Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #20
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 1/14/2004 9:19 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2004 : Issue 20
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      AFRS shows                            [ "Jay Ranellucci" <otrfan3@[removed] ]
      Greatest Entertainer of All Time      [ "John Eccles, Jr." <jeccles@earthli ]
      Wanamaker's in New York               [ leemunsick <leemunsick@[removed] ]
      Mp3 DVD Players                       [ "mike kerezman" <philipmarlowe@cfai ]
      Martha Wenworth                       [ Bob Slate <moxnix1961@[removed]; ]
      Ready, Aim, ... Pouf!                 [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      The Littlest Angel                    [ <welsa@[removed]; ]
      re: Greatest Entertainer              [ ken schwartz <kschwar@[removed]; ]
      1-15 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Greatest Entertainer - my 2 cents     [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
      Re: Greatest Entertainer              [ "david rogers" <david_rogers@hotmai ]
      OTR in education                      [ "david rogers" <david_rogers@hotmai ]
      "BABE" Mary Livingstone's Sister      [ "Jay Ranellucci" <otrfan3@[removed] ]
      RE: Tony Baechler/ Jerry Haendiges    [ "Kris Stone" <anaheim47@[removed] ]
      microwaveless heater                  [ "Roby McHone" <otr_alaska@[removed] ]
      Bad Guys on Gangbusters               [ "James Yellen" <clifengr3@[removed] ]
      The greatest entertainer of all time  [ Jer51473@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 14:56:38 -0500
    From: "Jay Ranellucci" <otrfan3@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  AFRS shows

    Joe Salerno was quite correct in most of what he said in his post of
    1/10/04.  However having worked at Radio Recorders in 1956 & 1956 and doing
    the remastering of a lot of the radio shows we called "deletions" and not
    "denaturing".  On a lot of the shows the programs announcer would re-record
    the opening & closings of so that instead of "The Jello program starring
    Jack Bennny, [removed]"  would become "The Jack Benny program [removed]"  Or
    instead of the Maxwell House Coffee program with George Burns & Gracie
    Allen, Would become "The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show"
    The reason commercials were deleted was because the Government did not want
    to  appear to be endorsing the prodluct.
    Incidentaly these deletions were done direct from the off-line 16" disc
    recordings to a 16" lacquer disc, using what sound effects engineers called
    a sound truck. This was a unit of three variable 16" turntables with four
    playback arms and cue speakers. The way the off-line discs were recorded was
    the first 10 minutes of a 30 min. show was recorded on disc #1 then disc #2
    would be started so the next 5 min would be recorded on both discs.
    Then disc #2 would record the next 5 min. alone and then 20 min into the
    show disc #1 would be turned over to record the last 10 minutes.  This
    allowed us to delete the commercials and insert government informercials.
    All this was done in real time on the fly
    If you blew it you started over.  Sometimes the  overlaps did not fall in
    the right place and we would have to precord a portion on a scrap disc in
    order to make the crossover. On average from start to finish we were able to
    remaster a 30 min show in about 50 minutes.    Jay

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 15:00:45 -0500
    From: "John Eccles, Jr." <jeccles@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Greatest Entertainer of All Time

    In my opinion this honor has to go to Bing Crosby.  No other individual had
    a greater impact on the entertainment world in the 20th century than Crosby.
    He redefined the notion of popular singing in this country, taking it from
    an interlude in the middle of a big band number, to the main focus of the
    record.

    He pioneered the use of tape and pre-recording programs and took a chance
    that the American people would buy "canned" entertainment when other
    programs were live.  It revolutionized the broadcasting industry.  Now you
    would be hard-pressed to find a program done on live television other than
    news broadcasts, sporting events, and Saturday Night Live.  All of these
    pre-recorded shows owe a debt to his foresight, whether they will
    acknowledge it or not.

    Crosby made more studio recordings than any other artist in history (even
    Sinatra).  He scored more number one hits than any other recording artist in
    the history of popular music (Crosby had 38 compared to The Beatles' 24 and
    Presley's 18).  As many as 50 million people tuned in each week to hear him
    on The Kraft Music Hall (Who Wants To Be A Millionaire peaked at 36
    million).

