------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2006 : Issue 13
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Possible identity of Jimmy Barton [ "Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@hotmail ]
Red Skelton character [ Philip Chavin <pchavin@[removed]; ]
Re: Sept 30, 1962 [ mbiel@[removed] ]
OTR Station Restoration [ zbob@[removed] ]
Rock Me, Zarathustra (Or, Titan's Ca [ jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns) ]
The Medium for the Message [ Wich2@[removed] ]
Radio Milestone - Dr. Lee De Forest [ "WEH" <nbcblue@[removed]; ]
300 blank c-90's [ "edcarr" <edcarr@[removed]; ]
The Lone Ranger and Lincoln [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
Pat Paulsen for President [ "Don and Kathy Dean" <dxk@ezlinknet ]
show openings [ "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@hotmail. ]
New Abbott & Costello log update [ Bruce Forsberg <forsberg@[removed]; ]
1-14 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
John Wesley Hardin [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
September 30, 1962 [ "Stuart Lubin" <stuartlubin@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 19:28:00 -0500
From: "Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Possible identity of Jimmy Barton
Concerning the identity of the boy actor who played Jimmy Barton in THE
CINNAMON BEAR, Dennis Crow posted recently:
A clue appeared in the newly discovered marketing [removed] director
Lindsay MacHarrie >noted that the actors chosen to perform the parts of
Judy and Jimmy had appeared before as >brother and sister in other
productions, but that interesting information is still being researched.
Based on this clue, I did some research today and came up with a possible
candidate for consideration as the mysterious Jimmy. His name was Dorian
Johnston. Like Barbara Jean Wong, he was a student at the Fanchon and Marco
School of the Theater, and in 1933-34 he and Barbara Jean were playing
"Billy and Betty" on KFAC. Also in 1934 he and another Fanchon & Marco
pupil, Mona Jean Russell, were the juvenile leads (Jerry and Jean Remington)
in the KMTR serial THE MAGIC KEYS.
Supposedly born "abt 1923" he would have been 13 or 14 at the time of
recording THE CINNAMON BEAR. Apparently around this same time he appeared in
several "Little Rascals" comedies. I couldn't find him listed in the Social
Security Death Index, so I guess it's possible he could still be alive. He'd
be around 82 or 83.
If Dorian Johnston seems to be a valid assumption to work on, I would
suggest asking Conrad if he remembers him. Also, he might be listed in
casting directories from the late Thirties and early Forties and they might
even mention the CINNAMON BEAR credit. Also, for voice comparison, it might
help if someone could lay their hands on the 1934 Columbia movie I'LL FIX IT
where, according to IMDB, he plays a kid named Percy.
Happy hunting!
Mike Ogden
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 19:29:39 -0500
From: Philip Chavin <pchavin@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Red Skelton character
Would anyone know the date of the Red Skelton radio
broadcast on which Red's 'Cauliflower McPugg'
character first appeared?
(I've searched Google, etc., but haven't been able to
find this info. The earliest 'McPugg' broadcast I've
spotted on RadioGoldindex's incomplete list of Skelton
programs is dated [removed])
Thanks,
-- Phil C.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 19:49:51 -0500
From: mbiel@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Sept 30, 1962
Andrew Godfrey asked "what readers of the digest did
after the last OTR show had been broadcast" supposedly on Sept. 30, 1962.
I listened to the last soaps and did know that something was changing, but we
still had Don McNeil's Breakfast Club and Arthur Godfrey Time, as well a
couple of religious dramas such as "Heartbeat Theatre" and perhaps "The
Eternal Light." In Philadelphia there was still a daily series on WFIL-FM
"Studio Schoolhouse" which had a couple of radio dramatizations each week. I
was participating in the recording of them as late as 1968.
Would be interesting to know if any went to radio
stations to get the transcriptions before they were
stored or thrown away.
