Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #295
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 8/1/2003 9:05 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2003 : Issue 295
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  OTR Trivia                            [ Pratz <[removed]@[removed]; ]
  Re: Bob Hope and Call Letters         [ Mark Stratton <cty57251@centurytel. ]
  Radio station KECA                    [ "jay ranellucci" <otrfan@[removed]; ]
  Radio Signature Themes                [ "jay ranellucci" <otrfan@[removed]; ]
  Frankie Laine                         [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
  Kathryn Crosby                        [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
  Adventures By Morse Question          [ Kelli Stanley <ks4color@[removed] ]
  Random Follow-Up Thoughts             [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
  Editiorial Cartoons Marking Bob Hope  [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
  Bob Hope                              [ Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; ]
  Re: Hope remembered by the media      [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
  Bob Hope                              [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
  Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]

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Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 12:32:24 -0400
From: Pratz <[removed]@[removed];
To: "OTR (Plain Text Only)" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  OTR Trivia

Long a fan of Broadway musicals, I replayed a 33 1/3 album the other day of
a 1966 original cast recording, and re-discovered some OTR connections in
the production. So if you fancy yourself a trivia buff, try these on for
size. (answers in a later posting)

1. What 1966 well-known Broadway musical featured two OTR actors? (Hint -
One, who played the title role in the musical, was a dramatic OTR actress
who also appeared in films but is best known for her massive TV work. The
other was an actor with many OTR credits, plus one show in particular in
which he played the title character)

2. In this same musical is a featured player who, although not involved in
OTR, later became a smash on TV in at least two hit shows. Who is it? This
same person belts out a show-stopping duet (has to be heard to be believed)
with the above-mentioned OTR actress, in which no fewer than four OTR
characters are mentioned in the lyrics. What's the name of the song, and who
are the 4 OTR characters mentioned in the lyrics?

3. And for extra points, this 1966 Broadway musical also became a 1974 film
and starred yet another prolific OTR star who later became a mega TV star.

Up for grabs are gloating rights. On your mark, get set, GO!

RICH

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

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 12:42:43 -0400
From: Mark Stratton <cty57251@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Bob Hope and Call Letters

Quoting Jeff G.

I too share similar feelings about the lack of coverage on Bob Hope there
has been since his passing.  I remember when people like Frank Sinatra,
Princess Diana, and even George Burns died, there were full magazine
specials on their [removed] and the television coverage! Specials, hour-long
dedications, [removed]

I had noticed this as well, but keep in mind that barely 2 months ago we
were treated to many shows and specials celebrating his 100th birthday.
I have a Bob Hope magazine that I bought earlier this year in honor of
his 100th as well.

I would imagine that most programmers of TV and Radio stations figured
that not enough folks would watch reruns of recently aired specials so
quickly after they originally ran.

Bob Hope was such a talented entertainer, and I know I was greatly saddened
by his death.

As was I.  But remember, 100 is a good, long life.  :o)

Shifting gears,

I worked at an AM/FM combo in Mexico, MO.  The AM's call letters were
KXEO, allegedly for a Mexico connection.  The FM, when it went on the
air in 1966 had KWWR as call letters.  The WWR standing for "Wonderful
World of Radio" and being a mouthful to announce on the [removed]

At a station in Boonville, MO (also an AM/FM combo which was simulcast)
the AM was KWRT, with the WRT the initials of the original owner (whose
name I forget) and KDBX for the previous owner whose name was Dick
Billings.  I guess he just liked the X at the end of the calls.

And finally, here in Columbia is a piddly little 250 watt AM station
with KTGR for the call letters.  Columbia is the home of the University
of Missouri and the mascot is the Tigers.  They happen to be an ESPN
affialite at this point in time.

Cheers,
Mark
--
Raijin Comics - Global Infiltration Manga
[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 12:44:56 -0400
From: "jay ranellucci" <otrfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Radio station  KECA

When did KECA change it's call letters to KABC?

