Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #35
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 2/3/2006 9:58 AM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2006 : Issue 35
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      William Paley                         [ "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross. ]
      re: script fonts                      [ "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed]; ]
      Re: Met Opera Quiz Taped?             [ Martin Fass <watchstop@frontiernet. ]
      February issue of Radio Recall        [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
      Rochester's Lines                     [ "Jim Harmon" <jimharmonotr@charter. ]
      Norman Corwin: The Greatest Living O  [ "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed] ]
      re: Robert Benchley                   [ "Matthew Bullis" <matthewbullis@run ]
      Jack Benny in the News                [ seandd@[removed] ]
      Law West of the Pecos                 [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
      Melody and Madness                    [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
      Re: Wendell P. Loveless               [ "Don and Kathy Dean" <dxk@ezlinknet ]
      WJSV Broadcast Day                    [ [removed]@[removed] ]
      Karloff show                          [ Illoman <illoman@[removed]; ]
      Emailing: la-oe-morrison2feb02,0,498  [ "apcohen" <apcohen@[removed]; ]
      2-3 births/deaths                     [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      And who disguised as Clark [removed]    [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 09:34:24 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  William Paley

>     Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 14:52:07 -0500
>     From: Jmeals@[removed]

>     A man like Bill Paley will, inevitably,  have a large number of
>     admirers and harsh critics. But I think both camps would  agree
>     that Bill Paley rarely allowed sentiment to rule his business
>     decisions.

    Actually, I think he did exactly that on occasion.  Keeping otr
    around was one example.  There also were TV shows -- The Paper Chase
    comes to mind -- which were kept around despite low ratings because
    Paley liked them.

    --
    A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                           [removed]
     15 Court Square, Suite 210                 Fax [removed]
    Boston, MA 02108-2503           	         [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 11:20:01 -0500
    From: "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  re: script fonts

    Mark Kinsler commented on script fonts for broadcasting. I think
    the huge typeface he might be referring to was called "Orator"
    ... and it was available as one of those ball-shaped typing
    elements on the IBM typewriters and on other ones with the
    regular type bars. It was popular for speeches ... just the thing
    to help the myopic and other speakers actually see their speech
    in low-light levels, etc.

    Of course, as news came in on the standard Teletype, it was all
    caps with what was called the upper rail reserved for numbers and
    other symbols. But I believe most people will tell you that
    material in all caps is not the easiest to read ... the words
    tend to become boxcars to the eyes and you can lose a sense of
    flow and emphasis. It isn't that it can't be done (and wasn't
    done by tens of thousands of announcers and rip-and-read
    newscasters), but it probably isn't the best way. The
    TeletypeSetter form of the Teletype was actually for newspapers
    and it did send stories out in caps and lower case as it would
    appear when published.

    When I worked in a television newsroom, we typed our director's
    cues on the left side of the page in caps, but on the right, the
    spoken words were all upper and lower case as in standard
    writing.

    bc

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 13:31:16 -0500
    From: Martin Fass <watchstop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Met Opera Quiz Taped?

    How marvelous, proof again of the value of the OTR Digest!  (As if
    anyone NEEDED proof.)  Two kind people responded to my request for
    last Saturday's broadcast.

    Silly me, by the way, thinking only in old-fashioned terms of
    "taping" the program.  I frequently record from radio on the computer
    [removed] the only problem is the ease of doing so, leaving me
    with far more special hours than I can possibly listen to.

    New question: do any of you have ways to add more hours to the day?

    Thanks again to my benefactors.

    --Martin Fass

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 14:12:20 -0500
    From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  February issue of Radio Recall

    The next issue of Radio Recall is enroute back from the printer and
    will soon be mailed to all subscribers. The February issue leads off
    with Maury Cagle's historical review of all OTR shows that featured
    flying heroes, beginning with "The Flying Hutchinsons" in 1932. Another
    featured article is the second of a two-part piece by Cort Vitty on the
    radio career of Jessica Dragonette.

