------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 01 : Issue 126
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Freeman Gosden's Daughter Linda ["David H. Buswell" <dbuswell@rivnet]
The Shadow [bkeller@[removed] (Bob Keller)]
Halls of Ivy again ["J. Randolph Cox" <cox@[removed]]
OTR audio quality ["Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed]]
Cars and radio reception [Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed]]
Roni Bowers [ClifSr@[removed] ]
scripts wanted [Gordon R Payton <thescifiguy@[removed]]
Fred Berney's Scifi Collection [Gordon R Payton <thescifiguy@[removed]]
More great shows ["Ken Kay" <kenwyn@[removed]; ]
SLAVE/MASTER DUPLICATE RECORDINGS ["Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed]; ]
CINCY CONVENTION ["stephen jansen" <stephenjansen@ema]
bon ton ["Doug Leary" <dleary@[removed]; ]
The Swingin' Years [steve mcguffin <earl22002@[removed]]
Reply [William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];]
Mayor of the Town [ArtsMilitaria@[removed] (Arthur Fun]
Advertising slogan query [Mary Hanley <MarkVII@[removed];]
The Return of The Shadow? ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
Perspective [JackBenny@[removed] ]
Mayor of the Town Info [Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed]]
and the $64 question [removed] ["Art Shifrin" <goldens2@[removed]]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 08:40:42 -0400
From: "David H. Buswell" <dbuswell@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Freeman Gosden's Daughter Linda
I happened to watch the old film "Barbarians at the Gate" the other evening
with James Garner as H. Ross Johnson, the Ceo of Reynolds Tobacco. The
film, some may recall, concerned itself with coporate raider Henry Kravitz's
hostile takeover of R. [removed] in the 90s. Featured in the film was
Joanna Cassidy who played Linda Gosden Robinson, the wife of Jim Robinson,
CEO of American Express and a player in the takeover.
Linda Robinson is the daughter of Freeman Gosden of Amos n' Andy fame and
she was not treated well in the film. She was portrayed as a controlling
New York PR type who brooked no nonsense from her hapless husband (played by
now Senator Fred Thompson).
I wonder if Elizbeth, the resident A&A expert, has any information on Mr.
Gosden's progeny minus any Hollywood slant.
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 09:24:17 -0400
From: bkeller@[removed] (Bob Keller)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Shadow
Re: Steve's question about David soul playing the [removed]
Last month a British science fiction media magazine, SFX, carried a very
brief report last month that he was involved in an audio project. Whether
this will be in a radio format, or audio-only adventures like those they
are making (with some apparent success) for the Dr. Who character, wasn't
clarified in the story.
Bob Keller
Waukesha, Wisc.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 09:39:09 -0400
From: "J. Randolph Cox" <cox@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Halls of Ivy again
Take a look at Sam Frank's _Ronald Colman: a Bio-Bilbiography_ for a history
of the Halls of Ivy. It was created by Don Quinn who wanted to be remembered
for more than Fibber McGee and Molly.
Randy Cox
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 10:26:00 -0400
From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR audio quality
Asks Troy:
My question is for those of you who are old enough to remember OTR in it's
hay day. I've been back on the list for two or three days and I've seen a
couple of posts about not always having good sound on OTR shows when they
were actually on radio and since I'm not old enough to know, I was just
wondering how bad the quality of some of the stations were that some of you
listened to. Was there just a lot of static? Did the show fade in and
out? Was there audio from other stations bleeding over the station that
you were listening to?
In general, I believe that the audio quality of AM radio in, say, the 1940's
wasn't vastly different from what it is today. My own experience goes back
to the early 1950's, and I recall Gildersleeve, One Man's Family, and the
soap operas quite well. They sounded like, well, radio, pretty much like it
is today.
We know the technical specifications for the various audio lines,
transmitters, and receivers used way back then, and they were roughly
comparable to what might be considered acceptable for an AM station today.
Mr Murtough would be able to elaborate further, of course.
As to the quality of the program sources, it's my impression that taped
shows (which began with Bing Crosby's) would have sounded a bit better than
those recorded on disc. However, I doubt that any of the shows I heard
originated on anything but tape, so I'm not in a position to judge. Dr Biel
and Ms McLeod have said that good disc recordings sounded very good.
One of the difficulties, besides poor memory, in making judgements in
relative audio quality was that many of the improvements were incremental:
wire lines were replaced by coaxial cable, phonograph cartridges and
microphones improved, low-noise vacuum tubes and resistors were introduced,
studio sound-proofing improved, and people gained experience in every aspect
of production. So I'm certain that audio quality improved from the 1920's
to the 1950's, but it's very difficult to find out how much and when.
