Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #110
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 3/25/2004 9:51 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2004 : Issue 110
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      3-24 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Hello, Marshal!                       [ "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@comc ]
      The Horn Blows at Midnight            [ "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@comc ]
      Paul Kater                            [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
      Wells/Welles Interview                [ "Bill Orr" <billorr6@[removed]; ]
      "Sci-Fi Radio"                        [ Wich2@[removed] ]
      "Hi, John"                            [ Booksteve@[removed] ]
      Satellite radio                       [ "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed] ]
      Viewers "in their cups"               [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
      Jack Benny contest                    [ <welsa@[removed]; ]
      Gunsmoke Article                      [ stewwright@[removed] ]
      Crews                                 [ William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed]; ]
      Game/Audience Participation Shows     [ kclarke5@[removed] ]
      OTR Game Shows Heyday                 [ kclarke5@[removed] ]
      Wells and Welles - Texas Tony         [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
      Amos n Andy baseball caps             [ "david rogers" <david_rogers@hotmai ]
      World's Greatest Old Time Radio show  [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
      Andy Griffith on radio                [ Allen Wilcox <aawjca@[removed]; ]
      Getting Horny                         [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      Re: Horn Blows at Midnight            [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
      Re: Horn Blows at Midnight            [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
      Comments on Rio Nitrus [removed] MP3 Playe  [ David <dbmartin5@[removed]; ]
      Milton Berle                          [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 10:47:41 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  3-24 births/deaths

    March 24th births

    03-24-1867 - Harry Neville - Launceston, Tasmania, Australia - d. 1-25-1945
    actor: Mr. Fielding "The O'Neills"
    03-24-1885 - Joseph Granby - Boston, MA - d. 9-22-1965
    actor: Mead Connors "We Are Always Young"
    03-24-1914 - Richard Conte - Jersey City, NJ - d. 4-15-1975
    actor: "Theatre Guild on the Air"; "Hallmark Playhouse"; "Hollywood Star
    Playhouse"
    03-24-1915 - Bill Bivens - Wadesboro, NC - d. 1-15-1984
    announcer: "Fred Waring Show"; "Vox Pox"
    03-24-1928 - Vanessa Brown - Vienna, Austria - d. 5-21-1999
    panelist: "Quiz Kids"

    March 24th deaths

    02-03-1910 - Nelson Case - Long Beach, CA - d. 3-24-1976
    announcer: "Hour of Charm"; "New Carnation Contented Hour"
    03-20-1922 - Ray Goulding - Lowell, MA - d. 3-24-1990
    comedian: "Bob and Ray Show"
    06-17-1914 - John Hersey - Tientsin, China - d. 3-24-1993
    author: "Bell for Adano"; "Hirhoshima"
    08-04-1890 - Carson Robison - Near Chetopa, KS - d. 3-24-1957
    singer: "Eveready Hour"; "Dutch Masters Mimstrels"
    11-15-1881 - Franklin Pierce Adams - Chicago, IL - d. 3-24-1960
    panelist: "Information Please"
    11-22-1907 - Howard Petrie - Beverly, MA - d. 3-24-1968
    announcer: "Jimmy Durante Show"; "Judy Canova Show"
    --
    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 10:48:24 -0500
    From: "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Hello, Marshal!

    Jerry Salley rapped the table for attention:

>     I can remember the Gunsmoke discussion about "Hi, John" coming up before,
>     either here or somewhere else.  (My memory is rather [removed] and
>     [removed])  I know it's mentioned in the History of Gunsmoke episodes, too.
>     Can anybody give us some episode examples of when this happens?

    You can hear it in "Matt For Murder" (7/26/54), an episode in which Dillon
    (William Conrad) is accused of murder and his friend Wild Bill Hickok (John
    Dehner) arrives in Dodge to arrest him.  It's right before Matt and Chester
    (Parley Baer) encounter Wild Bill at the train station.

    I was familiar with the "Hi, John" only through "The New Hotel" and The
    Story of Gunsmoke as well--so when I heard this show last week, I was
    extremely tickled--especially since it comes out of nowhere and Conrad never
    misses a beat in responding and continuing on.

    Ivan
    ----
    OTR Ramblings and Musings at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear:
    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 10:48:55 -0500
    From: "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Horn Blows at Midnight

    Thanks to Sean for the heads-up on the article on Jack Benny's The Horn
    Blows at Midnight:

>     Hey, there's no argument to be made that it was a GOOD movie, but if you
>     look at a bunch of the other films on the list it's clearly outclassed in
>     badness.

    I second that emotion--I'd watch Midnight any day of the week before I'd sit
    though a piece of odious fromage like Gigli.

