Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #290
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 10/24/2006 10:21 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2006 : Issue 290
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      FOTR CONVENTION - 2006                [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
      Re: Superman serial                   [ "yerffoeg2" <yerffoeg2@[removed]; ]
      What - a laugh?                       [ Wich2@[removed] ]
      Another hornets nest?                 [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      "Social Destiny of Radio"             [ William Harker <wharker@[removed] ]
      Likes and Dislikes                    [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Jane Wyatt                            [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
      Re: Sam Spade writers                 [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
      Fred Allen                            [ Celia Thaxter <celiathaxter@[removed] ]
      A super long shot in the dark         [ dm4yeshua@[removed] ]
      SUPERMAN - The Serial (Laser Disc)    [ DurangoKid@[removed] ]
      Railroad Hour                         [ "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed]; ]
      Fred Allen and XM                     [ William Harker <wharker@[removed] ]
      10-25 births/deaths                   [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 14:14:57 -0400
    From: PURKASZ@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  FOTR CONVENTION - 2006
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Whew!!!!!
        Finally got my brain back after four days of the  most delightful,
    radio-infused and exciting gathering of folks from around the  country who
    love
    old-time radio.
        I got to see the faces of people who write in this  digest over the years
    and who were most kind in coming up to me to say  hello.
        I also met some extraordinary people, some I knew  and some I did not.
        Hadn't seen Chuck McCann since my days at Schwabbs  on Sunset Blvd in
    Hollywood.
        Seeing Soupy Sales and wife Trudy was a big  highlight for me as well.
        Finally put a face to the likes of Craig Wichman,  Bill Nadel, Don Ramlow
    and many others who went by in a hand-shaking blur.
        The crowd was dynamic and the productions  exemplary.
        Even the food was great!!!
        I must admit now to a tinge of stage fright as I  realized I was in the
    presence of the 'masters' and realizing a life-long dream  to be in a radio
    drama!
        Even after almost 30 years in front of the cameras  in my motion picture
    and TV career, it was exciting to be involved in THREE  shows!
        Bill Nadel's salute to Francis Durbridge allowed me  to be an 'announcer.'
        Gregg Oppenheimer's production of MY FAVORITE  HUSBAND gave me insight
    into gentle humor. His own as well as the script.
        Then as luck would have it, a last-minute  cancellation by an actor
    allowed me to play a villain in an episode of GUNSMOKE  directed by Anthony
    Tollin
    whose love of this show was most evident in his  careful production!
        I was so 'evil' they tell me that my girlfriend  began looking at me with
    different eyes!!
        Then a great moment.
        A chance to be in an episode of my favorite show  SUSPENSE though not as
    a performer but as a pale imitation of the great Harlow  Wilcox whose voice
    I've been hearing for many years.
        ON A COUNTRY ROAD created quite a stir in the  attentive crowd and the
    cast was excellent as Chuck McCann found himself in  a car with two
    marvelously
    played hysterical women and I attempted to sell  AUTOLITE batteries!!!
        Chuck offered his generous and wacky outlook on all  things absurd and
    bizarre and fit right in with my tendency as well so we kept a  few people up
    late Friday and Saturday night.
        Jeff David and I got a chance to 'mix it up' on  stage and that was more
    fun than I thought possible.
        I'm still getting flashbacks before I go to sleep  at night!
        Thanks to all the folks who made up those wonderful  days and nights and
    thanks to Jay Hickerson whose tireless efforts enabled a lot  of us to imagine
    we were right back in the glory days when telling stories  on the air was the
    endeavor of the day and the wonder of the nights with radios  all over the
    land.
        Seeeeeeeeeeee ya next year folks!
        Wish it was sooner.
                            Michael  C. Gwynne

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

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 14:42:09 -0400
    From: "yerffoeg2" <yerffoeg2@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Superman serial

    According to [removed], the officail DVD release of the Superman movie
    serials will be November 28.

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 14:43:06 -0400
    From: Wich2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  What - a laugh?

