Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #23
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 1/16/2004 12:27 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2004 : Issue 23
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Various topics                        [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
      I'm the greatest                      [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      [removed] Lovecraft                         [ "mike kerezman" <philipmarlowe@cfai ]
      Greatest Entertainer?                 [ Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; ]
      Greatest Entertainer                  [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Bing Crosby - Greatest Entertainer    [ "John Eccles, Jr." <jeccles@earthli ]
      On a Note of Triumph                  [ "Nancy Hudson" <hudson@[removed]; ]
      Jerry Haendiges final comments        [ Tony Baechler <tony@[removed]; ]
      The Greatest Entertainer of All Time  [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
      Greatest Entertainer                  [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
      Weekends with Walden Hughes           [ BryanH362@[removed] ]
      Re: The Littlest Angel                [ Max Schmid <mschmid@[removed]; ]
      100 shows for eight bucks? Where DO   [ "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@comc ]
      Re: OTR vendors                       [ rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed] ]
      Re: Court of Missing Heirs            [ "Jan Willis" <jlwillis@[removed]; ]
      Greatest Entertainer?                 [ JimBourg@[removed] ]
      OTR in [removed]                   [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 18:39:59 -0500
    From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Various topics
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    It's me [removed]

          At this time, I wanted to thank everybody who responded to my query
    about house pets with OTR nomenclatures both on- & off-list, esp'ly Dan
    Hughes's "tail" about the Highes family's recent acquisition of a dog named
    "Maxwell Remley."
         Sean Dougherty asked for us all to contribute the names of performers
    with 20+ years playing the same character as an antidote to the press flacks
    who are equating Kelsey Grammer's  TV tenure as "Dr. Frasier Crane" w/ James
    Arness's "Matt Dillon." How about Ozzie and Harriet Nelson? Does playing
    oneself count?  "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" went on-air  in 1944,
    switched to TV in 1952, continued on radio 'til 1954 (all new episodes,
    non-simulcasted & non-adapted from the TV episodes), & lasted on the cathode
    ray tube 'til 1966--for a grand total of 22 years (24 , if one allows for the
    radio/TV overlap). And "The Simpsons" people are bragging that they're now
    TV's longest running sitcom now that it's in year #15, beating the Nelsons'
    14 years on TV. Don't get me wrong; I actually love "the Simpsons." But come
    back when you're approaching 20 seasons & maybe we'll talk about longevity.
          Greatest Entertainer of All Time?  At first instinct, I'd cast my vote
    for Al Jolson [whose widow Erle Jolson Krasna just died this past
    week-end]...but then again, I never got to see such great vaudevillians as
    Sir Harry Lauder or Frank Fay, nor early recording stars like Billy Murray or
    Irving Kaufman.
          On the topic of nostalgia vs. history: some post-ers here want to
    delineate between the OTR fans who heard all these great shows when they were
    fresh and "live" and the latter-day adherents like myself. Please keep in
    mind that when it comes to great entertainment, nostalgia can take on a new
    life at any age. When I hear particular programmes,  I remember my
    adolescence when I was borrowing Radiola & Mark 56 OTR LPs from my local
    library. Whenever somebody brings up WOTW, I remember my first introduction
    to it via that TV-movie "The Night That Panicked America.," which I watched
    first-run. Whenever I hear "The Shadow," I think about the days when I was
    first introduced to the character in the comic-book medium circa 1974 when DC
    Comics revived him for a new generation.
            I happen to know that two of the Digest's long-standing residential
    experts, viz. Laura Leff and Elizabeth McLeod, are both too young to have
    experienced the OTR-era first-hand. But I betcha they both can look back with
    nostalgia to the prevailing conditions in their respective lives when they
    both discovered Jack Benny and "Amos 'n' Andy," I betcha.
    So cut us younger OTRers a break: we may not necessarily qualify to be
    legitimately nostalgic for an era that preceded us, but we can defimnitely
    fell nostalgic for the days when we all first discovered the joys of OTR.

    "There! I've said [removed] I'm glaaaaad!" (Cass Daley).

