------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 386
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Re: Your Money or Your Life Redux [ "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed]; ]
Se Si Sue [ "ASTON" <aston@[removed]; ]
Zero! [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
War of The Worlds in Latin America [ "Fábio" <fape2@[removed]; ]
Short Wave reception [ BH <radioguy@[removed]; ]
violent Archie comix??? [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
the benny line [ Michael Berger <intercom1@attglobal ]
Today in radio history [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
Hugh Studebaker [ Allen J Hubin <ajhubin@[removed]; ]
Johnny Zero [ "RBB" <oldradio@[removed]; ]
Zeros, Navies, Admirals and Codes [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
Pics are up (finally!!!) [ Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed] ]
The Company He [removed] [ Wich2@[removed] ]
Remote disk jockeys [ Michael Mewborn <mmewborn@designgro ]
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
Jack Benny Laugh Times [ otrdude@[removed] ]
10-25 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Are Miss Brooks [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
RE: Johnny ZERO [ "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed] ]
10-26 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:41:02 +0000
From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Your Money or Your Life Redux
chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed]; called me out thusly:
> NOOOOOOOOOOO it doesn't!!! The laugh for "I'm
> thinking it over" on March 28, 1948 lasts for exactly
> and precisely six seconds; that would be 54-seconds
> short of "a full minute".
And, of course, he's right; I pulled out my copy of that show for the first
time in years and, not only does the famous reply get a mere six seconds'
worth of response (although Benny Rubin does step on the tail of that laugh
a bit awkwardly, as if the show's producer [Hilliard Marks by this time?)
gave him a bit of a speed-up cue; it could also just have been
less-than-perfect timing on Rubin's part], the recital of the -straight-
line gets =seven= seconds!
(Oh, well, just shows one shouldn't rely on memory without disclosing [removed])
Some comedians just have that knack, the ability to so build up a persona
over time that audiences will laugh -in anticipation- of a gag line. Benny
(obviously) had it; Johnny Carson would later; Groucho Marx was so gifted
in this area that he actually complained about it on his quiz program when
a completely innocent (but double-entendrable) remark by a guest elicited a
huge -- and very dirty -- laugh from the audience.
I'm wondering how many other examples there are of shows or talent that
regularly got this sort of response from an ostensibly non-funny remark or
situation -- or even nothing happening at all. I can think of times, for
instance, when the McGees' closet door opened to utter silence, or on The
Big Show, the knowing chuckles every Fred Allen mention of quiz programs
would receive from prematurely media-savvy audiences on both coasts.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:41:13 +0000
From: "ASTON" <aston@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Se Si Sue
Okay everybody, I need a bit a help. The $.50 to a Bum -- Your Money or
your life has been answered nicely I need to know the date of the Jack
Benny Show where he an Mel Blnac first did the Se, Si, Sue routine. I could
search and eventually locate the show, but maybe by asking here the task
would be a lot easier and quicker. Any help would be much appreciated.
Don Aston
avpro@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:41:21 +0000
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Zero!
Chris Holm, speaking of the Japanese aircraft, A6M, Zero-Sen, noted,
> The Zero was light and maneuverable, and made an excellent dogfighter
> early
> in the war. It was more than a match for the P40 Tomahawk, and special
> hit
> and run tactics were developed to fight the zero.
Well, the Zero, with a good light design and lack of such things as
self-sealing fuel tanks was indeed quite maneuverable. But the P-40 held
its own in the Pearl Harbor attack. Lieutenants Taylor and Welch engaged
several Zeroes and shot down seven aircraft, flying P-40s. A Zero was
captured nearly intact in 1942, and a number of [removed] pilots flew it and
became familiar with its flight characteristics. This aided in
determining tactics for engagements.
To put an OTR spin on this, the basic aircraft shown on the 1942,
1946-1948 manuals that accompanied those years' Code-O-Graph were all
P-40 variants.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:41:30 +0000
From: "Fábio" <fape2@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: War of The Worlds in Latin America
Hi Joe,
I saw your message and I think I can tell you something
about some adaptations of The War of The Worlds in Latin
America.
I am a Brazilian PhD candidate writing a thesis on it and
since you mentioned its adaptation in Latin America and
couldn't remember where it was done, you might be surprised
to learn that only in Brazil there were at least two
different versions of it in Portuguese (one made at the
university where I study and another one in the Northeast
of Brazil).
I also heard about, but cannot tell with certainty that
other adaptations might have taken place in Chile,
Venezuela and Mexico. Should anyone have any information on
adaptations made there or in other countries, I would like
very much to learn about.
So far as I know, none of the adaptations caused any panic
after Orson Welles' experience in 1938.
