------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 106
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Lone Ranger Lunch Box [ "William Harper" <whhsa@[removed] ]
Mama Bloom's Brood [ DanHaefele@[removed] ]
Re: Pat Weaver on "Town Hall Tonight [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Great Gildersleeve question [ Eric J Cooper <ejcooper2002@[removed] ]
Archie Shows [ "gary hagan" <grhagan@[removed]; ]
Tiner, Tiger, Burning Bright ... [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
Karloff in _Arsenic and Old Lace_ [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
RE: RADIO REVIEWS IN VARIETY [ Kevin Michaels <kmichaels@doityours ]
AFRS [ "Gary Yoggy" <yoggy@[removed]; ]
Hal Stone [ Kubelski@[removed] ]
The Archie Tapes in the LOC vaults. [ gad4@[removed] ]
Yiddish OTR [ Grbmd@[removed] ]
sam spade cast list "THE DICK FOLEY [ Chet <cien@[removed]; ]
Henry and Morey: Local or Network? [ Grbmd@[removed] ]
The Nation's Station Turns 80 [ TallPaulK@[removed] ]
Lost Programs [ Musiciantoo47@[removed] ]
The Story Lady [ "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@hotmail. ]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 12:03:02 -0500
From: "William Harper" <whhsa@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Lone Ranger Lunch Box
Dear Lone Ranger Fans;
If the General Mills contact mentioned is from General Mills it is a good
deal! You must order two sets. If you do you get four boxes of Cheerios
and the two lunch boxes. Each set is complete with even a cut-out Lone
Ranger mask. The cost for the two sets is $[removed] plus postage which makes
the total $[removed] (give ot take a penny). I do not have the figures before
me. I love the Lunch Boxes. Gave sets to my children and friends. I have
ordered another 2 sets as gifts. Great fun! Plus love those Cheerios.
Manituwah,
Bill
PS I do still eat shredded wheat!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 12:44:31 -0500
From: DanHaefele@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Mama Bloom's Brood
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Elizabeth mentioned in her March 17 posting the "usual suspects" she believes
were in the cast of Mama Bloom's Brood. I know that Lou Merrill was featured
as Papa Bloom. His widow, Celeste Rush, told me he was on the show and after
her passing SPERDVAC received a few transcriptions of the syndicated series
from their family. They're in SPERDVAC's library, for those who might enjoy
the programs.
Dan Haefele
DanHaefele@[removed]
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 13:34:43 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Pat Weaver on "Town Hall Tonight"
On 3/18/02 12:25 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:
The AP piece suggests he was indeed in radio at the
time, but in Los Angeles rather than New York. Anyone able to shed
conclusive light on this matter? Would this have been a different Pat
Weaver?
Sylvester "Pat" Weaver was the agency supervisor for "Town Hall Tonight"
from 1935 until 1937, working out of Young and Rubicam's New York office.
His job was to oversee the writing of the advertising continuity for
Bristol-Meyers, and to act in the role of middleman between Allen, the
sponsor, the agency, and NBC.
Allen actually got along with Weaver better than most of his agency
producers, mainly because Weaver stayed out of his way and tried to keep
Janet MacRorie and her Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy off his back.
Weaver, in turn, spoke quite fondly of Allen in the 1956 "Biography in
Sound" tribute. Weaver's tenure with the program marked the peak of
Allen's radio career, and was probably the only period where Allen was
really happy with what he was doing on the air.
I'm a bit surprised none of Weaver's obituaries I've seen made any
mention of his Town Hall years, because Weaver himself clearly considered
his time with Allen one of the highlights of his pre-NBC career.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 13:34:04 -0500
From: Eric J Cooper <ejcooper2002@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Great Gildersleeve question
The audition for The Great Gildersleeve was sponsored by Johnson's Wax.
Why didn't they remain as sponsor instead of Kraft? Just wondering.
ERic Cooper
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 13:42:52 -0500
From: "gary hagan" <grhagan@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Archie Shows
Concerning all the interest generated on the Archie Show if my grandson is
any indication of the young audience out there that would latch on to OTR
through release of any cd's or tapes of the shows it would be a hit. He is
only 10 years old but he reads Archie comics regularly and he listens to my
Archie tapes with glee! After seeing Hal at a REPS meeting in Seattle I
know he is missing a bet by not jumping on this, even with personal
appearances like the one in Seattle. He is a very interesting and
entertaining guy and even though this is a different world than the "old
days" kids are excited about Archie comics now. Seeing Jughead in person
would delight them, and maybe spur their interest in OTR.