    Yours in the freezing ether,

    Derek Tague

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

    Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 18:53:16 -0500
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  I'm the greatest

    This discussion reminds me of the anecdote (going by memory) that Frank Fay
    was once a witness in court.  When asked what his profession was, he
    responded,
    "I'm the world's greatest comedian."  (Or maybe it was the world's funniest
    comedian.)  When queried later as to why he said that, he responded, "I had
    to.
     I was under oath to tell the truth!"

    --Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 19:38:15 -0500
    From: "mike kerezman" <philipmarlowe@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  [removed] Lovecraft

    I've often wondered why more of [removed] Lovecraft work was not done on Radio
    (Both OTR and Modern BBC adaptations). I have a younger brother who is a
    long time fan of [removed] Lovecraft's work (having mostly his work in Print). He
    began reading Lovecraft years ago after listening to the SUSPENSE play "The
    Dunwich Horror" and has been reading Lovecraft ever since.

    To best of my knowledge, the only [removed] Lovecraft adaptations are

    "The Dunwich Horror" (SUSPENSE)
    "Rats in the Walls" (THE BLACK MASS)
    "The Outsider" (1970- BBC ?)
    "Thing on the Doorstep" (Two Parts)
    "At the Mountains of Madness"  (ATLANTIC RADIO THEATER - Modern
    Dramatization)
    "Shadow over Innsmouth"          (ATLANTIC RADIO THEATER - Modern
    Dramatization)

    Someone let me know if I'm overlooking something. I know Cornell Woolrich's
    work was widely done on radio. All I can think over of is the fantastic
    nature of Lovecraft kept more of it being done on radio.

    Mike Kerezman
    Macomb, Ok

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

    Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 19:50:31 -0500
    From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Greatest Entertainer?

              I think it's safe to say that very few of us will be able to
    settle on just one entertainer as the greatest of them all.
    IMHO, there were many  entertainers who fit this category.
    Without some very specific criteria, it would be next to
    impossible to find one person who everyone would accept as
    the overall greatest.  What criteria was there to begin with:
    appeal, ratings, longevity, involvement in the industry, how
    many different mediums they worked it, life achievement, etc?
    Or were there categories (like other awards shows):
    Best Singer, Best Comedian, Best Dramatic Performance, Best
    Host, Best Game Show, Most Recognizable Celebrity, etc?

              Let's just agree to disagree and move on.

    As ever,

    Kenneth Clarke

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

    Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 20:13:05 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Greatest Entertainer

    As with many others, I think the question is one with no satisfactory
    answer.

    But my thought: Phinias T. Barnum.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 22:26:59 -0500
    From: "John Eccles, Jr." <jeccles@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Bing Crosby - Greatest Entertainer

    I want to thank everyone for their interest in my posting about Bing Crosby.
    As far as Crosby making the most "studio recordings" as opposed to Billy
    Murray one has to take into account the definition of "studio recording",
    which is probably what Gary Giddins did when he stated that fact in his
    Crosby bio introduction.  Exactly what constitutes a "studio recording" is
    anybody's guess and open for discussion.  Of course Billy Murray made
    thousands of records but under so many different names and in an era vastly
    different from the one Crosby inhabited.  I can not speak for Giddins, but I
    think he was comparing Crosby to other 20th century recording artists whose
    works have stood the test of time (Sinatra, Como, Bennett, Presley, Nat King
    Cole, etc.)  In that respect Crosby tops them all, which may have been what
    he was aiming for, since all of Crosby's records from 1931 on featured him
    as the main attraction on the record.

    Murray's voice was distinctive, but I wonder with the primitive acoustic
    systems of that era people really could tell the difference on records,
    especially in an era where "recording artists" were not as in vogue as they
    are today.  Joe Venuti was able to get away with adlibbing "Barnacle Bill
    the s***head" on the Paul Whiteman record of "Barncale Bill, The Sailor" and
    it was released with no one apparently the wiser.

