Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #488
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 12/15/2002 4:39 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2002 : Issue 488
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Frank and Larry and PURSUIT           [ stewwright@[removed] ]
  Fibber's Closet                       [ dltnkt@[removed] (Dennis/Nancy Town ]
  Re: The Big Little Jesus on TV        [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
  word derivations                      [ Osborneam@[removed] ]
  vic and sade/ lorenzo jones           [ CHET <voxpop@[removed]; ]
  Lifebuoy Soap                         [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
  The many names for a sofa             [ "Donald & Kathleen Dean" <dxk@ezlin ]
  Re: Dragnet "the big"                 [ "J. Pope" <jpope101@[removed] ]
  About husbands and wives having sepa  [ "Matthew Bullis" <MatthewBullis@run ]
  Re: DRAGNET: BIG LITTLE JESUS         [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
  Dragnet in color                      [ "Ed Ellers" <ed_ellers@[removed]; ]
  Family Doctor, Si&Elmer               [ dantrigg422@[removed] ]
  Mp3 players                           [ "wesley heidel" <southronman@[removed] ]
  Pete Kelly's Blues -1951 at UCLA?     [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
  Firesign plus more on PANTS           [ Bhob <bhob2@[removed]; ]
  British Radio Drama/Comedy            [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
  Origin of Cinnamon bear               [ vigor16@[removed] ]
  divan                                 [ "[removed]" <ddunfee@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 21:05:27 -0500
From: stewwright@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Frank and Larry and PURSUIT

Larry Albert mentioned in OTR Digest Volume 2002 Issue 486:

  Frank Buxton now lives on Bainbridge Island just
west of Seattle. I've had the pleasure of working with
Frank on several Imagination Theatre episodes. On two
of these it was just myself and Frank. If anybody out
there has heard them you know he made me look good.

  I have both [removed] episodes to which Larry referred.  They are THE OFFERING OF
THE GULLS and TAXI RIDE.  Both Larry and Frank give wonderful performances.

  If you would like to see Frank and Larry perform, consider attending the
Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound Showcase in Seattle, WA June 26 -29.
Information about the Showcase will be posted in the very near future at the
REPS web site:
[removed]

PURSUIT
  I have recently completed work on a broadcast log for the 1949-52 CBS series
PURSUIT.  On or about January 1st, the log will be posted to the Old Time
Radio
Program Logs page of Lou Genco's OTR site at:
[removed]

  PURSUIT was a detective series that presented the cases of the fictional
Scotland Yard Inspector Peter Black.  The Inspector was a dedicated policeman,
a man hunter, who once on the case, would not rest until the wrongdoer was
brought to justice.  During the course of its run Ted de Corsia, John Dehner,
Herb Butterfield, and Ben Wright starred as Inspector Black.

  My primary information sources are the PURSUIT Scripts and other documents
related to the series.  Information on the following topics will be included:
Audition Show, Series Description,  Standard Opening and Closing, Scheduling,
Sponsorship, Cast and Crew.  The Log portion will include:  Episode Date, Day,
Time of Broadcast, Titles and Plot Summaries.

Signing off for now,

Stewart

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

Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 21:05:44 -0500
From: dltnkt@[removed] (Dennis/Nancy Townsend)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Fibber's Closet

I am still sorting through things and came across some magazines that
may be of interest. Radio Guide of 12-25-37 and  two issues of Radio &
TV Guide. No idea of exact dates but the one has to be 1956 or earlier
as Fred Allen is pictured in the What's My Line Cast  The other one is a
bit later. Did find some interesting trivia such as did you know that
Bob Bailey authored a movie script in 1953? The title given is
"Underwater" which sounds like my Christmas budget. Anyone ever see the
film? Anyway lots of OTR faces featured in all 3 publications contact me
if anyone has an interest. Dennis

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

Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 21:07:18 -0500
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: The Big Little Jesus on TV

Jim Arva made some comments about the TV versions of "The Big Little Jesus,
some of which need clarification:

It was run as a Christmas show each time.  I don't know if it was the same
plotline as the radio broadcast or not.

