Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #262
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/4/2003 9:03 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 262
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Independence Day Birthdays            [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Victor Borge                          [ "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed] ]
      Jim Cox & Mr. Keen                    [ "mike ray" <mikeray42@[removed]; ]
      The Shadow                            [ loviglio <loviglio@[removed]; ]
      Doug McGregor                         [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Jim's OTR books list                  [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      A patriotic OTR fourth                [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
      AM Reception                          [ dantrigg422@[removed] ]
      Re: George Burns                      [ Christopher Werner <werner1@globalc ]
      BOOK LIST                             [ HERITAGE4@[removed] ]
      Orson Welles storyteller              [ "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed]; ]
      AM reception                          [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
      Candy Matson's Baby Brother           [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 11:47:50 -0400
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Independence Day Birthdays

    HAPPY JULY 4TH TO EVERYONE!

    July 4th births:

    07-04-1900 - Louis Armstrong - New Orleans, LA - d. 7-6-1971
    trumpeter: "Pursuit of Happiness"; "Sealtest Village Store"; "Story of Swing"
    07-04-1902 - George Murphy - New Haven, CT - d. 5-3-1992
    actor, emcee: "Let"s Talk Hollywood"; "Hollywood Calling"
    07-04-1910 - Alec Templeton - Cardiff, South Wales - d. 3-28-1963
    pianist, satirist: "You Shall Have Music"; "Universal Rhythm"; "Alec
    Templeton Time"
    07-04-1916 - Iva Toguri d"Aquino "Tokyo Rose" - Los Angeles, CA
    disc jockey: (Little Orphan Ann) Zero Hour NHK Tokyo, Japan

    July 4th deaths:

    02-11-1919 - Eva Gabor - Budapest, Hungary - d. 7-4-1995
    disc jockey: "A Little Night Music"
    04-17-1918 - Anne Shirley - NYC - d. 7-4-1993
    actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    04-26-1915 - Vic Perrin - Menomonee Falls, WI - d. 7-4-1989
    actor: Ross Farnsworth "One Man"s Family"; Sergeant Gorce "Fort Laramie"
    06-10-1903 - Ernest Chappell - Syracuse, NY - d. 7-4-1983
    announcer: "Fabulous Dr. Tweedy"; "Quiet Please"; "The Big Story"
    09-06-1902 - Morgan Beatty - Little Rock, AR - d. 7-4-1975
    newscaster: "News of the World"
    09-10-1934 - Charles Kuralt - Wilmington, NC - d. 7-4-1997
    sportscaster: "Junior Sports Parade"; "Sports Final"
    12-15-1907 - Bob Hawk - Creston, IA - d. 7-4-1989
    quizmaster: "Take It or Leave It"; "Thanks to the Yanks"; "The Bob Hawk Show"
    --
    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Hometown of [removed] Kaltenborn and Jay Jostyn

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 14:58:13 -0400
    From: "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Victor Borge

    <<Joe Mackey posted that Victor Borge was first heard on the radio in 1944
    as a Summer replacement for Fibber and [removed];>>

    Earlier, he was  the "warm up" act to get members of the studio audience
    ready and excited for the Bing Crosby radio show broadcasts with his piano
    comedy. Later, he appeared on "The Kraft Music Hall" show as a performer.

    I interviewed him once on my radio program (just as he was piloting his own
    yacht from Connecticut into Newport, RI harbor talking on a cell phone from
    the bridge) and he briefly mentioned his "first job" in radio coming to the
    USA.  It wasn't *on* the radio at all, but the Crosby warm up turned out to
    be an audition of his style of dry humor with a Danish accent for radio
    executives to discover him. He said he also appeared on an early The Rudy
    Valley Show.

    Incidentally, Maestro Borge credited his son with the worldwide marketing
    success of his "Comedy In Music" and "Best of Borge" video collection after
    he "retired in his 80's" from performing. Over three million videos have
    been sold.  Singer, Tony Bennett acknowledges that his son did something
    similar to continue and revive his Dad's music career by reaching a new,
    younger audience market on MTV.

    Borge died just before Christmas in 2000 at age 91.

    Russ Butler  oldradio@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 14:59:22 -0400
    From: "mike ray" <mikeray42@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jim Cox & Mr. Keen

    Dear Gang:
    Yesterday our good friend Jim Cox announced his new book on Mr. Keen will be
    forth coming. Let me just say how exciting this is, and I for one am really
    looking forward to
    Getting a copy for my daughter and myself. It is very sad how so few of these
    programs survived, and how little was know about the series. So Jim's book
    will be a wonderful addition to the Old Time Radio Industry as a whole.
    Saints preserve us Jim, I hope you sell a million of them.
    Best regards,
    Mike Ray

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 15:23:26 -0400
    From: loviglio <loviglio@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Shadow

    I came across an episode of the Shadow (Murder By the Dead 10-17-1937) from the
    first season which sounds different from anything I've ever heard before. The
    actors are all different than the usual cast from that year--or any other
    year--
    and there appears to be an irreverent studio audience!  During the John
    Barkeley
    talks for Blue Coal the audience is howling with laughter
    at the typical ad patter. And when the announcer assures us that any
    similarities
    between the story and real life are
    coincidental, the audience breaks up all over again. This is
    quite different from the ponderous tone the show usually
    strikes. Can anyone shed any light on this strange broadcast?

