Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #117
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 3/17/2003 8:57 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 117
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK SCHEDULE for  [ HERITAGE4@[removed] ]
      Re: A&A Answers                       [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Re: Amos and Andy                     [ Shakehip@[removed] ]
      St. Patrick's Day Birthdays           [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Jack Benny and Shrimp Boats           [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
      talk radio                            [ Kurt E Yount <blsmass@[removed]; ]
      Hal's book                            [ "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed]; ]
      Recording Media                       [ Grbmd@[removed] ]
      Shrimp Boats                          [ "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed] ]
      Ms. Houlihan on the Durante show      [ "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed] ]
      I've Got a Secret and Brace Beemer    [ "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed] ]
      Sports Programs                       [ Jean-Henri Duteau <jeand@telusplane ]

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

    Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 10:29:46 -0500
    From: HERITAGE4@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK SCHEDULE for week
     of: 03/16/03

    Here's  the programs for this week in streaming audio at:
    [removed]  - Listen in anytime!

    SAME TIME, SAME STATION with Jerry Haendiges
    1. LITTLE OLD HOLLYWOOD   03/11/40    Host: Ben Alexander with
    guests: Priscilla Lane and Al Levy.  Gordon Jenkins & his Orch.
    2. THE QUIZ KIDS    3/11/51   NBC  Quizmaster is  Joe Kelly.
    "St. Patrick's Day Diamond"
    [removed] LUX RADIO THEATRE   CBS   3/17/52   "Top O' The Morning"
    stars:  Barry Fitzgerald, Anne Blyth and Dennis Day.

    HERITAGE RADIO THEATRE  with Tom Heathwood
    1. CREEPS BY NIGHT  BLUE/ABC   1944   "The Strange Burial of Alexander
    Jordan"  with Edmund Gwenn.
    2. X MINUS ONE    NBC   2/8/56    "C-Chute"  by Isaac Asimov.
    3. THE COLGATE SPORTS NEWSREEL with BILL STERN   NBC
    Pgm. #572 - 10/20/50  - The Twelth Anniversary of the show with a montage of
    past guests:  J. Benny, Babe Ruth,  Herbert Hoover,  and
    many others who had appeared on the show over the years.

    Happpy St. Patrick's Day to you!!        Tom & Jerry

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

    Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 12:20:17 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: A&A Answers

    On 3/16/03 10:45 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     This is a valuable site. I listened to an A&A show from 1928. I had never
>     heard any of the radio shows; I only remember the TV series, and little of
>     that.

    You still haven't heard a 1928 A&A episode, unfortunately -- the
    recording listed as such in this site is an unattributed dub of a
    commercially-released Victor phonograph record. These records were made
    to be self-contained dialogue routines, and had nothing to do with the
    actual broadcasts, which depended for their appeal on a continuing serial
    storyline. The characterizations of Amos and Andy as heard on the Victor
    records are often inconsistent with the characterizations presented in
    the actual broadcasts. Many academics and OTR writers have drawn
    erroneous conclusions about the program as a result of these records,
    since they're often circulated in the OTR world with no documentation of
    their origin.

    You *will* find a number of authentic 1929 episodes on this site, however
    -- the downloads listed as numbers 1 thru 28 in the 1929 section are
    genuine episode recordings made for "chainless chain" syndication. The
    episodes from May thru July are especially notable in that the storyline
    they're taken from was the most complex attempted by the performers up to
    that time. (A complete day-to-day summary of the entire sequence can be
    found at [removed]~[removed])

    The recordings from 29 thru 33 in the 1929 section and the one listed
    from 1930 are also from Victor records, and are not genuine broadcasts.

>     A question:
>     I've heard and read that, in their heyday, A&A's program was so popular on
>     radio that movie theaters would "pipe in" the broadcasts on their sound
>     systems so that their audiences would have no excuse to stay home and
>     listen to the radio. Is this true?

    Yes. The practice began in Washington DC in January 1930, in the midst of
    the "Great Home Bank" storyline, and began a trend that swept thru the
    East during February and March of that year. (The phenomenon was
    concentrated in the East because A&A was heard in the 7pm time slot only
    in the Eastern time zone.) The practice was widely advertised on theatre
    marquees and in print ads -- you'll find a typical example of such an ad
    at [removed]~[removed])

>     Was the program as popular with black audiences as
>     it was with whites (or was there even a polling method at the time that
>     took into account the "race" of the audience?

    There is ample anecdotal evidence from the early 1930s that the program
    had a large and loyal African-American audience, even though as of 1930
    less than 8 per cent of black families had access to radios. There are
    accounts in the African-American press of listeners in Harlem gathering
    in radio stores, poolrooms, restaurants, and hotel lobbies during the
    early months of 1930 to listen to the program, and the program received
    favorable mention in several of the leading black newspapers of the day,
    including the Chicago Defender, the Philadelphia Tribune, the Amsterdam
    News, the Baltimore Afro-American, and the Northwest Enterprise.

