Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #142
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 5/23/2006 6:33 AM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2006 : Issue 142
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Christmas on the [removed] May and Ju  [ Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed] ]
  Cy Feuer and Republic Pictures        [ "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed] ]
  Bill Scherer's Response to Quick res  [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
  Houdini                               [ dixonhayes@[removed] ]
  Re: Radio Humor                       [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
  Cy Feuer                              [ "Bill Knowlton" <udmacon1@[removed] ]
  Re:Vincent Lopez, Mike Wallace        [ "Candy Jens" <candyj@[removed]; ]
  Re: LOVE THE SHOW BUT CAN'T FIND ANY  [ "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed]; ]
  WITH APOLOGIES TO HENRY FRANKENSTEIN  [ "David S. Siegel" <otrdsiegel@veriz ]
  Favorite moment?                      [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
  Looking for early Phil & Alicer Show  [ "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@sbcgloba ]
  VINCENT LOPEZ                         [ Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed]; ]
  5-23 births/deaths                    [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
  The Karen Hughes Cincy Report!        [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
  Re: Cy Feuer                          [ "HARLAN ZINCK" <zharlan@[removed]; ]
  Re: George Gobel                      [ Jordan Young <jyoung@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 12:25:18 -0400
From: Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Christmas on the [removed] May and June

Folks;

   Thanks to the kindness of Bob Hicks, Chris Holm, Gordon Robson, and Kermyt
Anderson, Katie (my newly-minted-eight-year-old red-head daughter) has the
complete set of "Jonathan Thomas and His Christmas on the Moon." Now I
realize it's not exactly Christmastime, but for any of you interested in
listening to the show, I'm going to distribute the program over the next
weeks on the Nostalgic Rumblings blog at [removed] . Yes,
it's a "podcast" on a "blog." But don't [removed] ;)

   Many of you know what a podcast is, and how to automagically have your
computer save the file, and possibly download it to an MP3 player. But for
those of you who don't, this is really easy. Find yourself a podcasting
client (I prefer the lean-and-mean open-source Juice, available at
http://[removed] while others prefer the bloated
Apple salestool iTunes), add the blog's RSS feed (there's an "RSS" icon on
the left sidebar) to the client's list of watched podcasts, and *poof* -
every time I add a program, you'll automagically receive it. You don't have
to keep checking for new episodes, your podcast client software will do that
for you and auto-download the files as they appear! I'll start running the
Christmas on the Moon files in a few days, to give those interested time to
add the blog to their podcast software.

   Indeed, you might consider using a news aggregator to keep an eye on the
Nostalgic Rumblings blog, too; important information is posted there in some
cases faster than on the OTR Digest, I can include photos and soundfiles
there that can't be added to the Digest (like the photos provided by Al
Girard of his great transcription find, or the photos posted the other day in
memory of Frankie Thomas, or like the Christmas on the Moon soundfiles). You
can use the browser FireFox, which has internal support for "live bookmarks,"
or you can use a stand-alone desktop aggregator like NewsGator at
[removed] NewsFeed at [removed]
or any other (a google search on "rss feed reader" will turn up lots of
information). Any of these will monitor the blog for you, alerting you when
something new is posted so you can decide whether to visit and read the
latest, or skip this one and check out the next. Of course, if you need help
or advice, you can gimme a yell, and I'll do whatever I can to help.

   And while I'm rambling on, I've added the Fundraiser discs I had with me
at last year's FOTR and this year's Cincinnati conventions to the store at
[removed] which makes the first time those of you who didn't
attend can see what's on 'em - I was hoping to get the first  of the new 2006
discs posted by now, but with recent events I want to rework some of the
files before releasing them. I'll let you know when the 2006 discs show up
there; shouldn't be _too_ long.

   And finally, let me again thank Bob, Chris, Gordon, and Kermyt for
supplying the files for the [removed] all of us!

         Charlie

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 12:56:06 -0400
From: "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Cy Feuer and Republic Pictures

Sad to note the passing of Cy Feuer, but credit for the music used in the
old Republic Pictures westerns must be shared with Alberto Columbo, Karl
Hajos and Bill Lava.  In fact, the majority of the great musical cues that
Republic shipped to George Trendle at WXYZ to use in the radio version of
the Lone Ranger were Columbo cues.

