------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2006 : Issue 327
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Old, New; Good, [removed] (meh!) [ Wich2@[removed] ]
Happy Thanksgiving! [ "thomas heathwood" <HeritageRadio@m ]
MP3 Quality [ Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed]; ]
Altman and OTR [ Steve Carter <scarter2@[removed]; ]
MP3 Player fitted in Auto's [ Roy Moore <roymoore1000@[removed]; ]
Sounds good? [ Wich2@[removed] ]
Fake Phone Numbers [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Harvey and Dell [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
Appointment With Fear [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
otrphone numbers [ "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed]; ]
Robert Altman [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
Pittsburgh Courier News [ "Paul Adomites" <padomites@ccyberne ]
BBC Radio [ Michael Shoshani <mshoshani@sbcglob ]
11-23 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
Pricing collections [ "RadioAZ@[removed]" <radioAZ@bas ]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 13:23:19 -0500
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Old, New; Good, [removed] (meh!)
Dear Folks-
I've read with interest the posts about OTR recreations. Took me a while to
formulate some thoughts (thanks for the prod, Jim Widner!)
Ken Greenwald, I would basically agree with your contention that a
recreation is not an original. Then again, it is not meant to be; the goal
of the
entities was/is somewhat different.
(Though I would say, after having been involved in many recreations, as well
as producing my own new broadcast material, that I recall one that damn near
hit both marks. When I heard Fred Berney's recording of FOTR -05's "The Plot
to Overthrow Christmas," I recall thinking that, with a few hours of digital
tweaking, the piece would be worthy of NPR or [removed])
Stuart Lubin, it was a pleasure to meet you at that same Convention. And I
would basically concur with your balanced view, of work old & new. I can
appreciate both "loving Amateur" and "seasoned Pro" productions - but for
different reasons. They're basically apples & oranges.
When this small town (Defiance, Ohio) Lutheran boy first moved to NYC, I was
shocked to find that many city churches had paid "ringers" in their choirs:
"Shouldn't this work be JUST from/for the heart?"
(But I soon realized, their IS something to be said for [removed])
Conversely, I was offended when my Opera Singer wife made critical comments
about amateur singers:
"Shouldn't the good intentions be the important point?"
(After all, at the end of the day, I believe that Love trumps [removed])
So, there is a place for both. The problem arises, when folks confuse the
two:
"Hey - we did a SHADOW with my friends, and podcast it! So it's "real!"
(Well, yeah - but only in SOME [removed])
Let's remove the rose-colored glasses. There are performers who did plenty
of very bad acting in network OTR - and still do it in current recreations.
On
the other side, there are contemporary audio actors who do terrific work.
TERRIFIC work; with no apology of any kind required.
>From a personal perspective, I've seen great recreation performances by such
OTR stalwarts as dear departed Larry Robinson, and Don Buka. But also by
folks like Simon Jones, and Kevin Scullin - neither of whom were a part of
classic era network radio.
In the past month, I was a lucky to be a part of Quicksilver Radio Theater's
"Young Mr. Lincoln," and saw excellent work by Susan Muir, Dan Renkin, &
Scott Glascock; ditto, in FOTR's "Mercury JULIUS CEASAR," with Arthur
Anderson,
Cliff Carpenter, & Hal Stone.
Bottom line?
When the rubber hits the road, pedigree and venue don't mean a tinker's dam:
at the end of the day, a Good Audio Performance is A Good Audio Performance.
Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours,
-Craig Wichman
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 13:23:37 -0500
From: "thomas heathwood" <HeritageRadio@[removed];
To: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Happy Thanksgiving!
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Happy Thanksgiving Charlie and to all the readers of the OTR DIGEST!.
Hope you will enjoy the special Thanksgiving shows on all our retrospect
programs on the
Olde Tyme Radio Network (24/7 all week) at:
[removed]<[removed]
t>
Tom Heathwood - Heritage Radio Theatre / Heritage Radio Classics
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 13:55:01 -0500
From: Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed];
To: old time radio digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: MP3 Quality
Shawn Wells at The Old Time Radio Shop digitally restored his MP3
Collection to 44/192 (in stereo). In his opinion, this is the best
combination for high quality MP3. I'm listening to Frontier Gentleman
CD1 from Shawn's Old Time Radio Shop. There are 14 episodes on this CD.
