Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #62
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 2/18/2002 12:13 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 62
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Ray Erlenborn                         [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Post OTR Radio Voice Talents          [ Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed] ]
      Mormon Choir                          [ William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed]; ]
      otr actors in cartoons                [ "Ryan Osentowski" <rosentowski@neb. ]
      commercials collection                [ Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      THEMES                                [ "Ian Grieve" <ian@[removed] ]
      Olde Tyme Radio Network Schedule      [ HERITAGE4@[removed] ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Themes Like Old Times/OTR commercial  [ nikurashi@[removed] ]
      Title confusion                       [ Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed]; ]
      Airdates of two Mr. Keen episodes     [ "Christian Blees" <christian-blees@ ]
      Re:Groucho's witty talent             [ Eric J Cooper <ejcooper2002@[removed] ]
      Steve Allen on KNX                    [ Eric J Cooper <ejcooper2002@[removed] ]
      The man of Bronze                     [ "Jeff Bankens" <jeff_bankens@thenew ]
      Re: Allen and NBC                     [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Re. Father Knows Best                 [ "Joe C" <packers2003@[removed]; ]
      Steves early career                   [ "Thomas Mason" <batz34@[removed] ]
      Groucho as Ad Libber                  [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:50:09 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Ray Erlenborn

      Last night I was watching Red Skelton on a local PBS station and
    surprise, there was our own Ray Erlenborn, explaining how radio sound
    effects were made.  Boy, did Ray look young.  (Of course we all looked
    younger in [removed] Well, many of us [removed]).  Ray, you looked like
    you were about, what, 12?  :)
      Glad I had the tape [removed]
      Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:50:58 -0500
    From: Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Post OTR Radio Voice Talents

    Stephan Jansen on the OldRadio Mailing List asked about:
    OTR Voice Talents - After The DEATH OF OTR?

>     ........ Anyone else have any cartoon characters to add?

    Well, Stephan from the top of my head I can think of:

    Frank Graham (CBS One Man Theater) cartoon voices of Heckle and
    Jeckle.

    Bill Thompson (Wallace Wimple, Old Timer) as Floppy-earred MGM
    cartoon dog.

    Mel Blanc (Jack Benny's Maxwell) as Barney of the Flintstones.
    (He counts now?)

    Arthur Q. Bryan (Doc Gamble, Grouch Club's Raymond Radcliffe
    as Elmer Fudd.

    Penny Singleton (Blondie) as Jane Jetson.

    Jim Backus, (Hubert Updyke III, Alan Young Show) as Mr. MacGoo.

    Paul Winchell, (Jerry  Mahoney TV ventriloquist figure) as Dick
    Dastardly.

    June Foray, ([removed] broadcasts) as Rocky Squirrel of Bullwinkle.

    Just a few above for starters. Stephan.

    CAB

    --
    conradab@[removed] (Conrad A. Binyon)
       From the Home of the Stars who loved Ranches and Farms
         Encino, California.

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:51:23 -0500
    From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Mormon Choir

    Michael Biel Commented on my remarks about the KSL broadcast of the
    Morman Choir. In my era remote broadcasts did not have titles as such but
    were listed as the performer. For example Guy Lombardo from the Roosevelt
    Grille was not listed as "the Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven" but Guy
    Lombardo Orchestra. The origination column would indicate :Hotel
    Roosevelt. Same with the choir. The program title column would read
    "Morman Choir" and the origination would read KSL. Probably the title
    mentioned by Lee and Mike came at a later date when it was recorded and
    distributed by "electrical transcription". The book, "The Big Broadcast",
    states that both Richard Evans and J. Spencer Cornwall were the voices of
    "The Spoken Word" portion each week during the program. It was a great
    program which I always enjoyed listening to.

    By the way, I started as a broadcast engineer at WHN in New York in 1936
    at age twenty and retired from CBS in 1981with two years field testing
    development Radar equipment for the military during WW II. I joined the
    CBS engineering staff in 1944, both New York and Hollywood, and retired
    in 1981. Just thought I would explain where my broadcast knowledge comes
    from.

