Subject: [removed] Digest V2001 #329
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 10/10/2001 2:44 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2001 : Issue 329
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      seeking Daws Butler radio info        [ Ben Ohmart <bloodbleeds@[removed]; ]
      Deaf and Broadcasting                 [ "Brian Johnson" <CHYRONOP@worldnet. ]
      Hedda, Louella and Walter             [ leemunsick@[removed] ]
      Winchell's Introduction               [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Grand Central Station                 [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
      Re: CBS Radio Mystery Theater articl  [ Bob Noble <bobnoble@[removed]; ]
      The Final Problem                     [ Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed]; ]
      Re: Empire of the Air                 [ Alan Bell <bella@[removed]; ]
      Re: Rathbone's Moriarty               [ SanctumOTR@[removed] ]
      Duke Ellington                        [ "chadwick jenkins" <chadoj@hotmail. ]
      Today in Radio History 10/9           [ Joe Mackey <joemackey5@[removed]; ]
      CBS Myst Theater article & Tech Guid  [ BRC Productions <platecap@brcradio. ]
      Tokyo Rose                            [ Bill Harris <radioguy@[removed]; ]
      #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig  [ lois@[removed] ]
      Louella Parsons on Radio              [ Dan Riedstra <[removed]@wcom. ]
      The Legacy of WOTW                    [ Michael Henry <mlhenry@[removed]; ]
      Three guys at a [removed]               [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
      Duffy's Tavern Log                    [ ORCATMD@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 13:21:00 -0400
    From: Ben Ohmart <bloodbleeds@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  seeking Daws Butler radio info

    Hi. I'm writing a book on Daws Butler, and though I
    already have 5 pages of credits for him - including
    radio (like Stan Freberg, of course) - I'd still like
    help from anyone who knows what otr Daws did. Just in
    case I don't have the information. Hope to hear from
    you!
    Thanks.

    =====
    Check out Fibber McGee's Scrapbook, a new otr book!
    [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 13:44:50 -0400
    From: "Brian Johnson" <CHYRONOP@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Deaf and Broadcasting

    Lost among all the coverage of the air strikes against Afghanistan, Rush
    Limbaugh made the announcement on Monday that he is, for all practical
    purposes, totally deaf. To our resident historians I ask, Is this a first?
    Has any hearing impaired person ever had a successful career in the most
    aural of mediums?

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 14:28:48 -0400
    From: leemunsick@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Hedda, Louella and Walter

    I am responding to Kenneth Clarke, and for others who are too young to
    remember these three memorable columnists (they were NOT considered news
    commentators, although Winchell claimed he was).  "Gossip providers" is
    perhaps better, unless one prefers the straight-out "Gossipmonger".

    The business about Hedda's hats is most definitely true.  Probably as many
    as a certain political lady had shoes.  All three embellished their
    material and often used it as a weapon.  The feud between the two Hollywood
    ladies was real, although both of them took advantage of it when they
    wished to, even meeting privately to revive it publicly.  Winchell feuded
    with just about everyone.

    To get the feel of how they operated I'd suggest two films, which are
    available on video tape.  I bought them both on eBay.  One should bear in
    mind that these are dramatized stories, reminiscent of the Hollywood
    biographies of the 40s and 50s, and should be taken with a large salt
    lick.  None of the principals really looks--or sounds--like the original,
    but then who could?

    Both videos are filled with period backgrounds, autos, clothing, and
    cliches.  They do give the novice a pretty good idea of what went on, and
    most assuredly will answer Kenneth's question of "for whom they
    toiled".  Therein lie some marvelous tales as well.

    "Malice in Wonderland" AKA "The Rumor Mill", with excellent performances by
    Elizabeth Taylor  (as columnist Louella) and as-always excellent Jane
    Alexander (as ex-actress Hedda), the two innuendo icons.  A fine supporting
    cast including Richard Dysart and Joyce Van Patten.  Great costumes for the
    two one-upping flamboyees.  Made for TV.  Vidmark Entertainment 1985, 94 Mins.

    "Winchell", starring 1999 Golden Globe Winner Stanley Tucci, has a surprise
    appearance by Christopher Plummer as FDR.  Paul Giammatti is excellent as
    Winchell's ghostwriter and picking boy  Herman Klurfeld, who wrote the
    biography on which the cineplay was based.  Made for TV.
    HBO Home Video 1998, 115 Mins.

    Disclaimer:  I have no economic interest in either of these, and offer this
    information for those who--like me--enjoy films about radio and its people,
    from Amos 'n Andy to Jack Benny to Eddie Cantor to Hal Peary to Willard
    Waterman to Orson Welles to Bill Zuckert!  Bless 'em all.

