Subject: [removed] Digest V01 #31
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 1/27/2001 11:35 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                          The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                             Volume 01 : Issue 31
                        A Part of the [removed]!

                               Today's Topics:

     Our ages                             [John Politis <politisj@[removed]]
     Groucho overrated as ad libber?      [Jer51473@[removed]                   ]
     Jack Benny Xmas shopping             [Jer51473@[removed]                   ]
     Grouche & age                        ["Kathy O'Connell" <oconnell@[removed]]
     Playing Radio                        ["Richard Pratz" <[removed]@home]
     Whitehall 1212 log                   ["Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm]
     age etc,                             [sojax@[removed] (Roger Smith)      ]
     Jerry's OK                           [TROPHYBOB@[removed]                  ]
     Ryan Osentowski                      [dougdouglass@[removed]             ]
     Looking for  the Uncle Mal Show      ["Sara Long" <splong@[removed];     ]
     War bond prices                      [Joe Mackey <wmackey@[removed]]
     A Sad Day in Radio History           [Joe Mackey <wmackey@[removed]]
     big band on otr                      [knight555@[removed]           ]
     Radio Spriits 60 episode Gunsmoke pa ["Art Shifrin" <goldens2@[removed]]
     Echo on Cassesttes                   [Henry Howard <hhoward@[removed]]
     Statuettes and Alligators            ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
     Plastic tape cases available         [DIANEK9331@[removed]                 ]
     Tom Mix tapes                        ["Harry Machin, Jr." <harbev5@earthl]
     Big Band Remotes                     [Henry Howard <hhoward@[removed]]
     Conrad correction                    [otrbuff@[removed]                   ]
     echo                                 [Gordon R Payton <thescifiguy@[removed]]
     "dance band remotes" vs. "jazz remot ["Art Shifrin" <goldens2@[removed]]
     Groucho and ad libbing               ["A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed].]

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 10:09:11 -0500
    From: John Politis <politisj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Our ages

    I am [removed]   As a child  I  remember listening  to Our Miss Brooks and My
    Little Margie from  8  till  9 on Sunday nights.    Also I regularly
    listened to the  15 minute   five day strip of My Son Jeep and Yours truly
    Johnny Dollar regularly.   I remember  listening to Don MacNeil's
    Breakfast Club when I was home sick from school.    Later I remember B ob &
     R a y, I think as part of Monitor, which was on for quite some time on NBC
    after   our CBS station switched to Top 4 0.   I remember  quite a few o
    ther shows sporadically.   I know I liked Bob Hope but wasn't able to
    listen every week for some reason.     One thing I hated at the time was
    when a comedy show was i nterrupted by a musical number,  us ual ly
    something  old s ounding compared to what was current popular even in the
    early 50's.

    It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it
    and remove all doubt.  --
     Mark Twain

    John Politis  [removed]~politisj

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 12:06:13 -0500
    From: Jer51473@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Groucho overrated as ad libber?

     Maybe one of you remembers the details better than i, but i recall seeing a
    tv show in the late sixties or early seventies that featured Groucho,  Jack
    Benny, George Burns, and i believe Bob Hope sitting in a round table setting.
    I dont remember the exact format, but the purpose was to have them sort of
    compete in wise cracking and ad libbing during certain discussions or
    pertaining to certain subjects. It was generally conceded among these friends
    that Groucho was the master at this, but surprisingly George Burns easily
    stole the show as Groucho and the others didnt come close to matching him.
    Somebody out there must remember this and if so "help!".

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 12:06:15 -0500
    From: Jer51473@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jack Benny Xmas shopping

     I have many of these episodes, but would love to have them all. This is as
    funny as it gets on radio, tv or whatever imo. Does anyone know how many
    shopping trips there were and what were the dates? If not the exact date,
    then close as possible would be appreciated. Listening to Benny at the
    department store at Xmas time is a must for me each Xmas. Actually its just
    as funny any time of the year so if you havnt tried it please do and give
    yourself a treat. A prerequisite. of course, is being a Benny fan and
    understanding his ego and love of money.