    Bill Murtough

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:57:24 -0500
    From: "Ryan Osentowski" <rosentowski@[removed];
    To: "old time radio" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: otr actors in cartoons

    Hi all:
    Responding to Steve's post, I always think of Mr. Slate when I hear John
    Stevenson's voice in otr.  Also, Mr. Stevenson was the voice of about every
    ghost and monster on Scooby Do.  Also, Vic Perrin was the voice of Dr. Sin
    on the old Johnny Quest cartoon and he also did some voice work for Star
    Trek the original series.  Hal Parie, aka the Great Gildersleeve, was the
    voice of Mr. Fuddy in a cartoon called, The Galloping Ghost.  Rye Billsbury
    was the voice of Green Lantern and Apache Chief on the old Superfriends
    cartoon.  Stanley Jones was the voice of Lex Luthor in this same cartoon and
    he also did the voice of Cadbury on Richie Rich.  Virginia Gregg did the
    voice of Tara on a cartoon called, Space Stars, The Herculoids.  Jim Bacus
    was the voice of Mr. Magoo.  Linell Berimore was the voice of Simon Bar
    Sinister in the Underdog cartoon.
    Can't think of anymore at this time.
    RyanO

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: Mr. Perrin, of course, also had an on-camera role in Star
    Trek, in the episode "Mirror Mirror." And let's not forget he was the
    "Control Voice" on the original, "Outer Limits."  --cfs3]

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:58:29 -0500
    From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: commercials collection

    From: nikurashi@[removed]

>     Now I'll press my luck by asking if anyone knows of a good collection
>     of old time radio commercials. I have one somewhere in my collection,
>     but it is rather limited. I'm looking for a more comprehensive testment
>     of the subject.   Warren Jones

    In 1967, following the success of Themes Like Old Times and Jack Benny's
    Golden Memories of Radio, Larry Bruff, Executive Director of the
    International Radio and Television Society saw the wave of nostalgia
    that was beginning in the industry and solicited recordings of early
    radio commercials from members and collectors for an LP to be given out
    at their annual banquet.  Its title is ". . . and now a word from our
    sponsor" and the original authorized release was on Columbia Special
    Products.  It has been "borrowed" and pirated by many dealers and
    nostalgia record labels over the years, sometimes appearing with this
    title, but never acknowledging where they got it from.

    You can identify it from it starting with the "Have You Tried Wheaties"
    song, followed by the Perfect Circle Piston Ring opening and ad which
    was done in 1929 by a friend of mine, the late Robert Vahay Brown.  A
    few minutes later you might notice a group of 3 or 4 ads that are
    exactly the same montague as appeared in the Jack Benny set.  Those ads
    were submitted by a classmate of mine who dubbed them off of the Benny
    set he borrowed from me!  HE got a copy of the LP AND an acknowledgement
    on the album cover.  Hurrumph.  But Larry Bruff felt kindly towards me
    when I told him that story and gave me the last extra copy of the LP
    they had at the IRTS office.

    This is not necessarily the best collection of ads that could be put
    together, but it is an interesting sampler of ads that people in the
    broadcasting business in 1967 felt were interesting, important, and
    happened to have lying around.

    Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:58:55 -0500
    From: "Ian Grieve" <ian@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: THEMES

    Rich asked about theme songs and commercial availibility:

    Rich, it has been mentioned here before and someone posted a link to a site
    listing OTR themes and the actual names of the songs.  No doubt someone will
    post that and more in answer to your question.

    I would like to add that I have long enjoyed "Highland Lament" the theme for
    Six Shooter.  I was advised on Friday by a person with Transcription disks
    of themes used for otr shows, that he had that music.  He played it over the
    telephone to me and it was the right one.  He is generously sending me a
    copy of the music and I certainly appreciate the generosity.

