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	  	         === Last Update 1/17/95  ====





	    [removed]   Volume 96 : Issue 66


Articles in this issue of [removed]:

	 Re: Jerry-built, [removed] Digest V96 #64
	 Re: DAT archival, [removed] Digest V96 #64
	 More otr theme music
	 Radio's "classical" themes
	 Administrivia:  OTR WWW Page Update
	 DAT as archival medium
	 actors' intros

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

Date: Sun, 18 Feb 96 15:35 GMT
From: midshires@[removed] (Andrew Emmerson)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Cc: midshires@[removed]
Subject: Re: Jerry-built, [removed] Digest V96 #64
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

In-Reply-To: <[removed]@[removed]>
Well, first of all the Oxford dictionary defines 'jerry-built' as 'built 
badly and with poor materials'. The expression 'jerry builder' is often 
applied to a slapdash builder, and normally it's applied to buildings. I 
don't know when this first came into use but I'm pretty certain it's much 
older than the use of the word Jerry as applied to a German.
        There's another English expression, 'jury-rigged' with an almost 
similar meaning; the dictionary defines this as 'set up as a makeshift'.
        Now what's the question?!?
--Andy Emmerson.

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

Date: Sun, 18 Feb 96 15:35 GMT
From: midshires@[removed] (Andrew Emmerson)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Cc: midshires@[removed]
Subject: Re: DAT archival, [removed] Digest V96 #64
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

In-Reply-To: <[removed]@[removed]>
>So, again, I'd like to know what's wrong with dat as an archive source?
        I speak not as an expert on DAT but as a technology journalist 
who listens carefully to wiser counsel, and the answer to this question 
is "just about everything"!
        No, I'm only joking but there are some objections and I'll try to 
be as concise as possible. I'll leave readers to decide how important 
these objections are.
1. Converting analogue signals to digital means throwing away some 
detail. Not much, but you can never get back exactly what you put in.
2. The record/replay hardware and tapes are expensive and relatively hard 
to find, at least here in Britain. If the DAT format is superseded in ten 
years time (say be recordable CD), then we may find the DAT tapes as hard 
to buy as, say, 8-track cartridges, Sony Elcasets or whatever.
3. With a high-density recording system such as DAT, you place high 
reliance on a tiny spot of oxide. Or put another way, any degradation in 
the tape will have a significant effect on the recording. A lower density 
system, such as [removed] ips open reel, will not be affected much by a small 
drop-out.
4. We have no long-term experience of how these tapes will fare in 
storage over time. By analogy, the (British) National Film and TV Archive 
refuses to use the modern Betacam SP format for archival because they say 
it just doesn't last well enough. So they are sticking with good old 1" 
reel-to-reel because it has proved itself as a viable long-term storage 
material.

I report these views as I was told them. They make sense to me but as I 
said, I am not an expert, merely a reporter. I also accept DAT has a lot 
in its favour. The tapes are compact (many of us have a space problem) 
and they 'feel right'. Technically, they're brilliant. But are they the 
best storage medium?  -- Andy Emmerson.

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

Date: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 15:56:18 -0600
From: Kenneth McCulloch <mcculk@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: More otr theme music
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

> In OTR Digest V96 #62  "Robert I. Scherago" <[removed]@[removed]> writes:
>
> <<While we're playing otr trivia - how about trying to identify some otr themes

One of my favs: Colgate Sports Newsreel with Bill Stern - "Mademoiselle
from Armentiers" (sp?)

Gene Autrey - "Back in the Saddle Again"

My Friend Irma - "Friends"  (a Cole Porter piece)

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

Date: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 17:14:56 -0500
From: JRayb71827@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Radio's "classical" themes
Message-ID: <960218171454_225251296@[removed]>

