------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2009 : Issue 43
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
2-26 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Re: OTR License Plate [ "Robert M. Bratcher Jr." <bratcher@ ]
Television ready and radio ownership [ "W. Harris" <nbcblue@[removed]; ]
Re: Not Everybody Had a Radio During [ <georgewagner@[removed]; ]
re: OTR-related license plates [ "Michael J. Laurino" <mlaurino@[removed] ]
Re: Information, Please! [ Peter Boe <boe5650@[removed]; ]
I Heart OTR [ Andrew Steinberg <otrdig2@[removed] ]
Re: Radioquiolism [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
InfoPls intros [ Michael Berger <[removed]@yaho ]
Re: Information, Please! [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
Wendy Richard, RIP [ Robert Paine <ka3zci@[removed]; ]
Re: Not everyone had a radio during [ Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:12:37 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 2-26 births/deaths
February 26th births
02-26-1875 - Emma Dunn - Cheshire, England - d. 12-14-1966
actor: "The Eveready Hour"
02-26-1887 - William Frawley - Burlington, IA - d. 3-3-1966
comedian: Fred Mertz "I Love Lucy", "Hallmark Playhouse"; "Hollywood
Hotel"
02-26-1888 - William Lynn - Providence, RI - d. 1-5-1952
actor: Casper Milquestoast "The Timid Soul"; Mac "Tillie the Toiler"
02-26-1891 - Alan Bridge - Pennsylvania - d. 12-27-1957
actor: "The Eddie Bracken Show"
02-26-1891 - Josef Bonime - Vilna, Poland - d. 11-8-1959
conductor: "Death Valley Days"; "Echoes of New York"
02-26-1898 - Fiddlin' Sid Harkreader - Wilson County, TN - d. 3-19-1988
banjo player: "Grand Ole Opry"
02-26-1900 - Jean Negulesco - Craiova, Rumaina - d. 7-18-1993
film director, screenwriter: "Screen Director's Playhouse"; "Lux Radio
Theatre"
02-26-1903 - Donald Baker - Ontario, Canada - d. 6-26-1989
organist: WOR Newark, New Jersey
02-26-1906 - Madeleine Carroll - West Bromwich, England - d. 10-2-1987
actor: "The Circle"; "NBC Radio Theatre"; "Stage Door Canteen"
02-26-1907 - Hal Fimberg - d. 4-6-1974
writer, director, producer: "Abbott and Costello"; "Spike Jones"
02-26-1911 - Warren M. Lewis - d. 3-28-1997
producer: "Silver Theatre"; "Stars Over Hollywood"
02-26-1912 - Dane Clark - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-11-1998
actor: Perry 'Quiz' Quisinberry "Passport for Adams
02-26-1914 - Robert Alda - NYC - d. 5-3-1986
singer: "Rudy Vallee Presents the Drene Show"
02-26-1914 - Roy Maypole - d. 7-4-1976
creator, writer: "Heart's Desire"; "Stepmother"
02-26-1915 - Eddie Gallaher - Washington, [removed] - d. 11-26-2003
disc jockey: "Moon Dial"; "On a Sunday Afternoon"
02-26-1916 - Dick Dunham - NYC - d. 11-24-1989
announcer: "Strange Romance of Evelyn Winters"
02-26-1916 - Jackie Gleason - Brooklyn, NY - d. 6-24-1987
comedian: "Jackie Gleason-Les Tremayne Show"
02-26-1916 - Peter Brough - West London, England - d. 6-3-1999
ventriloquist: "Educating Archie"; "Navy Mixture"
02-26-1918 - Theodore Sturgeon - Staten Island, NY - d. 5-12-1985
science fiction writer: "Beyond Tomorrow"; "X Minus One"; "Future Tense"
02-26-1919 - Mason Adams - NYC - d. 4-26-2005
actor: Larry 'Pepper' Young "Pepper Young's Family" Ned Scott "Jones
and I"
02-26-1920 - Antony Kearey - London, England - d. 9-16-1997
producer: "The Shetland Wildcat"
02-26-1920 - Michael Pate - Sydney, Australia - d. 9-1-2008
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
02-26-1920 - Tony Randall - Tulsa, OK - d. 5-17-2004
actor: Reggie York "I Love A Mystery"
02-26-1921 - Betty Hutton - Battle Creek, MI - d. 3-11-2007
