 
	********************************************************
                      ------   # NOTE #   -------
SEE INFO SECTION AT END OF THIS DIGEST FOR UNSUBSCRIBE AND OTHER INFORMATION. 
		====  INFO SECTION UPDATED 8/19/95  ====
	********************************************************

	    [removed]   Volume 95 : Issue 454


Articles in this issue of [removed]:

	 Re: Giselle MacKenzie
	 First radio transmission 
	 Re: Kemo Sabe
	 How could we?
	 OTR potpourri
	 Benny, Amos 'n' Andy, block OTR programming, etc.
	 Let's do clones!
	 WMAQ, When Radio Was and Sports
	 Old Time Radio rides again!
	 More on Rochester
	 Frank Thomas, Jr.
	 Tom Corbett

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 02:54:07 -0500
From: Nevartb@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Giselle MacKenzie
Message-ID: <951216025405_55732098@[removed]>

In a message dated 95-12-10 19:55:31 EST, you write:

>Ol> I've always [removed] was [removed]
>
>O nooooooo!
>I *remember* "Giselle, Giselle <but not the rest of the lyrics>".
>She was a lovely, talented, violin-playing, singing brunette.
>ISTR that she had her own TV show.
>[Hey, Lou!  Is early TV allowed here?]

Giselle MacKenzie was a member of the gang who sang all the top songs on TV's
 version of  "Your Hit Parade." Other members of the group included Dorothy
Collins, Snookey Lanson and Russell Arms. to name four. These names were
 household words in the fifties. The show ran in different formats on the
radio as early as 1935. 

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 95 12:47:43 PST
From: Izi Mann <izi_mann@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: First radio transmission 
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

Hello,
I wrote few weeks ago about a daily column I have in Voice of Israel, in 
which I play OTR recordings - international and Israeli.
I wonder if anyone can tell me more about the first radio transmission in 
America - or at least that's what I was told was the first one - on November 
4, 1920, describing the results of the elections (Harding won over Cox). 
I'll appreciate any more information, such as how many listeners were at 
that time, etc.

Thanks,
Izi Mann

-------------------------------------
Name: Izi Mann
E-mail: izi_mann@[removed]
Date: 12/16/95
Time: 12:47:44

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

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 09:53:25 -0500
From: ALFLOR@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Kemo Sabe
Message-ID: <951216095323_74163623@[removed]>

About Tonto.  The radio show was broadcast from the studios of WJZ in
Detroit.  (Later, those call letters went to the ABC station in [removed]).  There
was no live audience to the broadcast, but I was told the Tonto was played by
a little, old bald gentlemen.  Far from being a native American he was a
native Irishman.  I was also told that he would often doze of during the
broadcast and had to be nudged awaked when it was time for him to read his
lines.  Jay Silverheels, of course, came much later and played Tonto in TV
versions.  If anyone can recall the name of the radio Tonto (I can't) or add
further to this subjet lets hear from you.     Alflor@[removed]

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 11:03:47 -0500
From: Bruce Rudesill <lranger@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: How could we?
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Way to go Jerry in Illios, I figured I wasn't the only fan of those daily
fifteen minute shows. The only question is, how could both of us forget to:

Wave the flag for Hudson High, boys!
Show them how we stand!
.......
........
.........
Have you tried Wheaties?
They're whole wheat with all of the bran.

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 11:19:28 -0500
From: DavidLHsl@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: OTR potpourri
Message-ID: <951216111928_55894199@[removed]>

   Hi!  The person who played Teeny on Fibber McGee was none other than Ed
Garner, better known as Archie from Duffy's Tavern.
   "NOW CUT THAT OUT!!!"
   Sorry. <G>

   Anyway, I also caught Edger Bergen on Biography and really enjoyed it.  I
also enjoyed the tribute to Jack Benny airing recently on NBC, but there was
a better documentary on HBO2 back in October.  It was an hour and a half,
without commercial interruption, and featured excepts from his TV series, a
few samples from his radio program, and some excerpts from his talk show
appearances.  They had interviews with George Burns, Carol Burnett, his
daughter Joan, and many others.  My favorite comment, and I forget who made
it (maybe Ann Margaret?), was that the thing that made Jack Benny great was
his ability to bring out the best from his guests and make them the stars of
the show.  This documentary may have been made some years ago, so some of you
may have seen it elsewhere.  I've gotta learn to start taping this stuff.

