Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #232
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 6/23/2002 8:28 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 232
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Re: Radio censorship resembled Comic  [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
      'Aldrich Family' show                 [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
      Re: OTR offspring                     [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Do you include amateurs?              [ neil crowley <og@[removed]; ]
      Radio Spirits                         [ Chris & Carla White <cncwhite@ricon ]
      Re: KBS                               [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      re: The Aldrich Family                [ "william mahan" <wmahan@[removed]; ]
      If you ever wondered!!!!              [ Richard Fisher <w9fjl@[removed]; ]
      another famous entertainer and offsp  [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
      Wasnt selma diamond the cousin of---  [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
      Abbott and Costello-HELP              [ "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@hotmail. ]
      The Price Of Fear                     [ "Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed] ]
      Laura Leff-Waukegan Celebration       [ lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed]; ]
      The Most Recorded Song in History     [ DSmith7855@[removed] ]
      Lon Chaney Jr. on OTR                 [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
      Re: Tile, it's what's for dinner      [ Ga6string@[removed] ]
      Fred Allen                            [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 09:39:56 -0400
    From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Radio censorship resembled Comics Code

    Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed]; wrote:
     > There actually is a strong paralell between the creation of the Comics
     > Code Authority and what happened in radio in the late [removed]

    And, of course, there's a connection between the creation of the Comics
    Code and Archie comics. I hesitate to mention it lest one of the
    digest's favorite contributors take offense, but I trust Mr. Stone will
    not imagine I applaud his contributions to OTR any the less because his
    show happened to have been based on a comic book that probably had quite
    a bit to do with the destruction of comics as an art form.

    I never read Archie unless it was the only comic book in the barber
    shop. Before the Code debacle, Archie was just a bland, boring girls'
    comic which unflinchingly carried the banner of conformity. The closest
    thing to a rebel in the series, the one that most marched to his own
    drummer, was called "Jughead" to suggest that being different is being
    stoopid. But after _Mad_ mocked Archie's whitebread suburban sterility
    by placing Starchie in a crime-ridden inner city, owner John Goldwater
    joined the pack of rabid chihuahuas savaging Gaines, Feldstein, Kurzman
    and all the other really creative people in comics who were threatening
    to turn a children's medium into a real art form.

    It was Goldwater who ended up running the Comics Code AUTHORITY, which
    boasted of having the most restrictive code of censorship this country
    had ever seen. Prohibited, for example were any mention of zombies,
    werewolves, vampires, cannibals, torture or ghouls. The very words
    "horror" and "terror" were forbidden in titles, and the word "crime"
    could only be used in very circumscribed ways. These last strictures
    directly targeted the EC comics line, which did, in fact, vanish with
    only the magazine version of _Mad_ to mark its passing. As well vanished
    most comics dealing with even remotely adult topics, all the horror
    comics, all the crime comics of any company. Goldwater not only got
    even, he got rid of a lot of his competition. EC tried to hang on with
    some new titles like _Piracy_, but their spirit was broken. Ironically,
    considering it was the pompous and self-righteous psychologist Wertham
    who provided the psuedoscholarshop to arm the adversaries of the more
    "grown-up" comics, one of their last comic titles was _Psychology_.
    There are those who might argue, considering the amorphous nature of
    psychology and its dubious accomplishments - a body of knowledge in
    search of a science, as someone has called it - that comic books are the
    perfect format in which to depict psychologists at work.

    It's hard to realize how innovative EC comics were in some of their plot
    lines, so many years and imitators later, or how daring they were in
    broaching controversial topics, racism for example, that the Code
    strongly discouraged. We can glean some idea of their merits, though,
    and some notion of how good comics might have become had not the censors
    intervened, by the fact that even after half a century stories taken
    straight from the pages of _Tales From the Crypt_ and _The Vault of
    Horror_ (which themselves were surely patterned after such shows as _The
    Whistler_ and _Inner Sanctum_) still entertain us on tv.

    Though somehow, the old comic book stories are not quite as good on tv,
    a little less "classy." I suspect it's the OTR effect in reverse; where
    radio made us use our imaginations to see the scenery and the
    characters, comics made us use our imaginations to hear the voices and
    sound effects, or even to feel the wind on our skin or smell the strange
    fragrances wafting from the swamp, if we read the descriptive passages
    in the yellow text blocks above the frame. Television doesn't permit us
    to bring anything of ourselves to the story.

