Subject: [removed] Digest V2009 #158
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 8/19/2009 8:45 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2009 : Issue 158
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig  [ charlie@[removed] ]
      Joseph Kern's Wurlitzer Organ         [ wr k <wrk41@[removed]; ]
      Early bongs                           [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK               [ Jerry Haendiges <Jerry@[removed]; ]
      Boing! Boing!                         [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      8-17 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Passing of Jack Bivans/Donald Buka    [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
      Resquiat In Pacem                     [ Wich2@[removed] ]
      Chirp and Bong                        [ "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed] ]
      re: It all [removed]                 [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
      Donald Buka                           [ "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed] ]
      RIP Ruth Ford                         [ Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed] ]
      Benny Bell                            [ JayHick@[removed] ]
      Corwin Fans                           [ CMS Admin <rfmillerjr1@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:12:01 -0400
    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, 19 Aug 2009 22:32:24 -0400
    From: wr k <wrk41@[removed];
    To: old time <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Joseph Kern's Wurlitzer Organ

    Campbell Connell wrote on Friday, 8/14:

>     After Kerns death, when they removed the organ from
>     the home, did they find anything [removed]

    Well, Campbell, it was reported that the lost chord
    was found but, never verified [removed]

    (Sorry guys, I just couldn't [removed]!!!)

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:32:33 -0400
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Early bongs

    Dixon Hayes poses a stimulating question:

>     Can anyone

    narrow down the earliest they've ever heard either the "Bong!" or the
    "Chirp!"?

    I know that the daytime shows on CBS Radio that appeared on the hour were
    carrying the bong by at least the early 1950s and (haven't checked my tapes
    on this) believe this may have happened in the late 1940s, too.  Arthur
    Godfrey Time at 10 and 11 [removed] ET was introduced by it followed by Wendy
    Warren & the News at 12, Big Sister at 1, The Second Mrs. Burton at 2,
    Hilltop House at 3, etc.  I have many tapes with comedies and dramas in the
    evenings throughout the 1950s preceded by the bongs.  I'm not sure when I
    became aware of the chirps, just vindicating the bongs.

    And Dixon mentions TV carrying the bongs.  One of my earliest memories of TV
    (my family was deprived being the last one on the block to acquire it) was
    tuning in George Burns & Gracie Allen every Monday night and listening for
    the very distinctive bong before the theme began.  That would have been by
    1954, maybe even 1953, and the show had been running for some time before
    that.  I learned that quite a few CBS-TV programs that started on the hour
    did so with a bong.  Burns & Allen somehow to me was the most memorable.
    Maybe the seconds' pause following it before the music struck up made it
    more pronounced.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:32:38 -0400
    From: Jerry Haendiges <Jerry@[removed];
    To: Old Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK

    Hi Friends,

    Here is this week's schedule for my Olde Tyme Radio Network. Here you
    may listen to high-quality broadcasts with Tom Heathwood's "Heritage
    Radio Theatre," Big John Matthews and Steve "Archive" Urbaniak's "The
    Glowing Dial" and my own "Same Time, Same Station."  Streamed in
    high-quality audio, on demand, 24/7 at [removed]
    Check out our High-Quality mp3 catalog at:
    [removed]
    =======================================

    SAME TIME, SAME STATION

    HOLLYWOOD CASTING OFFICE
    Episode 11   1932    "Experience"
    Syndicated by Bruce Eells

    PAUL WHITEMAN'S HOUSEWARMING PARTY
    4-10-43
    MC: Rudy Vallee
    ANNOUNCER: John Milton Kennedy.
    STARS: Gracie Allen, Ferde Grofe, Tom Breneman, Gracie Fields, Johnny
    Mercer, The Kings Men, Chester Lauck & Norris Goff (as Lum & Abner),
    Jesus San Ramon, Ed Gardner (Archie of Duffy's Tavern), Jimmy Dorsey
    Orchestra, Mildred Bailey (1st major female radio singer), Paul Lavalle,
    Morton Downey, Dr, Walter Damrosch, Don McNeil and the Breakfast Club
    Gang, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Henry Busse Orchestra, Matty Matlock
    Orchestra.
    ==================================

    HERITAGE RADIO THEATER

    GUEST:
    Martin Grams, Jr. Gives details on his latest books and the 4th Annual
    Nostalgia Convention.

