Subject: [removed] Digest V2019 #47
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 10/8/2019 10:18 AM

To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2019 : Issue 47
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      the hobby of OTR                      [ "Walden Hughes" <waldenhughes@yeste ]
      Re: Colgate comedy hour               [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      This week in radio history 29 Septem  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Re: Whither collecting?               [ Vince Long <vlongbsh@[removed]; ]
      [removed] Kaltenborn                       [ <rmcblc@[removed]; ]
      This week in radio history 6-12 Octo  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Gunsmoke question                     [ Gary <actuarylaw@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2019 12:38:11 -0400
    From: "Walden Hughes" <waldenhughes@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  the hobby of OTR
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Hi Everybody,

    A question was ask in the last digest  about collecting new OTR shows in the
    hobby.  I am personally    aware of many shows that has not been release  to
    the internet yet.  I believe you will see more and more shows release to the
    hobby over the next few years.  Keep tab of all of the good work Jerry
    Haendiges is doing in the hobby.  Jerry is releasing  many new OTR shows on
    facebook.  I am personally keeping tab on three major collection of OTR
    shows on the West coast.  These collection are still on transcriptions disc
    and master tapes.  I believe all three  collection will need to find new
    home soon.  I hope the power brokers of these collection decide to contact
    some of the well  known figures in our hobby and they can make good choices
    for them.  The collections need to be preserve and tranfered on to drives in
    wave and flac formats.  Take care,

    Walden

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2019 12:38:31 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Colgate comedy hour

    A. Joseph Ross wrote --

     >> 1950 - ... In addition to Cantor, other hosts of the "Colgate
     >> Comedy Hour" included: Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bob Hope, Gordon
     >> MacRae and Jimmy Durante.

     > And frequently Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

    Corrected and amended. :)

    Joe

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2019 12:38:42 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  This week in radio history 29 September to 5
     October

     From Those Were The Days -

    9/29

    1920   Radios for 10 bucks! That's what Joseph Horne Company's
    department store in Pittsburgh, PA was selling. The radios were
    advertised in The Pittsburgh Sun for $10 ($127 in 2018 dollars)  and up.
    One could get a ready made radio in a box with headphones and tuning
    knob. This way, one could do away with the Quaker Oats round box and the
    cat's whisker wire, which was a pain to tune.

    1930   "This is Lowell Thomas." Those words were spoken for the first
    time as a young Lowell Thomas made his debut on CBS. He replaced Floyd
    Gibbons on the nightly (6:45 [removed]), 15 minute newscast. Thomas, who
    started as a reporter for the New York Daily News (at age 19), was heard
    on the radio for the next 46 years.

    1930   "Ba, ba, ba, boo. I will, ba ba ba boo ... marry you!" Bing
    Crosby, America's premier crooner for decades, married Dixie Lee.

    1940   Double or Nothing was first heard on Mutual. Each time
    contestants answered questions correctly, their winnings would double
    from $20 to $40 to the big payoff of $80.  ($362, $724 and $1448 in 2018
    dollars: [removed]) If they gave an incorrect
    answer, they were gone! Nobody bet on long how long the show would last.
    Good thing. It kept going for a dozen years. Among the sponsors: Feen A
    Mint, Chooz breath candy and Campbell's soup.

    1946   Mystery fans remember when The Adventures of Sam Spade debuted on
    CBS this Sunday night. (It had aired in the summer of 1946 on ABC on
    Friday nights.) The Adventures of Sam Spade, with Howard Duff playing
    Spade, became a big hit in the Sunday night radio lineup. And now a word
    from our sponsor: "Use Wildroot Cream Oil, Charlie ... it keeps your
    hair in [removed]"

    9/30

    1930   Death Valley Days was first heard on the NBC Red network this day
    (and) became one of radio's biggest hits. The 30 minute, Western
    adventure series starred Tim Daniel Frawley as the Old Ranger, Harvey
    Hays as the Old Prospector, John White as the Lonesome Cowboy, Edwin
    Bruce as Bobby Keen, Robert Haag as Sheriff Mark Chase and Olyn Landick
    as Cassandra Drinkwater.

    The tales heard on Death Valley Days were all based on fact and were
    human interest stories revolving around the borax mining town of Death
    Valley, California. The show was created by Ruth Woodman, a script
    writer for a New York ad agency. She had never seen Death Valley; but
    had found the vehicle to sell 20 Mule Team Borax. As time went on, Ms.
    Woodman did make a trip to Death Valley. She went back again and again
    after that, digging up facts for her scripts. She even met an honest to
    goodness old ranger, Wash Cahill, who knew everyone and everything about
    the mining town.

