Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #127
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 5/9/2006 10:18 AM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2006 : Issue 127
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Himan [removed]                        [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
      How to Dispose of OTR                 [ Dixon Chandler <dchandler65@earthli ]
      re: How to get rid of an OTR collect  [ Rodney Bowcock <pasttense_78@yahoo. ]
      re: How to dispose of a collection    [ Michael Kallam <michaelkallam@yahoo ]
      Tokyo Rose                            [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
      CBS                                   [ "Ryan O." <rosentowski@[removed]; ]
      Re:CBS                                [ Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed] ]
      "Golden Age of Radio" and "A One Ngh  [ "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed]; ]
      Re: How to Dispose of a Collection    [ <jeleasure@[removed]; ]
      Houdini                               [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
      Re: OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK - LIGHTS  [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
      Do you listen in color or black and   [ "David Ballarotto" <balla@earthlink ]
      William Bendix                        [ westernfan56@[removed] ]
      5-9 births/deaths                     [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 11:04:46 -0400
    From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Himan [removed]

    Nik commented on a generous donation by Himan Brown to a nurse's
    organization.  Brown was known not only as the creator of "Inner Sanctum"
    and many others of the OTR era, but the long-running "CBS Radio Mystery
    Theater", 1974-1982.  This show was old time radio produced in modern times.
    I have never discovered why that program was taken off the air in 1982.
    There were several attempts to revive it in re-runs.

    He also produced two fine series of post-OTR era programs for NPR that are
    not too well known:  "Americans All", and "We, the people."  Both are
    biographical/historical programs that ran during the United States'
    bicentennial year.

    Ted Kneebone / 1528 S. Grant St. / Aberdeen, SD 57401
    [removed]~stmarkch/
    Kids o/t New Century: [removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 12:06:51 -0400
    From: Dixon Chandler <dchandler65@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  How to Dispose of OTR

>     What to do with OTR on cassettes, and/or other formats when you no longer
>     need them?

    I'm facing the same question, as I've upgraded so many shows to MP3 and other
    formats, etc. and would like to thin out the herd somewhat.

    My ideas:

    1.  Public Library.  Don't know if they'd be bound by copyright restrictions,
    but I assume not, as our local does accept donations.

    2. Academic Research Center / University Library.  If you're in a university
    town, cataloging OTR could be a great project for some ambitious grad student
    (and I speak as a former ambitious grad student who did this).  I'd talk to
    somebody in the library's Collection Development Program and see if they're
    interested first.  They may simply not have the space to house such a
    collection.  BUT they could also give you contacts in various campus
    departments, which could in turn put you in touch with academics and
    researchers who might be interested in working with particular programs,
    specific genres, etc.  (DON'T be discouraged if you go this route;
    universities are usually fairly wound up in their own bureaucracies, and it's
    easy to feel lost in the run-around.)

    MY FAVORITE SUGGESTION :  Sr. Citizens' Center / ("Old Folks Home").  This is
    probably where I'll give mine when I get rid of my cassettes.  Talk to the
    director of the center there and see if they could use them - do they have a
    CD player, would they be interested in having a regular nightly program from
    cassette, etc.  Could bring back a lot of memories for the folks there.

    Just my suggestions ...

    -dc

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

    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 12:09:00 -0400
    From: Rodney Bowcock <pasttense_78@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  re: How to get rid of an OTR collection
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>     How do you put a price on an otr collection.
>     Any
>     suggestions. I know that at 76 I, or my wife, will be facing the same
>     dilemma some day, but I ain't not done yet.

      Many times libraries are interested in taking collections (or portions
    thereof) of radio show collections, and of course, most serious collectors
    are willing to purchase cassettes, especially if they low generation.  I know
    I am anyway.  If a show that a person likes is available in good sound, they
    may be willing to pay for it in order to upgrade episodes.

      You also may want to check and see if a local school for the blind would be
    interested in some of them if you're wanting to donate them, and retirement
    homes and nursing homes are good places to check as well.

