i recall about 5 5ths of bourbon, 5 5ths of [removed]
>      any idea who, what,where and when?

     I think that's a scene from the Marx Brothers' movie "Horse Feathers", where
    Chico is taking an order over the phone in the back room of a speakeasy.  He
    brings out the bottles while on the phone to confirm the stock.  After
    hanging up, he places funnels in the bottles and proceeds to fill them both
    up with hooch from the same barrel.

     There may be another, but that's what immediately comes to mind for me.

     Swordfish,
     Laura Leff
     President, IJBFC
     [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:16:22 -0400
    From: Michael Berger <intercom1@[removed];
    To: otr <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  racist language

    Howard Blue makes a good point.  The best book about the Pacific war, John
    Dower's War Without Mercy, documents not only the racism on both sides, but
    the atrocities on all sides on the battlefield.

    I grew up during WW2 and remember vividly how Japanese were portrayed in the
    war films of the era as evil beasts, in contrast to Nazis who came across as
    brutish and threatening, but never as fearsome as the Japanese stereotypes --
    who were almost always played, by the way, by Korean or Chinese actors.

    On radio, apart from the stereotypes, the ugly word Jap was used commonly,
    not only in dramatic shows but on newscasts, before and during the war.
    Again, this was in sharp contrast to references to Germans, who were almost
    always "Nazis" or just "Germans".

    Most importantly, we must always remember that whatever the actions of the
    imperial Japanese army, racist language and thinking had the greatest impact
    of all on those 100,000 Japanese Americans who were wrongly uprooted and sent
    to internment camps in 1942.  They are the ones who know best of all how ugly
    racist language is, and what tragic results it can trigger.

    Michael Berger

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:16:32 -0400
    From: Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  COUNTERSIGN

    In WWII, unit leaders, at night, in the darkness, would shout
    Hi-yo-Silver, to round up their troops.

    [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:18:24 -0400
    From: "[removed]" <ddunfee@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  WWII broadcasts online.

    The below is the body of a posting on a radio related newsgroup, some might
    find interesting:

                            World War II - The Wireless War

    Humanity's Greatest Achievement / Greatest Nightmare

    [removed]

    World War II - The Wireless War features approximately 55
    chronological hours of newscasts, breaks, speeches, documentaries, and
    so forth in order.

    The historical value of these broadcasts is immense. While they don't
    always offer the exact facts of the battles and politics, as they were
    created in the ultimate fog of war, they do offer an unmatched view of
    the of the conflict in near-real time - explaining why as well as who,
    what, when, where, and how.

    As time goes on, I want to pare down some of the redundant material,
    as well as adding fact corrections and an analysis of the role of the
    various media (radio, newspapers, movies, newsreels, and literature).

    If you have any comments, suggestions, resources, or can help me
    produce some additional audio or web material, please feel free to get
    in touch with me at the link in my website (available via the
    Broadcaster's Website link on my station page).

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: Remember that [removed] uses javascript, cookies, and other
    methods to track your movements for advertising purposes. Surf safely.
    --cfs3]

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:19:18 -0400
    From: "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  drinking comedy

    On July 7 OTR wrote

>     something as i recall about 5 5ths of bourbon, 5 5ths of
>     [removed]
>     any idea who, what,where and when?

    The duo was Hudson and Landrey.  Where, I don't know but they only had I
    think two albums out.  Kurt

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:20:35 -0400
    From: Wich2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Source of "the Sauce"...

    From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];

>     Received this query today. If anybody knows the answer, please contact the
>     sender directly:

      Done.

>      >i remember a old comedy sketch about a drunk ordering booze over the
>     [removed] as i recall about 5 5ths of bourbon, 5 5ths of [removed]
>     any idea who, what,where and when?

       It is, of course, Hudson &Landry's "Ajax Liquor Store". It was second only
    to The  Toothfairy as an AM comedy smash in my area in the late 60's. And it
    is quite hilarious- the punchline nearly killed a Roman Catholic friend of
    [removed]

     Best,
     Craig Wichman

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:21:13 -0400
    From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Dan Rather

    A few days ago there were some comments about Dan Rather's reporting on
    the assasination of President Kennedy in Dallas in 1963, referring to him
    as a CBS newsman, Not so at that time. That day I was in rehearsal for
    the nightime "Garry Moore Show" origination from CBS Theater studio 50,
    on Broadway in New York City. On our cue monitor was our network coverage
    of the procession in [removed] did not have a staff newsman in Dallas at
    that time so they used Dan who worked for our local [removed] did such
     a fine job under such difficult circumstances that CBS News subesquently
    hired him

    I got to know him  when we were both assigned to Nixon's pre-inaugural
    headquarters for a  lengthy period of time on a dailty basis. He would
    later regularly stop in my control room to say hello on his arrival in
    the newsroom. His signature on my retirement card took up both sides . A
    fine chap. One in a million!	Great memories! Before I knew him he was
    assigned to our Washinton facility.

