Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #338
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 9/9/2003 10:26 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2003 : Issue 338
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Science Fiction definition            [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Behind the Green Door                 [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Russian Invention of Television       [ "Jack Feldman" <qualitas@millenicom ]
  Gisele MacKenzie                      [ Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed]; ]
  Re: Shorty the Barber                 [ SanctumOTR@[removed] ]
  re early TV                           [ nicoll <nicoll@[removed]; ]
  Gone with the Wind                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  The Joy Boys and/or The Jolly Boys    [ "Penne Yingling" <bp_ying@[removed] ]
  OTR origin???                         [ "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed] ]
  Gernsback and Science Fiction         [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
  The Joy Boys                          [ "Jim Plummer" <[removed]@[removed] ]
  Special Recordings, Inc.              [ "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed] ]
  Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
  L. M. Boyd                            [ "Roby McHone" <otr_alaska@[removed] ]

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

Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 12:56:40 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Science Fiction definition

Joe Cline remarked:

I'm not sure, but I seem to remember that Gernsback's preferred term was
"scientifiction" and he took a very proprietary interest in the word, so
much so that his successor as SF editor (of "Amazing Stories" I think) John
C. Campbell coined the "science fiction"moniker. (Of course, considering my
advancing age, I may have it backwards.)

About a year ago I got into a discussion with someone at the Friends of Old
Time Radio Convention on whether the radio show QUIET PLEASE should be
labeled "Science Fiction" or "Fantasy" by genre.  While it is true that
there are episodes of QUIET PLEASE that were of science-fiction nature like
the one where two lovers ponder what life would be on other planets - only
to discover that the planet they are admiring in space is Earth, my opinion
was that QUIET PLEASE was more fantasy and should be labeled so.

Science Fiction (at least the way I have always assumed it was since I was
in high school) was fiction that is probable (usually with the means of some
science as fact, or technically speaking, scientifically possible).  Fantasy
was fiction that is improbable (meaning fiction that's possibly come true).
We look at LORD OF THE RINGS because it's fantasy, something that can't
happen but we look at 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY because it's science fiction,
something that can happen.

Science fiction magazines of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, were labeled as such,
Amazing Stories, Science Fiction Galaxy and Fantasy Worlds and if I am not
mistaken, the editors of those magazines did ask writers who submitted
stories to keep to the specific guidelines of the magazines - thus fantasy
for fantasy and science-fiction for science-fiction.
Martin

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

Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 13:02:31 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Behind the Green Door

Pete Greco asked about BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR.

BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR was a short run series of mystery/macabre tales
written by Robert Sheckley (who if i am not mistaken is still alive and
wandering around signing books).  This is the same Sheckley who has written
numerous science-fiction stories and novels for magazines and publishing
companies.  Sometime between 1964 to 1966, Sheckley wrote sixty scripts,
each lasting about two or three pages.  Basil Rathbone was hired to do the
dramatic readings (though there wasn't much dramatics involved when Rathbone
was reading them).  Each episode was recorded and lasted about five minutes
long.  In fact, Rathbone was the only voice on the recordings because he
himself would open the reading and close it again with the signature title,
"from behind the green door . . ."  Monitor was broadcasting the shorts
during their broadcasts as fillers around 1966 and by 1967 or 1968, most of
the sixty if not all of them were released non-commercially on LP records
since it was during the sixties that LPs narrated by Karloff, Price and
Rathbone started becoming collector items.  (This is all off my head but I'm
pretty sure I've got the years and statistics correct - I do recall reading
years ago that there was a dispute regarding how many episodes were
recorded, 60 or 65, but Sheckley acknowledged sixty and since he was the
only writer, I would assume sixty were made.)

Martin Grams, Jr.

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

Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 14:49:47 -0400
From: "Jack Feldman" <qualitas@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Russian Invention of Television

I'm surprised that those of you too young to remember the cold war hadn't
stumbled on radio jokes about the Russians claiming to invent everything.
They did, and it was considered a big joke.

Jack

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

Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 14:51:53 -0400
From: Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Gisele MacKenzie

X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

        Gishle's main contribution to radio would have been on the CBC
with _Meet Gisele_ c. 1946-50.  She moved to [removed] in 1950 and appeared on
several [removed] radio shows, listed below.  Most of her obituaries reflect on
her television career, and even the CBC treats her _Hit Parade_
appearances as "pioneering," even tho the show ran for years beforehand on
radio.

from the CBC website:
        [removed]
<<<
Hit Parade pioneer dies

BURBANK, CALIF. - Winnipeg-born singer and actress Gishle MacKenzie, one
of early television's biggest stars, died of colon cancer Friday. She was
76.

