Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #283
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/24/2002 9:13 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 283
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      RIO SR-50                             [ Dick Judge <dickjudge@[removed]; ]
      Fu Manchu/mp3 scenerio                [ gad4@[removed] ]
      Old Time Radio on the satellite       [ Mike Ray <MRay@[removed]; ]
      LOA/Capt. Midnight Scripts            [ jwidner@[removed] ]
      Help with identifying a song, please  [ "Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed] ]
      scripts                               [ "randy story" <bygeorge@[removed]; ]
      [removed]                          [ "jsouthard" <jsouthard@[removed]; ]
      Fred Allen's Comment                  [ dantrigg422@[removed] ]
      Re: Allen's Atomic Joke               [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      XM Radio                              [ "Bob Watson" <crw912@[removed]; ]
      FOTR Convention                       [ JayHick@[removed] ]
      Re: Radio artists directory           [ "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed] ]
      Andy Devine                           [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
      Re:Autographs                         [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
      Radio Artists Directories             [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
      Fibber McGee TV Series?               [ David <dbmartin5@[removed]; ]
      James Bowen & the Graf Spee           [ Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed]; ]
      New book by Jim [removed]                [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
      #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig  [ lois@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 15:13:43 -0400
    From: Dick Judge <dickjudge@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RIO SR-50

    Does anyone out there have any information on the RIO SR-50 MP3 player?
    Has anybody purchased this unit? And what sort of experiences playing MP3
    CDs? Thanks.
    dickjudge

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 15:24:48 -0400
    From: gad4@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Fu Manchu/mp3 scenerio

    I do appreciate the fine work of many otr dealers and collectors and those
    who contribute to this column.  I know that there are many times where we do
    stray off course, and I dont want to be guilty of causing that to happen.

    Yet, at the same time, something is coming up in my research which I hope I
    can bring up in the cause of fairness without us getting into the "To mp3 or
    not to mp3" debate.

    Basically, to the best of my knowledge, Ted's Fu Manchus have NOT been
    converted into mp3s.  If they have, their distribution is very light. These
    should not be confused with the first 40 episodes (not by ted but those in
    circulation for many years.)  I have a very large mp3 collection and not
    only dont have I have them, I havent seen them. If they were posted in the
    newsgroups, I believe I would have them. Also, no one else I know has them
    except one mp3 collector in non-mp3 form. He has been holding off a while on
    converting them to mp3 as a sign of support for ted. That doesnt mean they
    wont be popping up in the future, but to the best of my knowledge they
    havent yet.

    I dont want to re-open the mp3 debate, If anyone has seen ted's episodes
    circulating, Id appreciate being corrected and told where. But at the
    moment, Im not attempting to apply this toward a pro/con mp3 debate and I
    hope that will not be done by others. The purpose is merely to correct a
    piece of information if necessacry, that is believed by many.

    Sincerely,
    George

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 15:48:07 -0400
    From: Mike Ray <MRay@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Old Time Radio on the satellite

    Dear friends:
    I have just received word that XM Radio, the
    satellite radio company will be adding Old Time Radio 24
    hours a day, starting August 26. I must say, I have been
    enjoy my XM Radio very much, but the one missing link was
    the fact that there was no OTR station. That, now will
    change, and I'm very excited. Just think, Bob Bailey, Orson
    Welles, John Dehner, Parley Baer and others being heard 24
    Hours a day, all over the globe. Is this a great world or
    What.
    Best regards,
    Mike Ray

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 16:31:34 -0400
    From: jwidner@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  LOA/Capt. Midnight Scripts

    Elizabeth wrote:

>     No episode guide exists, so far as I know -- and it would be interesting
>     to know if Ovaltine still retains copies of the scripts, as it does with
>     "Captain Midnight."

    Not sure if Steve Kallis can also confirm, but I don't believe that Ovaltine
    holds the CM scripts anymore. I have tried to locate these - they used to be
    at
    Ovaltine's then-headquarters in Villa Park near Chicago, but that building has
    been abandoned and turned into expensive Condos.

    Where the scripts went to is unknown as far as I know. Steve Kallis told me
    over a year ago that he thought they were probably tossed, which would be very
    sad indeed. I was hoping they might be at some historical organization there,
    but I haven't been able to locate any. I have a copy of one, though not
    original, that belonged to Jack Bivans (Chuck Ramsay). I know he does not have
    very many either. Nor does it appear the ad agency has them.

    So if this is true, one has to assume that the LOA scripts are also long gone.

    If anyone knows to the contrary, I'd love to know.

    Jim Widner
    jwidner@[removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 17:30:07 -0400
    From: "Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Help with identifying a song, please

    Slightly off-topic, but I'm sure I can find an OTR connection if I try ! No
    closer to OTR than the protracted memories about soft drinks - all of them
    unknown to me !

