Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #169
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 4/21/2003 11:35 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 169
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      RADIO DRAMA book                      [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Re: Future Directions of the OTR Hob  [ GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@ ]
      MP3 downloads                         [ "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed]; ]
      Re: Convention                        [ Tedshumaker@[removed] ]
      otr future                            [ michael berger <intercom1@attglobal ]
      One Last Cincy Story: Vic & Sade      [ danhughes@[removed] ]
      Re - Future directions of the OTR ho  [ "david rogers" <david_rogers@hotmai ]
      Carl Froelich, Jr                     [ Philipmarus@[removed] ]
      re: Future of the Hobby               [ "Ryan Hall" <rhall2@[removed]; ]
      Re: King Cole Playing Piano for A&A   [ Kcpymurphy@[removed] ]
      Gas Rationing                         [ Ken Dahl <kdahl@[removed]; ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Another sound booth story             [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
      Re: Gasoline Rationing                [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 00:21:15 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RADIO DRAMA book

    For any interested parties:
    I received a letter from McFarland Publishers this week.  It appears that
    they are discontinuing one of my books, RADIO DRAMA.  As of the next few
    weeks, they will cease offering it - the book is officially out of print
    now.  I am posting this as an FYI for anyone who has been meaning to check
    out the book.  RADIO DRAMA retails for $[removed] plus postage on [removed]
    (last I saw) but the publishers sent me a notice that I, being the author,
    can purchase copies of the book for $[removed] plus postage (at McFarland price
    means a little under $[removed] a copy).

    Problem is, I have to purchase a minimum of 20 copies.  I failed to keep a
    couple copies of the book myself - I gave away the two personal copies I had
    paid back a favor and another friend had his stolen from him.  But I really
    can't drive myself to buying two at regular price.  I only get the "author's
    discount" if I buy 20 or more copies.  So I'm tossing this feeler out.  If
    anyone is interested in buying a copy at $[removed] plus postage (this means I
    am getting no profit out of this - just offering a chance for any OTR fans
    to get the book at one-third the regular retail - and this is a last-chance
    opportunity), please contact me off line.  I would need 18 people wanting a
    copy to make it worth going in on and this has to be a pre-pay thing as
    McFarland wants me to pre-pay by early May.  If 18 people e-mail wanting a
    copy of the hard-cover book, I'll get them.

    Martin
    mmargrajr@[removed]

    [removed] For those who are not aware, RADIO DRAMA is a 572 page hardcover book
    featuring over 270 broadcast logs of radio programs from 1932 to 1962.  Logs
    feature a brief bio about the show, various airtimes and cast trivia, and a
    list of all known broadcasts with episode numbers, titles and airdates.  For
    anyone who thinks "I can look those same broadcast logs on the internet,"
    think again.  One third of the programs documented in this book are not
    available anywhere - literally.  Programs like REPORT ON AFRICA,
    KALEIDOSCOPE, THE FORTY MILLION, THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1947-56
    series), GREAT PLAYS, RELIGION-DEFIED AND DEFENDED, RADIO GUILD, PULITZER
    PRIZE PLAYS, THE PRIVATE FILES OF REX SAUNDERS, WITH CANADA'S MOUNTED
    POLICE, AS EASY AS ABC, PEOPLE UNDER COMMUNISM, PARADE OF PROGRESS, and many
    others originated from my own research (script collections, press releases,
    etc.)  If they are elsewhere on the web, they originated from this book.
    One third of the logs in this book MAY be found on the web but if they are,
    the book has the more accurate one.  Example: NBC RADIO THEATER has 26
    episodes and all 26 are listed.  There are a couple versions of the log on
    web-sites listing 24 and 25 episodes.  The other third are logs compiled by
    various knowledgeable people such as THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN by Fred Shay
    (who has all the scripts), THE MYSTERY MAN by David L. Easter, DOC SAVAGE,
    MAN OF BRONZE by Will Murray, and so on.  Yes, the book does feature episode
    guides for popular programs like DEATH VALLEY DAYS, DR. CHRISTIAN, HOPALONG
    CASSIDY, GUNSMOKE, CASEY CRIME PHOTOGRAPHER, X MINUS ONE, THE MYSTERIOUS
    TRAVELER, THE LIVES OF HARRY LIME, MOLLE MYSTERY THEATER and others.  But
    with 270+ episode guides, under one hardcover, and for $[removed] plus postage -
    it's a bargain.

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 00:21:38 -0400
    From: GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Future Directions of the OTR Hobby

         Kermyt, the only thing in I tend to disagree
    with you is regarding in the percentage of OTR
    collectors who remember quality radio first-hand.

