------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2006 : Issue 223
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
A pleasant reverie [ raisingirl@[removed] ]
Need help to date a GUNSMOKE episode [ "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@sbcgloba ]
OTR Movies on TMC this Friday [ "Scott Palmer" <scott@[removed]; ]
re: The Whistler title [ "Matthew Bullis" <matthewbullis@run ]
Pete Kelly's Blues [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
Matinee mayhem [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
Re: Pete Kelly's Blues - the motion [ "Michael J. Hayde" <michaelhayde@ea ]
What Jack Benny really aid. [ "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@sbcgloba ]
Smilin' Jack & Black Hood [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
Orson Welles on British Radio [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Lights Out Episode [ ilamfan@[removed] (S Jansen) ]
Molly [ William Brooks <webiii@[removed]; ]
8-17 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
Movie stars' pay on OTR? [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 13:42:05 -0400
From: raisingirl@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: A pleasant reverie
hi all --
Jim Cox wrote:
distinct, very memorable organ music, then a caustic laugh. I looked up and
the senator's picture was on the screen. Before going to the commercial
break, a familiar recorded voice said: "Who knows what evil lurks in the
hearts of men?" (Appropriate for a senator, I thought.) Then the picture
faded.
I think I saw what you were talking about, Jim: it was this morning on "Imus
In The Morning" on MSNBC, as they went to a commercial break. Imus has many
bumpers that use that kind of stuff to poke fun at himself; I think the edit
from this morning was to make it say, "Who knows what evil lurks [removed] in
the Morning!" Imus will often do the same thing with clips from popular
songs. It took me a while to realize that those edits were done that way,
and I've been watching him for years. :)
Imus has also used drops from Jack Benny and (IIRC) Amos 'n' Andy from time
to time, too. That's part of the fun, for me anyway, of watching Imus each
morning; every once in a while, he will drop in a reference like that, or get
to talking about folks like Robert W. Morgan -- stuff that fewer and fewer
people remember as the years pass.
Jodie Peeler
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 13:42:23 -0400
From: "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@[removed];
To: "The Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Need help to date a GUNSMOKE episode
About 25 yeas ago I recorded a Gunsmoke and was given the wrong date and
title. I have been through all the log I could find and still can't get the
date or name. I need the help of OTR detectives. The story is Jim Cobbit (?)
is getting married for 2nd time. 1st wife disappeared taken by Indians, and
his new wife is afraid of Indians. Here is the opening:
Chester: The cook must had a bad night.
Matt: How do you figure that Chester.
Chet: Well sir, I never saw so much Chili Pepper on couple of poor eggs.
Everybody must have a hangover.
Matt: Most everybody does on Sunday around here.
Chet: I clean forgot all about it being Sunday - So that's Jim Cobbit is all
dressed up. First time I ever saw his hair combed.
Matt: Haven't you heard about Jim, Chester? He's getting married. He's got
his wife to be coming in on a train from the east.
The all go to the wedding the same day and talk about Indians scared his
wife. End is she became hysterical when Indians show up at their homestead
and steel horses. she killed herself.
Not one of the happy ending episodes. Anybody know the name & date??
Frank McGurn
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 13:42:49 -0400
From: "Scott Palmer" <scott@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: OTR Movies on TMC this Friday
There are several great campy 1940's era mysteries this Friday on Turner
Movie Classics, two with OTR themes:
5:00 PM
Genius At Work (1947)
Two radio sleuths tackle a real murder case. Cast: Wally Brown, Alan Carney,
Bela Lugosi. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-61 mins, TV-G
And
6:15 PM
You'll Find Out (1940)
Kay Kyser and his band fight to save a young girl trapped in a haunted
mansion. Cast: Kay Kyser, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre. Dir: David Butler.
BW-97 mins, TV-G, CC
Enjoy, my Tivo is already set!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 13:43:01 -0400
From: "Matthew Bullis" <matthewbullis@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: re: The Whistler title
Hello, Ken asked for a date and title of a Whistler show, along with a
Lights Out show. I believe that the Whistler show you're looking for is 11
March, 1946, called Boomerang. If you have a keyword that has to do with a
story, you can use
[removed]
search by program, and then type your keyword into the search to look down
the page and see if the plot synopsis on the list of programs will help you.