    Only good, wholesome Dell comics, which had always specialized in less
    sensationalistic stories (to say nothing of having 52 pages with no
    advertising) refused to buckle under. Ironic because, years later in the
    60's with their revenues faltering Dell was the only publisher of color
    comics to turn to horror and monster stories. Within a few years, with
    the country in turmoil over Vietnam, Marvel and DC began to test their
    bonds. DC even began ending all its war comics stories with the
    exhortation to "Make War No More." It remained, however, for Marvel to
    finally break forever the iron grip of the Comics Code by printing a
    story that involved drug use (condemning it) without the Comics Code
    approval. I noticed the absence of that seal, already grown quite small
    on the comics covers of the day, immediately when I saw the comic on the
    stands; recognizing the significance I bought two copies, which I still
    have.

    The damage was done, though. Comic books had been resolutely confined to
    the realm of kid stuff in this country (though they grew to include
    adult comics in other countries) and they have never recovered. Now,
    even though there are shops that specialize in comic books, most of
    which do not carry the accursed imprint of the CCA, you'll search in
    vain for the variety that was once taken for granted, unless they also
    sell very old comics. Though creators of comics have regained their
    freedom they don't know what to do with it; there is no tradition for
    them to build upon. You'll find nothing there but a plague of
    superheroes, most of them having not a fraction of the atmosphere,
    research, plot line or character development of the weakest of the old
    Uncle Scrooge adventures. And the youthful proprietor will likely
    acknowledge, without a trace of shame, that he has never heard of EC comics.

    Even though the National Association of Broadcasters Code of Ethics and,
    later, the Comics Code failed to bring an end to juvenile delinquency as
    they had promised, we still have the same shrill voices calling for the
    same simple-minded approaches to the ills of the day. A few years back
    there was an effort to get rid of role-playing games like Dungeons and
    Dragons. Now we hear claims, without a shred of proof, that violent
    video games cause school shootings. I deplore as much as anyone the
    coarsening of America, but censorship is not the answer. (Which is not
    to say I object to laws against public obscenity. It's one thing to
    speak your mind; another to deliberately seek to offend others.)

    Once I learned of Goldwater involvement with the Code my disinterest in
    Archie comics changed to disdain. Not only had their owner helped to
    bring down comics companies artistically far superior to themselves, not
    only were the stories bland and repressive, they just weren't funny. As
    for Wertham's field, psychology, I mentioned in a previous digest that
    for a while I read psychology texts for a blind student. Now THOSE were
    funny!

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 10:03:50 -0400
    From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  'Aldrich Family' show

    Jerry Bechtel <[removed]@[removed] wrote:

>     Am I beating a dead horse trying to find more? Am I the
>     only one that liked this show? I know it was very juvenile but then so
>     was I! [removed]

    Here in the Los Angeles area, KNX (AM) radio broadcast episodes of this
    show weekly, about two years ago, as part of their "KNX Drama Hour" series.
    "The Aldrich Family' is not on their current schedule, but they might run
    it again in the [removed]
    The shows that they broadcast one day are available online the next day,
    online, for your listening pleasure, at <[removed];.
    You might try logging onto the site & e-mailing them your OTR questions
    about HennnnRY!
    Let us know if you get some useful answers.
    [removed]  I liked the show, too.

    Herb Harrison

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 10:06:34 -0400
    From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: OTR offspring

    Forgive me, but in my earlier posting about famous performers who's children
    are now in the business, I left off the name of child born to two performers
    I worked with many years ago.

    Joyce Van Patten was married to Martin Balsam. Their daughter is the actress
    Talia Balsam.

    Hal(Harlan)Stone
    Jughead

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 10:03:59 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

      From Those Were The Days --

    Born today: 1909 - Mary Livingstone (Sadye Marks) d. June 30, 1983
      Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 10:02:48 -0400
    From: neil crowley <og@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Do you include amateurs?

    From: Jer51473@[removed]

>     Btw, does anyone out there know what is the most "sung" song of
>     all time? Again, this is "so they say", and how anyone would know for sure
>     amazes me.

    One vote for "Happy Birthday". If there's a candlelit kid at the head of
    the table even the shyest old fogy joins the croaking chorus. A child's
    first experience of horror.

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 10:04:13 -0400
    From: Chris & Carla White <cncwhite@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Radio Spirits

    Hi Everyone,

    I recently bought a Radio Spirits collection of Old Time Radio's Greatest
    Shows at BJ's (only $[removed]) and found that instead of the 60 show sets that
    they had been putting out before they now put out in 40 show collections.
    And yet, the price remains the same. Why is this? I always liked the 60
    show collections better. Well, I guess that's all for now.

                                                Bye,
                                                Bryant White

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 11:08:58 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: KBS

    Eric Cooper wrote:

>     There are references in radio annuals etc of the late 40s/early 50s to a
>     Keystone Broadcasting System. Was this an actual network or transcription
>     service, or was it more of a rep chain designed to coordinate the sale of
>     advertising?

