Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #87
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 2/24/2003 5:33 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 87
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      OTR For Little Ones                   [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Words At War                          [ Albert Fields <nick98tom00@[removed] ]
      Whether 'Tis Nobler To Take Arms ...  [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Radio Sound Effects                   [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
      Voice of America (correction)         [ "Art Chimes" <ACHIMES@[removed]; ]
      re: The Ride Back                     [ "Matthew Bullis" <matthewbullis@run ]
      Re: "Mad Man" Muntz                   [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
      Re: "Tell Ya What I'm Gonna [removed]"    [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      COCOANUT GROVE NIGHTCLUB FIRE         [ james h arva <wilditralian@[removed] ]
      OTR Comedy routines                   [ "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed] ]
      Lesley Woods                          [ MParise874@[removed] ]
      John Collier & Cornell Woolrich       [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
      The Radio Song                        [ "welsa" <welsa@[removed]; ]
      The Whistler in the East              [ John F Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
      a rebuttal                            [ "Ed Carr" <edcarr@[removed]; ]
      Arthur F. Wertheim                    [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
      "Hartley Benson"                      [ dougdouglass@[removed] ]
      FM Transmitters                       [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
      recent Jack Benny festival            [ Janine Preston <jpreston@makingwavs ]
      OTR for Youngsters                    [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
      Re: The Ride Back                     [ Steve Lewis <lewis@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:32:29 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR For Little Ones

    Rodney Bowcock, answering what programs David might play for his
    youngster notes,

>     I'm not sure if you're concerned about overly violent programs, but The
>     Green Hornet was always very exciting around that age for me, and though
>     I've not heard it in some time,  it doesn't seem like there was much in
>     the way of death and that sort of thing.

    As long as we're WXYZ-ing it, there's a better alternative: The Challenge
    of the Yukon (also known as Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, and variants on
    that).  The hero wasn't the Mountie, but his "free-running lead dog,
    Yukon King.  Thrilling for a little kid with a minimum of fatalities,
    though an occasional dog bite or two.  For me, the show doesn't wear as
    well as The Green Hornet or the nearly mythic The Lone Ranger, but I dug
    it as a growing child.

    Jack Armstrong serials would probably work, too.  The Sulu Sea adventure
    exists on MP3, nearly complete, and the glacial progress of the plot
    wouldn't be a distraction, and the travelogue aspects of the show might
    capture small ones' imaginations.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:01:26 -0500
    From: Albert Fields <nick98tom00@[removed];
    To: OldRadio Mailing Lists <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Words At War

    I just finished reading Mr. Howard Blue's "Words At War" and found it to be
    an excellent addition to my OTR library.  As a retired professor of 20th
    Century US history I found the book to be especially interesting in
    discussing war-time radio dramas in the context of the culture of the period.
    Often books about OTR do not relate them to the tenor of the times.  I would
    highly recommend it to anyone interested in radio during this period.  I do
    have one question of the author.  On page 232 he discusses the moving of the
    radio studios of BBC from Broadcasting House to the country to keep their
    location secret from the Germans.  He the goes on to discuss a BBC engineer
    visiting Berlin in 1942 to attend a radio conference and a German official
    telling him they know of the secret location.  It is a minor point in a well
    written and researched work, but how did the engineer get to Berlin in 1942?
    However kudos to Mr. Blue for an excellent work.

    Al Fields

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:30:45 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Whether 'Tis Nobler To Take Arms ...

    Jim Cox, speaking of erroneous published information, observes,

>     Of course anyone who deals with this stuff daily and has a basis for
>     separating the truth from fiction will get it but it's a disservice to
>     novices who may be unable to distinguish the conflicting information.  I
>     cringe every time I see something like this when so many of us obviously
>     know it just isn't so.

    This brings up a good philosophical question: whether 'tis better to
    wince or to get steamed.  Persistent urban legends, such as the Captain
    Midnight Decoder Ring and the ostensible "secret message" on Little
    Orphan Annie that decrypts to "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine" have crept
    into serious reference books.  I get steamed sufficiently to try to send
    authors corrections.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:31:02 -0500
    From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Radio Sound Effects

    In #83, Stephen Kallis wrote:

>     Of course.  In *my* HO, the absolute best sound effects
>     are in The Lone Ranger and Chandu, the Magician.

    True, The Lone Ranger had excellent sound effects.  I'm not convinced that
    they are better than Dragnet or Gunsmoke, but they are quite good -
    especially some of the fight scenes.  In many children's westerns, the fights
    just sound like the effects guy is going at it with a couple of meat slappers
    or something.  TLR fights usually seem to involve the sounds of punches,
    footsteps, scuffling, grunts, etc.  The only unfortunate thing is in TLR, you
    usually have the narrator doing the fight play by play, ruining the sound
    (for me, at least).

