Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #87
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 3/18/2005 11:19 AM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2005 : Issue 87
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Monthly OTR magazines                 [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]
  Sci Fi Radio                          [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]
  Re: In Jokes                          [ Brent Pellegrini <brentpl@rocketmai ]
  Re: OTR copyrights                    [ "Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@hotmail ]
  3-18 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  [removed] Lovercraft                       [ seandd@[removed] ]
  Arthur on Joey Reynolds Show          [ seandd@[removed] ]
  WVXU                                  [ "Mike Martini" <mmartini@[removed] ]
  Re: OTR Copyright                     [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
  Re: monthly magazines                 [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
  Walden Hughes Weekedn Show            [ BryanH362@[removed] ]

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

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 14:00:38 -0500
From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Monthly OTR magazines

An unsigned inquiry asks:

Are there any monthly magazines published out there dedicated to old
time
radio?

The answer is "Sure", most of them put out by one of my fellow OTR
editors affiliated with an OTR club, which anyone can join by mail.

Monthly publications include: "Radiogram" from SPERDVAC, "The
Illustrated Press" from OTR Club of Western NY, and "Return With Us
Now" from Radio Historical Association of Colorado. Pubs that come out
bi-monthly include: 'Radio Recall" by Metro Washington OTR Club, ""On
the Air" by Golden Radio Buffs of Maryland, and "Chattanooga Airwaves"
from Chattanooga OTR Club. " There are still others that come out with
some regularity but no firm schedule, including "Air Check' by Radio
Enthusiasts of Puget Sound and "RLL on the Air" from Radio Listeners
Lyceum of Cincinnati. Bob Burchett's "Old Time Radio Digest" usually
comes out about 4 times a year. It is not affiliated with any specific
club, nor is Jay Hickerson's "Hello Again" a summary type newsletter
that comes out monthly, usually consisting of 4 pages.

There are also OTR publications devoted to only one show, such as Lum
n' Abner, Vic and Sade, Jack Benny, Hopalong Cassidy, etc. put out by
fan clubs.

In addition, there are other publications in the general field of
nostalgia that cover radio, TV, and other entertainment genre within
the same issue.

Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 14:01:36 -0500
From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Sci Fi Radio

Randy Story asks:

Just wondering if anyone can recommend any books on radio science
fiction? Histories and descriptive materials would be very helpful,
particularly I am hoping to find some resources to add to my ever
growing textbook on using audio theater/ OTR in the high school/
middle school classroom.

By far the best book on this subject is "Science Fiction on Radio: A
Revised Look at 1950-1975" co-authored by James F. Widner and Meade
Frierson III published by AFAB in 1996. Despite the title, it does
cover shows prior to 1950. I believe it's out of print now, but Widner,
who frequently contributes to this Digest, may be able to find you a
copy.

Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL

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

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 14:02:00 -0500
From: Brent Pellegrini <brentpl@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: In Jokes

I've noticed from time to time that writers appear to slip in references
to living people in  their shows. I've recently been listening to
Johnny Dollar with Mandel Kramer for the first time and am pleasantly
surprised at how good it is. I've only listened to Bob Bailey in the past.
One of
the only shows I remember listeneng to was Johnny Dollar and it probably was
the Kramer shows.
So to my point.  I remember once in a Bailey episode, there was a character
named "Parley". In a recent Kramer show there is a cop named Barney Phillips
and a Maxwell car and I think the owner of the Maxwell said he used it to
shop at "Benny's". I'm sure these shows are peppered with other names
and references that I don't get.

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

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 14:33:55 -0500
From: "Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: OTR copyrights

Laura hits one particular nail on the head when she writes:

I'm an author too, and I believe in the rights of the copyright holders.
But there are a lot of
people who have been exposed to Jack [Benny] through the illegal sets and
shows floating around.  Would as many people be interested in Jack's work
without it being so readily available?

There has, of course, been a lot of discussion in this digest over the years
about the copyright issue. A point that has been made before--and is worth
making again--is that the original concept of copyright afforded the rights
holder exclusivity for a very limited period of time, after which the work
would be in the public domain and considered to be freely accessible for the
public good. Under present-day reworkings of the copyright law, original
rights now stretch out practically infinitum, benefitting only corporate
entities or heirs who probably don't give a hoot about their ancestor's work
except for the possible profit to themselves. (Okay, I admit, I'm both
generalizing AND black-and-whiteing the issue.)

But many, many people have gotten interested in [removed] gotten interested
in listening to it, talking about it, sharing it with others, and, for some
of us, even writing about [removed] shows WERE available to be listened
to BECAUSE collectors had made them available. If all of us had had to wait
until such time as a corporate suit decided that, just possibly, there might
be a profit to make from dusting off the mothballs and releasing some of
those old shows, I don't believe that the same level or the same SUSTAINED
intensity of interest would have been created. And, of course, once the
corporate people realized that there wasn't the amount of profit in
re-issuing the old shows that they had hoped for, then--bang!--back into the
vault they would go and be no longer available to the public.

