Subject: [removed] Digest V2001 #413
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 12/30/2001 9:36 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2001 : Issue 413
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Console reproductions                 [ "Robert Paine" <macandrew@[removed] ]
      Big Sister                            [ "Dave DiSisto" <ddisist1@[removed] ]
      Re: The Fathers of Radio              [ GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@ ]
      Today in Radio History                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Today in OTR History                  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Today in OTR History                  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Re: Music That Satisfies              [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Red Skelton                           [ Paulurbahn@[removed] ]
      Records probably not OTR              [ Paulurbahn@[removed] ]
      various things                        [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
      Glenn Miller broadcasts               [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
      One Man's Family                      [ Mark Justice <markjustice@[removed] ]
      Ellery Queen Minute Mysteries         [ Mark Justice <markjustice@[removed] ]
      Owen Pomeroy's "Tribute"              [ "Mike Antonucci" <[removed]@ho ]

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 13:08:58 -0500
    From: "Robert Paine" <macandrew@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Console reproductions

    I apologize that the topic is not directly related to OTR. I'm looking for
    manufacturers of reproduction console radios. One company I located makes a
    couple Crosley models at $349 and 399.

    Since I'm not sure that this belongs on the digest and so as not to tie it
    up, would anyone with information be good enough to email me?

    Thanks,
      Macandrew

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 13:09:28 -0500
    From: "Dave DiSisto" <ddisist1@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Big Sister

    I didn't see anything mentioned about the Big Sister series airing around
    the mid 60's.  I know I used to listen to it on WXKW - 1600 AM in Troy, NY,
    a 500 watt daytime station.  It was a presentation of NANA Radio I believe
    and it was part of a package of programs aired including Arch Obler's Plays.
    I know it was a new production because one day the guy at the studio
    obviously was listening.  The station was sent a master tape of the show and
    he wasn't aware that it kept starting over.  That is until, he got a call
    informing him that the actress had just cursed after the actor had blubbed
    his line several times.  Anyone have more information on these productions?

    Dave DiSisto
    ddisist1@[removed]
    [removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 13:10:02 -0500
    From: GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Re: The Fathers of Radio

         I rather dislike getting into disagreements with
    Elizabeth, for the simple reason that she knows so
    very much more about this stuff than I do that I
    usually come off sounding like an idiot.
         But I fail to see why Dr. Mahlon Loomis'
    transmission of coded electrical signals without the
    use of wires - by electrical "brute force" or not -
    makes him any less the father of radio. I wasn't
    suggesting for a minute that his system was as
    sophisticated as Golden Age radio broadcasters! But
    neither was Marconi's, for that matter.
         To say otherwise is similar to denying the
    ancient Greek engineer Heron's firmly established
    place in technological history as the father of both
    the steam engine and the vending machine - since his
    steam engine wasn't sophisticated enough to power a
    Mississippi River steamboat and his vending machine
    totally capable of dispensing Hershey bars.

         But the fact REMAINS that Loomis sent information
    THROUGH THE AIR well over three decades earlier than
    Marconi, and VOICE communications 25 years earlier
    than Marconi's coded signals. (Those voice
    communications covered a distance of 20 miles.)

         Sincerely,
         George Wagner
         GWAGNEROLDTIMERADIO@[removed]
         poetdreamerscholar@[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 13:10:44 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Today in Radio History

      From Those Were The Days, for 12/31 --

    1940 - As a result of a dispute between the radio networks and ASCAP
    (the American Society of Composers and Publishers), the radio industry
    was prevented from playing any ASCAP-licensed music. The ban lasted for
    ten months. An ASCAP competitor, BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) made
    giant strides, expanding to include 36,000 copyrights. Many radio
    stations had to resort to playing public domain songs, such as marches
    and operas, to keep their stations on the air. Even kids songs were
    played over and over again until the ban was lifted. One of the most
    popular songs to be played was Happy Birthday to You; which was
    performed in many different languages just to get past the ban. The
    original song is now, in fact, a copyrighted piece of music, though it
    wasn’t at the time.

    1951 - Because of the success of the TV version of Wild Bill Hickok
    (April, 1951 - 1958), the series came to radio. Guy Madison (Wild Bill)
    and Andy Devine (sidekick, Jingles) starred on the Mutual network show
    (as well as in the syndicated TV version). The western remained on the
    radio for five years.

      Joe (Happy New Year everyone!)

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 13:11:01 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Today in OTR History

      From Those Were The Days --

    1945 - The mystery voice of Mr. Hush was heard for the first time on the
    radio show, Truth or Consequences, hosted by Ralph Edwards. The feature
    was intended as a spoof of giveaway shows. However, the idea was taken
    seriously and lasted five weeks before fighter Jack Dempsey was
    identified as Mr. Hush -- for a prize of $13,500.

      Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 13:11:21 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Today in OTR History

      From Those Were The Days, for 12/30 --

    1936 - The famous feud between Jack Benny and Fred Allen was ignited.
    After a 10-year-old performer finished a violin solo on The Fred Allen
    Show, Mr. Allen said, “A certain alleged violinist should hide his head
    in shame for his poor fiddle playing.” It didn’t take long for Mr. Benny
    to respond. The humorous feud lasted for years on both comedian’s radio
    shows.

    1942 - Mr. and Mrs. North debuted on NBC radio. Joseph Curtin played
    Jerry North and Alice Frost played Pam. A typical Mr. and Mrs. North
    episode would find Pam leading Jerry on what seemed to be a wild-goose
    chase as they tracked down criminals. Pam always ended up being right
    and leading police to the criminals. The theme song for the show was The
    Way You Look Tonight. Sponsors included Woodbury soap, Jergens lotion
    and Halo shampoo.

      Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 13:12:00 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Re: Music That Satisfies

    Dave Walter wrote:

> >     1939 - The Glenn Miller Show, also known as Music that Satisfies,
> >     started on CBS radio. The 15-minute, twice-a-week show was sponsored by
> >     Chesterfield cigarettes and was heard for nearly three years.

>     Would this have been an early name for the series? Every aircheck I've ever
>     encountered for it bore the title "The Chesterfield Moonlight Serenade"
>     (although this could have been a later title to differentiate the CBS show

    >from Miller's simultaneously-running Saturday evening NBC Blue Network

>     series "Sunset Serenade"). Also, it was three-nights-a-week (Tuesday,
>     Wednesday and Thursday), not only two.

    "Music That Satisfies" was a different series entirely -- it was a
    nightly variety program sponsored by Chesterfield that began in 1931 and
    ran into 1933 over CBS. The cast changed over the course of the run -- it
    began as a showcase for Nat Shilkret's Orchestra and
    musical-comedy/operetta baritone Alexander Gray, and subsequently evolved
    into a vehicle for Bing Crosby and the Boswell Sisters. Norman
    Brokenshire remained constant thru the run as announcer.

    What was important about this series is that it was part of a brief
    Depression-era trend toward packing a full variety program into a
    fifteen-minute time slot -- the idea being that this was a more efficient
    use of the sponsor's money than a weekly hour or half hour program. In
    mid-1931 both R. J. Reynolds (Camels) and Ligget and Myers (Chesterfield)
    tried this idea, with the "Camel Quarter Hour" program built around
    Morton Downey and Tony Wons. The Camel and Chesterfield shows were
    essentially carbon copies of each other in terms of format, and they led
    to what was known in agency circles as the great "Nicotine War" of 1932,
    with the two series jockeying back and forth for ratings points.

    The series also began a long association for Chesterfield with musical
    programs -- over the years, they also sponsored Andre Kostelanetz, Paul
    Whiteman, Harry James, and Fred Waring (the latter series having the
    distinction of being the only program ever to beat "Amos 'n' Andy" in the
    7 pm weeknight time slot) as well as Glenn Miller. I don't believe any of
    these later shows used "Music That Satisfies" as a primary title,
    although it may have turned up as an internal slogan, given that
    Chesterfield's primary advertising theme was always "They Satisfy."

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 13:26:59 -0500
    From: Paulurbahn@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Red Skelton

>     I have heard talk of Red Skelton commenting on the Pledge of
>     Allegence.  Was that OTR, if so, does anybody know where/what date/what
>     show etc.

    The story I heard was he did it on his TV show and Columbia decided to issue
    it as a record. I assume he did an album of spoken stuff. But the 45 rpm
    record is a studio recording not a radio broadcast. You can hear it at:
    [removed]

    Paul Urbahns

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 14:12:12 -0500
    From: Paulurbahn@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Records probably not OTR

    Deric wrote:

>     1.  My wife says that she heard a recording of "The Invisible Man" and
>     "Journey to the center of the Earth".  She was wondering if that was OTR.
>     She asked me, but I've only been in this hobby about ten years and just
>     started getting good tapes from a great distributor, so I didn't know.

