------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2007 : Issue 223
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Thanks y'all. [ "Bob Watson" <crw934@[removed]; ]
8-1 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
cast satires of series [ Chargous@[removed] ]
#OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig [ charlie@[removed] ]
re: About MP3's [ kittersmom@[removed] ]
RE: Chesterfield "2 way cigarettes" [ "Stewart Wright" <stewwright@worldn ]
Shot from [removed] [ <SS01002@[removed]; ]
Hi and Norman [ mmartini@[removed] ]
long runs on TV [ "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed] ]
Re: Two-way cigarettes [ Michael Hayde <mikeh0714@[removed]; ]
RE: About MP3's [ "Kirby, Tom" <Kirby@[removed]; ]
"Dragnet" vs. "Broadway is my Beat" [ "origami" <origami@[removed]; ]
2-Way Cigarettes [ "origami" <origami@[removed]; ]
Boston Blackie [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
An interesting find! [ "RadioAZ@[removed]" <radioAZ@bas ]
A new book [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 02:09:46 -0400
From: "Bob Watson" <crw934@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Thanks y'all.
Thanks to all who have answered my posting. But I guess I should have been
a little more specific in the direction I was wanting to go. Many posters
assumed, and rightly so after I reread my post, that I was asking about
years on radio as opposed to years on TV. I apologize. I think it goes
without saying that most radio shows that tranferred to TV lasted longer
than their TV counterparts. No, what I was initially looking for was how
many radio shows were still on the air AFTER their TV counterparts had bit
the dust. I must admit, my mindset was simply on comedy or drama series.
[removed]
And this is the wonderful thing about this [removed]
each poster brought his own spin to this post and I have learned some great
things. And been reminded of some things I had forgotten.
Thanks again, I'm enjoying the reading.
Bob
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 02:09:54 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 8-1 births/deaths
August 1st births
08-01-1812 - Herman Melville - NYC - d. 9-28-1891
author: "Columbia Workshop"; "Favorite Story"; "World's Greatest Novels"
08-01-1898 - Caesar Petrillo - Chicago, IL - d. 11-22-1963
orchestra leader: (Brother of James C. Petrillo) "First Nighter"
08-01-1904 - Eli Mintz - Lemberg, Austria - d. 6-8-1988
actor: Uncle David "The Goldbergs"
08-01-1906 - Judd McMichael - Minneapolis, MN - d. 10-30-1989
singer: (The Merry Macs) "Bing Crosby Show"; "Fred Allen Show"
08-01-1910 - Alice Frost - Minneapolis, MN - d. 1-6-1998
actor: Pamela North "Mr. and Mrs. North"; Martha Jackson "Woman of
Courage"
08-01-1910 - Jerry Mann - NYC - d. 12-6-1987
singer: (The Jerry Mann Voices) "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round"
08-01-1910 - Walter Scharf - NYC - d. 2-24-2003
music director: "Phil Harris and Alice Faye Show"
08-01-1911 - Fora Campbell - d. 11-6-1978
actor: Jean Forbes Lambert "Brave Tomorrow"; Janice King "Strange
Romance of Evelyn Winters"
08-01-1912 - Ronnie Kemper - Missoula, MT - d. 2-16-1997
bandleader: "Ronnie Kemper"; "Horace Heidt Orchestra"
08-01-1915 - Bela Kovacs - Youngstown, OH - d. 8-xx-1985
actor: Prince Baccarritti "Space Patrol"
08-01-1918 - Bill Shipley - Ottawa, KS
announcer: "The Jimmy Dorsey Show"; "Look Your Best"
08-01-1923 - Carol Teitel - Brooklyn, NY - d. 7-27-1986
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
08-01-1926 - Meg Randall - Clinton, OK
actor: "Screen Director's Playhouse"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
August 1st deaths
01-29-1923 - Paddy Chayefsky - The Bronx, NY - d. 8-1-1981
writer: "Theatre Guild On the Air"
03-20-1915 - Sviatoslav Richter - Zhitomir,Russia - d. 8-1-1997
classical pianist: "Boston Symphony Orchestra"
05-25-1927 - William "Rosko" Mercer - NYC - d. 8-1-2000
disc jockey, announcer: CBS Network
06-11-1905 - Harry Marble - Brownville, ME - d. 8-1-1982
newscaster: "CBS News of the World"; "The World Today"
07-30-1911 - Richard Louis Ables - d. 8-1-1997
composer, musician: Woody Herman Orchestra; Charlie Barnet Orchestra
09-19-1913 - Frances Farmer - Seattle, WA - d. 8-1-1970
actor: "Pursuit of Happiness"; "Hollywood Hotel"; "Suspense"; "Lux
