Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #45
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 2/7/2007 3:05 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2007 : Issue 45
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Re: red scare                         [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
      #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig  [ charlie@[removed] ]
      Re: RED SCARE MISINFORMATION          [ Brian Fitzgerald <brianfitz10@yahoo ]
      What in the Dickens?                  [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
      Inside those blacklists               [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      "Red Channels" and its sources        [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      21st Precinct                         [ "Donald" <alanladdsr@[removed]; ]
      I Was a Commie                        [ "Donald" <alanladdsr@[removed]; ]
      OTR Photos                            [ "Donald" <alanladdsr@[removed]; ]
      Occupations                           [ "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@juno. ]
      "Golden Age of Radio" and "A One Nig  [ "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed] ]
      Re: Red Scare Misinformation          [ dmansker@[removed] ]
      Tommy Farrell                         [ Bob Slate <moxnix1961@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 01:07:36 -0500
    From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
    To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re:  red scare

    I want to thank ddunfee for getting to the heart of the matter regarding the
    communist threat with regard to the entertainment industry.

    I would like supporters of what I consider the very undemocratic practices
    of blacklisting actors, writers, directors, producers, announcers and
    depriving them of their livelihood to explain why this was justified and why
    it was acceptable that accusations were not subjected to any form of due
    process.  The unfairness of blacklisting seen in its details should make any
    citizen fearful.  'Wrong-thinking' people were punished not for what they
    did but for what they thought.  As ddunfee pointed out it was not illegal to
    be a communist, to support groups that were considered communist-inspired,
    etc.  It was also not illegal to have ideas that were unpopular.  I do
    believe that as citizens of a democracy we are capable of making up our own
    minds since we are exposed to a full range of discussion which is the basis
    and necessity of freedom of speech.  No one should lose their livelihood
    because we don't agree with them, only if they have broken the law.   Put
    yourselves in their shoes.

    Fortunately, federal and state anti-discrimination employment laws passed
    since the 50s now protect the free speech and association rights of workers.

    Not all networks were intimidated by Red Channels.  The NY Times of April
    27, 1951 reported that ABC had received a special Peabody Award for "its
    courageous stand in resisting organized pressure and its reaffirmation of
    basic American principles."  The award stated that "At a time when radio
    stations and networks were either firing or refusing to hire writers and
    actors on the basis of the unsupported innuendoes contained in a publication
    known as 'Red Channels' Robert Kintner, president of [removed], and his
    associates, Robert Saudek and Joseph A. McDonald refused to be stampeded
    into either action.   Mr. Kintner publicly stated his faith in Gypsy Rose
    Lee, one of the entertainers mentioned in 'Red Channels' and kept her on the
    air despite an attempt by the American Legion to have her banned."

    Something that speaks poorly of that period before the civil-rights movement
    is the fact that association with pro-negro and civil rights organizations
    immediately made its members questionable as soviet dupes if not communists.

    Included in one of Art Buchwald's obituaries was the following:

    "In the early 1960's, Buchwald theorized that a shortage of Communists was
    imminent in the United States and that if the nation was not careful, the
    Communist Party would be made up almost entirely of [removed] informers."

    The truth underlying this comment is that HUAC did not need to get names, it
    already had most of them from the FBI informers within the Communist Party.
    Getting and releasing names publicly served no purpose but to subject the
    accused to public scorn and jeopardized their careers.  I am not aware of
    any witness being charged with an  illegal act which put our country in
    jeopardy (except their refusal to testify, which jeopardized their careers
    not the country) as a result of the committee's public hearings.

    There was one instance when HUAC, CBS and a sponsor handled a case with
    fairness and discretion. I'm sure many of you are familiar with this story.
    In a column in the NY times from Sept 1953, Jack Gould reported that a
    popular actress, star of a top-rated show on CBS had registered to vote as a
    communist in 1936 and had voted in a primary but not a general election.
    She was named to the California State Central Committee of the CP.  She said
    she didn't know she had been named to that committee.  There had been
    testimony that Communist Party meetings had been held at her house but that
    she had not been present.  She also quoted in part as testifying "how we got
    to signing a few things, or going among some people who thought differently,
    that has happened to us all out here in the last ten or twelve years, and it
    is unfortunate."

    All of this discussion took place behind closed doors.  This information was
    made public at the same time that she was cleared of charges.  She convinced
    all parties that she had not really been a communist but had joined the CP
    to 'humor her ailing grandfather' who she described as a socialist.  In a
    rare show of fairness HUAC stated that they were satisfied that the actress
    was not now and had not been a clear and present danger to the country and
    that there was no need to jeopardize her career for what was essentially an
    emotional act of 17 years ago. Gould reported that "in the radio and
    television industry last week one question was widely heard 'what if the
    person involved had been plain Lizzie Glutz, an unknown actress with no hold
    on the affections of the millions of viewers and not the star of video's
    top-ranking comedy series in which there was an investment of millions of
    dollars?  And the answer was unanimous:  Lizzie Glutz never would have been
    heard from again."   Lucille Ball was here to stay.  The subheading of
    Gould's' column was "Treatment of the Star Should be Standard in the
    Industry."

