Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #369
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 9/24/2002 11:13 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 369
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Underrated                            [ Ga6string@[removed] ]
      Mr. Keen Was Keen                     [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      SHAOOW Portrayals                     [ SanctumOTR@[removed] ]
      Best and Worst Series                 [ Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; ]
      Fwd: Gene Stafford                    [ Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed] ]
      Re:Nazi POW in Riverdale              [ "Rodney w bowcock jr." <rodney-self ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Re: Jug and the POW                   [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
      Over-rated Jack Benny?                [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      The great one!                        [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      [removed]                                [ "Ed Carr" <edcarr@[removed]; ]
      Mea culpa                             [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
      Help wanted                           [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
      Secrets of Scotland yard              [ "Jamie Kelly" <[removed]@[removed] ]
      Tonto again                           [ "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@earthli ]
      Under Rated and Over Rated            [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 17:24:06 -0400
    From: Ga6string@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Underrated

    How about "Dangerous Assignment"? Part of me says it's a guilty pleasure,
    'cause it can be a little silly, but the rest of me seems not to mind, and
    enjoys it a lot.

    And add my voice to those that reference "Nightbeat" as an underrated show.
    Happy listenin',
    Bryan Powell

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 17:47:31 -0400
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Mr. Keen Was Keen

    Kenwyn Steel, speaking of overrated shows, notes,

>     1) Mr. Keen - I find this show to be the worst of them all.  Terrible
>     acting and scripts.

    But that was the _charm_ of the show.  A show where a character says
    things like, "No!  Don't shoot me with that gun you're holding!" is
    inherently great in a campy way.  It all depends upon how one "rates" a
    show.

    Mike Clancy, probably the dumbest of "dumb Irishmen" on the radio had
    some lines worthy of immortality.  Like the time Mr. Keen called him over
    to a table and asked him what he thought of what was in view, and Clancy
    answered, "It looks like a pencil and a pad of paper to me, Mr. Keen,
    sir."  Utterly priceless, IMHO.

    The absurdity of the show, storyline, and characters makes it a show with
    legs.  Looking for a detective show?  You can always look up Nick Carter,
    Master Detective, The Adventures of Sam Spade, and even Sherlock Holmes.
    That's not why one should enjoy Mr. Keen.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 18:04:24 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

      Still have connection problems and way behind --

    9/18

    The Columbia Broadcasting System was born on this day in 1927, although
    its rival, NBC, had been on the air for some time. CBS broadcast an
    opera, The King's Henchman, as its first program.

    William S. Paley put the network together, purchasing a chain of 16
    failing radio stations. The controlling interest cost between $250,000
    and $450,000. The following year, the 27-year-old Paley became President
    of CBS. It only took one more year for him to profit [removed] million
    dollars as the network grew to over 70 stations.

    1948 - The Original Amateur Hour returned to radio on ABC, two years
    after the passing of the program's originator and host, Major Bowes.
    Bowes brought new star talent into living rooms for 13 years. Ted Mack,
    the new host, had also started a TV run with The Original Amateur Hour
    on the DuMont network in January of 1948.

    Birthday:

    1905 - Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, d. Feb 28, 1977

    9/19

    It was just an average day this day in 1935, when Just Plain Bill was
    first heard on CBS radio. It was "The real life story of people just
    like people we all know." The 15-minute show (Monday through Friday at
    7:15 [removed]) was all about (just plain) Bill Davidson and his daughter,
    Nancy, who lived in (just plain) Hartville. Since Bill was the town
    barber, everybody came to him with their problems -- and Bill helped
    them straighten things out.

    9/20

    1921 - KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania started one of the first daily
    radio newscasts in the country. The broadcast came from the city desk of
    The Pittsburgh Post.

    1953 - Jimmy Stewart debuted in The Six Shooter on NBC. He played Britt
    Ponset on the radio Western.

      Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 18:05:15 -0400
    From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  SHAOOW Portrayals

    In a message dated 9/23/02 3:43:19 PM, Rick Keating writes:

>     While I enjoy Bill Johnstone's portrayal as the
>     Shadow, I have to admit that the Orson Welles Shadow
>     is my personal favorite. Not only was Welles the first
>     Shadow as participant (as opposed to Shadow as
>     narrator); but his Shadow was also more powerful than
>     later incarnations. For example, in "The Three Ghosts"
>     the Welles' Shadow projected illusions into a
>     criminal's mind. At first, Johnstone's Shadow had some
>     of these various telepathic abilities as well; but
>     before long, the Shadow's only ability was to prevent
>     others' from seeing him. A neat trick, to be sure, but
>     he used to be able to do much more.

    ***Seems to me you're discussing how the role was scripted during Welles'
    year as The Shadow, while I was writing about the interpretation the actors
    brought to the role with their performances.  I readily agree that Orson
    Welles' SHADOW broadcasts featured the best scripts and the finest supporting
    casts.  I far prefer the way The Shadow was portrayed during that first year
    to the later seasons, but that has nothing to do with Welles performance as
    an actor and delivery of lines.  And his performance as The Shadow, IMNSHO,
    really pales compared to the sibilant opening and closing recordings of Frank
    Readick.

    The 1937-38 Blue Coal season and 1938 Goodrich summer season featured
    exceptional scripts supervised by story-editor Edith Meiser, the woman who
    had first brought Sherlock Holmes to radio.  The portrayal of Margot Lane is
    far different from the later seasons when The Shadow's friend and companion
    became a fairly standard helpless damsel in distress.  Under the guidance of
    Meiser (a former suffragette who had chained herself to Vassar's gate years
    earlier in a protest and was still marching for women's rights more than half
    a century later), Margot came to The Shadow's aid about as often as she
    needed rescuing herself.  (Anyone remember the wonderful scene in "The
    Firebug" where Margot drives a car through the window of a burning store to
    rescue The Shadow?)  The 1937-38 scripts featured far more diversity and far
    fewer formula plots than later seasons, but Welles had nothing to do with
    that.  He didn't even read his SHADOW scripts before recording them.

    I was writing about how Johnstone delivered his lines compared to Welles, not
    how the lines were written and the stories plotted.  BTW, "The Shadow
    Challenged," (featuring Frank Readick as an evil Shadow); "The Tomb of
    Terror," "The Tenor with the Broken Voice" and "The Three Ghosts" are some of
    my absolute favorite episodes of THE SHADOW, along with "Temple Bells of
    Neban," "Spider Boy" and both versions of "Death in a Minor Key." --ANTHONY
    TOLLIN***

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 18:23:03 -0400
    From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Best and Worst Series

              First of all, I think  when anyone casts their opinion
    on any 'best and worst' of anything, it's like opening a bag of
    worms.  Opinions are totally subjective anyway, not fact.
    That being said, here are my choices:

              Best series: "The Shadow", "Box 13", "The Cinnamon Bear",
    "Fibber McGee and Molly", "Nightbeat", "Big Town", "Bold Venture",
    "Cavalcade of America", "The Fred Allen Show", "Texaco Star Theatre",
    "Lux Radio Theatre", "The Green Hornet", "The Lone Ranger", "Candy
    Matson", "Philo Vance", "Sam Spade", "Information Please", "You
    Bet Your Life", "My Favorite Husband", "Our Miss Brooks", "Backstage
    Wife", "Burns and Allen", "Dragnet", "Archie Andrews", "One Man's
    Family", "Pepper Young's Family", "Texaco Town", "Sherlock Holmes",
    "The Thin Man", "The Fat Man", "Nero Wolfe", "Boston Blackie", "The
    Saint", "Nick Carter, Master Detective", "I Love A Mystery", "I Love
    Adventure", "Ellery Queen", "Ma Perkins", "Amos and Andy", "Edgar
    Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show", "Suspense", "Richard Diamond"
    and Philip Marlowe".

