Subject: [removed] Digest V2009 #136
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 7/22/2009 10:42 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to:
[removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2009 : Issue 136
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  We're a little early, folks           [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
  7-20 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  What If                               [ "Michael J. Laurino" <mlaurino@[removed] ]
  Re: [removed]                              [ Cnorth6311@[removed] ]
  We've been baited for Trout           [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
  The Masked Man's Music                [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  7-21 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Suspense on tv                        [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
  "Charlie Chan"                        [ "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@juno. ]

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

Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:34:13 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  We're a little early, folks

Wrote David T. Beito:

There seems to be a big gap beginning in
1952 with the exception of a few shows, such as the La Rosa Firing.

Not quite.  LaRosa got the ax Oct. 19, 1953, in the waning moments of
"Arthur Godfrey Time."  Aside from reading it in scads of well-documented
sources, I heard the tirade on Oct. 20, 1953, as Ms. Thompson, my science
teacher, ranted and raved for a full class period about that "no-account
Arthur Godfrey and what he has done to Julius LaRosa."  She fumed at the top
of her lungs that day and ours was a lively verbal exchange, I recall.

In hindsight, what transpired on CBS gave LaRosa a tremendous boost, at
least so temporarily.  And Ms. Thompson's retort was similar to that of tens
of thousands of absolutley shocked Americans who could hardly believe their
ears.  From that moment forward a side of Godfrey most had never known began
to emerge, that of a controlling despot they hadn't realized existed.  And
with it, Godfrey began a slow but unmistakable descent from a lofty perch
that had kept him at the forefront of premier entertainers, eventually
falling to the lowest of rung of the ladder, and apparently (as one examines
the missteps that took him there) all of it of his own making.  His was a
sad exodus from a stage where he had it all and completely misused what he
had, leading to utter bitterness and regret at the end of his life.

Jim Cox

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

Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:34:22 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  7-20 births/deaths

July 20th births

07-20-1869 - Howard Thurston - d. 4-13-1936
conjuror: "Thurston, the Magician"
07-20-1881 - Hugh Sothern - Anderson County, KS - d. 4-13-1947
actor: John Marshall "Those We Love"
07-20-1883 - Mary Cecil - Louisville, KY - d. 12-21-1940
actor: Miranda Chandler "The Life and Love of Dr. Susan"
07-20-1890 - Theda Bara - Cincinnati, OH - d. 4-13-1955
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-20-1890 - Verna Felton - Salinas, CA - d. 12-14-1966
actor: Blossom Blimp "Sealtest Village Store"; Liz Pierce "Judy Canova
Show"
07-20-1896 - Harry Horlick - Tiflis, Russia - d. 7-xx-1970
conductor: "A&P Gypsies"
07-20-1898 - J. E. Mainer - Weaversville, NC - d. 6-12-1971
country: (Mainer's Crazy Mountaineers) "Crazy Water Crystals Barn Dance"
07-20-1901 - Dilys Powell - Bournemouth, England - d. 6-3-1995
film critic: "The Critics"; "Critics Forum"
07-20-1902 - Jimmie Tansey - Omaha, NE - d. 11-4-1950
actor: Danny O'Neill "The O'Neills"; Clement Arnaud "Hilltop House"
07-20-1905 - Murray Forbes - Chicago, IL - d. 1-28-1987
actor: Willie Fitz "Ma Perkins"; Benny Fox "Foxes of Flatbush"
07-20-1907 - Art Jarrett - Brooklyn, NY - d. 7-23-1987
singer, bandleader: "Coca Cola's Spotlight Parade"; "Fitch Bandwagon"
07-20-1908 - Fritz Littlejohn - Paculet, SC - d. 11-25-2005
news writer/supervisor for NBC radio (1945-1952)
07-20-1908 - Jerry Desmonde - Middlesbrough, England - d. 2-11-1967
actor: "Crime Classics"
07-20-1910 - Muriel Evans - Minneapolis, MN - d. 10-26-2000
four radio shows of her own in Washington [removed]
07-20-1911 - Bill Dillard - Philadelphia, PA - d. 1-16-1995
jazz trumpeter: "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts"; "Arthur Godfrey Time"
07-20-1912 - Tom McDermott - McHenry, IL - d. 3-6-1996
producer, director: "Portia Faces Life"; "Rosemary"; "Wendy Warren and
the News"
07-20-1916 - Mary Barclay - Wilton, Somerset, England - d. 2-19-2008
actor: "Advs. in Odyssey"
07-20-1918 - Cindy Walker - Mart, TX - d. 3-23-2006
songwriter: "National Barn Dance"; "Spike Jones"; "Lifebouy Show"
07-20-1919 - [removed] Stevens - Los Angeles, CA - d. 6-13-1994
actor: Lois Graves "Junior Miss"
07-20-1920 - Max Bicknell - d. 11-11-1995
disk jockey: KIUL Garden City, Kansas
07-20-1923 - James Bree - England - d. 12-1-2008
actor: "Sergeant Musgrave's Dance"
07-20-1925 - Lola Albright - Akron, OH
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "MGM Theatre Of the Air"
07-20-1935 - Ted Rogers - South London, England - d. 5-2-2001
comedian: "The Billy Cotton Band"
07-20-1938 - Diana Rigg - Doncaster, England
actor: Agave "Dionysos"
07-20-1938 - Natalie Wood - San Francisco, CA - d. 11-29-1981
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-20-1943 - Wendy Richard - Middlesbrough, England - d. 2-26-2009
actor: Anne Marie Rat "Cat's Whiskers"; "Dad's Army"