    I've never heard an episode of Chandu, the Magician, however.  This is
    unfortunate, as many people have recommended this show.  I'd better get on
    the ball.

    -Chris Holm

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:42:31 -0500
    From: "Art Chimes" <ACHIMES@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Voice of America (correction)

    I enjoy Joe Mackey's 'Today in Radio History' posts,
    but I have to correct one small bureaucratic part of
    his February 24 item.

    The Voice of America began broadcasting on Feb. 24,
    1942. Good news or bad, said announcer William Harlan
    Hale to a wartime audience in Germany, we will tell
    you the truth.

    VOA is still on the air 61 years later, broadcasting
    in more than 50 languages. But VOA has not been part
    of the [removed] Information Agency since 1999, when USIA
    was abolished. Some of USIA's functions were moved
    into the State Department, while VOA and other
    international broadcasting operations are now part of
    the International Broadcasting Bureau and are overseen
    by the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

    For more on VOA's history, I suggest this article:
    [removed]-
    ECEE-40A6-8C79C87BAE5DA0D3&Title=A%20Brief%20VOA%
    20History&db=voa

    Regards,
    Art Chimes
    VOA journalist since 1981

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:42:41 -0500
    From: "Matthew Bullis" <matthewbullis@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  re: The Ride Back

    Hello, anywhere I can preorder the dvd, and any extras?
    Thanks a lot.
    Matthew

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:42:55 -0500
    From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: "Mad Man" Muntz

    Derek Tague asked:

>     Help me out here, fellow etherites, was Muntz the one who popularized the
>     catch-phrase "Tell ya what I'm gonna [removed],"  which showed up in many a
>     Warner Bros. cartoon of that era?

    I know Sid Stone was using the phrase when performing his "Pitchman"
    routine-cum-Texaco commercial on "Texaco Star Theater" (you know, on that
    OTHER medium).  Did anyone before Stone popularize the phrase?  If so, I
    shall yield to the other experts on this list for enlightenment.

    Michael

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:43:34 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: "Tell Ya What I'm Gonna [removed]"

    On 2/24/03 2:37 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     Help me out
>     here, fellow etherites, was Muntz the one who popularized the catch-phrase
>     "Tell ya what I'm gonna [removed],"  which showed up in many a Warner Bros.
>     cartoon of that era?

    Actually, that was Sid Stone, a rear-echelon burlesque comic who did the
    middle commercial each week on Milton Berle's "Texaco Star Theatre" TV
    prorgrams during the late forties and early fifties.

    Stone was a fast-talking Phil Silvers type, a skinny balding fellow who
    wore a loud checked suit and a derby. Every commercial he did followed
    the same pattern -- he stood in front of a painted backdrop of a city
    street with a sample case propped open on a folding table, rolled up his
    sleeves, and demonstrated some bit of exaggerated novelty merchandise.
    Then he'd segue into the commercial for Texaco products, delivering it in
    the same street-hustler style as the comic segment of his act. The
    commercial always ended with Stone grabbing up his sample case and table
    and making a run for it, with a cop hot on his heels.

    Stone recreated his pitchman character on Broadway in the 1970s,
    appearing in "Sugar Babies."
    He died in 1986.

    The pitchman who sells "Atomcol" to Daffy Duck in the 1953 cartoon
    "Muscle Tussle" is directly based in both voice and appearance on Sid
    Stone (except Stone didn't have a duck bill.)

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:44:18 -0500
    From: james h arva <wilditralian@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  COCOANUT GROVE NIGHTCLUB FIRE

    	Tom Z. brought up the sbject of the deadly fire at The Cocoanut Grove
    in
    Boston.  I don't have any audio coverage of that, but I do have some
    incidental information.
    	It happened on November 28th, 1942, and 492 people died, including the
    famous cowboy movie star Buck Jones, who was a strong supporter of
    physical fitness for children.  He had escaped to safety, but went back
    inside to assist others and, in one of those trips back into the flames,
    was mortally injured, succumbing two days later.  He had gone to the
    night club to attend a war bond drive.  A friend of mine has a photograph
    of him that was taken only several hours before he lost consciousness for
    ever.  He had stopped in the children's ward of a Boston Hospital, and
    there he was enjoying what he loved most.  In the photograph he had kids
    crawling all over him and he was grinning from ear-to-ear.
    	The fire was started, they decided, by a busboy's match on gauze
    drapes,
    but the high death count was attributed to many safety violatins in the
    building.  I had heard that the building owner was Barbara Walters'
    father, but I have never verified that, so I would have to present it as
    a rumor.

