Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #67
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 2/12/2003 10:01 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 67
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Pilgrimage of Poetry                  [ "Jerry Williams" <mrj@[removed]; ]
      Judy Tyler                            [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
      Jimmy Durante                         [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
      LR Tonto and Todd                     [ Rob Chatlin <rchatlin@[removed] ]
      The OTR Time Machine                  [ Smzmurphy@[removed] ]
      Shadow Program                        [ "Bob & Lois Reynolds" <boblo1@allte ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      "Don't bring up Lulu!"                [ Derek Tague <derek@[removed]; ]
      Shadow sponsors/Carl Kroenke          [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
      Re:Derel's Ad Agency                  [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
      Who dat again?                        [ John Henley <jhenley@[removed] ]
      Hal Stone and the burlesque           [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
      George & Gracie on DVD                [ "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@comc ]
      Re: Shadow Episode                    [ Steven Kelez <otrsteve@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:18:07 -0500
    From: "Jerry Williams" <mrj@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Pilgrimage of Poetry

    Greetings all,
    In my library there is a book from 1939 called "A Listener's Aid to
    Pilgrimage of Poetry"  It is from NBC and has the broadcast dates from Oct.
    15, 1939 to May 26, 1940.
    Has anyone heard of this program and if there are any shows available. It
    was a Sunday afternoon 1:00 to 1:15 EST [removed] has "Ted Malone's
    Album of Poetic Shrines" on the front [removed] some great pictures in it
    also.
    Thanks to you all
    Jerry Williams

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:19:02 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Judy Tyler

>     Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 12:29:17 -0500
>     From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];

> >     Which brings to mind yet another question--did you know Judy Tyler (in
> >     any sense of the word)?)

>     [removed] Tsk. Whatever are you implying?  I did know an actress by
>     the name of Betty Jane Tyler. Does that count? Do you know a Judy Tyler?
>     Did she say she is going to file a paternity suit. It wasn't me.

    Judy Tyler, who was a teenager when first hired, played the part of Princess Summerfall
    Winterspring on the Howdy Doody Show.  She later left for Hollywood and starred with Elvis
    Presley in =Jailhouse Rock=.  She was married while out there, and she and her new
    husband drove east in a sportscar.  Somewhere in Wyoming, I think, they were killed in a
    head-on collision.  That was in 1957.  She would probably have been an important actress in
    the 1960s if that hadn't happened.

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:18:44 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jimmy Durante

>     Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 10:15:51 -0500
>     From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];

>     1893 - Jimmy (James Francis) Durante actor, comedian: "Good night Mrs.
>     Calabash, wherever you are."; The Jimmy Durante Show; died Jan 29, 1980

    That means that Jimmy Durante was almost exactly one year older than Jack
    Benny!

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

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:19:11 -0500
    From: Rob Chatlin <rchatlin@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  LR Tonto and Todd

    I'm pretty sure I've heard at least one episode
    where Brace Beemer played Tonto.
    Of course, this was before he assumed the role of the Ranger.

    Beemer was doing a good version of Todd's Tonto,
    but the voice was still recognizable.

    Can anyone confirm this?

    rob

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:19:26 -0500
    From: Smzmurphy@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The OTR Time Machine
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Question of the day: You have a time machine that enables you to go back to
    the OTR era with a state-of-the-art tape recorder. What "lost" show(s) would
    you go back in time to record? (You can return to the present with the
    tape(s) when you're done.)

    For myself, I'd tape LIGHTS OUT's "Chicken Heart" and the missing episodes of
    my favorite I LOVE A MYSTERY, "Temple of the Vampires."

    Best to all,

    Mike

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

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:19:34 -0500
    From: "Bob & Lois Reynolds" <boblo1@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Shadow Program

    The title of the train program, where a jewel robbery takes place, when the
    robbers take over the train is The Giant of Madras.  I may have mispelled
    Madras.  I do have the show in my collection.  I wrote this down w/o going
    into my files.  Bob Reynolds  boblo1@[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:19:49 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

>     >From These Were The Days --

    2/12

    1924 - Calvin Coolidge, known by many as the 'Silent Cal', made the
    first presidential political speech on radio. The speech originated from
    New York City and was broadcast on five radio stations. Some five
    million people tuned in to hear the President speak.

