Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #279
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/21/2002 10:09 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2002 : Issue 279
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Paul Harvey's Birthdate               [ "Dennis Crossland" <dcrossland@char ]
  Atlanta GA radio stations             [ "James G. DuPuy" <dupuy@[removed] ]
  Paul Harvey's Age                     [ Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed] ]
  Secret codes                          [ "Ed Ellers" <ed_ellers@[removed]; ]
  Re: Andy Devine                       [ Taylor401306@[removed] ]
  Graf Spee                             [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
  Andy Devine                           [ "jsouthard" <jsouthard@[removed]; ]
  RE: Paul Harvey's age                 [ "Jerry Reed" <jerry@[removed]; ]
  Re: Paul Harvey's Age                 [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
  Suspense and illness                  [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Graf Spee                             [ Bhob <bhob2@[removed]; ]
  Need help with reel machine           [ "Rodney w bowcock jr." <rodney-self ]
  Can you recommend a good radio        [ Bruce Cervon <bruce@[removed] ]
  little people in otr                  [ "S Skuse" <sskuse@[removed]; ]
  Re: Who`s on First ?                  [ Rfmalone@[removed] ]
  Doggie Diner-cont'd                   [ SacChief@[removed] ]

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 22:59:12 -0400
From: "Dennis Crossland" <dcrossland@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Paul Harvey's Birthdate
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According to the Birthday Directory of Famous & Infamous People by Dennis
Crossland (that's me) Paul Harvey was born Paul Harvey Aurandt (his real name)
on September 4, 1918 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  He will celebrate his 84th birthday
this Sept. 4th.
Dennis Crossland

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 22:59:26 -0400
From: "James G. DuPuy" <dupuy@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Atlanta GA radio stations

Hi to you all!
Caught a post about Paul Harvey in the last list.  Brought back lots of
memorys!
I am 51 and from about 1958 to 1969 I lived in Atlanta GA.  There were
several stations I listened to a lot.  WSB was at that time, playing "pop"
music.  My parents and I listened to it a lot.  Then there was WGST which
was the Georgia Tech station.  I don't remember what type of music was
played mostly, a bit more modern "pop" I think,  but do remember it was a
good station and I listened to it a lot and that included Paul Harvey!  His
"Page 1, Page 2, Page 3" and so on stuck in my mind a lot.  I always tried
to find a station that he was on when I moved to Ohio in late '69.  I
believe he was on WHK.   Here is another station that should bring up some
memories:  WQXI in Atlanta.  They were called "Wicksy"  I think the freq was
1250 but not sure.  They played more "modern" music or closer to rock so
most the kids listened to it.  I was into classical a lot so only listened
once in a while.  When I moved to Parma OH (suburb of Cleveland)  I found
WQXI (Quicksy-1260) which was also more into rock.  I hope I don't have the
call letter turned around.   I believe WHK played mostly rock then also.
WHK gave a lot of rock stars their "break" into radio if I remember
correctly.  Here in Cleveland, back in around 1970 to around 76 or so, WJW
(I think), 850 on the dial, played a really great Mystery Theater at
midnight. It was an hour show and rather late for me to listen to.  I
remedied that by modifing a cassette recorder to run at about 1/2 speed.  I
then rigged an old clock radio so that the contacts operated not only the
radio, but also turned on the recorder.  I would then listen to the tape the
next day at work usually.  The audio quality was really bad as cassette is
slow anyway and it was a cheap portable but oh did I love those mysteries!
Funny, I don't ever remember any OTR when I lived in GA.  There must have
been stations that had it.    Would appriciate any followups on or off list
of these stations or others in those cities.  Somewhere around 83 or so,
several AM stations changed around in Cleveland.  850 became WRMR and played
pop music the same as WSB did back many years ago.  WSB has changed format
and is now talk radio.  Too bad.  I for one, think there are too many "talk"
stations.  Would like to hear a few more AM stations that have music.  FM is
nice, and sounds good and all, but it does not carry as far as a good AM
station!   Take care all!

I don't suffer from insanity, I create and enjoy every minute of it!
Mitsy, my yorkie dog says; "I'm so darn cute even I can't stand it!"

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 22:59:39 -0400
From: Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Paul Harvey's Age

According to the biography section  of Paul Harvey dot com:
[removed]   Paul Harvey started his career
in a Tulsa OK, radio station in 1933 while still in High School.  Assuming
he graduated at age 18 doing the math would place Mr. Harvey's Senority
at his mid 70's.
CAB
---
Conrad  A. Binyon
Encino, CA
Home of the Stars who loved Ranches and Farms

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:00:05 -0400
From: "Ed Ellers" <ed_ellers@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Secret codes

Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed]; wrote:

NBC went even further, imposing rules governing how secret codes could be
used in children's programming -- requiring that the Continuity Acceptance
office be provided with a full set of keys for any and all codes or ciphers
to be used on the air, and that plain text of all coded messages would have
to be submitted along with the regular program scripts at least 48 hours in
advance of broadcast. Presumably, the Continuity Acceptance staff would then
decode the coded text to ensure that the message being aired actually
matched the provided plain text, and that the sponsors didn't try to slip
anything past them.

