
 SEE INFO SECTION AT END OF THIS DIGEST FOR UNSUBSCRIBE AND OTHER INFORMATION. 
	  	         === Last Update 1/17/95  ====





	    [removed]   Volume 96 : Issue 191


Articles in this issue of [removed]:

	 More on Jack Benny Cartoon
	 a brief history of ILAM
	 two threads
	 RE: Stairway to the Sun
	 Temple of Vampires Re-creation
	 I Love A Mystery
	 Personal intro

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

Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 09:36:04 -0600
From: Richard Veit <Richard_Veit@[removed]>
To: OTR Digest <otr@[removed]>
Subject: More on Jack Benny Cartoon
Message-id: <[removed]@[removed]>

                       Subject:                               Time:9:08 AM
  OFFICE MEMO          More on Jack Benny Cartoon             Date:5/27/96

In issue 185 David Van Nostrand asked subscribers to please identify the
Warner Bros. cartoon that starred Jack, Mary, Don, and Rochester as mice.
Several readers responded with the title "The Mouse That Jack Built." In case
you're interested, here's the complete storyline, as it appears in "Looney
Tunes and Merrie Melodies," by Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald (NY: Henry Holt,
1989), a splendid 390-page book which I highly recommend. It is still
available for around $[removed] in paperback.

"The Mouse That Jack Built." Release Date: April 4, 1959; Merry Melodie;
Directed by Robert McKimson; Story by Tedd Pierce; Animation by George
Grandpre, Ted Bonnicksen, and Warren Betchelder; Layouts by Robert Gribbroek;
Background by Robert Singer; Film Editor: Treg Brown; Voices Performed by Jack
Benny, Mary Livingston, Rochester, Don Wilson, and Mel Blanc; Musical
Direction by Milt Franklyn.

Here is the culmination of the Warner toon studio's twenty-plus-year love
affair with Jack Benny (and Rochester). Little mice live in the house of Jack
Benny ("Star of State-Screen-Radio-Television. Also Cartoons"). Jack and his
valet, Rochester, are getting ready for his girlfriend Mary's birthday. First
Jack gets Rochester to return the new jacket he rented from him, then he
counts the cheese in the vault (protected by a myriad of alarms, booby-traps,
and somebody named Ed Blanc who wonders if we've won the war yet and what
they'll do with the Kaiser). Upstairs, Mary arrives, as does Chubby Don, who
starts to read a commercial. Jack reminds Don that this is a movie. Jack
receives a phony leaflet from a hungry cat from something called "The Kit Kat
Club--Cheapest Nightclub in Town--Entertainers admitted Free" and they're off
in the Maxwell, Mary reminding Jack he's promised her a bottle of champagne
and Jack suggesting a good "mouse-katell." The club looks just like a cat,
inside and outside, down to its red carpet tongue. There's no one in the
place, although Jack tries to liven things up by playing "Tea for Two" on his
violin. By the time they are certain where they are, the cat's mouth has
already closed. Now dissolve to the real Jack Benny in live action waking up.
"Gee, what a crazy dream. Imagine! Mary and me as mice." He hears a scratchy
"Rockabye Baby" from his own cat, asleep, and sees two little mice climbing
out of its mouth! Benny then gives the camera one of those all-telling,
indescribable looks.

Richard J. Veit

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

Date: 27 May 96 12:16:17 EDT
From: Steve Lewis <[removed]@[removed]>
To: Old Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed]>
Cc: Max Schmid <mschmid@[removed]>, Marc Antonsson <marc-a@[removed]>
Subject: a brief history of ILAM
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

A brief history of I LOVE A MYSTERY:

1/16/39 - First episode aired.  Stars Michael Raffetto (Jack), Barton Yarborough
(Doc) , Walter Paterson (Reggie).  NBC.  15 minutes, 5 times a week, afternoon.
12 storylines aired.  1 episode in circulation.

10/2/39 - Moves to evening.  9 storylines aired.  1 episode in circulation.

4/4/40 - Format changes to 30 minutes, once a week, evening.  (Still serialized
adventures.)  On air until 6/27/40, returns 9/30/40.  On air until 6/30/41,
returns 10/6/41. Gloria Blondell joins cast as Jerry Booker on 3/30/41. Last
show with character of Reggie is 2/2/42. 

