------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 334
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
9-6 Births/Deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
reviews of two books on all-time rad [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
cds [ "Dave Mills" <otrdave@[removed] ]
The Joy Boys [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Phil Harris and "The Thing" [ "Cancilla Dominick" <[removed]@buc ]
Re: CD Construction [ Shenbarger@[removed] ]
Inner Sanctum [ otrdude@[removed] ]
Robert Q. Lewis [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
REPS hosts Jimmy Lydon, 9/6 [ otrarchive@[removed] ]
Re: commercial CD life [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
Carmen Dragon [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
Re: Lone Ranger [ Ga6string@[removed] ]
Writer -- Irving Ashkanazy [ "Michael Delisa" <mdelisa@bormarlaw ]
Today in radio history 9/5 [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
Jack Armstrong [ "Caldwell, Wayne" <b-caldwell1@[removed] ]
Inner Sanctum [ otrdude@[removed] ]
Arthur Ross [ Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed] ]
Lone Ranger [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Re: CD life expectancy [ "Maureen O'Brien" <mobrien@[removed] ]
Television mentioned in 1937 on Jack [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 09:16:37 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 9-6 Births/Deaths
September 6th births
09-06-1885 - Otto Kruger - Toledo, OH - d. 9-6-1974
actor: "Nobody"s Children"
09-06-1891 - John Charles Thomas - Meyersdale, PA - d. 12-13-1960
singer: "John Charles Thomas Program"; "Westinghouse Program"
09-06-1894 - Billy Mills - Flint, MI - d. 10-21-1971
conductor: "Fibber McGee and Molly"; "Great Gildersleeve"; "Amos 'n" Andy"
09-06-1899 - Billy Rose - NYC - d. 2-10-1966
creator-stager: "The Jumbo Fire Chief Program"
09-06-1902 - Morgan Beatty - Little Rock, AR - d. 7-4-1975
newscaster: "News of the World"
09-06-1908 - Paul Lavalle - Beacon, NY - d. 6-24-1997
conductor: "Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street"; "Dinah Shore Show"
September 6th deaths
02-09-1914 - Ernest Tubb - Crisp, TX - d. 9-6-1984
singer: (The Texas Troubador) "Grand Ole Opry"
03-23-1910 - Akira Kurosawa, Tokyo, Japan - d. 9-6-1998
film director: NHK Tokyo, Japan
07-11-1914 - Tommy Bartlett - Milwaukee, WI - d. 9-6-1998
emcee: "Welcome Travlers"
07-18-1918 - Jane Frazee - Duluth, MN - d. 9-6-1985
vaudeville act with sister
09-06-1885 - Otto Kruger - Toledo, OH - d. 9-6-1974
actor: "Nobody"s Children"
09-26-1875 - Edmund Gwenn - Glamorgan, Wales - d. 9-6-1959
actor: "A Christmas Carol"
11-14-1920 - Johnny Desmond - Detroit, MI - d. 9-6-1985
singer: "I Sustain the Wings"; "Philip Morris Frolics"; "Songs for Sale"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hometown of [removed] Kaltenborn and Jay Jostyn
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 11:20:45 -0400
From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: reviews of two books on all-time radio
The latest edition of the prestigious Journal of Radio Studies (June
2003) features excellent reviews of two books about old-time radio.
Writing about WORDS AT WORDS (Scarecrow Press) by Howard Blue (yours
truly) , Paul Heyer of Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario calls the
book a "thorough perceptive study" and "an exceptionally probing and
indispensable contribution to the history of American radio." Heyer adds
"[Blue] has provided us with a comprehensive and revealing study that
exhibits an extraordinary synchretism between in-depth research and
accessible exposition." WORDS AT WORDS is available from my web site,
[removed]
Writing about SAY GOODNIGHT GRACIE: THE LAST YEARS GOLF NETWORK RADIO
(McFarland & Company) by Jim Cox, Bradley Nason, of the Pennsylvania
College of Technology, comments that "Cox has done considerable research
into . . . individual programs. . .
and the pictures he paints of this time can be vivid.". He also praises
Cox's description of programs and summaries of various genres. SAY
GOODNIGHT GRACIE is available from the publisher.