    Democracy is all about fairness and due process.  My degree in Poli Sci
    leads me to deplore the fact that there was little of either in play during
    that period.  In fact it reminds me of communist Russia where people were
    encouraged to tell on others, including family members, for being
    anti-communist.  Of course we didn't send people to Siberia, only to
    professional and economic hell.

    In another Jack Gould column in the NY Times of Dec 12, 1950 about Bill of
    Rights Day he reported a heretofore unrevealed story.  The publisher of Red
    Channels, [removed] Kirkpatrick was scheduled to be interviewed on a local NBC
    station.  An NBC official momentarily leaned toward censoring the whole
    interview but had a change of heart and the interview was rescheduled at a
    later date.  Hearing of the cancellation the Red Channels publisher was
    contacted by an organization to learn if his free speech was in any way
    jeopardized and announced its readiness to support him.  Of course that
    organization was the much-maligned ACLU.

    Irene

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 02:12:01 -0500
    From: charlie@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Night!

    A weekly [removed]

    For the best in OTR Chat, join IRC (Internet Relay Chat), StarLink-IRC
    Network, the channel name is #OldRadio.  We meet Thursdays at 8 PM Eastern
    and go on, and on! The oldest OTR Chat Channel, it has been in existence
    over nine years, same time, same channel! Started by Lois Culver, widow
    of actor Howard Culver, this is the place to be on Thursday night for
    real-time OTR talk!

    Our "regulars" include OTR actors, soundmen, collectors, listeners, and
    others interested in enjoying OTR from points all over the world. Discussions
    range from favorite shows to almost anything else under the sun (sometimes
    it's hard for us to stay on-topic)...but even if it isn't always focused,
    it's always a good time!

    For more info, contact charlie@[removed]. We hope to see you there, this
    week and every week!

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 08:06:31 -0500
    From: Brian Fitzgerald <brianfitz10@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: RED SCARE MISINFORMATION
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    <Michael Gwynne wrote:

>     Let me quote the Encyclopedia Britannica:
>     In 1949, the Justice Department prosecuted the eleven top leaders of the
>     party for violation of the Smith Act of 1940, which made it illegal  for
>     anyone "to teach and advocate the overthrow and destruction  of the United
>     States government by force and violence. After a long trial all eleven were
>     convicted on October 14 and sentenced to prison terms. Their convictions
>     were upheld by the Supreme Court in the case of Dennis et al. v. United
>     States (1951), with two justices dissenting because of the free-speech
>     issues involved.">

    Michael, it might be time to switch to World Book! Yates v. United States
    (June 17, 1957) overturned the Dennis decision and essentially nullified the
    Smith Act (though I believe it remains on the books today). In the Yates
    verdict, the court cited the important distinction between advocating the
    overthrow of the government and actually taking action to do so.

    What does any of this have to do with OTR? Beats me, though the hysteria of
    the era gave Mr. Skelton about five years worth of lame "red" jokes.

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 08:06:55 -0500
    From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  What in the Dickens?

    On Wednesday, February 7, 2007, at 01:07 AM, Ron Sayles wrote:

>     02-07-1812 - Charles Dickens - Portsmouth, England - d. 6-9-1870
>     author: "A Christmas Carol"

    I suspect Ron may be attempting to pull our OTR leg when he  sneaks an
    entry into his daily bio entries similar to the above British writer.

    On the other hand, maybe we should be alert for a June entry along the
    lines of:

    06-XX-02 BC - St. Luke - Antioch, Syria - d. 11-XX-37 AD
    author: "The First Christmas"

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    (Now available to paid subscribers in PDF format)

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 08:07:20 -0500
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Inside those blacklists

    As the blacklist/McCarthy/Red-scare thread has resurfaced and continues to
    linger, indicating some renewed interest in the subject which may have
    attracted new folks on the forum since we last considered it, I will
    recommend a book that was exceedingly insightful to me about that era and
    its effect on our passion:

    "Those Wonderful, Terrible Years:  George Heller and the American Federation
    of Television and Radio Artists" (Southern Illinois University Press, 1996)
    by Rita Morley Harvey.

    Others may have additional favorites to contribute but this is mine.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 10:29:52 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  "Red Channels" and its sources

    One individual who may have even more to do with the atmosphere of the
    Red Scare era than McCarthy was Thomas Clark, the Attorney General under
    the Truman Administration. It was Clark who issued a list of 82
    "Subversive Organizations" in a report to the Federal Loyalty Board in
    1947 -- and it was this list that "Counterattack" used as a primary
    source in compiling "Red Channels." If any report was located linking any
    performer in any way with any one of these organizations, they were cited
    in "Red Channels."