Thanks, Jay

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

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 12:45:15 -0400
From: "jay ranellucci" <otrfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Radio Signature Themes

If you've  ever wondered about the theme music of some of
your favorite radio shows, Ive found a site that  might be of
[removed]  [removed]
They also list TV themes at a separate link.  Enjoy

Jay

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

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 14:16:11 -0400
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Frankie Laine

Hi Everybody,

there is a plan in the work to do a radio special on Frankie Laine on
Yesterday USA.  We would like to add as much of Frankie,s radio appearances
in the special.  Thank to Ted at Radio Memories at [removed]  We
can add two of the Big Shows to the special.  If any one has any other radio
appearances please get in touch with me and I will be happy to make the
arrangements.  Take care,

Walden Hughes

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

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 14:34:48 -0400
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Kathryn Crosby

Hi Everybody,

I just got done doing close to around 80 minutes interview with Kathryn
Crosby.  When we run this on Yesterday USA it will be worth listening too.
Kathryn just got back in spending time with Dolores Hope.  Dolores is
amazing according to Kathryn All of Dolores Christian beliefs has prepared
her so well to prepare for bob,s death.   When Bob hearing was going bad
Dolores would make adjustments like getting up close to Bob to tell him
stories, and what was going on.  The way Kathryn was describing Dolores love
for Bob is very special part of this interview.  Take care,

Walden

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

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 15:26:00 -0400
From: Kelli Stanley <ks4color@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Adventures By Morse Question

Hi, [removed]
Haven't written in quite some [removed] university leaves me with
little time or energy for my hobbies. :(
However, it's still summer, and I have a question or two about
"Adventures By Morse."  I just finished listening to the full run of
this very fun show (sometimes suspenseful, sometimes unintentionally
humorous, but always entertaining). :)  I noticed that Morse seemed to
use a regular stable of actors for the various storylines--I could hear
the same distinctive voices playing slightly different roles ([removed] the
actress who played Patricia, Capt. Friday's secretary, in "Curse of the
Cobra King", played Judith, the archaeologist's daughter, in "Land of
the Living Dead".)  This happened frequently enough for me to be able to
spot several voices.  The problem is that I don't know to whom the
voices belong!  I'd love to find out more about the actors Morse used,
if anyone has any information.
And does anyone know why he employed three actors to portray Captain
Friday?
One more observation: some of the scripts of earlier shows seem to have
been reused with a few changes toward the end of the series.  Was Morse
less involved with the show at that time?
Any information, tips on where to find out more, and general wisdom much
appreciated. :)
Thanks,
Kelli

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

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 18:33:40 -0400
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Random Follow-Up Thoughts
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Hi Everybody, Gang members and Gangbusters alike:

 CALL LETTERS:
        Of course the most notorious example of this here in NYC is WEVD-AM,
which stood for the initials of the famous socialist Eugene Victor Debs.
Until a couple of years ago, the station was owned by The Jewish Daily
Forward newspaper until it was sold to ABC/Disney/ESPN, who rechristened it
WEPN and consigned it over to ESPN Radio. WEVD, in its day, catered to
multi-ethnic demographics and advertised itself as "the station that speaks
your language."

SEABISCUIT
        I rarely go to the movies (I hear they're in colour now), but look
forward to seeing "Seabiscuit." What I would like to know is: what exactly is
a "seabiscuit?" Is it some sort of comestible that sailors eat?

WHEN RADIO WAS
        Here in NYC,  "Joe Franklin's Memory Lane" still runs overnight on
WOR, 710 AM, from 12 Midnight  until 5 [removed] on
Saturday nights/Sunday mornings. One of his sponsors is Radio Spirits, which
programs the  first hour. Until about a month ago, Franklin played RSI's
"Radio Movie Classics"--or, as I liked to call 'em, "Lux Redux". He now plays
"When Radio Was" from 12 Midnight until 1 [removed] Stan Freberg here. Joe
Franklin  himself narrates the wrap-around background material. It's
absolutely remarkable how Joe's narration style is quite akin to Anthony
Tollin's writing style.

JOSEPH CURTIN
         I saw that OTR character actor Joseph Curtin was mentioned in Ron
Sayles's litany of natal anniversaries. Wasn't Mr. Curtin the father  or
uncle of  SNL's Jane Curtin or comedienne Valerie Curtin?

RADIO INTO FILMS
        Once again, the "Delta Oracle" Martin Grams has outdone himself with
his comprehensive list of OTR movie spin-offs. However, I'd like to add to
the list with a  one-shot  RKO short subject made circa 1946 based on the "It
Pays to Be Ignorant" franchise starring Miss McConnell and Messrs. Howard,
Shelton, and MacNaughton, and directed by the radio programme's director Herb
Polesie.
         Does anybody out there in the ether have a VHS copy of this short
subject?

