------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2004 : Issue 392
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
12-11 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
OTR Convention Dates [ "Norman & Karen Schickedanz" <schic ]
Podcasting and otr [ ".dan." <ddunfee@[removed]; ]
re: Fred Allen preferences [ "W. Gary W." <wgaryw@[removed]; ]
interviews [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
KMPC [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
Non-Barrymore "A Christmas Carols".. [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
Science Fiction Adaptations [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
Do You Remember? [ HERITAGE4@[removed] ]
Dragnet: Radio vs. TV [ David Phaneuf <david_phaneuf@yahoo. ]
New Radio Season for the Met Opera [ Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 14:45:39 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 12-11 births/deaths
December 11th births
12-11-1882 - Fiorello LaGuardia - NYC - d. 9-20-1947
nyc mayor: "Douglas Corrigan Parade"; "This Is New York"; "Reads the Funnies"
12-11-1886 - Victor McLaglen - Tunbridge Wells, England - d. 11-7-1959
actor: Captain Flagg "Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt"; Mountie Eric Lewis
"Red Trails"
12-11-1894 - Eddie Dowling - Woonsocket, RI - d. 2-18-1976
host: "We, the People"; "Ziegfeld Follies of the Air"
12-11-1911 - Beecher Pete Kirby - Sevierville, TN - d. 10-17-2002
dobro, guitar, banjo player: (Member Smokey Mountain Boys) "Grand Ole Opry"
12-11-1911 - Sam Levenson - NYC - d. 8-27-1980
humorist: "Arthur Godfrey Show"; "City Club Forum"
12-11-1914 - Marie Windsor - Marysville, UT - d. 12-10-2000
actress: "Escape"; "Suspense"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
12-11-1920 - Eddie Firestone, Jr. - San Francisco, CA
actor: Joey Brewster "That Brewster Boy"; William Herbert Murray "One Man's
Family"
December 11th deaths
01-05-1938 - Lindsay Crosby - CA - d. 12-11-1989
actor: "Bing Crosby Show"
01-31-1909 - Walter Coy - Great Falls, MT - d. 12-11-1974
actor: Michael Lanyard/Lone Wolf "Lone Wolf"
02-20-1906 - Richard Himber - Newark, NJ - d. 12-11-1966
bandleader: "Studebaker Champions"; "Your Hit Parade"
04-25-1921 - Robert Q. Lewis - NYC - d. 12-11-1991
disc jockey, comedian, host: "Arthur Godrey Time"; "Robert Q. Lewis Show"
06-25-1911 - Reed Hadley - Petrolia, TX - d. 12-11-1974
actor: Red Ryder "Red Ryder"; Chad Remington "Frontier Town"
07-16-1888 - Percy Kilbride - San Francisco, CA - d. 12-11-1964
actor,host: "Paul Whiteman Presents"; "Melody Round-Up"; "Stars in the Air"
08-08-1900 - James Pierce - Freedom, IN - d. 12-11-1983
actor: Tarzan "Tarzan"
09-11-1909 - Anne Seymour - NYC - d. 12-11-1988
actress: "Mary Marlin "Story of Mary Marlin"; Francie Nolan "Tree Grows in
Brooklyn"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 14:46:27 -0500
From: "Norman & Karen Schickedanz" <schick@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: OTR Convention Dates
Hello, all.
I try to keep a list of upcoming OTR and related conventions. Can someone
tell me the 2005 dates, if any, for any of the following conventions:
Cincinnati OTR & Nostalgia Convention; Brockton, MA Annual Radio/TV Classics
Live; Mt. Carmel Lone Ranger Radio Days; Lake Placid Kate Smith Festival;
Mena, AR National Lum & Abner Society Convention; Seattle Radio Showcase 05;
Newark 30th Friends of Old Time Radio Convention?
Thanks muchly,
Norm Schickedanz
Tucson, AZ
schick@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 20:57:46 -0500
From: ".dan." <ddunfee@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Podcasting and otr
Putting on my look into the future hat, one can see a perfect marriage with
the podcast technology and otr. A recent thread has been about the future
of otr, here is one way that it never need end. Perhaps even more
intriguing is the possibility for new and/or redone old shows to be done,
because the cost vs. potential audience is very low.
