Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #198
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 7/6/2007 9:28 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to:
[removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2007 : Issue 198
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  A recollection of collection          [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
  Digest V2007 #197 Re:Ball game Recre  [ Frank McGurn <[removed]@sbcglobal. ]
  The Fugitive - and Conrad             [ "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed]; ]
  Midwest Baseball Network - Delayed 3  [ KENPILETIC@[removed] ]
  re: If my radio had a V-chip          [ Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed]; ]
  Re: [removed]                    [ "Glenn P.," <C128User@[removed]; ]
  WTIC's Golden Age of Radio            [ "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed] ]
  Re: Ballgame recreations              [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
  Re:What it was like for early collec  [ lasisk@[removed] ]
  Re: collecting OTRadio in the early   [ FabFicBks@[removed] ]
  Herb Jepko and the Nitecaps           [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
  Re: Long John Nebel On WOR            [ Default <swl2010@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 11:15:49 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  A recollection of collection

I'm curious to know what collecting OTR was like when the hobby first
started in the '60s and '70s.  I know there at least a few people on the
list that have been serious collectors since that time, and I hope they will
share some thoughts and experiences.

How difficult was it to get shows?  Were catalogs of circulating shows very
limited?  Were there any publications/fanzines that were around in those
very early days of collecting?

I'm absolutely certain there are several who can (and will) answer Sammy
Jones' questions better than I.  But because I "was there," I'll contribute
my experience.  November 25, 1960 was a dark day for me when all those
dramas, variety series and musical features left CBS forever.  Radio had
been my constant companion virtually all of my life.  While there would
still be Monitor and a few more remnants of favorites for a while (House
Party, The Breakfast Club, Arthur Godfrey, Suspense, YTJD), their total
number of hours was comparatively small.  It was really like attending a
funeral.

I'm uncertain where I learned about Radio Yesteryear in the late 1960s but
the idea of being able to acquire some of those beloved favorites on
reel-to-reel tape and to hear those sounds again after such a long dry spell
was almost too good to be true.  I got an address for the outfit in
Croton-on-Hudson, N. Y.  I owned a reel-to-reel player already, and when
those tapes came, I was in heaven!  That, of course, prompted me to order
more and more and that persisted until cassette tapes came into vogue (very
late 1960s or early 1970s, if I'm remembering my own experience about
right).

In the meantime, all the while I was writing notes to and getting replies
from Michael Raphone who ran Radio Yesteryear.  To find someone who shared
my passion was incredibly cool, I thought.  At some point I got my hands on
a copy of his 104-page catalog, second edition issued in 1968, and was
absolutely astounded by how much was then available for purchase (hundreds
and hundreds of shows -- I still have the catalog and despite its use it's
still in near pristine condition).

Other salespeople eventually arrived on that turf, particularly as
advancements were made in technology and recording and cleaning up static.
They proliferated after cassettes got rolling.  But for me, that's how
collecting began.  The interest, of course, went back to when I heard it
live every day.  It's been in my bloodstream ever since.

Jim Cox

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:06:19 -0400
From: Frank McGurn <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Digest V2007 #197  Re:Ball game Recreations

I am not a writer like some.  I talk better than I write. So, I left out
a word that changed the meaning of my sentenace.
The sentence was  referring to the 2 Chicago ball teams "This was
possible because they were in town on the same days".
It should  have been "NOT" in town the same [removed] about that, it
could happen again.
Frank McGurn

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:06:43 -0400
From: "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  The Fugitive - and Conrad

Mea culpa! To tell you the truth, I wasn't even thinking of
Conrad's announcing/narration at the time I suggested it ... I
had the voice of whoever ringing in thoughts as he said "A Quinn
Martin production" at the end of Barnaby Jones.

As Fibber would say, "Be that as it may, or may not, be ..." we
are back to "belanger's" question of whose voice it was that did
the wrap-around announcing on "The Untouchables." I still have in
mind a younger, more upbeat baritone that did those Warner Bros.
TV shows. Perhaps Stewart Wright was, er, uh, right when he
suggested Les Lampson. I'm not familiar with the name.