              Worst series: "Hearthstone of the Death Squad", "Bob and Ray",
    "Ozzie and Harriet", "Chandu, the Magician", "Casey, Crime Photographer",
    "Adventures of Fu Manchu", "Mr. Moto", "My Friend Irma", "Halls of Ivy",
    "Quiz Kids", "People Are Funny", "Candid Microphone", "Hercule Poirot"
    "Tales of the Texas Rangers", "Have Gun, Will Travel", "Fort Laramie",
    "The Judy Canova Show", "Baby Snooks", "Abbott and Costello", "Flash
    Gordon", "Hop Harrigan", "Meet Miss Sherlock", "Henry Aldrich", "Grand
    Central Station", "Screen Director's Playhouse", "The Strange Doctor
    Weird",
    "Leonidas Witherall", "Philco Radio Time", "Kraft Music Hall", ""Rogue's
    Gallery", "Black Museum" and  "Pete Kelly's Blues".

              These are just a few of the ones I've heard, so far.

    Kenneth Clarke
    kclarke5@[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 18:26:18 -0400
    From: Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Fwd: Gene Stafford

    Folks;

       Received this request for information from someone not (yet?) subscribed
    to the OTR Digest; please copy the sender directly with your response.

             Charlie

    --- begin forwarded text

    From: "Karen Lorimer" <lorimer2@[removed];

    Hi, I was referred to your group by Melina Brown who thought you might be able
    to help me.  I am trying to find any information I can about my deceased
    father (Gene Stafford). We were a second "later in life" family and he never
    spoke about his previous life except that he worked in serialized radio and
    experienced a tragedy. I have learned through my research that he wroth the
    "Jungle Jim " series and maybe some of the Secret Agent K-7 ( I have found a
    Big Little Book he wrote of Secret Agent K-7). If there is anyone in your
    group that can help me I would be eternally grateful.  Maybe there were some
    other things he did that I cannot find or by some miracle somebody still alive
    who remembers him. I'm sure this is a "longshot" at best but appreciate any
    help your group could give me.
    Thanks so much in advance for any attention you can give to this matter.
    Karen Stafford-Lorimer

    --- end forwarded text

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 18:26:51 -0400
    From: "Rodney w bowcock jr." <rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re:Nazi POW in Riverdale

> >     subject of the episode is "Nazi POW in Riverdale".

    I just heard this episode a week or two ago, and I don't think Hal played
    Jug.

    rodney.

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 18:26:57 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

      From Those Were The Days --

    9/21

    1946 - After being tested on a regional basis, "The Second Mrs. Burton"
    was heard for the first time on the entire CBS radio network. "The
    Second Mrs. Burton" fared very well, having a relationship with the
    network for 14 years.

    1948 - The serial "Life With Luigi" debuted on CBS radio. Luigi Basko
    was played by J. Carroll Naish, an Irish-American.

    9/22

    1957 - The CBS Radio Workshop was silenced after 18 months of what the
    critics said was "ingenious radio programming."

    9/24

    1933 - Radio's first dramatic presentation, complete with costumes,
    scenery and stage, was heard on WABC in New York City. The program was
    titled, Roses and Drums.

      Joe (hoping connection problems are now solved)

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 21:35:22 -0400
    From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Jug and the POW

    Gunner mentioned;

>     Looking ahead to the schedule for the Saturday Radio Theatre on Radio
>     Spirits' website I was happy to see that among the shows to be aired on
>     Saturday, October 12th will be an episode of Archie Andrews. It will give us
>     a chance to hear our dear, and talented, friend Hal Stone once again.

    Aw Shucks!

>     The subject of the episode is "Nazi POW in Riverdale".

>     Hal, any particular recollections of that episode?

    To be perfectly honest with you. None, nada, zilch!. (sigh! that's what
    advancing years does to ones memory). That, and almost 500 episodes.

