Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #302
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 8/6/2003 5:39 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 302
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Woollcott, Glick and Gluck            [ Bhob Stewart <bhob2@[removed]; ]
      "suspense"                            [ Richard Carpenter <sinatra@ragingbu ]
      RCA Victorola                         [ rscherago@[removed] ]
      "Bird Book"                           [ "Harry Machin Jr" <harbev5@earthlin ]
      Ad-Libbing                            [ "Scott Eberbach" <saeberbach@earthl ]
      RCA Victorola                         [ Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed] ]
      Grandma [removed]                      [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
      Re: MP3 players                       [ Garpboy@[removed] ]
      Topical humorists                     [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      True Eames Boardman, RIP              [ Max Schmid <max@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 16:10:49 -0400
    From: Bhob Stewart <bhob2@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Woollcott, Glick and Gluck

    A few more Zimbalist linkages and curiosities:

    Stephanie Zimbalist (b. 1956) is the daughter of East Coast socialite Stephanie
    Spaulding and actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (b. 1918). Stephanie Zimbalist’s
    brother,
    Efrem Zimbalist III, is president and CEO of Times Mirror. He has four
    children:
    Kristina, 33; Efrem Zimbalist IV, 31; McNair, 20; and Alexis, 22.

    Alma Gluck (1882-1938) was born Reba Feinsohn (sometimes given as Feirsohn) in
    Romania, came to NYC at age five, worked as a stenographer, married insurance
    man
    Bernard Glick in 1902 and became Reba Glick. In 1909 she adopted the stage name
    Alma Gluck and made her Met debut as a soprano, first recording for Victor in
    1911.
    Glick and Gluck split up in 1912.

    The daughter of Glick and Gluck was Abigail Marcia, aka the writer Marcia
    Davenport
    (1903-1996), who was friends with Toscanini, Gershwin and many others in the
    music
    world. Davenport left her staff position at THE NEW YORKER (1928-1931) to
    write her
    acclaimed biography MOZART (1932), followed by the novels that became the films
    EAST SIDE, WEST SIDE (1949) with Barbara Stanwyck and THE VALLEY OF DECISION
    (1945)
    with Gregory Peck. Oddly, her novel MY BROTHER’S KEEPER (1954), inspired by the
    1947 case of the weird, reclusive Collyer Brothers (Homer and Langley, not
    Bud),
    has never been filmed despite many movie options stretching over decades by
    filmmakers aware of the book’s PHANTOM OF THE OPERA-styled elements. Marcia
    Davenport appeared on INFORMATION PLEASE in 1943:
    [removed]

    The violinist-composer Efrem Zimbalist Sr. (1889-1985) and Gluck married in
    1914
    around the time Gluck's recording of "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" became the
    first Red Seal record to sell over one million copies. Hear Gluck sing "The
    Bird of
    the Wilderness": [removed]

    Zimbalist also did pop music. He was the composer of the 1920 Broadway musical
    HONEYDEW, and he appeared as an actor in the 1928 short film drama THE WALLS
    HAVE
    EARS. A singing angel and a violin are carved above the doorway of the
    Zimbalist
    House (225-227 E. 49th Street), built in 1926 and once shared by Gluck,
    Zimbalist
    and Davenport. After Henry Luce lived there, it became the 17th Precinct
    Station
    House during the 1950s and later was divided into apartments.

    Marcia Davenport was present during Alexander Woollcott’s on-the-air death
    (January
    23, 1943), and she later claimed she had killed him. She recalled that when
    she was
    a child she was regularly insulted by Woollcott during his visits with Gluck.
    It
    was the beginning of a lifelong feud, and they genuinely despised each other.
    Davenport arrived as a last-minute replacement for the CBS panel discussion,
    THE
    PEOPLE'S PLATFORM, joining the group that included Woollcott and Rex Stout to
    discuss "Is Germany Incurable?" Prior to the broadcast, Davenport and
    Woollcott had
    an exchange of verbal abuse and bitter invective. Seconds later, they were on
    the
    air live. Within minutes, Woollcott scribbled "I am sick" on a piece of paper
    and
    gasped for his glycerin tablets as he was struck down by a heart attack and a
    cerebral hemorrhage. Paralyzed on his left side, he was taken to Roosevelt
    Hospital
    and died. After he was cremated, his ashes went to the wrong place, finally
    arriving at the proper destination with 67 cents postage due.