    Here in England a week or two ago one of the morning dj's played a song by a
    female American folksy-type singer, but as I was in traffic I couldn't note
    the singer or the song. Can anybody identify both for me please. From memory
    of hearing the song once:

    The girl was singing about her dad who she hardly knew. Her most prized
    possession is a photo of her dad standing next to Erroll Flynn in a movie.
    He was a supporting actor in films, often 4th or 5th down the list. His
    biggest role was when he worked with Errol Flynn. She lives in a small town
    in California, sitting there wondering what her dad was like.

    I know it's not much but I think it's a new record. I was very moved by it,
    and I don't know why but I thought of the many small-time character actors
    of the 40's & 50's, and their lives. Maybe he was a radio performer, too !

    It was so well-written, from the heart, that it HAS to be a true story ! I
    do know I didn't recognise the singer's name, and I think the title was
    something like "Standing next to Erroll Flynn" as that seemed to be in the
    chorus.

    Finally, I've just ruined a keyboard spluttering coffee all over it when I
    read Hal Stone's comment about going to Las Vegas to visit his money ! I've
    not heard that one before !

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 17:55:13 -0400
    From: "randy story" <bygeorge@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  scripts

    Hello Folks.
    I am in need of scripts for radio shows. Any copy of any show will do as I
    am building a library for performances with a recreation group we recently
    formed. I have milked the internet pages dry thus far and I hope that some
    of you can help me out here. These will not, of course, be used to raise
    money for myself but for my local audio theater company(EYE HEAR VOICES). I
    need a variety of scripts/shows to choose from since I am the
    producer-director for the company we are calling THE RETRO-RADIO PLAYERS. By
    the way, does anyone on the list know if our name is being used by another
    company out there in recreation land? If so, let me know ASAP and I will
    happily find another moniker.
    Any and all help on or off list will be deeply appreciated.
    Thanks,
    Randy Story
    West Plains, MO
    Home of the 2003 National Audio Theater Festival

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 17:55:18 -0400
    From: "jsouthard" <jsouthard@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  [removed]
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    I have been downloading [removed] sounds/radio from my Internet provider.
    Actually I have three newsgroups. The other two are [removed] sound/radio
    (notice the s is missing) and [removed] sound/bbc. I know these programs
    are broken down into many parts for downloading. What I don't understand is
    when I download an MP3 file I sometimes get a winamp file I can play and
    sometimes I get a text file with the code. Can I somehow make the text code
    play in a winamp player? Anybody know?
    John

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
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    ------------------------------

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 18:46:52 -0400
    From: dantrigg422@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Fred Allen's Comment
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    I find it rather sad when people are having to make excuses for Fred Allen's
    comment about a Ubangi's "Big Lips." If you folks remember one of radios
    greatest shows "Amos n Andy was driven off the air because of PC. Are we
    going to try to change the past now?

    Sincerely,
    Dan

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

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 19:10:19 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Allen's Atomic Joke

    On 7/23/02 3:13 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     I've  often wondered how the great Fred Allen could have participated in
>     a type of banter so callous, so tasteless, and so trivializing.

    Allen had no regular series on any network during the 1944-45 season, and
    while he did make occasional guest appearances that year on various other
    shows,  he wouldn't return to the air full time until October of 1945.
    But this *does* sound like the type of line he'd use.

    Such a line may seem callous and tasteless -- but only because we've had
    nearly six decades to think about the ramifications of atomic warfare.
    Radio comedians in 1945 had no idea at all what an atomic bomb was, what
    it could do, or what the long-term impact might be -- the military wasn't
    in the habit of briefing Fred Allen on the results of its atomic research
    or sending him detailed casualty reports -- so it's a bit presumptuous
    for literal-minded modern critics to chide him for not being more
    sensitive about such things. For Allen -- like all the other comedians of
    the era -- the line quoted was, no doubt, just another throwaway war
    joke, and after four years of war (or six years for most of the
    participants) I would imagine that joking about it was a necessary part
    of keeping sane.

    It's also important to remember that Fred Allen was not a "warm fuzzy"
    type of comedian. His programs often had a streak of gallows humor --
    working in jokes about death, murder, and suicide, among other topics.
    (Allen's the only OTR comic who could have gotten away with doing a
    Christmas show which ended with a department-store Santa killing
    himself.) With that tendency in mind, and given the context, I don't find
    a joke like this particularly unusual.

    (And before we start congratulating ourselves on how we're above such
    things now, I might point out that the first World Trade Center jokes
    showed up on Usenet on September 12th.)

