Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #15
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 1/13/2007 10:18 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2007 : Issue 15
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Re: Phil Harris and The Thing         [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
  Marlin Hurt                           [ Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed]; ]
  Black actor Wonderful Smith           [ "Mark Kratzner" <hollywoodhoosiers@ ]
  The Old Order Changeth                [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
  Walter Newman: Ace in the Hole?       [ Steve Carter <scarter2@[removed]; ]
  Busy Betty Lou                        [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
  1440 [removed]                      [ jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns) ]
  1600 Cassettes                        [ Jerry Reed <jerry@[removed]; ]
  In need of a photo of the original B  [ Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed] ]
  This week in radio history 14-20 Jan  [ "Joe Mackey" <joemackey108@adelphia ]
  Harry Resar                           [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
  Tune in Yesterday Book by Dunning     [ Dennis DeMarco <dennisdm@[removed] ]

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 00:02:56 -0500
From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Phil Harris and The Thing

Martin Grams, Jr. writes:
In Christmas of 1950, some radio programs actually centered
their episodes/dramas around Phil Harris' Thing song, with in an
attempt to help raise donations for needy children.  I have come
across a
couple radio programs but wondered if anyone knows more about this
or knows of other radio programs that did this during the holiday
season of 1950?

Found some articles about this. The first one says "many
coast-to-coast NBC programs" will promote the campaign but no specific
shows are mentioned.

***
December 4, 1950 Long Beach (CA) Press Telegram

Phil Harris' 'The Thing' Will Aid Needy Children

SINCE the day Phil Harris recorded his fantastically successful
recording of "The Thing," queries to its identity have reached
overwhelming proportions.

The National Broadcasting Company, along with Phil and his wife Alice
Faye, decided, some time ago, to take this popular gimmick and convert
it into something useful, something which would serve the American
appetite for the unusual, and at the same time do good.

"The Thing" itself is very simple.

It might be the embodiment of American ideals which enable neighbor to
aid neighbor. It might be the fulfilment of the Christmas spirit which
urges all of us to make it a nicer year-round holiday for those who
are a bit more unfortunate in regards to material things.

NBC stations throughout the country, along with individual community
services, have begun asking neighbors to donate all sorts of Christmas
toys-dolls, games, anything kids like-so that they can be distributed
in each particular community throughout the country in time to reach
children by Christmas time.

"The Thing" drive will provide all these toys to needy kids on the
holiday, with the cooperation of the various stations and local
charities throughout the land.

Spot announcements, special newly recorded lyrics of "The Thing," disc
jockey programs, and promotion on many coast-to-coast NBC programs
will be utilized to  ensure a successful drive for a happier and
merrier Christmas for thousands of children.

***
Excerpts from a December 1950 NEA article by Richard Kleiner as it
appeared in the December 7, 1950 Zanesville (OH) Signal

... Take it from Charles Grean, manager of RCA's popular records
department and the song's composer, there ain't no such thing as a
thing.

"I just put some clean lyrics to an old song I've known for a long
time. We used to sing some dirty words to it and it was known as "The
Tailor's Boy," says Grean (pronounced Gre-on).

"I'd been trying for a long time to write nice lyrics for it, but I'd
always put something definite in the place where we stamped our feet.
That would ruin it, somehow. Finally, I decided to have nothing for
the thing in the song. Then I worked it out in an hour and a half."

Grean says he changed a few notes in the music of "The Tailor's Boy,"
which he thinks had an Irish origin. Then he took the song out to
California, where RCA's west coast recording director, Henri Rene,
thought it would be a natural for Phil Harris. And it has been-his
record is selling at a record pace.

That's the cold-blooded history of "The Thing." But it won't stop
people from guessing at what "The Thing" is.  ...

... On his program last Sunday night, Phil Harris used "The Thing" as
a peg on which to hang a campaign for usable toys to be donated to
needy children throughout the country.

He changed the tone of the song - no horror at all - for the purpose
of his campaign which will he taken up by NBC stations (including
Zanesville's WHIZ) all over the country.

***
December 15, 1950 Zanesville (OH) Signal

'Operation Thing' Planned To Benefit Salvation Army

"The Thing", the song that Phil Harris has made famous, is the theme
of a Junior Chamber of Commerce project which will get under way here
tomorrow morning.

Called "Operation Thing," the Jaycees will work through Radio Station
WHIZ to collect usable toys and staple food products for the Salvation
Army.

