Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #392
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 10/31/2003 3:28 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 392
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Hawaii Book Reviewers, Fires, etc.    [ Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; ]
      10-31 births/deaths                   [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Viennese Hour NBC                     [ "RBB" <oldradio@[removed]; ]
      Re: Jeopardy                          [ Steve Lewis <lewis@[removed]; ]
      US-Canada broadcasts                  [ Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed]; ]
      Fw: Ciphers in World War II           [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      OTR in 2050?                          [ RickEditor@[removed] ]
      RE: WOTW contest                      [ "Greg Addington" <gregadd@[removed] ]
      FOTR 2003 PBS Coverage Update         [ Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed] ]
      Re: More on CBS Anniversary           [ Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed] ]
      Re: Johnny Olsen & Don Pardo          [ "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed]; ]
      volunteer researchers needed in N Y   [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
      "Two Gun Pete" & "St. Louis Kelley,"  [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
      Annette Hanshaw                       [ "Gary Brown" <garyjbrown@[removed] ]
      Re: Don Pardo                         [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 15:01:09 -0500
    From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Hawaii  Book Reviewers, Fires, etc.

              Thanks to anyone and everyone who sent me
    the contact information for the book reviewer at the
    Hawaii Advertiser.  Unfortunately, I've lost track of her
    fax number.  She wanted me to fax some information
    about my book to her.  If anyone remembers what it
    happens to be, contact  me off line.

              BTW, should PJ Nunn be out there somewhere,
    please contact me should you need any authors from
    the Dallas area.  I'd be happy to come.  Just a thought.

              Also, about how long does it take for news of a
    book (authors name, book title, ISBN, etc.) to reach
    the Ingram web site?  My book is due out next week and
    nothing has been entered there.  Several stores have
    shown an interest in stocking it, but tell me they order
    books from this site.  Does this vary from  one publisher
    to another?

              [removed] publishers are in California.  Does
    anyone know of the ones who were in harm's way due to
    the awful fires in California?

    Sincerely,

    Kenneth Clarke
    "And  Then You Die" (Final Cut Press, 2003)
    ISBN 0-9744119-0-6

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 16:53:30 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  10-31 births/deaths

    Halloween Day births

    10-31-1896 - Ethel Waters - Chester, PA - d. 9-1-1977
    blues singer: "American Revue"; "Command Performance"; "Jubilee"
    10-31-1912 - Dale Evans - Uvalde, TX - d. 2-7-2001
    actress, singer: (Queen of the Cowgirls) "Saturday Night Roundup"; "Roy
    Rogers Show"
    10-31-1922 - Barbara Bel Geddes - NYC
    actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Ford Theatre"; "[removed] Steel Hour"; "Cavalcade
    of America"
    10-31-1926 - Shirley Dinsdale - San Francisco, CA - d. 5-9-1999
    ventriloquist: Judy Splinters "Judy in Wonderland, Eddie Cantor Show"
    10-31-1931 - Dan Rather - Wharton, TX
    newscaster: Houston Radio

    Halloween Day  deaths

    07-16-1882 - Charles Egelston - Covington, KY - d. 10-31-1958
    actor: Shuffle Shober "Ma Perkins"; Humphrey Fuller "Just Plain Bill"
    08-14-1889 - Robert Woolsey - Oakland, CA - d. 10-31-1938
    actor: "Hollywood Hotel"
    09-22-1902 - John Houseman - Bucharest, Romania - d. 10-31-1988
    writer, producer: "Mercury Theatre on the Air"; "Campbell Playhouse"
    11-18-1912 - Arthur Peterson - Mandan, ND - d. 10-31-1996
    actor: Reverend John Rutledge "Guiding Light"; "World"s Great Novels"
    12-09-1906 - Ken Niles - Livingston, MT - d. 10-31-1988
    announcer: "Hollywood Hotel"; "Rudy Vallee Show"; "Date with Judy"
    12-28-1915 - Dick Joy - Putnam, CT - d. 10-31-1991
    announcer: "My Secret Ambition"; "The Saint"; "Danny Kaye Show"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 16:54:01 -0500
    From: "RBB" <oldradio@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Viennese Hour NBC

    I've had an inquiry about an early NBC radio program called "The Viennese
    Hour" with
    singer Otto Englemann.  Anyone have any information about either?  Thanks
    for the reply.