Howard Blue
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 13:31:20 -0400
From: "Dave Mills" <otrdave@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: cds
Here is an idea. Each of us sample several of our older mp3 cd's and report
on: 1. Brand, [removed] Method, 3. Age of cd. and 4. [removed] Let's do
our own test. Dave
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 13:31:51 -0400
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Joy Boys
My wife recently read the first Nero Wolfe book, "Fer
de Lance" (first published in 1934). She called my
attention to a passage at the start of Chapter 5:
[Wolfe] wouldn't let me say anything about White
Plains until the meal was over; in fact, there wasn't
any conversation to speak of about anything, for he
had the radio going. He was accustomed to say that
this was the perfect era for the sedentary man;
formerly such a man could satisfy any amount of
curiosity regarding bygone times by sitting down with
Gibbon or Ranke or Tacitus or Greene but if he wanted
to meet his contemporaries he had to take to the
highway, whereas the man of today, tiring for the
moment of Galba or Vitellius, had only to turn on the
radio and resume his chair. One program Wolfe rarely
missed was the Joy Boys. I never knew why. [...] I
have
my radio favorites all right, but the Joy Boys seem to
me pretty damn vulgar."
Does anybody have any information on the Joy Boys,
circa 1934? They're not listed in Dunning or my other
references. I have a five minute segment of a
Thankgsiving sketch whose title says it was done by
the Joy Boys, but it sounds like it's from the 1960s
or 70s. Anybody know anything about the show Wolfe
listened to, and why Archie considered it "pretty damn
vulgar"?
Kermyt
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 13:32:19 -0400
From: "Cancilla Dominick" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Phil Harris and "The Thing"
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I've heard a number of episodes of the Phil Harris & Alice Fay (whose name I
hope I'm spelling right) Show in which Phil refers to his song, The Thing. I
recall hearing at least one episode where his daughters sing a parody of the
song. What I'd be interested in knowing is whether there is an episode
available in which Phil actually sings The Thing. I haven't heard the song
since I was a wee tike, and would love to hear it again.
Thanks!
--Dominick
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Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 13:32:35 -0400
From: Shenbarger@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: CD Construction
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In an OTR post dated 9/5/2003 Mark Kinsler wrote:
Note that on CD's, the reflective layer is not sandwiched between two
transparent polycarbonate layers. Only DVD's are constructed in this
manner.
Mark is exactly right. Thanks for the correction to my comments.
Don Shenbarger
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Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 13:34:09 -0400
From: otrdude@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Inner Sanctum
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Are these titles Inner Sanctum broadcasts? What are the real titles and air
dates?
Fast Freight
How Soon Is Now
Weight Machine
----
Andrew Steinberg
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------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 14:35:09 -0400
From: otrbuff@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Robert Q. Lewis
Some of you were great fans of Robert Q. Lewis who, to me, was
broadcasting's quintessential substitute host (for entertainers Arthur
Godfrey, Bing Crosby, Jackie Gleason, Ed Sullivan and more). Never feeling
Lewis got his just due, I've tried to pacify that itch with an in-depth look
into the performer's life and background in the autumn issue of Chuck
Schaden's Nostalgia Digest, now available. The cover-page story with photos
runs 10 pages. Considerable emphasis is given Lewis's recurring summer
stints subbing on Arthur Godfrey Time weekday mornings. It's an attempt to
present an objective, thorough, accurate and entertaining examination of one
of radio's most unheralded comical characters. Nostalgia Digest,
incidentally, is available from The Hall Closet, Box 421, Morton Grove, IL
60053 or by calling (847) 965-7763 (subscriptions are $15 for 4 issues).
Email: twtdchuck@[removed]. And I get no compensation for this pitch--I just
believe Lewis's fans will be interested in an introspective treatise that
seems long overdue.
Jim Cox
otrbuff@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 14:45:27 -0400
From: otrarchive@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: REPS hosts Jimmy Lydon, 9/6
Jimmy Lydon will be the featured guest Saturday, Sept. 6th of the Radio
Enthusiasts of Puget Sound. If you are in the Seattle area, please join us.
Jimmy Lydon and his irrepressible grin have entertained us since 'that man in
the White House' went by the moniker of FDR, and young Jimmy Lydon joined the
ranks of professional actors working the Broadway stage.
Breaking into radio under the tutelage of Let's Pretend impressario Nyla Mack,
Jimmy went on to roles in Pretty Kitty Kelly, Young Love, Favorite Story,
Screen Guild Theater and many others, but his greatest fame was forged in the
youthful effervescence he brought to the 1940s Paramount cycle of films based
on the popular stage and radio character Henry Aldrich.