This site is also good for finding program listings for actors. I can't help
with the Lights Out show, as the RGI site I just mentioned doesn't have
anything related when I searched down the Lights Out page for the word well.
Matthew
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 14:25:34 -0400
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Pete Kelly's Blues
At Tue, 15 Aug 2006 17:40:20 -0400, "Stephen A Kallis, Jr"
<skallisjr@[removed]; wrote:
When I was growing up, I used to listen to Pete Kelly's Blues. I
was a bit young to catch the nuances of the show, but I liked what I
heard. Many years later, I came across a videotape
of the film derived from the stage show.
I remember Pete Kelly's Blues as a TV show starring Jack Webb,
somewhat startling to me as a boy as I pretty much thought Jack Webb
WAS Joe Friday. I don't remember much about the show, except that I
liked the fact that Pete played an instrument much like my own
cornet. Of course, my memory sometimes plays [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 16:10:42 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Matinee mayhem
Michael Simons writes:
I've just finished Jim Cox's informative Radio Detectives book. He wrote
that there are over 320 extant episodes of Perry Mason. According to my
calculations there are approximately 252 that are readily available
which I have:
That leaves a minimum of 48 more episodes. Was this a typo in the book
or do these really exist and are available? If so, where are they? Are
they only in private hands or the Library or Congress? I'm a major fan
and will be happy to contact anyone who can provide me any information.
And Jeffrey Weaver writes:
Are than any complete Perry Mason story lines? I have not been able to have
much luck finding them.
My response:
Guys, you're talking to the original radio Mason fanatic. I consider myself
a conoiessuer of all things Mason on the aural airwaves. I lived and died
by those chilling adventures in between school terms, at Christmas, other
holidays and "sick" days in the first half of the 1950s. John Larkin is,
was and always will be my ethereal hero. So I know where you're coming
from.
I've not been to a radio convention in my life that I haven't spent plenty
of time pouring over cassette tapes, reel-to-reel tapes and CDs in dealers'
rooms seeking out any undiscovered chapters of PM. Dealers like Ted
Davenport of Radio Memories and a handful of others might say I've been a
nuisance on the subject. I do plead addiction. But alas, on most such
ventures I come up empty-handed. I consider a "find" to be gold.
Jay Hickerson's guide, a source I've found over the years is probably
trustworthy better than 97% of the time (an extremely high percentage
compared to some other texts), currently states that there are 324 separate
broadcasts of radio's PM floating around in circulation. I've yet to meet
the guy who owns them all. So, Michael, it appears you are at least 72 shy
of what's available currently, although I don't have them all and can't tell
you who does. When a proficient retailer like Davenport can't put his hands
on them for me I know they are difficult to come by. Possibly somebody who
owns most or all of them will see this and will answer our prayers.
Jeffrey, if any complete PM story lines exist, I've not found them. But
there are several extenuating runs that will grip you and make it absolutely
unnecessary for announcer Richard Stark to remind you at the end of an
episode: "Tune in again tomorrow, won't you?" Who in his rright mind could
turn it off, especially when a cold-blooded killer and Mason are on the
trail of a witness who, alone, can put the killer in the electric chair and
it's a race against time to see who can find him/her first (the witness in
hiding from everybody, naturally).
Regrettably, after scores of slmost consecutive installments, the whole
thing ends before any of those crises are resolved. How I wish somebody had
had forethought to record -- and hang on to -- those marvelously intriguing
narratives. To me, there was nothing better in daytime radio, and it was
superior crime drama when compared to most of the evening sleuths, too It
also ran rings around the formulaic Mason on TV a few years [removed]
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 16:11:00 -0400
From: "Michael J. Hayde" <michaelhayde@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Pete Kelly's Blues - the motion picture
Stephen A Kallis, Jr wrote:
I came across a videotape of the film derived from the (radio) show.
I snapped it up, and wasn't disappointed. It had the flavor of the OTR
show, including its pithy similes, the music, and the whole schmear.