Radio Theatre"
09-24-1903 - Stu Wilson - Chicago, IL - d. 8-1-1991
actor: "Quiz of Two Cities"
10-03-1881 - George Moran - Elwood, KS - d. 8-1-1949
comedian: (Two Black Crows) "Majestic Theatre of the Air"; "Eveready
Hour"
11-28-1904 - Jane Ellen Ball - d. 8-1-1999
woman's programming: WJAS Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
xx-xx-1879 - William J. Cameron - Hamilton, Canada - d. 8-1-1955
commentor for the philosophy of Henry Ford: "Ford Sunday Evening Hour"
xx-xx-1931 - John Bower - Dares Salaam, Tanzania - d. 8-1-2005
actor, singer: Appeared often in British radio plays
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 02:10:16 -0400
From: Chargous@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: cast satires of series
I think it's hilarious to hear a cast send-up of a series; I know of three
offhand; The Guiding Light "Who's the Father?", the Gunsmoke one, and a Red
Ryder satire. Were there any others?
I've heard two out of the three - I want very much to find a quality copy
of the Guiding Light satire and am willing to trade for it. It sounds by
the Goldin description to be hilarious!
Travis
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 10:08:49 -0400
From: charlie@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Night!
A weekly [removed]
For the best in OTR Chat, join IRC (Internet Relay Chat), StarLink-IRC
Network, the channel name is #OldRadio. We meet Thursdays at 8 PM Eastern
and go on, and on! The oldest OTR Chat Channel, it has been in existence
over nine years, same time, same channel! Started by Lois Culver, widow
of actor Howard Culver, this is the place to be on Thursday night for
real-time OTR talk!
Our "regulars" include OTR actors, soundmen, collectors, listeners, and
others interested in enjoying OTR from points all over the world. Discussions
range from favorite shows to almost anything else under the sun (sometimes
it's hard for us to stay on-topic)...but even if it isn't always focused,
it's always a good time!
For more info, contact charlie@[removed]. We hope to see you there, this
week and every week!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 10:08:55 -0400
From: kittersmom@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: About MP3's
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Trina,
The quality of the MP3's I have encountered in the past is not good, but
there is a company that is remastering the shows and the quality is [removed]
Try going to [removed].
Hope this helps!
jo
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 10:09:34 -0400
From: "Stewart Wright" <stewwright@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: RE: Chesterfield "2 way cigarettes"
Rob asked:
When William Conrad did the Chesterfield plugs,
he mentions 2 way cigarettes. Google searches come up
empty on that phrase.
I believe that "2 way cigarettes" was referring to that the fact
that Chesterfield offered their cigarettes in Two Lengths: Regular and
King-size.
Signing off for now,
Stewart
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 10:17:04 -0400
From: <SS01002@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Shot from [removed]
It made me wonder how such an ad could have appealed to the public
back then. Was it the image that such an act brought to their minds?
Surely, the voracity of such a statement came into question at some
point. Cereals can't be shot from guns as we know them, can they?
My kidhood memories resonate with Sunday afternoons and watching Gabby
Hayes pouring a scoop of wheat down the mouth of a canon then turning to
the camera to warn us all to stand back from our "televisionary sets"
because "here comes Quaker Puffed Wheat!"
Actually wheat and rice WERE shot from guns. Do a Google search for
Alex P. Anderson, [removed] "Puffed Wheat Anderson"
In a life filled with strange and interesting details, Anderson
developed a technique for breaking down the starch in rice and wheat
grains and thus "puffing" them by about a factor of 8 by sealing
them in a large "gun" and subjecting them to intense heat and pressure.
In Anderson's tests, the "gun" was actually a large drum that was
super-heated with the mouth covered. When the proper time and
temperature were reached, the mouth was opened and "the kernels flew
around the room."
