Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #216
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 7/18/2005 1:01 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2005 : Issue 216
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Some thoughts                         [ "Bob Watson" <crw934@[removed]; ]
  Heritage Radio Theatre                [ "thomas heathwood" <HeritageRadio@m ]
  Listening to today's day and date     [ "Jeff Knowling" <jeff_knowling@hotm ]
  7-18 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Re: Diskwasher woes                   [ Christopher Werner <werner1@globalc ]
  Re: James Dobson                      [ "Stewart Wright" <stewwright@worldn ]
  "WTIC's Golden Age of Radio"          [ "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed]; ]
  Our Miss Brooks reply                 [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  OTR vendors                           [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  The Star and the Story                [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]

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

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 00:29:17 -0400
From: "Bob Watson" <crw934@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Some thoughts

Some of this has been covered before here, so, I hope folks will forgive me
retreading the past.

The other day, I went to an old favorite place to eat, The Cracker Barrell.
Upon entering the establishment, I immediately started looking around the
store for some of those wonderful old, or replicas of old merchandise that
is there.  Usually, towards the center of the store is a place that is
reserved for OTR.  When I went to browse the rack, I found instead, Old TV
Shows:  Lucy, Andy and the Hillbillies to name a few.  I was struck that
there was no OTR.  Then, as I looked around, I found that the OTR was in a
clearance area.  I was a little bit taken aback, I must admit.  Then, when I
started thinking about it, I realized that I had actually been making some
Old TV purchases lately.  Thanks to the wonder of DVD, entire seasons of
shows are available.  Indeed that very day, I had purchased Andy's second
season.  When I got it home, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the
final commercial tags for Sanka and Post were included, though not with the
episodes themselves, but on a separate section of the DVD.  I know the
Hillbillies DVD collection that is coming out will have the commercials as a
bonus feature.  Not exactly the episodes as broadcast, but I guess as close
as tv collections in general are going to get.  I was struck by how each
episode had a tag commercial geared specifically for that episode.  Much
like OTR commercials were part of the program.  It pleased and saddened me
at the same time.  These shows are passing into the collectors realm, much
like OTR.  Indeed, if one watches cable and satellite today, these shows are
scarce to be found.  And when they are, they are far from complete.  It got
me thinking about the viability of OTR as a hobby or as collectibles.  I
realized that pretty much the future of the hobby seems to lie with
satellite radio.  Even the internet pales in comparison when one realizes
that a person pretty much has to be searching for OTR in order to find it on
the internet these days.  Very few random searches produce links to
streaming OTR.  Or maybe I am not putting in the right info.  But the point
is, you have to be looking for it.  And to look for it, you have to be
exposed to it.  There is very little exposure of OTR out there for the
masses these days.  I grew up during the nostalgia boom of the 1970's.
There was much OTR on the airwaves back then.  Until my Mom accidently found
the Jack Benny program one Autumn Sunday night, I pretty much ignored OTR,
taking those Lone Ranger shows I had heard on a Saturday afternoon for
granted.  Once my ears were opened to the wonders of radio comedy, I sat up
and took note.  A few years ago, I held out from purchasing a satellite
radio specifically because there was no OTR.  Once XM added the channel, I
immediately purchased one of their receivers.  Very soon, the immense
variety of such a purchase became apparent to me.  And, slowly, the OTR
channel, the very reason I bought the darn thing to begin with, began to
take back seat.  One of the reasons was that they were severely edited.  And
the other was the frequency of repeats.  However, I think I was being unfair
to the channel because it, along with Sirius's OTR channel is pretty much it
for much of America, certainly for rural America.  For some reason, it is ok
for our favorite old TV shows to be chopped up when rebroadcast, but not
OTR.  I am coming under the belief that that attitude may doom the hobby.  I
don't know about the rest of you who have satellite radio, but I plan to
listen to the OTR channel a bit more than I used to.  Just because it is
there now, doesn't mean it will be there next year, or at the end of this
year.  I am going to try to find a way to let XM know that I listen to and
value the channel as a way of bringing OTR to the public.  As an example,
look at TVland and Nick at Nite.  These channels used to be filled with
wholesome comedies from the 1950's and 1960's.  Look at them now.  Very few
comedies from that era are broadcast now.  No Green Acres or My 3 Sons.  If
not satellite radio, then how?  Internet listening isn't usually for the
casual listener these days.  And I haven't been able to hear an OTR program
broadcast from a radio station, either AM or FM in years.  And believe me, I
have tried to get some stations out there.  I'm not saying go out and buy a
satellite radio.  Actually, I'm not really sure what I'm saying.  How do the
satellite radio services determine what channels are being listened too the
most or the least?  And does that determine which channels are allowed to
thrive and continue?  It would be a shame for future generations to lose
access to a medium that shaped the way they are entertained.

