Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #355
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 11/17/2005 8:41 AM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2005 : Issue 355
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Gildersleeve films on TCM             [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
  Ralph Edwards, RIP                    [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
  Another Pioneers of Television Revie  [ seandd@[removed] ]
  R-Rated OTR?                          [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
  Race music and film                   [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
  Quiz of Two Cities                    [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]
  Quiz of two cities                    [ "Larry Siskind" <lasisk@[removed] ]
  R-rated                               [ "Mike Hobart" <zines50@[removed]; ]
  Walter Freeman and Lobotomies         [ Christopher Werner <werner1@globalc ]
  week end line up                      [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
  Re: Wyllis Cooper                     [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
  Ralph Edwards                         [ "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed] ]
  11-17 births/deaths                   [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  [removed] Ralph Edwards                  [ Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed] ]
  "WAR OF THE WORLDS" ON THE HISTORY C  [ <mikeandzachary@[removed]; ]
  DISHing it out                        [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
  Suspense question                     [ Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed] ]
  Yankee Yarns and Alton Blackington    [ "Jim Gordon" <jimgordon88@[removed] ]

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

Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 17:31:10 -0500
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Gildersleeve films on TCM

I don't know if anybody else has noticed, but there's a trio of OTR
movies on TCM on Friday, Nov 18. They ran a few of the other Gildy
movies a few months back. It's nice to see these surfacing again. Maybe
one month they'll make OTR-themed movies their theme of the month.

Kermyt

8:30 AM 	The Great Gildersleeve (1942) A small-town blowhard runs for
water commissioner while fighting to win custody of his niece and
nephew. Harold Peary, Jane Darwell, Nancy Gates. D: Gordon M. Douglas.
62m.

9:45 AM 	Gildersleeve on Broadway (1943) On a trip to New York, a
small-town blowhard gets caught between a wealthy widow and a gold
digger. Harold Peary, Billie Burke, Claire Carleton. D: Gordon M.
Douglas. 65m.

11:00 AM 	Heavenly Days (1944) When they're named Mr. and Mrs. Average
Man, a small-town couple embarks on a whirlwind tour of Washington. Jim
Jordan, Marian Jordan, Eugene Pallette. D: Howard Estabrook. 71m.

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

Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 17:31:24 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Ralph Edwards, RIP

Ralph Edwards, it's being reported, passed away at age 92 of heart
failure.  He was famous for Truth or Consequences in OTR, and he used the
show as a launching pad for This Is Your Life.

Missing a question on truth or Consequences usually put the contestant in
an awkward situation, the "consequence" being to perform some amusing
stunt.  Once, though, I heard a lady give the correct answer.  She was
given a modest fee for a prize, and left the program.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 17:41:03 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Another Pioneers of Television Review

Here is an interesting review of the PBS special on the Pioneers of Television from Bloomberg News.

Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

[removed]

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

Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 19:04:11 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  R-Rated OTR?

James Meadows, speaking about my observation that I doubted any radio
show would garner an R rating, noted,

I've heard some episodes that are very explicit, depicting things with
sound that they would likely not
be allowed to actually show in a visual medium. Wish I could give you
some specifics, but perhaps someone
else can chime in.

This reminds me of a story, where a psychologist is showing a patient an
ink-blot test.

"What does this look like?" said the psychologist.
The patient responded, "A couple of people making love"
"And this?" the psychologist showed a second ink blot.
"Another couple making love."
"And this?"
"Some people engaging in sex."
After about five more responses that were essentially the same, the
psychologist folded his tests, and said, "You are hopelessly obsessed
with sex.
"Hah," said the patient.  "You're the one showing me all these dirty
pictures."

One of the beauties of OTR was that the intensity of a show was in the
mind of the listeners.  The level of censorship, as it were, was far
heavier than nowadays.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 19:05:00 -0500
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Race music and film

Elizabeth writes of the Amos n Andy Music Hall:

Occasionally there might be a record of crossover interest, such  as a
selection by Les
Paul and Mary Ford or the Crew Cuts, or a pop/jazz performer like Ella
Fitzgerald, but
straight rock 'n' roll or rhythm-and-blues weren't part of the  playlist.

There's an irony in this, since I've heard that many people regarded rock
'n' roll and R&B of that era to be "black music" (and stronger terms used by
various folks), even when performed by white artists like Jerry Lee Lewis.
So
Amos n Andy, who were supposed to be black, weren't playing "black
music"...then again, Correll and Gosden weren't either.

Reminds me of the irony of the AnA candy [removed] wafers covered in
chocolate.