        The host of Meet Gisele on CBC Radio in the late 1940s, MacKenzie
was once known as Canada's first lady of song. She moved to Los Angeles in
1950 and later became a regular performer on Your Hit Parade, an early
program on which regulars would sing the seven most popular songs of the
week.

        In 1963, she was a regular on The Sid Caesar Show. "She sang,
played the violin, worked in the sketches - she did everything," Caesar
told the Los Angeles Times. "She was a wonderfully, wonderfully talented
woman. She was a great singer and a great musician and had a great sense
of humour."

        She continued on as a regular on American television into the
1990s. MacKenzie is survived by her daughter and son.

copyright CBC 2003

The _Ottawa Citizen_ wrote this, in part:

<<<
        Born in Winnipeg as Gishle LaFleche, she was a promising young
violinist, and hosted a CBC Radio show from 1946 to 1950 called _Meet
Gishle_. In 1951, she was the subject of a National Film Board of the same
name. It was not until she moved to the [removed] in 1950 that she took up pop
singing and took her father's middle name, MacKenzie, as her surname.

        In 1951, she got her big break in the [removed], appearing on the radio
with such stars as Edgar Bergen and Morton Downey, Sr. She then became a
regular performer on Bob Crosby's _Club 15_ show, and _The Mario Lanza
Show_ on radio.

        Comedian Jack Benny had her join him on his tour during the
summers of 1952 and 1953. Mr. Benny recommended her for _Your Hit Parade_,
according to the _Los Angeles Times_.

        In 1955, Ms. MacKenzie made the first of many appearances on Mr.
Benny's weekly television show and she often performed violin duets with
him. The apparent contrast between their abilities -- she a virtuoso, he
pretending to be off-key -- was the source of a long-running joke.
....
        Aside from "Hard to Get," she had one other major hit single --
"Pepper-Hot Baby."

        Assessing her ability, the _Encyclopedia of Music in Canada_ said:
"MacKenzie achieved fame through a distinctive combination of cool-headed,
cheerful candour and an easy, pleasant voice of medium range, always in
tune and handled with a disarming lack of affectation."
......

) Copyright  2003 The Ottawa Citizen

        Apologies in advance to Charlie S. who may have to vet this
[removed]

Stephen Davies
Calgary

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

Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 17:04:28 -0400
From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Shorty the Barber

In a message dated 9/8/03 12:00:24 PM, [removed]@[removed] 
writes:

Since all the mp3 offerings seem to have almost the exact same programs, i
have not been able to run across any amos n andy programs with Shorty. Now i
havnt listened to all, but im starting to wonder if the episodes with Shorty
have been deliberately left out. Does anyone know? I have many cassettes with
Shorty  in the cast and I think he is one of the funniest characters of otr.
If you havent heard the episode in which Shorty and Gabby the lawyer ( i 
think it was Gabby) have a political debate, you are missing one of
the funniest shows ever. Do the mp3 programs include Shorty?

***Well, they're not on MP3, but Lou Lubin's Shorty the barber is featured in 
half of the shows in Radio Spirits' soon-to-be-released 42-show AMOS 'n' ANDY 
collection.  And I agree, the 05/18/45 political debate between Shorty and 
James Baskett's Gabby Gibson is not to be missed (nor the 02/04/47 broadcast 
with Fibber & Molly, Bob Hope and Red Skelton in which Baskett reprises his song 
"Zip a Dee Doo Dah" from Disney's SONG OF THE SOUTH).  The OTRDigest's own 
Elizabeth McLeod helped me select the shows for the collection, and also co-wrote
the companion historical booklet with --ANTHONY TOLLIN

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

Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 18:25:04 -0400
From: nicoll <nicoll@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  re early TV

I have a copy of a movie, "Murder By Television" with Bela Lugosi it was
filmed in 1936.

Will Nicoll

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

Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 18:25:14 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Gone with the Wind

To the best of my knowledge there was never a radio program based on the movie
"Gone with the Wind." Is the because of contractual problems or because maybe
it was just to unwieldy? Also, was Rand Brooks ever on radio?

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

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

Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 18:25:27 -0400
From: "Penne Yingling" <bp_ying@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Joy Boys and/or The Jolly Boys

Someone recently asked about The Joy Boys.  I've never heard of the Joy
Boys, but have heard The Jolly Boys referenced numerous times on the
Gildersleeve show.   Maybe this is what the writer was referring to instead
of the Joy Boys.  I don't think anyone really answered the writer's query,
but then, sometimes I miss things (or maybe I'm having another senior
moment).  Cheers

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

Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 18:25:43 -0400
From: "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  OTR origin???

