Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #498
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 12/20/2002 10:57 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2002 : Issue 498
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Another "young" listener              [ Vntager8io@[removed] ]
  young otr at heart                    [ bloodbleeds@[removed] ]
  RE: The name Throckmorton             [ "Elizabeth Thomsen" <ethomsen@ethom ]
  Re: Harry Bartell                     [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
  sperdvac/ma perkins                   [ CHET <voxpop@[removed]; ]
  contemporary british radio comedy     [ "david rogers" <david_rogers@hotmai ]
  Young (not Dr. Malone)                [ Derek Tague <derek@[removed]; ]
  Whyfor Art Thou Throckmorton?         [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
  The Glory and the Dream               [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
  Re: Old Stuff in Daily Use            [ "Dennis Mansker" <dennis@[removed] ]
  BBC7 Website                          [ Rfmalone@[removed] ]
  Re: Christmas Moments                 [ "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@hotmail ]

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 17:41:31 -0500
From: Vntager8io@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Another "young" listener

I've really enjoyed following this thread for the past several days, because
I'm always interested to learn of other youngsters involved in the old-time
radio hobby.

I'm 20 years old and have been in the hobby for a little over ten years now.
I guess I can trace my interest in OTR to my life-long love of phonograph
records, which started when I was given my own battery-operated record player
before I was two yers old. In first grade, I graduated to a 4-speed KLH
phonograph/radio combination that an uncle gave me, and I started collecting
78s. In middle school, while my peers were buying CD's of their favorite rock
stars or rap "singers", I was spinning old shellac records by Billy Murray,
Paul Whiteman, Tommy Dorsey, and many others from the 1910s-1950s. In about
fourth or fifth grade, my family drove west from Virginia to Colorado for
vacation, and to pass the long hours in the car, my mom checked out a couple
OTR tapes from the local public library, "The War Of The Worlds" and a tape
with several "Suspense" shows. I still remember listening to "Three Skeleton
Key" while driving through Kansas - how it made the time melt away!
Immediately
I was hooked, and upon our return to Virginia a couple weeks later, I went to
the library and checked out the rest of their OTR tapes and copied them. Then
I discovered "When Radio Was" on a local AM station, and things took off from
there. I bought a used Akai reel-to-reel deck and started using allowance or
birthday money to buy old collections of OTR on reels. I also started trading
on cassette and joined SPERDVAC and MWOTRC. By the time I started high
school, I had almost 3,000 shows. When I was 15, the local AM station that
broadcast "When Radio Was" was sold and changed formats from talk and news to
an "Adult Standards" mix playing jazz and popular music from the 1930s-1990s.
Feeling that old-time radio would still fit in with their new format, I wrote
a letter to the station's new manager asking that "When Radio Was" be
reinstated (and collected about a hundred signatures of support to go with
it). The manager replied and told me that the station was now operating on a
satellite feed and that nobody was there in the evenings to run the tape. He
and I talked on the phone several times and met in person, and within a
couple months, he offered me a weekend time slot hosting my own old-time
radio show on the station! All through high school, I hosted "Sunday Night
Nostalgia" playing a mix of old-time radio and big bands. For the first year
I did it, I was 15 years old and couldn't drive a car, so my parents had to
drive me to the station and pick me up after each show :) It was a lifelong
dream come true to be on radio, and doing the program put me in touch with a
couple other people with similar interests in this area.

Now I'm in college at William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, and I host an
old-time radio show on the campus station - amidst a boatload of heavy metal
and alternative rock shows. I still collect primarily on tape and audio CD
and enjoy programs of all types (some of my favorites include Inner Sanctum,
Jack Benny, ILAM, Gunsmoke, Suspense, Burns 'n' Allen, and many others). With
the help of some other old-time radio fans, I've been able to go to a couple
of the conventions (Cincinnati once and FOTR twice). OTR hobbyists are some
of the nicest folks I've ever met, and I often think how glad I am to be in
the hobby. So many of the kids today just don't know what they're missing.
Although I rarely post, I enjoy reading the Digest every day, and am a big
fan of Harry Bartell's "Struts and Frets" columns. Thank you Charlie,
Elizabeth, and all who contribute postings and help keep the Digest going.
I've learned so much about OTR and "met" a lot of great people here.