    Other articles in this issue include an overview of the new OTR
    reference book by Susan & David Siegel, an analysis of the 1945 Captain
    Midnight code-o-graph written by Stephen A. Kallis, Jr. (a frequent
    Digester), "Krautland Calling" in which OTR columnist Jim Snyder
    discusses this WW II program produced by American POW's in Germany, and
    a factual summary of Fred Foy's career at WXYZ.

    You can view articles from past issues, and obtain subscription
    information, at the web site of the Metropolitan Washington OTR Club at
    <[removed]>

    Jack French
    Editor

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 15:27:52 -0500
    From: "Jim Harmon" <jimharmonotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Rochester's Lines
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    While I have no specific information on the matter, I will add my opinion as
    to why Rochester's lines in Jack Benny scripts were all in capital letters.
    Eddie Anderson was the product of the segregated schools of the early part of
    the century.  It is possible that his reading skills were not that great.  He
    may have been able to read capital letters, resembling printing better than
    lower case.
    In school, as a white kid, we were taught to print in first and second grade
    before we got to handwriting.
        My mother used to talk about an elderly white man she knew as a child who
    used to say "I can read readin', but I can't read writin'."  By that, he meant
    he could read printing as in a book, or hand-printed, but he could not read
    hand writing in script.
        I hope I am not doing offense to the wonderful Eddie Anderson, one of the
    beloved talents of old time radio, but it occurred to me as a possibility.
        JIM HARMON

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

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 15:28:18 -0500
    From: "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Norman Corwin:  The Greatest Living OTR Icon

    In my opinion, Norman Corwin is the greatest OTR person alive today.  In
    today's LOS ANGELES TIMES, his friend, columnist Patt Morrison, has a few
    words about him:

    [removed],1,[removed]

    Stuart

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 17:12:16 -0500
    From: "Matthew Bullis" <matthewbullis@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  re: Robert Benchley

    I'm not aware of show recordings with Robert in them, but I'm sure someone
    else has more info if it's available, but there was a biography in sound
    program done on him.
    Thanks a lot.
    Matthew

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 17:12:39 -0500
    From: seandd@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jack Benny in the News

    An interview former Tonight Show sideman Ed McMahon mentions Johnny Carson's love of Jack Benny.

    [removed],0,[removed]

    This gay news outlet remembers Jack's work with Liberace in a profile of the decline of gay culture:

    [removed] (I report, you decide)

    A golf joke attributed to Jack appears here:

    [removed]

    And in other news, here is a review of the Oscar-nominated Edward R. Murrow bio film Good Night, Good Luck, which mentions Jack in passing.

    [removed]

    Sean Dougherty
    SeanDD@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 19:25:58 -0500
    From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Law West of the  Pecos

    On Thursday, February 2, 2006, at 09:35 AM, Andrew Steinberg  wrote:

>     Is anyone familiary with an OTR show called Law West of the Pecos? This is
>     the name of the show, not the name of the episode. From the end credits, it
>     seems to have been on in 1946. Does anyone have more details about it?

    "Law West of the Pecos" was one of hundreds of series proposals that
    never got beyond the audition disc stage.  In this case, the audition
    disc is usually accorded the date of 2-3-44.  It starred Walter Brennan
    as a "hanging judge," as you probably know from listening to it.

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 19:26:55 -0500
    From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Melody and Madness

    On Thursday, February 2, 2006, at 09:35 AM, Cliff Martin wrote:

>     A Google search says Robert Benchley had a radio show in the late
>     30's, "Melody and Madness," the music being furnished by none other
>     that the famous bandleader, Artie Shaw.  Are there any known recordings?
>     Looks like something well worth digging for.

    Turning to Jay Hickerson's "Third Revised Ultimate History," we learn
    that Benchley had his own radio, first on CBS and then on NBC-Blue in
    the late 30s. It was variously called "Robert Benchley", "Melody and
    Madness" or "Old Gold Program." It was a musical variety show with
    Artie Shaw (in 1938) and Jimmy Durante joined the cast in October 1939,
    two months before the show went off the air. There are four complete
    shows that exist, with a number of partials also.