   The notion for listing classical music used as themes on radio programs is
a very good one and should make a good inclusion for Lou Genco on his OTR web
site.  I have a few more to add.  Please forgive me if any are repeats from
other postings.
   As near as I can tell, "Clair de Lune" by Debussy was the most popular. It
was used on "The Family Hour"; "Poet's Gold," featuring David Ross; "The
Story of Mary Marlin," and as background for poems on the famous "Moon
River," out of WLW, Cincinnati.  The theme on the latter was "Caprice
Viennois" by Fritz Kreisler.           
   "Challenge of the Yukon" used the "Donna Diana Overture" by von Reznicek.
   Theme for "The Count of Monte Cristo" was the "Sylvia Ballet" by Delibes.
   One of the themes used on "Vic and Sade" was "Chanson Bohemienne."
   "The Longines Symphonette" program used "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven.
   On "Hilltop House" it was Brahms' "Lullaby."
   A couple of Tchaikovsky compositions made it - "None But The Lonely Heart"
on "Kitty Keene," and the "First Movement of the Sixth Symphony (Pathetique)"
on "The Road of Life."
   One of the first soap operas, "Betty and Bob," with Don Ameche, used
"Salut d'Amour."
   "Arabesque," a drama narrated by David Ross, had as its theme,
"Scheherazade" by Rimsky-Korsakov.  And, of course,
R-K also penned the Green Hornet's "Flight of the Bumblebee."
   "The Big Story" theme was "Ein Heldenleben" (section titled 'Prowess in
Battle') by Richard Strauss.
   The "March" from "Love for Three Oranges" by Prokofiev was the theme on
"The FBI in Peace And War."
   For "The Goldbergs" it was "Serenade" by Toselli.
   A program called "The First Piano Quartet" was on NBC in 1941 and the
theme was "Variations" by Paganini.
   Just for the record, some themes that were not classical as such, but
still "classics" were:
   "The Song of Bernadette" on the show "Against the Storm."
   "Rose of Tralee" on "Backstage Wife."
   And "Valse Bluette" on "Big Sister."
   And one final one that really has nothing whatsoever to do with the
subject matter but always struck me as a funny bit and showed that somebody
had a sense of humor.  The theme on "Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons" was a
tongue-in-cheek, "Someday I'll Find You."
   As has been said, "Themes Like Old Times."

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

Date: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 19:09:14 -0600
From: lgenco@[removed] (Louis Genco)
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Administrivia:  OTR WWW Page Update
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

With the addition of Dr Marvin Bensman's -University of Memphis- tape
catalog, the Humongous OTR Database at my site has reached nearly 80,000
records (shows).

OTR fans who have WWW browsers that understand "forms" will be able to
search this database for their favorite programs ... to confirm broadcast
dates or find a particular show.

Andy Blatt (Vintage Broadcasts) has also contributed part of his OTR
catalog.  As yet, it is available only at his sponsor page (and not in the
Humongous Database).


Lou
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WWW page on "Old Time Radio":                   [removed]
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Sat, 17 Feb 96 17:42:38 EST
From: platecap@[removed] (Bob B)
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: DAT as archival medium
Message-Id: <m0toOYC-000Y4rC@[removed]>

The question was asked why DAT would be a problem in archiving old time
radio shows.

The problem as the BBC and others have discovered is the self-erasure
aspect when stored for long periods.

Also, note that when submitting a new recording for copyright, the
Library of Congress in Washington won't accept DAT as a representative
copy of the work.

Bob Burnham; BRC Productions; [removed] Box 2645; Livonia, MI 48151
voice (313) 277-3798;  fax (313) 277-3095; internet platecap@[removed]

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

Date: Mon, 19 Feb 1996 08:34:18 -0600
From: John Henley <jhenley@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: actors' intros
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Dennis DeMarco asked about whether radio actors waited "in the wings" as it
were for their entrances.  Andrew Green then cited a film clip of the Jack
Benny Show featuring Rochester's introduction and first lines.
There are also clips of various AFRS shows such as Command Performance, GI
Journal and Jubilee.  These clips look to me as if they come from the same
source, probably a film short on the AFRS.  Each "guest star" on the
various programs makes a literal entrance from the wings when announced. 
However, since these film clips show evidence of "professional filmmaking",
I don't consider them definitive.
I think I have a Jack Benny show featuring Fred Allen as guest, or maybe
it's vice versa (or perhaps it occurs on both shows) where the audience
spontaneously applauds when Fred (or Jack) comes on stage, then responds to
the cue and applauds again when he speaks his first line.
There were other approaches to this, the most famous being probably Marlin
Hurt as Beulah on FM&M.  I've read that Hurt was, to put it bluntly, a
short bald white man.  He came onto the stage with the other actors, and
sat quietly until his part came up.  He would then make his way to the
mike, stand with his back to it, and when Molly called for Beulah, he would
whip around to face the mike and speak his "Somebody bawl for Beulah?"
line.  This never failed to knock the audience out of its seats, as you can
hear on thooe FM&M shows.
Another thing that interests me - Molly (Marian JOrdan) as Teeny.  On the
earlier available FM&M shows, the appearance of Teeny often draws gasps and
giggles from the audience.  But on the later shows this rarely happens. 
Makes me think that perhaps in the early days, they didn't warn people
beforehand about Molly's various voices, but did so later on.


John Henley
jhenley@[removed]
ph  (512) 495-4112
fax (512) 495-4296

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

    


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---- 
End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #66