Best regards from
Fábio L. S. Pietraroia
=====
Fábio Lacerda Soares Pietraroia
Alameda Jaú, 150. Ap. 13-A
01420-000 São Paulo-SP
Brazil
fones: (11)3262-3435
e (11)9443-7144
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:41:39 +0000
From: BH <radioguy@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Short Wave reception
Pete writes:
> Try running a single strand of wire 30 feet in length
> verticle. Isolate it with insulators from where it is
> attached and you will be amazed at what you will hear
> and the cost is not really that much. One further bit
> of advice is that if you can ground your radio that
> will also help a lot.
You might have less noise pickup if you run your antenna horizontal. Noise
from sources such as power lines, motors, and other man-made devices is
mostly vertically polarized and a vertical antenna tends to pick up these
noise sources whereas a horizontal antenna will not be as sensitive to
them. It is kind of a crap shoot, try it both ways.
Bill H.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:41:47 +0000
From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: violent Archie comix???
Re: Archie comics:
>> Actually, they weren't above a little ride on the Violence bandwagon: under
>> their "Red Circle" imprint, they tried to squeeze a bit of blood out of the
>> Marvel-inspired '70's Horror Comics mini-revival. Nothing as gory as the
>> '50's stuff, and the run didn't last very long - but they DID try to go
>> beyond Riverdale!
>
> Really? Archie and Veronica and them? Huh???
> Can you explain this a bit more?
I don't recall anything resembling gore in an Archie comic since the time
when Archie concealed his arm beneath a sweater and taped on a mannequin
arm (I believe Jughead had found one) in its place. Archie then added a
ripe tomato in the shoulder of the mannequin arm, and went off to confront
Moose. True to form, Moose grabbed Archie's 'arm,' only to tear it off. The
tomato provided the requisite blood, sending Moose into shock.
M Kinsler
who always wondered why Midge put up with Moose. [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:41:58 +0000
From: Michael Berger <intercom1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: the benny line
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Is it possible that the mistaken memories of the big buildup laughter of
the "money or your life" Benny line was based not on any radio broadcast,
but a TV version of the line, in which Jack is seen closeup in a driving
rainstorm, the water dribbling off his face, as he ponders the answer. That
buildup was, as I recall, 10-15 seconds, but it's equally possible that the
"laughter" was canned.
Michael Berger
Please reply to: intercom1@[removed]
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:42:24 +0000
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in radio history
From Those Were The Days --
10/24
1929 - The Rudy Vallee Show was broadcast for the first time on NBC.
Actually, the Rudy Vallee show had several different titles over the years,
all of which were referred to by the public as The Rudy Vallee Show.
Megaphone-totin' Rudy and his Connecticut Yankees band were mainstays on
radio into the late 1940s.
10/25
1937 - Stella Dallas made her debut on the NBC Red network. Stella hung out
on NBC until 1955 with Anne Elstner in the title role for the entire run.
Stella Dallas was "A continuation on the air of the true-life story of
mother love and sacrifice, in which Stella saw her own beloved daughter,
Laurel, marry into wealth and society, and realizing the difference in
their tastes and worlds, went out of Laurel's life."
10/26
1935 - A talented twelve-year-old sang on Wallace Beery's NBC show. Judy
Garland delighted the appreciative audience. The young girl would soon be
in pictures and at the top of stardom. It would be only four years before
Ms. Garland (George Jessel gave her the name, thinking it would be better
than her own, Frances Gumm) captured the hearts of moviegoers everywhere
with her performance as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
Joe
--
Visit my homepage:
[removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:42:41 +0000
From: Allen J Hubin
<ajhubin@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Hugh Studebaker
Laurie Platt asks about Hugh Studebaker. This is what
Luther Sies (in Encyclopedia of American Radio 1920-
1960) has to say:
"Actor, singer and organist Studebaker was born May 31,
1900. He made his first radio appearance on a Council
Bluffs, Iowa station performing a song and piano act in
1928. Shortly thereafter, he played the organ on Ted
Malone's program (WLW, Cincinatti, OH). His later
career was mostly devoted to roles on numerous daytime
dramatic serials."
According to the Social Security Death Benefits records,
he died in May 1978 in Encino, California.
Al Hubin
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:42:54 +0000
From: "RBB"
<oldradio@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Johnny Zero
<Regarding the recent posts about the Japanese "Zero" airplane and the
[removed];
The radio connection for this list? There was a popular WWII song called
"Johnny Zero" on the radio about real USAAF enlisted man, John Foley, a
clerk-typist from Chicago, who was eager for combat. Some rumored that he
forged his orders assigning him to the South Pacific. Although he had no
gunnery training, he volunteered as a gunner and was assigned to the crew of
a Martin B-26 bomber.