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    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 13:07:11 -0400
    From: Michael Kallam <michaelkallam@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  re: How to dispose of a collection
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         May I suggest that those of you thinking about disposing of an OTR
    collection consider donating it.  Consider either your State Library for the
    Blind/Physically Disabled or a college or university that has a mass
    communications program or a popular culture major.  In either case, you might
    get a potential tax credit.  Other places to consider are nursing homes,
    Seniors Centers, and the local schools.
           For years in my role as Professor of Special Education, I have used
    OTR to teach reading.  In my approach it requires a transcript of the program
    and a knowledge level of what the learner's interests are.  (Readability
    level and motivation are closely aligned.)  I find that humor doesn't hold up
    because it is too topical in most cases and many listeners today do not have
    the cultural background to appreciate the humor.  However, adventure, crime,
    and various genres remain "theater of the mind" even today.  If you have an
    adult literacy program in your area, this may also be another worthwhile
    repository.
           No dumpsters.

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    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 15:10:59 -0400
    From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Tokyo Rose

    On Monday, May 8, 2006, at 11:06 AM, J. Alex West wrote:

>     Recently, I listened to two "Zero Hour" programs ... the one aired on
>     8/9/1945 (3 days after Hiroshima bombing, same day as Nagasaki bombing)
>     and one aired on 8/11/1945.  In the first show, Orphan Anne didn't make
>     a vocal appearance until about 20 minutes into the show.  Was this
>     woman
>     Iva Toguri or a last minute "stand-in" for her?  Or, did they have the
>     ability to rebroadcast a transcription of an earlier broadcast ...
>     making it seem like Iva Toguri was on the air when she was elsewhere?
>     As I understand it, it was around that time
>     when Ms. Toguri "took a powder" to marry a Portuguese man and NHK
>     didn't
>     know where she was.

    Her absence had little to do with her marriage to Felippe d'Aquino, a
    Portugese-Japanese pacifist who also worked at NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai)
    better known as "Radio Tokyo." They were married on April 19, 1945.

    The "Orphan Ann" portion of the "Zero Hour" never took up more than a
    third of it, most of which was utilized to play American records, with
    a little commentary by a woman our GI's called "Tokyo Rose." While Iva
    was the usual voice of "Orphan Ann," there were several other English
    speaking Japanese woman who took the mike on "Zero Hour." Iva began
    this role in November 1943. It was normally a daily show and Ruth
    Hayakawa usually did the Sunday version.

    Between April and May 1945, Iva missed many shows and other women
    (including Mieko Furuya and Mary Ishii) filled in for her. However in
    May 1945, when Denmark broke relations with Japan, Iva lost her paying
    job as a typist at the Danish embassy, so she had to return to her
    Radio Tokyo employment.

    Most serious scholars of this case (including me) are convinced that
    Iva was innocent of the treason charges that sent her to a federal
    penitentiary in 1949 and that her trial was a travesty of justice. This
    matter is too complicated to explain in detail in this forum, but I
    refer Digesters to one of the best books on the history of this case:
    "Tokyo Rose: Orphan of the Pacific" by Masayo Duus (translated into
    English by her husband, Peter Duus) and published by Kodansha
    International in 1979. An equally accurate, though shorter, version of
    Iva's history is an article in the October 2002 issue of "American
    History" magazine written by J. Kingston Pierce.

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    <[removed]>

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

    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 15:11:10 -0400
    From: "Ryan O." <rosentowski@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  CBS

    Well, that's one on me. I've been operating under the assumption that the C
    in CBS stood for Central. We were taught this in the seventh grade by my
    Critical Reading teacher. I remember this specifically because it was one of
    the earliest times I realized that I was interested in broadcasting.

    Guess that's what I get for trusting in the public schools.

    RyanO

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

    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 15:22:08 -0400
    From: Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re:CBS

    At 1:57 PM -0400 5/8/06, Ryan O. is rumored to have typed:

>     Well, that's one on me. I've been operating under the assumption that the C
>     in CBS stood for Central.

       I thought that as of 1974 CBS didn't stand for _anything,_ as the proper
    and complete corporation name became CBS, Inc.

