Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #2
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 1/2/2005 9:12 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2005 : Issue 2
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  This week in radio history 2-8 Janua  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
  Rabbit Ears McKeester                 [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
  Dennis Day's [removed]                [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
  Christmas carol: the Log              [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
  Re: Begin the Beguine                 [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
  Dennis Day's Mother                   [ "John Eccles, Jr." <jeccles@earthli ]
  Mentioned but not heard               [ Ken Dahl <kdahl@[removed]; ]
  Benny unheard characters              [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
  1-3 births/deaths                     [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Re: CINOs (Characters In Name Only)   [ "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed]; ]
  Happy 2005                            [ "[removed]" <asajb2000@ ]
  Pierre Nussbaum. . .                  [ "W. Gary W." <wgaryw@[removed]; ]
  What about Remley?                    [ "James Yellen" <clifengr3@[removed] ]
  Radio Mispronounciations              [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
  Disappearing characters               [ Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed] ]
  41-12-07 NY Philharmonic Concert int  [ Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed] ]
  Fibber McGee characters               [ KENPILETIC@[removed] ]

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 11:28:43 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  This week in radio history 2-8 January

 From Those Were The Days --

1/2

1921 - The first religious broadcast on radio was heard, as Dr. [removed] Van
Etten of Calvary Episcopal Church preached on KDKA radio in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.

1959 - CBS dropped the curtain on four soap operas. Our Gal Sunday, This
is Nora Drake, Backstage Wife and Road of Life all hit the road for good.

1/4

1928 - NBC debuted one of radio's first variety shows. The Dodge Victory
Hour starred Will Rogers, Paul Whiteman and his orchestra and singer Al
Jolson. The cost to produce this one show was $67,600.

1932 - NBC Red presented The Carnation Contented Hour. The show
continued on network radio for 19 years as a showcase for top singers
and musicians.

1935 - Bob Hope was first heard on network radio as part of The Intimate
Revue with Jane Froman, James Melton and the Al Goodman Orchestra.

1/5

1935 - We proudly remind you that Phil Spitalny's All-Girl Orchestra was
featured on CBS this day on the program, The Hour of Charm.  (ed- And
who can ever forget Evelyn and her magic violin?)

1940 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) got its very first
demonstration of FM radio. The new medium, free of interference, static,
and noise in thunderstorms, was developed by Major [removed] Armstrong. The
first FM transmitter was put in operation in 1941.

1/6

1941 - A young actor appeared for the first time in a new program on CBS
titled, The Home of the Brave. Along with others in the cast, this was
Richard Widmark's radio debut.

1950 - Ronald Coleman starred as the president of Ivy College in The
Halls of Ivy.

1974 - CBS radio returned to dramatic programming at night with the
first broadcast of Radio Mystery Theatre, hosted by [removed] Marshall. The
program debuted on 218 CBS network stations.

1/7

1926 - A famous marriage that endured for many years is remembered this
day. It's the wedding anniversary of George Burns and Gracie Allen who
were married by a Justice of the Peace in Cleveland, Ohio.

1940 - The gate to Gene Autryís Melody Ranch opened. The ësinging
cowboy' would entertain on CBS radio for the next 16 years.

1941 - The NBC Blue network presented the first installment of Inner
Sanctum.

1950 - Ernest Tubb made his first appearance at The Grand Ole Opry in
Nashville, TN. Ernest also did a 15-minute radio program each day that
became very popular in West Texas. So popular, in fact, that he bought
the radio station that had aired the program for years and years: KGKL
in San Angelo, Texas.

Joe

--
Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed]

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 13:48:51 -0500
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Rabbit Ears McKeester

For the Never Heard list:
Sparky's playmate Rabbit Ears McKeester, on No School Today wit Big
Jon and Sparky. And, of course, the entire cast of the Colonel
Jupiter of the Universe Patrol series.

