
 SEE INFO SECTION AT END OF THIS DIGEST FOR UNSUBSCRIBE AND OTHER INFORMATION. 
	  	         === Last Update 1/17/95  ====





	    [removed]   Volume 96 : Issue 129


Articles in this issue of [removed]:

	 McCarthyism in radio comedy
	 Theater Five & etc.
	 Need help from Shadowphiles
	 Re: Sgt. Preston's Square Inch
	 Re: Corwin
	 Johnny Dollar and RA files
	 Corwin, Ampex, Theatre 5
	 Mercedes McCambridge
	 (no subject)
	 radio [removed] Kats (Ukelele Ike)
	 Re: Old Radio Scripts

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

Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 12:22:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: Nicholas Kierniesky <kiernies@[removed]>
To: OldTimeRadio <otr@[removed]>
Subject: McCarthyism in radio comedy
Message-ID: <[removed]@alpha>

I've been catching up on over a month's worth of OTR, and I notice a 
query in mid-March about McCarthyism on radio comedy.  I assume the 
allusion was to the dummy, Joesph, not Charlie.  I may have missed some 
responses to this topic, but I have a Bob & Ray skit from their soap, 
Mary Backstage, Nobel Wife (correct?) which contains a wonderful parody 
of the McCarthy hearings.  Did this parady take place at the time of the 
hearings in the fifties?  If so, Bob and Ray, must have stood among very 
few with a sense of humor on this topic during that period.

-Nik
*************************************************************************
Nicholas C. Kierniesky (Nik)             kiernies@[removed]
Department of Psychology                 (301)447-5394 (office)
Mount Saint Mary's College               (301)447-5755 (fax)
Emmitsburg, MD 21727			 (717)334-7771 (home)
*************************************************************************
   
   
   

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

Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 13:40:27 -0400
From: FabFicBks@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Theater Five & etc.
Message-ID: <960408134026_508438223@[removed]>

Hi Everyone,
     Alan Bell made come comments on Theater Five.  The shows I have all have
Frey Foy as the announcer.  I don't have the whole run.  I never got a chance
to listen to this when it was originally broadcast; no station in the region
would carry it.  But I did pick it up later from other collectors.
     My impression was that it was a pretty decent show.  It had to have had
the world's shortest program introduction/theme of any show I've encountered.
 No waste of time with pliminaries before they got right into the stories.
 Most of the shows were weird/bizarre, and some were quite impressive.  I
rated the program head and shoulders above CBS Mystery Theater, which was
extremely uneven and oftentimes boring, as well as sometimes having very
amateurish acting.  I'm not sure how many Theater Five shows have survived.
 I know I only have a few dozen.
     Jack Palmer made some comments about Norman Corwin.  I have to agree
that a fair number of Corwin's radio work was pretentious and preachy.  He
talked down to the audience in a condescending manner in far too many cases.
     On the other hand, he didn't do that all the time.  Many of his dramas
are excellent, and even the preachy stuff has a few gems of dialog or factual
content worth the effort of listening.  I am looking foreward to the PBS
broadcasts this summer.
     In the New England/Mass area Boston's WGBH still has no definite
scheduling listed for the show.  Telephone calls of inquiry might be helpful
in firming up some time slots, those of you who are in this area.  WGBH has a
nasty habit of dropping stuff like this in at odd times without telling
anybody what they're going to do.  I used to be a member and got the
station's monthly program log, but it turned out to be pretty much a fairy
tale type publication with little relationship to reality.
     I hate to keep commenting on the Edison/cylinder typic, but I used to
have one of the Edison disk players, a huge heavy upright machine.  There are
some serious early phono collectors in my area (including a massive
semi-public museum like collection of music and machines), so I got a chance
to talk with many local people about all the assorted formats.
     The thing(s) that destroyed Edison in the popular music biz was his
failure to give the public what it wanted.  The thin flat records put out by
Columbia, Victor and other companies were easier to handle and store than
even a few of the round Edison cylinders.
     When Edison finially got around to making disks they were almost an inch
thick and heavy as an iron weight!  The Edison tear-drop shapped diamond
needle was far superior to his competition in every way.  The records never
wore out, and neither did the needle.  Competior machines insisted that you
change the needle constantly and even with fresh needles those old 78's wore
out pretty quick.  But you'd have to have heavily reenforced flooring to have
a collection of Edison disks.  They sure as hell wouldn't break very easy,
but they were too clunky for most people.
     The other problem, the main problem so far as I am concerned, is that
Edison and his company insisted on using music that the general public at
large found boring and lifeless.  While Columbia and Victor were issuing
fox-trots, hot jazz, blues, folk music, live opera and the like,. the Edison
company stuck to classic and semi-classic material with a sprinkling of
1890's music hall material that was rapidly outdated even before the first
world war came around.  They refused to pander to the musical taste of their
audience, and the audience didn't buy their products.  The public usually
gets what it wants, and companies who cannot supply what the public wants are
forced out of business no matter what the technical benefits of their
products may be.
     Someone a few issues back mentioned that radio, not movies was the
primary medium of communication for developing patriotic fevor during the
conflict.  Obviously, this perrson has never seen any movies from the WWII
era.
     Not only did the movie industry go all out producing morale boosting
movies of every kind from cartoons to comedies, but the government also
relied on the movie industry and theaters as the primary focus for selling
war bonds.  Virtually every theater during the conflict sold bonds.  There
were appeals on the screen before and after the feature, and each program
came complete with home front short films covering ways people in the
audience could do their bit to help national defense, and propaganda shorts
such as the 'Why We Fight' series which ran the duration.
     Wish I could be in Cinninatti for the convention, but it's too far for
me to go this year, finances being what they are.  I hope someone on this
list will give us a decent con report.