It appears that you give up quantity for quality. All his MP3 CDs have
"Highest Quality Anywhere" on their label.
Shawn's web site [removed] has been unavailable for several
years. Now, someone else has this web site. Does anyone know what
happened to Shawn and his high quality MP3 collection?
Jim Kitchen
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 15:04:04 -0500
From: Steve Carter <scarter2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Altman and OTR
Here is a little article about Altman and Keilor speaking together at
The Museum of Television and Radio in NYC last month. They talked
about OTR some and there is a mention of Altman's meeting Corwin for
the first time, it a perfect movie moment "cute meet"
[removed]
BTW; I loved the youtube Corwin clips. I'll have to buy the DVD.
Steve
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 15:54:21 -0500
From: Roy Moore <roymoore1000@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: MP3 Player fitted in Auto's
Hi All,
In answer to a writers question re mp3 players fitted in auto's. Did
you know you can purchase a small transmitter that plugs into a cars
cigaret lighter? Into this plugs your small mp3 player. The
transmitter broadcasts a signal to a spare band on your radio and hey
presto, OTR from your radio. I have not yet tried this gadget but
they can be had from [removed] The cost is about 18 pound plus postage.
Roy
***** WARNING! UNHANDLED BAD CHARACTER!!!!!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:03:50 -0500
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Sounds good?
Dear Wayne-
Thanks for your informative post.
A point I've been pondering myself, of late, as I work on some old stuff:
AM radio frequency response tops out at about 7khz so a sampling
rate if 14000 or slightly greater would be all that is necessary to record
anything from an AM [removed];
That makes sense. But -
- If I follow you, you are speaking as if EVERY OTR source is an AIRCHECK;
in other words, an "off-site" recording of sound that has already been
subjected to compression (sometimes, at more than one stage.)
However, I think we've all heard the amazing dynamic range and transparency
of a STUDIO-originated disc (or later, tape.)
Such sound, that has come right from the Mics, and went straight to a
Cutter/Recorder from the Board, would be much "fuller" - wider in range - yes?
-Craig W.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:06:37 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Fake Phone Numbers
Someone on the Digest asked:
So what did radio shows do when they had to use a bogus telephone number on
the air? On TV nowadays they use 555, as in 555-1234, because 555 is an
exchange used only for telephone system work and thus will not connect you
to the bedroom of a litigious person in New Jersey somewhere. But I don't
recall ever hearing 555 on a radio show, and it would seem that networks
would be concerned over clueless listeners who idly call telephone numbers
they heard in a radio drama.
It varied from program to program. I have a copy of a sheet (courtesy of
Bill Abbott) provided to Phillips H. Lord for GANG BUSTERS and DAVID HARDING
from a phone company so the script writers would be sure to make all phone
numbers dialed on the air were ficticious.
Today the phone numbers 555 - 0100 through 555 - 0199 are all ficticious.
Though (and this is the idiot trivia I enjoy) some television programs today
actually insert real phone numbers into episodes for fun. I know this may
sound bad to say, but if you watch a movie or TV show and you see a phone
number that isn't 555 or is 555 - 0200+, call it. Here's a few reasons
[removed]
Anyone who watches 24 has probably noticed that they do not use 555 numbers.
They use real numbers - each one belongs to a member of their production
staff. So call one and you'll chat with someone on the set or works on the
program. SUPERNATURAL, SCRUBS and certain episodes of THE SIMPSONS do the
same thing. There was a movie last year (I forget the title of the film)
that when viewers called the number after they left the theater, the
producers mailed them a free comic book adapted from the big screen movie.
BRUCE ALMIGHTY, however, goofed because they used a real number on the pager
(remember the scene?). The script writer and producers thought if they
didn't list an area code, people shouldn't be calling but they did and some
people fell victim and received calls from viewers asking for "God."
An episode of HAWAII FIVE-O had a camera zoom in on a hit man's phone book
listing the phone numbers to hospitals, police stations, etc in Hawaii and
those numbers were legit.