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 19:29:46 -0500
    From: "Don and Kathy Dean" <dxk@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Wendell P. Loveless

    Greetings from the shores of Knox Lake.

    A special thanks to Randall F. Miller, Jr and Cliff Martin
    for the information concerning Wendell Loveless and the
    Moody Network.   I found the information on the organ
    to be very interesting.   Thanks again for your responses.
    One a lighter note: Buckeye Chuck [an OH four-legged
    resident] saw his shadow today.  Six more weeks until
    spring.

    Kathleen

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 19:30:30 -0500
    From: [removed]@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  WJSV Broadcast Day

    Andrew Steinberg ask:

>     Does anyone know whose idea this was or the history behind
>     this recording?

    The fact the recording is being made was mentioned during one of the newscasts.
    I think they felt the day would be imporatant day in history because of
    President Roosevelt was addressing a joint meeting of the House and Senate.

    Paul Urbahns
    Radcliff, KY

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 21:17:35 -0500
    From: Illoman <illoman@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Karloff show
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

>     11-23-1887 - Boris Karloff - London, England - d. 2-2-1969
>     actor, host: "Starring Boris Karloff"; "Creeps by Night"

    Does anyone know if any of these shows (Starring Boris Karloff) still
    exist?

    Thanks,
    Mike

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

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

    Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 21:41:09 -0500
    From: "apcohen" <apcohen@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Emailing: la-oe-morrison2feb02,0,4989188
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/mixed
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was multipart/alternative

    The following link is to a tribute to Norman Corwin in the Los Angeles Times
    of 2/2/06.

     [removed],0,[removed]

    Al Cohen

    [server removed an attachment of type application/octet-stream which had a name of la-oe-morrison2feb02,0,[removed]]

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

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

    Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 00:51:36 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  2-3 births/deaths

    February 3rd births

    02-03-1883 - Clarence Mulford - Streator, IL - d. 5-10-1956
    creator of Hopalong Cassidy
    02-03-1890 - Charles Correll - Peoria, IL - d. 9-26-1972
    actor: Andrew Brown "Amos 'n' Andy"
    02-03-1890 - Larry MacPhail - Cass City, MI - d. 10-1-1975
    baseball executive: "Information, Please"; "Bill Stern Colgate Sports
    Newsreel"
    02-03-1895 - Nick Kenny - Astoria, NY - d. 12-1-1975
    columnist, songwriter: Reader of inspirational verse
    02-03-1903 - Martin Block - Los Angeles, CA - d. 9-19-1967
    announcer, disc jockey: "Make-Believe Ballroom"; "Chesterfield Supper
    Club"
    02-03-1907 - James Michener - New York, NY - d. 10-16-1997
    author: "You and the World"
    02-03-1907 - Paul Laven - d. 5-1-1950
    writer: "The Bob Hope Show"
    02-03-1910 - Nelson Case - Long Beach, CA - d. 3-24-1976
    announcer: "Hour of Charm"; "New Carnation Contented Hour"
    02-03-1916 - Joey Bishop - The Bronx, NY
    actor: "Monitor's Salute to Jimmy Durante"
    02-03-1924 - Leslie Stevens - Washington, [removed] - d. 4-24-1998
    film director: "Stagestruck"
    02-03-1925 - John Fielder - Platteville, WI - d. 6-25-2005
    actor: Homer Brown "The Aldrich Family"
    02-03-1926 - Shelley Berman - Chicago, IL
    actor: "Family Theatre"
    02-03-1928 - Frankie Vaughan - Liverpool, England - d. 9-17-1999
    singer: "Al Jolson Centenary"
    02-03-1929 - Russell Arms - Berkely, CA
    singer, actor: "Have Gun, Will Travel"
    02-03-1932 - Peggy Ann Garner - Canton, OH - d. 7-21-1982
    actress: Esther Smith "Meet Me in St. Louis"
    02-03-1933 - Suzan Ball - Jamestown, NY - d. 8-5-1955
    actress: Intermission Guest "Lux Radio Theatre"
    02-03-1950 - Morgan Fairchild - Dallas, TX
    actress: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"

