Subject: [removed] Digest V2008 #97
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 4/17/2008 5:54 AM

To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2008 : Issue 97
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Missed the Cincinnati Convention      [ "Nevik Demonovich" <nevik@legionofd ]
      Cincy Hotel report                    [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
      FPA                                   [ Bhob Stewart <bhob2@[removed]; ]
      FPA and the Conning Tower             [ Brian Johnson <chyronop@[removed] ]
      Non-Fan                               [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      BEST STARTING EPISODE                 [ "Andolina, Joe" <Joe_Andolina@cable ]
      OTR demo episodes                     [ Kenneth Schwartz <kschwar@[removed] ]
      The Conning Tower                     [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
      Information, Please Quiz Show         [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Walgreen show - Groucho Marx          [ Andrew Steinberg <otrdig2@[removed] ]
      FPA and the Conning Tower             [ George Tirebiter <tirebiter2@hotmai ]
      My esoteric OTR blog/podcast          [ rand@[removed] ]
      Jim Jordan (Fibber McGee) appearing   [ David Fx <df789@[removed]; ]
      4-17 births/deaths                    [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      FPA and the Conning Tower             [ TIMOTHY M KELLEY <tmk1_99@[removed]; ]
      The Lone Ranger and Transcontinental  [ "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross. ]

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

    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:41:45 -0400
    From: "Nevik Demonovich" <nevik@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Missed the Cincinnati Convention

    I have been going since I moved to Cincinnati in 1993 and missed it this
    year because of a pulmonary embolism.  It was also my wife's birthday on the
    12th, so it was a rough time for us.  I'm looking forward to next year and
    will pass the word around.  X Minus One was playing to help me rest during
    those harsh days in the hospital.  :-)  I still listen to something almost
    every single night of the year since it helped cure my insomnia around 15
    years ago.  I listen to a large amount of modern BBC productions, love
    horror and science fiction.  I rarely post here but prefer radio plays over
    film.

    Good health to everyone,
    Kevin Hartnell

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

    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:44:06 -0400
    From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Cincy Hotel report

    Jim Cox asks about the hotel in Cincinnati.

    One man's opinion:  Excellent desk service this year, unlike last year.
    Soap and towels in the room this year, unlike last year.

    But:  The restaurant served waffles that were still frozen inside, as per
    several breakfast-eaters.

    The man at the front desk told me that the hotel will soon become a
    Holiday Inn, so once again it will have a new name.  Does that make three
    or four years in a row now?

    Martin, be sure of the hotel's 2009 name before you print your fliers!

    And if you post a PDF of your flier on your web site, we can download and
    print it ourselves, saving you a ton of postage.

    ---Dan

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

    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:47:38 -0400
    From: Bhob Stewart <bhob2@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  FPA
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    I'm sure others will respond, so I'll just quickly note that "The
    Conning Tower" was the name of the humor column Franklin Pierce Adams
    (1881-1960) wrote at various times for THE NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE,
    THE NEW YORK POST and THE NEW YORK WORLD.

    FPA's column featured reviews, puns, light verse, commentary and
    contributions from other writers. In the course of putting such
    contributors into print, he discovered George S. Kaufman, Robert
    Benchley and Dorothy Parker, who said of FPA, "He raised me from a
    couplet."

    His columns were collected in several books, including THE CONNING
    TOWER BOOK (1926), THE SECOND CONNING TOWER BOOK (1927) and THE COLUMN
    BOOK OF FPA (1928).

    Bhob @ [removed]

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    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:50:17 -0400
    From: Brian Johnson <chyronop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  FPA and the Conning Tower

    Kenneth Clarke asked about Franklin Pierce Adams and the Conning Tower. That was just the name of
    the column that FPA wrote for various NY papers between 1913 and 1941.

    The conning tower was, before radar, the highest place on a ship. The man in the conning tower
    would have direct communication to the helmsman to keep the ship away from danger. Today, there is
    a conning station on the bridge of most ships. Because Gene Roddenberry was a veteran of the
    aircraft carrier Enterprise, when Captain Kirk left the bridge in "Star Trek" he would always tell
    someone, "You have the Con," meaning that person was at the helm.

    Of the Information Please regulars, all save Oscar Levant have faded from the nation's collective
    memory. FPA's name may light up the dark corners of some baseball fans for haveing penned those
    infamous lines:

            These are the saddest of possible words:
            "Tinker to Evers to Chance."
            Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
            Tinker and Evers and Chance.
            Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
            Making a Giant hit into a double --
            Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
            "Tinker to Evers to Chance."