    By the early 1940s, a well-known musical tag line or coda was worded
"Good evening, frieeennds". This musical phrase was added at the end of a
song, for example, for humorous reasons.  Maybe there's a better label for
it than tag line or coda.

   An acquaintance tells me that the melody of this tag line can be heard if
someone plays the following notes on a piano, for example:  C-D-C-D#.
(White key immediately to left of pair of black keys; next white key to the
right; first key again; second black key in the pair.)

   I think there's a good chance that this "Good evening, friends" tag line
(or whatever it should be called) originated on some radio program in the
1920s or 1930s, maybe as a closing musical signature, for example.  I've
tried unsuccessfully to find out its origin on the Internet.  Maybe it's
still used occasionally today, at least in the USA.

  Would any of you know its history or if its origin is an OTR program?
Thanks.

  -- Phil C.

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

Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 20:12:12 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Gernsback and Science Fiction

Joe Ross states:

According to Sam Moskowitz's article "How Science Fiction Got its Name,"
originally published in "Fantasy and Science Fiction" in 1957 and included
in his collection =Explorers of the Infinite=, published sometime in the
1960s, Gernsback coined both terms.

Without trying to get off subject of this digest, I just had to comment
that as was stated Gernsback did indeed coin "scientifiction" and in fact
tried to start a magazine with that very name. I am not really sure about
"science fiction."

But one should not really play up Gernsback as much as he is within the
world of Science Fiction. After all Moskowitz was a Gernsback disciple and
it was he who called Gernsback "the father of Science Fiction."  But one
has to understand that the desire for "hard science" fiction stories by
Gernsback and later by Campbell did produce ultimately some great stories,
it also had the reverse effect of setting the US writers market of such
wonderful (though often juvenile) fantasy or scientific romance stories
into decline. The likes of H. Rider Haggard and Burroughs and Robert
Howard's CONAN stories all became forgotten for a time in my opinion mostly
because Gernsback and later Campbell did not like these stories. Much of
these two  editors rather produced the technological stories of Asimov,
Godwin, and others. Even dear old Walter Gibson's SHADOW stories at their
most science oriented would not pass muster for the likes of these two.

I don't want to take anything away from these two in terms of influence in
the US, but wonderful stories continued to come from across the Pond
despite what these two looked for as requirements for their magazines.

It has only been in the last so many years that many more stories with
elements of Scientific Romance once again are being published. I personally
prefer more of the technological SF and it is reflected in my SF OTR
interests, but let's not put these two editors on such a pedestal to the
detriment of many other writers who didn't fit their mold.

Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]

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

Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 20:43:20 -0400
From: "Jim Plummer" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  The Joy Boys

I'm thinking that the "Joy Boys" were a take off on The Happiness Boys. At
the recent Cinecon in Hollywood,two hours of Vitaphone shorts were shown.
These were done in the late 20's. One of the films was
The Happiness Boys. They sang a couple of duets and told some jokes. There
was also a mention to listen for their theme song on Friday nights at 7:30.
The short left me wanting to see more.
Jim Plummer

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

Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2003 00:10:46 -0400
From: "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Special Recordings, Inc.

Special Recordings, Inc. was a corporation formed by Fred Flowerday to
distribute transcribed episodes of The Lone Ranger radio series following
the end of its live run at WXYZ in September, 1954.  Flowerday, who was the
producer of the radio program, was the president of SRI.  It was located at
3020 E. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI.  Recorded rebroadcasts of The Lone Ranger
began immediately following the end of the live run on ABC-Blue.  That
series ended on August 31, 1955.  Meanwhile, NBC began airing recordings of
the program furnished by SRI beginning on May 30, 1955.  These continued
until May 18, 1956.  The earliest program date that appeared on the SRI
series was from January 2, 1950.  The series always began with the marvelous
voice of Fred Foy, who handled the voice-over announcing duties, saying, "By
special [removed] Lone Ranger!"

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

Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2003 09:04:54 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Today in radio history

 From the New York Times Today in history --

1926 -- the National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) was created by the Radio
Corp. of America.

 From Those Were The Days --

1946 - Ben Alexander hosted Heart's Desire for the first time, a
giveaway contest program on the Mutual Broadcasting System.

Joe

--
Visit my homepage:  [removed]~[removed]

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

Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2003 10:03:40 -0400
From: "Roby McHone" <otr_alaska@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  L. M. Boyd

Just thought I would throw this in:
>From the L. M. Boyd column September 8, 2003
<In 1928 science fiction publisher Hugo Gernsbach put out a magazine called
"All About Television," the first such publication ever.  It was at least a
couple of decades early.  On its cover was a family sitting around a TV set
watching [removed];

Wonder if Mr. Boyd subscribes to the OTR Digest.

Roby McHone
Fairbanks, Alaska

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #338
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