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

[removed] Digest				Volume 96 : Issue 347

Table Of Contents: 

	 Digest panel?
	 More baseball OTR
	 Baseball OTR of the Day
	 another Baseball show
	 That's Rich -- Stan Freberg
	 paper collectors
	 Tom Bosely's NTR Show
	 Arthur Godfrey
	 Re: Amos n' Andy
	 NBC/RADIO RECORDERS & MORE - 2

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 22:29:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: MAX SCHMID <mschmid@[removed]>
To: airwavesOTR <[removed]@[removed]>
cc: jayhick@[removed]
Subject: Digest panel?
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

I assume that many people on this list are coming from outside of the NYC 
area for the convention.  Perhaps if there is still an opening in one of the 
Thursday morning slots we can all gather for an impromptu panel/get-together.
Any thoughts on this?  I will be there all three days anyway, even though I'm
local - what about the rest of y'all?  Do we want to do something this 
formal, or just wear computer chips to identify ourselves?  -Max

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

Date: 22 Sep 1996 19:08:46 GMT
From: [removed]@[removed] (Ron B. Hare)
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: More baseball OTR
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Another FRANK MERRIWELL has a dramatization of a baseball game.
It's "April Shower Adventure", broadcast date unknown.
Also, there's a train whistle in this episode.
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Date: 22 Sep 1996 18:47:44 GMT
From: [removed]@[removed] (Ron B. Hare)
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Baseball OTR of the Day
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Here are some more show with baseball content.

JACK ARMSTRONG Baseball amateurs in Japan
BOB and RAY - Skit about useless sports equipment including warmup bats.
FRANK MERRIWELL - "The Unexpected Game". Intrigue during a baseball game.
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Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 22:48:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: MAX SCHMID <mschmid@[removed]>
To: airwavesOTR <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: another Baseball show
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Boston Blackie # 53 Ballplayer murdered during game.

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 23:15:40 -0700
From: heronimous@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: That's Rich -- Stan Freberg
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Someone mentioned that Stan Freberg was well known to radio audiences 
before his show ran because of his appearances on 'That's Rich.' Are any 
of these shows available; besides his CBS show, did he appear on any 
others that are available?

Mark Reesor
heronimous@[removed]

"And now, off with the show!"

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 23:08:53 -0500
From: Mike Fields <mfields@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Cc: JROZGONYI@[removed]
Subject: paper collectors
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>
>I'm new to OTR on the web, but have been a SPERDVAC member and collector
>for a number of years now.  What I was wondering is if any has, or knows
>of sources for, paper collectibles associated with OTR.  I'd really love
>to get lobby cards and/or posters for the _Great Gildersleeve_ movies,
>for instance, or the _Fibber McGee & Molly_ films.  Any collectors out
>there obtaining this (or other general program-related ads, posters,
>photos, etc.), and can you give any suggestions on where to find it?
>
>Thanks --
>
>Jay Rozgonyi
>JROZGONYI@[removed]
>
Jay,

Hello,

I have a few B&W photos and other things like Radio Life that you might be
interested in. I also have an original Theater Lobby Poster of Fibber Mcgee
and Molly in Heavenly Days. Its approx 8ft by 4ft and in excellent quality
and extremely rare. I paid $250 for it 10 years ago and it was the center of
attention in Gildersleeve's old Fashioned Diner, ( a restuarant that we ran
that featured the greats from 1945-50. If you are interested in any of these
let me know. Here are some of the photos that I have;

        2 soundmen of unknown identity working a show

        Jack Benny standing "Off Mike" with a gun

        Harold Peary and Jim Barrimore at NBC mike

        Publicity shot of Gale Gordon, Jim Jordon, and Harold Perry for
movie         "Here we go again"

        Movie still from Look Whos Laughing; Marion Jordon, Jim Jordan,
Harold Perry, Isabel Randolph, and Edgar Bergen

