------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2009 : Issue 149
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Re: Jake Goldberg [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Biography in [removed] [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
Holmes on new OTR? [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
ANOTHER VOICE HEARD FROM [ David Siegel <otrdsiegel@[removed] ]
Jews and OTR [ etorch@[removed] ]
OTR And MP3 [ S Jansen <ilamfan@[removed]; ]
8-6 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
re: mp3s and otr quality [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Green Hornet update [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Re: Green Hornet presentation [ Bob <hrkeller@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 13:33:09 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Jake Goldberg
"Since Mr. Loeb created the part and played it on the stage, in the movies
and on TV, his replacement in the role of Papa, who is Harold J. Stone,
admittedly has several strikes against him. Thus far, and he has not been
seen very much, Mr. Stone has displayed little of the decisiveness and
humorous understanding so effectively conveyed by Mr. Loeb. As one
discerning viewer put it, he is in more ways than one a stepfather in the
Goldberg family."
Not to pick too fine a point, but while Phil Loeb was a very fine actor,
he certainly didn't create the part of Jake Goldberg. Himan Brown (yes,
that Himan Brown) claims to have played the role for a few weeks very
early in the radio run, but when he had a falling out with Mrs. Berg,
veteran Broadway actor James R. Waters was brought in to take over the
role -- and played it for over fifteen years, until his death in 1945. It
was Waters who created all the various tics and quirks that characterized
Jake, and while Loeb gave the part a fine interpretation, he at best was
recreating Waters' approach to the part. It was Waters' death in 1945
that led Berg to drop the radio show that year -- at the time, she
considered him irreplaceable. Given that Waters played Jake longer than
anyone, and that his interpretation of the role defined it for all
subsequent versions, it's unfortunate he rarely gets any mention.
The fact that as thorough a critic as Jack Gould saw fit to ignore the
series' radio run when writing in 1952 suggests that the problem of radio
being the forgotten cousin to TV goes back far further than most people
want to admit.
Elizabeth
(I've been around, but have been too busy earning a living to post much.)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 13:33:14 -0400
From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Biography in [removed]
"Biography in sound" was an excellent NBC radio program. I have some of
them. However, beware of sound quality. Some are excellent, but some are
of poor audio quality. I like the one on Fred Allen, but could use a copy
in better sound. Also, another good one is about Arturo Toscanini.
Ted Kneebone. 1528 S. Grant St., Aberdeen, SD 57401. Phone: 605-226-3344.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 13:33:19 -0400
From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Holmes on new OTR?
A Sherlockian friend of mine in Washington, DC is trying to track
down a Sherlock Holmes story that was produced within a series in the
1975-1985 era by the National Radio Theatre of Chicago for Station
WGBH in Boston. The story aired as a part of a half hour radio series
"The Spider's Web" on the American Public Radio Network.
The story was "The Purloined Letter" and it opened with excerpts from
"A Scandal in Bohemia" (with Barry Boys portraying Holmes.) The air
date for this show is believed to be in 1984.
Does this program ring a bell with any Digesters?
Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
<[removed]>
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 13:33:23 -0400
From: David Siegel <otrdsiegel@[removed];
To: OTR DIGEST <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: ANOTHER VOICE HEARD FROM
For Digest readers who are unhappy that the Goldbergs documentary
didn't include more information about the radio version, I recommend
two books:
Glenn Smith's biography of Gertrude Berg, "Something of My Own"
(Smith had complete access to Berg's scripts and papers that are
located at Syracuse University. But be forewarned. The book covers
lots more than Berg's radio days.
And my book, "Radio and the Jews" that has a complete chapter on the
Goldbergs, including comments from Himan Brown who was involved with
the program at the very beginning. But again be forewarned, my book
is not about Berg, per se, but rather about the image of Jews that
the program presented to a mostly Christian audience.
Each author, as well as documentary maker, by necessity, sifts
through voluminous amounts of material before narrowing down his or
her focus.
DAVE SIEGEL
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 13:33:29 -0400
From: etorch@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Jews and OTR
There are more profound questions than whether or not seders were mentioned
when discussing the history of OTR in the 30's and 40's.
I always found it curious that so many Jewish stars of the era, Cantor,
Jolson, Benny, Burns, Brice and on and on couldn't sqeeze out a single "and
Happy Hanuka , too" as they were signing off their annual Christmas shows. At
least the Goldbergs admitted that the family was Jewish!
This forum is perhaps not suited for such horrific topics as the Holocaust,
but if there was a mass appeal on behalf of European Jewry, I must also
mention that I find no broadcasts available. I have seen films, however, of a
very touching rally at Madison Square Garden in this regard, featuring many
Jewish and non-Jewish stars(Edward G. Robinson, Paul Muni). I would like to
imagine that this rally [removed] was at least heard in NYC.
Evan Torch, MD
Atlanta
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 13:33:40 -0400
From: S Jansen <ilamfan@[removed];
To: "Bulletin Board, OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: OTR And MP3
I have posted a bunch of audio samples at my blog:
[removed]
It's an OTR spoken word bit and a music bit, both given in their
unadulterated wav files, and then several other decreasing quality mp3 files.