    In a message dated 10/24/2006 2:15:03 [removed] Eastern Standard Time,
    [removed]@[removed] writes:

>     ...The sitcom formula of the  main
>     character forgetting to do something/screwing something [removed]

    Dear Chris-
    As an excellent Media teacher of mine at NYU, Jim Brown, used to  say,
    "cheap/easy" comedy can usually be reduced to a one line description  -

    "(Blank) is humiliated, [removed]"

    We looked through TV Guide listings of classic TV reruns then (and  let's be
    fair; late radio/early TV sitcoms are pretty much the same animal!),  and he
    was thrilled when we actually found capsule descriptions saying EXACTLY  that:

    "Lucy is humiliated when Desi finds her in disguise at his [removed]"
    "Ralph is humiliated when he doesn't have enough money for Alice's birthday
    [removed]"
    Etc.

    This can be funny, but I'd go with your opinion that subtler development
    (Vic & Sade, etc.) is even richer.

    (With the caveat that, as Charlie posits, we're all on subjective ground
    here.)

    Best,
    -Craig

    [removed] Great to see many of you at a great (yes, Jay, GREAT!) FOTR!  More
    [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:42:26 -0400
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Another hornets nest?

    I would like to clear something up that I left unsaid in my recent
    post about radio icon Fred Allen. I dislike the "Fred Allen Show,"
    not Fred Allen. That may sound contradictory, but it's not really.
    Allen was at his best when guesting on other shows. His feud with
    Jack Benny is a radio classic. When Fred Allen guested he was usually
    without his wife Portland Hoffa. I even liked him on television's
    "What's My Line." Back to Hoffa. Pure and simple Hoffa did not belong
    on radio. She was only there because she was the bosses wife. Did
    Hoffa appear on any radio show other than her husband's? I think not
    because she was a no talent whom no one but Fred Allen would have.
    There, I said it and I'm glad.

    Ron Sayles
    Trouble maker from Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:07:24 -0400
    From: William Harker <wharker@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "Social Destiny of Radio"

    A couple of weeks ago I was at the West Virginia University library
    looking up one of the non-fiction pieces Dashiell Hammett had written
    for a magazine called _The Forum_.  I'm sure you know how it is going
    through microfilm where many years of issues can be copied on a
    single roll.  Prior to locating the Hammett piece I ran across a
    piece in the June 1924 issue by Waldemar Kaempffert entitled "The
    Social Destiny of Radio," pp. 764-772.  I suspect for those of you
    who specialize in the history of radio neither the article nor the
    arguments made therein will be new to you.  However, for some it may
    be informative.

    It is an article that, in my opinion, can today be considered rather
    silly in respects.  Yet coming in 1924 it represents something of the
    thinking that was going on at the time and some of the article is
    quite interesting given what we know today.

    The little summary of the piece that introduces it reads:

    "Now that the novelty of radio is wearing off and we have all
    recognized it de facto, so to speak, we are beginning to foresee the
    day when it will have to be recognized de jure as an official
    instrument of mass appeal.  Mr. Kaempffert believes that its most
    significant service will be in making vast numbers of geographically
    scattered people think in unison.  It may even establish English as a
    universal language.  Certainly foreign stations are already finding
    it expedient to broadcast their important messages in English."

    I will merely include a few of what *I* consider the more interesting
    (Provocative?  Prescient?) sentences:

    "No longer do we hear the criticism that radio can never become a
    useful instrumentality of communication because secrecy is
    impossible.  We have thrown secrecy to the winds." (p. 764)

    "At present, broadcasting stations are far too eclectic.  They give
    us market reports, stock quotations, orchestral music, plays, bedtime
    stories for children, hygienic advice, lectures on how to make money,
    and weather [removed], broadcasting material will be more
    nicely [removed] the receiving set of the future may
    possibly be provided with tuning dials bearing such legends as
    'market reports,' 'musical comedy,' 'news,' and 'lectures.'" (p. 765)

    "There are signs that singers, actors, editors, and lecturers are
    wearying of giving their professional services to radio
    gratuitously.  The novelty has somewhat lost its charm.  And there
    are other, less ephemeral methods for securing the publicity coveted
    by the platform or stage luminary." (p. 766)

    "In the future [the performer] will sit at home, and give her full
    throated best, clad in comfortable slippers, and dressing gown, and
    the radio audience will be none the wiser." (p. 766)

    "Perhaps the Federal government and our municipalities may be
    compelled to assume the task of broadcasting lectures, opera and
    news." (p. 767)

    "Already broadcasting directors are convinced that there is also a
    'voice personality.'  It follows that we may have the equivalent of
    Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford." (p. 769)

    I'll leave to others the precise task of critiquing the article but
    it certainly seems to present an  argument worthy of inclusion and
    comment for anyone examining the development of radio in its various facets.