singer: "Radio Almanac"; "Radio Hall of Fame"; "[removed] Steel Hour"
02-26-1921 - Clarice Blackburn - San Francisco, CA - d. 8-5-1995
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
02-26-1922 - Margaret Leighton - Barnt Green, England - d. 1-13-1976
actor: "Variety Playhouse"; "Pocket Theatre"
02-26-1926 - David Frankham - Kent, England
actor: Andy Barbour "One Man's Family"
02-26-1928 - Fats Domino - New Orleans, LA
singer: "Guest Star"
02-26-1928 - John Ewart - Melbourne, Australia - d. 3-8-1994
actor: "Snow White"
02-26-1932 - Johnny Cash - Kingsland, AR - d. 9-12-2003
singer: "Grand Ole Opry"; "Louisiana Hayride"
02-26-1933 - Godfrey Cambridge - NYC - d. 11-29-1976
actor: "Voices of Vista"
February 26th deaths
01-09-1920 - Betty Roche - Wilmington, DE - d. 2-26-1999
singer: "Duke Ellington and His Orchestra"; "Spotlight Bands"
02-20-1900 - Paul Conlan - Indiana - d. 2-26-1980
writer, director: "Abbott and Costello Show"; "The Signal Carnival"
03-15-1919 - Lawrence Tierney - Brooklyn, NY - d. 2-26-2002
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
03-28-1915 - Joel Murcott - d. 2-26-1978
writer, director: "Tales of the Texas Rangers"; "Yours Truly, Johnny
Dollar"
04-29-1896 - Harry McNaughton - Surbiton, England - d. 2-26-1967
actor, panelist: Higgins "It's Higgins. Sir"; "It Pays to Be Ignorant"
07-05-1903 - Hester Sondergaard - Minnesota - d. 2-26-1994
actor: (Sister of Gale Sondergaard) "Columbia Presents Corwin";
"Studio One"
08-14-1870 - Harry Lauder - Edinburgh, Scotland - d. 2-26-1950
singer: "Sir Harry Lauder"; "The Fourth Christmas"
08-28-1908 - Genevieve Rowe - Freemont, OH - d. 2-26-1995
singer: "Gay Nineties Revue"; "Songs America Loves"; "An Evening with
Romberg"
10-28-1896 - Howard Hanson - Wahoo, NE - d. 2-26-1981
conductor, composer: "New York Philharmonic"; "ASCAP World's Fair
Concert"
11-29-1913 - Harry Bartell - New Orleans, LA - d. 2-26-2004
actor: Archie Goodwin "Advs. of Nero Wolfe"; "Adv of Sherlock Holmes";
"Gunsmoke"
12-10-1889 - Arthur Vinton - Brooklyn, NY - d. 2-26-1963
actor: Killer Kane "Buck Rogers"; Commissioner Weston "The Shadow"
12-26-1900 - Charles Perry - NYC - d. 2-26-1967
producer, sports announcer: WHN New York
xx-xx-1855 - Adelaide Fitz-Allen - d. 2-26-1935
actor: Old Nancy, the witch of Salem "The Witch's Tale"
Ron
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:12:50 -0500
From: "Robert M. Bratcher Jr." <bratcher@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: OTR License Plate
I've thought about getting a vanity plate of Jack Benny like 4EVR 39
Or JCK BNY but I don't know if anybody in Texas would know what it
means like people can't figure out OTR Fan either.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:13:54 -0500
From: "W. Harris" <nbcblue@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Television ready and radio ownership
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George Wagner comments about the "television" jacks on console radios from the
1930's (and into the 1940's).
The idea was more of a sales gimmick than anything else. However there were
several manufacturers who did produce some sets in the late pre-war era that
did not have the audio amplifier circuitry to drive a speaker, but were to be
connect to the "TV jack" and use the audio output section of the radio. RCA,
GE, and Silvertone were some. Philco made a set that would broadcast the audio
to a nearby receiver tuned to the short wave frequency of [removed] mHz.
Herb Harrison comments on radio ownership during the WWII years.
Not everybody had a radio during WWII?
