------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2004 : Issue 406
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Christmas Day births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Merry Christmas [ "James Yellen" <clifengr3@[removed] ]
National Vespers [ David Phaneuf <david_phaneuf@yahoo. ]
Re: Worst Radio [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Re: Dragnet: Radio vs. TV [ "Philip Railsback" <philiprailsback ]
The Bickersons [ David Loftus <dloft59@[removed] ]
Re: Worst radio program [ "Philip Railsback" <philiprailsback ]
Worst show(s) [ "[removed]" <asajb2000@ ]
Worst radio program [ "JAMES NIXON" <ranger6000@[removed] ]
Best of the Worst [ "corganoid@[removed]" <corganoid@jun ]
Chuck Schaden's book [ benohmart@[removed] ]
You'll Find Out [ "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed]; ]
oldest radio star? [ Osborneam@[removed] ]
Re: Best of the Worst [ Lou <lgenco@[removed]; ]
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO [removed] [ HERITAGE4@[removed] ]
Jack Webb [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
12-26 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 10:06:23 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Christmas Day births/deaths
M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S
Christmas Day births
12-25-1886 - Kid Ory - LaPlace. LA - d. 1-23-1973
dixieland jazz trombonist: "This is Jazz";"Radio Almanac"; "Here's to Veterans"
12-25-1889 - Nat Shilkret - Queens, NY - d. 2-18-1982
conductor: "Eveready Hour"; "Music That Satisfies"; "Palmolive Beauty Box
Theatre"
12-25-1893 - Robert L. Ripley - Santa Rosa, CA - d. 5-27-1949
emcee: "Colonial Beacon Light"; "Baker's Broadcast"; "Believe It or Not"
12-25-1899 - Humphrey Bogart - NYC - d. 1-14-1957
actor: Slate Shannon "Bold Venture"; "Stars in the Air"; "Streamlined
Shakespeare"
12-25-1902 - Barton Maclane - Columbia, SC - d. 1-1-1969
actor: "Thirty Minutes In Hollywood"
12-25-1904 - Gladys Swarthout - Deepwater, MO - d. 7-8-1969
singer: "Palmolive Beauty Box Theatre"; "Prudential Family Hour"; "Voice of
Firestone"
12-25-1907 - Cab Calloway - Rochester, NY - d. 11-11-1994
band leader: "Quizzical"
12-25-1909 - Mike Mazurki - Tarnopol, Austria - d. 12-9-1990
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
12-25-1912 - Tony Martin - Oakland, CA
singer: "Burns and Allen"; "Tune-Up Time"; "Tony Martin Show"
12-25-1913 - Candy Candido - New Orleans, LA - d. 5-24-1999
comedian: "Sealtest Village Store"; "Jimmy Durante Show"
12-25-1914 - Peter Kalischer - d. 7-5-1992
news correspondent: "Muhammed Ali vs. Sonny Liston"
12-25-1915 - Richard Wilson - McKeesport, PA - d. 8-21-1991
actor, writer, director: Co-founded The Mercury Theatre with Orson Welles
12-25-1918 - Maritta M. Wolff - Grass Lake, MI - d. 7-1-2002
novelist: (Whistle Stop) "Lux Radio Theatre"
12-25-1924 - Rod Serling - Syracuse, NY - d. 6-28-1975
host: "Zero Hour"
12-25-1932 - Mabel King - Charleston, SC - d. 11-9-1999
actress: "Camel Rock and Roll Party"
Christmas Day deaths
01-25-1910 - Portland Hoffa - Portland, OR - d. 12-25-1990
comedienne: (Wife of Fred Allen) "Fred Allen Show"
01-29-1880 - W. C. Fields - Philadelphia, PA - d. 12-25-1946
comedian: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
04-16-1889 - Sir Charles Chaplin - London, England - d. 12-25-1977
actor: "Dodge Brothers Hour"
06-07-1917 - Dean Martin - Steubenville, OH - d. 12-25-1995
singer, comedian: "Martin and Lewis Show"
07-26-1935 - Walter Winchell, Jr. - NYC - d. 12-25-1967
radio news writer
08-30-1906 - Joan Blondell - NYC - d. 12-25-1979
actress: Mary Vance "Miss Pinkerton, Inc."
