Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #31
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 1/21/2003 5:16 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 31
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Re: TWTD is Alive and Well            [ TWTDchuck@[removed] ]
      re: TWTD HELP                         [ Marty <martyd@[removed]; ]
      Re: Converting MP3 files              [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
      Burns And Allen                       [ JJiovanazz@[removed] ]
      Have Gun - Will Travel                [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Re: Walter Brennan                    [ Timothy Clough <timothy@[removed]; ]
      RE: Help                              [ ""Cynthia \"ChibiBarako\""" < ]
      Radio donations beware?               [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Re: Blanc/Gordon feud                 [ "Rodney w bowcock jr." <rodney-self ]
      Rex Koury                             [ Larry Gassman <lgsinger@[removed] ]
      Reference question                    [ "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@comc ]
      Japanese Stereotypes                  [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
      Murmuring and Mumbling                [ Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed] ]
      Off the top of the head               [ "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@hotmail ]
      Broderick Crawford on Radio           [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
      Radio Music Box                       [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
      Clarabell on Howdy Doody Show         [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]

    ______________________________________________________________________

        ADMINISTRIVIA:

        Due to an editing error, a small section of yesterday's
        "Struts and Frets" doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The
        corrections will be made to the web page, and have been to the
        archived copy of the issue in question, but the damaged section
        of the seventh paragraph _should_ read:

    Those big .44s were loaded with 1/4 loads. On the set they went "pop."
    When dubbed later they sounded like "BOOM!" Even the 1/4 loads could fire
    wadding a considerable distance and that is why the gun was never supposed to
    be aimed directly at the actor.

        That will teach me to edit without my glasses.  --cfs3

    ______________________________________________________________________

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

    Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 21:23:10 -0500
    From: TWTDchuck@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: TWTD is Alive and Well

    Keith Monroe asked why the program "Those Were The Days" is no longer
    broadcast.

    Well, the reports of our demise is greatly exaggerated!

    "Those Were The Days" is indeed alive and well and is broadcast every
    Saturday afternoon from 1 to 5 pm (Chicago time) from station WDCB, [removed] FM
    and live on the Internet at [removed]

    We've never been off the air, although for seven months during 2001 we were
    broadcasting at greatly reduuced power because of an antenna collapse.  But
    we're back at full strength (since last July) and going strong.

    In fact, this coming Saturday, January 25, we'll have an entire four-hour
    program devoted to Edgar Bergen on his Centennial (1903-2003).  Lots of
    Bergen and McCarthy programming will be presented including a 2-part "This Is
    Your Life" Charlie McCarthy program from with Ralph Edwards and Edgar Bergen
    from 1950.

    And, as usual, we'll have four weeks' worth of Jack Benny material during
    February, our "Jack Benny Month" for the past 20+ years.

    Those Were The Days has been broadcasting in the Chicago area in the same
    Saturday afternoon time slot for the past 32 years.  On April 26th we'll
    observe our 33rd broadcast anniversary.

    We publish a Nostalgia Digest with lots of articles from and about the past
    plus our complete TWTD program schedule.  Any reader of this old time radio
    Digest who would like a complimentary copy of our current issue need only
    respond with your name and mailing address and we'll send you our current
    February/March issue with no obligation.   Our Nostalgia Digest e-mail
    address is  TWTDchuck@[removed]

    Best regards from a "lurker" who really appreciates this forum.

    Chuck Schaden
    Host and Producer
    Those Were The Days

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

    Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 21:33:38 -0500
    From: Marty <martyd@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  re: TWTD HELP

    In Digest V2003 #28, "Keith7350" inquired about Chuck Schaden's "Those
    Were The Days" program not being aired.  Keith, I don't know what to
    say, but I listened to Chuck's show this past Saturday on WDCB, [removed] FM
    dial from 1pm - 5pm.  I don't know if you meant the internet feed on
    [removed] .  Since I didn't listen on the internet, I don't
    know if that was working or not.   But I can guaranteed that the
    "on-the-air" portion was broadcast just fine!

    Chuck and his crew put on one heck of a 4-hour OTR "marathon" each and
    every Saturday afternoon.  My Saturday afternoon's aren't complete
    unless TWTD is on the radio!

