------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 01 : Issue 148
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Radio Mysteries ["Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm]
Re: OTR Detective Shows ["Stewart Wright" <stewwright@worldn]
KDKA versus WWJ [Donna Halper <dlh@[removed]; ]
George Zachary [Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
H-Bar-0 and the B-Bar-B [Jack A French <otrpiano@[removed]; ]
Marvin Miller's Whistler [Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed]]
BBC/SHORT WAVE ["Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed]; ]
AUSTRALIAN RADIO BOOKS ["Ian Grieve" <ian@[removed]]
#OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig [lois@[removed] ]
Re: BBC archives [Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed]; ]
more on Billy Murray ["Art Shifrin" <goldens2@[removed]]
War of Worlds ownership [Fred Owens <awowens@[removed]; ]
Re:Antique radio replicas/repros [passage@[removed] ]
Frank Hemingway--newscaster in the ' [SacChief@[removed] ]
Notes [William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];]
Perry Como [lawrence albert <albertlarry@yahoo.]
old radio misic ["Birdwalk Farms" <pheadoux@[removed]]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 20:26:31 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio Mysteries
A friend of mine in Harrisburg is looking for the original airdates and/or
titles to the following AFRS Mystery Playhouse broadcasts.
Can anyone help? You can reply to me directly and I will forward the
answers to her. She's attempting to finish a Mystery Playhouse log (because
she's a fan of Peter Lorre, who hosted the show) but doesn't wish to be
bombarded by hundreds of e-mails.
Martin
Mr. District Attorney (nodate) Black-faced comedian knifed to death at
burlesque theater.
Nero Wolfe, "The Case of the Last Laugh Murder" (1944?)
Hermit’Äôs Cave, "Mr. Randall’'s Discovery" (no date or 2/44?)
The Adventures of the Thin Man, "Murder in the Record Shop"(4/44?)
Mr. District Attorney (8/4/44) A Dishonest lawyer plans to murder two
eccentric old ladies
Mr. and Mrs. North (8/9/44)With Jerry out of town, Pam North and her
friend Weasel solve a mystery.
Mr. District Attorney (2/7/45) Mr. [removed] solves a mystery involving gas
shipments.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 20:59:43 -0400
From: "Stewart Wright" <stewwright@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: OTR Detective Shows
Here's another web site for those subscribers who enjoy OTR
Detective Shows: "The Thrilling Detective" at:
[removed]
This site not only has extensive listings for OTR Detectives and
shows, but also detectives in literature, comics, and pulp fiction, motion
pictures, and television. The site's web master, Kevin Smith, is to be
congratualted for putting together a great repository of information on the
[removed]
Once you get there, scroll down the home page until you get to
"Watching the Detectives." Then you will see a listing that includes Radio.
Click and enjoy.
Stewart
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 22:45:18 -0400
From: Donna Halper <dlh@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: KDKA versus WWJ
Sean wrote--
There is an article on the history of KDKA radio on the front page of the May
15 Wall Street Journal ([removed]). It credits the station with the first
words ever spoken on a commercial radio station (in dispute in these pages
recently).
At the risk of being this list's curmudgeon, I was (and still am) the
historian for another former Westinghouse station, WBZ, and the words used
by the Wall Street Journal writer come VERBATIM from KDKA's immense library
of publicity. I know because I have seen the stuff they send out to
reporters, and I also have copies of the photos, all of which have been
used to spread the story of KDKA. And it certainly is an inspiring
story. Too bad it's somewhat exaggerated. Their web-site even has what
they used to claim was that first 1920 broadcast-- a neat trick given that
nobody had invented audio-tape yet and to my knowledge, they could only
have transcribed it with maximum difficulty, perhaps on a dictaphone
disk. Some of the members of this list took the web-master to task, and
now I think they admit it's a re-creation, not the actual broadcast.
