Subject: [removed] Digest V01 #28
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 1/25/2001 7:52 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                      The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                         Volume 01 : Issue 28
                    A Part of the [removed]!


                           Today's Topics:

 Age and otr                          ["steven kostelecky" <skostelecky@ho]
 "You Bet Your Life"                  ["A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed].]
 Ages                                 [igsjr <igsjr@[removed];             ]
 Dr. Christian episode                ["Shaun Hayes" <hishaun@[removed];]
 Conrad on TV's Gunsmoke              [Osborneam@[removed]                  ]
 Re: Our [removed]                      [Neal Rogers <nealr@[removed];  ]
 old mics                             [Michael Muderick <am004d@[removed]]
 Pranks                               ["Richard Pratz" <[removed]@home]
 Vintage Microphones                  [Terry King <tking@[removed];    ]
 Jerry Haendiges                      [TROPHYBOB@[removed]                  ]
 Sherlock Holmes                      ["Jackie Lannin" <jackquack@[removed]]
 Re: miniscences                      ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
 Re: [removed] age survey        ["JD Whitaker" <jdwhitaker@[removed]; ]
 Various                              [Bruce Dettman <bdettman@[removed]]
 Vintage microphones                  [Bill Harris <billhar@[removed];    ]
 Of color Dragnets and b&w moralizing [John Henley <jhenley@[removed]]
 Sherlock on StarTrek                 [BOBFABRIS@[removed]               ]
 OTR Suspense webpage                 [Mike Mendoza <serpico4@[removed];]
 Ages                                 ["Mike Antonucci" <[removed]@sn]
 Re:Shure 55S                         [Fred Berney <berney@[removed];      ]
 "Buster Brown"                       [Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed]]

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:07:30 -0500
From: "steven kostelecky" <skostelecky@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Age and otr

I'm 44 years old, and heard about the Golden Age from my father. I was a
comic book, science fiction and pulp fan in the sixties, and couldn't really
find a fandom for otr as such, but picked up what I could when I could.
Listened to AFN in Germany in my teens, started picking up shows on cassette
and listened and taped KNX shows, a thousand miles from me--consistent
fading, but a great treat. My children grew up with Benny, Phil Harris and
Gracie Allen. As a matter of fact, my senior in high school daughter has the
lead in "Sorry, Wrong Number" at the moment, a show she's heard many times.
My wife is currently hooked on the detective shows, I'm going to school and
plan on producing radio plays soon. The internet has opened a whole world of
good fellowship and I appreciate meeting all the fans on the list, and
learning from a great group of people. Otr fans are the best.

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:07:33 -0500
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "You Bet Your Life"

TV Guide this week says that Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life" was mostly
scripted.  It was never a secret that some material was written for
Groucho, in case he didn't happen to think of any ad libs at a particular
time, but I thought the idea of the show was that Groucho had failed on
radio before, doing scripts, and that this show was designed to take
advantage of his ability to wisecrack.

Does anyone have any idea just how much of "You Bet Your Life" was
scripted and how much was ad libbed?


 A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                        [removed]
 15 Court Square                     lawyer@[removed]
 Boston, MA 02108-2503      [removed]~lawyer/

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:07:35 -0500
From: igsjr <igsjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Ages

I just turned 37 this past September, but I have been a big OTR fan
since the 1970s, when the nostalgia boom kicked [removed] Charleston, WV
radio station broadcast "Lum and Abner" repeats and I remember listening
to them although I was very young.

A few years later, a public radio station in Athens, OH started "Goon
Show" rebroadcasts, which also played a large factor in my becoming
hooked; NPR also broadcast special tributes to Will Rogers and Stan
Freberg at that time.  But it was a Marietta, OH station, WBRJ, that
used to feature OTR programs on their Christmas and New Year's broadcast
days and that's what cinched the [removed] ordered 3 cassettes from
Radiola: THE SHADOW, THE LONE RANGER/HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL and THE GREAT
GILDERSLEEVE/OUR MISS BROOKS and played all three of them until they
were forced to give up the ghost from wear and [removed]

Since that time, I have become a tremendous fan of "those thrilling days
of yesteryear" -- the comedy programs remain my very favorites, but I
also get a tremendous kick out of programs like GUNSMOKE, DRAGNET and
NIGHT BEAT, which were and still are incredible listening.  I took some
OTR cassettes along on a recent long drive through the state of Georgia
and pleasantly passed the time away listening to the adventures of Sam
Spade and Philip [removed] is truly a hobby that can't be beat.

