------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 506
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Re: OTR Musical & Variety Shows [ Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed]; ]
Army Air Corps/Air Forces & US Air F [ ArtsMilitaria@[removed] (Arthur Fun ]
Billy The Brownie [ "glen schroeder" <gschroeder10@char ]
Arthur and Jimmy [ "steven kostelecky" <skostelecky@ho ]
Re-laxx [ "Roby McHone" <otr_alaska@[removed] ]
NBC and WMAQ [ "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@hotmail ]
The Magic Of Old Time Radio [ MAGICIN95@[removed] ]
Project to find [removed] Hubbard's 1950 [ pamwarren2002@[removed] ]
RS at Walmart [ lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed]; ]
Re: WLS [ "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@hotmail ]
"Sen sen"??? [ "Danica L. Stein" <danicas@baymoon. ]
Re: Red, Blue, and Supplemental [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Death of Jack Benny [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Today in radio history [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2002 23:37:58 -0500
From: Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: OTR Musical & Variety Shows
Janet (MAGICIN95@[removed]) writes:
While I love OTR comedies and dramas, I find myself curious
about the true variety or musical shows that never seem to make their way to
the main stream. <snip> Surely someone has information about or copies of
some of those
shows?
Personally, I've always enjoyed OTR musical and variety programs --
sometimes more than the familiar drama/comedy/adventure fare that people
associate with OTR collecting. While its true that shows like these are not
as widely available as some others, that doesn't mean that they don't exist
- quite the contrary, in fact.
During radio's "golden age," a great deal of the broadcast day was taken up
with musical shows. A glance at any published schedule from, say, the late
1930's will reveal a high percentage of broadcasts featuring both serious
and light classical fare, small combos, organ recitals, fifteen-minute
personality-based musical shows, and even the occasional local disk jockey
program, not to mention the band remotes from hotels and ballrooms that
filled up the late evening hours.
Though these shows were often not recorded - or, if they were, the
recordings have long since disappeared into private collections,
institutions, and/or landfills - considerable amounts of musical
programming from the 30's thru the 50's is still around. Most OTR dealers
and clubs make them a fairly low priority simply because there isn't
thought to be much of a market for it - or, if there is, the market isn't
part of their customer base.
Many musical and variety shows, particularly from the war years, exist only
in edited AFRS versions recorded for replay to military personnel via a
network of shortwave stations. Though not as satisfying as the network
versions of the shows would be (if they existed), these shows usually
suffer less from editing than do other types of broadcasts from the same
period. Series with a simple musical format - "The Hour of Charm" with Phil
Spitalny and his All-Girl Orchestra or Lyn Murray's various quarter-hour
series come to mind - usually ended up having the commercials cut and
substituted with additional musical selections from an earlier show.
The condition in which the shows survive is also an issue. A
multi-generational copy of a dramatic or comedy program may be a challenge
to listen to, but the content can still be enjoyed. A musical show that
wavers or has speed problems can be downright unlistenable, no matter how
interesting or historic the show may be.
There are some dealers who do specialize in musical broadcasts - David
Kiner's Redmond Nostalgia Company (request a catalog via e-mail by writing
kinerent@[removed]) and Hank Hinkel's Crabapple Sound
([removed]) come immediately to mind - and most dealers
and clubs do offer a certain number of programs like these. The Archives,
for example, offers considerable quantities of musical and variety shows in
our CD libraries, including lengthy runs of "The Railroad Hour," "Johnny
Mercer's Music Shop" and many shows from Bing Crosby's various series, not
to mention band remotes and 50's public service musical shows.
The best way to make more of these types of show available is to support
those who offer them by purchasing and/or borrowing the programs that are
offered. An increased demand for the shows will almost certainly lead to
more of them being made available.
Belated happy holidays and the best of the new year!
Harlan
Harlan Zinck
First Generation Radio Archives
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 00:00:26 -0500
From: ArtsMilitaria@[removed] (Arthur Funk)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Army Air Corps/Air Forces & US Air Force
As mentioned in a previous post I'm getting caught up on reading
December Digests. In No. 475, Dec. 8, Stephen Kallis mentioned that
there was no Air Force during World War II but rather there was the Army
Air Corps. [removed] but no cigar. Actually the US Army was
reorganized in 1941 prior to Pearl Harbor into three operational
branches: Army Ground Forces, Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces.
Quoting from "History of the [removed] Air Force," Bill Yenne, Longmeadow
Press, Stamford CT (1992): "On 20 June 1941, under the War Powers Act
of 1941, President Roosevelt signed the executive order permitting
[Chief of Staff, General George] Marshall to create the U. S. Army Air
Forces --- an autonomous, if not independent, air arm with [Air Corps
Chief, General Hap] Arnold as chief." My understanding is that for the
duration of the war people were enlisted or commissioned into the Air
Corps which still existed on paper pending congressional confirmation of
the reorganization. However, they were assigned for duty by the Army to
the Army Air Forces (note the plural).
