Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #380
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 12/11/2005 10:18 AM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2005 : Issue 380
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      ADMINISTRIVIA: Norman Corwin [removed]  [ Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed] ]
      Charles/Chuck Webster Not Synonymous  [ "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed] ]
      This week in radio history 11-17 Dec  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Re: A&A Queries                       [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Star Turns                            [ "Jim Harmon" <jimharmonotr@charter. ]
      Mike Wallace and Groucho Marx         [ Michael Berger <makiju@[removed]; ]
      12-11 births/deaths                   [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Re: when will we be on TV?            [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2005 00:15:50 -0500
    From: Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  ADMINISTRIVIA: Norman Corwin [removed]

    Folks;

       Quite a few months ago, some Digest subscribers helped XM's "The Bob
    Edward Show" gather material for their interview of Norman Corwin. Since so
    many people were so kind in sharing the programs they had, I wanted to make
    sure all Digest subscribers could get a copy of the shows, if they choose.
    It's taken me _far_ too long to get things together, but I'm _finally_ ready
    to make these shows available.

       I've gathered most of them (not all, I admit, but I have cleared the dupes
    from this large group) into a +400 MB ZIP file, and set up an experimental
    BitTorrent tracker on my server.

       I need to backtrack a little here and address some concerns I've heard
    about BitTorrent; the news media has, as usual with technological issues,
    spread more FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) than truth about this
    protocol. Yes, it can be (and is, by some people) used to distribute illegal
    files. But so is the Web, and FTP, and IRC. There is nothing illegal about
    the _protocol,_ only it's uses (kinda like a hammer which can be used to
    drive a nail or bash a thumb). And it doesn't install spyware, nor connect to
    anyone not downloading the _exact file_ you are. Each "tracker" is an island
    onto itself, so if you connect to mine, you can't even _see_ any other files,
    illegal or not; and those kids downloading illegal files can't see nor
    connect to you. Your bandwidth is used ONLY for the file you see in your
    window, and ONLY as long as you keep the window open.

       What _does_ happen is that everyone downloading a file "shares" pieces of
    the file among themselves; so if ten people are connected and downloading, my
    server needs only send maybe two copies of the file, and all ten get complete
    copies. It saves bandwidth on the server, while at the same time making
    downloads _faster_ since pieces of the file are coming from more than one
    place at the same time! (I'll be writing a Q/A blog entry about BitTorrent,
    to try to dispell some of the myths, but it probably won't be ready for a few
    days.)

       My favorite Windows BitTorrent client is BitTornado, at
    [removed] but the experimental tracker I'm using actually
    has a mini-client built-in, so if you don't have a client and don't want to
    install one, clicking the "Easy Download" link instead of the ".torrent" link
    will automagically install it.

       There is one thing you should remember about this, though; after your
    download is complete, PLEASE LEAVE THE BITTORRENT WINDOW OPEN AND DO NOT MOVE
    THE ZIP FILE! Once your computer has the entire file, you become a "seeder,"
    helping other people download the file faster. The longer you keep that
    window open, the more help you are to the other Digest subscribers who are
    downloading the file. While you are helping, you can open the ZIP, extract
    the contents, even burn it to a CD; so long as you leave the window open and
    don't move the ZIP file, you'll be doing a great service for your fellow
    subscribers!

       Thanks to some very generous folks who are helpng my server in the initial
    "seeding," the file is ready to be downloaded:

    [removed]

       There's a small test file you can use to test out the system, and the
    large [removed] file (which includes a mildly-informative [removed]
    file). And, of course, if you run into any problems, please contact me - if I
    don't know the answer, I can usually find it.

       Oh, dial-up downloaders are welcomed to pull the file as well; I'll try to
    keep it live until after Christmas, so as long as you are patient and willing
    to spend the time, you should be able to download this large collection of
    programs produced, directed, or written by Norman Corwin.

       (I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that, if you enjoy these shows as much
    as I think you will, other programs, and much better copies of some of the
    shows in this file, are available through Loadstone at Mr. Corwin's website,
    [removed] - that site also includes a large collection of
    information about Mr. Corwin's huge body of work, and his current endevors.)

       I want to thank all the folks who provided these programs for the Edwards
    show interview, and I'd also like to thank the folks who are helping my
    server "seed" this file so you all can download it faster!

             Charlie

       [removed] PLEASE leave your BitTorrent window open after your file hits 100%
    for as long as you possibly can - BitTorrent works best when everyone helps
    out the others, and the more seeds, the faster downloading is for everyone!