In MAGNOLIA, an infomercial on the TV screen featured a real phone number
and if anyone called it, they got a recording of Tom Cruise thanking them
for being observant. IN GOOD WILL HUNTING, a phone number at the
construction site belonged to a real company Matt Damon once worked for in
Massechusettes before becoming an actor. In THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, the
phone number to the White House is real. My personal favorite, HELPMATES (a
Laurel and Hardy film), where Stan Laurel actually mentioned his real home
phone number!
The worse you'll get is a busy signal but if a phone number catches your eye
during a movie or TV show, call it. As for radio programs, Higgins - 2034
doesn't exist anymore and I doubt they really existed in the first place
since the producers and writers would have had a list of fake numbers to
use.
Martin Grams Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:07:01 -0500
From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Harvey and Dell
On Wednesday, November 22, 2006, at 01:22 PM, Dave Warren wrote:
My mother and grandparents were the major cast players on the show
Harvey and Dell. My mother passed away last spring and I have been
talking to Dad about my mother's time on radio with her parents in the
1930s.
Can you send me somewhere to gather more information on this old time
radio show Harvey and Dell?
David Warren, DM, Director
University of Phoenix | Overseas Military Campus
Heidelberg, Germany
"Harvey and Dell" was one of 25 different soap operas launched in 1939,
a banner year which also included "The Right To Happiness", "When a
Girl Marries", "Manhattan Mother", "Against the Storm" and "Young
Doctor Malone." "Harvey and Dell" debuted August 1, 1939; it was a 15
minute show.
A NBC Blue Network show, "Harvey and Dell" ran on that network five
times a day until May 1941 when they dropped it. However less than a
year later, CBS picked it up and it aired from April 1942 until July
1942 under the sponsorship of General Mills. For the first two months,
CBS alternated it with the soap opera "Thus We Love" so it was on three
times a week and "Thus We Love" aired twice a week. For the last two
months, "Harvey and Dell" aired five times a week.
Jay Hickerson describes it as "a serial drama with the Meade Family."
There are no known surviving audio copies, which is not unusual for
soap operas of that period.
Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:08:04 -0500
From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Appointment With Fear
On Wednesday, November 22, 2006, at 01:22 PM, Mike in Medford wrote:
Looking for any information on this show. I have only seen 1 episode. I
know there has to be more somewhere. I am reading a book on John
Dickson Carr who wrote a lot of plays for this show. The bibliography
has specifc dates, so I assume there is a log or someone has these
somewhere. Any help would be much appreciated.
This BBC series was an anthology of mystery and science fiction. It
had two distinct runs. The first was from September 1943 to 1955.
Twenty-one years later, BBC brought it back in 1976 and aired it for a
year. There are five surviving audio copies from the 1943-45 era and
about 13 from the Seventies run.
Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:08:13 -0500
From: "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: otrphone numbers
Re Mark Kinsler's comment on OTR phone numbers ... I suspect many
of us small town and smaller city residents went through the same
thing with our phone service. As a young boy, we didn't have a
phone, but the neighbor did ... with a squarish wooden box and a
crank on its side and the phone, a narrow-necked affair connected
to that box by a cloth-covered wire. Of course there was no dial
on the phone, just a covered area where the dial would have been
and the three-digit phone number inserted in the middle.
When we finally got a phone in the early 50s, it was dial -
narrow neck again from the 1930s - attached to the metal ringer
box. As the 50s rolled along, others got the more stylish,
so-called "Lucy" phone (for "I Love Lucy') that actually dated to
the 40s, the boxier desk phone with the bells self-contained.
Finally, in the late 50s, we got the phone that dominated on
through the 70s and into the 80s, the desk phone with the rounded
corners.
When we got our phone the telephone company was assigning four
digits ... when we got that last phone, the town had moved up to
needing a prefix - our number had PLaza 8 added to the 3560. All
we had to dial, though, was 8-3560. But sometime later ... maybe
when direct long distance dialing was being instituted ... the PL
of Plaza simply became 75 and we had to dial all the numbers.