    I also was shocked to learn recently that a close friend of mine has two
    nieces age 10 and 11 who never heard of Bing Crosby, despite being bombarded
    with recordings of "White Christmas" at Christmas time.  This reinforced my
    desire to introduce the young to OTR.  That was why I worked to have the
    Absegami Emanon Players, a high school drama club, appear at last year's
    FOTR Convention to do a recreation of "The Shadow."  They also got to see
    Fred Foy appear in a recreation of "The Lone Ranger."  The kids loved it.  I
    was thrilled I was able to help them experience one of "the greats" at the
    top of his game.  Before the upcoming school year starts I will be working
    with the drama teacher to integrate OTR into the dramatics program they have
    at Absegami High School in New Jersey.  There really is a crying need for
    those of us with knowledge of the past to "spread the word" and "plant a few
    seeds" with the young people today and introduce them to "the greats" of
    OTR.

    Thanks again to everyone who responded on the digest or offlist to my
    posting.

    John Eccles, Jr.

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

    Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 23:05:24 -0500
    From: "Nancy Hudson" <hudson@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  On a Note of Triumph

    In Digest #19, Chris Chandler wrote:

>     Weird esoteric question:  is there a way to tell the
>     original 5/8/45 broadcast from the repeat performance
>     several days later?  Anybody know?

    Well, how about this:

    In R. LeRoy Bannerman's biography of Norman Corwin entitled, "On a Note
    of Triumph: Norman Corwin and the Golden Years of Radio," I quote from
    page 159:
    "In the second broadcast, Gabel stumbled on the line "...big
    contributions from a couple of big industrialists"--a minor and the only
    fluff in some 120 minutes of air time.  A remarkable achievement, it was
    later cited by schools of drama as an exemplar of dynamic acting.
    Gabel, in fact, improved his performance, projecting even greater
    intensity and involvement in the repeated broadcast."

    I remember bookmarking this page years ago, in order to listen to the
    two broadcasts and to be able to tell them apart.  I remembered the
    bookmark, but haven't actually done it yet.

    The book also lists the cast for the first broadcast:  Martin Gabel
    narrated, with Ludwig Donath, Peggy Rae, Joan Lorring, Elliott Lewis,
    Merton Koplin, Lucille Meredith, Raymond Lawrence, Alex Hartford, George
    Sorel, Dick Nelson, Bob Bruce, Joe Worthy, Lurene Tuttle, Regina
    Wallace, June Foray, Pat McGeehan, Harry Bartell, Jim Nusser, Peter
    Witt, Fred Essler, Norbert Muller, Ramsey Hill, Irene Tedrow, Eula Beal,
    and Johnny Bond.
    Music by Bernard Herrman, conducted by Lud Gluskin

    I have a second printing of the 1945 book, "On a Note of Triumph" by
    Corwin.
    It's still a great read, as much as it is a great broadcast.

    Trust this helps.

    Russell S. Hudson

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

    Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 09:50:28 -0500
    From: Tony Baechler <tony@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jerry Haendiges final comments

    Hello.  These are my final comments on Jerry.  I don't want to get into
    bashing him either and I cannot force anyone to change their minds.  I am
    not supporting Terry or Ted as far as being better dealers, I just
    recommend them and I have been happy with their service.

    I did visit him at his home in May 2002.  We had a good experience and I
    was hoping that past order problems would be resolved but that did not
    happen unfortunately.  I agree with W. Gary W. who said that his logs can
    be useful but do have errors.  I personally do not like mp3, but when I
    talked to him about the mp3 format he did not seem that strongly against
    them.  He agreed with me that the quality was poor and that was about
    it.  I am not going to start the mp3 thread again.

    Someone had mentioned that he is fine for filling gaps in
    collections.  That is generally correct.  Small orders usually went fine
    with him.  However, he obviously thinks differently.  If you look at his
    weekly specials, he often used to offer huge collections of shows, such as
    the same "Lone Ranger" set I bought.  What bothered me is that he
    advertises thousands of shows but cannot deliver in a timely manner.  If
    you are just too busy, say so.  Terry told me that he was too busy for a
    very large custom order and that was fine.  (The custom order was not
    listed on his site and would have been several hundred shows.)  He must be
    doing OK, though, if he can get four tables at the SPERDVAC
    convention.  Yes, he did contribute a lot to OTR.  He was a founder of
    SPERDVAC among other things.  Somehow the quality has got much worse over
    the years unfortunately.

