Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #501
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 12/23/2002 3:49 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 501
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Re: Harry Bartell--all this chatter   [ Garpboy@[removed] ]
      Birmingham News                       [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      The Hitch-Hiker trivia                [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      OTR For 'Youngsters'                  [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      NBCs Blue Network Audience            [ BryanH362@[removed] ]
      Christmas Greetings!                  [ Derek Tague <derek@[removed]; ]
      Re: Variety Hours                     [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      How I found otr                       [ "Marcus Antonsson" <[removed] ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Re: THE SHADOW Blue Coal ring         [ SanctumOTR@[removed] ]
      Re: OTR Christmas Shows               [ Grbmd@[removed] ]
      Norman Corwin                         [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 21:46:48 -0500
    From: Garpboy@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Harry Bartell--all this chatter
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    With the exception of Conrad and a few others, I never had the pleasure of
    being able to associate a face with the radio voices I've become so
    accustomed to.

    Last night, on my local PBS station, they ran a series of B&W television
    shows from the 1950's that had Xmas themes.

    They selected a Dragnet episode from 1953--it was the episode where the baby
    Jesus statue was "stolen" and Friday worked to recover it in time for Xmas.
    I was only familiar (very familiar) with the radio script version so I
    watched the show so I could see how the two versions compared.

    The credits said that "Father Rojas" was portrayed by one Harry Bartells--I
    presume it's the one and only.  If so it was good to match the face and the
    voice.

    Here's hoping that the new version of Dragent, starring Ed ? from "Married
    with Children", does Joe Friday justice.

    Happy holidays everyone

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    Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 01:04:57 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Birmingham News

    There was a friend who was doing research in Birmingham for me on microfilm,
    and I misplaced ALL paperwork regarding her contact info.  I want to make
    sure I'm spelling her name correctly in the acknowledgements of a probject,
    so if she could e-mail me asap, it'd be greatly appreciated.  if you're
    reading this, drop me a line, I don't want to leave you out!
    Martin Grams, Jr.

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 01:06:34 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Hitch-Hiker trivia

    Mike Kerezman Jr asked about THE HITCH-HIKER:

    The Lucille Fletcher ("Sorry, Wrong Number") script was actually performed
    on radio three times.
    The first was on SUSPENSE on September 2, 1942 with Orson Welles.  Bernard
    Herrmann, husband to Fletcher, composed the music score, and this has to be
    among the three versions, the most charming when it came to introducing the
    "ghost story," utilizing "Funeral March of the Marionettes".

    The second time was on the PHILIP MORRIS PLAYHOUSE on October 15, 1942 with
    Welles repeating the role.  According to two accounts, the SUSPENSE drama
    was well-received by radio listeners, so the repeat performance (in this
    case on another radio show) was required.

    The third and final time was on THE SUMMER MERCURY THEATER ON THE AIR on
    June 21, 1946 with Alice Frost in the cast.  Having heard the first and
    third version, I can state that the production values are top-notch for the
    MERCURY broadcast, and if you are ever going to listen to "The Hitch-Hiker"
    only once, listen to the Mercury production.  It's far more eerie than the
    SUSPENSE production, which is how it should be.

    I have often felt that Rod Serling was strongly influenced by radio dramas,
    especially the supernatural.  He sold radio scripts for programs like Dr.
    Christian and Grand Central Station (there does exist a circulating episode
    of Station that was scripted by Rod Serling and states so in the opening
    credits).  Many of Serling's television scripts were close facsimilies to
    popular radio plots.

    His Twilight Zone episode "Escape Clause" has the same twist of Inner
    Sanctum's "Elixier Number Four", with the only difference that the
    possibility of immortality was immoral, rather than scientific.  The
    Twilight Zone episode "Back There" concerned a man who accidentally travels
    back in time to the late 1860s and attempts to prevent the assassination of
    Abraham Lincoln.  Same plot as a Mysterious Traveler episode entitled "The
    Man Who Tried to Save Lincoln," only the method of going back in time was
    changed, again from scientific to immoral.  Twilight Zone's "Night of the
    Meek" featured Art Carney as a man named Corwin, named after radio playwrite
    Norman Corwin.  I could go on and on as dozens and dozens of Twilight Zone
    episodes were influenced by old-time radio ("Static" "Night Call" "A Kind of
    A Stopwatch", etc.) but I have always believed that Serling was hugely
    influenced by radio drama, and used what plots he admired for his TZ
    projects.  (Course, in the mid seventies, Serling hosted ZERO HOUR on
    [removed])

    As for "The Hitch-hiker," that was the only Twilight Zone episode to
    specifically be adapted from a radio script (and retain the original script
    writer credits) with one noticable change.  The protagonist changed from a
    man to a woman.  There was also an in-joke regarding Serling family in the
    episode.  It is certainly most effective and well-shot (as most of the
    first-season episodes were done).  Lucille Fletcher recalled how she came up
    with the idea of "The Hitch-Hiker" for radio in THE TWILIGHT ZONE COMPANION
    by Marc Scott Zicree (available on bookshelves) for anyone interested.  I
    have my copy buried away in a box, but I do recommend that book for anyone
    who loves nostalgia television.