Strictly speaking, those lists should have been provided to the affiliates
as well, since the FCC would hold them responsible if the coded message
turned out to breach the rules in some respect.  (The same issue came up
much later in TV with the development of closed captioning, teletext and
other encoding systems, where stations have to have the appropriate decoders
to be able to see what's going out on air.)

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:00:26 -0400
From: Taylor401306@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Andy Devine
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In a message dated 7/21/02 11:23:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:

I'm looking for any information on Andy Divine
(Devine?). For a while I thought he was just a minor
player on the Jack Benny show but I just recently
listed to a few Lum n Abner's from the late '40's and
early '50's and he was a recurring character there as
well. A quick Internet search found nothing. Was this
his real name? Did he just play himself on different
shows or did he actually portray different characters?

Andy Devine  (Real name- Jeremiah Schwarz) got his distinctive voice as a
result of a childhood accident ( falling with a stick in his mouth). He was
Jack Benny's sidekick in the "Buck Benny Rides Again" skits on the Jack Benny
radio show. He was Roy Rogers' sidekick, Cookie Bullfincher . His greatest
fame came as "Jingles" Jones , Wild Bill Hickock's sidesick on the 50's TV
show. (I can remember Sugar Pops cereal boxes with his picture on them.) His
last TV show was "Andy's Gang" ("Pluck your magic twanger,Froggy!") The show
was cancelled one December. I can remember being dragged away from seeing the
last show, crying, to go see a "Santa Claus". In Andy Devine's hometown of
Kingman, Arizona, "Andy Devine Days" are still celebrated & there a local
museum on his life & career.

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:00:37 -0400
From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Graf Spee

Dave Walter, Joe Salerno, and Jim Widner discuss the
scuttling of the Graf Spee:

there is a > recording of (allegedly) the actual New
York radio bulletin announcing the > scuttling of the
Graf Spee. On it, an announcer switches to a
reporter who > is supposedly in Montevideo. No
network or station ID is given, and  the > reporter's
sign-off ("Goodbye, ladies and gentlemen") sounds
fairly  odd.

There were apparently two broadcasts, in quick
succession, from Montevideo describing the action.
The recording I have is an NBC broadcast:  "New
Friends of Music" is delayed for the switch to
Uraguay.  The ship is already afire, and Bowen refers
to an earlier 'flash' announcing the scuttling.

This second broadcast is REALLY good stuff.  Bowen
describes the scene for a couple minutes, then:
"There goes another explosion!  The after turret is
going up!  She's going down!  She's going down by the
stern!  The stern is completely underwater.  Flames
are still shooting up into the air, and [removed]
boys are evidently going to make a good job of it, and
leave nothing but the pieces".

Jim Widner points up the curiosity that Bowen's
broadcasts somehow ended up in the KIRO material.
Perhaps this is just a bizarre coincidence?  On this
broadcast, Bowen introduces himself by saying "This is
the National Broadcasting Company in Montevideo", and
the announcer later refers to "James Bowen, NBC's
[removed]"

It's also very funny--and illustrative--to hear the
CBS reaction to (apparently) being scooped so
spectacularly.  That evening on his regular 8:55 PM
news, Elmer Davis rather rather cutely buries the Graf
Spee action after a dry recounting of Day 21 of the
Russian-Finnish war!

There's also a fiery Winston Churchill broadcast from
this day, and had this been a more tactically
significant war event, it might have been remembered
as one his great orations--it is proud, defiant, a
direct poke in Hitler's eye (over and over, he
repeatedly refers to "the Pocket Battleship, Graf
Spee"); hearing this in retrospect, there's little
surprise Neville Chamberlain didn't last another six
months. There were several early-war naval stories:
the Royal Oak sinking, the seizure of the City of
Flint, [removed] the Graf Spee's certainly had the
most exciting finish.

chris

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:00:45 -0400
From: "jsouthard" <jsouthard@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Andy Devine

Ryan asked about Andy Devine. Andy was a well known movie star in the 1940s
and 50s.  He was a large man with an infectious grin and a loud laugh. His
voice was unique and gravelly. Andy played sidekick to Roy Rogers in a
number of Republic westerns. He played the stagecoach driver in the great
John Ford film - Stagecoach with JohnWayne. He was the TV and radio sidekick
(Jingles) of Guy Madison in Wild Bill Hickok.