Taking the advice of Dennis Crow a couple weeks ago, I started listening to
"The Cinnamon Bear" for the first time. I had always wanted to hear it, but
never seemed to be able to get ahold of a complete set! One or two episodes
always seemed to be missing. Now I have it all and I've been enjoying it
"ever so much" as Judy would say. It took a little bit of getting used to at
first, but now I look forward to bedtime and my daily escape to Maybeland.
And besides, it's educational! After all, how many of my peers know what a
velocipede [removed]

Like so many others, I enjoy OTR for the fantastic imagery that only the mind
can create, and I like the nostalgia aspect too. I have a big interest in
history and American culture of the 1920s-1950s, and listening to OTR is one
way I can feel as if I haven't missed it. On a recent trip to the Smithsonian
in Washington [removed], I saw their OTR exhibit and felt strange as people walked
about whispering and pointing to dusty display cases of old radios while
crackly recordings of Abbott and Costello played in the background. Seeing
the glazed expressions on other kids my age I passed, I could teel that this
was "ancient history" to them. But listening to old-time radio every day, it
doesn't sound old to me. It's as much a part of my daily life as going to
classes or riding my bike to the store. Heck, sometimes I almost feel as if I
cut out that Wheaties box top and sent it along with ten cents in coin to
that New York address and actually get my very own Jack Armstrong Luminous
Dragon Eye Ring!

Sorry for the long post. Once I start "talking" old-time radio, it's hard to
stop!

Happy Holidays to All,

Bryan Wright
[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 18:14:59 -0500
From: bloodbleeds@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  young otr at heart

G'day. I'm 32 this year and grew up listening to the Bickersons, Fibber McGee and 
watching old Abbott and Costello movies on the multi-commercialed WGN (which, in the 
80s, would often cut musical #s out to make room for further commercials). I watch Very 
little tv these days because I'm afraid that even at this early age I'm an old fogie at heart 
who prefers older humor to today's body humor. (In fact, I think the supreme definition of 
how humor has changed from when I was growing up in the late 70s to today is the 
campfire scene in Blazing Saddles. When it was shown on tv in My youth, it was done in 
silence. Now that scene has its full soundtrack restored. I think that says something.)

Still, I prefer radio to tv regardless. I'm always listening to the new shows from the UK. 
Let's face it, there Is no new radio in the US today. I Should like Garrison Keiller, but for 
some reason never really got into it. Just wish it weren't the only choice for new radio 
humor today. At least it's the only one I really know about. 

OTR will never die. It's a piece of history. As long as history keeps getting taught in 
school, and new generations write books on the old battles, I think there will always be  
new generations of radio fans. 

Ben Ohmart

It's That Time Again!
[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 18:15:28 -0500
From: "Elizabeth Thomsen" <ethomsen@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  RE: The name Throckmorton

Throckmorton is an old and distinguished family name.  You'll find lots
of Throckmorton family members and genealogy websites online, as well as
references to Throckmorton County, Texas and many other Throckmorton-named
people, places and things.  I haven't run across anyone with the first name
Throckmorton, but many surnames, especially British sounding names like
Throckmorton, have been used as first names within families and sometimes
cross over and become popular first names in their own right.  (Have you
checked out all the young Tylers and Taylors lately?)

I doubt you'll find many people willing to use Throckmorton as a first name,
for the same reason it was such a great first name for my man Gildersleeve--
it sounds both pompous and funny.  (I like the way Leroy shortens it to
Uncle Mort, though.)

Elizabeth Thomsen
[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 18:51:36 -0500
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Harry Bartell

Discussing Harry Bartell, Irene Heinstein wrote:
I think it's about time for Harry to get his due outside of our growing
circle.    No day is complete without hearing Harry at least once and when
I'm listening to a whole series, most recently "Frontier Gentleman"  I hear
Harry a lot more then once.    He is all over my OTR collection and has
hung out with an incredible part of acting history, OTR actors and beyond.