This duality of identify has led to no end of argument among WWII vets
and others. Just for the record, the truly independent U. S. Air Force
was created by act of Congress in 1947. This has no OTR connection
except Stephen's having brought it up in the Digest. But in the
interest of the historical record I thought I'd offer clarification.
Besides, it isn't often the Digest gets into my area of expertise.
Regards to all,
Art Funk
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 00:01:28 -0500
From: "glen schroeder" <gschroeder10@[removed];
To: "otr" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Billy The Brownie
Hi Michael and list.
I'm not sure if this is what you're thinking of, but I grew up in Milwaukee
and when I was small there wasn a show between Thanksgiving and Christmas
called Billy The Brownie. It started in the early thirties on WTMJ and I
think it was on until 1956. My brother still lives in Milwaukee and last
year he ordered some cassette tapes of Billy from WTMJ so there are some
shows out there. It was great to hear them since I think I was nine years
old when it went off. It was sponsored by Schuster's Department Stores which
were later bought out by Gimbels. I hope this helped.
Happpy hollidays to all and to all a goodnight.
Love Dis List
Glen Schroeder
Madison WI
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 00:01:55 -0500
From: "steven kostelecky" <skostelecky@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Arthur and Jimmy
I found myself stumped the other day at the ol' Fred Allen Phorum (this is
neither surprising nor unexpected) and thought I would throw this question
out to the assembled.
"My darling wife gave me a collection of Fred Allen shows for Christmas. One
show, dated 10/11/42, has Arthur Godfrey working as Allen's announcer. I
looked at the logs and saw that Godfrey replaced Jimmy Wallington for about
three months. What was the reason?"
Will anyone help?
By the way, the posts about kids like me (at age 46) discovering otr was a
great thread and completely appropriate for the holiday season. I hope
someone is still celebrating as we crawl back to work. As I tell my
children, keep Christmas in your hearts all the year through but don't
expect presents.
Happy holidays.
P. Nussbaum
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 00:02:19 -0500
From: "Roby McHone" <otr_alaska@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re-laxx
Happy New Year to all.
I just finished reading 'The Greatest Generation' by Tom Brokaw, good book,
I then picked up Hal Stone's '[removed] Archie Re-laxx'! It only took
about 3 paragraphs to get used to the difference in styles between the two
books. I read about half of Hal's book in one setting, he is a terriffic
author. My wife asked me what I was reading because I almost had a tear in
my eye for a while (Hal's tribute to Lillian Gish) and was laughing out loud
for a while (Hal's near decapitation by Canadian Boy Scouts). I am really
enjoying reading the book, even if Hal's sister doesn't like the picture of
her that he put in it.
Roby McHone
Fairbanks, Alaska-where we always have a white New Year's.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 00:02:30 -0500
From: "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: NBC and WMAQ
Elizabeth McLeod quoted and corrected me,
(Anyone know when NBC officially
switched it to the Red Network? Perhaps when NBC bought WMAQ in '34?)
NBC bought a controlling interest in WMAQ in the fall of 1931
Yes, upon further research I confirm that my memory falsely associated NBC's
purchase of WMAQ with Westinghouse's moving KYW, the primary Red Network
affiliate in Chicago before WMAQ, from Chicago to Philadelphia in December
1934. As Harlan Ellison often repeats from Olin Miller, "Of all liars, the
smoothest and most convincing is Memory."
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 00:02:37 -0500
From: MAGICIN95@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Magic Of Old Time Radio
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
I'm in the process of reworking the site and would appreciate any and all
input from visitors. Please check out the form on the What's New page or
send me an email privately. Thanks!
Janet
<A HREF="[removed]">Magic of Old Time
Radio</A>
[removed]
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 00:02:55 -0500
From: pamwarren2002@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Project to find [removed] Hubbard's 1950 Radio
Broadcasts
As many of you OTR Digest readers know I have been on a project to find what
Martin Grams,Jr.
calls "obscurities". These are 65 broadcasts that L. Ron Hubbard did in
1950-51.
Well, I am going "off the air". If you do run across these recordings, or hear
anything about them the person to contact now is Jason at
lrhprwestus@[removed].
Trevor and I have become OTR buffs and some of Trevor's family got "Amos n
Andy" for Christmas and we have spent some time listening to OTR in the office
and at the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills.
I do have one parting question: What is Sparky, of
"Big John and Sparky"? When I was a little kid I listened to "Big John and
Sparky" every Saturday morning, but I never found out what Sparky was.
