Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #262
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/11/2002 8:01 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 262
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Boston Cooler                         [ Clifengr3@[removed] ]
      Gunsmoke vs Jack Armstrong            [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
      CBS "Chimes"                          [ leemunsick@[removed] ]
      Coke sponsored programs               [ Vntager8io@[removed] ]
      how true are old radio magazines?     [ bloodbleeds@[removed] ]
      Dr. Pepper and prune juice            [ "Nemesis@[removed]" <nemesis@[removed] ]
      Radio Network Primetime Programming   [ Alan Chapman <[removed]@verizon. ]
      Herbert Marshall                      [ Harry Bartell <bartell@[removed] ]
      Whistling theme                       [ "glen schroeder" <gschroeder10@char ]
      [removed]'s Secret / Coke elf         [ "Peter H. Vollmann" <vollmann@hawai ]
      more Ethel Romig Fuller               [ John Henley <jhenley@[removed] ]
      RE:OTR Birthday on date of birth      [ "TIM LONES" <tallones@[removed]; ]
      Prunes and plums                      [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
      Car phones in 1954                    [ "Danica L. Stein" <danicas@baymoon. ]
      Programs on my Birthday               [ Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; ]
      Re: Coca-Cola On The Air              [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Coke Time                             [ "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed] ]
      Chimes                                [ "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed] ]
      Billy also served                     [ neil crowley <og@[removed]; ]
      Birthday Shows                        [ "Mark E. Higgins" <paul_frees_fan@a ]
      Re: Recycled Johnny Dollar scripts    [ "John R. Warmington" <origami@chatl ]

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 09:37:00 -0400
    From: Clifengr3@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Boston Cooler
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Rick Keating writes:

>     Vernor's, by the way, is also a key ingredient in a
>     "Boston Cooler," which, despite the name, is also a
>     Detroit creation. Substituting some other ginger ale
>     for Vernor's is not acceptable if you want a true
>     Boston Cooler, but a restaurant in Royal Oak doesn't
>     get that and thinks Fanta is an acceptable substitute

    Come on Rick, let us in on it. What's the recipe for a Boston cooler? I'd
    like to brew up a batch, but alas I'll have to substitute for Vernor's since
    it's not available in New Jersey.

    By the way, as a youth in Saratoga Springs New York, I used to enjoy Cock and
    Bull Ginger Beer from a local purveyor. I don't know how it compares to
    Vernor's, but Cock and Bull had a real [removed] that's no bull.

    Jim Yellen

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

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 10:01:55 -0400
    From: Jer51473@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Gunsmoke vs Jack Armstrong

     NO comparison! Jack Armstrong was real oldtime radio and Gunsmoke was a
    johnny come lately that is remembered now mostly because of the huge success
    of the famous tv program. Most of the otr reading i did years ago rarely
    mentioned Gunsmoke, but any book about otr written at any time is almost a
    sure bet to mention Jack Armstrong along with benny, magee, hope, snooks, a&
    a, spade, burns & allen, and many , many more. One must realize, however,
    that JA was directed at kids and G smoke more toward adults, which may make
    it more appealing today for those kids of yesterday. I had migrated from
    radio to tv by the time G smoke came to radio (1955?) and must confess i
    never knew it  was ever on radio until a few years ago. I understand that it
    is considered to have been an excellent show, but i have never listened to
    one episode. Going from tv to radio just doesnt interest me as far as otr
    goes. My only point though is that JA is remembered by millions of former
    radio listeners that never knew G smoke existed other than on tv. The tv
    shows were great and, btw, they will start being repeated on The Western
    Channel in september. Just an opinion.

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 10:29:40 -0400
    From: leemunsick@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  CBS "Chimes"

    To our friend Bryan Wright:  Yes, CBS still "chirps"!

    That cue is a much more frequent version of the old NBC chimes use.

    Lee Munsick, Bryan's fellow South Side Virginian

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 11:21:38 -0400
    From: Vntager8io@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Coke sponsored programs

    Coca-Cola sponsored several syndicated programs, among them the soap opera
    "Claudia." Among more popular network programs, Coke sponsored the Spike
    Jones show in the late 1940s. These are just a couple that come to mind.

    On a related note, I've been interested recently to see the rebirth of the
    Pepsi "Makin' Whoopee" jingle in television ads. I first heard the jingle
    several years ago while listening to some 1962 "Suspense" episodes, and I see
    that now Pepsi has revived it in some black and white TV commercials.

    Bryan Wright

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 11:24:45 -0400
    From: bloodbleeds@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  how true are old radio magazines?

