------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2005 : Issue 74
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Bunch o' things [ "Mike Martini" <mmartini@[removed] ]
Leningen vs the Ants - another versi [ Christopher Werner <werner1@globalc ]
Coatsworth Castle [ jwoox@[removed] ]
OTR Event in Palm Springs, Calif. [ seandd@[removed] ]
Re: THE SHADOW opening [ Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@earthlin ]
Re: Listening to old time radio in o [ JamesAltenburg@[removed] ]
Re: Wilbur Hatch? [ "Michael J. Hayde" <michaelhayde@ea ]
Listening to old time radio in old d [ Gord L <lepseg@[removed]; ]
"Listen! I hear a white horse approa [ skallisjr@[removed] ]
PBS otr tribute and XM programming [ David Loftus <dloft59@[removed] ]
Jean Shepherd book [ "kierniesky" <kierniesky@[removed] ]
Falcon [ "Edward Hutchison" <ehutchison@jam. ]
Re: Satellite radio [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
XM Radio [ "Lynn Noyes" <noyesl@[removed]; ]
Ads on XM [ Mikeandzachary@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:26:52 -0500
From: "Mike Martini" <mmartini@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Bunch o' things
Hello,
Just wanted to reply to several little "tidbits" that I've glanced over
[removed]
Regarding the "anti-satellite" ad Mark Kinsler [removed] that particular
ad is being made available to radio stations around the country via free
download from the radio industry trade journal "Radio Business Report."
Being in radio, I would find it a little embarrassing to put on the air,
myself. I sounds VERY similar to the public service ads television stations
were running back in the 70's touting the benefits of "FREE over the air
television." To me, it screams desperation. Jeepers, satellite IS pretty
nifty but radio has had to reinvent itself many times over the years, so this
isn't the first challenge it has faced. I, for one, am not ready to raise
the white flag just yet. Especially when one looks at the bottom lines of
the companies flying those space birds. The spot IS amusing, however, in
that the opening sequence uses the Shadow excerpt. The radio execs are more
than happy to tout its origins for a feel-good ad, but ask them to actually
play the [removed]
Regarding the tape-baking question by Gary [removed] we bake for four
hours at 130-degrees F. We have a swell machine our engineers cooked up
(pardon the pun) using two large coolers, some heating duct, a small in-line
blower fan, a thermostat, and a nice big, hot light bulb. Although it takes
a few minutes for the light bulb to get the cooler up to temperature, the
thermostat holds that temperature within a degree or two perfectly! (It does
look like the robot on Lost in Space, though!)
Regarding early "nostalgia" programs on [removed] let's not forget Singin'
Sam (Harry Frankel) the Barbasol Man (well, he was the "Lawn-mowin' Man" when
he was on WLW in the late 1920's), who made a career singing the "old songs"
on radio even back in the 1930's and with his Coke program in the 40's. He
used to start off: "Are ya listenin?"
Finally, and I don't want to do anything that competes with Bob Burchett's
excellent Cincinnati Radio Convention, but if some folks are looking for
"something else to do while in town," as mentioned in a post several weeks
ago, I'd be more than happy to give a tour of the former Voice of America
Bethany Relay station--once the most powerful shortwave broadcast facility in
the world. There's not a whole lot to see, but we have a few exhibits in
place, we're not too terribly far from the convention and we're just down the
road from the WLW transmitter with its mighty Blaw-Knox stick. Just let me
know.
-Mike Martini
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:27:21 -0500
From: Christopher Werner <werner1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Leningen vs the Ants - another version
One of my favorite episodes of Suspense and Escape has been Leningen vs the
Ants where an Amazon region plantation owner works to protect his land from
the ravaging hunger of a swarm of ants.
Several weeks ago DVD releases of the MacGyver show were released and I
purchased them (having become a Richard Dean Anderson fan through his work
on Stargate). So here I was in episode #6, Trombo's World watching a TV
adaptation of Leningen vs the Ants (I'd been out during the day and my wife
watched it ahead of time - saying 'It was really wild' - heh, she needs to
hear the OTR version - without the canned close-ups of ants eating).
There was no credit given for this as an 'adaptation' or 'based on' the
earlier OTR work (other than in a note on the [removed] entry). The writer
was credited as Stephen Kendel. Was he the author of the original work that
all these episodes (and the Naked Jungle) are based on?
