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

[removed] Digest				Volume 96 : Issue 346

Table Of Contents: 

	 Re: Yep, someone [removed]
	 Censored Radio (Burlesque), Amos 'n' Andy, Tom Bosley
	 Censored performers and shows
	 William Conrad
	 Amos and Andy
	 Tom Bosley show
	 Amos 'n Andy
	 Amos and Andy
	 Re:  Amos 'n' Andy
	 Old Time Radio Chat
	 Thanks for Baseball on OTR
	 Halloween OTR

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 11:03:35 -0500 (CDT)
From: shoshani@[removed] (Michael Shoshani)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Yep, someone [removed]
Message-Id: <m0v4r0J-000k2PC@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Length:       1113

> From: roy547@[removed] (Roy Trumbull)
> To: [removed]@[removed]
> Subject: Yep, someone [removed]
> 
> Mention of the Stan Freberg show reminded me of the evening
> a bunch of radio veterans were invited to the home of the
> late Walter Palmer in San Francisco for a meal. We were
> mostly soldering iron types. You knew you'd found the right
> place when you looked through the window at the front
> door and saw an amplifier on the stairs. There was a general
> lack of clear horizontal surfaces and then there was the
> matter of the snake in the living room. Walt always called
> them ribbons.
> Somehow the Freberg show came into the conversation after
> dinner and Walt dug out his copy of the two record set and
> put on "Bang Gunly - [removed] Marshall Steel". We sat there 
> listening and drinking our coffee but would chorus everytime
> we heard: "Yup, someone sure cut through that fence."
> 

Just as a clarification point, the sketch is "Bang Gunleigh, [removed] Marshall 
Field's".  And it is still hilarious. 

" 'Pedro'....is he Mexican?"
"No, senorita. Sweess.  Dees way we don' 'ffend nobodee."

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 12:13:27 -0400
From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Censored Radio (Burlesque), Amos 'n' Andy, Tom Bosley
Message-ID: <960922121326_107845340@[removed]>

Censored Radio/take 2:   Regarding performers who pushed the boundaries of
radio censorship:   Abbott & Costello came to radio from burlesque.   While
we remember them most for wordplay like "Who's on First," did any of their
material ever get slightly ribald on the air, as would befit their roots as
burlesque comics?   Dates?   Gypsy Rose Lee ended her days as a broadcaster,
hosting TV game and talk shows.   I know she made radio appearances during
the 1940s (including  Ken Robert's QUICK AS A FLASH) to promote her first
book, "The G-String Murders," which was made into the Barbara Stanwick film
"Lady of Burlesque."   Do any of her radio appearances survive?   What
programs, which dates?   How about Ann Corio?  Lon Clark remembers working
with her on radio.   How about Sally Rand?   (I met her years ago at the
World Science Fiction Convention in Kansas City, which she attended with her
high school classmate, Robert Heinlein.)   I would assume that radio
scriptwriters must have flirted with the boundaries of censorship when they
had guest stars like Gypsy, Sally or Ann (though of course Hollywood didn't
dare bill Gypsy Rose Lee under her famous stage name; she was billed under
her less controversial real name of Louise Hovick in her early film
appearances).
     Re AMOS 'n' ANDY:   The fast-talking con-man George "Kingfish" Stevens
quickly took over the spotlight on AMOS 'n' ANDY because it was easier to
built laughs around his character.   Amos moved into the backround because
Freeman Gosden doubled as both Amos Jones and the Kingfish, and it's hard for
an actor to continually play scenes with himself.  Also, Andy Brown's
penchant for "get rich quick" schemes made him an easy target for the
Kingfish.   Amos wanted to succeed through honest hard work.   As the saying
goes, "You can't cheat an honest man."
     I believe Tom Besley hosted THE SEARS RADIO THEATRE (or its successor)
during the late 70s or early 1980s.   The show had a different host for each
day of the week (including Vincent Price for their mystery/suspense/horror
night).   The series ran for at least a season under the sponsorship of Sears
Roebuck and continued for another season or so after Sears dropped the
sponsorship.          