July 20th deaths

01-01-1867 - Lew Fields - NYC - d. 7-20-1941
comedian: (Weber and Fields) "The Eveready Hour"; "George Jessel Show"
01-09-1917 - Jimmy Maxwell - Stockton, CA - d. 7-20-2002
trumpet: "Paul Barron and His Orchestra"; "Guest Star"
01-11-1896 - Armina Marshall - d. 7-20-1991
theatre guild supervisor: "The Theatre Guild on the Air"
01-15-1911 - Kathleen Wilson - Girard, KS - d. 7-20-2005
actor: Claudia Barbour "One Man's Family"; I Love a Mystery"
01-23-1893 - Franklin Pangborn - Newark, NJ - d. 7-20-1958
actor: "Screen Guild Theatre"
02-09-1923 - Milena Miller - d. 7-20-2001
vocalist: "The Stu Erwin Show"
03-03-1920 - James Doohan - Vancouver, Canada - d. 7-20-2005
actor: "You Never Had It So Good"; "The Investigator"
03-27-1907 - Mary Treen - St. Louis, MO - d. 7-20-1989
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
03-31-1908 - Les Damon - Providence, RI - d. 7-20-1962
actor: Nick Charles "Advs. of the Thin Man"; Michael Waring "The Falcon"
04-09-1900 - Allen Jenkins - NYC - d. 7-20-1974
actor: "Harold Lloyd Comedy Theatre"; "Hollywood Hotel"; "Lux Radio
Theatre"
04-25-1874 - Guglielmo Marconi - Bologna, Italy - d. 7-20-1937
responsible for the first transtlantic transmission of radio waves in
1901
04-28-1917 - Robert Cornthwaite - St. Helens, OR - d. 7-20-2006
actor: worked in radio in Southern California
05-13-1912 - Helen Craig - San Antonio, TX - d. 7-20-1986
actor: "Crime Does Not Pay"
06-06-1901 - Jan Struther - London, England - d. 7-20-1953
author: "Information Please"; "Mrs. Miniver"
07-02-1910 - Earl Robinson - d. 7-20-1991
composer: "The Pursuit of Happiness"
07-12-1912 - Will Bradley - Newtown, NJ - d. 7-20-1978
bandleader: "Mildred Bailey Show"; "Saturday Night Swing Session"
07-23-1916 - Sandra Gould - Brooklyn, NY - d. 7-20-1999
actor: Lucy Twitchell "Sad Sack"; Miss Duffy "Duffy's Tavern"
09-04-1880 - Claude Cooper - London, England - d. 7-20-1932
actor: Pegleg Gaddis "Moonshine and Honeysuckle"
10-09-1910 - Phil Hanna - River Forest, IL - d. 7-20-1957
actor: Three Cheers "Al Pearce Show"
10-12-1924 - Randy Stuart - Iola, KS - d. 7-20-1996
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
11-17-1917 - Harry Worth - Tankersley, Yorkshire, England - d. 7-20-1989
actor: "New to You"
11-19-1923 - Frank Reynolds - East Chicago, IN - d. 7-20-1983
newscaster: Chicago radio
11-22-1913 - Alfred J. Colaiaco - Rome, Italy - d. 7-20-2006
staff arranger WOR: "Mutual Melody Hour"

