Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #73
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 2/28/2004 3:09 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2004 : Issue 73
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Harry Bartell                         [ "Phil Watson" <possum@[removed] ]
  pat o'malley                          [ "Robert Angus" <rangus02@[removed]; ]
  re: Car Radios -- a divergence        [ David Phaneuf <david_phaneuf@yahoo. ]
  Hard thing to do                      [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  sensitivity of AM car radios          [ "Greg Willy" <gregw@[removed] ]
  A Tribute to Harry Bartell: A Friend  [ David Phaneuf <david_phaneuf@yahoo. ]
  Recycling car radios                  [ danhughes@[removed] ]
  RIP Harry Bartell                     [ art-funk@[removed] ]
  Harry Bartell: An Apppreciation       [ "Stewart Wright" <stewwright@worldn ]
  Re: Car Radios for Home Use           [ Elmer Standish <elmer_standish@telu ]
  Re: car radios                        [ "Candy Jens" <candyj@[removed]; ]
  2-29 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 08:10:04 -0500
From: "Phil Watson" <possum@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Harry Bartell

I'm sure that every member of the digest will wish to send their condolences
to Mr. Bartell's family, and hope that Charlie will pass these messages on
to his family; we share their loss.

Three years ago I thanked Mr. Bartell on the digest for introducing me to
American OTR via his introductions to the old Sherlock Holmes series I
rented on cassette from our public library here in England. I was delighted
that he took the time to write to me thanking me. I understand it was
typical of him.

I will miss his warm reminiscences and wish that he could have written a
book of his career. If any one deserved a biography, he did.

Phil Watson
England


[ADMINISTRIVIA: While not exactly a book, his articles in the series 
"Struts and Frets" are available at:

[removed]

--cfs3]

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 09:56:32 -0500
From: "Robert Angus" <rangus02@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  pat o'malley
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

A regular on the Alec Templeton show of 1940 was "The Lancashire Lad," Pat
O'Malley, who usually did one of his comic monologues.  I'm in hopes that
somebody on the list may have some of those shows and be willing to trade
copies for other OTR material or music hall recordings of that vintage.

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

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 09:57:15 -0500
From: David Phaneuf <david_phaneuf@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  re: Car Radios -- a divergence

In Issue 70, Alec Cumming stated:

"Imagine, in 1935, a man in his seventies being
driven around by his gadget-loving grandson, listening
to the wireless in a horseless carriage!"

Put me in mind of a trip through Amish Country in east
central Ohio afew years ago now.  Had just rounded a
curve on Rt. 62, and had to pass a typical Amish-style
horse-drawn buggy.  Not too unusual, as we had already
had to pass several as we drove along.  But this one
was definitely different, for inside were two young
teenage boys watching a portable, battery-operated TV!

I reckon they had to get out of the house in order to
enjoy the world's pleasures!

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 10:03:11 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Hard thing to do

11-29-1913 - Harry Bartell - New Orleans, LA - d. 2-26-2004
actor: Archie Goodwin "Advs. of Nero Wolfe"; "Adv of Sherlock Holmes";
"Gunsmoke"

One of the hardest things that I have had to do since making up my birth/death
list was updating Harry's entry with a death date. As I did so I did it with
heavy heart and a tear in my eye. Although I did not know Harry personally, I
did know him through e-mail. He was not only a most talented radio actor, he
was also a kind and gracious gentleman. I will miss him as I am sure everyone
on this list will miss him. Thanks to the miracle of recording we will always
have Harry's vast output of work.

May you rest in peace Harry and when you get that great radio station in the
sky say hello to all of your friends who preceded you there, Parley, Bill,
Georgia, Howard and the myriad of others you worked with through your long and
illustrious career.