    Keith, you can contact me off list if you want and clarify if you were
    talking about the on-the-air or internet broadcast.

    Marty

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

    Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 21:24:03 -0500
    From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Converting MP3 files

    EZ CD Creator which is available for the PC, will convert MP3 files to
    Audio CDs. You select the type of CD you want to burn. Instead of selecting
    DATA, select AUDIO. Then place the MP3 files into the program. When you
    burn the CD, the program converts them to WAV files that then play as an
    Audio CD.

    There are also tons of programs for both the MAC and PC that will convert
    MP3 to WAV files. Check out [removed] and do a search on MP3. Many of
    the programs are free, some are shareware that cost around $[removed] or less.
    Download a few, test them out and keep the one you like.

    Fred
    [removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 21:24:14 -0500
    From: JJiovanazz@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Burns And Allen
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    To All OTR Fans,

    I am trying to track down a Burns and Allen show that contains a hilarious
    skit where George and Gracie were playing bridge.  My wife is an avid bridge
    player and I would like to include this bit of satire as a birthday gift.  I
    would appreciate knowing what broadcast contains this skit and if the script
    exits.

    thanks,

    Jim Jiovanazzo

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

    Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 21:37:55 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Have Gun - Will Travel

    Ryan Hall asked about Roddenberry's radio credits.  So far as I know, Gene
    Roddenberry NEVER wrote a single radio script.  Many people still insist
    that Roddenberry wrote for radio's HAVE GUN - WILL TRAVEL when in reality,
    he was given credit on the show - but he never wrote the script.

    Yes, this is the same Gene Roddenberry who later created STAR TREK (it's
    proper pronounciation is TREK, not TRAK).  Roddenberry wrote numerous
    scripts for the television series HAVE GUN - WILL TRAVEL and a year after
    the TV show premiered, Norman MacDonnell wanted to do a radio series
    counterpart, using radio scripts adapted from the television scripts.  As
    John Dehner recalled a few weeks before his death, the idea was okay, but it
    didn't prove to be a success, so after twenty-some radio broadcasts, the
    producers began dramatizing original radio scripts, tossing away the idea of
    taking the TV scripts and making them into radio dramas.

    Case in point: the episode Ryan talked about, "The Hanging Cross," which was
    one of the best episodes of the first season on television, but when adapted
    for radio - it sucked.  The television program had more feeling and emotion
    captured, and the ending was particularly wonderful because as Paladin began
    riding out, the shadow of the gallows being torn down, cast on the ground
    was in the form of a cross - the symbol of what Christmas really means.
    That was a visual that could not be displayed in any radio drama.

    The episode "Maggie O'Bannion" has extreme moments of charm.  In "Helen of
    Abajinian," Harold Stone debates the price with Paladin, and that scene is
    superb - couldn't be copied as beautifully in the radio series.  In fact,
    the only radio episode based on a Roddenberry television script that is
    decent enough to warrant listening to is "Ella West."  All the others were
    just plain dull.  Anyone who has access to those HGWT television episodes,
    watch them and see what I mean.  The radio versions do not do those stories
    justice.

    Now I'm not debunking the radio program.  Radio's HGWT was superb in many
    counts, especially the ones scripted by sound man Ray Kemper, and the
    braodcasts of late 1959 to early 1960.  But I highly recommend true western
    fans and nostalgia fans to watch the television episodes and listen to the
    radio episodes and judge for yourself.  "In an Evil Time" is one of the best
    television episodes ever made and why they even did that for the radio
    series is beyond me.  I almost shed a tear at the end of "In An Evil Time"
    but the radio drama made me laugh.

    For the record, the following are the only radio episodes based on Gene
    Roddenberry's TV scripts:

    EPISODE #2    "ROAD TO WICKENBERG"    Broadcast on November 30, 1958
    Recorded on November 30, 1958, 2:30 pm to 3:00 pm.
    Cast:  Lynn Allen as Sue		Jack Edwards as Keystone
    Victor Perrin as the Sheriff	Harry Bartell as Sol
    Frank Gerstle as Jim		Eve McVeagh as the lady
    Produced and directed by Norman MacDonnell.
    Based on the teleplay "The Road to Wickenberg" by Gene Roddenberry and
    adapted for radio by John Dawson.
    Commercials: CBS News; Kent's Filtered Cigarettes; and Lysol Pine-Scented
    Disinfectant
    There are four of you gentlemen and I've only one bullet left in my
    derringer.  So my choice is very simple.  I'll kill the first man who
    speaks.
    Story:  same as television episode #46, broadcast on October 25, 1958.

