------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2001 : Issue 334
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Jan Miner [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
The Carter/Kearns Organ [ "[removed]" <swells@[removed]; ]
I WONDER WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF [ "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed]; ]
CD labels [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
"The Little Girl with the Great Big [ GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@ ]
Son of Afflictions [ Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed] ]
Frederic ZIV [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
Incorrect dates on the 'net [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
Re: OTR People with Disabilities [ Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 11:10:41 -0400
From: otrbuff@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Jan Miner
My daily newspaper, just like many of yours, carries birthdays of
celebrities. Today (Oct. 15) I was pleased to note the name of peerless
radio actress Jan Miner, celebrating her 84th birthday. I'm glad she is
still with us for so many have already passed on.
Jan Miner will be recalled, if at all by those in their 30s and 40s, as
"Madge, the manicurist" on TV commercials a decade or two ago for
Palmolive dishwashing liquid. She also appeared in at least one episode
of AMC cable channel's Remember WENN in 1997, the last time I recall
having seen her. She was seen frequently much earlier in TV's The Robert
Montgomery Playhouse.
But for those of us who recall her contributions to radio, she will
always be remembered as the heroine of Hilltop House (Julie Erickson) and
Lora Lawton (title role). While she did not singularly play those parts,
she is probably the actress best associated with them. But those were
just some of her accomplishments in that medium.
Jan Miner entered New York radio in 1946 via a local station in Hartford,
Conn. A short time later she gained running parts in Boston Blackie,
Perry Mason, I Love Linda Dale, and Casey, Crime Photographer. She
appeared regularly in My Secret Story and Radio City Playhouse, with bit
parts in the casts of dozens of other dramatic series.
She also turned up in big-screen releases, including both Lenny and The
Swimmer, and made it onto Broadway in productions like Watch on the
Rhine.
Thus, she was a lady whose career carried her to four mediums as a
thespian--radio, television, stage and screen--certainly not an
unparalleled accomplishment but worthy of the skilled artist she was.
Her soft-spoken but clearly enunciated lines distinguished her and are
probably still memorable to many who could pick her out of productions
over the air.
I'm glad she's still with us! I'm dreading the time when people like Jan
Miner aren't around any longer to add sparkle to several of the OTR
conventions, when all we have to rely on might be taped recordings of
their glorious contributions to the hobby--and to our own memories.
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 18:56:13 -0400
From: "[removed]" <swells@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: The Carter/Kearns Organ
Elizabeth:
Yep, the organ is here. I live in Mansfiled, Ohio and have been to plays
presented by the Renaissance Theater. It's a beautiful place, with a ton of
history. Every now and then they show classic movies on the big screen as
they were ment to be seen. It nearly makes you speachless.
Shawn
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 18:54:24 -0400
From: "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: I WONDER WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED [removed]
After reading the posting about Orson Welles and the New York icident, got
me to wondering what would have happened if some New York DJ with a warped
sense of humor would have played WOTW right after the WTS incident? I am
sure it would have shook-up many New Yorkers who probably were not
old-enough to remember the original b/cast. This is not as far-fetched as
it may sound, as many "shock-jocks" today, such as Howard Stern use things
like this to shock listenes into reality.
Owens
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 18:56:53 -0400
From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: CD labels
There is a tiny ad in the flyer for Comp-USA this week for a "CD Labeler
Kit", sku #282017. Made by "MicroVision Development." On sale this week
for $[removed] after a ten-buck manufacturer's mail-in rebate. Try
[removed].
Comp-USA has paid me eight million dollars to write this.
M Kinsler
512 E Mulberry St. Lancaster, Ohio USA 740 687 6368
[removed]~kinsler
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 18:58:16 -0400
From: GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: "The Little Girl with the Great Big Voice"
Step, you have me the most confused that I've
ever been in my 60 years on this planet. And, believe
me, that's going some!
Everything I've ever read and/or heard orally
about "The Little Girl with the Great Big Voice" has
stated that this was Broadway, vaudeville, recording
and pioneer radio superstar MARION HARRIS (Mary Anne
Harrison, 1896-1944). Miss Harris was a regular guest
of the Rudy Vallee Show (Fleischmann Hour) circa
1931-1932, before emigrating to England and beginning
her BBC career.
Marion Harris is the single most famous star to
ever be completely forgotten by American musical
history. Just for starters, she had the first smash
hit recordings of AFTER YOU'VE GONE, THE ST. LOUIS
BLUES, THE MEMPHIS BLUES, THE MAN I LOVE, LOOK FOR THE
SILVER LINING, I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS, among DOZENS
of others.
But it took me more than SEVEN years to track
down so much as her place of burial and her mother's
maiden name. The W. C. Handy Foundation, which I
originally assumed would have been a treasure trove of
information, confessed they'd never even HEARD of
Marion Harris!
In addition, Marion Harris (M. E. Harrison) is
COMPLETELY UNKNOWN in her putative hometown of
Henderson, Kentucky. No stories. No legends. No
gossip. No whispered traditions. No nothin'.
