Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #86
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 3/5/2002 8:13 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 86
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Spike Milligan                        [ Mdlang11@[removed] ]
      violence in OTR                       [ "Rodney w bowcock jr." <rodney-self ]
      Rio Players                           [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
      Radio City Playhouse                  [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
      The Johnson Family                    [ Jack Gale <jackgale@[removed]; ]
      Re: Surviving Programs                [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      seeking otr fiction                   [ "Ben Ohmart" <bloodbleeds@[removed] ]
      Eric Bauersfeld                       [ "Ryan Osentowski" <rosentowski@neb. ]
      Benny's last season                   [ Eric J Cooper <ejcooper2002@[removed] ]
      MP3 Players                           [ "Ken Reiss" <reissken@[removed]; ]
      Re: surviving shows                   [ Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed]; ]
      Autolite And Roma Wines-Suspense      [ lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed]; ]
      Star Wars Radiio Drama                [ Rfmalone@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 17:32:51 -0500
    From: Mdlang11@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Spike Milligan

    As somebody who makes a living in comedy(television writer/producer), I have
    to comment on the passing of Spike Milligan.  First of all, the disclaimer:
    comedy is even more subjective than other artistic endeavors.  I know you
    can't convince somebody that something is funny.  In the final analysis, it
    all comes down to taste.

    Having said that, I must take issue with the statement in #84 about
    Milligan's work in the Goon Show:

>     it was kind of nonsensical and certainly not up the to the standards that
>     Peter Sellers would achieve on his own or, for that matter, Monty Python's
>     Flying Circus.

    It is unfair to judge work as not being up to the standards of later work
    when in fact it was the foundation that made the later work possible.  Peter
    Sellers without his association would have been a completely different(and
    IMO, an inferior) actor in his later work.  Milligan wrote the Goon Show, and
    his fingerprints are all over Sellers' work as Clouseau, in The Party, The
    Magic Christian--the list goes on and on.

    In the cited obituary, John Cleese credits Milligan with opening the minds of
    the memebers of Monty Python, enabling them to build on the comedy he created
    to produce their wonderful work.

    An analogy in American radio may clarify the point.  Jack Benny could lay a
    claim to inventing the sitcom(maybe it was Freeman and Gosden, maybe the
    Jordans, but the point holds true in any case, so I'll use Benny as the
    example).  he created a persona and surrounded it with a loveable gang of
    misfits, his behind-the-scenes family.  The show explored their
    relationships, telling stories about their
    lives away from the show.  Its enormous success spawned an industry which is
    still going today.  Today it may not seem to some to be as sophisticated as
    some of what followed it, but Jack Benny didn't have the Jack Benny Show to
    build on.  Its importance is even greater because people built on it.  It
    inspired people.

    By the way, even on its own terms, I think the Goon show is still
    outstanding.  The characters are outstanding, and it really uses the medium
    to advantage.  It pushes the envelope on what it asks the audience to
    visualize, trips around the world accomplished with one quick "whoosh."  I
    remember one in which Neddie Seagoon knocks on a door for what seems like
    forever, pauses, then knocks some more.  I can't do the moment justice, but
    it was hilarious when one of the oily characters played by Peter Sellers
    finally answers the door with something like, "Did someone ring?"  And
    similarly, the Jack Benny show remains remarkably fresh today.  It still
    makes me laugh more than just about everything else I've seen or heard.
    Certainly more than anything I've written myself.

    By the way, Spike Milligan also wrote an incredible multi-volume memoir of
    his WWII experience.  Talk about a roller coaster ride!  I almost got kicked
    off a plane for laughing so hard at Volume One: "Adolf Hitler--My Part in His
    Downfall."  Then, in a later volume, there is a very poignant description of
    his eventual breakdown.  For those who don't know, he was a forward artillery
    spotter.  As I understand it, it was his job to crawl out into the no man's
    land between British and German lines and get shot at while locating German
    positions and radioing their locations back to the British Guns.  The life
    expectancy of these guys was extremely short, and eventually the fear caught
    up with him.

    Well, this has been a very long-winded demonstration of one of the first
    things I learned when I got into the business: there is nothing less funny
    than somebody talking about comedy.  I hope the main point wasn't lost in all
    the self-indulgent verbiage: the Goon Show deserves to be considered a
    landmark in comedy history at least because of its enormous influence, and
    also because it's just plain funny.

    Mike Langworthy

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 18:33:20 -0500
    From: "Rodney w bowcock jr." <rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: violence in OTR

    These days, there seems to be lots of talk about too much violence in the
    media.  Were there similar comments made about radio programs?  What
    brought this thought on was an episode of Richard Diamond that I heard
    today with a murder-suicide in it.  It seemed pretty harsh for 1948 in my
    mind, or am I simply looking at things through rose colored glasses?