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 12:19:41 -0500
    From: "Kathy O'Connell" <oconnell@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Grouche & age

    Don't want to talk about my [removed] I won't pass up any opportunity to
    mention that my birthday is February 21st.
    And I got interested in otr the same way a whole lot of people in New York
    City [removed] Max Schmid & the Golden Age of Radio on WBAI.  Prior to
    that, I came in at the very end, hearing one episode of "Gunsmoke" on the
    radio after I knew and loved it from the TV show.  And my father would
    sometimes say "Wanna buy a duck" for no particular reason, sending my mother
    & grandmother into hysterics.

    About Groucho & adlibs, I quote from Jordan Young's THE LAUGH CRAFTERS:
    COMEDY WRITING IN RADIO & TV'S GOLDEN AGE.  Writer Irving Brecher says about
    "You Bet Your Life":

    	"...With all due respect to Groucho, who was very clever and very
    witty--and said a lot of
    	very funny things, particularly at parties or when you were alone with
    him--most of what
    	he did on the show was already written."

    This well-edited book (that's a joke, [removed]'m the editor) is available
    from [removed].

    Kathy O'Connell
    WXPN, Philadelphia

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 13:39:38 -0500
    From: "Richard Pratz" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: "OTR (Plain Text Only)" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Playing Radio

    Add myself to Neal Roger's and Art Funk's postings about "playing radio".
    I'll be 64 years old this year and I not only played radio as a kid, I took
    it to extremes!  I owned a [removed] microphone and two speakers, and decided
    these would launch my radio [removed] least broadcasting from my bedroom
    to the kitchen!  I was 11-years old when one day when my parents were out, I
    knocked a hole in the kitchen wall inside the ironing board cabinet and
    "installed" one of my speakers. I ran the speaker cable into the kitchen
    wall, through my bedroom closet, and to my "radio studio" setup on a card
    table in my bedroom. On the card table, I had a 78rpm record player, lots of
    magazines from which to ad lib the commercials, and my precious mike. I got
    a wooden Kraft Cheese box (remember those?) and installed a lightbulb in
    [removed] the front of the box with a stenciled "On The Air" piece of
    [removed] ran the cord into my bedroom. At my feet, I had a foot
    pedal, and when I stepped on it, the "On The Air" sign lit up outside my
    bedroom door!  When my mother came home and saw what I had done to her
    kitchen wall (not to mention my hanging of the cheese box)...she wasn't
    quite as thrilled as I was about my new job as a radio announcer!!  My
    thinking was, I could "broadcast" her some great "shows" while she spent
    those boring hours doing the ironing. I stepped on that pedal, spun records
    holding the mike to the phonograph speaker, ad libbed the commercials from
    the magazines, and had one GREAT time. I was easily amused! My parents
    luckily indulged me (for awhile) before repairing the damage I had
    [removed] I became content to just place the speaker in parts of the house
    when I wanted to "broadcast". And those experiences with "playing radio" led
    to tape recording sessions with my best friend John's tape recorder where we
    again "played radio".  I confess my friends and I even placed random phone
    calls and pretended we were a radio quiz show phoning. I would play the part
    of the emcee (I called myself Frank Fry), while my buddy John handled the
    music and the applause sound effects record. We sure gave away some dandy
    prizes to strangers on the other end of the phone line who must have known
    we were just kids and played along with our gag.  I also participated in
    "plays" my cousin and I acted out for relatives when the family would
    [removed] landed a job at age 17 as a CBS Pageboy at WBBM in
    Chicago's Wrigley [removed] by broadcasting [removed] what
    turned into a four-decade career behind the mike for real, during which time
    I did NOT call myself Frank Fry!  If my parents hadn't gone along with my
    early radio foolishness, I probably wouldn't be writing this now. Thanks Mom
    and Dad.  Anyone else out there besides Neal, Art & myself who "played
    radio"?

    Rich

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 13:39:36 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Whitehall 1212 log

    Roby McHone recalled:

    I know we discussed The Black Museum several months ago, but does anyone
    know if The Black Museum and Whitehall 1212 are one and the same show?