    Also, at the end of some recordings of the Shadow from 1943 I've heard a
    brief but
    artificial blast of applause at the ends of story but before the closing
    sponsor's
    message. Were any of these broadcasts truly done before an audience?  Thanks in
    advance to anyone who can help
    me with these questions!

    Jason Loviglio

    Loviglio@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 16:02:43 -0400
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Doug McGregor

    Will the friend of Doug McGregor please contact me off-line, the National Barn
    Dance programs were returned again. Thank you.

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Hometown of [removed] Kaltenborn and Jay Jostyn

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 16:03:04 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jim's OTR books list

    Jim Cox had a superb list of "required reading" when it comes to books about
    OTR shows.  Two on his list,

    Hickerson, Jay.  The 2nd Revised Ultimate History of Network Radio
    Programming and Guide to ALL Circulating Shows.  Hamden, Conn.:  Presto
    Print II, 2001, 561pp (spiral)

    Dunning, John.  On the Air:  The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio.  New
    York:  Oxford University Press, 1998, 822pp

    I have bookshelves filled with reference guides and these two on Jim's list
    are the ones I turn to more often than any other.  Not saying the others on
    the list are not good - some are great but every book has it's values and
    these two are tremendously helpful.  When I did research on a problem say .
    . . COST TO COAST ON A BUS (aka WHITE RABBIT LINE), I turned to Hickerson's
    guide and was able to learn what network it aired.  Thus helped explain the
    unusual slang and station initials in the radio contracts I received copies
    of.  Many times I acquire letters to and from creators of radio programs and
    many times people are referred to by their first or last name, not both, so
    Dunning's guide sometimes helps with that.  In short, if you are ever going
    to buy two books on OTR and only two, I would recommend these two.
    Hickerson's guide, incidentally, contains much more than listings of radio
    shows - it contains pages of addresses to OTR dealers, vendors, OTR clubs,
    newsletters, authors, etc.  It's worth the investment.  Jay sells his book
    direct and you can contact him at jayhick@[removed].

    Martin Grams, Jr.

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 16:36:59 -0400
    From: otrbuff@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  A patriotic OTR fourth

    Derek Tague wonders if any readers will celebrate a 4th of July with
    pronounced OTR connections.  Having spent several weeks researching the
    life of Kate Smith I'm left to ponder if any who lived through her epoch
    could hear Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" blaring from the radio on
    Independence Day and dispassionately disassociate the melody from the pop
    diva's rendition.  The pair (Smith and that anthem) are absolutely
    inseparable to me.  She introduced it to the public on her radio show on
    Armistice Day 1938 and Berlin gave her two years to sing it exclusively
    before allowing other entertainers to perform it.  By then it was so much
    a part of the American psyche that none of the others who recorded it
    (Gene Autry, Bing Crosby, Horace Heidt, etc.) made serious dents against
    her sales.  Was there a more symbolic icon of patriotism during that
    period?  There positively may not have been.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 21:25:09 -0400
    From: dantrigg422@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  AM Reception
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    The folks that are looking for good AM reception might want to ck. out the C
    Crane website as in [removed]. The radio has AM, FM, TV channels, and
    weather.
    Their main selling point is AM reception. They claim that is why the radio
    was built.
    I do not own one as I am on a very tight budget at this time, but would
    probably buy one if I could. If anyone can fill us in on these claims it
    would be
    appreciated I'm
    sure.
    Sincerely,
    Dan Trigg

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

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 22:03:41 -0400
    From: Christopher Werner <werner1@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: George Burns

>     George Aust correctly commented:

>     Chris Werner posted an interesting review of the show "Say Goodnight
>     Gracie" about George Burns.  Now I realize that Jack Benny was George's
>     closest friend but you would think that the producers of the show would
>     have used Burns and Allen's theme "Love Nest" rather than Jack Benny's
>     theme" Love in Bloom" !:-)

    I tried, I really did. When I wrote the review the song was still in my
    head "Just a love nest, built for [removed]" but I *didn't want to make a
    mistake and trust my memory* (the one that first typed "Love Nest") and so
    I looked at the credits in the play bill that I received. Credit was given
    for "Love in Bloom", I must be crazy, it's not titled "Love Nest", it's
    called "Love in Bloom", I said to myself and confidently submitted the
    review with Love in Bloom figuring prominently. Sigh. Can't win for losing.
    Sorry all, yes it was "Love Nest" that was played throughout the night and
    not Jack Benny's theme.