09-04-1898 - Agnes Ayres - Carbondale, IL - d. 12-25-1940
actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-19-1905 - Betty Garde - Philadelphia, PA - d. 12-25-1989
actress: Peggy O'Neill "O'Neills"; Kate Mason "Maudie's Diary"
09-27-1917 - William Orr - d. 12-25-2002
actor: "Hollywood Theatre Group"
10-29-1894 - Jack Pearl - NYC - d. 12-25-1982
comedian: Baron Munchausen "Baron and the Bee, Jack and Cliff, Jack Pearl Show"
12-07-1918 - Hurd Hatfield - NYC . d. 12-25-1998
actor: "Best Plays"; "Crime Does Not Pay"
12-22-1918 - Frankie Darro - Chicago, IL - d. 12-25-1976
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
12-28-1914 - Lee Bowman - Cincinnati, OH - d. 12-25-1979
actor: Jonathan Kegg "Life in Your Hands"; George Cooper "My Favorite Husband"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 11:25:45 -0500
From: "James Yellen" <clifengr3@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to all, and God bless us, [removed] our sons and
daughters, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters in harm's way.
JY
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 11:26:30 -0500
From: David Phaneuf <david_phaneuf@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: National Vespers
I believe I asked this question of the Digest years
ago, but my memory is not all it should be sometimes,
so I'm just not quite sure. But I know there was at
least one national religious program featuring
well-known preachers of the OTR era, such as Harry
Emerson Fosdick, Peter Marshall, and others. One
program I'm aware of was called, I believe, National
Vespers. My question is: Are any recordings of this
program extant, or of similar other programs, and
available to the general public. Fosdick and Marshall
are among my favorites. I've collected nearly all of
their published works in print, but have very few
actual recordings, and would love to be able to gain
some.
Thanks to all,
DWPhaneuf
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 11:35:54 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Worst Radio
On 12/23/04 1:58 PM [removed]@[removed] wrote:
I am interested in what OTR Digesters feel were some the *worst* programs of
old radio. I am just unfamiliar with what some of the bad programs were.
Let's face it - not everything that made the airwaves was necessarily worth
saving, let alone listening to again.
I don't know as it's really possible to come up with such a list, because
"worstness" is totally subjective. For example, I can't stand most
adventure shows -- but forty-one-year-old women aren't the target
audience for such programs, so any opinion I might have on that genre
means exactly squat. I can't stand most Hollywood movie adaptations, but
that's because once I've seen the movie itself, a radio version comes
across as little more than a second-rate exploitation piece. But that's
just me. And that whole school of mechanical forties radio comedy that
seems to be built around snappy wisecracks about California Sunshine,
Crosby's Horses, and Brooklyn makes my head hurt. But, again, that's just
my own tastes talking.
I've been listening to radio from a historical/critical perspective for
twenty-seven years now, and I think it's safe to say from what I've heard
that most radio of the OTR era was neither bad nor good. It was simply
*there,* a product ground out according to standard formulas to meet the
entertainment needs of the moment. It consciously strove for
middle-of-the-road mediocrity, in hopes of reaching the largest possible
audience while offending the smallest number of potential consumers of
the advertiser's product. And I think the reason a lot of radio doesn't
wear well today except to avowed nostalgics is that it wasn't *meant* to
wear well, or even to survive beyond its initial airing. It was intended
as a totally disposable product.
That being so, the real miracle of OTR is that in spite of the ephemeral
nature of the medium a few people in the business produced material of
enduring value. Who those people are, though, depends entirely on your
own perspective.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 11:36:14 -0500
From: "Philip Railsback" <philiprailsback@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Dragnet: Radio vs. TV
I showed my two oldest children "The Big High" (baby drowns in
bathtub due to stoned-on-pot parental neglect) before they were teenagers.
They haven't touched marijuana or anything else, and they're now adults.
Odd. I always thought the moral of the episode was not to have children. :)
Truthfully, I don't dont' think every episode of Dragnet was awful -- just
lots of them, especially the ones dealing with hippies.
- Philip
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 12:54:02 -0500
From: David Loftus <dloft59@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Bickersons
After years of being a Bickersons fan, I was astounded to learn
recently that the show was on for only two seasons in the late
1940s (at least with Ameche and Langford; apparently, there was
a short-lived TV version in the early 1950s with a different actor
playing John).
At one level, that's understandable, since the show ate up so many
jokes that it also featured many repeated "routines." Did Philip
Rapp do all the writing?
One complaint I have is that many of the shows I've run across
in OTR collections at the library are not dated, so if I were ever to
get serious about collecting them, I would have no idea what I
have heard and own versus whatever someone might try to sell
me.
I don't suppose there's any authoritative listing of show dates and
content anywhere?