    Russ Butler  oldradio@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 16:54:29 -0500
    From: Steve Lewis <lewis@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Jeopardy

    At 03:21 PM 10/30/03 -0500, you wrote:

>     From: Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed];
>     To: [removed]@[removed]
>     Subject:  ORIGINAL HOSTS/ANNOUNCERS

>     Much prefer Art Flemming as host of Jeopardy over the pompous Alex
>     Trebek.

    He might appear that way on TV, and it's all a matter of taste, but I
    watched the taping of the show in New Haven recently, and when there was a
    long gap while the judges were double-checking the validity of an answer,
    Alex came down into the audience and entertained us the entire time with
    stories and answering questions.  Very friendly and personable.

                              Steve

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 19:59:23 -0500
    From: Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed];
    To: Old-Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  US-Canada broadcasts

    Dave Walter (Digest 391) notes that Mercury Theatre was broadcast on
    the CBC as well as the CBS, at least in its earliest episodes. He also
      notes mention in the Digest some time back of a CBS affiliate in
    Toronto.

    I was not aware of this. Was it at all a common arrangement during
    this period for the Canadian network (or individual stations) to
    broadcast shows from US networks?

    These days, I wish there was more Canadian Content on the US airwaves
    beyond the venerable As It Happens, which is broadcast on many public
    radio stations.

    (Some US listeners are under the impression that AIH is the Canadian
    version of NPR's venerable All Things Considered. Actually, it's
    probably more accurate to say it the other way around. AIH went on the
    air 35 years ago, on November 18, 1968, more than two years before
    ATC's premiere on May 3, 1971 - though in its earlier years would have
    been heard south of the border only via clear channel DX or, as I used
    to listen, on shortwave.)

    Art

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 19:59:50 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Fw: Ciphers in World War II

    Roby McHone notes,

> >     There is no question that breaking the Japanese and German secret codes

    helped us win the war.  I wonder if they broke any of our secret codes.
    One
    code they didn't break was the Navajo code talker.  The OTR connection to
    this was that when they logged on they would say ...."This is Tonto to
    Lone
    Ranger." Then they would converse in the Navajo language.  The code was
    never broken."  Clever those [removed];<

    The "they" is a little ambiguous, but if speaking of the Japanese
    cryptanalytical efforts alone,

    "Japanese codebreakers never achieved any substantial penetration of
    American codes [during World War II].  But when B-29 bombing raids began
    in 1944, the monitoring of B-29s' radio traffic enables Japanese
    intelligence analysts to predict the targets of air raids more than 70
    percent of the time."

    [Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen, The Encyclopedia of Espionage,
    Gramercy Books, New York, 1997, ISBN 0-517-20269-7. p. 298]

    The German cryptanalysts had better luck, but with the development of the
    SIGABA (Army model M-134C and Navy CSP-888) cipher machine, they found
    [removed] messages uncrackable.  The Germans called it the American Big
    Machine," and once they determined that a message was encrypted on the
    SIGABA, they didn't attempt to cryptanalyze it.

    "German efforts to solve the [SIGABA] system were suspended in mid-1943,
    and Germany even stopped intercepting SIGABA/ECM traffic.  By that point,
    the Germans hadn't even deduced that the [removed] Army and Navy used
    different sets of rotors.  German cryptanalysts finally determined that
    the [removed] system could not be solved analytically."

    [Stephen B. Kelly, Big Machines, Aegean Park Press, Laguna Hills, CA,
    2001, ISBN 0-89412-290-8, [removed]]

    SIGABA was reputedly the only World War II machine cipher that was never
    compromised.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr., SS-4959
    Secret Squadron Historian

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 20:05:51 -0500
    From: RickEditor@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR in 2050?
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

         Just a thought? What will radio-program buffs be collecting 50-odd years
    from now from the shows we hear these days? "Prairie Home Companion" comes to
    mind immediately. What do other folks think?

         I recall listening to Jean Shepherd on WOR-AM in the
    late-'50s/early-'60s and predicting that some day he would be "collectible."
    Sure enough, he's
    everywhere in MP3 format these days and is featured on dozens of web sites.