6/29/42 - show leave air.  From the 30 minutes period, 9 storylines were aired.
6 episodes in circulation (some are fragmentary)

3/22/43 - Show returns on CBS with Ivory/Oxydol as sponsors.  Format returns to
15 minutes, 5 times a week.   Jack played by Michael Raffetto (until 5/15/44),
Jay Novello (until 8/21/44), then John McIntire.  Barton Yarborough plays Doc
until 5/15/44, eventually replaced by the character of Michael, played by
Forrest Lewis.  Gloria Blondell play Jerry until 11/5/43(?), replaced by
character of Mary Kay Brown, played by Cathy Lewis.

12/29/44 - Show leaves air.  From the second 15 minute period, 24 storylines
were aired, 3 episodes are in circulation.

5/21/45 - Audition program taped for 30 minute, complete-in-1 series.  Stars
Russell Thorson (Jack), Barton Yarborough (Doc).  Series not sold. In
circulation.

4/25/48 - I LOVE ADVENTURE starts airing.  These are weekly complete-in-1 30
minute adventures with Jack and Reggie (later Doc).  ABC sustained.  Cast is
Michael Raffetto (Jack), Tom Collins (Reggie).  Reggie is replaced by Doc
(played by Barton Yarborough) beginning 6/13/48.  Series leave air on 7/18/48
after airing 13 episodes.  All are in circulation.

10/3/49 - I LOVE A MYSTERY returns on Mutual.  Sustained, 15 minutes 5 times a
week. Russell Thorson as Jack until 10/52, then Bob Dryden. Jim Boles as Doc.
Tony Randall as Reggie (until 6/12/51).  Athena Lord joins cast as Jerry Booker
on 2/2/51.  Replaced after 4/14/52 by character of Mary Kay Brown, also played
by Athena Lord.

12/26/52 - Show leaves air.  From the Mutual period, 40 storylines were aired.
38 of these adventures had previously been aired on NBC/CBS runs.  In the case
where the original airing had been during the 30 minute period of the series,
some rewritting was done to refashion the episodes into 15 minute segments.  6
complete or nearly complete storylines are in circulation, in addition another
23 single episodes are available.

5/54 - 3 auditions taped for a return series with Russell Thorson (Jack), Parley
Baer (Doc), Ben Wright (Reggie).  Series not sold. In circulation.

That's it.  Most dates are from Jay Hickerson's ILAM log (highly recommended!)

Steve Lewis 

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

Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 13:49:09 -0400
From: Alldavid@[removed]
To: OTR@[removed]
cc: Alldavid@[removed]
Subject: two threads
Message-ID: <960527134908_204775729@[removed]>

I'd like to ask a question that combines two recent threads
in OTR.  

One of the best at doing multiple voices was John Brown,
who is best know doing both Gillis, the Brooklynese neighbor
of Chester Riley, and Riley's macabre acquaintance Digby O'Dell. 

I have heard that John Brown was put off the airways
shortly after "Life of Riley" made the transition to television,
and that this was done because of his political affiliations. 

Can anybody enlighten me about John Brown's life
and confirm or deny the truth of this explanation for
his absence from radio/television. 

                      David Hatch
                      Columbia, Md.  

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

Date: Mon, 27 May 96 18:41:28 UT
From: "Bruce Rosenberger" <BR3D@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: RE: Stairway to the Sun
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

It's my understanding that the ILAM story, "Stairway to the Sun" was reused on 
the show Adventures by Morse. I'm also told that it worked very well because 
by the time ILAM had gotten to the storyline, one of the actors had died and 
been written out of the script, SO Adventures by Morse having only two lead 
characters worked right [removed]

Well, that's the way I heeard it!
Anyone out there aware if that's anywhere near the truth?