    Your question came at the right time for me to share that information and I
    feel silly that I am more excited about that parcel coming than any others I
    know are coming to me.  The music simply struck a chord with me.

    Ian Grieve

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:59:21 -0500
    From: HERITAGE4@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Olde Tyme Radio Network Schedule

    Olde Tyme Radio Network Page starting Sunday 2/17:  [removed]

    Same Time Same Station with Jerry Haendiges:
    The Great Gildersleeve - 01/11/42  Gildy Arrested as a Car Thief
    Hollywood Star Time - 01/24/48  "Elmer the Great"
    The Harold Peary Show - (Honest Harold, The Homemaker)   01/10/51
          Harold Loses his Sponsor and Tries a New Show.
    Family Theater - 02/29/56  "Mr. Harrison and the Lady Racketeer"

    Heritage Radio Theatre with Tom Heathwood:
    The Joy Boys - 09/20/60    Marble Shooting Contest, and "Arthur Codfish Time"
    2000-Plus - 1950-51 season   "The Green Thing"
    What's My Line - 1950's simulcast with host, John Daly.  Guest panelist,
        Martin Gabel,  and "Mystery Guests" Gordon & Sheila MacRae.

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:59:33 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Today in radio history

      From Those Were The Days --

    1927 - Singer Jessica Dragonette starred on radio's Cities Service
    Concerts (sponsored by the oil company of the same name) and literally,
    "sang her way into radio immortality." She also sang on the Palmolive
    Beauty Box Theatre in the 1930s. In 1940 she starred on Pet Milk's
    Saturday Nite Serenade. Her many fans referred to her as the "first
    great voice of the air."

    1938 - One of the most famous and popular motion pictures of all time
    lit up the silver screen, as The Big Broadcast of 1938 was released to
    movie houses. The film featured Bob Hope and his version of what would
    be his theme song, Thanks for the Memory. The song received an Oscar for
    Best Song. Dorothy Lamour and [removed] Fields also had starring roles in the
    film.

    1949 - Yours Truly Johnny Dollar debuted on CBS. The program starred
    Charles Russell as the insurance investigator with the action-packed
    expense account. The show was the last of the major, dramatic network
    programs on radio. Johnny Dollar walked into the radio sunset in 1962.

      Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:50:32 -0500
    From: nikurashi@[removed]
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Themes Like Old Times/OTR commercials

    I'll answer myself. I couldn't find CDs for "Themes Like Old Times," but I
    found a site that has  a two LP set with 180 themes for $[removed] I'm just
    waiting for them to tell me how to pay them, so that I can place my order.
    As to the commercials, I don't know if I found the best collection, but I
    stopped looking when I found one CD for sale that has over 200 OTR
    commercials for $[removed] including shipping and packing.

    I could have done this long ago, but I somehow keep forgetting to use my
    search engine, which almost never fails to find what I'm looking for.

    Warren Jones

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 10:06:51 -0500
    From: Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Title confusion

        What do the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Sergeant Preston and Cream of
    Wheat have in common?  No, that excellent musical organization did not
    necessarily breakfast on piping hot cereal before being guided by the
    Mounties to sing in the wilds of the Yukon.  For me, they’re all
    connected by a case of title confusion.
        Until the recent discussion here on the Digest I was not aware that
    the actual title of the choir broadcasts from Salt Lake City is “Music
    and the Spoken Word”.  I’ve heard those words used on the program but
    thought it was simply a description.
        It took me back to when I was very young and ran up to one of my
    little friends on a Saturday and asked, “Did you listen to ‘Cream of
    Wheat’ this morning?”  It was only years later reading a magazine
    article that I recognized the program called “Let’s Pretend” as the one
    I used to listen to, and hearing a tape many years after that I heard
    Uncle Bill Adams say, “It’s the Cream of Wheat program, ‘Let’s
    Pretend’.”  No wonder it confused a little kid (though the sponsor
    should have been pleased with the substance of my mistake).
        But then, grown into manhood (somewhat incompletely, to be sure) I
    was looking in a catalog for tapes of “Sergeant Preston of the Yukon”.
    I found nothing till I was informed that the show – one of my favorites
    as a young radio listener – was really called “The Challenge of the
    Yukon”.  I can hear the dogs howling now.
        This kind of title confusion seems peculiar to radio where the
    “signature” may be more than a few words, and where newspaper listings
    often had to squeeze a title into a column or grid.  Any other examples
    of where you caught the show but misunderstood the title?