Here is a breakdown of radio ownership from 1940 through 1945.
Number of Households that owned a radio and percentage of All Households.
1940 - 28,500,000 - [removed]
1941 - 29,300,000 - [removed]
1942 - 30,600,000 - [removed]
1943 - 30,800,000 - [removed]
1944 - [removed] - [removed]
1945 - 33,100,000 - [removed]
The average receive cost - $38
From "Stay Tuned" Sterling & Kittro
I would have thought that the ownership would have taken a really large
bump right after the [removed] entered the war, as people would want a radio
to keep up with the war news.
Below is the percentage of farms with electricity.
1935 - [removed]
1940 - [removed]
1943 - 40%
1945 - 48%
Some farms did have "farm sets", radios that operated on batteries, but often,
one of the first things purchased after getting electricity was an ac powered
radio.
From a Household Diary in Oklahoma
July 27, 1939 - Signed up for co-operative membership
June 1, 1940 - Uncle Lark wired house
August 8, 1940 - Got electricity
January 26, 1940 - Bought a washer
October 29, 1940 - Bought a radio
Notice the first item was a washer, momma comes first. You know the saying,
"If momma ain't [removed]"
Bill H.
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:14:24 -0500
From: <georgewagner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Not Everybody Had a Radio During World War
II?
Herb, this goes against the "common wisdom" with which I was raised, and I'm
only two years your senior. (Of course, "common wisdom" can be entirely
erroneous.)
My understanding is that the main reason television sales were so
strongly pushed in the eastern United States during 1948-1949 was due to the
fact that the market for radios had become saturated by all the sets
purchased during the 1930s (when they provided free entertainment) and
ESPECIALLY during World War Two, when parents wanted to keep abreast of
events in those areas where they believed their children were serving.
It's also my understanding that friends, family and even local charity
organizations GAVE new and used radios to destitute families who had
patriotically waved their children off to War.
Sincerely,
George Wagner
georgewagner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:14:16 -0500
From: "Michael J. Laurino" <mlaurino@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: OTR-related license plates
Fred Hillman noted:
came out with a suggested IL license plate with former Governors Ryan
and Blagojevich's photos on them and proposing the slogan "Where our
governors make our license plates." Hear, hear!
which reminds me of Jean Shepherd's slogan for another state:
"New Jersey: The state with the most mayors in the slammer."
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:15:02 -0500
From: Peter Boe <boe5650@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Information, Please!
I listen often and avidly to 'Info, Please!' because I believe it
to be an extremely interesting and edifying program, on a
number of levels.
But the main reason is because of the frequent presence of Oscar Levant,
one of the funniest and most talented raconteurs to ever hit
the airwaves.
I would also like to take this opportunity to ask if anyone knows
of other sources of Levant audio. I have him on a bunch of the
'Kraft' programs w/ Al Jolson, but his character on that show,
even though he plays himself, seems stilted, stiff, and a bit
unlike the real Oscar.
Any help much appreciated!
PJB/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:15:22 -0500
From: Andrew Steinberg <otrdig2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: I Heart OTR
I saw an "I Heart OTR" bumper sticker on a car on Oak Street in Cincinnati
this month. Which one of you was it?
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:15:47 -0500
From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Radioquiolism
Michael Biel asked:
It is often cited that Edgar Bergan was the first
ventriloquist on radio, but here is a graphic that
looks like it is from the 1920s picturing "Harry
Ferris Presenting Radioquiloism" ...
Does this ring a bell with anyone?
I found a few newspaper references to Ferris as a stage ventriloquist; the
earliest was 1916 and the latest was 1939. He was known for having a "walking
dummy" and, by '39, was billed as "the daddy of all ventriloquists."
The February 13, 1926 Elyria, Ohio Chronicle Telegram lists some of the acts
appearing that week at the Elyria Rialto and mentions that 'Harry Ferris,
well known and popular ventriloquist, has a brand new novelty, which he calls
"Radioquiolism." It's a scream.' An adjacent ad for the theater confirms
this:
... VAUDEVILLE'S LATEST-- "RADIOQUIDLISM" [sic] / HARRY FERRIS ...