        NBC Photo from 10/15/36 of a Young Harold Perry from Flying Time Star

        RKO Publicity Photo 1941 of Gildersleeve and Mrs UppingtonO

        Orson Welles in front of the CBS Mike with cast

        NBC Press release photo of each of the cast of Fibber Mcgee & Molly;
Marion and Jim Jordon, Harold Peary, Bill Thompson, Don Quinn
        Isabel Randolph, Harlow Wilcox, and Milly Mills w/ autographs

        Many more that are unidentified

For a complete list of items and dates just email me or make and offer on
any of the above.
>
Mike Fields
Kokomo IN

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

Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 00:44:16 -0700
From: Dani Kaslow <xxdanixx@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Tom Bosely's NTR Show
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

> Date: Sat, 21 Sep 1996 02:15:25 -0400
> From: John Koppel <[removed]@[removed]>
> To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed]>
> Subject: Does It Exist?
> Message-ID: <199609210215_MC1-9A8-B068@[removed]>
> 
> Hello Everyone!
> 
> I can remember listening to a radio show back in the 80's that was a
> mystery show and was hosted by Tom Bosley.  It was a new time radio show.
> Am I just crazy and have a bad memory? Or am I getting the CBS Radio
> Mystery Theater mixed up with it.
> Please help!
> 
> John Koppel
> 
No, you don't have a bad memory, and I can see why you'd mix it up with
CBS Radio Mystery, since the title of the show you're talking about was
CBS Radio Adventure Theater.  I can't remember if it overlapped (in
terms of airdates) with CBSRMT, but if I did, it started at the tale end
of CBSRMT's broadcast run.  It was also a one-hour show, but if I recall
correctly, it only aired on weekends.

Dani Kaslow

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

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 23:00:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: BURT WILSON <futurecon@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Arthur Godfrey
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I remember Arthur Godfrey pushing the envelope of ribaldry around 1949 on
his daily radio show.  He told this joke:

Adam and Eve had been together for a few days in the Garden of Eden when Eve
woke up in the middle of the night and discovered Adam was gone.  The next
night she didn't go to sleep and, sure enough, Adam got out of bed around
midnight and walked away, returning after a few hours.  So Eve waited until
Adam was fast asleep and then she turned over and quietly counted each one
of his ribs.

The audience started to chuckle and then the chuckle turned into a big laugh
and then a roar.  Godfrey topped it all off by sayng, "You know, the more
you think about it, the funnier it gets!" 

Enjoy.
Burt Wilson

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

Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 06:21:26 -0400
From: "Michael A. Carraher" <carraher@[removed]>
To: <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: Re: Amos n' Andy
Message-Id: <m0v58Sa-0004X5C@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

In the 30's -- the program's peak of popularity -- the program was
broadcast as a serial in early prime time (7 [removed] ET), five nights a week
in 15 minute episodes.  In form, the program more resembled a soap (like
Lorenzo Jones or Vic and Sade) than a sitcom.  In content, the program
resembled minstrel show skits and characters (which was G & C's
background). 
Through much of this period the program was broadcast over the NBC Red
network from WMAQ, Chicago.
Originally, Gosden and Correll did all the voices.  And the show was mostly
Amos n' Andy -- other characters were occasionally heard but mostly (to
paraphrase the title of a play) the show was "A Couple of Black Guys
Sitting Around Talking."  The setting of the show was the Fresh Air Taxi
Co. office.

