Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #266
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/8/2003 12:44 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 266
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      A Crow has fallen into the inkwell    [ Christopher Werner <werner1@globalc ]
      The Hitchhiker                        [ "Albert P. Cohen" <apcohen@intercom ]
      Another AM reception comment          [ "Jim Hilliker" <jimhilliker@sbcglob ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      LONE RANGER NO WHISTLER               [ Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed]; ]
      [removed]                  [ tweten@[removed] ]
      OTR Star on Contemporary Television   [ LSMFTnolonger@[removed] ]
      Re: Radio collector amiss?            [ Elayne Beneford <elayne@[removed]; ]
      Memories Are Just That                [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Og, Son of Fire                       [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
      OTR Actors on TV's Dragnet            [ Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed]; ]
      Introduction                          [ "Steve Rossiter" <SRossiter@[removed] ]
      KNX transmitting tower                [ "Jim Plummer" <[removed]@[removed] ]
      Time Magazine Article From WWII Era   [ Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed] ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      new JFK audio                         [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 16:14:04 -0400
    From: Christopher Werner <werner1@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  A Crow has fallen into the inkwell

>     On Sat, 5 Jul 2003 11:56:01 -0400 Dennis Crow exclaimed:

>     In the conversation Derek "It's Me Again, Gang" Tague had with Christopher
>     Werner in Thursday's Digest, I don't understand the "chocolate war"  thrust
>     of the repartee,  the reason Mr. Tague was humorously pulling Werner's
>     chain, and what all of this had to do with old-time radio.  Since both
>     conversants are usually on point, perhaps they could enlighten us?  What am
>     I missing?

    Hearing Mr. Crow's cry for help, Derek and I shall attempt to rescue him
    from the Inkaboos
    and thereby enlighten him as to the meaning of our sweetened correspondence.

    First of all Derek has reminded me that he prefers the tagline of "from the
    Ether" and
    we both wish to express our thanks for the credibility you've endowed upon
    us. Alas,
    with power comes great responsibility and so an explanation:

    The subject began with a commentary on our experiences with doing OTR research
    in various libraries.  I expressed my adventures at the TV & Radio Museum
    and Derek
    extolled the joys of working in the Billy Rose collection of the New York
    Public Library.
    Most large libraries (like any large organization) temper chaos with
    procedures, some
    of which may be interpreted as cumbersome to the casual user. Library patrons
    often require assistance (help) in interpreting and correctly following
    procedure and
    that is were the chocolate comes in. "You can catch more flies with honey
    than vinegar"
    is the base principle here, and the conversation escalated to 'what's the
    best method
    to butter up the library staff to get better service'. Therein lies the
    chocolate answer.

    Now Derek, gracious as he is with guidance in New York, does do research
    for a fee
    for those unable to come to the area (and even assist those who do). Since
    he was
    kind enough (during a phone conversation) to volunteer some of his time to
    'guide'
    me through some of the sources, I thought the jab of working for chocolate
    (as the
    librarians seem to do) was worth a try.

    In the end, the result is more efficient OTR research that in turn provides
    more information
    to the members of the list in general.

    So, Dennis, feeding LiBEARians chocolate can help OTR.

    Chris

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 17:41:12 -0400
    From: "Albert P. Cohen" <apcohen@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Hitchhiker

    Some time ago a contributor noted the broadcast dates of Lucille Fletcher's
    "The Hitchhiker."  Does anyone have that information readily at hand.  I
    suspect the original broadcast was in 1942 with a non-sponsored second play
    a year later and a play in 1946 or 1947 with Pabst Blue Ribbon as the
    sponsor.

    Thank you in advance.

    Al Cohen

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 17:41:18 -0400
    From: "Jim Hilliker" <jimhilliker@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Another AM reception comment

    When I sent in my comments last week on reception of the clear channel AM
    radio stations in recent years, I forgot to mention another important factor
    affecting reception of all AM radio stations today, whether they are local
    or distant.

    In the past 10 to 20 years, I've noticed a significant increase in the
    amount of man-made noise, which causes severe problems for many people when
    trying to hear AM radio stations in their homes and apartments today.

    Most of this noise comes from computers, television sets, light-dimmers,
    fluorescent lights, city street lights, AC powerlines, transformers and
    other various electrical sources.  So, try to place the radio and antenna
    away from these sources or turn them off before listening to AM radio, to
    try and get rid of most of the offending interference from man-made noise.

    Jim

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 17:41:43 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

       From The History Net --

    1927 -- Christopher Stone becomes the first British 'disc jockey' when
    he plays records for the BBC.

     From Those Were The Days --

    1920 - A device known as the radio compass was used for the first time
    on a [removed] Navy airplane near Norfolk, Virginia.