    The Pittsburg Courier, on the other hand, mounted a petition drive
    against the program in early 1931 -- only to abandon the effort after six
    months failed to generate sufficient support to sustain the campaign.
    Contrary to Dunning and other authors, the NAACP did not endorse this or
    any other anti-A&A campaign during the OTR era. Indeed, then-assistant
    secretary Roy Wilkins wrote a glowing endorsement of the program during
    1930, and was on good terms with Correll and Gosden during their radio
    run.  Many black papers publicly repudiated the Courier's drive.

    In 1939, Correll and Gosden commissioned a special Crossley survey of
    radio listeners in African-American sections of several major cities, and
    found that on a percentage basis, black radio homes were more likely to
    tune in "Amos 'n' Andy" than white. (Gosden shared this document with Roy
    Wilkins during a meeting in Hollywood that same year.)

    All this, of course, applies solely to the original nightly serial
    version of the program. When the program became a weekly sitcom, and its
    characterizations became more broad, the series drew occasional criticism
    from black leaders, especially in the postwar era. But there was never
    any sort organized campaign against the radio program -- which explains,
    in part, why Correll and Gosden and CBS were taken by surprise when the
    NAACP denounced the TV series in 1951.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 17:38:19 -0500
    From: Shakehip@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Amos and Andy

    Herb,

    I just finished reading an incredible book called "The Adventures of Amos 'n'
    Andy : A Social History of an American Phenonmenon" by Melvin Patrick Ely.
    The book walks a fine line on the impact of A&A on American culture and the
    big debate.  - - On one hand, it was the first show of its type to present
    people of color in a humane and likable way, on the other hand, it ascended
    from the black cork minstral tradition.  Eventually it fell due in part to
    pressure from the NAACP, however, the debate that brought it down was faught
    even among blacks for almost 30 years.
    I have to say as a Jazz musician who's played predominantly black clubs, I've
    met older people who definitely remind me of some of the folks on that show
    (*though I've never heard any say "I'ze regusted !".)    In fact, many blacks
    argued that the problem wasn't so much that they inaccurately portrayed
    blacks, but rather they only represented the black underclass.   The counter
    arguement was that Amos and Andy also presented characters who were doctors,
    lawyers and other professionals.  In my opinion, when you consider the
    alternative stereotypes of black, and the fact that these two characters were
    likeable as human beings (Amos & Andy was more of a soap opera in its early
    years), I think at the height of Jim Crow it probably did more good than
    harm.   Whatever, for around $[removed] you can get almost every known existing
    episode on CD-ROM.  It is amazing to hear the evolution of the characters
    over the years.

    Ed

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

    Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 17:38:54 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  St. Patrick's Day Birthdays

    If you born on St. Patrick's Day, you share your birthday with:

    1888 - Frank Buck - Gainesville, Texas
    1892 - Ferde Grofe - New York City
    1901 - Alfred Newman - Newe Haven, Connecticut
    1916 - Karl Weber - Columbus Junction, Iowa
    1918 - Mercedes McCambridge - Joliet, Illinois
    1919 - Nat "King" Cole - Montgomery, Alabama

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Make your day, listen to an Olde Tyme Radio Program

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

    Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 17:39:12 -0500
    From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jack Benny and Shrimp Boats

    I'm not familiar with the song "Shrimp Boats
    A'comin"--I was born twenty years too late. (Anybody
    know where I can find a copy?) Last night I listened
    to two episodes of Jack Benny from 1952. I presume
    this is when the song was at the peak of its
    popularity, because each show contains references to
    the tune.

    02/17/52 New York Symphony Plays Jack's Song - In His
    Dreams
    --when informed that Mary has a letter from her
    mother, Jack asks "What does the captain of the shrimp
    boat have to say?"

    03/02/52 George Burns, Groucho Marx, Danny Kaye &
    Frank Sinatra Sing Jack's Song
    --Dennis announces that he's going to sing "Date Boat
    A'comin'". Jack says "Shouldn't that be Shrimp Boats,"
    and Dennis replies "This is Palm Springs."

    Incidentally, these two episodes are ones that I've
    had on tape for about 18 years, since I went through
    my first OTR phase as a young teenager. I must've
    heard them dozens of times--but listening to them last
    night, as a result of this Shrimp Boat thread, I got
    jokes that had eluded me for almost two decades!

    Kermyt

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

    Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 17:47:12 -0500
    From: Kurt E Yount <blsmass@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  talk radio

    I was glad to read about KSL.  As for the song, it has been about 25
    years since I heard it so how much can you fault my memory?  I was glad
    to hear about the web site.  I will check it out.  Kurt

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

    Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 18:59:47 -0500
    From: "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Hal's book

    Subject:  Hal's book

    I agree that Hal's book is a very fast read -- maybe not THAT fast! - in
    fact my only complaint about it is that it was all over too fast .  I told
    Hal he had to learn write faster, as he left me ready for the next one altho
    I did not work in TV - only radio.
    Thanks, Hal, for the enjoyment!
    Lois Culver
    KWLK Radio (Mutual) Longview, WA 1941-44
    KFI Radio (NBC) Los Angeles CA 1945-47, 50-53
    Widow of Howard Culver, actor

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

    Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 20:32:09 -0500
    From: Grbmd@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Recording Media

    Recent contributions to the forum have got me thinking about other media for
    recording either OTR or other messages.