    --Bill Jaker

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 10:30:14 -0500
    From: "Christian Blees" <christian-blees@[removed];
    To: "OTR mailing list" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Airdates of two Mr. Keen episodes

    Hello,

    can anybody tell me when the following episodes of "Mr. Keen, tracer of
    lost persons" were aired for the first time:

    The strange bargain murder case
    The haunted farm

    I'm pretty sure that both are from 1953 and/or 1954.

    Thanks for help,

    Christian

    Christian Blees

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 10:49:56 -0500
    From: Eric J Cooper <ejcooper2002@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Re:Groucho's witty talent

    I agree. Groucho's ability to ad lib and be spontaneously funny, began to
    deteriorate by the end of the run of You Bet You Life (1960 on radio,
    1961 on TV). I don't think he had it in him any more.

    Eric Cooper

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 10:50:26 -0500
    From: Eric J Cooper <ejcooper2002@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Steve Allen on KNX

    I once had an LP produced by Mark 56 records (the late George
    Garabedian's outfit) of a Steve Allen late night radio show in KNX in Los
    Angeles, but haven't had it in years since I switched to tapes and CDs.
    Garabedian's company, Mark 56 records is, as far as I am aware, long
    gone. Since Mr. Garabedian was even more meticulous about securing
    exclusive rights to his recorded output than even Mr. Amari, I doubt it
    will ever surface again, except as a bootleg. I should be given a 1000
    lashes with a wet noodle for letting it escape my collection.

    Eric Cooper

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 10:50:37 -0500
    From: "Jeff Bankens" <jeff_bankens@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: The man of Bronze

    Hello all,

    Not to long ago I was able to listen to a radio serial named Doc Savage, The
    man of Bronze.  Could anyone out there fill me in on the air dates of this
    program, or any other interesting tidbits of information?

    Thanks in advance,

    Jeff Bankens c/o
    Westlake, LA 70669

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 14:04:32 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Re: Allen and NBC

    Dave Walter wonders,

>     I'm curious if anyone knows,
>     while Allen's beef with NBC about this was famous, what (if anything) was
>     known of his fellow comics' attitude towards the situation? Did they feel
>     NBC was at fault for cutting a program they pretty much knew would go long,
>     or did they feel Fred was at fault for his inability to comply with time
>     restraints? Or both?

    The 1947 confrontation over timing wasn't an isolated incident, nor was
    the timing of Allen's program the real issue for NBC: the real root of
    the dispute was Allen's long-standing disrespect for network authority.
    NBC ended every half-hour show at precisely 29:40, regardless of what
    comedian on the air. Allen knew this, and could have made his show fit
    had he wanted to do so -- but the network believed that he chose not to,
    as a deliberate thumbing-of-the-nose toward NBC policies. They also had
    had enough of his jokes about incompetent vice-presidents -- insisting
    that NBC Continuity Acceptance policies prohibited disparaging remarks
    about any corporation, including NBC.

