Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #149
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 4/9/2003 10:48 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 149
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Radio program grids                   [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
      Binary Newbie                         [ "Cynthia Van Cleave" <cvc@[removed]; ]
      Fred Allen -The Belmont Is On the Ai  [ HERITAGE4@[removed] ]
      Poor Lizabeth!                        [ Howard Bonner <howard_bonner@yahoo. ]
      #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig  [ lois@[removed] ]
      Elizabeth's Joke                      [ Jimmyfuturity@[removed] ]
      Re: Amos N Andy                       [ "HARLAN ZINCK" <zharlan@[removed] ]
      Famine, Pestilence and Elizabeth's P  [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
      Amos and Andy buffoons?               [ gad4@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 00:40:09 -0400
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Radio program grids

>     From: JackBenny@[removed]

>     Seems like it would be a relatively easy
>     and handy thing to do.  Perhaps a bit dicey when it comes to the time
>     differences (Jack was on at 4:00 *and* 7:00 Pacific Time at [removed])

    I don't think time differences would be a problem, if they do it the way the TV grids are done.
    The ones that I've seen. at least, show the network schedules based on air times in New
    York City.

    --
    A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                           [removed]
     15 Court Square, Suite 210                 lawyer@[removed]
    Boston, MA 02108-2503           	         [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 01:34:08 -0400
    From: "Cynthia Van Cleave" <cvc@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Binary Newbie

    Those of you who know me from #OldRadio will rejoice to hear that the Yugo
    has been given a long-deserved retirement.  *I have a new computer!!* Good
    news: I can listen to sounds again! I have enough memory to contemplate
    downloading sound files!  Bad news: I have not the first clue what to do
    with a binary file.  I subscribed to a binary newsgroup
    ([removed]), but when I pulled up one of the posts I
    got ASCII gobbledygook.  Can somebody please contact me off list and walk me
    through this?

    Thanks!

    Cynthia
    "ChibiBarako"
    @--'--,--'--,--

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

    Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 01:34:41 -0400
    From: HERITAGE4@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Fred Allen -The  Belmont Is On the Air/ The
     Shadow

    Contrary to othRer stories, The "Belmont Is On the Air"  shows were
    recorded at The Belmont Hotel in Harwich, MA
    According to records from the TELAVIX Rercording Studios, in Boston
    at least some (if not all) of the "shows" were recorded on contract with
    Fred by thier studios on location at the Hotel.
    The first recording was titled "Gloria's Coming Out" which Fred did as a
    segment of Mr. and Mrs. Louis H. Hamel on the occasion of their
    daughter, Gloria's birthday. It was done all in rhyme.
    Pther "shows"  were done for the entertainment of other guests at the Belmont
    Hotel.
    At leasty one show from 1949 (recorded by TELAVIX) is still in existence.
    Unfortunately, many people thought these "lost shows"
    were actual network network broadcast - this was not the case, and these were
    programs Fred and Portland did as a for a number of their
    friends they vacationed with at The Belmont.  It has been said that
    some of the  transcribed "shows" had what we might call today, politically
    incorrect.
    Though Fred and Portland spent many sumnmers in Maine,  he found
    summering at The Belmont less stressful and more enjoyable in Harwich wher,
    he said,  the winter population consisted of 11 people
    and 4000 clams.
    Noting Joe Salerno's question regarding The Shadow "voice" - this was
    accomplished entirely electronically by using an ordinary RCA
    ribbon mike rigged with a low-frequency filter, and an isolation booth
    which separated Cranston from the other characters when he was using the
    special voice of the Shadow.   This filter could be switched
    in or out instantly in the control room by the engineer.
    Re: Dragnet - the author of "My Name's Friday" - Michael Hayde, will
    be our guest on next week's Heritage Radio Theatre.

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

    Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 01:41:25 -0400
    From: Howard Bonner <howard_bonner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Poor Lizabeth!

    Lighten up folks! Remember where you are!! The land of
    the FREE and home of the bright, inventive, [removed]
    ingenious! It is the land of Free Speech and the
    occasional leg-pull. Laugh at the ingenious thought,
    the brilliance and the execution.

    There was no blood spilled. Not one dime was spent. It
    has occupied the time of many for days. It's almost as
    good as an Amos and Andy script. It certainly has
    merit in the Truth or Consequences genre.

    If you cannot be nice, don't be vocal. Congratulations
    Elizabeth. I look forward to your genius next year.