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 10:07:04 -0500
From: "Greg Willy" <gregw@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  sensitivity of AM car radios

I read Mark Kinsler's post about using a car radio in the home with
interest.  This brings up an important question for me.  Why is a car radio
able to pick up distant AM stations better than boom boxes or home
reciever's?  Is it the quality of the radio or that the car is able to use
the whole chassis as an antennae?  If it is indeed the quality then
somewhere there should be a home radio with that same level of quality I
would guess.  There is a small town radio station, KMIL AM 1330 in Cameron
TX, the plays my favorite show every day, Lum and Abner at 12:45 pm.  I am
80 miles away and can not get it on any boom box (including outdoors using
batteries) or home receiver but can get it pretty clearly on ANY car radio
with the engine off.  It is very inconvenient.  To get Lum and Abner back
into the house do I need a car radio in the house or to research better home
radio or build some elaborate antennae system for my reciever?  Thanks to
anyone who knows the answer to this long held question.

Greg

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 10:40:11 -0500
From: David Phaneuf <david_phaneuf@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  A Tribute to Harry Bartell:  A Friend I've
 Never Met

Issue #71 came as a great shock.  How saddening it was
to learn of the passing of Harry Bartell.

Sometimes in life there come across our paths, a
person who leaves an indelible impression on us.  Even
though we may not, in actuality, have known the
person, yet we do know him.  For he has been present,
if not in person, at least through voice, in many
ways.

Harry Bartell is such a person to me.  I've never met
him in real life.  But he's become a part of my life.
His is one of several voices I've come to love and
appreciate, and listen for whenever I play an Old
Radio program.  And often I'm surprised at how
far-reaching his involvement in Old Radio was, how
many programs for which he provided some
characterization.

I first met and came to like Harry while listening to
the Rathbone-Bruce "Sherlock Holmes" series.  As the
warm, witty announcer, promoting Petri Wines, Harry
weekly met his "good friend Dr. Watson", who would
then regale us with some charming and fascinating
account of our beloved Mr. Holmes.  I always had to
smile at the way Harry would find some inoccuous
lead-in to Petri Wines, illiciting a hearty chuckle
from Dr. Watson, as he invited Watson to join him in a
drink of Sherry or [removed] for as we all know that
"Petri Takes Time to Bring You Good Wine."

I found him again in "Gunsmoke" a regular castplayer
of various parts, but always that recognizable quality
to his voice, though he would often add highlights or
accents to vary its impression on the listener.  But
being of the second-generation of old radio listeners,
not the first, and having the luxury of listening to
back-to-back recordings of old radio programs, one
could easily distinguish Harry's voice from all the
others. (I imagine, listening to the series only once
each week as in the old days, it would have been
harder to pick up on the uniquenesses of Harry's
voice.)

I remember the first time Harry Bartell posted on this
digest.  My! What a flurry of excitement that
generated!  It seemed everyone was scrambling to
determine if this was THE Harry Bartell of old radio
fame.  I recall whipping off an email to him asking
him if he was that very same Mr. Bartell I had enjoyed
listening to as announcer of Sherlock Holmes, and his
reply assuring me he was that very same Mr. Bartell.
He emailed me a few times in response to some post I
had made in the Digest to enlighten me on some matter.
 I wish now I had kept those emails -- what a
wonderful historical record they would have made to my
personal collection of memorabilia.

Please don't get me wrong.  My correspondence with
Harry Bartell does not qualify me to be able to claim
any kind of real personal friendship or relationship
with him. Charlie Summers tribute of Harry is one I
would love to be able to make for myself, but the
truth is, I've known him only through his voice and
through this digest.  But I have come to have a great
admiration for the man. His contributions to the
Digest were always enlightening and well-informed, and
greatly appreciated by all.

I will also say, it was a great shock when, a while
back, his birthday greetings were posted and his age
revealed.  Knowing him only through his voice of
yesterday, which I often hear today, he had become in
my mind eternally that age he was when he was making
the Sherlock Holmes programs.  His recent birthday
reminded me that life does not remain stagnant, but
does indeed move on.  I knew then, that we would
probably not have Harry with us forever, but I like
most of us had no idea it would be this soon.  But in
a sense, we do have him with us forever, as we do all
the wonderful radio personalities of old.  They live
on through their recorded broadcasts and in our
memories of them.

I thank God that someone had the foresight to make
recordings and to preserve them.  For through them not
only does Old Radio live [removed] but so will Harry
Bartell.

We will all miss you, Harry.  Thank you for all you
have given to us over the years.

