------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 331
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Woman of the Year [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Gildersleeve trivia [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
BRAIN TEASER [ Chet <voxpop@[removed]; ]
Information Please [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Lights Out! on television [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
9-4 Births/Deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Re: Schlepperman played by Sam Hern? [ "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed]; ]
Golden Radio Buff [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
A Question about Failing CD's [ Musiciantoo47@[removed] ]
RHAC Librarian address [ Christopher Werner <werner1@globalc ]
interview replay [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
Gildersleeve Movies [ "Tim Lones" <timl2002@[removed] ]
Printing CD Directories [ Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed]; ]
Radio Spirits [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
Re: Bob Hastings [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
Adolph Valesco, violinist at LA stat [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
Ed Walker's interview re WORDS AT WA [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 11:09:53 -0400
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Woman of the Year
Kenneth Clarke asked:
Which MGM movie used the OTR program "Information
Please" in it? (One of the main characters was the
guest panelist.)
"Woman of the Year," starring Spencer Tracy and
Katharine Hepburn, released in 1942. (Hepburn was the
IP panelist.) Here's a follow-up question: one of the
actors shown listening to Information Please in that
scene was soon to become a major radio star in his/her
own right. Who was this person, and what was the radio
show?
Kermyt
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 11:10:49 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Gildersleeve trivia
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from text/html
David asked:
I was reading an article about this radio show and they stated that
there were multiple movies made with these characters. Have they been
released or are shows on cable? Eg. I have never seen them on TCM,
etc.
If I am not mistaken, the character of Gildersleeve was played by Hal
Peary in six movies.
Look Who's Laughing (1941)
Here We Go Again (1942)
The Great Gildersleeve (1942)
Gildersleeve's Bad Day (1942)
Gildersleeve on Broadway (1943)
Gildersleeve's Ghost (1944)
On a trivial note: The character of [removed] Gildersleeve was spoofed many
times with the famed line "You're a haaard man, McGee" but there was
actually one animated Warner Bros. short that actually featured the
character of Gildy in a spoof.
I recently watched some of the 1950s TV series of Fibber McGee and Molly
with Bob Sweeney and Cathy Lewis as Fibber and Molly. Harold Peary
showed up a couple of times on the show but he was not Gildy! Peary
played the role of Mayor LaTrivia. The character of Gildersleeve was not
featured on the TV show at all, but I'm not too surprised because
Williard Waterman was playing the role of Gildersleeve in the 39 Hal
Roach-produced The Great Gildersleeve television shows and there was
probably a licensing with the character of Gildersleeve at the time.
Interesting?
Martin Grams, Jr.
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 11:12:22 -0400
From: Chet <voxpop@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: BRAIN TEASER
from keneth clarke
Which MGM movie used the OTR program "Information
Please" in it? (One of the main characters was the guest panelist.)
could it be CHAMPAGNE FOR CEASAR??
chet norris
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 11:13:07 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Information Please
Here's a brain teaser for you:
Which MGM movie used the OTR program "Information
Please" in it? (One of the main characters was the guest panelist.)
WOMAN OF THE YEAR (1941) with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Kepburn.
Information Please is broadcast over the radio while Tracy is in a bar
during the opening scenes.
MG
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 11:58:17 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Lights Out! on television
Mahl Wagner asked:
Martin Grams Jr. recently mentioned:
Lights Out on TV: EPISODE #95 "ZERO HOUR" Broadcast on July 23, 1951
I have done several searches for this on video or DVD and been unsuccessful.
Would someone have more information on how to obtain this video?
That episode is not available on VHS or DVD, sorry. Many television museums
like the MUSEUM OF TV and RADIO in CA and NY have copies of LIGHTS OUT
television programs available for viewing if you pay them a visit. The
Museums will not allow permission to have copies made of anything in their
inventory, sorry. (this is also sad because the same Museum in NY and CA
has three episodes of QUIET PLEASE not available in circulation!)