         So, what will we be buying on E-bay under OTR in 2050?

    rick selvin
    philadelphia

    end

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 20:14:23 -0500
    From: "Greg Addington" <gregadd@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  RE:   WOTW contest
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    This morning the classical radio station's Brainstorm contest was a simple
    question. What was the theme music for the War of the Worlds?

    Care to guess?

    The theme to WOTW is actually the regular theme for the Mercury Theater on the
    Air (at least as far as I know the regular theme for most if not all Mercury
    broadcasts, everyone can certainly keep me honest here).  It is the Theme from
    Piano Concerto No 1 in B-Flat Minor, also called Tonight We Love by
    Tchaikovsky.

    Greg Addington
    Oak Ridge, Tennessee

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 20:24:07 -0500
    From: Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  FOTR 2003 PBS Coverage Update

    Thanks to everyone who wrote NJN to thank them for the piece on the 2003
    Friends of Old Time Radio Convention.

    The reporter, Desiree Taylor,  sent the following note back today:

    Dear Sean,
    Thank you and all the OTR fans for the kind words.  You and all the fans of
    OTR were such a great help.  It was enlightening and enjoyable to cover the
    event.  OTR does a great job of reminding us all about the great legends and
    programs from the Golden Age of Radio, a time that should never be
    forgotten.  Keep up the great work.

    Take care and thanks again.

    Sincerely,
    Desiree Taylor
    NJN News

    And of course, if you missed it the first time, you can still view the
    segment here: [removed]
    and you can write Peggy George, assignment editor at pgeorge@[removed] and
    Desiree at dtaylor@[removed].

    Sean Dougherty
    SeanDD@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 20:25:26 -0500
    From: Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: More on CBS Anniversary

    Now I know I'm just going to get Mike Biel upset, but here's more coverage
    of the CBS 75th Anniversary from The Miami Herald.

    CBS Celebrates 75th Anniversary With Bash
    Miami Herald, FL
    ... Bill Paley really brought radio into television," Cates said, "because
    he took the radio shows, whether it was `Jack Benny' or `Red Skelton'
    or `Burns and ...
    [removed]

    And an article on the passing of the Hotel Biltmore:

    BILTMORE Hotel now a memory
    The Desert Sun, CA
    ... grounds. In its heyday, the likes of Spencer Tracy, Jack Benny were
    known to hole up in the Biltmore's sun-soaked cottages. Fireplaces ...

    [removed]

    Sean Dougherty

>     SeanDD@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 20:58:47 -0500
    From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Johnny Olsen & Don Pardo

    <otrbuff@[removed]; suggested that Dixon Hayes was confusing the original
    Jeopardy! with the original Price Is Right in regard to whether or not the
    latter ever featured the talents of Don Pardo.

    Mr. Hayes' credits as an expert in the game show history field (consultant to
    numerous network television specials; acknowledged by no less than Peter
    Marshall as the greatest living authority on the Hollywood Squares) tends to
    mitigate against such a notion.

    Further, literally dozens of Don Pardo-announced original TPiR nighttime
    programs ran on the Game Show Network in its earliest days. These shows may
    have come from the program's NBC days, when the late Johnny Olsen could have
    been on staff at CBS and precluded from working on another network, or
    working on another program airing against TPiR at night (at a time when such
    shows aired live on the east coast).

    Finally, the fact that one (or more) reference works fail to credit a
    performer doesn't mitigate against that performer having been associated with
    that work. Staying with TPiR just as an example, I don't know how many times
    I've read histories of the show and its various incarnations that credit
    Olsen, Roddy, Cullen and Barker without mentioning Doug Davidson, Tom
    Kennedy, Dennis James (modern syndicated TPiR hosts) or Arlene Francis
    (longtime daytime original TPiR hostess) having any association with the
    program. Which they most certainly did.

    (Miss Francis, in addition to her television work, hosted numerous
    entertainment and public affairs radio programs over the decades on a
    New-York-local, northeast-regional and nationwide basis; she also took part
    [as a What's My Line? panelist] in CBS' short-lived TV-to-radio experiment in
    the early fifties, where shows that had done well on television were adapted
    for radio broadcast. Which [barely] brings this back to being on-topic for
    this list. :)

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 23:53:42 -0500
    From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  volunteer researchers needed in N Y City
     ([removed] Lincoln Center library for the performing arts)

    I recently posted a message connected with my research for a book about a
    prominent actor of the 1940's and early 1950's. I've been requesting
    assistance in Chicago and several other cities.  I'm happy to say that I
    received a number of very welcomed volunteers.