Ivan

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:07:38 -0500
From: "Shaun Hayes" <hishaun@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Dr. Christian episode

I recently received a call from a gentleman who wrote two episodes of Dr.
Christian.  The one title he remembers is "A Flower For Mother."  Has this
survived?  Also, is there a log available for this series (especially the
last few years)?  Any help would be appreciated.

Shaun Hayes

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:07:41 -0500
From: Osborneam@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Conrad on TV's Gunsmoke

Someone mentioned that while William Conrad never appeared on TV's
Gunsmoke, he directed a couple of the shows.

He also narrated at least two of them, being the two-part "Women For Sale"
shows.

Arlene Osborne

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:20:41 -0500
From: Neal Rogers <nealr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Our [removed]

Hi everybody:

I've been lurking here for awhile and thought I would throw in my two cents'
worth. I've been an old time radio listener and fan since I was 9 years old.
I am now 46. I am an impulse buyer when it comes to collecting shows. I
actually started out with a 3 inch Sony reel-to-reel tape recorder and a
microphone, making up stories and interview shows with my brother. we even
made up our own commercials. My dad has an old combination record
cutter/player that was gathering dust in a back room. I drug it out one day
and started listening to his collection of wartime dance records and there
in his collection were several discs that he recorded directly from a radio.
I was fascinated listening to "Your Hit Parade" and "The Chesterfield Hour."
He told me he used to listen to all the night programs with his radio under
the covers, so he wouldn't be discovered. Well, I was hooked. Later on, a
San Francisco station, KMPX-FM used to have a Christmas Eve show that would
run nothing buy old time radio shows. Also, James Gabbert would present a
show on KIOI-FM, called the K101 Festival of Radio that would run one half
hour each night for two weeks. I was in heaven. I finally upgraded my
equipment to a stereo cassette recorder and another reel-to-reel. I started
purchasing radio shows on reel-to-reel and still have several boxes of them.
Sadly, my old tape machine is gone, but since discovering the joys of Mp3, I
have been downloading many of my favorite shows.

Now, another dream of mine is being realized. I am part of a group that is
starting a radio theater company, re-creating and reviving old time radio.
We have many exciting projects in the works and are currently trying to
raise the necessary cash to put on our first show in front of a live
audience. Look for us out there in the World Wide Web at
[removed]. Once we are fully operational, our previous
weeks' shows will be on our website.

My best to all of you out there, no matter what age. Keep the information
flowing. I'm still learning so much. And thanks to those of you that have
e-mailed me concerning scripts and other people doing re-creations. Let's
stay in touch.

Neal Rogers
nealr@[removed]
[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 10:32:24 -0500
From: Michael Muderick <am004d@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  old mics

The most popular old mics are the RCA 44 and the RCA 77. Both can be set
to bidirectional.  The can often be found on ebay, but rarely less than
$1000.  You can also check some of the radio trade publications, but they
are not inexpensive.
Michael Muderick

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 10:32:26 -0500
From: "Richard Pratz" <[removed]@[removed];
To: "OTR (Plain Text Only)" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Pranks

It's really been enjoyable reading the thread regarding ages. I've already
added my two cents (I'm 63), so I thought I'd maybe start a new thread.
Since I witnessed so many pranks played on others as well as myself, I
always get a kick out of hearing about the hijinks that were played in the
many studios across the land.  It seemed to me that radio people (at least
many of them) always had a great sense of humor. As a Pageboy at CBS Chicago
(WBBM), I recall (I've mentioned this one before) models in their birthday
suits clad in fur coats, dropping their coats to the studio floor as Howard
Miller was about to make his CBS Network debut for Wrigley Gum. (It didn't
phase him a bit).  And of course, the old chestnuts of turning out the
studio lights leaving announcers in the dark to ad [removed] their copy
on [removed] outlandish [removed] outrageous [removed]
various male and female "flashing" incidents, are legion. Perhaps seeing so
many jokes played on others "toughened" me for the later years (1959-99)
when I was behind the mike in news. I prided myself on never breaking up
(unless I wanted to) regardless of what was thrown my way.  Experiencing the
"fun" of radio was a BIG part of the business to me that it seems was lost
when accountants began running stations rather than broadcasters.
[removed] about all the rest of you who worked in or around radio studios?
What were some of the pranks you witnessed or heard about? This could be a
fun thread!!