Speaking of "beyond," I'd like to put a few brief words in for Mr. Bartell's
work in that "other" medium.  Those of you who have heard his outstanding
OTR performances might (but shouldn't) be astonished if you see him in the
DRAGNET episode "The Big Mother" (1/30/52) - his first TV role.  In several
cutaways during what is essentially a monologue by Peggy Webber, Harry's
character slowly grows distraught as he takes in what his wife is saying
about their baby.  Peggy's performance put a lump in my throat, but it was
the reaction shots of Harry that brought tears to my eyes.  (Incidentally,
that scene was projected on screen during "Radio Goes To the Movies" in
Hollywood last May, and the audience was spellbound.)

And, as has been raised in recent days, listeners to "The Big Little Jesus"
are essentially hearing the soundtrack of a TV performance enhanced with
additional Webb narration.  The look that Harry, as Fr. Rojas, gives to
Friday as he says the line, "Particularly theives, Sergeant!" always gives
me a chuckle.

Both of those episodes are on home video from different distributors; for
those who are interested, more info may be found by going to [removed]
and clicking on "Video/DVD Guide."

Michael

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 19:42:46 -0500
From: CHET <voxpop@[removed];
To: OTR <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  sperdvac/ma perkins

someone recently mentioned on the digest SPERDVAC   which i am familiar with
as i contributed otr radio scripts to them back in the early 70's but i
wonder if sperdvac has a [removed] duzzint work at least not
for [removed] same person mentioned MA [removed] great ellen burstyn
(IMHO) was on that show using her married name ellen mcrae.

chet norris

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 20:39:39 -0500
From: "david rogers" <david_rogers@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  contemporary british radio comedy

A little while ago a web site was kindly mentioned that dealt with British
radio shows. For those who are interested in such things I have recently
found a very interesting web site at:

[removed]

The site deals with British radio shows of the 80's and 90's. The site looks
as though it has not been up dated in a while but it has a lot of
fascinating stuff. (like Red Dwarf starting as a radio [removed])

In reference to who is a young OTR fan. My father used to say that you know
that you are old when the police start looking young. My little addition to
this is just try teaching 18 year old students and you will feel double your
age?

Love as always, David Rogers (aged 40 years and 11 months)

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 20:40:21 -0500
From: Derek Tague  <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Young (not  Dr.  Malone)

Jell-O Again:

   Like everybody else, I'd like to thank Ron Sayles for positing the question
about how younger OTR fans became entrenched in this wonderful hobby. I've
been trying to stay out of this discussion  thinking that 40 was "too old "
to participate.  But having had  read reminiscences from folks older than me,
I decided to join in. Let me begin  by saying that there was no one
"epiphanic" moment for me that instantly opened up the world of OTR. Rather,
it was a "co-alescense" of several factors happening in the proverbial "dribs
& drabs."

