Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #140
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 4/13/2002 3:03 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 140
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Did You Ever?                         [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Clayton Moore                         [ danhughes@[removed] ]
      Good going                            [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      Re: A "Music Hall" Worth Hearing      [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Jell-O in the bathtub                 [ Derek Tague <derek@[removed]; ]
      Similar GUNSMOKE Photos               [ SanctumOTR@[removed] ]
      Trivia                                [ "jay ranellucci" <jayran33@hotmail. ]
      Yiddish Radio in San Francisco        [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      Cliff Hangers                         [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Perry Mason                           [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
      Long Radio Themes                     [ leemunsick@[removed] ]
      75th Anniversary of [removed] Television   [ leemunsick@[removed] ]
      Re: The Cinnamon Bear in a Pith Helm  [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
      Re: Boombox for OTR                   [ Richard Novak <rnovak@[removed]; ]
      Say Goodnight, Gracie                 [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
      Show Quality issues                   [ Jerry <xfyles@[removed]; ]
      LOC and University holdings           [ Jerry <xfyles@[removed]; ]
      Could Brace Beemer have been TV Rang  [ Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      Slippery, slimy Jello. Also, Carl Am  [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
      A'n'A syndication sponsorship         [ Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      James Dean's car                      [ "Richard Carpenter" <sinatra@raging ]

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 18:11:48 -0400
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Did You Ever?

    This question is directed to those people who have been there and done that.
    All of you that have worked in what is called old time radio, did you have any
    idea that 60 years after you plied you trade you would be idolized by all of
    us crazies who love radio as it used to be? The clubs that have sprung up all
    over the country, the conventions, the recreations, all of it. What is your
    reaction to all of this lionization? Had you known would you have done
    anything different back then?

    Ron Sayles

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 18:12:05 -0400
    From: danhughes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Clayton Moore

>     Clayton Moore had starred in a number
>     of Republic Serials, The Adventures Of Frank and Jesse James .

    I have this serial.  Hearing the voice of the Lone Ranger coming out of
    an unmasked Jesse James is unnerving.  In one episode, Moore jumps into a
    river just before his boat explodes, and he swims to shore.  As he
    emerges from the water, his head is drenched, his hair is hanging in his
    face, and he looks exactly like Moe of the Three Stooges!  I couldn't
    STAND it!

    ---Dan

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 18:12:15 -0400
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Good going

    Good going Elizabeth and [removed] Chicken Heart-Jell-O  connection was
    exactly what I had in mind.  I also grew up listening to the Cosby recordings
    ("Chicken Heart" was a favorite), many of which are pretty timeless
    themselves.

    --Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 18:12:59 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: A "Music Hall" Worth Hearing

    On 4/12/02 5:06 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     But two people whose views I very much respect, Elizabeth and another
>     otr historian, John Dunning, have called the show a stinker. Both of these
>     fine people are admirers of A&A. I've decided to limit my Amos 'n' Andy
>     collection to the pre-music hall era. Sometimes it is best to leave your
>     memories alone.

    I will say that there's one Music Hall that pleasantly impressed me --
    the August 1959 broadcast which marked A&A's thirtieth year on network
    radio. On this program, Amos, Andy and the Kingfish welcome as their
    special guests -- Correll and Gosden. In an interesting bit of
    metatextuality, the creators of the program are interviewed by their
    creations -- and the segment demonstrates that even this late in their
    careers, the performers had lost none of their skill at creating the
    illusion of multiple characters. (We also learn that Sam and Henry are
    Amos and Andy's "cousins.") This segment was included in the "Amos 'n'
    Andy Chronicles" boxed set that Anthony Tollin and I put together for
    Great American Audio a couple years ago -- you might still be able to
    find it at your local Huge Chain Bookstore.

    An eternity separates this broadcast from the days of Madam Queen,
    Brother Crawford, and the Big 3 Lunch Room -- but it's still a neat show
    to hear.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 18:29:37 -0400
    From: Derek Tague <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Jell-O in the bathtub

      Hal Stone wrote about a sick pratical joke in which one adds the contents of
    many boxes of Jell-O to a bathtub filled with water. Actually, this prank
    works better with packages of Knox's colourless [removed] that the
    now-filled bathtub appears to have ordinary bath water therein. Don't ask me
    how I know this.

