------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2007 : Issue 320
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Writers' Strike [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
Quiet, Please ETs [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
Re: War of the Worlds [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
Re: War of the worlds book by [removed] [ "Glenn P.," <C128User@[removed]; ]
11-12 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
More on recording on disc [ Ken Greenwald <kgradio@[removed]; ]
WOTW [ "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed] ]
Studs Terkel [ Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:41:12 -0500
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Writers' Strike
The current writers' strike is about writers being compensated for
iterations of their work dispensed to the public in new ways, that
is, over the internet by way of iTunes and directly from network
homepages. I'm wondering if there was a similar upheaval when
programming began to be shifted from radio to television, often using
the same scripts or scripts only slightly altered. Did writers demand
and/or receive extra revenue? If not, was there a strike then, too,
over, essentially, the same issue that has brought the current one
about?
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:41:53 -0500
From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Quiet, Please ETs
As long as we're on the subject of the origins and whereabouts of
electrical transcriptions, I thought I would post part of a query that
a "John D." asked in the [removed] forum a couple of weeks ago.
It went unanswered and I thought maybe someone here would know
something. Here it is:
***
... Does anyone know what became of the actual ET's of the Quiet
Please episodes now in circulation?
If I understand correctly, based on what I've read both here and
elsewhere: at some point in the 1960's, [Quiet Please star Ernest]
Chappell made reel-to-reel copies of his personal collection of discs
and gave these to [Wyllis] Cooper's widow. Then, in the 1970's, J.
David Goldin of Radio Yesteryear released copies of these shows on
cassette (arrgh) taken either from the transcription discs (or, more
likely, from the reel-to-reel copies which Cooper's widow had in her
possession - I'm not clear on which). It's also my understanding that
the majority of encodes of Quiet, Please episodes currently in
circulation come from those Radio Yesteryear cassette releases.
I'm aware of the one disc listed in the library's holdings at the
University of Indiana and the two allegedly held at the Museum of TV &
Radio in NYC. But where could the rest of them - the actual discs -
be?
***
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:42:15 -0500
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: War of the Worlds
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
In a message dated 11/9/07 11:19:19 AM Central Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
Cantril's evidence would suggest that
the overwhelming majority of Americans didn't even know about the
broadcast until they looked at their newspapers the next morning.
My search years ago of the local newspapers from my part of Alabama, from the
day after the "War of the Worlds" broadcast, play up the story as a big
headline on page one. But they all used national wire reports and I saw no
references to any local reactions, so they may very well had been little to
none here
in Alabama.
Only evidence I ever heard was from legendary Anniston, Alabama broadcaster
Malcolm Street, who said he was a teenager working that night in 1938 and took
several calls from people asking if the invasion was real. He didn't remember
anyone being especially hysterical but there were a few who did think it was
real. I have never heard anyone say they reacted to it by fleeing into the
night and I must've asked every person I knew who was alive back then. Then
again, who would admit that now?
Dixon
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 21:30:25 -0500
From: "Glenn P.," <C128User@[removed];
To: Old-Time Radio Mailing List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: War of the worlds book by [removed]
On Sat., 10-Nov-2007, at 03:33:17pm EST (-0500 GMT),
"Mr. Ted Kneebone" <TKneebone1@[removed]; posted
to [The Old-Time Radio Mailing List] under the subject
of "War of the worlds book by [removed]":
> Koch, Howard: "The Panic Broadcast, Portrait Of An
> Event" Avon Books, 1970, 163pp.
My copy is from Little, Brown & Co., but otherwise,
yeah, mine has the same title. I simply overlooked
the "Portrait Of An Event" line.
Here's a scan of the cover of my book (note, it's a
"progressive" JPEG, which not all graphics software
can display; but Windows Paint will show it):
[removed]~C128User/[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 22:33:37 -0500
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 11-12 births/deaths
November 12th births
11-12-1884 - Griff Barnett - Blue Ridge, TX - d. 1-12-1958
actor: Rexall Family Druggist "Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show"
11-12-1903 - Jack Oakie - Sedalia, MO - d. 1-23-1978
comedian: "Jack Oakie's College"
11-12-1910 - Madelyn Palmer - Adelaide, South Australia - d. 8-xx-1997
author of numerous radio plays.