    Clark's list, in turn, was drawn from an assortment of old FBI memos,
    hearsay, and various published sources.  A number of the organizations
    listed by Clark were defunct groups which had advocated wartime aid to
    Russian refugees, while others were Depression-oriented groups which had
    been defunct since the 1930s. Still others had seen the peak of their
    activity in the 1920s or even the 1910s. And some of the organizations
    listed were Trotskyite Socialist in alignment -- making them even more
    passionately anti-Soviet than the Attorney General himself. The list, in
    short, was a patchwork job which was not based on first-hand, up-to-date
    research -- and was a poor source to use if one was serious about rooting
    out bona fide Soviet operatives.

    It's also interesting to note that CounterAttack made heavy use of a
    report on "Communist Front Organizations" prepared by a member of the
    Dies Committee in 1944. This report was hastily cobbled together as a
    political maneuver when the Dies Committee was facing withdrawal of its
    congressional mandate -- and after the 2,000-page report had been printed
    and displayed, and funding secured for another term, the Committee
    realized that the document was filled with poorly-researched, unverified
    charges -- and ordered it withdrawn and all copies destroyed. The FBI,
    however, refused to turn in its copy -- and given that the founders of
    CounterAttack were all former FBI men, they must have had access to it.
    CounterAttack made free use of the document, even though it had been
    discredited and repudiated by the very committee which had created it.

    All this being true, I'd submit that attempting to justify the activities
    of the blacklisters by arguing that there were actual Communist spies
    rampant in the postwar era and thus extreme methods were justified is a
    red herring. The fact remains that many careers were shattered not on the
    basis of factual information or hard evidence of subversive activity, but
    on the basis of smear, rumor, innuendo, and bogus data. One does not
    defeat anti-Americanism by adopting its methods.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 11:11:55 -0500
    From: "Donald" <alanladdsr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  21st Precinct

    Just to keep things straight and correct, Hal Stone is not the actor on 21st
    Precinct. That is Harold J. Stone, a favorite of mine from early television
    ("Untouchables" and others)

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 11:12:07 -0500
    From: "Donald" <alanladdsr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  I Was a Commie

    What did Matt do for a living? I have one show in which he talks about being
    in the insurance business, selling life insurance.

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 11:17:16 -0500
    From: "Donald" <alanladdsr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  OTR Photos

    I have been gathering photos of radio folk. I am looking for pictures of
    Ralph Bell, Joseph Julian and Chuck Webster. I use to have, on my computer,
    a very nice picture of Ralph Bell taken at a convention shortly before his
    [removed] allowed it to get deleted. Am wondering if the picture is still
    available on a site somewhere.

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 12:45:30 -0500
    From: "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Occupations
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           Well, here goes:

    Danny Thomas and Desi Arnaz' characters (On "Make Room For Daddy" and "I Love
    Lucy") were lounge entertainers in nightclubs.

    Ozzie and Harriet Nelson (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) were, as far
    as
    I know, a formerly prominent band leader and his featured singer who later
    retired to
    raise a family.  That's when the adventures REALLY began.

    Matt Cvetic ("I Was A Communist for the FBI") was an FBI agent who was
    assigned
    to go undercover to expose Communist cells around the world who threatened
    the
    [removed]  It never was clear to me whether he was actually a member of the
    Communist
    party or if this was just a cover designed by the government for him.

    Harry Lime was, for lack of a better term, a vagabond.  He traveled around the
    world,
    eating whenever he could find some way to bum a meal, and riding on trains,
    trucks,
    and hitchhiking to get wherever he could.  I saw the movie "The Third Man"
    once and
    it painted him as a rather unsavory character at best.

    Mr. Keen was rather an enigma to me at first.  He was always billed as a
    'tracer of
    lost persons' or 'the famous investigator', but it seemed to me that he was
    more of
    a private investigator who assisted the police in investigating murder rather
    than
    tracking down lost people.

    Brad Runyon ("The Fat Man") was billed as a private investigator, but very few
    cases
    ever seemed to come his way.  He always seemed to be where the crime happened
    when it happened and took it upon his self to investigate it independently.  I
    never
    could understand how he made any money investigating cases this way and not
    getting paid for the effort.

    Johnny Dollar (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar) was billed as an insurance
    investigator
    hired by various insurances agencies to track down people suspected of
    defrauding
    them.  Considering he charged them for every cent (literally) he spent along
    the
    way, it always made me wonder if he wasn't a bit shady himself.  Someone who
    did business this way could've easily gotten a bad reputation.  Luckily, his
    methods
    always brought the desired results to his employer.