    Primarily the latter. Keystone was formed in 1941 and specialized in
    representing small-town stations in dealings with national advertisers --
    and, in fact, they're still very much in business, under the slogan "The
    Voice of Home Town America."

    KBS also handled distribution of transcribed programming for national
    sponsors wanting to reach rural stations not affiliated with wire-line
    networks, or to supplement their use of live network programming. One of
    their major clients in the 1940s was Miles Laboratories -- with KBS
    acting as the sales agent and distributor for the transcribed version of
    "Lum and Abner" from 1941 to 1948. KBS vinyl pressings are the original
    source for many of the 1000-plus Miles Labs-era L&A programs circulating
    in the OTR world.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 13:51:52 -0400
    From: "william mahan" <wmahan@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  re: The Aldrich Family

    Jerry Bechtel wrote about the Aldrich Family,

>     Am I the only one that liked
>     this show? I know it was very juvenile but then so was I!

    This remains one of my favorites, though I must confess a little
    embarrassment in admitting it.  It was certainly one of the most saccharin
    shows ever produced and despite the shows claim that Henry was a "typical
    teenager", I never knew any teenagers that acted like Henry and Homer.   If
    Homer ever spoke with that whinny voice in my school he'd have never made it
    home for dinner.  Maybe that's why I liked it.  It was a world where
    everyone was safe and despite the trivial plots, some good writers managed
    to make it very funny.
    There are a few dealers out there selling those shows but, like you, I have
    not seen a lot of episodes available.

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 13:52:35 -0400
    From: Richard Fisher <w9fjl@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  If you ever wondered!!!!

    On June 21st 1948 this was introduced to the public. The listening time
    was increased from 4 to 23 minutes and the quality was better because of
    a smoother surface. It became known by it's two letter name. What is it?
    What is unusual about the two letter name?

    Answer:

    What was introduced in 1948 was the first successful microgrove records.
    Made of "vinilyte" plastic the smoother surface increased fidelity.
    These 33 1/3 RPM records were known as "LP's" a name copyrighted by
    Columbia. All record companies could produce long playing records, but
    only Columbia could produce the "LP".

    So what's the point?  People have asked me why those HUGE 16 inch
    transcriptions discs which were recorded at 33 1/3 contain only 15
    minutes per side whereas their LP collection also recorded at 33 1/3
    uses 12 inch discs and plays for 23 minutes per side.

    Now you know the rest of the story!!!

    The 4 minutes mentioned above was for 78 RPM records. I don't think 33
    1/3 recordings were available to the public until the introduction of
    the microgrove. Elizabeth, is that correct?

    New subject.  For anyone interested in a piece of radio history I just
    discovered that KDKA in Pittsburgh which was supposedly famous for a lot
    of firsts is selling pieces of their tower that was erected in 1936 and
    was torn down in 1994 in lucite block paper weight form. The profits
    from these sales are used as a fund drive for the Children's Hospital
    Free Care fund of Pittsburgh. If you have any interest please advise off
    the digest and I will give you their 800 number. I have one of them and
    they are very nice.

    I have no connection with KDKA or the fund and just thought this might
    be of interest to someone.

    Dick

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 14:02:58 -0400
    From: Jer51473@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  another famous entertainer and offsprings

     Someone mentioned john carradine in a recent post. His sons david and keith
    have been just as successful, if not more than he has, as actors of course.
    Actually there may be a third son that acts, anyone know?

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

    Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 14:14:12 -0400
    From: Jer51473@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Wasnt selma diamond the cousin of---

     RICHARD DIAMOND?  "thats a joke son, a joke!"

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 00:33:02 -0400
    From: "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Abbott and Costello-HELP

    Abbott and Costello have been mentioned recently on the Digest. Perhaps
    there is someone who can answer a question that has been bothering me for a
    LONG time.

    As a kid I enjoyed going to the movies to see their films. There is one
    scene that stands out in my mind and no one so far has been able to identify
    the movie in which it appeared, nor even remember the scene. Costello is
    being interrogated at a police station and he refuses to give up the
    information. Finally in desperation they leave him all alone sitting in the
    room, thinking that he will eventually get hungry and then have to talk for
    food.

    Costello pulls a hot water bottle out of his clothes and pours himself a cup
    of coffee, then takes out a fountain pen and squirts some milk into the
    coffee. He takes out his billfold and removes a sandwich, and enjoys a meal.
    I thought this was so cool I began to carry peanut butter sandwiches around
    with me in my pocket, along with other asorted odd objects.