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 11:13:42 -0500
From: danhughes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Recycling car radios

Mark asks about using old car radios in the [removed]
One of the radio magazines of the 60's (Elementary Electronics, I
believe) had a great article about this.  What the guy did was buy old
car AM radios (this was when everyone was dumping their AM radios and
replacing them with AM/FM) for next to nothing, then building them right
into big speakers.  He'd buy a set of medium-to-large inexpensive stereo
speakers, cut a hole into the speaker and mount the radio in the hole.
One set of speakers gave him two radios, and he was able to cut the wood
panel that held the speaker without hurting the speaker (the speaker
itself was round; the wood mounting panel rectangular so there was room
to mount the radio without having to move the speaker itself). He also
mounted a 12v converter in the box so he had a complete radio, no
out-of-box wiring necessary.  They looked really great, too.

---Dan

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 12:38:36 -0500
From: art-funk@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  RIP Harry Bartell

At this time, like OTR fans everywhere, I'm overcome with a profound sense
of sadness at the passing of our beloved Harry.  Thanks be to God that we
have our memories of him and our recordings of his wonderful
characterizations

My deepest condolences to his family and to all who loved him.

Art Funk

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 13:53:48 -0500
From: "Stewart Wright" <stewwright@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Harry Bartell:  An Apppreciation

    I did not know Harry for a long time; but I treasure his friendship.
Harry was a fine actor, a true gentleman, and a wonderful human being.  We
are extremely lucky in that so many of his performances have been preserved.

    I cannot bring myself to write an obituary for Harry Bartell, but I can
celebrate his life and career by sharing some of my knowledge of this
remarkable gentleman with the subscribers of the Digest.

THE VOICE:
    There was a voice on the radio, a voice that I noticed on an episode of
YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR many years ago.  Then I then began to notice that
voice in many episodes of that series and many other radio series.  The
actor behind the voice played good guys, bad guys and everything in between.
Sometimes he played the lead, other times a supporting role.  The actor also
did lots of dialects and accents.  No matter what role he was playing there
was always a common quality in his performances; his characters were always
believable.  Finally, I connected a name with that voice:  Harry Bartell.
He seems to be everywhere during the Golden Age of Radio.

    When I joined the Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound, I received the flyer
for their annual Convention, the REPS Showcase.  There, listed among the
guests, was Harry Bartell.  I immediately decided to go to Seattle for the
REPS Showcase.  Not only did I meet Harry and get a chance to see him
perform, I got the opportunity to interview him.  At that Showcase Harry
took time out from his busy schedule to introduce me to many of the guest
performers.

    I would see Harry whenever he was at the Showcase and have corresponded
with him many times.  Occasionally, I would identify a new radio series on
which he had performed and he would he pass on the information to his
daughter, Judie.   A couple of years ago, Lois Culver and I had a wonderful
lunch with Harry in Ashland, OR.  I enjoyed being the fly-on-the-wall while
these two friends of over 50 years talked about their lives and times.

RADIO WORK:
    Harry's radio credentials are impressive to say the least.  He has more
than 10,000 appearances on radio, including 182 series.  But Harry describes
his, first real running part as 12 years with DEAR ABBY on CBS, long after
"radio had died a horrible death."

    During the early 1930's Harry got his start in radio in Houston and
appeared in local radio show condensations of motion pictures.  His pay for
these condensations:  two 25 cent movie tickets.

     In 1937, Harry moved to the West Coast working as a DJ, doing
commercials, and performing at the Pasadena Playhouse.  In his first role on
network radio, in RAFFLES, Harry was cast as a Hindu.  He had never played a
Hindu, but managed to do it.  It was the first of many dialect and accent
roles he did, including many Spanish roles on ROMANCE OF THE RANCHO,
DRAGNET, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, and YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR.