Not only was it the same plot, the radio version was basically the TV film's
soundtrack with added narration from Webb.

The first was done in the early 50's and was in black-and-white.  The
second would have been at least done in the fall of 1956, because one of
the police cars was a 1957 Ford.  This one was in color.

Actually, both versions were in color.  The first was filmed in 1953, and
was broadcast the Thursday-before-Christmas in 1953, 1954 and 1955.  During
these years, it was seen in color only in cities that had color broadcast
capability.  The rest of the nation saw it in black and white, and the
version that circulates on home video today is from a black and white print.

The second version was made in 1967 for the revival of "Dragnet" that ran on
NBC from 1967-70, also in color.  Three actors (not counting Jack Webb, of
course) from the 1953 radio and TV versions reprised their roles for the
remake: Harry Bartell, Ralph Moody and Herb Vigran.

This was the first transmission ever of a color television program <snip>

Not quite.  CBS had transmitted a few shows on their mechanical system at
the beginning of the 1950's, and the first "compatible color" TV broadcast
was "The Colgate Comedy Hour" of 11/22/53.  DRAGNET's "Big Little Jesus" was
the first television episode filmed in color.

Jack Webb made a big deal out of the premier of this, complete with
spotlights in the air, white [removed] <snip>  Harry Bartell could give
you a mile of copy on this.

That's very true, and Mr. Bartell has plenty to say about this episode in
the pages of "MY NAME'S FRIDAY: The Unauthorized but True Story of DRAGNET
and the Films of Jack Webb," by a writer whose name escapes me at the
moment.

Michael J. Hayde

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

Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 21:10:38 -0500
From: Osborneam@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  word derivations

I decided to look up the words Digesters have been questioning.  My reference
book was "The Encyclopedia of Words and Word Origins -revised and expanded
edition - by Robert Hendrickson, copyright 1997.

Davenport - In American davenport generally means a large, convertible sofa,
while in England it is a small desk or escritoire.  The British meaning came
first and nobody is sure where the word derives from.  Webster's attributes
it to its original 19th-century manufacturer, another source to "a Captain
Davenport who first commissioned it," and a third to "some now-forgotten
craftsman."  The word, for a desk, was first recorded in 1853 and most likely
honors an English furniture maker of ca. 1820-40.  The sofa may have been
devised by another manufacturer of the same name.

Divan - Divan has an involved but logical history. Originating as a Persian
word meaning "a brochure," it came to mean, in order: "a collection of
poems"; "a register"; "a military pay book"; "an account book"; "a room in
which an account book was kept"; "an account office or custom house"; "a
court"; "a great hall"; and finally, by 1597, "the chief piece of furniture
in a great hall"!

Chesterfield (this one was quite long - I've only typed in the last part
which refers to furniture): The large overstuffed chesterfield couch and the
man's velvet-collared overcoat with concealed buttons called a chesterfield
were introduced in the 19th century.  Both may have been named in honor of
Philip Stanhope, but it is more likely that they commemorate a later earl of
Chesterfield, who may even have invented them.  Just which earl, no one seems
to know.

Jukebox: A juke house or juke is a house of ill repute, a whorehouse, taking
its name from the black dialect called Gullah spoken on the islands off the
coast of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.  The Gullah word juke, or jook,
in turn,
apparently derives from the Wolof West African word dzug or dzog, meaning "to
misconduct oneself, to lead a disorderly life."  Juke naturally came to be
associated with anything connected with a juke house, even the early jook or
juke
organs, coin-operated music boxes that sounded like hurdy-gurdies and were
often found in juke houses.  When coin-operated phonographs became very
popular in the early 1940s they were called jukeboxes after their early
counterparts, so the name of this ubiquitous electrically operated machine
can be ascribed to a West African tribe.

