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      Please Read Information Boilerplate at the End of This Digest
                          Last Updated 10-28-96

[removed] Digest				Volume 96 : Issue 494

Table Of Contents: 

	 Voice Of Doom
	 Re: THE VOICE OF DOOM
	 Voice of Doom
	 Miss Brooks et al
	 W9FJL: Mrs. Kalabash
	 Bill Feiffer
	 IN DEFENCE OF ORSON WELLES AS THE SHADOW

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

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 12:21:11 -0500
From: Radcliffe Bond <radbond@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Voice Of Doom
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I have heard Westbrook Van Voorhis, the narrator of the "March Of Time" 
newsreels, referred to as "The Voice Of Doom". 

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Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 12:58:05 -0500
From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: THE VOICE OF DOOM
Message-ID: <961221125805_1754662346@[removed]>

Joe Brenner asks about a radio connection for the term "The Voice of Doom."
 Several times over the last decades, I've read articles referring to Orson
Welles' tones as "the voice of doom."  Could the term have been coined in
reference to Welles' October 30, 1938 "War of the Worlds" broadcast.  That
fits the timeline Brenner suggests regarding the 1939 play.
     "The voice of doom" could also be a reference to radio's THE MARCH OF
TIME, on which Westbrook Van Voorhis was heard as "The Voice of Time" ("As it
must to all men, death came today [removed]") and other announcers were heard as
"The Voice of Fate," etc., as I recall.  Of course, a lot of 1938 radio news
commentators told stories of doom in the WWII war news from Europe. --
ANTHONY TOLLIN

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Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 14:22:18 -0600
From: "Marvin R. Bensman" <bensmanm@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Voice of Doom
Message-id: <l03010d00aee1f64a17ae@[[removed]]>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

The "Voice of Doom" was Westbrook Van Voorhis, who narrated the March of
Time from 1931 for some years.

His ringing, deep voice and the depressing news which the dramatized news
program covered made it a natural to begin to refer to the narrator of
March of Time as the voice of doom.

************************************************************************
*Professor Marvin R. Bensman, [removed], [removed]                              *
*Department of Communication; Office Phone: (901) 678-3174 or 678-2565 *
*University of Memphis        Fax: (901) 678-4331                      *
*Memphis, TN 38152                                                     *
*E-mail: Mbensman@[removed]                                       *
* To see University of Memphis radio archive look at:                  *
*[removed]~[removed]                  *

************************************************************************

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Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 14:55:07 -0600
From: Cockrum <bcockrum@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Miss Brooks et al
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

I think Joseph Ross redeemed himself in his last posting re the "Our
Miss Brooks" career woman thread. I disagreed with Joe's first reaction
to Elizabeth Thomsen's observation that Connie Brooks deserved some
recognition as a single career woman. Outside of being a secretary,
teaching was the leading career of women in the '40s and '50s and
well-thought-of because it required a college education. So Miss Brooks
certainly was a career woman, nevermind her designs on Mr. Boynton. I
don't think she would have necessarily given up teaching after the first
child was on its way ... I can recall several of my own teachers who did
not -- and we're talking '50s, into the '60s.

Joe mentions "Wendy Warren and the News" ... which ties back in to
self-referential and other "different" formats ... in that she stepped
out of the news booth after the first commercial to leave her supposed
career and sink into the standard soap opera. I couldn't believe that
Douglas Edwards would participate in such a thing. But I have heard him
referred to on several occasions as a "gentleman" ... including by
Walter Cronkite, when Cronkite was leaving the evening news and referred
to that as the mere passing of the baton once more. I think somehwere
not too far along in his career at CBS (and he may have just been his
personality from the start) that Edwards decided to ride the crazy
business of radio like a wave wherever it took him ... he was making an
exceptionally good salary whatever he was doing ... why kick about it?
Apparently no ego problems at all. My only disappointment was that I did
not get a reply from him when I wrote him as a boy ... and I did from
Cronkite (in 1957 and still in my scrapbook).

