Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #15
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 1/15/2006 3:38 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2006 : Issue 15
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Re: Sept 30, 1962                     [ Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed] ]
      December 2005 deaths                  [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Abbott & Costello Show                [ "GARY SMULLEN" <tsegs@[removed]; ]
      Transcription Disc or Tape?           [ "Marty" <md64@[removed]; ]
      It's not the Medium, it's the Messag  [ Wich2@[removed] ]
      Re: Correll and Gosden in New Orlean  [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Abbott & Costello                     [ "John Eccles, Jr." <jeccles@earthli ]
      Charlie Chaplin                       [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
      How much did the Fat Man weigh?       [ Richard Carpenter <newsduck@[removed] ]
      More on The Fat Man's weight          [ Richard Carpenter <newsduck@[removed] ]
      Edwin Armstrong                       [ "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross. ]
      OTR sponsors that are now obscure pr  [ Rutledge Mann <cliff_marsland@yahoo ]
      Abbott and Costello                   [ Jandpgardner@[removed] ]
      OTR & Politicians                     [ Melanie Aultman <otrmelanie@[removed] ]
      show openings                         [ ".dan." <ddunfee@[removed]; ]
      Gunsmoke Announcer dies               [ Jerry Reed <jerrysvoice@[removed] ]
      The Lone Ranger and Lincoln           [ tomheston@[removed] (Irish Tom) ]

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

    Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 19:14:06 -0500
    From: Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Sept 30, 1962

> >     Would be interesting to know if any went to radio
> >     stations to get the transcriptions before they were
> >     stored or thrown away.

    Sadly, I'll bet a huge amount of transcription disks were used as fisbees.
    If we only knew then what we know now!

    Al Girard

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

    Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 19:14:15 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  December 2005 deaths

    03-29-1916 - Eugene McCarthy - Watkins, MN - d. 12-10-1916
    [removed] senator: "Meet the Press"
    xx-xx-xxxx - Sy Shaffer - d. 12-10-2005
    trombonist: "Arthur Godfrey time"
    11-11-1915 - William Proxmire - Lake Forest, IL - d. 12-15-2005
    [removed] senator: "Meet the Press"
    03-03-1919 - Enzo Stuarti - Rome, Italy - d. 12-16-2005
    operatic singer: "Stars for Defense"
    xx-xx-1928 Ted McKay - (Raised: North Avondale, OH) - d. 12-29-2005
    talk show host: "Party Line"; Created first talk show on WKRC
    Cincinatti in 1955

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 20:06:58 -0500
    From: "GARY SMULLEN" <tsegs@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Abbott & Costello Show

    "Mr. Melonhead" was, I'm sure, Sid Fields, an old burlesque crony of Bud and
    Lou's who can be seen in their COLGATE COMEDY HOUR's and THE ABBOTT &
    COSTELLO SHOW. In the latter, he appears as their cranky bald landlord, Mr.
    Fields but when he takes other roles in the show disguised wIth a toupee, he
    is usually addressed as Mr. Melonhead. The last appearances I remember from
    Sid Fields was on Jackie Gleason's early 60's variety hour, during blackout
    skits on THE AMERICAN SCENE MAGAZINE.

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

    Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 20:07:17 -0500
    From: "Marty" <md64@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Transcription Disc or Tape?

    I know that radio shows were sent to the various radio stations via
    transcription discs.   However, at the end, late 1950's and early 1960's,
    was this still the practice or were the shows sent to the radio stations on
    tape?

    Also, I noticed that most of the Suspense shows that I have from the last
    year or so all seem distorted on the low end.   I would think that audio
    from that era would be perfect since technology was so much improved.  At
    least one would think so.

    Thanks for the help.

    Marty

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

    Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 20:08:17 -0500
    From: Wich2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  It's not the Medium, it's the Message

    From: Joe Mackey  joemackey108@[removed]

>     The show continued on the air for 22 years,  including a long stint on CBS
>     t--------n.

