Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #42
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 2/9/2006 4:21 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2006 : Issue 42
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Cliff Carpenter In a Commercial       [ seandd@[removed] ]
      1929 John Philip Sousa Broadcast- So  [ russ12985@[removed] ]
      Was he pulling one over on us?        [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      39 Man March                          [ "Laura Leff" <president@[removed] ]
      2-9 births/deaths                     [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      JOE BESSER AND A HAUNTED CHRISTMAS E  [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
      Comic Weekly Man                      [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      self-reference                        [ "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed] ]
      Re: Joe Besser                        [ Philip Chavin <pchavin@[removed]; ]
      Benny's violin [removed]             [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
      Olympics on Radio?                    [ arack@[removed] ]
      Jack's Violin Playing                 [ "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed]; ]

    ______________________________________________________________________

        ADMINISTRIVIA:

        My apologies for the interruption, but this is terribly
        important, especially for our AOL and Yahoo! readers, but
        EVERYONE should be aware of [removed] AOL and Yahoo! do go
        through with this, other ISPs will follow. PLEASE read the
        blog entry at:

        [removed]

        <a href="[removed]">[removed]</a>

        ...and follow the link to the article by the Electronic
        Frontier Foundation.

        I am not usually alarmest, but this is [removed]

    ______________________________________________________________________

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

    Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2006 19:29:00 -0500
    From: seandd@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Cliff Carpenter In a Commercial

    I can't remember if anyone has mentioned it or not, but Let's Pretender Cliff
    Carpenter can be seen in a commercial for Lending Tree - a mortgage broker of
    some kind - that is running on cable television in Cleveland.

    At least, I saw it in Cleveland, it could be running elsewhere and almost
    certainly is.

    He plays a grandfatherly type sitting on a recliner in a living room who is
    complaining about something as the youngsters in the dinning room/kitchen
    behind him putter around.  It probably has something to do with getting a
    mortgage and moving away from Cliff's character but I didn't really follow it.

    It is very cool that this great actor is still working.

    Sean Dougherty
    SeanDD@[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2006 19:29:21 -0500
    From: russ12985@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  1929 John Philip Sousa Broadcast- Source?
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    There is a CD out that includes all of the known recordings of Sousa
    personally conducting his band. Among these is a 4 minute recording of Sousa
    giving a brief talk, followed by a playing of "The Stars and Stripes
    Forever". From the only part I have heard (the Sousa address), it is clearly
    part of a larger program, sponsored by Bond Bread. This dates from sometime
    between 1929 and 1931, and may have been on NBC.

    Does anyone have better information than this?

    RMF

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

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

    Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2006 19:40:28 -0500
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Was he pulling one over on us?

    Would announcer Danny Seymour (his real name) have been guilty of breaking
    down
    the fourth wall when he came forth to Aunt Jenny's sunlit kitchen five days a
    week to sample some of the delicacies she was just pulling out of the oven?
    Or
    was he merely guilty of seeking a venue where he could spout out for the
    50,000th repitition:  "For all you bake or fry, rely on Spry"?

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2006 21:09:27 -0500
    From: "Laura Leff" <president@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  39 Man March

    Hello all,

    Just a reminder that on February 14, we're holding the 39 Man March in
    Washington, DC to support the Jack Benny 39-cent stamp.  Come on down and
    have some fun demonstrating for something upbeat and positive.  Full details
    are on [removed].

    Hope to see you there!