             Charlie

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

    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 16:00:48 -0400
    From: "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  "Golden Age of Radio" and "A One Nght Stand
     with the Big Bands"

    The latest "Golden Age of Radio" programs with Dick Bertel
    and Ed Corcoran, and "A One Night Stand with the Big Bands"
    with Arnold Dean can be heard at [removed].

    Each week we feature three complete shows in MP3 format
    for your listening pleasure or for downloading; two "Golden
    Age of Radios" and one "One Night Stand." We present new
    shows every week or so. The current three programs will be
    available on line at least until the morning of  May 15, 2006.

    Program 42 - September, 1973 - Kenny Delmar

    Senator Beauregard Claghorn was a popular radio character
    on the "Allen's Alley" segment of "The Fred Allen Show".
    Senator Claghorn, portrayed by actor Kenny Delmar, was a
    blustery politician whose home was usually the first at which
    Allen would knock. Claghorn would typically answer the door
    with, "Somebody, ah say, somebody knocked! Claghorn's the
    name, Senator Claghorn, I'm from the south."

    Program 43 - October, 1973 - Jack Pearl, Peter Donald, Will
    Jordan

    This program was recorded at an OTR convention in New
    Haven, Connecticut, where we were fortunate enough to
    run into three generations of comedians who spent much
    of their careers in radio.

    "A One Night Stand with the Big Bands" With Arnold Dean

    Cab Calloway - March, 1974

    One of the premier entertainers in Jazz is Cab Calloway. Cab
    was raised in Baltimore, he moved with his family to Chicago
    while in his teens and studied at Crane College. His first stage
    appearance was in the Plantation Days show at the Loop
    Theatre. During the early '20s he worked briefly with his
    sister, Blanche Calloway.

    In the 1970's WTIC decided that there was a market in
    the evening for long-form shows that could be packaged
    and sold to sponsors. Two of those shows were "The
    Golden Age of Radio" and "A One Night Stand with the
    Big Bands."

    Dick Bertel had interviewed radio collector-historian
    Ed  Corcoran several times on his radio and TV shows,
    and thought a regular monthly show featuring interviews
    with actors, writers, producers, engineers and musicians
    from radio's early days might be interesting. "The Golden
    Age of Radio" was first broadcast in April, 1970;  Ed was
    Dick's co-host. It lasted seven years. "The Golden Age
    of Radio" can also be heard Saturday nights on Walden
    Hughes's program on Radio Yesteryear.

    Arnold Dean began his love affair with the big band
    era in his pre-teen years and his decision to study
    the clarinet was inspired by the style of Artie Shaw.
    When he joined WTIC in 1965 he hosted a daily program
    of big band music.  In 1971, encouraged by the success
    of his daily program and "The Golden Age of Radio"
    series, he began monthly shows featuring interviews
    with the band leaders, sidemen, agents, jazz reporters,
    etc. who made major contributions to one of the great
    eras of music history.

    Bob Scherago
    Webmaster

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

    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 16:52:26 -0400
    From: <jeleasure@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: How to Dispose of a Collection

    The question was:

>     ... but who wants a large collection on cassette these days? How do dispose
>     of a man's collection of 30 years, rent a dumpster and junk it?  How do you
>     put a price on an otr collection?

    My suggestion:  Check with the local public library about donating the
    collection.  They may want it and could provide the information for making a
    tax deductable contribution.  Also if there is a university library close,
    these are the places I would start.  If nothing is available locally, try to
    contact Bowling Green University in Ohio (it is near [removed] not
    Spain)as they have an extensive communications archive in their library and
    might be interested  They hold the Proctor & Gamble material from radio and
    early TV.

    Good Luck.

    John Leasure

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

    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 19:39:08 -0400
    From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Houdini

    David K. Bialik asks if there are any radio interviews with Houdini.  Well,
    not exactly.  Houdini died in 1926.  I don't know if he ever appeared on
    radio or not, but if he did it wasn't recorded, as virtually nothing on
    radio at that time was recorded.  But, on 10/31/36 there was a broadcast
    seance attempting to contact him in the Beyond of which a recording does
    survive.  Needless to say his voice does not appear on the recording (I say
    "needless to say" because if there was an undisputed appearance of Houdini
    in the seance we would have all heard about it by now). Does anyone know if
    there are any (non-radio) recordings of Houdini's voice?  There is plenty of
    silent film footage, but I can't recall ever hearing a recording of his
    voice.