A few things we do know, and I speak under correction, as the old British
naval officers used to say, from the authorities:
When radio was introduced in the 1920's, everyone marveled at the quality
of the sound as compared to that available from the phonographs available
then.
There was a series of demonstrations of high-fidelity sound made in New
York City in the late 1940's (I think.) A real orchestra was used, but it
was hidden behind baffles designed to lower the audio quality such that
the audience heard what contemporary phonographs (and presumably radios)
produced at that time.
There is an oft-repeated quote from somewhere about the audio tape
machines used by the Germans in World War II for their music (and
presumably propaganda) broadcasts. It was said that the Allies thought
that the music was being broadcast live because the audio quality of the
broadcasts was so good.
So why do our current transcriptions sound so poor by comparison? I don't
really know, though I'm sure that others do. My guess is that many were
originally made off the air with home disk-recording equipment, which had
been sold for many years. These recordings would contain fade-outs and
cross-talk from other stations, especially if they were made at great
distances from the broadcasting station. It's possible that some of these
recordings could have been made with the object of proving one of the usual
brags of the time: that _my_ radio can pick up stations from a thousand
miles away, and here's the recording to prove it: Fibber McGee and Molly,
broadcast from Chicago as heard in Denver.
I wonder how radio sound compared to movie sound of the time?
M Kinsler
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 10:57:30 -0400
From: Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Cars and radio reception
[removed]@[removed]
had George Aust saying:
.....The same cannot be said for listening in the car. That was a
frustrating experience with overhead telephone/electric lines
causing terrible buzzing which completely drown out the program > you were
trying to listen to. And going into a tunnel or under a > bridge ( which we
have alot of here ) completely stopped all > reception.
George Aust
It wasn't always the case driving through tunnels presented a
barrier to one's radio reception. I noticed quite readily that
whenever driving through tunnels, say in the Los Angeles
downtown area that shared a right of way with the city's trolley
cars, the trolley wire up high would radiate the signal down to
the aerials of the automobiles also inside the tunnel, so one
would never miss a word of Nick Carter, or the shadow. When we
lost our trolley system, we lost a lot of reception as well.
CAB
--
conradab@[removed] (Conrad A. Binyon)
From the Home of the Stars who loved Ranches and Farms
Encino, California.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 10:57:32 -0400
From: ClifSr@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Roni Bowers
My town, Muskegon, Michigan and the nearby village of Fruitport have
unfortunately become nationally known through the tragic death of Roni Bowers
and her child. I have a friend and fellow former broadcaster, very active in
Roni's home church in Fruitport, who is willing to correspond by e-mail or
ham radio with anyone interested in his knowledge of the event. Please
contact me personally for his screen name.
Clif Martin
ClifSr@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 11:31:26 -0400
From: Gordon R Payton <thescifiguy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: scripts wanted
I provided a fellow named Glenn Kalison some of my scripts to lost Lights
Out shows last year so that the students at the California university,
that he's either a student or an instructor at, could do re-enactments of
them, thereby bringing back to life stories that haven't been heard in 60
years. Our deal was that he got the scripts for free as long as he sent
me a CD or tape copy of the performance.
This offer remains open to any other amateur dramatists out there.
Contact me if you're interested.
Now that he's done them, he would like to try out some other genres like
Suspense and Columbia Workshop. I don't keep records of the various OTR
website offerings out there, but I know that a lot of you offer free
script downloads on your sites. Could those of you who have scripts to
offer please contact him at: glennkalison@[removed] and let him know
what you've got?
I feel that it is of utmost importance that attempt to re-enact LOST
shows. It's all well and good to redo existing shows, but this doesn't do
the hobby much good. For one thing, they're rarely BETTER than the
originals, so what's the point? There are gazillions of lost shows that
we have the scripts to but no surviving shows. There've been many lists
generated of what people consider to be the best radio shows ever done,
but those are based upon the SURVIVING SHOWS ONLY. Until we can hear the
lost shows, we really can't make a definitive list, can we? I recently
managed to get the very well known lost episode of the Lights Out show,
Chicken Heart, redone in it's entirety by the Gotham Radio
Players(shortened versions from LP do exist) and they did a really fine
job of it. We should make a concerted effort to do this with other lost
shows.