I guess that's all I have to say.

Well, other than the fact that I have no affiliations with satellite radio
or the DVD industry.  LOL

Bob Watson

[removed]  Oh, and an aside linking both DVD and OTR, Warner Bros has announced
that in Oct. they will release Looney Tunes Vol 3.  Besides having the
wonderful voice characterizations of Mel Blanc, the collection is listed as
having, finally, that wonderful cartoon The Mouse that Jack Built, with the
entire cast of the Jack Benny program.   Since my mail server doesn't always
deposit the digest into my ebox, I didn't know if Laura had announced this
yet or not.  If she has, sorry for retreading old news.  LOL

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

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 02:22:40 -0400
From: "thomas heathwood" <HeritageRadio@[removed];
To: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Heritage Radio Theatre
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Here's our program schedule for this week starting Sunday 7/17/05 on The Olde
Tyme Radio Network at:
[removed]<[removed]
t>     24/7 streaming audio.

1. TERRY & THE PIRATES  - (2)  1942 episodes of the WGN series, including the
"Terryscope" commercial.
2. THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES   MBS  1945    "The Accidental
Murderess"  with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.
3. THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR    CBS   9/16/58    Peg  Lynch/Alan Bunce  "Union
Rules"

Enjoy Tom Heathwood -  HeritageRadio@[removed]

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

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

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 02:22:58 -0400
From: "Jeff Knowling" <jeff_knowling@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Listening to today's day and date

I'd like to add to the discussion of setting up mp3 files to listen to over
a week.

I found a 100 year calendar chart at
[removed] and listen to shows from the
years that match up with the current year.  This means that in 2005, I'm
listening to shows from 1938, 1949, 1955, .....

I start the set up of files by running a search on the drive where I keep my
files.  Most of my files start with the broadcast date as part of the name,
so I will search for the month and date, ie. [removed] and then get the list.  I
copy the ones from the years I'm listening to over to folders in the
portable player, and I'm set for the week.

I like listening to Fibber on Tuesdays, Jungle Jim and Speed Gibson on
Saturdays, Box 13 on Sundays, you get the idea.  It also helps bring a bit
of timeliness to the shows when there is talk of Mother's Day coming in May,
Thanksgiving shows in Nov, and reminders of how many days before Christmas.

Jeff Knowling

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

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 08:55:42 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  7-18 births/deaths

