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	  	         === Last Update 1/17/95  ====





	    [removed]   Volume 96 : Issue 265


Articles in this issue of [removed]:

	 More OTR Tidbits
	 Looking for portable dual cassette/radio with input controls!
	 Re: Friendly Giant
	 Duffy's tavern on tv
	 RE: Box 13, Dimension X, etc.
	 Captain Midnight, Hop Harrigan, Barney Baxter, Tailspin Tommy, etc.
	 When Radio Was in Motown
	 Another casualty of WWII
	 John B. Gambling

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

Date: 28 Jul 1996 01:50:14 GMT
From: kg@[removed] (KEN GREENWALD)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: More OTR Tidbits
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Jello, again:
--Yes, Virgina Chritine was married to Fritz Feld, that wonderful character
actor of so many great films of the 30's, 40's on up. What people do not know
is that Virginia and Fritz gave a great deal of their money to poor people
and orphan homes. They often flew down to South America (I don't know exactly
where) but they gave money and help to the poor and unfortunate people there
and they contributed a lot of their money to orphanages down there.
--Phil Cohan, the producer/director of the Jimmy Durante show (he's still
very much alive and kicking) told me this story about Ed "Archie" Gardner:
Gardner was not a well like man. He was a harsh taskmaster on his show
"Duffy's Tavern." He often held parties at his home and he and his actor
friends would often swim in his backyard pool. He discovered there were "warm
spots" in the pool and he was furious. He decided to find out who was
"letting loose" in the pool. So, one day, he served up his usual punch bowl
(laced with a bit of the bubbly). Only this time he went to a pharmacist and
found he could Include a harmless substance in the punch that one could drink
along with the regular stuff. But, what the party people didn't know was
that, once this substance passed through their system and was released, it
would turn the water green.
So, at the next party, there was the punch bowl. Everyone, but Gardner drank.
They all got in the pool and Gardner watched. Eventually one of the guests
suddenly discovered they were surrounded by green colored water. Gardner
caught his culprit and chased him out of the pool and out of the house,
screaming invictives at him all the while. Isn't science wonderful!
Ken G.

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

Date: Sun, 28 Jul 96 05:18:42
From: cmarvel@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Looking for portable dual cassette/radio with input controls!
Message-Id: <m0ukUu0-0000EeC@[removed]>

All:
    I am looking for a portable dual cassette recorder/player/radio with
input level controls.  It would allow me to not only manually control the
signal/noise input to the recorded cassette from the radio but also from
the played cassette.  I had one for years but it was stolen from me and I
am looking around to see what brands are out there.  I used to copy OTR
cassettes all the time with it and I want to get back into renting out
tapes and copying them into my collection.  If you have any info about
such a recorder/radio, please email me.

Thanx,
Keith Lee (cmarvel@[removed])

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

Date: Sun, 28 Jul 1996 08:35:15 -0400
From: Michael Carraher <carraher@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Friendly Giant
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

> Andy Blatt [removed]
> 
> Also still trying to track down copies (1 copy?) on VHS of the show "The
> Friendly Giant"...Apparently it was on a Toronto TV station (The flagship
> of the Canadian Kid's network YTV?) and may have been offered to PBS
> stations in the states through YTV or CBC, but cannot track it down.  I do
> not know if YTV is available on Satellite, but I have access to a home
> satellite dish and I do not think I can access YTV.  Any help on this would
> be most appreciated.
> 
Friendly Giant is currently carried on STARZ (Starz for Kids -- a block
of shows shown each morning).  STARZ (aka Encore Multiplex 8) is a
premium channel available on some cable systems, as well as on
DirecTV/DSS, Primestar and Dish Network 18 inch dish satellite services.

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

Date: Sun, 28 Jul 1996 10:52:06 -0500 (CDT)
From: barrym <barrym@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Duffy's tavern on tv
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

> I don't remember it, but my reference books do. It was syndicated in 1954.
> As on radio, Ed Gardner played Archie. But the supporting cast was
> different: Pattee Chapman played Miss Duffy and Alan Reed (who had played
> Clancy the cop on the radio show) played Charlie Finnegan.

I vaguely remember Duffy's Tavern on tv, I think.  I remember
being surprised that the wall where the phone was was receding
from the screen.  I always saw Archie in my mind standing behind
the bar talking to Duffy.  But now I always see it like on tv.