Well, I grabbed the 16-inchers in my high school in 1963 and at our college
station a couple of years later. I scoured the basements of the commercial
stations I worked in with no luck except for the 12-inchers of the Grand Ole
Opry which our station was still airing and not disposing of. One of my
friends found the remains of the WCAU archive in 1967 and they donated them
to Temple U's WRTI. I dubbed them all off before I left. Which was lucky
because the dunderheads who destroyed the station by changing it into an
all-jazz station threw out the discs a few years later. In 1964 the first
manager of WMAQ, Judith Waller, arranged for the 1922-1932 logs and the
15,000 disc collection to be donated to Northwestern Univ. The logs are in
the library, and half the discs are probably there. The rest somehow rolled
uphill a few years after I left and some were later donated to the Library of
Congress for a tax write-off.
Were there already a lot of shows on cassette tapes
after the last shows on September 30, 1962?
That would have been quite a trick because Philips had not released the
cassette yet even in Europe by that date. We were using open reel tape,
although a few unfortunates might have been using the large RCA double-hub
cartridge that was the model for the cassette.
What became of the sound effects men at the end of OTR?
They had already been changed over to the engineering union from their former
slots in the actors union, so they continued to work as engineers. Some did
sound effects for TV programs and documentaries. Orville White (who was
African American, by the way) buzzed the buzzer on TV's "I've Got A Secret."
Jerry McCarty went back into radio drama with the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
White and McCarty teamed together to do an on-camera sound effects
demonstration on Secret on 7/31/57.
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 19:50:08 -0500
From: zbob@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR Station Restoration
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Afficionados of Radio will be pleased to know that Radio Station KRE is being
restored by dedicated volunteers of the California Historical Radio Society.
The former 5000 watt station at 601 Ashby Ave, Berkeley, CA will be the
locale for radio history, restoration of equipment, classes, etc., by members
of the Society. Restoration progress can be seen at
[removed]
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------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 23:04:42 -0500
From: jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Rock Me, Zarathustra (Or, Titan's Calling)
There could just be, right now, a whole new group getting inroduced, to
not just the best, but all of, old time [removed]
(Some thoughts inspired by the special "Music Radio' program that WABC
has been running, for several Saturday nights, now, in New York (and on
the internet), and "oldies rock radio," in general! The ultmate
sentiments, though, are applicable to just about EVERY [removed])
_____
"Rock Me, Zarathustra (Or, Titan's Calling)"
I don't think you have to be an inveterate SF buff, to realize, or
remember, that part of the utter exuberance of the '60s, was the space
program.
We use to launch rockets, with men, on a fairly regular basis, and every
time, was a first time, as NASA, and America, raced to make Kennedy's
deadline, of a man on the moon, before decade's end.
And it was so much of this great music, that was the soundtrack, for so
many of us, of those aspirations.
If you were the right age--
No, if you were of the right set of mind--
You absolutely believed that certainly by the turn of the millenium,
mankind would have several addresses, nearer to the stars.
(And would have, if Nixon hadn't essentially cancelled the space program
on a cold day, in 1969. NASA presented him with the natural extension of
the moon program. Hard to believe, in retrospect, but we were all set to
have "Man on Mars," IN 1980! Nixon cancelled what was supposed to have
been the last three Apollo missions, and nixed everything but the space
shuttle's development--which was particularly odd, since it now had no
where to go [removed])
The lifestyles shown in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY weren't necessarily
science fiction, but what was simply the normal projection of where our
technology could have been allowed to take us.
But even if, by today, we had our vast space stations, and cities on the
moon, and sojourns to the Red Planet, and beyond--
Surely, a destiny that would have been worth meeting up with--
It occurs to me, that our past--
Our youths, and childhoods, as it were--
Would, of course, have remained the same. As would this music, that so
many of us love.
But it's the prism through which we hear it, that would have changed.
Our perspective.
And, it's fascinating to consider if there would have been "oldies"
shows emanating from, or, more likely, receivable, on these trans-earth
[removed]
:-)
One other thought, quickly, something I've touched upon, before.
The radio, and television, broadcasts, from years past, are still
travelling outward, amongst the stars.
Shows from the '60s, are just now making their way, to some of our
closer stellar neighbors.