    Don'r forget to listen to the 1946 MERCURY version of "The Hitch-Hiker,"
    it's really impressive.
    Martin

    [removed] Now that I recall, a blandt rip-off of the story was done in a
    Creepshow movie from the eighties if I recall accurately.

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 01:07:02 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR For 'Youngsters'

    Michael Leannah, speaking of younger OTR audiences, observes,

>     For some young people, listening to OTR might be a chore because many
>     of the story lines and jokes refer to past events and forgotten
>     phenomena, and they can only relate to what is in their current world.

    This is true enough.  Some OTR shows are more difficult to enjoy because
    of their topicality.   A reference that contemporaneous audiences would
    recognize instantly might be hard to understand today.  In one show a few
    years after the close of the show, one character remarked about a great
    person, Churchill Downs, whom he supposedly was quoting.  Some young
    listeners might not get the Winston Churchill connection, and so might
    not see the (attempted) humor.  Likewise, vocal mimicry of long-departed
    personalities may be lost on those who never heard the person being
    mimicked.

    This has made me think of which shows might be best for the novice
    listener to OTR.  I can think of a few.

    Many historic dramas, and in particular, The Lone Ranger, would work
    easily.  The Old West was far enough removed from the era in which it was
    aired so that there was nothing topical mentioned.  In point of fact, if
    someone listening happens to be a history buff, he or she might be
    surprised at the references to historic happenings.

    Among dramas, my personal choice would be Pat Novak For Hire.  Its
    pulpish world is self-contained.  Anything out of the ordinary is
    explained in full (my favorite being an episode where some spies were
    trying to smuggle microfilmed secret documents *into* the United States).
     It's an attention-getter, at least.

    Among comedies, though I think Jack Benny is the apex of radio comedy, I
    think that the Phil Harris-Alice Faye show works best.  With a few
    exceptions, the shows wear as well today as the day they were aired.

    It might be constructive to single out shows that cause the least
    "adaptation" by new listeners.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 01:07:23 -0500
    From: BryanH362@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  NBCs Blue Network Audience
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    The following information was given ion the web in  regard to NBC:

     "NBC  was able to guarantee advertisers huge domestic audiences. NBC even
    offered advertisers a choice -- breaking its network into two separate
    operations, the general-audience Red and the more upscale Blue Network ."

    I have read in the past  ,  from quite a few  sources,   that  also indicate
    that NBCs blue network  was geared to the more "upscale" and carried a lot
    more sustaining  prestige programming .  However,  some of the programs  that
    aired on NBCs Blue  would seem to counter this  statement .  How much actual
    truth is there in  the statement ?    If true,   was it a deliberate
    programming  attempt or did the Blue just end up that way while part of NBC ?

    -Bryan

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    Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:36:39 -0500
    From: Derek Tague  <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Christmas Greetings!

    Merry Christmas, Gang!