    Boston Blackie ("Boston Blackie") was a reformed safe-cracker who used his
    knowledge
    of the criminal world and his contacts in it to help him in his life as a
    private eye.
    The police were never any help, since they always held his past over his head.
    They
    never accepted that he'd changed from the criminal they always knew to a
    respectable
    private investigator.  No matter how good his clues, how pure his motives, or
    how
    truthful he was when answering their questions everything would be colored by
    his
    past life as a criminal.  Ironic, considering that they were probably the ones
    who
    convinced him to change in the first place.  This sometimes got rather
    tiresome.  Even
    the Shadow got a break from Commissioner Weston in the later shows.

    Another OTR Fan,

    Kenneth Clarke

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    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 12:45:40 -0500
    From: "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  "Golden Age of Radio" and "A One Night Stand
     with the Big Bands"

    The latest "Golden Age of Radio" programs with Dick Bertel
    and Ed Corcoran, and "A One Night Stand with the Big Bands"
    with Arnold Dean can be heard at
    [removed].

    Each week we feature four complete shows in MP3 format
    for your listening pleasure or for downloading; two "Golden
    Age of Radios" and two "One Night Stands." The two WTIC
    programs are on different pages for more flexibility. Please let
    me know what you thinkof the new format. You can email me at
    goldena@[removed]

    We present new shows every week or so. The current four programs
    will be available on line at least until the morning of February 14, 2007.

    Program 32 - November, 1972 - Vincent Price

    Program 33 - December, 1972 - Raymond Edward Johnson

    "A One Night Stand with the Big Bands" with Arnold Dean

    Program 29 - Sy Oliver - Part 3 - September 6, 1973

    Program 30 - Buddy DeFranco - October, 1973

    In the 1970's WTIC decided that there was a market in
    the evening for long-form shows that could be packaged
    and sold to sponsors. Two of those shows were "The
    Golden Age of Radio" and "A One Night Stand with the
    Big Bands."

    Dick Bertel had interviewed radio collector-historian
    Ed Corcoran several times on his radio and TV shows,
    and thought a regular monthly show featuring interviews
    with actors, writers, producers, engineers and musicians
    from radio's early days might be interesting. "The Golden
    Age of Radio" was first broadcast in April, 1970; Ed was
    Dick's co-host. It lasted seven years. "The Golden Age
    of Radio" can also be heard Saturday nights on Walden
    Hughes's program on Radio Yesteryear.

    Arnold Dean began his love affair with the big band
    era in his pre-teen years and his decision to study
    the clarinet was inspired by the style of Artie Shaw.
    When he joined WTIC in 1965 he hosted a daily program
    of big band music. In 1971, encouraged by the success
    of his daily program and "The Golden Age of Radio"
    series, he began monthly shows featuring interviews
    with the band leaders, sidemen, agents, jazz reporters,
    etc. who made major contributions to one of the great
    eras of music history.

    Bob Scherago
    Webmaster

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 14:20:41 -0500
    From: dmansker@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Red Scare Misinformation

>     In 1949, the Justice Department prosecuted the  eleven top leaders of the
>     party for violation of the Smith Act of 1940, which  made it illegal for
>     anyone "to teach and advocate the overthrow and destruction of the United
>     States government by force and violence." After a long trial all eleven
>     were [removed]

    But that's only half of the story; see Yates v. United States, 1957. The US
    Supreme Court  ruled that Yates' First Amendment right to free speech superseded
    the restrictions of the Smith Act. It was not enough to simply "advocate" the
    violent overthrow of the government -- you actually had to do something to incite it.
    With the Yates decision (which overturned the 1951 convictions of 14 CPUSA
    officials) the Smith Act -- while not itself declared unconstitional -- was
    rendered unenforceable. While it remains on the books to this day, there have
    been no prosecutions under its provisions since Yates.

    Dennis Mansker
    Olympia, WA

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

    Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 16:20:41 -0500
    From: Bob Slate <moxnix1961@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Tommy  Farrell
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    For the person who was looking for Tommy Farrell, the film actor,there are 3
    photos of him at "The Old Corral" at the "Sidekicks" [removed] mother was
    film actress, Glenda Farrell, who starred in the "Torchy Blane" series over
    at Warner Bros. in the 1930'[removed] photo shows him with Whip Wilson and the
    other shows him with Clayton Moore in a serial. The last one shows him
    receiving his "Golden Boot" award just before he passed away on May 9,
    [removed] was on "The Adventures OF Rin Tin Tin" TV series in the 1950's as
    "Corporal Thad Carson."He also was in one of Elvis Presley [removed] "IMDB"
    has a large listing of his movies and TV [removed] hope I have been of
    some help.

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    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #45
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