    Between 1934 and 1954 he was ranked in the top ten at the box office 15
    times and is the ONLY motion-picture star to rank Number One five times
    (from 1944-1948).

    Knowing information like this (thanks to Gary Giddins' masterfully
    researched biography on Bing Crosby) made me stop watching these "Greatest
    of All Time" shows since the people who are preparing these shows and the
    people who are viewing them steadfastly refuse to acknowledge anything that
    did not happen in their lifetime.  If you think I am exagerrating I
    recommend you take a look at a Newsweek article published in 1999 entitled
    "Voices Of The Century:  America Goes Hollywood."  Crosby was not even
    mentioned, except as a caption to a photograph of him with Frank Sinatra.

    There are many other reasons for voting Crosby as Greatest Entertainer of
    All Time, but the above stand out in my mind as the main reasons.

    Of course, other entertainers surely deserve mention, but in my opinion,
    Crosby tops them all.

    John Eccles, Jr.

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 15:01:56 -0500
    From: leemunsick <leemunsick@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Wanamaker's in New York

    Friend Derek Tague referred to the old John Wanamaker location in Manhattan.

    Philadelphians used to get together friends with "meet me at the clock at
    Wanamaker's", but as I recall there was no such ticker in New York.  Nor
    was there the magnificent pipe organ as in Philly, where were held regular
    magnificent organ [removed] still?

    When I was a kid, one of the big shows on duMont television (then WABD
    Channel 5 in New York, plus just a few other cities on their net) was
    "Captain Video".  The title role was filled in most of its run by Al
    Hodge.  One of that vast WXYZ alumni that included Mike Wallace, Bob Hite,
    Michael Tolan, Leonore Allman, Bob Hall, Jack McCarthy, John Todd, Frank
    Striker, Fred Flowerday, Fred Foy, and (hiss) George W. Trendle.  Hodge
    appeared on other programs, among them the title role in "Attorney At Law"
    for Blue in 1938.  As Captain Video, he succeeded Richard Coogan who had
    the role for the show's first six months, to devote his time to his
    theatrical roles in "The Rainmaker" and "Diamond Lil", among others.   Then
    Coogan moved back and forth between motion pictures and later TV.  After
    1955, Hodge worked on other Captain Video outings as well as "Wonderama"
    and "Edge of Night".

    duMont's New York base was located in the huge former Wanamaker building in
    downtown Manhattan.  It was easy for one to wander into this spaciousness
    and observe the programs going on, and I did so on more than one
    occasion.  There was a "balcony" sort of like a raised-level track in a
    large gymnasium, on which one could stand and watch the program being
    performed below.

     From a later reckoning, it now amazes me that rowdies didn't get in and
    throw objects down on the performing floor (perhaps on occasion they did,
    but I never saw it).  I am reminded of one movie theater I attended on
    occasion, where local delinquents threw all kinds of things from the
    balcony.  One learned quickly to sit beneath that overhang, rather than in
    the rest of the ground floor.  Paper cups and candy wrappers were one
    thing, but Coke bottles were definitely dangerous air-to-surface missiles!

    I recall one particular duMont drama, done live of course, as all TV was
    then.  An actor from my home town of Morristown, [removed] (Coogan was from
    nearby Short Hills) told everyone that he was to portray the victim in a
    murder mystery.   In time, we saw our friend dead as expected, spread prone
    on the floor.  Apparently things moved a little too slowly for him.  As the
    camera remained on him longer than expected, he slowly rose, got up, and
    walked away.  Natural enough, except this was all on live, before our very
    eyes!  Miraculous!

    Perhaps it was Hodge who brought with him one great addition to "Captain
    Video".  He recalled his Detroit days as "The Green Hornet", and the
    production values of the great WXYZ shows.  We all recall "The Lone Ranger"
    and "Challenge of the Yukon", remembered by many simply as "Sgt. Preston".

