Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #80
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 3/12/2005 1:54 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2005 : Issue 80
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Attending Radio Shows                 [ StuartLubin@[removed] (Stuart Lubin ]
      CANADIANS NOT ALLOWED!!! ...YIKES     [ "david rogers" <david_rogers@hotmai ]
      OTR Listening Habits                  [ "Penne Yingling" <bp_ying@[removed] ]
      One book on OTR announcers            [ "Jim Hilliker" <jimhilliker@sbcglob ]
      Books on OTR announcers thread        [ Philip Chavin <pchavin@[removed]; ]
      The May Company and radio             [ "Jim Hilliker" <jimhilliker@sbcglob ]
      [removed] caveat                [ danhughes@[removed] ]
      Re: "Our Miss Brooks" question        [ Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@earthlin ]
      Here Come the Mounties?               [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]
      Modern OTR Question                   [ [removed]@[removed] ]
      Re: Canadians Not Allowed             [ Howard Bonner <howard_bonner@yahoo. ]
      Morton Downeys and more!              [ Lee Munsick <damyankeeinva@earthlin ]
      Vocalist Don Howrd                    [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
      Books on [removed]                [ Lee Munsick <damyankeeinva@earthlin ]

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

    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 00:52:12 -0500
    From: StuartLubin@[removed] (Stuart Lubin)
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Attending Radio Shows
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    Bob Cockrum asks some interesting questions about seeing radio shows.
    Perhaps Parker Fennelly was referring to seeing film of a radio
    performance that he himself was in.  Or maybe he did not enjoy watching
    what he wasn't in.  Maybe it was just a case of a "busman's holiday"?

    One of my attractions to radio was that I always loved and could
    recognize voices.  (I thought I was an expert until I joined SPERDVAC
    and met people who were much better at it than I.) I could always retain
    more by listening than by reading.

    I am certain that there are several more people on this list than I who
    used to attend radio shows regularly.  Philip Chavin has written to this
    list and has even searched for the broadcasts of the shows he attended.
    Perhaps he would like to chime in on this subject.

    Although I believe in  "each to his own taste", I cannot imagine anyone
    who would attend a radio show and find it boring.  Of course, as today,
    in books, television and theatre, there are always some works that are
    boring; not everything is good.  As I would pass the radio studios as a
    teenager, people were enthusiastically in line waiting to get in. We
    have to distinguish between people who love (old time) radio now and the
    people of the forties and fifties who attended those shows.  They were
    mainly tourists who visited New York and Hollywood, and seeing a radio
    show was part of the "beaten path", on the tour, so to speak.  The
    studio audience was never neglected because expert announcers warmed
    them up before the show with jokes and introductions of the cast.  I am
    sure that the tourists had a chance to choose which show(s) they wanted
    to see.  It was very exciting for them to finally see a show that they
    had listened to back home for years.  "Lux Radio Theatre" was very
    popular and always turned people away.  The big draw there were the two
    or three movie stars; this way the tourists could go back home and say
    that they saw a famous movie star in person.  The tourists didn't attend
    for the same purpose as I did:  to see great radio performers such as
    Shirley Mitchell, Irene Tedrow, Peter Leeds, Hugh Studebaker, Marvin
    Miller, Virginia Gregg, Mary Jane Croft, Cathy Lewis, and many, many
    more whose names the tourists would not recognize.

    I am sure that we all had our different reasons for flocking to these
    shows.  As a kid, I fantasized that the performer was really the
    character himself, instead of an actor.  So when I said hello to Willard
    Waterman on the street, I played the fun game in my mind that I had
    chatted with the Great Gildersleeve himself. This put me a cut above all
    my other classmates and friends. It was my private life, my own fantasy
    life.

    Boring? Never!  I would go to the shows hoping that the performers would
    "look like" they sounded.  They rarely did.  What an experience for a
    fourteen year old to hear a familiar voice coming out of an unfamiliar
    face!  Then, when I would hear the show on the radio again, the faces
    that I had previously assigned, matched the voices again.