Hope that helps! (Now let's get back to OTR or Charlie
won't be happy with us.  Keep the listmaster happy guys!)

Arlene Osborne

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

Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 21:11:08 -0500
From: CHET <voxpop@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  vic and sade/ lorenzo jones

jim meals writes:

  since I
have been subscribing, there has been very little discussion in this space
about the program, "Vic and Sade."

..and for that matter what about lorenzo [removed] was a character to the
townspeople but not to his wife belle who loved him?  lol

ps this thread about the sofa is getting really old already

chet norris

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

Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 22:10:24 -0500
From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Lifebuoy Soap

Lifebuoy Soap is available at the Vermont Country Store website.    It's in
bright red, as it should be.  They also carry Lux soap.

Other "brands from the past" available there are Horlick's Malt and Oxydol.

Disclaimer:   My only connection with Vermont Country Store is as a
[removed]

[removed]

~Irene

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

Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 22:11:45 -0500
From: "Donald & Kathleen Dean" <dxk@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  The many names for a sofa

In Digest #486 Mark Cuccia commented:

With all of the debate about whether to call it a sofa, a couch, a
davenport, there is also the word 'divan' (di-VAHN), which is a sofa or
couch usually with no arms or back -- sort of a padded bench. I wonder
if 'divan' is a shortened version of davenport?

I was born in the hill country of southern Ohio. I recall the sofa not only
being called a couch, a davenport or divan but many folks called it a
settee.

Don Dean N8IOJ

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

Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 22:31:48 -0500
From: "J. Pope" <jpope101@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Dragnet "the big"

Ronald Staley wrote:

The greatest title was "The Big Almost No Show" referring tot he only
time in history of Dragnet that the partner ever narrated a segment. When
Joe friday was shot in the head by a thug, it was up to Ben Romero to
carry the day.

    That plotline actually belongs to "The Big Ben," and IIRC, Joe wasn't
shot in the head (thank goodness).  "Almost No Show" is about Ralph
Tabor's disappearance.
    I've never heard the secretary explanation before.  Verrry
interesting!

Jennifer

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

Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 18:25:47 -0500
From: "Matthew Bullis" <MatthewBullis@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  About husbands and wives having separate
 rooms

Hello, I've just noticed on early episodes of The Whistler that the husband
and wife of the stories have separate rooms. I don't quite understand this
situation. That's usually not how it's done. Was it done this way
specifically for radio, or did people do this regularly? Please help clear
this one up for me.
Thanks a lot.
Matthew

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

Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 18:26:31 -0500
From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: DRAGNET: BIG LITTLE JESUS

From: wilditralian@[removed]

The second [version] would have been at least done in the fall of 1956,
because one of the police cars was a 1957 Ford. This one was in color. This
was the first transmission ever of a color television program, although I
believe that there had been a few color movies run before that. Jack Webb
made a big deal out of the premier of this, complete with spotlights in the
air, white limos, and babes in high-falutin' dresses.  Jim Arva

Many color TV programs had been aired on a regular basis for more than two
years by this time.  This particular episode was an example of NBC's idea
to try to air at least one episode a year in color of many of its B&W
series.   CBS also did this once in a while because there is one episode of
Raymond Burr's "Perry Mason" that was filmed in color.

Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 18:27:09 -0500
From: "Ed Ellers" <ed_ellers@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Dragnet in color

Craig Wichman (wich2@[removed]) wrote:

I'm almost sure that the SINGLE '50's version is the color one, though it
may have been rerun in b&w - and, of course, largely RECEIVED in b&w. I have
a decent vhs copy, from Shokus Video; alas, neither Stuart Shostak there,
nor anyone else, seems to know of a surviving color print. A shame, as the
candle-filled scenes in the historic Roman Catholic church look beautifully
designed for chroma.