    Dear Joe-

    I think  the word you're searching for is "Television?"

    For the record, that's a  medium that:
    -Adds broadcast visuals to the broadcast sounds of  Radio,
    -That most of the Fathers of Radio thought was the logical final goal  of
    their work,
    -And that - JUST like Radio! - is Rarely Well Done!

    I  know the joking's fun - I sometimes join in myself. But the implied
    concept,  that the Gold-to-Dross percentage was much higher in The Good Old
    Days -
    is the  real joke. Just dig deep, and listen to recordings of stuff beyond the
    Top  Ten!

    Or, watch films of the era about radio, and see revealed  [removed]
    -Insipid plotting,
    -(Occassional) prima-donna performers,
    -And  goofball products & sponsers
    ...that we all know & love (!) from the  Grand New Present of TV!

    Best (honest!),
    -Craig

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

    Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 21:20:35 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Correll and Gosden in New Orleans

    On 1/14/06 7:14 PM [removed]@[removed] wrote:

>     Looking through the March 19, 1938 issue of WLS Radio' "Stand By" there's
>     this note:

>     "Gosden & Correll are real pioneers of radio. They spoke into a microphone
>     for the first time in 1920, on an experimental station in New Orleans."

    This is a story that was told by Correll and Gosden themselves as far
    back as 1928, and as far as I've been able to document they did pass thru
    New Orleans during their 1920-21 season tour as traveling
    home-talent-show directors for the Joe Bren Producing Company. There
    were, however, no licensed broadcasting stations in New Orleans at that
    time, nor would there be until 1922. However, there were amateurs
    operating unoffical stations.

    Correll himself wrote about this incident in an incomplete, unpublished
    memoir, describing the station as "the kind that would go on the air if
    someone telephoned to ask," evidently referring to a small, home-based
    amateur transmitter that would be used by neighborhood hams to test and
    calibrate their receivers. This wasn't any sort of a proper radio
    station, but given Freeman Gosden's interest in amateur radio -- he had
    served as a radio operator in the Navy during the First World War -- it
    would make sense for him to strike up an acquaintance with any ham
    operator he might have encountered during his travels for the Bren
    Company. Most likely Correll and Gosden encountered such an operator
    while putting together talent for a show in the New Orleans area, and
    were given a chance to speak over his transmitter to promote the upcoming
    stage show.

    Correll and Gosden didn't appear over an actual broadcast radio station,
    however, until they were taken off the road in 1924, and given
    administrative duties at the Bren Company's home office in Chicago. They
    appeared anonymously on a program put on over WLS that year by Bren
    staffers, and then made their first billed appearance over the Calumet
    Baking Powder Company's station WQJ in Joliet, to promote a Bren show
    being held in that suburban town. That engagement led directly to their
    appearances on WEBH, beginning in April of 1925, and it's from that point
    that their actual radio career commenced.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 21:23:37 -0500
    From: "John Eccles, Jr." <jeccles@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Abbott & Costello

    The character of Mr. Melonhead on "The Abbott & Costello Show" was played by
    burlesque veteran, Sidney Fields, who would later play their landlord on
    their t--------n show.

    John Eccles, Jr.

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: Let's please stop this silly feigned aversion to the word,
    "television."  --cfs3]

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

    Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 21:23:49 -0500
    From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Charlie Chaplin

    Ron Sayles wrote (in his listing of 2005 deaths):
    02-22-1908 - John Mills - North Elmham, England - d. 4-22-2005
    actor: "A Christmas Carol"; "Charlie Chaplin"

    Was there a program called Charlie Chaplin? Does anybody have any
    details? I've read quite a bit about Chaplin, and while I know he did
    some radio appearances to promote his movies, etc. (does anybody have
    any of these?), I've never heard of him having his own show. What role
    did John Mills play in the show?

    Kermyt

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

    Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 22:32:20 -0500
    From: Richard Carpenter <newsduck@[removed];
    To: Old Radio <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  How much did the Fat Man weigh?