    1924 - The Eveready Hour became radio's first sponsored network program.
    The National Carbon Company took the honor of being the first sponsor of
    a network show.

    1940 - Mutual presented the first broadcast of Superman. The identity of
    the man from planet Krypton was unknown to listeners for six years. The
    secret eventually leaked out that Superman's voice was actually that of
    Bud Collyer.

    2/13

    1939 - Virginia Payne, already popular as the voice of Ma Perkins, took
    on a new character in NBC's soap opera, The Carters of Elm Street.
    Virginia played the part of Mrs. Carter.

      Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:20:36 -0500
    From: Derek Tague <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  "Don't bring up Lulu!"

    Jell-O Again, Gang!

    James Altenburg wrote:

    I was wondering if Smilin' Ed McConnell was married to or related to Lulu
    McConnell of It Pays to be Ignorant fame.  By the way does anyone know where
    I could see a picture of Lulu McConnell, perhaps somewhere on the Internet?
    I really enjoy that show It Pays to be Ignorant.

    Back in 1997, I entered the Friends of Old-Time Radio script-writing contest
    administered by Dave Zwengler. My pitch was a new treatment of "It Pays to Be
    Ignorant" in which OTR, in general, was celebrated in the guise of questions
    such as "In what train terminal does 'Grand Central Station' take place?" and
    "What is the profession of 'Mister District Attorney'?" The script, however,
    didn't win in the two years I entered it (1997 & 1998), but was eventually
    produced by [removed] (Milwaukee Area Radio Enthusiasts) at a monthly meeting
    last March [Thanks Ron Sayles, Michael Leannah, & the rest of the Milwaukee
    gang].

    While writing this fun-flavoured script, I did a bit of research on "It Pays
    to Be Ignorant" and its major players, Here for anybody interested is some
    background of the so-called panel of experts.

    Host TOM HOWARD was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, on 16th June 1885. When he
    was 11  months old,  his parents, Mr. & Mrs. Thomas  Black, relocated the
    family to the [removed] In 1905, while working in a Philadelphis grocery store, Tom
    Howard adapted the stage name "Tom Howard" -- in order to spare his mother's
    feelings -- and embarked on a show-biz career, at first earning $[removed] a day
    for a dozen vaudeville "turns" a day.

    In 1910, he married the former Miss Harriet Berg.  Over the years, he
    performed on the American and Columbia Wheels burlesque circuits; acted on
    Broadway in shows such as "Ziegfeld Follies," "Smiles" (a  Ziegfeld production
    which also starred Fred  and Adele Astaire, Marilyn Miller, and
    Eddie Foy, Jr.), "Keep Moving," "The Gang's All Here" (with future 3 Stooges
    front-man Ted Healy), "The Greenwich Village Follies," and "Rain or Shine."

    Eventually Howard formed the burlesque comedy team "Howard and Shelton" with
    future "ignoramus" George Shelton. This pairing eventually led to them
    starring as a team in approximately 55 comedy shorts (mostly for Educational
    Pictures). Howard & Shelton also were heard as regulars on "The Rudy
    Vallee/Fleischmann Yeast Hour" for 87 weeks in the mid-1930s.

    In later years, Tom Howard resided in Red Bank, NJ, eventually moving to the
    nearby town of Little Silver. He died of a heart attack at Hazard
    Hospital in Long Branch, NJ, at the age of 69 on 27th February 1955.  He was
    survived by his wife Harriet; his son, radio writer Tom Howard Jr.; and his
    daughter Mrs. Ruth Howell Hoyt, known professionally as Ruth Howell, who wrote
    many gags and scripts for "Ignorant."

    GEORGE SHELTON was born on New York City's Bowery  on 4th March 1884. He
    started his vaudeville career playing tent shows in Iowa, toured
    with a repertory company for 5 years ["I used ta woik in dat
    town!..."],enlisted in the Army and saw action in World War I, toured post-war
    Germany in a show called "The Sporting Duchess," returned to the [removed] for more
    vaudeville dates eventually replacing Bobby Clark in an act called "The Merry
    Wives of Windsor." Shortly thereafter, he met up with and formed a partnership
    with Tom Howard.