Changes occurred:
Gosden and Correll moved to LA (the setting of the program moved from
Chicago to Harlem).
The setting shifted over time to the Mystic Knights of the Sea Lodge Hall
and the Kingfish character came to dominate the program (not unlike how
Spock grew in importance on Star Trek or Fonzie on Happy Days.  Charles
Correll's son, Richard, was a producer on Happy Days, BTW).
They began using other actors (to their credit, Black actors played Black
roles except for A & A and Kingfish).
In 1943, the program format changed from 15 minute serial episodes 5 nights
a week to a sitcom format, one self-contained 30 minute episode once a
week.  Production became much slicker.  Harlow Wilcox replaced  Bill Hay as
announcer.  A band was added.
The Kingfish character became the focus of the show.
In the sitcom format it was con artist and dummy.  Con artist has get rich
scheme and dummy gets taken for a ride.  Scheme blows up in their faces. 
Another character serves as the voice of reason and both dummy and con
artist learn their [removed] until next week.
Does this sound familiar?  It's a sitcom staple.  Try Kramden and Norton. 
Try Lucy and Ethel.
In the 40's, when the sitcom format came in, Gosden and Correll hired two
writers (they had previously done most of the writing) -- Joe Connelly and
Bob Mosher.  The two produced the TV A & A.  When that went off the air,
they too recycled the basic premise (and some of their old scripts) and
called it "Leave It to Beaver."
Ward=Amos.  Wally=Andy.  Eddie Haskell=Kingfish.  Or sometimes Wally=Amos. 
Beaver=Andy.  Eddie still equals Kingfish.  Like Kingfish, Eddie became the
most popular character on the program.

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

Date: 23 Sep 1996 04:40:42 GMT
From: kg@[removed] (KEN GREENWALD)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: NBC/RADIO RECORDERS & MORE - 2
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Radio Recorders was located at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Orange
Drive. about one and a half miles from NBC and CBS, a little south west of
Sunset and Vine. It was an unabtrusive building, but it was a highly potent
place during the heyday of radio. It was here that NBC and CBS routed their
lines for emergency use and for backup to their own basement recording
studios. Even though NBC and CBS had their own cutting lathes in their
basements where shows would be recorded on 16" ETs, the networks needed
backup cutting lathes to pick up additional shows coming in from New York,
Chicago, Detroit and other places east of LA. Also, local shows were recorded
there. Many a radio star would order their own copies of ETs for their
personal libraries. It was easier to order them from Radio Recorders than
from the networks because there was a lot of red tape to push through on the
network level. 
Telephone lines reached directly from the NBC/CBS radio studio control rooms
into Radio Recorders. I once observed the huge patch panel where the
telephone lines came in. The highest fidelity phone line was called a Class
AAA line. Next came a Class BBB line, and a Class CCC line. A, B, and C lines
were again broken down into lower levels of fidelity, such as a Class AA line
or a Class A line. The networks always sent out their radio shows over a
Class AAA line, not only to Radio Recorders, but across the nation to the
midwest and the east coast. It was the only way to retain high fidelity for
broadcasting, even with continual re-amplification as it traveled eastward.
Why so many levels of phone line is beyond me at this time. But I do know
that, when someone who didn't have that much money to afford a Class AAA
line, could order a cheaper line, such as a Class BB line if all they wanted
was a reference disc for their personal use. In the long run, it didn't
matter, because the networks always demanded the best phone lines and the
highest fidelity recordings for their ETs. Next to NBC and CBS, the recording
engineers at Radio Recorders were the best. I have listened carefully to a
number of RR's ET recordings and they are superb, full fidelity recordings.
As a matter of fact, some of the shows I sent out on my demo tape were
originally recorded right off the network line feed  at Radio Recorders.
When radio died, Radio Recorders lived on. There were a lot of private
companies and individuals who needed recordings made. When audio tape came
in, RR was right up front with that. During the 70s, it was at Radio
Recorders that Rod Serling's radio series ZERO HOUR was recorded. RR did have
a number of recording studios along with their vast array of cutting lathes.
Then, one year, it became evident to RR that their days were numbered. There
were newer studios and recording facilities built. With radio drama gone and
more portable equipment available, it was less and less important to record
"in studio." Rock music was the big thing now and rock groups would record
their concerts on the road. The days of having Bing Crosby or Mel Torme, etc.
come into the studio to record were less and less. Radio Recorders threw in
the sponge. I remember walking around their studios looking at all the
equipment for sale. Microphones ( bought an old and beautiful RCA 77 from
them), tape recorders, amps, boom mikes, cables, audio editing equipment. As
I left I asked if they were going to tear down the building. No, they
weren't. They were just going to abandon it. And that's what they did in the
late 1970s. It stood empty for a long time, but, it reopened as a music
recording studio; mostly rock music. Another great radio place bit the dust!