[removed]
xv
ic|xc
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 21:04:44 -0500
From: "W. Gary W." <wgaryw@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: re: Fred Allen preferences
Elizabeth McLeod wrote:
I'm partial to any of the Allen shows of the "Town Hall Tonight" era,
which I think capture the essence of Allen's wit far more than the
later shows [snip]
I don't care all that much for Allen's Alley -- it has its moments, but
I think the newsreel format used in the Town Hall era gave Allen much
more flexibility in presenting topical humor.
as so often, i couldn't agree more with elizabeth's opinions.
however, one part of the 1940-42 texaco star theater hour-long shows which i
prefer to the earlier town hall tonight is the average man's round table, or
the quiz, or whatever variation therein, providing an excuse for fred to
interview several audience members (and an interesting contrast to groucho's
you bet your life). i vastly prefer these segments to the earlier amateur
segments, primarily because you don't have to sit through all the amateur
acts. and some of these acts are mind-blowing inappropriate for radio. in
one bit i've heard, an amateur trick violinist performs and fred actually
resorts to narrating verbally all the manipulations the violinist is going
through which are of course invisible to the home audience. from fred allen,
one of radio's true innovators, this was not exactly an inspiring use of the
medium.
i'm also not a huge fan of allen's alley - the longer it went on, the more
stable the group of residents became, the more formulaic it got. in the
newsreel segments, fred could invent whatever type of person he needed as
fodder for an interview on the topic at hand.
my feeling is that this gradual shift towards a recognizable ensemble of
characters was commercially, not artistically, driven, by the ad agencies and
the sponsors. fred certainly wasn't in favor of the shift from the town hall
format to the psuedo benny-gang variety-show-with-guest-star format (see his
book, "treadmill to oblivion").
then there's the shift from, first, the newsreel to the constantly changing
characters on allen's alley, then to the almost immutable core of claghorn,
nussbaum, moody & cassidy starting in 1945.
some authors have described this as the result of a slow creative
tinkering-around process, resulting in allen eventually hitting on *just* the
right combination of types to provide continued audience appeal over a
sustained period of time.
i don't agree at all. it just feels ratings driven to me. when you hit
paydirt with a character like senator claghorn, who inspired two national
catch phrases almost immediately upon his debut, it must be awfully hard to
buck the executives and the folks paying the bills who want to milk the
successful formula.
that said, some of my favorite moments of scripted satire come from the
allen's alley years, but from the *second* part of the shows. true, they
virtually always relied on a celebrity guest, but fred's taste in celebrities
was unique, to say the least. and he had a real gift for twisting the
guest's personality against him/her for comic effect, such as when he had leo
durocher sing the classic "brooklyn pinafore". some of these sketches are
tiny, polished, pristine gems of inspired satire. even if you've never heard
an OTR morning breakfast show (as i haven't), the spoof on the format with
tallulah bankhead is still funny.
(and i'll just say again how nice it is to see elizabeth back and posting!)
regards,
w. gary w.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 21:04:52 -0500
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: interviews
Hi Everybody,
I love to collect interviews and I played many of them on the air. A very
good sources is SPERDVAC [removed]. The club has produces many
interviews over the years many from there 400 plus honorary members who work
in the business. Pacific Pioneers Broadcaster has a large collection of
interviews. The host for many of them was Les Tremaine. Ted from Radio
memories will be putting out two large interviews series in his catalog
soon. The 1970s same Time same Station. This wonderful 3 years series had
many interviews with the stars. Ted will be working on Richard Lamparski
What Ever Became of series soon. The gassman,s interview over 400 people
over the years, plus I replay many of Frank Bresee interviews on Friday
night at [removed] Ray briem did many interviews over the years
too. I hope more interviews come out and I can have the chance to share
them with the audience. Take care,
Walden Hughes
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 21:04:59 -0500
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: KMPC
Hi Everybody,
the Hermit was played by John Dehner in the early 1940s. Take care,
Walden Hughes
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 21:05:37 -0500
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Non-Barrymore "A Christmas Carols"...?
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In this day & age of video & multiple cable channels, fans of Dickens's "A
Christmas Carol" have a wide variety of
choices regarding personal favourites and which version one wishes to access,
whether it's Reginald Owen, Alistair Sim,
Mister Magoo, George C. Scott, Patrick Stewart, Albert Finney, or (very
recently) Kelsey Grammer. Let's not even
mention all the knock-offs and parodies.
Not so with the OTR. As far as I know, Lionel Barrymore "owned" the part of
Ebenezer Scrooge for the multiple years
he performed it on radio. It's been reported that for the entire time he
essayed the role from the mid-1930s until his death
in the early 1950s [I'm sure somebody can pinpoint the exact years for us],.
he only missed two years--one time having his
brother John Barrymore fill in for him.