    Pick a drama or light comedy series and there's a good chance that Harry
was on it.  All of the following series and over a hundred more had
appearances by Harry Bartell:  A DATE WITH JUDY, ADVENTURES BY MORSE, ALAN
YOUNG SHOW, AMOS AND ANDY, BROADWAY IS MY BEAT, CAVALCADE OF AMERICA, CBS
RADIO WORKSHOP, COLUMBIA PRESENTS CORWIN, CRIME CLASSICS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY,
DR. CHRISTIAN, EDDIE CANTOR SHOW, FRONTIER GENTLEMAN, GREEN LAMA, I LOVE A
MYSTERY, LET GEORGE DO IT, LUX RADIO THEATER, MY FAVORITE HUSBAND,
NIGHTBEAT, ON STAGE, RED RYDER, THE SAINT, SUSPENSE, TALES OF THE TEXAS
RANGERS, and THIS IS YOUR FBI.

    His acting abilities made Harry a favorite with many of the best
directors in Hollywood including Jack Webb (DRAGNET, PETE KELLY'S BLUES,
JOHNNY MODERO - PIER 23), Norman Macdonnell (ROMANCE, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF
PHILIP MARLOWE, ESCAPE, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL), and Jack Johnstone (YOURS
TRULY JOHNNY DOLLAR, THE MAN CALLED X, THE SIX SHOOTER, HOLLYWOOD STAR
PLAYHOUSE).  He was a member of both Macdonnell's and Webb's stock
companies.  Harry appeared in both the first and last episodes of GUNSMOKE
and 180 more. Although Harry played villains on Gunsmoke, he was never cast
by Jack Webb as a Bad Guy on DRAGNET.  There were advantages to having a
regular ensemble of actors on a series.  Harry told me, "One of the major
benefits was that you had great trust in the other actor. You knew if for
some reason if you got off-track or you made a mistake, they were going to
cover for you. And you would cover for them. As a result, there was an
ensemble feeling that was very different than if you had a different cast on
the show every day."

    With thousands of supporting appearances on radio, Harry also had many
starring and featured roles. Along with John Anderson, Harry co-starred in
HORIZONS WEST, a very fine radio documentary drama series on the Lewis and
Clark Expedition that was produced for Armed Forces Radio in the early
1960's.  Harry played Cpt. Meriwether Lewis, Anderson played Cpt. William
Clark. He also had starring or features roles in ADVENTURES OF NERO WOLFE as
Archie Goodwin, FORT LARAMIE as Lt. Siberts, THE CHARLOTTE GREENWOOD SHOW as
Tommy Brooks, and ROGERS OF THE GAZETTE as Officer Ed Miller.

    One of Harry's favorite series was ESCAPE; 56 appearances on that
series.  Harry originated the role of Auguste in the ESCAPE classic - Three
Skeleton Key.   He also had leading roles in several other episodes
including An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge, A Shipment of Mute Fate, and an
episode written by actor John Dehner - The Man With The Steel Teeth.  In the
1998 interview Harry shared his feelings with me about ESCAPE,  "The scripts
were wonderful, many of them were based on Classics that stood the test of
time. They offered me, as an actor, parts that I never would have gotten on
any other program. They were exciting, fun to do and very rewarding from a
performance standpoint."

AN ACTOR PLAYING AN ANNOUNCER:
    In addition to acting, Harry also worked as an announcer. "I announced
SILVER THEATRE, SHERLOCK HOLMES, and THE CASEBOOK OF GREGORY HOOD.  I never
considered myself an announcer; I sort of played an announcer as an actor."

    Harry told me how he literally walked into the announcer's role on
SHERLOCK HOLMES.  "That was the reason I got that job, a fluke. They had a
huge audition and every name announcer in town was over at CBS.  I walked
into the foyer and I couldn't understand what was going on.  I asked the
secretary.  She said, 'Edna Best was conducting an audition for the
announcer for SHERLOCK HOLMES.'  I said, 'May I go in and say hello?'  I had
worked with her as an actor. I said, 'Hi, Edna' and started to leave. She
said, 'Aren't you going to read?  As long as you're here, pick up the script
and read.'  That's how I got the job."

A CAREER THAT CONTINUED INTO THE NEW MILLENNIUM:
    Coming to the REPS Showcase not only gave Harry the opportunity to
perform in recreations, but also in the contemporary dramas of Jim French.
Just last year Harry guest starred in The Further Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes episode, The Adventure Of The Great American.