On an unrelated note, I just watched a video that included a short called
"Weekend in Hollywood".  I didn't get an exact date on it, but Harry Von  Zell
was working the Eddie Cantor show and Harlow Wilcox was working the Fibber
McGee and Molly show.  There are lots more clues that would help pinpoint  an
exact date.  In any event, there's a lot of this short devoted to radio  and
supporting players.  There's even a live demonstration of the Fibber  McGee
closet, with an SFX guy tearing through piles of stuff.  Perhaps this  short
is
common, but I hadn't seen it before.  Well worth viewing for OTR  fans.

--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]

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

Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 19:36:47 -0500
From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Quiz of Two Cities

On Wednesday, November 16, 2005, at 05:40 PM, Robert Angus wrote:

 ":Quiz of Two Cities", in
which teams in Hartford and Springfield, Mass. competed. I've heard
that Boston and Providence were
paired. Was this strictly a Northeast phenomenon, or were there
contests farther afield---in the Midwest,  or
the Pacific coast?  When did they start, and when did they die?

Yes, it was done on the West Coast. In his book "Quiz Craze," Thomas A.
DeLong relates that Mark Goodson got his start in radio quiz shows when
after 1938 he was chosen to be the announcer on "Quiz of Two Cities"
which paired teams from San Francisco and Los Angeles. Correct answers
paid two bucks with the winning team taking home an additional $12.

Jay Hickerson's Ultimate Guide reports the show aired regionally from
Sept 44 to Apr 47, usually sponsored by Listerine on Mutual on Sunday
afternoons. It was on the West Coast for a few years prior in early 40s
and probably originated on WTIC in Hartford, CT in Oct 1940.

Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
<[removed]>

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

Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 20:58:54 -0500
From: "Larry Siskind" <lasisk@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Quiz of two  cities

I can't answer Bob Angus' questions concerning a Quiz of Two
Cities, but I do remember as a teenager in the mid or late 40's,
attending one of the Boston vs. Providence shows. I lived in
Boston and took the trolley to I believe was Kenmore Square which
was the location of the studios of WNAC. We -mostly teenage
kids -entered a small auditorium and were each given a tube of
the sponsor's tooth paste.  Because microphones were placed in
the audience,we were admonished not to yell  anything
inappropriate and to cheer when directed.   Since WPRO
Providence, the opposition's studio, was very small, we were
asked to add our cheers to those of the Providence audience.  The
show  would begin with the question "Is Boston ready?" followed
by cheers; then the question "Is Providence ready?" followed by
more cheers.  In this particular contest, the Boston team won
easily.

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

Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 23:03:13 -0500
From: "Mike Hobart" <zines50@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  R-rated

Regarding Stephen Kallis' comment on whether any
OTR shows would garner an "R" rating,
I was surprised to hear one early DRAGNET radio script dealing with two
little girls who had been molested  (it was later re-made for the television
version).    Not explicit, but would probably garner an "Adult Themes"
warning even today.

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

Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 23:03:48 -0500
From: Christopher Werner <werner1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Walter Freeman and Lobotomies

I happened to catch a story on the person who began performing orbital
(through the eyes) Lobotomy operations for the purposes of mental health in
1946 and performed 2500 of them in 23 states until his death in 1972. I
won't indulge in the gory details of the operation here, but what did
strike me was the fact that they were performed from 1946 until into the
early 70s. I remember as a child people occasionally (in a joking way)
saying, "If you don't stop <insert undesired action here> I'll give you a
Frontal Lobotomy."  Never investigated what a Lobotomy was, just new it
wasn't something a person wanted to have done.  The NPR story had a lot of
good information from the perspective of a 12-year old who was now 56 and
his history with the procedure. It sounded like this Walter Freeman may
have had the 'Jack Kevorkian' -type reputation in his day.

Were there any OTR dramas/plots (not the likely news stories) that used the
technique of a Lobotomy? Were there plots that made reference to the
Lobotomy operation either in a positive or negative way?

It seems like it would have been a phenomenon profound enough for comedians
to poke fun of it or horror writers to employ in their stories.

Just curious.

Chris.