    And in case you were wondering, FPA was NOT related to Franklin Pierce the President. He took that
    middle name at his bar mitzvah. (So, in that regard is not related to the current occupant of the
    White House who is through his mother.)

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

    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:19:56 -0400
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Non-Fan

>     If I wanted to introduce a non-fan to a particular
>     show, what are good episodes to start with that
>     will make a great impression?

    The one thing that I would NOT do is introduce them to "Amos 'n'
    Andy."  That would kill even the slightest interest they may have in
    OTR.

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:41:04 -0400
    From: "Andolina, Joe" <Joe_Andolina@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  BEST STARTING EPISODE

    My choice would be Amos N' Andy's Christmas episode I believe from 1950
    where Andy gets a job as a Department Store Santa.

    Joe

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

    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:41:16 -0400
    From: Kenneth Schwartz <kschwar@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR demo episodes

    I worked at a summer camp in West Virginia many years ago and introduced
    the kids to some OTR. They were particularly enamored with a Suspense
    episode "On a Country Road" and found the vintage Pepsi ads very
    amusing. They also enjoyed Archie, Mysterious Traveler, Life of Riley,
    and some pre-war Fibber McGee and Mollys.

    Ken Schwartz

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

    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:59:51 -0400
    From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Conning Tower

    Kenneth Clarke asks what The Conning Tower was, in relation to
    Franklin P. Adams of "Information Please" fame. Since Martin Grams.
    Jr. wrote the book on this revered quiz program, I'm sure he'll weigh
    in on this query also.

    "The Conning Tower" was the name of FPA's daily column in The New
    York Tribune. His prior column was "Always in Good Humor" and the
    name changed to "The Conning Tower" in January 1914 when he switched
    from The Evening Mail to the NY Tribune.  It was full of poetry,
    literary criticism, theatre news,  sports, and contributions from
    readers.  It was easily the most popular column in any Manhattan
    paper and why its writer was the first one hired for the new quiz
    program, "Information Please" in 1938.

    In his 1944 semi-biography, "Nods and Becks," FPA tells of his first
    meeting with radio producer Dan Golenpaul who asked him a bunch of
    "Old Stuff" questions. Impressed with his answers, Golenpaul had FPA
    audition in the studio twice in April 1938, along with a small group
    of college professors and scientists. A week later FPA was told he
    was hired and directed to show up for the first program on May 17th.

    The panel initially was having some trouble with the sports questions
    so FPA recommended John Kieran, a sports writer for the New York
    Times, whom FPA worked with when Kieran was at the Tribune. Kieran
    went through the same audition process, was hired by Golenpaul, and
    joined the panel on June 7, 1938. He was paid $ 40 per show then, he
    recalled in his 1964 autobiography, "Not Under Oath."

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    <[removed]>

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

    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:23:31 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Information, Please Quiz Show
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    Kenneth Clarke commented:

>     One of the panelists, Franklin P. Adams is referred to a member of the
>     'Conning Tower'on each program by host Clifton Fadiman. My question is simple
>     what wasthis place and why was this important enough to be mentioned on each
>     program?John Kieran was referred to a 'sports authority, published author,
>     and
>     somethingof a savant.' Oscar Levant was referred to by Fadiman as 'a musical
>     authority,movie star, and composer.' Adams is referred to only as a member of
>     the'Conning Tower'. I've tried checking it out on the internet, but no luck!

    This is a wonderful example where a published book devoted to one particular
    radio program serves as a better source of reference than the world wide web.

    INFORMATION, PLEASE by Martin Grams, Jr.
    Reprinted from page [removed]

    Franklin P. Adams, best known as Frank to his closest friends, was known as
    "[removed]"
    under the byline of the NEW YORK POST'S popular "Conning Tower" column.  He
    had
    top writers vying to contribute to his "Conning Tower" where he also supplied
    his own
    crisp, humorous verse and wide-ranging commentary.

    [removed]

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    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:24:00 -0400
    From: Andrew Steinberg <otrdig2@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Walgreen show - Groucho Marx
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from text/html

       The genesis for "You Bet Your Life" was a 10 minute clip of a show
       starring Bob Hope and Groucho Marx. Some call the show "Walgreen Hour"
       and date it to 47-03-27. The show itself refers to the "Walgreen show"
       and Walgreen's Anniversary.