My 2 cents: for a mono file (all OTR is mono, even up to CBSRMT, I believe),
22kHz is a fine samplerate. The [removed] is a standard designed for *stereo*
files, that's 22,000Hz per channel, a shade more than we humans can hear.
The files I have worked on for First Generation Radio Archives (seven years
so far!) generally fall around 10-12kHz, very occasionally getting up to
[removed] those files are direct from the transcriptions. 48 is
essentially inaudible difference from [removed] unless you're dealing with
pristine audio in the first place, a fine choice for working on files in the
digital domain, as the math involved is more precise at 48.
Bitrate equals filesize. Huge bitrates do not always equal better sound,
they do always equal bigger files. Try different bitrates to see what works
best for the material you are working with.
Always archive to uncompressed wav. No noise reduction. No nothin'. From
this file, you can do many wonderful things later.
>From the samples, you can tell a 32/22 mp3 from the original wav pretty
easily, but the "low quality" mp3 is not hard to listen to in the least.
Quality source material is the real key to great sounding encodes.
Stephen Jansen
8^)#
Old Time Radio never dies, it just changes formats!
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 13:34:38 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 8-6 births/deaths
August 6th births
08-06-1881 - Leo Carrillo - Los Angeles, CA - d. 9-10-1961
actor: Pedro "Grapevine Rancho"; "Four Frightened People"; "Good News
of 1939"
08-06-1881 - Louella Parsons - Freeport, IL - d. 12-9-1972
commentator: "Hollywood Hotel"; "Louella Parsons"
08-06-1888 - Arthur Fields - Philadelphia, PA - d. 3-29-1953
singer: "Old Man of the Mountains"; "Pipe Smoking Time"
08-06-1892 - Victor Rodman - Arkansas - d. 6-29-1965
actor: Jerry Payne "Those We Love"
08-06-1894 - Jack Kirkwood - Scotland - d. 8-2-1964
actor: Jack Williams "Saunders of the Circle X"; Uncle Jim "Hawthorne
House"
08-06-1895 - Phil Boutelje - Phildelphia, PA - d. 7-29-1979
arranger: Paul Whiteman Orchestra
08-06-1900 - Tony Parenti - New Orleans, LA - d. 4-17-1972
jazz clarinetist: "WNYC, NY Jazz Festival"
08-06-1903 - Henry Burbig - d. 12-14-1980
dialect comedian: "Burbig's Syncopated History"; "Vitaphone Hour"
08-06-1909 - Mike Barry - d. 1-10-1992
sportscaster: WKO Louisville, Kentucky
08-06-1911 - Dwight Butcher - Oakdale, TN - d. 11-11-1978
singer: (Cedar Ridge Boys) WBAP Fort Worth, Texas
08-06-1911 - Lucille Ball - Celoron, NY - d. 4-26-1989
comedienne: Liz Cooper "My Favorite Husband"; Lucy Ricardo "I Love Lucy"
08-06-1912 - Marina Koshetz - Moscow, Russia - d. 12-9-2000
singer: "Kraft Music Hall"
08-06-1914 - Dorothy Ashmore - d. 7-3-1989
women's programming: WCAT Orange, Massachusetts
08-06-1914 - Enright "Hi" Busse - Minnesota - d. 7-13-1997
singer: (Riders of the Purple Sage) "Roy Rogers Show"; "Andrew Sisters"
08-06-1915 - Jim Ameche - Kenosha, WI - d. 2-4-1983
actor: Jack Armstrong "Jack Armstrong"; Jim West "Silver Eagle"
08-06-1916 - Phil Leeds - NYC - d. 8-16-1998
comic actor: "Jane Pickens Show"; "Slapsie Maxie Show"
08-06-1917 - Edward Jewesbury - London, England - d. 1-30-2002
actor: "Lady in a Fog"
08-06-1917 - Robert Mitchum - Bridgeport, CT - d. 7-1-1997
actor: "Family Theatre"; "So Proudly We Hail"
08-06-1921 - Buddy Collette - Los Angeles, CA
composer: "Uprising: Buddy Collette: Jazz Legend and Civil Rights
Activist"
08-06-1921 - Ella Raines - Snoqualmie, WA - d. 5-30-1988
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Red Cross Show"
08-06-1922 - Jackie Kelk - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-5-2002
actor: Jimmy Olsen "Advs. of Superman"; Homer Brown "Aldrich Family"
08-06-1922 - Old Joe Clark - Johnson City, TN - d. 2-20-1998
banjo playing humorist: "Renfro Valley Barn Dance"
08-06-1923 - William B. Williams - Babylon, NY - d. 8-3-1986
disc jockey: Leading New York DJ for more than 40 years at WNEW
08-06-1925 - Barbara Bates - Denver, CO - d. 3-18-1969
writer: "Just Plain Bill"; "Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons"
08-06-1932 - Jerry Girard - Chicago, IL - d. 3-25-2007
disk jockey, record librarian, news writer, sportscaster
08-06-1933 - Beverly Wills - California - d. 10-24-1963
actor: (Daughter of Joan Davis) Fluffy Adams "Junior Miss"
August 6th deaths
01-16-1914 - Don Ettlinger - Detroit, MI - d. 8-6-2000
writer: "Railroad Hour"; "Our Miss Brooks"; "Doctor Fights"
01-24-1916 - Jack Brickhouse - Peoria, IL - d. 8-6-1998
sportscaster: Chicago
02-10-1914 - Larry Adler - Baltimore, MD - d. 8-6-2001
harmonica player: "Forecast"
02-16-1921 - Frances Rickett - Covington, KY - d. 8-6-2008