    I did attend a few television shows, but they did not have the magic of
    radio.  The camera obstructed every scene,  and you had to watch most of
    it over a monitor.  I think those of us who are on this list know
    exactly what I mean when I refer to "the magic of radio."

    Stuart Lubin  (OTRadiofan)

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    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 00:52:27 -0500
    From: "david rogers" <david_rogers@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  CANADIANS NOT ALLOWED!!! ...YIKES

    I am sure that most of you know this but Internet broadcasters can check
    your location through your IP address.  If you are not in a country covered
    by the licence etc, they can block you receiving the broadcast.
    Praise the lord for the BBC radio internet service.  However, even that has
    restrictions - such as some sports broadcasts etc.

    Love as always, David Rogers

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

    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 00:52:39 -0500
    From: "Penne Yingling" <bp_ying@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR Listening Habits

    someone wrote:  "members of a "typical American family" in various poses
    sitting or
    lying around the big floor model Philco whilst listening together to their
    particular favorites.  Perhaps that wasn't as common as some people would
    like us to think."
    When I read the statement about lying around the old Philco, it brought back
    yesterday very clear.  I remember sitting on the floor in front of the
    Philco, wrapped in a blanket, listening to The Shadow.  The blanket was my
    safe harbor - I covered my head when a particular spooky part was on.  This
    memory always brings a chuckle to me.   Just Penne Listenin' In !

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

    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 00:52:48 -0500
    From: "Jim Hilliker" <jimhilliker@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  One book on OTR announcers

    I own a book which covers the history of early radio announcers.  It
    generally covers the years 1921 to 1945.  It's called "Golden Throats and
    Silver Tongues:The Radio Announcers" by Ray Poindexter.

    The book was written in 1978 and was published by River Road Press of
    Conway, Arkansas.  There are plenty of great stories, as it mainly follows
    announcers' journeys from station to station, station to network and network
    to network, etc.  It seems to cover most of the top announcers of those days
    and several others not so well known, or known only in various parts of the
    country.  I don't know if it is out of print, but it's worth looking for,
    whether in a public library or from a used  or rare bookstore.

    Jim Hilliker
    Monterey

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

    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 00:51:42 -0500
    From: Philip Chavin <pchavin@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Books on OTR announcers thread

    Not sure but I don't think any Digesters have
    mentioned this book:  "Golden Throats and Silver
    Tongues: The Radio Announcers"  by Ray Poindexter.

    (By the way: Minor corrections to a posting in #78:
    The exact title of the book by Irving Fang is "Those
    Radio Commentators!" and Galen Drake is not included
    in that book. I'm referring to the first edition,
    1977. Not sure if there've been revised editions.)

    -- Phil C.

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

    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 00:53:09 -0500
    From: "Jim Hilliker" <jimhilliker@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The May Company and radio
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    The Cathy Siepp article on the demise of The May Company department stores was
    interesting.

    While I don't pretend to know the entire early history of The May Company, I
    do know that their flagship store for many years was in downtown Los Angeles
    at the corner of 8th Street at Broadway.  This first May Company store in
    California opened in either 1923 or 1924, when it was sold by [removed] Hamburger.
    His Hamburger's Department Store was the largest such store in Los Angeles in
    the early 20th Century. Mr. Hamburger also ran an early radio station from his
    store, in 1922 to early 1923, station KYJ, which was a favorite of early
    crystal set owners in the Los Angeles area.

    When Hamburger's was sold and changed its name to The May Company, Los Angeles
    radio station KHJ did a special three-hour program on the night of October 4,
    1924 to promote The May Company.  According to the [removed] Times ad promoting
    this event, they called the broadcast "A May Day Program", presented by the
    May Company and Uncle John Daggett, KHJ's first announcer and station manager
    for more than 5 years. The show featured many of the KHJ regular entertainers
    of the day and likely was done to advertise the name change of the store to
    The May Company.