   This is one of those things that popped into my head for no reason
whatsoever, but I thought you might enjoy this.  Several years ago, there was
a cartoon on Saturday morning TV called "The Muppet Babies."  It was about,
you guessed it, the muppets in their infancy.  Most of the themes centered on
imagination.  In one show, the muppet babies pretended to be on old time
radio.  I don't remember all the personalities that were presented, except
that Gonzo was The Shadow.  Towards the end of the cartoon, their nanny
appears (No, not the one on CBS.) and turns on the television.  The muppet
babies sit in front of the TV and sigh with boredom.  Then Kermit suggests
that they cover the screen with a blanket and pretend that they were
listening to a radio show, which they then do.

   In response to Jim Widner's query about "Les Miserables,"  it has the same
superb quality of all the Smithsonian collections.  It comes with an
interesting booklet, but the synopsis of the episodes practically gives away
the plot.  I don't know the quality of the tapes you have, so I can't make
any comparisons.

  Happy holidays, everyone!
David Hassell
Police officer: "Well, gosh, inspector.  I was just saying that (Boston)
Blackie is pretty smart."
Inspector Faraday: "Oh, so you're saying I'm dumb!"
(from Boston Blackie)

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 11:37:56 -0500
From: JRayb71827@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Benny, Amos 'n' Andy, block OTR programming, etc.
Message-ID: <951216113754_55904756@[removed]>

Several subjects for this posting, primarily in reference to a Ken Piletic
posting.  First, about shows concerning Jack Benny's Christmas "shoelaces," I
thought maybe I might have something on that.  But, if so, I've misfiled and
it has slipped through the cracks.  I'll keep looking.  Secondly, about
"block" programming of OTR shows on the air (4 hours in the morning and
repeat in the evening), it is a reasonable suggestion, but it's our
considered opinion it won't work.  For example, if you wanted to include,
let's say, an Oboler thriller, it might work at 9:00 in the evening, but
wouldn't fit at 9:00 in the morning.  Conversely, a "Sealtest Village Store"
would be the opposite.  In addition, our concept is designed to get as much
of a mass audience as possible, with as much show variety as possible and you
couldn't do that with the "blocks."  We would be programming for EVERYONE,
not just collectors who would want to tape off the air.  The latter is great
and a good part of OTR activities but certainly not the end-all.  We would
hope to attract listeners who don't have a single program on tape or cassette
in a private collection.  It may be a "niche" programming concept but we want
that "niche" to be as broad as possible.
   Finally, about the idea of having an Amos 'n Andy re-creation at the FOTR
convention in Newark and the thought that some might find it offensive.  Hey,
I find the Civil War offensive, but it's part of history.  Alex Haley's
"Roots" wasn't exactly endearing but it WAS a part of history.  How can you
neglect the most successful program in radio history?  When Johnny Carson
retired it was said his largest audience ever was when Tiny Tim married Miss
Vicki on the show (40-million viewers).  A 'n' A used to average more than
40-million listeners every night.  They did a great many benefits for
then-called Negroes and they were very popular throughout the land.  Many
black people didn't even know they were white.  And when you speak of
stereotyping, please call to mind the Sanford and Son TV show and tell me
that some of Redd Foxx's antics weren't stereotypes.  I guess some would say
it's okay if a black person stereotypes a black person but don't let a white
do it.  You have to place it in a proper frame of reference.  A 'n' A was
really a situation comedy, long before the term "sitcom" had been invented.
 It would have been funny if they had done it the way you and I might do it,
because the situations were funny.  To test the theory, do an A 'n' A script
at Newark without the blackface and dialect and it will STILL be funny.  As a
matter of fact, don't even identify it as an A 'n' A script and most wouldn't
even know it.  I use excerpts from the program in my OTR on-stage
presentation all around the country and have never had negative feedback.
 And, yes, there have been black members of the audience and they laugh just
as heartily.  Times have changed, as we all know, but don't consign the
program to the trash heap because of that.  I once had the opportunity to
interview Charles Correll (Andy) and believe me, never once did they have a
racial slur in mind.  I would point out that a black writer on a Kansas City
newspaper once wrote a glowing report on the program.  His name was Roy
Wilkins and he didn't change his public opinion until he later became
executive director of the NAACP.  By the way, if you'll check you'll find
that most of the complaints about the show came after it went on TV with an
all-black cast.  If you disagree with my premise, for goodness sake, let's
toss out Luigi, Mrs. Nussbaum, Mr. Kitzel, Rochester, etc.  Maybe we ought to
include Lum And Abner too because, gosh, isn't that making fun of
hillbillies?  Perhaps we should discard the Old Fashioned Revival Hour
because that might offend a Catholic.  And what about all the dumb Irish cops
who were on a myriad of shows.  Or Charlie Chan?  Or Cisco Kid?  Where does
it stop?  We've forgotten how to laugh at ourselves and maybe we'd all be
better off if we forgot about all the petty little identity crises.
   Would anyone care to share my soap box?  I feel as though I've just had a
session at Speaker's Corner in London's Hyde Park.