    Bhob @ VINTAGE NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS @ [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 16:11:51 -0400
    From: Richard Carpenter <sinatra@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "suspense"

      Lately I've been on a "Suspense" kick, listening to
    dozens of programs. The chiller-thriller show deserves
    its reputation as one of radio's best series, but that
    doesn't mean all shows were created equal. I think the
    unsponsored programs at the beginning and end of the
    series' long run, were the dullest. The shows
    sponsored by Roma Wine were good, and the Auto
    Lite-sponsored shows, with a famous guest star
    virtually every week, were best. But oh those cornball
    Harlow Wilcox commercials! One other observation: If
    the show is set in England and you hear actors with
    phony Britishish accents, you can almost be certain
    that the program will be a snoozer.
                                          -- [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 16:38:31 -0400
    From: rscherago@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RCA Victorola

    Martin Grams, Jr. <mmargrajr@[removed];
    wrote: " . . A friend of mine . . . is
    "cleaning house" and . . .owns an original
    RCA Victorola. . . How much could it be
    worth? . . ."

    First, if it has a crank it's not an RCA -
    it's a Victor. RCA bought Victor long after
    the acoustic recorders that I assume you're
    referring to. I've seen these "Victrolas"
    both in tabletop nodels and consoles for
    anywhere from $100 to $500 or more in
    antique stores. Chances are if it's a table
    model it's worth more like $200 or so rather
    than $400.

    Bob Scherago
    Fairfax Station, VA

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 16:41:41 -0400
    From: "Harry Machin Jr" <harbev5@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  "Bird Book"

    Just 2 quick questions:  Was Mr. Kitzel the character who talked about
    his "bird book"?  I remember that amusing way a character said those
    words.  And was Kitzel the man who talked about his "mean old wife"?

    Harry Machin Jr
    harbev5@[removed]
    Why Wait?  Move to EarthLink.

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 16:11:31 -0400
    From: "Scott Eberbach" <saeberbach@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Ad-Libbing
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Let's not forget Fred Allen who was IMHO one of the best ad-libbers on Radio.
    Scott

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

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 17:16:07 -0400
    From: Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RCA Victorola

    For Martin Grams, who asked about an old record player for free:

    If your friend is advertising this as an RCA Victorola, there is
    something very [removed]

    It is very, very unlikely that this is a Victorola.  The name is
    Victrola.  And as I read your information, I believe you're speaking of
    an "antique" machine which should not say RCA on it.  Wrong era.

    Now we're past that, it's impossible to give you a value here.  There
    were so many talking machines made and so many terms mistakenly used as
    generic terms (like "Edison  Victrola" or "Victor Phonograph") that it's
    very hard to come up with true ideas.

    If indeed a Victrola, it should have an enclosed horn, with doors which
    act for appearance to close the machine to give it a finished look, but
    more importantly to act as a volume control.  Is it an upright or a
    console--meaning wider than as tall?   It would help if you could get
    the complete serial number, which should appear stamped into a plate on
    the board on which are mounted the turntable, tone arm, etc.  If there
    are letters in front of any number, they are important, such as "VV".

    Generally speaking, the upright Victrolas were so plentiful and so easy
    to keep running that they are ubiquitous and therefore not demanding a
    lot of money, but then of course there is always the uneducated buyer
    who will offer $400, or because he just HAS to have that thing, which is
    like the one he ruined when a kid visiting his grandmother.   Depending
    on the model, I would say that $400 is high; the more usual value would
    perhaps be $200 to $250.  I know, you'll see them priced much higher in
    fancy antique [removed] will they sell for that?  Not to anyone who
    knows the market!

    If you really want it, by all means get it, but I suggest that you
    thoroughly check it out to make sure everything works properly.  Make
    sure not to wind it (or any springwound device) too tightly.  You can
    probably find a talking machine guy somewhere near you who could come
    check it out for you.  It should sound good,  with no rattling noises
    indicating something loose inside the sound passageway.