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 20:19:03 -0400
    From: "Bob Watson" <crw912@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  XM Radio

    Was glad to see a couple of posters note that Radio Classics was coming to
    XM Radio.  I checked out the website and it seems that there may actually be
    another channel that will also have radio drama and book audio called Sonic
    Theatre.  Unfortunately for me, the radios are just a little out of my reach
    right now, as I am trying to replace a bunch of electronics damaged in a
    lightning surge last month.

    Otherwise, I would be tempted to get an XM radio ASAP.

    Bob

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 21:16:53 -0400
    From: JayHick@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  FOTR Convention

    Flyers are being mailed out for our convention Oct 24 - 27 with many guests.
    All details on the following web site, many thanks to our Digest overseer,
    Charlie Summers.

    [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 21:17:14 -0400
    From: "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Radio artists directory

       Sandy Singer asks who remembers or still has a Chicago radio artists
    directory published periodically by Leonard Dubkin.  Well, I don't remember
    the directory and I don't have one but I think I've seen it -- at least a
    1955 version of it -- displayed at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in
    downtown Chicago.

       I saw there a small booklet titled 'Chicago Talent Directory: for Radio,
    TV, Movies, Modeling, Etc.', dated Second Half 1955, and published in
    January and July by Leonard Dubkin.  It included actors, announcers,
    commentators, etc.

       Also, according to the 'Net, Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound has a copy
    from 1952.

       Sandy didn't mention dates.  Maybe this directory had been published as
    early as the 1940s and had had a different format and title or sub-title (no
    "TV", for example).

       Finally, I think there may be -- or may have been -- a couple of copies
    of this Chicago directory in the printed materials library of the OTR
    organization, NARA.

      -- Phil C.

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 21:45:06 -0400
    From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Andy Devine

    I've mentioned this before, but it still burns me up.  They've got Andy's
    last name spelled wrong on his star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Andy
    Divine, it says.

    Unless they've changed it--I saw it about Christmas, 2000.  Nobody seemed to
    care.

    M Kinsler
    512 E Mulberry St. Lancaster, Ohio USA 740 687 6368
    [removed]~kinsler

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 22:11:46 -0400
    From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re:Autographs

     Ryan Ellett asks

>     Is there an accepted protocol for requesting
>     autographs from some of the stars who frequent this
>     group?

    I'm not too comfortable responding to this query. I never did consider
    myself a star in OTR, and certainly not of the magnitude of Harry Bartell.
    But since I was billed as co-star of the "Archie Andrews" show, and OTR fans
    frequently ask me for an inscribed autograph picture, I suppose I could
    qualify and answer Ryan's question. BUT I CAN'T SPEAK FOR ANY OF THE OTHERS.

    I have no specific problem with honoring a request for an autographed
    picture, but since the requests come in rather frequently, I've decided to
    implement a new policy. To manufacture the photos, plus the cost of buying
    envelopes&stifferners, not to mention postage, while not terribly excessive,
    is starting to mount up. For me to send out an autographed picture, it now
    runs me a couple of bucks. I don't believe in charging for my autograph, but
    I am now asking for some postage in return for the favor. Two (2) $[removed]
    stamps will help defray the ongoing costs. I can use the postage for other
    needs.

    I do not expect cash, check or money order, and sending me the stamps is
    strictly optional and voluntary. But it would be appreciated.

    Also, it should be understood that the photograph may not be reprinted (for
    any reason) without my express consent.

    The only other protocol would be to send the requests privately, and not tie
    up space on the digest, and of course, include name and address and any
    specific dedication that you might like me to add. Once the request comes
    in, the picture is sent out. Then it's up to the recipient to decide if they
    want to send the postage after the fact. It's called the honor system.

    How 'bout them protocals?

    Hal(Harlan)Stone
    "Jughead"

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 22:15:00 -0400
    From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Radio Artists Directories

    Dick Backus noted;

>     I'm always fascinated when Conrad Binyon includes a scan from his Radio
>     Artists Directories. ([removed], the one on Walter Tetley in Digest #280)
>     Apparently it was an "insider" periodical, and I'd love to know more about
>     it and own at least one issue. I've searched Ebay, several paper ephemera
>     stores, and many a garage sale, and have never found one. Does anyone know of
>     a source for them?

    Guess what? I have one among my memorabilia that I'm thinking about putting
    up for auction on Ebey at some point in the near future. But it's not from
    the West Coast. It's the New York Radio Performers version. Every year,
    "Radio Registry", one of the two calling services that many performers
    belonged to, put out a quarterly Radio Artists directory called "I'm
    Casting". it contained pictures of the actors/actresses that belonged to
    Radio Registry. The date of my personal copy is the issue for "Winter-1947".
    (It's my personal copy cuz my dumb picture is also in it).