    This had been going on for a long time. Allen had been a constant problem
    for Janet McRorie, NBC's Continuity Acceptance director in the 1930s --
    she found him uncooperative and hostile, and he didn't think much of her,
    either: in private, Allen ridiculed the entire Continuity Acceptance
    staff as "lead-a**ed memo-sending executive ba****ds." In view of this
    attitude, McRorie finally had to demand a meeting with officials of
    Benton and Bowles to figure out "what can be done about Allen" and to
    demand that the agency force him to fall in line. It didn't work -- Allen
    had as little respect for the agency as he did for McRorie, and it's
    doubtful that any executive tears were shed in 1940 when Allen's program
    moved to a new agency and a different network.

    When Janet McRorie was replaced by Clarence Mesner in the 1940s, around
    the time Allen's program returned from CBS, Mesner was determined not to
    let Allen call the shots as he had with his predecessor -- and he used
    the timing issue to make an example of Allen. Allen knew what was going
    on, and he deliberately made a public issue of the dispute -- getting his
    agent to plant items in all the right columns, and at one point hiring a
    group of midgets to picket Radio City carrying signs to the effect that
    "NBC Is Unfair To The Little Man."

    Other NBC comedians understood that what was going on was a political
    power struggle -- it was a question of who was going to call the shots on
    a given program, the comedian or the network -- and several of them
    rallied to Allen's support, including Bob Hope and Red Skelton, both of
    whom ended up getting cut off the air for making jokes about the
    situation. The network couldn't hope to swing public opinion around to
    seeing its side of the issue -- and tried to make amends by awarding
    Allen an honorary vice presidency -- which he rejected.

    The dispute eventually forced NBC to ease up on its policing of comedians
    -- and the publicity was the best thing that had happened to Allen in a
    long time, pushing his program to the number one slot in the
    Hooperratings for the only time in its entire run. But the stress of the
    incident also pushed Allen's blood pressure to new heights -- beginning a
    sharp and steady decline in his health which ended with a stroke in 1949,
    just after he ended his program's final season.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 14:06:04 -0500
    From: "Joe C" <packers2003@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Re. Father Knows Best

>     Just heard an episode of the Jack Carson show. The character of Norma
>     Jean, sounds awfully similar to Kathy (the youngest daughter) on Father
>     Knows Best ...

>     Anyone have any info on this actress(es) ?

    The character of "The Little Girl Next Door" on The Jack Carson Show (1943)
    was played by Norma Jean Nilsson.

    On August 25,1949 when Father Knows Best debuted on NBC and Norma Jean
    Nilsson was indeed the actress that played Kathy until she was eventually
    replaced by Helen Strong. You have a good ear for voices Dr. Pillay.

    The only other OTR acting credit I know of for Norma Jean Nilsson was during
    1947-1948 she played the part of Blondie & Dagwood's daughter Cookie.

    Joe

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 14:06:16 -0500
    From: "Thomas Mason" <batz34@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Steves early career

    I remember as a kid in high school here is California that Steve Allen was a
    commentator on the ole wrestling matches that were telecast from a Santa
    Monica arena.
    His interviews in the locker room were hilarious.
    Tom Mason

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

    Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 14:06:58 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Groucho as Ad Libber

    Jer51473@[removed], commenting on Groucho Marx' ability as an ad libber,
    notes,

>     i somehow think much of his so called adlibbing was ochestrated. I
>     remember watching a tv show once, <snip> If score would have been kept,
>     groucher would have come in last. The best of the group by far was easily
>     george burns, he brought the house down time after time.

    Well, Groucho was a great ad libber, but a lot of it was stuff that
    couldn't be broadcast.  When he was doing You Bet Your Life, it was
    filmed and audiotaped ahead of time.  The actual show ran about
    half-again as long as was aired, then edited differently for radio and
    TV.  The radio section concentrated on dialog (though some of it, from
    what I've read, couldn't have been aired), while the TV version
    concentrated on him mugging and other visuals.  Either way, editing might
    make it seem as if an ad lib might seem orchestrated.  However, there are
    plenty of examples of him doing really superior ad libs off the air.  (A
    few good off-air Groucho ad libs can be found in H. Allen Smith's The
    Compleat Practical Joker.)

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #62
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