    Death Valley Days was renamed Death Valley Sheriff in 1944 and The
    Sheriff in 1945. And Ruth Woodman continued to write the scripts. She
    even wrote scripts when Death Valley Days became a TV show. Buy some 20
    Mule Team Borax in commemoration.

    1933   The theme song was Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here and it opened
    the National Barn Dance. The half hour country music and comedy show,
    originally heard on WLS, Chicago since 1924, moved to the NBC Blue
    network this night. National Barn Dance was broadcast from the Eighth
    Street Theater in Chicago, where the stage was transformed into a
    hayloft every Saturday night. The host was Joe Kelly. Uncle Ezra was
    played by Pat Barrett who was known to say, "Give me a toot on the
    tooter, Tommy," as he started dancing. A few of the other Barn Dance
    characters were Arkie, the Arkansas Woodchopper; Pokey Martin; the
    Hoosier Hotshots; the Prairie Ramblers; cowgirl, Patsy Montana; Pat
    Buttram; Lulu Belle and the Cumberland Road Runners. Gene Autry and Red
    Foley were heard early in their careers on National Barn Dance. Although
    there were plenty of sponsors (Alka Seltzer, One A Day vitamins,
    Phillips Milk of Magnesia), the National Barn Dance was one of the few
    radio shows to charge admission.

    1935   "Calling all [removed]" The Adventures of Dick Tracy came to radio
    for the first time    on the Mutual Radio Network. Based on the comic
    strip created by Chester Gould, the 15 minute adventure show was heard
    Monday thru Friday at 5:45 [removed] The sponsors were Quaker Puffed Wheat
    and Quaker Puffed Rice.

    1962 - The death of OTR.  The last regularly scheduled network programs,
    Suspense and Johnny Dollar were heard.

    10/1

    1942   People Are Funny went on the air with host Art Baker.

    10/3

    1901   The Victor Talking Machine Company was incorporated on this day.
    After a merger with Radio Corporation of America, RCA Victor became the
    leader in phonographs and many of the records played on them. The famous
    Victrola phonograph logo, with Nipper the dog, and the words "His
    Master's Voice", appeared on all RCA Victor phonographs and record labels.

    1946   Dennis Day started his own show on NBC. Dennis, a popular tenor
    featured on The Jack Benny Show, played the same (type) naive young
    bachelor he played on the Benny show. A Day in the Life of Dennis Day
    aired for five years.

    10/4

    1948   Gordon MacRae hosted the premiere of a radio classic. The
    Railroad Hour debuted on ABC. The theme song was I've Been Working on
    the Railroad and the show was sponsored by, get ready for it, America's
    Railroads.

    10/5

    1930 - Father Coughlin, "The Fighting Priest" was first heard.  He lit
    up the airwaves with oratory that aired into the early forties.

    Joe

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2019 12:38:57 -0400
    From: Vince Long <vlongbsh@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Whither collecting?

    Alan/Linda Bell wonders if there is a slow down in the collecting of OTR due
    to the existence of the Internet.

    Probably.  There is so much that is so readily available, it is likely that
    some figure it can be obtained on-demand so why spend the time collecting it.

    It also needs to be considered that all the low-hanging fruit has been picked
    and now it's just the occasional piece that comes along.  For example, I
    picked up around 600 reels of tape at an estate sale some years ago.  It
    wasn't until last year that I went through them all, hoping I'd find
    something more that just vinyl albums transferred to tape.  While there was
    plenty of that, I also found hundreds of hours of religious/political/news
    programming from the 50s and 60s.

    There was one program that I would certainly consider an OTR show, "Look to
    the Skies" which was a salute to the Ground Observer Corps.  I don't think
    this one was previously in circulation.  It's undated, probably from 1953,
    and features the Air Force dance orchestra and guest Arlene Francis. You can
    find the show on my site here.  Use the "Select Reel Report" pull-down menu
    and search for Reel 45.

    [removed]

    While the program was already in circulation, in July of 2018 I was checking
    out a thrift store auction site and spied a 10" reel of tape that caught my
    attention because of the label on the box. It indicated that the box had, at
    one time, contained Part 1 of the "Air - Master" for the "Chase and Sanborn
    102nd Anniversary" program from November 13, 1966. This was too much to pass
    up and I was the successful bidder, picking it up, with a 7" reel of blank
    tape, for under $20.  Luckily, the label didn't lie.  I have a web page with
    photos of the reel and the box and a link to download the program here:

    [removed]

    So, for me, I still stay active in the hobby although I have been spending
    lots time getting all the programs in my collection digitized and on my home
    network's media server so I can search and play on-demand with any device on
    my home network.