    Jim

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:44:40 -0500
    From: "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed];
    To: "otr message" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  OTR Comedy routines

    Derek Tague wondered about otr comedy routines that never lose their humor:

    I would nominate Jack Benny and the Cimarron Rolls (when he discovers they
    are made from entirely different "ingredements."

    Gildersleeve on the sled tied behind the car

    Any McGee/LaTrivia tantrum routine.

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:44:56 -0500
    From: MParise874@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Lesley Woods
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    I would like at this time to thank all the wonderful people in OTR who
    privately and on this page informed me about Lesley [removed] went above and
    beyond,which goes to show you how Fantastic OTR fans [removed]
      My question now is she still living and was it the same Lesley Woods   on
    Soap Opera's in the late 30's,Other Radio programs in the 40's,TV and Movies
    in the 50's up to  2001??
    Mike

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

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:45:30 -0500
    From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
    To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  John Collier & Cornell Woolrich

    Ryan O asked about John Collier and Cornell Woolrich (whose name you DID
    spell correctly).

>     I know I am not spelling either of these names correctly, but I saw
>     someone's question about Cornell Woolrich and also wondered about John
>     Colyar.  He wrote the well-known Suspense stories, "Wet Saturday," "Back for
>     Christmas," and others.  Who were these two men?  Were they published
>     authors, or did they write for radio?

    Both of these authors had very noted careers and radio writing (or
    adaptation of their writing for radio) was a small part of it.   Woolrich,
    for example, wrote "Rear Window" which Hitchcock made into a great film.

    Here are links to a listing of their work.

    Collier
    [removed]

    Woolrich
    [removed]

    ~Irene

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 18:16:37 -0500
    From: "welsa" <welsa@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Radio Song

    I've been listening to a recording of Bob Marcus' ditty called RADIO.  I'm
    not sure who is even singing it.  I've  been trying to make out the lyrics.
    Below is what I have so far.  But where there is a line drawn, I can't make
    it out.

    Can anyone here help with the missing lyrics?

    Thanks.

    Ted

    Radio. Remember radio?

    We'd sit and close our eyes

    And use our imagination.

    Comedy, mystery, a fireside chat,

    Together we sat list'ning nightly

    To our favorite show.

    Radio. Where did you ever go?

    Oh, won't you please come back

    And entertain us.

    I long to turn the dial again

    To hear the past and smile again.

    Radio, I miss you so.

    Major Bowes.

    I miss "the Shadow knows."

    _______________________________________

    The laughter of Duffy's Tavern.

    Helen Trent. Then we went

    To_______________________________

    _____The Whistler sent those shivers

    Up our spine.

    Uncle Don, I wish that you were on,

    Jack Armstrong, Myrt & Marge,

    Amos 'n Andy.

    I long to turn that dial again,

    To hear the past and smile again.

    Radio, I miss you so.

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 18:17:04 -0500
    From: John F Mayer <mayer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Whistler in the East
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    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    On Monday, February 24, 2003, at 02:33 PM, Kurt E Yount
    <blsmass@[removed];  wrote:

>     Am I not correct in thinking that there was a whistler back east as
>     well?
>      It seems that I heard some shows from the east, specifically New York.

    Yes, we got The Whistler in Knoxville, Tennessee in the 50's. I remember
    my mother at the time commenting on the unusual and difficult melody of
    the theme song. Being a gifted whistler I promptly mastered the tune and
    enjoyed whistling it late at night walking through our neighborhood.
    Strangely, the theme and the opening monologue were, for many years,
    ALL I could remember about the show from my childhood, though I could
    remember some of the Suspense episodes, for example, vividly. Of course
    now I can readily refresh my memory on both shows. The Suspense shows
    are, indeed, more memorable.

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

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:02:52 -0500
    From: "Ed Carr" <edcarr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  a rebuttal

    hi to all
    1st off, i am not that familiar with restoration programs, i have a friend who
    helps me out.
    and he does a fantastic job and  doesn't use  cedar, i suspect there  will be
    more than a few persons who will join in.
    i have some suspense programs that will knock your socks off in sound
    quality also i just received a few  cleaned up tapes of inner sanctum that
    are great,
    i see fantastic strides made in sound quality upgrades using programs
    other than cedar and shows taken right from disc and cleaned
    are beautiful, the one thing i do agree with is don't use or take 17th gen
    tapes, the sound has been degraded, i would say ,(personal opinion)
    nothing more than 4th, i realize this may be improbable for the majority
    anyway thats my feelings on restoration programs other than cedar
    ed carr

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:03:14 -0500
    From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Arthur F. Wertheim

    Mention of Arthur F. Wertheim's book "Radio Comedy" reminded me of
    something that I've been meaning to ask on the digest for years but have
    been somewhat hesitant to do so.
    In reading his chapter on Gosden and Correll about how they met and
    formed an instant and strong friendship and how they lived together for
    several years, I remember blurting out loud while reading in bed "My
    God, Amos and Andy were gay"!: )
    Now I'm not for a minute suggesting that this is true, but I am
    wondering if anybody else got the same impression from reading this
    book.
    Overall I'd say that this was a fairly good book.

