Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #162
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 5/24/2005 4:18 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2005 : Issue 162
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Jim Jewell                            [ Bob Slate <moxnix1961@[removed]; ]
      Frank Parker                          [ Richard Pratz <[removed]@[removed]; ]
      Sid Collins Indianapolis 500          [ "mike ray" <mikeray42@[removed]; ]
      Many games, [removed]                  [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
      Re: When was the first American radi  [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
      Bay Area old time Radio Studio        [ Oby Wan Kenobi <obyjuankenobi@yahoo ]
      house on fire                         [ "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed]; ]
      Jon Pertwee                           [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
      Programs transcribed                  [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
      5-24 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      WSB 750 Atlanta                       [ wayne_johnson@[removed] ]
      Orson Welles, Frank Readick and Hans  [ Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@earthlin ]
      [removed] Thurl Ravenscroft and Howard   [ Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@earthlin ]
      WTIC's "The Golden Age of Radio"      [ "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed]; ]
      House On Fire                         [ Bob Slate <moxnix1961@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 19:33:09 -0400
    From: Bob Slate <moxnix1961@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jim Jewell
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Try the following 2 books:  "Who Was That Masked Man" by David Rothel and
    "From Out Of The Past" By Dave Holland. They are the best books about "The
    Lone Ranger" and "Jim Jewell." In fact, David Rothel has an interview article
    with Jim Jewell in "Who Was That Masked Man." Both are the best books ever
    written on "The Lone Ranger." Also," WXYZIE Wonderland" by Charles Osgood,
    Jr. Mr. Osgood worked at the WXYZ studios at the top of the Mccabees Building
    in Detroit in the days of "The Lone Ranger."I have all three of those books
    and they are excellent.

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

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

    Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 19:34:02 -0400
    From: Richard Pratz <[removed]@[removed];
    To: "OTR (Plain Text Only)" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Frank Parker

    Anyone know where I can obtain a biography online of tenor Frank Parker, one
    of the "Little Godfrey"s?"

    All I can find is his birthdate 4/29/03 (where?) and death 1/10/99
    Titusville, Florida at age 95.

    Email me personally if you wish.

    Much thanks - Rich

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

    Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 22:11:08 -0400
    From: "mike ray" <mikeray42@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Sid Collins Indianapolis 500

    Dear gang:
    Today, (day after the time trials ended) a former co-worker of mine at WIBC
    in Indianapolis (from back in the 60's and 70's) called me to share a an old
    letter he found from our old boss Sid Collins. He has now been gone for 31
    years, but I've never gotten over his death. It was a  thrill to work for
    him. He was my first boss in radio, and was just the perfect gentelman. As a
    kid growing up in the 50's it was his voice I heard on those wonderful
    broadcasts. Sid was a wonderful gift from God. A great joy to be around. This
    friend of mine
    just sent me last week a clear copy of the 1963 Indy 500, as I had sent him a
    copy of my 1962 indy 500. I would be happy to make those available to any in
    our group. If you are interested, just contact me off the listing.
    Best regards.
    Mike Ray

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

    Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 22:12:47 -0400
    From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Many games, [removed]

>     [removed] King: the resources that I have say  that the first Sherlockian
>     broadcast was the launch of the 1930 NBC series, by  William
>     Gillette. Can anyone lock down the WGY story?

    I believe Gillette was the first to play Holmes on a network.

    But WGY was a local station in Schenectady and during the WGY Players'
    first season, their 11-09-22 play was scheduled to be "The Sign of the
    Four," according to the New York Times and a few other papers I've
    looked at. Here's a quote from the 11-06 Indianapolis (Indiana) Star:

    One of the features of the program for the week of Nov. 6 from WGY at
    Schenectady, N. Y., will be the production of  "The Sign of the Four,"
    a Sherlock Holmes play from the pen of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The WGY
    players will be cast in the play with Edward H. Smith in the part of
    the famous detective of fiction, and F. H. Oliver as Dr. Watson.
    Musical numbers will be played between the episodes or acts by the WGY
    orchestra.