    Of course, in later years people outside [removed] heard the store mentioned as the
    object of comedy on Jack Benny's radio program.  After World War II, the May
    Company spread out from its downtown [removed] headquarters and opened many new
    branches at the suburban shopping centers and malls around Southern
    California.  And the store was a major radio advertiser for decades on Los
    Angeles radio.

    While I was never a May Co. shopper, it is sad to see the stores and the name
    I grew up with in Southern California fade away and become just a memory.

    Jim Hilliker
    Monterey, CA

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    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 08:46:01 -0500
    From: danhughes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  [removed] caveat

    Dave Phaneuf recommends [removed] as a source for
    downloadable OTR programs.

    Yes, BUT.  Many of the shows at that site are partial programs, ending
    sometimes in the middle of a sentence.  Very disappointing to hear the
    first few minutes of a show and then have it just stop.

    ---Dan

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

    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 11:12:34 -0500
    From: Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: "Our Miss Brooks" question

    on 3/12/05 12:03 AM, Kenneth Clark wrote:

>     In the last installment of the
>     mailing list, it was mentioned that an actor named
>     Joe Forte was known for playing the role of blustery
>     principal Osgood Conklin on "Our Miss Brooks". I
>     always thought that role was played by Gale Gordon.

    ***I assume that Joe Forte must have played the role in the first broadcast.
    Gordon had been receiving $150 a show as Mayor La Trivia on Fibber McGee &
    Molly, and his wife advised him to refuse any jobs paying less.  "I was out
    of work for a long time because no one would pay $150," he later recalled.
    OUR MISS BROOKS-producer Larry Berns offered him the role of Principal
    Conklin but balked when Gordon demanded the then high rate.  "We heard the
    first Our Miss Brooks radio show and when it was over my wife and I looked
    at each other and I said, 'Thank God they wouldn't pay $150' . . . They had
    the principal barking like a dog for comedy effect.  The next day Larry
    Berns called and said, 'We will pay the $150.  Show up next Sunday.'  Then I
    was sorry I hadn't asked for $200 because I knew they would never have paid
    that . . ." --ANTHONY TOLLIN

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

    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 11:13:18 -0500
    From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Here Come the Mounties?

    Lloyd Harradan claims that:

>     Mr Gwynne is right and the moderator wrong. Canadians are prosecuted
>     by the RCMP for receiving television satellite signals from the [removed]
>     even though they pay for the reception.

    In actuality, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in the past 132 years
    of their existence, have never prosecuted anyone for anything. They are
    strictly a law enforcement agency and have nothing to do with
    prosecuting lawbreakers, which is the sole responsibility of the
    Canada's judicial system. To accuse the descendants of Renfrew and
    Preston of "prosecuting" Canadian receivers of [removed] satellite cable is
    ludicrous.

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    [removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 11:13:46 -0500
    From: [removed]@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Modern OTR Question
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    Who knows how can I "TIVO" live broadcast radio shows and then convert
    them to MP3 files for later listening pleasure?

    Lamont probably doesn't.

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    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 13:06:31 -0500
    From: Howard Bonner <howard_bonner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Canadians Not Allowed

    There are rules and then there are rules!