    Please, please, please, what is the name of this movie??? I'd love to see it
    again.

    Hopefully,
    Barbara

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 00:33:54 -0400
    From: "Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Price Of Fear
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    In Digest 230 Arte mentioned a 1939 date for The Price Of Fear.

    In Steve Arnold's British Drama website [removed] he
    writes

    <<Vincent Price is undoubtedly high up amongst the kings of horror, and apart
    from the many films he appeared in, he was also a regular to the medium of
    radio. His portrayal of Simon Templar, The Saint, is definitive, but this was
    not his only work to go out over the airwaves. In the 70s, he was contracted
    by the BBC to record, initially, 5 episodes of a series entitled, THE PRICE OF
    FEAR.

    This series was broadcast of the BBC World Service daily from 17th to the 21st
    of December 1973, and Price was then contracted to record a further 5 in April
    of the same year, another 3 in the July, 2 in November, and then later, 6 in
    the July and August of 1975. His final commitment to the BBC on this series
    was for another 6 editions in [removed];>

    They are pretty common among UK collectors and are well written & performed. A
    few are genuinly disturbing.

    Steve has a sister site for British comedy, more detailed, with episode logs
    of many shows. [removed]

    Regards to all from the UK.
    Phil

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 00:34:15 -0400
    From: lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Laura Leff-Waukegan Celebration

    I would like to send my appreciation, thanks and many
    kudos to Laura Leff and anyone else who contributed
    to the posting of the Waukegan Celebration on the
    Jack Benny web site!!!  IF you haven't checked it out
    yet go to [removed].  While reading Lauras
    diary and looking at the pictures I felt like I was
    right there with her.  A better job could not have
    been done!!  For those of us who couldn't be there
    this is the next best thing!!  Check it out, you won't
    be disappointed!!

    THANKS LAURA!!!!

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 00:34:47 -0400
    From: DSmith7855@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Most Recorded Song in History
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    According to John Edward Haase, the Curator of Education at the Smithsonian
    Institution, the most recorded song in history [removed] Carmichael's
    "Stardust."
    Stardust was first recorded in 1927 so it got a head start on the Beatles and
    on Irving Berlin's "White Christmas."   "Stardust" has been recorded by
    virtually every musician you can think of from The Boswell Sisters to Larry
    Adler to Nat King Cole to Willie Nelson to Crystal Gayle to Teresa Brewer to
    Maynard Ferguson to Harry Connick, Jr. to Tommy Dorsey to Duke Ellington to
    Billy Eckstine to Lionel Hampton to Dick Haymes to Engelbert Humperdinck to
    Harry James to Joni James to Barry Manilow to Mantovani to Johnny Mathis to
    Liberace to The Mills Brothers to Charlie Parker to Les Paul to Artie Shaw to
    Ringo Starr to Mel Torme to Lawrence [removed] the list goes on.   No song
    can match the number of recordings of "Stardust"....not "Yesterday"....not
    "White Christmas."  According to Haase it can well lay claim to the title,
    "Song of the Century."

    Dave Smith

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 00:58:20 -0400
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Lon Chaney Jr. on OTR

    Lon Chaney Jr. played Lennie in an excerpt from "Of
    Mice and Men" in an episode of the 1939-1940 series
    "The Pursuit of Happiness." Burgess Meredith played
    George. (This information comes from Dunning's "On the
    Air.")

    Rick.

    [removed] While many people think of Chaney Jr. as simply a
    horror actor (or horror/comedy in the Abbott and
    Costello film(s?) in which he appeared, he did appear
    in at least one non horror drama: "The Defiant Ones"
    with Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis.

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 01:08:17 -0400
    From: Ga6string@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Tile, it's what's for dinner
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    Hal Stone writes:

>     I will take a photograph of said tile floor (in living color) and send to
>     any interested parties. The [removed]$[removed] Send [removed]+ $[removed] shipping and
>     handling. >> SNIP <<For a measly $1,000, I will even pose laying butt naked
>     on said floor and personally inscribe the [removed]

    Sounds like a play, Hal, but the danger in this is that someone will scan
    your photos, claim the legal rights to them, and start selling them on eBay
    on CD-ROMs for $[removed] apiece!

    Bryan

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

    Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 10:26:33 -0400
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Fred Allen

>     Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 20:48:58 -0400
>     From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
>     As for Fred Allen, he seems to have had much more trouble with NBC than
>     CBS

    Did Fred Allen move from NBC to CBS or vice versa.  If he was one of the many stars who
    moved from NBC to CBS in the late 40s, I wonder whether standards and practices was part
    of the negotiations.

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

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #232
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