    George Aust

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:03:21 -0500
    From: dougdouglass@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "Hartley Benson"

    Does anyone remember a character  named "Hartley Benson" ?  Have no idea
    on what series.

    Doug Douglass

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:03:39 -0500
    From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  FM Transmitters

    Walden Hughes asked where he could find an FM transmitter.  I'd suggest
    trying Ramsey Electronis Hobby Kits at [removed].  They
    offer five different FM transmitters as well as AM transmitters.
    I have been planning to get an AM transmitter for several years now so
    that I can broadcast OTR thru out my house and listen on any of my many
    radios scattered about. I have something like 30 antique radios(not all
    of them working) and one of these days I'm going to actually take the
    time to do so. Ever since I retired I  just don't have enough time to do
    everything that I want to and need to.

    George Aust

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:04:51 -0500
    From: Janine Preston <jpreston@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  recent Jack Benny festival

    I, too, had a wonderful time tagging along with Kay Linaker at the 39
    Forever Celebration in LA a week ago.  I came away from the weekend with
    a greater appreciation of what Jack Benny and his cast did for their
    audiences--of radio, screen and television.  His contributions to the
    entertainment industry, combined with the fact that he often worked on
    several projects at once (especially during his film years), made Jack a
    very special entertainer.  He appreciated his writers and cast members
    and considered himself a member of the team, not leader (this directly
    from Kay).

    I appreciated the diverse panels at the three-day event, especially the
    musical panel where Jay from the Sportsmen Quartet broke into the Lucky
    Strike song impromtu, the educational re-creation (as many in attendance
    weren't old enough to have watched or heard a live Benny broadcast), and
    meeting such pleasant celebrities who were available for a quick chat
    after their events, including the Friar's Club banquet on Saturday
    night.  They attended to honor Jack Benny and his induction into the
    National Comedy Hall of Fame, and joined the rest of us non-celebrities
    in doing so.  Eddie Carroll, in addition to being the re-creation of the
    Jack Benny personality America loved, is also a gifted actor and a
    gentile, intelligent man with a big heart.  I wouldn't have been able to
    see that as much simply watching his Laughter In Bloom performances
    around the country--talking with him between events was a treat.

    The entire festival had a very intimate feeling compared to many of the
    larger hard-sell festivals I've attended.  The volunteers from the fan
    club who helped president Laura Leff with the event are also generous
    people and I am very glad to have met them. Never did I feel  a "strong
    suggestion" to buy merchandise.  Never did I feel bothersome for asking
    one of those busy people a question.

    I think the 39 Forever Celebration was created for the right heart-felt
    reasons and that Jack would be proud of all the hard work and dedication
    that went into the weekend, as well as honored that so many friends,
    colleagues, family and fans were in attendance for yet another 39th
    birthday celebration.  Congratulations, Laura!  It was a truly enjoyable
    weekend!

    Janine Preston
    wknhradiotheatre@[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:04:59 -0500
    From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  OTR for Youngsters

    I'd agree with Rodney Bowcock on the Great Gildersleeve for kids seven
    or eight or older.  Four Years old might be a little too young.  When I
    was a kid I was not able to listen to many shows for kids, but I enjoyed
    many of the programs meant for adults.  The first show that I remember
    listening to was Charlie McCarthy when I was three or four years old.
    One of the things that I picked up from that show was that Charlie ate
    peas with his knifeand I really thought that was hilarious. That would
    have been in the 1939-40 era and someday I'd like to hear the show that
    I picked that up from. No one else in my family ever remembered it.  Now
    of course at that age you're not going to understand everything thats
    said,  but thats okay as there's plenty that they will enjoy.  Fibber
    Mcgee is another good show for that age group and of course the Lone
    Ranger is fascinating to all ages.

    George Aust

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

    Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:05:35 -0500
    From: Steve Lewis <lewis@[removed];
    To: OldRadio Mailing Lists <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: The Ride Back

    At 03:02 PM 2/24/03 -0500, OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     MGM/UA will be releasing this wonderful Western--written by GUNSMOKE scribe
>     Anthony Ellis and based on the June 28, 1952 broadcast--on DVD this May
>     20th.

    Yes, it's a great movie. If you'd like to know what the TV Gunsmoke might
    look like with William Conrad as the star, instead of the other fellow (you
    know, the tall one), this is the film to see. It's still in this month's
    rotation on the Starz Westerns Channel.                  Steve

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #87
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