    Bill Harker

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:08:01 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Likes and Dislikes

    As so many others here have said quite eloquently, the question of Fred
    Allen's humor -- or that of any other personality -- is entirely up to
    the perception of the individual. The fact that Mr. Sayles has no use for
    him affects my enjoyment of Allen's programs not one bit -- just as the
    fact that I'd rather punch my eardrums thru with a screwdriver than
    listen to, say, Abbott and Costello has zero significance to an A&C
    enthusiast. So it's hardly something to get worked to a froth over.

    As to the question of A&A, well, I wrote a book about them -- and can say
    with some confidence that their real significance has zero to do with
    what OTR fans think of their work today and everything to do with the
    impact they had on the developing broadcasting medium in the late
    twenties and early thirties. Without Correll and Gosden's pioneering
    vision of radio as a medium for character-based storytelling, it's very
    likely that the "OTR Era" as we know it would not have happened -- or
    would have happened in a very different manner. So like them or not,
    their significance cannot be honestly downplayed.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:08:31 -0400
    From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Jane Wyatt

    I expected 'someone else' to remember Jane Wyatt who passed away Friday, Oct
    20, at age 96.  RadioGoldIndex has 19 listings for her, almost half on
    Family Theatre.

    For Trekkies she holds a special place in our hearts for her portrayal of
    Spock's mother  on the original series.

    This is a link to the NY Times obituary.   - Irene

    [removed];ref=movies&oref=slogin

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:09:27 -0400
    From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Sam Spade writers

    Bill Harker asked about Jo Eisinger. The correct spelling is without the
    "e" as this is a woman. The only thing I can add about Eisinger is that
    I found a reference that tied her to a pseudonym of Jason James   I
    found a reference to her in a newspaper sometime ago when I was doing
    some moderate research on the "Cases of Mr. Ace" serial.  I do know that
    Eisinger died in the UK and it could be his papers are located over there.

    If I can find the reference I'll let you know. It is interesting that
    there isn't a lot known about Jason James and a lot about Jo Eisinger
    which leads me to believe that it could be one and same person.

    Not sure how this might help, but it is another aspect to use in searching.

    Jim Widner

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:10:19 -0400
    From: Celia Thaxter <celiathaxter@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Fred Allen

    I must take exception to this characterization of Fred
    Allen:

>     I feel nearly the same way about Fred Allen, another
>     icon of old-time radio. I have many of his shows in my
>     collection, but I have only listened to a few of them.
>     They are just not funny. It could be because he is
>     very topical and his humor just doesn't hold up
>     today.

    I find Allen very humorous and have savored his
    programs. Yes, his humor is characterized as "topical"
    in history books, but I find that much of his
    political humor finds resonant application to today's
    absurd climate.

    It isn't difficult to appreciate the times and culture
    in which he broadcast, and his many references, for
    example, to World War II sacrifices are easy to
    apprehend. More importantly, they are just as funny
    today as they must have been then. In short, one
    doesn't need a sort of specialized knowledge of 1940s
    news to appreciate his so-called "topical" humor.

    Fred Allen is more than merely funny, however. He's so
    smart as to border on brilliant. The guy is just a
    genius at ad libbing and witty comebacks. He knew how
    to play a show for its laughs but was so quickwitted
    that one never ceases to be astonished at the man's
    mental nimbleness. He wrote exceptionally well, was
    obviously well read, and was admired and befriended by
    New York's most sophisticated writers for his
    consistently witty scripts.

    Call me old-fashioned, but I love Fred Allen.
    Incidentally, his two books, "Treadmill to Oblivion"
    and "Much Ado about Me" are excellent reads, the
    latter especially for its frank and period-soaked
    depiction of vaudeville vagabond life pre-1930.