      Derek Tague

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 18:52:44 -0400
    From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Similar GUNSMOKE Photos

    In a message dated 4/12/02 4:03:54 PM, [removed]@[removed]
    writes:

>     While browsing at Sam's in McAllen TX yesterday I was mildly amused to
>     see the recently posted Gunsmoke picture on the front of the Radio
>     Spirits Gunsmoke collection, on sale for $27 and change.

    ***Look more closely.  The picture on the cover of the Radio Spirit's
    GUNSMOKE collection is the one by the CBS photographer, not the talented
    Harry Bartell.  They were both present at Knott's Berry Farm that day to take
    pictures, but the poses are slightly different.  Personally, I prefer
    Bartell's version. --ANTHONY TOLLIN

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 19:03:11 -0400
    From: "jay ranellucci" <jayran33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Trivia

    Hello again, (to coin a phrase so to speak)

    Listening to Sam Spade the other day, I was reminded of a piece of
    trivia I came across in 1992.  The theme song on the program was
    a singing commercial for Wildroot Cream Oil sung by an unknon
    quartet.
    Does any body know what well known entertainer wrote this "song"?
    If not, the answer will magically appear on your screen in the next few
    days.

    The only good radio is OTR!    Jay Ranellucci

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 21:16:48 -0400
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Yiddish Radio in San Francisco

    Just in case anyone in the Bay Area is interested:

    San Francisco Tuesday April 16, 2002, 8:00 pm Palace of Fine Arts Theater
    Co-sponsored by KQED, the Magnes Museum For tickets, which are $25 ($19 for
    members of KQED or the Magnes Museum), call (415) 392-4400 or visit
    [removed]

    The golden age of Yiddish radio is being celebrated in a series of live shows
    touring the country to accompany the Yiddish Radio Project series from NPR.

    Henry Sapoznik is the master of ceremonies for this multi-media spectacular
    honoring the forgotten pioneers of Yiddish radio. With huge archival photos
    projected behind him, Henry leads a tour through the most magical recesses of
    his archival Yiddish radio collection and shares his choicest clips. For the
    show, these precious audio remnants-not heard publicly in over half a
    century-are presented with  simultaneous English translations projected on a
    movie screen.

    Sharing the stage with Mr. Sapoznik is the Yiddish Radio All-Star Orchestra,
    featuring the last of the living klezmer legends who inspired the recent
    revival of the old-world musical form including Ray Musiker, Paul Pincus,
    Howie Leess, Julie Epstien and orchestra leader/pianist Pete Sokolow. Their
    repertoire ranges from traditional klezmer to the Yiddish-Swing style popular
    on Yiddish radio in the 1930s and 40s.

    The show culminates with co-producer David Isay introducing the finale of the
    Yiddish Radio Project radio series, a  documentary about "Reunion" a program
    that, in 1947, re-united Holocaust survivors live on the air.

    San Francisco Tuesday April 16, 2002, 8:00 pm Palace of Fine Arts Theater
    Co-sponsored by KQED, the Magnes Museum For tickets, which are $25 ($19 for
    members of KQED or the Magnes Museum), call (415) 392-4400 or visit
    [removed]

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 21:17:28 -0400
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Cliff Hangers

    Kenneth Clarke asks,

> >     Why is it that whenever a radio program has a 'cliff hanger' moment,

    that all episodes of the program are so difficult to find? <<

    Well, one answer is that some shows haven't got many of any episodes
    available.  Speaking of my specialty, Captain Midnight, in the Ovaltine
    years, when Captain Midnight program was in serial ([removed], cliffhanger)
    format, from the Fall of 1940 through the Spring of 1949, few episodes
    became available in circulation,  I know of only a couple of dozen for
    that whole timespan.  To my knowledge, only one sequence of episodes, the
    "Suicide Squadron/Prisoner of the Japs" sequence of four episodes (with
    one Secret Squadron Signal Session included, with the resolution in the
    following episode).  There are plenty of cliffhangers with resolutions in
    the earlier Skelly Oil programs, of which there are a lot of sequential
    episodes (Pareda Treasure and Chuck being kidnapped sequences), however,
    just no Signal Sessions.