             Me

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

    Date: Sat, 10 Dec 2005 13:55:31 -0500
    From: "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Charles/Chuck Webster Not Synonymous

    This is in reply to Willis G. Saunders' posting, saying that the above two
    were not the same person.  Several weeks ago, I wrote to the Digest and made
    the observation that actor Webster, whose voice I remember very well from
    New York-based radio programs, sounded just like an actor on WXYZ.  I asked
    if Mr. Webster had ever been an actor on the Detroit programs.  I believe
    Ron Sayles gave his birthplace as England.  I received an answer, and I
    don't remember from whom, or whether off list or on, telling me that he was
    also a fan of Mr. Webster (notice, I am avoiding using either Charles, or
    Chuck), and that the actor was the same one whose voice I would hear on Lone
    Ranger programs.

    I am not good at many things, especially names of people who write to the
    Digest, but I am good at recognizing voices. Perhaps the gentleman who was
    kind enough to clarify things for me can return to give some information to
    Willis G. Saunders.  Thank you.

    OTRadiofan    Stuart

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

    Date: Sat, 10 Dec 2005 16:46:20 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  This week in radio history 11-17 December

     From Those Were The Days --

    12/11

    1944 - The Chesterfield Supper Club debuted on NBC. Perry Como, Jo
    Stafford and many other stars of the day shared the spotlight on the
    15-minute show that aired five nights a week. The show was sponsored by
    Chesterfield cigarettes.

    Little humour here:  The first display of the Northern Lights was
    recorded in America. The sighting was made in New England on this day in
    1719. The report said that a mysterious face seemed to appear in the
    atmosphere; and, since most aurora borealis displays occur in September
    and October and again in March and April, this is very strange, indeed!

    The green, red, and frost-white light displays occur most frequently
    when there is a great deal of sunspot activity.

    Old joke.  Phil Harris and Alice Faye go to Alaska to see the Northern
    Lights.  While watching them Phil notices Alice yawning and asks, "Does
    the aurora bore ya Alice?"

    12/12
     From The [removed] --

    1901 -- Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi receives the first
    transatlantic radio transmission in St. John's Newfoundland.

      From Those Were The Days --

    1937 - The Federal Communications Commission was a bit upset with NBC.
    The FCC scolded the radio network for a skit that starred Mae West. The
    satirical routine was based on the biblical tale of Adam and Eve and,
    well, it got a bit out of hand. So, following its scolding by the FCC,
    NBC banned Miss West from its airwaves for 15 years. Even the mere
    mention of her name on NBC was a no-no.

    12/13

    1942 - The characters of Allen's Alley were presented for the first time
    on The Fred Allen Show. This particular segment of the show became very
    popular and was used by Allen until 1949. Remember the stops along the
    way in Allen's Alley? They were at the Brooklyn tenement of Mrs.
    Nussbaum, the farmhouse of Titus Moody, the shack of Ajax Cassidy and
    the antebellum mansion of Senator Beauregard Claghorn.

    12/14

    1953 - Fred Allen returned from semiretirement to narrate Prokofiev's
    classic, Peter and the Wolf, on the Bell Telephone Hour on NBC.

    12/16

    1949 - After a decade on radio, Captain Midnight was heard for the final
    time.

    12/17

    1936 - Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen kidded around with his pal, Charlie
    McCarthy (who was a bit wooden, we [removed]), for the first time on
    radio. The two debuted on The Rudy Vallee Show on NBC. Soon, Bergen
    became one of radio's hottest properties, and was called Vallee's
    greatest talent discovery.

    Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:  [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 10 Dec 2005 16:47:05 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: A&A Queries

    On 12/10/05 12:02 PM [removed]@[removed] wrote:

>     So, was the story of the lock invention also on CBS, probably in late 1949
>     or 1950? If so, I can't see any reference to it in the logs I have
>     consulted.

    The "Lock Invention" program was not repeated during 1949-1950, at least
    not according to any of the information I've found. My original log was
    based on Charles Correll's own listing of scripts broadcast during the
    half-hour series -- and I actually own the original 1947 script for the
    "Lock Invention" episode, neither of which sources bear any evidence or
    indication of a 1949-50 rebroadcast.

    There's two possibilities here - either someone took an edited recording
    of the 1947 broadcast and goat-glanded it with commercials from a later
    program, or a quick rework of the Lock Invention script was subbed at the
    last minute for the script actually prepared for that date. Personally, I
    think the former case more likely than the latter, but without access to
    the actual disc from which your original recording was transferred (or a
    confession from the goat-glander), there's no way to know for sure.