It's interesting that this discussion should be re-emerging at a time when
Radio Spirits--reportedly--is experiencing continuing loss of profits and is
spiraling into self-destruction. IF they go down for the count (and there's
no phoenix rising from their ashes), where then does that leave the
copyright issue? In what limbo of legality will this hobby continue to
dwell?

Mike Ogden

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

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 15:23:57 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  3-18 births/deaths

March 18th births

03-18-1860 - William Jennings Bryan - Salem, IL - d. 7-26-1925
lawyer, presidential candidate x3: Scopes Monkey trial
03-18-1886 - Edward Everett Horton - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-30-1970
actor, host: "Shell Chateau"; "Kraft Music Hall"
03-18-1893 - George Olsen - Portland, OR - d. 3-18-1971
bandleader: "Jack Benny Program"; "Royal Gelatin Revue"
03-18-1905 - Robert Donat - Manchester, England - d. 6-9-1958
actor, poetry reader: "Justice"; "Monte Carlo"; "Reader of Poetry";
[removed] Steel Hour"
03-18-1911 - Audrey Marsh - NYC
actress: Esther " Harve and Esther"
03-18-1911 - Smiley Burnette - Summum, IL - d. 2-16-1967
host, comedian: "Smiley Burnette Show"; "Hollywood Hotel"
03-18-1912 - Art Gilmore - Tacoma, WA
announcer: "Dr. Christian"; "Amos 'n' Andy"
03-18-1914 - Ben Gage - Chicago, IL - d. 4-28-1978
actor: Jimmy Gale "Modern Cinderella"
03-18-1916 - Jody Gilbert - Fort Worth, TX - d. 2-3-1979
actress: Rosa "Life with Luigi"
03-18-1926 - Peter Graves -Minneapolis, MN
actor: "Arthur Hopkins Presents"

March 18th deaths

02-09-1892 - Peggy Wood - Brooklyn, NY - d. 3-18-1978
actress: "NBC Present Eugene O'Neill"; "Great Scenes from Great
Plays"; "
02-14-1904 - Jessica Dragonette - Calcutta, India - d. 3-18-1980
singer: (Queen of Radio) "Philco Hour Theatre of Memories"
03-18-1893 - George Olsen - Portland, OR - d. 3-18-1971
bandleader: "Jack Benny Program"; "Royal Gelatin Revue"
03-20-1890 - Lauritz Melchior - Copenhagen, Denmark - d. 3-18-1973
singer: "Magic Key"; "Metropolitan Opera"; "Voice of Firestone"
07-04-1901 - Adelaide Klein - NYC - d. 3-18-1901
actress: Mrs. S. Kent Wentworth "Life Can Be Beautiful"; Dragon Lady
"Terry and the Pirates"
08-06-1925 - Barbara Bates - Denver, CO - d. 3-18-1969
writer: "Just Plain Bill"; "Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons"
09-04-1895 - Jack Miller - Dorchester, MA - d. 3-18-1985
conductor: "Kate Smith and Her Swanee Music"; "Aldrich Family"
10-01-1893 - Faith Baldwin - d. 3-18-1978
novelist: Guest on "The Second Mrs. Burton"
11-02-1906 - Peggy Conklin - Dobbs Ferry, NY - d. 3-18-2003
actress: Kitty Archer "McGarry and His Mouse"; Barbara 'Babs' Riley
"Life of Riley"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 15:24:26 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  [removed] Lovercraft

The Wall Street Journal profiled [removed] Lovecraft on Wednesday and in a rare
turn, put the article online for free.

The article mentions "The Dunwich Horror," which was recreated as an episode
on Suspense.

Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 16:26:22 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Arthur on Joey Reynolds Show

Update: tonight's appearance by Arthur Anderson and ABC Reporter Buck Wolf on
the Joey Reynolds Show on WOR-AM in New York tonight will

1) Be taped in advance, not broadcast live at 10:40 [removed] as previously
reported.  The show airs from 1:00 [removed] to 5:00 [removed] (good night for digital
recording devices)

2) By syndicated all over the country.  Check your local listings.

Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 16:26:02 -0500
From: "Mike Martini" <mmartini@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  WVXU

Hello,

I'd like to begin by thanking Jim Widner for his kind words in a recent post.
This has been easily the most difficult week of my life as well as the lives
of my co-workers but perhaps the dust is beginning to settle a bit.  For the
vast majority on this post who have no idea who or what WVXU is, we are (for
the moment) the 26-KW public radio voice of Xavier University in Cincinnati,
a market with, amazingly, four NPR public radio stations.  Each station has
its niche and ours, for the last few decades, has been nostalgia and news.
We have swing music and jazz mixed along with some NPR programs like Prairie
Home and Morning Edition.  Since 1978, we have also been offering daily old
radio [removed] hours each weekday (not the middle of the night) and about
six hours on the weekends.  Of the local stations, we are the most "block
programming" oriented.   Last Friday, at 11:30 am, the President of the
University came in front of the staff and announced our station and our six
repeater stations were being sold to one of the other public stations in town
for $15,000,000.  Tears were shed, hugs were exchange and reality began to
set in that the station was sold out from under us.

I am one of the fortunate staff members who have been here since the 1980's
because I have seen WVXU grow from a small student station which could fit
entirely in a 20'X20' room to a beautiful six studio, $4-million/year, 21
full-time-staff radio station with the largest privately-held, public radio
network in the country.  We never relied on the University for [removed] a
little health [removed] they owned the license and they could always do
with it what they [removed] they chose to sell.  It wasn't a matter of
anything we did wrong--in fact, perhaps we were too successful.  Let's face
it, the old radio shows brought in more fund drive money than even the NPR'
Morning Edition, if you figure an hourly average.

I am writing this not to evoke sympathy--I'm sure all of our staff will land
on their feet somewhere, whether it's in radio or not.  Radio buyouts are a
common thing and have been for decades.  How many radio people on this list
worked for a station, was sold and lost their jobs?  Probably most.   I just
wanted to set the record straight from a earlier post accusing the staff of
having some prior knowledge of the sale, especially in light of a recent fund
drive in which we worked so very, very hard this time around.  I can say,
uncategorically, that the staff had no clue, no rumor, no inkling of this
sale prior to last Friday's announcement.  We were completely and totally
stunned.  We are also equally embarrassed and angry because the brokers of
the deal DID choose to continue with the fund drive and didn't let us or the
listeners know.  So don't blame the station or the [removed] the powers
who brokered the deal.  Apparently, all who choose to revoke their donations
WILL get a total refund if they so choose.

Regarding Dr. James C. King, our former General Manager--his loyalty to his
radio station and its listeners and members--and WVXU was HIS radio
station--is unquestioned.  Although he left in January, his presence still
breaths through ever pore in this place.  He built this place from
practically scratch beginning in 1976 and simply couldn't be here to see them
take away all the fruits of his/our labors.  Although I wasn't there (or even
knew about the board meetings) he apparently protested loudly.

I wish I could say the future was bright for classic radio on traditional
terrestrial stations, but in truth I cannot.  For those who rely on this
programming, enjoy it while you [removed] think ipod or satellite.

Looking for work,
Mike Martini

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

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 20:00:54 -0500
From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: OTR Copyright

Laura Leff wrote:

It's a very mixed bag, this copyright question. I'm an author too, and I
believe in the rights of the copyright holders.

The best way to go after those trying to sell otr on ebay violating
copyright is
to contact ebay directly. Often the company wants to protect its good name
and usually will make attempts to check into the legitimacy of the
seller.  If they
find the seller in violation, they will ban them from the auction sales.

Doesn't always work, but it has been effective in the past.

Jim Widner
[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 20:15:16 -0500
From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: monthly magazines

Old Time Radio writer asked:

Are there any monthly magazines published out there dedicated to old time
radio?

I don't believe there are any independent magazines other than, perhaps,
Chuck Schaden's
Nostalgia Digest, which isn't totally dedicated to radio and is not a
monthly publication.
There are club newsletters some very good, others ok.

I always thought a magazine dedicated to the hobby would be a neat thing.
However, reality slapped me in the face and I realized that to produce such
a magazine would be a money losing proposition. The clubs struggle enough
to be able to get good material though that is because they rely on
volunteered
contributions. Nostalgia Digest does offer $50 per article if accepted.
I have
had a couple of items in the past. They do get a certain amount of
advertising
plus they obviously charge for a subscription to the magazine. It still
requires
a strong dedication to produce consistency on a regular basis if one is
trying
to make it a profitable or at least not a losing proposition.

There are commercial publications which do feature articles occasionally on
the subject of old time radio but not month in and month out.

Jim Widner
[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 10:42:53 -0500
From: BryanH362@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Walden Hughes Weekedn Show

Fri, Sat and Sun at 7:30 pm PST on YesterdayUSA.  Hear via live internet
streaming
at [removed] .

Friday 3-18-05

A.  Frank Breesee interviews  Art Gilmore  (recorded)

Saturday 3-19-05

A.  Martin Grams monthy appearance.  This month Martin presents  Counterspy !
B.  John Dunning interview classic interviews.
C.  OTR

Sunday 3-20-05

A.  Laura Leff presents  the Jack Benny show of 3-4-45
B.  Mike Biel
C.  OTR

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #87
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