    Shelton also appeared in the aforementioned Broadway show "Rain or Shine." His
    film appearance include "House on 92nd Street" and "Kiss of Death" (which
    featured OTR's Richard Widmark).  During the radio and television runs of
    "Ignorant, Shelton made his home in Hempstead, Nassau County (Long Island),
    NY.

    George Shelton died in a freak accident at the age of 87 on 24th April 1971 at
    a New York City nursing home where he resided. According to his "Variety"
    obituary, "...he was lighting his pipe when a book of matches exploded in his
    hand and his bedclothes caught fire. The third-degree burns were fatal."  He
    was survived by his wife.

    HARRY MacNAUGHTON was born into a British theatrical family which also
    included music hall headliners Alice Lloyd and Marie Lloyd. MacNaughton's
    father was the manager of London's Adelphi Theatre.

    MacNaughton served with the British Rifle Brigade during World War I ["I was
    in the last war, you know!..."],  was captured as a POW by the Germans in
    1918, and was so severely beaten  that he bore scars on his face from this
    experience.  He eventually went into theatre and emigrated
    to the [removed] in 1919 as part of the show "The Bitter 'Ole" which starred
    Charles Coburn.

    In 1929, while making a film in New York at Pathe' Studios, he escaped a fire
    by jumping out the window.  In the midst of the ensuing confusion, MacNaughton
     grabbed a chorus girl who later became the star Constance Cummings, in
    essence saving her life as the fire produced fatalities. In 1935, he began a
    six-year stint playing "Bottle" the butler on radio's "Phil Baker Show."

    MacNaughton, like Shelton, made his home in Nassau County, Long Island, first
    in Manhasset, and later in Amityville. He and his wife, women's golf champion
    Marion Turple, loved cats, having owned 14 felines at one time. Harry died at
    the age of 70, on 26th  February 1967.  He was survived by Ms. Turple.

    Born in Kansas City, LULU  McCONNELL was a seasoned performer by the time she
    was 16. The daughter of a dentist, Lulu began acting in  a [removed] stock company.
    This led to vaudeville where she met her future husband, fellow performer
    George Simpson, whom she married in 1907. Simpson & McConnell ["Me and my old
    [removed]"]  treaded the boards for several years.  In 1910 while playing the
    Alhambra Theatre, a temporary case  of stage fright caused her to lose her
    voice; this led to her getting through a performance with a series of rasping
    sounds, which brought down the house, established her as a polished
    comedienne, and gave her  trademark nails-on-chalkboard delivery.

    Throughout the  years, Miss McConnell performed in several Broadway shows with
    the likes of Nora Bayes, Lew Fields, Clifton Webb, and Willie & Eugene Howard
    and on the same vaudeville bills with Eddie Cantor, Lillian Russell, Anna
    Held, Eva Tanguay, and George Jessel.  She took particular pride in
    "discovering" comedian  Jack Oakie in the chorus of a show called "Peggy Ann,"
    in which she co-starred.

    Lulu's first radio appearance was with Gertrude Niesen and bandleader Isham
    Jones.   Like her fellow panelists MacNaughton and Shelton, she made her home
    in Nassau County in the town of Floral Park. While visiting the home of a
    former maid in Los Angeles on 9th October 1962,
    Lulu McConnell collapsed and died. She was 80. She was pre-deceased by her
    husband Grant Simpson, who died in 1932 at the age of 48.

    So, James, you're not the only "It Pays to Be Ignorant"  fan out there. I've
    always enjoyed it simply because it's FUNNY. By today's [removed] standards, the
    rapid-fire litany of drunk jokes, fat jokes, ugly jokes, and stupid jokes may
    seem unnerving to the non-OTR initiate. However, I thought there were some
    clever repartee and double-talk routines among the show's [removed] if most
    of the material was  comprised ofrecycled burlesque gags from Howard &
    Shelton's touring days.