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

    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 19:43:16 -0400
    From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK - LIGHTS OUT

     > HERITAGE RADIO THEATER

>     LIGHTS OUT FANTASIES
>     (NBC)    Summer, 1945 (Probably 9/20/45)   "Rocket Ship"    Arch
>     Oboler.

    Actually, this isn't a Lights Out episode at all. It's an episode of
    Arch Oboler's Plays with a Lights Out opening grafted on to the
    beginning.

    The play aired as "Rocket from Manhattan" on the September 20, 1945
    episode of Mutual's Arch Oboler's Plays. Oboler later used it on his
    1970s syndicated series, The Devil and Mr. O. But it never aired on
    Lights Out.

    To add to the confusion, earlier in that summer of 1945, NBC aired a
    series called Fantasies from Lights Out, a brief revival of Willis
    Cooper's less gruesome mid-1930s Lights Out scripts.

    On July 28, 1945 (about two months before Oboler's "Rocket from
    Manhattan"), NBC aired an episode of Lights Out by Cooper under the
    title "The Rocket Ship." The announcer of the previous week's Lights
    Out describes it by saying, "Next week's play will deal with
    interstellar rockets and, although written ten years ago, will be
    fresh and timely today."

    The false LO opening and the nearness of the air dates has led
    Oboler's "Rocket from Manhattan" to be confused with, and frequently
    mislabeled as, the Lights Out episode "The Rocket Ship."

    Meanwhile, the Library of Congress claims to have a recording of
    Cooper's "The Rocket Ship" from July 28, 1945. Which means, I'm
    guessing, that the episode exists but is not in circulation. Is
    anybody planning to rescue this "lost" Lights Out episode from
    obscurity?

    Incidentally, every source I looked at calls the Oboler episode
    "Rocket from Manhattan" but a Mutual ad I saw in the September 20,
    1945 Walla Walla Union-Bulletin gives it a slightly different title:

    A futuristic jump into the year 2,000 is made by Arch Oboler in
    presenting "Rocket to Manhattan" . . . at 7:00 [removed] Thursday

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

    Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 19:43:33 -0400
    From: "David Ballarotto" <balla@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Do you listen in color or black and white?

    When you're listening to a radio show, are the mental images in your head
    in color or black and white? For me, it depends on the show, and not
    necessarily based on whether or not there was a TV version. "X Minus One"
    is, for whatever reason, a show I see in black and white.   Jack Benny is
    usually  but not always in color.  Edgar Bergen is always in color, Fibber
    McGee and Molly and "Gildersleeve" are  black and white.  "My Favorite
    Husband" and "My Friend Irma" are in color, but "Gunsmoke" is in black and
    white.

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

    Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 01:10:26 -0400
    From: westernfan56@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  William Bendix
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    Hi All,
    Today I learned something very interesting.  I have a coworker named Linda
    Bendix.  I asked her in passing, had she ever heard of a William Bendix.  She
    looked surprising at me and said that was her great uncle.  It was her
    father's brother.  Her father is dead a long time, and she said she really
    didn't know about him, and other than Car 54, Where Are You, she hadn't seen
    him prior to that.  She was a little girl at that time.  Does anybody have
    any other information about him on radio and early TV, pictures, etc?  I
    printed a bio for him at [removed] to give to my friend.  Linda said she would
    ask her mother about him, and that her mom would definitely remember him.
    Small world, huh?
    Linda in NYC

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    Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 01:10:34 -0400
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  5-9 births/deaths