    Roby,

    They are two different programs.  THE BLACK MUSEUM was a Lang/Worth
    syndicated series produced by Harry Alan Towers and recorded in the IBC
    Studios, in Portland Place, London, England.  Recorded in 1951 with Orson
    Welles as host.  To the best of my knowledge, Welles did this series about
    the same time he did THE LIVES OF HARRY LIME, another radio series from the
    same production company.  (Often mis-titled as "The Third Man."  Note: TTM
    was the title of the movie which the series was partially-based on, TLOHL
    was the actual name of the series.)  Off the side to set a correction: Radio
    Spirits released a "Missing Masters" album that featured 60 rare recordings
    of shows, a third of which had been in circulation for years and
    accidentally labeled the fourth episode, "A Ticket to Tangier" as the
    premiere episode.

    It was brought to my attention a couple years ago that there were actually
    52 episodes of THE BLACK MUSEUM, and I am still kicking myself in the butt
    for not grabbing the broadcast log offered to me years ago that actually had
    the titles to the show.  Collectors often list the primary object of which
    each plot centers around as the title, and I wouldn't be surprised if people
    have been running around buying the same episode two or three times, not
    realizing the "The Gun," "The Small Pistol" or "The Smoking Barrel" is the
    same episode (just citing one of many examples.)

    WHITEHALL 1212 also featured dramatizations of case files from Scotland
    Yard.  But this series was produced in America, not England.  The scripts
    were written and directed by Wyllis Cooper*, whose ear for detail was
    evident throughout the series, using an all-British cast.
    Yes, same Cooper of the magnificent fantasy series QUIET PLEASE.  While THE
    BLACK MUSEUM was broadcast over Mutual in 1952 (in more than one time-slot),
    WHITEHALL 1212 was broadcast over NBC in three different time slots, with a
    supporting cast that included: Harvey Hayes, Patricia Courtleigh, Horace
    Braham, Winston Ross, and Lester Fletcher.

    *  To clear up another matter that seems to always remain in question:
    Wyllis can also be spelled Willis.  According to Time Magazine in 1934,
    Cooper changed the spelling of his first name due to his wife's
    numerological inclanations.  Don't ask me about the story behind it or what
    all tha means - that's what TIME reported.

    WHITEHALL 1212
    Broadcast over NBC, Sunday evenings from 10:30 to 11 [removed], EST
    Beginning with episode 6, from 5 to 5:30 [removed], EST.
    Beginning with episode 14, from 5:30 to 6 [removed], EST.

    1.  The Blitz Murder Case  11/18/51
    2.  The Show Mission  11/25/51
    3.  The Fonier Case  12/2/51
    4.  The Murder of Duncan Frazier  12/9/51
    5.  The Man Who Murdered His Wife  12/16/51
    6.  The Heathrow Affair  12/23/51
    7.  The Murder of Charles Brooks  1/6/52
    8.  Camere Is Murdered  1/13/52
    9.  The Case of Donald Simms  1/20/52
    10.  The Murder of Little Philip Avery  1/27/52
    11.  The Peter Williams Case  2/3/52
    12.  The Case of Arthur Freeman  2/10/52
    13.  The Case of the Late Mrs. Harvey  2/17/52
    14.  The Murder of Peter Amory  2/24/52
    15.  The Murder of Margery Ashley  3/2/52
    16.  The Case of Dr. Duncan Allen  3/9/52
    17.  The Case of Thomas Applebee  3/16/52
    18.  The Case of the Black Gladstone Bag  3/23/52
    19.  The Murder of a Bloody Belguin  3/30/52
    20.  The Case of the Fatal Bath  4/13/52
    21.  The Case of Mrs. Minerva Bannamon  4/20/52
    22.  The Case of Franchesca Nicholson  4/27/52
    23.  The Case of William George Greenly  5/4/52
    24.  The Case of Margery Tate  5/11/52
    25.  The Case of Sidney Wolfe  5/18/52
    26.  The Case of Maggie Ralenson  5/25/52
    27.  The Case of Winifred Hog  6/1/52
    28.  The Case of the Strange Bonfire  6/8/52
    29.  The Case of the Homemade Handbag  6/15/52
    30.  The Case of Mrs. Ann Battersby  6/22/52
    31.  The Case of the Weed Eradication  6/29/52
    32.  The Murder of Mr. Sweet  7/6/52
    33.  The Case of the Ankush  7/13/52
    34.  The Case of the Unidentified Woman  7/20/52
    35.  The Case of the Magneta Blotting Pad  7/27/52
    36.  The Murder of Nora Brady  8/3/52
    37.  The Case of the Missing Clarinet  8/10/52
    38.  The Case of the Dugel Henry  8/17/52
    39.  The Murder of Lady Madge Johnson  8/24/52
    40.  The Case of the Madden Family  8/31/52
    41.  The Case of the Eaton Brothers  9/7/52
    42.  The Case of the Winchester Bottles  9/14/52
    43.  The Case of the Inoperative Wireless  9/21/52
    44.  The Case of the Electric Touch  9/28/52