Ron

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

Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:34:29 -0400
From: "Michael J. Laurino" <mlaurino@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  What If

JimBourg@[removed] asked:

Interesting question. How would you update a western, say "Gunsmoke" or
"Have Gun, Will Travel"?

Well, today they would be REALLY adult westerns:
That infamous squeaking bedsprings gag would be part of an actual episode,
and if the show was on [removed]

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

Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:34:44 -0400
From: Cnorth6311@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: [removed]

Hello all

I know this topic has been discussed many times before,  but am unaware if
any conclusions were ever reached about what the initials  actually stood
for. We know how the initials were used. I recall a couple in  particular. One
was on Gildersleeve, when Judge Hooker told Gildy he had a [removed]  for him.
Another that comes to mind was on the Fibber, and Molly show, when  Molly
told Fibber she had a [removed] for him. I'm sure there are other's, but these  two
come to mind right away.

Was wondering if the initials could possibly stand for Top Secret. If we
recall the time period they were used, during WW 2, and the context in  which
they were used, it seems quite possible that's what it meant. I recall
Judge Hooker's use of them. He told Guildy he had a [removed] for him, regarding a
certain lady friend.

Thanks for listening.

Charlie

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

Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:35:10 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  We've been baited for Trout

Newsman Robert
Trout is credited with coming up with the name, Fireside Chat, because
of real moments like this.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it [removed]"  He didn't.

Though often mistakenly credited with the moniker, it was delivered by
Trout's boss, WJSV manager Harry Butcher, who proposed it because FDR spoke
from the Diplomatic Reception Room furnished with a fireplace (documented by
a handful of respected historiographers).  As millions tuned in to Trout's
presentations of the President, it occurred to Butcher that the setting used
by the chief executive was akin to denizens' home fireplaces as FDR spoke
one-on-one.  The idea clicked; Trout introduced Butcher's creation to the
common man's vernacular and it remained.

It's like everything else:  once somebody puts an error in print it doesn't
readily go away.  (I've been guilty.)  For those memorable episodes there
are at least three heroes here -- FDR, Trout and Butcher.  Unfortunately
only two names are recalled by most of us and Butcher seldom receives his
due.

Trout was CBS's premier newsman in the era in which legendary Edward R.
Murrow debuted.  Trout's credentials, and some epic tales surrounding his
durable run, occupy a great deal of space in my volume embracing 1,161
performers, "Radio Speakers:  Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys,
Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized
the Jargon of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s -- A Biographical
Dictionary" ([removed])
800-253-2187.

Jim Cox

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

Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:35:34 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  The Masked Man's Music

I recently read a few chapters of a book published through Scarecrow Press
titled "THE MYSTERY OF THE MASKED MAN'S MUSIC: A Search for the Music Used on
'The Lone Ranger' Radio Program, 1933-1954" by Reginald M. Jones, Jr. It was
lent to me by good friend Terry Salomonson. While the prospect of reading a
book about the music cues on a long-running radio program seemed obsessive
for any author to research and write, I discovered to my surprise that this
was extremely fascinating.

Published in 1987 (more than 20 years ago), the book deals with the process
of music selection for the Western series, how the orchestra was timed and
primed, and more importantly, the decision to use recorded music in place of
a live orchestra. The ASCAP boycott of 1941 (which was my prime reason for
consulting the book), the legal practices applied to using any form of music
(including researching the copyright status of music that lay in the public
domain versus the orchestra that conducted the music and their rendition that
was copyrighted), and the use of Columbia and RCA records. And it's the
little things throughout such as network hookups, music carried over to the
cliffhanger serials of the same name, name credits that were and were not
due, reprints of music cue sheets, etc. that makes this book an enjoyable
read.