    1943 - For the first time, Flashgun Casey was heard on radio. Not much
    later, the name of the program was altered to Casey, Crime Reporter, and
    became much more popular.

    1949 - Dragnet was first heard on NBC.

       Joe

    --
    Visit my homepage: [removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 17:41:29 -0400
    From: Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  LONE RANGER NO WHISTLER
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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    My good friend, writer/director, George Seaton [Airport, Miracle On 34th
    Street, etc], was the first person to portray the Lone Ranger on Detroit
    station WXYZ; he claimed to have come up with the Ranger's immortal cry
    "Hi-yo, Silver" because he couldn't whistle for his horse, as the script
    required.

    Sandy Singer

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

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 18:25:02 -0400
    From: tweten@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  [removed]

    Has anyone listened to [removed]?

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 18:25:33 -0400
    From: LSMFTnolonger@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR Star on Contemporary Television

    Charlie mentions that Beverly Washburn will be featured on the first
    episode of the new TV series "Las Vegas." Beverly Washburn lives here in
    Vegas and has been featured twice in articles in our local newspaper,
    the Las  Vegas Review-Journal.

    Greg Jackson, Jr.

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 18:25:49 -0400
    From: Elayne Beneford <elayne@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Radio collector amiss?

    Martin, you are almost correct. It should be:

    Allan Ropchan, 8923 84th Ave. NW, Edmonton Alta, Canada  T6C 1E3

    You can look Canadians up at [removed]

    Elayne

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 19:32:57 -0400
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Memories Are Just That

    Laura Leff, speaking of today's audiences, notes,

>     I came up with the idea of a theatre devoted to media from the turn of
>     the century to 1965.  I could screen movies, television shows you don't
>     see today (like Your Show of Shows), have places for people listen to
>     OTR, put some of my own personal collection there, etc. <snip> The gist
>     of what I heard is [removed] people have tried variations of this in my
>     area, and it just doesn't work.  <snip>  For the kids, the pacing of that
>     material is just too slow and the special effects look schlocky compared
>     to today.  And OTR?  People just won't pay to come in the door to hear
>     it.  In short, people would rather pay to see Dumb and Dumber than, say,
>     the Marx Brothers or Abbott and Costello.

    The whole business about audience views is that some could make the same
    case back then.  Frankly, most of the movies in the 1930s and 1940s were
    potboilers, and many were quite terrible by contemporaneous standards.
    For every Stagecoach there were a dozen Yellow Tomahawks.  In the
    pre-television days, many families went to the movies just to get some
    visual entertainment, no matter how lame.  (And there were serials to
    induce people to come back to the theater when a really schlocky film was
    going to be shown.)  And, frankly, not every OTR program on the air was a
    masterpiece.  In my opinion, even among surviving shows, some were pretty
    steady where others ran hot and cold.

>     I got the following information from a filmmaker and IJBFC member.
>     Hollywood targets its movies mostly at male teens that get the money from
>     their parents to go to the movies.

    But one of the highest grossing films made it because it was aimed at
    teenage girls: Titanic.  A movie like Lord of the Rings, definitely aimed
    at younger boys didn't do as well as Harry Potter, which was aimed at
    families.  And Silence of the Lambs did fine, and it certainly wasn't
    aimed at the teen crowd.

    One of the problems with much of the entertainment industry is that they
    listen to each other rather than feedback from outside their circles.
    The most recent statistics from the Tampa area show that the most
    listened to radio station is WGUL, an "oldies music" station (I even
    listen to it from time to time, even though their "oldies" aren't really
    old enough).  Nowhere what most people would have predicted.

>     And because education in this country is largely in decline, they "dumb
>     down" the movies so that the humor is handed to you on a plate (or thrown
>     in your face) rather than making you think to get the joke (ala the Marx
>     Brothers or Preston Sturges).

    One reason I cannot categorize the half-hour Captain Midnight radio shows
    as part of the Canon is that unlike the serials running for the previous
    eleven years, the 30-minute version was dumbed down.  Dumbing down is
    nothing new: those programs were in the Fall of 1949.

    One problem with nostalgia is that we filter out the worst part of the
    past and retain and revere the better memories.  And, alas, memory is
    fallible.  From personal experience, I've learned not to trust memory
    exclusively.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 10:27:21 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

       From The History Net --

    1927 -- Christopher Stone becomes the first British 'disc jockey' when
    he plays records for the BBC.

     From Those Were The Days --

    1920 - A device known as the radio compass was used for the first time
    on a [removed] Navy airplane near Norfolk, Virginia.

