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[removed] Digest				Volume 96 : Issue 274

Table Of Contents: 

	 The passing of another of the greats
	 Stan Freeberg
	 Rudy and ETs
	 Chicken Heart?
	 EZ listening, Spike Jones, and Gershwin
	 Ellery and Helen

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Date: Wed, 7 Aug 1996 15:33:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bruce Rudesill <lranger@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: The passing of another of the greats
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Being a lazy sort of cuss I've waited patiently all week for someone to
say a few kind words about Claudette Colbert who passed away last week.
Since no one else has, I guess it's up to me.

Although not generally associated with OTR, Claudette made numerous
appearances on Lux Radio Theatre at least. If for no other reason, she
deserves mention here as one of the stars of the Golden Age that produced
not only the best years of the movies but also the best years of radio.

Her career spanned the better part of three decades. She appeared in a
number of excellent movies with some of the best leading men in Hollywood.
"Without Reservations" with John Wayne, "Drums Along the Mohawk" with
Henry Fonda, "The Palm Beach Story" with Joel McCrea and Rudy Vallee,
"It's A Wonderful World" with Jimmy Stewart, "Midnight" with Don Ameche and
John Barrymore and of course, "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable.

So let us acknowledge the loss of another of the greats. We won't see their
kind pass this way again.

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Date: Wed, 7 Aug 1996 19:15:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: k4lhb@[removed] (Thom Gooding)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Stan Freeberg
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

After some discussion of Stan Freeberg (SP?) on this forum, I noted on the
news that today was his 70th birthday and that he still plans to publish
another vol of the History of the US.  Any info on date of publication
(release)?

Thom, W8HBN

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Date: Wed, 7 Aug 1996 19:12:20 -0500
From: Joe Salerno <jsalerno@[removed]>
To: "'OTR LIST'" <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: Rudy and ETs
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Does anybody out there have any early Rudy Vallee material they would =
like to trade? I rather enjoy hearing very early OTR programs and =
variety programs, early '30s. "Fleischmann Hour", "Magic Key" are =
examples.

Along those same lines, I have in my collection a 16" transcription on =
the Walter Biddick label (a [removed] talent agency, I believe). Does anybody =
know why a talent agency made radio programs? For audition purposes or =
broadcast? It's a rather simple program with minimal sound FX. The title =
is "Let's See Your Driver's License" and it is single face, 1 15-minute =
program. Label is typed but the record itself is pressed on shellac, =
thicker than a typical '30s [removed]

Mike Biel formerly with the Library of Congress told me it is probably =
vintage of the early '30s at the [removed]

If anybody knows about this I would appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks, Joe Salerno
jsalerno@[removed]

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Date: Wed, 7 Aug 1996 22:17:08 -0500
From: vintage@[removed] (Andy Blatt)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Chicken Heart?
Message-Id: <v01540b00ae2f0bfa9e8f@[[removed]]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I have an lp called "Drop Dead - an exercise in horror!" from Arch Oboler.
It's out of print.  It contains "Chicken Heart" and some other "bits".  No
doubt, Bill Cosby is referring to this in his comedy routine.  He's about
60 years old, so he probably remembers much of the middle years of oldtime
radio.

Still looking for a transcription disc (non-playable) either glass or aluminum.

Andy Blatt
vintage@[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 8 Aug 1996 03:28:24 -0400
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: EZ listening, Spike Jones, and Gershwin
Message-ID: <960808032821_594477420@[removed]>

Ecclectic, ain't I?  As for the question earlier about easy listening music
being supplied by a music house strictly for such stations, it's true and
false.  I used to work for such a station (WEZV, [removed] Fort Wayne), and we
were owned by a small corporation based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan.  There
were certain tracks that were from our "custom music library" ([removed], you
couldn't hear them on any station other than those owned by our corporation),
and some were commercially available.  Bonneville (in Pennsylvania, I think?)
was probably the biggest easy listening supplier, and they too had "custom
music" along with commercially available stuff.  Depending on the year and
the supplier, you might hear Mantovani, Frank Black, Frank Chacksfield, Percy
Faith, or any of a number of other orchestras.  I grew up with easy listening
(specifically WOOD FM, stereo [removed];  hail Bruce Grant!!!), and have always
had a soft spot in my heart for [removed] though I'm only 27.  I'm sorry to
see that most stations have phased out of it.

As for Spike Jones--and I'm sure a lot of people will respond to this--he did
"All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)" with a vocal by George
Rock.

And I'll add my applause for the Gershwin CD.  I've had the vinyl issue of
that for years.  I believe that a recording of a 1916 piano roll of "Rialto
Ripples" is included as well;  most of you would recognize it as being the
Ernie Kovacs theme.  It might interest Jack Benny fans to know that Don
Wilson is the announcer on the "Music by Gershwin" shows.  I've also found
that there seems to be a very high correlation between a love of Jack Benny
and a love of George Gershwin (count me in on that statistic).  Good stuff!

--Laura Lee
International Jack Benny Fan Club

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

Date: Thu, 8 Aug 1996 12:59:08 -0400
From: DiReilly@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Ellery and Helen
Message-ID: <960808123526_174195457@[removed]>

This is my first post to OTR so I hope I don't make a complete fool of
myself. I've been listening to OTR for several years, especially with the
recent availability of the Shadow and Green Hornet tapes in bookstores, so
this list is a sight for sore ears. <g> I also listen to "new-time radio"
drama, mostly the science fiction/horror shows by the Atlanta Radio Theater
Company.

Anyway, I have two questions:

1. Does anyone know whether there was ever an Ellery Queen radio series? I
know there were several tv shows and movies over the years, but I've never
read anything about a radio series. 

2. This question is fairly obscure, even for me, but I was reading Helene
Hanff's *Underfoot in Show Business* which covers the late 30s to early 60s
on various topics of writing, theater, tv, even radio in New York. She was
discussing her friend Maxine Stuart and how the ideal parttime job for an
actress was a role on a radio soap opera. Maxine only hit it big once. "For a
halcyon thirteen weeks she was Caroline, the female menace in the Romance of
Helen Trent," before she was finally diagnosed as a rare form of Rocky
Mountain fever which she could cure only by moving to Switzerland for several
years. Hanff also describes Maxine's attempts to understand radio hand
signals, like for speeding up and slowing down during a performance. So I was
wondering, does anyone know anything about this? Was "Helen Trent" a weekly
show or what? 

(As you can see, although I've listened to OTR a bit, I'm not too familiar
with how it actually worked back then.)

Diana Reilly
DiReilly@[removed]
[removed]




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End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #274
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