    Paul Urbahns responds:
    The most common recordings of these stories was part of a series produced by
    Adventure Records in the early 60s in New York City. The background music was
    from classic music and the actors were top notch. My guess is the actors were
    from radio but I have not been able to find anyone with any knowledge of
    these releases. As a teenager in the early 60s (before VCRs) these
    commerically produced audio dramas held me spellbound at the family record
    player.
    The sories were first issued on Adventure Records with serious looking covers
    and probably sold to the same crowd as Classics Illustrated Comics. They were
    reissued in the late 60s when Batman was popular under the High Camp
    Adventure series on the Bell label. Apparently Bell owned the Adventure
    Records because some of the Bell releases have Adventure disks inside. The
    last I saw them available (again on record) was in the 1970s by Wonderland
    Records.
    Here is a complete discography so far. Yes I have all the original six
    adventure series:

    Adventure Records series
    An Adventure Story In Sound
    by Bell Records, 1776 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
    Adv Recs #1 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
    Adv Recs #2 Invisible Man
    Adv Recs #3 First Man In The Moon
    Adv Recs #4 Journey To the Center Of The Earth
    Adv Recs #5 War Of The Worlds
    Adv Recs #6 Around The World In 80 Days

    High Camp Adventure
    by Bell Records, 1776 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

    Bell Adv #1     20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
    Bell Adv #2 Invisible Man
    Bell Adv #3 First Man In the Moon
    Bell Adv #4 Journey To the Center Of The Earth
    Bell Adv #5 War Of The Worlds
    Bell Adv #6     Around the World In 80 Days

    Golden Classics Story Teller Series license through Classics Illustrated
    Comics (retail price: $[removed]) - 1966
    SLP-189 Black Beauty
    SLP-190 Mutiny On the Bounty
        Album credits: Voices Of Clyde Carter, Fred Feldt, Edward Furbush,
    Frederick Hall, George Ogee, Susanne Rouse, Jerry Terheyden.
        Adapted and Directed by: Bonnie Costello
        Music by: Frank Owens
        Produced by: LeRoy Holmes
    SLP-191 Time Machine
    SLP-192 Call Of The Wild

    Wonderland Records
    Great Movie Adventures in Sound And Story (1973)
    Copyright [removed] Records Inc. 250 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019
    A combination of the above series.
    LP-289 Mutiny On The Bounty
        Featuring: The Wonderland Imagination Theater
    LP- Black Beauty
    LP- Call Of The Wild
    LP= Time Machine
    LP- 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
    LP- Invisible Man
    LP-298  First Man on The Moon (1974)
        Featuring: the Wonderland Adventure Theater
    LP- Journey To The Center Of The Earth
    LP-     War Of The Worlds
    LP-     Around The WorldIn 80 Days

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 14:30:31 -0500
    From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: various things

    First off, I'd like to thank Ms McLeod for finally helping me figure out
    what's with modern literary criticism.  All that de-constructionist stuff
    made no sense to me at all.  It doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense even
    now, but at least I have a sense of what those people over in the English
    Department are up to.

    Poor Nikola Tesla.  He was a genius.  And, like many geniuses, he lost the
    majority of his wits in middle age, never to recover.  What was unusual was
    his longevity: he lived until his 80's.  This gave the gang of hangers-on
    years of opportunity to louse up his reputation as a perfectly rational
    theorist and engineer.  The Internet has picked up where the hangers-on left
    off, and now the fastest way to get to a pseudo-science web site is to do a
    search on 'Tesla.'

    The controversy over the "father of radio" is typical of the sort of
    argument you hear amongst people who haven't done any scientific research.
    They thus get their impression of scientific procedure from movies, whose
    writers don't know about it, either.  A lot of the stuff concerning science
    that you hear in contremporary movies, TV, or even radio shows comes right
    out of 19th-century science fiction and early movies.

    There is the evil genius, as defined by Dr Frankenstein and all of the
    scientists in Jules Verne's work.  There's the lonely, romantic rebel
    genius, first seen in movie form when Paul Muni played Pasteur.  And there
    are the scientific conferences, best seen in old Batman comics as well as
    the movies that inspired them: guys in top hats and cutaway jackets and
    striped pants denouncing the rebel scientist before the great scientific
    banquet.  (The science people I know would _love_ to go to one of those.)

    Well, it doesn't work that way.  While there are indeed professional
    rivalries and some fairly low characters in research, nobody ever gets much
    of anything done without
    fairly active consultation from others in the same field of endeavor.  This
    is a dull concept for fans of competitive sports and other conflict-related
    activities, so you don't see many shows entitled, "Research! The Hunt for
    Anomalous Scale Patterns on Eastern Fresh Water Minnows!" or "Twelve Nights
    in the Lab Getting the Instrumentation to Work!"
    (I starred in that last one myself.)