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 13:39:55 -0400
From: "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed];
To: ""old-time radio digest">" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Bill Scherer's Response to Quick response to
 Bill Scherer's

Hi all,
I just wanted to pop in and say that my comnents on the Freberg show prefaced
by my attempt at humor from Dennis Day need to be explained, I guess.
I didn't mean to suggest that Mr. Day made the comments about Stan's show.  I
was just quoting one of the lines from a Benny show.  Dennis enters a
conversation during the episode by saying "I'll probably get slugged for this
but."
Anything said after that about Stan's show was me and not Dennis.  I actually
don't know what he thought about the Freberg show, but it would be
interesting to
know.  <grin>
Bill

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 13:44:45 -0400
From: dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Houdini
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

The only
movie I remember, personally, was one which starred paul Michael Glaser
(from "Starsky and Hutch") which, I believe, was made during the '70's.

 
Is my memory playing tricks on me, or did Vivian Vance have a rare serious role in that TV movie?
 
Dixon

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

 
[ADMINISTRIVIA: The Internet Movie DataBase ([removed]) is your friend:

[removed]

Also try Google:

[removed];lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22The+Great+Houdini%22+Glaser&btnG=Search

--cfs3]

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 14:18:49 -0400
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Radio Humor

At 11:55 AM -0400 5/22/06, "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed]; wrote:
Overall, the shows were fair to good.   But [removed] emphasize
the fact that most comedy radio programs don't hold up as well as the radio
dramas do.

A nation's sense of humor seems to change very rapidly, far more so
than its concept of good story-telling, though we seem to require
more explosions these days than we used to. When I was providing OTR
for a mostly college-age audience on KFAR in Knoxville, before the
FCC shut the station down, the dramas were well-received, but I
hesitated to program any humor shows for just that reason. My one
experiment, an Our Miss Brooks New Year's show, only confirmed my
reservations, though there was one line I thought funny that probably
wouldn't be permitted today: "Have you ever been struck with a
six-year-old child?"

I'm not sure why this is; whole books and psychological studies have
been done on the nature of humor. I have the feeling that modern
humor is more mean-spirited, but I'm not sure of that; certainly much
OTR comedy involves characters sniping at one another. And some OTR
humor still seems funny; I, personally, think that Baby Snooks, Jack
Benny and Duffy's Tavern hold up pretty well. _The Importance of
Being Ernest_ still brings laughs and it goes all the way back to
1895. On the other hand, a glance at Nick at Night will indicate this
phenomenon is not limited to radio. Actually, I think most OTR humor
is better than, or at least not as embarrassingly juvenile as later
TV shows like _Gilligan's Island_, _The Munsters_, or _The Beverly
Hillbillies_ - I know those shows have their fans, but that has to be
purely nostalgia -  or even later shows; I personally NEVER
understood what was funny about _Seinfeld_ (it's not a matter of
being an old fogy; I still find _The Simpsons_ a delight) and could
never stand more than a few minutes of _Friends_. Before fans of
those shows squawk, let me assure you that your children will be just
as baffled over your enjoyment of those shows as you are about your
parents appreciation of _Fibber McGee and Molly_.

Tastes in simple adventure and drama change, too, though; I recall
seeing _The Matrix_ and _All About Eve_ in the same day; what a
contrast! I thought _The Matrix_ entertaining, and the movie
contributed a valuable allegorical phrase to our culture: "The red
pill or the blue pill?" But it was mostly about special effects, with
a story concept that doesn't hold up to contemplation (I thought _The
13th Story_ of the same year a much better story conceptually about
electronic maya). _All About Eve_ was about intelligent and complex
people interacting, almost every sentence a thought-provoking zinger;
the special effects there, as in radio, were all in our own minds.

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 15:18:18 -0400
From: "Bill Knowlton" <udmacon1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Cy Feuer

The 1940 Republic "Grand Ole Opry" film has Cy Feuer listed as music
director in the opening credits.

I wish I could have interviewed him about that OTR film.

