Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #297
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 10/30/2006 8:09 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2006 : Issue 297
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Ration [removed]                      [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
      10/30 WOTW                            [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
      10-30 births/deaths                   [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      More questions re: wires              [ Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed]; ]
      radio joke about country of residenc  [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
      Fred Allen                            [ Illoman <illoman@[removed]; ]
      Update on William Spier and His Pape  [ William Harker <wharker@[removed] ]
      You know you are an OTR fan           [ wayne_johnson@[removed] ]
      Radio Hall of Fame                    [ William Harker <wharker@[removed] ]
      You Know You're A Fan Of OTR [removed]  [ "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed] ]
      [removed] War Bonds trivia                 [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      War of the Worlds                     [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      You know you're really a fan of Old-  [ Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed] ]
      You know you're really a fan of Old-  [ StepToons@[removed] ]
      Re: WOTW typo                         [ dixonhayes@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:58:47 -0500
    From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Ration [removed]

    I think my father had a B or C gas ration card.  The cards were mounted on
    the windshield.  Dad was a missionary priest in Winner and Sisseton, South
    Dakota, and traveled many miles, so he probably got as much gasoline as he
    needed.  In Winner, he was the head of the local ration board, and did visit
    local retailers to make sure they were selling at or below "ceiling price."

    We did a lot of recycling then.  At one time, in order to buy a new tube of
    toothpaste, you had to turn in an empty tube.  There were "scrap paper"
    drives, and we flattened cans which were recycled.  If you didn't use your
    shoe coupon, you could give it to another family member.  I think that was
    good for one year only.

    I don't recall hearing anyone complaining about the rationing.  We knew it
    helped the war effort.  We knew we were in the war to win against Hitler,
    Tojo, and Musolini.  And we did, with the help of many wonderful allies!

    Ted Kneebone / 1528 S. Grant St. / Aberdeen, SD 57401
    [removed]~stmarkch/

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:58:58 -0500
    From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  10/30 WOTW
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    With today (30th) being the 68th anniversary of "The War of the Worlds," I'd
    like to wish everybody a "Happy Welles Day!"(If anybody can come up with a
    better name to designate October 30th, I'm amenable).

    Derek Tague
    in New Jersey, where the Martians "landed"

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

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:59:06 -0500
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  10-30 births/deaths

    October 30th births

    10-30-1751 - Richard Brinsley Sheridan - Dublin, Ireland - d. 7-7-1816
    writer: (Inventor of the Malaprop) "Great Plays"
    10-30-1879 - Eily Malyon - London, England - d. 9-26-1961
    actor: Lady Greystroke "Tarzan"
    10-30-1885 - Ezra Pound - Hailey, ID - d. 11-1-1972
    poet and traitor: "Italian Propaganda Broadcast"
    10-30-1896 - Bill Terry - Atlanta, GA - d. 1-9-1989
    sportscaster: WAGA Atlanta
    10-30-1896 - Ruth Gordon - Wollaston, MA - d. 8-28-1985
    actor: "Lincoln Highway"; "Meet Mr. Weeks"; "Orson Welles Theatre"
    10-30-1898 - Arthur Kohl - Chicago, IL - d. 8-xx-1983
    actor: Fred Andrews "Archie Andrews"; Bob Graham "Bachelor's Children"
    10-30-1906 - Paul J. Smith - Calumet, MI - d. 1-25-1985
    music: "The Eddie Bracken Show"
    10-30-1908 - Patsy Montana - Hot Springs, AK - d. 5-3-1996
    yodeling country singer: "WLS Barn Dance"
    10-30-1910 - Francia White - Greenville, TX - d. 10-22-1984
    singer: "Palmolive Beauty Box Theatre"; "Fred Astaire Show";
    "Telephone Hour"
    10-30-1911 - Milton Lieberthal - d. 6-5-1989
    writer: "The Sheriff"
    10-30-1911 - Ruth Hussey - Providence, RI - d. 4-19-2005
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    10-30-1915 - Fred Friendly - NYC - d. 3-3-1998
    writer, director: "Hear It Now"; "Who Said That?"; "Quick and the Dead"
    10-30-1918 - Joan Banks - NYC - d. 1-18-1998
    actor: Arline Harrison Manning, "Portia Faces Life"; Carlotta Lagorro
    Armour, "Today's Children"
    10-30-1918 - William N. Burch - d. 10-1-2005
    producer: "Truth or Consequences"; "Gene Autry's Melody Ranch"
    10-30-1923 - Hershel Bernardi - NYC - d. 5-9-1986
    actor: "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar"
    10-30-1924 - Norman Bird - Coalville, England - d. 4-22-2005
    actor: Major Burnaby "The Sittaford Mystery"
    10-30-1927 - Joe Adcock - Coushatta, LA - d. 5-3-1999
    baseball player: "Baseball: An Action History"
    10-30-1939 - Sammy Ogg - Lexington, VA
    actor: Little Beaver "Red Ryder"; Donnie Henderson "Beulah"
    10-30-1951 - Harry Hamlin - Pasadena, CA
    actor: "We Hold These Truths"