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:10:45 -0400
    From: dm4yeshua@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  A super long shot in the dark

    10-24-06

    Dear friends at the otr digest:
    I have a program that I am looking for and I know virtually nothing about
    it other than one line that my father remembered from this show and the
    program scared him to death as a very young boy listening to radio under
    the covers with his brother some time in the mid to late forties.(
    1946-1950).  He seems to recall that it was a Suspense broadcast and the
    one line that he can remember from all those years ago, was " Rudiman (
    approx spelling) let me go!!!!" He vividly remembers the sound effects of
    rattling chains and he said it really frightened him.  It is a super long
    shot in the dark, but can someone on the list help me identify the show
    and a possible date?
    David B.

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:12:05 -0400
    From: DurangoKid@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  SUPERMAN - The Serial (Laser Disc)

    Ken Greenwald made a comment about a laserdisc being purchased for a large
    sum of money.  It was a large sum of money, even for a cliffhanger serial.
    At the Williamsburg Film Festival I have seen laserdiscs sell for $[removed] to
    $[removed] depending on the title and whether or not that was used or new.

    I don't know how Martin got Ken & I mixed up, after all, he's better looking
    . . .
    The "large sum of money" ($63) was paid on first day of issue of the Laser
    Disc set
    and that was at a discount in the late 1980's when I purchased it . .
    Searching
    the net for this email, I see you can buy the Laser Disc set of three disc's
    for
    $12 . . . Amazon has the DVD set that'll be released in late November for
    $[removed]
    and it qualifies for FREE SHIPPING with a minimum order of $25 . .

                Glenn E. Mueller
                Rowland Heights, CA

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 21:26:49 -0400
    From: "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Railroad Hour

    If I'm not misunderstanding what Martin Grams is saying about the
    title "Railroad Hour," I think his explanation is a little askew.

    The fact that it came on at the top of a particular hour is
    beside the point. It's really simply designating it's that time
    of the day (week) for the program sponsored by the American
    Association of Railroads. In the same way one might refer (as
    Longfellow did) to "The Children's Hour" (their time to have
    fun), or the "hour of their discontent," or elsewhere in radio
    even 15-minute programs that had "hour" attached to their names -
    it was the hour (time) for the so-and-so show whether it came on
    at :00, :15, :30 or :45.

    Bob Cockrum

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

    Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 21:28:00 -0400
    From: William Harker <wharker@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Fred Allen and XM

    As long as we are on the subject of Fred Allen.

    I am not sure I have ever heard a Fred Allen show.  For one thing I
    may be too young and for another I grew up as a child (until college
    years) outside the [removed]  Then too, as I am either reading or writing
    all the day long I tend to have my XM radio on music.  However, when
    my wife and I take driving trips, as we are about to do on Thursday
    through Sunday, the car (all our cars have XM installed) tends to
    lean toward OTR.

    However, given our discussion lately of Fred Allen, I realize I have
    to listen to a show.  But, XM appears not to have an episode
    scheduled for this week.  Does XM (or Radio Spirits from which XM
    appears to obtain a lot of its programming) carry Fred Allen?

    I must admit, also, I am a bit tardy.  I love the Jack Benny Show and
    know about the feud but have never found the time to discover Fred
    Allen.  Obviously, I need to make the time, if only to find out if he
    is funny.  Yes, I know this is a bit lazy but frankly I have so many
    OTR shows I am trying to complete in my collection, along with
    everything else going on, I just want to find the simplest way to
    discover (or forget) Fred Allen. <g>

    Bill Harker

    Marlowe is a man "in a lonely street, in lonely rooms, puzzled but
    never quite defeated."    Raymond Chandler, 1959

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

    Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 00:16:16 -0400
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  10-25 births/deaths