When I heard that we would have the exchange name of Plaza, I
thought, wow, just like CBS in New York ... only 8-3560 was
nowhere near as impressive as PLaza 1-2345. I wonder how much Mr.
Paley paid to get that neat number.
Bob Cockrum
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:08:27 -0500
From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Robert Altman
I was sorry to hear of his passing. It's been a while since I've seen it,
but his 1970s film THIEVES LIKE US, which is set in the 1930s, has more OTR
on the soundtrack than any other film I can think of. Not just well
remembered programs, but even things like SPEED GIBSON OF THE INTERNATIONAL
SECRET POLICE.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:08:39 -0500
From: "Paul Adomites" <padomites@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Pittsburgh Courier News
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Once again, Ron Sayles' listings open doors of curiosity. I see the
"Pittsburgh Courier News" listed. I know something about the Courier through
my research into Pittsburgh baseball (and most particularly Negro League
baseball.) So who can tell me more? Did the Courier have its own station? Its
own program on a white station?
How long did it last? How [removed] Well, you know what I want to know.
Offlist replies are fine unless you want to share with everybody.
Thanks.
Paul Adomites
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:09:03 -0500
From: Michael Shoshani <mshoshani@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: BBC Radio
Tom van der Voort wrote:
Since this posting is off the topic of OTR, Charlie may decide to
bounce it. However I can't but be amazed by the vigor of BBC radio.
Almost all British film/TV actors seem to appear in various BBC radio
productions, from dramatizations of the classics to detective mysteries. For
example, recent offerings have featured Daniel Craig (the new movie James
bond), Michael Gambon, Hugh Grant, Imelda Staunton, Anna Massey, Brian Cox,
and Joss Ackland in their casts.
I suspect the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and other UK
institutions provide courses in radio acting as part of their required
curriculum. Actors seem to be able to glide seamlessly from stage to screen
to radio.
It's not only the actors, it's the entire production facility as well.
The BBC maintains a studio complex (perhaps several) solely dedicated to
the production of radio dramas. These studios have small intimate booths
as well as large ensemble rooms, the latter with live ends, dead ends,
and variable acoustics in between.
The BBC also maintains one of the most intricate archives of sound
effects in the world, an archive to which they are continually adding -
even a "soap opera" such as The Archers will have meticulous planning
for the aural picture given to the listener. Exterior scenes have
carefully controlled details such as traffic sounds for highway or city,
and the correct bird sounds for the area in which the action takes
place. More often than one would think, sound effects are specifically
recorded for a production and then added to the archive if they can be
used somewhere else.
Michael Shoshani
Chicago
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 23:08:41 -0500
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 11-23 births/deaths
November 23rd births
11-23-1887 - Boris Karloff - London, England - d. 2-2-1969
actor, host: "Starring Boris Karloff"; "Creeps by Night"
11-23-1888 - Al Bernard - New Orleans, LA - d. 3-6-1949
singer: "Dutch Masters Minstrels"; "Molle Merry Minstrels"
11-23-1888 - Harpo Marx - NYC - d. 9-28-1964
comedian: (First Marx Brother to speak on radio) Occasional guest spots
11-23-1888 - Nana Bryant - Cincinnati, OH - d. 12-24-1955
actor: Miss Tilsey "Fabulous Dr. Tweedy"
11-23-1894 - Ken Christy - Pennsylvania - d. 7-23-1962
actor: Police Chief Gates "Great Gildersleeve"
11-23-1896 - Ruth Etting - David City, NE - d. 9-24-1978
singer: "Music That Satisfies"; "Oldsmobile Show"; "Kellogg College