    Firstly, last October a Quebec judge ruled against any
    prohibition of owning or receiving signals via
    satellite television eminating from the [removed]
    That order was STAYED [removed] held in abeyance until
    October of 2005. The only way around this judgement is
    to amend the Canadian Charter Of Rights!!
    It's probably the best thing that could have happened
    in the world of television for Canadians. Now the
    elite of the broadcasting world may actually have to
    get off their collective do-nothing butts and create
    some decent programming, not all buying the same worn
    out series from the 60's, 70's, etc. That in itself
    may not be so bad( depending on your mindset or point
    of view) but it makes for boring viewing without a
    choice of selection.
    Secondly, I own and subscribe to Sirius. You have to
    have a [removed] address as they will not sell initially to
    a Canadian address. After the initial startup, any
    renewal is by credit card and they don't care what
    address is on the credit card just as long as it pays
    the cost. ( My last renewal was about $[removed] a month
    Canadian!!)
    As far as OTR, the channel leaves a whole lot to be
    desired. That has been discussed in this forum in
    detail. I find the commercials for Radio Spirits not
    only to be an interference to the programming but
    nothing short of assinine.'Buy a whole bunch of Red
    Ryder or the Lone Ranger and keep your grandchildren
    occupied on a long trip!!!' Not a chance in this day
    and age with DVD players and high tech games.
    Grandchildren wouldn't want too many trips with the
    old folks with a continual diet of 'imagination
    theatre'. And if I own Sirius satellite and subscribe,
    why in all that is holy would I want to buy series
    after series from them to listen to while I'm stuck in
    commuter traffic?!!!!!!!!!!!
    On top of which, if you know how ( Total Recorder is
    one example), you have access to the programming of
    Sirius on satellite on the web and can record anything
    coming over the channels.
    So whether we get a watered down version or not, I
    couldn't care less. Like much of the world of radio
    that is freely available across the 49th parallel
    through any radio, satellite radio is already
    available.

    In my area, we are about to get a third PBS radio
    station signal and I host a program of music on a
    Canadian campus - community licensed station. That has
    more than any effect that satellite will have for
    years to come.

    HB

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

    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 13:07:06 -0500
    From: Lee Munsick <damyankeeinva@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Morton Downeys and more!

    Patrick of "cooldown" asked if Morton Downey was a relative of another Downey
    who ran for office in California, I assume somewhat recently.  I think it
    would take someone on the west coast to answer; I'm way over here in the
    east, in Virginia!

    Morton Downey (1901-1985) was (surprise!) the father of Morton Downey Jr.,
    kind of the predecessor of two of today's loudmouth, obnoxious radio & TV
    personalities, and one of them did have a political background and is trying
    again.  But not in California.  I don't care to give either of them
    additional name recognition, but I'm sure you can tell of whom I speak.

    Downey (Senior) was a popular tenor on radio and recordings.  He debuted with
    Paul Whiteman in 1919.  According to John Dunning's masterful work, he
    started on radio with the BBC in London in 1928, although he was born in
    Connecticut!  Basically an Irish tenor sound, for some reason Mr. Dunning
    lists him as a "crooner", which I would not have done.  In my opinion, his
    style was nothing like Bing Crosby, Perry Como or Dean Martin, whom I would
    attach that appelation.  Downey to the [removed], and started on CBS in 1930.
    Between then and 1951 he was on fairly consistently, bouncing from that
    network and back from Blue, MBS and NBC.  Many of those programs had the same
    sponsor, causing Downey thoroughly to become identified with Coca-Cola.  He
    had his own TV program as host from 1950 into 1951 on the series called "Star
    of the Family", in which he interviewed relatives of famous personalities.
    He was succeeded as the host of that program by the team of Peter Lind Hayes
    and Mary Healy, who stayed with the show into 1952.

    About this time Downey was friend of a friend of the Hayes/Healy duo, another
    somewhat well known broadcaster named Arthur Godfrey.  Peter and Mary often
    substituted for Mr. Godfrey, and had their own radio and television shows.
    Godfrey and Downey and their acquaintance, Sherman Billingsley, were partners
    in their corporation which advertised and sold "Sortilege", a brand of fancy
    soap and perfume closely identified with The Stork Club, of which Billingsley
    - a Prohibition era purveyor of booze - was the owner.