I'm trying to picture him dealing with Roy Acuff, The Weaver Brothers &
Elviry, and Uncle Dave Macon!!

BILL KNOWLTON

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 17:01:17 -0400
From: "Candy Jens" <candyj@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re:Vincent Lopez, Mike Wallace

I once got Vincent Lopez' autograph, on a hotel menu mumble years ago.  But
he did it in pencil, and I carefully traced over it in pen.  It's fun to
check the menu prices - a great bargain if they'd be honored today.

On 60 Minutes, the Mike Wallace tribute mentioned The Green Hornet radio
show, and played a short clip.

Candy

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 17:01:56 -0400
From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: LOVE THE SHOW BUT CAN'T FIND ANY

BERDEAN VANDE VRED8 <[removed]@[removed]; wrote:

I ALSO LOVE THE PHIL HARRIS AND ALICE FAYE SHOW.
I HAVE FOUND THEM TO BE ALOT HARDER TO FIND.  I HAVE
QUITE A FEW FROM THE 1948-49 SEASON BUT I CAN'T FIND
ANY OF THE EARLY ONES BEFORE REXALL BECAME THEIR
SPONSOR AND ONLY A FEW OF THE LATER ONES.

The Fitch Bandwagon years are indeed a bit spotty in
circulation. However, I have eighteen shows plus the
pilot from the pre-1948-49 season, and the Old-Time
Radio Researchers' Group OTTER database reports three
other shows in existence from this time, so they -are-
out there. Check the hubs, ask in the newsgroups, contact
the OTR retailers.

I HAVE ONE EPISODE FROM I THINK 1953 AND IT HAS A
DIFFERENT ACTOR PLAYING BROTHER WILLIE AND FRANKIE IS
GOING BY HIS REAL NAME OF ELLIOTT.  IS THIS BECAUSE
PHIL HAD LEFT THE JACK BENNY SHOW BY THAT TIME AND
REMLEY WAS A NAME THAT JACK HAD RIGHTS TO?

It's a bit more complicated than that. By 1953, Phil
Harris had not only left the Benny program, but he'd
also left the band he'd put together and who'd appeared
with him on that show for nearly twenty years -- a band
that included a guitar plucker by the name of Frank Remley.

There are several stories regarding the reason for his so
doing (financial problems, professional pressure, personal
disagreements), but this Remley began asserting the rights
to his name and its use in the Harris-Faye series in the
early 1950s. Rather than pay Remley any money or give him
any other consideration for those rights, the show changed
the name of its "Frank Remley" character to that of the
actor who portrayed it, Elliott Lewis.

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 17:02:26 -0400
From: "David S. Siegel" <otrdsiegel@[removed];
To: OTR DIGEST <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  WITH APOLOGIES TO HENRY  FRANKENSTEIN

..........Whose now immortal words as spoken on the screen by Colin Clive
upon seeing the monster move and uttering: "IT'S ALIVE"  ........I shudder
to report the arrival of another soon to be CLASSIC HORROR OPUS,
by  announcing to one and all that:  "IT'S HERE".

      "IT" being Richard Hand's long awaited and thoroughly researched
study of: TERROR ON THE AIR which focuses on HORROR RADIO IN AMERICA from
1931 to 1952. The publisher is McFarland. The  Forward is by non other than
radio's premier living writer of mystery and suspense, David Kogan. The
illustrations are splendid. The index is vast.

      BEST OF ALL, the contents of this volume follows a rational path
beginning with "the mechanism and structure of Golden Age" horror radio
followed by chapters that carefully scrutinize the elements leading to the
success of six well known series chosen for CASE STUDY COMPARISON (The
Witch's Tale, Lights Out, The Hermits Cave, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, The
Mysterious Traveller and Quiet Please). Other well known series (Mystery In
The Air, The Molle Mystery Theater, The Weird Circle, The Haunting Hour,
Sleep No More, Creeps By Night, The Hall Of Fantasy, etc.) are not
neglected as one can easily discern from  an examination of the index, BUT
for the sake of detailed study and reasonable space restrictions do not
receive quite the same degree of scrutiny.

      If, like myself, you are among those fans of old radio who enjoy the
sensation of listening to a thriller
late at night with the lights out and no one nearby (that you know
of).......This book is for you.