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 11:26:11 -0400
From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Censored performers and shows
Message-ID: <960922112610_290487132@[removed]>

Mae West was banned from radio for fifteen years after her infamous "Garden
of Eden" sketch on the CHASE AND SANBORN HOUR, and Father Caughlin was banned
from the CBS airwaves in the early 1930s (and his magazine from the US Mails
in 1942).   What other performers were banned from the network airwaves, if
any.   I'm also looking for radio programs that pushed the radio boundaries
of the time, even if they seem tame by today's standards.   THE THIN MAN
comes to mind, and I'm sure Bob Hope and others must have pushed the limits
on some of their remotes from WWII military bases.   Does the Jimmy
Durante/Garry Moore "Jane Russell (boom boom)" exchange from CAMEL CARAVAN
survive?   If so, what's the date?  I know I've heard the JACK BENNY SHOW
routine about Veola Vonn and the fraternity pins but don't remember the date
of that broadcast (when the punchline was actually improved by the censor's
meddling. -- Anthony Tollin (SanctumOTR@[removed])

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 15:09:43 -0400
From: PDKinder@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: William Conrad
Message-ID: <960922150942_527600373@[removed]>

My sons and I have great fun picking out Conrad's voice on shows where he's
not credited, [removed], "Our Miss Brooks."  And, of course, one should never
forget his inspired performances on "Rocky and his Friends."  The man was a
genius.

Does anyone know whether Conrad ever wrote a memoir?  Did USC or UCLA make
him part of their oral history projects?  Did some bright PhD candidate ever
make a study of his career?  Surely, no Hollywood type cut across so much of
American cultural history between 1945 and 1980.

Besides Parley Baer, who from the great days of "Gunsmoke" is still alive?
 How can they be contacted?

A note to the great people who keep OTR tapes available to the (still)
listening public:  Keep producing the serial boxed sets, like those of
"Gunsmoke" Wireless used to sell.  How about a "Pete Kelly's Blues" set?

And finally, thanks to all of you who participate in this BB.  It's a
pleasure to find the digest in my EMail each day.

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 15:59:30 -0400
From: stevecap@[removed] (Steven Capsuto)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Amos and Andy
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>Hi. Here's something that has bugged me for years. Why did they call it 
>the Amos and Andy show? Amos is in the show so very rarely, it seems like 
>it should be called the Andy and King Fish show. Though I really liked 
>Amos ... whereas Andy was billed as something of an idiot, Amos seemed 
>like a really nice, friendly guy whom I would actually have liked to have 

As the years went on, the focus shifted increasingly from nice, reliable
Andy to the shifty, scheming Kingfish.  In part, I suspect, it's due to the
series' change in format from warm, serialized comedy/drama to outlandish
sitcom.  Kingfish offered more bizarre plot opportunities in the latter
format.  That left poor Amos fit only for bit appearances, though the
writers gave him more to do on serious occasions, like the annual Christmas
drama.

It's a shame, because he is the most likable character on the show, IMHO.
___
Steven Capsuto, Philadelphia
stevecap@[removed]
WEB page: [removed]~[removed]

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 16:04:04 -0400
From: stevecap@[removed] (Steven Capsuto)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Tom Bosley show
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>I can remember listening to a radio show back in the 80's that was a
>mystery show and was hosted by Tom Bosley.  It was a new time radio show. 
>Am I just crazy and have a bad memory? Or am I getting the CBS Radio
>Mystery Theater mixed up with it.

The production team from CBSRMT also produced THE GENERAL MILLS RADIO
ADVENTURE THEATER, which seemed targeted at boys between the ages of 10 and
17.  Since I fit that bill, at the time, I was a diehard listener.  Tom
Bosley was the host.

I think I still have a fuzzy recording of one of their shows somewhere:
Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped" (which the show retitled "Kidnapped at
Sea," for some reason) starring Kristoffer Tabori.
___
Steven Capsuto, Philadelphia
stevecap@[removed]
WEB page: [removed]~[removed]

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 14:52:53 -0500
From: Joe Salerno <jsalerno@[removed]>
To: "'[removed]@[removed]'" <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: Amos 'n Andy
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="---- =[removed]"

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Bruce Toews wrote: Why did they call it the Amos and Andy show? Amos is =
in the show so very rarely, it seems like=20
it should be called the Andy and King Fish show.

Yes, I [removed]

Originally Amos and Andy were the two main charachters in AnA, in fact, =
about the only two charachters if you listen to the earliest episodes. =
Later, after they went live in 1943, Kingfish moved to his prominent =
role because, frankly, he added more tension and interest to the story =
line. Amos was the straight man and Andy, being the dullard, needed =
someone to play against. You may have noticed that Amos & Kingfish =
appear together only briefly. That's because Correll played both roles. =
I also suspect that Correll may have prefered to play Kingfish as the =
role was more [removed]