    Some messages have mentioned cylinders.  Back in the late Thirties, when I
    was just a kid, my dad would bring me into his Brooklyn, [removed], office at his
    insurance company, where he used a Dictaphone machine that recorded on
    cylinders.  While he was busy with other things, I played with the machine,
    recording my voice as I reported traffic patterns while looking out the
    window.  (How come I didn't go into radio announcing?)

    After I managed to record a lot of trivia over his cylinders, he would show
    me how they shaved the cylinders, readying them for the next recordings.

    Later, in the Forties, when I was a teenager during WW2, I recall how the
    78-rpm records were all of a plastic composition except for Columbia disks,
    which had a cardboard base on which the plastic had been fused.  I recall
    that because certain recycling shops would accept all old 78's for a fee
    except the Columbia records.  They didn't want them because of the cardboard
    contamination.

    Still later, in the Fifties and Sixties, when I was an engineer at
    Westinghouse, I subscribed to a number of freebie electronics magazines that
    would occasionally have bound into them a flexible plastic recording
    promoting one cause or another.  They were, I think, likely 45 rpm, although
    some may have been 33's.

    If anyone knows of a freebie mag that encloses interesting CD's, I'd be
    interested.

    Spence

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

    Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 20:32:21 -0500
    From: "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Shrimp Boats

       "Shrimp Boats" was heard on radio's 'Your Hit Parade' for some ten weeks
    starting in early January 1952. Jo Stafford and Dolores Grey (as Don Frey
    mentioned) had hit records of the song.  (A parody of the song, "Herring
    Boats", was recorded at the time by Mickey Katz (& orch.) and was a minor
    hit.)

       You can read the lyrics (they look accurate -- or pretty accurate --to
    me) and listen to the melody at:
    [removed]

      -- Phil C.

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

    Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 20:32:38 -0500
    From: "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Ms. Houlihan on the Durante show

       If one listens to a recording of a broadcast of the Jimmy Durante Show
    from about 1948-1950 on which the character Ms. ('Miss' in those days, of
    course) Houlihan appears, one hears that the character's first name is
    "Hotbreath" (or "Hot Breath") Houlihan.

       In John Dunning's OTR reference book "Tune in Yesterday" he correctly
    named the character "Hotbreath".  But in his more recent book "On the Air"
    he incorrectly named her "Hotlips".

      -- Phil C.

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

    Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 20:33:21 -0500
    From: "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  I've Got a Secret and Brace Beemer

    OTR Digest Readers-
        Is it possible that anyone has a videotape of Brace Beemer's appearance
    on Garry Moore's "I've Got a Secret?"  The program was telecast sometime in
    the early 1960's, before Beemer's death in 1965, when Garry was the emcee
    and Henry Morgan was a panelist.  Brace's secret obviously was that he had
    played "The Lone Ranger" on the radio.  But Henry Morgan, observantly taking
    notice of the monogrammed "B" on Brace's shirt, disqualified himself because
    he believed the mystery guest to be Francis X. Bushman, who actually did
    play the character once in the early '30's when a challenge was issued by
    station WGN in Chicago to Detroit station WXYZ over who could better produce
    a Ranger script.  WGN selected a young Francis Bushman to portray the masked
    rider, while Earle Graser and the WXYZ sound staff carried the load from
    Detroit.  Needless to say, the WXYZ production won hands down.
        Whether Henry actually knew this, or mistook Beemer's deep, resonant
    voice for that of the aging matinee idol, was never clear.  His
    embarrassment was however when Beemer stumped the panel.
        I've been looking for this program for a long time.  Perhaps someone out
    there has a lead.

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

    Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 09:51:37 -0500
    From: Jean-Henri Duteau <jeand@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Sports Programs

    Hi all,

    Being an oldtime baseball and football fanatic, I'm very interested in
    listening to radio broadcasts of games of old.  I've seen a few baseball
    games and one football game and am wondering if anyone has a list of the
    available games.  I'm not that interested in college football games, but if
    it's old enough, I'll listen to it!

    Right now, I've acquired Games 3, 4, and 5 of the 1949 World Series between
    the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers.  I'd be very interested in
    finding Games 1 and 2 of the series.

    Any information sources that anyone could point me to would be greatly
    appreciated.

    Thank you,

    Jean Duteau

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #117
    *********************************************

    Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
      including republication in any form.

    If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
       [removed]

    For Help: [removed]@[removed]

    To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

    To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
      or see [removed]

    For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
      in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

    To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

    To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]