John Southard

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:00:55 -0400
From: "Jerry Reed" <jerry@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  RE: Paul Harvey's age

According to his bio on [removed] he was in high school when he got his
first radio job in 1933.  Let's say he was 16 at the time. That would put
his birth year at about 1917 or thereabouts.  That would put his age at
about 85 not 103.

Just thought someone would want to know.
Jerry Reed

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:01:45 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Paul Harvey's Age

On 7/21/02 11:25 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

Since many talk show people don't let facts get in the way of a
story, I thought I would ask if anyone can verify how old Paul is.  He has
been around as long as I can remember, but since I was born in 1941 I don't
go that far back.  Paul Harvey has a unique style and delivery that could
never be duplicated and when he finally does end his newscasting it will be
the end of an era. Could someone tell me when he started his newscasts? Has
he always been on ABC?

Paul Harvey Aurandt was born in 1918, which would make him 84 years old
-- so while he probably *will* still be broadcasting when he's 103,  we
still have a couple of decades to wait for that milestone. (I can't help
but feel sorry for Paul Jr., who probably counted on taking over the
program twenty years ago.)

Harvey has been an ABC fixture since November 26, 1950, when he took over
a commentary program that had been established by H. R. Baukhage several
years earlier. Harvey began his radio career in 1933 in his hometown of
Tulsa, OK, and later worked in Oklahoma City and St Louis before landing
in Chicago in 1944, where he did local newscasts over WENR, the local
Blue Network outlet.

While he's probably the last of his breed, that's not to say that he's
unique. Harvey's style is basically an amalgam of Gabriel Heatter, Edwin
C. Hill, and Bill Stern -- with a little bit of Upton Close (from whom
Harvey cribbed his "Hello Americans!" signature line), and maybe a little
trace of his predecessor Baukhage. When you hear Harvey you're hearing an
homage to all of the most popular "heartland commentators" of the 1930s
and 1940s.

I would suggest that the debt to Hill is especially strong: aside from
the very obvious similarities in their delivery and even in the
populist-conservative political shadings of their broadcasts, one could
point out that in 1933, just as Harvey was beginning his radio career,
Edwin C. Hill began a program called "The Inside Story," which told
little known odd facts in the lives of celebrities -- just the same sorts
of stories Harvey would feature forty years later on "The Rest of the
Story." I don't know if Harvey has ever acknowledged a debt to Hill --
who died in 1957 --  but their similarities in style are too obvious to
discount the idea of such an influence.

Elizabeth

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:01:57 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Suspense and illness

Someone last week poosted a question about a specific episode of SUSPENSE
about a blind detective named Duncan McLain (sp?).

There was such an episode, it aired in 1943, the specific title and airdate
I can't find at present, but that was a 1943 episode, of which I am pretty
certain, one of the early dramas of the series.

This is the best I can do at the moment. I'd go into detail and find the
exact episode but I am physically ill and can't handle anything and a friend
is typing this for me, and I am unable to hold anything physical for at
least a couple more days.

Anyone trying to get a hold of mee the past few days, I am not ignoring you,
please have patience, I'll be back in touch as soon as I am better.
Martin Grams

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:02:27 -0400
From: Bhob <bhob2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Graf Spee

More on Dr Pepper: The product name is "Dr Pepper" ? not "Dr. Pepper."
In 1950, the logo was changed to an italic font which had the top part
of the "r" detached and suspended over the period. These two dots
conspired to look like a colon, so it was decided to retain the overhead
dot and delete the period. Company names and documents were then changed
to match the new logo.

Another Graf Spee drama aired the same year as the Michael Powell/Emeric
Pressburger film. On September 30, 1956, YOU ARE THERE did "The
Scuttling of the Graf Spee" on CBS-TV with James Logan, Richard Peel,
Roland Varno and Harlan Warde. The format of YOU ARE THERE usually
involved a CBS news correspondent (in modern dress) reporting on the
event. YOU ARE THERE, btw, began on CBS radio in 1947 as CBS IS THERE:
[removed]+Is+There
[removed]

In Powell-Pressburger's THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE/PURSUIT OF THE
GRAF SPEE (1956) Bernard Lee portrays Captain Patrick Dove, while Dove
appeared uncredited as a prisoner on the Graf Spee. However, Dove
portrayed himself in Gainsborough's FOR FREEDOM (1940), yet another film
about the Graf Spee. FOR FREEDOM, mixing drama and re-enactments with
actual footage, was directed by Maurice Elvey (TRANSATLANTIC TUNNEL) and
Castleton Knight (OLYMPIC GAMES OF 1948). Dove was one of several actual
participants from the real-life event who appeared in FOR FREEDOM.