   I was born  10/26/1962  during the Cuban Missile Crisis & roughly one month
after 09/30/1962, the generally recognised last day of the "Golden Age."
While growing up,  I cultivated an interest in old B&W comedy films  (Abbott &
Costello, Laurel & Hardy, the Bowery  Boys, the Marx Bros., Our Gang/the
Little Rascals, Charlie  Chaplin, et. al.), 1950s sitcoms (Lucy, Honeymooners,
My Little Margie, Burns & Allen, Father Knows Best. Leave It to Beaver, etc.),
and,  of course, cartoons (Popeye, W-B, Bouncing Ball sing-alongs, etc.) [Hi,
Michael "Mr. Dragnet" Hayde].
My father was really the impetus for the movie comedies.
   Another passion I acquired mostly from my older brother Jimmy was comic
books. I started w/ Casper  thanks to those infernal cartoons & worked my way
up to super-heroes  as I grew older.
   My father Dennis Tague (original spelling, "Teague") was a veteran of the
Royal Army who served w/ Mountbatten in Burma during WWII. He was constantly
singing-- in spite of the fact that nobody in my family is a great singer.
The songs he sang were usually 1930s/40s era. Sometimes when I would watch a
Warner Bros. cartoon, some "corny" old song I had heard via my father would
show up, triggering within me an "instant recognition."
   In a previous post, I had assessed that the 1970s was "the Golden Age of
OTR Fandom." Despite what Anthony Tollin ["that's a Coke, son!"]has said
disputing this, I stand by my original contention.  In that decade, I would
see TV specials commemorating radio's Golden  Age  where performers like
George Burns, Red Skelton, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Kate Smith--with
whom I was familiar with from t--------n appearances--were celebrated; DC
Comics started re-printing lots of stories from the 1940s & had even revived
the Shadow; I heard Jean Shepard
telling his story about the "Little Orphan Annie" radio programme--not on his
nightly WOR-AM radio show, but, once, when he was a guest on the NYC-area
Sunday morning kids' show "Wonderama;" there was that highly fictionalised
TV-movie about WOTW, "the Night That Panicked America;"  the list goes on.
   It all boiled down to "instant recognition" which started to peak my
curiosity.  Around 1976, I used to watch old movie serials on Sat. mornings
over WOR-TV/Channel 9. For a while, they ran a TV-record ad  for a
multi-volume vinyl LP set of the best of OTR, which included Herb Morrison's
"Hindenburg" b'cast;  the "send-before-Midnight-tonight" teaser
was an extra LP "The Best of Spike Jones." At that point,  the ad  played a
few bars from "Cocktails for Two"  starting w/ the "in some secluded
[removed]" refrain.
   The thing that aroused my curiosity was the loud, raucous stylings of this
Spike Jones feller.  Around this time I found at the  library   the same LP
that was included in the aforementioned [removed] was hooked.  Thanks to a
t---------n addiction & a good mind for  trivia, I recognised on that album
names such as Paul Frees & Doodles Weaver. Instant recognition.
   This was also around the time when Radiola & Mark 56 records were coming
into their own.  The public library had radio b'cast records of entities I
was quite familiar with such as The Shadow, Archie Andrews, Superman, Buck
Rogers, Jack Benny, Dick Tracy, WOTW, the Hindenburg, & many others. But the
one Radiola disc that pretty much roped me in was a broadcast of "the Spike
Jones Show" from 06/25/1949 backed/with "Vic and Sade" from 10/26/[I forget
the exact year--1946?].  I didn't know what to make out of "Radio's Home
Folks" [forgive me Barbara Schwarz, Maggie & Valerie Thompson, & Karen
"Livvie" Hughes] & didn't even last 5 minutes into it. Hey, I was 13 & not yet
sophisticated enough for intricately crafted "character"-driven comedy. But
the [removed]
    The S. Jones Show w/ special guest star Don Ameche as "Professor Gazzola"
in the City Slickers production of the crime drama/opera "This Is Your [removed]
Aida"  was simply hilarious. I borrowed that record from the library so  much,
that, to this day, I can still recite &  "sing" most of this routine. I
eventually found my own copy. Even in this day of phasing out one's LP
collections in favour of other formats, this is one I just can't part with
[Sorry, Ivan Shreeve, you're not gettin' this one].
   As a footnote; the "Vic 'n' Sade" aired on a particular 10/26, which, as
stated above, is my birthday. The "Spike Jones" orig'ly aired on 06/25/1949.
Twenty-five years later, on  Tues. 06/25/1974,  my older brother Jimmy, who
had Down syndrome, died of a double-stroke brought on by a lifetime of heart
disease. He had had a single-stroke 6 months earlier on 12/13/1973. On that
day, the speedometer of my father's car, a 1965 VW camper van, stopped
[removed] reminiscent of the legend that Thomas Edison's clock stopped
the minute HE died [Hi, Lee [removed]'m really giving you a "name-dropping"
run for your money in this missive].  I was quite familiar w/ the Edison
legend as I often frequented the Thos. Edison Historical site  in West Orange,
NJ, two blocks from where I grew up.  21 years later to this ominous day on
12/13/1995, my father died   of pancretic  cancer.
    I'm too choked up to go [removed]

[removed]

Derek Tague

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 20:40:41 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Whyfor Art Thou Throckmorton?