    I've been fussing around with a "log" for the Players' first season.
    Most of their productions were adapted from stage plays but I'm not
    aware of a stage version of  "The Sign of the Four" by Conan Doyle. Is
    it possible they adapted it from the novel?

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

    Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 22:13:12 -0400
    From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: When was the first American radio news
     of, death of Hitler?

    Somewhere among my tapes I have the German Nazi announcement of the
    death of Hitler that was sent to me by a woman who had been doing
    research on Hitler for a European CD-ROM. She got it from the German
    Archives.  I am not sure she dated it, but further research indicates
    that the announcement in German by Grand Admiral Doenitz came about
    10:20 pm on May 1st (not April 30th) after being warned earlier that a
    grave announcement would be made.

    As Berlin would have been about 6 hours or so ahead of Eastern time, it
    would seem it had to be May 1st. I have two English language versions -
    one from CBS, which is supposedly dated April 30th (I agree it would
    have to be wrong based upon the above). I also have one from the Mutual
    Broadcasting System which is listed as May 1st.

    In the German language version Doenitz says that Hitler died that
    afternoon while fighting at the head of his troops. History later
    learned that in fact he died on April 30th in the bunker as we all know
    by his own hand.

    At the times a number of news sources believed the actual death to be
    that May 1st date Doenitz tried to push onto history's timeline and
    published his death as May 1.

    I suspect that over time collector's knew Hitler died on April 30th and
    began to assume this not clearly dated news item was made on April
    30th.  I haven't pursued this via NBC's archives in the Library of
    Congress, but it would be interesting to find out what their records
    state. If there are CBS logs, I have never seen them.

    Jim Widner

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

    Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 00:43:26 -0400
    From: Oby Wan Kenobi <obyjuankenobi@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Bay Area old time Radio Studio

    Someone asked about an old time studio in the bay area
    a few weeks ago - I came across this link describing
    the California Historical Radio groups' buying the old
    KRE studios in Berkeley and refurbishing them - so the
    person looking for an old studio to videotape in may
    find this of some interest.

    [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 00:43:45 -0400
    From: "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  house on fire

    Yes, it is the same Arch Obler.  There was a script called house on fire
    done on Sears Radio Theater I think, even if it was after that book.  I
    think I even heard this book mentioned somewhere before.  Kurt

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

    Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 07:38:27 -0400
    From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
    To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Jon Pertwee

      kclarke wrote:

>     I always remember Jon Pertwee from his appearances
>     on "Dr. Who", a BBC series (which I understand has quite
>     a cult following. Is this the same person to whom you are
>     referring?

    Yes, he was a wonderful Dr Who, a close second to my favorite, Tom Baker.
    A new Dr Who series premiered on BBC TV recently.  I'm anxious to see it.
    I guess I'm part of the 'cult'.  :))

    FYI:  Jon Pertwee's son Sean Pertwee played Cadfael's close friend, Sheriff
    Hugh Beringar on the first 2 series of 'Cadfael', starring Derek Jacobi,
    When he decided to leave, most fans were very disappointed.  He has done a
    lot of TV and movie work and also has appeared on BBC  Radio and is very
    popular, good looks added to talent.

    -Irene

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

    Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 07:39:11 -0400
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Programs transcribed

>     From: "Jim Harmon" <jimharmonotr@[removed];
>     To: <[removed]@[removed];

>     and somehow the announcer always said the unsavory word
>     quickly and softly, as: "THE LUCKY STRIKE PROGRAM STARRING JACK BENNY
>     (transcribed) BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE MAKERS OF ..."

    I remember that in early episodes of the Howdy Doody Show on television (late 1949 or
    thereabouts), after the sign-off and just before the closing credits, Howdy Doody would say,
    "A portion of the Howdy Doody Show electrically transcribed."  Being in kindergarden at the
    time, I didn't understand what that meant.  Eventually I asked my mother, and she explained
    it.  However, after a slight change in the format of the show closing, around January 1950,
    that stopped.  Eventually, after I learned to read, I saw a notice to the same effect on screen
    during the closing credits.