    According to Jay Hickerson's Ultimate Guide (which he is revising for an
    October release, by the way - too invaluable and the second must-have book,
    following John Dunning's "On the Air" Encyclopedia), only two episodes are
    not known to exist of the 44.  Episode #2 and #9.  Hopefully someone might
    look over their collection and "Hey!  I have that one!"  You just never know
    what's out there.

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 14:37:03 -0500
    From: sojax@[removed] (Roger Smith)
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  age etc,

    Hi Roger Smith here.  After seeing the message from [removed] Hinkley I feel
    I must submit my age and so on. If I am not mistaken I traded reel to
    reel with [removed] in the 70's. I am 69 years old and some days feel all of
    those years. I went thru listening to all of these shows when they were
    orginaly broadcast, laying on the living room floor in Schoolcraft
    Michigan. I loved radio and begain to realy miss it in the early 70"s.
    Reading the Wall Street Journal one day I came accross an article on
    Radio Yesteryear (I think that was it) in New York, telling about their
    selling old radio show on reel to teel tape. Needless to say I was
    hooked. Ended up trading and collecting in to the 80"s. At one time I
    made up two reels (12 hours) of appearances that Bob Sweeney made on
    radio. He was half of the Sweeney and March show. The other half being
    Hal March. Anyway these reels had two of their shows (I think only 3
    exist) and the rest being guest shots and commercials that Bob did. Bob
    was at that time the producer of Hawaiin Five O.  Well some time later I
    was watchng one of the shows with a scene of and old radio playing and
    low and behold it was my tape.  Realy loved Bob, he was so funny. I also
    am proud of the fact that I am member number 24 of [removed] been with
    them a long time. Wow sure was surprised to read that Elizabeth (did I
    spell it right?) was so young. So much knowledge and I look forward to
    her every letter. Well I think that I have rambled on long enough but I
    realy enjoy this group and look forward to the daily news letter. My
    best, Roger.

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 14:37:06 -0500
    From: TROPHYBOB@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jerry's OK

    I just received an email from Jerry Haendiges who received a letter I sent to
    him by snail mail. He is alive and well and busy as usual. I was glad to hear
    it, as I was worried by his "absence" the past couple of months and the fact
    I had another person email me with the same concern about him.
    Stay well Jerry and glad to hear you're fine.
    Bob Marquette

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 14:37:08 -0500
    From: dougdouglass@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Ryan Osentowski

    Has anyone heard from Ryan Osentowski? He was a frequent contributor.
    IIRC, Ryan was changing ISPs and planned to be off-line during his
    summer vacation from college.
    ---Doug

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 15:00:06 -0500
    From: "Sara Long" <splong@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Looking for  the Uncle Mal Show

    Hello,
    Back on January 1st, Paul Fornatar was reminscing in the Digest and listed
    some seven favorite shows of his. One was the "Uncle Mal Show." If anyone
    has one episode and is willing to trade or sell it, would you please let me
    know? I'd like to know some background on it, too. Thanks to all.  Happy
    listening.
    SARA LONG

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 18:00:28 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <wmackey@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  War bond prices

      There's a inflation calculator site
    ([removed]) where you type in an amount of money
    and then ask for the price from whatever date entered to 1999.
      I ran a little check on this and in 1943 a war bond costing $[removed]
    would be equal to $[removed] in '99.  Not knowing the salary for various
    workers, an average of $20 comes out to $[removed]  And what you could buy
    with $[removed] in 1943 would cost $20 in 1999.  FWIW.
      Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 18:00:26 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <wmackey@[removed];
    To: otr-otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  A Sad Day in Radio History

      From TLK Headlines, AP:

