Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #106
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 3/7/2003 7:44 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 106
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      William Shirer                        [ "Jim Widner" <widnerj@[removed]; ]
      transcription prices/music disc coll  [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
      transcription prices/music disc coll  [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
      JUBILEE                               [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
      Ovaltine                              [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      The Walking Man                       [ "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed] ]
      Buddy Clark's Looks                   [ Bob Fells <rfells@[removed]; ]
      Ovaltineys                            [ Bhob <bhob2@[removed]; ]
      Re: Gays & Buddy Clark                [ Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed]; ]
      Re: Orphan Annie's Ovaltine           [ Michael Shoshani <shoshani@[removed] ]
      March 7th Birthday                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Chuck McCann                          [ Derek Tague <derek@[removed]; ]
      Talk shows in the 50s                 [ FKELLY <fkelly@[removed]; ]
      Transcription Disk Prices.            [ gad4@[removed] ]
      Ovaltine                              [ "Andrew Emmerson" <midshires@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 10:47:37 -0500
    From: "Jim Widner" <widnerj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  William Shirer

    Great comments, Michael. By the way, Shirer was bi-lingual which is
    part of what he was doing when he reported on the German headlines in
    the paper - translating them for the American audiences.

    I do agree that his presentation was not the best, but listen to many
    of the radio reporters of the time - you hear mis-pronounced, then
    repeated correctly - words, you hear coughing and clearing of throat in
    the middle of speaking, etc.

    I think it is fair to say that broadcast news reporting was still in
    its infancy at that time and many of the men hired did come from a
    print background. Murrow was probably extraordinary in speaking because
    he had an extensive background as a speaker, plus a perfect voice for
    radio.

    I am glad you mentioned Sigrid Schultz of whom many people are not
    aware. Though she did not stay in the industry, she was still a good
    journalist.

    By the way, if anyone wants to hear Sigrid Schultz, you can hear her
    from one of my news pages: [removed]

    Jim Widner
    jwidner@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 11:46:21 -0500
    From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  transcription prices/music disc collectors

    On music collectors, Elizabeth M [removed]

>     This is a whole different school of collecting than
>     mainstream OTR -- these collectors would walk right
>     by an entire stack of Green Hornet discs without
>     blinking to get to a  single broadcast by Duke
>     Ellington or Jimmie Lunceford or Don Redman.

    This REALLY hit [removed] to what happened to me
    last weekend:

    A nice fellow whom I'd never met, having heard about
    my OTR hobby, called me up and said he had a big stack
    of old electrical transcription discs from a pair of
    local Louisville radio stations--and he didn't want
    them!  I told my new best friend I'd be right over.

    Sure enough, he had a stash of about 20 discs, dating
    from the mid-30s to the mid-50s, that he'd gotten from
    his uncle who'd worked at both radio stations.  Not
    all of them are labelled, but the ones that are look
    like some really neat stuff, and true to his word, he
    GAVE them to me.  (And they're in somewhat rougher
    shape than anything I've dealt with--anybody with
    expertise on messing with these, or who might like to
    dub them, please contact me off-list; I'm a little out
    of my depth).

    So I asked him why he didn't want them, and he
    explained he only likes the old musical discs, and
    took me into his basement: an entire room full of old
    78s, record sets, and some more transcription discs.
    "You got any more radio stuff?" I [removed] he showed
    me a whole shelf of AFRS jazz recordings--I saw one
    "One Night Stand" disc, and a couple more labelled
    "Count Basie and His Orchestra", among the collection.
     Then, he said something to the effect of "most of
    this over here is stuff I don't care about"--and
    pulled out a disc that said "Buck Rogers in the 25th
    Century, #18"!  "I got a bunch of these," he
    pronounced, utterly unimpressed.  My mouth fell
    open--believing (correctly, it turned out) only the
    first few 'Buck' episodes are kicking around
    elsewhere.