    They all exposed our impressionable, eager ears to great classical
    music.  The theme for "Captain Video" was the Overture to "The Flying
    Dutchman" (Die Fliegander Hollander) Richard Wagner.  This was played while
    we looked at impressive artwork of Captain Video's precariously perched
    mountainside laboratory.   I'm sure most of readers here very well know
    many of the other themes and bridge music from all those programs.  Thanks
    be to the music director at WXYZ!

    Inspiring!

    Lee Munsick

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 15:57:54 -0500
    From: "mike kerezman" <philipmarlowe@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Mp3 DVD Players

    Douglas Stivers wrote:

      >A lot of the less expensive portable cd mp3 and dvd players will read
    files
      >set between 32 kbps and 320 kbps, but they definitely require settings
      >of 44 kHz or 48 kHz.

    I just liked to note (as I previously mentioned) that the APEX DVD player
    sold at Wal Mart for as low as $42 (sometimes as low as $29) is Excellent
    for this without re-encoding all your [removed] It will play 99% of OTR mp3 'as
    is' without reencoding them. It has no trouble playing 32 Kbps and 22Khz
    mp3s. It will even play as low as 16Kbps. The only ones it does not like is
    32 Kbps 11Khz Stereo. But These are extremely RARE.

    I had Philips Home Theater system with DVD player built in. It would only
    play mp3s that were 32,000 Khz and up. Rather reeencoding a lot of mp3s
    shows, I bought an inexpensive APEX whose audio comes through my Home
    Theater AUX jack I watch movies on the Home Theater and whenever I want to
    listen to OTR,  I put a Mp3 CD in the APEX and switch the HOME THEATER to
    AUX and it works great. I recently bought another APEX for my younger
    brother so he can listen to OTR mp3s as well.

    Mike Kerezman
    Macomb, OK

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 15:58:13 -0500
    From: Bob Slate <moxnix1961@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Martha Wenworth
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Marth Wentworth also was one of  the Duchesses on Red Ryder on the radio and
    the Republic Pictures version in the 1940's.

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
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    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 16:12:43 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Ready, Aim, ... Pouf!

    Bill Harper observes,

>     I have enjoyed the banter regarding shredded wheat and Quaker Puffed
>     Cereals. When Quaker was advertised by Shirley Temple it was not promoted
>     as the cereal "shot from a gun". Later they used this image of being
>     "shot from a gun". I always wonder about this as Quakers were always
>     nonagressive in behavior.

    Well, guns needn't be aggressive.  A flare pistol, for instance, is a
    signaling device.  However, according to the ads, they were shot from
    guns -- plural.  Probably the only practical way to get enough puffed
    anythings to fill the boxes that appeared in the grocery shelves of those
    days.  Unless the gun was of a Gatling variety, of course.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 16:12:21 -0500
    From: <welsa@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Littlest Angel

    This story was also digested down into a hit song for the McGuire Sisters in
    the 1950's.

    Ted

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 16:22:19 -0500
    From: ken schwartz <kschwar@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  re: Greatest Entertainer

    for your consideration:

    Danny Kaye
    Danny Thomas
    Donald O'Connor

    Ken Schwartz (not a nominee, just the sender)

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 16:22:29 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  1-15 births/deaths

    January 15th births

    01-15-1882 - Henry Burr - St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada - d. 4-6-1941
    singer: "National Barn Dance"; "Uncle Ezra"
    01-15-1899 - Goodman Ace - Kansas City, MO - d. 3-25-1982
    comedian, writer: "Easy Aces"
    01-15-1913 - Lloyd Bridges - San Leandro, CA - d. 3-10-1998
    actor: "Suspense"; "Arch Oboler"s Plays"
    01-15-1920 - Yvonne King - Salt Lake City, UT
    singer: (King Sisters) "Horace Heidt and His Brigadiers"
    01-15-1922 - Thelma Carpenter - Brooklyn, NY - d. 5-17-1997
    singer: "Eddie Cantor Show"
    01-15-1937 - Margaret O"Brien - Los Angeles, CA
    actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Suspense"