       1926: Baird Demonstrated Mechanical Television
       Scottish inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated for the first time a
    mechanical television called "televisor" in London. Baird's invention
    used rotating disks that divided the image into horizontal lines. Later
    this was done electronically with a cathode ray tube. Baird was so ahead
    of his time that before he died in 1946, he drafted plans for a
    television with 1,000 lines of resolution, something that only came into
    being in 1990.
                          More on the mechanical television:
                          [removed]
       Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 18:00:25 -0500
    From: knight555@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  big band on otr

    It's nice to see that all ages are on the list and sharing. I think that's
    one thing that makes otr such a great hobby, it can be appreciated by all
    ages in different ways.  I'm in my 40's but my boys are 12 and 14 and have
    been into otr for about 4 years now and are totally hooked and read the
    list with me.  The youngest loves comedy and the oldest is currently into
    westerns like Gunsmoke.  (I got into it when it was on radio for a bit when
    I was about their ages and again with Mystery Theater, I guess they got
    into it listening to my tapes and then borrowing them when it was bedtime. ).
    My oldest guy is a percussionist and heavily into Gene Krupa (at the
    moment, bordering on obsessed ;o)   )and wants to know if he was ever on
    any shows like a variety show  that may currently be available on otr.
    They are both into Benny Goodman and want to know if his orchestra ever did
    radio shows like Jack Benny or variety type?  Did big bands ever appear on
    variety shows or were they strictly recordings on their own for music shows?
    As always, thanks, reply directly if you like.  MJS

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 19:00:12 -0500
    From: "Art Shifrin" <goldens2@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Radio Spriits 60 episode Gunsmoke package.

    That echo is due to sophomoric mucking with the integrity of the re-recorded
    signal.  It's not an accident: it's a bad sonic value judgement.

    Best,
    Shiffy
    check out my website: [removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 19:00:14 -0500
    From: Henry Howard <hhoward@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Echo on Cassesttes

      Nik Kierniesky  writes:
     >Most of the tapes had a noticeable "echo" after and sometimes before a
    short piece of dialogue.  What causes this? <

    What you are hearing is "print through".  The magnetic image of the sound
    as transferred from one "layer'" of the tape to the next as it is wound
    around the hub.  Being wound too tight or being subjected to heat
    will contribute to the effect.
      Henry Howard - moderator of  radiodrama@[removed]
    770 923 7955                   [removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 19:40:39 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Statuettes and Alligators

    Randy Cox notes,

> >     . There's even a Captain Midnight plaster statue that could be found in

    stores in the 1940s -- though I don't recall ever seeing [removed];<

    These pop up from time to time on eBay.  They're rather crude.  Whoever
    made them also did one of Joyce Ryan, and it's not only crude, it makes
    her look rather ugly.  Even if I weren't a purist on Captain Midnight
    (recognizing only the OTR 15-minute serial as genuine), I doubt I'd be
    such a completist I'd want those in my collection.

    Larry Little reminisces,

> >     Somebody recently remarked about taping shows using alligator clips in

    the old days and that brought back memories as I used  to do the same
    thing. <<

    I learned the same trick.  Originally, I used a microphone in front of a
    speaker (hey!  I was a kid!) but this didn't work well -- sometimes just
    as I started my recording, some family member would enter the room and
    ask, "What are you doing?"  I quickly discovered that recording off
    speaker terminals with alligator clips not only gave me better sound, but
    also enabled everybody to speak without getting it on the recording.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 20:18:15 -0500
    From: DIANEK9331@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Plastic tape cases available

    Hello all,
    I have about 150 hard plastic tape cases that I would like to get out of my
    house. I would like to sell them for 15 cents each if any one is interested.
    Thanks,
    Diane

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 20:18:18 -0500
    From: "Harry Machin, Jr." <harbev5@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Tom Mix tapes

    I've been asked to post, on the OTR Digest, some names of people who have
    told me they have a few Tom Mix shows for sale or trade.  Here are a couple:
    Bob Burchett at  haradio@[removed]
    Ted Kneebone at  [removed]

    Harry Machin, Jr.

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 20:18:20 -0500
    From: Henry Howard <hhoward@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Big Band Remotes

    William L Murtough uses the term "Big Band Remotes"...

