------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2004 : Issue 281
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
8-27 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Lucy cleared of any un-american acti [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
Mickey as an entertainer [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
Roberta Linn [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
'pregnant' on the air [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
MICKEY AND THE 'ALOOF' BUG [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
RE: Judy Canova [ Philip Chavin <pchavin@[removed]; ]
The Investigator [ Anthony Akins <asakins@[removed]; ]
IJBFC [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
CBC's THE INVESTIGATOR [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
OTR sponsors [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Super Star Encounter [ Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed] ]
Clara, Lu, and Em [ Richard Pratz <[removed]@[removed]; ]
Re: Eddie Green [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Re: Mickey Rooney [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
Re: Red Skelton [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
Catchy tune [ "William Schell" <bschell@[removed] ]
wire recordings [ JimInks@[removed] ]
Phyl the First? [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]
Paula Winslowe [ lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 15:31:35 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 8-27 births/deaths
August 27th births
08-27-1882 - Samuel Goldwyn - Warsaw, Poland - d. 1-31-1974
panelist: "People's Platform"
08-27-1896 - Morris Ankrum - d. 9-2-1964
actor: "Shakespeare Festival"; "Campbell Playhouse"; "A Report to the Nation"
08-27-1899 - C. S. Forester - Cairo, Egypt - d. 4-2-1966
poet, biographer, novelist: "Keep 'Em Rolling"; "Words at War"; "Theatre Guild
On the Air"
08-27-1901 - Al Ritz - Newark, NJ - d. 12-22-1965
comedian: (The Ritz Brothers) "Hollywood Hotel"
08-27-1901 - John Gannon - WY - d. 11-8-1969
actor: Billy Fairfield "Jack Armstrong"
08-27-1901 - Roger Pryor - NYC - d. 1-31-1974
actor: "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Theatre Guild on the Air"; "Summer Symphony"
08-27-1905 - Frederick O'Neal - Brooksville, MA - d. 8-25-1992
actor: "New World A-Coming"
08-27-1908 - Frank Leahy - O'Neill, NB - d. 6-21-1973
football coach (Notre Dame): "Hallmark Hall of Fame"; "Bill Stern Colgate
Sports Newsreel"
08-27-1916 - Larry Thor - Canada - d. 3-15-1976
actor: Danny Clover "Broadway Is My Beat"
08-27-1916 - Martha Raye - Butte, MT - d. 10-19-1994
comedienne: "Tuesday Night Party"; "Cavalcade of America"; "Screen Guild
Theatre"
08-27-1916 - Vicki Vola - Denver, CO - d. 7-21-1985
actress: Shanghai L'il DeVries "Jungle Jim"; Edith Miller "Mr. District
Attorney"
08-27-1921 - Leo Penn - d. 9-5-1998
actor, film director: "Family Theatre"; "Hollywood Calling: George Fisher
Interviews"
August 27th deaths
01-21-1919 - Jinx Falkenburg McCrary - Barcelona, Spain - d. 8-27-2003
hostess: "Hi! Jinx"; "Tex & Jinx"; "Weekend"
02-13-1920 - Joan Edwards - NYC - d. 8-27-1981
singer: "Chesterfield Presents"; "Your Hit Parade"
05-25-1892 - Bennett Cerf - NYC - d. 8-27-1971
narrator, panelist: "Biography in Sound"; "What's My Line?"
06-30-1894 - Phillips Carlin - NYC - d. 8-27-1971
announcer: "Palmolive Hour"; "Atwater Kent Hour"
07-26-1902 - Gracie Allen - San Francisco, CA - d. 8-27-1964
comedienne: "Burns and Allen Show"
09-20-1925 - Joan Barton - d. 8-27-1976
actress: Cashier "Meet Me at Parky's"
09-21-1925 - Gail Russell - Chicago, IL - d. 8-27-1961
actress: "Screen Guild Theatre"
10-13-1918 - Robert Walker - Salt Lake City, UT - d. 8-27-1951
actor: Davy Dillon "Maudie's Diary"
12-11-1911 - Sam Levenson - NYC - d. 8-27-1980
humorist: "Arthur Godfrey Show"; "City Club Forum"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 15:31:44 -0400
From: Jer51473@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Lucy cleared of any un-american activities
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The fact that she was cleared of un-american activities doesnt mean there was
no basis for Winchells statements. Im sure she wasnt called onto the carpet
by the government without their own investigation which most likely preceded
Winchells column.