         The number of younger collectors seems to be
    mushrooming. And I find that in itself a most
    remarkable testimony to the sheer drawing power
    of audio drama and comedy. We share probably the
    least evangelical hobby in the wotld. So we don't
    recruit those kids. THEY FIND US, and in
    surprisingly large numbers.

         And even those of us who DO have some
    first-hand memory of OTR don't neccessarily have
    all that much. I was born in 1941, so by the time
    that I was mature enough to sit down and tune in
    the radio and "listen all by myself" it was
    already 1948, at the earliest. Yet by March,
    1949, I'd been seduced by that most insidious
    monster, TELEVISION.

         With two exceptions only, I've never
    collected OTR for "nostalgia" value. Those two
    exceptions are the HARZ MOUNTAIN SINGING CANARIES
    and the earlier, pre-Buddy Clark incarnation of
    the CARNATION CONTENTED HOUR, which brings back
    memories of both my grandmothers' kitchens. But
    its been years since I've listened to either one
    of those programs.

         Sincerely,

         George Wagner
         GWAGNEROLDTIMERADIO@[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 00:21:51 -0400
    From: "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  MP3 downloads

    Well listers, I lost all e-mail information last night.  Therefore, if
    anybody sent me any information about MP3 sites etc it is all gone.  If
    you did, could you send it, since I have lost all information having
    anything to do with Juno.  Kurt

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 00:24:32 -0400
    From: Tedshumaker@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re:  Convention

    Ah, but Charlie,wasn't much better than sweating all weekend like you were in
    a steam bath  like last year. Just remember a sweater next year and you'll be
    fine. Just a little cooler is better than a little to warm.

     Ted

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: Hey, not a [removed] even had the space to sit down in
    this year's hotel. But I may have to bring along that sweater next [removed]
    --cfs3]

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 00:25:03 -0400
    From: michael berger <intercom1@[removed];
    To: otr <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  otr future

    Apologies if someone already has suggested this, but
    one practical way to avoid copy ripoffs is to transfer
    all master tape and disk material to DVDs, encoding it
    to prevent copying. That would create a database for
    the collector/vendor.

    Individual shows to be sold could then be transferred
    to CDs with the same encoding to prevent copying.

    With the copy ripoff problem disposed of, unknown
    collectors who have with held material for this reason
    may be encouraged, by vendors or others, to release
    what might be a treasure trove of material, not just
    shows, but sports events from the 30s and 40s that are,
    as yet, unreleased, except in brief snippets, such as
    the dramatic finish of the 1941 All Star Game.

    Regarding Mp3 or other digital media, this is the only
    future for OTR, for reasons not only of space [storage]
    but efficiency and sound quality.

    As most on this list know, the quality of Mp3 material
    being offered via websites and news groups varies
    widely, because so many people who post these shows
    have just copied them without paying attention to
    quality.

    The edge that vendors and veteran collectors have is
    that they are quality-oriented [most of them, anyway],
    but they've failed to educate customers properly about
    the extra pleasure to be derived from listening to excellent
    sound, with minimal hiss or pops.

    I also think that more detailed background information
    [brief show history, mini bios of performers, synopsis
    of the particular show, etc.] would make OTR more appealing
    to the casual or even serious collector or customer.

    What's really needed is a re-thinking of the way OTR is
    marketed, so the present and coming generation, with
    little background about the shows, stars, plot
    material, etc. can be educated, and with that
    education dervive the extra pleasure when listening.

    This extra marketing effort should pay off in the form
    of premium prices for premium products. But first, the
    audience has to be educated.

    I think this topic is worth serious discussion the next
    time the collectors get together at a convention.

    Michael Berger

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 00:26:46 -0400
    From: danhughes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  One Last Cincy Story:  Vic & Sade

    Those who know me and my wife Kathy and my daughter Karen will not be
    surprised to learn that when we heard that Derek Tague had no ride to the
    airport when it came time to leave the convention, we kindly and
    generously offered to take him, even though it meant driving thirty miles
    out of our way.  On the way we stopped at a Half-Price Bookstore just one
    exit up from the convention hotel on I-275.  I love these stores; I found
    Dunning's On the Air encyclopedia for $18 at one of them in Indianapolis.

    I headed for the Clearance Corner and Derek, at my suggestion, went to
    the Communications aisle.  In about five minutes he walked up to me with
    a huge smile, waving a nice copy, with dust jacket, of THE SMALL HOUSE
    HALFWAY UP IN THE NEXT BLOCK in front of my face.   This book of 30 of
    Paul Rhymer's Vic & Sade scripts is very rare and sells on the internet
    for as much as $[removed], and he had found it for $[removed] (or was it $[removed]).