---Bob Jennings

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

Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 13:58:00 -0400
From: CardiacRx@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Need help from Shadowphiles
Message-ID: <960408135759_464973638@[removed]>

Help!
I was given a copy of a Shadow episode starring Bret Morrison (for sure) and
Grace Matthews (I'm pretty sure), but it was editied so that the opening with
the episode title was omitted, as were any original commercials. I am hoping
that with a brief synopsis, someone might recognize the episode and can
identify the title for me.  Here it is, in a nutshell:  Lamont is framed for
2 murders by a gangster named Duke.  First, Duke kills the big boss' (Silky
is the big boss) brother Joey and pins it on Cranston, who had sent Silky up
the river 6 years prior.  Cranston is then framed for the murder of a girl
from the Silver Slipper nightclub, Carla, who happens to be Duke's
ex-girlfriend.  Lamont and Margo are nabbed by Silky's gang and left to burn
in an old shack, from which they escape.  Lamont/Shadow pay a visit to
another girl from the nightclub, Blondie, who turns out to be Duke's new
girlfriend, and she spill her guts.  The Shadow meets up with Duke and Silky
at the gangsters' hidout just as Duke is about to kill Silky and take over
the operation.  The Shadow eventually gets a confession from Duke clearing
Cranston, and the cops show up at the end to clean things up.

Please feel free to e-mail me privately at CardiacRx@[removed] if you can help,
and thank you in advance.

On a diffferent topic, I used to sprinkle Ovaltine on peanut butter
sandwiches.
Of course, I used to eat crayons, too.

I must admit, I'm a new subscriber to the Digest, and enjoying it so far.

Thanks again to any who can help me.