    Only interested in handing over what he'd brought me
    there for, he put the other stuff away and sent me on
    my way--completely oblivious to the stash he's sitting
    on.  Goodness knows what else is in that basement!
    haha  So Elizabeth is right---how funny that here are
    two very similar, yet very different, hobbies, and
    apparently never the 'twain shall meet.  How much more
    stuff is sitting out there, somewhere, gathering dust
    in somebody's basement??

    chris

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 11:47:23 -0500
    From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  transcription prices/music disc collectors

    On music collectors, Elizabeth M [removed]

>     This is a whole different school of collecting than
>     mainstream OTR -- these collectors would walk right
>     by an entire stack of Green Hornet discs without
>     blinking to get to a  single broadcast by Duke
>     Ellington or Jimmie Lunceford or Don Redman.

    This REALLY hit [removed] to what happened to me
    last weekend:

    A nice fellow whom I'd never met, having heard about
    my OTR hobby, called me up and said he had a big stack
    of old electrical transcription discs from a pair of
    local Louisville radio stations--and he didn't want
    them!  I told my new best friend I'd be right over.

    Sure enough, he had a stash of about 20 discs, dating
    from the mid-30s to the mid-50s, that he'd gotten from
    his uncle who'd worked at both radio stations.  Not
    all of them are labelled, but the ones that are look
    like some really neat stuff, and true to his word, he
    GAVE them to me.  (And they're in somewhat rougher
    shape than anything I've dealt with--anybody with
    expertise on messing with these, or who might like to
    dub them, please contact me off-list; I'm a little out
    of my depth).

    So I asked him why he didn't want them, and he
    explained he only likes the old musical discs, and
    took me into his basement: an entire room full of old
    78s, record sets, and some more transcription discs.
    "You got any more radio stuff?" I [removed] he showed
    me a whole shelf of AFRS jazz recordings--I saw one
    "One Night Stand" disc, and a couple more labelled
    "Count Basie and His Orchestra", among the collection.
     Then, he said something to the effect of "most of
    this over here is stuff I don't care about"--and
    pulled out a disc that said "Buck Rogers in the 25th
    Century, #18"!  "I got a bunch of these," he
    pronounced, utterly unimpressed.  My mouth fell
    open--believing (correctly, it turned out) only the
    first few 'Buck' episodes are kicking around
    elsewhere.

    Only interested in handing over what he'd brought me
    there for, he put the other stuff away and sent me on
    my way--completely oblivious to the stash he's sitting
    on.  Goodness knows what else is in that basement!
    haha  So Elizabeth is right---how funny that here are
    two very similar, yet very different, hobbies, and
    apparently never the 'twain shall meet.  How much more
    stuff is sitting out there, somewhere, gathering dust
    in somebody's basement??

    chris

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 11:47:40 -0500
    From: PURKASZ@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  JUBILEE
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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            Harlan's informative letter about transcription discs and the AFRS
    program Jubilee have just triggered a fond memory.
         I once had a disc of that show and it featured the saxophone genius of
    both Charlie Parker and Willie Smith. The host was a guy named Bubbles I
    think and the tunes were magnificent with a great version of "Sophisticated
    Lady" for one and a 'duel' between the two masters.
         Does anyone have a mp3 of this I can d'load? I have cable modem so it
    shouldn't be a problem at my end.
         With heartfelt appreciation I am very glad to be back after a two month
    absence whilst being trapped literally on a tropical island, namely Moloka'i
    in the Hawaiian chain.
         Back in NY now and it is snowing again and oh, how I would love to hear
    that show again.
                  <A HREF="[removed],+Michael+C.">Michael C.
    Gwynne</A>

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 12:27:55 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Ovaltine

    Will Nicoll asks,

>     Does anybody know why
>     they named it "Ovaltine?"