       Marx [removed] says that the recording date was 47-04-27 with no
       broadcast date given.

       Does anyone know if or when the show was broadcast? I can't find
       anything in the New York Times or Washington Post about this show.

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    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:46:12 -0400
    From: George Tirebiter <tirebiter2@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  FPA and the Conning Tower

    Kenneth Clarke wrote:

>     Franklin P. Adams is referred to a member of the 'Conning Tower'on each
>     program by host Clifton Fadiman. My question is simple what wasthis place
>     and why was this important enough to be mentioned on eachprogram?

    The Conning Tower wasn't a place, it was the title of FPA's newspaper column.
    It appeared in various New York City newspapers over the years and was
    syndicated in a few more (one source says it was never in more than six
    newspapers in any one time). Still, it was a very big thing in NYC

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

    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:36:38 -0400
    From: rand@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  My esoteric OTR blog/podcast

    I posted a couple of weeks ago about some transcriptions I'm starting to
    collect.  I've been thinking about how to share them and am trying a
    podcast/blog to put them online with label scans and any info about the
    discs and shows I can dig up.

    I'm trying to decide whether to pay the small monthly fee for extra
    storage space at the site (I'm using the "free" version now) - let me know
    what you think and if you might like to see it continue.

    [removed]

    Randy
    Mebane, NC

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

    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:36:56 -0400
    From: David Fx <df789@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Jim Jordan (Fibber McGee) appearing in an AARP
     commercial
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    If anyone wants to see Jim Jordan appearing in an AARP commercial and opening
    his closet with predictable results you can see it in the DVD set titled
    "Classic Commercials" [disc 2]. Check various retailers for availability.

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    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:37:01 -0400
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  4-17 births/deaths

    April 16th births

    04-17-1897 - Thornton Wilder - Madison, WI - d. 12-7-1975
    writer: "This Is My Best"
    04-17-1898 - Howard Claney - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 4-30-1980
    announcer: "American Album of Familiar Music"; "NBC Symphony"
    04-17-1901 - Marie Blizard - d. 10-20-1991
    writer: Network radio
    04-17-1903 - Gregor Piatigorsky - Yekaterinoslav, Russia - d. 8-6-1976
    cellist: "Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra"; "The Pause that
    Refreshes  . .  On the Air"
    04-17-1905 - Arthur Lake - Corbin, KY - d. 1-10-1987
    actor: (Brother of Florence Lake) Dagwood Bumstead "Blondie"
    04-17-1909 - Rex Rienits - Dubbo, Australia - d. 4-30-1971
    author: "A Matter of Life or Else"
    04-17-1910 - Ivan Goff - Perth, Australia - d. 9-23-1999
    screenwriter: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    04-17-1911 - Alvin C. W. Bahnsen - d. 12-xx-1985
    newscaster: WWRL New York
    04-17-1911 - George Seaton - South Bend, IN - d. 7-28-1979
    actor, film director: Lone Ranger "The Lone Ranger"; "Screen
    Director's Playhouse"
    04-17-1913 - Harry Clark - Providence, RI - d. 2-28-1956
    newscaster, announcer: "CBS News"; "Backstage Wife"; "Columbia Workshop"
    04-17-1913 - Richard Travis - Carlsbad, NM - d. 7-11-1989
    announcer and sportscaster
    04-17-1915 - Joe Foss - Sioux Falls, SD - d. 1-1-2003
    south dakota governor: "Tops in Sports"
    04-17-1918 - Anne Shirley - NYC - d. 7-4-1993
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    04-17-1918 - John Hess - Chicago, IL - d. 4-15-2004
    writer: "The Human Adventure"
    04-17-1918 - William Holden - O'Fallon, IL - d. 11-16-1981
    actor: "Hour of Mystery"; "Smiths of Hollywood"; "So Proudly We Hail"
    04-17-1920 - Arnold Yarrow - London, England
    author: "After Moscow
    04-17-1923 - Harry Reasoner - Dakota City, IA - d. 8-6-1991
    reporter: CBS News Washington
    04-17-1923 - Lindsay Anderson - South India - d. 8-30-1994
    film director: First person to udder the "F" word on the BBC
    04-17-1923 - Lon McCallister - Los Angeles, CA - d. 6-11-2005
    actor: "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Cavalcade of America"; "Family Theatre"
    04-17-1925 - Blaine Walsh - d. 9-5-1985
    sportscaster: Milwaukee Braves
    04-17-1926 - Joan Loring (Dellie Ellis) - Hong Kong, China
    actor: Judy Foster "A Date with Judy"
    04-17-1927 - Graziella Sciutti - Turin, Italy - d. 4-9-2001
    operatic soprano: "Meetropolitan Opera"
    04-17-1928 - Don West - Fredonia, KS - d. 8-13-2004
    announcer, writer, newsman: Clifton, Arizona