July 18th births

07-18-1872 - Fred Sullivan - London, England - d. 7-24-1937
actor: Kirby Willoughby "Arnold Grimm's Daughter"; Mitchell Frazier "Story of
Mary Marlin"
07-18-1891 - Gene Lockhart - Ontario, Canada - d. 3-21-1957
actor: "Nebbs"; "Doctor Fights"; "Abroad with the Lockharts"
07-18-1893 - Richard Dix - St. Paul, MN - d. 9-20-1949
actor: "Eveready Hour"
07-18-1903 - Chill Wills - Seagoville, TX - d. 12-15-1978
actor: "Armed Forces Radio Theatre"; "Dinner Bell Round-Up Time"
07-18-1903 - Riza Royce - Lancaster, PA - d. 10-20-1980
actress: Victoria Lorring "Young Widder Brown"
07-18-1906 - Clifford Odets - Philadelphia, PA - d. 8-15-1963
playwright: "Fleischmann's Yeast Hour"; "Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players"
07-18-1908 - Lupe Velez - San Luis Potosi, Mexico - d. 12-14-1944
actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Speed Show"
07-18-1908 - Martha Mears - d. 12-13-1986
singer: "G. I. Laffs"
07-18-1909 - Harriet Nelson - Des Moines, IA - d. 10-2-1994
actress: Daisy June "Red Skelton Show"; "Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"
07-18-1911 - Hume Cronyn - London, Ontario, Canada - d. 6-15-2003
actor: Ben Marriott "Marriage"
07-18-1913 - Marvin Miller - St. Louis, MO - d. 2-8-1985
actor: Ben Lyon "Jeff Regan, Investigator"; Gil Whitney "Romance of Helen
Trent"
07-18-1913 - Red Skelton - Vincennes, IN - d. 9-17-1997
comedian: "Avalon Time"; "Red Skelton Show"
07-18-1916 - Irene Winston - New York City, NY - d. 9-1-1964
actress: Myra Gordon "Valiant Lady"; Rosemary Hemingway "Woman In White"
07-18-1918 - Jane Frazee - Duluth, MN - d. 9-6-1985
vaudeville act with sister
07-18-1920 - Charlie McCarthy - Chicago, IL - d. 9-30-1978
dummy: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
07-18-1927 - Kurt Masur - Brieg, Germany
conductor: New York Philharmonic

July 18th deaths

02-26-1900 - Jean Negulesco - Craiova, Rumaina - d. 7-18-1993
film director, screenwriter: "Screen Director's Playhouse"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
05-28-1918 - Johnny Wayne - Toronto, Canada - d. 7-18-1990
comedian: "Army Show"; "March of Time"
09-14-1910 - Jack Hawkins - London, England - d. 7-18-1973
actor: "[removed] Steel Hour"
10-28-1917 - Ron Rawson - d. 7-18-1994
announcer: "Right to Happiness"; "Advs. of Topper"; "Advs. of the Thin Man"
12-25-1911 - Larry Menkin - New York City, NY - d. 7-18-2000
writer: "The Sparrow and the Hawk"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 08:56:37 -0400
From: Christopher Werner <werner1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Diskwasher woes

First of all, thanks everyone for your input regarding isopropyl alcohol
and vinyl record intermixing. It was as I suspected, and why I raised the
question - why would a company like RCA change a formula to make it more
toxic then it was for many years. Perhaps the organization is run by those
who have no experience with [removed] want them to all dissolve.

As to the practice of washing records with soap and water, if my records
were abandoned and covered with months of dust and dirt I would understand
the need for the treatment. I assume that many of the transcription disks
are without sleeves or covers and need this kind of complete cleaning
before playing. Fortunately my 1200 records are fairly dust-free. My main
need for the brushing before playing is to remove lint and light dust that
may have settled on the record because the turntable gets dusty or some
other particle landed on the record. Since I am able to benefit from the
de-clicking noise removal software (like Wavelab) getting every nuance out
of the grooves is not absolutely necessary (for me).

Next time someone bequeath's their 78 collection to me without sleeves or
jackets, I'll keep the method in mind.

I've found the 6 oz bottle of the original D4 solution, so I'm ignoring the
isopropyl alcohol bottle for now. When that has run out (in 5 years) I will
check out the Doctor's wonder-fluid as recommended. By then everyone will
be advocating ultrasonic cleaning anyway :-).

Thanks again!

Chris.

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

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 09:31:06 -0400
From: "Stewart Wright" <stewwright@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: James Dobson

Derek Teague asked:

This might come off as a dumb question but here goes; Is this James
Dobson the same dude who runs the Focus on the Family radio ministry?

Irene asked:

I also wondered when I heard his name.  Do you know if it's the same James
Dobson?

The James Dobson who appeared on "Archie" died of a heart attack on December
6, 1987 in Hollywood, CA.

Signing off for now,

Stewart

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

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 12:06:12 -0400
From: "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  "WTIC's Golden Age of Radio"

The latest "WTIC's Golden Age of Radio" programs
with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran, can be heard at
[removed]

We present three complete shows in MP3 format for
your listening pleasure or for downloading: (Please
note: The next update to this site will be on or about
August 15, 2005.)