    --Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2006 23:58:36 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  2-9 births/deaths

    February 9th births

    02-09-1891 - Ronald Colman - Richmond, Surrey, England - d. 5-19-1958
    actor: William Todhunter Hall "Halls of Ivy"; "Jack Benny Program"
    02-09-1892 - Peggy Wood - Brooklyn, NY - d. 3-18-1978
    actress: "NBC Present Eugene O'Neill"; "Great Scenes from Great
    Plays"; "
    02-09-1899 - Brian Donlevy - Armagh, Ireland (Raised: Beaver Dam, WI)
    - d. 4-5-1972
    actor: Steve Mitchell "Dangerous Assignment"
    02-09-1901 - Walter Preston - Quincy, IL - d. 8-7-1982
    singer: "Philco Hour"
    02-09-1902 - Chester A. Lauck - Alleene, AR - d. 2-22-1980
    comedian: Columbus 'Lum' Edwards "Lum and Abner"
    02-09-1902 - Fred Harman, Sr. - St. Joseph, MO - d. 1-2-1982
    cartoonist: Creator of Red Ryder
    02-09-1904 - Carmen Miranda - Lisbon, Portugal - d. 8-5-1955
    singer: "Hello Americans"
    02-09-1910 - Peanuts Holland - Norfold, VA - d. 2-7-1979
    jazz trumpeter, singer: "One Night Stand"; "Jubilee"; "Yank Swing
    Session"
    02-09-1912 - Bob Hannon - Chicago, IL - d. 2-16-1993
    singer: "American Melody Hour"; "Waltz Time"
    02-09-1914 - Bob Hite - d. 2-18-2000
    announcer: "Challenge of the Yukon"; "Green Hornet"; "Casey, Crime
    Photographer"
    02-09-1914 - Ernest Tubb - Crisp, TX - d. 9-6-1984
    singer: (The Texas Troubador) "Grand Ole Opry"
    02-09-1914 - Ralph Hermann - Milwaukee, WI - d. 7-28-1994
    bandleader: "Herb Oscar Anderson Show"
    02-09-1915 - Charlotte Holland - d. 1-13-1997
    actress: Nita Bennett "Lone Journey"; Nora Drake "This is Nora Drake"
    02-09-1922 - Kathryn Grayson - Winston-Salem, NC
    singer: "Mail Call"
    02-09-1923 - Milena Miller - d. 7-20-2001
    vocalist: "The Stu Erwin Show"
    02-09-1930 - Garner Ted Armstrong - Portland, OR - d. 9-15-2003
    preacher: (Son of Herbert W. Armstrong) "Plain Truth"; "The World
    Tomorrow"
    02-09-1939 - Janet Suzman - Johannesburg, South Africa
    actress: "Guest Panelist "[removed]"
    02-09-1949 - Judith Light - Trenton, NJ
    actress: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"

    February 9th deaths

    01-13-1884 - Sophie Tucker - Russia - d. 2-9-1966
    singer: (The Last of the Red Hot Mammas) "Sophie Tucker and Her Show"
    01-30-1914 - David Wayne - Traverse City, MI - d. 2-9-1995
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre" ;" Eternal Light"; "Stars in the Air"
    04-01-1909 - Eddy Duchin - Cambridge, MA - d. 2-9-1951
    bandleader: (The Ten Magic Fingers of Radio) "Lasalle Style Show"
    04-07-1908 - Percy Faith - Toronto, Canada - d. 2-9-1976
    conductor: "Carnation Contented Hour"; "Pause That Refreshes on the Air"
    05-07-1885 - George "Gabby" Hayes - Wellsville, NY - d. 2-9-1969
    actor: "Andrews Sisters' Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch"; "Roy Rogers Show"
    06-26-1902 - Bruce Evans - d. 2-9-1978
    actor: Trapeze Artist "Circus Days"
    07-06-1925 - Bill Haley, Jr. - Highland Park, MI - d. 2-9-1981
    rocker: "Camel Rock and Roll Party"; "Stars for Defense"
    08-30-1908 - Willie Bryant - New Orleans, LA - d. 2-9-1964
    host: "Night Life"
    10-12-1927 - Peggy Taylor - Inglewood, CA - d. 2-9-2002
    singer: "The Breakfast Club"; "The Stan Freeberg Show"
    11-23-1915 - Natalie Park Masters - San Francisco, CA - d. 2-9-1986
    actress: Candy Matson "Candy Matson
    12-23-1873 - Burns Mantle - Watertown, NY - d. 2-9-1948
    writer: "Best Plays" based on Mantle's theatrical yearbook