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

Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 23:47:09 -0500
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  week end line up

Hi Everybody,

here is some information  about the live week end line up on Yesterday USA
[removed]

Friday 11-18-05 at 7-30 PM West Coast  hosted by Frank Bresee and yours
truly Walden Hughes

A.  We will celebrate  the life of Ralph Edwards with specials that Frank
hosted

B.  To honored the birth  of Jim Jordan 109 birthday, two interviews with
Frank

C. Fibber McGee and Molly shows 12-26-50, and 1-2-51.

D.  feature Fibber McGee and Molly Christmas  78s records.

E.  more OTR shows

Saturday 11-19-05

A.  Dick Bertel and Ed Corcaran Golden Age Radio show featuring shows from
1947.

B.  Amos and Andy 12-24-41

C.  interview with Elizabeth Mcleod regarding her new book on Amos and Andy

D.  interview with Niel Shell regarding his new book on his Grand Father
Nathaniel Shilkret

E.  broadcast of 2-15-45 featuring Tommy Dorsey playing Nathaniel Shilkret
score

F.  Chicago Theater of the Air broadcast with Bret Morrison, Marvin Miller,
and bob Bailey

G.  Fibber McGee and Molly 1-9-51, Great Gildersleeves  show, and
Information Please show

H.  another OTR show

I.  Artie Shaw interview on KMPC

Sunday 11-20-05

A.  eerily time at 4-30 PM Kim and Bill Bragg will go over items for the up
coming fund raiser for Yesterday USA that will be on 11-27-05

B.  no Laura Leff and Mike Biel

C.  Walden will come on after Kim and Bill and play OTR like Lux Radio
Theater, Phil Harris and Alice Faye, Our Miss Brooks, Kraft Music Hall with
Bing Crosby

C.  George Putnam interview Richard Lamparski
A.

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

Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 08:32:52 -0500
From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Wyllis Cooper

TIME Magazine reported in 1934 that he changed the spelling of
his name to please his wife's numerological preferences so even
though his delayed  birth certificate states one name, it was
changed officially by 1934.

No, it wasn't 1934. The Time article is from June 2, 1941. It calls
Cooper "a dutiful husband" and adds a footnote: "He changed his name
from Willis to Wyllis to please his wife's numerological
inclinations."

I believe he was credited as "Willis" in all his motion picture work.
He probably changed the spelling around the time he left Hollywood in
1939 and moved to New York City. By early 1940, the newspaper coverage
of him generally spells his name "Wyllis." Prior to that, it is
usually "Willis" or "W. O. Cooper."

As long as we're on the subject, can anyone tell me what programs
Cooper contributed to before he created "Lights Out"? I know he worked
on "Empire Builders" and a well-regarded Foreign Legion adventure
series. But was there anything else?

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

Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 08:33:00 -0500
From: "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed];
To: "OTR_Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Ralph Edwards

We lost a legend today.  I just heard that Ralph Edwards passed away at 92.
I am sure there will be interesting obituaries in all the newspapers.

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

Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 08:33:06 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  11-17 births/deaths

November 17th births

11-17-1897 - Frank Fay - San Francisco, CA - d. 9-25-1961
actor: "Jack Oakie's College"; "Rudy Vallee Show"
11-17-1898 - "Quin" Ryan - d. 10-xx-1978
announcer, actor: "Quin Ryan Reports"; "Uncle Quin"; "Uncle Quin's Scalawags"
11-17-1901 - Ted Husing - The Bronx, NY - d. 8-10-1962
announcer, sportscaster: "Sportslants"; "March of Time"; "Radio Reader's
Digest"
11-17-1905 - Josef Marais - Sir Lowey's Pass, South Africa - d. 4-26-1978
singer: "African Trek/Sundown on the Veld"; "Meredith Willson Show"
11-17-1905 - Mischa Auer - St. Petersburg, Russia - d. 3-5-1967
actor: "Mischa the Magnificent"
11-17-1907 - L. Sprague de Camp - New York, NY - d. 11-6-2000
science fiction writer: "X-Minus One"; "Future Tense"
11-17-1911 - Jack Lescoulie - Sacramento, CA - d. 7-22-1987
announcer, emcee: "Grouch Club"; "Meet the Champions"
11-17-1916 - Frank Maxwell - The Bronx, NY - d. 8-5-2004
actor: Uthas P. Garvey "Colonel Humphrey Slack"
11-17-1918 - Paul Crabtree - Pulaski, VA - d. 3-9-1979
actor: David Naughton "Claudia and David"
11-17-1925 - Rock Hudson - Winnetka, IL - d. 10-2-1985
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
11-17-1937 - Peter Cook - Devonshire, England - d 1-9-1995
actor: "Paul Temple, Dectective"