    Plus, the writer states, "The very mention of the title would prompt gales
    from his radio and TV show audiences who would recall it as, if not a bad
    film, at least a major financial disaster."  My impression was that the film
    actually recouped its losses when Benny's fans returned to see the film to
    see if it was as bad as he joked.

    Ivan
    ----
    OTR Ramblings and Musings at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear:
    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 10:49:09 -0500
    From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Paul Kater

    Hi Everybody,

    would Paul Kaster contact me I need his address to mail a show to you,

    Walden

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 10:49:38 -0500
    From: "Bill Orr" <billorr6@[removed];
    To: "OTR List" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Wells/Welles Interview

    In Digest # 108 Steve asked

>     Didn't the Wells/Welles interview occur in San Antonio?

    [removed] in late October 1940 on KTSA. It was allegedly their only
    meeting.

    Bill Orr

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 11:59:36 -0500
    From: Wich2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "Sci-Fi Radio"

    Dear NY-Area-er's-
    WUSB's Howard Margolin, & WBAI's Mike Sergent, will be doing a panel on same
    at this Saturday's I-CON. Your obedient servant will be gassing on with
    [removed]
    Best,
    Craig Wichman
    Quicksilver Radio Theater

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 12:39:14 -0500
    From: Booksteve@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "Hi, John"
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    I was speaking the other day with a friend who had purchased a long run of
    GUNSMOKE tapes for her late father a few years ago. She herself had only
    listened to a few but became intrigued when I told her the John
    Dehner/William Conrad
    bit in which Dehner constantly tried to throw Conrad by throwing in an
    ad-libbed "Hi, Marshal" at the most inopportune spots. Well, sure enough, she
    popped
    in a tape at random and there was the exchange. She thought that was so
    perfect that she opted NOT to check her other tapes!
    Steven Thompson

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 12:39:30 -0500
    From: "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Satellite radio

      Would like to know if anyone in this group has satellite radio and what
    the total start up cost is including everything including installation
    charges. Know there is a monthly fee of about $10 for XM satellite radio but
    don't know what equipment has to be purchased to be able to listen to the
    satellite radio.
      Have heard sound samples online and it is much better than a standard
    radio since it is digital. The more people that hear this great sound the
    more will eventually sign up for satellite radio.
      Can the receiver be moved from boombox to car?
      Andrew Godfrey

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 12:41:45 -0500
    From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Viewers "in their cups"

    Elizabeth said:

>     So far as communal viewing is concerned, one survey taken in 1950
>     suggested that the most substantial component of Berle's New York City
>     audience was made up of people watching TV in bars. But just how much of
>     Berle's estimated audience of 5 million people were in their cups as they
>     viewed the program remains to be [removed]

    My stepfather spent a lot of time up the block in 'Archie's Tavern' in
    Baltimore around 1950, watching television and drinking [removed] My mother
    gave him a lot of grief because he wasn't home helping her take care of us
    kids. He responded by buying a Bendix 12" television for $200 (a huge
    amount of money for that time). After that, he spent many more evenings at
    home, watching [removed] still drinking beer - now us kids watched with
    him: wrestling (especially "Gorgeous George"), boxing (Sponsored by
    "Gilette Blue Blades", Texaco Star Theatre with Berle, Your Show of Shows,
    and the Jackie Gleason shows. Us kids also watched all the Saturday morning
    shows that were broadcast on the two networks available (without parents).
    Needless to say, we didn't listen to any evening radio shows. My mother
    still listened to the radio during the day, but even she finally gave up
    and watched Arthur Godfrey and some of the soap operas on TV while she was
    waiting for cookies or cakes to finish baking.
    As for color [removed]
    If I remember right, the first sets cost around $800 - far beyond what most
    people could afford to pay for home sets. Bars and taverns, however, bought
    color televisions to lure customers to see the new marvel. This created a
    demand for affordable sets, which stimulated sales, which convinced the
    networks to produce more color programs, which fed sales to home viewers
    who wanted to watch programs in color.
    Then bars and taverns hooked up to cable TV subscription services, which
    showed programs & movies that  weren't available to most of their patrons
    at [removed]

    Herb Harrison

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 13:50:42 -0500
    From: <welsa@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Jack Benny contest

    Regardless of who won or lost the "I Hate Jack Benny" contest, I feel
    certain in stating that pianist/ composer Sergei Rachmaninoff probably did
    not enter.  He was an unabashed fan of Jack.

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 15:42:58 -0500
    From: stewwright@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Gunsmoke Article

     The Radiogram, the newsletter Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama,
    Variety & Comedy, will soon be publishing an article I have written on the
    GUNSMOKE radio series that is tentatively titled "GUNSMOKE: The Myth of the
    Prime-Time Repeats." This article is the result of extensive research
    conducted
    over a period of years which included the use of nearly 360 GUNSMOKE radio
    episode scripts at two research libraries.