Anderson showed off the invention at the St. Louis World's Fair in
1904 and it became something of a hit as a novelty AND caught the
attention of an executive of the Quaker cereal company. Quaker company
thought Anderson's process showed great promise - at the time cereal
was considered 'health food' - and after aquiring the rights they
spent a considerable amount of money advertising the product to the
Japanese - a total flop!
Americans, however, bought the idea and "shot from guns" has been
moving kids back away from their televisionary sets ever since.
Larry Santoro
[removed]
Larry@[removed]
-
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 10:17:43 -0400
From: mmartini@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Hi and Norman
Hello all,
I was on vacation the last few weeks so I'm still catching up on posts but
I'm not sure if anyone noted the 97th birthday of Himan Brown. He and fellow
elder-statesman Norman Corwin were born in 1910 and both remain quite active.
In fact Himan just celebrated his first anniversary as Chairman of the Audio
and Drama Department at CUNY's School of Radio and Television. While Corwin
is apparently taking a break from his teaching duties at USC to recover from
a fall last year, he reportedly continues to refine a writing project he has
been working on for awhile. Careers aside, (and, yes, they were at the top
of their respective games during radio's golden age,) nevertheless think upon
the 97-year-olds that YOU know, if you are so fortunate, and compare their
levels of activity and mental acuity with these two gentlemen. I'm in my
40's and compared to these two, I feel tired. How about you??? 97!!!
Wow!!!!
-Mike Martini
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 10:28:31 -0400
From: "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: long runs on TV
In #222, A. Joseph Ross wrote:
Ed Sullivan may have lasted from 1948 to 1971, but nobody else has
had that long a run on prime- time television
I should point out that The Simpsons, currently at (I believe) 17
seasons, with more on the way, has a good shot at beating beat that run
-chris holm
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 11:47:47 -0400
From: Michael Hayde <mikeh0714@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Two-way cigarettes
When William Conrad did the Chesterfield plugs,
he mentions 2 way cigarettes. Google searches
come up empty on that phrase.
Larry Santoro guessed correctly that it refers to the
filterless variety. Chesterfield called itself
"America's most popular two-way cigarette," but if you
wanted an explanation of that phrase, you'd have to
turn to a competing brand - Pall Mall - whose slogan
was "You can light either end!"
Now, can someone tell me just WHY "Pall Mall" is
pronounced "Pell Mell?"
Michael
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 11:48:56 -0400
From: "Kirby, Tom" <Kirby@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: RE: About MP3's
[ADMINISTRIVIA: [removed] [removed] has some good stuff, and
every purchase there helps to support the OTR Digest, the Nostalgia Pages at
[removed] the blog/podcast at [removed]
(currently running "It's Higgins, Sir!"), and all the other
OTR-related stuff at the [removed] --cfs3]
I would have to agree. I bought several of the fundraising CDs, and
I've been very happy with the quality of the recordings. I loaded a
whole bunch of episodes of "The Halls of Ivy" on my MP3 player, and
now my commute home is a lot more comfortable. There are other
programs on the CDs, and after I listen to these, I'll load some
more on.
As a matter of fact, I like the OTR programs on my player so much,
I'm probably going to delete most of the music that I loaded onto it
from my music CDs, and load a ton of OTR. I like to keep a nice variety
so that I can listen to whatever genre I want at any given time.
The fundraising discs are definitely a good value for the money.
-- Tom
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 14:36:49 -0400
From: "origami" <origami@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: "Dragnet" vs. "Broadway is my Beat"
Did "Broadway is my Beat" influence the "Dragnet" concept,
or vice-versa?
They are polar opposites in their approach to the broadcast
of police stories. I never tire of listening to "Broadway."
I love the music and the poetic dialogue of Danny Clover as
he describes Broadway in its time and season. Yes, it is
fanciful, if not "purple," but I like it.
I can listen to a "Dragnet" now and then, but it does get
deadly repetitive. And the music? Nope.
According to Dunning, the New York run of "Broadway" started
February 27, 1949, but the Hollywood run July 7, 1949.
Between these two dates is the first "Dragnet," June 3,
1949.
I guess none of the New York shows are extant? Dunning
suggests that Elliot Lewis changed the show considerably.
My guess is that he wanted something considerably different
from what he was hearing from "Dragnet."
Apologies if this has been covered before. I suspect that
some of the books that I have not read cover this.