    January 15th deaths

    01-10-1904 - Ray Bolger - Dorchester, MA - d. 1-15-1987
    singer, dancer: "Ray Bolger Show"
    03-24-1915 - Bill Bivens - Wadesboro, NC - d. 1-15-1984
    announcer: "Fred Waring Show"; "Vox Pox"
    05-17-1920 - Harriet Van Horne - Syracuse, NY - d. 1-15-1998
    newspaper columnist: "Advs. of Ellery Queen"
    07-31-1894 - Roy Bargy - Newaygo, MI - d. 1-15-1974
    conductor: "Jimmy Durante Show"; "Kraft Music Hall"; "Rexall Summer Theatre"
    11-27-1902 - J. Scott Smart - Philadelphia, PA - d. 1-15-1960
    actor: Senator Bloat "Fred Allen Show"; Brad Runyon "Fat Man"
    12-02-1898 - Peter Goo Chong - Miu, China - d. 1-15-1985
    actor: "Collier"s Hour"; "Eddie Cantor Show"; "This Day Is Ours"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 16:23:38 -0500
    From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
    To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Greatest Entertainer - my 2 cents

    I think we had this discussion before.   Hal Stone talked about Al Jolson,
    one of the top contenders because he had actually seen him in person and
    knew what he evoked in his audience.

    Bob Hope always gave him that title.   In fact I heard a Hope show the other
    night with Jolson as a guest in which Hope told Jolson that he had inspired
    him  and that he aspired to become the kind of entertainer that Jolson was.
    I have some Jolson CDs which make me sit up and pay attention when he sings.

    I absolutely love Sinatra but I don't even think of him for the title.   The
    same with Bing.  I was glad to see Elizabeth mention Sammy Davis Jr.   It
    seems like he unfortunately had somewhat of a 'diverted' career, compliments
    of the Rat Pack.   He was great as a kid performer too.  I saw him at
    Harrah's at Lake Tahoe and the energy he put out for the audience was
    incredible and we all left a couple of feet above the ground.   A very
    giving entertainer.
    -Irene

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 16:46:25 -0500
    From: "david rogers" <david_rogers@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Greatest Entertainer

    Elizabeth McLeod wrote:

>     If you define "Greatest Entertainer" as being a performer who has not only
>     succeeded in multiple areas of show business, but also posesses an
>     extraordinary in-person charisma that reaches down and utterly and
>     completely grabs the audience, I'd posit a four way tie between Al Jolson,
>     Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Elvis Presley.

    If this is your definition of a Great Entertainer, then I would suggest that
    all of your suggestions are laughable in comparison to Kenneth Williams.
    Movie star, theatre actor, singer, comedian, author, after dinner speaker,
    TV personality and more charisma in his little finger than all of the four
    suggestions that you mention - combined!

    Or is it just me that thinks that?

    Love as always, David Rogers

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 17:07:22 -0500
    From: "david rogers" <david_rogers@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR in education

    Ian asked about OTR in education and sadly there seems to have been few
    responses. So here goes my contribution.
    I teach English at Hanyang University, in Korea.  I teach a class called
    "Academic Writing In English" and during the semester, among other pieces of
    coursework the students have to write two extended reports.  The topics are
    deliberately obscure so that students have to do research and are not just
    writing based upon there own feelings etc.  I usually choose topics that I
    know a lot about but which the students are unfamiliar with.  A couple of
    years ago I gave one group the topic of "OTR on Usenet."  What was
    interseting from an educational point of view was the glimpse it gave of
    students into part of popular culture in the past.  Most students think that
    entertainment comes from Movies and TV and it was interesting (I hope) for
    them to see there was also a substantial history of radio entertainment.  It
    was also interesting for them to see that radio entertainment was not just
    playing popular music of the time.