    On a  larger scale, I also need assistance for this project in New York
    City.  In this case, I need one or several people to work with me in a
    couple of New York's libraries, including the Lincoln Center Library.

    If you can spare just a few hours one afternoon, that would be fine.  If
    you can spare more time, even better. We may also do a photo tour of some
    relevant and very interesting city landmarks connected with the actor's
    life.

    Thank you,

    Howard Blue

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 23:53:57 -0500
    From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "Two Gun Pete" & "St. Louis Kelley," of
     1940s Chicago

    In connection with my research about a radio, film and stage actor of the
    1940s, I am seeking information about

    a. Sylvester Washington (AKA, "Two Gun Pete") a 1940's African American
    Chicago policeman  and
    b. "St. Louis Kelley," a gangster active in Chicago in the early 40s

    Howard Blue

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 23:54:33 -0500
    From: "Gary Brown" <garyjbrown@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Annette Hanshaw

    A couple of months ago Albert Kopec asked for more information
    about Annette Hanshaw.  She is indeed a delight from an era
    before technology edited the life out of recordings.

    Hanshaw was born either very wealthy in 1911 or of modest means
    in 1901, depending on whose story you believe.  Her backup
    musicians were the who's who of later music and included Benny
    Goodman, the Dorsey brothers, Red Nichols, Eddie Lang, Rudy
    Valee (on sax). and Joe Venuti.  Yet much of her recording was
    relegated to discount labels under pseudonyms.  She clearly loved
    to sing and was quite playful when recording.  Bu t, in later years she
    claimed she swtiched from recording to radio because she didn't
    have to hear herself sing!  She was extremely shy and stage fright
    caused her to quit in her mid-twenties (or thirties).

    It would be wonderful it someone just happened to have copies of
    some of her radio shows or anything else she did.  I recently
    received the seventh and last known CD of her music.  I have some
    other songs, downloaded from the net, not on any of the CDs so
    there is more stuff out there.  Any help in locating more would be
    appreciated.

    Best to all,
    Gary

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

    Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 16:22:56 -0500
    From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Don Pardo

> >     I don't think so.  Johnny Olsen was on The Price Is Right from day one, Nov.

>     26, 1956.  And who was the host those first nine years?  Bill Cullen.
>     Source:  The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television by Wesley Hyatt.

    No, "The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television" is just plain wrong on this one.
    A myriad of sources at my disposal indicate Don Pardo was indeed, the
    original "Price is Right" announcer effective November 26, 1956.  In fact
    (according to "The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows" by David Schwartz, Steve
    Ryan and Fred Wostbrock) Pardo even guest hosted the show on camera on
    December 31, 1959, and again on December 28, 1962.  Pardo's unique way of
    describing the prizes ("Not just any [removed]") has even been parodied during
    his earliest days announcing on "Saturday Night Live."

    In fact, I can't find a single source (except that aforementioned Daytime
    Television book) that suggests Johnny Olsen *ever* announced during the
    1956-65 run of the show.  Apparently Pardo did the honors until the show left
    NBC in 1963, after which Johnny Gilbert took over for the two remaining years
    on ABC.  Not that I would rule it out, but I haven't found anything else to
    back it up either.  But it would've had to be a guest announcing stint.

>     I have a suspicion Dixson may be thinking of Jeopardy

    I remember Pardo annoucing on "Jeopardy" and did not confuse the two shows.
    By the way it's "Dixon."

>     I really don't believe Pardo was ever on The Price Is Right
>     unless as a contestant.

    Pardo was apparently everything *but* a contestant (I don't know about prize
    model) at some point or another on the original run of "Price." Yet another
    source: a clip of Pardo introducing Cullen, from NBC's 50th anniversary show
    which I have on tape.  Don Pardo and Johnny Olsen are *not* two voices that
    can be easily confused with one another.

    Now that I have all of *that* out of the way, a sincere [removed] anyone
    acquaint me with any of Pardo's old time radio work, especially any
    recordings that might be circulating?  The oldest item I have is Pardo
    announcing "The Colgate Comedy Hour" on NBC-TV.

    Dixon

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #392
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