    Sorry can't be more detailed in this.  If you wish to pursue this with
    more information, let me know and I can relay it to get more detailed
    information for you.  I suspect you'll get numerous other responses as well.

    Bestus, Lee Munsick

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 20:52:01 -0400
    From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Grandma [removed]

    Someone on this newsletter asked for a copy of the NBC Biography in Sound
    about Grandma Moses.  I discovered I have the program called "America's
    Grandma" that aired 9/4/56 with W. W. Chaplin as host.  If that person still
    needs the program, I can dub a cassette.

    Ted Kneebone/1528 S. Grant [removed], SD 57401/605-226-3344
    OTR: [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 22:58:35 -0400
    From: Garpboy@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: MP3 players

    Check out the Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen and Zen NX players.

    Both are hardrive players but have 3 very desirable OTR (and book on CD
    features:
    1. These models have a bookmark feature - - great for picking up where you
    left off at shutdown
    2. You can speed the play up when the going gets slow- - great in playing
    back mp3s of lectures
    3. The NX has instant on if you played your machine anytime in the past 24 hrs.

    The machine come in 20(Zen and Zen NX models), 30 (Zen NX only) and 60gb
    (Zen only) versions.  I just bought the 20 gb Zen and will publish my review
    in a week or two.

    You can visit their website, [removed], for the specifics.

    I bought the 20gb instead of the 60gb because once I load on, let's say, all
    my YTJD, Suspense, etc, I can erase the episode once I listen to it to make
    room for another series.  I have a simple ear- I'm not concerned about
    original playdates, west coast versus east coast versions, or whether or not
    there were 211 or 212 episodes of  "Johnny Gets a Life".

    Special note to our blind friend who recently queried us about mp3 players:
    Ask a sighted friend to investigate if some sort of software can be loaded
    onto this type of machine which would enunciate the series name and episode
    name for you ease.  This gizmo certainly seems to have many of the features
    you were looking for while you commute to work.

    Regards to all; and thanks to those who can see the leafs on the branches on
    the trees in the forest. Sometimes I can't see the trees, much less the
    forest.

    Gazza

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

    Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 10:18:49 -0400
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Topical humorists

>     Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 14:39:30 -0400
>     From: "Brian Johnson" <CHYRONOP@[removed];

>     The topical humorist seems to wane quickly. Have you ever heard any of
>     Johnny Carson's old monologues from "The Tonight Show"? Most are really
>     dreadfully dull today. Satire on cuurent events is lost once the outcome
>     of a historical event is [removed]

    I don't know, Nixon jokes still seem funny.  I remember a monolog -- I think
    it was Jack Paar -
    - after the "Saturday Night Massacre," when Nixon retreated and agreed to
    appoint another
    special prosecutor.  Paar said that Nixon claimed separation of powers --
    people were
    threatening to separate him from his powers.

    And, in the mid-1990s, long after the events at Chappaquiddick, when the QE2
    ran aground
    off Martha's Vinyard, there was a joke going around the Boston area which
    eventually made
    Jay Leno's monolog, about what the QE2 ran around on:  Ted Kennedy's car.

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

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

    Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 10:20:15 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

     From Those Were The Days --

    1928 - One of radio's first serials, Real Folks, debuted on NBC.

    1939 - After becoming a success with Ben Bernie on network radio, Dinah
    Shore started her own show on the NBC Blue network. Dinah sang every
    Sunday evening.

    Joe

    --
    Visit my homepage:  [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 13:55:12 -0400
    From: Max Schmid <max@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  True Eames Boardman, RIP

    Funny how this obit hit the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 list but not the
    OTR list. Too many  Bob Hope memories, perhaps?

    To avoid copyright issues, I will only quote one  line from their obit:

>     He was the screenwriter for the movie in episode 510- THE PAINTED HILLS.

    That was a Lassie movie. His radio writing credits include Family Theater
    and Silver Theater.

    Thanks to the fine research skills of our moderator, here is a link an
    on-line obit from the Associated Press.

    [removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #302
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