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

Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 14:14:40 -0400
From: Joelsiegel@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Sgt. Preston's Square Inch
Message-ID: <960408141439_266727219@[removed]>

It was one of if not THE greatest promo of all time. ten cents and a box top
from quaker puffed wheat (or quaker puffed rice) AND you received one square
inch of land in the yukon.
when i was a kid i sent in for it, got my deed and -- thanks to a mom who
never threw ANYTHING away -- still have it. since framed.
also i've since become the film critic on good morning america which, this
may, will spend a week in canada. and i will actually travel into the far
reaches of the yukon to seek out my exact square inch of land.
and here's where you come in!
was this advertised on radio? if so are there any of these commercials
extant?
(i have other copies of the show).
does anyone out there have any newspaper or magazine ads about the yukon land
rush?
the promo was so successful, i remember uncle scrooge trying to round up all
the square inches and of course huey, dewey and louie had the inch he
couldn't get.
would anyone have a copy of that comic book?
in return i'll keep you all posted as to my search. on king, on you husky!

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

Date: Sun, 07 Apr 1996 21:25:51 EDT
From: BWWG42A@[removed] (MR JACK L PALMER)
To: digest-tips@[removed]
Subject: Re: Corwin
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

-- [ From: Jack Palmer * [removed] #[removed] ] --

To Alan Chapman,
	Regarding your comments on Corwin.  I'm not exactly sure what your
comments are leading to, when you mention voices speaking out against
war, etc.  I grew up in the 30's and was in the service in the 40s.  I
just don't remember Corwin being much different than others about the
war.  Most people did not want war, but they knew it was coming because
it was obvious Hitler would never stop on his own.  It is very
difficult for people today to understand how we felt about WW II.  Well
over 50% of our population today were not even born at that time.  And
they look at everything differently today.  Most American's thought it
was a just and necessary war and there was little dissent about the war,
although there was often disagreement on the way it was handled.       
Jack

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

Date: Mon, 08 Apr 1996 18:24:11 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Johnny Dollar and RA files
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

On Sun, 7 Apr 1996 23:29:40 -0400
stevecap@[removed] (Steven Capsuto) wrote:
>
>Since we're downloading the file and then playing it locally, does it matter
>what speed modem the user has?  [removed], could I d/l the [removed] version through
>my [removed] modem and then play it through RA2 software?
>

Yes you can. The [removed] file is based on RealAudio [removed] which can only play on
a pentium. If you have that, then download it at [removed] and play it on your
machine. 

RealAudio based all of this on their realtime streaming and not the ability
to download the file, then play it.

I guess I should have made that clear. Thanks for asking.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Widner                      INTERNET: jwidner@[removed]
Dayton, OH                      WWW: [removed]
COMPUSERVE: 74566,3041          
AOL: JimWidner                            

                                                 

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

Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 18:24:16 -0400
From: KENPILETIC@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Corwin, Ampex, Theatre 5
Message-ID: <960408182250_508676389@[removed]>

Hi Gang -                        April 8 - 1996 -- Monday - 4:40 PM cst 

I made my first recording of "13 By Corwin" from NPR today.  I used a 
timer, but I watched to make sure it worked.  Looks like it's going to 
work just fine.  The first program was a replay of "The Odyssey of Runyan
Jones".   Good Choice !   This should grab the audience and hold them 
for the entire series.

By the way, when "The Odyssey of Runyan Jones" was broadcast in the 
1940's, I didn't hear it.  The neighbor kid did and told me about it. 
He didn't know the name of the program, nor did he know the series, and
I had to wait 50 years to hear it for myself.  I probably have this 
program in my collection already, but I don't remember ever playing it.
I have lots of programs in my collection that I have not yet played. 
Too bad I didn't connect the title with the plot, or I would have played
it long ago. 

The program is in Monaural, although the "stereo" pilot indicator came 
on during the broadcast.  It is 30 minutes long.  I didn't notice any 
editing during the program, but the original opening was missing, and 
NPR faded the credits at the end.  I guess that's how they made it fit.

I'm recording on a 2400 foot reel, so all 13 programs should fit on a
single tape (at 3-3/4 ips) with room left over.  That's 1 down, 12 to go.