About six years ago the Sci-Fi Channel was optioned to broadcast episodes of
LIGHTS OUT! During the later hours of 3 - 5 am (Friday night, Saturday
morning, EST) as part of a two-hour RETRO TV line-up. They broadcasted a
variety of vintage television programs like SCIENCE FICTION THEATER, MEN
INTO SPACE, THE INVISIBLE MAN, TALES OF TOMORROW and LIGHTS OUT.
Regrettably, from what I read in a magazine, the heads at Sci-Fi felt most
people wouldn't care about those vintage shows - one reason why they
broadcasted the shows on later night TV. The programs were also edited. A
drama consisted of 25 or 26 minutes without commercials during the 1950s on
TV but when I was recording the shows off Sci-Fi Channel, I took out the
commercials on a few Sci-Fi put in and it turned out to be cut. The LIGHTS
OUT! broadcasts they showed were 22 minutes in length instead of 25 or 26
which means they cut scenes out of the drama to make room for today's
commercials.
The magazine I read also mentioned that Sci-Fi was offered many more titles,
but they cut their budget in half by only purchasing half the episodes.
Among the LIGHTS OUT television shows was one starring Billie Burke, one
with Raymond Massey, and even "Cat Wife" with Boris Karloff was offered but
those were part of the half that Sci-Fi did not choose to purchase.
(Incidentally, the "Cat Wife" episode with Boris Karloff was not a repeat
performance of his radio broadcast of the same name - the television version
was a different story (Dorothy L. Sayers) that happened to have the same
title.)
Martin Grams, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 13:39:46 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 9-4 Births/Deaths
September 4th births
09-04-1891 - Sam Lanin - Philadelphia, PA - d. 5-5-1977
bandleader: "Ipana Troubadors"; "Benrus Ticksters"
09-04-1895 - Jack Miller - Dorchester, MA - d. 3-18-1985
conductor: "Kate Smith and Her Swanee Music"; "Aldrich Family"
09-04-1898 - Charlie Cantor - Worchester, MA - d. 9-11-1966
actor: Clifton Finnegan "Duffy"s Tavern"; Levy Soloman "Abie"s Irish Rose"
09-04-1898 - Harry Salter - Bucharest, Romania - d. 3-5-1984
conductor: "It Pays to Be Ignorant"; "Lanny Ross Show"; "Mr. District Attorney"
09-04-1912 - Jan Savitt - Petrograd, Russia
bandleader: "Fitch Bandwagon"; "Rhapsody in Rhythm"
09-04-1918 - Paul Harvey - Tulsa, OK
commentator: "Paul Harvey News"; "Speak Your Mind"
09-04-1928 - Dick York - Fort Wayne, IN - d. 2-20-1992
actor: Billy Fairfield "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy/Armstrong of the
SBI"
09-04-1930 - Mitzi Gaynor - Chicago, IL
singer, actress: "Juke Box Jury"
September 4th deaths
06-02-1915 - Walter Tetley - NYC - d. 9-4-1975
actor: Julius Abbruzio "Phil Harris/Alice Faye"; LeRoy Forrester "Great
Gildersleeve"
12-20-1901 - Irene Dunne - Louisville, KY - d. 9-4-1990
actress: Susan Armstrong "Bright Star"; "Family Theatre"; "The Hallmark Hall
of Fame"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hometown of [removed] Kaltenborn and Jay Jostyn
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 15:30:21 -0400
From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Schlepperman played by Sam Hern?
"Matthew Bullis" <matthewbullis@[removed]; wrote:
Hello, I'm listening to the early run of the Jack Benny programs,
and the character of Schlepperman is identified in one of the
New York broadcasts as Sam Hern. I thought that someone named
Art somebody played Kitzel. I can't think of his last name right now.
He sounds the same.
Sam Hearn had a long career portraying the "Schlepperman" character on
various programs; from my own collection, I can verify that, following his
association with the Benny program, Hearn was featured on both the Abbott &
Costello and Kenny Baker shows into the late 1940s.
By the way, when does Schlepperman change and we get Kitzel? Can
someone give me a program date where we first hear Kitzel?