>     Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 16:26:26 -0400
>     From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];

>     the exact date of when NBC rescinded their disapproval of
>     the use of recordings on their radio network was February 8, 1949.

    I wonder when CBS lifted the ban on recorded shows.  We know that ABC allowed recorded
    shows earlier, when Bing Crosby took his show there, so that he could pre-record his show.
    Groucho Marx apparently was an indirect beneficiary of Crosby's having broken the pre-
    recording taboo on ABC.

    When "You Bet Your Life" began on ABC in 1947, there was no resistence to the idea of pre-
    recording the show.  That allowed them to record for about 45 minutes and edit down to a
    half hour, to make the show more interesting.  It also allowed Groucho to ad-lib
    spontaneously, without having to worry about whether what he was about to say was fit for
    broadcast.

    According to Robert Dwan's memoir of "You Bet Your Life," when magnetic tape came out,
    Bing Crosby got ABC to buy tape equipment, and Groucho's show got a tape recorder along
    the way.  And when ABC was concerned about the financial stability of Ampex, Bing wrote
    the company a $50,000 check.

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

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

    Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 07:39:39 -0400
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  5-24 births/deaths

    May 24th births

    05-24-1878 - Harry Emerson Fosdick - Buffalo, NY - d. 10-5-1969
    preacher: "National Vespers"
    05-24-1883 - Elsa Maxwell - Keokuk, IA - d. 11-1-1963
    society mistress: Roma Wine spokesperson for Suspense; "Texaco Star Theatre"
    05-24-1886 - Paul Paray - Treport, Normandy, France - d. 10-10-1979
    conductor: "New York Philharmonic"
    05-24-1902 - Wilbur Hatch - Mokena, IL - d. 12-22-1969
    conductor: "Our Miss Brooks"; "Gateway to Hollywood"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
    05-24-1905 - Joe Lindwurm - d. 2-25-1992
    musician: "The Ipana Troubadors"
    05-24-1907 - Bill Bouchey - Michigan - d. 8-26-1977
    actor: Red Albright/Captain Midnight "Captain Midnight"
    05-24-1909 - Howard Snyder - d. 4-13-1963
    writer: "Jack Benny Program"; "Lum and Abner"; "That's My Pop"
    05-24-1911 - Lilli Palmer - Posen, Germany - d. 1-28-1986
    actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    05-24-1912 - Rachel Carley - Brussels, Belgium
    singer: (Radio's French Girl) "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round"
    05-24-1916 - Tony Barrett - NYC - d. 11-16-1974
    actor: Charlie Dyer "This Life is Mine"; Biff Bradley "Pepper Young's Family"
    05-24-1924 - Theodore Bikel - Vienna, Austria
    actor: "Eternal Light"; "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
    05-24-1932 - Elaine Malbin - NYC
    singer: "Serenade to America"; "Saturday Matinee with Elaine Malbin"

    May 24th deaths

    02-01-1859 - Victor Herbert - Dublin, Ireland - d. 5-24-1924
    composer: "Palmolive Beauty Box Theatre"; "Railroad Hour"; "Vicks Open House"
    03-06-1882 - Guy Kibbee - El Paso, TX - d. 5-24-1956
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    04-03-1898 - George Jessel - NYC - d. 5-24-1981
    comedian, emcee: (Toastmaster General of the [removed]) "Hollywood Calling"
    04-29-1899 - Duke Ellington - Washington, [removed] - d. 5-24-1974
    bandleader: "Jubilee"; "Orson Welles Theatre"; "Story of Swing"
    06-04-1901 - Carlton E. Morse - Jennings, LA - d. 5-24-1993
    writer, producer, director: "One Man's Family"; "I Love A Mystery"
    07-05-1905 - John Abbott - London, England - d. 5-24-1996
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    10-22-1920 - Mitzi Green - The Bronx, NY - d. 5-24-1969
    actress: Girl "Passport to Romance"
    11-29-1895 - Yakima Canutt - Colfax, WA - d. 5-24-1986
    actor, stuntman: "Daredevils of Hollywood"; "Hollywood Rodea"
    12-09-1897 - Hermione Gingold - London, England - d. 5-24-1987
    actress: "Stagestruck"
    12-25-1913 - Candy Candido - New Orleans, LA - d. 5-24-1999
    comedian: "Sealtest Village Store"; "Jimmy Durante Show"
    xx-xx-1916 - Maggi McNellis - Chicago, IL - d. 5-24-1989
    hostess: "Maggi's Private Wire"; "Leave It to the Girls"
    --
    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 08:37:43 -0400
    From: wayne_johnson@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  WSB 750 Atlanta