Rich

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 10:54:33 -0500
From: Terry King <tking@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Vintage Microphones

The good news is that audio pros have come to
understand the unique qualities of 30's through
50's broadcast-quality ribbon microphones.

The bad news is that the prices have skyrocketed.
And I don't like the use of adjectives like that,
usually.

A mint condition RCA 77DX (The 'cylinder with rounded ends'
that is so familiar) is worth $1500 and up. The smaller
'rectangular trapezoid' 74B "junior velocity" mikes are
approaching $1000.  This is not just nostalgia gone wild:
these ribbon microphones are recognized as having outstanding
transient response and low transient intermodulation
distortion. This contributes to their unique ability to
reproduce "rich" radio voices and sharped-edged percussion.

The Shure ribbon (Elvis Presley? type) mikes are also excellent.
I'm not familiar with the 55SH.  The 556 is an excellent slightly
newer (I guess 50's) mike.  I have one smiling at me on the shelf here.

I have a 77DX and a couple of 74B's that are currently residing
at Little Castle Studio here in Vermont, and are used for both
vocal and percussion recording, where appropriate, along with
several newer large-capsule condenser mikes.  The 77DX is
wonderful for rich male voices, in my biased opinion. Anyone
working on a voice-over project in beautiful Vermont can look at
[removed]
to mix pleasure and [removed] (Sorry for the plug!)

I have resigned myself to not capitalizing on the current
value of these mikes.  My Dad was a broadcast engineer at WELI
for many, many years, and I was also, from 1956 to 1974 when
IBM and computers seemed the Thing To Do. I have 4 old ribbon
microphones, and 4 kids who appreciate the family history in
Technology Of The Time: they are all Engineers or BioChemists.
So the mikes will go to them, and stay in the family a long
time, I hope.

Take a look over at [removed] for many discussions of these
microphones. There are some good sites specializing in them, too;
I'll try to post [removed]

Regards,
Terry King
...In the Woods in Vermont at [removed]~tking

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 10:58:40 -0500
From: TROPHYBOB@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jerry Haendiges

I have been trying unsuccessfully to contact Jerry through emails for the
last month or so and wondered if anyone knew if he is still actively
maintaining his OTR service. I was a little worried because Jerry has always
been one of the most cordial and just plain nicest guys I have come in to
contact with during my time collecting old time radio programs. I guess he
may be on extended vacation or his email service could be down, but I was a
little worried about him. Does anyone have any information?
Thanks.
Bob Marquette (trophybob@[removed])

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 10:58:42 -0500
From: "Jackie Lannin" <jackquack@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Sherlock Holmes

Hello,
   A little bit off-topic, but about Sherlock Holmes. There is an
interesting series of books that is recently written by a woman named Laurie
King.
They have Sherlock Holmes with a wife! and they solve crimes together. Very
well written. The titles are " The Beekeeper's Apprentice", "A Monstrous
Regiment of Women", " A Letter to Mary", "The Moor", "O Jerusalem".
         Jackie

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 11:31:19 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: miniscences

Rhiman Rotz notes,

[I]t may be interesting to someone if I mention that as a kid I never
cared for Fibber McGee & Molly at all, but now they are one of my
favorites ....<<

The changing perspective of age and experience can be extremely
enriching.  This is why some shows still work and others don't.  Some
things go over the heads of younger listeners while they don't for
grownups.  IMHO, this is what elevates The Lone Ranger over Challenge of
the Yukon, for one.  As a 15-year-old, I listened to Pete Kelly's Blues,
but if I heard it now, I'd really appreciate it.

On collecting OTR shows, Michael Stein asks,

The only response I have to those who ask is: "I just love it!" Can
anybody come up with a better reason why we collect these treasures
beyond what the non-learned might consider reasonable?<<

Without being confrontational, "I just love it" is more than sufficient.
One never need have to justify one's hobby.  As a rule, most people who
aren't "into" whatever the hobbyist specializes in generally can't see
what's so special about the hobby.  If they shared the interest, the
question would never come up.