    Ron Sayles
    [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 00:34:18 -0500
    From: PURKASZ@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  JOE BESSER AND A HAUNTED CHRISTMAS EVE
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    When I was an actor in Hollywood there were  some times more than others when
    my lack of money at any given moment was  the cause of some pain and sadness
    and not just simple hunger either.
        Surely one of the keenest of painful memories was  the time I wandered
    into The Antique Guild in Van Nuys, California back in the  late 80's and
    stumbled upon a temptation almost greater than I could  bear.
        It was Christmas Eve and I was shopping for the  many loved ones in my
    life and trying to be frugal with my meager three hundred  bucks.
        I went to the Guild as it was always a great  storehouse of wonderful
    stuff and the manager knew me.
        I was very late with my gift buying so I had to  concentrate as it was
    almost closing time.
        Then I saw her.
        An elderly lady, walking into the store, herding a  group of young men
    lugging a series of cardboard boxes to the side wall  near the front door.
        A deal was being made with the manager, she grumped  a bit, took some
    cash and left.
        I wandered over to the three large boxes and peered  in.
        They were mostly framed photos. I picked a few out  and saw they were
    autographed and beautifully framed 8 X 10 photos of almost  every big star
    from
    the 40's and 50's and every one of them was warmly and  profusely signed with
    the likes of, "To a warm and wonderful man and a great  friend, Joe
    [removed] Curtis," and there were many, many more!
        One after the other was a magnificent tribute to a  man fondly remembered
    and eagerly signed for.
        I was in heaven.
        A blur of Hollywood's great went passed my eyes as  one after the
    dusty-framed other was flashed before my eyes!
        Three large boxes of them!!!
        The manager saw me and walked over to say that  these items had yet to be
    catalogued and priced but that I was the first to see  them.
        The woman was a friend and neighbor, "Mrs Joe  Besser," he said.
        "Stinky," I shouted. A few customers began to give  me a wider berth.
        "That's right," he laughed.
        Then I heard the story.
        Joe had died earlier in the year and she  wanted these photos gone for
    some reason.
        Then he recognized me as an old customer and an  actor.
        He paused, saw that I was really in love with these  three boxes of Joe
    Besser's collection of autographed Hollywood history and  said,
        "Gimme three hundred bucks and you can take them  all. I don't even know
    what's in there."
        I had exactly three hundred bucks in my  pocket.
        Trouble was it was earmarked for  Christmas gifts.
        The faces of all the stars on Joe's wall flashed  before my dazzled
    eyeballs.
        The faces of my kids and loved ones began to flash  as well.
        All that flashing made me unsteady.
        Then I got hold of myself.
        I thanked him, said Merry [removed] walked  away.
        "Ooooooooo, I'm soooooo crazy."
        Love ya Joe. Sorry I couldn't save your  collection.
        Wonder where it all is now?
                        Michael  C. Gwynne

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

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 08:36:27 -0500
    From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Comic Weekly Man
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Bill Jaker closed his posting about Lon Clark, the (uncredited) jolly Comic
    Weekly Man:

>       --Bill Jaker  (who had to listen to the Comic Weekly
>     Man on the radio since my parents wouldn't allow a
>     Hearst newspaper in the house).

    I had the exact same experience!  When I was around 5 or 6, on Sunday mornings
    my father and I would walk down to the candy store on the corner of 161st
    Street and Walton Avenue, across the street from the Bronx Court House, and he
    would get the Sunday NY Times and let me get the NY Sunday News for their
    comics, but I could NEVER convince him to let me get The Journal-American.
    Back then I could never understand why, but boy do I understand NOW what his
    reasons were!!  I was lucky that Lon didn't read anything from the news or
    (Gasp!!) the Editorial Page of that paper, because my father would probably
    have thrown the radio out the window.  And we lived on the 5th floor.

    I will be forever sad that I never got to meet Lon Clark because I started
    going to Cincinnati the year after he died.  Everybody has told me how nice he
    was.

    Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 08:36:43 -0500
    From: "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  self-reference

    When I brought up the topic of self-reference, I guess I wasn't entirely
    clear.  I love it in comedies.  I especially love bits when Bob Hope has
    a bit of banter with someone and they get off script.  It's hilarious
    when they start giving each other direction and making comments to the
    audience.

    I also love Jack Benny when he starts interacting with the audience, or
    goes back over a section of script.  It's great.

    I was really talking about shows there were supposed to be straight
    dramas.

    -chris holm

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 10:20:14 -0500
    From: Philip Chavin <pchavin@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Joe Besser

    Melanie asked about Joe Besser.  May I just say, re
    Joe on radio and in other media, in my humble opinion:
    Funny, F-u-n-n-e-e-e-e, FU-NEEEEEE!

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 10:20:25 -0500
    From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Benny's violin [removed]

    Someone asked about Jack Benny's violin playing.  I remember seeing a video
    or kinescope of Jack playing the Bach double violin concerto in D minor with
    Isaac Stern.  This was a fund-raising concert.  Jack did amazingly well.  No
    goofing around; he played it straight.  I don't remember hearing him do this
    sort of thing on his own program.
    Ted Kneebone.  OTR website:  [removed]
    Democrats: [removed]
    1528 S. Grant St., Aberdeen, SD 57401 / 605-226-3344

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 14:18:53 -0500
    From: arack@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Olympics on Radio?

    For the 2006 Winter Olympics, there's a bit of radio coverage available:
    Westwood One is broadcasting all of the USA men's hockey games, and Sirius is
    providing a one-hour nightly report and recap.

    My question - how were the Olympics presented on radio before the advent of
    exhaustive TV coverage? I believe the first Olympic radio was done by NBC at
    the 1932 LA Games - what was covered, and for how long? Did the 1936 Olympic
    games recieve any play-by-play?

    Thank you -
    Alec Cumming
    [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 17:34:37 -0500
    From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Jack's Violin Playing

    It's perhaps easiest to think of Jack's violin-playing prowess in terms of
    eras.

    1. Teens to mid-twenties -- This is the period of Jack's life when he
    practiced and performed as a pure violinist, first in Waukegan and then as a
    touring vaudevillian. He wasn't good enough (or, maybe more to the point,
    =renowned= enough) to be a headliner, but he did well enough to support
    himself as a professional musician, indicating at least a fair level of
    virtuosity.

    2. Mid-twenties to late-fifties -- After Jack's personal epiphany during the
    Great Lakes Revue in 1918, his actual violin playing quickly began to
    disappear from his act, eventually receding to a mere stage prop. With no
    need to practice (and a distaste for practice extending back to his early
    childhood), his facility with the instrument deteriorated greatly. It would
    be nearly two decades before he began playing again with any regularity, but
    not with any practice. The Jack Benny you hear on his radio program is Jack
    playing his heart out. He had enough natural talent that the songs he played
    were vaguely recognizable (hey, =you= try to play a violin that well!!!),
    but nowhere near enough not to be awful.

    3. Early-sixties on -- After the radio series ended, a huge chunk of time
    opened in Jack's life. At about the same time, he had begun receiving
    requests from charitable groups to perform =as a violinist= in various
    fundraisers. He had, in his own phrasing, become "vain" enough about his
    violin playing that he didn't want to be embarassed if he did begin
    accepting these offers, so he began to practice seriously for the first time
    in nearly four decades. Four different sources (Mary, Joan, George Burns and
    Jack himself) all agree that this practice was very [removed] and very =bad=.
    Jack eventually either exiled himself or was consigned by the rest of his
    household to a remote corner of the home for the long hours he deemed
    necessary to be able to perform semi-competently. For a man who didn't take
    up serious study of the instrument until he was in his sixties, anyway.

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #42
    ********************************************

    Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
      including republication in any form.

    If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
       [removed]

    For Help: [removed]@[removed]

    To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

    To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
      or see [removed]

    For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
      in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

    To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

    To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]