David Loftus
Portland, Oregon
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 12:54:35 -0500
From: "Philip Railsback" <philiprailsback@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Worst radio program
I am interested in what OTR Digesters feel were some the *worst* programs
of
old radio. I am just unfamiliar with what some of the bad programs were.
Let's face it - not everything that made the airwaves was necessarily worth
saving, let alone listening to again.
In two, or is it three words?
AMOS 'N' ANDY
Wow. Hope you got your force fields raised, Ron.
For my money the worst show I've ever heard is "I Was Communist for the
FBI". Clearly there's talented people involved in the show (I mean Dana
Andrews is no slacker) but the show is so ludicrous it's impossible to take
seriously for more than about three seconds. I do listen occasionally for
the unintentional humor.
Also somebody mentioned a Duffy's Tavern episode as their favorite Christmas
show. Absolutely. A beautiful show. And as for "Meet John Doe", one of
the greatest movies ever made IMO. I don't know how this isn't recognized
as one of the great classics. Years ago I heard that Bruce Springstien was
considering doing a remake. Bad idea. For the Boss anyway, but it's
possible that a succsessful remake could be done.
- Philip
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 12:54:52 -0500
From: "[removed]" <asajb2000@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Worst show(s)
Here are a few additons to the caregory of worst show:
How about the Nebbs? On some of the first episodes,
the announcer says that the program was the number one
show or the most-popular show (paraphrasing here) or
something rediculous. I guess people tuned in the
hear the debut out of curiousity.
I'm sure there are more, like My Friend Irma and Meet
the Meeks, etc.
Andy Blatt
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 13:53:59 -0500
From: "JAMES NIXON" <ranger6000@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Worst radio program
Ron Sayles either just saw "A Christmas Carol" and identified with Scrooge
or he's pulling our leg! Amos and Andy worst? Indeed! But I'd like to
nominate the Hartz Mountain Canaries program, with a chorus of birds
chirping away as accompaniment to some of the worst music ever broadcast.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 13:56:16 -0500
From: "corganoid@[removed]" <corganoid@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Best of the Worst
I'm sure what some may consider trash another may consider treasure, but I
have to get my two cents in on this Best of the Worst thing.
Top 5 worst OTR series in Corganoid's book:
1. "Chandu, the Magician" A sure cure for the insomniac.
2. "The Danny Kaye Show" Showed some promise in the first [removed]
went down hill from there.
3. "Firefighters" Maybe it would have worked on TV.
4. "The Mel Blanc Show" I hate to say it because I love Mel's other work.
5. "Witch's Tale" Recycled spook stories with bad scripts and (worse) acting.
Just my [removed] I didn't upset anybody.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 14:10:28 -0500
From: benohmart@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Chuck Schaden's book
I recently got Chuck Schaden's book, Speaking of Radio, and wanted to publicly say
how Impressed I am with it. Not only the content, but the book quality and layout and
photos are really 1st rate. Well worth the money, especially to all those writers out there
who wish there were more Alan Reed and Hal Peary interviews to rifle.
Merry Christmas all! May 2005 bring us all more OTR.
Ben Ohmart
Old radio. Old movies. New books.
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 16:07:36 -0500
From: "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: You'll Find Out
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Like a lot of other films based on real-life radio shows (or
characters)...YOU'LL FIND OUT usually shows up on TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES a few
times a year. No doubt the musical numbers that were featured in the film
were intended to capture the flavor of an actual Kay Kyser Radio Broadcast!
[Although having Ish Kabbibble riding a bicycle handing out ice cream treats
was stretching things a little!]
The question as to why Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre were all
matched up is probably very simple. Karloff and Lorre were either 'under
contract' or 'loaned out' to RKO. Lugosi had made bunch of B's for various
studios (including RKO)...and his [removed] to mention his name on the
supporting cast [removed] more clout to what would've been a completely
forgettable film.
But the real surprise is this. Kay Kyser wanted the 3 villains to actually
come out at the end of the movie (from behind the curtain) and sing a chorus
of : WE'RE THE BAD HUMOR MEN at the end of the picture! This was an idea that
one or more of the 3 horror actors nixed! So this is the reason that Kay
Kyser ends the picture with the lines: REMEMBER BORIS KARLOFF, PETER LORRE and
BELA LUGOSI? Well they're not really murderers at all. In fact they're nice
fellas and good friends of mine. These things don't actually [removed]'s
all in [removed]" Kyser then steps in the middle of 2 large electrical spheres
and is zapped (presumably by electricity) out of the picture!!!!
argydix
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------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 20:34:56 -0500
From: Osborneam@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: oldest radio star?