The song, (written by David and Lawnhurst) had lyrics "Johnny got a zero,
today" when he shot down a Zero fighter on his first mission, albeit without
direct orders to fire his machine gun at that time. Members of the 19th
Bomb Squadron confirmed his victory and a war correspondent nicknamed him
"Johnny Zero." The song was recorded by Ozzie Nelson's Orchestra with
vocalist, Harriet Hilliard (yet another OTR connection for this list!)
Russ Butler
oldradio@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:48:48 +0000
From: "[removed]"
<[removed]@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Zeros, Navies, Admirals and Codes
In 384, Mark Kinsler wrote:
> It was designed to operate from aircraft carriers and,
> along with the superb seamanship of the Japanese navy
> in general, was able to beat the stuffing out of Allied
> forces in the first few years of World War II.
Yamamoto, who had a significant role in the early sucess of the Japanese
navy, is sort of a minor hero in cryptography circles - mainly as an
example of what happens when you have bad crypto. The Allied code breaking
efforts had pretty much broken most Japanese codes, and Allied naval
victories were often the direct result of the codebreakers knowing the
position of the Japanese fleet. Even Yamamoto's death (his plane was shot
down) was because the Navy knew where his plane would be.
Perhaps he needed a Captain Midnight code-o-graph.
-chris holm
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:50:47 +0000
From: Charlie Summers
<charlie@[removed];
To:
[removed]@[removed]
Subject: Pics are up (finally!!!)
Folks;
Sorry it took so long, but what can I [removed]'s a whole lot to do
here, and not much time to do it in!
Anyway, some pics are up at:
[removed]
...the photo pages take a while to load on a dialup (trust [removed] I know ;)
Charlie
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:50:58 +0000
From:
Wich2@[removed]
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: The Company He [removed]
> From: Charlie Summers
<charlie@[removed];
...had dinner last evening with Hal Stone and his lovely wife Dorothy
(she's the smart one). <
Charlie's lovely wife Annie was there as well (...should I reiterate the
paranthetical part, [removed])
> Also at our table were Joyce Randolph, Lynne Rogers, Teri Keane, Ruth
Last, and the Digest's own Craig Wichman, so eat your heart out. <
Nice ladies, all. But (don't tell The Wife!), either because she sat next
to me at din-din, or because she was so dang good when we shared at mic in
MAITLAND AT LARGE, I think I've got a crush on Ms. [removed]
And lemme tell ya - (Hal, maybe you'll see this in a few days?): if some
producer doesn't corral "Hastings & Stone" into a revival tour of THE
SUNSHINE BOYS, they're missing a bet! (Of course, they'd have to wear
POUNDS of aging [removed]).
Seriously, if you're within striking distance, come out. The Big Guns are
Good Eggs.
(Miss you, Barbara W.!)
Best,
Craig "Eugene Fiske" Wichman
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:51:24 +0000
From: Michael Mewborn
<mmewborn@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Remote disk jockeys
This is marginally OTR related.
I remember as a teen (and after television became the mainstay occupier of the
evening hours) that various of the teen hangouts had remote radio disk
jockeys who
played songs with dedications submitted by customers. I remember driving to
Doug
Broome's Drive-In to make a request, then racing back to Seawell's Drive-In to
watch the surprised looks on the faces of those to whom the dedications
were made.
My questions are: Where did this start? When? Who paid for it (radio station or
restaurant)?
The disk jockey frequently occupied a glass booth that was high above the
restaurant and offered a good view of him (usually) and whatever he was doing.
People would drive by and blow their horns and he would acknowledge them,
sometimes with disparaging comments about the car or its occupants.
See, this has a radio connection.
Thanks,
Michael
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:51:38 +0000
From: "Bill Scherer"
<bspro@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Hi all,
As Halloween approaches and I grab all my favorite OTR Halloween type stuff
to share with my Sons it occured to me
that I don't have an OTR version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
I'm assuming that it must have been done at some point.
If it was done more than once, what would be considered the the best version?
Would someone be interested in a trade of some kind so I could get it?
Thanks
Bill
PS. One of the favorites is the Archie Andrews episode where Archie throws
a Halloween party.