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:28:04 -0500
From: jwoox@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Coatsworth Castle
Regarding Michael Leannah's recent inquiry:
Cotesworth (Morse's spelling) Castle is the title castle in the "I Love A
Mystery" adventure by Carleton E Morse entitled "The Case of the Transplanted
Castle". The story was broadcast twice, first in nine 30-minute episodes
from 1/6/41 thru 3/3/41 over the NBC Blue Network, and later in eighteen
15-minute episodes from 1/9/51 thru 2/1/51 over the Mutual network. To my
knowledge, no recordings of any of the episodes in either series are
available, but the scripts exist at Stanford (the Carleton E Morse
collection in the Stanford University Libraries Department of Special
Collections), Temple (the Temple University Paley Library Special Collections
Department), and the Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Under the heading of "More Than I Wanted to Know ...",
Morse adapted "The Case of the Transplanted Castle" from his earlier radio
work "The Game Called Murder", part of his Captain Post tales, broadcast from
the NBC San Francisco studio in ten 30-minute episodes from 7/3/31 (although
the 1st two episodes aren't dated, the 3rd is dated 7/17/31) thru 9/4/31.
The castle in this version is called "Poverty Castle", and the chief players
are Captain of Detectives Carter Post, played by Richard LeGrande in the
first 6 episodes and George Rand thereafter, and Sergeant Jack Long (from
episode 3), played by (surprise, surprise) Barton Yarborough. Michael
Raffetto is also featured, and the sound effects included "Valse Triste".
John L Woodruff
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:28:23 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR Event in Palm Springs, Calif.
FYI for digesters near Palm Springs, Calif. -
Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]
March 14
Indian Wells Rotary Club, Old Time Radio Revisited with Bob and Meredith
Loudon. 12:15 [removed] Indian Wells Country Club, 46-000 Club Drive, Indian
Wells. $17, includes lunch. 772-7692
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:29:48 -0500
From: Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: THE SHADOW opening
on 3/7/05 5:18 PM, Ken Stockinge wrote:
I've heard that the
opening was really done by Frank Readick, and not
Orson. While I believe the folks who've told me that,
I've just never been able to hear it myself. To me, it
sounds just like Welles.
***Yes, the opening and closing sigantures are indeed performed by Frank
Readick. One of the initial clues is that the opening and closing
signatures are backed by an orchestra, while Welles is supported by organ
bridges in the body of the show. Readick's CBS and NBC shows featured an
orchestra conducted by George Earle, while Welles broadcasts featured organ
bridges performed by Elsie Thompson (Blue Coal) and Rosa Rio (Goodrich).
That information was confirmed for me 20 years ago by Ken Roberts and the
late Paul Stewart, Dwight Weist, Richard Wilson and William Alland. (The
latter two filled in for Welles during the show's rehearsals, reading his
lines and marking up Welles' script. Both Paul Stewart and Ken Roberts
pointed out that Readick played the role in a deeper vocal register than
Welles. Also, Readick used the filter microphone far better than Welles,
delivering his lines in a biting stage whisper that was barely audible to
his radio costars but came through loud and clear over the air, possessing a
shadowy aspect never approached by his successors.
If you want to hear what Orson Welles sounded like doing the opening, listen
to my "The Shadow: the Making of a Legend" documentary on Great American
Audio's THE SHADOW CHRONICLES (now distributed by Radio Spirits). The
opening of the documentary includes a medley of SHADOW opening and closing
signatures as performed by Frank Readick, Orson Welles, Bill Johnstone, John
Archer and Bret Morrison. While Orson Welles never performed the "Who knows
what evil" signature on the radio series, he did perform it in later years
on TV shows including LAUGH-IN and THE DEAN MARTIN SHOW.
Richard Wilson and William Alland both recalled that Welles could never
master the laugh. Truth be told, I've always felt that Welles performance
in the role was a pale shadow (sorry) of Readick's sibilant delivery, as
critics at the time maintained. Listen to the openings and compare them
with Welles' performance in the body of the shows. There's no comparison.
Welles provides none of the sibilant shadowy quality that Walter Gibson
always described in his pulp novels. --ANTHONY TOLLIN
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:30:12 -0500
From: JamesAltenburg@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Listening to old time radio in old days
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I've thought about the same thing. I was born in 1943 and do have dim
memories of every one sitting in the living room with the radio on but more
than
likely my dad's attention was on some newspaper or business magazine that he
was reading on the couch. Certain programs stand out, Arthur Godfrey,
Suspense, Lux Radio Theater, Let's Pretend on Saturday morning all CBS
programs from
the 50,000 watt WCCO some 150 miles to the west of us. Once in awhile my
brother and I would tune in to the Mutual station some 30 miles away to hear
Sky King or Sergeant Preston after school, but the family tuner in -- my mom
--
almost never veered from dear old WCCO in Minneapolis at least when the whole
family was listening. Very rarely would she tune to a closer NBC affiliate
-- I think I do remember hearing Fibber McGee & Molly now and again though.