    Recently, a professorial OTR historian/re-creationist/elder-statesman-of-
    the-hobby from the Elmira, NY, area cited "IPtBI" as one of the "Ten Worst OTR
    Shows of All-Time." I respect his opinion especially since said professor is a
    good friend of mine. However, I'm at variance with his contention that
    "Ignorant" catered its humour to the "least common denominator."  Maybe so.
    But I, at least, take comfort in the fact that the "[removed]" of the 1940s far
    out-classes  today's "[removed]," which has no problem with the tasteless toilet
    humour that permeates today's top-"grossing" comedy movies.

    I truly think "Ignorant" could work today--maybe not on a network or in
    syndication, but perhaps on an outlet like "Comedy Central." Just get a bunch
    of comics (let's not name  names) known today for acting "stupid"
    and let 'em go.

    Enough "soap-boxing." This "Elizabeth-an" length screed has tired me out.

    Yours ever in the ether,

    Derek Tague

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:21:22 -0500
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Shadow sponsors/Carl Kroenke

    Anthony Tollin wrote:

>      The episode in question,
>     "Can
>     the Dead Talk," exists in both Blue Coal and Goodrich
>     versions.  It's
>     the
>     Goodrich version that's featured in Radio Spirits' THE
>     SHADOW'S
>     GREATEST
>     RADIO ADVENTURES 40-show collection, and it features
>     Goodrich
>     commercials,
>     not Blue Coal.

    You're right. I'd relied on my memory, rather than
    checking the actual tape, assuming that since most of
    the shows on the tapes immediately previous to and
    following that one were Blue Coal-sponsored, this one
    was, too.

    But on the subject of Shadow sponsors, I'd still like
    to know how frequently Shadow records, tapes or CDs
    were released with the wrong sponsor ([removed] an Orson
    Welles' Goodrich commercial in a Johnstone episode). I
    know this topic came up sometime last year, but I
    haven't been able to track down the information to
    review it. I have at least one tape in my collection
    that features Welles hawking Goodrich in the middle of
    a Johnstone adventure, and I recall from the previous
    discussion on this topic that there was at least one
    other.

    And, regarding the split sponsorship (Blue Coal in the
    East, Carey Salt in the Midwest, Don Barr in the South
    and the USAF on the Don Lee network) alluded to in the
    booklet for the Shadow's Greatest Padio Adventures,
    was this during the entirety of Morrison's run, or
    only a portion of it? Dunning doesn't list the other
    sponsors in the split, but he does list Blue Coal
    through (or until) 1949. Is it possible that no Blue
    Coal broadcasts survive after 1949, but that it and
    the other sponsors continued to be involved beyond
    that point?

    On a related note, the episode "The Living Head",
    dated 2/10/46 is sponsored by Grove Cold Tablets. Was
    that a subsidiary of one of the above sponsors? If
    not, how does Groves fit into the mix? Dunning lists a
    Groves' Labs as a sponsor, in or after 1949.

    And finally, are there any surviving episodes of the
    Carl Kroenke Shadow programs?

    Thanks.

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:21:47 -0500
    From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re:Derel's Ad Agency

    When Derek asked what was a PBX (And got inundated with answers), he also
    mentioned the letters BBD&O, and indicated he knew that they were the
    initials of an advertising agency.

    For what it's worth, they were a major player in broadcasting back in those
    days. (No one on the Digest seemed to really care what the letters stood
    for, but I'll tell you anyway) :)

    We used to make up silly names to match the initials, (out of earshot of
    Agency personnel) but which actually stood for the 4 founders of the agency,
    Batton, Barton, Durston & Osborne.

    Hal(Harlan)Stone
    Jughead

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:21:54 -0500
    From: John Henley <jhenley@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Who dat again?

    An OT quickie:
    Elizabeth pointed out that

>      "who dat" ["Who dat say who dat say who dat?"] is the punchline to a
>     very, very, very old dialect gag that predates A&A by about fifty years.

    A version of this gag shows up in a 1943 East Side Kids movie
    called "Ghosts on the Loose" and the people who perpetrate it
    there are gang leader Leo Gorcey and - none other than Bela
    Lugosi.
    Imagine "Who dat say who dat when I say who dat!?" enunciated with
    a heavy Hungarian accent, and you've got the idea.