Thanks Jughead.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:51:47 +0000
From:
otrdude@[removed]
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Jack Benny Laugh Times
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
In the public interest, I listened to the previously mentioned Jack Benny
episodes and measured the laugh times. Here is what I found:
3-2-48 I'm thinking it over - 6 seconds
4-14-46 Hello, Louella - 12 seconds
4-25-48 Oh, shut up - 23 seconds
1-8-50 Dreer Pooson - 26 seconds
Andrew Steinberg
otrdude@[removed]
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:52:05 +0000
From: Ron Sayles
<bogusotr@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 10-25 births/deaths
October 25th births
10-25-1882 - Richard Gordon - Bridgeport, CT - d. 12-1967
actor: Sherlock Holmes, "Advs. of Sherlock Holmes"; Jim Barrett, "Valiant Lady"
10-25-1891 - Father Charles Coughlin - Hamilton, Canada - d. 10-27-1979
commentator, preacher: (The Radio Priest)
10-25-1901 - Daniel Landt - Scranton, PA - d. 2-24-1961
singer: Landt Trio, "Doc Pearson"s Drug Store"; "Bob Hawk Show"
10-25-1901 - Walter T. Butterworth - Wallingford, PA - d. 3-10-1962
emcee: "Molle Merry Minstrels"; "Vox Pox"; "Take a Card"
10-25-1909 - True Boardman - Seattle, WA - d. 8-4-2003
writer, narrator: "Silver Theatre"; "Favorite Story"
10-25-1912 - Minnie Pearl - Centerville, TN - d. 3-4-1996
comedienne: (Queen of Country Comedy) "Grand Ole Opry"
10-25-1914 - John Reed King - Atlantic City, NJ - d. 7-8-1979
announcer, actor:"Columbia Workshop"; Schuyler 'Sky" King " "Sky King"
10-25-1924 - Billy Barty - Millsboro, PA - d. 12-23-2000
comedian: "Spike Jones Band"
10-25-1927 - Barbara Cook - Atlanta, GA
actress: Julie Boyd "Great Merlini"
10-25-1928 - Marion Ross - Albert Lea, MN
actress: Lux Radio Theatre
October 25th deaths
02-12-1919 - Forrest Tucker - Plainfield, IN - d. 10-25-1986
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
05-27-1911 - Vincent Price - St. Louis, MO - d. 10-25-1993
actor: Simon Templar "The Saint"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
06-19-1908 - Mildred Natwick - Baltimore, MD - d. 10-25-1994
actress: "Starring Boris Karloff"; "Best Plays"; "Campbell Playhouse"
09-14-1907 - Cecil Brown - New Brighton, PA - d. 10-25-1987
newscaster: "CBS European News"; "Sizing Up the News"
11-14-1901 - Morton Downey - Wallingford, CT - d. 10-25-1985
singer: (The Irish Thrush), "Morton Downey Show"; "Songs by Morton Downey"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:52:22 +0000
From: "Walden Hughes"
<hughes1@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Are Miss Brooks
Hi Everybody,
in the last digest a request was ask about the Are Miss Brooks Christmas
show. In fact three people are still with us from that show. Bob Le mond,
who I just talk to on Tuesday to discuss a telephone interview on Yesterday
USA, Gloria McMillian is still around. She and he husband ran an acting
school in California. Frank Bresee played the little boy part. He did not
get credit for the only time he worked the show, but I will ask him on
tonight broadcast. Take care,
Walden Hughes
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:52:30 +0000
From: "Philip Chavin"
<philchav@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: RE: Johnny ZERO
Russ B. recently posted about the WWII song called "Johnny Zero", heard
on the radio in 1943 (for example, on "Your Hit Parade" and on "The Victory
Parade Of Spotlight Bands"). On a broadcast of the latter-named show,
Harriet Hilliard sang the song, which plays with the word "zero": Johnny
used to be a poor student getting lowly "zero" scores on school tests. But
he becomes a pilot and gets "zeros" again but this time it refers to
shooting down Japanese "Zero" fighter planes.
You can see the lyrics on the web page below, but they got the song's
composers' names wrong - should be, as Russ said, David and Lawnhurst. But
they got the lyrics right (or at least mostly right).
[removed]~rickheit/dtrad/[removed]
-- Phil C.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:52:42 +0000
From: Ron Sayles
<bogusotr@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 10-26 births/deaths
October 26th births
10-26-1876 - [removed] Warner - London, England . d. 12-21-1958
actor: "Hollywood Hotel"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
10-26-1911 - Mahalia Jackson - New Orleans, LA - d. 1-27-1972
gospel singer: (The Angel of Peace)
10-26-1914 - Jackie Coogan - Los Angeles, CA - d. 3-1-1984
actor: Ernest Botch "Forever Ernest"
October 26th deaths
03-08-1902 - Louise Beavers - Cincinnati, OH - d. 10-26-1962
actress: Beulah "Beulah"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
06-10-1895 - Hattie McDaniel - Wichita, KS - d. 10-26-1952
actress: Beulah "Beulah"; Mammy "Maxwell House Showboat"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #386
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