    Now it sure seemed to me that since we were driving so far out of our way
    just to save Derek a huge cab fare, and because Vic & Sade is my favorite
    OTR show, it was only right that he give me the book.  Alas, no way.

    (Just so you don't feel too sorry for me, let me admit that I already own
    one copy of the book, and my copy is signed by Mary Frances Rhymer, widow
    of the writer of the show and editor of the book).

    Derek, let us assure you that we harbor no hard feelings about this
    episode, even though you did win a thousand bucks on a TV quiz show and
    we didn't.  And you won two dinners at Ryan's Steakhouse and we didn't.
    No hard feelings at all.

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 00:26:59 -0400
    From: "david rogers" <david_rogers@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re - Future directions of the OTR hobby

    Here are a couple of predictions, which if I were you I would not bet on,
    but I wil make them anyway.
    As time passes what is currently popular becomes nostalgia. Therefore, a lot
    of the radio shows from the 80's and 90's will become OTR.
    As far as I know (I have been wrong before) American radio shows are not
    producing as much drama, crime, comedy etc. shows as they did in the past.
    However, in the UK, the BBC is still producing a lot of radio fiction stuff.
    Could it be, shock horror, that future North American OTR fans will be
    forced to try and understand British humour/humor? Will hard boiled
    detective shows be replaced by nice gentle murders?
    Time will tell.

    Love as always, David Rogers

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 13:08:34 -0400
    From: Philipmarus@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Carl Froelich, Jr
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/related
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was multipart/alternative

    I just like to report that Carl Froelich, Jr is still in business selling Old
    Time Radio on cassette. I recently received a catalog from him after a three
    year absence although he wrote me a letter explaining that he has produced a
    regular newsletter in three years.  My Dad and I ordered many cassette sets
    from him over the years and am glad that he is still in business.

    Sincerely,

    Mike Kerezman, Jr
    Macomb, Oklahoma

    [demime [removed] removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a name of
    [removed]]

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    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 13:08:56 -0400
    From: "Ryan Hall" <rhall2@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  re: Future of the Hobby

    I also would like to comment on the possible future(s) of the hobby. I,
    personally, am a bona fide 20-something OTR enthusiast. (If you must know, I
    will be 24 tomorrow). I am both leery and hopeful about the future of OTR.
    One the one hand, most people my age and younger have a hard time just
    "listening" and having to force their brains to "set the stage" as it were.
    And to that extent, I think OTR may have some problems when the people who
    actually remember the golden years of radio are no longer with us.

    On the other hand, however, I am constantly amazed at the potential the
    hobby has both for new collectors of the Generation X/Y/Z demographic. Some
    of my friends think my hobby of collecting old radio shows is a little
    eccentric, and given to all in all, that assessment my be correct. But, my
    point being, I am positive for 2 reasons. First, if I can actually get
    friend of mine to listen, I am amazed usually at how well such shows are
    received. I roomed with 3 guys in an apartment last year, and I would
    usually listen to OTR when the apartment was empty ([removed]
    [removed]). A few times some of my roommate would come in and listen to
    something like the Shadow or Have Gun Will Travel, and would actually get
    interested in it. This, of course, all culminating in the general comment at
    the end, "Dude! That was da' bomb!" or some other such slang claptrap. (And,
    again, FYI, I did not room with the Dell computer guy, it just often sounded
    like that.)

    Secondly, and somewhat off the general thesis, with the popularity of books
    on cassette, Modern Audio Drama (MAD), and even the growing popularity of
    period movies and Television revivals (Silent Movies, Dragnet, etc.) I think
    the allure of OTR collecting will be well served in the future for those
    disenfranchised "young'uns" who 1. dislike the growing culture of idiocy in
    America, and 2. do not like to vegetate in front of the flat screen TV
    hanging on the ceiling for no apparent reason. I think with a little more
    effort in making OTR known and accessable to young people, I think the hobby
    will catch on in greater numbers. Granted, I am not exactly sure how that
    would be accomplished.

    Further, in the bigger picture, I would not be at all surprised to see a
    re-emergence of radio drama on actual (shocker) radio. With suburban sprawl,
    long road commutes, internet radio, etc., I think eventually some station
    somewhere will try it as a experiment, not unlike CBS Radio Mystery Theater,
    and it will revive the genre. I know for a fact when I worked at the college
    radio station, we would do audio dramas, often recreations of OTR scripts,
    to great success. We did A Christmas Carol one time, and I can't tell you
    how many e-mails and phone calls I got in my dormroom from college students
    saying how much they enjoyed it. So, take heart. I think with some minor
    modifications, I think audio drama, and the OTR will do just fine in the
    near and, hopefully, distant, future.

