Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #169
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 6/1/2005 8:43 AM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2005 : Issue 169
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Hoobert Heever on Snopes              [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
      Clara, Lu and Em from 1930?           [ Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed] ]
      Joe Walcott v. Joe Louis - which dat  [ Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed] ]
      Re: Offensive Material In OTR         [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
      Claude Rains                          [ "Mark Wuellner" <mwuellne@[removed] ]
      OTR for Public and University Librar  [ Melanie Aultman <otrmelanie@[removed] ]
      Mel [removed]                          [ jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns) ]
      #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig  [ charlie@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 08:26:59 -0400
    From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Hoobert Heever on Snopes

    The Urban Legends Reference Pages have updated their entry on Harry Von
    Zell's "Hoobert Heever" flub.  You can find their article here:
    [removed].  According to the notes in
    the page source, the update includes "added example; changed wording".

    -chris holm

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

    Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 12:41:49 -0400
    From: Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Clara, Lu and Em from 1930?
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    There is a program circulating entitled Clara, Lu and Em 'Audition - Real
    Estate'  with a date given of May 1930. Radiogoldindex gives an approximate
    date of 1936, but says it may be as early as 1931. At the end of the show it
    is stated "this recording is for audition purposes only".

    Can we eliminate the May 1930 date?

    Andrew

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

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

    Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 14:29:10 -0400
    From: Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Joe Walcott v. Joe Louis - which date in 1948?
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    There is a radio recording of the June 1948 boxing match between Joe Walcott
    and Joe Louis. The date given is June 25, 1948 which is a Friday. Most
    internet references go along with this date. The odd thing is there a ticket
    printed for the fight which gives a date of June 23, 1948. Does anyone know
    if the fight was on the 23rd or 25th, and if it the date was possibly moved
    after the ticket was printed?

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

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

    Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 16:29:15 -0400
    From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Offensive Material In OTR

>     I would really love to hear some other real anecdotes about

    "offensive" materials in OTR.

>          How would stations or writers reply to listeners who were
>     outraged at what THEIR OWN IMAGINATIONS had seen?  What they THOUGHT

    they heard?

    [Here's part of a December 13, 1935 Washington Post radio column,
    regarding one of Willis Cooper's lost "Lights Out" episodes:]

    The old clock on the mantel had stopped. So I sat down at the radio,
    turned the switch and waited for the first break which would indicate
    the hour. It was, I figured, between 12:15 and 12:45 a. m.

    In a few seconds, with the heating of the tubes, came a sudden
    crescendo of agonized, screaming pleadings. "Don't keel me. I'll do
    anything ... but not that ... I geeve you my money ... $2,000 in the
    mattress ..."

    The blood-curdling dialog was doubly impressive because I had expected
    to find a dance band playing at that early morning hour, whatever the
    station last tuned in.

    I was fascinated with the hair-raising awfulness of the script lines.
    Suddenly it became apparent that the victim was protesting being
    dumped in a ladle of -- liquid steel! And while I was dwelling on this
    gentle situation as a plot for an air play -- the unfortunate
    gentleman was, in truth, thrown into the white-hot cauldron, with his
    last earthly screams imposed on the throaty, chuckling observations of
    his murderers.

    The scene faded into a conversation between a steel-mill employe and a
    visitor, in which it was explained that a man recently had lost his
    life in a ladle of liquid metal -- but the process of fashioning steel
    rails, bridge girders and so on had not been stopped. The jolly part
    of it all was (laugh, laugh) that the victim even now was a
    fragmentary part (ho, ho, ha, ha) of the finished pieces before them.

    Again, a transition -- and the voices of the three slayers are heard,
    one week or so later. One, named Sampson, set the plot. He was to be a
    victim of the slain man through an overwhelming desire to work, to go
    down to the nearby bridge under construction and work. From that
    point, the unfortunate mill worker dealt out his revenge.

    The manner in which the three assailants died is not appropriate for
    reporting in a column that is scanned by many at the breakfast table.
    Let it be said that this attempt to be baldly, deliberately revolting
    in details -- ghastly, shocking in realism -- can be reported as
    notably successful. Finesse and subtleness were eliminated in favor of
    gory, crude obviousness.

    Sometimes the mass radio audience becomes a mystery to me. There can
    be no doubt about it, many persons like this [removed] feature. It would
    not be continued if it did not meet with the approval and pleasure of
    some listeners.