Funny thing: in listening to (what little exists of) the radio version, it
seems to me that Jack Webb was revisiting "Pat Novak for Hire." Here Pete's
a likable guy who, through no fault of his own, gets in over his head and has
to "tough" his way out, something he's ill-prepared to do. And isn't that
Tudor Owen basically playing Jocko Madigan with a different name?
Watching the 1955 movie, I get the feeling Pete is Sgt. Friday's musical
twin. And it's the nasty, sarcastic Joe Friday from the previous year's
"Dragnet" movie, too. Unfortunately, there's no Tudor Owen - or even a Ben
Alexander - to provide balance. As I wrote in MY NAME'S FRIDAY, this Pete
Kelly's "movements appear stiff and calculated for precision. He crooks his
finger to summon friends as Friday would to beckon a suspect. He talks like
Friday, walks like Friday, handles a gun like Friday.
"Webb might as well have named the film 'Young Cop with a Horn.'"
"Pete Kelly's Blues" is certainly worth watching, if only to see Webb the
director, at the height of his powers, channeling all his talents into what
was obviously a labor of love. And the music is terrific. But frankly, I
think the radio show has the movie beat seven ways from Sunday.
Michael
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 16:11:31 -0400
From: "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@[removed];
To: "The Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: What Jack Benny really aid.
I went to my vault and Ed the watchman asked my pass word an let me in.
I found my Benny program of march 28, 1948, listen to [removed] Jack barrowed
Ronald Coleman's Oscar to show to Rochester. On his way home a robber says
"Hay Bud got a match.
' I have one" Jack says.
Robber "Don't make a move, this is a stickup"
Jack " What"
Robber "you heard me"
Jack "Mr. put that gum down"
Robber "Shut up, you money or your life" long long laugh.
Robber "Look Bud, I said Your money or your life"
Jack "I'm thinking it over!
The robber takes the Oscar
And that is the way it was.
This is reported to be the longest laugh the show ever got.
Frank McGurn
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 16:58:28 -0400
From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Smilin' Jack & Black Hood
On Wednesday, August 16, 2006, at 12:18 PM,Ken Stockinger wrote:
I've heard the initial audition episode of "Smilin'
Jack" from (I think) 1939. Am I right about the year?
Also did the series make it to a regular run? If so,
for how long, and are there any episodes known to
exist besides the one I heard? As for "The Black Hood", pretty much
the same questions. And I believe both shows were on
Mutual, am I correct?
SMILIN' JACK aired from February to May 1939, sponsored by Tootsie
Rolls with Frank Readick in the lead. There are only two shows
available, including the first episode of 2-13-39.
THE BLACK HOOD is thoroughly discussed in chapter 6 of my book,
"Private Eyelashes; Radio's Lady Detectives" since the Black Hood's
girl friend, Barbara Sutton (voiced by Marjorie Cramer) was nearly an
equal partner in their crime-fighting. You can't tell that from the
only existing copy (the audition) but the radio show kept the
characters roughly the same as they were in the comic books. The show
ran from July 1943 to Jan 1944.
And yes, you're correct, both programs were on Mutual.
Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:44:05 -0400
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Orson Welles on British Radio
I know Orson Welles did two series for Towers of London in the early
1950s. (The Black Museum and The Lives of Harry Lime.) He also did some
British film work in the 1940s. (I'm thinking specifically here of The
Third Man, though that was filmed in Vienna it was for a British
company.) Does anybody know if he did any other radio appearances
during the time he spent in Britain? He was quite well known at the
time, and I'm sure he would have been a great guest star on some
variety show or something. Did he do any such guest spots, and if so,
do any survive and are in circulation? They would be interesting to
hear.
Kermyt
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 22:26:10 -0400
From: ilamfan@[removed] (S Jansen)
To: [removed]@[removed] (OTR Bulletin Board)
Subject: Lights Out Episode
>From the last OTR Digest:
"...The other is an episode of "Lights Out"
concerning a woman who gets rid of her mother-in-law
by throwing her down a well in the woman's basement.
I'd be very grateful for show titles and air
dates, if anyone has them.
Thanks in advance.