>     Apparently the writers were able to make something funny out of that subject.

    (Make that singular, "WRITER"). Carl Jampel did all the scripts, and I would
    certainly hope so. It must have been a real early episode, because the War
    in Europe was over in early May,1945. (I was a month shy of 14 then). Did
    you know that Bob Hastings was a navigator/Bombardier on a B-29 before he
    took over for Charlie Mullen, (who was drafted to replace returning [removed]).

    Tell you what, Gunner. If you can tell a computer illiterate (me) how to
    access the radio Spirits site, and time of presentation, I'll try and listen
    and see if my memory is jogged enough to comment on the episode.
    (e-mail me privately)

    Achtung! Kammeraden! Alles kaput! (Or words to that effect.)

    Hal(Harlan)Stone
    Jughead

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 21:35:55 -0400
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Over-rated Jack Benny?

    Michael Psarakis noted:

>     ((The Jack Benny Show - the early shows especially, the variety format
>     (Dennis' song seemed to bring the show to a halt, IMHO) was wasted on Benny
>     a lot of times while oddly enough, the later shows about Benny's homelife
>     are much more  entertaining to me))

    Now you're probably expecting me to flame the concept that Jack's program was
    "over-rated."  I'm not even going to go there.

    I do understand the comment that the early shows were not in the same league
    as the Lucky Strike situation comedies (I personally regard "early shows" as
    the Harry Conn/Al Boasberg days, so pre-June 7, 1936).  No comments here on
    Boasberg, who was an excellent puncher and wrote for multiple comedians,
    including the Marx Brothers.  Harry Conn was more of a vaudeville writer than
    a character developer/plot line creator.

    Pick up many of the booklets of vaudeville jokes or "Captain Billy's Whiz
    Bang" of the teens and twenties, and you'll find that the the jokes
    [removed]  I personally don't find myself laughing that much at them,
    but look at them more from a historical and "student of comedy" perspective.
    Listening to the first Canada Dry Show, you can see a link between that type
    of joke and the sort of stuff Jack was doing.  Doing this from memory, there
    was a comment about Canada Dry being effervescent, "and effervescent for me,
    we'd be off the air now" (or some similar line).

    In that context, recall that Jack was voted "Best Comedian on the Air" at the
    end of 1932.  For the years 1934-36, the show was ranked 3, 3, and 2 in the
    Crossleys.  Bottom line:  whether or not we think the shows are funny now,
    they were considered funny at that time.  The question is how well they aged.

    Then Conn was replaced by Bill Morrow and Ed Beloin, who were infinitely
    better at developing character and creating sustainable storylines.  Of
    course, the addition of Phil Harris in 10/36 and Eddie Anderson in 3/37 were
    instrumental (pun intended) in the development of the overall ensemble.  I
    don't mention Dennis in the same breath, as Kenny Baker was already playing
    the "timid tenor" character by the end of 1935.

    And speaking of Dennis, I recall in the early days of the IJBFC when my
    mother observed that "Dennis Day's song was when you went to the bathroom."
    *Ducking from the wrath of Dennis Day fans*  Hey, *I* didn't start it, *SHE*
    did!  And since I wasn't there, I don't know when I would have gone to the
    bathroom.  But Michael, you are not alone in your sentiment.

    --
    Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 21:36:18 -0400
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The great one!

>     Our beloved Jughead, Hal Stone, the great one, will be appearing with us in
>     both.

    Wow!  Hal Stone and Jackie Gleason together in a recreation.  I'll be there!

    --LL

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 21:36:22 -0400
    From: "Ed Carr" <edcarr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  [removed]

    hi
    the person who sent me an email from [removed]
    sorry but my reply bounced
    ed

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 21:36:31 -0400
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Mea culpa

    In my discussion of Orson Welles and Bill Johnstone
    Shadow episodes, I incorrectly identified two Welles'
    episodes, "The Tomb of Terror" and "The Tenor with the
    Broken Voice", as Johnstone episodes.