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 13:49:01 -0500
From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Dennis Day's [removed]

Kermyt commented on Dennis Day's mother not being on Jack Benny's program.
Recently I heard one show in which Verna Felton played Dennis' mother.  She
was perfect!  I didn't make a note of the date, but probably someone can
verify this.  Laura Leff of the International Jack Benny Fan Club?

Ted Kneebone / 1528 S. Grant St. / Aberdeen, SD  57401
[removed]

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 13:49:10 -0500
From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Christmas carol:  the Log

Bob just asked about the Hallmark Hall of Fame and Christmas Carol.  Several
years ago someone on this list posted a Barrymore / Christmas Carol log.  I
printed it -- and it's somewhere around here.  Maybe that poster would be
willing to post it again.  I think it went back to the first time Lionel
played Ebenezer in the mid-1930s until the last one in the 1950s.  Some were
60:00 and some were 30:00 versions.

Ted Kneebone / 1528 S. Grant St. / Aberdeen, SD  57401
[removed]

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 13:49:31 -0500
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Begin the Beguine
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In a message dated 1/2/05 10:31:43 AM Central Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:

The young man (something Tucker) filling in for Aaron Brown on Thursday
night on CNN pronounced it virtually like "Ben Gay" which is something
altogether different.

That was Tucker Carlson, filling in for Aaron.

So what is the correct pronunciation anyway?  I think I know (based on seeing
Artie Shaw do a TV record commercial circa 1974) but just to double [removed]

Dixon

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Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 13:49:54 -0500
From: "John Eccles, Jr." <jeccles@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Dennis Day's Mother

Actually, Dennis Day's mother was heard from Dennis' earliest appearances on
Benny's show in 1939.  She was played by Verna Felton and can be heard on
numerous programs.  This is merely a theory on my part, but perhaps the
character of Dennis' mother was added to bolster his character until he
found his "radio legs."  Of course, Day proved to be an invaluable addition
to Benny's show, especially with his talent for mimicry.  Felton's role was
phased out once Dennis demonstrated he could "hold his own" with the other
regulars, and Dennis' mother became a character that was talked about, but
never heard.  Rather an interesting reversal for a radio character.

John Eccles, Jr.

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 14:41:09 -0500
From: Ken Dahl <kdahl@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Mentioned but not heard

Has anyone posted "sweetie face", the wife of Wallace Whimpel on Fibber McGee
& Molly, as a character often mentioned but never heard?

Regards,
Ken Dahl

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 15:54:03 -0500
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Benny unheard characters

Kermyt Anderson writes:

I think Dennis Day's mother was initially in this category--you  heard
about her a lot on the
Benny show, but for several years that was it. Perhaps she only gained  a
voice after
Dennis got his own show, and then she'd appear occasionally on Benny  as
well.

Sorry, Kermyt, I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one.  On
Dennis' first episode (and several thereafter until Dennis started to get his
"radio legs"), Verna Felton played the loud, dictatorial mother and almost
totally overwhelms Dennis' own character.  After Dennis started--to borrow  a
term
from Phil Harris--getting in the groove, the mother character fell away  and
was then only heard occasionally.

We also heard a lot about Frankie Remley on Benny's program before he
eventually gained
a voice on Phil's show, in the mid-40s.

True, although he wasn't completely unheard on the Benny show.   There's a
bit (I haven't gotten to the script on it yet, but I think it was  played by
the
real Frankie Remley) where Phil brags how Frankie can identify any  music
just by hearing a few bars of it (insert your own bar joke here).  So
Frankie's
brought out, and the piano player (may have been Charlie Bagby by that  time)
plays a classical piece.  Frankie asks to hear it again, and the  piano player
repeats it.  He concentrates hard, and then announces, "I  know!  It's a
PIANO!"

(I don't think Sammy the drummer ever had a voice--add that to the  list of
unheard
characters.)