Hal even dressed as Jughead and put on an excellent show with audience
participation impressing everyone there. Great job Hal! When will you come
to a REPS showcase?
Gary
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 14:03:03 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Tiner, Tiger, Burning Bright ...
James Wood's mentioning that the advertisement for what he recalls as the
Tom Mix "Glowing Cat's Eye Ring" mentioning plutonium, elicited from John
Mayer,
Unlikely; plutonium didn't even exist until the 40's, so it must have
been pretty rare and pretty expensive, even if its status of World's Most
Dangerous Poison were not yet recognized
Except that there is no record of a Glowing Cat's Eye Ring, but there is
of the Magic-Light Tiger-Eye Ring from Tom Mix, and that was a premium
from 1950.
It could be that there was some loose plutonium round -- you wouldn't
need much to make the Tiger-Eye Ring glow "magically." After all, the
amount of alpha-emitting material used in the Kix tom Bomb Ring was
really tiny.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 20:24:24 -0500
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Karloff in _Arsenic and Old Lace_
he refused the role initially until the writers of the play told him the role
was written for [removed]"Jonathan Brewster looks like Boris [removed]" they
thought it would be great for Boris to play the [removed]
There was a >ugh< televised version of Arsenic and Old Lace on, I
believe, one of the live drama shows, maybe _Playhouse 90_ or _Heinz 57
Playhouse_, which starred Mr. Karloff, probably in the early 60's. I had
seen the Raymond Massey, Cary Grant version but, not knowing Boris had
originated the part, I thought that casting him in that role was
brilliant. I laughed every time he flew into a rage and attacked anyone
who insulted him by commenting he looked like Boris Karloff.
Unfortunately, his companion the doctor was not played by Peter Lorre,
probably my favorite actor of all time. I have often wondered if a film
or videotape (I don't know when the latter was invented) exists of this
performance, and if some clever technician could splice Boris's
performance into the Cary Grant movie so that Boris and Peter could
appear together.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 20:24:41 -0500
From: Kevin Michaels <kmichaels@[removed];
To: "Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: RE: RADIO REVIEWS IN VARIETY
In answer to Martin Grams inquiry about Radio Reviews in Variety, as a
long-time subscriber to the paper (in the 30's & 40's), I can assure you
there was a radio section that not only reviewed new radio shows - but - had
the listings of stations in major US Cities currently playing radio programs.
During the hey-day of radio, the paper was divided in sections, according to
the media preference of the individual reader: RADIO * MOVIES* VAUDEVILLE *
THEATER There were also sections with the various Union News (AFRA; American
Federation Of Radio Artists, SAG; Screen Actors Guild, AGVA; American Guild
Of Variety Artists & AFTA; American Federation Of Theatre Artists. It also
included the many other guilds in Show Business, as well as ads by performers
of where there were - or - were not performing. It was truly well nicknamed
as the 'Show Business Bible' for people in the various fields of
entertainment.
Kevin Michaels
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 20:24:54 -0500
From: "Gary Yoggy" <yoggy@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: AFRS
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
I'm looking for people who were involved with the AFRS during World War II
This is the 60th anniversary of its founding and I am trying to set up a panel
for the Newark Convention. Thanks for all the help determining the 10 worst
ever programs. The only one to get more than one vote was MR. KEEN, TRACER OF
LOST PERSONS. Gary Yoggy
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 20:25:43 -0500
From: Kubelski@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Hal Stone
Hal Stone was among the first OTR stars I met at Friends of Old Time Radio in
Newark. I was at my first convention (1994) and not only did I meet him, but
Rosemary Rice (I actually asked her who she played on Archie - what a faux
pas!), Abby Lewis ([removed]), Ed Kemmer of Space Patrol, and a few others.
But I specifically remember meeting Hal first and him and his wife explaining
to me that 1) he is no longer famous except at the conventions and that 2)
his wife is in a state of constant amusement about this when they attend
together. He told some very funny stories about being on Archie. The details
may escape me, but I really remember the conversation.