In 1964, Phillips of the Netherlands invented a small and simple system that
eventually changed the world. It was called the audio cassette. Phillips did
a very wise and unusual thing: They gave all the plans and designs for the
audio cassette to the world, giving up their copyright. Phillips invited
anyone and everyone to use their system in any way they chose, though the
original intention of the cassette was to use those small plastic cassettes
filled with tape for dictation purposes only. Companies such as Sony, Martel
Electronics, Kenwood, Pioneer, etc. saw the potential of this new medium and
began designing cassette machines that would allow those small cassettes to
record true high fidelity. Once this was achieved, it brought about the death
of open reel tape recorders (which had already been long established). With
the constant perfection of cassette recorders and new tape formulas for
music, a new "thing" happened: Problems. 
The tape in the cassettes were extremely thin in order to pack enough tape
into their small "containers." It was already well known by the tape
manufacturers that such a thin tape would cause problems. Static electricity
often caused the tape to cling to the capstan ending up with the tape
wrapping around it and stopping the cassette recorder cold in its tracks.
Another problem lay in the manufacture of the tape. As with open reel tape,
cassette tape originated in large rolls many feet across. This tape "sheet"
would be attached at one end and hundreds of precision blades would cut this
sheet into the proper 1/8" size. When the machines started rolling and the
tape was cut. there were large sections of the "sheet" that were cut at
slower speeds, until the machines got "up to speed." The same happened at the
opposite end when the machines were shut down and the tape sheet slowed as it
went through the cutting blades.
Most of the time the manufacturers would discard the cassette tape from the
beginning of the run and the end of the run because tape skew would occur.
Read that as uneven cutting. Only the center cut tape was used because it was
the best part of each run. 
The next problem came from the cassette machines owned by the consumers.
Combine the thin tape with the minature capstan, pinch roller and feed/take
up spindles, hours of recording and the continual wear on the various parts
of the cassette machine and, viola!, tape would jam, curl, stretch and not
ride properly through the guides. New machines rarely had problems. Machines
with vast hours of use break down. Not all at once, but something has to
give. Usually the tape. Because of the small size of the moving components
(capstan, pinchwheel, the tape itself) problems of improper recording plague
almost everyone at some time or other. Constant cleaning of the components,
adding a new belt (often not easy to replace), and you would be up and
running again. 
And yet, with all that, the audio cassette has changed the face of recording.
It's wonderful to be able to pop a cassette into your shirt pocket or tote
bag and, when played, hear such full fidelity sound.
Research continues on. It is estimated that, within 5 to 10 years, the
recordable CD will wipe out the audio cassette. Even as you read this,
machines are being readied to hit the consumer market in the near future.
Another sound revolution will occur (not to mention what will happen to
video).
On last thing: In 1994, a major conference was held in Washington, [removed],
investigating the best process of tape recording for preservation. The
conclusion reached by all the major tape manufacturers was that open reel
tape was the best preservation medium for preservation. And even at that it
was recommended that all tapes be recorded at 15 ips, full track, one
direction only! Now here's the final rub: It was announced this year in audio
engineer magazines that every major open reel tape manufacturer were dropping
open reel tapes from their line. All that is, except Scotch (Minnesota Mining
and Manufacturing - 3M). 
So where are we? We will all have to stand by and see. And be prepared to
1)use your open reel and cassette recorders until they literally fall apart,
2)switch to a newer medium as they arrive or 3) sit down, grab a good book,
and do some reading. It couldn't hurt!
Ken Greenwald




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End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #347
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