    EPISODE #3    "ELLA WEST"    Broadcast on December 7, 1958
    Recorded on November 15, 1958, 8:00 to 8:25 pm.
    Cast: Virginia Gregg as Ella West 	Sam Edwards as Tracy Calvert
    Harry Bartell as Tom Carter	Lawrence Dobkin as Breed
    Lynn Allen as Clarisse		Barney Phillips as the driver
    Harry Bartell as the barkeep	Ben Wright as the manager
    Produced and directed by Norman MacDonnell.
    Based on the teleplay by Gene Roddenberry and adapted for radio by John
    Dawson.
    Commercials: CBS News; Kent's Filtered Cigarettes; and Traffic Laws, Driving
    Safely and the [removed] Post Office (Public Service Announcements).
    Sound effects were supplied by Bill James and Cliff Thorsness.
    I promised I'd avoid a gunfight if possible.  But it looks as though it
    isn't possible.  I have one bullet left.  You may draw when you're ready.
    Story:  same as television episode #17, broadcast on January 4, 1958.

    EPISODE #5    "THE HANGING CROSS"    Broadcast on December 21, 1958
    Recorded on December 13, 1958, 6:30 to 7:00 pm.
    Cast:  Victor Perrin as Beecher	Jess Kirkpatrick as Tater
    John James supplied ad libs	Dick Beals as Chiwah
    Ann Morrison as Maudie		Virginia Christine as the lady
    Ralph Moody as Cah		Ben Wright as Pete
    Produced and directed by Norman MacDonnell.
    Based on the teleplay by Gene Roddenberry and adapted for radio by John
    Dawson.
    In all my life, I've only seen a dozen real killers.  But I've seen ten
    thousand people who will sit back and let murder happen.  Which is the
    greater evil?
    Story:  same as television episode #15, broadcast on December 21, 1957.

    EPISODE #7    "HELEN OF ABAJINIAN"    Broadcast on January 4, 1959
    Recorded on December 27, 1958, 6:30 to 7 pm.
    Cast:  Lawrence Dobkin as Abajinian	Richard Crenna as O'Riley
    Lillian Buyeff as Helen Abajinian	Virginia Christine as Marga
    Lynn Allen as the woman
    Produced and directed by Norman MacDonnell.
    Based on the teleplay by Gene Roddenberry and adapted for radio by John
    Dawson.
    I've been employed to bring you back, and that's just what I'm going to do,
    Mr. O'Riley, like it or not.
    Story:  same as television episode #16, broadcast on December 28, 1957.

    EPISODE #20    "MAGGIE O'BANION"    Broadcast on April 5, 1959
    Recorded on March 21, 1959, 6:30 to 7 pm.
    Cast:  Virginia Gregg as Cookie 	Lynn Allen as Marg
    Harry Bartell as Cyrus		Barney Phillips as Jake
    Ben Wright as Pete		Virginia Gregg as the sexpot
    Produced and directed by Norman MacDonnell.
    Based on the teleplay by Gene Roddenberry and adapted for radio by John
    Dawson.
    I'm offering you a choice.  To fight with knives or guns.  But just remember
    this.  Whichever way you choose, the loser will be a long time dead.
    Story:  same as television episode #67, broadcast on April 4, 1959.

    Excerpts from the Have Gun - Will Travel broadcast log found in THE HAVE GUN
    - WILL TRAVEL COMPANION, written by Les Rayburn and Martin Grams, Jr.,
    published in 2000.

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

    Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 21:39:28 -0500
    From: Timothy Clough <timothy@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Walter Brennan

    From: "timl2002" <timl2002@[removed];

>     Walter Brennan, The Star of the Real Mc
>     Coys was also an accomplished Movie actor (3 academy awards) and Radio
>     performer.

    Can anyone give me a list of radio shows in which Walter Brennan was in?
    The reason I'm interested is because his wife was some sort of cousin of
    mine (second cousin once removed?).