    May 9th births

    05-09-1860 - James M. Barrie - Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland - d.
    6-19-1937
    author: "Great Plays"
    05-09-1887 - William P. Adams - Tiffin, OH - d. 9-29-1972
    actor, announcer: Uncle Henry "Collier's Hour"; Uncle Bill "Let's
    Pretend"
    05-09-1895 - Richard Barthelmass - NYC - d. 8-17-1963
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    05-09-1898 - Edith Meiser - Detroit, MI - d. 9-26-1993
    writer: "Life and Love of Dr. Susan"; "The Shadow"; "Sherlock Holmes"
    05-09-1901 - Fuzzy Knight - Fairmont, WV - d. 2-23-1976
    actor: "Screen Guild Theatre"
    05-09-1908 - Leonard Sillman - Detroit, MI - d. 1-12-1982
    producer: "New Faces of 1948"
    05-09-1911 - Harry Simeone - Newark, NJ - d. 2-22-2005
    arranger, choral director: "The Fred Waring Show"; "Columbia Presents
    Corwin"
    05-09-1912 - Rupert Pray - d. 2-xx-1973
    writer: "Forever Ernest"
    05-09-1914 - Hank Snow - Liverpool, Novia Scotia, Canada - d. 12-20-1999
    country singer: "Grand Ole Opry"
    05-09-1918 - Mike Wallace - Brookline, MA
    announcer, actor: "Spike Jones Show"; Flamond "Crime Files of Flamond"
    05-09-1919 - Eddie Manson - d. 7-12-1996
    harmonica player: "They Shall Be Heard"
    05-09-1923 - Byron Kane - Vermont - d. 4-10-1984
    actor: "Gunsmoke"; "Broadway is My Beat"; "Escape"
    05-09-1923 - Connie Russell - NYC - d. 12-18-1990
    vocalist: "The Dave Garroway Show"
    05-09-1930 - Joan Sims - Laindon, Essex, England - d. 6-28-2001
    actor: "Round the Horne"; "Stop Messing About"
    05-09-1936 - Glenda Jackson - Cheshire, England
    actor: Stevie Smith "Stevie"; Guest Panelist "[removed]"

    May 9th deaths

    01-20-1878 - Finlay Currie - Edinburgh, Scotland - d. 5-9-1968
    actor: John H. Watson "BBC Home Theatre"
    01-20-1894 - Harold Gray - Kankakee, IL - d. 5-9-1968
    cartoonist: Creater of "Little Orphan Annie"
    02-13-1906 - Pauline Frederick - Gallitzin, PA - d. 5-9-1990
    newscaster: "News of Tomorrow"; "Pauline Frederick News"; "Second
    Sunday"
    02-15-1908 - Hartzell Spence - Clarion, IA - d. 5-9-2001
    writer: "Cavalcade of America"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    03-03-1907 - Canada Lee - NYC - d. 5-9-1952
    actor: "New World A' Coming"; "Lest We Forger"; "The Free Company"
    03-15-1905 - Nat Perrin - New York - d. 5-9-1998
    writer: "The Marx Brothers"
    05-05-1912 - Alice Faye - NYC - d. 5-9-1998
    singer, actor: "Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show"
    05-18-1892 - Ezio Pinza, Rome, Italy - d. 5-9-1957
    singer: "Telephone Hour"; "Ezio Pinza's Children Show"; "Stagestruck"
    07-10-1889 - Graham McNamee - Washington, [removed] - d. 5-9-1942
    announcer: "Fleischmann Hour"; "Fire Chief"; "Treasury Hour"
    07-20-1910 - Bill Goodwin - San Francisco, CA - d. 5-9-1958
    announcer, actor: "George Burns and Gracie Allen Show"; Johnny
    Fletcher "Johnny Fletcher"
    09-10-1915 - Edmund O'Brien - Brooklyn, NY - d. 5-9-1985
    actor: Johnny Dollar "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar"
    10-30-1923 - Hershel Bernardi - NYC - d. 5-9-1986
    actor: "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar"
    10-31-1926 - Shirley Dinsdale - San Francisco, CA - d. 5-9-1999
    ventriloquist: Judy Splinters "Judy in Wonderland, The Eddie Cantor
    Show"
    11-09-1895 - George D. Hay - Attica, IN - d. 5-9-1968
    host: (The Solemn Old Judge) "Barn Dance"; "Grand Ole Opry"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Birthplace of Mitchell Ayres

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #127
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