Chris Holm, asking about the contrast between the radio version of
Dragnet and the early television version asks,

Speaking of Dragnet, TV Land had a Dragnet marathon weekend last month
- which I enjoyed very much.  The shows did have that famous Webb black
and white moralizing and heavy hand directing.  It seems to me that while
you get some of the same touch in the radio show, it's not nearly as
heavy.  Do other people feel the same way? <<

Well, the early TV shows _were_ in black & white.  :-)

Also, with the radio version, sounds and dialogue were required to paint
a mental picture that was unnecessary to those looking at an image on a
13-inch TeleKing.  So the dialogue could become relatively terse.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 11:31:17 -0500
From: "JD Whitaker" <jdwhitaker@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: [removed] age survey

I'm 47 and my earliest memories are listening to radio drama. My parents
spent my preschool years helping my Grandfather run his revival circuit in
the midwest. We travelled from town to town in a big flatbed truck and a
converted school bus that might have been one of the world's first
motorhomes.

On evenings we didn't have a tent full of people, we all crowded into the
cab of the truck to listen to radio shows. The bed of the truck formed a
piano and pulpit platform inside the revival tent. Three adults and a babe
in arms in the middle of a farmers field. I don't remember much of the shows
themselves. What I remember is the excitement and rapt attention of the
adults.

My dad later explained that the truck had the best radio. He'd hand selected
tubes, carefully aligned the RF/IF circuits and wrapped the vibrator with
friction tape to mute the hum. He'd also mounted a long Highway Patrol whip
antenna for a better signal. Half an hour before showtime, he'd run the
truck motor to warm the cab and charge the battery.

-=JD=-

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 11:51:44 -0500
From: Bruce Dettman <bdettman@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Various

January 25, 2001

Just a few responses and thoughts.

1) Regarding Holmes' retirement. You might want to look at a series of
mysteries by the author [removed] Heard (I believe they were written in the
1940s) including REPLY PAID and A TASTE FOR HONEY. The protagonist is an
elderly gentlement, retired and living in the English countryside, named
Mr. Mycroft. His hobby is bee keeping.

2)    I don't recall a TV version of "Fort Laramie."

3)    Regarding Dragnet: A new book, celebrating the 50th anniversary of
the show, is coming out in the spring. The author is Michael Hyde and I
believe the title will be "Just the Facts, Mam." Also, regarding Jack
Webb's transformation in the character of Friday, remember that the
first TV series (and the radio version as well) were pretty much police
proceedurals while the later incarnation was more concerned with Friday
addressing (often in the most bombastic fashion) cultural changes -- all
of which he detested-- going on in America in the 1960s. It was more
public relations for the police than a real crime show as it had been in
its glory days.

bed

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 11:51:47 -0500
From: Bill Harris <billhar@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Vintage microphones

On Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 12:25:21 -0500
Glenn Kalison <glennkalison@[removed]; posted:

 I am preferably looking for as many as four mics with
updated performance characteristics such as the Shure
55SH Series II, but ideally want a bi-directional
ribbon mic.

Check the on-line auctions. There are currently a couple of 55SH mics on ebay
right now, and an RCA ribbon. Vintage ribbon mics tend to go pretty high as
they
are very popular with the microphone collectors.

Bill Harris

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 12:07:57 -0500
From: John Henley <jhenley@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Of color Dragnets and b&w moralizing

Chris Holm said,
Speaking of Dragnet, TV Land had a Dragnet marathon weekend last month -
which I enjoyed very much.  The shows did have that famous Webb black and
white moralizing and heavy hand directing.  It seems to me that while you
get some of the same touch in the radio show, it's not nearly as heavy.  Do
other people feel the same way?