I'm told that many folks made it a family tradition to listen to
Barrymore/Scrooge every year, much like fans from my
generation have an overwhelming need to revisit "A Charlie Brown Christmas"
time and time again.
However, I'd like to know if Lionel Barrymore really did indeed "own" the role
and that if all of Hollywood as well as the
radio industry truly did defer to him. I'm not aware of any other high
profile/big-name star "A Christmas Carols" from the OTR era
and find it hard to believe that nobody else even attempted an alternate
version
Yours in the "wreath"-er!
Derek Tague
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 09:22:56 -0500
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Science Fiction Adaptations
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 17:28:31 -0500
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
I cannot speak for all of radio, but this was of interest to me when I
co-authored the book "Science Fiction on [removed]" I had a section in it
on Adaptation of Science Fictional stories.
I thought the Dimension X and X Minus One adaptation of Robert Heinlein's "The Green Hills
of Earth" also was subject to censorship. In one scene, Reisling, the blind singer of the
spaceways, tries to hitch a ride back to earth aboard a company ship and runs into a hot-
shot young captain who lives by the rules -- which prohibit deadhead rides. In Heinlein's
original, Reisling brazens it out, while crew members all suddenly have a sprained shoulder
or something and won't remove him from the ship. In the Dimension X version, re-enacted on
X Minus One, Reisling crawls in front of the captain and begs for a ride home. I assume that
radio in the early 50s was unwilling to show disrespect for authority.
--
A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed]
15 Court Square, Suite 210
lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2503
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 09:23:17 -0500
From:
HERITAGE4@[removed]
To:
[removed]@[removed]
Subject: Do You Remember?
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News from Los Angeles that singer, Jerry Scoggins, 93, passed away this past
Tuesday (December 7th) at home.
He may be remembered from his work and long association with his trio, The
Cass County Boys who were featured on
Gene Autry's Melody Ranch on radio for many years.
Jerry was also heard on Bing Crosby's TV show in the 50's and may be
well-remembered by many as the vocalist of the theme song for The Beverly
Hillbillies.
He came out of retirement to sing that song for the 1993 movie based on the
TV series. Mr. Scoggins' group began their network radio with Autry in 1947,
and appeared in 17 of his movies.
The Cass County Boys were inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame in
1996.
Tom Heathwood - Heriatge Radio - Boston
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 09:35:35 -0500
From: David Phaneuf
<david_phaneuf@[removed];
To:
[removed]@[removed]
Subject: Dragnet: Radio vs. TV
I've been privileged to be able to listen now to just
about every episode of Dragnet's first year on Radio
and have some observations. Having grown up with
Dragnet on TV, I notice some real differences in
acting, character portrayal and believability, not
only of characters but story lines as well.
As a kid growing up on TV, we never missed a weekly
episode of Dragnet. It wasn't as fast-paced as Batman,
or as intriguing as The Man from [removed] or as
exciting as Star Trek, but I loved the show anyway and
watched it faithfully with my parents, who also loved
the show. I remember my parents telling me then, and
have heard it many times since, that people believed
Joe Friday really existed and would call the LAPD
asking for him. LAPD made it a practice to say "It's
Friday's day off." (Don't know if this story is true
or apocryphal.) But the point is, however, I could
never quite understand how people could believe that
TV's Joe Friday was a real cop. I mean, even I, a
gullible kid, could tell he was just an actor acting a
part! But now, having listened to Radio Dragnet's
first year, I can understand people's response.
Radio's Joe Friday is infinitely more believable --
the whole show is, in fact, from story lines, to
character portrayals, to sound effects.
For example, the hoods, the criminals, the [removed]
don't fit stereotyped portrayals of bad guys. No
sinister voicings, no cliche lines, no Bronx accents
(sorry, but it often seems the bad guys usually have
bad Bronx accents.) Nor, for that matter, do the cops
have thick Irish brogues! Just plain, regular people.
My main image of TV's Joe Friday is the weekly angry
Friday lecture given in quick staccato monotone that
puts the criminal in his/her place. I've not noticed
these, except for one instance, in the 1st year Radio
program (maybe they developed later in the series? or
maybe I just missed them?). The seeds are there
however, for in radio, Joe does deliver quick one-line
punches, but certainly not the extended version so
prominent in the TV shows.
Ben Romero is another point of believability for the
radio version. He is a far cry from the neurotic
schtick of Harry Morgan's character. It's almost as if
TV felt it necessary to create a quasi-Abbott &
Costello pair, with Morgan the laugh-getting comic
buffoon and Webb the straight-laced, straight-faced
straight-man. But in Radio, Romero is a down-to-earth
sensible cop who works well with his partner and is a
real asset to the show.