writer: "Family Theatre"; "Al Goodman's Musical Album"
02-19-1893 - Cedric Hardwicke - Stourbridge, England - d. 8-6-1964
actor: Sherlock Holmes "BBC Home Theatre"; Winston Churchill "These
Four Men"
02-21-1929 - James Beck - Islington, North London, England - d. 8-6-1973
actor: Private Joe Walker "Dad's Army"
03-17-1930 - Grover C. Mitchell - Whatley, AL - d. 8-6-2003
trombonist: "Count Basie and His Orchestra"; "Bring Back the Bands"
03-25-1914 - Robert Rounseville - Attleboro, MA - d. 8-6-1974
singer: "The Voice of Firestone"
04-08-1930 - Dorothy Tutin - London, England - d. 8-6-2001
actor: "Before the Party"
04-12-1931 - Betty Clooney - Maysville, KY - d. 8-6-1976
singer: (The Clooney Sisters) "Moon River"
04-17-1903 - Gregor Piatigorsky - Yekaterinoslav, Russia - d. 8-6-1976
cellist: "Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra"; "The Pause that
Refreshes . . On the Air"
04-17-1923 - Harry Reasoner - Dakota City, IA - d. 8-6-1991
reporter: CBS News Washington
05-17-1902 - Fausto Cleva - Trieste, Italy - d. 8-6-1971
conductor: "NBC Symphony Orchestra"; "Metropolitan Opera Auditions"
05-21-1906 - Marie Joan Callahan - Chicago, IL - d. 8-6-1984
assistant director, director, producer and creator
08-15-1898 - Monroe Upton - d. 8-6-1990
announcer, writer, comedian: KFRC San Francisco
08-29-1898 - Preston Sturges - Chicago, IL - d. 8-6-1959
film producer, writer, director: "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-15-1906 - Kathryn Murray - Jersey City, NJ - d. 8-6-1999
hostess: "Advs. of Ellery Queen"
10-01-1909 - Everett Sloane - NYC - d. 8-6-1965
actor: Frank Kennelly, "21st Precinct"; Alfred Drake "This Is Nora
Drake"
10-08-1910 - Roswell B. Rogers - d. 8-6-1998
writer: "Texaco Star Theatre"; "Old Gold Show"; "Lum and Abner"
12-03-1904 - Roberto Marinho - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. 8-6-2003
Owner of Brazil's Organizaces Globo radio
Ron
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 13:35:29 -0400
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: mp3s and otr quality
rand@[removed], summarizing our listmaster's blog, writes:
-The reason so many old time radio shows sound terrible in mp3 files isn't
because of the bit rate, it's because they come from tenth generation tape
copies or badly recorded conversions from other formats.
Hear, hear!! I've been rather surprised by the rosey-eyed view of pre-mp3
sound files. Whether on cassette, reel-to-reel, or whatnot, they were not
always perfect! I started collecting OTR in the early 80s, mostly commercial
records and tapes. But I was really passionate about The Shadow, and round a
source to buy tapes (Roy's something or another, I think), probably through
an ad in the back of a magazine. Some of these had *terrible* sound. Indeed,
it was nearly two decades later, after I had re-entered the hobby in the
digital age, before I acquired a listenable copy of the "Spider boy" episode
of The Shadow.
I totally respect those whose ears can't abide by mp3 or other compressed
formats. But so long as an mp3 is from a decent source, I can enjoy it. The
convenience can't be beat--I can't go jogging with a reel-to-reel machine or
transcription record player!
Kermyt
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 13:35:51 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Green Hornet update
Bob Jennings commented:
Gee, I live in central Mass., sort of a long drive to get down to the metro
Washington area. Any chance this presentation could be run somewhere as a text
feature or a DVD or a podcast or something else so the rest of us interested
collectors can enjoy it as well?
Bob, I will also be doing the same presentation at the Friends of Old-Time Radio on Thursday, October 22 in Newark, New Jersey. I cannot do it as a text feature because it involves a slide show up on the big screen, with explanations of the photos and illustrations.
Martin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 13:42:11 -0400
From: Bob <hrkeller@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Green Hornet presentation
It would be great if some enterprising member shot it on video and hoisted it
to Youtube.
BTW The Green Hornet book is available for pre-order on Amazon (I've got mine
in the que).
Bob Keller
Waukesha, Wisc.
[ADMINISTRIVIA: As Martin will be presenting at FOTR in October, you will be
able to purchase a copy of the presentation from Fred Berney sometime after
the con. It won't appear on YouTube, for obvious reasons. --cfs3]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2009 Issue #149
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