        It is with unhappy regret that I must inform all my friends "in the ether"
    that certain prevailing circumstances, both financial and logistical, have
    prevented me from sending out Christmas cards this year.
    However, I would like to take this opportunity to request that list-master
    Charlie Summers afford me all this cyber-text to wish everybody a most
    solemn, memorable, and joyous of [removed] subscribers who don't
    celebrate Christmas, I also wish you the warmth, hope, and kindness
    this holiday season engenders.
        But what I'd really like to wish everybody is an old-fashioned "Old-Time
    Radio" Christmas. May we all partake in the simple pleasures of a simpler
    time--even if, ironically, it's with latter-day technologies like MP3's and
    the Internet--while, all the time, working to minimize and eliminate
    out-dated ideologies rooted in hate and intolerance,
        For the New Year of 2003, here's what I wish for every Digest reader,
    the post-er and lurker alike:
        For everyone, I wish in this time of economic uncertainty: health,
    prosperity along with the peace of mind and lots of time to enjoy the fruits
    of your labours.
        For OTR convention organisers: lots of guests, but more importantly, as
    many OTR fans that hotel fire-laws will allow.
        For OTR convention-goers: lower airfares and lower hotel rates, along with
    a wealth of after-hours room parties.
        For the OTR dealer: less litigation,  lots of available table-space, and a
    slight slow-down in advancing technologies  so that your wares do not become
    too obsolete too soon.
        For OTR authors, historians, researchers, web-servers, log-keepers:
    all the time in the world AND  the means to pursue your noble OTR passion
    more avidly.
        For the OTR-era "veteran," whether your talents shone in front of or
    behind the microphone, I wish you long-overdue recognition going beyond the
    love and appreciation you get from us grateful OTR fans.
        For the OTR collector: may you find those elusive items you need to fill
    in the gaps, whether they be a show, a collectible premium, or a book; may we
    all find through the "theatre of imagination" a sense of relief   from the
    fear, stress,  illness, or the feelings of loneliness we all experience at one
    time or another--even if such an alleviation is temporary.
        For the younger OTR fan who may feel isolated because your friends and
    contemporaries just "don't get" the OTR era:  please be aware that the older
    OTR aficianados appreciate and are similarly driven by your youthful desire
    and boundless energy in not letting the "Golden Age" fade into memory.
        For the OTR re-creation groups: likewise, an over-all appreciation for
    your donated time and efforts; for the  struggling actor, THAT big break; for
    the directors, a wider audience; may you all find cross-over appeal even from
    OTR initiates.
        For the radio scriptwriters: continued inspiration, larger contest prizes,
    but, moreimportantly,  more venues for your stories to be told.
        For the OTR fan trying to find a a "voice": inspiration to write that
    article, script, or book.

        In closing, may at least the small child within you hold on to a belief in
    Santa Claus, just like Clifton Finnegan, and for anybody soured on the season,
    may your faith be restored as it was for Archie, the Bartender at "Duffy's
    Tavern."
        May you partake in the giving nature that once blessed Andy Brown; may you
    bring Christmas joys to others as once did Brit Ponsett, the Six-Shooter; may
    you enjoy a plenitude of friends at your Christmas celebrations on the par
    with assembleage every Christmas at 79 Wistful Vista; may your Christmas
    shopping  not be as hectic and complicated as it always is for Jack Benny. But
    most  of all,  may you find joy, peace, love, contentment, and blissful
    happiness as you play out your  life on whatever stage your daily drama is
    set--even if it doesn't immediately summon up  the grandeur of "Grand Central
    Station."
        May you all experience the love God made manifest two millenia ago--and
    even if the Baby Jesus or what  His birth represents seems elusive to you,
    rest assured that Sgt. Joe Friday is on the case.
        Again, Merry Christmas from my ether to yours!

    Derek Tague

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:36:54 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Variety Hours

    George Aust wrote:

>     But music
>     shows, and comedy shows and especially those programs that combine the
>     two are really my favorites.
>     Am I the only one that feels this way?

    Not at all -- for example, I'm a huge fan of Rudy Vallee's 1930s variety
    hours. The thing I enjoy most about the Vallee program is that in many
    ways it's a vaudeville/Broadway time capsule -- practically every
    then-current stage performer of any importance appeared on the series at
    one time or another, and many old-time vaudeville acts did so as well. In
    some cases, Vallee appearances preserve the only surviving performance
    record for these acts -- and for that reason alone the series is worthy
    of close study. If you're really interested in early 20th Century show
    business history, Vallee's shows are a gold mine.

    Looking over Vallee's guest lists up thru 1939 will take your breath away
    -- I don't think any series attracted a wider span of talent over the
    course of its run, at least not until Ed Sullivan on TV. (Interestingly,
    Vallee claimed in one of his autobiographies that the agency packaging
    "Toast of the Town" in 1948 approached him to host the series with the
    specific idea of recreating his 1930s format -- but he was too busy with
    movies and nightclub work, and turned down the offer.)

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:37:46 -0500
    From: "Marcus Antonsson" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  How I found otr

    Hi Gang,
    It's been so fun to read about your first otr-experiences that I simply have
    to tell you my story as well. Being a 28-year-oldSweed who's never been to
    the states I wasn't likely to discover the American otr at all.
    Being blind since I was about six months old, radio and recordings has always
    been an important part of my life though. About ten years ago, another
    Swedish collector made a few programs for the Swedish Radio about some of the
    greatest American otr-heros, including the shadow, and the Lone ranger. I got
    interested and called him. Kent Hagglund (as his name is), turned out to be a
    very nice guy like so many other otr-collectors. He became my guide into the
    otr-world, and he's still a good friend of mine, who's helped me a lot during
    these years. Unfortunately, he's not online. Soon after i'd contacted Kent, I
    got my first internet subscription and that led to many more discoveries and
    contacts. As  the years have gone by my collection has grown steadily and
    continues to do so as fast as my economy allows. I don't trade much, but buy
    a lot from different sources. Many of you guys has helped me out and I want
    to thank you all from my heart and wish you all a very merry christmas.
    Special thanks to Charlie, for keeping this great forum going. To Harry and
    Sandy for the wonderful columns. To Ron Sayles for starting this great
    thread. And to all you others out there.