    October 30th deaths

    02-06-1899 - Ramon Novarro - Durango, Mexico - d. 10-30-1968
    actor: Freelance
    08-01-1906 - Judd McMichael - Minneapolis, MN - d. 10-30-1989
    singer: (The Merry Macs) "Bing Crosby Show"; "Fred Allen Show"
    08-12-1912 - Sam Fuller - Worcester, MA - d. 10-30-1997
    producer, director: "The Aldrich Family"; "The Jack Carson Show"
    08-28-1924 - Peggy Ryan - Long Beach, CA - d. 10-30-2004
    dancer, actor: "Mail Call"; "Bob Hope Show"; "Proudly We Hail"
    09-09-1873 - Max Reinhardt - Baden, Austria - d. 10-30-1943
    film director: "Texaco Star Theatre"
    10-14-1907 - Pert Kelton - Great Falls, MT - d. 10-30-1968
    actor: Agnes "Magnificent Montague"; Lolita "We Are Always Young";
    "Milton Berle Show"
    10-27-1908 - Josephine Antoine - Boulder, CO - d. 10-30-1971
    singer: "Contented Hour"
    11-24-1911 - Kirby Grant - Butte, MO - d. 10-30-1985
    singer, actor: "Gatewood to Hollywood"; "Hollywood Barn Dance"
    12-05-1886 - Rose Wilder Lane - De Smet, SD - d. 10-30-1968
    writer: (Daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder) "Hallmark Hall of Fame";
    "Helen Hayes Theatre"
    12-26-1921 - Steve Allen - NYC - d. 10-30-2000
    comedian, actor, singer, composer and anything else you might
    mention: "Steve Allen Show"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:27:21 -0500
    From: Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  More questions re: wires
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

            As another young(ish) listener, can I pass on my assumptions about
    wires to see if they're correct?  These are theories which I've formed
    from listening to old shows and revelling in the culture of bygone days.
            The companies stopped delivering telegrams and cables in my
    childhood; they just phoned them to our house instead, and they offered a
    paper copy at extra charge.  My father sent cables overseas to identify
    the hour when he was going to make an expensive long distance call.  He
    wanted to be sure the other party would be home.