There's quite a bit about THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE on the
Powell-Pressburger Pages:
[removed]

Note that one article on that site makes mention of BBC broadcasts:
[removed]

The BBC broadcast reports of a massive convergence of allied heavy
ships, although they were many days' sailing away. Visiting British
merchant ships were sent to sea from Montevideo at daily intervals,
obliging the Graf Spee under international law to give each one a
24-hour start. On December 17 Langsdorff raised steam and the Graf Spee
sailed slowly out of port to the three-mile limit, accompanied by a
German steamer and flying her battleflag. Thousands of spectators lining
the shore saw the German sailors transfer from the battleship to the
steamer and heard a series of small explosions, followed by much larger
detonations as the warship's ammunition blew up<<

Were BBC broadcasters aware of the deception?
[removed]

Bhob @ VINTAGE NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS @
[removed]

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:02:45 -0400
From: "Rodney w bowcock jr." <rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Need help with reel machine

I just recieved as a gift from my grandfather an Akai GX280D reel
machine.  It does need some repairs, and I was wondering if the machine
is even worth having fixed.  If anyone knows if this is a quality
machine, please contact me off list.  I know nothing about this sort of
thing, as this is the first reel machine I've owned.

rodney.

Past Tense Productions
Carrying Old Radio related films, and Hal Roach shorts, for $7 per tape.

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:02:54 -0400
From: Bruce Cervon <bruce@[removed];
To: OldRadio Mailing Lists <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Can you recommend a good radio

Here's question that I'm sure many would be interested in.

I'd like to buy a radio that will pick-up distant stations. Can anyone
recommend any peculiar type. A friend told me a Seacrane was good but I've
been burned several times on the these radios and don't want another dud. If
anyone has had good luck with one brand please let me know.
Bruce Cervon

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:04:08 -0400
From: "S Skuse" <sskuse@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  little people in otr

On 19 July Ben wrote:

I was curious if there have been any series or single shows that had
little people/midgets in the lead. Most midget roles seem to be Very
small (no pun intended), and I was curious if any of them had
'significant' roles.

In England, the comedian Jimmy Clitheroe (who never grew taller than 4ft
3ins) played an 11-year-old schoolboy on radio in his BBC radio show "The
Clitheroe Kid", from 1957 to 1972 (making altogether 290 shows over 15
years).

Jimmy Clitheroe was originally a Variety comedian, and played the Variety
theatres in England from 1936 until 1973. He was a midget, and looked like
he was 11 years old.

On radio, you couldn't tell how tall he was, of course. But he also had a
popular television series, from 1964 to 1968, which ran alongside the radio
show. Even on tv, he really looked as though he was 11 years old. This led
to him being known in the newspapers as "the Peter Pan of showbusiness", the
little boy who never grew up.

Jimmy Clitheroe starred not only in "The Clitheroe Kid", but also in another
1950's radio show on the BBC, entitled "Call Boy" (1956-58).

Check out my website at [removed] for more details on
his career.

Have fun!
Sandra

Sandra Skuse & Stephen Poppitt
Jimmy Clitheroe - The Kid Himself
Website: [removed]

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:32:45 -0400
From: Rfmalone@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Who`s on First ?

A couple of weeks ago there were questions about the names of the baseball
players in the Abbott and Costello skit on "Who`s on First" I listed the
names of all the players but I made an error. I have just come across the
Script for Who`s on First. After reading it a couple of times I found that
there is no mention of the Right Fielder.
Hope this sets the record straight. All eight players are named but NO right
fielder.
            Richard

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

Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:38:04 -0400
From: SacChief@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Doggie Diner-cont'd

Hi, folks: I've been on the road, busy and generally not following this
thread for a few weeks, but today, when I finally got back, I noticed a
posting re. The old Doggie Diners of the Bay Area. Circa 1951-52 , on KRE
Berkeley, I co-hosted a show, sponsored, in part by DD's and also by Roos
Brothers (for those of you old enuf to remember Roos Bros), and by Sather
Gate Jewelers, etc. I seem to recall that the key guy in DD was named Ross;
seemed like a good guy. It was kind of a full cycle; DD's sponsored my show
and I used the money, in part, to by those doggies. I think we had a tag line
that said,  "They're doggone good!"  Anyway, my role in the program hit a big
snag in late 1952, when Uncle Sam called me to help fight the Korean War.  I
can't remember who took my spot at KRE. DD's was a great Bay Area
Institution, and while I have lived in Sacramento for many years, i still
have family and other close ties to the Bay Area, so I heard about the
successful efforts to retain the old logo. bob keldgord

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #279
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