Here's the way it will work:

If you have a donation, telephone the radio station - 2-5431 - and a
member of the Jaycees will be around to pick it up. The Jaycees, 40 of
them in 20 autos, will keep their car radios tuned into the local
station and will receive orders to pick up the donations in that
manner.

Phil Harris, meanwhile, has made a special recording for WHIZ
complimenting The Jaycees on the project. It will be broadcast over
the station tomorrow.

***
December 16, 1950 Zanesville (OH) Signal

Theater and Jaycee Projects Benefit Salvation Army Here

The Salvation Army here today benefitted from separate food and toy
collecting programs conducted by the Variety theater and the Junior
Chamber of Commerce.

Hundreds of youngsters thronged the theater this morning for a special
show, admission to which was merely the presentation of a usable toy
or a staple article of food.

The Jaycees were conducting "Operation Thing", based on the song Phil
Harris has made famous by collecting toys and food in automobiles.

As donors telephoned Radio Station WHIZ, the Jaycees were dispatched
to homes to pick up the merchandise. The program got under way early
this morning and is to continue until late this afternoon. ...
***

Don't pick lemons.

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 10:23:21 -0500
From: Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Marlin Hurt

Marlin Hurt was a very talented radio performer who, unfortunately,
died young - cutting short a developing career. No one will know how
much more he could have given to radio and, later, television.
It's known (but not necessarily well known) that when the cast of
Fibber McGee and Molly assembled for their broadcasts, Marlin Hurt
was kept in the background until his role as Beulah came up in the
script. What he did was to move up near the mike and face the stage,
his  back to the audience. When it came time for Beulah to speak,
Hurt would "whirl around," face the mike and give out with that
distinctive Beulah voice. This is what got the audience to scream,
laugh and applaud.
When Hurt got his own spin off of the Beulah show, he did the same
thing.
It was quite successful in capturing the audience and lifting the
show up.
Ken Greenwald

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 10:23:47 -0500
From: "Mark Kratzner" <hollywoodhoosiers@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Black actor Wonderful Smith
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

I am looking for info on Wonderful Smith. He was a cast member of the Red
Skelton show during the 40s. It seems that he was respected on the show.

He teamed up with Milton Berle in a 1941 movie. Then appeared on TV and some
movies in 70-80s.

I understand he was in the army during the war. Would like to know more about
his background and is he still alive.

Mark Kratzner
Vincennes, IN
Hall of Hollywood Hoosiers
Hometown of Red Skelton
[removed]

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

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 10:25:14 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Old Order Changeth

Being one of the generation that grew up during the OTR period, my
perspective has been colored by fond memories.  Although it's been more
than half a century, hearing some old shows can actually evoke feelings I
had when I first heard them.

However, things change, though subtly.  I have seen this most recently in
the relative market devaluation of radio premiums.  When I was growing
up, the whole process of obtaining the latest radio premium was
incredibly anticipatory.  The best preserved example is in the 1940 Jack
Armstrong Sulu Sea adventure, with the buildup to the announcement of the
Dragon's Eye Ring.  The first chapter finds Jack and his friends
discovering that someone has ransacked "Uncle" Jim Fairfield's office.
They then alert Fairfield, and go to retrieve a package that's been
shipped to him from the Philippines.  After they get the package,
attempts are made to steal it.  Eventually, after some narrow escapes,
the package is brought to Fairfield.  "Uncle Jim" opens it, and in it is
an exotic ring, with two crocodilian figures framing a green stone.  The
ring, we learn, is to help Fairfield gain the support of natives while
trying to recover some lost Uranium 235 (apparently less than 11
kilograms of the stuff).  This was an important ring!  When, a bit later,
listeners learn that for a Wheaties boxtop and a dime, they could get a
ring lust like that one, the emotion to get one was nearly irresistible.

I didn't listen to Jack Armstrong as I was growing up, but I heard a tape
of the adventures in the 1970s for the first timed, and I wanted one
then!  Pretty good psychology on the writers' part.

That aside, I did acquire a number of premiums, all for the modest fee of
a proof of purchase, and often with coin, but not always.  Half the value
for many of them was the emotional investment in checking the mail
delivery each day in hopes of finding a small box or manila envelope
containing the latest treasure.

Over the years, the premiums disappeared, sometimes with parental help.
For this reason, those of us who tried to return to the thrilling days of
yesteryear discovered that the market for such items, generally auctions,
though occasionally flea markets, had inflated the price, far beyond the
modest amount asked by the sponsors.  The Jack Armstrong Dragon's Eye
Ring could net as much as $500 in mint condition, and a complete Captain
Midnight Aztec Sun God Ring even more.  With the later evolution of the
Internet and Internet auctions, the prices went even higher.