    HB

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

    Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 04:52:07 -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 six 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, 9 Apr 2003 12:01:32 -0400
    From: Jimmyfuturity@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Elizabeth's Joke
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    To all those ladies and gentlemen who were so quick to chatise me for my
    remarks, "Good thing she is not from the South," I wish to say with due
    respect that from the part I am from, one's hobby is never used in any joking
    manner.  I did not mean to specifically regionalize it.
         Many people defend Elizabeth's fancy little prank, and that may be well
    and fine, but I considered her an OTR expert, and experts do not tend to
    trivalize our hobby and lead many, on a first posting, to expect something
    they wish avidly to occur.  I agree with one gentleman, it would have been
    better at the end of her first posting if she had stated this was an all
    April Fool's joke.  Perhaps I am dumb, but I was completely taken in because
    I implicitly trust Miss Elizabeth's posting!  Was that wrong of me?
         The OTR hobby is, as far as I am concerned, something to enjoy and
    pursue because it brings pleasure and a sense of good well-being.  Certainly
    I did not intend to take it up as a college course, and surely I am not as
    knowledgeable about it as Elizabeth is, especially in Amos 'N Andy.  Over
    time, I have acquired knowledge but it came about as a result of enjoyment,
    in stages.
         Once I start pulling April Fool's pranks, well then it will then have
    become so trivalized it is time to get out of the hobby.  A sense of humor
    has nothing to do with it, and my friend, to the gentleman who insinuated I
    worry about things too much, in real life I maintain a happy, positive
    outlook and humorous side, but not at the expense of my fellow hobbyists.
    Elizabeth's joke was wrong in the beginning, and it is wrong now.  I do not
    blow smoke about it and proclaim congratulations to a job well done.  James
    Faulkner

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

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: Ok, folks, I'm thinking we've beat this dead horse about as
    much as possible now. Every time one of the minority who thinks Elizabeth
    somehow betrayed their trust and crushed all of their hopes and dreams by not
    being boorishly serious on April Fool's Day posts, it forces the majority who
    aren't personally offended by a well-intentioned and well-executed prank to
    spring to her defense. At this rate, this could go on for [removed]'m
    thinking with Cincy coming up this Friday, we should probably get back to
    more normal (and, dare I say it, more boring?) discussions.  --cfs3]

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

    Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 12:33:24 -0400
    From: "HARLAN ZINCK" <zharlan@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Amos N Andy

    Howard Blue writes, in part:

>     I've read (in Michele Hilmes' book) that a major function of ethnic
>     humor has been to encourage a sense of community among various groups
>     that make up America.  And so it tends to exist in careful balance with
>     the sensibilities of the performers who along with the audiences
>     themselves frequently belong to the groups which they're satirizing. The
>     jokes leave off at the point where members of the audience no longer can
>     laugh at themselves. But in "Amos 'N Andy,"  neither the actors nor most
>     of the audience belonged to the satirized group. In fact, blacks had a
>     difficult time getting getting jobs on radio. This differs significantly
>     from the situation with The Goldbergs where at least the main actors were
>     Jews.

    Somewhere in the deep dark recesses of my memory, I seem to recall having
    seen a large color rotogravure photograph circa 1947-48 that features the
    entire cast of the "Amos 'n' Andy" program of that time. When I first saw it
    many years ago, I recall being impressed that, with the exception of Freeman
    Gosden and Charles Correll, almost the entire cast was composed of black
    people.

    Whether or not one chooses to judge any era of the "Amos 'n' Andy" program
    by today's standards and attitudes, there is no disputing the fact that, in
    its day, the show was extemely popular with both black and white listeners.
    It also brought both regular employment and a measure of fame to many of the
    black performers who appeared on it. I would seriously doubt that very many
    of the performers would have stayed with the show had they in any way felt
    demeaned or forced to lower themselves to some form of Stepin Fetchit
    stereotype. Reality is that many of the black performers who appeared as
    characters on "Amos 'n' Andy" in its half-hour sit-com radio format came to
    the show with at least some of the traits, inflections, and mannerisms of
    their characters already a part of their acts from vaudeville, nightclubs,
    and theater. In fact, it was these very talents that got them their roles in
    the first place, and the program gave them a chance to be heard and
    appreciated by a far greater audience than they would have otherwise had.

    Should anyone out there know of an Internet site that offers the chance to
    view the cast photograph I mention, I'd appreciate you posting the URL to
    the list. I'm certain that it exists somewhere.