If anyone wants a thorough idea of how complicated and extensive music was
for a single radio program, I recommend this book.

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

Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:35:41 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  7-21 births/deaths

July 21st births

07-21-1863 - C. Aubrey Smith - London, England - d. 12-20-1948
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-21-1883 - Cecil Humphreys - Cheltenham, England - d. 11-6-1947
actor: "Theatre Guild on the Air"
07-21-1892 - Lenore Ulric - New Ulm, MN - d. 12-30-1970
guest artist: "Watch the Fun Go By"
07-21-1894 - Elsie Hitz - Cleveland, OH - d. 5-14-1976
actor: Ellen Randolph "Story of Ellen Randolph"; Gail Brewster
"Dangerous Paradise"
07-21-1895 - Ken Maynard - Vevey, IN - d. 3-13-1973
cowboy actor: Ken Maynard Show"
07-21-1899 - Ernest Hemingway - Oak Park, IL - d. 7-2-1961
author: "NBC University Theatre"; "Columbia Workshop"; "Screen Guild
Theatre"
07-21-1899 - Sara Dougherty Carter - Flatwoods, VA - d. 1-8-1979
singer: (Carter Family) XERA Mexico
07-21-1901 - Allyn Joslyn - Milford, PA - d. 1-22-1981
actor: "Island Boat Club"; "Page of Romance"; "Show Boat"
07-21-1905 - Diana Trilling - d. 10-23-1996
writer: "NBC University Theatre"
07-21-1909 - Gene Kirby - d. 3-xx-1985
announcer, sportscaster: "The Adele Clark Show"; "Big Moment in Sports"
07-21-1910 - Carl Ravazza - Alameda, CA - d. 7-29-1968
bandleader: "Carl Ravazza and His Orchestra"; "One Night Stand"
07-21-1910 - Himan Brown - NYC
actor, producer: Papa Marino "Little Italy"; "Inner Sanctum Mysteries"
07-21-1910 - Mary Eastman - Kansas City, MO
soprano: "Atwater Kent Hour"; "Waltz Time"
07-21-1911 - Alice Cornett Asherman - Plant City, FL - d. 4-23-2002
singer: Had own program five times weekly on NBC
07-21-1912 - Frank Deniz - Cardiff, Wales - d. 7-17-2005
guitarist: "Harry Parry's Radio Rhythm Club"
07-21-1912 - Robert Sloane - NYC - d. 4-3-1955
writer: "The Fat Man"; "The Life of Riley"; "Inner Sanctum Mysteries"
07-21-1914 - Robert Presnell, Jr. - d. 6-14-1986
writer: "The Smiths of Hollywood"
07-21-1915 - Floyd McDaniel - Athens, AL - d. 7-22-1995
guitarist, vocalist: (Member of the Ink Spots) "The Four Ink Spots";
"Let's Go Nightclubbing"
07-21-1920 - Isaac Stern - Kreminiecz, Ukraine, USSR - d. 9-22-2001
violinist: "Jack Benny Program"; "New York Philharmonic"
07-21-1922 - Kay Starr - Dougherty, OK
singer: "The Bob Crosby Show"
07-21-1922 - Mollie Sugden - Keighley, England - d. 7-1-2009
actor: Worked in British radio
07-21-1924 - Don Knotts - Morgantown, WV - d. 2-24-2006
actor: Windy Wales "Bobby Benson's Adventures"
07-21-1925 - Anne Meacham - Chicago, IL - d. 1-12-2006
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
07-21-1926 - Bill Pertwee - Amersham, England
actor: ARP Warden Hodges "Dad's Army"
07-21-1926 - Josephine Premice - Brooklyn, NY - d. 4-13-2001
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
07-21-1942 - Patricia Elliott - Gunnison, CO
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
07-21-1949 - Ian Kennedy-Williams - Weston-Super-Mare, England
writer: "Beached"