But now, the reverse is beginning to happen.  Descriptions for radio
premiums now many times contain errors.  Bidding is often less brisk, and
the prices realized are declining.  Where one premium five years ago sold
for $1,30, now the identical premium went for $400 -- on two tries!

My suspicion is that the market is shifting to those who see these items
as investments, not golden memories.  Some of those who have Kix Atom
Bomb Rings are unaware that when they were first new, the rings actually
put on a great light show of nuclear reactions; now, they're inert.  Most
of those owning Whir;wing Whistling Rings are unaware that those rings
were important in the program in rescuing Chuck and Joyce from forces of
The Barracuda, held prisoner below the streets of Hong Kong.  A dealer
can grade there quality of a premium, but not its heritage.

This is not a revaluation of OTR.  I love it as much as I ever did.  This
is not a complaint that people aren't keeping the spirit of OTR going.
One of our contributors has edited two books of "new" OTR stories, and
has written more than one book on OTR premiums.  But it does show a sea
change in the perception of OTR items in the outside world.

I wonder: has anyone thought of an OTR museum?  Not a Museum of
Broadcasting, but perhaps a Museum of OTR artifacts?  Not only of
premiums, but of associated memorabilia.  It might be a way to preserve
the heritage.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 10:25:59 -0500
From: Steve Carter <scarter2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Walter Newman: Ace in the Hole?

I happen to see this from a Village Voice review of Billy Wilder's
movie "Ace in the Hole":

"The zippy script comes courtesy of Walter Newman, then a 20-year-old
radio writer who wrote an initial treatment called "The Human
Interest Story";. . ."

[removed],lee,75507,[removed]

Anybody know anything about Newman? What radio did he write? I saw
the movie years ago and plan to see the revival at the Film Forum in
NYC.

He has 16 film and TV credits listed in imdb which is not a lot. I
sometimes wonder how some to these people continued to put bread on
the table, if they did.:

[removed]

Steve

[removed]

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 10:27:05 -0500
From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Busy Betty Lou

On Saturday, January 13, 2007, at 12:03 AM, Ron Sayles wrote:

04-20-1914 - Betty Lou Gerson - Chattanooga, TN - d. 1-12-1999
actor: Mary Marlin "Story of Mary Marlin"; Charlotte Wilson "The
Guiding Light"

Since Ron is limited to 2 or 3 lines for the radio credits of each
daily entry, the only OTR people who are really covered are the
infrequent actors who only had one or two appearances at the mike.
Obviously for space considerations, a busy performer like Gerson has to
get short-changed. In addition to several soap operas, she was also in
the cast of adventure shows, "Don Winslow of the Navy", "Adventures of
Phillip Marlowe", "The Whistler", and "Inner Sanctum Mysteries."

Jim Harmon and I were chatting on-line about her last week. I was
talking about how well she did in the lead of Anne Rogers in "Hot Copy"
in which she played a crime-busting news columnist in a fine series
written by Nelson Bond, who was more famous for his science fiction.

Harmon also reminded me that Gerson had an occasional role on the Tom
Mix program as the Black maid, Capitola, on the T-M Bar Ranch. And
while we cringe to say it now, they (either Mutual or Ralston) made her
appear in black-face for a group publicity shot of the cast one year.

Jack French
Author: "Private Eyelashes; Radio's Lady Detectives"
<[removed]>

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 12:35:56 -0500
From: jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  1440 [removed]

The lovely posts on WOR are, for me, also a bit serendipitous.

The other day, I was walking up 40th Street, from Fifth [removed]

And, it's just possible, that I hadn't been on 40th, off of Broadway,
since WOR moved downtown. Looking across the street, it was just odd to
think, that those studios, were no longer there.

What's cute, in light of all the tales of security:

A couple of years ago, when I was showing up at about 12:30 AM, to do
THE JOEY REYNOLDS SHOW (WOR's current, long-running all-nighter), the
lobby was absolutely empty. And the front door was locked.

As I stood on a deserted 40th Street--

New York, even in Times Square, can become surprisingy abandoned as the
night nears One--

I'm certain I was registering on someone's security monitor, somewhere.
But the high tech entrance to 1440's still Art Deco environs, was
ringing the doorbell.