Program 53 - August, 1974 - Mel Blanc

Mel Blanc (May 30, 1908 - July 10, 1989), was born in
San Francisco, California. His ability to create voices for
multiple characters first attracted attention when he worked
as a voice actor in radio.  He was a regular on the Jack Benny
Program in  various roles, including Benny's automobile (a
Maxwell in desperate need of a tune up), violin teacher
Professor LeBlanc, Polly the Parrot, and Benny's pet polar
bear Carmichael.

Blanc's success on the Jack Benny Program led to his own
radio show on the CBS radio network, The Mel Blanc Show,
which ran from September 3, 1946 to June 24, 1947. Blanc
played himself as the hapless owner a fix-it shop, in addition
to a wide range of comical support characters. Other regular
characters were played by Mary Jane Croft, Joe Kearns, Hans
Conried, Alan Reed, Earle Ross, Jim Backus and Bea Benaderet.
We'll hear an excerpt from that show.

Blanc, as we all know, had a great career in films, as the voices
of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and numerous others in Warner
Brothers Cartoons.

Program 54 - September, 1974 - Mandel Kramer

Mandel Kramer played the title role in "Yours Truly, Johnny
Dollar" from 1961 until 1962, replacing Bob Bailey. His radio
career included nearly every radio drama in the forties, fifties,
and sixties, up to and including the "CBS Radio Mystery Theater."
He won an Emmy for TV's  "The Edge of Night," and also was a
regular on "The Guiding Light." On this show we'll hear Mr.
Kramer share his memories of acting in radio, and hear excerpts
from "Counterspy," "Gangbusters,"  and "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar."

Program 55 - October, 1974 - Sid Raymond

Sid Raymond, who got his start in radio on the Major Bowes
Original Amateur Hour, replaced Charlie Cantor as Finnegan
on  Duffy's Tavern.  An actor, comedian, impersonator and variety
performer, Sid Raymond performed in variety, radio, cartoons,
television, commercials, and  motion pictures.

In the 1970's Dick Bertel created the program for WTIC in
Hartford, CT. The idea came to Dick after he interviewed radio
collector-historian Ed  Corcoran a few times on his radio and
TV shows. "The Golden Age of Radio was first broadcast in
April, 1970;  Ed was Dick's co-host.

For the next seven years the program featured interviews with
actors, writers, producers, engineers and musicians from radio's
early days. Each show featured excerpts from Ed's collection.

"WTIC's Golden Age of Radio" can also be heard Saturday nights
on Walden Hughes's program on Radio Yesteryear.

Bob Scherago
Webmaster

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

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 13:25:12 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Our Miss Brooks reply

This is a late reply but I've been out of town and not on e-mail for a
while.

Someone asked:
Have most of the TV verios of OMB been destroyed?

Another replied:
I was always under the impression "Our Miss Brooks" was filmed like "I Love
Lucy" and the entire four-year TV run still exists, it just isn't rerun due
to
an unfortunate lack of interest.  I saw it rerun heavily on weekday mornings
on WXIA, Channel 11 in Atlanta as recently as the late 1970s. Episodes do
turn
up from time to time on VHS and DVD at nostalgia video merchants like
Shokus.

The OUR MISS BROOKS television show was produced by Desilu Productions,
owned by Desi Arnaz, from 1952 to 1956.  A total of 130 episodes were filmed
and broadcast, but the days and times of when the episodes were aired vary
from various parts of the country because the show was syndicated.  16 and
35 mm reels for all 130 episodes do exist but finding them is a pain.  The
episodes were specifically titled and most were adapted from the radio shows
though there were a few original teleplays.  Eve Arden was perfect as OUR
MISS BROOKS on the television show as much as she was for the radio series.
There are old-time TV show web-sites (previously mentioned on this Digest in
past issues) that offer as many as 40 or 50 episodes on VHS and DVD.  Buying
them to watch at home is FAR more easier than finding them airing on
television - the reruns are not easy to come by and when they rarely do -
there are usually a few minutes deleted from the prints so the stations have
more air time for commercials.