    The first half of the word comes from the Latin for "eggs."  Oddly, the
    [removed] form of "Classic Ovaltine" is egg free.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 12:28:14 -0500
    From: "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Walking Man

    <<Joe Mackey posted the 1948 Truth or Consequences [removed];

    And a certain Jack Benny from Waukegan, Illinois  ("Walk-kee-gan") was
    identity of The "Walking Man" in the contest.
    Now to my question, has anyone the T&C Walking Man shows with the clues to
    trade?  Also, Miss Hush shows on T&C? .....and any "Name That Tune" musical
    quiz programs?  Reply offline is welcomed.  Thanks.

    Russ Butler  oldradio@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 12:28:57 -0500
    From: Bob Fells <rfells@[removed];
    To: Old Time Radio <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Buddy Clark's Looks

    George Aust wondered if his posting here may get him into trouble
    because he said that had singer Buddy Clark lived, he probably would not
    have made it in TV or movies due to his lack of good looks.  Well, funny
    thing, a few months ago I saw a short film on Turner Classic Movies (one
    of their "One Reel Wonders") where Mr. Clark and bandleader Ray Noble
    were interviewed.  The film dated from around 1948 and discussed their
    recent hit records.

    I thought the film was interesting (and I wished I had taped it) for a
    couple of reasons.  For one thing, [removed] dropped his "silly
    Englishman" character that he assumed on the Bergen & McCarthy show and
    came across as a serious and intelligent man.  Likewise with Buddy
    Clark, but he went further saying that he had not always taken his
    career seriously and was trying to learn from past mistakes - or words
    to that effect.  I didn't know what he was referring to but I was
    impressed with his humility.

    The film concluded with Mr. Clark singing to a young lady in fully
    staged production number that was filmed outdoors on a beautifully sunny
    day.  I got the impression that some producer was perhaps trying him out
    to test audience reaction.   And so help me, I couldn't help thinking
    that Mr. Clark sang well and looked to be in good shape physically but
    he really was not very photogenic.  So, George Aust, I can't honestly
    say that your comments were unfair because I thought the same thing
    myself. I still wish I had taped it!

    Bob Fells

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 13:39:39 -0500
    From: Bhob <bhob2@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Ovaltineys

    Ovaltine began in Switzerland where it was first marketed in the 19th
    Century as OVOMALTINE, a name which combined the suffix "ine" with
    "malt" and the Latin "ab ovo" (from the egg). In the UK, there were
    problems registering that name, so it was shortened to Ovaltine.

    Radio Luxembourg, in 1935, launched the Ovaltiney Club, a children's
    secret society with five million members and its own badges, codes,
    comics and song -- "We Are the Ovaltineys." Does anyone have the lyrics?

    Bhob @ VINTAGE NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS @ [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 17:28:07 -0500
    From: Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Gays & Buddy Clark

    George Aust writes:

>     There have always been effeminate men especially in comedy but they are

    not neccesarily homosexual.

    Excellent point, George. The "nance" character - basically, an effeminate
    male stereotype played for laughs - has been a part of entertainment for
    decades and is really no different than the various ethnic characters
    portrayed in a similar context. Granted, in today's society, it would be
    considered passe (and insulting) to present one-dimentional characters like
    cheap Scotchmen, drunken Irishmen, lecherous Italians, dumb Swedes,
    effeminate "pansies" and the like. But, in the hey-day of vaudeville,
    revue, and radio, these were all commonly accepted comic characters.

    (I have to say, though, that whenever I watch some of the low-end sitcoms
    produced today with an African-American focus, it seems to me that an awful
    lot of them portray images that border on the stereotypical. There must be
    a great many African-American viewers out there who feel the same way, but
    then no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.)

    In reference to Frank Nelson's floorwalker being a "nance" character, I
    don't think he came across that way in the post-war Benny shows. However,
    he did do an early version of the character in a wartime "Command
    Performance" Christmas show with both Benny and Fred Allen (1943, I think)
    in which his role - a sales clerk in a department store - definitely and
    positively falls into this category. It's a far-from-subtle performance of
    a far-from-subtle script; had Benny's writers stuck to this cliche' rather
    than developing his floorwalker into the hilariously insulting character it
    was to become, it never would have lasted or have been so well remembered
    today.