Bruce M. Rosenberger

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

Date: 28 May 1996 03:04:40 GMT
From: [removed]@[removed] (Ron B. Hare)
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Temple of Vampires Re-creation
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

I know of at least one more I Love A Mystery re-creation, and I think it may
be available from SPERDVAC. A couple of years ago, Bud Cary, a long-time SF
OTR radio personality, responded to many requests to air ILAM Temple of
Vampires. He's such a perfectionist, he had always refused to play it because
the missing episodes interrupted the story line. Finally, he got a cast
together and produced the missing episodes. As he ran it, the series was
complete. His production is excellent. Of course, it was impossible to
re-create the original voices. The modern cast does a great job, so this does
not get in the way.

The missing episodes really add to the story. From what little I've heard of
the other stories, I think Temple of Vampires must be the best ILAM that
Carleton E. Morse wrote. Maybe it's just because I was so impressed as a
youngster when I heard it during its first run.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transmitted via LiveWire, a Virtual Valley service. Modem: [removed]
(FirstClass, VT-100)              [removed]

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

Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 23:27:54 -0400 (EDT)
From: MAX SCHMID <mschmid@[removed]>
To: airwavesOTR <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: I Love A Mystery
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

	When Carlton E Morse created ILAM, supposedly for a change of pace 
from the family drama format of One Man's Family that he had been writing 
for many years, he based the characters of Jack, Doc and Reggie on the 
real-life traits of the actors from the OMF troupe who would play the roles.
	The New York revival began when Morse was directing the OMF television
show from NYC in 1949.
	As mentioned previously, the syndicated series Adventures By 
Morse is a fairly direct lift of the characters and plot lines of ILAM.
Morse frequently recycled story ideas, [removed] The Snake with The Diamond Eyes
and Cobra King Strikes Back (the title was used on both series).
	Adventures By Morse is a great substitute for the lost ILAM shows. 
 They demonstrate the Morse style of epic adventure and mystery serials 
that are otherwise gone.
	-Max

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 05:48:04 -0400
From: PvlovsDog@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Personal intro
Message-ID: <960528054802_543850976@[removed]>

Hi. Just sending a brief personal intro, as I'm new to this group. My name is
John Migliore and I'm a 22-year-old journalism student. I live in Los Angeles
but go to school at New York University. Being 22, I'm definitely too young
to have heard these shows when originally aired, but I've developed an
appreciation for them thanks to my dad, who grew up listening to the radio.
[removed] just off the top of my head would have to be Jack Benny,
The Bickersons, Mysterious Traveler, Lux Radio Theatre, and especially The
Shadow, Suspense, and Lights Out. Anyway, glad to be on board and looking
forward to lots of interesting articles and talk.

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

    


    ****  END OF ARTICLE SECTION - INFORMATION BOILERPLATE FOLLOWS ****

1) Contacting the list administrator.
2) Unsubscribing from this list
3) Receive a DIGEST READING TIPS file
4) AIRWAVES web page
5) Funding Notice 
6) Redistribution of [removed]

1)  The [removed] maintainer can be reached at wdp@[removed]

2) To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send email to
[removed]@[removed] and place the word UNSUBSCRIBE
alone on the Subject: line of your request.  The body of
request mail is ignored by the server.  If you are unable to
unsubscribe using this method, and you are SURE you are doing
everything right, then (and only then) contact the administrator
(wdp@[removed]) for assistance.  Please send along the headers of
any problem mail for diagnostics.  

	* PLEASE Never send unsub messages to the list! *

3) For help in dealing with digests, asend for a file called *The Fine Art Of Reading and
Replying To Email Digests*  It contains tips on scanning digests and
making replies easier.  Send email to digest-tips@[removed] and use
the subject line of *Digest Tips*.  

4) Visit the AIRWAVES MEDIA WEB PAGE.  [removed]~rrb/

5) [removed] does not get any funds from your internet provider.
If this service is of value to you, please support it in whatever measure
you feel able, to help defray costs.  Suggested amount is [removed] per year,
but any help is appreciated.  Our mailing address is PO Box 8746
Springfield Mo 65801. Make any checks out to William Pfeiffer. 
Note: No payment is required to receive [removed]

6) If you are redistributing [removed] in any form, you must
contact the list owner for permission.  Generally permission is given,
free of charge, for non-commercial electronic distribution.
Commercial distribution rights are available under very reasonable
terms.  The listowner's address is  wdp@[removed]



---- 
End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #191