    Bill Murtough

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:21:20 -0400
    From: Richard Carpenter <sinatra@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Rexall and Rio

       While vacationing on Canada's Prince Edward Island,
    I bought some spring water -- and to my surprise it
    was labeled Rexall, with the familiar script. I ran to
    my radio to see if this meant that the show Rexall
    sponsored, Amos & Andy, was on the air again. Alas,
    the time warp extended only to the bottle.

       On another topic (and forgive me if this has
    already been mentioned; I'm still catching up on my
    Digests), I notice that my beloved Rio Volt is no
    longer available at the Rio website. That does not
    augur well; I wonder if Rio is no longer making what,
    in my experience anyway, is a fine MP3 player for OTR
    discs. The Volt is still available at some online
    stores, however.

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:21:51 -0400
    From: Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Lee Munsick regrets he's unable [removed]

    Hello to all!  I have been off line and out of commission for weeks.  My
    PC was attacked by at least 22 bugs, worms, viruses, whatever,
    apparently when a lightning strike interfered with my Anti Virus
    program.  Then we think I got hit with a Klez, and it just snowballed
    from there.   Every time a techie friend and I thought we'd solved the
    problem, it just came back with a vengeance!

    Virtually every program in my computer was compromised and infected.  I
    have had to replace my processor, mother board, power supply, and hard
    disk.  Virtually every program including Windows, Earthlink, Norton,
    etc., etc.  In effect, I now have a new computer inside the old box.

    In the interim, I have lost weeks of OTR Digest, and dozens of Emails
    from friends and spams alike (just goes to prove that "every cloud has a
    silver lining").  I am now wading through nearly 300 which I did not
    lose, but which backed up in the system , mostly Spam.   I've also lost
    my Address Book which I will have to build up in time, so please help me
    out.

    If I have missed anything that readers feel I should know about, please
    do send to me directly, especially Email directed to me which I should
    read and to which I should respond.

    Finally, if I passed on any viruses, my sincere regrets.  It was
    certainly not intentional, and occurred because my anti-virus program
    was infected and I did not know it.

    Happy Summer to all, including Charlie!

    Bestus, Lee Munsick     Still at:  leemunsick@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 16:08:32 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Og, Son of Fire trivia

    Small bit of trivia since the subject of OG, SON OF FIRE has been discussed.
      (Surprised no one brought this up).

    Although a variation on a theme, a recreation performance of OG, SON OF FIRE
    can be seen dramatized on a stage in front of radio microphones, in one of
    the early scenes of George Lucas' RADIOLAND MURDERS in 1994.

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 16:09:20 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Hitch-hiker

    Al Cohen asked:

>     Some time ago a contributor noted the broadcast dates of Lucille Fletcher's
>     "The Hitchhiker."  Does anyone have that information readily at hand.  I
>     suspect the original broadcast was in 1942 with a non-sponsored second play
>     a year later and a play in 1946 or 1947 with Pabst Blue Ribbon as the
>     sponsor.

    Yes.  The story was first dramatized on SUSPENSE on September 2, 1942
    starring Orson Welles.  Bernard Herrmann composed and conducted the music -
    Herrmann was the real-life husband of writer Lucille Fletcher.

    A month later, on October 15, 1942, Welles reprised the same role in another
    dramatization of the same script, for THE PHILIP MORRIS PLAYHOUSE.

    On June 21, 1946, the script was dramatized again on Orson Welles' THE
    MERCURY SUMMER THEATER ON THE AIR, a half-hour anthology series featuring
    many of the scripts Welles used on previous programs, and abridged versions
    of hour-long scripts he used on previous programs.  Alice Frost was among
    the cast in the 1946 production.

    I have heard two of these productions and I can say that the 1946 version is
    the creepiest.  Recommended listening.
    Martin Grams, Jr.
    Source of info: McFarland's RADIO DRAMA: AMERICAN PROGRAMS, 1932-1962

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 16:47:51 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

       From Those Were The Days --

      7/11

    1944 - The Man Called X, starring Herbert Marshall, debuted on CBS.