    Thanks in advance.
    Timothy Clough

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

    Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 21:40:33 -0500
    From: ""Cynthia \"ChibiBarako\""" <cvc@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RE: Help

    Keith was asking if Those Were the Days is still being broadcast.
    YES!!  Not only can you pick it up on [removed] FM WDCB (although the signal
    is stronger the closer you are to Glen Ellyn; I can't get it well north
    of the Northwest Tollway), but you can also download it through the
    College of DuPage Radio (WDCB) website
    [removed] using RealAudio (with all the
    appropriate caveats).  (WDCB's website itself is [removed] with a
    link to the same page.)

    See you on the radio!

    Cynthia "ChibiBarako"

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

    Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 21:41:13 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Radio donations beware?

    I was reading a radio script this afternoon and came across a curious bit of
    dialogue that got my head buzzing for a moment.  I assume it's a temporary
    brain fart but here goes [removed]

    The script read:
    "Landor revealed that he is contact for the Czech underground movement; and
    Willie has refused to help his countrymen by so musch as one dollar.  When
    Miss Kovin told that Wade, as Mr. "V", had actually give some half a million
    to the cause, landor's apology was cut short by the indignant Wade."

    Now this was July of 1944 and I am assuming that Mr. "V", the character's
    charitable alias, stood for V for "Victory."  But this has caused my brain a
    stir.  I recall in January of 1945 Cecil B. DeMille would not pay his one
    dollar donation to aid the American Federation of Radio Artists as a matter
    of principal (thus sacrificing his million-dollar per year LUX RADIO THEATER
    hosting chores) but his non-donation had nothing to do with any Czech
    underground movement.  my question is this.  Was there any such Chech
    underground movement in mid-1944?  Was this an in-joke something the writer
    snuck into the script?  Or is this just a long-shot that means my brain is
    over-worked?

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

    Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 21:57:48 -0500
    From: "Rodney w bowcock jr." <rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Blanc/Gordon feud

    I've not read the Lucy book, but I do know that in his biography (That's
    Not All Folks!) Blanc said that Gordon was one of the only radio actors
    that he did not care for.  I took alot of Blanc's book with a grain of
    salt, but in this case, coming from multiple sources, they must have
    really not liked each other.  Blanc related a couple of instances of
    rudeness on Gordon's part, but I've heard no examples about the other way
    around.  No matter, I think they were both good actors at their
    respective roles, and many people have had nothing but nice things to say
    about either of them.

    Rodney Bowcock
    Past Tense Productions "Classic movies and TV for $7"

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

    Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 21:57:56 -0500
    From: Larry Gassman <lgsinger@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Rex Koury

    Hi,
    Having interviewed and spent time with Rex Koury over the years, I do
    remember that he did write several songs for organ.  I don't recall titles,
    but my guess is that the Rex Koury referred to is the same one.
    Larry Gassman

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

    Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 21:58:42 -0500
    From: "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Reference question

>     1)  Here is line Stretch Snodgrass  has.

>     STRETCH: Gee, Walter, you got a mind like Mack LaBelly.
>     At least, it sounds like he says Mack LaBelly.  Anyone know who or what this
>     refers to?

    I believe Stretch is referring to Machiavelli, famed political philosopher
    and author of "The Prince."

    Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

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

    Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 07:01:43 -0500
    From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
    To: OldRadio Mailing Lists <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Japanese Stereotypes

    "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed]; mentioned anti-Japanese
    stereotypes in the OTR ear. Which reminds me of absolutely the only
    thing I remember from the revival of the old Batman serials during
    the Batmania period. Batman and Robin are, as I recall, searching an
    empty carnival grounds while a Winchell-like narrator (could it
    actually have BEEN Walther Winchell?) intones, "...ever since a wise
    government rounded up its shifty-eyed [removed]" referring, of course,
    to the internment camps.

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

    Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 07:01:56 -0500
    From: Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Murmuring and Mumbling

    What were some of the things that actors would say when there was a crowd scene
    such as this in a Western?

    Ring-leader -  "Okay, boys, we've got him"
    Crowd - "Murmer, mumble, etc."
    Ring-leader - " I say we hang him!"
    Crowd: - "Murmer, murmer"

    I heard somewhere that they just said "Rhubarb, rhubarb" but I don't know
    if that's true.  Do any of you know the answer?