    February 3rd deaths

    01-03-1907 - Anna May Wong - Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA - d. 2-3-1961
    actress: "Campbell Playhouse"; "Hollywood Hotel"
    01-04-1916 - Lionel Newman - New Haven, CT - d. 2-3-1989
    conductor, composer: (Brother of Alfred) "Hollywood Star Time"
    01-05-1893 - Ace Brigode - Illinois - d. 2-3-1960
    bandleader: "White Rose Gasoline Show"; "Jersey Cereal Show"
    01-28-1911 - Donald Briggs - Chicago, IL - d. 2-3-1986
    actor: Frank Merriwell "Advs. of Frank Merriwell"; Stanley Holton
    "Portia Faces Life"
    03-06-1900 - Jay C. Flippen - Little Rock, AR - d. 2-3-1971
    actor: Sergeant "Rookies"
    03-18-1916 - Jody Gilbert - Fort Worth, TX - d. 2-3-1979
    actress: Rosa "Life with Luigi"
    04-01-1904 - Sid Field - Birmingham, England - d. 2-3-1950
    comedian: Freelance
    05-26-1893 - Edward MacHugh - Dundee, Scotland - d. 2-3-1957
    singer: "Gospel Singer"
    06-14-1900 - June Walker - Chicago, IL - d. 2-3-1966
    actress: (Mother of actor John Kerr) "The Rudy Vallee Show"
    09-07-1936 - Buddy Holly - Lubbock, TX - d. 2-3-1959
    singer: "Sunday Party"; "Buddy and Bob Show"
    09-30-1891 - Fabien Sevitzky - d. 2-3-1967
    director: "The Indianaoplis Symphony Orchestra"
    10-24-1930 - J. P. "Big Bopper" Richardson - Sabine Pass, TX - d.
    2-3-1959
    Early Rock and Roll disc jockey
    10-25-1912 - Al Lewis - d. 2-3-2002
    director-writer: "Our Miss Brooks"
    11-21-1902 - Frank Hursley - d. 2-3-1989
    writer: "American Women"; "Cousin Willie"; "Those Websters"; "The
    Truitts"
    11-30-1890 - Ramsey Hill - Georgetown, Guyana - d. 2-3-1976
    actor: "Escape"; "NBC University Theatre"
    12-16-1895 - Andy Razaf - Washington, D. C. - d. 2-3-1973
    lyricist: "Music for Millions"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 11:58:23 -0500
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  And who disguised as Clark [removed]

    A. Joseph Ross wrote:

>     I'm not so sure that the origin in the comics was all that much
>     better at that point.  The legend has changed over time.

    The origin in the comics hasn't changed that much. In
    1938, when Superman debuted in _Action Comics_ #1, the
    very brief origin told us that before Krypton exploded
    a scientist placed his infant son in a rocket and sent
    it to Earth. A couple named Kent found the boy and
    took him to an orphanage. A few days later they
    adopted him, and named him Clark. Both died when Clark
    was on the cusp of adulthood. Before his father died,
    he told Clark to use his great powers for good.

    Over the years, we learned the name of Superman's home
    planet (Krypton), his biological parents' names
    (Jor-L, later Jor-EL, and Lara) his own Kryptonian
    name (Kal-L, later Kal-EL), and the Kents' names
    (originally John and Mary, but ultimately established
    as Jonathan and Martha; on the "Adventures of
    Superman" TV show, for some reason, they were Eben and
    Sarah). But the basic facts about his origin have
    remained the same since 1938: Sent from Krypton to
    Earth, raised by the Kents.