    FATHER KNOWS BEST
    (NBC) 10/26/50 Robert Young stars. The family run out of gas by a cemetery.

    BLACKSTONE/MAGIC DETECTIVE
    (MBS) 8/7/49 "The Ghost in the Crypt" Edward Jerome.

    RADIO RARITIES
    Hank Williams for the 1951 March of Dimes. JFK radio "Hits."
    ====================================

    THE GLOWING DIAL

      Silver Theater - "Danger Lights"
    originally aired December 12, 1938 on CBS
    Starring: Clark Gable, Paula Winslow, John Conte announcing.
    Sponsor: International Silver Company

    Theatre of Romance - "Casanova Brown"
    originally aired November 13, 1945 on CBS
    Starring: Henry Fonda.
    Sponsors: Colgate, Halo Shampoo

    Encore Theater - "Green Light"
    originally aired June 25, 1946 on CBS
    Starring: Robert Young, Pedro de Cordova, Frank Graham announcing.
    Sponsor: Schenley Labs, Inc.

    Academy Award Theater - "Suspicion"
    originally aired October 30, 1946 on CBS
    Starring: Cary Grant, Ann Todd, Hugh Brundage announcing.
    Sponsor: E. R. Squibb & Sons

    Camel Screen Guild Theatre - "Call Northside 777"
    originally aired October 7, 1948 on NBC
    Starring: James Stewart, Pat O'Brien, Richard Conte, Michael Roy announcing.
    Sponsor: Camel Cigarettes
    ==================================

    If you have any questions or request, please feel free to contact me.

          Jerry Haendiges

          Jerry@[removed]  562-696-4387
          The Vintage Radio Place   [removed]
          Largest source of Old Time Radio Logs, Articles and programs on
    the Net

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:32:48 -0400
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Boing!  Boing!

    The sudden death playoff announcement of the passing of CBS's bongs and
    chirps may have been slightly exaggerated as it turns out.  At least at
    7:00:00 on Sunday night, August 16, I distinctly heard the familiar bong
    sans chirping an instant prior to the start of the CBS News on the hour.
    Either my ears are deceiving me or that respected din was resurrected from
    its reported demise at least for this one outing.  I trust we've not heard
    the last of the bongs and chirps.  Those of you who depended on it to set
    your watches by can breathe a tad easier now.  For a while we may have taken
    a licking, but the thing just keeps on ticking ... er, bonging.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:32:55 -0400
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  8-17 births/deaths