    Remember Pearl Harbor
    Remember 911
    God Bless America

    Lee Munsick   That Godfrey Guy

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 15:32:16 -0400
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Winchell's Introduction

    Kenneth Clarke asks, anent Walter Winchell,

>     My mother told me that he always began his broadcasts with the same
>     lead in---"Hello Mr. and Mrs. America and all  the ships at
>     [removed](then the latest breaking news item)".  Is this true?

    Almost.  First one would hear a (meaningless) rattle of a telegraph key,
    then he'd say, "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. North America and all the ships
    at sea!  Lets go to press!  Flash!"  Then he'd give the news.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 15:32:04 -0400
    From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Grand Central Station

    Hokay, it's all a bit complicated.  First off, the name of the railroad
    station in New York City is Grand Central Terminal.  It is an underground
    facility which replaced an earlier, above-ground station known as Grand
    Central Station.

    It was an amazing project.  The center of Manhattan was occupied by an
    extensive railroad yard, at the southern end of which was Grand Central
    Station.  Both the railroad yard and the railroad station were moved
    underground in about 1909 without disturbing regular railroad service to the
    city.

    When the trains were moved underground, they were electrified: no steam
    engine goes into the underground section of Manhattan.  All of the railroads
    in the vicinity have long been electrified, so an electric locomotive was
    generally hitched to the train at a yard somewhat removed from Manhattan.

    After the railroad yard was moved underground, it was roofed over with a
    platform strong enough to support city traffic.  It is called Park Avenue.
    The tall office buildings built along Park Avenue are supported on columns
    that are built between the tracks below: construction workers had to adhere
    to the train schedules as the foundations were built.

    The building above the magnificent Grand Central Terminal is a relatively
    low one and housed the offices of the New York Central Railroad.  The air
    rights over this building were valuable enough that more columns were sunk
    between the tracks below and an entire office building was built above the
    Grand Central Terminal [removed] was originally the Pan Am Building, but
    the name has changed since the airline's demise.

    The location remained so valuable that there was a move to demolish Grand
    Central Terminal and replace it with something that might bring more profit.
      The perpetrators of this scheme thought they had it all sewed up until
    they ran into a diminutive patron of the arts who, like most New Yorkers,
    loved the Terminal.  One does not mess around with Jackie Kennedy Onassis,
    nohow.

    The Terminal moves far more people and trains than it did when it was built,
    and it does so uneventfully.  It has its own power generating facility,
    located many stories below ground in a secure sub-basement that was assigned
    special guards during World War II and has likely re-acquired them this
    month.

    The main terminal room is an immense interior space with a ceiling large
    enough to bear a star map of the heavens above.   Glorious place: go visit
    it, even if you're not taking a train.

    No, the trains would not have vented steam from the locomotives.
    The trains just pull into the station and stop.

    But the experience of riding into Grand Central Station (which is indeed
    what everyone calls it, even though that's the old pre-1909 name) is very
    much as described in the radio show's introduction: you ride full-speed
    right down the middle of Harlem and dive underground at 125th street,
    occasionally flashing past breaks in the tunnel to see glimpses of the city.
      A long, fast ride in the dark, and then the driver intones through the
    loudspeaker "Grand Central!"  It never fails to excite me.

    Mark Kinsler
    512 E Mulberry St. Lancaster, Ohio USA 740 687 6368
    [removed]~kinsler

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 15:39:53 -0400
    From: Bob Noble <bobnoble@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: CBS Radio Mystery Theater article

    Bob Burnham asked if there was any interest in the Ed Cole article on
    the CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Well, I, for one, would be interested in
    reading it. I checked out the articles on [removed], but it doesn't
    appear to be there. Is it anywhere on the web that we can access it?

    --Bob Noble

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 16:06:21 -0400
    From: Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed];
    To: Old Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Final Problem

    Several years ago,  I made a pilgrimage to Reichenback [removed]
    of the fatal
    encounter between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty in "The Final
    Problem".  Located near Meiringen in Switzerland, a cable railway takes
    you to the top of the falls.  Across from the upper railway station,
    there's a white star over a ledge signifying where this encounter might
    have taken place.   As I gazed at the falls, the thought that Sherlock
    Holmes might have enjoyed the same view more than 100 years earlier made
    my spine tingle.   Sherlock left a farewell note to Watson.  There were
    no witnesses to the fatal plunge into the falls, while footsteps
    indicated two people walked down the trail to the ledge, there were no
    footsteps coming back!