Bob Cockrum

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:06:53 -0400
From: KENPILETIC@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Midwest Baseball Network - Delayed 30 Minutes

Hi Gang -

Frank McGurn's comments about Chicago Cubs and White Sox Games  Broadcasts in
Issue 197 reminded me of the "Delayed Broadcasts" of  Cubs games on the
"Midwest Baseball Network" in the early 1950's.

The flagship station was WIND in Chicago, and the broadcast of  the game
would begin at (for example) 1 PM on WIND.   The broadcast  was recorded and
fed
to the network 30 minutes later (for example 1:30).  I  used to listen to Bert
Wilson announce the game on WSIV in Pekin, Illinois -  because WIND had a very
weak signal in LaSalle, where I lived.

One day I was with friends and we heard the game on WIND my friends  had a
better radio that I did.  The Cubs won.  After the game I went  home and told
my
dad that the Cubs had won.  He told me that the game
was still being played (he was listening on WSIV).  It was then that I
discovered how a betting person could really "clean up" by betting on things
that
had already happened during the game.  Naturally I didn't do  anything like
that.

Anyway, In 1957 I met the engineer who handled the broadcast from  WIND  He
told me that four special
tape recorders were "ganged together" so that when one was recording,
another was playing.  They did this
throught the game.  This means that broadcasts of all Cubs' home games  were
recorded. Unfortunately, the tapes were immediately re-used, so it is
unlikely that any complete Cubs games still exist on tape.

I'm wondering why the broadcasts of the games were delayed 30  minutes.  It
is obvious why such delayed broadcasts were discontinued.

Happy Taping -- Ken Piletic (currently in Alma, Arkansas)
_kenpiletic@[removed]_ (mailto:kenpiletic@[removed])

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:41:43 -0400
From: Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  re: If my radio had a V-chip
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from text/html

   If my radio had a V-chip when I was young, I wouldn't have heard the
   "Adventures by Morse" episode where Capt.  and Skip Turner and
   desperately questioning their jungle guide while he is being consumed
   by a carnivorous plant.  "Senors, it is squeezing my brain out!!!"
   On the other hand, Harold Lloyd's "Old Gold comedy theatre" was
   consistently racy.  I'm sure this kind of humour would have earned an
   M-rating.
   Stephen D
   Calgary (the Stampede is on now)

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

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:42:16 -0400
From: "Glenn P.," <C128User@[removed];
To: Old-Time Radio Mailing List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: [removed]

That's great news about the Harveytoons, but my own worry is for the logo:
the LAST time I bought a VHS tape of Harveytoons, about fifteen years ago,
the "H" on the TV set was GONE -- replaced by a *Paramount* logo!!! I nearly
died choking over the soda I was drinking at the time, and I swear to God
that if the corporate [removed] responsible for that particular travesty had
been standing in front of me at the time, I'd've strangled him right there
and then. Granted that Paramount had (apparently) obtained the rights to
distribute the tape -- did they HAVE to destroy the legitimate Harveytoon
logo?????

It STILL kills me, even now, to think that any kids who might buy a copy of
that tape will think that that's actually the way Harveytoons looked -- and
never be any the wiser! Aaaauuuggghhhh!!!  :(  :(  :(

Does the DVD have that marvelous "Harveytoon" theme music? (The Noveltoon
theme wasn't bad, either!)

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:42:34 -0400
From: "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  WTIC's Golden Age of Radio

Tune in to [removed] to hear 89 "Golden Age of Radio" shows and
43 One Night Stand with the Big Bands" programs. Just click on the link
above, turn down the lights, and enjoy the shows.

In addition, I've added some new programs that might be of interest -
including a memorial tribute to Hartford native Ed Begley, hosted by Dick
Bertel, and a special program featuring Mr. Begley as Mark Twain giving us a
tour of his historic home in Hartford.