Joe Salerno

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 16:56:46 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Amos and Andy
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Bruce Toews asks:
>Hi. Here's something that has bugged me for years. Why did they call it 
>the Amos and Andy show? Amos is in the show so very rarely, it seems like 
>it should be called the Andy and King Fish show. Though I really liked 
>Amos ... whereas Andy was billed as something of an idiot, Amos seemed 
>like a really nice, friendly guy whom I would actually have liked to have 
>gotten to know. Any thoughts?
>

Though I'm sure others will be answering this too, here is what I
understand. Originally the series involved the characters of Amos and Andy,
and of course, the series was titled appropriately. As time went on, the
character of Amos, played by Freeman Gosden, became somewhat stale and not
as interesting as some of the other characters - perhaps the character was
trapped in the model father, non-womanizer, unlike the single Andy, and the
scripting was not as exciting. Another Gosden character who had been heard
in the series, George "Kingfish" Stevens, was much more interesting and
provided for lots of laughs as he interacted with the usually foolish Andy.
Probably Kingfish was where they might have taken Amos but this way, they
could still use the characterization that was developed for Amos and still
get the other characteristics via Kingfish.

Anyway, Amos kind of faded as a character and Kingfish and Andy dominated
the series. I don't believe the Kingfish character was around from the start.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Widner                      INTERNET: jwidner@[removed]
Dayton, OH                      WWW: [removed]
COMPUSERVE: 74566,3041          
AOL: JimWidner                            

                                                 

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 18:50:02 -0300
From: "Stephen Moore" <moores@[removed]>
To: <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: Re:  Amos 'n' Andy
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

The Amos 'n' Andy show started out early on with just Amos and Andy.

The other characters developed as the program matured, and the Kingfish
just naturally upstaged Amos.  

In my opinion, there were more comic possibilities with a character such as
the Kingfish, than with the nice-guy Amos, and so Amos was upstaged.

This show is my favourite among the OTR shows.

In recent years I think that it has gotten a bad rap, and mostly undeserved
(IMHO).

There was a television special on about Amos 'n' Andy a couple of years
ago, that did a pretty good job of presenting a neutral case for the show.

In this day and age, two white guys playing black guys would never fly, but
given the fact that it was created in a different time, I can not hold that
against the show.

Yeah, the Kingfish was a rapscallion, and Andy was portrayed as dim-witted
by times, but to balance the other side, Amos was a fine religious man, who
looked after his family, and the cast of Amos 'n' Andy included black
doctors, lawyers and business men too.

I listen to OTR for enjoyment.  I enjoy Amos 'n' Andy! 

I suppose this has been debated here before.  I am giving my own opinions,
and I hope that others might share them.  I have had people look almost
aghast when I say I enjoy Amos 'n' Andy, but the same people have never
listened to one episode.  They are repeating some vague notion that they
have heard somewhere, about something they know nothing about.

In my opinion, Amos and Andy and yes, the Kingfish, are heros!

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 20:08:30 -0300
From: "Stephen Moore" <moores@[removed]>
To: <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: Old Time Radio Chat
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

The first evening for old time radio chat was successful!

There were only two of us there for most of the time, myself and Lois, and
I sure enjoyed the chat.  Lois worked in radio at a time that is important
to those of us who enjoy this list.

We chatted about many little things, including old time television.

At one point, a young man joined us for the wrong reason, but he at least
knew one OTR show. :) - War of the Worlds.

I will be there again if at all possible, this Thursday at 20:00 Eastern
time.  Perhaps that is a bit early for people on the west coast,  and
perhaps a bit later would be better?  Please write if you would like a
different time.

To clarify further, we were on EF-net.  If you don't know what that is, ask
your service provider for help.

It seems that OTR might not be a good name for a channel, but for now I for
one, will continue to use it.

I hope to meet more fans on OTR on Thursday!

==========================================
Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see. . . . . .

                            John Lennon

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 20:09:02 EDT
From: jjyellen@[removed] (James J Yellen)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Thanks for Baseball on OTR
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

	Thanks to all who answered my request and listed OTR shows with a
baseball theme. And thanks to Max for playing a baseball theme show on
his program tonight.
 	Is anyone familiar with the Jack Benny Show from 10/5/41 which
is described as Cast at Ebbets Field for World Series. Did they really go
to Ebbets Field? Does anyone have this show for an old Brooklyn Dodger
fan?
Jim Yellen

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 20:09:02 EDT
From: jjyellen@[removed] (James J Yellen)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Halloween OTR
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

	To the OTR fan who wanted suggestions for Halloween shows. How
about the episode of Jack Benny of 11/2/41 called Halloween Pranks. The
guest is Basil Rathbone.

Jim Yellen




--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #346
*******************************************