    PS---I, too, have recently started a company selling videos.  While I
    carry some OTR related films, my main goal is to carry Hal Roach comedies
    and features.  Selection is fairly small now, and I don't have a website,
    but if there's anyone interested, e-mail me with your want list and I'll
    let you know what I've got.

    rodney.

    Past Tense Productions
    Carrying Old Radio related films, and Hal Roach shorts, for $7 per tape.

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 18:35:20 -0500
    From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Rio Players
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from text/html

     Several comments were made about the Rio web site:

>     So far RIO hasn't even responded to any of my e-mail questions! Think
>     I'll send the RIO back too!

>     Before I bought my Rio 90, I tried REPEATEDLY to contact Rio by e-mail to
>     answer some questions I had, and kept getting the same automated tech support
>     reply. My e-mails became increasingly sarcastic but it didn't matter
>     because

    Have any of you just tried to call them on their 800 number?  I had an
    issue and called them and got great service by telephone. I tried email
    on an issue surround a Rio 800 (my SP-100 works fine) and got no where so
    I called them and all was perfect.

    Jim Widner
    jwidner@[removed]

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    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 18:35:12 -0500
    From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Radio City Playhouse
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from text/html

     I have a log I developed when I was at the Library of Congress using the
    NBC Archives you can find at my web site:  [removed]  (look at
    the "New this month" section and click on the link).

    What you ran into was that there was a week where the program was
    cancelled due to  the "Plans for the New Congress" broadcast on January
    3, 1949.

    Jim Widner
    jwidner@[removed]

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    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 18:59:14 -0500
    From: Jack Gale <jackgale@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: The Johnson Family

    Back in 1948, I worked on the air at WTBO in Cumberland, Md. We recieved and
    broadcast on 16" transcriptions, a show called "The Johnson Family". All the
    voices and characters were done by Jimmy Scribner. Gary Lee was the
    announcer. No one I know has ever heard of it. I was fascinated by Mr.
    Scribner changing voices as fast as he did. I started doing voices on my
    show, and had a fifty year career in Cleveland, Boston, Baltimore,
    Charlotte, etc. He was my inspiration. Any old timers out there know where I
    can obtain a copy of these great shows? It would be greatly appreciated.
    Jack Gale
    jackgale@[removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 19:03:03 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Re: Surviving Programs

    Jim Murtaugh wrote:

>     		I'm sure someone can help me on this.  Why is it
>     that a show such as "Calling All Cars" which aired in the 1930's has so many
>     episodes that have survived?  Of the 302 shows aired, 298 survive.  On the
>     other hand, one of the most popular and long running shows, "Amos and Andy",
>     have relatively few surviving shows?  You would think that any show that
>     appealed to so many listeners would have been better preserved.

    There are a variety of reasons, but one of the most important factors in
    the preservation of long runs of shows outside the custody of network
    archivists was the practice of extension spotting.

    Like many other series of the 1930s, "Calling All Cars" was heard both in
    live broadcasts and in recorded form. In the case of this specific
    series, the live broadcasts were widely heard in California -- but
    recordings were used outside the state, primarily on stations in the
    Southwest. This was a market the sponsor wanted to reach -- and
    recordings were the most efficient means for doing this. The potential
    audience was "extended" by "spotting" the transcriptions of the program
    on selected stations -- hence the term "extension spotting." And it's
    these "Calling All Cars" recordings which have survived.

    Hundreds of different series were extension spotted over the years,
    including such popular serials as "Lum and Abner," "Jack Armstrong," and
    practically every major soap opera sponsored by Procter and Gamble. It's
    largely because extension-spotting recordings were made that we can enjoy
    long, continuous runs of such serials today.

    On the other hand, just because a program was recorded for extension
    spotting there's no guarantee that the recordings were preserved. "Vic
    and Sade" was continuously recorded for extension spotting beginning in
    1937 and continuing thru 1944 -- but comparatively few of these discs
    have been preserved. "Little Orphan Annie" was recorded for spotting as
    early as 1935, and the discs continued off and on thru 1940 -- but only a
    handful of episodes have been found. Usually, it was required that the
    discs be destroyed or returned to the distributor after use -- and
    unfortunately for us, the vast majority of broadcasters obeyed the
    contractural requirements. We owe a great debt to those broadcasters who
    were either too careless or too lazy to follow the letter of the law.