    So don't worry about the Father of Radio.  Science works pretty much like a
    flock of birds fly: a few start off in one direction and fly back to the
    tree.  Then a few more try another direction and come back to consult.  Then
    a few more go a bit farther.  Finally, they all fly off to their
    destination.

    One of the most interesting descriptions I read of Lucille Ball is that she
    wasn't a particularly witty or humorous person in her daily life.  She was,
    it said, a very serious, very exacting performer who found that comedy
    provided the best work for a visual female performer even as she aged.

    M Kinsler

    512 E Mulberry St. Lancaster, Ohio USA 740 687 6368
    [removed]~kinsler

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 14:56:07 -0500
    From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Glenn Miller broadcasts

    Joe Mackey  said :

>     The Glenn Miller show also known as" Music that
>     Satisfies" started on CBS radio. The 15-minute, twice weekly show was
>     sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes and was heard for nearly three
>     years.

    Actually as Dave Walter pointed out the Miller shows were not called
    "The Music that Satisfies". The program  was called " Chesterfields
    Moonlight Serenade" from the very first show,which began on 12-27-39.
    The first week it was heard once on Weds. night from 8:30 pm to 9:00pm
    for the east coast and was then repeated at 11:30pm to12:00 midnight for
    the west coast. This was because Miller had replaced Paul Whiteman who
    was on that Weds. nite spot for Chesterfield previously.

    By the 2nd week the sponsor had decided on a 3 a week 15 min. schedule
    which  was heard Tues., Weds. and Thurs. nites until [removed] when
    Miller broke up the band to enter into the [removed] Army. While in New York
    the shows originated from the CBS Playhouse which was at first on 53rd.
    and Broadway, and later on [removed] st. Paul Douglas was usually the
    announcer for the shows while in New York and Chesterfields own Larry
    Bruff most often did the announcing when the band was on the road.
    In addition to these "MoonLight Serenade" shows, the band also broadcast
    from the Cafe Rouge of the Hotel Pennsylvania ( whose phone number
    Pennsylvania 65000, Miller was to make famous ) on Monday , Friday and
    Saturday nights for 30 mins. ea. over NBC during the winter months while
    the band was headquartered in NY.

    His  "Sunset Serenades" which were broadcast Saturday afternoons for 30
    minutes  on NBC and later Mutual, did not begin until August 30 1941.

    George Aust

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 15:20:10 -0500
    From: Mark Justice <markjustice@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: One Man's Family

    This is a show I've read so much about but never heard. Can anyone direct me to a
    few episodes? Another show I've never been able to find is Tom Mix. any episodes
    out there?
    Thanks,
    Mark

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

    Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 15:32:33 -0500
    From: Mark Justice <markjustice@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject: Ellery Queen Minute Mysteries

>     And during the 1960s, Dannay and Lee (creators of EQ), rented their hero for
>     use in a syndicated package of one-minute mysteries, of which none of them
>     have had any direct involvement with.  Most of these episodes seem to have
>     survived, supposedly 312 are circulating, and although the titles were given
>     during the opening scene of each episode, does anyone know anything about
>     this series? cast? episode numbers? production info?

    While I can't provide any of the information you've asked for, I do have to mention
    that Ellery Queen was directly responsible for my own radio career. In the Fall of
    1976, WCAK-FM in Catlettsburg, KY was running Ellery Queen Minute Mysteries
    Monday-Friday on the evening shift. My brother had found the show by accident and,
    knowing I was a big fan of the Queen books, clued me in. After the opening mystery,
    the station would take calls for the correct answer. Once a winner was found,
    "Ellery" would reveal the solution. It was a small station and I may have been the
    only listener who called, since I won every night for a month. The station had a
    policy against winning more than once each 30 days, so I used the names of various
    school chums, all of whom enjoyed free pizzas and movie tickets. Eventually the DJ
    invited me up to see that station, my first glimpse of a studio. And, even though
    the station was filled with crappy Sparta equipment and was directly below the
    dance floor of the local Elks club, I fell in love. 25 years later, I'm still going
    strong. Thanks, Ellery!
    Best,
    Mark

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

    Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2001 11:24:36 -0500
    From: "Mike Antonucci" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject: Owen Pomeroy's "Tribute"

    My dad and I read your poem 'Tribute' about OTR, and we thought it was a
    great piece.
    thanks for telling 'the list' about it! I'm 15, and love
    listening to my dad's old radio shows. War Of The Worlds was one of my
    fav's, I remember listening to it Christmas Eve a few years back. Thanks
    again!

    Rachel
     PS. This is Rachel's Dad adding that Owen also wrote a nice piece called
    "Jolie" Check it out at the same site.  Mike

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2001 Issue #413
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