    August 17th births

    08-17-1888 - Monte Woolley- NYC - d. 5-6-1963
    actor: Edwin Montague "Magnificent Montague"
    08-17-1893 - Mae West - Brooklyn, NY - d. 11-22-1980
    actor: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show" (Famous Adam and Eve Skit)
    08-17-1896 - Alma Lawton - Woolwich, England - d. 2-24-1982
    actor: "I Love Adventure"; "NBC University Theatre"
    08-17-1899 - Ralph Goll - d. 1-1-1957
    scriptwriter: "The Lone Ranger"
    08-17-1900 - Gregory Abbott - d. 9-25-1981
    narrator: "Believe It or Not"
    08-17-1900 - Quincy Howe - Boston, MA - d. 2-19-1977
    newscaster: "Quincy Howe: Comment"
    08-17-1903 - Abram Chasins - NYC - d. 6-21-1987
    musical director: "Stars from the Blue"
    08-17-1903 - Bob Evans - California - d. 3-21-1961
    actor: "Sing It Again"
    08-17-1904 - Ann Harding - Fort Sam Houston, TX - d. 9-1-1981
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Cavalcade of America"; "Hallmark Playhouse"
    08-17-1904 - Elizabeth Bilson - d. 4-17-1995
    soprano: WBAL Baltimore, Maryland
    08-17-1905 - Frederick Ziv - Cincinnati, OH - d. 10-13-2001
    producer: "Philo Vance"
    08-17-1907 - Bernard Schoenfeld - d. 4-25-1990
    writer: "Brave New World"; "This is Our Eneny"
    08-17-1909 - Larry Clinton - Brooklyn, NY - d. 5-2-1985
    bandleader: "Larry Clinton's Musical Sensations"; "Tommy Riggs and
    Betty Lou"
    08-17-1912 - Gogo De Lys - Edmonton, Canada - d. 2-19-2003
    singer: "Carefree Carnival"; "Little Ol' Hollywood"; "Stoopnagle and
    Budd"
    08-17-1913 - Guy Della-Cioppa - Philadelphia, PA - d. 1-17-2000
    director: "An American in Russia"; "The Columbia Workshop"
    08-17-1916 - Ira Cook - Duluth, MN - d. 5-15-2007
    disk jockey: KMPC Los Angeles, California
    08-17-1918 - Evelyn Ankers - Valparaiso, Chili - d. 8-28-1985
    actor: Argentine Radio
    08-17-1919 - Georgia Gibbs - Worcester, MA - d. 12-9-2006
    singer: (Her Nibs) "Your Hit Parade"; "Camel Caravan"; "Philco Hall of
    Fame"
    08-17-1920 - Maureen O'Hara - Millwall, Ireland
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    08-17-1921 - Donald Buka - Cleveland, OH - d. 7-21-2009
    actor: Barney Mallory "Sparrow and the Hawk"
    08-17-1921 - Wayne Raney - Wolf Bayou, AR - d. 1-23-1993
    country music harmonica player: "Grand Ole Opry"
    08-17-1922 - Jack Sperling - Trenton, NJ - d. 3-8-2004
    drummer: Bands of Bunny Berrigan, Les Brown and others
    08-17-1927 - Sam Butera - New Orleans, LA - d. 6-3-2009
    tenor sax: (Sam Butera and the Witnesses) "The Navy Swings"
    08-17-1930 - Harve Bennett - Chicago, IL
    panelist: "The Quiz Kids"
    08-17-1932 - Johnny 'Red' Kerr - Chicago, IL - d. 2-27-2009
    announcer: Chicago Bulls
    08-17-1943 - John Humphreys - Cardiff, Wales
    presenter: "Nine O'Clock News"; "Today"