My only point is that I hold in my hand (can you see it-- I'm holding it up
to the monitor) SIX DAYS worth of articles from the Detroit News, beginning
on 30 August 1920, about the on-going elections in Michigan and how 8MK
(later WWJ) covered them. There are letters from people who heard the
broadcasts, comments about the quality of the coverage, etc etc. Seems to
me that August is somewhat before November, and seems to me that a station
that for over a week broadcast regular newscasts, music, commentary, and
weather can indeed be said to have been "broadcasting." I don't mind KDKA
getting credit for the innovations they brought to radio, and I don't mind
giving the Westinghouse publicity department credit for making people
believe even 80 years later that those 5 other stations that were on the
air really didn't exist-- publicity is about persuading people, and
Westinghouse was good at it. But I do mind stories that quote publicity as
historical fact when plenty of research (not just mine) exists to question
the accuracy of KDKA's claims. And contrary to the sunny picture the Wall
St Journal paints, KDKA has had some staff changes, some problems, and some
challenges from the conglomerate world of today's radio, where 4
corporations control the vast majority of what is heard, and are gradually
controlling what is seen as well. But that is not a topic for an old time
radio list, is it?
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 00:08:22 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: George Zachary
Martin Grams requests:
Can anyone tell me when exactly radio producer/director George Zachary left
the broadcasting studios to go work for the Office of War Information in
Washington? I've narrowed it down to somewhere in 1942, but when exactly
that year I'm not certain. Even a month will help if not an exact date.
Well, the season ended that year on July 4th (West coast broadcast) with
"The Air Raid Warden" and Manfred Lee (One half of Ellery Queen) got
married to Kaye Brinker on July 4th. I believe it was right after that
broadcast (within days) that Zachary left to work for the OWI. It wasn't
much longer after Zachary left that he contacted the two (Lee and Dannay)
to add some war propaganda to the scripts. Also during the summer break
period Dannay and Lee worked on book "There Was An Old Woman" which was
published in 1943.
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 00:08:20 -0400
From: Jack A French <otrpiano@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: H-Bar-0 and the B-Bar-B
Edwin H. Humphrey, relying on Buxton & Owens' "The Big Broadcast" has
muddied the factual waters, by advising us that:
Bobby Benson's Adventures" was first heard over CBS in 1932 and was
originally set on the "H-bar-O Ranch" because it was sponsored by HO Oats.
Later it was set on the "B-bar-B Ranch."A later program was entitled "Songs
of the B-bar-B" This was a music and comedy version of the original. Don
Knotts played the part of Windy Wales on this version. On the original
program the part of Harks was played by Craig McDonnell, who also played
the part of Irish. It is reported that Tex Ritter played the part of Tex
Mason during part of the run.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In actuality the first BB series ran from 1932 to 1936 and Craig McDonnell
did play several roles, including Harka and even little kids. He was the
only cast member to also be in Mutual's BB series which ran from 1949 to
1955. Tex Ritter may have played some minor roles in the 30s version, but
he was never "Tex Mason", one of the leads. Don Knotts was in the Mutual
series, but the so-called "Songs of the B-Bar-B" was not a "later program".
It was a five minute show that occasionally ran in the 1954-55 time period.
It evolved rather simply. Chicklets wanted to sponsor "Bobby Benson", but
only for five minutes, not the 15 the show ran. "No problem", creator Herb
Rice probably said, "Five minutes it is!" So once a week, Don Knotts, Carl
Warren and Clice Rice ("Clyde Campbell") would stay overtime and record
about a half dozen of the 5 minute shows, with "Chicklets" commercials.
Clive would sing one song, Knotts would tell a "tall tale" and a western
singer named Tex Fletcher would sing the closing song. Warren was the
announcer, of course. I have located five audio copies of these 5 minute
shows.
In their separate entry for "Songs of the B-Bar-B", Buxton & Owens have
umpteen mistakes. Ivan Cury, Herb Rice, Al Hodge, and Tex Ritter were never
in this show. And James McMenemy was not the writer, he was the musical
director.
Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 00:08:18 -0400
From: Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Marvin Miller's Whistler
Jim, The attached web page is what I submitted to this OTR
Digest perhaps last year sometime when Marvin's name was also
mentioned. Marvin's approach to narration as the Whistler wasn't
as a regular 'announcer' but as a storyteller, hence perhaps the
breathiness you may have described as "amateurish." Signal Oil
was indeed a West coast oil company with stations selling
gasoline in Los Angeles where the show originated. Its logo was
a semaphore type traffic signal with the GO flag showing.
Here's the link:
[removed]
CAB
--
conradab@[removed] (Conrad A. Binyon)
From the Home of the Stars who loved Ranches and Farms
Encino, California.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 00:08:14 -0400
From: "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: BBC/SHORT WAVE
Even if the UK stops world broadcasting, if any one is fortunate enough
to still own one of those great floor model radios (in working condition,
mine needs two main power tubes that today would cost an arm and a leg)
with the 3 bands (Broadcast, Ship to Shore and Short Wave),
need not worry. The frequency settings are there on the dial for what ever
country you want (mine had Germany,Australia, UK, Hawaii, Canada, Sweden and
Hong Kong). Of course, now you would need an outside (CB? HAM?) audio
antenna. (In the 30's all we did was take the ground wire and attach it to a
water pipe). There must be some company that still manufactures these State
- Of - The - Art 3 band short wave radios somewhere.
(Side note: Are there any Ham operators on the list that have pulled in some
of these UK stations direct from the UK without the "sideroad" through the
US?)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 00:08:12 -0400
From: "Ian Grieve" <ian@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: AUSTRALIAN RADIO BOOKS
Finally got back to this request and I have forgotten who asked originally.
These are the books that I have and use to learn more about Australian OTR.
1. GOLDEN AGE OF THE ARGONAUTS by Rob Johnson (ISBN 0-7336-0528-1
This book is about the Argonauts club run by ABC radio which ran from 1933 -
1972. I can tell you more about the club another time if there is interest.
Basically it was for children and when they joined the club they were
allocated to a ship which was named usually after a mythological Greek. You
started off as a rower and then got promoted based on a points system for
entries in poetry and drawing contests etc. Once you read a certain age you
then left the club. Very popular and certainly outlasted the various
serials. Even today people can tell you their membership number and which
boat they were on and even find their club badge.
2. THE GOLDEN AGE OF AUSTRALIAN RADIO DRAMA 1923 - 1960 by Richard lane
(ISBN 0-522-84556-8) Later version now available as well. This book is
basically a history of the people involved in the radio industry in
Australia and also the shows themselves.
3. WONDERFUL WIRELESS by Nancye Bridges with help from Frank Crook (ISBN
0-454-00513 X Similar detail to the above but a lot less information and
detail.
4. OUT OF THE BAKELITE BOX - The Heyday of Australian Radio by Jacqeline
Kent (ISBN 0-7333-0037-5) More history and stories of the people involved in
Australian radio.
5. AUSTRALIAN RADIO SERIES 1930'S - 1970'S Collection Guide Series. By the
National Film and Sound Archives (now known as Screensound). This book
basically lists all the show holdings in the archives. It gives a
description of the show, number of episodes made, how many are held, if they
were Aust versions of American Scripts, who starred and produced, if scripts
are held, length of show, what station is was played on etc. This book can
be ordered directly from [removed] as can several of the others
I have listed. Screensound also sells audio CD's of shows and if you are
interested, buy now whilst the Australian dollar is low against the US
dollar, it can't stay that way forever : ) Basically a double CD set with
about 24 shows would start around $[removed] US and postage would be around
$[removed] US based on what I spend back and forward.
Now, what has held me up in this reply has been locating where I read the
story of the demise of radio serials in Australia in the 1960's in the space
of a single week. I didn't find where or which book I read it in, must have
been a library book, but I did find the same story written by Gordon the
scifiguy which says " Australian OTR drama production came to an abrupt end,
one day in May 1964, when station 2UW stopped all drama production. Within
days, all other stations quickly followed their lead." Gordon has a lot of
Australian shows available and great contacts here in Australia and has
spent a lot of time researching Australian OTR. I have found Gordon's notes
very interesting reading.