    Doing research into a radio star for a new book of mine, I have collected up
    a lot of articles
    from old radio and movie magazines (30s, 40s). But I'm curious how truthful
    and/or accurate
    these articles and facts are. I know that sometimes newspapers have made
    mistakes
    (crediting the wrong film, date, etc), and I don't dream of calling Radio
    Mirror a scandal sheet
    to boost circulation! But since a lot of the facts and interviews they quote
    are my only time
    hearing this information, I'd just like to know that the old magazines are
    Generally pretty
    correct. Any thoughts on this anyone?
    Thanks.

    Ben

    The Great Gildersleeve book
    [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 11:58:22 -0400
    From: "Nemesis@[removed]" <nemesis@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Dr. Pepper and prune juice

    After all, prune juice is the drink of [removed]
    Linda T.  aka Romulinda, semi-closet Trekkie

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 13:19:22 -0400
    From: Alan Chapman <[removed]@[removed];
    To: Old-Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Radio Network Primetime Programming - 1926-67

    Is anyone familiar with the book "Radio Network Primetime Programming -
    1926-67" by Mitchell E. Shapiro, published by McFarland?  It's an
    expensive book -- $95.  Before shelling out that kind of dough, I would
    like to know if it's worth it?  I already have Dunning's book and Jay
    Hickerson's extensive log.  I would appreciate comments from people who
    have seen the book -- on or off Digest.

    Thanks ---

    Alan Chapman
    alan@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 13:21:23 -0400
    From: Harry Bartell <bartell@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Herbert Marshall

    Irene Heinstein writes

>     Herbert Marshall is a particular favorite of mine and someone I think
>     qualifies for one of the greatest voices on radio (a discussion we once had
>     in this group).

>     I noticed that Harry Bartell worked with him quite a bit.   I hope Harry
>     remembers him as the nice person I've always believed him to be.

    Herbert Marshall ( his friends called him Bart ) was one of the nicest men I
    ever knew. He was a real example of the word "gentleman" with a wonderful
    sense of humor in spite of a personal life that had its ups and downs. He
    dealt wonderfully with the loss of a leg in World War I and was a joy to
    work with. I think he had a great voice and great diction.  But he wasn't a
    very good poker player.

    Harry Bartell

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 15:47:11 -0400
    From: "glen schroeder" <gschroeder10@[removed];
    To: "otr" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Whistling theme

    Hi listers.

    My last message must have looked dumb because I left out a sentence. I meant
    to say that another whistling theme I thought of was The Saint with Vincent
    Price. And then there's Andy Griffith, but that's off topic.

    One more thing. I forgot who mentioned the soda museum website, but i went
    to it and it's a fun site. Thanks to whoever suggested it.

    Speaking of soda brands, when I was growing up in Milwaukee, we had Graf's
    flavored sodas. They were great. Their premium soda was Grandpa Graf's
    Creamy Top Root Beer. We also had a lemon lime soda called Uptown.  I also
    remember Canfield sodas being advertising on Chicago radio.

    Love Dis List.

    Glen Schroeder

    Madison WI

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 15:47:23 -0400
    From: "Peter H. Vollmann" <vollmann@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  [removed]'s Secret / Coke elf

    The Spike Jones program was sponsored by Coke. I presume the elf's name is
    "Sprite", just like the lemon/lime drink that is especially popular in
    Europe.
    Peter

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 15:47:35 -0400
    From: John Henley <jhenley@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  more Ethel Romig Fuller

    Following up on Dennis Crow's posting of some info on
    poet Ethel Romig Fuller, here's a little bit more:
    The humanities archive at the Univ of TX at Austin has two
    volumes of Ms. Fuller's work, both published by Portland,
    OR, imprints:
    in 1933;
    The online catalog record gives Ms. Fuller's dates as 1883
    to 1965.
    John Henley

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 15:47:51 -0400
    From: "TIM  LONES" <tallones@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  RE:OTR Birthday on date of birth

    Linda T,
    Many Local Newspapers have Microfilm Copies of issues dating back  to their
    beginning in the local [removed] example in the Stark County District
    Library (Canton, Ohio) there are copies available of the Canton Repository
    from their beginning in 1815, Canton Daily News from the 1800's to their
    demise in 1930.  the New York Times from the 1800's to current, the London
    Times from 1960, and the Akron Beacon Journal (1980) and Cleveland Plain
    Dealer (1977).Most of these papers have had till the 1960's at least prety
    complete Radio Listings which would allow you to look up the information.