DAVE SIEGEL

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 17:02:43 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Favorite moment?

Something to ponder on. What is your favorite moment in Olde Tyme
Radio? I think that most, if not all of us, would include Jack
Benny's "Your money or your life," so let's remove that from the
equation. Without that, what is your most favorite moment in OTR? My
favorite moment? Right after Britt Reid's father learns that he Britt
is the Green Hornet, Reid's father says that he is not surprised
since it runs in the family. He then goes on to tell the story of
Britt's famous great uncle John Reid, better known as The Lone
Ranger. While he is relating the story you can hear strains of the
William Tell Overture in the background. It brought a lump to my
throat. Every time I listen I get that same lump in the same throat,
great radio.

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 18:26:53 -0400
From: "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@[removed];
To: "The Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Looking for early Phil & Alicer Shows

BERDEAN VANDE VRED8

Looking for Harris/Faye show before Oct. 1948?  Look for "The Fitch
Bandwagon"  (UseYour Head, SaveYour Hair Use Fitch Shampoo)  Alice & Phil
had  Fitch as a sponsor from Sept 26, 1946 to May 23, 1948. When the show
came back, after the summer break, with a new name "The Phil Harris/ALice
Faye Show with basically the same cast for Rexall Drugs. Added to the cast
was Gale Gordon as a high ranking official of [removed]

Alice's brother, Willie, was played by Robert North until 1953 then John
Hubbard took over as Willie.
In 1953  RCA Victor became the sponsor after a few years of being sustaining
The last show was June 18, 1954 almost 300 shows. Not bad being up against
TV on Sundays.

I never heard the show until I started collecting OTR. I was healthy active
teenager who was to busy with a social life to care about Radio or TV for
that matter.
As survivor of misspent Youth, I would do the same way if I had it do over
again.
Frank McGurn

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 18:27:06 -0400
From: Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  VINCENT LOPEZ

Lopez didn't hold the exclusive band leader/magician franchise.  Richard
Himber, from that same era, invented many incredible magic effects, while
living at, and conducting the Essex House orchestra.

[removed]

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

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 23:35:09 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  5-23 births/deaths

May 23rd births

05-23-1882 - James Gleason - NYC - d. 4-12-1959
actor: "Jimmy Gleason's Diner"
05-23-1883 - Douglas Fairbanks - Denver, CO - d. 12-12-1939
commentator: "KHJ Los Angeles 1921"
05-23-1890 - Herbert Marshall - London, England - d. 1-22-1966
actor: Ken Thurston "Man Called X"
05-23-1898 - Frank McHugh - Homestead, PA - d. 9-11-1981
actor: Fairchild Finnegan "Phone Again Finnegan"
05-23-1901 - Arch McDonald - Hot Spring, AR - d. 10-16-1960
sportscaster: Washington Senators and Washington Redskins
05-23-1907 - Kenneth Griffin - Enid, Oklahoma Territory - d. 1-3-1951
actor: Larry Noble "Mary Noble, Backstage Wife"
05-23-1910 - Artie Shaw - NYC - d. 12-30-2004
bandleader: "Melody and Madness"; "George Burns and Gracie Allen Show"
05-23-1910 - Benjamin "Scatman" Crothers - Terre Haute, IN - d.
11-26-1986
jazz musician: early radio into the 40s
05-23-1912 - John Payne - Roanoke, VA - d. 12-6-1989
actor: "Hollywood Star Preview"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
05-23-1912 - Marius Goring - Newport, Isle of Wight, England - d.
9-30-1998
actor: Sir Percy Blakeney/Scarlet Pimpernel "Scarlet Pimpernel"
05-23-1917 - Murray McLean - Chicago, IL
actor: Jimmy Allen "Air Adventures of Jimmy Allen"
05-23-1919 - Betty Garrett - St. Joseph, MO
singer-actor: "Savings Bond Show"; "Guest Star"; "Showtime"
05-23-1921 - Helen O'Connell - Lima, OH - d. 9-9-1993
singer: (Jimmy Dorsey Band) "Kraft Music Hall"; "Fitch Bandwagon"
05-23-1927 - Gerald Hiken - Milwaukee, WI
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
05-23-1928 - Rosemary Clooney - Maysville, KY - d. 6-29-2002
singer: "Rosemary Clooney Show"; "On the Sunny Side"