Following the gravitational shift in Hollywood from film to television, Jimmy
was a star in CBS TV' first daytime soap opera The First Hundred Years,
learning the craft of television production from in front of the camera.
While
continuing to act, Jimmy became a script writer, director and producer helping
launch 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaii Five-O and M*A*S*H. In the latter 1960s Jimmy
and William Conrad shared offices, the last two producers actively working on
the celebrated Warner Brothers film lot, where Jimmy was kept frantically
busy -
in one tumultuous year he produced seven Technicolor features for the studio.
Through the years Jimmy has worked with many great performers and has stories
to share of working with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, William
Powell, Van Heflin, and serving as a multi-term vice president of the Screen
Actors Guild. He has been a member of SAG and AFTRA (then AFRA) since 1937.
Partial performing credits may be seen at [removed]
Join us for an interview, film clips and a Q&A session. Admission is free and
the public is welcome. 2 - 4 pm, Queen Anne Library, 400 W Garfield, Seattle.
Following the regular meeting, we will move to a nearby studio for a screening
of Jimmy's 1980 documentary 'The Incredible Twentieth Century,' a 72-minute
piece developed to convince Congress to help preserve the 100 million feet of
newsreel footage contained in Fox' Movietone News archive. Unscreened in
nearly a quarter century, Jimmy will introduce the film.
For more about REPS, visit the club website at [removed]
- Paul
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 14:47:25 -0400
From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: commercial CD life
Mark Kinsler observed:
I believe that there hasn't been much question about the
longevity of commercial CD's (yet).
It is with a great deal of sadness that I have to report that Mark is
wrong. The reports of failure of commercially produced discs began by the
late 1980s. Even before the first CDs were produced I had several friends
in the archival community moaning about the fact that we would be dealing
with a product laminated in layers rather than being one solid piece, and
sure enough, when an example of a disc where part of the label side with
the reflective coated had peeled off was passed around at a conference in
Vienna, it was "I told you so" all around. If you put stickers and
paste-on labels on your discs, you are just asking for trouble. You have
no idea how the expansion and contraction of the label might differ from
the disc, and you have no idea of whether something in the glue might eat
thru the protective lacquer coating. Also remember, it was the glue which
held the two parts of LaserVideo discs together that caused the many cases
of LaserRot that destroyed many LaserDiscs.
There have also been cases where the ink used in the printing on CDs has
eaten thru the lacquer, as in the famous case of the RCA box set of The
Complete Caruso. They tried to reproduce the original Red Seal batwing
labels, and the red ink destroyed just about every set, and they had to
replace them all. (I've been trying to find a defective disc to show as an
example, but everyone I've asked returned theirs for replacement.) The PDO
plant in Blackburn, Lancaster, England found that sulpher in the air or
used in the paper of some of the inserts and CD single sleeves could
permeate thru the lacquer they were using and allow the silver reflective
coating to tarnish. This was called Bronzing because the label side of the
discs look this color. They had to replace hundreds of thousands of discs,
and I still have a few that still play (I hope) but might not in the
future. They won't replace them till they die. Hopefully the
manufacturing processes and quality control have improved to eliminate
these problems, but bad discs can sometimes still slip thru.
We should also caution everyone about writing on discs. Ball point pens
will crush the pit groove, and most people have long known not to try to
use them. But the ink in permanent markers could contain something that
can eat thru the lacquer. Supposedly the lacquers used on recordable discs
are much more resistant to this than the lacquers on commercially produced
discs, but that still means that writing your name on a commercially
produced disc might eventually kill it. Only the very center around the
hole is safe, but don't write over the table of contents area.
To return the discussion to recordable discs, reports about stomp-on
labels are circulating that warn the dye layers in the coatings of
recordable discs make the lamination of the reflective and label layers
less stable. If you try to peel a label off the layers might come with it.
But this might also happen if the label itself starts to wrinkle due to
expansion and contraction of the disc. You might keep the temperatures
stable in storage, but the discs can get pretty warm in some players.
Mark also observed:
Note that on CD's, the reflective layer is not sandwiched between
two transparent polycarbonate layers. Only DVD's are constructed
in this manner.