As a kid, I didn't really care. But now that I have all of you OTR fans out
there, could you help me out? I know all of the words to "Teddy Bears'
Picnic".
Pam Warren
L. Ron Hubbard's Public Relations Office
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 00:03:14 -0500
From: lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: RS at Walmart
I'd like to pass on something I found very interesting
to durning my visit to my local walmart. Before
christmas Walmart was selling Radio Spirits new 20
hour sets for $[removed] Today I stoped to see if by any
chance they reduced the price to move them out the
door, to my surprise the sets went UP to $[removed]!
Prices going up instead of down at Walmart. What
happened to thier Roll Back slogan?? Just thought I'd
share that with all of you!!!!
Lynn Wagar
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 00:03:33 -0500
From: "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: WLS
Abthony Tollin writes,
Growing up in Minneapolis, I'd always heard that WLS' original owner was
Sear's Roebuck, and that the call letter's stood for "World's Largest
Store."
Was that just folklore?
Sears, Roebuck & Co. - or, more accurately, its Sears-Roebuck Agricultural
Foundation - were indeed WLS' first owners. According to PRAIRIE FARMER AND
WLS: THE BURRIDGE D, BUTLER YEARS by James F. Evans (University of Illinois
Press, 1969), Sears saw the response to early weather and agricultural
reports over 9XM/WHA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and WEW at St.
Louis University. Sears also noted the higher level of farmer ownershiip of
radio sets in Illinois than in the rest of the country. The Sears-Roebuck
Agricultural Foundation applied to start a radio station, the license being
granted in early 1924.
Oddly enough, the first broadcasts, starting on March 21, 1924, were noon
hour farm programs not over the assigned frequency of 870 kHz but over WMAQ
on 670, while using the originally assigned call letters WBBX. Three other
test programs, using Sears' own studios in Chicago and transmitter at Crete,
took place over 870 on April 9, 10 and 11, 1924; by then, the newly assigned
call letters were WES ("World's Economy Store"). The first broadcast of WES
consisted of the dedication of the station, as a service to agriculture, by
Director Edgar L. Bill; singer Grace Wilson (whose "Bringing Home the Bacon"
became a 35-year tradition over WLS), and the musical comedy team Big Ford &
Little Glenn. The initial response was so massive that Sears personnel spent
the rest of the night answering constantly ringing phones at corporate
headquarters on Homan at Arthington. Sears made one last call sign change,
to WLS ("World's Largest Store"), at the end of the third test transmission,
and officially opened the station for full operation on April 12, 1924.
The grand opening was a banquet at the Sherman Hotel, cross-promoted by the
Chicago Herald-Examiner, the Hearst newspaper (which later held an interest
in KYW and, when that station left Chicago, tried unsuccessfully to purchase
WCFL from the Chicago Federation of Labor). Attendees at the banquet
included Ed Wynn, Ethel Barrymore, William S. Hart and Hearst executive
Arthur Brisbane. According to Glenn Rowell of Big Ford & Little Glenn, the
broadcast started at 6:00 [removed] with stage star Barrymore being struck with
mic fright and snapping, "Turn the damned thing off!," and silent film star
Hart saving the day with a brilliant recitation of "Invictus." Later5
sections of the program came from New York by special wire.
Highlights of the WLS schedule under Sears-Roebuck ownership included
frequent broadcasts by Isham Jones' orchestra from the College Inn of the
Sherman Hotel, Big Ford & Little Glenn as The Lullaby Twins every evening at
7:00, and, of course, importing "The Solemn Ole Judge" George D. Hay from
WMC Memphis to work on late evening programs and the National Barn Dance.
Perhaps most uncommon, however, were Tony Wons' surprisingly popular
readings of Shakespeare, leading to a nightly 10-minute Wons "Scrap Book" of
poetry, humor and epigrams.
The Sears-Roebuck Agricultural Foundation, spurred on by its success with
WLS, began broadcasting operations in other cities in 1925, with an
arrangement with WFAA Dallas to produce and present programs during certain
donated air hours. The next year, an identical arrangement was worked out
with WSB Atlanta, and again in 1928 with WMC Memphis. Also in 1928,
Sears-Roebuck purchased "all the time needed, within reason," for $1500 per
month from KMBC Kansas City. Significantly, the programs on KMBC prominently
promoted Sears products, a policy it had curiously avoided with WLS. The
success over WFAA, WSB, WMC and KMBC effectively shifted Sears, Roebuck's
retail focus from its catalog sales to its department stores, and the
company decided it would make more sense to follow the approaches
established with the other stations and sell WLS to a firm committed to
agricultural matters. The Prairie Farmer, the agricultural newspaper that
had been running its own noon hour programs over WMAQ since 1926, bought WLS
on October 1, 1928.