Ken Stockinger
Okay , Ken, my guess is the Lights Out episode from Dec 15th, 1942
titled "A Knock At The Door". Right at the top of my "must listen to soon"
list!
This episode was written about in Richard J Hand's recent (EXCELLENT)
book, "Terror On The Air!":
"The highly effective "Knock At The Door" has a resentful wife murder
her interfering mother-in-law, to whom her "mommy's boy" husband has always
been beholden. The dead woman returns from the grave, knocking on the door
of the basement where she was cast into a disused well. Her son, perturbed
by his mother's disappearance, is delighted when she returns, and does not
seem to notice that his reanimated mother is an undead corpse dripping water
on the floor. He does, however, notice how cold she is, and insists that his
wife lay in bed with his mother to warm her up. The extraordinary situation
of a killer sharing the bed with her living dead victim is a profound moment
of sexual [removed]"
"...[this story] uses sexualized horror to shocking effect, but it also
functions as a powerful study of guilt (the reappearance of the mother may be
a manifestation of the guilt that leads the killer to her gruesome suicide).
The play also serves as a complex metaphor for the dysfunctional American
family. Of course, the play is sardonically humorous, being perhaps the
ultimate mother-in-law joke. Arch Oboler is aware of this when he takes the
opportunity in his introduction to plead with any mothers-in-law that may be
listening not to send him poison pen letters saying, "I'm not really
responsible for what happens in the twisted brains of my characters, am I?" "
WHEW - quite a quote, hm? I've been meaning to hop on to the list and
mention how much I've enjoyed this book. It's one of my most enjoyable
recent reads! I particularly like the explanations of horror, the many
literary references, the explanations of the "mechanics" and framework of
horror broadcasts, the common horror hosts, the use of silence, and so
[removed] just a book filled with series overviews and broadcast logs. It's
really VERY INTERESTING reading! I have marked several episodes noted in the
book as "must listen to soon"...how nice to have historical and literary
references to accompany my solitary listening sessions in the dark.
The book does seem to be a wee bit small for the price, but it is
supremely entertaining - I couldn't stop reading it, and I've gone back to it
several times after I was finished (good thing that it's hardcover!)...I
think it was worth every penny. This is not your (grand)father's OTR
reference book!
I don't know if it's in the works, but I am ready for "Terror On The
Air, Volume II"...there was plenty of great horror after 1952. [removed] book
that goes over the twisted psycho-sexual-necro-creepy-thriller Nightfall?
Oh, yeah.
Of couse, I have no relationship with the author or publisher, this is
just a belated book review, spurred on by Ken's question.
We now return to our regularly scheduled program.
Stephen Jansen
--
Old Time Radio never dies - it just changes formats!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 22:27:05 -0400
From: William Brooks <webiii@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Molly
I've been reading the recent posting about Marion Jordan. I am
acquainted with her grand-daughter and I've been told why Molly was not
on the show for a short period. More importantly, it has been confirmed
that she was real life just as warm and wonderful as the character she
played on radio. Now that her personal life has once again been dragged
into the area of this digest I would very much like to see the topic
dropped. What happened to Marion Jordan in the 1930's is really none of
our business and can only harm the reputation of a dear, dear lady. Can
we let her rest, and just remember her as a warm loving person
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 22:27:13 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 8-17 births/deaths
August 17th births
08-17-1888 - Monte Woolley- NYC - d. 5-6-1963