Schlepperman falls into disuse on the Benny program when the
Josefsberg/Tackaberry/et al writing team shows up in the fall of 1942; the
"goofy character" slot is filled for the remainder of the war mostly by
Jack's "boarder", Mr. Billingsley.
Artie Auerbach's "little hot dog vendor", Mr. Kitzel, first shows up on the 6
Jan 1946 Benny program and remains with Jack through the end of the radio run
and into the TV era.
Since their voices are similar, didn't the audience think it was still
Schlepperman and not Mr. Kitzel?
Unlikely, since a) Schlepperman had been off the Benny show for several years
by the time Kitzel was introduced and b) aside from employing
Yiddish-American dialects, the two sounded almost nothing alike: Schlepperman
had the cadence of a New York sharpie, spoke perfect (though accented)
Americanized English, and was voiced in a mid-to-low register while Kitzel
maintained almost a sing-song cadence, was given to Nussbaum-esque
malapropisms, and was voiced in a far higher register.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 15:50:19 -0400
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Golden Radio Buff
Hi Everybody,
I am trying to contact a spoke person from the Golden Radio Buff of Marilyn
to be a guest on my Saturday night show. If any body can help that would be
great,
Walden Hughes
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 16:22:32 -0400
From: Musiciantoo47@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: A Question about Failing CD's
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
I guess my assumption is wrong; but I was thinking that as long as the
"Plexiglass" material of a cd remains intact or has no holes or defects in its
surface, that the aluminum reflective layer wouldn't be exposed to air,
thereby
preventing the deterioration of the information on the disc. Is this not
true? I
have made Hundreds of homemade CDs in the last 3 years and I would hate to
think that they're gonna be unplayable in just a few years. They are all
stored
in the slim "half size" cases in a CD cabinet and my home has central air &
heat. I do not put fingerprints on them, expose them to the sun, or
deliberately
scratch them through neglect. On a commercial CD it usually says that with
proper care the disc should last a lifetime. Why shouldn't this apply to blank
media also, as long as it isn't abused or exposed to air?
Kenny
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 17:13:14 -0400
From: Christopher Werner <werner1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: RHAC Librarian address
I have not received a delivery from the RHAC Library 1 (1-500) librarian
since February and would like to send him another order. The RHAC website
only lists the names of the Librarians but not their addresses. I sent a
message to Don King (per the website) a week ago, but have not received an
answer. Could one of the other members please write me privately with Ron
Galligher's proper address so I can send him an order? Thanks.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 19:47:26 -0400
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: interview replay
Hi Everybody,
a question was ask if Bill bragg ever consider replaying my interview during
the two week cycle of OTR that is heard on Yesterday USA. I know right now
all 16 90 minutes tape are full up with [removed] and Bill has consider turning
the week end day time line up to my collection of interview, but Bill like
the way I am able to rerun old interview during my live shows on Yesterday
USA. I am open to request to rerun interviews, and I will try to make sure
the listener whom make the request is home that day to here the show too.
Thank you for the idea,
Walden Hughes
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 19:47:50 -0400
From: "Tim Lones" <timl2002@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Gildersleeve Movies
Hello:
There were at least four films featuring the Great Gildersleeve beginning
with THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE, followed by "Gildersleeve on Broadway".
"Gildersleeve's Bad Day" and "Gildersleeve's [removed]'t have the dates in
front of me but they were most likely made in 1942-44. They have been shown
on both AMC and TCM over the [removed] was fortunate to videotape the 4 Gildy
movies mentioned above in the same day back to back on AMC a few years
[removed] is showing more newer movies these days so if the Gildersleeve
movies show up at all they most likely be on [removed] that same day I
recorded "Heavenly Days" with Fibber McGee and [removed] the tape it
appears to be February 1996 when I recorded these films on video.
Tim Lones
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 19:51:14 -0400
From: Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed];
To: Old Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Printing CD Directories
Several years ago there was a thread about printing CD directories for
our OTR MP3 discs. Someone suggested Directory Printer ([removed])
freeware from Visual Impact Technologies at [removed]. I
downloaded this program, and it works for most of my MP3 directories.