    7/12

    1934 - The first appointments to the newly created Federal
    Communications Commission were made. The governing body of the American
    broadcasting industry was first served by seven men named as commissioners.

      Joe

    --
    Visit my homepage: [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 17:59:26 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: "The Big Broadcast"

    On 7/10/03 3:23 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     I know this may sound like sacrilege, especially since Jim Cox et. al.
>     have been compiling  and posting the essential OTR bibliography here on the
>     Digest, but sometimes "The [removed]" leaves me wanting. I still refer to it with
>     great regularity & even keep  a paperbound copy of it at-hand at work, but,
>     IMHO, I feel it better suited the needs of the OTR hobby in 1972 than it does
>     today.

    Nothing sacreligious about this at all -- "Big Broadcast" was all that
    was readily available when I became interested in OTR in the mid-1970s,
    and it served a purpose then. But it's long since been superseded by more
    accurate, more detailed research undertaken by others, and there's
    nothing wrong with that -- the work of documenting history is
    progressive, after all.

    My big problem with "Big Broadcast" is you never quite know where the
    information comes from. Do those cast listings come from original source
    materials -- scripts, production documents, contracts -- or are they
    someone's twenty-or-thirty-years-after-the-fact reminiscence about who
    they think they remember playing a part, or are they (least reliable of
    all) pure conjecture based on someone trying to do voice ID from
    surviving recordings. Or are they a combination of all of these? The
    trouble is, we don't really know -- and if you can't judge the reliablity
    of the specific sources used, it's difficult to know how much you can
    rely on the finished work. All the more reason why it really bugs me to
    see "Big Broadcast" cast listings lifted verbatim and used in other works
    without acknowledgement or correction: for example, the sketchy,
    error-tainted "Amos 'n' Andy" cast listing from Buxton/Owen has been
    plagiarized all over the web, and it was obviously Dunning's primary
    source.

    Of course, "Big Broadcast" was never intended to be a tool for serious
    research into broadcasting history. It was, like most all the OTR books
    of the 1960s, a casual nostalgia book written more for trivia buffs than
    for historians -- and if you keep that limitations in mind, much of the
    commentary in the book can still be quite entertaining. For my money, the
    foreword by Henry Morgan is worth the price of the entire volume.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 17:59:53 -0400
    From: "Marcus Antonsson" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Joy La Fleur

    Hi Gang,
    Today I listened to a suspense episode titled "celebration" (05/05/1957). It
    stars Joy La Fleur, who gives a magnificent performance. In his introduction
    to the show, Bill Robson who was the producer at that time, says that this
    is ms. La Fleur's debut on American radio but that she is well known to
    Canadian and British listeners. I'd love to hear more shows with her and
    also to find out more about her life and career. I did a google search, and
    hardly found anything at all.
    Any help is greatly apreciated.

    Regards from Sweden!

    Marc Antonsson

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

    Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 20:30:34 -0400
    From: "Arte" <arte@[removed];
    To: "otr digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Part 15

>     Sigh.  I think every kid who could solder in the 1950's and '60's tried
>     this
>     at least once.  I did, with little success.  The FCC's 'general radiation'
>     or whatever it's called will maybe get you next door, but intermittently

    at

>     that.

    I was one of those "kids with a soldering gun" in the 50's. I built a
    transmitter in my bedroom
    that on a good day could reach the living room. (I also built a crystal-type
    receiver using a razor blade
    that actually worked, but that's another story.)

    In the late 70's I operated a part-15 radio station out of my home in an
    Eskimo village in Northern Alaska.
    The trick was to use a weatherproof housing to hold the RF sections of the
    transmitter on the roof so that
    my antenna system would be legal. The audio circuits, turntable, tape
    player, etc. were in our living room.
    I played mostly old radio shows and gospel music. Almost the entire village
    (pop ~600) could pick up the
    station on 1000KHz.

    The biggest problem I faced was being taken seriously by people outside the
    village. I wrote to Jim Bakker
    offering to air the radio version of the "PTL Club" for free if he would
    provide the tapes on an exchange basis.
    They wanted me to pay them $10 per program, so that never happened. I
    carried no advertising, but did have
    PSAs and occasionally personal messages for people out hunting or fishing.
    There were no phones in the houses
    in those days, but it was extremely gratifying to visit someone's home and
    hear my station coming out of their radio.

    Arte
    [removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #269
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