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 11:06:38 -0500
From: Bruce Rudesill <lranger@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Let's do clones!
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Hey gang! Dick Lochte has served up an original thought. I don't know about
the rest of you, but I grow weary of the same topics endlessly rehashed here.
If I never see another comment on the GE Super Radio it will be too soon.

So how many clones can we come up with. Nero Wolfe/Peter Salem has been
mentioned and I'll contribute "The Big Guy" a straight out clone of "The Fat
Man". It only lasted about six months and only three shows are available to
collectors. I think it does have one claim to uniqueness. The Big Guy was
a single parent before the term was even invented.

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 09:48:54 -0800
From: MikeTimble@[removed]
To: RadioClass@[removed]
cc: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: WMAQ, When Radio Was and Sports
Message-ID: <951216094851_20652364@[removed]>

Check it out.

WMAQ is not only home to When Radio Was, but also the home of the Chicago
Bulls. So, on nights that the Bulls play, When Radio Was, which normally runs
at 11 PM CST, is moved to midnight. Sometimes, When Radio Was will air a
promotional warning that a Bulls game will be played the next night "so tune
in at midnight".

Maybe I can find a Bulls schedule on the NBA web page and forward it to this
list so people will know when to tune in or tape at midnight. No promises,
but I'll try.

Mike Timble
Chicago

[removed] As much as I enjoy the Bulls, I too don't understand why people have to
discuss the game for 2 or more hours afterward. But then again, this is a
discussion list about programs that have been "over" for 40-60 years. :)

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 12:45:56 -0500
From: Bruce Rudesill <lranger@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Old Time Radio rides again!
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

The January issue of the AMC guide showed up in my mailbox today. The cover
features a hountinly beautiful portrait of Gene Tierney. But wait until you
hear what's inside!

I hope all of you have cable TV or a satellite dish. January is OTR month
on the American Movie Classics channel. They're going all out folks. Even
to cranking up a new situation comedy based in radio station WENN in the
golden age of radio. It all culminates January 31st with over 24 hours of
radio related movies. Burns and Allen, Jack Benny, Blondie, the Great
Gildersleeve, Fibber McGee and Molly and more.

To re-inforce matters, they're running a couple of Orson Welles' films. And
all you Suspense fans out there should make an effort to catch "The Big
Clock". It's right up your alley. Not Allen's either.

Quote of the day Dept: "My mind works so fast. When I think of something, I
say it. Lots of times I say it before I think of it."


Who said that? Every one of you knows who it it.

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 17:49:22 +0001 (EST)
From: "'A. Joseph Ross'" <lawyer@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: More on Rochester
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

> Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 06:18:29 -0600 (CST)
> From: Bruce Toews <bruce@[removed]>
> To: otr@[removed]
> Subject: More on Rochester
> Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
> 
> Another credit to the way 
> the show was conducted is that (it may have happened, but I'm not aware 
> of it) not once was Rochester's color actually mentioned.

I have a show from around 1936 where Rochester is frightened by a ghost, 
which then addresses him as "White boy."  He replies that he is black, 
and the ghost says that right now he is white.  Since I'm replying from 
the office, I can't go and check the show (or Laura Lee's excellent log 
of radio shows) for more details at the moment.