---------- New Topic ----------  Ampex 600 Series machines ---------

I have several Ampex 600 machines.  Although they all work, I don't use
them any more.  The Ampex 600 is a single-speed machine.  It can be 
manufactured in either Half-Track or Full-Track format.  I have one of 
each.  My machines run at 7-1/2 ips.  I don't know if they ever ran 
at any other speed.  They were real "workhorses" in their day, although 
the rewind speed is quite slow when compared to almost any other recorder.
The sound quality is supurb.  There are very few moving parts, so they
are extremely reliable.  

I also have two other 600 series Ampexes, ie 601-2 and 602-2.  These are
half-track stereo machines.  They look almost identical to the 601.  These
also run a 7-1/2 ips.

I bought all of these machines "used" at different times, and they all 
came from different recording studios.  One of the 600's came from a 
radio station.  I paid as much as $400 and as little as $100 for them 
during the 1960's and 1970's.   I would not recommend anybody to pay 
more than $50 for such a machine today.  They use vacuum tubes (valves)
which can be very expensive to replace when they get weak.  New tubes 
are hard to find and cost quite a bit.  Used tubes are cheaper, if you
can find them. 

Any Ampex 600 series machine has got to be over 30 years old, so it's
possible that the mechanics could be stiff, rusty, broken, or just
falling apart with age - depending on where it was stored.  Make sure
it works before you buy it, or if it doesn't work be sure you can fix
it (or know somebody who can), and don't pay a lot for it.  There were 
thousands of these machines made, and you just might be able to get 
one for free.

--------  New Topic  -----  Theatre 5 ---------

I recorded all of these programs (possibly with my Ampex 600) off the
air.  They're in the collection someplace.  No time to check yet, but 
if you need a specific program and can't find it elsewhere, send me 
e-mail and I'll look.  When the programs were broadcast in Chicago, 
they were transmitted on WLS-FM and two programs were played Back-to-
Back.  As I recall, the programs were slightly less than 25 minutes 
long, so two of them ran just about 50 minutes.  I don't remember if 
they were in Stereo or Monaural.  It could have been either, because
these were relatively recent programs. 

FOUR DAYS TO CINCINNATI --  Ken Piletic - Streamwood, Illinois 
kenpiletic@[removed] 

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

Date: Mon, 08 Apr 1996 17:27:56 -0500
From: hhoward@[removed] (Henry Howard)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Mercedes McCambridge
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

>>, (appropriately enough,) was Mercedes McCambridge's 78th
birthday.  I think my favorite of all her radio roles were the many she
played in the ILAM mysteries.  That tremulous voice was especially good at
communicating sheer terror.  Of course, she was all over the radio dial for
decades, and went on to TV and movies.

>>Does anyone know anything about her state of health? 

I was working with Dr. Allen Macleod, from the University of Georgia
Journalism school when
I read the above.  Mercedes lives in California and is doing well.  She has
performed several
times over the last few years in radio plays at the U of GA.  She is a
favorite of Hyman Brown who directs these plays.  

I have ask Dr. MacLeod to join us here, and hopefully we will see his name
soon.  You can contact him at amacleod@[removed]
+++++ Henry Howard == The Atlanta Radio Theatre Company +++++
+++++    [removed]   or/artc /audiocraft     +++++
+++++               Produced at Audio Craft  (770) 923-7955
+++++
======================================================= (2)

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

Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 16:32:31 -0700 (MST)
From: Barry Mishkind <barry@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: (no subject)
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Reply To: Joan Branch <info4u@[removed]>
PLEASE RESPOND TO Joan Branch <info4u@[removed]>