July 21st deaths

01-05-1925 - Wolfe Mooris - Portsmouth, England - d. 7-21-1996
actor: "The Hobbit"
02-03-1932 - Peggy Ann Garner - Canton, OH - d. 7-21-1982
actor: Esther Smith "Meet Me in St. Louis"
02-10-1929 - Jerry Goldsmith - Los Angeles, CA - d. 7-21-2004
composer, conductor: "Frontier Gentleman"; "Romance"
02-22-1907 - Robert Young - Chicago, IL - d. 7-21-1998
actor: Jim Anderson "Father Knows Best"; Doug Adams "Passport for Adams"
03-05-1906 - Harry Lubin - d. 7-21-1977
music: "Glamour Manor"; "Burns and Allen"; "Blondie"
04-08-1911 - Ichiro Fujiyama - Tokyo, Japan - d. 7-21-1993
enka singer: "Kohaku Uta Gassen"
04-22-1905 - Ed Ludes - d. 7-21-1987
sound effects: "Fibber McGee and Molly" Created the closet effect
04-28-1914 - Esther Allan - Suvalke, Poland - d. 7-21-1985
pianist/organist: All girl band on local radio in Michigan
06-13-1892 - Basil Rathbone - Johannesburg, South Africa - d. 7-21-1967
actor: Sherlock Holmes "Sherlock Holmes"; Inspector Burke "Scotland
Yard's Inspector Burke"
06-16-1916 - Stanley Niss - Illinois - d. 7-21-1969
writer, director: "Counterspy"; "Gang Busters"; "Twenty-First Precinct"
07-13-1913 - Dave Garroway - Schenectady, NY - d. 7-21-1982
emcee, announcer: "World's Great Novels"; "Dave Garroway Show"; "Dial
Dave Garroway"
07-16-1920 - Shirley Thomas - d. 7-21-2005
producer: "Hopalong Cassidy"
08-27-1916 - Vicki Vola - Denver, CO - d. 7-21-1985
actor: Shanghai L'il DeVries "Jungle Jim"; Edith Miller "Mr. District
Attorney"
09-03-1926 - Bill Flemming - Chicago, IL - d. 7-21-2007
sports director: WUOM Ann Arbor, Michigan
10-25-1825 - Johann Strauss, Jr. - Vienna, Austria - d. 7-21-1899
composer: Many of his works used as themes
11-18-1923 - Alan Shepard - Derry, NH - d. 7-21-1998
astronaut: "NASA Audio News"; "Space Story"
11-18-1926 - Dorothy Collins - Windsor, Ontario, Canada - d. 7-21-1994
singer: "Your Hit Parade"
11-25-1899 - Pierre Andre - d. 7-21-1962
announcer: "Little Orphan Annie"; "Captain Midnight"
11-28-1925 - Virginia Hewitt - Shreveport, LA - d. 7-21-1986
actor: Coral Karlyle "Space Patrol"

Ron

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

Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:36:36 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Suspense on tv

   Ken Greenwald wrote --

   "Suspense became an early television show. Lights out was also an 
early television show."
   Prelinger was several Suspense shows on their site:

   IMO the radio show was much better.  The televised ones aren't much 
different from other dramatic shows of the era.
   What I really enjoy are the minor flubs, which was the joy (for the 
viewer) of live tv.  A door that doesn't close all the way and opens on 
its own with a creak like the opening of Inner Sanctum, for example.  I 
do miss Harlow Wilcox giving the Auto-Lite ads.
   Some years ago I worked midnights and in the wee hours of the 
night/day some cable station aired Lights Out, which again, like 
Suspense, was better on radio.  IMHO.  LO seemed to be on a much smaller 
budget than Suspense with more walls and doors that shook then the more 
solid backgrounds of Suspense.
   Joe

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

Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:36:54 -0400
From: "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "Charlie Chan"
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

       I've heard that there was an OTR program of "Charlie Chan".  Is this
true and
who portrayed him? Was it Warner Oland or Sidney Toler as in the movies?
Also,
how long were these programs (15 or 30 minutes)? I'm a big fan of the old
"Charlie
Chan" movies and thought I'd ask. Are there any of these programs in
circulation at
the moment?

As always,

Kenneth Clarke

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