    My theories:
            Telegram companies charged by the word.  There was an initial rate
    for the first ten words, with a charge for every extra word.  This led to
    some creative editing of messages and possibly to miscommunication on the
    other end.  There's a joke on Jack Benny where a telegram from his sister
    ends mid-sentence because she hit the ten-word limit.  The "stop" at the
    end of each sentence or phrase was free.  Signatures were free too.
            On Duffy's Tavern, Finegan sends an inappropriate verse via
    telegram because he was offered a catalogue of poems to choose from.  I
    assume it cost very little to send a #24, for example; certainly less than
    it would to send an original text.
            The telegrams were delivered by "boys" who weren't boys at all, at
    least not by mid-century.  It would appear that, like waiters, they relied
    on tips to make a reasonable living.  And of course, after delivering, the
    boy would wait to see if there was a return answer.
            I assume that, if you didn't have a phone, you would have to visit
    the telegraph office to send a wire and pay up front.  You filled out a
    yellow blank, the words were counted, and you paid your fee.  (How much
    incriminating evidence was gathered from these discarded blanks on the
    detective shows!)  I can't remember a single show where a character phones
    in a telegram, but this must have been the more customary method.
            I have an image in my mind that some telegrams issued from a
    ticker tape machine, and the results were cut and pasted onto an official
    form to be delivered.  That might be a very early style
            I have the impression that telegrams weren't always sent
    instantly, but went out in batches or at certain times of the day.
            If you received a telegram during the war, you had good reason to
    assume it was bad news.
            I have never, ever heard of telegrams being misdelivered, and yet
    it must have happened.  I'm sure that relatives didn't keep very good tabs
    on their relations current addresses.  Could a telegram boy slip a wire
    under a door and leave, or did he always have to hand it over personally,
    perhaps getting someone to sign for it?  Did a telegraph company send a
    courtesy message back to their customer when a delivery failed?  Could a
    telegram be sent care of general delivery, just like a letter?

    Stephen D
    Calgary

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

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:28:17 -0500
    From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  radio joke about country of residence

>     ... restoring people to their original
>     places of birth which had been subject to a constant shifting of political
>     borders and names.  Thus many Jews from Russia were more specifically Polish
>     [removed]

    Or if it wasn't on the radio, it should have been:

    Municipal official to long-suffering resident:

    "The borders are changed.  You are no longer in Russia.  You will now pay
    taxes to Poland."

    Long suffering resident:

    "Thank God.  I could never stand those Russian winters."

    My father told me this one.

    M Kinsler

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:32:00 -0500
    From: Illoman <illoman@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Fred Allen

    Tom wrote:

>     Topical, yes, but what a wordsmith! Awed by brilliant language use,
>     I mimic it, but fail.  25 words are not enough, I might get cutb&This is
>     NBC, the National Broadcasting Company.   (G) (E) (C).

    I was trying to explain this thread to my wife the other day, about
    how some people "get" Fred Allen and some don't. A perfect example
    occurred; I was telling her how on one of his shows he mentioned (I
    am paraphrasing) how a character "had such a whale of a time he
    started using a harpoon instead of a cane". I think it a very funny
    line. The audience didn't even chuckle. My wife asked me why the man
    was using a cane.

    I just said "Nevermind."

    Mike

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 14:03:20 -0500
    From: William Harker <wharker@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Update on William Spier and His Papers

    A public thanks to those of you directing me to the Wisconsin
    Historical Society in Madison.  Unfortunately, besides scripts and a
    few odds-and-ends, it looks like Spier donated nothing related to the
    copyright infringement trial initiated by Warner Brothers.

    If anyone has any other ideas on tracking down information about
    Spier and the trial I would be happy to hear them.  For example,
    Spier was married at one time to Kay Thompson.  Anyone know the dates?

      I already have trips planned to the University of Texas at Austin
    (where the Knopf papers and some Hammett papers are located, New York
    (if Warner Brothers lets me see anything they might have), Laguna
    Niguel, California (where the trial records are held), and wherever a
    good lead takes me.  Again, if anyone knows anything about the lives
    of Tallman, Doud or Eisinger, I am all ears, eyes and fingers:  "Have
    Laptop Will Travel."

    Bill Harker

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 14:03:30 -0500
    From: wayne_johnson@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  You know you are an OTR fan

    when sitting in your driveway to hear the end of the program takes longer
    than the drive home.

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 14:04:07 -0500
    From: William Harker <wharker@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Radio Hall of Fame

    I've just had a chance to review the Museum of Broadcast
    Communications' Radio Hall of Fame web
    site.  [removed]  (I did so just
    to see if it contained any information related to the Sam Spade
    copyright infringement trial, specifically the individuals involved
    -- it did not.)  However, it raised a couple of questions in my own
    mind as I read the inductees (both individuals and shows).