    Vince

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2019 12:39:15 -0400
    From: <rmcblc@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  [removed] Kaltenborn

    To add to Joe Ross's comments about [removed] Kaltenborn ... as a
    youngster, I also don't remember listening to him. Looking at the
    newspaper radio logs online, I see his was an early evening
    newscast, at 6 [removed] Central time, in the early '50s. We didn't
    have a nearby NBC station, so we listened to WOAI in San Antonio
    after the sun went down, and we would hear Morgan Beatty's News
    of the World at 10:15. The Chicago Trib's list shows News of the
    World coming on at 6:30 ... so did WOAI carry it live then and
    repeat it at 10:15 or delay to run at 10:15 only? Guess we'll
    never know.

    In 1984, when Robert Trout came to Dallas to for ABC Radio's
    coverage of the Republican national convention, I had a chance to
    visit with him, and I asked him about Kaltenborn.

    Trout: "He was a great friend of mine ... finally. He was
    considerably older than I was and I did look up to him. He was a
    wonderful man, but he was a very - how can I say it - I wouldn't
    say 'aggressive' man, that would give the wrong impression - but
    he was a very forthright man, full of action, in wonderful
    physical condition. But he had a little sort of Teutonic - I
    don't mean to be ethnic in any way - but he was of German
    descent, he married a German baroness, and loved Germany and
    hated Hitler, so I'm not saying anything as if I were making an
    ethnic slur - I hope no one will think that. But he had a little
    bit of authoritarianism - that's the word I think I want. He was
    a leader, he was a captain. He formed an organization called the
    Association of Radio News Analysts. ... And he ran it as if he
    were the president of a country. We all enjoyed him. He was a
    dedicated democrat. [little "d" democrat] He didn't mind being
    talked back to or anything like that. But he tended to, if he
    were onto a subject, and he'd be talking to you and begin to make
    a little speech and his voice would rise. He had a characteristic
    way of waving his hand and he would put one hand over the ear,
    you know how announcers used to do so they could hear themselves
    ... (chuckles)."

    I was curious about Kaltenborn because I seemed to recall Lowell
    Thomas writing that as he came out of a studio after his
    newscast, Kaltenborn was going in and said to Thomas, "You're the
    cocktail, I'm the main course." Was he joking or was this a
    big-time ego?

    Trout: "Now, he would say that with a laugh, and yet you'd know
    that a little bit of it, at least, he meant. (chuckles) His name
    presented difficulties in some places. We used to go down to the
    House of Representatives library and broadcast Congress by the
    hour in those days when radio had very few commercials in the
    early thirties and there was lots of time to fill, and he was
    addressed, I remember, by some of the assistants at the Capitol
    variously as Kaltenbaum - oh, there were about four different
    variations - one of them also was Kottonbaum ... and even
    Kuttlebone (chuckles) ... they couldn't get his name straight."

    And was that ego bruised by President Truman doing an imitation
    of Kaltenborn on election night 1948 predicting that, despite
    Truman's early lead, Dewey would win eventually as the "country
    vote" came in?

    Trout: "Oh, [removed] - if he had been unknown before, which he wasn't
    of course, you could say that made him, and he knew it - that was
    marvelous for him - the president of the United States imitating
    him. Of course, if it had been someone lesser, he might have
    taken umbrage, as we used to say. But no, he enjoyed that, he
    liked that. And we went to see President Truman - a group of us,
    this Association of Radio News Analysts - we were invited in
    shortly after the inauguration, just a brief meeting with the
    president. And as we all filed in, Mr. Truman stood up from
    behind his desk and the first thing he said, addressing Mr.
    Kaltenborn, 'I hope you didn't mind that. I didn't mean it as an
    offense.' The president was apologizing! And of course, [removed]
    said, 'Oh, no. no' and that he loved it. But to think of Mr.
    Truman saying virtually, 'I hope I didn't hurt your feelings.'"

    Bob Cockrum
    Temple, Texas

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2019 12:39:34 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  This week in radio history 6-12 October

     From Those Were The Days

    10/6

    1937   Hobby Lobby debuted on CBS. The host was the dean of American
    hobbyists, Dave Elman. The show's theme was The Best Things in Life are
    Free. Sponsors included Fels Naptha soap, Hudson paper products and
    Colgate Dental Creme.

    10/7

    1922   The first radio network, of sorts, debuted. It was a network of
    just two stations. WJZ in Newark, NJ teamed with WGY in Schenectady, NY
    to bring the World Series game direct from the Polo Grounds in New York.
    Columnist Grantland Rice was behind the microphone for that broadcast.

    1939   Kate Hopkins, Angel of Mercy was heard for the first time on CBS
    radio. Tom Hopkins, Kate's husband, was played by Clayton 'Bud' Collyer,
    later of eventual Superman fame. The 15 minute radio drama was written
    by Chester McCraken and Gertrude Berg. The announcer for the four year
    run of Angel of Mercy was Ralph Edwards of future This is Your Life
    fame. And the sponsor was Maxwell House of coffee fame.