That is only the case in single-layer DVDs, or double-sided discs. The
single-sided dual-layer discs have a second set of pits embossed on the top
polycarbonate layer under only a thin lacquer coating. Furthermore, I have
fears that the glue between the two layers might not always be perfect.
I've seen quite a few discs recently where there seem to be gaps in the
glue near the center hole. I sometimes wonder whether the fancy picture
labels might hide glue gaps elsewhere in the disc.
Sorry for all the gloom and doom. Everyone, have a nice weekend!
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 17:22:17 -0400
From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Carmen Dragon
I was surprised to read yesterday that school officials in Antioch, CA which
is in the SF Bay Area are naming a new elementary school which will open
fall of 2004, after Carmen Dragon, an Antioch native son.
The same article mentioned that he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame for his work on radio.
Elsewhere I learned that besides son Daryll, 'The Captain' he had a daughter
who is his namesake!
-Irene
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 17:22:23 -0400
From: Ga6string@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Lone Ranger
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I just saw that the Hallmark TV channel is featuring an all-day Lone Ranger
marathon, beginning at 6 [removed] Sat., Sept. 6. The description on my TV Guide+
schedule said, "The first 42 episodes of this 1949-57 series."
Happy viewing,
Bryan Powell
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Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 17:22:31 -0400
From: "Michael Delisa" <mdelisa@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Writer -- Irving Ashkanazy
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Can anyone provide any information on radio writer Irving Ashkanazy?
He wrote at least one episode of The Lives of Harry Lime.
Thanks, Mike DeLisa
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Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 17:22:40 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in radio history 9/5
From Those Were The Days --
1938 - The NBC Red network broadcast Life Can Be Beautiful for the first
time. The program was "an inspiring message of faith drawn from life."
The program aired until 1954.
Joe
--
Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 17:37:44 -0400
From: "Caldwell, Wayne" <b-caldwell1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Jack Armstrong
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I am in need of some Jack Armstrong All American Boy shows. If you have any
please
let me know.
Thanks
Wayne Caldwell
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Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 17:42:23 -0400
From: otrdude@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Inner Sanctum
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After I sent the last message, I realized that How Soon is Now is actually a
song by a band called Inner Sanctum, not an old time radio show. Sorry.
Andrew Steinberg
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Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 18:28:17 -0400
From: Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Arthur Ross
I've received an email message requesting info on Arthur Ross. I have no
answers
to the questions,
and would appreciate any info any of you may provide.
It is my understanding that there was a character named 'Judge Stone' on the
Fibber McGee and Molly program, and that he was played by Arthur Ross, whose
mother
was named Elizabeth Bunker. I am
searching for more information concerning Arthur Ross, especially biographical
information and photographs (out of general interest, since he was a distant
relative of mine). Can you help?<<
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 19:02:05 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Lone Ranger
Jim Nixon commented:
The total number of broadcasts
logged, according to Terry Salomonson's log, was 3377. These include the
episodes from the program's inception in 1933 to the time transcriptions
were first made, in January, 1938.
I recommend Terry's Lone Ranger log. I know he consulted the original
source material. Anyone wondering where to get the log can contact Terry
direct at [removed]@[removed]. It's worth the price and a
wonderful reference guide to the radio program.
Martin
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 20:06:45 -0400
From: "Maureen O'Brien" <mobrien@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: CD life expectancy
I went Googling for some non-Linux CD recovery software for
folks. I don't know anything about these personally.
[removed]
"CDRoller is a powerful, easy-to-use and low-cost toolset for CD data
recovery." $[removed] Free trial version.
[removed]
"CD Data Rescue: The first and more powerful software designed
specifically to recover data from damaged,scratched or defective
CDs." $[removed] Free trial version.
[removed]
A page with several CD/DVD data recovery programs, some free.
I couldn't find any Mac programs, but I'm sure Mac people will
know better where to find such things than I do.
Maureen
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 20:20:35 -0400
From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Television mentioned in 1937 on Jack Benny
Hello All,
I remember listening to some children's program from about 1936 or 1937.
The show had Ireene Wicker as a guest (it was NOT her show) and the male
host of the program makes some comment about how attractive she is which
everyone will get to see "when we get television" or words to that effect.
As others will undobtedly point out TV had been "just around the corner"
since the late 1920s.
Does anyone know of other early references to television in surviving OTR
programs?
George
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #334
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