Occasionally, a Directory Printer directory differs from WinAmp and my
RioVolt MP3 Player directories. For example, a Yours Truly, Johnny
Dollar Serials disc arranged in YTJD_broadcast date_ title_pt#.mp3
prints some serials in chronological order by title and part # with
other serials scattered about the directory. Has anyone else
experienced this problem?
Would appreciate any suggestions about printing CD directories.
Jim Kitchen
[ADMINISTRIVIA: This question is more suited to specific computer-related
forums than to the OTR Digest, since the solutions would not only vary based
on personal requirements, but on operating systems and specific MP3 add-on
hardware/software. There are many hardware-related areas on the Internet,
both web-based and mailing lists. --cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 22:35:38 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio Spirits
About Radio Spirits financial status, Sean Dougherty comments:
"Sales are down, fyi."
I would only expect as much. Despite their high market presence, I suspect
they are no different from even our friendly vendors. It is simply that the
Internet and the free mp3's floating around make it very tough to sell in
such an environment. The only saving grace I would suspect Radio Spirits
has is that they have a lot of outlets among non-otr fans who discover the
tapes/CDs in bookstores and at various niche outlets and aren't aware of
what is available online.
Radio Spirits has already tried the litigation route to no real effect
except that people are more aware of licenses, etc. But just like the music
industry fighting the likes of Kazaa and its various heavy users, the
battle seems almost unsurmountable.
Even among our friendly vendors a number have either dropped out (such as
The SciFi Guy) or claim to be going out such as Steve Kelez or struggle on
with fans who remain loyal to their catalogs.
It just seems that many of the fans of the free download are not always
interested in quality. I saw some comments recently from one quality mp3
vendor that his sales are lukewarm - he blamed the ubiquitous freebies that
seem to remain popular - quality be damned.
Even at conventions, I have heard comments that sales are down and from
others who are looking for shows bemoaning the lack of mp3 sales at these
conventions. Not wanting to start another mp3 versus uncompressed file war
- I don't think quality is the issue necessarily at these conventions,
though some vendors simply will not go that route for that reason - I think
that there are many of the usenet crowd who aren't interested in collecting
as much as listening. There are some who get their copies from usenet and
private boards who are collecting oriented trying to achieve as complete
a run of some series - then keeping an eye out for better quality throwing
out their previous copies. But some of these same collectors simply will
not purchase being more willing to hold out for a better copy knowing that
someone will always come up with a better copy.
Either they are ignorant of the archival aspect of keeping a pristine copy
in uncompressed format, or they don't care.
This is no judgement on anyone's method of collecting, merely my own view
of the situation perhaps besmirched with a tint of unintentional prejudice.
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 00:11:42 -0400
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Bob Hastings
I was watching the Poseidon Adventure the other night and happened to
notice that Bob Hastings name appeared in the credits. The part he played
was the MC on the ship. After watching the movie, I rolled back the DVD and
checked out the scene with the MC and sure enough, it was him.
No real close up, but several medium shots. How many of you realized he was
in this movie? I wasn't until just now.
Fred
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 00:11:53 -0400
From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Adolph Valesco, violinist at LA station KFWB
& KNX (under Adolph Valesco's concert ensemble).
Someone is seeking information and possibly recordings (?) concerning
Adolph Valesco, who played violin and worked at Los Angeles Radio Station
KFWB ( under the name Valesco Gypsy Ensemble) and KNX (under Adolph
Valesco's concert ensemble). He had a weekly time broadcasing from
Exposition Park program under the name Adolph Valesco's Gypsy Sextet.
Please reply off-line to me
Thanks
Howard Blue
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 14:12:45 -0400
From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Ed Walker's interview re WORDS AT
WAR--Sunday night
I just completed a conversation with Ed Walker, of radio station, WAMU
([removed] FM). Ed interviewed me concerning my book, WORDS AT WAR, my history
of World War II era radio, for his show, The Big Broadcast.
The interview will be broadcast live at 10:00 PM this Sunday night (Sept.
7) at 10:00 PM. It can also be accessed from the Internet for an
additional week after the live [removed] on
[removed]
Howard Blue
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #331
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