    "Amos 'n' Andy," unfortunately, was not recorded for extension spotting
    at any time during the 1930s. While Pepsodent did extension-spot certain
    other programs over the years, A&A was exclusively live for the entire
    span of that company's sponsorship. So it was that any recordings that
    were made were made on a very casual basis -- for the entire Pepsodent
    period -- 2313 episodes -- I've documented exactly *four* complete
    recordings, one of them a barely-listenable home recording from 1932, one
    the Anniversary Program from 1936, and both the Eastern and Western
    broadcasts of the first "Friday Night Minstrel Show." Aside from these
    I've documented three fragments of episodes from January and February
    1933, ranging from 90 seconds to seven and a half minutes, recorded on
    Victor Home Recording discs, and six fragments from an August 1937
    episode totalling about forty seconds. Unless a miracle happens someday,
    that's all there is.

    The syndicated recordings of A&A that were used prior to the
    Pepsodent-NBC run do turn up from time to time --so far I've confirmed
    the existence of about sixty out of the 438 episodes recorded during
    1928-29, and I suspect the existence of others. Unfortunately, these
    discs were to be returned to the Chicago Daily News Syndicate after
    broadcast, where they were destroyed to prevent unauthorized reuse. Not
    even Correll and Gosden themselves saved a complete set.

    However, there *is* a potential brighter side to the A&A situation.  I
    have solid evidence that beginning in January 1940, Campbell's Soup had
    the nightly A&A episodes recorded off the CBS line for extension spotting
    on selected stations across Canada. It can be positively documented that
    these recordings were still being used as late as the summer of 1942, and
    they may have continued to the end of the serial -- and the end of
    Campbell's sponsorship -- in February 1943. It is probable that these
    were 16" vinyl pressings, containing only the body of each episode from
    Bill Hay's introduction to the fadeout, with commercials and theme music
    contained on separate discs -- and there is every chance that somewhere
    in Canada a pile of these discs is waiting to be found.

    I'd much rather find a pile of A&A from 1931-33 -- by far the program's
    richest period -- but I'd certainly not be disappointed to find a long
    run of episodes from 1940-42. There were some interesting storylines
    during this era -- including the birth of Amos Jr. -- as well as
    interesting novelty episodes like the visit of Fred Allen (a great
    admirer of Correll and Gosden's work) on 5/8/41, and I'd be quite pleased
    to see some of this material turn up.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 20:04:44 -0500
    From: "Ben Ohmart" <bloodbleeds@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: seeking otr fiction

    I'm wanting to put together a book of short stories which will be new fiction
    using otr characters. Nothing they wouldn't normally do, and no time
    machine stuff. So I'm contacting writers who normally write for otr and
    nostalgia publications asking if they'd like to donate a story on their
    favorite
    show for the book. I don't expect to make much on it, but can pay $50 in
    lieu of royalties. If you'd care to contribute, let me know, and which show
    you'd like to fictionalize. Gildy and Fibber are taken by Charles Stumpf. I'm
    doing Bickersons. Martin Grams is doing Quiet Please. Jim Cox is doing
    the Lone Ranger.

    Stories should be between 5 and 15 pages (3000 to 7000 words, around
    there). Deadline is the end of June, but you can send your story as soon as
    you like. Feel free to pass this message along too.

    Ben Ohmart

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 20:43:49 -0500
    From: "Ryan Osentowski" <rosentowski@[removed];
    To: "old time radio" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Eric Bauersfeld

    Hi all:
    I noticed someone's post about Mr. Bauersfeld.  My introduction to his work
    came in the 80's when I collected cassettes from, The Mind's Eye.  I best
    remember Bauersfeld as Dracula and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  I have recently
    attempted to contact the new company and ask them about how to get copies of
    these works, but no one has responded.  If anyone out there has any
    information on where I can get copies of works from The Mind's Eye, I am
    your slave forever.
    RyaNO

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 20:44:44 -0500
    From: Eric J Cooper <ejcooper2002@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Benny's last season

     In issue 85,Tony Baechler opined:

>     Fianlly, the 1954-55 Benny [removed] was just flat.  I felt
>     like I was just listening to someone going about his life and wondering
>     what the point was.

    I agree, but that was Benny's last season on radio and he was heavily
    involved with doing new kinds of stories on TV. In my humble opinion,
    there was nothing left for Mr. Benny to do on radio--he had done it all
    already. Amazing that, in spite of this, the show went on from '55 to'58
    in reruns (except for the Stan Freberg interlude in 1957)

    Eric Cooper

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 21:42:34 -0500
    From: "Ken Reiss" <reissken@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: MP3 Players
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from text/html

    The point about the MP3 players being intended for music is a good one.
    But it's simply not practical to re-encode all your disks. The whole idea
    of an MP3 CD player, as far as I'm concerned anyway :) is to be able to
    take the stuff with you without going through a whole bunch of stuff.