It should be noted that, throughout Sears-Roebuck's ownership and the first
years of Prairie Farmer's, WLS shared 870 kHz with a small religious station
in nearby Zion, WCBD, broadcasting about three hours a day.
As I recall, Sears heavily promoted Gene Autry's
early records in its catalogs because of its connection to WLS and the
National Barn Dance show.
Yes, but not so much because of the ownership of WLS, since his first
appearance on the station wasn't until 1930, well after Sears-Roebuck sold
WLS to The Prairie Farmer. Autry's actual employers were American Record
Corporation (known today as Columbia Records) and Sears itself, who marketed
Autry's ARC recordings - at the time consciously copying Jimmie Rodgers'
"blue yodel" style for Victor - on its own label as well. However, as
Autry's prominence on WLS rose, due in large part to the song "Silver Haired
Daddy of Mine," so did his prominence in the Sears catalog. Autry was still
associated with the station and the "National Barn Dance" program when Pat
Buttram arrived there in 1934; of course, the two eventually headed for
Hollywood, and the rest is well-rerun history. A young George Gobel also
started his career on WLS while Autry was there.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 09:42:55 -0500
From: "Danica L. Stein" <danicas@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: "Sen sen"???
Hello, OTR friends,
OK, I've heard this phrase a couple of times now in Fibber McGee and Molly
shows. Can anyone tell me--what is "sen sen" ???
????
Thanks!
Danica
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 09:43:03 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Red, Blue, and Supplemental
On 12/27/02 11:59 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:
Throughout most of the 1930's, it seemed that NBC had separate distinct
facilities for distribution of both the "Red" and "Blue" networks only in
the northeast and urbanized midwest (including Omaha and Kansas City).
Exactly -- these facilities were "Basic Red" and "Basic Blue." A sponsor
planning an NBC program buy was required to purchase time on one of these
two units as a minimum. As of 1933, Basic Red was made up of 20 stations,
and Basic Blue was also 20 -- although the Blue count is slightly
deceptive, since it counts WBZ and WBZA as seperate outlets, when in fact
they broadcast in synchronization covering the same market, and counts
the four Chicago outlets that carried Blue program as seperate outlets,
even though they usually did not operate simulataneously.
Not all markets in the Basic territory were covered by both Red and Blue.
There was no Blue service to Northern New England, for example --
listeners thruout the region had to rely on WBZ/WBZA for Blue programs.
Likewise there were no Blue outlets in Philadelphia, Schenectady,
Buffalo, or Hartford -- all markets which were covered by Basic Red.
But the rest of the country, such as the southeast, south-central states,
rural upper midwest (rural Minnesota, rural Nebraska, the Dakotas), the
mountain states, etc., it seemed that there were single-line "legs" of the
[removed] [removed], there was only one NBC affiliate in all markets, all fed
along a single telco line in that region of the US, where all of those
stations would be carrying the same NBC program, whether "Red" or "Blue".
And it was up to NBC and the sponsor as to whether that part of the
country would be "Red" or would be "Blue" at whatever specific day/time.
These were the "Supplemental" stations -- and indeed, there was nothing
in their affiliation agreements which would designate them as Red or
Blue. Supplemental stations could not be taken on an a la carte basis --
they had to be purchased in groups: Canadian, Southeastern,
South-Central, Southwestern, Northwestern, or Mountain. Coast-to-Coast
coverage for a program required purchase of the Basic Pacific Network --
which could only be used if the Mountain group was also part of the
network, since the link was made via Salt Lake City. Additional western
coverage was available via the Pacific Supplemental group -- and NBC also
offered "Special Hawaiian Service" via a shortwave link to KGU in
Honolulu.
An hour of time on the full Red Network -- Basic plus all available
Supplemental groups -- during the 1932-33 season would cost a sponsor
$12,880. The full Blue Network, with three fewer outlets, offered an
hourly rate of $12,270.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 09:43:13 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Death of Jack Benny
Unless I missed it I did not see anything on the anniversary of Jack Benny's
death. Although a couple of days late, Jack Benny died on December 26, 1974 at
the age of 39.
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Make your day just a little better, listen to Olde Tyme Radio!
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 12:03:08 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in radio history
>From Those Were The Days --
1941 - The Helen Hayes Theater, on CBS, was called the first casualty of
World War II. Lipton Tea dropped sponsorship of the program as it
prepared for shortages in tea imports from India.
1905 - Cliff Arquette (Charley Weaver) died Sep 23, 1974
1908 - Lew Ayres died Dec 30, 1996
Joe
--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #506
*********************************************
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]