    Another program in circulation with a lot of cliffhanger episodes and
    resolutions is the Jack Armstrong "Sulu Sea" adventures.  The whole
    season is mostly there, so, if you want resolution, there are plenty of
    examples there.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 21:18:23 -0400
    From: otrbuff@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Perry Mason

    My friend Kenneth Clarke notes that Perry Mason (on radio) would have one
    case lasting 4-5 episodes as Ken languished over the fact that all but 1
    or 2 of the final installments would be available to enthusiasts.  As one
    who has made a special hobby out of collecting Perry Mason from the aural
    days, and studying the series intensely, I can vouch that the ethereal
    Mason didn't solve his mysteries in a single chapter, as Clarke surmises.

    But would you believe the average number of episodes for the early years
    was 35 episodes (7 weeks) and that, after Irving Vendig became the show's
    wordsmith in the mid 1940s, the typical plotline continued for 135
    episodes (a little more than 6 months)?  And the longest, pertaining to
    Ed Beekman's daughter, ran 375 chapters, or about 75 weeks!

    Regretfully, extant recordings of the conclusions of most of these
    convoluted but highly intriguing tales are missing.  What a pity!  The
    day-to-day drama builds to crescendos of magnificent proportions, with
    some runs continuing almost unbroken on tape for many many weeks.  Then,
    all of a sudden, it ends.  I have had fun figuring out what might have
    transpired in the remainder of a given story (or arc).  But it would be
    even more fun to own those conclusions as Vendig penned them and John
    Larkin spoke them.

    I never attend a radio convention that I don't plow through every
    dealer's wares, seeking more episodes than I already have.  I'm sure
    somewhere more exist--someone may not even be aware he/she has them,
    having inherited or purchased a dwelling with radio chapters stashed away
    somewhere.  Maybe they'll surface yet.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 21:19:06 -0400
    From: leemunsick@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Long Radio Themes

    Perhaps the longest-running, longest-running theme in radio today is heard
    every weekday morning on WQXR.  For years now.  It is a portion of an
    otherwise obscure classical work (at the moment, I can't recall what) and
    they let the entire movement run from beginning to end, which takes several
    minutes.  Every single weekday.

    I suspect the reason is to allow the overnight DJ (they call them
    announcers) time to clear out the night-time debris, and allow morning man
    Bill Whiteside to set up his own stuff.

    I'd never heard the piece in my life before I started listening there, but
    I have it memorized now.  I'm sure Whiteside does, too!

    According to the station's slogan (and their ratings), WQXR is the
    most-listened-to classical music station in the nation, according to their
    own  slogan (and ratings).  It's been owned by the New York Times for many
    years.  It may be unfair--but inevitable--to say that every other classical
    music broadcaster in America is supplying the sincerest form of flattery
    for them.

    One may listen to them on the Internet.  Just go to   [removed]

    and follow instructions to get their streaming.

    Interesting trivia:  the initial call sign for the station was W2XR.  When
    they got their regular commercial license, they wanted something which
    sounded the [removed] WQXR.  No, Virginia, there is no Quentin Xavier!

    One sad note.  Their trademark is a colorful version of the New York
    skyline as seen from across the East River.  Mixed in with the skyscrapers
    are a very large set of bass, trombone, tuba, and sax.  But noticeably
    lacking from that artwork now are the two World Trade Center towers.

    Before you set up the music, it's definitely worth anyone's time to look at
    the Announcers' bio section (funny questions and answers and photo of each;
    they're often hilarious, especially the answers from Chief Announcer Lloyd
    Moss, and the photograph of Clayelle Dalfarez).