Thanks,
John Warmington
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 14:36:55 -0400
From: "origami" <origami@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: 2-Way Cigarettes
My impression is that you can buy them either way-- filter
or non-filter.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 14:37:14 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Boston Blackie
Someone commented:
Boston Blackie was on Radio 1944 to 1950, Went to TV and didn't last
to long Blackie drove a 1950 Nash, what beauty.
Blackie drove a 1950 nash, 1951 nash, 1950 dodge, and four other vehicles.
ZIV was cheap on TV production so the car Blackie owned hanged from episode
to episode. They didn't keep it consistent. The actor who played the TV
role even lent his vehicle for one episode.
Martin
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 15:04:08 -0400
From: "RadioAZ@[removed]" <radioAZ@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: An interesting find!
Rummaging through an antique store I came across two 78RPM record albums.
>From the liner notes it appears there were at least seven such albums out.
One of the two I purchased features Eddie Cantor and the other is by Ed
Gardner. Each album contains four 10" records. The copyright date on both
is 1947.
The liner notes say: These albums are genuine collectors' editions. The
first of their kind ever produced by such great stars. They bring you the
first phonograph records, as far as is known, especially recorded before a
large studio [removed] time to laugh between the lines and thus
introducing a form of presentation new to phonograph records for home
presentation."
In another place is says: "TOP-TEN ALBUM distributed by Monitor, the most
distinguished family of hom appliances."
What thes boild down to is the radio show format, but specially recorded for
phonographs. It appears there were also similar albums with Amos 'n' Andy,
Jack Benny, Bergen and McCarthy, Burns and Allen and Fibber McGee & Molly.
Anyone know more about these? Were they promotional albums for this Monitor
Company (an appliance brand I personally have never heard of?)
The Cantor album features seven episodes and include Harry Von Zell, the
long time announcer for Cantor on radio. THe Gardner album includes guest
stars Nigel Bruce, George Raft and Deems Taylor. It says it also includes
an all-time funny Gardner routine called Two Top Gruskin, the two-headed
pitcher who could watch first base and home plate at the same time.
I can hardly wait to listen to these albums. But any further information
anyone has would be appreciated.
Ted
The cover artwork on the Gardner album shows him wearing the famous
"autograph" apron. But, alas, it is a drawing, not a photograph.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 18:42:49 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: A new book
There's another new OTR volume on its way from McFarland. Within a few
weeks my latest tome, "The Great Radio Sitcoms," will be released. There
have been numerous works centered on the great comics of radio (Benny,
Allen, Bob & Ray, Hope, Durante, Bergen, Berle, etc.). But the characters
we loved within humorous narratives have been neglected. Although they are
fleetingly represented in multiple collections of existing texts, there is
nothing recent in which their broad ilk is the singular intent. It's a
niche waiting to be filled and recalling those wonderfully funny figures,
situations and shows is the sole objective of this 300-page appraisal.
Twenty of our favorite shows and the actors, announcers and directors who
appeared on them receive full chapter treatment:
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Aldrich Family
The Amos 'n' Andy Show
Archie Andrews
Baby Snooks
Beulah
Blondie
Duffy's Tavern
Father Knows Best
Fibber McGee & Molly
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
The Great Gildersleeve
The Jack Benny Program
The Life of Riley
Life with Luigi
Meet Millie
My Favorite Husband
My Friend Irma
Our Miss Brooks
The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show
Another 13 significant series are explored in shorter introspectives:
The Bickersons
A Date with Judy
A Day in the Life of Dennis Day
Easy Aces
Ethel and Albert
The Halls of Ivy
Junior Miss
Lum and Abner
Maisie
Meet Corliss Archer
My Little Margie
That Brewster Boy
Vic and Sade
Beyond those 33, my research uncovered another 137 radio situation comedies,
all of which are identified by years, networks, actors and TV incarnations
(where applicable) which is included in detail.
The volume contains lots of pictures, profiles, backstage anecdotes and it
recalls many of the hilarious moments from all of the series featured.
There is a lot of fact never before published within its pages about the
individuals who performed here and the shows, too.
The hardbound book at $55 plus shipping is available for order right now.
You'll be the first kid on your block to own it by ordering in advance. It
should be mailed in September. You can read about it at:
[removed]
Order from 800-253-2187 M-F daytime or [removed] any time.
Jim Cox
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #223
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