    Meantime, on a related topic, may I repectfully request that this year we
    not go down the path of "Is 'Amos 'n' Andy' Racist?" yet again on the
    Digest? It seems that this thread comes up every year about this time (right
    along with the tulips and daffodils) and I don't think anything is
    accomplished by treading the same ground again and again. Should anyone
    seriously wish to learn more about the *real* history of the series, rather
    than dwell in assumption, presumption or opinion, I suggest a visit to "Amos
    'n' Andy In Person" at [removed]~[removed]. Here you
    will not only only have the chance to learn a amazing amount about the
    show's real history, background, and place in our popular culture, you will
    also quickly discover that the recently praised and pilloried Elizabeth
    McLeod is, in fact, one of the premier radio researchers and writers of our
    time.

    Harlan

    Harlan Zinck
    First Generation Radio Archives
    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 12:34:25 -0400
    From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
    To: OldRadio Mailing Lists <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Famine, Pestilence and Elizabeth's Prank

    "Candle" Bob <candle@[removed]; lamented:

>      I might have enjoyed the "joke" if at the end of the article, it was
>     declared
>      something to the tone of, April Fool.  But, no[oooo]... I feel used.

    Oh, for Pity's sake! Elizabeth, you are hereby crowned the all-time
    Grand Champion of April Fools' Gags. Here the month is 1/3 over and
    your jape still dominates our discourse. Memories of an
    accomplishment like that would bring great satisfaction and comfort
    to me in my declining years.

    Of course it would spoil the gag to announce "April Fool" while one
    is still digesting the words just read; it would be rather like
    ending a joke by explaining the punch line: "I just flew in, and,
    boy! Are my arms tired! See, that's a joke, son, because Ah'm
    suggesting Ah actually flew in under my own power by flappin' mah
    arms, don't ya see, and, o' course, that ain't really possible." The
    proper way to present a gag in print is precisely as Elizabeth did;
    work the clues into the story, like radio's _Five Minute Mystery_,
    and let them percolate up into the reader's consciousness so that
    he/she suddenly sits bolt upright with a wry grin and an exclamation
    of, "Wait a [removed] !" That's precisely where the fun of it lies.

    I will venture to call to the attention of all those who feel "used"
    or violated by having been Gotya'd that April Fools' Day pranks are a
    tradition of long standing that can be anticipated on the first day
    of April every year. I suggest you set the schedulers on your
    computers right now, before you forget, to pop up a warning at that
    time next year reminding you to delete that day's OTR digest unread,
    lest similar gags vex your slumbers for the remainder of the month.

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

    Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 12:35:23 -0400
    From: gad4@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Amos and Andy buffoons?

    Elizabeth wrote:

>     Except that A&A, in its original nightly serial form, *didn't* portray
>     its characters as inept buffoons, nor was the program intended as a
>     satire of African-Americans as a group.

    I have great respect for Elizabeth's knowledge and research of Amos and
    Andy. Part of me feels unworthy to discuss this topic with her as Im sure
    she knows more about this series than I ever will.

    I agree with her that Amos and Andy do not appear to be racist. In what Ive
    heard of the shows, I dont hear any watermelon jokes or anything of the like
    and I respect them for taking the high road in this area and not going for
    cheap racial jokes.

    I know Im probably sticking my foot in my mouth, but to say in the early
    episodes they are not "inempt buffoons", Im not sure I would agree with that.

    When I listen to their sketches about not being able to spell or not being
    able to add, or not being able to read a letter, they seem pretty much like
    "inempt buffoons" to me. Even Andy's very slow speech and Amos's also
    exagerated voice in the early ones tends to reinforce this also.

    I dont view this as a negative to the show though.  It adds character
    development. Ive been listening to some of Ed Bolton's "recreations" and
    while I enjoy them throughly, I notice his voices sound more like the later
    Amos/ Andy rather than the earlier ones. By talking too normally it creates
    a different personna in the characters, requires less concentration, and
    causes some situations not to fly as well. Its much more suspenseful to see
    how someone with less intelligence can get out of a situation than someone
    more intelligent. It also gives us a glimpse of "local culture" which is
    slowly disappearing. Back in those days everyone wasnt as educated as we
    are- especially in the country, south, and other parts of the country.

    In closing, I guess I should add that just because I see these
    characteristics there, in no way am I implying that Correll/Gosden relied on
    them. Instead, they put their characters into gripping stories and the
    characters were more real by not using the cheap racial stereotypes. Yes
    they may have been poor, yes they may have been inempt, but they came off as
    real people who, with difficulties more than most, were stuggling to succeed
    and get ahead- and that was important in the depression. Where the
    changeover occured, I cannot say, but I think this characteristic was
    missing from the later ones.

    Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts.

    Sincerely,
    George

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #149
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