======================================================================
A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                                      617/367-0468
15 Court Square                                   lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2573                    [removed]~lawyer/
======================================================================

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 17:51:48 +0001 (EST)
From: "'A. Joseph Ross'" <lawyer@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Frank Thomas, Jr.
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

> Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 09:02:25 -0500
> From: Bruce Rudesill <lranger@[removed]>
> To: otr@[removed]
> Subject: Teeny II and Frank Thomas, Jr.
> Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
> 
> My educated guess is that this Frank Thomas isn't the same as the one who
> played Tom Corbett. That was Frank (Frankie) Thomas, Jr., son of Frank N.
> Thomas who was also an actor. Frankie began his film career in the 30's. He
> played the lead role in Universal's 1937 serial "Tim Tyler's Luck" and
> appeared in all four of Warner Brother's Nancy Drew movies as Nancy's
> boyfriend Ted (sic) Nickerson. Frankie was born in 1922 and was still alive
> in 1979. 

He also was still alive when I met him at an adventure book convention 
this past April.

======================================================================
A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                                      617/367-0468
15 Court Square                                   lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2573                    [removed]~lawyer/
======================================================================

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

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 18:01:57 +0001 (EST)
From: "'A. Joseph Ross'" <lawyer@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Tom Corbett
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

> Date: 15 Dec 1995 14:12:59 -0600
> From: "Frank Thomas" <Frank_Thomas@[removed]>
> To: [removed]@[removed]
> Subject: RE: The New Frank Thomas
> Message-Id: <m0tQgab-001W4GC@[removed]>
> 
> Uh, no. I was born in 1951. I've been asked about Frank Thomas the Pirates
> ball player of my youth and, of course, the current White Sox [removed] the
> Tom Corbett connection has only been made in this forum. For the record, I
> really like those Tom Corbett's.

It sure would have been fun if you had been the other Frank Thomas, but 
welcome to our forum anyway.  Tom Corbett was one of the few shows that 
originated on television and then migrated to radio.  Unfortunately, 
unlike many other shows that were in both media, the radio shows are 
decidedly inferior to the television version.  

According to the conversation I had with the other Frank Thomas in April,
this was because the sponsor, Kellogg's, also sponsored Mark Trail and
just had the Mark Trail writers, who didn't really know much about space
or science fiction, write the Tom Corbett radio show. 

======================================================================
A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                                      617/367-0468
15 Court Square                                   lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2573                    [removed]~lawyer/
======================================================================

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

    


    ****  END OF ARTICLE SECTION - INFORMATION BOILERPLATE FOLLOWS ****

1) Contacting the list administrator.
2) Unsubscribing from this list
3) Receive a DIGEST READING TIPS file
4) AIRWAVES web page
5) Shareware Notice 
6) Redistribution of [removed]

1)  The [removed] maintainer can be reached at EDITOR@[removed]

2) To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send email to
[removed]@[removed] and place the word UNSUBSCRIBE
alone on the Subject: line of your request.  The body of
request mail is ignored by the server.  If you are unable to
unsubscribe using this method, and you are SURE you are doing
everything right, then (and only then) contact the administrator
(wdp@[removed]) for assistance.  Please send along the headers of
any problem mail for diagnostics.  

	* PLEASE Never send unsub messages to the list! *

3) If reading email digests like this one is difficult or time
consuming,  write for a file called *The Fine Art Of Reading and
Replying To Email Digests*  It contains tips on scanning digests and
making replies easier and more concise.  To recieve this file, send
email to digest-tips@[removed] and use the subject line of *Digest
Tips*.  

4) AIRWAVES  maintains a very busy web page containing many media-related 
links and files. Our URL is:  [removed]~rrb/

5) [removed] is brought to you as shareware.  Net 
connectivity and other expenses are paid out of personal funds of the
list maintainer.  If this list is of value to you, please support it
by sending in whatever amount you can afford, to help defray costs.
Suggested amount is [removed] a year (less than [removed] a month), but any
amount (more or less) is fine. This is a free-will donation and nobody
will be removed from the list because they cannot, or choose not to,
pay.

Our mailing address is PO Box 8746 Springfield Mo 65801. Make any
checks out to William Pfeiffer. 

6) If you are redistributing [removed] in any form, you must
contact the list owner for permission.  Generally permission is given,
free of charge, for non-commercial electronic distribution.
Commercial distribution rights are available under very reasonable
terms.



---- 
End of [removed] Digest V95 Issue #454