I know Sammy appeared on television along with Frankie and a few other band
members, but I'm not yet aware of any speaking roles he had.  I suppose you
could add Rochester's friend, Sam, although I may be forgetting a bit part he
had in a show like with Louis Armstrong.  Dennis' father is occasionally
mentioned, but I don't recall a show where he appears (he was probably
resigned
to not talking vs. Verna Felton).  Jack's girlfriend, Gladys Zybysko, was
mentioned for a while and eventually voiced by Sara Berner.

I've been told that Stan Freberg voiced Jack's camel (I'm assuming the one
he brought back from North Africa in 1943), but I haven't found a show yet
where  that's heard.   And I doubt that Lucky Strike would allow the mention
of a
Camel on their program.  Someone's got to point me at the show where  Freberg
does that voice before I believe it, and I hope someone  does.

--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 15:54:11 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  1-3 births/deaths

January 3rd births

01-03-1886 - Josephine Hull - Newtonville, MA - d. 3-12-1957
actress: Miss Julia "Miss Julia"; Mrs. Kayden "The O'Neills"
01-03-1897 - Marion Davies - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-22-1961
actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"
01-03-1898 - Freddie Rich - Warsaw, Poland - d. 9-8-1956
bandleader: "Friendly Five Footnotes"; "George Jessel Show"
01-03-1898 - John Loder - London, England - d. 12-9-1988
actor, host: "Crime Does Not Pay"; "Silver Theatre"
01-03-1898 - Zasu Pitts - Parsons, KS - d. 6-7-1963
comedienne: "Lum and Abner"; "Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou"
01-03-1900 - Cecil Underwood - Vienna, MO - d. 9-27-1976
producer, director: "Fibber McGee and Molly"; "Great Gildersleeve"
01-03-1905 - Anna May Wong - Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA - d. 2-2-1961
actress: "Campbell Playhouse"; "Hollywood Hotel"
01-03-1908 - Ray Milland - Neath, Wales - d. 3-12-1986
actor: Ray McNutley "Meet Mr. McNutley"
01-03-1909 - Victor Borge - Copenhagen, Denmark - d. 12-23-2000
comedian, pianist: "Victor Borge Show"; "Kraft Music Hall"
01-03-1916 - Betty Furness - NYC - d. 4-2-1994
actress: Anne Williams "Casey, Crime Photographer"; "Philco Radio Playhouse"
01-03-1918 - Jesse White - Buffalo, NY (Raised: Akron, OH) - d. 1-8-1997
actor: "Hollywood Radio Theatre"; "Sears Radio Theatre"; "We Hold These Truths"
01-03-1918 - Maxene Andrews - Minneapolis, MN - d. 10-21-1995
singer: (Andrews Sisters) "Glenn Miller Orchestra"; "Andrews Sisters Revue"
01-03-1942 - John Thaw - West Gorton, Manchester, England - d. 2-22-2002
actor: "Peter Pan"

January 3rd deaths

02-08-1890 - Irving Kaufman - Syracuse, NY - d. 1-3-1976
singer: "Champion Sparkers"; "Broadway Vanities"
02-10-1897 - Dame Judith Anderson - Adelaide, Australia - d. 1-3-1992
actress: Royal Gelatin Hour"
04-03-1904 - Peter Van Steeden - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - d. 1-3-1990
bandleader: "Town Hall Tonight"; "Mr. District Attorney"
04-16-1897 - Milton J. Cross - NYC - d. 1-3-1975
announcer, commentator: (The Voice of the Met) "General Motors Concerts"
04-24-1906 - William "Lord Haw Haw" Joyce - Brooklyn, NY - d. 1-3-1946
propagnadist for Nazi Germany during World War II: Hung for treason
08-14-1917 - Marty Glickman - NYC - d. 1-3-2001
sprorts broadcaster: "Saturday Night Bandwagon"; "Play Ball"; "Box Score
Review"
12-20-1906 - Marion Talley - Nevada, MO - d. 1-3-1983
singer: "Ry-Krisp Presents Marion Talley"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 15:55:26 -0500
From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: CINOs (Characters In Name Only)

I think Dennis Day's mother was
initially in this category--you heard about her a lot on the Benny
show, but for several years that was it.