    I have been currently using it to refresh my memory about many of the people
    I worked with over the years, so I could include pics of them in my soon to
    be finished book. (I bet your tired of hearing about "soon", "soon".

    When I'm done with that task, I will probably sell it.

    It contains many photographs (each approximately 1 inch by 1 inch) within
    the 10 pages. Included are photos of 157 actors, 137 actresses, 26 children,
    and 18 announcers.

    Bear in mind, however, that not all Radio performers were members of Radio
    Registry. Others subscribed to another call service called "Lexington". a
    few belonged to both, because some directors had a favorite booking service
    that they preferred using.

    Since I have no idea of it's worth, I'll have to put it on E-bay and
    discover it's market value that way. Unless our esteemed leader, whose
    initial are Charlie summers, wants to add an auction service to the digest.
    :)

    Regards

    Hal(Harlan)Stone
    "Jughead"

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 23:01:01 -0400
    From: David <dbmartin5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Fibber McGee TV Series?

    Does anyone have any information on the attempt to translate Fibber
    McGee to TV?  I have seen a tv pilot with new actors and a  lame plot.
    Just curious if it made it to TV and how long it lasted.

    Thanks

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 23:30:13 -0400
    From: Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  James Bowen & the Graf Spee

    In the continuing discussion of the scuttling of the German pocket
    battleship the Graf Spee in the harbor of Montevideo in 1939, this
    discussion ensued:

>      In my copy of "History In Sound" the JB is not identified and I have

> >     to assume it is a reference to James Bowen.   Jim Widner  jwidner@[removed]

>     Ditto.  My assumption is that he was a freelancer, and probably mainly a
>     newspaper reporter, as were most broadcast correspondents at that time.
>     He probably was tapped by CBS for the broadcast on the 14th (if this is
>     indeed a CBS [removed]

    In his book "I Live on Air", [removed] Schecter, who was head of NBC News at
    the time of the Graf Spee broadcast, tells about James Bowen.  He was
    not a journalist but was the representative of a [removed] movie company
    (Schecter doesn't say which) in Uruguay, and the former manager of the
    American Club in Buenos Aires.  While on a private hookup with NBC in
    New York prior to going on the air, Bowen asked Schecter if he'd phone
    his mother and tell her that she could hear him soon on the radio. So
    most of NBC's information about their impromptu stringer in Montevideo
    came from his mother in Washington.
    Schecter says that the Graf Spee broadcast was relayed by short-wave to
    other broadcast organizations overseas but doesn't mention sharing the
    report with CBS.
                                                                 --Bill
    Jaker

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

    Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 23:30:39 -0400
    From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  New book by Jim [removed]

    Jim Cox leads us through the end of our childhood romance with radio in his
    new book, "Say Goodnight, Gracie", published by McFarland earlier this year.
    The book is not about Gracie Allen or the Burns and Allen radio show.  In
    fact, I understand that the title was not chosen by Jim.
        His five chapters consider the decade of the 1950s and the end of radio
    as we knew it.  He also examines the era beginning in 1961 and continues to
    include radio as we know it today.
        For those of you who have read other books by Jim, you will hardly need
    an introduction or a critique.  He has done an excellent job telling the
    story based on his thorough research of the topic.  The book includes
    photos, a section of "Personalities who impacted radio in the fading days",
    and both a bibliography and bibliographic notes, chapter by chapter.
        As I read the book, I felt sad.  It was sort of like reading an obituary
    of an old, dear friend.  Jim did not pour on the syrup or do anything to
    encourage melancholy.  He was objective and pretty much stuck with the
    facts.
        To quote Jim, "Our memories are among our priceless possessions.  When
    all is said and done, those treasures, unlike the [removed]
    [removed] networks, can never be taken away."

    Ted Kneebone/1528 S. Grant [removed], SD 57401/605-226-3344
    OTR: [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 04:52:03 -0400
    From: lois@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Night!

    A weekly [removed]

    For the best in OTR Chat, join IRC (Internet Relay Chat), StarLink-IRC
    Network, the channel name is #OldRadio.  We meet Thursdays at 8 PM Eastern
    and go on, and on! The oldest OTR Chat Channel, it has been in existence
    over five years, same time, same channel!

    Our numerous "regulars" include one of the busiest "golden years" actors in
    Hollywood; a sound man from the same era who worked many of the top
    Hollywood shows; a New York actor famed for his roles in "Let's Pretend" and
    "Archie Andrews;" owners of some of the best OTR sites on the Web;
    maintainer of the best-known OTR Digest (we all know who he is)..........

    and Me

    Lois Culver
    KWLK Longview Washington (Mutual) 1941-1944)
    KFI Los Angeles (NBC) 1944 - 1950
    and widow of actor Howard Culver

    (For more info, contact lois@[removed])

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #283
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