The following year, the same paper's November 26, 1927 issue lists some
Rialto acts and mentions "Ventriloquist Harry Ferris offering what he terms a
Radiologue. It's great." An adjacent ad promotes "That Humorous Fellow Harry
Ferris And His Radiologue."
So I'm guessing that, around '25-'28 at least, he used a radio in his act.
According to some 1939 Wisconsin papers, he was apparently touring with radio
artists like Bob White ("formerly of WLS national barn dance who appeared as
the Doughboy and imitated various sounds of war, bird and animal calls") in
shows staged and emceed by Col. E. F. Mumm. But it's not clear from the
articles whether Ferris himself was considered a radio artist.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:16:19 -0500
From: Michael Berger <[removed]@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: InfoPls intros
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The rooster intro on InfoPls was used by Canada Dry and a decade later, after
it became a sustaining show, the rooster intro was revived. Lucky Strike
opened with its tobacco auctioneer pitch, Heinz used a voice intro only and
Mobil used the electronic hoofbeats fading into the real thing.
Michael
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:16:26 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Information, Please!
According to Dunning, IP had several sponsors over the years.
Canada Dry, 1938-1940
Lucky Strikes, 1940-1943
Heinz 57 1943-1945
Mobil Oil 1945-46
Parker Pens 1946-47
These sponsors generally ran during the season, September to June.
Joe
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:16:58 -0500
From: Robert Paine <ka3zci@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Wendy Richard, RIP
I'm sad to report that British actress Wendy Richard, Miss Brahms of Are You
Being Served?, passed away after a brave fight with breast cancer. She was 65
years young. Ms. Richard also played the part of Pauline on East Enders (or
EastEnders) for 22 years. I have no information of her being directly
involved in radio (I believe she was) but she was - proudly - a card-carrying
member of a fan club for the BBC radio serial "The Archers".
We lost a lovely lady and I'm sure the Grace Brothers store is draped in
invisible black crepe. Thanks, Wendy, for all you gave us, and sympathies to
her husband, friends, associates and fans. We miss you already.
Bob Paine
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:04:27 -0500
From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Not everyone had a radio during WWII
Kristi Phillips, while discussing radio ownership during the depression and
WW II, mentioned "For those who didn't have electricy, well, they wouldn't
have one of course." Not true. Many companies, especially the catalogs like
Sears and Monkey Wards sold radios -- even large consoles! -- that ran on
batteries and looked just like regular plug-in radios. She also said "I
guess for those who didn't have a radio got their war news from the
newspaper". Right, but if they were in rural areas beyond the electric wires,
going into town for a newspaper would not be a steady daily thing. Kristi
continued, "or by word of mouth from neighbors or folks in town." Yep,
sittin' 'round the ole cracker barrel at the country store!!! Reminds me of
a great funny record done by Cal Stewart (Uncle Josh) during World War One,
"War Talk At Pumpkin Center". They end up talking about how their womenfolk
are spending all their time rolling bandages and baking cookies to send to
the wounded in Belgium. The record ends with him singing a song "Gosh I Wish
I Were A Belgian!" Actually, one source of war news during WW II that is
usually overlooked were the newsreels in the movie theatres. Coupled with
the pictures in Life magazine and the newspapers, WW II was not just an aural
war. They did see the visuals as well even before widespread TV. (And
remember, NBC Television DID televise the VE Day celebration in Times
Square!)
Randy A. Riddle discusses radio ownership in his family's area of Appalachia,
which is a region near where I live in Kentucky. Just a week ago our state
public TV service re-aired a series of programs about Appalachia and music,
which, among other things, discussed how the coming of radio to the mountains
affected the growth and development of hill and country music. They didn't
give saturation figures, but they seemed to feel that there was an influence
even in the back hills going as far as into the early 20s. As for your
parents not owning a TV until around 1958-59, this was partially influenced
by whether there were TV signals available in your area. Because of the
freeze on station applications from 1948 thru 1952, Lexington, KY didn't get
its first TV station till around 1956, and it was tough to get the stations
from Cincinnati and Huntington before then. This was true even in many
non-rural areas. And where I live, even after the stations started arriving,
it was a situation of either having cable or not having TV, and even in our
college town we didn't get cable until 1956. (And digital TV is eliminating
most fringe-area reception.)
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2009 Issue #43
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