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 17:11:39 -0400
From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re:  Ballgame recreations

A reminder from [removed]

Well, don't forget that most press boxes were
equipped with Western  Union tickers,

Aaaaaah well this is a possibility.  There's just NO
ambient noise, not even any other people in the
pressbox. And the fellow stammers and stalls *just*
often enough, when the little clicker goes silent, to
make me suspicious.  I'm gonna try to post a clip
online within a couple days.  Cause now I'm really
curious! :)

At the moment it's a mystery.  I appreciate all the
historical info.  These re-creations are more honest
that alot of "reality TV".  A lost art!

Chris

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 17:46:04 -0400
From: lasisk@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re:What it was like for early collectors

Sammy Jones wanted  to know what otr collecting  was like in the early days.
I have been collecting otr for over 40 years and  I must have about 20,000
shows in my computer, on dvds, cds, and yes still on cassettes. When I first
started collecting, there were 2 or 3 FM stations in the [removed] area that would
play otr. I eagerly listed to them and taped  programs off the radio. Then I
got  the "bug" real bad. I  borrowed  and dubbed otr from library cassettes
and from old records. When I travelled, I always took my radio recorder with
me and recorded radio dramas off the local radio when I was in England,
Holland and South Africa.  Later I discovered others with the same "bug" and
began swapping shows by dubbing my shows on to blank cassettes and then
mailing them to my trading partner. The first otr lists that I knew of where
lists compiled by otr traders to one other so that they could choose the
shows they wanted.  The 70's saw the birth of otr clubs which amassed their
own collect
ions and formed lending libraries for the benefit of their members, along
with otr periodicals. I joined several of them and by making use of their
libraries added shows to my collection, I never knew existed. The computer,
mp3 and dvd have since revolutionized otr collecting which will never be the
same.

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 18:42:12 -0400
From: FabFicBks@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: collecting OTRadio in the early days of the
 hobby

In response to Sammy Jones' question about  collecting in the early days of
this hobby, let me just say it was murder.   There were very few of us
collecting in the sixties; the collectors were  often extremely specialized,
and were
often clannish and had a dog-in-the-manger  attitude toward their material
that is almost impossible to comprehend in this  day and age.  Not that there
weren't some wonderful folks out there, but I  recall all too well that even
up
thru the mid 1970s there were collectors who  would not pass on the names of
other fans for fear you might try to  trade stuff with them before they had
exhausted your catalog, guys who had  restricted listings, so that if you got
something which was (according to  them) rare from them you had to promise
not to
trade it with anyone else  for a year or more, and guys who didn't even bother
to listen to their stuff,  just claimed everything in their catalog was in
excellent sound, and if you  complained that the reels you got back from them
were unlistenable they would  then try to bad mouth you to other collectors.

    Hell, it's supposed to be a fun hobby.  My  attitude has always been that
the more people you can get to listen to and enjoy  the shows the better off
the entire hobby is.  My view was a distinct  minority in the 1960s.  In
addition there really weren't that many shows  available, altho there were a
few
dealers selling reels, mostly the programs  Michaelson had
syndicated---Shadow,
Green Hornet, Lone Ranger and some Johnny  Dollar.  Some of those dealers are
still in the hobby, but most left when  they discovered they weren't going to
become fabulously wealthy selling copies  of Jack Benny and the Green Hornet
to millions of desperate collectors.   When I managed to record a lot of stuff
from the Armed Forces Radio archives  while I was in the army stationed in
Germany in the late 1960s it was a real  influx of new material for the hobby,
and keep me trading steadily for the next  six years.

    Things are infinitely better these days.   Collecting clubs, and the
expansion of the hobby have resulted in thousands of  old programs being
discovered that we never dreamed would ever surface in  those early days.
New formats
mean more people can access the hobby, which  means there are even more
chances for additional programs to be discovered and  shared.  Altho I
approve of
the use of many of the new formats, I have to  confess I still like to save my
stuff on 7" reel-to-reel format, (altho I listen  to most programs these days
on a portable cassette player.)