    God bless, and keep you all!

    Merry Christmas from Sweden

    Marcus Antonsson

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:37:51 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

    Today in history, NY Times --

    1928 -- The National Broadcasting Company set up a permament,
    coast-to-coast network.

>     >From Those Were The Days --

    1938 - Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch was heard for the final time on
    the radio. The program was about life in a Kentucky shanty town. It had
    been on the air for three years. Maybe if they had changed the title a
    [removed]

    Birthday:

    1907 - Don McNeill
          radio host: The Breakfast Club [The Pepper Pot], ABC Radio, died
    May 7, 1996

      Joe

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

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:38:34 -0500
    From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: THE SHADOW Blue Coal ring

    In a message dated 12/22/02 9:04:37 PM, "Stephen A Kallis, Jr."
    <skallisjr@[removed] writes:

    << The Shadow program had a similar ring.  Both ring bodies were made of
    luminous plastic.  The Shadow's ring, rather than crocodilians, had
    miniature figures of The Shadow.  But unlike the Jack Armstrong ring, The
    Blue Coal Shadow Ring was not part of an involved storyline; it was just
    neat to have. >>

    ***Well, The Shadow Blue Coal ring wouldn't have been promoted in an
    "involved" storyline because THE SHADOW wasn't a dramatic serial at the time
    (though of course it did air as a 15-minute syndicated serial beginning in
    1935 with Carl Kroenke in the lead).  However, The Shadow Blue Coal ring was
    featured in a radio story when the premium was first introduced.  The
    November 23, 1941 episode, "The Ring of Light," featured a glowing ring, and
    a message from announcer Ken Roberts that a similar glow-in-the-dark ring
    could be obtained from your friendly Blue Coal dealer.  That particular
    episode stars Bill Johnstone, Marjorie Anderson, Kenny Delmar, Alan Reed,
    Arthur Vinton, Everett Sloane, Stefan Schnabel, John Brown and Alice Frost
    (What a cast; you didn't get that caliber of repertory on JACK ARMSTRONG) . .
    . and is included on Radio Spirits' recent 40-show collection, THE SHADOW:
    GREATEST RADIO ADVENTURES, along with a historical booklet by -- Anthony
    Tollin.***

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

    Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:38:50 -0500
    From: Grbmd@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: OTR Christmas Shows
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    In a message dated 12/22/02 10:04:28 PM Eastern Standard Time,
    [removed]@[removed] writes:

>     It's a always a bit of a mystery to me that  OTR musical variety shows
>     are largely ignored on this list.  Not only is there some great music
>     but also some of the best comedy routines that you've ever heard on
>     these shows such as the "Kraft Music Hall"
>     I've always taken drama, whether on radio, tv, or the movies, in very
>     small doses.  Of course there have been some really great ones, but
>     generally speaking  I have a hard time getting into them.  But music
>     shows, and comedy shows and especially those programs that combine the
>     two are really my favorites.
>     Am I the only one that feels this way?

    I remember enjoying -- and I even bought a 78-rpm, 4-disc album to -- a
    Fibber McGee and Molly show in which Fibber at first tells a story to Teeny
    about some tailor, I think, that has to do with whether with his vision he
    can see something or not.  But the big finish was Teeny's musical telling of
    "The Night Before Christmas" with the Ken Darby Singers backing her up.  I
    played that for myself over and over.

    Spence Coleman
    who wishes his parents hadn't given away all his 78's while he was in the Army

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    Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:39:17 -0500
    From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Norman Corwin

    I just received a letter with the following comments from Norman Corwin
    about my book, "Words at War":

    First, I want to thank the many scores of OTR folks who helped me in
    various ways during the years of my research. I mention many of your
    names in the acknowledgments: Elizabeth, the Gassmans, Dave Siegel etc.
    But there was not room enough nor time enough to mention people who
    provided me with one or two leads, suggestions, encouragement etc. I also
    want to thank so many of you who ordered copies of the book sight unseen
    and before any reviews were printed. Thanks for your trust.

    And now, Mr. Corwin's commments:

    "Congratulations on the book. It is masterly,  a quality not widely
    shared in histories of the broadcast media. You worked hard and
    diligently in gathering and marshaling your material, and it has paid off
    handsomely. . . . Feel good about "Words at War." You stand with Barnouw
    and Dunning, and that is high rank indeed."

    Howard Blue

    [removed] I will sleep quite well tonight and the night after and the night
    after that . . . . . .

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #501
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