    As an Atlanta area resident and a faithful listener of WSB I rather enjoy the
    discussion of the NBC chimes.  Speaking of WSB, take a look at
    [removed]

    I seem to remember this subject being covered a time or two since 1998 so I
    looked it up on the web to see if there was anything out there concerning the
    NBC chimes, where they came from, what they mean, the purpose, the trademark
    and the FOURTH chime and its meaning.  The following came from
    [removed]

    The famous 3-note chimes of NBC came about after several years of trying
    different musical note combinations. The three note combination (G-E-C; not
    related at all to RCA's original stockholder General Electric) came from WSB
    in Atlanta which used it for its own purposes until one day someone at NBC in
    New York heard the WSB version of the notes during a networked broadcast of a
    Georgia Tech football game and asked permission to use it on the national
    network. NBC started to use the 3 notes in 1931, and it was the first ever
    audio trademark to be accepted by the [removed] Patent and Trademark Office. An
    alternate jingle was also used that went E-G-C-C, known as "the fourth chime"
    and used during wartime (especially in the wake of the Pearl Harbor bombing)
    and other disasters. The NBC chimes were mechanized in 1932; their purpose
    was to send a low level signal of constant amplitude that would be heard by
    the various switching stations manned by NBC and AT&T engineers, and thus
    used as a system cue for switching different stations between the Red and
    Blue network feeds. Because of fears of offending commercial sponsors by
    cutting their programs off in mid-sentence, the mechanized chimes were always
    rung by an announcer pushing a button; they were never set to an automatic
    timer, although heavy discussions on the subject were held between the
    Engineering and Programming departments throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

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

    Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 11:55:24 -0400
    From: Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Orson Welles, Frank Readick and Hans Conried
     in JOURNEY  INTO FEAR

    Turner Classic Movies is airing JOURNEY INTO FEAR  on Wednesday, May
    25, 2005 at 8:00 PM (EST)/7:00 CST).  The 1943 Mercury Production is
    produced by Orson Welles and directed by Norman Foster (of Mr. Moto,
    Charley Chan and Zorro fame).  It stars a wonderful assemblage of radio
    greats including Welles, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, Agnes
    Moorehead, Hans Conried, Edgar Barrier and FRANK READICK (in his only
    feature film appearance).  In addition to his pioneering 1930s run as
    The Shadow, Readick of course played the key role of field reporter
    Carl Phillips in Welles' "War of the World" panic broadcast.  In
    JOURNEY INTO FEAR, Readick plays Agnes Moorehead's meek little husband,
    who has become a socialist to spite and embarrass his shrewish wife.
    (Frankk was of course the father of Bob Readick, the former LETS
    PRETENDER who later starred as YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR.)

    The film also features Ruth Warrick, Delores Del Rio, Stefan Schnabel
    (another veteran of the "War of the Worlds" broadcast), Richard Bennett
    (father of Joan and Constance), Eustace Wyatt and Irene Tedrow, plus
    Orson's secretary Shifra Haran and his business manager Jack Moss as a
    hired assassin. --ANTHONY TOLLIN

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

    Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 11:56:01 -0400
    From: Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  [removed] Thurl Ravenscroft and Howard Morris
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Voice-over greats Thurl Ravenscroft and Howard Morris have died.