    I my opinion times have changed for the better in  this hobby.  I foresee
even more ranscriptions turning up, while better and  more focused research
as well as an ever broadening listener base for  OTRadio which will continue
to
benefit everyone interested in the old  shows.

---Bob Jennings

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 20:53:58 -0400
From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Herb Jepko and the Nitecaps

Bill Knowlton wrote about Herb Jepko's Nitecap program:

It allowed no political or religious discussions--or anything
controversial--so it was an eternat night of people calling in and reporting
what their weather was.

Well, strictly speaking religion was the only no-no.  You could talk about
politics if you wanted, but Herb wouldn't express a political opinion of his
own and it was obvious he disdained this type of call. It was a fun show.
There used to be a good fan site about it with audio clips and photos but
that doesn't seem to be around any more.

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

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 23:27:33 -0400
From: Default <swl2010@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Long John Nebel On WOR

Bill and Jim are correct Herb Jepko was carried by Mutual in-between
Nebel and King.  Here is the rest of what I can remember and I'll retire
my end of this topic.

Thanks for triggering my memory on Kreskin - he indeed was a frequent
guest on Nebel before he hit the big-time and afterwards.  I also
remember the great Chuck McCann spending a night as a guest and talking
about the early days on live TV, Ernie Kovacs and of course Laurel and
Hardy (McCann hosted several kids programs in NYC one of which he showed
L&H moves - he also played Hardy for years in those Anco wiper blade
commercials).  Somehow I think he may have had one or two Mad Magazine
writers on occasionally.  Jackie Gleason was also a guest and a fan of
the show (he was fascinated with the paranormal), Jacqueline Susan
(before Valley of the Dolls)

One of the great stories Nebel told was when he was doing a WOR show out
at the transmitter shack.  He had a fellow on - and amputee with one leg
who claimed that he had could psychicly will a limb where his  missing
leg was.  Nebel said the fellow sat quiet for most of the night and
suddenly got up and walked out of the studio - missing limb - like he
had two legs.  Nebel swears it was true.

Some of the members of Nebel's panel were Sanford Teller, publicist, Al
Lottman, Insurance Agent, Sol Schilizzi, locksmith, Donald Bain author,
Paris Flammonde (who was Nebel's producer and ghost writer for Nebel's
UFO books) - those are the ones I can remember.  There were many others
but that is all I can remember.  Alan Colmes is a huge Nebel fan.  In
the eighties when Colmes was on WABC, he assembled several members of
Nebel's panel for an overnight tribute show.

Nebel only slept for a brief time daily.  I remember as a kid going into
Manhattan and having breakfast at the Cromwell Drug Store in the RCA
Building.  I remember seeing Nebel come in to get coffee once, around 9
or 10 am - several hours after his program ended.

If anyone is interested:

A transcript of a Nebel program from WNBC in 1964:
[removed]

Article about the Candy Jones Mind-Control conspiracy:
[removed]

[removed] Nebel audio files:
[removed]

Jepko was another story.  Five hours a night of senior citizens talking
about absolutely nothing - nothing I tell you!  Listening to that
program was like being consigned to the grandparents table at family
gatherings.  I tend to think the religious and political ban was because
KSL, the station Jepko started on was owned by the LDS church.  A lot of
night-standers were of that particular faith.  I used to get KSL on the
east coast when the skip was good.  When the Mutual run ended he still
could be heard on a number of stations.  What killed Night Cap was the
Weather Channel.  When the Weather Channel premiered on cable in the
late 70's, every senior parked themselves in front of the TV 24/7 never
to be heard from again until it was time to go to the 4:00 pm
all-you-can eat restaurant - and then back to the Weather Channel.

I thank the group for indulging me.  It's not often I actually know
something and I'm always learning about OTR history from the posts by
the members here.

DR

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #198
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