    Thanks to all the people who wrote me that they liked my Jell-O
    story.  Especially the wag who wrote that he "loved every aspic of
    it".  Oh, I wish I'd said that.  But I will.

    Classically yours, Lee Munsick

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

    Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 21:42:23 -0400
    From: leemunsick@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  75th Anniversary of [removed] Television

    I am not personally enamored of AT&T, having spent a part of my life
    earning a living dealing with and constantly fighting with that company and
    its local operating subsidiaries.

    Nonetheless, I recommend their special Internet pages commemorating the
    first publicized transmission of television pictures between New York and
    Washington and Whippany, New Jersey (from whence I moved two years
    ago).  That event took place 3/4 of a century ago on April 7, 1927!

    The pages include a lot of photos, explanations of the systems, and other
    quite intriguing information about the events of  that date and ensuing
    ones such as their 1929 broadcast of color television.

    Well worth looking at.  Besides, how often can you get something from AT&T
    for free?

    Here's the URL:

    [removed]

    Definitely interesting history.  Enjoy.

    Lee Munsick

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

    Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 11:34:25 -0400
    From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: The Cinnamon Bear in a Pith Helmet

    Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed]; asked:

>     None of the Brigade members I have contacted have heard of
>     "The Adventurer's Club,"  let alone  that Buddy Duncan, who voiced
>     Paddy O'Cinnamon, was in it.

    Well, it seems there were some slight errors in my recollections of the show:
    Probably the reason you couldn't find any reference to the show is because,
    though the announcer says, "And now, The Adventurers' Club," and that is the
    appelation given the organization throughout the show, it is officially "The
    WORLD Adventurers' Club." And the opening theme is only a minute and
    twentyfive seconds; guess I'm just impatient.

    Furthermore, it turns out the Buddy Duncan character MAY not have died; I
    found the episode in question (#31) and his fate is left ambiguous at the
    end. That's what comes of relying on fallible memory (and, no, it has nothing
    to do with my age, dagnab it!). Still, it's startling to hear Paddy, bound to
    a stake, lamenting, "[removed] heeerr we arre, in this day and age, about to be
    rrripped open by BLOODthirsty VAMpirres!" What a shock is in store for those
    vampires when they discover that their unholy thirst is not to be slaked,
    when they find not blood but extra-special stuffing.

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

    Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 11:35:01 -0400
    From: Richard Novak <rnovak@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Boombox for OTR

    On Friday 12 April 2002 16:09, OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     I purchased the PHILLIPS  AZ 1155 boom box, and I just love it. it has
>     played every MP3 bit rate ive tried, HOWEVER, one feature that does not to
>     seem to work on SOME of them is the remote's fast forward thru a program
>     button.

    There's nothing wrong with your AZ1155. You are correct that it will play
    almost any bitrate/sample rate that you throw at it.
    But the FF feature ONLY works if the sample rate is 44k.
    If you try to FF through a 32/22 it simply will not work.

    I wish the AZ1155 had more features, a headphone jack would have been nice,
    but over all it seems to be the best boombox out there if you're having to
    play low sample rates. I haven't found any mp3 yet that it won't play.

    [removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 11:35:21 -0400
    From: otrbuff@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Say Goodnight, Gracie

    Howard Blue asks whatever happened to the Mutual Broadcasting System.  By
    sheer happenstance my new book, "Say Goodnight Gracie:  The Last Golden
    Years of Network Radio," which tells in detail what happened to the four
    major national radio chains, was delivered from the printer to McFarland
    Publishing Co. the same day of his query.  It's available now at $35 + $4
    s/h from [removed] or Monday-Friday at 800-253-2187.

    The book brings into play many facets that impacted radio from the middle
    of the 20th century forward, with special emphasis on the final decade of
    the golden age.  By no means did television alone cause its demise.
    You'll find there were other major contributing factors examined in
    depth.  Many of those programs and stars we loved in the waning days are
    highlighted in fairly lengthy introspectives.