It was a funny, telling FOTR moment -- that you can "just talk" to the stars
and they don't get all high-hat on you but are typically respectful of our
interest in their 40-50 year old work.
Hal - I hope you're in Seattle this year and Newark again someday. Maybe you
remember the youngish (by FOTR standards) brown haired guy with glasses from
the night they did "the Shadow."
Sean Dougherty
Kubelski@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 20:32:19 -0500
From: gad4@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Archie Tapes in the LOC vaults.
Thanks to Elizabeth for her kind letter to my response. I wanted to respond
to it, but took a couple days to [removed] One reason was procrastination,
another was handling the topics properly.
To get all the "Archie" episodes in the
LOC onto the market would require an investment of more than $4000 just
for LOC lab fees. On top of that, you'd need to pay for post-production
work on the raw LOC dubs, and both Archie Comics and NBC would be
standing by with hands extended waiting to receive their percentages of
the profits on the sale of the recordings.
Given the choice, would "Archie" fans
support the effort to release the shows by purchasing the set -- or
would they wait to download it for free?
Actually, my answer to this is a definate YES. (Provided no one else has
done any thing to get them out.)
While the amount of collectors outside the OTR world for Archie may not be
as great as say Superman, if you talked to the average person, I'm sure
you'll find a higher name recognition and collectiblility with Archie than
you would over most high quality otr series, such as suspense, gangbusters,
etc. The comics are still for sale. And many baby boomers have a fondness
for the character and it would be something parents would love sharing with
their children.
Inside the OTR world, to get 100 new episodes of any series, let alone one
with the name recognition of archie and with several stars active in the otr
community (an additiional plug for the rest of the cast including Bob
Hastings, a regular at FOTR besides, our great Hal) would be a great
accomplishment. And from what I'm hearing, it could become a reality.
One way this could be done is by a major corporate OTR dealer. The type that
would have their product in barnes and noble. A company with a multi
million dollar budget would be in a better chance not only to lay out the
money and also be in a stronger position to market the product to mainstream
america, which I believe would take notice of it. My personal opinion is
that if a major corporate company did more things such as this to get new
otr to the collectors instead of just marketing material fandom put the
money into circulating, it would be a GREAT PR boost for them.
Another method would be if a group of 10 dealers and collectors to each put
[removed] into the pot and put it into their normal catalogs. Now, we can say
that's a lot of money, but [removed] for 100 non-circulating Archie episodes is
only [removed] a piece. Even for a collector, its a great deal. For a dealer,
all they would have to do is sell two copies, and they would have their
money back. Sounds like a no-lose situation.
Hal has mentioned in a different letter that he is in good contact with the
folks at archie. If this progressed to the point of a serious group effort,
perhaps he could put a good word in for us with the folks at archie so that
it could be done more as a public service. Also, if they are fans of the
show, perhaps they might have paid to have copies and that expense would be
spared. If they haven't, they too might want copies.
In short, it sounds like a very plausable project from many directions.
The only drawback to such a plan is that the chance of making back the
investment would have to be balanced against the possibility of the
programs being duped for free on Usenet or sold on pirate CDs via eBay.
As much as I hate to raise That Subject again, the fact remains that it's
probably the biggest obstacle to any dealer making the committment to
clear the rights to uncirculated materials: if they know in advance
they're going to be undercut by MP3ers the instant the programs are
released, there isn't much incentive to spend the money that has to be
spent in order to release them.
The question is, then, *is* there enough of a market to both cover the
costs of production and offset the losses that would result from the
inevitable MP3ing of the materials? Given the choice, would "Archie" fans
support the effort to release the shows by purchasing the set -- or
would they wait to download it for free?
Without bringing up a cause of controversy, I felt it needful to address
Elizabeth's concern of mp3 collectors.
Mp3 is just a medium to collect. Many of the collectors of otr collectors in
mp3s are the same good folks that collect or have collected in other mediums
such as tapes, reel to reels, [removed] In fact, many of them we correspond
with on a regular basis in this digest. Many even a part of this tread.
Regardless of the medium, I dont think there are many of the advanced
collectors who can say they haven't traded for shows, or that the majority
of their collection is "store bought".