>     He weighed 247 pounds, on that show at least.

    And who would ever think that 60 years later  people would be discussing how
    much the big guy weighed!

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

    Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 23:32:52 -0500
    From: Richard Carpenter <newsduck@[removed];
    To: Old Radio <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  More on The Fat Man's weight

    As a reader noted, the Fat Man's weight did fluctuate. I had listened to the
    opening of a show that  had him weighing 247 pounds. I just listened to the
    start of another US show and also the Australian version of the show,  and on
    both he weighed 239 pounds. Perhaps he lost those 8 pounds running from
    danger.

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

    Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 10:13:30 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Edwin Armstrong

>     Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 23:06:02 -0500
>     From: "WEH" <nbcblue@[removed];

>     Armstrong later developed the Frequency Modulation (FM) system.

    Armstrong also invented the superhetrodyne circuit, which is the
    basis of most receiving equipment today.

    --
    A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                           [removed]
     15 Court Square, Suite 210                 Fax [removed]
    Boston, MA 02108-2503           	         [removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 10:21:27 -0500
    From: Rutledge Mann <cliff_marsland@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR sponsors that are now obscure products

    Hi,

    On a fun note, I found a couple of OTR sponsors in a
    dollar store - Rinso and Old Dutch Cleanser.  I used
    Rinso in my wash load, and it seemed to work ok.  ODC
    also works well too.  I found Pepsodent too, but it
    was kind of weak.

    Anybody else come across any OTR products that are now
    obscure?  I guess Lucky Strikes and Chesterfields are
    examples.

    Trav

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

    Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 10:22:08 -0500
    From: Jandpgardner@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Abbott and Costello
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    In reply to Kenneth Clarke's query as to who played 'Melonhead', it was
    Sidney (Sid) Fields. He can be seen on A & C's TV show where, from memory,  he
    played a character using his own name. He wrote for Bud and  Lou for TV and
    films
    and can be seen in small parts in some of the  films. According to IMDB, he
    was born in 1898 and died in 1975.
    John.

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    Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 13:21:42 -0500
    From: Melanie Aultman <otrmelanie@[removed];
    To: OTRDIGEST <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  OTR & Politicians
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Thanks to all who responded to my query about OTR personalities and
    presidential elections.  Can't resist sharing the following:

      I was approached by a local candidate for Congress.  After his general
    spiel he asked if he could count on my support.  I responded, "I don't
    know--would you support the campaign to get Jack Benny on a 39 cent stamp?"
    He was then filled in on the website, march on Washington, etc.  Gotta keep
    'em on their toes, no?  After muttering something about Congress doing plenty
    of frivolous [removed]'m not sure he WILL have my support, but at least he
    got the 'ol OTR FYI !

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    Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 14:34:55 -0500
    From: ".dan." <ddunfee@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  show openings

>     And how would a scale measure his height!

    Some public scales also had a sliding vertical height measure, and if
    recalling correctly, a chart where normal weight for height was given.

                                   XB
                                    IC|XC

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

    Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 14:35:24 -0500
    From: Jerry Reed <jerrysvoice@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Gunsmoke Announcer dies

       I saw this in the LA Times this past week. I haven't seen mention on
       the digest so I'm passing it along. If this is a repeat, please
       disregard.
       Obituary: George Walsh, 88; Voice of "Gunsmoke," KNX Newsman
       [removed],0,[removed]
       Jerry Reed

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

    Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 17:37:47 -0500
    From: tomheston@[removed] (Irish Tom)
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Lone Ranger and Lincoln

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr., wrote

>     Lincoln indicated that he'd heard of a
>     mysterious masked man in the West who was doing good [removed]

    Does that mean President Lincoln said, "Who was that masked man?"
    (Sorry 'bout that.  Couldn't pass up the chance.)

                   Tom Heston

      Slan agus Go n-eiri an bothar leat.

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #15
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