    As to George's comments on Buddy Clark:

>     However whether he would have gone on to bigger things had he lived is a
>     matter of speculation, because if you ever saw a picture of him taken in
>     the late 40's you'd have to wonder if he could ever have survived
>     television as a "romantic" type [removed]

    George also wrote:

>     Oh Oh! why do I have the feeling that I've just gotten myself into trouble

    here?

    Not at all, George. I was thinking the same thing.

    I've always liked Clark's voice - he had a pleasant, smooth delivery and an
    easy-going way about him - but I can't see that he would have ever been any
    real competition to Crosby, or even Como for that matter. He was, like many
    vocalists of the period, a talented, experienced, and reliable
    singer-for-hire who happened to have had some big hit records. Most of his
    post-war recordings for Columbia were pleasant and big sellers in their
    time, but not overly distinguished long-term. He did some nice duets sides
    with Doris Day ("Love Somebody" was cute) and Dinah Shore ("Baby, It's Cold
    Outside") and he does a nice job with "A Dreamer's Holiday" (a personal
    favorite of mine) but none of his records were going to propel him into
    long-lasting superstar status anytime soon.

    I suspect that, had he lived, he probably would have continued on radio -
    perhaps continuing with the "Carnation Contented Hour" or even going the
    way of Jack Smith with a five-a-week fifteen-minute early evening
    show - and continued to make successful records, but likely we would think
    no more (or less) of him than all of the other male and female vocalists
    that were big in the late 40's/early 50's and faded away as rock 'n' roll
    took over later on.

    At the time of his death, Clark's hairline was also starting to receed. The
    entertainment world has nothing against baldness - Crosby and Astaire wore
    toupe's for years - but it probably would have had some impact on his
    effectiveness on TV over time.

    BTW, Columbia did come out with an LP of his better sides around 1980 -
    "The Best of Buddy Clark," if memory serves - and, if you can find a copy,
    its a nice review of his work. Also, in response to Larry Jordan's earlier
    post, I suspect that the tape Larry acquired is indeed vocal selections
    from Clark's post-war "Carnation" series with Percy Faith. The AFRS
    regularly recorded this show throughout its long run and, given that disks
    are fairly easy to come by, the cuts probably come from these edited
    versions of the shows. The Archives doesn't have any of these shows in our
    collection at present (apologies to Alan Chapman), but I know that some of
    the various OTR dealers do have them in their catalogs.

    Harlan

    Harlan Zinck
    First Generation Radio Archives
    [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 17:28:21 -0500
    From: Michael Shoshani <shoshani@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Orphan Annie's Ovaltine

    Will Nicoll wrote"

>     Does anybody know why they named it "Ovaltine?"

    Depends on who "they" are. :)

    Swiss nutritionist George Wander established a factory in Bern,
    Switzerland for producing tonics based on barley malt extract.  In
    1904, his son Albert began marketing a preparation of malt, milk,
    eggs, and cocoa which he branded "Ovo-Maltine". The hyphen was soon
    dropped, but the name was based on two principal ingredients, eggs
    (ovo) and malt.

    When Wander began importing Ovomaltine into England in 1909, they
    attempted to register the name as a trademark, but the registry clerk
    misspelled the name as Ovaltine.  Rather than re-register, they just
    kept that name in England.  As the British plant began exporting to
    the rest of the English-speaking world, the Ovaltine name followed the
    product.  The name was kept even in those countries that got their own
    factories, such as the United States and Canada.

    Michael Shoshani
    Chicago IL

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 18:47:58 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  March 7th Birthday

    If you born on March 7th, you share your birthday with:

    1934 - Willard Scott - Alexandria, Virginia

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Make your day, listen to an Olde Tyme Radio Program

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 19:03:55 -0500
    From: Derek Tague <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Chuck McCann

    Greetings and Salutations!