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Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 15:32:24 -0400
From: Jer51473@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Mickey as an entertainer
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Sorry, but i tend to disregard opinions of one person by another because i
know that there are probably just as many opposite opinions by other people. I
have to have my own encounter or view such to form an opinion of someone i do
not know. This is in no way a suggestion that the label put on Rooney or the
incidents described are incorrect or not true, but just that they may or may not
represent his true character. I may very well, however, see things
differently if indeed i was cast firsthand in the middle of either incident. But, to
change the subject, where would Rooney as far as the greatest entertainer of all
time, as discussed on the digess some time ago, rate? I would have to rate him
very high. He was multi-talented to an enormous degree and could really
entertain! His longevity has been excellent. I hate to hear the negatives of his
personal side, but it would be interesting to hear comments on him as an
entertainer and how he rates. I didnt think of him before, but after rethinking, i
would have to place him in my top ten and not necessarily at the end of that
group.
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Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 15:32:50 -0400
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Roberta Linn
Hi Everybody,
I just interview Roberta Linn today and she would like to find copies of her
radio shows. She did alot of music shows, but she was an actress on the
Whistler. Does any one have any of those shows? Take care,
Walden
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 16:21:18 -0400
From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: 'pregnant' on the air
Kermyt Anderson [removed]
The 02/28/54 episode of "The Marriage", starring
Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, is titled "Is Liz
Pregnant?" in my collection. (I have no idea if this
is the actual script title, or just a descriptive
title.) I listened to this a while ago, and I'm about
90% sure they do indeed describe her condition as
"pregnant."
That's funny, because I was just about to post that in
the final episodes of "Ma Perkins", they were *still*
going to some lengths not to use the word
"pregnant"--and this was 1960! (Beloved Fay, is
hinting that she is "gaining some weight"...of course
nobody mentions that she is, by any accounting,
dangerously near the end of her childbearing years by
this time!) We can probably assume the taboo
disappeared slowly, as if it had never existed;
indeed, by the mid-1960s, TV soap opera characters
were having abortions.
In the case of "I Love Lucy", the story generally goes
that the network brass said "You can't do that!", and
not just because of use of the word "pregnant". This
has always seemed silly bordering on the not-credible,
especially since the CBS west coast brass, men like
Harry Ackerman, were old radio hands who knew very
well that a pregnant fictional broadcast character was
no innovation. It DID seem much more innovative,
years later, to nostalgia-blinded TV writers who act
as if broadcasting only began the day the day a
television test pattern first hit the air. The
business about the "Lucy" company bringing in
ministers to vet the scripts, while undoubtedly true,
smacks more of clever publicity than the result of any
real controversy.
chris
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 16:24:07 -0400
From: PURKASZ@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: MICKEY AND THE 'ALOOF' BUG
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Folks:
Has it crossed anyone's mind that another aspect of the chilly 'ya ya
ya' response from Mickey could well have been the overly familiar and perhaps
even startling pronouncement from a stranger as he came down the escalator?
Coupled with the fact that some actors, not all, but some have been
waging a decades long battle to get out from under being associated with a
character they have played in the past.
This 'typecasting' and over-association with any one character is death
to many an actor's career and they are to be forgiven for not particularly
liking the public's insistence on reminding them of it.
There is also another possibility and perhaps the one closer to the
truth.
For reasons best left to psychologists, people seem to presume that
because they have seen somebody in their home on TV for many years that they
actually 'know' them and therefore have the right to just blurt out
something in
passing them on the street as if this person was their long lost Uncle Al.
I bet that after spotting Mickey coming their way the lady had said,
"I know you. You're Mickey Rooney. Thanks for all the great
performances," she'd have gotten a big smile and a polite 'thank you' for
her trouble.
We too often fail to place ourselves in other people's shoes before
making judgments about their behavior.
Just some thoughts from an actor who has been gifted with many warm
greetings from strangers.
Some beautiful women too!
Michael C. Gwynne
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 16:25:05 -0400
From: Philip Chavin <pchavin@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: RE: Judy Canova
George Aust posted:
I was listening to a Judy Canova show from 1-5-48
yesterday, and I was
really amazed at what a talented lady she was/is.
...