    August 17th deaths

    01-26-1927 - Billy Redfield - NYC - d. 8-17-1976
    actor: Grayling Dennis "Brighter Day"; Willie Piper "Tales of Willie
    Piper"
    02-06-1917 - Penny Olson - Milwaukee, WI - d. 8-17-2000
    singer: (Wife of Johnny Olson) "Ladies Be Seated"; "Rumpus Room"
    03-04-1880 - Channing Pollack - Washington [removed] - d. 8-17-1946
    lecturer, author: "America's Town Mettking of the Air"; "Wake Up
    America"
    03-26-1915 - Flip Phillips - Brooklyn, NY - d. 8-17-2001
    jazz saxophonist: "Woody Herman Show"; "Saturday Night Swing Session"
    03-29-1918 - Pearl Bailey - Newport News, VA - d. 8-17-1990
    singer: "Kraft Music Hall "; "Tribute to Glenn Miller"
    05-09-1895 - Richard Barthelmass - NYC - d. 8-17-1963
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    05-09-1908 - Joan Kinmont - Port Lincoln, Australia - d. 8-17-1985
    writer: "Firelight"
    05-17-1907 - Horace McMahon - South Norwalk, CT - d. 8-17-1971
    actor: "Crime Does Not Pay"
    05-25-1877 - Billy Murray - Philadelphia, PA - d. 8-17-1954
    singer: "The National Barn Dance"
    06-26-1908 - Robert J. Ross - d. 8-17-1970
    writrer: "Amos 'n' Andy"
    06-29-1901 - Ed Gardner - Astoria, NY - d. 8-17-1963
    comedian: Archie "Duffy's Tavern"
    07-06-1929 - James Berwick - Dublin, Ireland - d. 8-17-2000
    actor: "Frankenstein"
    07-24-1904 - Delmer Daves - San Francisco, CA - d. 8-17-1977
    movie writer/director: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
    07-26-1909 - Vivian Vance - Cherryvale, KS - d. 8-17-1979
    actor: Ethel Mertz "I Love Lucy"
    08-11-1910 - Perfecto Barbosa - d. 8-17-1989
    newscaster: KMAC San Antonio, Texas
    09-11-1908 - Elisebeth A. Heisch - Madison, WI - d. 8-17-2003
    writer: "The Cinnamon Bear"
    09-28-1917 - Vernile Morgan - Oak Park, IL - d. 8-17-2006
    actor: "Curtain Time"
    10-03-1882 - Ulderico 'Rico' Marcelli - Rome, Italy - d. 8-17-1962
    bandleader: "Fibber McGee and Molly"
    10-20-1913 - Barney Phillips - St. Louis, MO - d. 8-17-1982
    actor: Ed Jacobs "Dragnet"; Somber Jones "Hawk Larabee"; "Gunsmoke"
    10-25-1875 - Harry Overstreet - San Francisco, CA - d. 8-17-1970
    author and lecturer: "Information Please"
    12-02-1902 - Howard Koch - NYC - d. 8-17-1995
    writer: "War of the Worlds"
    12-06-1896 - Ira Gershwin - NYC - d. 8-17-1983
    songwriter: "Lady in the Dark"; "Jolson Story"; "Barkleys of Broadway"
    12-10-1906 - Harold Adamson - Greenville, NJ - d. 8-17-1980
    song writer: "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood"
    12-28-1934 - David Warrilow - Staffordshire, England - d. 8-17-1995
    actor: "All that Fall"
    xx-xx-xxxx - George Watson - d. 8-17-1957
    announcer: "Gateway to Hollywood"; "Song of the City"

    Ron

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:33:03 -0400
    From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Passing of Jack Bivans/Donald Buka

    Thanks for the update on two veteran radio actors passing.

    Don Buka will be a big miss at the FOTR. I first met him there and his
    sense of humor during the radio recreations made it a lot of fun.
    Jack Bivans equally will be missed. Jack was very generous in helping me
    when I was setting up my Captain Midnight pages on the Internet
    ([removed] ) providing photos and filling detail
    from his years working as Chuck Ramsay. Whenever I had a question
    surrounding the show, Jack was always willing to help. I hadn't been in
    contact with him for about a year or so, but certainly won't forget him
    for all of his help.

    Jim Widner

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:33:08 -0400
    From: Wich2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Resquiat In Pacem

    From: JayHick@[removed]
    Subject:  Don  Buka

    Thank you for the info, Jay. I knew that Don had been gravely ill  for some
    time.

    Don was a real joy to play a scene with. And he was that
    not-always-the-case type of actor who was secure enough to compliment others'
    work; his
    words to me will always be, as Shakespeare said in a play we shared,
    "gracious
    drops." (And if anything, even he was more fun to hang out in the  "green
    room" with!)

    I had the pleasure of passing on to him a copy of  some work of his from
    long ago - his very nice turn as Lafayette, in a ONE STEP  BEYOND about Valley
    Forge.

    Thanks, Donald - hope to see you  again.
    -Craig Wichman

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:33:17 -0400
    From: "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Chirp and Bong

    This talk lately of the CBS chirp/bong has got me curious.  As far as
    terrestrial radio goes, I only listen to NPR news and local rock and
    popular music stations, so I'm not familiar with this noise that's
    apparently being phased out.

    Can anyone point to an online audio clip of the noise I could listen to?