By the way, and I don't know why this struck me as funny, or rather,
just odd, but at the beginning of the summer of 2004, there was a new
rule in place, at WOR, that you couldn't bring a drink in with you, to
any one of their studios (there were still two, or three, in use). If
you were doing a long gig on one of the talk shows, your water or coffee
break had to be strictly at the commercial, beyond the [removed]

It turns out the host of their mid-day food
show, one of WOR's most popular programs, at the time, had spilled wine,
or another potable, all over the [removed]

Jim Burns  (James H. Burns)

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 12:36:09 -0500
From: Jerry Reed <jerry@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  1600 Cassettes

First of  all, my apologies for using the list for this kind of
announcement. I just don't know any other way to let people know.
I have been collecting Old Time Radio for the past thirty years and have
assembled a large collection of audio cassettes ([removed]). I have
converted a large percentage of my collection to mp3 and no longer need
or want the cassettes.  There's a significant investment here in tape
but obviously not a huge market for audio cassettes anymore.
I would sell them very very reasonably, pennies on the dollar. I could
even donate them to a charitable not-for-profit group. I tried our local
Association for the Blind but couldn't get people to call me back.
Anyone interested can contact me off list and we can discuss. Thanks for
allowing me this intrusion.
Thanks
Jerry Reed
Whitesboro NY

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 12:41:19 -0500
From: Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  In need of a photo of the original Betty
 Drake ([removed] Beatrice  Churchill)

Folks;

   Received the following today:

---

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 09:53:08 -0500
From: ContactCJtheDJ@[removed]

Hi

Ben Ohmart suggested I try this source.

Recently  Beatrice Churchill who was the original actress that played Betty
Drake in  the Betty and Bob Show from 1932 to 1935 passed away (Dec 13th)
just 7 days  short of her 98th birthday.  We have a Memorial Service in the
Pasadena  area coming up on Jan 20th.  I am trying to locate a clean
picture of  her preferably in a studio setting or with Don Ameche (I have
some marginal  ones out of newspaper clippings) to enlarge to a 8x10.  I am
willing  purchase it.  Do you have any leads on where I could fine such  a
picture.

Thanks

CJ  Jones

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 13:28:07 -0500
From: "Joe Mackey" <joemackey108@[removed];
To: "otrd" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  This week in radio history 14-20 January

 From Those Were The Days --

1/14

1927 - Jack Benny married Sadye Marks.

1939 - The program, Honolulu Bound, was heard on CBS. Phil Baker and the
Andrews Sisters were featured on the program.

1/15

1945 - Art Linkletter starred on the CBS debut of House Party. The show
continued on the air for 22 years, including a long stint on CBS t--------n.

1/16

1939 - The shrill siren call of radio's I Love a Mystery was heard for the
first time as the show debuted on NBC's West-Coast outlets.

1/17

1938 - Francis X. Bushman was the star of the program, Stepmother, which
debuted on CBS. The show continued on the air for the next four years.

1/18

1929 - New York Daily Mirror columnist Walter Winchell made his debut on
radio, broadcasting a blend of political commentary and celebrity gossip to
"Mr. and Mrs. [removed]" His quick-jabbing, penetrating manner became his
trademark. And so did his fedora hat.

1937 - CBS introduced listeners to Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories for the
first time. A complete story was told in five, 15-minute episodes which
aired Monday thru Friday each week. Aunt Jenny was played by Edith Spencer
and later, by Agnes Young. The show continued on radio until 1956 and was
sponsored over the years by Spry shortening and Lux soap. Aunt Jenny's
whistling canary, for those of you ready to inquire, was played by animal
imitator, Henry Boyd.

1/20

1954 - The National Negro Network was formed on this date. Some 40 radio
stations were charter members of the network.

Joe

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

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 14:38:25 -0500
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Harry Resar
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Birthdaymeister Ron Sayles posted :

01-12-1896 - Harry Reser - Piqua, OH - d. 9-27-1965
bandleader: "Cliquot Club Eskimos"

Believe it or not, Harry Resar's name came up in a  Talking Book biography of
Tommy Dorsey yesterday the 12th. However, nobody in-house--myself
included--knew exactly how to pronounce "Reser."

Does anybody know? Please contact me off-list at derek@[removed]

Best always from the ether.

Derek Tague

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

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

Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 21:03:45 -0500
From: Dennis DeMarco <dennisdm@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Tune in Yesterday Book by Dunning

Hi all,

I hope this is OK, but sudden extreme medical bills are causing me to
sell some things around here.

I have a copy with cover of John Dunning's excellent Tune in
Yesterday hardback book dated 1976. The book is in great condition.

I paid $[removed] for it, but I'll let it go for $[removed] and I'll pay for
the postage.

If interested, please contact me at [removed]@[removed]

Thanks.

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #15
********************************************

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]