November 17th deaths

02-01-1894 - James P. Johnson - New Brunswick, NJ - d. 11-17-1955
pianist: "Eddie Condon's Jazz Concerts"; "This is Jazz"
06-01-1887 - Clive Brook - London, England - d. 11-17-1974
actor: Sherlock Holmes "Sherlock Holmes"
06-15-1861 - Ernestine Schumann-Heink - Prague, Czechoslovkia - d. 11-17-1936
singer: "Enna Jettick Melodies"; "Hoover Sentinels Serenade"
07-24-1916 - Bob Eberly - Mechanicsville, NY - d. 11-17-1981
singer: (Jimmy Dorsey Band)
08-19-1903 - Claude Dauphin - Corbeil, France - d. 11-17-1978
actor: "As Easy as [removed]"
09-15-1904 - Sheilah Graham - London, England - d. 11-17-1988
gossip columnist: Intermission Guest :Lux Radio Theatre"
10-05-1903 - Jimmy Ritz - Newark, NJ - d. 11-17-1985
comedian: (The Ritz Brothers) "Hollywood Hotel"
11-22-1895 - Alexander Laszlo - Budapest, Hungary - d. 11-17-1970
orchestra leader: "This Is Your Life"
11-24-1900 - Ireene Wicker - Quincy, IL - d. 11-17-1987
actress: (The Singing Lady) Sylvia Bertram "Road of Life"; Eileen Moran
"Today's Children"
11-26-1913 - Bill Baldwin - Pueblo, CO - d. 11-17-1982
announcer: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"; "Mario Lanza Show"
12-18-1888 - Gladys Cooper - Lewisham, England - d. 11-17-1971
actress: "Fleischmann's Yeast Hour"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 08:33:11 -0500
From: Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  [removed] Ralph Edwards

David Hinckley of The New York Daily News eulogizes Ralph Edwards,
mentioning his radio career as he always does when he writes these things.

Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 08:33:31 -0500
From: <mikeandzachary@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "WAR OF THE WORLDS" ON THE HISTORY CHANNEL

It's hard to know how much of an OTR connection there might be, but this show
might be interesting to list members.

- ------------------------------------------------
Premieres:
Monday, November 21 @ 8pm ET/PT

In print worldwide for over a century, The War of the Worlds is [removed] Wells at
his best. Beginning with its literary origins, we trace the path of this
amazing story from riveting magazine serial through the panic broadcast of
1938, and then to major motion pictures. We uncover the long-forgotten 1968
broadcast that again drove thousands into the streets of Buffalo, New York;
and gain exclusive access to a new animated feature film. Loaded with
state-of-the-art special effects and stunning reenactments, we revisit not
only the famous but the obscure, including the radio broadcast in Ecuador
that cost 20 people their lives. Filled with vintage film clips and
previously unseen interpretations of the Martians, this is one you won't want
to miss!

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

Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 08:56:52 -0500
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  DISHing it out
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

While scanning the Internet for obituaries on radio/TV host/impresario Ralph
Edwards,  I came across
a somewhat related story about Dish Network Satellite TV proposing to award
the residents of Dish, a
town in Denton County, TX, ten years of free satellite-TV service if they
change their name to DISH (all
capitals). Said article goes on to say that Hot Springs NM changed its name in
1950 in to Truth or
Consequences in honour of the radio show.

[removed]

Seems Ralph Edwards was several decades ahead of his time.

Yours in the (bzzzzz) etehr!

Derek Tague

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

Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 08:58:26 -0500
From: Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Suspense question
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

The Suspense episode "Suspicion" was produced 3 times: 42-08-12 (30 min),
44-0210 (30 min) ; 48-04-03 (60 min). The 42-08-12 episode is usually listed
as missing. I have 2 different versions of the episode and am trying to
figure out the date for one of them.

  I have the second half of the Roma wine sponsored 440210 which I can verify
by the end credits. The other is an AFRS version of the show which has a
slightly different script. It *may* be the missing version of Suspicion
42-08-12 or one of them may be a rehearsal. Examples of differences:

    Roma 2:50 Now then. June fifteenth, June [removed] Yes that was about the
time

  AFRS 12:36 Let's see, June fifteenth. Yes that was just about the time.
---
Roma 5:30 I'd like to have you, have him come down to my office in Barracks.

AFRS 15:09 I'd like to have him come to my office in Barracks.
--
Roma 7:52 Why Mr Mummery you aint' supposed to be and about are you?

AFRS 17:23 Why Mr Mummery you're supposed to be in your bed ain't you sir?

  ---

Any ideas as to the correct date of the AFRS version of the show?

Visit [removed] for OTR program title and date corrections

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

Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 10:10:16 -0500
From: "Jim Gordon" <jimgordon88@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Yankee Yarns and Alton Blackington
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from text/html

   Readers of the OTR Digest might be interested to know that Alton H.
   Blackington also wrote two books based on his Yankee Yarns series.
   These were entitled - "Yankee Yarns" and "More Yankee Yarns". Whilst
   these have been out of print for many years, they can, usually, be
   obtained from booksellers like Amazon, where I purchased my copies.
   They are great fun and like the radio series, provide an interesting
   insight into the folklore and history of New England.

   Regards

   Jim Gordon

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--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #355
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