    Thurl Ravenscroft (who died at age 91) performed as a member of the
    Sportsmen Quartet on THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM, but is best-known as the
    longtime voice of Tony the Tiger, a role he was voicing to this day.
    He also sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in HOW THE GRINCH STOLE
    CHRISTMAS and was also heard in DUMBO, CINDERELLA, LADY AND THE TRAMP,
    ALICE IN WONDERLAND, SLEEPING BEAUTY, 101 DALMATIONS, MARY POPPINS and
    THE JUNGLE BOOK.  On his excellent [removed] blog, my friend
    Mark Evanier notes that: "You can learn a lot about Thurl and even hear
    some of his songs and commercials over at his website. And here's a
    link to an obit in The Orange County Register. True to their name, they
    make you register."

    Howard Morris voiced many animated characters including Jughead in the
    ARCHIE cartoons (sorry, Hal), Jet Screamer on Beetle Bailey, THE
    JETSONS, Atom Ant, Mr. Peebles on MAGILLA GORILLA and Wade Duck on
    GARFIELD AND FRIENDS.  He was also briefly heard as Barney Rubble in
    some of the early FLINTSTONES TV cartoons.  However, he's
    best-remembered as the rock-tossing Ernest T. Bass, a role he played
    only five times on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, but which is fondly recalled
    by the show's viewers.

    In both cases, much more information can be found in Mark Evanier's
    [removed] blog. --Anthony Tollin

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

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

    Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 11:56:14 -0400
    From: "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  WTIC's "The Golden Age of Radio"

    The latest "WTIC's Golden Age of Radio" programs
    with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran, can be heard at
    [removed]

    We present three complete shows in MP3 format for
    your listening pleasure or for downloading. If our server
    host can handle the strain, we'll provide three each time.

    Program 38 - May, 1973 - Ham O'Hara

    Hamilton O'Hara, CBS network sound effects engineer,
    whose work was heard on "Grand Central Station" and
    "Inner Sanctum", among other shows.  We visited Mr.
    O'Hara in his Connecticut home, where he had set up an
    entire sound effects studio in his basement.

    Program 39 - June, 1973 - Glenn Miller

    Glenn Miller used radio to build the most popular band in
    America, through late night band remotes and eventually
    "Moonlight Serenade" sponsored by Chesterfield. The story
    of those radio broadcasts is told through the voices of Rudy
    Vallee, Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa, Duke Ellington, Bob
    Eberly, Ray Eberle, Artie Shaw, Ray McKinley, and Paula
    Kelly.

    Program 40 - July, 1973 - Gale Storm and Barbara Britton

    Although they were primarily known for their work in television,
    Gale Storm and Barbara Britton were well grounded in radio.
    We'll hear their interesting stories and some of their work.

    In the 1970's Dick Bertel created the program for WTIC in
    Hartford, CT. The idea came to Dick after he interviewed radio
    collector-historian Ed  Corcoran a few times on his radio and
    TV shows. "The Golden Age of Radio was first broadcast in
    April, 1970;  Ed was Dick's co-host.

    For the next seven years the program featured interviews with
    actors, writers, producers, engineers and musicians from radio's
    early days. Each show featured excerpts from Ed's collection.

    "WTIC's Golden Age of Radio" can also be heard Saturday nights
    on Walden Hughes's program on Radio Yesteryear.

    Bob Scherago
    Webmaster

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

    Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 15:55:39 -0400
    From: Bob Slate <moxnix1961@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  House On Fire
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Back in the late 1960's or early 1970's I heard Arch Oboler mention "House On
    Fire" on his series "The Devil And Mr. O."That, more than likely may prove
    that he did indeed write it. If you have access to "The Devil And Mr. O,"
    then he did mention "House On Fire" at the end of one of the [removed], I
    don't remember which one.

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

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #162
    *********************************************

    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]