Prom"
11-23-1903 - Victor Jory - Dawson City, AK - d. 2-11-1982
actor: "Matinee Theatre"; "Crisis in War Town"; "Hallmark Playhouse"
11-23-1908 - Nelson Bond - Scranton, NJ - d. 11-4-1006
writer: "Hot Copy"; "Suspense"; "Dr. Christian"
11-23-1912 - George O'Hanlon - Brooklyn, NY - d. 2-11-1989
actor: Husband "George O'Hanlon Show; Me and Janie"
11-23-1912 - Tyree Glenn - Corsicana, TX - d. 5-18-1974
trombonist, vibraphonist: "Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concert"
11-23-1913 - Maurice Zolotow - NYC - d. 3-14-1991
writer: "Information Please"
11-23-1915 - Ellen Drew - Kansas City, MO - d. 12-6-2003
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Suspense"
11-23-1915 - John Dehner - Staten Island, NY - d. 5-4-1992
actor: Paladin "Have Gun, Will Travel"; [removed] Kendall "Frontier
Gentleman"; "Gunsmoke"
11-23-1915 - Natalie Park Masters - San Francisco, CA - d. 2-9-1986
actor: Candy Matson "Candy Matson
11-23-1916 - Julie Stevens - St. Louis, MO - d. 8-26-1984
actor: Helen Trent "Romance of Helen Trent"; Kitty Foyle "Kitty Foyle"
11-23-1917 - John Newland - Cincinnati, OH - d. 1-10-2000
actor: "Cavalcade of America"; "NBC University Theatre of the Air"
11-23-1925 - Jeffrey Hunter - New Orleans. LA - d. 5-27-1969
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
11-23-1929 - Sybil Jason - Capetown, South Africa
actor: "Hollywood Hotel"
11-23-1930 - Bob Easton - Milwaukee, WI
actor: "Family Theatre"
November 23rd deaths
02-19-1911 - Merle Oberon - Calcutta, India - d. 11-23-1979
actor: "Orson Welles Theatre"; "Stars Over Hollywood"
02-22-1910 - Gene Hamilton - Toledo, OH - d. 11-23-2000
announcer: "Voice of Firestone"; "Chamber Music Society of Lower
Basin Street"
03-15-1887 - Billy Jones - NYC - d. 11-23-1940
singer: (The Happiness Boys)
05-15-1910 - Constance Cummings - Seattle, WA - d. 11-23-2005
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
06-05-1920 - Cornelius Ryan - Dublin, Ireland - d. 11-23-1974
d-dat war correspondent, novelist: "Hearing Highlights"
06-10-1889 - Sessue Hayakawa - Chiba, Japan - d. 11-23-1973
actor: Freelance NHK Tokyo, Japan
07-05-1928 - Beverly Tyler - Scranton, PA - d. 11-23-2005
actor: "Family Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-23-1915 - Frances Chaney - Odessa, Ukraine - d. 11-23-2004
actor: (One of Hollywood Ten) Marion Kirby "Advs. of Topper"; Burma
"Terry and the Pirates"
08-19-1916 - Marie Wilson - Anaheim, CA - d. 11-23-1972
actor: Irma Peterson "My Friend Irma"
08-24-1933 - Bobby Ellis - Chicago, IL - d. 11-23-1973
actor: Henry Aldrich "Aldrich Family"; Chester A. Riley, Jr. "Life of
Riley"
09-13-1916 - Roald Dahl - Llandaff, Wales - d. 11-23-1990
writer: "Escape"
09-15-1903 - Roy Acuff - Maynardsville, TN - d. 11-23-1992
singer: (The King of Country Music) "Grand Ole Opry"
10-07-1905 - Jean Ellyn - NYC - d. 11-23-1989
actor: Margie 'Cookie' Cook "Valiant Lady"; Dr. Watson "Strange Dr.
Karnac"
12-17-1910 - Spade Cooley - Oklahoma Territory - d. 11-23-1969
western singer: (Rider's of the Purple Sage) "Spade Cooley Show"
Ron Sayles
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2006 00:34:25 -0500
From: "RadioAZ@[removed]" <radioAZ@[removed];
To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Pricing collections
I have been contacted by someone who has a modest collection of OTR
recodings. They are cassette tapes. All are commercially distributed so I
am sure there is nothing unique about them. There is one set of 20
cassettes (probably Radio Spirits, but I'm not sure about that) and then
quite a number of individual cassettes.
Apparently most of these were gifts and most have never been opened. He
wants to sell them. He's asking me to determine what I would offer for
them.
I'm willing to take a look at the set, but I have no idea how to price
something like this. Can anyway give me any advice on this subject?
Thanks in advance.
Ted
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #327
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