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

    Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 09:51:05 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Greatest Entertainer of All Time

>     Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 00:54:19 -0500
>     From: JackBenny@[removed]

>     I haven't been following this discussion closely, but how can you
>     pick the greatest entertainer "of all time" when we only really know
>     the work of people since the advent of recorded sound?

    I understand that Groucho Ben Nun, Joshua's younger brother, did a
    great job entertaining the troops during the Israelite invasion of
    Canaan.  His fame spread to the point where his jokes appeared
    regularly on CNN (Canaanite News Network).

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

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

    Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 09:51:19 -0500
    From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Greatest Entertainer

    I've got to agree with all the others who have named Bing Crosby as
    their choice for the Greatest Entertainer.
    In addition to all the acheivements and talents named by others, I would
    add comedy. The man had unbelievable timing and whether reading from a
    script or acting in the movies he delivered comic lines perfectly. And
    in addition he could and did ad-lib so well, that he would give and take
    with the best comedians.
    One other thing he shared the spotlight with other entertainers and did
    all he could to make them look good, unlike some others who have been
    suggested who hogged the spotlight seemed to be all about themselves.
    I'm a Sinatra fan, but I think that Crosby made the biggest impact and
    changed the business more than anyone else in my lifetime.

    George Aust

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

    Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 09:51:39 -0500
    From: BryanH362@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Weekends with Walden Hughes
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    [removed]   for live streaming .  Fri , Sat, Sun  7:30 PST/ 10:30
    EST

    Friday 1-16-04

     Hal Stone . A recent interview  at Frank Bresee's  studio.

    Saturday 1-17-04

    A.  (via request)   replay of the Dusty Rogers interview.

    B.  To honor  George Burns birthday on 1-20- Walden will air the  1964
    birthday show for
    George Burns  (special from NBC monitor.  )

    C.  3 hour salute to Walter O'Keefe by Bobb Lynes and Frank Bresee.

    Sunday 1-18-04

    A.  Dr. Biels

    B.  Laura Leff talk about the 1-10-37 Jack Benny show.

    C.  Tribute to Perry Como by Don Cornell, and Frankie Laine

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

    Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 09:52:10 -0500
    From: Max Schmid <mschmid@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: The Littlest Angel

    At 06:39 PM 1/15/04, you wrote:

>     Would anyone know on which program Helen Hayes would have narrated the
>     story?

    According to the logs of the notorious Jerry H., That would be on The Inner
    Sanctum, on December 25, 1945.

    Regarding Jerry, I have had nothing but great dealings with him. Fast
    turn-around, good quality. If anything, my problem with him is remembering
    to send the check AFTER I receive the tapes.  And spelling his name right
    without looking it up.  As to his logs, there isn't a week that goes by
    that I'm not using them for research.  My biggest problem with his logs is
    the occasional series that isn't included (Vic & Sade, for example).

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

    Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 09:53:10 -0500
    From: "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  100 shows for eight bucks?  Where DO I sign?

    Ruk77@[removed] asked this $64 question:

>     Who wouldn't rather have 100 shows for $[removed] rather than 2 shows for
>     $[removed]

    [removed] don't [removed] wouldn't, for starters.

    I take a little bit of pride in my OTR collecting and that's why I purchase
    shows from top quality vendors like Terry Salmonson and and the fine people
    at First Generation Radio Archives.  Call me crazy, but I'm sorta picky
    about listening to programs that sound like they were recorded with two tin
    cans and a piece of string.

    If you prefer purchasing mp3's, then peace be with you, my brother.  But you
    shouldn't BUY shows from people who dislike mp3's--that's why God created
    Usenet.

>     [removed] : MP3'S RULE!!! you can't fight technology

    [removed] that's "technology," thank Heavens I'm still a Luddite.