    Scripts were very often reworked and repeated during the later years of
    the half-hour series.  The Thanksgiving script was indeed recycled in
    1950 from the previous year.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Sat, 10 Dec 2005 16:49:27 -0500
    From: "Jim Harmon" <jimharmonotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Star Turns
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    The Sayles listing of vital dates for Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as star of the
    Silent Men" brings up an interesting point.
        I am sure Fairbanks did do radio, other programs listed, and he must have
    been on Lux Theatre at some time, a guest on comedy shows.  HOWEVER, in the
    episodes of "Silent Men" I have heard, the man identified as Douglas Fairbanks
    Jr. is NOT him, but someone impersonating him.  Specifically, I believe it is
    Paul Frees impersonating him.
        If I am correct, this would be misleading at the least.  It would also
    seem dishonest and possibly illegal.   But it was not unheard of.  One of the
    more famous examples is Tom Mix, who was impersonated, but identified as being
    impersonated.  After his 1940 death, there was no such identification as
    Russell Thorson continued to play the part for several years.   After 1944, it
    was "Tom Mix was played by Curley Bradley".  Admiral Richard E. Byrd was
    regularly impersonated in a series, as was Father Flanagan of Boy's Town.
        I have on tape a show called something like "Radio Theatre" (can't recall
    exact title) hosted by Robert Young and starring that week "Henry Fonda" and
    "Lucille Ball".   It really is Young, but "Fonda" is, again, Paul Frees, doing
    an excellent impression, and Barbara Ludy is "Ball" sounding nothing like her,
    at all.
    The actors even do "Lux" type interviews with Young, maintaining the fiction.
        There is also in my files a Lux Theatre of "Dragonwyck" with Vincent Price
    and supposedly Gene Tierney but again it is not her, but a radio actress who I
    can't quite identify, possibly Lorene Tuttle.   This may have been a rehearsal
    and not an actual broadcast.
        Another Lux version of the movie "Margie" has Ann Blythe in the "frame"
    looking through old photos in the attic and recalling her youth.  In the
    flashbacks, the majority of the presentation, Blythe does not adopt a younger
    voice but the part is played throughout by Janet Waldo.   Blythe, the star of
    record, has only a cameo appearance.
         There are Jack Benny shows around where Mary Livingston is not Mary, but
    Jack and Mary's adopted daughter, Joan.   By tape editing, Mary was later
    inserted before broadcast.
        Apparently, the "fake" star turns that did get on the air were, at least,
    not illegal in those days.  Perhaps other Digest subscribers have other
    examples, or who can correct me if I have made an error from memory.
        In February, BearManor will release "It's That Time Again -- New Stories
    of Old Time Radio -- Vol. 3" edited by me, Jim Harmon, with three stories by
    me, one in collaboration with Jon D. Swartz, who also contributes another
    story, and selections by Martin Grams Jr., Ted Kneebone, Richard Lupoff,
    Barbara Gratz (Harmon), Dawn Kovner, and others, some familiar to readers of
    these columns.
    Order yours in advance from BearManor to be the first kid on the block to get
    yours!
        JIM HARMON
        JIM HARMON

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

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

    Date: Sat, 10 Dec 2005 23:34:23 -0500
    From: Michael Berger <makiju@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Mike Wallace and Groucho Marx

    Doubtless someone has mentioned this before, but I was
    stunned, listening to a 1949 You Bet Your Life,
    sponsored by Elgin America, to hear a commercial read
    by a man introduced by George Fenneman as "Myron
    Wallace."  I thought, no, it couldn't be, but it was -
    the voice unmistakeable, almost insisting that I
    should purchase a vanity dresser set or cigarette case
    at my earliest opportunity.

    So he read commericals in LA before heading back East
    to fame and fortune. Any other shows he did on the
    coast? He remarked in a recent interview that he did
    intros from the WXYZ serial shows out of Detroit, but
    no mention of his work in California.