    I have been through quite a few players for an article I'm working on,
    and for OTR fans, the Rio series is the best of the lot that I have
    found. I won't even begin to say that I've been through them all, but I
    have looked at a number of players, both CD and flash or hard disk
    players that you have to upload files to.

    With the RIO 90 at about $80, and the 100 and 250 above that if you want
    more features, that's the way to go. I have not found much that my 100
    and 250 can't handle. A boom box would be nice, and I'm curious about the
    Phillips unit that was mentioned, but not part of my survey set :)

    Good luck, whatever you choose.

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    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 21:48:18 -0500
    From: Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Re: surviving shows

    Jim Murtaugh writes:

>     I'm sure someone can help me on this.  Why is it
>     that a show such as "Calling All Cars" which aired in the 1930's has so many
>     episodes that have survived?  Of the 302 shows aired, 298 survive.  On the
>     other hand, one of the most popular and long running shows, "Amos and Andy",
>     have relatively few surviving shows?  You would think that any show that
>     appealed to so many listeners would have been better preserved.

    There is a difference between a show being preserved and a show being
    available to OTR collectors, Jim. "Calling All Cars" and "Amos 'n' Andy"
    make for two good examples:

    A large lot of disks containing the "Calling All Cars" shows were recently
    purchased by OTR dealer Ed Carr from a person located, I believe, in
    Southern California. The disks were probably held by someone associated
    with the program - likely either a producer or someone from the sponsoring
    advertising agency - who kept them all together for a considerable number
    of years. Though there have been episodes of this series in circulation for
    years, Ed released quite a number of them recently, which explain why so
    many are currently available.

    Many more "Amos 'n' Andy" shows survive than those that are currently in
    circulation, some from Charles Correll's collection. It is my understanding
    that Richard Correll, Mr. Correll's son, *did* release some of these to a
    collector awhile back but was upset that this person allowed copies to be
    made for others. Thus, no additional shows have been released from this stash.

    There is a significant run of Fred Allen programs being held by the Boston
    Public Library, donated to them by Portland Hoffa, Allen's widow. The BPL
    has, however, restricted access to them solely to in-house listening and no
    copies may be checked out or made for the general public.

    There are also significant runs of a number of series housed at the Library
    of Congress, particularly in the NBC collection, but these cannot be
    released without the permission of the depositor.

    Considerable amounts of programming is being held by the Thousand Oaks
    Library, Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters, and UCLA, but access to these shows
    too is limited based on restrictions imposed by those who donated them
    and/or the rights holders.

    It is frustrating to know that so many shows exist but cannot be heard, at
    least not conveniently. However, it is also reassuring to know that so many
    shows are being safely housed in anticipation of a day when they can be
    heard - especially considering how many disks have simply been destroyed
    over the years, containing shows that are never to be heard again.

    The happy news is that, thanks to the Internet, new disk discoveries are
    being made on an almost weekly basis these days. The First Generation Radio
    Archives has been lucky to locate and gain access to thousands of disks in
    the past two years, many from the collections of people once associated
    with the shows. As an example, we recently acquired writer Jean Hollowell's
    collection of ABC network disks from the "Mr. President" series, as well as
    a significant run of "Railroad Hour" shows from the estate of a
    long-retired advertising executive. These, as well as many other shows are
    available for loan through our CD libraries.

    We've just released our latest newsletter, detailing all of the newly
    restored shows being added to the libraries - including many recently
    discovered and uncirculated programs. If you'd like a free subscription,
    visit our website at [removed]

    Harlan

    Harlan Zinck
    First Generation Radio Archives

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 21:51:17 -0500
    From: lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Autolite And Roma Wines-Suspense

    Re: The sponsors of OTR Program-Suspense.

    I was wondering if the sponsor Autolite is still in
    business making Spark Plugs or Battaries?  Also if any
    of thier 28 production plants are still opperating in
    the United States?

    Did anyone have a Autolite production plant in there
    home town or know where are were located?

    Also for any Wine drinkers out there, is Roma Wines
    still in business?

    Thanks in advance for sharing your answers!

    Lynn Wagar

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

    Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 21:51:30 -0500
    From: Rfmalone@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Star Wars Radiio Drama

    The original Star Wars was aired on National Public Radio in 1981. It was a
    13 episode series. Also The Empire Strikes Back was done a short time later.
    I have seen them in Barnes and Noble Book Stores in the Audio Book Section.
    Check to see if they are available on line.
                                                   Richard

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #86
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