Chris Holm asks,

Well, long story short, we checked several online lists of 'baby names'
and could find no listing for Throckmorton.  Are there any scholars out
there who can give a short history of the name Throckmorton?

"Lists of baby names" as a rule, are just compilations of the more common
names.  One of the colonials who was involved in the Salem Witch Trials
was named Cotton Mather.  "Cotton" isn't a usual baby name.

Some first names started out as family names.  "Washington" is one such.

In short, a baby can be names anything the parents would like, regardless
of whether it's in a list of baby names.  Note well: the child will not
remain a baby forever.  Thus, a "baby name" is just a "name," and the
person will usually wear it for life.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 20:40:59 -0500
From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  The Glory and the Dream

Hi  all

Elizabeth mentioned reading William Manchester's " The Glory and the
Dream" when she was 13 years old.  Gosh!  This lady even started out
smart!  This voluminous book contains the best description of the Great
Depression that I have ever read. I've never even run into anyone else
who had read the book until now. If all one reads are the first 150- 175
pages it's worth the price of the book.

13 yrs old! Wow.

Please everyone have a very happy holiday and pray for peace.

George Aust

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 21:29:15 -0500
From: "Dennis Mansker" <dennis@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Old Stuff in Daily Use

Our refrigerator is a Kelvinator, with an OPA Ceiling Price sticker on
the inside of the door ($[removed]) and a manufacturing date of 11/45 on the
motor housing.

According to the Inflation Calculator at [removed],
the current value (as of 2001) of that [removed] is $[removed] -- The inflation
calculator is a recent discovery of mine and I've managed to while away
about seven hours checking up on the relative values of things. It's
fascinating, for example, to know that the money I earned on my first job
($[removed] per hour) is equal now to $[removed]
Check it out, but be prepared to spend some time with it.

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 22:46:44 -0500
From: Rfmalone@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  BBC7 Website
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Someone was looking for BBC7. Here is their address
                          <A
HREF="[removed]">[removed]</A>
        Hope this helps.
                                                Richard

  *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
  ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 23:12:09 -0500
From: "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Christmas Moments

Elizabeth McLeod writes,

I also enjoy the 12/25/32 Linit Bath Club
Revue with Fred Allen, one of the most corrosive Christmas programs ever.
After a day of fighting crowds at the mall and the traffic to get there,
who can't appreciate the ending of this program -- with Santy Claus
hurling himself out the window in despair.

I must admit that this is one of my personal favourites as well, not only
for Fred getting away with comparative comic murder but also for the seeming
antiquity of the production. On the copy I have, the audience response is
not as loud as in later programs, suggesting (to me anyway) not that the
response was lacking but the audience wasn't specifically mic'ed for
laughter and applause, as would have been standard practice later.

I also am particularly fond of the Christmas 1941 "Amos 'n' Andy" program
and the 1939 "Campbell Playhouse" with Lionel Barrymore as Scrooge under
Orson Welles' direction.

The Christmas 1945 "Command Performance" and "Jubilee" variety shows over
the Armed Forces Radio Service are, in my opinion, the very best of their
genres - holiday or otherwise - I've ever heard.

There are, finally, two local productions that are worth checking out. One
is the Christmas Morning 1948 appearance by Charlie Parker's bebop outfit on
"Symphony Sid's All-Night All-Frantic One" on WMCA New York; Parker's take
on "White Christmas" in front of a live audience at the Royal Roost is
marvelous. And a late-'50s post-Christmas monologue on the origins of
certain words by Paul Gibson over WBBM Chicago shows a complexity and
intelligence that, it seems, most modern-day radio programmers would
consider a "tune-out factor."

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #498
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