actor: Edwin Montague "Magnificent Montague"
08-17-1893 - Mae West - Brooklyn, NY - d. 11-22-1980
actor: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show" (Famous Adam and Eve Skit)
08-17-1896 - Alms Lawton - Woolwich, England - d. 2-24-1982
actor: "I Love Adventure"; "NBC University Theatre"
08-17-1900 - Gregory Abbott - d. 9-25-1981
narrator: "Believe It or Not"
08-17-1900 - Quincy Howe - Boston, MA - d. 2-19-1977
newscaster: "Quincy Howe: Comment"
08-17-1903 - Bob Evans - California - d. 3-21-1961
actor: "Sing It Again"
08-17-1904 - Ann Harding - Fort Sam Houston, TX - d. 9-1-1981
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Cavalcade of America"; "Hallmark Playhouse"
08-17-1905 - Frederick Ziv - Cincinnati, OH - d. 10-13-2001
producer: "Philo Vance"
08-17-1907 - Bernard Schoenfeld - d. 4-25-1990
writer: "Brave New World"; "This is Our Eneny"
08-17-1909 - Larry Clinton - Brooklyn, NY - d. 5-2-1985
bandleader: "Larry Clinton's Musical Sensations"; "Tommy Riggs and
Betty Lou"
08-17-1912 - Gogo De Lys - Edmonton, Canada - d. 2-19-2003
singer: "Carefree Carnival"; "Little Ol' Hollywood"; "Stoopnagle and
Budd"
08-17-1913 - Guy Della-Cioppa - Philadelphia, PA - d. 1-17-2000
director: "An American in Russia"; "The Columbia Workshop"
08-17-1918 - Evelyn Ankers - Valparaiso, Chili - d. 8-28-1985
actor: Argentine Radio
08-17-1920 - Georgia Gibbs - Worcester, MA
singer: (Her Nibs) "Your Hit Parade"; "Camel Caravan"; "Philco Hall
of Fame"
08-17-1920 - Maureen O'Hara - Millwall, Ireland
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
08-17-1921 - Donald Buka - Cleveland, OH
actor: Barney Mallory "Sparrow and the Hawk"
08-17-1922 - Jack Sperling - Trenton, NJ - d. 3-8-2004
drummer: Bands of Bunny Berrigan, Les Brown and others
08-17-1930 - Harve Bennett - Chicago, IL
panelist: "The Quiz Kids"
08-17-1943 - John Humphreys - Cardiff, Wales
presenter: "Nine O'Clock News"; "Today"
August 17th deaths
01-26-1927 - Billy Redfield - NYC - d. 8-17-1976
actor: Grayling Dennis "Brighter Day"; Willie Piper "Tales of Willie
Piper"
02-06-1888 - Bennett Kilpack - England - d. 8-17-1962
actor: Mr. Keen "Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons"; "James Benson
"David Harum"
03-29-1918 - Pearl Bailey - Newport News, VA - d. 8-17-1990
singer: "Kraft Music Hall "; "Tribute to Glenn Miller"
05-09-1895 - Richard Barthelmass - NYC - d. 8-17-1963
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
05-17-1907 - Horace McMahon - South Norwalk, CT - d. 8-17-1971
actor: "Crime Does Not Pay"
05-25-1877 - Billy Murray - Philadelphia, PA - d. 8-17-1954
singer: "The National Barn Dance"
06-29-1901 - Ed Gardner - Astoria, NY - d. 8-17-1963
comedian: Archie "Duffy's Tavern"
07-24-1904 - Delmer Daves - San Francisco, CA - d. 8-17-1977
movie writer/director: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
07-26-1909 - Vivian Vance - Cherryvale, KS - d. 8-17-1979
actor: Ethel Mertz "I Love Lucy"
09-11-1908 - Elisebeth A. Heisch - Madison, WI - d. 8-17-2003
writer: "The Cinnamon Bear"
10-20-1913 - Barney Phillips - St. Louis, MO - d. 8-17-1982
actor: Ed Jacobs "Dragnet"; Somber Jones "Hawk Larabee"; "Gunsmoke"
12-02-1902 - Howard Koch - NYC - d. 8-17-1995
writer: "War of the Worlds"
12-06-1896 - Ira Gershwin - NYC - d. 8-17-1983
songwriter: "Lady in the Dark"; "Jolson Story"; "Barkleys of Broadway"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 10:03:51 -0400
From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Movie stars' pay on OTR?
This question has probably come up before, but I don't remember seeing it here:
When top movie stars starred on radio shows like Lux Radio Theater,
Suspense, etc., how much were they paid?
As movie studios' contract players, did the actors do the radio shows
for free, or at union scale, in exchange for the radio plugs for
upcoming movies?
Or did the actors negotiate their own pay for each radio performance?
Or were there any "general rules" at all?
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #223
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