    Ivan
    ----
    OTR Ramblings and Musings at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear:
    [removed]

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

    Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 09:56:40 -0500
    From: rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: OTR vendors

>     Yes he has an increadible
>     collection but he has prbably made hundreds of thousands of dollars
>     off of OTR.

    This is a ridiculous statement.  I don't care how big his collection is, or
    how many people that he's ripped off, he has NOT made that much money off of
    this hobby.  It's practically impossible.

>     [removed] : MP3'S RULE!!! you can't fight technology.

    Do we have to have this argument again?  Not all of us prefer the MP3 format,
    in fact, some of us down right loathe it, due to the frequent poor quality
    that is offered.

    Rodney.

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

    Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 12:30:58 -0500
    From: "Jan Willis" <jlwillis@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Court of Missing Heirs

    Paul Urbahns asked:
       Does anyone know what University or repository
    might have the files (scripts,disks, etc) for this
    CBS program?
       I know there was at least one book written on the
    subject and I assume it contains some of the cases
    mentioned on the show. I would like to hear from
    anyone having access to that book.

    Paul:
      I assume the book you are referring to is
    James F. Waters' _The Court of missing heirs_
    Modern Age Books (1941).
      In the book's "subject heading" information
    is a reference to "Court of missing heirs (Radio program)."

      Just in case nobody here
    has it in their collection, let me mention
    that I see that it's at over two
    dozen libraries in the country.
      Your own local library should be able to easily interlibrary loan it for
    you, from one of the
    libraries below.
       Note:  while 26 libraries "offically" own it,
    some of course may no longer
    have it in their collection, but ..._somebody_ will
    be able to provide it.
      Just tell your local librarian that the book
    has the following "OCLC number": 2815095
       He/she can then use that number to do a very
    quick search and start the interlibrary loaning
    process for you.

    CA
    RIVERSIDE PUB LIBR
    UC, IRVINE
    UCLA

    CO
    THREE RIVERS LIBR

    CT
    BRIDGEPORT PUB LIBR

    DC
    GEORGETOWN UNIV, LAW LIBR

    GA
    GEORGIA STATE UNIV
    UNIV OF GEORGIA, LAW SCH

    ME
    BANGOR PUB LIBR

    MN
    UNIV OF MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS

    MO
    CENTRAL BIBLE COL

    MS
    UNIV of MISSISSIPPI
    It's sitting on the shelf, right now, at Ole Miss:
    [removed]
    UNIV OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

    NC
    UNC, CHAPEL HILL

    NY
    NY PUB LIBR RES LIBR
    ROCHESTER PUB LIBR

    OH
    CLEVELAND PUB LIBR
    DAYTON METROP LIBR
    PUBLIC LIBR OF CINCINNATI

    PA
    CARNEGIE LIBR OF PITTSBURGH

    RI
    BROWN UNIV

    TX
    MIDWESTERN STATE UNIV
    TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIV

    VA
    UNIV OF VIRGINIA

    WA
    UNIV OF WASHINGTON, GALLAGHER LAW LIBR

    Good luck,

    Jan Willis

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

    Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 12:33:15 -0500
    From: JimBourg@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Greatest Entertainer?
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    Would we include the likes of Frank Gorshin and Rich Little? We then could
    have them all. Bing, Frank, Satchmo, Dean, Duke, whoever we like.

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

    Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 14:25:42 -0500
    From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  OTR in [removed]

    In digest #22, Ian Grieve said:

>     We do need more examples of how OTR is used in a
>     classroom as well as ideas on how it *could* be
>     used.

    	I'm afraid this doesn't help Ian much, but I always felt that
    Cavalcade of America would be a great US classroom resource, especially in a
    history or government class.  People are naturally storytellers, and
    dramatizing historical events always seemed like a good way to fix the event
    in the student's minds, and then deeper and more thorough study would stick
    better now that the event seemed a little more 'real'.  Plus the half hour
    format fits into a single class session very well.

    	I don't know if Australia had an equivalent show, but dramas of
    historical events might be a good idea.

    -chris holm

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #23
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