    1943 - For the first time, Flashgun Casey was heard on radio. Not much
    later, the name of the program was altered to Casey, Crime Reporter, and
    became much more popular.

    1949 - Dragnet was first heard on NBC.

       Joe

    --
    Visit my homepage: [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 13:32:11 -0400
    From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Og, Son of Fire

    My co-author (Meade Frierson - now deceased) and I mention this in our 1996
    book on Science Fiction on Radio. Meade always felt it got his nomination
    as the least known sf radio show. I sort of always felt it was stretching
    the sf label a bit.

    Og, Son of Fire was a CBS show sponsored by the Libby Company (same people
    who later sponsored Terry and the Pirates) from November, 1934 through
    December 1935 with some time off in the summer of '35.

    It starred Alfred Brown as Og and was essentially a juvenile series about
    prehistoric times.  As I recall, John Dunning described it as a
    "prehistoric Jack Armstrong."  Og was a young caveman who like Jack
    Armstrong had his circle of "cave people friends" including Ru, Gnu and Nad.

    The sound effects are what is often remembered by those who heard it with
    their creation of "hissing giant snakes," "roars of sabre-toothed tigers"
    and the "snap of bull crocodiles."

    There is a web site devoted to the show which has links to articles of
    reminiscenses:
    [removed]

    Jim Widner
    jwidner@[removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 13:32:18 -0400
    From: Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR Actors on TV's Dragnet

    [removed]

    This website has screen capture head shots of a number of OTR
    personalities who have appeared on TV's Dragnet (apparently the 1967-70
    run). You might be interested in having a look at pictures of -

    Howard Culver
    Virginia Gregg
    Ralph Moody
    Vic Perrin
    Olan Soulé
    Herb Vigran
    Peggy Webber

    and others

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

    Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 13:32:43 -0400
    From: "Steve Rossiter" <SRossiter@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Introduction

    Hello everyone,
      As an introduction, I have just recently begun to look into the
    marvels of golden age radio and have been surprised by the variety of
    programs available so it'll take a little time to sort it all out.
    Strangely enough my interest are not only the better known dramas but
    some of the lesser known instructional/educational series. I probably
    need to read a FAQ or some other intro so if somebody can point me in
    the right direction that would it would be appreciated. Anyway, I'm in
    So. Cal. and lucky enough to have KNX broadcasting shows nightly from
    8-9p. Our local library has a Dunnings encyclopedia which has a number
    of interesting looking shows, my problem initially is going to be how to
    find a place that has them for sale/download. Are there certain sites
    for this or is it a bit of a hunt depending on what one is looking for?
      Well, I won't go beyond this for now. Thanks for the help and to the
    list owners for this resources. Steve.

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

    Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 13:32:49 -0400
    From: "Jim Plummer" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  KNX transmitting tower
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Bill asked the other day if the KNX transmitting tower is still in Torrance at
    190th & Hawthorne Blvd. Yes it is. I pass by it five or six days a week.
    Somebody is currently building a structure between it and 190th, but its still
    there

    Jim Plummer

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
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    ------------------------------

    Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 13:32:38 -0400
    From: Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Time Magazine Article From WWII Era

    This vintage article from Time magazine covers the war in the Pacific,
    particularly the experience of troops in the Philippines.

    Every now and then you hear people decry the portrayal of the Japanese in
    [removed] entertainment and other propaganda during World War II.  So sometimes
    it helps to read up on why those portrayals were so well deserved.

    There is a lot of disturbing period racism in old time radio broadcasts that
    comes across badly 60 years later, but never for a moment think the
    portrayal of the Japanese is in that category.

    In fact, my wife's grandmother witnessed Japanese atrocities first hand
    during the occupation and my wife has relayed stories to me worse than
    anything I've heard on radio broadcasts.

    Please note that this article contains an urban legend at the time
    attributed to the [removed] commander of forces in Wake Island, who when radioed
    by the supplymaster to find out what he needed to continue the fight there
    was said to have replied "Send us more Japs."  It turns out that reply is
    fictional.

    Sean Dougherty
    SeanDD@[removed]

    [removed],8599,128081-2,[removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 13:32:54 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

       From Those Were The Days --

    1950 - Joel McCrea appeared in the lead role of Tales of the Texas
    Rangers on NBC.