    I am of half a mind to forego asking this question because I can see
    where it could start a firestorm of response.  So, I'll ask this
    question as generally as I can.  I have read the "Selection Process"
    as described on the web site.  However, I do not believe I have seen
    any commentary here concerning the organization, its selection
    process, its inductees (or non-inductees).  Most Hall of Fames have
    critics of the selection process.  *My* opinion of who should be in
    or out is not particularly important, but I'd like to have an idea of
    the history of the induction process.

    Bill Harker

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 14:14:58 -0500
    From: "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  You Know You're A Fan Of OTR [removed]

      You know you are a fan of OTR when each Christmas season you listen to
    nothing but OTR Christmas shows. Those shows do more to bring back the
    feeling of Christmas in the good old days than any other media. Retiring 10
    days before Christmas will let me listen to even more shows this Christmas.
      It is not Christmas until I have heard A Daddy for Christmas on Family
    Theater, A Rifle For Christmas on Dragnet, Fred Allen second show from back
    in the 30's in Mammoth Department Store episode with Fred managing the store
    at Christmas time and having Roy Atwell deliver a motivational speech to
    employees talking doubletalk that made no sense but very funny and the Amos
    N' Andy Christmas show which has Andy being Santa Claus and Amos explaining
    the Lord's Prayer to his daughter on Christmas Eve with Christmas music
    [removed] special moment with Amos and his daughter Arbadella will go
    on for years and years because it is a classic example of the way Christmas
    was observed way back when.

      Andrew Godfrey

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:15:52 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  [removed] War Bonds trivia

    As a bank employee who specializes in retirement strategies and securities,
    I know my bonds.  War Bonds were actually called "Defense Bonds" during the
    first few months of WWII, and sometime during the war they were referred to
    as "war bonds" instead.  They were called "Liberty Bonds" before they were
    called "Defense Bonds."  Today they are referred to as "Savings Bonds."  And
    right after 9/11 they began calling some as "Patriot Bonds."  I'm proud to
    say that because I just discovered that my boss last week didn't even know
    they were called "Patriot Bonds" and he used to have my job during 9/11!

    War Bonds were all Series E bonds, which the consumer paid 75% of the face
    value and then it earned interest for many years.  After 40 years, the bonds
    stopped earning interest so if anyone has any series E bonds from the war or
    after the war, you are not earning additional interest once they hit 40
    years and 1 month old.  (Some places say they still earn interest even after
    40 years but trust me, they don't.)  Sometime around May or June 1980, the
    Government stopped printing E bonds and began offering Series EE bonds in
    their place which you paid 50% of the face value and those stopped earning
    interest after 30 years.  Regardless of the interest earned through the
    years, at exactly 17 years the EE bond has a one-time adjustment to meet up
    with the full face value.  So if you paid $[removed] for a $100 bond, it would
    earn .68 cents - [removed] per year in interest and even if the bond was worth
    $[removed] in 16 years, waiting 17 years makes it $[removed] and then continues to
    earn interest afterwards.  Strategically if one wanted to quadruple their
    savings in 34 years, it's better to cash in the bonds at 17 years and put
    that money into another, rather than letting it earn interest after it
    reaches full face value.

    (The Government now offers Series I Bonds and that's a different thing
    altogether.)

    Radio programs, newspapers and war bond rallies and bond drives help raise
    money and get people motivated in buying bonds.  Wouldn't care guess how
    many times I've seen Bing Crosby trying to convince the American movie-going
    audience that he purchased a TON of bonds.  Many movies from WWII featured a
    reminder to buy War Bonds after the closing credits - watch the restored
    Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone and Bruce) films and you'll see excellent
    examples.