Which means, as you're listening to some of these audio celebrations,
some civilization, some where, maybe out around Rigel, might well be
enjoying their first taste, of a bit, of the very same.
...One aspect of the future, inevitably, catching up with the past that
might have been.
Jim Burns (James H. Burns)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 23:05:42 -0500
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Medium for the Message
Dear Andrew & crew-
From: "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed];
Would be interesting to know if any went to radio
stations to get the transcriptions before they were stored or thrown away.
Grayer beards than mine can respond, but I have indeed heard anecdotal
accounts of many such excursions (alas, there weren't enough such, quick
enough,
to save enough!)
I think that's how Dave Goldin got his start?
Were there already a lot of shows on cassette tapes after the last shows on
September 30, 1962?
Cassettes weren't QUITE a commonly going concern by then, were they?
What became of the sound effects men at the end of OTR?
Some had ALREADY done some TV, yes?
Best,
-Craig
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 23:06:02 -0500
From: "WEH" <nbcblue@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Radio Milestone - Dr. Lee De Forest patents
his Audion tube
On January 14, 1907, Lee De Forest patented his 'Audion" vacuum tube. This
was the first item to become an active element in an amplifier and radio
circuits. Before the vacuum tube, there was no radio broadcasting for the
average consumer, only commercial interest and amateurs were using the
airwaves. It was all transmitters creating high voltages in coils to create
a spark gap, turned on and off by a telegraph key. The spark gap created a
broad band of radio energy that was picked up by receivers using crystal
detectors, requiring no power other than the received radio signal.
It all began with Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. Edison
experimented with thousand of compounds in an attempt to find a filament
that would not burn out quickly. Edison noticed that the carbonized
filaments would darken the side of the bulb closest to the positive side of
the filament. From this he concluded that the carbon was somehow traveling
from the negative side of the filament to the positive side and this
suggested a current was flowing within the vacuum of the bulb. Edison added
another element, a platinum plate, to measure the effect and indeed
discovered that current did flow from the filament to this positive charged
plate. This became known as the "Edison Effect". However Edison did not
pursue this any further as he was busy lighting up America.
Enter Ambrose Flemming, who was fascinated by this effect and found that
with the second element (the plate) the bulb would rectify or change AC
current to DC, thus the diode had been discovered which became the "Flemming
Valve".
Lee De Forest took it one step further. He added a third element, a grid of
wire, between the filament (cathode) and the plate. By varying a small
voltage on this third element (grid) he found that the current flow between
the cathode and plate could be controlled, and the first amplifying vacuum
tube, which he dubbed the "Audion" was born. De Forest couldn't explain
exactly how the Audion worked. This new vacuum tube greately extended the
distance for telephone communications, as now amplifiers using the Audion,
could boost telephone signals from one point to another.
In 1912, Edwin Armstrong, who in his teens was totally fascinated with radio
(so much so that he couldn't find time to date girls), used the Audion to
build the first regenerative receiver. Regeneration is the process of taking
a small portion of the output signal from the tube and feeding it back to
the input where it is re-amplified many times over, thus making a receiving
circuit many times more sensitive than the current receivers using crystal
detectors.
Armstrong patented his regenerative circuit in 1914. A patent battle ensued
between Armstrong and De Forest over regeneration and a court ruled that De
Forest's patent in 1916 took precedent over Armstrong's (even though De
Forest couldn't explaine how it worked and Armstrong could). Armstrong also
discovered that if the feed back, or regeneration was increased, the tube
would go into oscillation and actually produce pure clean radio waves, thus
the birth of tube transmitters and the building blocks of future radio
broadcasting were beginning to stack up.
Armstrong later developed the Frequency Modulation (FM) system.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 23:06:12 -0500
From: "edcarr" <edcarr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 300 blank c-90's
hi
above for 25 cents ea and post, must take all
ed carr
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 23:06:58 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Lone Ranger and Lincoln
James Nixon, speaking of The Lone Ranger meeting historical figures,
asks,
I don't remember from any of the transcriptions I have or the programs
I remember growing up if he ever supposedly encountered Abe Lincoln.