    A Sherlock Holmes commemorative plaque reminds visitors that Conan Doyle

    was so deeply impressed by the wild beauty of this waterfall that he
    decided to let his world famous detective Sherlock Holmes, fall to his
    death in the Reichenbach Falls after a fight with his archenemy Prof.
    Moriarty.   We fans know that Sherlock didn't die, returning 3 years
    later in "The Empty House".

    The local folks have capitalized on our fictional hero.  There is
    Sporthotel Sherlock Holmes, and a Sherlock Holmes Museum in the basement
    of the English Church where a nearby sign says "Borough of Meiringen -
    Conan Doyle Place".  The museum has some Conan Doyle memorabilia, London
    police artifacts of the era, and an authentic replica of the front room
    at 221b Baker Street.

    Jim Kitchen

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 17:23:58 -0400
    From: Alan Bell <bella@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Empire of the Air

    After reading of the excellent radio production of the Tom Lewis
    book, I bought it from LodesTone, have listened to it, and must
    agree, it is outstanding. However, I also must reaffirm that the
    video production by Ken Burns is also excellent, though different.
    The radio version is largely dramatized. The video is straight
    documentary. You can't go wrong with either.

    Perhaps best of all would be the book, which I have yet  to read.

    Alan
    --
    Alan Bell
    Grandville, MI
    bella@[removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 22:03:15 -0400
    From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Rathbone's Moriarty

    In a message dated 10/7/01 10:23:20 AM, AandG4jc@[removed]  asked:

>     I know that Orson Wells played the professor in the British series in the
>     1950's but who played him in the Rathbone series and all the others? I know
>     he appeared from time to time through out the series.

    ***I previously mentioned that Louis Hector regularly portrayed Moriarty in
    the early 1930s episodes before taking over as Holmes for the 1934-35 series,
    and that Charles D. Penman portrayed Moriarty during the1947-48 Mutual
    season.  I checked with Bill Nadel, who was invested as a member of the
    [removed] (Baker Street Irregulars) at the same time as SHERLOCK HOLMES radio
    producer Edith Meiser, and Bill informs me that a number of different actors
    gave voice to the Napoleon of Crime during the Rathbone years.  However, it
    appears that Rathbone's most frequent Moriarty-impersonator was Joseph
    Kearns, SUSPENSE's Man in Black, an early voice of The Whistler and (on TV)
    Dennis the Menace's "good ol' Mr. Wilson. -- ANTHONY TOLLIN***

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 22:03:55 -0400
    From: "chadwick jenkins" <chadoj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Duke Ellington

    I am interested in finding as much information as possible about Duke
    Ellington's early broadcasts (pre-1931, when he left the Cotton Club). I
    know that he was broadcast on WHN as early as 1924 when his band (then known
    as the Washingtonians) was performing at the Hollywood Club on Times Square
    (soon to be renamed the Kentucky Club). Shortly after he moved to the Cotton
    Club in 1927, CBS began broadcasting his shows apparently giving him two
    spots--one around dinner time and the other later at night. The announcer
    Ted Husing was involved in both the WHN and the CBS broadcasts. I have other
    information if anyone is interested and would like to contact me but I want
    to get to my requests. 1) Does anyone on this list know of surviving
    recordings of those broadcasts--there is one of a BBC broadcast from this
    period but I am interested specifically in those from New York? 2) Does WHN
    or WABC (the station from which the CBS broadcasts originated) have archives
    and if so! how do I access them? 3) Is there any recommended reading on Ted
    Husing that might help me? Finally, anything else that people may know about
    that I may have overlooked would be most appreciated. I have looked through
    the Smithsonian finding aid but didn't see anything that was applicable and
    have done a variety of other searches but have a long way to go yet. Any
    advice would be welcomed.

    Thank you,

    Chadwick Jenkins

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 22:04:19 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey5@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in Radio History 10/9

      From Today in History --

    In 1935, "Cavalcade of America" was first broadcast on radio; the CBS
    show featured some of Hollywood and Broadway's most famous stars in
    leading roles in the half hour radio dramas.
      Joe

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

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

    Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 23:46:05 -0400
    From: BRC Productions <platecap@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  CBS Myst Theater article & Tech Guide III

    Here's an update regarding Ed Cole's reprint article on CBS Radio Mystery
    Theater:

    On on-line copy will be available within a few days at [removed].
    It will also be re-printed in the "ANCIENT HISTORY" section of A Technical
    Guide  to Old-time Radio, Recording & Audio Production ([removed] OTR's Tech
    Guide III) to be released shortly.