    That was the focus of the Jan 20 Big Band Jump program.
    The archive is available at [removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 20:36:31 -0500
    From: otrbuff@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Conrad correction

    A dear friend who reads this list gently pointed out that, while I
    indicated yesterday that Bill Conrad directed the first 26 episodes of
    the televised Gunsmoke, the Barabases (who absolutely wrote the
    definitive work on Gunsmoke, with 800-plus pages) indicated that Charles
    Warren took those early directorial honors.  I bow to that information
    and stand corrected.   [Gunsmoke:  A Complete History; McFarland, 1990]

    Gerald Nachman, in "Raised on Radio," states:  "Conrad produced and
    directed the first twenty-six episodes, then left the show." (p. 205)
    While Gerald is my friend, I'm thinking the unidentified source he is
    taking his information from may have misled both of us.

    Conrad did direct some of the TV episodes later, after he had had a
    little time to lick some wounds and put it all behind him.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 21:36:43 -0500
    From: Gordon R Payton <thescifiguy@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  echo

    Nik Kierniesky queried:

    <<<I just finished listening the Radio Spriits 60 episode Gunsmoke
    package. Most of the tapes had a noticeable "echo" after and sometimes
    before a
    short piece of dialogue.  What causes this? >>>

    Hmmm, that's peculiar. The echo before and after sounds exactly like the
    sound defects that most of the mp3 recordings that are circulating have.
    Over-compression is apparently the cause of this. I'm sure RS wouldn't
    resort to using mp3's.

    I had a problem with tapes from a dealer out West that was vaguely
    similar. A distinct "ssss" sound would be heard every time someone spoke.
    This was the case with almost every tape I bought from him. I was later
    told by Jerry Haendiges that is what happens when a very good or first
    generation recording is copied, usually at double speed, onto Ampex 641
    reel to reel tape or similar low-cost, low-bias, tape. The tape was
    literally getting "fried" from too much input from the source.

    It sounds to me like a technical error or equipment glitch. Maybe RS
    records it's tapes from a digital source and there was a glitch. Can you
    exchange the set? Possibly you just have a bad batch of recordings. Have
    you tried playing the tapes in another player, like a Walkman? Possibly
    your tape heads are worn out.

    Gordon

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

    Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 22:50:30 -0500
    From: "Art Shifrin" <goldens2@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  "dance band remotes" vs. "jazz remotes"

    "Dance band remote" is the conventional way in which to refer to such
    broadcasts, but it's a term that is not all encompassing. For example, I
    have a 1937 remote from the 20th Century Fox studios by The Raymond Scott
    Quintett ("the only six man quintette in the business") .  The music therein
    is jazz, but not danceable (in the usual context of dance band dancing).  A
    pickup from a club in the 40's in which "Bop" were being played by a small
    group also would not be correctly described as a "dance band remote".  So
    "jazz remote" can indeed be valid.
     Best,
    Shiffy
    check out my website: [removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 00:46:56 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Groucho and ad libbing

    Thanks to all who replied to my question about "You Bet Your Life."  I
    never doubted that the show was at least partly scripted.  Groucho's son
    said as much in his book =Life with Groucho= in the 1950s.  But I had
    always thought that the show was intended to give Groucho the chance to do
    ad libs, and I was troubled by TV Guide's statement that "the show was
    almost entirely scripted and his 'ad-libs' were well planned."   I had
    more faith than that in Groucho -- and the fact that the show was pre-
    recorded and filmed was supposed to be so that Groucho could be
    uninhibited and not have to worry about whether something was fit to go
    over the air (such as his famous "I love my cigar" crack.).

    So it seems that the show was more scripted than I had originally thought.
    But, after everyone's answers,  "almost entirely scripted" still sounds
    like an overstatement.

    Incidentally, Groucho's wit stayed with him to the end.  Steve Stoliar, in
    his book, =Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho's House=, describes
    his last wisecrack.  He was in the hospital, dying, and a nurse came in
    with a thermometer, saying that she wanted to "see if you have a
    temperature."  Groucho replied, "Don't be silly, everyone has a
    temperature."

     A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                        [removed]
     15 Court Square                     lawyer@[removed]
     Boston, MA 02108-2503      [removed]~lawyer/

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #31
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