It was actually the other way around. Verna Felton was hired on -- at the
same time Day made his bow on the program -- as a regular (I believe it was
a thirteen-week contract at first) to play Dennis' mother when members of
the Benny team were initially reluctant to let a kid with obvious
"butterflies" play as high-profile a role in the program as Jack's tenor was
required to.

It quickly became obvious that Dennis was capable of holding his own in the
cast, however, and Felton's character eventually faded to the edges of
Benny-ana, occasionally appearing if a scene needed to take place in the Day
home but otherwise retreating to CINO status. (Dennis' father occupied much
the same status; his occasional on-mike efforts were voiced by Joseph
Kearns.)

Perhaps she only gained a
voice after Dennis got his own show, and then she'd appear occasionally
on Benny as well.

Here we go back into parallel universes and such.

The "Dennis Day" heard on "A Day In The Life Of Dennis Day" was not the
Dennis Day who sang and cracked wise on the radio. This "Dennis Day" shared
a name and a voice (though the show's "Dennis" often mocked his alter ego as
a talentless hack whose voice was nothing compared to his own), but was a
soda jerk who only =listened= to that "other" Dennis Day.

So, Dennis Day played "Dennis Day" on his own show, but not the Dennis Day
of the Benny show (let alone the Patrick McNulty he was outside of his
various radio personae). "Dennis" listened to Dennis on his own show, but
Dennis knew he played "Dennis" on the Benny program. Got it? Really.
[removed] now explain it to [removed] heh.

Anyway, "Dennis Day" was a single man in his 20s, out on his own, without a
mother -- domineering or otherwise -- hovering over him. So, no Verna
Felton. (Although she =did= appear in a pilot for the program -- but as the
owner of the rooming house where "Dennis" lived, a role which would
eventually go to yet another member of Benny's large circle of talent, Bea
Benadaret.)

We also heard a lot about Frankie Remley on Benny's
program before he eventually gained a voice on Phil's show, in the
mid-40s. (I don't think Sammy the drummer ever had a voice--add that to
the list of unheard characters.)

Sammy =was= voiced at least once in the mid-50s (IIRC, it was one of the
shows very near the end where Bob Crosby was written out and Mahlon Merrick
was written in), but was usually represented on-mike as a series of
drum-clanging sound effects.

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 16:58:05 -0500
From: "[removed]" <asajb2000@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Happy 2005

I wanted to direct this to everyone and anyone reading
the list but I have been internet-less because my
six-year-old severed the (inside the computer) that
connects the keyboard to the computer, so I have
regressed to dial-up.  Let it not be said that if you
have to resort to dial-up, things are far cheaper
(because of the alterntaives) than they ever have
been, with NetZero and Earthlink the same price and
AOL still at its old price.  Anyway, happy New Year to
one and all.

Andy Blatt
Vintage Broadcasts
[removed] Box 3257
Milford, CT 06460

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 20:16:44 -0500
From: "W. Gary W." <wgaryw@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Pierre Nussbaum. . .

From: Richard Carpenter <newsduck@[removed];

I believe that another character who was mentioned
on radio shows but never
actually spoke was Pierre, Mrs. Nussbaum's husband
on the Allen's Alley
segment of Fred Allen's show. (And forgive me if I
have been repeating names
already mentioned; I can't always keep up with these
digests.)

another strange anomoly (elizabeth might have more
info on this than i do)-- pierre nussbaum actually
*replaced* mrs. nussbaum for a short while, i think
around 1943?  i'd take the time to go back and listen
to the actual shows to provide dates.  i'm taking a
guess based on the vocal inflections that he was
played by jack smart, but this is a complete guess.

i have no idea what prompted his appearances, but i'm
99% sure that minerva pious did not otherwise appear
in these episodes.  so i'd conjecture that she was
unavailable for one reason or another and the
character of her husband pierre was used as a
temporary sub.  other than this brief substitution,
however, pierre could definitely be considered an
off-mike character.

i know the first time i heard an allen's alley with
pierre nussbaum, i was pretty surprised.

regards,

w. gary w.