    October 25th births

    10-25-1825 - Johann Strauss, Jr. - Vienna, Austria - d. 7-21-1899
    composer: "American Radio Warblers"; "Canary Pet Show"
    10-25-1882 - Richard Gordon - Bridgeport, CT - d. 12-xx-1967
    actor: Sherlock Holmes, "Advs. of Sherlock Holmes"; Jim Barrett,
    "Valiant Lady"
    10-25-1888 - Richard E. Byrd - Winchester, VA - d. 3-11-1957
    explorer: "Admiral Byrd Broadcasts"
    10-25-1891 - Father Charles Coughlin - Hamilton, Canada - d. 10-27-1979
    commentator, preacher: (The Radio Priest)
    10-25-1901 - Daniel Landt - Scranton, PA - d. 2-24-1961
    singer: Landt Trio, "Doc Pearson's Drug Store"; "Bob Hawk Show"
    10-25-1901 - Walter T. Butterworth - Wallingford, PA - d. 3-10-1962
    emcee: "Molle Merry Minstrels"; "Vox Pox"; "Take a Card"
    10-25-1902 - Eddie Lang - Philadelphia, PA - d. 3-26-1933
    jazz guitarest: "Music That Satisfies"
    10-25-1908 - Polly Ann Young - Denver, CO - d. 1-21-1997
    actor: (Sister of Loretta) "Lux Radio Theatre"
    10-25-1909 - True Boardman - Seattle, WA - d. 8-4-2003
    writer, narrator: "Silver Theatre"; "Favorite Story"
    10-25-1912 - Al Lewis - d. 2-3-2002
    director-writer: "Our Miss Brooks"
    10-25-1912 - Minnie Pearl - Centerville, TN - d. 3-4-1996
    comedienne: (Queen of Country Comedy) "Grand Ole Opry"
    10-25-1912 - Sherman Marks - d. 4-4-1975
    actor, director: Ichabod 'Ichy' Mudd "Captain Midnight"; "Cloak and
    Dagger"
    10-25-1914 - John Reed King - Atlantic City, NJ - d. 7-8-1979
    announcer, actor:"Columbia Workshop"; Schuyler 'Sky' King " "Sky King"
    10-25-1918 - Chubby Jackson - NYC - d. 10-1-2003
    bassist: (Woody Herman Band) "The Woody Herman Show"
    10-25-1924 - Billy Barty - Millsboro, PA - d. 12-23-2000
    comedian: "Spike Jones Band"
    10-25-1926 - William E. Greene - Iron City, GA - d. 3-12-1970
    actor: Dr. Fred Thompson "One Man's Family"
    10-25-1927 - Barbara Cook - Atlanta, GA
    actor: Julie Boyd "Great Merlini"
    10-25-1928 - Marion Ross - Albert Lea, MN
    actor: Lux Radio Theatre

    October 25th deaths

    01-07-1903 - Betty Hanna - d. 10-25-1976
    actor: Deborah Matthews "Ma Perkins"; Luella Hayworth "Step Mother"
    02-12-1919 - Forrest Tucker - Plainfield, IN - d. 10-25-1986
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    03-05-1882 - Eustace Wyatt - Bath, Somerset, England - d. 10-25-1944
    actor: Lord Percy "Our Gal Sunday"
    05-12-1902 - Philip Wylie - Beverly, MA - d. 10-25-1971
    writer: "This Is War"; "Sportsman's Club"; "Tomorrow"; "Lux Radio
    Theatre"
    05-27-1911 - Vincent Price - St. Louis, MO - d. 10-25-1993
    actor: Simon Templar "The Saint"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    06-19-1908 - Mildred Natwick - Baltimore, MD - d. 10-25-1994
    actor: "Starring Boris Karloff"; "Best Plays"; "Campbell Playhouse"
    06-21-1912 - Mary McCarthy - Seattle, WA - d. 10-25-1989
    novelist: "Guest Star Time"
    07-24-1878 - Lord Dunsany - London, England - d. 10-25-1957
    writer: "The Columbia Workshop"
    08-22-1904 - Don Prindle - d. 10-25-1968
    writer: "The Abbott and Costello Show"; "Niles and Prindle"
    08-30-1939 - John Peel - Heswall, England - d. 10-25-2004
    disc jockey: "The Perfumed Garden"; "Top Gear"
    09-14-1907 - Cecil Brown - New Brighton, PA - d. 10-25-1987
    newscaster: "CBS European News"; "Sizing Up the News"
    10-31-1928 - Cleo Moore - Baton Rouge, LA - d. 10-25-1973
    actor: "Bud's Bandwagon"
    11-14-1901 - Morton Downey - Wallingford, CT  - d. 10-25-1985
    singer: (The Irish Thrush), "Morton Downey Show"; "Songs by Morton
    Downey"
    12-29-1920 - Viveca Lindfors - Uppsala, Sweden - d. 10-25-1995
    actor: "[removed] Steel Hour"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #290
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