MORE BIRTHDAYS
         Even though I was in attendance at his birthday party at Sardi's on
Sunday night (07/27), I'd like to wish a belated ether-birthday to
comedian/impressionist Will Jordan. I asked  him last week if he wanted me to
get his birthday listed in Professor Sayles's list, but regrettably didn't
get around to it. Will was born in Harlem, NYC, and raised in the Bronx. He
often appeared on Arthur Godfrey's radio show and made a guest appearance
early in his career on "The Fred Allen Show" sometime in April 1949. Although
he does have his "segment," Mr. Jordan is looking for a good-quality copy of
the ENTIRE Fred  Allen Show in question. If anybody out there has it & is
"will"-ing to avail it, please contact me off-list.

PRONUNCIATIONS
         I received off-list some nice comments from some of my ether-buddies
regarding my last posting re: "prostate vs.
prostRate."  For those Digest-ers who often get caught up in the various
discussions here re: 1940s-era pronunciations [[removed], "protein" = PROH-tee-in
vs. PROH-teen], I highly recommend a great book from that time-frame which
often helps us out with pronunciation here at Talking Books. It's called
WORLD WORDS: RECOMMENDED PRONUNCIATIONS and was written by W. Cabell Greet,
whose credentials as "Professor of English in Barnard College, Columbia
University. Speech Consultant, Columbia Broadcasting System" are given
underneath his name on the book's title page.
        WORLD WORDS and its earlier incarnation WAR WORDS were designed to
assist radio personalities who, because of the war,  were thrust into
situations where they needed to pronounce foreign names of world leaders and
locales that  they might have been unfamiliar with up to that point. The book
is a veritable treasure trove of contemporaneous pronunciations not only of
newsmaking names and places, but also a lot of common everyday words, much
akin to the
latter-day  NBC PRONUNCIATION DICTIONARY.  In addition, WORLD WORDS has a
preface instructing readers in
the mechanics, or orthographies, of various (mostly European) languages, so
that a news correspondant could reason out how to pronounce, say, for
example, a tiny Dutch village whose size precluded it from making its way
into the pronunciation section of the book. Anyway, this leads us [removed]

ARTHUR GODFREY
         I'm sure Lee Munsick, the Sage of Appomattox, will be pleased to
learn that Arthur Godfrey is forever immortalized in the second revised
edition of WORLD WORDS (1948). On page 15, the entry for "altimeter" gives
both the
[al-TIM-i-ter] and [al-ti-MEE-ter] as acceptable pronunciations with this
note of qualification:

"Arthur Godfrey prefers [al-ti-MEE-ter] and opines that [al-TIM-i-ter] is a
pronunciation for "hot rocks." The dictionaries are, by this token, hot
rocks. They ignore the pronunciation [al-ti-MEE-ter], although it is widely
used by engineers and mechanics and all the brethren whose lives may depend
on a quick reading of  'meters.' [Compare]  'kilometer.'"

         So what does Mr. Godfrey mean by the terms "hot rocks"? It sounds
like uranium or some other mineralogy term to me, but, then again, I'm not
one given to sediment. Help us out Mr. Munsick.

DRAGNET
          Recently here at T. Books, the book "Stardust Memories," a bio of
Hoagy Carmichael, gave us the inevitable problematic [removed] street name Doheny
Blvd., which the narrator proceeded to pronounce as doh-HEN-nee. I stopped
the tape and said "It's doh-HEE-nee." The reader asked me if I was absolutely
certain; I  assuried him I was quite familiar with it by saying "I knew
watching all those DRAGNET reruns would pay off some day!" The apprehensive
reader sarcastically queried. "What? We're using Jack Webb as an official
source now?" to which I replied "The $#@&*! street was named after some Los
Angeles oilman & you'll find the pronunciation doh-HEE-nee in [such-and-such
reference book]!"

BOB HOPE
          Working across from Penn Station has its advantages as one is able
to obtain daily copies of the national edition of the [removed] TIMES  at the
major Hudson Newsstands therein. I do realise that the [removed] TIMES has been
taking an ideological drubbing as of late, but it is really hands-down when a
major Hollywood celebrity dies. Their tributes to Bob Hope went on for pages.
I'll miss Bob Hope. It was an honour being listed  as a researcher in the
credits in the booklet that accompanied RSI's Bob Hope boxed set.

MISCELLANEOUS
          I once told George Ansbro that I was a certified "Braillist." He
responded, "Funny, you don't look Braillish!"

That's all from the ether for now!

Derek Tague

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Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 18:58:51 -0400
From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Editiorial Cartoons Marking Bob Hope's
 Passing

Hello All,

There is a BIG collection of editorial cartoons marking Bob Hope's passing
at:

[removed]

The same ideas naturally occured to multiple cartoonists (reunions with Bing
and USO shows in the hereafter) but some are rather moving.  Check it out.