May 23rd deaths

03-15-1915 - David Schoenbrun - NYC - d. 5-23-1988
news correspondent: CBS News, Paris; "CBS Radio Workshop"
03-20-1828 - Henrik Ibsen - Skien, Norway - d. 5-23-1906
playwright: "Great Plays";"Columbia Workshop"; "Theatre Guild On the
Air"
03-26-1916 - Sterling Hayden - Montclair, NJ - d. 5-23-1986
actor: "We the People"
05-27-1912 - Slammin' Sammy Snead - Ashwood, VA - d. 5-23-2002
golf legend: "Kraft Music Hall"
07-10-1894 - Jimmy McHugh - Boston, MA - d. 5-23-1969
song writer: "Cavalcade of Music"; "It's Time to Smile"; "The Navy
Sings"
07-19-1896 - Merle Kendrick - d. 5-23-1968
orchestra conductor: "Cabin B-13"
08-04-1915 - William Keene - Pennsylvania - d. 5-23-1992
actor: Red Lantern "Land of the Lost"
09-11-1915 - Athena Lorde - NYC - d. 5-23-1973
actor: Maggie Sprague "Young Widder Brown"; Sherry "Front Page Farrell"
09-12-1914 - Eddy Howard - Woodland, CA - d. 5-23-1963
bandleader, singer: "Carton of Cheer"; "Gay Mrs. Featherstone"
09-24-1886 - James Burke - NYC - d. 5-23-1968
actor: producer: "Rose of My Dreams"
10-01-1910 - Bonnie Parker - Rowena, TX - d. 5-23-1934
outlaw, murderess: "Gang Busters"
10-28-1886 - Ruth Gates - Denton, TX - d. 5-23-1966
actor: Mrs Lenord "Amanda of Honeymoon Hill"
11-04-1912 - Humphrey Davis - Meriden, CT - d. 5-23-1987
actor: Al Douglas "Life Can Be Beautiful"; Sheriff Jackson "Tennessee
Jed"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Birthplace of George F. Kennan

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

Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 07:50:22 -0400
From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Karen Hughes Cincy Report!

Only about a month late - The Karen Report on the 2006 Cincinnati
Old-Time Radio Convention is finally ready for your perusal.  Yes, she
was sick, and no, that's no excuse for it being THIS late.  The foolish
girl decided to finish her school year with a ton of studying, and didn't
polish her Cincy report until she finished her classes.

By now you've forgotten much of the convention anyway, so you can live it
once again by reading Karen's report.

Go to [removed], click on the Old Time Radio link, then click
on the 2006 report to read it all.

---Dan Hughes, no relation to Walden (and not nearly as old, either).

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

Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 07:50:49 -0400
From: "HARLAN ZINCK" <zharlan@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Cy Feuer

Sorry to hear that Cy Feuer has passed away -- but the good news is that,
unlike too many of his contemporaries who have now left us, he *did* write a
very entertaining and informative autobiography. Titled "I Got the Show
Right Here: The Amazing True Story of How an Obscure Brooklyn Horn Player
Became the Last Great Broadway Showman," the book was published in 2005 and
is an engrossing read indeed. (In fact, the night I picked it up at bedtime,
I was still up at 6:00 AM the following morning finishing it!)

In the book, Feuer does a great job describing his days at Republic
Pictures - including interesting and rather touching insights into the
relationship between Republic President, Herbert J. Yates and his wife, Vera
Hruba Ralston. At this point, I don't recall whether he wrote much about his
radio work - it's been awhile since I read it, after all - but I do
recommend the book highly.

Harlan Zinck

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

Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 07:51:11 -0400
From: Jordan Young <jyoung@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: George Gobel

He's billed as Georgie Goebel in the 1936 WLS Family Album that I
have, and I believe it was Little Georgie before that.

Jordan R. Young

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #142
*********************************************

Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
  including republication in any form.

If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
   [removed]

For Help: [removed]@[removed]

To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
  or see [removed]

For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
  in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]