In referring to the Archie situation, the trading world and the dealer world
have lived together for decades. I like to believe that if the otr trading
community (mp3 and tape) was asked nicely not to trade copies of the shows
around for a year so the dealers could get their money back, they would
cooperate. In fact, I believe most would like to see more projects like
this occur and do what they can do to support new material getting out. But
regardless, there always has been and will be a customer base for the dealers.
Sincerely,
George
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 20:32:38 -0500
From: Grbmd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Yiddish OTR
I was listening to "All Things Considered" on NPR today when I heard an
announcement that, starting tomorrow (Tuesday), they are starting a 10-part
feature on Yiddish radio back in the Thirties and Forties. They are
apparently going to focus on one New York station and, I guess, show how the
programming reflected the times, which of course was in transition from
pre-war into wartime, which involved the displacement of many European Jews.
It's good to hear any of the media today pay attention to OTR of that era,
regardless of the ethnic slant.
Spence
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 20:34:00 -0500
From: Chet <cien@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: sam spade cast list "THE DICK FOLEY CAPER"
hi radio bufferoos
either carl amari or krld our local station here in dallas cut off the
end credits of old time radio shows so THE QUESTION IS"
does anyone out there have the CAST LIST for SAM SPADE and the DICK
FOLEY CAPER?"..it would be greatly [removed]
chet norris
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 20:34:14 -0500
From: Grbmd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Henry and Morey: Local or Network?
As just a dumb kid living on Long Island back in the Forties, I wasn't always
aware of which programs coming from [removed] stations were purely local and which
were sent out over the network. Does anyone out there know about the
following?
Two or my favorite programs were "Here's Morgan" with Henry Morgan and the
program (whatever its name) headlining Morey Amsterdam.
Henry would offer commentaries on various subjects. He began the show, I
think, with the opening "Hello, anybody. Here's Morgan." He liked to kid
his sponsors, such as Adler Elevator Shoes, with references to "old-man
Adler."
Morey had a comedy and musical show in the after-supper time slot on New
York's WMGM. His announcer, I recall, was Phil Goulding. I bought a 78-rpm
album around that time that featured Morey singing "Yuk-a-Puk" and other
favorites that he did on his show. I wish I still had it.
Does anyone else recall either of these shows? Were they [removed] local or
network shows? Do any recordings exist for either of them?
Spence
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 21:19:02 -0500
From: TallPaulK@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Nation's Station Turns 80
There was a great article in the March 17th issued of The Cincinnati Enquirer
about the 80th anniversary of WLW radio in Cincinnati.
I remember my dad telling stories about the 500,000 watt WLW transmitter when
it was first fired up. People who lived near the transmitter could pick up
the signal in their rain gutters and clothes lines. One gentleman even
picked it up in his metal teeth retainers.
If you want to check out the article, here's where to find it:
[removed]
I hope to see you at the April OTR convention in Sharonville. Please stop by
the Cincinnati Old Time Radio Club table and say hello.
Signing off until next time . . . . . . . Paul Kattelman
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 22:41:18 -0500
From: Musiciantoo47@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Lost Programs
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Hello; I had an unfortunate accident a few days ago when I was trying to add
more programs to a CD which I had left open. Even though I had done this
procedure before, something went wrong; and when I added the new track the CD
closed. And now the only track playable on the disc is the one I added. Now
my computer and my mp3 machine both ignore the programs that I had already
recorded on the disc which is very upsetting to me because I would much
rather have had the ones that were there over the one I added. So I am
writing to ask if there is anyone out there who has these shows and would be
willing to either send them to my Streamload account (Username:
Musiciantoo47) or be willing to work something out by mail. i never got to
hear any of them. The series' I lost are:
NIGHTBEAT
CHARLIE CHAN
MACABRE
SLEEP NO MORE
TALES FROM THE TOMB
Any help greatly appreciated; thank you!
Kenny Snellgrove,
Tuscaloosa Alabama.
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 23:58:36 -0500
From: "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Story Lady
Gary McDole wrote:
In the San Joaquin Valley in the late 60's these syndicated spots were >big
favorites. The voices MAY be joan gerber & byron kane.
Yes, they were definitely Joan Gerber and Byron Kane. I knew Byron in the
early 1980's and we talked about them when someone gave me a cassette of the
shows. (No, I don't know where that cassette is now but it's around here
[removed]) Gary Owens was also involved with them.
Barbara
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #106
*********************************************
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]