Ian
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 04:52:00 -0400
From: lois@[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 four years, same time, same channel!
Our numerous "regulars" include one of the busiest "golden years" actors in
Hollywood; a sound man from the same era who worked many of the top
Hollywood shows; a New York actor famed for his roles in "Let's Pretend" and
"Archie Andrews;" owners of some of the best OTR sites on the Web;
maintainer of the best-known OTR Digest (we all know who he is)..........
and Me
Lois Culver
KWLK Longview Washington (Mutual) 1941-1944)
KFI Los Angeles (NBC) 1944 - 1950
and widow of actor Howard Culver
(For more info, contact lois@[removed])
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 10:20:38 -0400
From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: BBC archives
From: "Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed];
Further to recent posts of mine about the BBC clearing their archives,
only this morning there was a feature on BBC's breakfast TV show. ...
In an interview the BBC Archive Manager, Paul Bland (phonetic) said
"It was a different culture in those days, it was thirty years ago,
and people saw pop culture and comedy in a different light to that
we see today. I am told that it wouldn't happen today.
I can give you some of the details of the mentality of that time. In
1975 I met and had a long chat with the soon-to-be-retired, longtime
head of the BBC Broadcast Archive, Timothy Eckersley. He was a typical
stif-upper-lip highly cultured English gentleman. He explained their
philosophy to me. They prided themselves on how well catalogued and
indexed the collection was. They could find anything they had very
quickly. In order to do this, he felt the collection had to be kept at
a managable size. Therefore they had a selection process which accepted
for permanent archiving an average of only NINE HOURS of programming a
week from the ENTIRE BBC output. I mentioned at how embarassed BBC
Records was when they drew up their plans for their initial releases and
discoverd that much of what they wanted to release didn't exist. And
how many popular programs had almost totally disappeared. Yes, he said,
there were different priorities--and "light entertainment" was not one
of them. Political talks and cultural events were more important. But
they would try to keep at least one sample of a program series, but even
that was not always possible. For example, almost nothing exists of the
first three years of The Goon Show, and the vast majority of what does
exist of this groundbreaking series is there only because it had been
selected to be distributed by the Transcription Service which had their
own separate recording facility and archive. Even after the program was
a smash hit they still erased almost all of the domestic broadcast
masters. The irony to Eckersley's catalogueing statement is that the
BBC files include the disc or tape numbers for every one of the
discarded or erased episodes--it was always a pre-recorded program. If
their filing system had merely used those numbers they still would have
been able to find the program in their index even if the archive was
vastly larger in size!
I'll add that at archive conferences the topic of "selection" is
occasionally discussed, and the discussions are always heated. At one
of these about ten years ago, Christopher Roads, the head of the British
National Sound Archive--knowing full well of the BBC's selection
process--suggested that FIRE might be just as sensible a policy.
Certainly it is tragic when there is an archive fire, but the
happenstance of what is destroyed and what gets saved can, in its
randomness, be more intelligent than trying to make a guess at what will
be considered important 50 or 100 years from now. I'm not sure everyone
there understood that he was not promoting the idea of letting your
archive burn every so often, but that he was making a point that no
matter how learned or intelligent an archive thinks their selection
process is, in the future it will be shown to have been very far off of
the mark.
By the way, Phil, in that BBC interview, did they mention that they are
looking for ANY recording of the author of "1984" and "Animal Farm",
George Orwell? Orwell was quite a famous figure and was a very prolific
broadcaster on the BBC. But they saved NONE of his broadcasts. And
nobody else seems to have any recording of him. At the conference in
Singapore last September that was the lead-off item of their
presentation. They still hadn't found any when I was in London in
January, and I'm wondering if they've been successful yet.
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 10:20:44 -0400
From: "Art Shifrin" <goldens2@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: more on Billy Murray
Hi gang,
Are any of you familiar with the Max Fleishcher animation (1929) "Finding
His Voice"? I thin that two of the three speaking parts are Billy Murray
and Walter Scanlon. Any opinions?