On this Christmas eve, as I once again read
Ron Sayles lovingly-prepared list of OTR
births and deaths, a question occurred to me
that I thought I'd ask. When I read Ron's lists,
I mentally estimate how old each person was at
the time of his/her demise.
I thought it might be interesting to see if
digesters can come up with OTR candidates who
lived the longest before they passed
on. Has any OTR person made it to 100? Come
close? I wonder! I have no idea who might be potential
candidates but would be interested in seeing
who might be on a list!
Anyone?
Have a great holiday season everyone!
Arlene Osborne
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 20:35:16 -0500
From: Lou <lgenco@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Best of the Worst
On Thu, 23 Dec 2004, Tom Barnett wrote:
I am interested in what OTR Digesters feel were some the *worst* programs of
old radio.
Tom -
Many memories, many opinions. The genuinely mediocre shows are probably
least remembered, but your question may awake memories of the real duds.
You might enjoy seeing a list of "The Best and Worst and Most of OTR",
as nominated by visitors to my site a few years ago, at
[removed]
--
Lou
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 20:35:27 -0500
From: HERITAGE4@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: MERRY CHRISTMAS TO [removed]
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A sincere wish that you and yours enjoy a most blessed and
glorious Christmas.
Tom Heathwood - Heritage Radio Theatre
on The Olde Tyme Radio Network - Lots of Great Yuletide
Radio Christmas Cheer at:
[removed] 24/7
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------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2004 00:37:50 -0500
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Jack Webb
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 15:57:30 -0500
From: "Michael J. Hayde" <michaelhayde@[removed];
Whenever Webb took the time to dramatize something rather
than preach it, it worked. It still does.
In AFROTC in college, we saw a film with Jack Webb, describing all the interrogation
techniques one might be subject to as a POW and how to respond to them. There were
dramatizations, but not with Jack Webb in them. He just did the commentary in between
the illustrative scenes. I thought he was quite effective.
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 10:06:09 -0500
From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed];
Yes, that's right. Jack Webb, in his first feature radio vehicle,
fronted a comedy-variety program.
Well, I have a video of Jack Webb as a guest on Milton Berle's Buick-Berle show in 1953 or
54, and he's not bad. I think it's the only time I've ever seen him smile.
And on a similar note, I've also got a video of excerpts from a Red Skelton show in which
Red was out sick, and Ed Sullivan substituted, doing a pretty good job of playing Freddy the
Freeloader and Clem Kadiddlehopper.
--
A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed]
15 Court Square, Suite 210
lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2503
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2004 11:42:21 -0500
From: Ron Sayles
<bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 12-26 births/deaths
December 26th births
12-26-1891 - Tony Wons - Menasha, WI - d. 7-1-1965
host: "Tony Wons Scrapbook"; "House by the Side of the Road"; "Camel Quarter
Hour"
12-26-1893 - Vladimir Golschmann - Paris, France - d. 3-1-1972
conductor: New York Philharmonic
12-26-1914 - Richard Widmark - Sunrise, MN (Raised: Princeton, IL)
actor: Neil Davison "Home of the Brave"; Alan Webster "Joyce Jordan, [removed]"
12-26-1921 - Steve Allen - NYC - d. 10-30-2000
comedian, actor, singer, composer and anything else you might mention: "Steve
Allen Show"
December 26th deaths
01-13-1913 - Jeff Morrow - NYC - d. 12-26-1993
actor: "Electric Theatre"
02-14-1894 - Jack Benny - Chicago, IL (Raised: Waukegan, IL) - d. 12-26-1974
comedian: "Jack Benny Program"
05-08-1884 - Harry S Truman - Lamar, MO - d. 12-26-1972
[removed] president: "Milestones on the Road to Peace"; "World Food Crisis"
07-22-1922 - Jason Robards, Jr. - Chicago, IL - d. 12-26-2000
actor: "Pepper Young's Family"
08-12-1911 - Dr. Olan Downes - West Roxbury, MA - d. 12-26-2001
musicologist: "Texaco Metropolitan Opera"; "New York Philharmonic"
08-22-1851 - Daniel Frohman - Sandusky, OH - d. 12-26-1940
broadway producer: "Lux Radio Theatre"
10-28-1902 - Elsa Lanchester - Lewisham, England - d. 12-26-1986
actress: "Arch Oboler's Plays"; "Columbia Presents Corwin"; "Everyman's
Theatre"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #406
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