Barry

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

Date: Sun, 28 Jul 1996 15:02:44 PST
From: passage@[removed] (Frank M Passage)
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: RE: Box 13, Dimension X, etc.
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

Hi All,

Gene <serag@[removed]> wrote:

> I saw the following shows listed in a catalog and thought they sounded 
> intriguing, but I really don't what they are about.  I was wondering 
> if <snip>


I'd listened to some of the shows, with the exception of "Magic island" 
and "Sears Radio Theater".  I'd recommend any one highly.  If you like
science fiction, go for Dimension X but also look for X Minus One.  The
Damon Runyon Theater is one of my favorites.  Rather that try to explain
each one, I've put pieces of the description section of my show logs.  
You can download the logs themselves from Lou's site, except for The 
Mysterious Traveler and The Sears Radio Theater, which I haven't
finished.


BOX 13:

In BOX 13, Dan Holiday, played by Alan Ladd, newspaper reporter turned 
fiction writer, puts an ad in his old paper in search of story ideas.  
His ad states he's looking for adventure.  The replies come to the 
newspaper's Box 13 and always brings trouble for Dan Holiday.

BOX 13 was the product of Alan Ladd and Richard Sandville who formed 
Mayfare Productions.  The two mainstay shows of Mayfare were BOX 13 and 
THE UNEXPECTED.  


DIMENSION X:

DIMENSION X was first heard over NBC on Apr. 8, 1950 and ran until
Sept. of 1951.  Although not the first adult science finction radio
series, DIMENSION X is remembered because of the quality of the
shows.  Some of the writers whose works were dramatized were Ray
Bradbury, Robert Block, Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov and Kurt
Vonnegut.

Many of the scripts for DIMENSION X were used in its successor, X
MINUS ONE, which ran Apr. 24, 1955 through Jan. 9, 1958.


THE DAMON RUNYON THEATER:

THE DAMON RUNYON THEATRE was syndicated nationwide after it
premiered on the West Coast (Mayfair Syndication).  Damon Runyon's
New York characters were brought to life through the thoughts of
Broadway, a hood with a heart of gold.  Broadway's stories had
plenty of warmth and appeal and were told in his thick Brooklyn
accent.  This series utilized the audio art of dialect humor.
Broadway was played by John Brown.  Supporting characters were
Frank Lovejoy, Allen Reed, Gerald Mohr, Eddie Mar, Louis Van Rooten
and William Conrad.


ESCAPE:

ESCAPE opened with the gripping voice of William Conrad booming out
over the airwaves:  "Tired of the everyday grind?  Ever dream of a
life of romantic adventure?  Want to get away from it all?  We offer
you - ESCAPE!"  Moussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain", the show's
theme, assisted Conrad in creating the right opening atmosphere.

The show featured spine-tingling tales from such masters as Joseph
Conrad, Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allen Poe.  Produced by William
N. Robeson, this series is widely considered one of the best
remembered of all radio action adventure series.


THEATER FIVE:

THEATER 5 was ABC's attempt to revive radio drama during the early
60's.  It got it's name from it's time slot, 5:00 PM.  Running Monday
through Friday, it was an anthology of short stories, each about 20
minutes long.  

Some of the journeymen actors of old time radio took part, as well as
some who had apparently never acted before the microphone before.

There was a good bit of science fiction. For example, there was one
episode about a stranded astronaut was called "Incident at Apogee".
Some of the plots seemed to have been taken from today's newspaper,
such as "Jump, Jump", which was about a suicidal man on a ledge being
egged on by the crowd below.

Fred Foy, of THE LONE RANGER fame, was an ABC staff announcer in the
early '60s who (among other duties) did THEATER 5.


THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER:

THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER first rode the rails on Mutual in 1943 and 
was heard for the next nine years without a sponsor.  Maurice Tarplin 
portrayed the mysterious traveler for the entire run.  Some used to say 
that he had just the right amount of morbid mischief in his voice, as 
he sat high on an omniscient perch inside the soul of his hero.  David 
Kogan and Robert A. Arthur wrote and directed the series for the entire 
nine years.


SEARS RADIO THEATER

THE SEARS RADIO THEATER was a radio anthology that included Westerns,
comedy, mystery, romance and adventure.  In fact, it devoted a night
of the week to each catagory.  The show ran Monday through Friday from
Febuary 5, 1979 to August 3, 1979.

Monday was "Western Night" and was hosted by Lorne Greene.  Tuesday
was "Comedy Night", hosted by Andy Griffith.  Wednesday was "Mystery 
Night" with Vincent Price as host.  Thursday was "Love And Hate Night"
with Cicely Tyson doing honors as host.  Finally, Friday brought 
"Adventure Night", first hosted by Richard Widmark and later by Howard 
Duff.