    OK, the optimism was perhaps sappy, but I think its the truth.
    [removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 13:09:04 -0400
    From: Kcpymurphy@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: King Cole Playing Piano for A&A Show
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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    This is my second time of subscribing to this e-zine, having moved from
    Kansas City, MO to Tucson, AZ.  Someone had written that King Cole had played
    piano for the A&A Show and was treated badly by the stars/producers/etc.  I
    had the pleasure of interviewing King Cole many years ago in the 50's and I
    had heard this story also.  Naturally, I asked him about this and he said
    that he had never played on the A&A Show and this was just a rumor promoted
    by those who were trying to cast disparaging comments upon the show.  Wish
    that I had followed up by asking him his opinion of the A&A Show, but, alas,
    I did not and jumped to other questions concerning rock 'n roll music, etc.
    Oh, Youth is dumb!
    Kacie
    kcpymurphy@[removed]

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    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 13:09:46 -0400
    From: Ken Dahl <kdahl@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Gas Rationing

    Kermyt Anderson asked about A,B and C gas rationing cards during WWII.  Going
    to [removed] will give a good explanation on the
    difference between the three cards.  Regards, Ken Dahl

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 13:09:56 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

       From Those Were The Days --

    1940 - Take It or Leave It, was first heard on CBS on this day. Bob Hawk
    offered contestants a top prize of $64. No, there were no lovely parting
    gifts or consolation prizes that we could find. Losers just left.

    1949 - The prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for Broadcasting was
    presented to You Bet Your Life star, "The one, the only, Groucho
    (Marx)." This was the first time the honor had been awarded to a comedian.

       Joe

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 13:10:23 -0400
    From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Another sound booth story

    Think I may have told this story before, but it's good enough to repeat:

    Several years ago I bought an OTR book at a used bookstore on the
    University of Illinois campus, and while ringing up my purchase the store
    owner mentioned that her father had been involved in OTR.  Turned out
    that for many years he was the musical director for Kate Smith.  She said
    that when she was a small girl, her father took her to a taping of The
    Shadow.  She was very excited, she said, because she wanted to see Lamont
    turn into the Shadow and become invisible.  "Well," she said, "he didn't
    turn invisible at all!  He just walked into a phone booth on the stage
    and it made his voice sound funny!"

    Another unwelcome intrusion of Reality.

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 13:22:50 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Gasoline Rationing

    On 4/21/03 12:37 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     Could somebody explain the difference between the
>     different gas rationing cards--A versus C? Was there a
>     B card as well? How much gas could be used by the
>     holders of each card? What determined who got each
>     kind of card?

    "A" card, issued to civilians with no war-essential employment, who used
    cars for non-essential purposes: 4 later reduced to 3 gallons a week.
    Pleasure driving for "A" ration holders was prohibited.

    "B" card, issued to civilians with war-essential employment: 8 gallons a
    week.

    "C" card, issued to civilians in certain designated professions (Doctors,
    clergy, postal workers, railroad employees)who required the use of their
    cars in their work: Unlimited.

    "H" card, issued for non-highway farm equipment: Unlimited.

    "T" card, issued for commercial trucks: Unlimited.

    "X" card, issued to government vehicles: Unlimited.

    In addition to the windshield stickers, all car owners were issued stamps
    which had to be surrenderd to the attendant when gasoline was purchased.
    These stamps then had to be pasted down on an OPA-issued sheet by the
    filling station owner, and turned over to the jobber when replenishing
    the station's stock of fuel. And then the jobber had to turn the
    collected sheets into the oil company for *their* supply of fuel.

    My grandfather ran a filling station thruout the war years, and had vivid
    memories of the rationing program. He told me that he estimated at least
    half the ration stamps presented to him over the course of the war were
    counterfeit, but like everyone else he just looked the other way.
    Fuel-ration stamps were very often used as a secondary currency to avoid
    *other* rations, especially the meat ration. (My grandfather acknowledged
    allowing a close friend of his unlimited fuel in exchange for a
    freshly-shot deer carcass and a bundle of counterfeit gas stamps.) In our
    area, where there was still a lot of farming going on at the time, the
    most common counterfeits were H stamps -- since unregistered farm
    vehicles were extremely difficult to trace.

    Genuine ration stamps could also easily be acquired under the table from
    local OPA representatives for a cash payment or an offer of "services".
    Of all the rationing programs administered during WW2, it's likely that
    none was more thoroughly and irredeemably corrupt -- on all of its levels
    -- than the gasoline rationing program.

    Elizabeth

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #169
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