    I found as I pursued this topic there were lots and lots of details I had
    never seen anywhere else, certainly not in print or all in one place.  I
    hope those who read it will find it fills a void in the annals of old
    time radio and a spot for it in their permanent libraries.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 11:35:30 -0400
    From: Jerry <xfyles@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Show Quality issues

    Hi All,

    I'm interested in learning more about show quality issues. What
    causes,volume fluctuation,muffled sound,clicks, and other artifacts. How can
    transcription disks vary in quality and what are the effects/defects? Wire
    recorder defects? Digital and MP3? Tape generation loss? Is there a web page
    that explains these topics.

    TIA,
    Jerry

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

    Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 11:35:50 -0400
    From: Jerry <xfyles@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  LOC and University holdings

    With the recent discussions involving around shows at the Library of
    Congress and at various University's I was [removed] Do the employees of
    these organizations have access to these shows without the red tape?  Has
    anything ever been "smuggled" out over the years? If so what is the penalty
    of such an offense?

     Thanks,
    Jerry

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

    Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 11:36:13 -0400
    From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Could Brace Beemer have been TV Ranger??

    Kevin Michaels said,

> >     Beamer was in his 60's when the LR debuted on TV

    From: "John DiMezzes" <jadm1@[removed];

>     Beemer died in 1965 at age 62.  LONE RANGER TV show premiered in
>     September of 1949.

    Beemer made two appearances on TV's "I've Got A Secret" on Mar 18, 1959
    and Jan 22, 1964 (and they will be on a videotape my daughter will have
    available at Cinc) and he seems very fit and vigorous on both of these
    programs.  By the way, might this be the only time we have video of
    Beemer saying "Hi Yo Silver, Awayyyyyy"?

    Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 11:33:50 -0400
    From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Slippery, slimy Jello. Also, Carl Amari

    To contribute something to the Jello thread: those of us who learned of this
    slippery, slimy, jiggly confection by way of radio commercials as children
    are now of an age when arthritis and general wear and tear are eroding the
    cartilage in our joints. Recent research has confirmed that glucosamine
    supplements (and, possibly, chondroitin) can help alleviate this damage.
    However, my doctor tells me you can ingest both of these substances much more
    pleasantly and cheaply by way of a helping of delicious, fruit-flavored
    [removed] Don Wilson never even mentioned the stuff was actually good for
    us.

    "H. K. Hinkley" <hkhinkley@[removed]; wrote:

>     ...I was mildly amused to see the recently posted Gunsmoke picture on the
>     front of the Radio Spirits Gunsmoke collection, on sale for $27 and change.

    I assume Mr. Amari and company made the appropriate legal arrangements and
    thus avoided obliging Mr. Bartell sending them a Cease and Desist order.

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

    Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 11:37:01 -0400
    From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  A'n'A syndication sponsorship

    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];

>     A&A craze hit Kansas City well before most of the rest of the country.
>     WDAF was one of the major links in the "chainless chain" before the
>     program went network, carrying the series under the sponsorship of
>     the Crown Drug Company.      Elizabeth

    I think this was last discussed when neither of us had the answer, but
    are there any other local sponsors of the syndicated Amos 'n' Andy
    identified?  The logs of WMAQ show the program to have been unsponsored
    there, until the Red Letter Day (literally) when the program started on
    NBC under Pepsodent sponsorship.  Sponsor identifications were typed in
    red on the WMAQ logs!

    Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 12:09:33 -0400
    From: "Richard  Carpenter" <sinatra@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  James Dean's car

      For those who have asked, the car James Dean
    drag-raced in "Rebel Without a Cause" was a 1949
    Mercury. (I believe that's also the year and make that
    Alan Jackson sings about in  "Crazy 'Bout a Mercury.")
    A picture and information about Dean's car can be found
    at:
    [removed]

      On another topic, does anyone know whether "Quiet
    Please" was a popular show? I've been listening to a
    six-cassette collection and, to me anyway, the show
    just doesn't cut it. It sounds as if it's being made up
    as it goes along. "The Twilight Zone" it's not.

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #140
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