I can't really remember seeing much discussion on
this digest about her.
Anybody else enjoy her talent and her show?
I agree she was very talented and I, too, don't
recall much discussion on this mailing list about her.
Some months ago I responded on the Digest to, I
recall, a negative posting about Judy Canova or her
show and my posting praised her much as George's
posting has done.
By the way, the "Cactus Junction" skits (with Mel
Blanc) still break me up.
-- Phil C.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 17:03:38 -0400
From: Anthony Akins <asakins@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Investigator
J. Alec West wrote:
But back to radio ... specifically, "The Investigator." As I understand
it, this was one of the most controversial radio-plays ever aired on
radio ... in either Canada _or_ the [removed]
More information about "The Investigator" (including the radio
play downloadable in 4 parts) can be found at:
[removed]
Anthony Akins, asakins@[removed], 877-663-5817
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 17:04:42 -0400
From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: IJBFC
But somewhere in the world are about 20 people with photos of me in front
of Jack's home.
--Laura Leff President, IJBFC [removed]
And little do they know that they _had_ seen "somebody."
I'd wager that Jack Benny would think so, too.
Mark Kinsler
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 18:20:23 -0400
From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: CBC's THE INVESTIGATOR
Someone mentioned James Doohan appeared in this. It can be downloaded (in 4
parts) for free from:
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 18:25:14 -0400
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR sponsors
Dixon wrote:
Shucks, I'd be happy just to have a Coke and listen to
"The Spike Jones Show." Or a cup of Maxwell House and
listen to Burns and Allen.
Ever since I was a kid, I've longed for a trial ton of
Blue Coal to have while I listened to The Shadow!
Kermyt
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 20:39:30 -0400
From: Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Super Star Encounter
It is too bad that legendary Mickey Rooney is not more pleasant to his
fans. That's always a disappointment when "stars" of his magnitude cross
paths with those of us who have admired their talent over the years.
But, it doesn't always happen. I remember a "super star encounter" I had
once at Crater Lake Lodge located in Oregon's only national park. I
worked there as a teenager. Joan Crawford arrived with her twins for a
weekend outing. She didn't want to pay the money for the lodge so she
stayed in one of our cold water cabins --at that time, these facilities had
no bathrooms or kitchens but simply bunkbeds, cots, and a sink that had a
cold water spigot. The little family enjoyed "roughing" it.
She was extremely pleasant to everyone she encountered. The employees and
guests who she met liked her and were rewarded with kindness and usually
an autograph if it were sought. She even sent back a letter to management
about what a good time she and her children had.
Dennis Crow
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 20:39:42 -0400
From: Richard Pratz <[removed]@[removed];
To: "OTR (Plain Text Only)" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Clara, Lu, and Em
Help! Does anyone have any biographical information on the three OTR
actresses who starred in what Dunning refers to as the first radio soap
opera "Clara, Lu, and Em" in 1930? I've exhausted my OTR reference books as
well as internet searches, but all I can come up with are pictures of the
trio as well as information about the show itself. Sadly, however, no bio
information on the three actresses who starred - Louise Starkey (Clara),
Isobel Carothers (Lu) and Helen King (Em). They started the program as a
skit at Northwestern University around 1925 and it went from there to WGN
Chicago. Carothers died in 1936 and that's all the bio information I can
turn up on any of the three. Anyone?
Rich
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 20:40:52 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Eddie Green
On 8/26/04 2:37 PM [removed]@[removed] wrote:
Anybody got any biographical information on Eddie Green?
Eddie Green was an important star of black vaudeville. He was born in
Baltimore in 1896, and went on stage with a minstrel show as a
song-and-dance man while still in his teens. In 1916, Green wrote "A Good
Man Is Hard To Find," one of the biggest song hits of that era. The
publishing rights were bought in 1918 by W. C. Handy, who went on to make
a fortune off the song -- but Handy was as much a hustler as he was a
musical legend, and he arranged matters so that Green got next to nothing
for writing the song.