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 20:17:05 -0500
From: "James Yellen" <clifengr3@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  What about Remley?

I've learned alot about unheard characters on OTR since my orignal post
about Luigi's mama, but here's one that comes to mind that I haven't seen
mentioned.

Frankie Remley, Phil Harris' left-handed guitarist on the Jack Benny Show.
Yes, I know that later he was hilariously portryaed by Elliot Lewis on the
Phil Harris Alice Faye show, but I don't think he ever appeared on the Benny
program.

He was referred to frequently, and maybe that was supposed to be him
shouting out from the band once in awhile, but as far as I know he was never
portrayed by an actor on the Benny show.

Of course, I defer to Laura, she who knows all things Benny, to correct me
on this if I'm mistaken.

Jim Yellen

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 23:01:32 -0500
From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Radio Mispronounciations

Bobb Lynes Posted

I first learned of Artie Shaw's death on the 4 o'clock KABC-TV news on
Thursday.  The anchor actually pronounced the song as "BEGIN THE BEE-GINE"!
Youth IS wasted on the young.

I used to listen to radio station KPCC which was a student run station at
Pasadena City College, because they were one of the few stations that played
big band music. It was really funny how some of the young student announcers
would mispronounce some of the names and song titles of the swing era. I wish
that I had kept a list of them, butI remember a couple of them. One was
another Artie Shaw tune pronounced "Fren-ESS-ee". Then there was the Harry
James theme song "Sir ribbon-Sir Ribbon" I wonder how many of you can
decipher that one?

George Aust

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 23:01:47 -0500
From: Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Disappearing characters
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In Sep. 1943, Lum and Abner adopted a runaway      named Mary. She then
disappeared from the program.

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Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 23:05:00 -0500
From: Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  41-12-07 NY Philharmonic Concert interruption
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I could not find anything on the Internet discussing that the "clip of the NY
Philharmonic Concert being Interrupted was a fake created for a later record.
Robert Trout discussed this in a 12-7-99 broadcast on NPR. Does anyone have
more information?

Andrew

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 23:05:24 -0500
From: KENPILETIC@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Fibber McGee characters
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Hi Gang -

In issue #1, Deric Vigor inquired about Fred Nitney who  had a
vaudeville act with Fibber McGee in Stardrok (sic),  Illinois.

Jim Jordan got some of his characters from real people and  real
places.  According to what I was able to determine  (when I first heard
Fibber refer to Starved Rock, Illinois - I was about 12  years old then),
Jim had a stage act that he performed at Starved Rock, a State Park
about 8 miles from LaSalle, where I lived.

This act was performed many years before I was born, so I  asked my
mother about it.  She had seen Jim's act, but didn't  remember much
lot about it.  Specifically, I asked about Fred  Nitney.  She had no recall
of anybody by that name.

In later years, I asked anybody who knew Jim personally if there was
ever a real person named Fred Nitney from the Peoria  area.  Nobody
seems to have known him.  So, Fred was strictly  a fictional character
who never appeared on the radio (to my knowledge).

On the other hand, Myrt (the telephone operator) was based  on a lady
whose name was Myrtel Beebe who lived in Eureka,  Illinois a few miles
east of Peoria.  Apparently Jim knew Myrt, and  devised the telephone
operator character around her.  I don't know if  the real Myrtel was a phone
operator or not.   -- Hope this helps somewhat.

Happy Taping -
Ken Piletic - Streamwood, Illinois

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