    1940   Portia Faces Life debuted on the NBC Red network. This radio soap
    opera centered around the life of Portia Blake Manning, an attorney and
    a widow with a young son.  Portia Faces Life was extremely popular, and
    therefore, had many sponsors, none of which were soap. The sponsors
    included Post Toasties, Grape Nuts Flakes, Grape Nuts Wheat Meal,
    Maxwell House coffee, Jell O desserts and La France bleach.

    10/8

    1935   The O'Neills debuted on CBS. The theme song, Londonderry Air,
    opened the 15 minute soap opera. The O'Neills aired Mondays, Wednesdays
    and Fridays at 7:30 [removed] In 1936 it moved to daytime where it stayed
    until 1943 on NBC's Red and Blue networks and on CBS, too. One of
    radio's original soaps, it was sponsored appropriately by Silver Dust,
    Ivory soap and Ivory soap flakes.

    1935   Wedding bells pealed for a singer and a bandleader who tied the
    knot, making radio history together. The bandleader was Ozzie Nelson and
    the singer was Harriet Hilliard. They would make the history pages again
    on this very day    nine years later.

    1944   The first broadcast of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet was
    heard on the CBS network.

    10/9

    1935   Cavalcade of America was first broadcast this very day. The CBS
    show featured some of Hollywood and Broadway's most famous stars in
    leading roles in the half hour dramas. Thomas Chalmers narrated the
    stories about obscure incidents and people in American history. The
    orchestra was led by Donald Voorhees. The show aired from 1935 to 1953,
    changing from CBS to NBC in 1939; with one sponsor for its entire
    duration. The DuPont Company introduced its slogan on Cavalcade of
    America ... "Better things for better living through [removed]"

    1943   ABC presented Land of the Lost. The opening phrase for the show
    was, "In that wonderful kingdom at the bottom of the [removed]" This
    children's adventure fantasy serial took the audience underwater where
    the main characters, Isabel and Jimmy, were guided by their friend, a
    red fish named Red Lantern and played at first by Junius Matthews and
    later, by Art Carney. Land of the Lost found a large audience and
    remained on the air until 1948.

    10/10

    1932   Two of radio's earliest efforts at soap operas were heard for the
    first time. Judy and Jane, sponsored by Folger's Coffee, and Betty and
    Bob, sponsored by General Mills, had listeners glued to their radios
    into the early 1940s.

    1933   Dreft, the first synthetic detergent, went on sale. Ten years
    later Dreft was the sponsor of The Dreft Star Playhouse.

    1937   The Mutual Broadcasting System debuted Thirty Minutes in
    Hollywood. 48 sponsors shared the cost of the program that aired in 72
    cities nationwide. It was the first Mutual co op radio show. George
    Jessel and Norma Talmadge starred. Music was provided by the Tommy
    Tucker Orchestra.

    10/11

    1936   Professor Quiz aired for the first time. It was the first
    national quiz show on radio and lasted until 1948. Guests asked
    Professor Quiz (Dr. Craig Earl) questions. If they were able to stump
    the prof, they collected a $25 prize. ($352 in 2016 dollars).  Professor
    Quiz announcers were Robert Trout and Arthur Godfrey. Sponsors included
    Kelvinator refrigerators, Teel Shampoo and Velvet pipe tobacco.

    1948   One of radio's last premiering soap operas, The Brighter Day,
    happened this day in Three Rivers. The show centered around the Dennis'
    and their extended family. It's interesting to take a look at the cast
    and see which names are still recognizable, like Hal Holbrook and
    William Redfield. Some of the sponsors are still around, too: Ivory Soap
    flakes, Blue Cheer detergent and Hazel Bishop lipstick. The soap opera
    lasted for six years on radio.

    10/12

    1937   The longest running detective show debuted. Mr. Keen, Tracer of
    Lost Persons lasted until 1955. Three different actors played the title
    role, Bennett Kilpack was Mr. Keen the longest, and Arthur Hughes saw
    the final show. Phil Clark also played the part. There were many more
    than three sponsors: Anacin, Kolynos toothpaste, BiSoDol antacid mints,
    Hill's cold tablets, Heet liniment, Dentyne, Aerowax, RCA Victor and
    Chesterfield cigarettes.

    Joe

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

    Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2019 12:48:17 -0400
    From: Gary <actuarylaw@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Gunsmoke question

     Gunsmoke question:

    Today I listened to the episode entitled "The Soldier". In it, at least two
    soldiers recognize Kitty as a source of compassion.  Can I interpret these
    "quick" hellos merely state the obvious of Kitty's role as [removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2019 Issue #47
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