>From what I saw of that marathon, they showed only the
color episodes from the 60s, so the following comments
are based on my assumption that no b&w episodes were
included.
I think it's probably a mistake to compare the radio Dragnet
with the later, in-living-color TV series known variously
as "Dragnet 1967/68/69/70."
It would be much more appropriate to compare it with the
original b&w series of the 1950s, and I'd love to do that more
authoritatively, but in all this time I've only seen one
episode of the original, and that was just this past Xmas on
TV Land's special of 1950s-vintage Xmas shows.  (Along
with a Dragnet wanna-be, Racket Squad.)
As I've recently read a good biography of Webb, it seems fair
to say that although Dragnet did to a degree reflect his personal
feelings about law and order, in the beginning his obsession was
only with producing a good show, and boy did he ever.  Nothing like
it had been heard on radio, and when it moved to TV, nothing like
it had been seen.  (It's pointed out the original series makes
frequent use of extreme close-ups, cutting back-and-forth
between speakers with each line of dialogue.  While that may
seem jarring and overdone now, in the context of its time -
with the tiny 5-to-8-inch TV screens then - it was a
real attention-getter.)
By the time Webb succeeded in getting Dragnet back on the
air, times had changed very much.  The Viet Nam war was of
course raging, marches and demonstrations were daily occur-
ences, and, inescapably, Webb was older and committed to
the style he'd worked so hard to establish - which had been
declared "dated" even as far back as 1960 or so.  In fact,
it's suggested that Webb's main motive for pushing to get
Dragnet back on TV was (in addition to his burning desire
to work) his dismay over the 1965 Watts riots in [removed],
which made him feel that order was breaking down.  So yes,
the color Dragnet is less a police procedural than it is a
Jack Webb polemic.
To me, it's a shame that all most people know of Webb now
is based upon the color Dragnet, because it's simply not
Webb at his best.  It's almost identical to the Amos 'n' Andy
situation - all that most people know of it is the farcical TV
show (or 30-min. radio sitcom), which gives quite a false
impression of what Gosden & Correll were capable of doing.
To bring this back to OTR:  Jack Webb's real talents are on
best display in his various radio series.  In the visual arts,
he's best represented by the original Dragnet, and the
feature films "Dragnet," "Pete Kelly's Blues" and "The
[removed]".

John Henley
jhenley@[removed]
ph  (512) 495-4112
fax (512) 495-4296

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 18:54:34 -0500
From: BOBFABRIS@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Sherlock on StarTrek

Common guys, how could Sherlock be dead??  He showed up on the holodeck
of the [removed]   Bob

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 18:54:36 -0500
From: Mike Mendoza <serpico4@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  OTR Suspense webpage

I just made several improvements to my Suspense web page, and I was
wondering if you can tell me what you think of it.

[removed]

I value your opinion.

Thank you,
Serpico

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 19:28:41 -0500
From: "Mike Antonucci" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Ages

 Hi.  I've been reading this great Digest for some time now and this is my
first post. I'm 43 and been an OTR fan since I was about 12. WTIC in
Hartford had a great informative monthly program about OTR in the early
70's with many live interviews . Any body remember it? It would be great
if those were available. By the way, my 13 year old daughter is now a
big Jack Benny and Burns &Allen fan, and I found my mislaid Escape
tapes in my other daughters (14) room.
Mike

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 20:26:16 -0500
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re:Shure 55S

I have 3 Shure 55S mikes. Bought two of them new back in the mid '50s. A
great sounding mike. There were the backbone of my recording studio for
over 30 years. I bought and sold two Reslo Ribbon mikes, but never parted
with the Shure mikes.

Someone gave me another one many years ago. So that is how I ended up with
three.

Every so often when I record a job, I take the 55S's with me. They still
sound great.

What I would like to find is a working RCA 77D or 44BX. I could have bought
one years ago for $[removed], now I wish I had.

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

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 20:26:19 -0500
From: Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  "Buster Brown"

We often hear OTR actors discuss the difficulty of going from one studio to
another during days when they performed on multiple shows.  The routes were
planned down to the last second because frequently  their  assignments were
"back to back."

Jerry Maren, who played "Buster Brown" on "Smilin' Ed's Buster Brown Gang,"
had a different problem. The program was broadcast twice (for airings in
assorted  time zones), but he had quite a bit of time to kill between
performances.  He had to wear the "Buster Brown" outfit for both shows
because they were presented live in front of studio audiences.

Richard Lamparski  quotes him as saying, "Radio paid [expletive deleted]!
And every week it cost me four cab rides because there was a two hour gap
between shows.  I could hardly kill it by shopping or going to a
restaurant. What do you do on a Saturday morning when you're dressed like
"Buster Brown?"     [WHATEVER BECAME [removed], Eleventh Series, Crown
Publishers, 1989, [removed]]

Jerry Maren, by the way, was the "Lollipop Kid" in THE WIZARD OF OZ.

Dennis Crow

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #28
******************************************

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]

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]