Also, a question.  I was surprised to learn that Bob was Catholic.  I've
never read any of the biographies of him and I don't think the question of
his religious affiliation ever crossed my mind before, but it seemed
surprising.  I was wondering if he was raised Catholic or was a convert.
One would expect someone from a British working class background would be
more likely to be raised Protestant, but you never know.

George

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

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 22:35:45 -0400
From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Bob Hope

          My only clear memories of Bob Hope were of his USO tours
and several visits to "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson".  I
remember one visit when Johnny asked him if he'd ever considered
running for President.  He replied, "No, I don't think I would. The pay's
too low and Delores wouldn't want to move to a smaller house."  It
got a big laugh, of course.

          Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be allowed to do so since he
was born in the Eltham section of London, England and moved here
with his family when he was four years old.

          I heard he was given an  honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth
II.  I thought only those who lived there could be given this honor.

          Several people have mentioned some memorable, and not so
memorable, performances by Bob Hope.  The ones I think IMHO were
not  so memorable were his College Bowl performances (where he
introduced athletes and added one liners) and a movie titled "The Iron
Petticoat" with Katharine Hepburn (who also died recently).  IMHO, there
was never a more unlikely pairing of actors in a movie.

          Does anyone remember whether he was ever 'roasted' on TV
or ever participated in  one of them?

Kenneth Clarke

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

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 22:36:16 -0400
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Hope remembered by the media
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In a message dated 7/31/03 11:43:54 AM Central Daylight Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:

 In defense of NBC (I'm just a peon with no NBC or other broadcasting
affiliation), I think there probably will be a Bob Hope tribute special
sometime in the near future. Personally, I don't think it necessary to
tribute Mr. Hope the very same day he died or shortly thereafter.

CBS had extensive, pre-emptive tributes to such legends as Jackie Gleason,
Lucille Ball and William S. Paley--in fact, I think they had *several*
tributes
to Paley over a period of days.  ABC had tributes to David Brinkley and Roone
Arledge the day of their deaths, in fact I think Koppel anchored the Arledge
tribute from the Middle East, having been prepared until the last minute to do
a totally different show only to scrap it.

Then again, did anyone catch anything on MSNBC?  Perhaps they had a lot more
material during the day.  If so, that 2-minute deal would likely be more
forgiveable.

I can remember the "Tonight Show" being delayed by 30 minutes to an hour for
an impromptu tribute to Jack Benny on NBC, the night he died.

Dixon

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Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 00:08:01 -0400
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Bob Hope

Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 20:43:57 -0400
From: revelation206jm@[removed]

     In defense of NBC (I'm just a peon with no NBC or other broadcasting
affiliation), I think there probably will be a Bob Hope tribute special
sometime in the near future. 

Actually, I think Bob Hope got a lot more tributes, particularly on news shows, than Groucho 
Marx got -- because Groucho had the bad luck to die within a few days of Elvis.

My first exposure to Bob Hope came under circumstances which made me dislike him.  I 
was about 8 years old, and I had become hooked on Milton Berle.  And Bob Hope was doing 
a once-a-month TV show which pre-empted Berle.  So the first time it happened, I was upset 
that Milton Berle wasn't on, and I wasn't inclined to like Hope.  But I did watch, and 
eventually, I grew to like him.  Later, I discovered his radio show, probably during its last 
season, and enjoyed listening regularly.  

Some of my favorite Bob Hope appearances are in shows where he appeared with Jack 
Benny.  I have a tape of an early Jack Benny TV Show where he and Jack are on a safari in 
Africa and get caught by canibals.  As they are in the pot, the canibals can't light the fire.  
And Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis come in from the back of the audience with a lighter.

Come to think of it, does a recording exist of the radio special where Groucho Marx and Bob 
Hope dropped the script and engaged in a lengthy ad-lib session, which led directly to the 
creation of "You Bet Your Life"?

-- A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed] 15 Court Square, Suite 210 lawyer@[removed] Boston, MA 02108-2503 [removed] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 10:48:00 -0400 From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed]; To: otrd <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: Today in radio history From Those Were The Days -- 1937 - Mutual debuted The Goodwill Hour, with its familiar phrase, "You have a friend and advisor in John J. Anthony." 1942 - The American Federation of Musicians went on strike. Union president James C. Petrillo told musicians that phonograph records were "a threat to members' jobs." As a result, musicians refused to perform in recording sessions over the next several months. Live, musical radio broadcasts continued, however. Joe -- Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed] -------------------------------- End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #295 ********************************************* 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]