    Humbled.

    Chris

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

    Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 22:42:39 -0400
    From: HERITAGE4@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  BOOK LIST

    Congratulations to Jim Cox for putting together such a great list of OTR
    books. I now know where to refer people when they ask what they should have in
    their library. Only problem - not all are still avaialable.     Tom Heathwood

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

    Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2003 09:02:11 -0400
    From: "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Orson Welles storyteller

            I got a copy of a three part BBC show called Orson Welles,
    storyteller.  The first part is truncated, really short, about 10
    minutes.  Does anybody have that show complete.  If anybody has the whole
    show, listen to the very end of the last show, part three, probably the
    last recording Orson made before he died.  He was reading The Secret
    Sharer by Joseph Conrad.  It is heartbreaking to listen to, but also
    fascinating.  Supposedly he was reading stories for a Japanese
    corporation.  Also, he was supposed to have starred in Mr. and Mrs. North
    the case of the passionate Poluka (or however it is spelled, but I didn't
    hear him.)  Anyway, if anybody has heard of any of this stuff please let
    me know.  Also, in the storyteller program it says that Welles improvised
    the end of War of the Worlds.  Are there rehearsal shows so that we know
    whether that is true?  I am very interested in all Welles material,
    especially the plays etc.  One more question.  Is the Man Who Was
    Thursday on MP3?  Well, I just found this all very interesting.  Thanks
    for your time.  Kurt

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

    Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2003 09:03:02 -0400
    From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  AM reception

    "Bob Watson" says:

>     Not that it really matters anymore.  The apathy towards AM radio also
>     includes the owners and operators of a lot of AM stations.  There is very
>     little programming to be picked up at night in these parts anymore.  Most of
>     it is talk shows.  Just talk shows.

    I beg to differ. The operators and (now few) owners are not apathetic to
    ratings. The way they read the numbers, the farther they skew their AM
    programming to "conservative" talk shows, the more commercials they can
    sell for weight-loss solutions, "all-natural" potions, and auto insurance
    that's cheaper than anywhere else in the world.
    You might not like it, but those "talk shows - just talk shows" *are"
    [removed] as Viacom, Clear Channel defines it today in AM radio.

    Herb Harrison

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

    Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2003 09:04:32 -0400
    From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Candy Matson's Baby Brother

    In the research for my forthcoming book on Radio's Lady Detectives, I've
    encountered a few apparent dead ends. I've still  not located Tom
    Masters, the only child of Natalie and Monty Masters, who were the stars
    responsible for "Candy Matson, YU 2-8209."

    Recently, a very distant relative of Natalie's, in San Francisco, found
    my "Candy"  articles on the Net and emailed me with some family
    history.  Based on his leads, yesterday I telephoned Don Park in
    Colorado. I had been told he was a half brother of Natalie's (19 years
    her junior).....same father (now deceased) and different mother. On the
    phone, he confirmed he was the relative I sought and the following
    awkward conversation took place.

    Him:  So, how is my sister, Natalie?  What is she doing now?

    Me:    Er, [removed] don't know?

    Him:   Nope, Mom and I have been looking for her for about 15 years. I
    think she's in the San Fernando Valley.

    Me:     [removed], I'm afraid I have to tell you she's
    deceased.  I'm very sorry to give you the news.

    Him:   Gosh, when did she die?

    Me:     In February 1986.  I think she  was about 70 [removed]

    Then we chatted for a while longer. He had no idea where Tom Masters
    might be.  He did not know Jack Thomas, who was his and Natalie's uncle,
    and who played "Rembrandt Watson."  Park actually knew much less than I
    did about anything concerning Natalie.  I gave him my sympathy again and
    told him I would send him some background data on her career (including
    the 1986 obit which Barbara Watkins wrote for SPERDVAC's Radiogram) and
    a cassette with both "Candy Matson" and "Those Mad Masters" on it.

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    [removed]

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

    Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2003 09:04:52 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

       From Those Were The Days --

    1943 - The Rhythm Boys, Bing Crosby, Al Rinker and Harry Barris, were
    reunited for the first time since the 1930s on Paul Whiteman Presents on
    NBC.

    1951 - Jack Webb did a summer switch -- from his Dragnet role of Sgt.
    Joe Friday to that of Pete Kelly. Pete Kelly's Blues, a crime drama, was
    the summer replacement on NBC for Halls of Ivy (with Ronald Colman and
    Benita Hume).

       Joe

    --
    Visit my homepage: [removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #262
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