I would be particularly happy if that person out there, who has that
website with the lost I Love a Mystery scripts, would contact Glenn to
see if we can get some of those redone. What we have surviving from ILAM
is pitiful, considering how well-loved it is.
Thanks,
The Scifi Guy
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 11:31:28 -0400
From: Gordon R Payton <thescifiguy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Fred Berney's Scifi Collection
In reference to Fred Berney's( berney@[removed] ):
""The 60 Greatest Old Time Radio Shows from Science Fiction Selected
by Ray Bradbury"
<<<About 15 years ago, I produced a set of audio cassettes called RADIO'S
GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION. I don't have any big names behind it, like
Ray Bradbury, but I did my own narration and went into my vast library of
science fiction books to find the original stories that the radio
programs
were based on and gave little background info between the [removed];>>
To those of you who don't have the collection mentioned above, I HIGHLY
recommend it. It's a MUST have. To this day I can't place some of the
shows that are featured in it. I'd swear that some of them are lost and
I'll always wonder where Fred got them. Fred is a SUPERBE narrator and
the collection is laid out in an orderly fashion that explores various
aspects of science fiction on the radio and the genre in general. Whether
you're into scifi or not, you'll LOVE this collection. Every OTR
collector should contact Fred to obtain a copy. It comes in a nice little
bookshelf binder.
I lent it to a friend at work one time, who was definitely not a scifi
fan, and when he was done he said that it was great, but that it pissed
him off because he'd just start getting into a show and then it would end
and another one would start. That's what is so good about the collection.
Fred selected 5-10 minutes of key passages of dialogue from various shows
and strung them all together with some insightful comments. Because it's
mostly just the "good stuff", it moves briskly and methodically,
clustering shows of similar concepts together into a virtual treatise on
the subject of radio scifi. I could NEVER do a better job myself, even
though far more radio scifi is now available than was available when Fred
put the collection together.
It's excellent "brain food" and everyone should contact him immediately
to get a copy.
Someone yesterday mentioned the Captain Jupiter segment of the Big John
and Sparky show. This is another Fred Berney exclusive. The segment, as
part of a longer kids sort of "variety show", was basically about Sparky
relating the plot twists of that week's installment of a FICTICIOUS
science fiction/adventure([removed] space opera) movie serial that was
supposedly playing at the local movie house. It was a far-fetched and
bombastic story line with our lantern-jawed hero righting all sorts of
wrongs and thwarting the bad guys.
Fred has extracted 50-100 segments of these monologues from consequitive
broadcasts of Big John and Sparky and they are offered on two 90m
cassettes. Interesting stuff for those who like a good Space Opera.
The Scifi Guy
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 11:51:51 -0400
From: "Ken Kay" <kenwyn@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: More great shows
Thanks to Jeff and all concerned for yesterday's arrival of 4 CDs of Red
Skelton, Harris/Faye, Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best and My Favorite
Husband.
Ken Kay
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 12:07:34 -0400
From: "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: SLAVE/MASTER DUPLICATE RECORDINGS
in all the postings i have seen about recording otr programs, there
has not been any mention of high-speed recording for duplication. this
method saves time, if you are making copies for tape trades, otr club
members, sales, etc. some years ago, our club librarian purchased a
slave/master dupe recorder that copies up to six casettes at one time in
high speed format. (60 minute tape in 60 seconds, 30 minute tape in 30
seconds and 90 minute tape in 90 seconds.) i do not know if these
high-speed duplicators are still on the market or not, but i understand that
at one time, many radio stations had r to r high-speed duplicators to make
back-up copies of programs. my question is this: is the quality of the tape
affected in any way? (the reason for the question is we have not had any
"feedback" with the high-speed dupes) from ny of our club members.
Owens L. Pomeroy
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 14:43:08 -0400
From: "stephen jansen" <stephenjansen@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: CINCY CONVENTION
Hello, all!
Just a post so I can gush about the Cincinnati convention - it was the
GREATEST! I don't know how it compared to other conventions in the past
(this was my first - Barry Hill, one of the dealers there, shouted out
"VIRGIN!" in an attempt to embarrass me), but I was just thrilled with this
one.
I don't think I could find a nicer bunch of people anywhere - almost
every other event I've been to has had somebody somewhere who is
angry/rude/impatient/nasty/whatevertheirproblemis - but everyone
(conventiongoers, dealers, radio stars, even the hotel staff) was pleasant
and in a fine mood.