TELEVISION WORK:
    According to Harry's show logs, he performed on at least 77 television
series.  These included performances on series such as BRANDED, DRAGNET,
DRAGNET 1967, GET SMART, GUNSMOKE, I LOVE LUCY, LARAMIE, PERRY MASON, PETER
GUNN, POLICE WOMAN, THE REBEL, RICHARD DIAMOND PRIVATE DETECTIVE, THE
TWILIGHT ZONE, THE UNTOUCHABLES, THE VEIL, THE WALTER WINCHELL FILE, and THE
WILD, WILD WEST.

OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
    Harry co-wrote two GUNSMOKE scripts with fellow actor and close friend,
Vic Perrin:  Chester's Inheritance and Father And Son.

    During times when acting roles were scarce Harry worked as a
professional photographer.  OTR fans have also benefited from his
photographic endeavors.  He took photographs during show rehearsals and many
of these photos have appeared in Old-Time Radio books.

RADIO AS AN ENTERTAINMENT MEDIUM
    Harry is justly proud of his work as a radio actor.  He told John
Dunning that, "Radio was a dream medium, every day or twice a day was like a
first night.  There was always a freshness, a challenge.  Radio offered an
actor or actress opportunities to play roles they couldn't obtain anywhere
else."

    To me Harry really isn't gone, he has just moved on to another stage. He
has been reunited with his fellow performers and his lovely wife Bev.  Harry
lives on in my mind and in those many fine performances that have been
preserved for us to enjoy.

    Tonight I will listen to one Harry's favorite performances:  the
previously mentioned ESCAPE episode:  An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge.
And, I will drink a toast to Harry Bartell.

Rest In Peace My Friend,

Stewart Wright

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 14:17:31 -0500
From: Elmer Standish <elmer_standish@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Car Radios for Home Use

Hi Mark:

As an old time (and I do mean Old)
radio/electronics tech I have some experience in
using car radios as home receivers.

First, I agree that you should get one with analogue
tuning. The reason is that the digital sets, in
general, will tune to the exact frequency of the
station and won't allow you to mis-tune by a tiny
fraction. Being able to alter the tuned in
frequency by a tiny bit can often eliminate
interference of various sorts.

Second, if you are good at woodworking you can
build a very attractive cabinet in which the radio
will fit beautifully, usually with the speaker and
power supply below.

Third, a word of warning when working with newer
radios: Be very careful about speaker connections,
particularly if the radio is Stereo. Many of the
more modern sets DO NOT ground one side of the
speaker as was the standard in older models. An
inadvertent ground connection can destroy the
radio's output stages.

I wish you luck with your project. I don't have
one running now but in past years have had
excellent results.

Since you are (were?) a radio tech, the above
material is likely "old hat" for you but it may
be helpful to anyone else planning such a project.

GOOD LUCK from ===> ELMER

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 14:22:01 -0500
From: "Candy Jens" <candyj@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: car radios

 In the early 60s, when my car died, the radio was still going strong, and
could pull
in stations from afar, better than any household radio I had.  So I salvaged
it, built a transformer (Radio Shack? Lafayette?) and set the thing up in
the kitchen with an antenna and speaker.  It had the advantage of "preset"
pushbuttons, too.  It was ugly, but served the purpose for a long time!

As for static, there were "ground straps" that one mounted to the back
bumper so they just grazed the road surface.  Also, something to put on the
spark plug wires, and I even remember (vaguely) something that one put into
the hubcaps to cut down on interference!

An early fifties Mercedes came with a 7-band radio (tube-type) - Blaupunkt,
I believe, with multiple speakers.

In general, I think older sets had better sound quality than new ones . . .
or is it my ears/ <g>

Candy

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

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 15:45:26 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  2-29 births/deaths

February 29th births

02-29-1896 - William A. Wellman - Brookline, MA - d. 12-9-1975
film director: "Screen Director's Playhouse"
02-29-1904 - Jimmy Dorsey - Shenandoah, - d. 6-12-1957
bandleader: "Kraft Music Hall"; "Your Happy Birthday"

February 29th deaths

02-02-1909 - Frank Albertson - Fergus Falls, MN - d. 2-29-1964
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #73
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