>Date: Mon, 08 Apr 96 17:18:03 -0700
>From: Joan Branch <info4u@[removed]>
>Organization: The Amazing Information Station Miniaturists Pages
>To: barry@[removed]
>Subject: (no subject)
>
>Barry,  I tried and I tried (after I joined) to send the following msg 
>to the newsgroup Broadcasters.  It kept saying 'no such group as Null."  
>And so I send it to you, asking you to pls post it.  I thank you if you 
>can do it; I apologize if I'm a pest.  I don't mean to be.
>Joan
>
>I believe Barry directed me to this group; I hope he did! I've been 
>commissioned by Antique Trader Weekly to write a series on Jasper 
>Giardina's collection of radios, said to be the largest in the world -- 
>over 6 thousand!  Tho' I haven't counted them, I do believe it.
>
>I'm seeking "little" stories or "the rest of the story" type radio info. 
>Barry taught me about the origin of the NBC chimes.  Now I'd like input 
>about famous newscasters, radio personalities, and shows heard during the 
>HeyDay of broadcasting -- topics of interest to a general reader, rather 
>than one who has been collecting or held an avid interest for years.
>
>And so, who better to approach than the broadcasters of the world, those 
>professionals who know the industry well?  I can give a "name, station, 
>city" credit by way of thank you (if you give me permission to do so).
>
>Pls e-mail me your stories - concise copy because these will be used 
>strictly for 'color' and to add to the readability of articles that could 
>be very dry if I only talk about the collection.  First article - on 
>Catalins - will be out in May. That's to get the reader's attention; then 
>it's back to crystal sets and straight forward to novelty radios of the 
>60's.
>
>Thank you for any help you may wish to send me. I sincerely hope I'm in 
>the right place.  
> Joan Branch, info4u@[removed]
>
>
>
>
>

_____________________________________________________________________________
 Barry Mishkind           Tucson, AZ         [removed]~barry

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

Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1996 01:51:55 -0400
From: MTPawckett@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: radio [removed] Kats (Ukelele Ike)
Message-ID: <960409015154_371881985@[removed]>

Hello out [removed] need some help from my fellow OTR [removed]
I work with emotionally/behaviorally challenged youth at a junior and senior
high school.  We have been listening to X minus One and Hall of Fantasy
episodes and want to do a recreation for a class project.  I am looking for a
copy of a radio script that we can use in class.  The two requirements I have
is that the script lend itself to alot of live sound effects and that the
script be more action than dialogue oriented.

If you have a copy of a script that would meet these two needs (preferably an
electronic version you could attach to an email) please contact me at your
earliest possible convenience.  We decided late to take on this project, so
we're in a bit of a time crunch.  Thanks to any leads/scripts/responses.

Also (if you're still with me) still looking for Krazy Kats shows/info with
Ukelele Ike and George Murray from Memphis Tenn from the 1930'[removed] info,
please email me.

Thanks-Dave Lind {:0) the smiling clown  MTPawckett@[removed]

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

Date: Tue, 09 Apr 1996 01:45:03 +0000
From: "Rand B. Lee" <randbear@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Old Radio Scripts
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Dear Folks:
My late mother, Catherine Brinker Lee, was a radio actress in the 1930's and
1940's. Her working name was Kaye Brinker. She was casting director for CBS radio
in Chicago briefly in the early 1930's, and always bragged that it was she who had
>given the Andrews Sisters their first audition for CBS.

At one time she produced and wrote her own one-woman show on CBS. I have many
of her old scripts in the original. They are fading very quickly and many are barely
readable, but with the proper equipment they could be preserved. Do you know of
any radio history collection that might be interested in such documents? (And
wouldn't it be fun to have an actress recreate them for radio now? They were the 
usual 15-minute shows.)

My late father, Manfred B. Lee, was co-author with his cousin Frederic Dannay of
the "Ellery Queen" detective novels. Both cousins wrote the "Ellery Queen"
radio show. I have some original documents from that period related to the radio
show, but no scripts, alas, and no recordings; they vanished mysteriously about the
time of Dad's death (they were on huge old radio records).

I would be grateful to hear from you or anyone interested either in my mother's or
my father's radio work.

Yours sincerely,
Rand B. Lee
1306 Lujan Street
Santa Fe, NM 87505-3220
505-438-7038
randbear@[removed]

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

    


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---- 
End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #129