>     >From there the students looked at OTR as a hobby - which I think that

    students found a bit hard to understand.  I think they were puzzled as to
    why people would make a hobby of collecting these shows (but many westerners
    that I know feel the same way).  They downloaded a show and demonstrated to
    the class how it was titled and what it all meant (date - title etc.)
    Korean students are very polite and even if they think that the teacher is
    crazy they don't often show it.  I think / hope that it gave the students a
    bit of a glimpse into western popular culture in the past as well as
    highlighting something that people collect as a hobby.
    I have toyed with the idea of giving different groups different OTR
    characters to explore.  I may try that next semester - if I do I will let
    you know.
    I don't know how my experience will help you Ian, but I gladly offer it if
    it can help you.

    Love as always, David Rogers

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 17:23:42 -0500
    From: "Jay Ranellucci" <otrfan3@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "BABE" Mary Livingstone's Sister

    Does anybody have a list of the Jack Benny shows on which she appears? or on
    which one she first spoke on?
    Thanks    Jay

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 17:24:24 -0500
    From: "Kris Stone" <anaheim47@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RE: Tony Baechler/ Jerry Haendiges

    I must say, I was really shocked to read what Tony had to say about his
    experiences with Jerry Haendiges.

    All of the material I have received from Jerry to date has been top notch.
    Considering the time and effort it takes to produce good quality CDs and
    cassettes, I think the prices are very reasonable. (Plus he will throw in a
    free CD/ cassette for every 10 that you purchase.)  What I like most about
    Jerry's way of doing business is that you do not have to pay a cent until
    you actually receive the product. He is still doing business on the honor
    system - imagine that, in this day and age!

    Further, he has it in black and white on his web page: "Simply put, you must
    be satisfied or you don't pay."

    [removed]

    I suppose everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but I have never had
    any problems with Jerry's product or his service.

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 17:24:46 -0500
    From: "Roby McHone" <otr_alaska@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  microwaveless heater

    Herb Harrison wrote about a microwaveless soup heating machine.  I have
    never seen that one but something similar.  A little over 30 years ago, I
    used to have breakfast at a local greasy spoon before going to work.  They
    had the best cinnamon rolls.  When you ordered one the waitress would impail
    it on a short spike behind the counter and it would make a loud hissing
    noise.  After a few seconds she would remove it and serve it with butter,
    the roll would be hot and moist.  I think the spike shot a semi-dry steam
    through the roll.  Herb's soup heater may have been the same type of
    machine.

    Roby McHone
    Fairbanks, Alaska

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 19:24:30 -0500
    From: "James Yellen" <clifengr3@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Bad Guys on Gangbusters

    Mark Stratton wrote recently about GANGBUSTERS:

>     I heard an episode where a couple of kids spotted somebody they had
>     heard about on Gangbusters, but really wondered how often the descriptions
>     actually helped the authorities.

    Anyone who would like to read my personal experience with looking for bad
    guys from the clues broadcast on GANGBUSTERS, is invited to go to my website
    THE WISTFUL RADIO CHRONICLES and check out Chaper 2, BULLDOG O'HARA vs THE
    ADOLESCENT CRIMEBUSTER. The website address is

    [removed]

    Thanks for looking,

    Jim Yellen

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 21:32:26 -0500
    From: Jer51473@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The greatest entertainer of all time
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    To decide, i think, one has to be objective and not just say who his own
    favorite was/is. I saw a couple of polls of sort on tv several years ago,
    actually
    they were more like panels of qualified people who were discussing this. I
    cant remember the details, but i do remember that Bing was sort of the
    consensus
    pick. The basic reasoning being his immense success in multi mediums. He was
    one of the very top radio stars for 20 years or more, plus his movie credits
    included an academy award plus a couple of nominations,   plus he was the box
    office leader a record number of times including 5-6 consecutve years. He was
    at or near the top of box office for about 15 or more years. For years the
    Guiness Book listed him as the top record seller of all time with White Xmas
    being
    the top single for years and years. I remember it being pointed out that Bing
    WAS Xmas. The opinions were not aimed at talent, but rather at the publics
    image and demand of certain entertainers. Good arguements were also presented
    for Elvis, Sinatra, Jolson, and Hope. There were many others mentioned, but
    these 5 seemed to dominate discussions. I wish i could remember the sources,
    but
    im almost sure one was a pbs show.

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