The 1953 colorcast would have been from a single 16mm print in New York,
since NBC only had one color telecine scanner at that time (at its Colonial
Theater color studio) and didn't have 35mm color film equipment until the
following June.  The showing for the West Coast was probably in B&W, since a
color feed would have had to come all the way from New York.  I suspect that
one reason for re-running "The Big Little Jesus" in 1954 was that it was
already available in color, and NBC badly wanted to get as much color as
they could on the air (they only managed 68 hours in '54); by then they
should have been able to run 35mm prints, with 16mm as backups, both in New
York and Burbank.

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

Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 18:29:39 -0500
From: dantrigg422@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Family Doctor, Si&Elmer
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Family Doctor is a 15 min. per episode show which I really enjoy. I believe
there were a total of 39 stories in all. Can someone tell me who played the
Dr. and any of the other actors, and when it was on the air?
Si&Elmer was enjoyable If only because it was so hokey. Can anyone give me
any info on this?

I would like to say to all of you wonderful folks that give all of us so much
information
about OTR. Merry Christmas. I wait each day for the "Digest" to hit my PC.
Each and every one of you are different and that is what makes this such a
joy to read.
Thanks to you Charlie for making this all possible.

Dan

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

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

Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 18:29:53 -0500
From: "wesley heidel" <southronman@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Mp3 players
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

        I have been reading and enjoying this old time radio list for over a
year, but this is the first time I have ever written in to it. The Rio Volt
web site has their book shelf stereo for $[removed] with no shipping. I bought 1
from them. It was delivered to my home in a week. It plays all the Mp3's that
I have tried on it.  The sound quality is excellent. I thought that I would
just pass this along. Their web site is [removed]

Sincerely,
Wesley Heidel

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

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

Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 18:30:21 -0500
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Pete Kelly's Blues -1951 at UCLA?

Ronald Staley wrote:

Jack's scripts mostly survive at UCLA, and I was fortunately to go through
a number of them when the boxes first arrived.

The one thing I loved--a bound very thick set of "Pete Kelley's
Blues--1951" all together in a book thick enough to cause grievous injury
should one be struck by the tome.

I spent many a day at UCLA poring over Webb scripts for "My Name's Friday" -
but the radio scripts for PKB were not among them.  UCLA does not list them
at all.  The only PKB that is available for researchers consists of the 13
scripts for the 1959 TV version.  (However, most of those were adapted from
the radio scripts, so it's *almost* the same thing.)  So, Ronald, if you
actually saw a bound volume for PKB radioplays, then someone might've walked
off with it!

The collection is described in detail at:
[removed]@Generic__BookView

Michael

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

Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 18:31:02 -0500
From: Bhob <bhob2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Firesign plus more on PANTS

The Firesign Theatre is now doing occasional comedy segments on NPR.
Some air on holidays. To hear past sketches, type in "firesign" at
[removed]

Here's more on I'D RATHER EAT PANTS:

NPR airs their original five-part radio comedy miniseries, I'D RATHER
EAT PANTS, during the week of December 16-20 on MORNING EDITION WITH BOB
EDWARDS. Written by actor-writer Peter Ackerman (co-scripter of Fox's
animated ICE AGE) and directed by author-lyricist-director Gordon Hunt
(FRASIER, MAD ABOUT YOU), this is MORNING EDITION's first original radio
play. Produced by Susan Albert Lowenberg and [removed] Theatre Works, I'D
RATHER EAT PANTS airs in five daily eight-minute acts.

Edward Asner and Anne Meara star in the comic misadventures of an
elderly couple making a cross-country trek to find fame and fortune as
they travel on a young slacker's motorcycle from NY to LA. Abe (Asner)
and Mabel Pepperstein (Meara) run a struggling NYC produce store. When a
gourmet grocery opens across the street, Mabel talks Abe into closing
their shop. They talk surfer dude Wisdom (Derek Cecil of PUSH, NEVADA)
to give them a lift to California on his motorcycle. Speeding through
Kansas, they are pulled over by a musically inclined state trooper (Ed
Begley Jr.) Arriving in LA, they meet has-been Hollywood agent Barney
Kikkle (Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer on The Simpsons) and
Kikkle's secretary, Melbaleine (Clea Lewis). Also in the cast: Jonathan
Banks, Emily Bergl (ER, TAKEN), Kendall Schmidt (FRASIER) and Richard
Kind with cameos by NPR's Susan Stamberg (ALL THINGS CONSIDERED) and Bob
Edwards.