     The article will be published in the Radiogram in the late Spring or Summer
    of
    this year. The article is 3000 words in length and includes sections on:
     The Myth,
     The Repeats That Were,
     Background,
     Research Methods Used and
     Research Results.

     The article should be published in the Radiogram within 3 to 4 months and
    may be published on the Web after its publication in the Radiogram.

     During my research, I compiled a database for the series that includes
    extensive plot, cast, crew, and other information.  I also compiled extensive
    episode information on each of the so called Prime-Time Repeats.

    Signing off for now,

    Stewart Wright

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 15:43:22 -0500
    From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Crews

    Something that has bothered me in postings regarding old time radio is
    the use of the word "crews" in production of old time radio programs.
    This word only applied to television where it referred to a crew of at
    least ten technicians required to produce a television program. In radio
    we were individuals. One engineer was in the control room mixing the
    show. A sound effects man usually worked on the studio floor (or stage).
    A second engineer arrived for the dress rehearsal if it was an audience
    show, and operated the public address console. Sound effects were a
    seperate department, not associated with the engineering group. At the
    start of unionization the sound effects people threw in with the actors
    (AFRA) as they considerd that they were "artists". They soon realized
    that it was a bad deal "salarywise" and swiched to the Engineers union
    where they earned the same salary as the engineers. With the advent of
    television "AFRA" became "AFTRA". During the "Golden Years" the engineer
    on large shows usually was chosen by the "Ad Agency" and usually received
    an extra check from them in addition to his staff salary and
    consifderable overtime. The actors were rather clanish in those days and
    usually dined with their own. There was one exception in my case.
    Whenever my friend Alice Frost would be on one of my shows I would take
    her to dinner, a situation which annoyed the other actors. A lovely lady.

    BILL MURTOUGH

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 15:45:12 -0500
    From: kclarke5@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Game/Audience Participation Shows

           If anyone out there knows where I can find some
    cassettes of some of the game/audience participation
    shows which were on OTR, please contact me off list.
    I'm looking for some.

    Kenneth Clarke
    kclarke5@[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 15:46:37 -0500
    From: kclarke5@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR Game Shows Heyday

           I know that there were some game shows on OTR.
    When, I wonder was their heyday on OTR?  When did
    they begin to be broadcast and when did they end?
    Were there many of them?  Any which wound up on TV?
    General information will be fine.

           Why is it that I never see much mentioned about
    them in books about OTR?  Did they have a bad reputation?
    If this is too broad a subject for the mailing list,
    just send the info to me off list.

    Kenneth Clarke
    kclarke5@[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 17:29:36 -0500
    From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
    To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Wells and Welles - Texas Tony

    Texas Tony Tollin wrote re the Wells/Welles radio meeting in 1940.

    the full KTSA interview ran 25 minutes on October 28, 1940.

    Tony mentioned the availability of the 7 min excerpt  (which I have) and a
    10 min excerpt.

    Is the rest of the interview available anyplace?

    -Irene

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 20:55:14 -0500
    From: "david rogers" <david_rogers@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Amos n Andy baseball caps

>     Did Amos n Andy start the fad of wearing baseball caps backwards?

    I have always wondered where people buy those backwards baseball caps.  I
    have never seen them in the shops.

    Love as always, David Rogers

    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 20:55:29 -0500
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  World's Greatest Old Time Radio shows

    Does anyone know what happened to the Media Bay
    subsidiary, "World's Greatest Old Time Radio Shows"?
    They send people who subscribe two hour-long tapes
    every three weeks or so, but I haven't received
    anything since early February. Has Media Bay shut down
    this operation to focus solely on Radio Spirits (which
    offers many of the same programs in its individual
    cassette selection)?

    Rick

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 20:55:43 -0500
    From: Allen Wilcox <aawjca@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Andy Griffith on radio

    I was listening to an episode of Have Gun Will Travel
    when I heard one of the original commercial
    advertising a radio show staring Andy Griffith. Does
    anyone have any info on this show?
    Allen

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 20:58:22 -0500
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Getting Horny

    (I'm enjoying imagining Charlie's reaction at the subject of this [removed])

    "The Horn Blows at Midnight" is an interesting paradox, because I have had
    many, many members over the years say that they'd heard the gags on the radio
    show first, then saw the film, and say, "You know, it wasn't that bad!"  Of
    course, there are others who say, "Yeah, it was a pretty bad movie."  We
    currently
    have a poll of people's favorite Benny movie on our Web site, and Horn is
    second only to "To Be or Not To Be".