Lincoln didn't travel west after the Civil War began, so it would have
had to be during his "rail-splitting" days. The Ranger does save
President Hayes' life during a presidential trip to Kansas in the late
1870's. Does anyone recall any Lone Ranger stories involving meeting Abe
Lincoln?
Actually, there is one story that involves both Lincoln and The Lone
Ranger that implies that they never met. It was one of the best,
involving the construction of a transcontinental hookup of telegraph
lines. As The Lone Ranger was helping the head of a construction crew
sooth relations with an Indian tribe, Lincoln was worrying about the
financing of the (Civil) war. Thanks to The Lone Ranger's work, the
tribe was mollified, the connections were made, and Lincoln was informed
by telegraph that Utah and California stood by the Union. I think that
the episode title was called "The Transcontinental Telegraph," but I
can't swear to it.
In the story, Lincoln indicated that he'd heard of a mysterious masked
man in the West who was doing good acts. The clear implication is that
they hadn't met.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 23:07:10 -0500
From: "Don and Kathy Dean" <dxk@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Pat Paulsen for President
Hi Gang:
What about the stand up comedian Pat Paulsen.
He started running for President on the Smothers Brothers
Comedy Hour in 1968 and ran for president until he died
at age 69 in 1997. For a biography and memorial go to the
website: [removed] and click on biography.
Don Dean N8IOJ
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 00:06:48 -0500
From: "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: show openings
Richard Carpenter quoted the opening of THE FAT MAN as:
"There he goes across the street into the drugstore, steps on the scale,
height: 6 feet, weight: 290 pounds, fortune: Danger. Who is
it? THE FAT MAN."
I don't remember Brad Runyon ever weighing 290 pounds! I seem to recall that
his weight fluctuated around 237 to 239 pounds. And how would a scale
measure his height! But I do love the opening to the show and the theme
music, too. It was and is one of my favorite shows. I wish more episodes
would come into circulation.
As for other openings, don't forget SERGEANT PRESTON and LET'S PRETEND and
ROMANCE OF HELEN TRENT and a few hundred more.
Barbara
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 10:48:14 -0500
From: Bruce Forsberg <forsberg@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: New Abbott & Costello log update
I have posted a new update to my Abbott & Costello log at:
[removed]~forsbergweb
It has about 10-15 shows added.
Bruce Forsberg
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 10:48:33 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 1-14 births/deaths
January 14th births
01-14-1863 - R. F. Outcault - Lancaster, OH - d. 9-25-1928
writer: Buster Brown based on Outcalt's comic strip
01-14-1891 - Maurice Black - Queens, NY - d. 1-18-1938
tuba: "The Clicquot Club Eskimos"
01-14-1892 - Hal Roach - Elmira, NY - d. 11-2-1992
film producer, actor: Hollywood Hotel"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
01-14-1894 - Mary "Bubbles" Kelly - Chicago, IL - d. 6-7-1941
actress: (Ex Jack Benny girlfriend) "Honolulu Bound"
01-14-1901 - Bebe Daniels - Dallas, TX - d. 3-16-1971
actress: "Life with the Lyons"; "Louella Parsons"
01-14-1904 - George McCoy - d. 12-22-1976
1930's broadcaster: (Pioneered the radio talk show)
01-14-1906 - William Bendix - New York, NY - d. 12-14-1964
actor: Chester A. Riley "Life of Riley"
01-14-1908 - Russ Columbo - Camden, NJ - d. 9-2-1934
singer, bandleader: "Russ Columbo Show"
01-14-1909 - Joseph Losey - La Crosse, WI - d. 6-22-1984
director: "Words at War"
01-14-1911 - David Gothard - Beardstown, IL - d. 8-2-1977
actor: Gil Whitney "Romance of Helen Trent"; Nick Charles "Advs. of
the Thin Man"
01-14-1914 - Harold Russell - North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada - d.