    John Henley

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:22:26 -0500
    From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Hal Stone and the burlesque

    Greetings,

    	I use Microsoft Outlook to handle my email, and it has a couple of
    filters built into it.  If it suspects that an email is junk it will
    highlight it lime green, and if it suspects that an email contains adult
    content, it will highlight the email maroon.  Imagine my surprise when Digest
    #65 showed up in my mailbox highlighted maroon.  Adult content in the
    digest???  I was [removed] well, not really, but I was really curious.
    So I read through the whole digest to find out what kind of salacious posting
    could so offend my Outlook software.  The only thing I could find which even
    came close was Hal Stone's memories of visiting the burlesque with his
    buddies after work.

    	Imagine, the fine gentleman we all know and respect spreading such
    smut in a family forum!  Just so you can see the depths of his depravity, I
    quote the offending section here:

    *** begin quoted section.

>     to attend the afternoon performance at the
>     Hudson Burlesque Theatre in Union City [removed]
>     ..... that's where we got our fill of "blue"
>     material from the "baggy pants" [removed]
>     and (sigh!) Strip Tease Artists.

    *** end quoted section.

    	I'm just kidding of course.  I love hearing about the first hand
    experiences of Hal Stone, Harry Bartell, and others.  I just thought it was
    hilarious that my software would label this bit as "ADULT CONTENT," and I
    wanted to share it with all of you.

    Regards,
    -Chris Holm

    [removed] Come to think it, a few of those emails where Hal was pitching his book
    were highlighted in junk mail lime green.  That's ok, I can't wait till
    Cincinnati where I can buy a copy of his book and get it autographed in
    person.

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:23:13 -0500
    From: "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  George & Gracie on DVD

    I didn't see anyone on the digest mention this, so I thought I would throw
    it into the mix for [removed]

    Universal Home Video recently released a triple feature DVD of some of Burns
    & Allen's 1930s feature films.  The movies are HERE COMES COOKIE (1935), SIX
    OF A KIND (1934), and LOVE IN BLOOM (1935).

    Of the three, SIX OF A KIND is probably the best, although ironically it's
    not the best showcase for George and Gracie--because Gracie's character in
    the film is not so much dizzy or ditzy as downright imbecilic.  But the
    movie does contain the great pool table routine by co-star [removed] Fields,
    who's really the whole show.  All in all, it's a pleasant little comedy with
    great supporting performances by Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland.

    HERE COMES COOKIE is an interesting little screwball comedy--a wealthy,
    retired businessman (George Barbier) attempts to keep one of his daughters
    from marrying a fortune hunter by temporarily turning over his fortune to
    his other daughter (Gracie, natch).  COOKIE has a wafer-thin plot but is
    breezy and easy to take, and Gracie does a cute musical number called "The
    Vamp From the Pampas."

    The final film, LOVE IN BLOOM, is interesting mostly as a curio--George &
    Gracie get top billing in the film, but they take a backseat to a somewhat
    sappy romance between two lovebirds (Joe Morrison and Dixie Lee--Bing
    Crosby's first wife).  The comedy bits that the Burnses do are funny, but
    there just aren't enough of them--although Gracie does get to do another
    musical number at the beginning, "Here Comes Cookie" (hey--wasn't the title
    of a 1934 film?).

    All in all, not a bad disc--it retails for $[removed], but you can probably hunt
    it down on the Net for cheaper.  I'm hoping Universal will be bold enough to
    issue future DVD releases like this one--a 3-for-1 deal can't be beat with a
    stick.

    Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

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

    Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:49:26 -0500
    From: Steven Kelez <otrsteve@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Shadow Episode

>     Hi Everybody, when I started to collect OTR in 1976.  One of my first 4
>     shows was a Shadow broadcast where a train was highjack, by jewels thieves.
>     Does any one know that title of this show and where I can find it I know
>     longer have a copy of this show.  Take care,

    The episode of the Shadow you are looking for is The Giant of Madres broadcast on
    5/16/48. You can get a cleaned up disc transfer from Old Time Radio Archives on CD,
    or you can get a slightly more cleaned up copy of their transfer from me at Radio
    Showcase, on either CD or cassette. I eliminated some disc clicks/scratches they
    overlooked. The commercials are missing.

    Steven Kelez
    RADIO SHOWCASE
    [removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #67
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