    We hope to have a special convention version ready in time for the FOTR
    convention in Newark.  I had expected a much more modest publication, but it
    is looking like a 50-70 page booklet.

    The cost will be $10 and ALL proceeds will go to help our friends in need in
    New [removed], the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

    Best,
    Bob Burnham, BRC Productions
    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 01:16:57 -0400
    From: Bill Harris <radioguy@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Tokyo Rose

    Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; asked:

>     I've heard people speak of a women who broadcasted
>     under the name of "Tokyo Rose" during  WW II.  What
>     was here real name?

    Her name was Ikuko Toguri also known as 'Orphan Ann'. She appeared
    on a program called the 'Zero Hour'.

>     Did her efforts aid the Japanese during  this
>     time.  What was her purpose in their wartime effort?
>     Was it just  to spread propaganda?

    The broadcast were aimed at the US forces in the Pacific, she
    would play American music and taunt American troops by saying
    things like, "I wonder who your wives and girlfriends are out with
    tonight? Maybe with a 4F or war plant worker making big money
    while you are out here fighting and knowing you can't succeed."
    The idea was to bring down moral among US troops. She had a husky
    and sexy voice and yes she spread a lot of propaganda.

    Bill Harris

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

    Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 04:52:00 -0400
    From: lois@[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 four years, same time, same channel!

    Our numerous "regulars" include one of the busiest "golden years" actors in
    Hollywood; a sound man from the same era who worked many of the top
    Hollywood shows; a New York actor famed for his roles in "Let's Pretend" and
    "Archie Andrews;" owners of some of the best OTR sites on the Web;
    maintainer of the best-known OTR Digest (we all know who he is)..........

    and Me

    Lois Culver
    KWLK Longview Washington (Mutual) 1941-1944)
    KFI Los Angeles (NBC) 1944 - 1950
    and widow of actor Howard Culver

    (For more info, contact lois@[removed])

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

    Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 10:17:23 -0400
    From: Dan Riedstra <[removed]@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Louella Parsons on Radio

    Donna Halper wrote:

>     I am asking this of every collector and OTR fan that I know:  The BBC
>     called me to ask if I knew whether either Hedda Hoppa or Louella Parsons
>     might have any living relatives, or any people who knew them-- they are
>     about to do a radio documentary on gossip columnists in the 30s and
>     40s.  Also, were there any recordings/transcriptions of these two
>     highly-rated ladies, both of whom were around during Radio's Golden Age in
>     addition to writing for magazines and newspapers?  I know that one of them
>     did a regular radio show during the 30s, and the other was a guest on a
>     number of shows-- have any of those recordings (if they were recorded)
>     survived?

    Louella Parson was guest on "The Burns & Allen Show" on 11/14/1946. I have a
    copy of the program and I'm sure it is wide circulation.

     There is also an old book on both Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper that I
    picked up at an OTR convention. Sorry but I don't have the name of the book
    handy. I do believe though that it discusses each woman's style and possible
    interactions between the two columnists.

    Dan

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

    Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 10:17:45 -0400
    From: Michael Henry <mlhenry@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Legacy of WOTW

    For those who are fans of the "War of the Worlds"
    broadcast, Andrew Schneider of the Metropolitan Washington
    Old Time Radio Club will be giving a WOTW presentation for
    the October meeting this Friday night (10/12). He will
    examine the nature of fear and the power of radio by paying
    particular attention to the many WOTW remakes that have been
    performed all over the world for the last 60, often with
    similar similar.

    The Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club meets at:
    The Trinity Episcopal Church
    2217 Columbia Pike (corner of S. Wayne St.)
    Arlington, VA
    Meeting starts at 7:30pm
    Admission: FREE
    All are welcome.

    -Mike Henry

    Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club
    and
    Library of American Broadcasting

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

    Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 11:18:52 -0400
    From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Three guys at a [removed]

    If you believe that "three guys at a mike" does not make good radio drama,
    try listening to episodes of Quiet Please.  Ernest Chappell played lead on
    these shows, sometimes with only one or two other actors.  There may be one
    show in which he is the only actor.  The organist made the music and some of
    the sound effects -- on the organ.

    Ted Kneebone
    1528 S. Grant St., Aberdeen, SD 57401 / 605-226-3344
    OTR:  [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 16:40:09 -0400
    From: ORCATMD@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Duffy's Tavern Log

    Elliot Ferber asked about obtaining a copy of Duffy's Tavern log.  I got mine
    from Martin Grams at the Cincinnati convention.

    Mike

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2001 Issue #329
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