    -chris holm

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:33:44 -0400
    From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  re: It all [removed]

    Craig W. wrote:

>     True, some "A+"  Radio giants were never as successful in TV - [removed], Fred
>     Allen.

    This reminds me of a question I've been meaning to ask, to wit, what exactly
    was Fred Allen's health problem before he died? I know he collapsed of a
    heart attack, in the street, but that he had been in poor health for several
    years prior. "Poor health" covers a lot of ground. I recently watched an
    episode of What's My Line, from January 1956, and Fred looked *awful.* His
    voice hadn't changed, and his wit was as sharp as ever, but he looked like he
    was only 6 weeks from the grave -- and indeed, he was. His face was slightly
    puffy, with a dreadful pallor. Does anybody know what the diagnosis was?

    We can only imagine what might have happened had he had the energy and health
    to throw himself fully into television. It's quite possibly that nothing much
    would have come to pass--the powers-that-be may simply have been unwilling to
    give free creative reign to a gadfly like him. Even in better health, they
    may have restricted him to limited roles like being a member of a panel
    game--fun stuff, but hardly making full use of his talents.

    Kermyt

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:41:08 -0400
    From: "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Donald Buka

     JayHick@[removed] reports:

>     Donald Buka, a veteran stage actor who toured
>     with the Lunts and acted opposite the likes of Helen Hayes and Bette Davis,
>     died on July 21 in Reading, MA. He was 88.

    Donald Buka was a guest on the June, 1972, edition of "The Golden Age of
    Radio" on WTIC in Hartford, CT.  You can hear that one-hour show, and 88
    others at [removed] . You can also hear 42 hours of Big Band
    interviews and music at the same site, hosted by WTIC's Arnold Dean.

    The Golden Age of Radio was the creation of WTIC personality Dick Bertel and
    radio collector-historian Ed Corcoran, and was first broadcast in April of
    1970. For the next seven years the program featured interviews with radio
    actors, writers, producers,  engineers and musicians from radio's early
    days.

    In addition, each show featured excerpts from Ed's collection. Fortunately,
    these programs have been preserved, capturing for future generations the
    history of this vital medium during its formative years.

    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 1970, 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
    [removed]
    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:41:20 -0400
    From: Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RIP Ruth Ford

    Here is an obituary from the Los Angeles Times on Mercury Theater alumna
    Ruth Ford.  It notes she appeared in Welles' productions on Broadway and on
    the radio but doesn't say which ones.

    She lived in New York so it's strange she was never at Friends of Old Time
    Radio.

    [removed],0,[removed]

    Sean Dougherty
    SeanDD@[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:41:51 -0400
    From: JayHick@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Benny Bell
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    I am passing this along from Joel Samberg:

    Hi, Jay. It's Joel Samberg, Benny Bell's grandson. As you may recall, I
    worked with Brian Gari a few years ago to bring my late grandfather to the
    FOTR
    convention through his music and the memories of my father Jerry (who has
    since passed). It was a wonderful event.

     How are you?

     My new book about Benny Bell is out now. I'm very excited about it. I was
    wondering if there's any way you can help spread the word to FOTR fans, so
    many of whom loved my grandfather's work ("Shaving Cream," "Everybody Wants
    My Fanny," "Pincus the Peddler" and others).

     The book has a website and a YouTube video (both linked below), and
    there's also a press release (attached). Please feel free to use any or all of
    these as you see fit. It's a fun project. I think people will enjoy it. The
    book is called "Grandpa Had a Long One: Personal Notes on the Life, Career &
    Legacy of Benny Bell."

     Thanks, Jay. I appreciate your help. Best of luck with all your upcoming
    activities.

     [removed]

     [removed]

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

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

    Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:41:59 -0400
    From: CMS Admin <rfmillerjr1@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Corwin Fans

    Fords Theatre (Washington DC) is staging a Norman Corwin Play

    The Lincoln / Douglas debates

    for more info:

    [removed]

    --Randy Miller

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2009 Issue #158
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