    Tim Lones

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 15:48:33 -0400
    From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
    To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Prunes and plums

    This is off topic but John Mayer wrote:

>     I personally
>     happen to like prunes (especially now that they've become dried plums);

    LOL.   I just noticed that change last week when I was grocery shopping.  I
    kept looking for the dried prunes and realized they no longer exist and had
    become dried plums.   Not only was it changed on the national labels but on
    Safeway's house label.

    I love both fresh and dried Italian prunes, a plum variety.  Does this mean
    that they are now using other plums as well.  Just wondering.

    Irene

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 15:49:00 -0400
    From: "Danica L. Stein" <danicas@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Car phones in 1954

    So I'm sitting here listening to a Fibber McGee and Molly show from February
    8, 1954, about the McGees getting their new dial phone. The first call they
    receive is from Doc Gamble, who is calling from his car on his new "mobile
    telephone." !! Doc goes on about how convenient it is to have a car phone,
    saying "...as I drive along with the phone to my [removed]" He is then
    interrupted by horns honking and crashing sounds.

    (Turns out Doc ran into a telephone pole. He was unhurt but put all the
    phones in town out of commission.)

    I just had to laugh about the prescience of this, now when it seems like
    every other driver on the road has a phone plastered to his/her ear.

    Trivia: what was the McGee's phone number? What was Doc's car phone number?

    Danica

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 15:58:04 -0400
    From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Programs on my Birthday

              Knowing what programs were on the air on
    the day I was born would be interesting.  I'm
    not sure what resources I would use to discover
    this however.

              My birthday is March 22, 1957.  I'll check my
    own collection and see what I can find.

    Kenneth Clarke

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 17:44:49 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Coca-Cola On The Air

    John Mayer wrote:

>     Curiously, with all the discussion of OTR's soft drink sponsors, I'll be
>     darned if I can remember a single show that Coke sponsored, nor any pre-tv
>     Coke jingles.

    Coke didn't use singing jingles in the radio era -- that sort of thing
    was strictly a Pepsi affectation, and the high-class folks from Atlanta
    wanted nothing to do with that type of marketing. (They did renege on
    this position in the sixties --leading to "That Refreshing New Feeling,"
    "Things Go Better With Coke," and the hippies on the [removed])

    But Coca-Cola *did* have a musical theme song, an instrumental piece by
    Leonard Joy called "The Coca-Cola Theme Song." Joy -- a member of the
    musical staff at NBC-New York composed this number in 1930 for use on the
    Coca-Cola Top-Notchers program on NBC -- but it was a tango, and
    Coca-Cola president Robert Woodruff despised tangos. Undaunted, Joy
    re-arranged the piece as a waltz, and Woodruff loved it -- insisting that
    it be used on every program Coca-Cola would sponsor over the course of
    the radio era. No doubt Joy appreciated the ASCAP checks he collected
    over the next twenty years for what was essentially a throwaway
    composition.

    Coke's first series was a program of concert music featuring Jessica
    Dragonette, performing incognito as "Vivian the Coca-Cola Girl." This
    series was a bit too highbrow for the market the company wanted to reach,
    and the next series, the Coca-Cola Top Notchers went straight for the
    middlebrow listener. The program featured popular dance music, by Leonard
    Joy and his Coca-Cola All String Orchestra, with uncredited vocals by
    Frank Luther, and Graham McNamee announcing. The unique feature of the
    program was an interview segment, conducted by sportswriter Grantland
    Rice -- a Woodruff crony -- who would talk for about seven minutes or so
    with a "top notcher" from the world of sports. Many of the interviewees
    were also Woodruff cronies -- the premeire program of the series featured
    a rare appearance by Ty Cobb, who became a multi-millionaire thru a
    ground-floor investment in Coca-Cola stock when the company went public
    in 1919. (Woodruff himself was a serious baseball fan, and for many years
    Coca-Cola sponsored broadcasts of Atlanta Crackers minor-league baseball
    over WSB. A fat sponsorship contract from Coke was also a major factor in
    luring the Milwaukee Braves south.)

    The Coca-Cola Top Notchers series continued into the mid-1930s with
    little change in format, other than the replacement of Leonard Joy by Gus
    Haneschen around 1932. Frank Black also conducted the orchestra for a
    brief run. By the end of the decade, the series mutated into "The Pause
    That Refreshes On The Air." The sports interviews were dropped, and the
    orchestra was taken over by Andre Kostalanetz, who remained closely
    associated with Coke for most of the next decade.