    Oops.

    Rick

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 21:36:50 -0400
    From: otrbuff@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Help wanted

    You may be able to make a significant contribution to radio research.
    There are 15 obscure series from the golden age that I'm looking for
    information about.  I know that tapes of most don't exist.  But I feel as
    if there may be individuals out there who either know a few details about
    one or more of the programs or who may actually recall having head them.
    I'm asking you to read the list carefully and, if you remember anything
    about them, no matter how slight, send me an email at once.  Anything you
    recall could be more information than I have.  Most of these do not show
    up in the latest Hickerson guide.  This will be of inestimable assistance
    and I thank you in advance.

    Here's the list with the eras in parentheses that I believe the programs
    were on the air.  They are not limited to the years shown, however:

    America the Free (1941-42)
    Beatrice Mabie (1931)
    Blanche Sweet (1935)
    California Theatre of the Air (1939)
    Detective Reeder (1939)
    Inspector Brooke (1939)
    Inspector Hawkes and Son (1943-49)
    Jack Dempsey's Gymnasium (1933)
    Mary Kay and Johnny (1949)
    MGM Radio Movie Club (1936)
    Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean (1933)
    Penrod and Sam (1933)
    Russ Lamb (1941)
    Stevens and Son of Scotland Yard (1932)
    Who's Who in the News (1937)

    Thank you sincerely for your help.  This is really crucial or I wouldn't
    ask.

    Jim Cox
    otrbuff@[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 22:23:22 -0400
    From: "Jamie Kelly" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Secrets of Scotland yard

    Greetings to all,

    Firstly I would like to thank those digest readers who contacted me
    regarding a recent message I posted to this digest on where I could locate
    Sets of Imperial leader and Hunch back. Several people contacted me as a
    result and were very helpful and I was successful and now looking forward to
    hearing these shows when they arrive.

    Secondly, I found some Towers Of London 16 inch transcriptions recently of
    an excellent series The secrets of Scotland yard starring Clive Brooke. This
    series was broadcast in Australia in 1952. Grace Gibson productions were the
    distributers for TOL productions in [removed] Very few episodes
    exist or survived here and I wondered if there are any episodes of this
    series doing the rounds in mp3 or audio CD that can be purchased?

    Also I'd be very keen to locate a copy of any documentation or catalogues
    listing shows released or distributed by Towers of London. I have examples
    of many of their shows on ETs an find them to be of very high standard and
    great [removed] of the discs were also prest by ARC Australian
    Record Company in Sydney I've noticed.

    any help or suggestions would be very  appreciated.

    Jamie Kelly
    Melbourne Australia

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 22:59:35 -0400
    From: "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@[removed];
    To: "OTR List" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Tonto again

    I do not recall what ep of the LR when Tonto's voice changed at the break. I
    do seem to recall that it was in one of the RS boxes.

    Anthony, are you related to Mike Tollin who is a producer on the WB
    Smallville?

    Joe Salerno

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 23:56:37 -0400
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Under Rated and Over Rated

>     Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 13:32:14 -0400
>     From: "Michael Psarakis" <[removed]@[removed];

>     The Lone Ranger - Gunsmoke makes it look amatuerish, never any character
>     development, why was this show on twice a week?

    Actually, it was on three times a week -- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday -- at least when I
    was listening to it.

>     You Bet Your Life - okay, it's considered a classic but I wonder if it is
>     appreciated as much as it should be.  The show was not scripted,
>     contestant notes were provided but nothing was scripted, which makes
>     classic lines all the funnier.

    According to the director, Robert Dwan, in his book, =As Long As They're Laughing=, it was
    partially scripted.  Writers wrote routines, but Groucho had a great deal of leeway to
    improvise.

    --
    A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                           [removed]
     15 Court Square, Suite 210                 lawyer@[removed]
    Boston, MA 02108-2503           	         [removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #369
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