1-29-2002
world war II hero, actor: "A Salute to the [removed]"; "NBC University
Theatre"
01-14-1915 - George Ansbro - Brooklyn, NY
announcer: "Young Widder Brown"; "Waltz Time"
01-14-1915 - Mark Goodson - Sacramento, CA - d. 12-18-1992
producer, director: "Portia Faces Life"; "Stop the Music"
01-14-1917 - Billy Butterfield - Middleton, OH - d. 3-18-1988
bandleader: "The Dixieland Music Shop"; "Eddie Condon"s Jazz Concert"
01-14-1919 - Andy Rooney - Albany, NY
writer: "Red Skelton Show"; "Arthur Godfrey"
01-14-1920 - George Herman - New York, NY - d. 2-8-2005
newsman: CBS news writer
01-14-1931 - Caterina Valente - Paris, France
singer: "Guard Session"
01-14-1938 - Jack Jones - Hollywood, CA
singer: "Steve Lawrence Show"; "Guest Star"; "Stars for Defense"
01-14-1943 - Holland Taylor - Philadelphia, PA
actress: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
January 14th deaths
01-27-1921 - Donna Reed - Dennison, IA - d. 1-14-1986
actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Star and the Story"; "Silver Theatre"
02-24-1904 - Tim Graham - Kansas - d. 1-14-1979
actor: "Plays for Americans"
04-13-1886 - Willie Howard - Paramus, NY - d. 1-14-1949
comedian: (Howard Brothers) "Folies De Paris"; "The Royal Vagabonds"
06-12-1919 - Uta Hagen - Gottingen, Germany (Raised: Madison, WI) -
d. 1-14-2004
actress: "Big Show"
06-14-1917 - Paul Monash - New York, NY - d. 1-14-2003
writer: "Molle Mystery Theatre"
06-18-1903 - Jeanette MacDonald - Philadelphia, PA - d. 1-14-1965
singer: "Nobody's Children"; "Vicks Open House"; "Campbell Playhouse"
08-19-1889 - Don "Uncle Don" Carney - St. Joseph, MO - d. 1-14-1954
host: "Uncle Don"; "Friendship Village"; "Dog Chats"
08-21-1896 - Marie Blake - Philadelphia, PA - d. 1-14-1978
actress: (Sister of Janette MacDonald) "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-17-1902 - Esther Ralston - Bar Harbor, ME - d. 1-14-1994
actress: Martha Jackson "Woman of Courage"; Kathy Marsh "Portia Faces
Life"
09-28-1916 - Peter Finch - London, England - d. 1-14-1977
actor: Australian Radio
12-11-1910 - Samuel Kurtzman - d. 1-14-1998
writer: "The Bob Hope Show"
12-25-1899 - Humphrey Bogart - New York, NY - d. 1-14-1957
actor: Slate Shannon "Bold Venture"; "Stars in the Air"; "Streamlined
Shakespeare"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 10:49:11 -0500
From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: John Wesley Hardin
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Derek, Bob Dylan blew it by calling him John Wesley Harding (instead of
Hardin).
He blew it with Hardin's description, too - he was no Robin Hood.
Dylan later did the same thing for Hurricane Carter and for Joey Gallo,
turning thugs into heroes. Probably stems from his fascination with
Woody Guthrie glorifying criminals (Pretty Boy Floyd), and that probably
sprung from a tradition that goes back to the 19th century (Jesse James -
"He stole from the rich and gave to the poor / He had a hand and a heart
and a brain").
Apart from that, Dylan's BLONDE ON BLONDE is my all-time favorite record
album, and all the ones previous to that (but few subsequent) make my
short list of the greatest albums of all time.
Ethereally yours,
---Dan
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 14:45:18 -0500
From: "Stuart Lubin" <stuartlubin@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: September 30, 1962
I know that this answer is not exactly what Andrew Godfrey was loking for
when he asked what we OTR fans did after the last radio program went off the
air on the above date: My answer is that I went into a deep depression.
The more daily and weekly radio programs that one relied on, the deeper the
loss. One consolation: NBC's Monitor, and Bob and Ray.
Stuart
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #13
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