       Joe

    --
    Visit my homepage: [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 13:32:51 -0400
    From: "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Robert Bloch

    The interview with Robert Bloch was on a show called Hour 25 a science
    fiction show that ran on KPFK for a number of years.  You are right, you
    have only deepened the mystery.  Are there any copies of the Kate Smith
    show that contained Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper, if it was on that show?
     I do not have a copy of the interview, the details are provided by my
    possibly cloudy memory, but that possibly cloudy memory says that he
    attributed the loss of all those shows to the plane crash, but the
    possibility is that my memory could be incorrect, since I had only pieces
    of the puzzle and did not know how they went together.  To cloud the
    waters further, the title Stay Tuned for Terror does vaguely ring a bell.
     Well, that still leaves us with a serious problem to be solved by the
    willing student, doesn't it.  Kurt

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

    Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 14:18:25 -0400
    From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  new JFK audio

    Hey [removed]

    Just listening to some 'new' material on the JFK
    assassination, and wanted to pique some of your
    memories with a question.

    First, a couple notes that may be of general interest:

    We discussed here a few months ago the generally
    disastrous first hour of the NBC-TV coverage, but a
    funny thing--the sountrack alone actually makes a
    fairly riveting audio broadcast (right up until Frank
    McGee can't operate the little phone gizmo, and the
    whole enterprise goes to seed).  When you can't SEE
    Chet Huntley going to pieces, it sounds as if HE is
    the steady, calm anchorman, and the otherwise-lauded
    Bill Ryan comes across as an intrusive, almost rude
    buttinsky!  It's a really weird effect, listening to
    this instead of watching it, I suppose similar to
    folks who drew different opinions listening, rather
    than watching, the 1960 Presidential debates.  (This
    WNBC-TV audio line recording also includes the first
    NBC network bulletins, not preserved anyplace else:
    Don Pardo's the announcer, and I found it kind of
    quaint the network, in 1963, was using the same
    program interrupt cues it was using back in 1945!)

    Couple more notes:  for all the criticism we heaped
    upon the NBC-TV effort, a recent listen to an ABC-TV
    audio recording has to be classified as the worst
    broadcasting train wreck I ever heard or saw.  They
    used to say ABC stood for "Almost a Broadcasting
    Company", and boy this could be Exhibit A.  Ron
    Cochran anchors, spectacularly badly--he wildly
    misquotes wire copy, most notably getting Kennedy's
    time of death wrong by more than half an hour; there's
    also a ghastly minute-and-a-half in which Cochran
    doesn't know he's on the air, even as stagehands
    frantically try to get him to say something, and he
    actually LAUGHS.  Oopsie.  I don't know much about
    this fellow, apparently his main attraction was that
    he used to work for CBS.  Whatever became of him?

    Finally, this discovery:  there's an unexpected "I Can
    Hear It Now" moment in the otherwise excellent
    widely-circulated Fred Foy-narrated ABC radio
    assassination retrospective.  On the record album, Don
    Gardiner pronounces JFK dead, says "let us pray", then
    introduces Quincy Howe.  Turns out there's actually
    more than twenty minutes between these two events!
    Ironically, the 'missing minutes' are very deeply
    moving--Gardiner summons every ounce of his skill and
    experience in the moments after the President was
    confirmed dead.  Like many of you, though I'm too
    young to have experienced the event, I have heard many
    version of the "Kennedy Is Dead" moment over the
    years, and this is the ONLY one that has ever actually
    brought me to tears.  (And so did this: an otherwise
    dry VOA retrospective in the overnight hours 11/22/63,
    concludes with "This program comes from the United
    States of America."  [removed] sure [removed])

    Now the question:  we all know CBS radio broadcast
    word Kennedy had died waaaaay before anybody else,
    ostensibly because of a miscommunication involving Dan
    Rather in Dallas, who has always said he never
    intended his info to be broadcast.  I know we're only
    talking about a 15-minute time frame here, but
    listening to all this material has made me wonder: how
    much confusion did this premature announcement create
    out there in the country?  Did people madly flip the
    dial around, as they do today, going from station to
    station?  Were there any repercussions from CBS'
    actions?  I get the sense, listening to this stuff,
    there actually WAS some confusion created.  The Voice
    of America, for example, quoted the CBS radio report,
    only to frantically backpeddle a minute later,
    realizing the news wasn't being reported anyplace
    else.  And when KRLD, Dallas, broke away from the CBS
    network just after the death announcement, you can
    actually hear people in the background--possibly other
    reporters!--saying "What?  Who says? Connelly too?"

    I suppose the fact they were RIGHT saved their
    patooties, but I've always held the view that the
    unconfirmed death announcement was just wildly
    irresponsible, especially under the circumstances.
    The Rather report could have been used as a single
    piece of the mounting evidence that Kennedy had indeed
    died of his wounds; this is the way CBS-TV handled the
    info.  Saying "It has just been [removed]" was
    inaccurate and premature, and I wondered if anbody
    here remembered this few minutes well enough to know
    if it actually caused any confusion out there in radio
    land.

    chris

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #266
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