Green remained a stage star on the black-oriented Theatre Owners Booking
Association vaudeville circuit during the twenties, becoming a great
favorite of African-American audiences with his dancing and dialect
comedy, and went on to appear in several all-black Broadway revues in the
late twenties and early thirties. He wrote the book and several songs for
"Blackbirds of 1932," a stage revue featuring many of the leading black
comedians of the era. Green made his radio debut in 1932, forming a
comedy team with Ernest Whitman, a veteran stage actor who appeared with
him in "Blackbirds." Green and Whitman were featured cast memebers in
"The Gibson Family" during 1932-33, and were widely promoted as "Radio's
Only Colored Comedy Team." (This is the same Ernest Whitman, by the way,
who would host "Jubilee" for AFRS in the 1940s.)
Green made numerous guest appearances on various programs during 1934-36,
and in the fall of 1936 became a co-star of Louis Armstrong's Harlem
Revue, a black-oriented variety series heard on NBC Blue for
Fleischmann's Yeast. That same year, Green became possibly the first
African-American performer to appear on television -- doing a routine in
a special experimental telecast put on by NBC to inaugurate the earliest
version of their all-electronic television system.
Green continued to make guest appearances on various programs during the
late thirties, and became a semi-regular with Rudy Vallee in 1940. He was
a regular on "Duffy's Tavern" for most of its run, and joined "The Amos
'n' Andy Show" in 1947, remaining with both programs until his death from
heart disease on September 19, 1950.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 21:22:58 -0400
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Mickey Rooney
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In a message dated 8/26/04 2:34:55 PM Central Daylight Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
it was
specifically noted about Rooney that he had showed up at one community
without an act and just kind of rambled on stage for a while and then left
and was subsequently banned from that facility for insulting his audience.
I sure wish I knew the rest of the story but I once heard that when Mickey
Rooney was in the army, he was stationed briefly at Camp Sibert, Alabama, and
went before the city commission nearby Gadsden to raise cain about something
or
the other. In the exchange, he supposedly insulted the city deliberately and
was abruptly thrown out of city hall.
Dixon
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Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 21:23:11 -0400
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Red Skelton
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In a message dated 8/26/04 2:34:55 PM Central Daylight Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
didn't Red Skelton announce
he was going into the service on the evening of D-Day?
Within the context of that emotional day, it had its
own impact.
Ironically, I saw this post after the one I sent off about Mickey Rooney
being stationed in Gadsden, Alabama at the Camp Sibert military base. It was
the
headquarters of the army chemical corps at the time (World War II), and
wouldn't you know it? Red Skelton was stationed there too!
Dixon
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Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 21:51:18 -0400
From: "William Schell" <bschell@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Catchy tune
I was recently listening to a Chevrolet Show staring Jack Benny which was
recorded on 6-18-33. About mid-way through the show, the band played a
catchy tune Jack later identified as "My Oh My". Does anyone know anything
about this tune and is it possible it was recorded for sale? I'd sure like
to get a copy as there is nothing better than a band instrumental.
B. Schell
Magalia, Ca
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 21:58:08 -0400
From: JimInks@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: wire recordings
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Does anyone here know if there's anyone who can take wire recordings and
transfer them to tape?
-Jim Amash
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Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 23:41:08 -0400
From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Phyl the First?
John from England writes:
I have been listening online to a female detective who was, I
understand, the very first female detective on radio. The show dates
from 1936 and the lady's name being Phyllis Coe Does anyone know
where the solutions can be found well over 50 years after the series
was broadcast? In Jack's recent book on 'Private Eyelashes'), even he
does not know who played her.
First of all, Phyl Coe was not radio's first lady detective, and when
John reads my book, he'll find out that at least two feminine sleuths
preceded Ms. Coe. Dating back to 1932, both Irene Delroy and Marie
Revell, were solving crimes as private investigators before Phyl Coe.
The adventures of these two were recorded at Transco, who also gave us
the immortal Cinnamon Bear series.
As for Phyl's identity, it's still her biggest mystery. While
researching my book, I had every known OTR voice expert listen to her
shows again and no one knows who she was. Her boyfriend, Tom Taylor,
was the voice of Clayton "Bud" Collyer, and other supporting actors on
the show included House Jameson and Jay Jostyn.
Jack French
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 00:37:16 -0400
From: lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Paula Winslowe
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Hello- I would very much like to do a story on radio actress Paula Winslowe
but I am having little to no luck finding info. I can't even find an obit.
I appreciate any help any one could give me in my search. Any one know of
any living relatives? Does any one know if a book on "The Life of Riley"
show was ever written? Any Help or suggestions
would be greatlyappreciated!!
Lynn
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--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #281
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