Frank

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

Date: Sun, 28 Jul 1996 13:16:55 -0400
From: Bigkids@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Captain Midnight, Hop Harrigan, Barney Baxter, Tailspin Tommy, etc.
Message-ID: <960728131653_586679076@[removed]>

Have been listening to some old Captain Midnight shows lately, and I was very
disappointed. My recollection was of a glorious mixture of aerial action and
lurid melodrama. Main characters were Captain Midnight, Chuck Ramsey, Joyce
Ryan, and Ichobod Mudd (good guys) versus Ivan Shark and his
beautiful-but-evil daughter (bad guys).

The episodes I've heard lately have been incredibly dull and talky, with
almost no action. And no sign of the Shark family. Chief bad guy seems to be
a Nazi, Baron Carp. (Carp, Shark, ha-ha.) No dates on these episodes, but
they refer to undergound operations in German-occupied Yugoslavia, American
troops massing in Britain, and Germany controlling Europe. This would make
the dates probably 1943 or early in '44.

My question is: Did I happen to hit on a bad period for the show, or was it
always this bad? In the latter case, I guess I'll just have to say, Another
childhood memory shattered . . .

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Speaking of Captain Midnight -- does anybody have any tapes of other aviation
adventure shows? I'm not even certain of how many there were. Most of these
characters overlapped into other media -- comic books/strips, pulp magazines,
movie serials, BLB's, etc.

But I have a strong recollection of Hop Harrigan, "America's Ace of the
Airways," in both radio and comic book format. "CX4 to Control Tower ... CX4
to Control Tower ... " "Control Tower to CX4 ... "

And I *think* I recall a Barney Baxter radio show as well. In fact, maybe
I've jumbled Harrigan and Baxter with that "CX4" stuff. 

Can anyone help with information and/or cassettes? In the latter case, I'll
either buy or swap, although my collection (for swapping) is very modest.
Reply via the Digest or off-line to <Bigkids@[removed]>, as you prefer.

Dick Lupoff

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

Date: Sun, 28 Jul 1996 17:47:21 -0400
From: Platecap@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: When Radio Was in Motown
Message-ID: <960728174719_371824671@[removed]>

Well, When Radio Was recently bit the dust in Detroit (used to be on WWJ 950
AM at midnight).  This is a CBS-affiliated all-news station that I'm
surprised carried it at all.
As far as I know, it is still being aired on WAAM 1600 AM out of Ann [removed]
ironically, a station I worked at for several years in the late 70's early
80's.  At night, this 5Kw station is receivable with reasonable clarity if
you're in the western suburbs of Detroit, but beyond that, good luck.   WLLZ
(formerly WHND) AM 560 features some segments at 10PM most weeknights,  CKWW
AM 580 carries some material, but for the most part the "hosted" old time
radio shows are nowhere to be heard in this market.
Bob Burnham; BRC Productions; Platecap@[removed]

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

Date: Sun, 28 Jul 1996 17:06:44 -0500
From: Steven Lewis <lewis@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Another casualty of WWII
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

According to Carroll Carroll, principal writer on Bing Crosby's Kraft
Music Hall (1935-46):

"Back when the past was the present, and I was writing Bing Crosby's
Kraft Music Hall Thursday nights on NBC, one of those rare few was our
engineer Murdo MacKenzie. Each week he would save the big electrical
transciptions of the show, for what use no one really knew. When he was
called to war, about 1943, I guess, he put his complete set of
recordings in a closet at the old NBC studios at Sunset and Vine in
Hollywood. He put an extra padlock on the door and a sign, PERSONAL
PROPERTY OF MURDO MACKENZIE. DO NOT DISTURB. After he and a few million
others had secured the peace he came back to find his closet had a new
door and was full of brooms and mops. NBC execs could only say, 'We
needed the space.' So the ability of future generations to rehear the
hundreds of hours of Bing and his guests ... all the biggest names of
the day ... were in a sense just one more casualty of WWII." (from "None
of Your Business: Confessions of a Renegade Radio Writer" by Carroll
Carroll)

Steven Lewis
[removed]

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

Date: Sun, 28 Jul 1996 21:44:03 -0500 (EST)
From: BOBFABRIS@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: John B. Gambling
Message-id: <01I7MDGJJPDK95O4X7@[removed]>

When I was a young tyke in NYC, John B. Gambling's early morning show was the
program tolisten to, after the Farm News.  He had a live group of musicians
playing the various tunes - who were the individuals? I know they were
virtuosi, members of one or another of the big NY orchestras.

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

    


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---- 
End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #265