    Sortilege was the fragrance was the best-known item for the trio, in large
    part because the Stork Club tie, and  Mr. Godfrey's recommendations for it
    even on the air, although it never was an actual sponsor.  But to me their
    most interesting product was a boxed set of three bars of soap, each cast in
    an excellent likeness of the face of one of the three famous owners!  The
    Stork Club menus were famous for their colorful covers which contained an
    artist's portrayal of famous people dining in the restaurant.  This included
    the same three plus such other stalward Storkers as Walter Winchell, who also
    merrily plugged Sortilege.  I's likely that he also had a piece of the
    action.  If one looks closely in those illustrations, one can make out the
    familiar Stork Club black and white ashtrays, and samples of their Sortilege
    wares.

    The site of The Stork Club is now either the home of the Museum of Television
    and Radio in New York City, or else a tiny pocket park nearby.  I tend to get
    the two mixed up, because both had close ties to William Paley, who
    established both.  Final interesting item:  Paley's New York station
    (originally WABC until the American Broadcasting Company took over that
    call,and Paley's CBS flagship became WCBS) had a special transmitter site on
    a tiny island in Long Island Sound between Manhattan and Connecticut.  In
    order for anyone to get there, it was necessary to take CBS's small boat from
    a site on the Connecticut shore, where Paley owned a small piece of property
    for the purpose of mooring the craft.  When Paley and CBS decided to
    eliminate both sites, Mary Healy and Peter Lind Hayes obtained the site from
    Paley, and lived in a charming small waterfront home there for years.  I was
    honored to spend part of a Sunday there where they shared this information
    with me, and now with you.

    Enjoy!  Lee Munsick

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

    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 15:46:02 -0500
    From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Vocalist Don Howrd
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    Hi Gang:

    My pal Walter Gollender, arguably the world's leading authority on The Four
    Aces,
    is looking for any extant information on vocalist Don Howard, who had a # 4
    Billboard hit song in 1953 with a song he co-wrote called "Oh, Happy Day."

    This is the song that starts out with the lyrics "The sun is shining/oh, happy
    [removed]"
    and shouldn't  be confused with the gospel hit of the same name made popular
    in the
    late 1960s by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.

    What I've been able to find so far in one of those Joel Whitburn/ Billboard
    chart books
    is that Don Howard was born Donald Howard Koplow on May 11th, 1935 in
    Cleveland.
    Although  Mr. Howard got to # 4 with his version of "Oh, Happy Day," the
    version most
    people probably remember is the cover version done by Lawrence Welk and His
    Orchestra
    featuring vocalist Larry Hooper that peaked at # 5 -- and that's probably
    because of the Welk
    reruns on PBS, on which Mr. Hooper was often called on to lip-synch, er, sing
    this fan
    favourite.

    If anybody has any info on Don Howard, please contact me off-list. Thanks.

    "Oh happy day, oh, lucky me."

    Derfek Tague

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    Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 15:46:21 -0500
    From: Lee Munsick <damyankeeinva@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Books on [removed]

    ...announcers, my heroes!

    Why?  Because they were often the only ones whose names you knew, as in
    "...and me, I'm Harlow Wilcox" or whomever.  While the dramatic actors
    certainly showed more versatility, they were often totally anonymous to the
    listeners, or else "featured in tonight's [removed]" where one couldn't catch
    the names quickly enough, nor know whose name went with which voice(s).

    Derek Tague and Jack French correctly recommended some excellent books by
    and/or about announcers.  I'd like to point out to the prospective buyer to
    check to make sure that "Those Radio Commentators" should include one of
    those thin black plastic 5" or 7" double-sided recordings featuring great
    clips of a bunch of his subjects.

    I particularly like Ray Poindexter's opening reference in "Golden Throats and
    Silver Tongues":

    "A word fitly spoken is like
    apples of gold
    in pictures of silver"

    "Golden Throats" is a gem, and tracks the many, many radio voices often from
    their very beginnings, through their many changes in locale and employers
    over years.  It's one of my very favorites.

    Lee Munsick

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #80
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