My sister and I had NO TIME to relax, getting there at 3pm Chicago time
was actually 4pm Cincy time, and we had to run to get in on the auditions
for the recreations. Hated being late, but there was no way we were going
to miss those auditions! I don't know how the director was able to listen
to so many voices in so short a time, and still be able to pick out the best
for each show. But he must have done an excellent job, because all of the
shows went so well! I even got to fill in at the last minute for someone
who didn't show up for his role (hope everything is alright with him) and
got to enjoy a glorious COLD READ (which I love!).
We got to hang out with Gordon Payton (the SciFi Guy), who was a hoot!
Wotta character! The three of us just seemed to click, the conversation was
effortless, we cracked each other up. We shall all meet again (at the
Jersey convention?)! I didn't even realize at the time it was Gordon who
wrote the CBS Radio Mystery Theatre guide (and probably plenty more which I
am forgetting to realize right now). And thank you again for dinner, you're
a great cook! Good luck with your move, and when you're more settled, I
will get LOTS from your (amazing) catalog.
Also joined the Radio Listeners Lycaeum (the WHAT?!?!?), talked to many
people about "just what is this mp3 stuff?", found a bunch of great OTR that
I had trouble finding elsewhere, picked up tips on radio directing, closed
my eyes and time travelled with the Boogie Woogie Girls (what incredibly
beautiful harmonies!), AND got some nice stuff in the raffle.
A great time, a great bunch of people, a great hobby, what more could
anyone ask? I'm going to this every year. Thanks to everyone that made it
happen.
Also, I've got a bunch of pictures that I took, and nowhere to post
them on the internet. Anyone interested, let me know, I'll send them to
you.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 14:43:21 -0400
From: "Doug Leary" <dleary@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: bon ton
I never heard the term "bon ton" until reading about it on this list
yesterday morning. Later in the day, waiting at a stoplight in north
Seattle, I was surprised to behold the Bon Ton Dry Cleaners. From its
overall appearance it is one of those places about which the only thing
"bon" is the name. A tradition lives on!
Doug Leary
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 14:43:50 -0400
From: steve mcguffin <earl22002@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Swingin' Years
I hope this isn't considered too far off subject, but
there used to be a syndicated program carried by a
Charlottesville, VA radio station called The Swingin'
Years. The host was, I think, Chuck Cecil, and it was
excellent, including air checks of the big bands,
interviews with bandleaders and musicians, etc. It
also aired on Sunday nights on WBT Charlotte, but
these two stations totally eliminated music from their
formats several years ago. I have searched in vain
for info regarding this show. Is it still on the air?
Is there a web link to it? Any information would be
greatly appreciated - this was a great show and I
really miss it. My apologies again if this is too far
off subject.
Steve
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 15:06:50 -0400
From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Reply
About my posting about Desi and Lucy having a new network show originally
entitled "The Cugats", it had nothing to do with "My Favorite Husband".
Eric must have been reading those books again.
The time was between 1945 and 1951, when I had been transferred from CBS,
New York, to CBS, Hollywood. I quite regulary manned the KNX master
control room on Sunday afternoons, switching the
Jack Benny, Red Skelton, and Corliss Archer shows to the various sections
of the Network. I was there! I do recall very vividly that the Desi and
Lucy radio show was originally called the Cugats and the confusion that
it caused, and the change in the of the name of the program.
By the way, I had known Desi for many years. First when he was appearing
in a vaudeville show in New York. My disc jockey friend, Dick Gilbert
(who sang with the records) was the MC. I had assembled a portable set of
equipment so that Dick could do his record show from remotes. Dick, Desi,
and I would have dinner together. It was on this assignment where I met
Renee, my first wife. We were married about three years later. It was
while doing that remote that "Pearl Harbor" happened. I recall that Desi
borrowed my portable radio to listen to the news. It was that night that
Lucille joined him. She had been on a road trip. No more dinners with
Desi. We comunicated through his valet!
By the way, the "logs" that the fans refer to are not official FCC logs
(program and transmitter). They are forms filled out by the "AD"s showing
the details including the names of the talent for pay purposes. The AD's
were network employees whose duty also was to keep track of the program
timing, advising the director. AD stood for associate director.
Originally they were called "production men" but through a contract
negotion obtained the more important sounding title.
BILL MURTOUGH
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 15:37:21 -0400
From: ArtsMilitaria@[removed] (Arthur Funk)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Mayor of the Town
I second the motion. This is a really warm program which provides
insight into life on the homefront during WWII.