    April 16th deaths

    01-17-1891 - Marjorie Gateson - Brooklyn, NY - d. 4-17-1977
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    02-23-1912 - Thomas L. Thomas - Maesteg, South Wales - d. 4-17-1983
    singer: "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round"; "Voice of Firestone"
    06-01-1917 - Norb Beckers - d. 4-17-1996
    disk jockey: WDSG Dyersburg, Tennessee
    06-02-1924 - Peter Hackes - NYC - d. 4-17-1994
    newscaster: "News of the World"; "Meet the Press"
    06-11-1914 - Dudley Manlove - Oakland, CA - d. 4-17-1996
    announcer: "Candy Matson, YU2-8209"
    06-19-1925 - Robert Barager - d. 4-17-2004
    disk jockey: WNBZ Saranac Lake, New York
    07-06-1892 - Jack Yellen - Razcki, Poland - d. 4-17-1991
    lyricist: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    07-16-1891 - Blossom Seeley - San Francisco, CA - d. 4-17-1974
    song and dance trouper: "The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air"
    07-16-1903 - Carmen Lombardo - London, Canada - d. 4-17-1971
    saxophonist: (Guy's brother) "Guy Lombardo and His Orchestra"; "Esso
    Marketer"
    08-06-1900 - Tony Parenti - New Orleans, LA - d. 4-17-1972
    jazz clarinetist: "WNYC, NY Jazz Festival"
    08-17-1904 - Elizabeth Bilson - d. 4-17-1995
    soprano: WBAL Baltimore, Maryland
    08-18-1918 - Hank Penny - Birmingham, AL - d. 4-17-1992
    singer, rhythn guitar: "The Radio Cowboys"
    09-12-1921 - Frank McGee - Monroe. LA - d. 4-17-1974
    nbc newsman: "Meet the Press";"The Great Debate"
    10-29-1883 - William K. Wells - NYC - d. 4-17-1956
    writer: "Under Arrest"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:23:08 -0400
    From: TIMOTHY M KELLEY <tmk1_99@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  FPA and the Conning Tower

    The Conning Tower was the name of Adams' newspaper column, which ran in
    various NYC newspapers from 1921-1941.  FPA was also a member of the
    famous Algonquin Round Table.

    I'm not sure of the origin of the name of "Conning Tower" but,  a conning
    tower was the old name of the tower part of a submarine (now referred to
    as a sail).  Perhaps it derived from the fact that it was from the
    conning tower that the periscope could be raised to observe the boat's
    surroundings.

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

    Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:50:07 -0400
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Lone Ranger and Transcontinental Telegraph

>     Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:40:35 -0400
>     From: Stephen A Kallis <skallisjr@[removed];

>     I don't know the dates, but, for The Lone Ranger, the building of the
>     Transcontinental Telegraph.  The show provides historical perspective,
>     includes a section of currency and economics, and shows how by helping
>     the American Indians in bad times (a famine) could more than pay for
>     itself in more than goodwill.

    I remember that episode -- in fact, I think I may have it on a vinyl
    record.  It's a great episode in many ways, but it seemed to have an
    anachronism in it.  I had always thought the Lone Ranger took place
    after the Civil War.  For one thing, the origin story takes place in
    Texas, which implies that Texas was back in the Union.  For another,
    it's hard to imagine the LR being able to ride all over the west so
    freely if the Civil War is still going on.  And I believe the era of
    rapid settling of the west, which is the era of most westerns, is
    sometime after the Civil War.

    But the episode, if we're thinking of the same one, clearly takes
    place during the Civil War, and there's even a brief mention or
    appearance of President Lincoln.

    --
    A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                           [removed]
     92 State Street, Suite 700                   Fax [removed]
    Boston, MA 02109-2004           	         [removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2008 Issue #97
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