The production was recorded November 1 at the West Coast Museum of
Television and Radio (Beverly Hills) as part of the grand opening of NPR
West (NPR’s new LA-based multimedia production center):
[removed]

Peter Ackerman spoke about scripting his original radio play for this
project: "When I was 13, my high school held a lipsynch contest.
Everyone played air-guitar to the major rock anthems of the day. When my
turn came, I stood alone on stage in black-rimmed glasses, a tweed
jacket, and khaki pants. A crackling came over the loudspeaker. I
proceeded to lipsynch "The Moose" monologue from Woody Allen's stand-up
days. No one in the auditorium laughed, not a peep, except for one
teacher, sitting way in the back, who laughed so hard she may in fact
have been suffering from a psychological disorder. The point is that as
a child of the 1970s and 1980s, when movies and television were defining
our culture, I was listening to Woody Allen's stand-up routines, Mel
Brooks' and Carl Reiner's "2000 Year Old Man" and even Peter Sellers'
THE GOON SHOW. By the time I played Eugene in a production of Neil
Simon's BROADWAY BOUND, it seemed perfectly natural to fantasize about
becoming a radio comedy writer. But in case you hadn't noticed, such
jobs are few and far between. So when NPR asked me to write a radio
play, I was thrilled. Who in God's name gets to write a radio play? And
who gets to write for NPR? I mean, who ARE those people behind MORNING
EDITION and ALL THINGS CONSIDERED? I've been listening to those shows
for years. If I write this radio play, will I get to MEET those people?
Are they even people? Or will I be put into the awkward social situation
of trying to shake hands with the disembodied voice of Susan Stamberg?
It was an opportunity too good to be true. So, here is I'D RATHER EAT
PANTS, a radio play by me. I hope it inspires future radio writers,
listeners, 9th-grade lipsynch stand-ups and NPR bigwigs alike."

I'D RATHER EAT PANTS is also available on CD from [removed] Theatre Works:
[removed];list=119,126&path=author/Ackerman

MORNING EDITION airs weekday mornings 6-9am on many stations, but check
local listings.
…
Bhob @ "OTR" @ SHOWBIZ @
[removed]
…

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

Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 18:31:30 -0500
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  British Radio Drama/Comedy

While updating my radio links page (
[removed]  - 590 and
counting), I came across a couple of great sites that are dedicated to
classic British Radio Comedy and Drama and contain information that has
been asked about in this digest in the past.  So for all you Anglophiles
and our British digest subscribers, check out:

[removed]

and

[removed]

Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]

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

Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 18:32:06 -0500
From: vigor16@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Origin of Cinnamon bear

Hi all,   My Cinnamon Bear left Patty O'Cinnamon at the bottom of the
Wishing well, but I got to wondering about some questions regarding the
origin of the series.  So, all you CB officials may want to put on your
thinking caps.

1. Did the series come from a book or wives tale or something?  Or, was
it written for the radio?

2.  Was there any links between CB and the Wizzard of Oz, which have a
similar suspence plot, namely, the dream concept.  They were, if I am not
mistaken, created within the same decade.

3.  Where did the production come out of?  I mean, was it a Hollywood or
Chicago type of thing?

Have a pleasant holiday season,

Deric

Any answers, I would be "much ablodged" as Patty would say.

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

Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 18:32:21 -0500
From: "[removed]" <ddunfee@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  divan

Divan is from turkish, it can also mean a room where a council is
held.  Originally lines of cushions against walls but also it came to mean
a built in low cushioned ledge against a wall. The latter came to mean the
piece of furniture also called sofa etc. as outlined in previous messages.

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #488
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