Regards to all,
Art Funk
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 17:32:07 -0400
From: Mary Hanley <MarkVII@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Advertising slogan query
Hello, everyone,
I'm not exactly new to the list, but I think this may be the first time
I've posted here. A question came up among animation fans about the
slogan "Does your tobacco taste different lately?" No one knew which
cigarette used this slogan. I thought someone here might be able to
help.
Thanks,
Steve Smith
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 18:45:22 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Return of The Shadow?
Steven Murphy notes,
Last month or so David (Hutch) Saul was being interviewed on BBC radio.
<snip> [H]e enjoyed The Shadow as a youngster and stated that he was
interested in producing updated versions. He suggested that he was in
talks with the BBC about this project.
Well ... however, the rights to The Shadow belong to a publishing house
(Dell, I think), and producing a new radio series would probably be in
violation of existing copyrights.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 19:22:43 -0400
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Perspective
I was catching up on some Digests and saw the discussion about the concept of
"seeing" kids getting dressed in their rooms, the question of are we "reading
today's morals into yesterday's actions", etc.
Last night I came across a three-record set that my mother had given to me
when I was about eight or nine, called "25 Years of Recorded Comedy". I used
to play parts of it endlessly, so I started to listen to a few cuts.
Some things I remembered brilliantly, like Allan Sherman's "Hello Muddah
Hello Faddah", Lily Tomlin's "Mister Veedle", and Kermit Schaefer's
"Bloopers". Some things like Vaughn Meader's "Executive Lunch" (JFK taking
lunch orders from gathered world leaders) made me wonder how I could possibly
have appreciated it at the time.
Then I started to listen to cuts that I didn't remember, like Cheech and
Chong's "Sergeant Stadanko", Firesign Theatre's "High School Madness", and
Lenny Bruce. Some things made my eyebrows raise that my mother was OK with
my hearing it at the time (like a completely different take on the meaning of
Henry Aldrich's "Coming, Mother!"). However, I had no clue what it meant at
the time. I didn't "get" the off-color material, so I simply didn't listen
to it.
I think that we can consider the "prying eyes" question along the same lines.
Many kids may just not process it like adults would.
-L. Leff
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 19:32:33 -0400
From: Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Mayor of the Town Info
[removed]@[removed] Dennis Crow wrote:
Another program with the same sentimental flavor as "The Halls of Ivy" is
"Mayor of the Town," with Lionel Barrymore. He lives in a big old house on
Elm Street (maybe it's Main Street). He has a carping housekeeper [ Agnes
Moorehead], and a bratty nephew [Conrad Binyon]. They're both delightful
to listen to. The good mayor intervenes in the lives of his constituents
and dispenses good, old-fashioned wisdom. He is very much against
convention.
Many of these programs are available.
Dennis Crow
------------------------------
To nip information about the Mayor of the Town not exactly on
track before it becomes old enough to perhaps influence what is
thought to be the common knowledge I submit the following:
The "Mayor", his name never was revealed to my recollection, he
was always addressed as "Mayor", or described as "our Mayor,"
indeed lived on Elm Street, in fact the northeast corner of the
intersection of Elm and First Street to be exact. His
housekeeper and cook, Marilly really didn't find as much fault
as she was desirous of having the household run at a smooth pace.
To that end she'd interject her suggestions thereupon. To label
that "carping" is I feel a bit unfair to Agnes Moorehead's
characterization of "Marilly." The character of "Butch" which
I had the honor to portray was not the Mayor's nephew, but the
Mayor's "ward," a child who had been legally placed under
guardian control of the Mayor by the family court. The Mayor
became Butch's guardian when his parents were killed in an
automobile accident near the outskirts of Springdale. The
Mayor revealed that information to the young lad atop a ferris
wheel at the county fairgrounds. Butch's real name was Roscoe
Gardiner, and he had no other relatives he could turn to. I
never played the character as a brat. I made him curious,
industrious, compassionate, sometimes reluctant, but I never
wanted listeners to not like him. As for the Mayor being against
convention, I'd say he exhibited an open mind willing to forgo
sometimes the traditional approach to problem solving, but he
always attempted to produce the best results for the individuals
involved. I believe he succeeded for the most part, after all
he did keep getting reelected. *Grin*
CAB
--
conradab@[removed] (Conrad A. Binyon)
From the Home of the Stars who loved Ranches and Farms
Encino, California.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 19:48:39 -0400
From: "Art Shifrin" <goldens2@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: and the $64 question [removed]
Why that amount? Did it have a significance at that time?
Best,
Shiffy
website: [removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #126
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