    Al Girard

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

    Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 07:02:19 -0500
    From: "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Off the top of the head

    A few sips of hot chocolate ago, Elizabeth McLeod stated that Fulton Lewis,
    Jr.'s only rival as an extemporaneous speaker in OTR days was probably H. V.
    Kaltenborn. Much as I hate to brush aside a fellow Wisconsinite such as
    Hans, I can think of three others who were better than he and as good as
    Fulton: on a national level, Bob Trout of CBS and Alex Dreier of NBC, and
    locally in Chicago, Paul Gibson of WBBM. (And, yes, Elizabeth, I still have
    these blasted Gibson airchecks I promised to send you three years ago, but I
    keep losing your snailmail address and am usually too embarrassed to keep
    asking for it yet again. Apologies.)

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

    Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 07:03:05 -0500
    From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Broderick Crawford on Radio

    Bob Taylor asked if Brod Crawford ever did any radio.  He certainly did
    during WWII.  He went into the [removed] Army in Nov. 1942 as a Pvt. and was
    assigned to the Army Air Force Training Command Radio Unit then HQ'd in
    Atlantic City [removed] in May 1943.  This was the unit commanded by the very
    famous bandleader Glenn Miller.  Crawford did announcing duties as well
    as acting in mini plays on Miller's show "I Sustain the Wings". These
    were well written and professionally produced plays often dramatizing
    the importance of a particular job in the Air Force or the story of an
    act of heroism etc. This continued thru 1943 up until June 1944 when the
    Miller band was given orders to go overseas.
    On July 4th 1944 Crawford was assigned to temporary duty to AFN Radio in
    London.  I don't remember exactly what he did there, but I'm sure it
    involved acting again.  Back with the band again in May 1945 after
    Miller's disappearance he remained so until he was discharged in
    November 1945.
    Many of the recordings of the Miller Air Force Band survive and show not
    only what a great band Glenn Miller had in the service but also what a
    really good actor Brod Crawford was. All or nearly all of the scripts
    for "I Sustain The Wings" have been published in Edward Polic's  book
    "Sustineo Alas/ I Sustain the Wings vol. 2".

    George Aust

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

    Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 07:03:33 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Radio Music Box

>     Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 14:44:28 -0500
>     From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];

>     But the statement does not mention the memo at all, just the receiver and
>     it specifically says that a receiver had been made.

    It said that the receiver was Sarnoff's "brain child" not his "handiwork."  It nowhere implies
    that Sarnoff himself made the receiver, only that it was Sarnoff's idea.

    --
    A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                           [removed]
     15 Court Square, Suite 210                 lawyer@[removed]
    Boston, MA 02108-2503           	         [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 07:03:35 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Clarabell on Howdy Doody Show

>     Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 13:15:54 -0500
>     From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];

>               Wasn't Clarabell portrayed by Bob Keeshan, the same
>     man who later made Captain Kangaroo famous?

    Clarabell was portrayed by Bob Keeshan, from the character's creation sometime in 1948
    until late 1952.  There are various accounts of what happened, but apparently Keeshan and
    three other cast members tried to negotiate for higher pay as a group of four.  The show's
    producers refused to deal with them that way, claiming that it was a violation of union rules
    for them to try to bargain collectively without being a recognized bargaining unit.

    In any event, according to various accounts, things remained at an impass until Christmas
    eve afternoon 1952, when Buffalo Bob called a meeting, with the entire cast and crew sitting
    in the peanut gallery and stated that since these four had threatened to quit if they didn't get
    their way, they should now take their belongings and leave.  They claimed they were fired,
    Buffalo Bob claimed they quit.  Whatever.

    Bob Nicholson took over the role of Clarabell "temporarily."  Two years later, he said to
    Buffalo Bob, "I thought you said this was temporary."  So Lew Anderson, who was a member
    of the band in Bob Smith's radio show, was tapped to take over the part.  Anderson
    continued to play Clarabell until the end of the show, and again in the mid-1970s revival and
    in the 40th anniversary special in 1987.  He also made road appearances with Buffalo Bob
    until the latter's death in 1998.

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #31
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