And yes, we did listen to several programs every night -- that is until 1953
when we got our first TV and then the radio went off. And then because we
had only one station available for a year or so -- for that year we watched
only NBC shows before more channels were added and then, because I became
much
in control of the tuner, we watched more networks that we listened to.
Remember my friend Mercedes McCambridge this St. Patrick's day, about a year
since her passing.
Jim
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Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:30:34 -0500
From: "Michael J. Hayde" <michaelhayde@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Wilbur Hatch?
Kenneth Clarke asks:
Was he the musical director on several other OTR/classic TV programs?
Which ones?
For OTR aficionados, Hatch is known as the composer of "The Whistler" theme,
as well as the musical director for that show and "Broadway is My Beat." For
the rest of us baby boomers, he's remembered as the musical director and/or
conductor for every Desilu sitcom from "I Love Lucy" to "The Lucy Show," as
well as for Desilu's first successful dramatic program, "The Untouchables."
(He also receives a "Music consultant" credit on Desilu's other two famous
drama series - "Mission: Impossible" and "Star Trek" - but this was more
likely contractual than actual.)
Michael
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:30:50 -0500
From: Gord L <lepseg@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Listening to old time radio in old days
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Re: Listening to old time radio in old days
Very interesting question from Andrew about what it was like listening to OTR
way back then (in the 40s and 50s). I grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan,
Canada, and we didn't buy a TV until 1960 so OTR was a really deal in our
home.
Some of the best OTR memories I have are:
When Superman came on the radio, and my Dad and older brother were out working
in the farm yard, they would drop their tools and come running up to the
farmhouse to hear the latest episode. I would have arrived home from school by
show time and it was very exciting when all of us huddled around the radio to
hear if Superman would be able to free himself from the powers of that
Kryptonite rock or if he could win the latest battle against his
arch-enemies.
When Frontier Town was being aired, it always started with a flurry of
gunfire. Again, if our family was out working within earshot, I would take the
radio outside and turn it up full-blast so we could all chuckle at the wild
sounds.
A school friend of mine and I listened to every episode of Wild Bill Hickock
and the next day at school, we would act out the fistfights (without contact,
of course). I still chuckle when I remember some of the dialogue "...take some
of this" and "...here's a little bit of that" or ".....take that, you tub 'o
lard" (referring to poor old Jingles) as fists were thrown to the tune of
thrilling sound effects.
Man, these are wonderful memories!
Gord L
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Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:31:24 -0500
From: skallisjr@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: "Listen! I hear a white horse approaching."
Andrew Gidfrey asks,
Have often wondered what it was like listening to old time radio. I was
born in 1944 but don't ever remember the family sitting around the radio
listening to any shows. Would like to know if families back then listened
to all the prime time radio shows sometimes or just listened to a show
from time to time? Would like to know what listeners were doing while
listening to [removed] coffee? sewing? reading afternoon
newspaper?...etc.
Well, there were lots of ways to listen to OTR. There were enough radios
in the house so we could listen to individual shows if we didn't all want
to hear the same show. Some shows we all listened to, such as Jack
Benny, Phil Harris, etc. Those shows were usually listened to in the
living room, but we weren't all crowded around the radio. My father, who
could multitask, would usually read a book while sitting in an armchair
or reclining in a chaise lounge. My grandmother, when she was living
with us, would crochet. My mother favored cards: sometimes she and my
father would play Russian Bank. Sometimes I'd play solitaire.
Sometimes we'd listen alone. From The Adventures of Superman through Tom
Mix Ralston Straight Shooters, I'd usually listen to in my room. Captain
Midnight I always heard, even with earphones at the dinner table, if the
household supper schedule fell that way. My folks usually didn't listen
to The Lone Ranger, so I did in my room. There were other shows of that
ilk that I heard solo.
When I was listening to these, I'd often play with the various radio
premiums I had.
Because we survived the Pearl Harbor attack, the family made it a habit
to have a radio on at all times we were awake. Thus, we had soaps in the
background those weekdays I at home; I even heard President Truman's
announcement about Hiroshima because I was in bed with a cold when it was
broadcast. But during the day, radio was usually a background sound
unless a news bulletin came on.