Best,
Shiffy
website: [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 10:21:20 -0400
From: Fred Owens <awowens@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: War of Worlds ownership
Could somebody suggest who might own performance rights to War of
Worlds? Students are interested in doing a recreation. Thanks.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 10:21:22 -0400
From: passage@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re:Antique radio replicas/repros
Robert Paine wrote:
I found an old catalog with reproductions of floor and table radios.
<snip> Are there other companies selling the same products?
Try Universal Radio. They have a number of replicas for sale at:
[removed]
Frank
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 12:47:23 -0400
From: SacChief@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Frank Hemingway--newscaster in the '40's?
I've just recently discovered this thread, but as an old radio buff and
former announcer, I've already had many questons answered.
Question: Seems to me that, in the '40's, there was a newscaster named Frank
Hemingway. I don't know if he was carried nationally or just here on the West
Coast. The most interesting thing about him was his skill as a dialectition.
He did a variety of dialects and switched from one to another as he read the
news. For example, if the story was about Churchill, he'd read it with a
British accent. If it were about Mussolini, he'd switch to an Italian
dialect. Some stories he read without dialect. I can't seem to find anything
about him in my radio book. Today, of course, he'd be banned from the air
because someone would find some dialect offensive and he'd get booted for not
being "politically correct".
Does this ring a bell with anyone? Do I have the name correct?
bob
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 12:47:21 -0400
From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Notes
First about Frank Remley. Joan Benny told about this incident at
breakfast at Friends of Old Time Radio several years ago.
Apparently Remley was a frequent visitor at the Benny home. During one of
his visits the subject of the feud between Jack and Fred Allen came up.
It seems that whenever Jack would phone Fred, Fred would hang up on him.
It resulted in a bet, I think it was a hundred dollars. Remley betting
that Jack wouldn't hang up, Jack ,betting on a sure thing, wagered that
Fred would hang up. When Jack got Fred on the phone, Fred stayed on with
him endlessly. Finally Jack asked Fred why he didn't hang up as he
usually did. Fred replied it was because he had half the bet.
There has been some comment about "Lights Out". On the night of it's
first half hour broadcast NBC"s Cleveland station, WTAM, invited a group
of VIP's to listen to the broadcast at their studios. It was their big
studio, and the lights were doused so the audience was sitting in the
dark. Immediately following the program and call letters it was a quck
switch to the ballroom at my amusement park for a dance band remote. At
that instant someone threw a "cannon cracker" through an open window
which landed directly in front of the WTAM carbon mike. The blast was
tremendous. I understand that the group in the WTAM studio had quite a
shock.
Someone mentioned another WTAM program, "Gene and Glenn, Jake and Lena" .
It was sponsored by the Spang Baking Company. It was originally Gene,
Ford, and Glenn. They came from Detroit. Shortly after the beginning,
Ford's house burned and he returned to Detroit. Gene did the voices and
Glenn was the straight man. The announcer was Russel B. Wise, a very
distinguished, very dignified gentleman, who also was a soloist in a
nearby church. I not only knew him from broadcasting but I dated his
neice. In those days announcers were frequently singers and were older
men.
Bill Murtough
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 13:34:11 -0400
From: lawrence albert <albertlarry@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Perry Como
For a short time,in the thirties, the Ted Weems band
was the on air musical band for Fibber McGee & Molly.
Perry Como was the singer male singer for the group. I
beleive there is a recording of at least one of the
Como shows in circulation.
Does anyone know anyting about a thirties show called
"DETECTIVE DALT AND ZUMBA"? I'd love to know more
about the show, only because I find the title such a
kick. Larry Albert
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 21:06:04 -0400
From: "Birdwalk Farms" <pheadoux@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: old radio misic
Traveled thru Cincinnati last weekend.
radio 1530 W??? uses the 'music of your life format and is now mixing such
things as 'Under the Boardwalk' and some of the Elvis ballads mixed in with
Peggy Lee and Glenn Miller.
My first reaction was surprise, second was this might gain some younger
audience and help keep the older cuts spinning.
discussion?
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #148
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