    The question of what makes bad cinema is as elusive as what is "bad art",
    "bad music", or "bad religion".  Everyone claims to know what it is, but not
    everyone agrees.  However, I can't put Horn in the "worst movies of all time"
    based strictly on its own merits, separate from the constant ribbing on the
    show.
    There are people, a good number of them, who have genuinely enjoyed the movie.

    What I would include, however, is "Jet Benny".  And while A. Joseph Ross says
    that Horn "does stink", I am more than 99 44/100% positive that he will agree
    with me on this one.  "Jet Benny" is a 1986 movie that is a fantasy of Jack
    Benny as a Luke Skywalker character, flying around in a Maxwell spaceship with
    Rochester as his android partner, trying to save a princess on some planet
    that looks very much like Earth.  OK, bizarre idea, but a laugh in and of
    itself.
     But the movie is so unbearably bad that I have never encountered another
    member of the fan club (except one) who was able to sit through more than ten
    minutes of this two-hour film.  I felt it was my duty to do so, and required
    significant aid from the spirits of Harry Lauder's realm.  "Jet Benny" is bad
    to
    the bone.

    --Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 21:00:14 -0500
    From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Horn Blows at Midnight
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    In a message dated 3/24/04 11:00:32 AM Central Standard Time,
    [removed]@[removed] writes:

>     I still can't figure out why Benny never made another starring film.
>     After all, Horn wasn't THAT bad!

    One of my great passions in life is the American drive-in theatre, so
    naturally I had to track down a copy of the "Jack Benny Program" from 1953 (radio
    show), when Jack, Don and Dennis go to a drive-in theatre.  Very funny, with
    Frank Nelson ("Yesssssssss?") as the ticket booth operator and Mel Blanc as a
    wiseacre in another car.  Near the end, the announcer tells everyone the surprise
    second feature that night is "The Horn Blows at Midnight."  What you hear next
    sounds a lot like cars taking off at the beginning of the Indianapolis 500.
    Very, very funny use of sound effects, and yet another joke at the expense of
    Jack's underrated movie and movie career.

    Dixon

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 21:00:22 -0500
    From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Horn Blows at Midnight
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    In a message dated 3/24/04 11:00:32 AM Central Standard Time,
    [removed]@[removed] writes:

>     Eventually I found the movie shown on a local TV
>     station and watched it.  I decided that it really =did= stink. It was movie
>     length and tended to drag.  And a gag or two from the radio version weren't
>     in the movie (including a self-referential moment in which a woman talking
>     to Jack's character mentions her favorite commedian, Jack Benny).

    I liked the movie okay myself, but I have the "Ford Theatre" version from
    1949 and found it to be surprisingly superior.  It could possibly be because it
    dropped the ripoff dream ending and watered down (I think even eliminated) the
    bad guys trying to stop him.  It also added some topical gags like Bob Hope
    buying the Cleveland Indians.  I am curious about how it played when Benny did
    it as a play on the 1950s CBS-TV series "Omnibus," complete with live audience.
     I saw a clip once but not the whole thing, but apparently it was more
    similar to the radio adaptations.

    Dixon

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 22:57:56 -0500
    From: David <dbmartin5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Comments on Rio Nitrus [removed] MP3 Player

    I just purchased a Rio Nitrus MP3 Player with a [removed] gig HD.  This is a
    small player, with excellent  batt. life, and no issues playing my ORS
    MP3 files.

    The unit has a joystick to control, play, stop, forward, and
    backwards, a menu button, a dial to access the menu functions, and a
    volume control.

    This is a good alternative to the hardware players and also the much
    bulkier, and more expensive., 20-40 gig models.

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

    Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 01:19:15 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Milton Berle

>     Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 19:22:17 -0500
>     From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];

>     One I really want to watch is the DVD release of a single Berle Buick show
>     of 4/3/56, recorded on the deck of the USS Hancock called 'The Lost Elvis
>     - The Milton Berle Show' which was released last June.   This episode has
>     been considered 'lost' for many years.

    This was not a Buick-Berle Show, since Buick's sponsorship ended in 1955. This was the
    end of Berle's last season on Tuesday night, and that was the last show of the series.  I saw
    a video of it sometime in the early 80s at the Museum of Transportation in Brookline, so it
    couldn't have been that lost.  The Museum of Transportation had a TV showing 1950s
    television shows as part of an exhibit of 1950s cars.  In the sign-off, Berle mentions that it is
    the last show of the season and adds, "I'll be back in the fall, God willing."  I don't know if
    God was willing, but apparently the network and/or sponsors weren't.

    --
    A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                           [removed]
     15 Court Square, Suite 210                 lawyer@[removed]
    Boston, MA 02108-2503           	         [removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #110
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