[All right, this isn't old time radio, but it is one of my favorite
fluffs on TV. Richard C. Hottelet was filling in for Doug Edwards one
evening. The camera comes up early or else Hottelet isn't paying
attention to the clock. He is blowing his nose. He looks up and sees the
camera is on and throws the tissue or handkerchief away with both hands,
much like a basketball is passed to another player. The newscast went on
as usual ... no giggling announcer (that could be heard, anyway) and
Hottelet simply went ahead with the lead story as if nothing had
happened, though he had appeared panicked enough.]

Which brings me back to "Our Miss Brooks" and a fluff Eve Arden made. I
can remember it as it was broadcast, I'm gueesing it was a show in the
early '50s. If it was recorded rather than live, then of course they
left it in for the masterful ad lib of Gale Gordon. For some reason Mr.
Conklin was tired ... I don't recall why ... but Miss Brooks was talking
to him, something about English books, I believe, only it came out
"Englersh books." I don't remember if the audience laughed or let it go,
but they certainly did when Gordon said, in something of a yawn I think,
and without missing a beat, "So you're sleepy, too."
Anyone have a copy of that? My Miss Brooks collection is rather limited
and I don't.

Bob Cockrum

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Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 18:34:49 EST
From: w9fjl@[removed] (RICHARD S. FISHER)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: W9FJL: Mrs. Kalabash
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

Richard S. Fisher
Amateur Radio Station W8AM
2529 Concordgreen Dr.
Cincinnati, Oh. 45244

--------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: W9FJL
To: airwaves@[removed]
Subject: Mrs. Kalabash
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 22:55:48 PST
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

Was listening to an old Jimmy  Durante Christmas show and cannot remember
if the identity of Mrs. Kalabash of "Goodnight Mrs. Kalabash-where ever
you are"  fame was ever identified as being a real person or just a long
standing gimmick.

Thanks for any help.

Dick

Richard S. Fisher
Amateur Radio Station W8AM
2529 Concordgreen Dr.
Cincinnati, Oh. 45244
--------- End forwarded message ----------

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Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 19:20:51 -0500
From: Bigkids@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Bill Feiffer
Message-ID: <961221192050_1788256293@[removed]>

Yes, I am certain that all of us have Bill in our thoughts and prayers right
now, and I hope that as many as possible have sent Bill something to help him
survive this dreadful situation.

(Pat and I have not sent anything yet, [removed] we definitely will, within
the next few days. I don't say this with the purpose of [removed]'s
just so Bill will know that something is coming his way from us.)

Dick Lupoff

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Date: Sun, 22 Dec 1996 00:58:53 -0500 (EST)
From: "John R. Pellatt" <bs206@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: IN DEFENCE OF ORSON WELLES AS THE SHADOW
Message-ID: <[removed]@sheppard>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

I actually PREFER the Orson Welles shows. (Stand by for flames!) His 
uncertainty in line readings makes the character seem a little less sure 
of himself and (in my mind) a more interesting person than the Lamont C's 
who know exactly what is what and far too soon. He always sounds like 
he's just stepped out of a cocktail party (maybe it was an ambulance in 
real life?) and to me is a much more believable man about town type.

I also have found the stories far more interesting in the OW series. They 
seemed to still be experimenting with his powers and how he would use 
them and with what effect. Later shows (with perhaps technically more 
polished acting) seemed to me much more cut and dried detective affairs 
with a completely predictable appearance by the Shadow at the most 
predictable [removed] and with predictable results. (Who could've been left 
in New York who DIDN'T know that that filtered voice WAS the Shadow???) I 
had actually stopped listening to Shadows out of boredom until I came 
across the OW series on cassette. It reactivated my interest, first 
because it was OW and secondly, for the reasons above.

Maybe OW wasn't the most technically competent Shadow but give me his 
shows to listen to anyday. They are vastly entertaining and enjoyable.

IMHO, of course!

John Pellatt, bs206@[removed] (TORONTO)



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End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #494
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