    Michael Berger

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2005 10:00:27 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  12-11 births/deaths

    December 11th births

    12-11-1882 - Fiorello La Guardia - New York, NY - d. 9-20-1947
    New York, NY mayor: "Douglas Corrigan Parade"; "This Is New York"; "Reads the
    Funnies"
    12-11-1883 - Victor McLaglen - Tunbridge Wells, England - d. 11-7-1959
    actor: Captain Flagg "Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt"; Mountie Eric Lewis
    "Red Trails"
    12-11-1894 - Eddie Dowling - Woonsocket, RI - d. 2-18-1976
    host: "We, the People"; "Ziegfeld Follies of the Air"
    12-11-1905 - Pare Lorentz - Clarksburg, WV - d. 3-4-1992
    writer: "Columbia Workshop"
    12-11-1910 - Samuel Kurtzman - d. 1-14-1998
    writer: "The Bob Hope Show"
    12-11-1911 - Beecher Pete Kirby - Sevierville, TN - d. 10-17-2002
    dobro, guitar, banjo player: (Member Smokey Mountain Boys) "Grand Ole Opry"
    12-11-1911 - Sam Levenson - New York, NY - d. 8-27-1980
    humorist: "Arthur Godfrey Show"; "City Club Forum"
    12-11-1914 - Marie Windsor - Marysville, UT - d. 12-10-2000
    actress: "Escape"; "Suspense"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    12-11-1920 - Eddie Firestone, Jr. - San Francisco, CA
    actor: Joey Brewster "That Brewster Boy"; William Herbert Murray "One Man's
    Family"

    December 11th deaths

    01-05-1938 - Lindsay Crosby - California - d. 12-11-1989
    actor: "Bing Crosby Show"
    01-15-1914 - Carlos Ramirez - Tocaim, Colombia - d. 12-11-1986
    vocalist: "Grapevine Rancho"
    01-31-1909 - Walter Coy - Great Falls, MT - d. 12-11-1974
    actor: Michael Lanyard/Lone Wolf "Lone Wolf"
    02-20-1906 - Richard Himber - Newark, NJ - d. 12-11-1966
    bandleader: "Studebaker Champions"; "Your Hit Parade"
    04-14-1914 - Arnold Perl - d. 12-11-1971
    writer: "The Big Story"; "I Fly Anything"; "The Amazing Mr. Tutt"
    04-25-1921 - Robert Q. Lewis - New York, NY - d. 12-11-1991
    disc jockey, comedian, host: "Arthur Godrey Time"; "Robert Q. Lewis Show"
    05-28-1898 - Andy Kirk - Newport, KY - d. 12-11-1992
    bandleader: (Clouds of Joy) "Andy Kirk and His Orchestra"
    05-28-1912 - Dave Barbour - Flushing, NY - d. 12-11-1965
    orchestra leader, composer, actor: "Electric Hour"; "Chesterfield Supper Club"
    06-25-1911 - Reed Hadley - Petrolia, TX - d. 12-11-1974
    actor: Red Ryder "Red Ryder"; Chad Remington "Frontier Town"
    07-16-1888 - Percy Kilbride - San Francisco, CA - d. 12-11-1964
    actor,host: "Paul Whiteman Presents"; "Melody Round-Up"; "Stars in the Air"
    08-08-1900 - James Pierce - Freedom, IN - d. 12-11-1983
    actor: Tarzan "Tarzan"
    09-03-1893 - Anthony Collins - Hastings, England - d. 12-11-1963
    composer: "Ceiling Unlimited"
    09-11-1909 - Anne Seymour - New York, NY - d. 12-11-1988
    actress: "Mary Marlin "Story of Mary Marlin"; Francie Nolan "Tree Grows in
    Brooklyn"
    09-16-1908 - Neil Reagan - Tampico, IL - d. 12-11-1996
    director,announcer: (Brother of Ron) "Dr. Christian"; "Straight Arrow"
    09-19-1910 - Arthur Mullard - London, England - d. 12-11-1995
    actor: Jack (Dad Porter) "Industrial Inaction"; "Brothers In Law"
    10-09-1915 - Lee Wiley - d. 12-11-1975
    singer: "Lee Wiley"; "Eddie Condon's Jazz Concerts"; "It's Florida's Treat"
    xx-xx-xxxx - Lou Maury - d. 12-11-1975
    pianist: "What's the Name of That Song?"
    --
    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2005 10:30:14 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: when will we be on TV?

       Mark Kinsler wrote --

>     Wrestling and puppets were almost the only thing on television in those
>     days. Radio was still more entertaining.

       IHMO, otr still is (with rare exceptions).  :)
       Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:  [removed]~[removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #380
    *********************************************

    Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
      including republication in any form.

    If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
       [removed]

    For Help: [removed]@[removed]

    To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

    To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
      or see [removed]

    For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
      in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

    To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

    To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]