The story lines seem much more realistic, and when
it's announced that "the story you are about to hear
is true. Only the names [and in one instance, I
noticed, "and locations"] have been changed to protect
the innocent" -- well, I can really believe the story
was taken from police files and I was really walking
step-by-step with police in solving an actual crime.
TV [removed] well, the stories as I recollect them
seem to follow a predictable pattern, the criminals
more sterotypical, and the repetition of characters
playing different parts week after week really was a
distraction (was that Olan Soule' so frequently
present in the TV episodes?). Maybe the stories did
come from police files, but it's harder for me to
believe they were not just the creation of some writer
in Hollywood.
I truly love Radio's Dragnet. But perhaps the only
criticism I have is this: What in the world happened
to the writers when they named the episodes? I mean,
did they leave their creativity in a ditch or in some
back alley somewhere? What is this with nearly every
episode being entitled "The Big whatever?" I guess
it's really not so different from Johnny Dollar's "The
___ Matter" or Sam Spade's "The ____ Caper" (or was
that Marlow?) But really, a show with such high
believability could have done a much better job of
entitling its episodes.
One last question: Am I right that at some later
point Ben Romero is killed in the line of duty? If so,
was that a necessary write-out due to the actor's
demise, or retirement, or other work-related move?
And, if so, who replaces him? Please don't tell me
Harry Morgan! LOL (and please don't say you won't tell
me because you don't want to ruin the show for me!
LOL)
Well, thanks for letting me ramble on.
Dave Phaneuf (whose name has not been changed, even
though I am very innocent!)
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 14:14:45 -0500
From: Mark J Cuccia
<mcuccia@[removed];
To:
[removed]@[removed]
Subject: New Radio Season for the Met Opera
Today, Saturday 11 December 2004, begins the new radio broadcast season
(2004/05) for the Metropolitan Opera. The 2004/05 Met Opera season
itself began earlier this Fall, possibly as early as September with
Saturday afternoon performances, but the radio broadcasts didn't begin
again until today for 22 weeks of broadcast performances.
This also begins a new "era" for the radio broadcasts. No longer is
Texaco (or rather Chevron-Texaco) underwriting the radio broadcasts,
after many decades. As I had posted back in April 2004, when it was made
known that Texaco was dropping all sponsorship at the end of the 2003/04
season, it was reported that the December 2004 thru April 2005 weekly
Saturday afternoon radio broadcasts will continue, only this time
underwritten by huge multi-million dollar grants from The Annenberg
Foundation and The Vincent A. Stabile Foundation.
There is also a new radio announcer for the Metropolitan Opera, a
female by the name of Martha or Margaret -- at the moment I can't
remember which, nor can I remember her last name. It was mentioned on
the radio that she has been announcing opera and classical music
performances on TV (PBS) and the local New York classical music radio
station (I forget the exact call letters mentioned). They did make
mention that Peter Allen had been the radio announcer for the Met Opera
for the past 29 years, but they didn't mention his predecessor Milton
Cross (yet). However, they did make mention that this new female
announcer is only the third radio announcer for the Metropolitan Opera
in its history. I also wonder why Peter Allen is no longer doing the
radio announcing for the Met. I don't remember any mention at the end of
last season that he was leaving, nor do I remember them giving any
reason at the beginning of today's radio season-premiere.
At the moment as I type this, it is only about thirty minutes into
today's Met Opera. They haven't yet given an outcue for local station
identification. I wonder if it will simply be "This is the Metropolitan
Opera International Radio Network". Previously, Texaco or even
Chevron-Texaco was mentioned in the outcue itself. However, for all
those years that NBC-Blue / ABC Radio, or the two season (1958/59 and
1959/60) that the CBS Radio carried the Met, even though Texaco was
underwriting it, I doubt that the Texaco name was inserted into the
outcues for local station-ID. It wasn't until the 1960/61 Met Season,
when CBS Radio had dropped carrying the Met (along with numerous other
long-time CBS Radio programs being cancelled right after Thanksgiving
1960), that the Metropolitan Opera and Texaco purchased time on radio
stations that still desired radio broadcasts, as well as leased land
lines from AT&T for a dedicated "ad-hoc" Metropolitan Opera Radio
Network, similar to the way many sports teams or sporting events have
for years been broadcast on radio or TV on their own dedicated "ad hoc"
networks.
Mark J. Cuccia
mcuccia@[removed]
New Orleans LA
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #392
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