Shows we usually listened to were The Great Gildersleeve, Mr. Keen, The
Adventures of Sam Spade, The Whistler, Twenty Questions, Richard Diamond,
and Our Miss Brooks. But we didn't just listen; we also did other things
while listening.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:32:00 -0500
From: David Loftus <dloft59@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: PBS otr tribute and XM programming
Michael Berger <intercom1@[removed]; recalled:
About 25 years ago, PBS produced a show that included
interviews with Jim Jordan, Kenny Delmar and others,
and included an Allen's Alley replay with Parker
Fennelly, Minerva Pious, Delmar and Peter Donald. You
can see it at the Museum of Broadcasting in NY but
don't think it ever was released to the general
public.
I think that's the one I saw and audio recorded when it
aired. I was fresh back from Germany where I used to
catch Frank Bresee's show on the Armed Forces Radio
Network station in Frankfurt.
As I recall, it started with someone (it may have been
aging Edgar Bergen with Charley in tow) pretending to
pick up the ancient radio waves of classic OTR shows
on a huge old cathedral radio. I recall a number of
classic routines replayed with stills of the performers
on screen. But the "Allen's Alley" recreation -- with
rotund, goodnatured vets sitting around a table -- was
pretty swell; the guy who did Fred Allen sounded quite
like him.
So this video is unavailable anywhere?
Secondly, people have been talking about XM satellite
radio. If anyone's been listening, I'd love to know what
OTR vets think about a show called "Dry Smoke and
Whispers," which has been airing now and then on XM.
I've done about a dozen voices for supporting characters
on the show, which is produced by a pair of guys here
in Portland who have been writing and creating the series
at various levels of technical quality since they were in
college in Florida 25 years ago. They try to do the show
in the style of a 1940s radio drama -- it's a sci-fi series
about a telepathic detective named Emille Song and
his scientist/weapons expert sidekick Professor Henchard.
They have a colorful Web site that does not yet have
much audio content, though that is promised:
[removed]
Part of the appeal is that it's not just a serial drama;
the creators also toss in lots of parodic news breaks
and advertisements (for toys, breakfast cereals,
home security systems, etc.)
As I say, I've done more than a dozen voices for it,
from a poofy arts reporter and a retired horror star
a la Vincent Price to an evil priest and several East
Indian miners who die horrible deaths, but I've yet to
hear an actual episode whole. So I'd be curious to
hear from anyone who has.
I can pass on your remarks, good and bad, to the
writer/producers of the show, too.
David Loftus
Portland, Oregon
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:32:36 -0500
From: "kierniesky" <kierniesky@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Jean Shepherd book
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"Excelsior, You Fathead," finally came out and I just received my copy from
Amazon a few days ago. I'm about a third through the 450 pages, and so far,
Bergmann has done a fine job describing Jean Shepherd's craft and trying to
understand the enigmatic personality. His radio work, starting in the
1950s, is on the edge of OTR interests, but I know that there are many on
this list interested in Shep. Those interested in him will find this a good
read. I have no vested interest in this book except to justify my misspent
youth listening to him late a night in lieu of homework and sleep.
-Nik Kierniesky
Gettysburg
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Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:32:48 -0500
From: "Edward Hutchison" <ehutchison@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Falcon
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One other bit of Falcon trivia: the title role in the movies was played by
John Calvert. I had the pleasure of meeting him and his wife last year at a
magicians convention in Fort Smith, AR. I can report that he is a very active
94 year old, whose stage act earned a well deserved standing ovation.
Edward Hutchison
Madison, MS
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Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:33:55 -0500
From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Satellite radio
Xm and Sirius Satellite radio are rumored to be
discussing merging, but they deny it publicly.
If this is true, the sad thing will be that for such an infant
technology, already corporate merging is taking place. That would mean
there would literally be no competition (within the USA) to
self-regulate each other and it will be like what is happening in cable
television and radio with corporate entities such as Clear Channel.
Jim Widner
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:59:35 -0500
From: "Lynn Noyes" <noyesl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: XM Radio
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Just received a letter from XM Radio that they are raising rates as of April
2. The rate will go from $[removed] to $[removed] a month. The new fee will include two
premium services for no additional charge---XM Radio Online and the High
Voltage Channel.
Will have to see if the service is worth the extra money.
Not affiliated with XM Radio just a long time subscriber.
Lynn
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 09:23:57 -0500
From: Mikeandzachary@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Ads on XM
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They may claim it's ad-free
XM claims that its *music channels* are free of advertising, and they are.
XM does promote itself a lot on its channels. That's true. On channels that
XM
produces in house, like their comedy channels, the commercials are fewer than
regular radio stations. On stations they import -- ABC and CNN, for instance
-- the commercial load is at it is on regular radio.
Mike
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--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #74
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