    Yet -- many a bell-ringing idea, many a delightful bit of
    entertainment has been refused with arched eyebrows because it was in
    bad taste, or too "in the raw" or otherwise deemed offensive to the
    public mind. Many a capricious alteration has been made in scripts and
    speeches by the same authorities who put the stamp of approval on
    "Lights Out," thus putting a crimp in the author's work and usually
    aiding the presentation in no way whatever.

    "Lights Out," if I got a fair sample, is the most blatent [sic]
    evidence of policy inconsistency coming to my attention in many a day.
    ...

    [And here's an excerpt from the next day's column:]

    ... Shannon Allen, production manager of [removed], in Washington, has
    risen to the defense of "Lights Out," which I took occasion to give
    space to yesterday. Mr. Allen has nothing whatever to do with the
    production of "Lights Out" as the midnight hour drama originates in
    the Chicago studios.

    But Mr. Allen is first and foremost a production man and instinctively
    puts up his mitts in behalf of any show which, as he calmly and
    smilingly maintains, attracts the large audience as does "Lights Out."
    It seems, among other things, that in missing the opening announcement
    last Wednesday night, I missed the subtle tongue-in-the-cheek foreword
    explaining that the half-hour is slightly on the burlesque side,
    somewhat inclined to be sly hokum. Further, it is spotted at 12:30
    [removed] for the express purpose of providing a "lights out" shocker for
    those who wish to be "shocked."

    No one has even faintly suggested I lack imagination or am intolerant
    of any entertainment simply because I do not like it personally. As an
    example of showmanship, "Lights Out" is tops. I still maintain,
    however, that it is at fault in dealing with plot situations and
    climaxes that are stomach-turning. Mr. Allen contends that a
    "thriller" is not intended to be successful on finely drawn finesses.

    After all, you, as the composite radio listener, are the judge. And I
    guess the mass audience likes "Lights Out." ...

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

    Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 18:21:08 -0400
    From: "Mark Wuellner" <mwuellne@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Claude Rains

>     11-10-1889 - Claude Rains - London, England - d. 5-30-1967
>     actor: "Shakesperian Circle"; "This Is War!"; "Presenting Claude Rains"

    Anyone have anymore info on the "Presenting Claude Rains" series?  I had no
    idea that this great actor headlined a radio show at one time.  Any known
    available?

    [removed] Mark Wuellner

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

    Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 19:06:50 -0400
    From: Melanie Aultman <otrmelanie@[removed];
    To: OTRDIGEST <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  OTR for Public and University Libraries
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Several mentions have been made about interlibrary loaning OTR themed books
    that may be out of print or otherwise unavailable to the interested party.
    How about going a step further and making a purchase suggestion to your local
    public and/or university libraries?

    Though budgets and collection development policies vary, it couldn't hurt to
    know what those policies are.

    Case in point:  I recently submitted a purchase suggestion for Jack French's
    _Private Eyelashes_ [I already own a copy].  It was to the attention of the
    correct person in charge of ordering nonfiction for the public library
    [haven't heard back from the local university].  With the suggestion went a
    print out of the Agatha award announcement, table of contents and the
    information that the book is available from wholesaler Baker and Taylor as
    well as Quality Books.

    Giving as much information as possible makes their lives easier and furthers
    your cause.  Having materials available from a whoesale helps because of the
    amount of extra paperwork necessary to purchase from a single source.

    I was just notified that the library DID decide to add this title to its
    collection, so it can be done!

    Obviously some titles won't be high priority for tight budgets, but nothing
    [removed]

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

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

    Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 21:38:51 -0400
    From: jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns)
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Mel [removed]

    Just remember, a bit to Mel Blanc's consternation, that wasn't always
    him, on those kids [removed]

    (And, just as a plug (!), it's always great buyng stuf, from Fred
    Berney!)

    Best, JIm Burns

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

    Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2005 10:42:03 -0400
    From: charlie@[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! Started by Lois Culver, widow
    of actor Howard Culver, this is the place to be on Thursday night for
    real-time OTR talk!

    Our "regulars" include OTR actors, soundmen, collectors, listeners, and
    others interested in enjoying OTR from points all over the world. Discussions
    range from favorite shows to almost anything else under the sun (sometimes
    it's hard for us to stay on-topic)...but even if it isn't always focused,
    it's always a good time!

    For more info, contact charlie@[removed]. We hope to see you there, this
    week and every week!

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #169
    *********************************************

    Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
      including republication in any form.

    If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
       [removed]

    For Help: [removed]@[removed]

    To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

    To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
      or see [removed]

    For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
      in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

    To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

    To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]