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

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 13:28:27 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  OTR vendors

Al Girard commented:

A lot of the vendors who sell mp3 CDs on ebay are not collectors;  they're
just out to make a buck.  A lot of these people just download from Usenet
and
don't spend any time or effort weeding out dupes, so where a vendor claims
to
have 100 or so episodes of a show, it really means that they have 100 or so
titles.  A show dated 35-05-10 would appear as a different show than one
dated 350510 for example.

Al is correct.  Most of the people selling on eBay are not true dealers, but
rather part of an ever-growing medium of people who keep coming up with the
thought "hey, if I can make a copy and sell it cheaper than everyone else, I
can make some decent pocket money."  The major problem is not so much what
people sell at what prices, but rather what customers are willing to pay.
Most people buy by price, not by features and as a result, frustrate
themselves when they buy what they think is a bargain and get crap instead.

Wonderful story I learned from a teacher when I went to high school.  Mr.
Snyder went to an auction once and after a while, observed the auctioneer
pulling out a box of African artifacts.  Since his mother enjoyed things
from Africa, he decided to buy someone for her.  The first item they pulled
out of the box was a large bean (one of those foot long beans) and Mr.
Snyder bid a quarter.  Someone else bid fifty cents.  Snyder bid a buck,
they bid two.  Snyder bid three, they bid four.  He eventually won the bean
for twelve dollars, went up and paid for the item.  As he was walking back,
proud and smiling from his purchase, the auctioneer pulled out of the box .
. . another bean.  This one went for a buck.  So did the next bean, and the
one after that.  By the end, the auctioneer got tired of the bidding and
sold the rest of the box filled with many more beans for fifty cents.

Moral to the story - buyer beware.  I can name half a dozen people who over
the last six months told me "if other people are selling copies of these
shows on discs, I could do the same."  Regrettably, half of them are no
longer on eBay (either by copyright restrictions or too much competition).
A friend of mine went on eBay and paid $[removed] for a 17-disc set containing
the complete series of Boris Karloff's THRILLER, all 60+ hour-long episodes.
  Even though the seller stated in their auction that quality was guarenteed
and had a nice picture of CD cases they came in, what he got in the mail was
17 discs, not even numbered or labeled, and no packing case.  All he got was
17 discs thrown into a bubble envelope and his address listed on the
envelope.  When he e-mailed the seller to complain, their reply was "with
the price you paid for them, what else do you expect?"  Yet two weeks later,
having watched them and discovered that the quality was awful and pixelated,
he turned around and bought a complete set from a dealer whose reputation
has been good for the last decade, paid $[removed] and got full-color cases
with liner notes and trivia, and EXCELLENT, SUPERB picture and sound
quality.

Point I'm making is, when you buy from a respectable dealer like Rodney
Bowcock, Fred and Ellen Berney of Satelitte Media, Finders Keepers, or
anyone else who attends conventions all the time and has been in business
for years, you can be assured you are getting your money's worth.  When you
buy off eBay, you are buying blind - no ifs, ands or buts.  You don't know
exactly who it is you are buying from, you can't sample their product (and
feedback doesn't speak much for quality, that's a whole 'nother ball game)
and you get what you get regardless.  If it's too good to be true, it
probably is.  Know your dealer and stick with the ones you've been
comfortable with, the dealers who work with you and are willing to work out
any arrangement to make you happy, and you'll never go wrong.  If you find
yourself upset about a purchase, why bring in on yourself when you're
supposed to enjoy the hobby of Old Time Radio?

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

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 14:00:36 -0400
From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  The Star and the Story

I've received an inquiry from Craig Henderson
<[removed]@[removed]; whose friend is working on a biography
of Alfred Newman, the composer of many movie scores in the 30s-50s.

Newman was the musical director of a CBS radio show, "The Star and the
Story" an anthology which Walter Pidgeon narrated. It ran for five
months in 1944. No known audio copies have survived.

Any Digesters have any more information on this series?

You can reply on-list and/or directly to Henderson.

Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
[removed]

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #216
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