George Wagner, B. C. (Badly Confused)
GWAGNEROLDTIMERADIO@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 19:12:13 -0400
From: Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Son of Afflictions
Jim Stokes commented:
...OTR people with disabilities. I can think of several.
Other people have more. I don't think it has been mentioned, as
of late anyway, that sportscaster Bill Stern had one leg.
Which would have accounted for the time I saw Bill Stern (knew it
was Bill, he looked the same as the guy in the little picture
shown with the Bill Stern Sports highlights one reel short
subject film shown in movie theatres all over the
country) walking with a slight limp down the hallway behind the
four major studios at NBC's Sunset and Vine facilities. Jim, all
this time I had not known Bill Stern was an amputee but just
thought he had a bad foot. Herbert Marshall, on CBS's "The Man
Called X" used to negotiate the second floor steps to his Studio
B dressing room with great agility in spite of his missing a leg
as well.
...Frank Sinatra,...had one good ear.
I remember working on a Frank Sinatra show at the CBS Vine Street
Theater Studio facility and noticed the visible scars of a
previous mastoid operation behind his left ear. How much of his
hearing was impaired in that ear, I didn't go up to him and ask.
I just felt he must have suffered some during his younger life.
CAB
--
conradab@[removed] (Conrad A. Binyon)
From the Home of the Stars who loved Ranches and Farms
Encino, California.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 19:24:00 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Frederic ZIV
Not sure if anyone had passed this on, but Frederic ZIV who was responsible
for a number of radio syndications in the forties and fifties including
Boston Blackie recently died at his home in Cincinnati, Ohio. Here is a
brief obit that appeared. While I live in Dayton, if anyone who gets the
Enquirer has more information, I would love to see it.
ZIV Frederic W., age 96, passed away October 13, 2001. Beloved husband of
the late Dorothy M. Ziv; devoted father of Frederica and Robert Yamin of
Santa Barbara, CA., and William and Elinor Ziv. Also survived by eight
grandchildren and 11 grandchildren; dear uncle of Laura Blumenthal. Private
services held at the convenience of the family. Shiva will be observed at
the residence of Bill and Elinor Ziv. Services at their residence will be
held at 7 [removed] and 6:45 [removed] lieu of flowers memorial contributions to the
charity of one's choice would be appreciated.
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 19:26:51 -0400
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Incorrect dates on the 'net
Jim Cox writes:
Not sure where digest poster Joe Mackey gets his substantiation. He
tells us in volume 332 that Professor Quiz, "the first national quiz
show" (which is correct), premiered in October 1936. I'll have to
disagree; a host of reputable authorities cite Saturday, May 9, 1936 over
CBS as the launch [removed]
This reminds me that SEVERAL "On this [removed]" sites on the web list the
radio debut of "Dragnet" as July 7, 1949. I'm probably preaching to the
choir here, but this is incorrect. I'm partial to the date of July 7th
myself, as it was my wedding day, but "Dragnet" began on June 3, 1949. I'm
supposing that Mr. Mackey's source was equally misinformed, and I wonder
just how and why these things happen.
Michael J. Hayde
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 19:40:19 -0400
From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: OTR People with Disabilities
Jim Stokes wrote:
Frank Sinatra, who had a radio detective series for a while, and
who was rumored to be a singer and a movie actor as well, had one
good ear.
I've never seen this written about Frank Sinatra--but it was obvious
that singer Johnnie Ray was very hard of hearing. He INSISTED on
appearing on TV wearing his hearing aid. Nannette Fabray has done
public service announcements (or were they commercials?) mentioning that
she has a hearing loss.
Two important OTR performers who developed disabilities late in their
career and wrote heartwarming books about it have not yet been
mentioned. Sportscaster Ted Husing went blind in the late 1940s and was
able to make a comeback as a DJ. His book is "My Eyes Are In My
Heart." Although his blindness made it impossible to cover live sports,
he could still talk. But what if you lose the power of speech--can you
still be a radio broadcaster? Rush Limbaugh will find it hard to speak
without being able to hear, but Thomas A. Edison made broadcasts when he
was nearly stone deaf, as did Helen Keller who became totally deaf
before she had learned to talk. (Naturally, she is very hard to
understand.) Patricia Neal regained her speech after a stroke--and boy,
wouldn't it be great to hear Parley Baer again. But the actor who had
the greatest hurdle to overcome was William Gargan. He had a smooth,
mellow but tough voice, and was on both radio and TV as Martin Kane,
Private Eye. But then in the mid 1950s he developed throat cancer. A
sure career ender as he had his larynx removed. But Bell Labs had just
introduced the handheld artificial larynx, and Gargan became a spokesman
for cancer treatment and the use of this modern development. I can't
locate the title of his book, but I do recommend it highly. During an
era when having cancer was hardly ever mentioned, he forced people to
listen and to accept this disease and disability.
And did I mention that Ted Husing was unable to cover live sports after
going blind? Well, from what I have been told, that hasn't stopped our
own Gassman Brothers!
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2001 Issue #334
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