       Does anybody out there know off-hand if comic actor Chuck McCann ever
    performed on radio? I know him as a  1960s NYC-area kiddie-show host.  Altho'
    I always found him to be a visual comedian,  one would think he'd be a natural
    for radio--especially when he used to act out the newspaper comic strips
    dressed up as Little Orphan Annie or  Dick Tracy. Mr. McCann definitely has a
    flair for nostalgia, particularly when he played an old-movie buff in the film
    "The Projectionist," or when he was part of the ensemble cast of the
    TV-variety show "Happy Days" [not to be confused with the sitcom with Fonzie],
    an  early 1970s network effort that celebrated 1930s  nostalgia. He continues
    to be known for his impeccable impersonation of Oliver Hardy.

    [removed]:

    DT

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 19:46:35 -0500
    From: FKELLY <fkelly@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Talk shows in the 50s

    Someone wondered if the technology existed to put telephone calls on the
    air in the 30s, 40s and 50s.  I worked at a small local station (WPWA,
    Chester PA) starting in 1953.  We had the technology at that time.  It
    was not particularly advanced, so I'm sure it existed much before then.
    What nobody had thought of as entertainment was the current concept of
    airing the half-baked opinions of anyone with the price of a phone call.

    On another (but related) subject, I worked at an NBC affiliate (WDEL,
    Wilmington DE) in the late 50s.  I remember we had Western Union clocks
    that corrected to the exact time once an hour via a signal over a wire
    from Western Union.  As I remember, the correction pulse came at exactly
    straight up on the hour, so that a clock indicating, say, 7:59:48 would
    jump to 8:00:00 (the second hand would jump to straight up).  My
    question is, using these clocks, how did we join the network without
    either leaving dead air or worse, clipping the first few seconds of the
    program?  I must have handled this problem, but I can't remember how.
    Anybody remember how this was done?
    --
    Frank Kelly

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

    Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 22:59:13 -0500
    From: gad4@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Transcription Disk Prices.

    While Im not an expert in transcription disks, this seems to coincide with
    the general feeling me and my friends have been finding on ebay. This is
    that the common items are extremely hard to sell and rare "one of a kind"
    items and items that have undocumented values have been going higher.

    Many dealers have been saying thanks to ebay, the economy, or whatever that
    the prices we have gotten in the past arent happening. This is not just true
    with old time radio, but in collectibles across the board. Items that went
    for [removed] can unfortunately be found for under [removed] Items that went for
    [removed] can now be found more often thanks to the internet thereby making the
    prices about half.  I usually talk to dealer friends of mine who say "I got
    [removed] for this collectible toy" and I respond by saying about 10 years ago I
    was getting double that.

    What I find interesting is that in this tough economy while tapes of shows
    are going slower, and the premiums connected arent selling as they used to,
    these rarer items are increasing in price. Its showing to me that the
    interest for truly rare otr has not disappeared and in fact is increasing in
    a tough enconomy. It also shows to me that people are willing to pay for otr
    that is new and unique.

    This is unique because in general Ive noticed an increase in demand on newer
    collectibles and a dropping of demand in the 30s to 50s era.  I personally
    think a lot of this new demand might be due to the new internet otr
    following but the answer I cannot say definately.

    While Id love to see prices reasonable again and I wish the common items
    would sell again, Im glad that there is an increased interest in these
    classic shows which I hope new generations will contine to enjoy. While
    being a t-disk jockey is out of my price range, I hope this renewed interest
    and the fact that people are willing to pay for new shows, encourages more
    new shows to go into circulation.

    Sincerely,
    George

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

    Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 09:26:20 -0500
    From: "Andrew Emmerson" <midshires@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Ovaltine
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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    Will Nicoll asks, "Does anybody know why they named it "Ovaltine?"

    Well, I do for a start. The original name was Ovomaltine and this name is
    still used in some countries (Germany for one).

    Ovo (from the root of the Latin word for egg)
    Malt (English for malt)
    Ine (common ending of trade names, as in Brilliantine)

    [removed] a drink made from eggs and malt.

    Andy Emmerson.

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