    Cronyism dominated other Coke programs as well -- both Harry "Singin'
    Sam" Frankel and Morton Downey did series for Coca-Cola as a result of
    their friendships with Woodruff. Downey, especially, was Woodruff's
    all-time favorite drinking companion, and whenever Woodruff was in New
    York, the two would cut a broad swath thru the high-class drinking
    establishments of the city. Downey would parlay this friendship into a
    string of Coca-Cola bottling plants that would make him an extremely
    wealthy man.

    Not all of Coke's programming was dominated by Woodruff's tastes,
    however. The "Coca Cola Spotlight Bands" series, aka "The Victory Parade
    of Spotlight Bands" was a major series for the company thruout the war
    era, presenting sponsored remotes by all the name dance bands of the day.

    After the war, the "Spotlight" format was carried forward in "The
    Coca-Cola Spotlight Revue," a strange variety series bringing together
    Spike Jones and His City Slickers and Dorothy Shay, "The Park Avenue
    Hillbilly" -- a former band singer who affected a pseudo-Judy Canova
    performance style. Spike Jones eventually carried the series on his own.

    Coke's final major radio program was a return to old-school Woodruffism
    -- when Morton Downey retired, he was replaced by Eddie Fisher, who was
    younger but every bit as middlebrow.

    There were also a wide range of syndicated programs sponsored by Coke,
    ranging from a Breakfast Club clone hosted by Don McNeill himself to a
    weepy soap opera called "Claudia." Well into the sixties, Coke was
    syndicating scripted DJ formats -- "The Coca-Cola Dance Party," "Coca
    Cola Record Hop," or similar packages designed to appeal to teens.

>     Also, does anybody know the name of the white-haired elf who
>     wore a coke cap for a cap and who appeared so often painted in
>     Brobdingnagian, rather than elfin, proportions on the brick sides of so many
>     stores? I was always pretty sure the little guy was Speedy Alka-Seltzer
>     moonlighting.

    That was the Sprite Boy. He was designed by Haddon Sundblom, the
    McCann-Erickson artist who painted many of Coke's ad images from the late
    twenties to the early sixties, although company lore claims that the
    original drawing was commissioned from the Walt Disney Studios - and when
    it was delivered, Woodruff thought it looked too complicated to paint on
    a brick wall, so he had Sundblom come up with a simplified version.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 17:45:56 -0400
    From: "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Coke Time

>     John Mayer posted an inquiry about sponsored
>     radio programs by [removed]

    There was "Coke Time" with Morton Downey (the Irish tenor, before Morton
    Downer, Jr.) and Eddie Fisher had a radio show with the same name, soonsored
    by Coca-Cola.

    Incidentally, I notice now that there is "Vanilla Coke" and ( I'm hearing
    soon to be or [removed])
    on the market a "Raspberry Coke" in bottles.  We
    used to make them as fountain drinks with syrup and seltzer.  I remember the
    seltzer lever in reverse would make a strong stream to bubble up a foam on
    ice cream sodas.  A "Black and White" was a chocolate soda and vanilla ice
    cream in Boston.

    Russ Butler  oldradio@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 17:46:14 -0400
    From: "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Chimes

    (Following the discussion about the NBC [removed];

    I was watching the NBC cable channel, CNBC yesterday afternoon for the
    closing stock market numbers and I heard "four chimes" to coincide
    with a news bulletin on the screen.  It wasn't an emergency signal, just an
    attention-getter for viewers to note the news item while the hosts kept
    talking.  The signature N-B-C chimes were three of the four notes.

    Russ Butler   oldradio@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:36:59 -0400
    From: neil crowley <og@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Billy also served

    From: "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed];

>     Second, I know that these are kid's shows from sixty years ago, but it's hard
>     for me to listen to these shows and not listen with modern interpretations.

>     On the other hand, consider Billy in the Jack Armstrong serial.  From the
>     shows I've listened to so far, ... Billy is just dead weight.

    Revisionism 101, first semester:
    Billy is Betty's beard.

    Revisonism 101, second semester:
    Betty is Billy's beard.

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:36:39 -0400
    From: "Mark E. Higgins" <paul_frees_fan@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Birthday Shows

    Regarding Linda T's interest in radio shows from her birthday, I don't
    know if any sites have search functions, but if she writes back with
    what her birhtday is, I would be glad to check my collection.  I have my
    inventory on an Excel spreadsheet which has a search function.  I can't
    promise results (I have about 6,300 shows), but I'd be glad to try.

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

    Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 20:59:43 -0400
    From: "John R. Warmington" <origami@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Recycled Johnny Dollar scripts

    Interesting!  I really enjoy the half-hour shows, but was always bored by
    the "fillers" that were inserted to lengthen the five-day serial
    scripts. That explains it.

    John Warmington

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #262
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