    According to one source:
    In September 1942, some eight months after film star Carole Lombard was
    killed in a plane crash while returning from a bond rally in January 1942, a
    rally in which she had raised some [removed] million dollars, Hollywood went over
    the top with a Stars Over America 'bond blitz.' 337 stars took part; they
    often worked 18 hours a day, and were mauled by the crowds of admiring fans
    which constantly engulfed them. Film stars Greer Garson, Bette Davis and
    Rita Hayworth suffered varying degrees of physical and nervous exhaustion.
    Free movie days were often held, the admission being a bond. The Hollywood
    quota was $775,000,000, but $838,540,000 worth of bonds were sold. In total
    during the war, Hollywood stars made seven tours through 300 cities and
    towns. Glamour girl Dorothy Lamour, famous for her sarong, was credited with
    personally selling over $350,000,000 dollars in bonds. Another glamorous
    star, Hedy Lamarr, gave kisses to buyers of $25,000 bonds.

    Irving Berlin even wrote a song called "Any Bonds Today?" in 1941, right
    before America's entry into the war, and it became a song sung over the
    radio for years.  Even Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd helped sing the song for a
    60 second cartoon (courtesy of Warner Brothers Studios) which was played in
    between movie showings and theaters even sold bonds at no profit to the
    studios.  (Though it was great publicity for a studio to brag about how much
    they put into the war effort by encouraging large sales of bonds through
    their studios.)  "Buy your chare of freedom, today . . ."  Those who
    attended the WWII cartoon showing at [removed] back in September saw this
    cartoon played on the big screen and some may have caught a glimpse of it
    between movie showings in the movie room.

    This one is for Ken Stockinger who reads the digest:
    One of the most unusual baseball games ever played was a three way game in
    New York City between the New York Yankees, the New York Giants and the
    Brooklyn Dodgers. Each team went to bat six times in the same nine-inning
    game against rotating opponents. The final score was Dodgers 5, Yankees 1
    and Giants 0 and the [removed] Government was $56,500,000 richer in War Bond
    sales.

    For radio fans:
    A 16-hour marathon radio broadcast on CBS featured singer Kate Smith, who
    was already famous for her moving rendition of "God Bless America." During
    her marathon, nearly $40 million worth of War Bonds were sold.  I don't know
    the date of this broadcast, so if any Kate Smith fans knows of this date,
    please tell me.

    Martin Grams Jr.

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:16:48 -0500
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  War of the Worlds

    Michael J. Emry of Tokyo, Japan sent me this web site, it think it
    may be of interest to most who read this list.

    [removed]

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:17:00 -0500
    From: Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  You know you're really a fan of Old-Time
     Radio [removed]

    You know you're really a fan of Old-Time Radio [removed]
    you have more tapes, mp3s and audio CDs than you'll
    ever be able to listen to in a lifetime and you're still
    collecting.

    Al Girard

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:00:29 -0500
    From: StepToons@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  You know you're really a fan of Old-Time
     Radio [removed]
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    In a message dated 10/30/2006 11:58:46 AM Eastern Standard Time,
    [removed]@[removed] writes:

    You know  you're really a fan of Old-Time Radio [removed]

    ...You find yourself shopping for products that no longer exist because of
    commercials you keep hearing on your Old Time Radio shows:
    Products I've actually looked for: PETRI WINE, CLIPPER CRAFT  CLOTHES and PEP
    CEREAL. [Yes, I [removed] can tell I listen to  [removed]] Products still
    available that I found my eye wandering to  because of OTR: Ovaltine and
    Johnson's Wax.

    [removed] I'm out of the closet. Yes, I'm a fan of OTR.

    Step

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

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:00:46 -0500
    From: dixonhayes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: WOTW typo
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

     ***> ..."Orson Welles' 1939 broadcast and the panic surrounding it"

>     would be seen by many consultants (and the producers/editors
>     mentally enslaved to them) as "too wordy."

    It was broadcast in October 1938. Not 1939.***

    Obviously that was a typo as elsewhere in the same post I said 1938.

    Dixon

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

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #297
    *********************************************

    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]