    To the best of my knowledge, the radio show is the
    lone exception- with Supes arriving on Earth as an
    adult (though he left Krypton as an infant), and being
    given the name Clark Kent by two strangers. Why the
    radio show chose to take this route, instead of
    establishing that he'd been found and raised by the
    Kents I've no idea. Maybe the writers were just
    anxious to get Supes into action. Even so, they
    probably could have covered that in one minute of
    narration at the top of episode 2. For example:

    "The ship from the doomed planet Krypton landed in a
    farmer's field. The farmer and his wife found the
    infant son of Jor-L and raised him, calling him Clark
    Kent. Now, years later, Kent is ready to help others
    with his great powers."

    Cut to the scene with the professor and his son. Supes
    rescues them as before. They might still suggest he
    work as a reporter, but obviously wouldn't suggest a
    name. Other than Superman, that is.

    The biggest change in the comicbooks came with the
    1986 revamp of Supes origins, _The Man of Steel_
    written by John Byrne. That established that Jonathan
    and Martha Kent are still alive. In every other
    permutation of the origin (except on radio, where they
    didn't exist), one or both- usually both- died when
    Clark was either in college or just before he went off
    to college. The TV series _Smallville_ has embraced
    that aspect of the origin with the death of Jonathan
    Kent last week.

    The other major change established in _The Man of
    Steel_ (a concept put forth by Marv Wolfman) was
    making Lex Luthor a powerful business mogul, who like
    Professor Moriarity appears to be a respectable
    citizen on the surface. He sees Supes as a threat to
    his power as the number one man in Metropolis. During
    the "Silver Age" of comics, Lex's animosity for Supes
    dated back to their teen years. Both lived in
    Smallville, and Lex and Superboy were good friends.
    Then a lab fire occurred when Lex had just created a
    protoplasmic life form. Superboy blew out the fire to
    save Lex (destorying the protoplasmic life form in the
    process), and the resulting fumes made Lex's hair fall
    out. From that day forward, Lex hated Supes, and
    insisted that the action had been a deliberate result
    of Superboy's jealousy.

    Oooookay. Let me get this straight, Lex. You're not
    angry with Superboy because his efforts to _save your
    life_ inadvertantly destroyed _a life form you'd just
    created_. You're angry because you've lost your hair?
    Buy a toupee and move on.

    Talk about mixed up priorities. The Luthor as business
    mogul was much better on so many levels, though it's
    too bad that meant losing the "former best friend has
    become deadly enemy" theme of the Lex/Supes
    relationship.

    For the record, the current version of Lex in the
    comicbooks lost his hair by natural means, and the
    original "Golden Age" Lex Luthor had a full head of
    red hair. He also first met Supes as an adult.

    The series _Smallville_ establishes Lex and a young
    Clark Kent as friends (though that friendship has
    begun to strain), while Lex's father, Lionel, has
    inherited many of the "business mogul" characteristics
    of the comicbook version of Lex.

    You are correct that when "The Adventures of Superman"
    aired, showing Clark first operating as an adult,
    there were _Superboy_ stories in the comics. But keep
    in mind, Superboy didn't come along until almost a
    decade after the character of Superman first appeared.
    Until about 1949, Clark Kent's backstory was that he
    first began using his powers- at least publicly- as an
    adult. But then someone at DC Comics (then called
    National Periodical Publications) decided that stories
    about Superman as a boy would be just as popular, if
    not more so with young readers.

    And thus, the origin was tweaked to establish that
    Clark had operated as Superboy in his teens.
    Everything else pretty much remained the same.

    In the current DC Comics universe there is a Superboy
    (and has been since 1992). He's not a young Superman,
    but his clone.

>     A planet on the other side of the sun was a fairly common device in
>     those days.  There was even a comic strip, "Twin Earths," on that
>     theme.  The idea was that we wouldn't know about the planet, at least
>     not until we had a visitation from there.

    So I take it there was either a scientific theory or a
    popular fictional convention that there could be two
    hypothetical planets on the same orbital plane?

    Rick

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #35
    ********************************************

    Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
      including republication in any form.

    If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
       [removed]

    For Help: [removed]@[removed]

    To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

    To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
      or see [removed]

    For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
      in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

    To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

    To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]