11-12-1911 - Claudia Morgan - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-17-1974
actor: Carolyn Allen Walker Kramer Nelson MacDonald; "Right to
Happiness"
11-12-1911 - Clay Bryant - Madison Heights, VA - d. 4-9-1999
baseball analyst: "Baseball with Clay Bryant"
11-12-1914 - Charles Marion - Philadelphia, PA - d. 9-29-1980
writer: "The Eddie Cantor Show"
11-12-1917 - Henry Jerome - NYC
bandleader: "Dinner at the Green Room"
11-12-1917 - Jo Stafford - Coalinga, CA
singer: "Tommy Dorsey Show"; "Ford Show"; "Chesterfield Supper Club"
11-12-1920 - Richard Quine - Detroit, MI - d. 6-10-1989
actor: "Doctor Christian"; "Mayor of the Town"; "Family Theatre"
11-12-1922 - Kim Hunter - Detroit, MI - d. 9-11-2002
actor: "Medicine USA"; "Philco Radio Playhouse"; "CBS Radio Mystery
Theatre"
11-12-1929 - Grace Kelly - Philadelphia, PA - d. 9-14-1982
actor: "Family Theatre"; "Bob Hope Show"
11-12-1929 - Jim Backlin - d. 3-xx-1981
disk jockey: KCJB Minot, North Dakota; KFYR Bismarck, North Dakota
11-12-1933 - Bert Andersen - d. 6-xx-1974
disk jockey: KTAC Tacoma, Washington
November 12th deaths
01-11-1896 - George Houston - Hampton, NJ - d. 11-12-1944
baritone: "Theatre Magazine"
02-14-1884 - Grace Valentine - Springfield, OH - d. 11-12-1964
actor: Minnie Grady "Stella Dallas"
04-30-1912 - Eve Arden - Mill Valley, CA - d. 11-12-1990
actor: Connie Brooks "Our Miss Brooks"; Libby Collins "Lux Radio
Theatre"
05-20-1911 - Vet Boswell - Birmingham, AL - d. 11-12-1988
singer: (The Boswell Sisters) "The Boswell Sisters"; "Woodbury Soap
Show"
05-30-1917 - Peter Leeds - Bayonne, NJ - d. 11-12-1996
actor: Eugor "Rogue's Gallery"; "Bob Hope Show"; "Stan Freberg Show"
06-01-1888 - Louis Mason - Danville, KY - d. 11-12-1959
actor: Clem Betts "Moonshine and Honeysuckle"
06-08-1918 - Robert Carroll - North Carolina - d. 11-12-1994
actor: Inspector Mark Sabre "Molle Mystery Theatre"
06-23-1917 - Norman Rose - Philadelphia, PA - d. 11-12-2004
narrator: "Dimension X"
07-07-1894 - David Ross - NYC - d. 11-12-1975
actor: Bob "Mary and Bob"
07-07-1909 - Eddie Mayehoff - Baltimore, MD - d. 11-12-1992
actor: Waldo Greentree/Nick Scott "Against the Storm"
07-14-1931 - Robert Stephens - Bristol, England - d. 11-12-1995
actor: Aragorn "The Lord of the Rings"
07-29-1910 - Sydney Roslow - d. 11-12-2002
psychologist: "What Makes You Tick?"
08-13-1909 - Dave Willock - Chicago, IL - d. 11-12-1990
actor: Tugwell "Jack Carson Show, Sealtest Village Store"
09-15-1908 - Penny Singleton - Phildelphia, PA - d. 11-12-2003
actor: Blondie Bumstead "Blondie" Penny Williamson "Penny Singleton
Show"
12-03-1908 - Anna Sten - Kiev, the Ukraine - d. 11-12-1993
actor: "March of Time"; "Stagedoor Canteen"
12-07-1879 - Rudolf Friml - Prague, Bohemia - d. 11-12-1972
operetta composer: "Railroad Hour"; "Chicago Theatre of the Air"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:17:54 -0500
From: Ken Greenwald <kgradio@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: More on recording on disc
Bob Cockrum emailed me off line about recording on 78s etc. I sent him an
explaination and then asked Bob if he thought I should drop the information
on the OTR Digest. His suggestion was that I should, that some readers would
be interested and others could simply skip over the info. I thought that
might be a good thing for people who are interested. So, even though the info
below is directed to Bob (and I refer to him throughout) it is also for those
who wish to know more about the various aspects of recording on 78 discs and
16" ETs ------
Thanks for emailing. Nice to hear from you. Good question. Here's
the answer based on knowledge of sound recording: Any record, be
it a 16" ET, a 12" microgroove LP, or a 78 recording, spins at a
defined rate of either 33 1/3 rpm or 78 rpm. If you imagine a 78
spinning at that speed, you will discover that the outer edge of
the recording is rotating what seems to be faster. The inner part
of the 78 is near the spindle and this part does not have to
rotate as much. In effect, it is rotating at a slower speed
because the same point on a groove does not have to travel as far
to make a circle as the outer edge does. In effect, it's like the
outer edge of the disc is recording at 71/2 inches per second,
the middle is at 3 3/4 inches, and the area near the spindle at 1
7/8, like a cassette. At a 7 1/2 ips speed you get greater
fidelity, fuller sound. Drop that to 3 3/4 and sound quality
diminishes. Get towards the spindle (1 7/8) and sound is even
worse. I am using this analogy about tape speed simply to
indicate the speed at which the grooves rotate in a circle. So,
at the outer edge, the signal is spread (in the grooves) over a
wider area (just like the 7 1/2 speed of tape). This allows
greater fidelity. As the needle follows the groove into the
middle of the 78, the grooves do not have to rotate the greater
distance as the edge does, and so the fidelity drops because the
signal is "squeezed" into shorter space. Finally, near the
spindle the groove is rotating slower to make a circle and the
fidelity is "squeezed" even more, reducing the sound quality.
Thus, at the outer edge of the 78 the sound is better than at the
spindle area. As speed and rotation slows, there is more bass and
less treble.
I'm glad you brought this up, Bob, because i forgot to mention in
my email one other important factor: In the days of radio ETs, at
33 1/3 on 16" discs and at 78 speed on 78 discs, the engineers
did NOT re-equalize the sound to boost the treble slowly as the
grooves reached the spindle. That's why, on most 78 recordings,
and on a lot of 16" ETs the sound deteriorates as you get towards
the center spindle. It's that rotation/distance from spindle
problem.
Later, as technology increased, the engineers cutting the discs
knew how to re-equalize so the sound was the same at the edge and
at the spindle. As LP technology increased it became automatic
that the sound would be re-equalized on a vinyl recording.
As a matter of fact, the engineers during the 40s were so aware
of the problem of equalization they recorded ETs two additional
ways besides just recording from edge to inside or inside to
edge. One way was to record from edge to inside on the first disc
(15 minutes a disc), and then record the second disc from inside
to edge. That way, even as the sound degrades near the spindle on
the first disc there would not be a sudden jump back to better
fidelity on the second disc, because the second disc would start
inside and go to the edge. Thus the sound change would be even
and not jarring. The second way was done quite a lot during the
50s and that was to record fifteen minutes on the first side of
the first disc. There would be a space cut into the disc at the
10 minute point. The second disc would start as an overlap of the
final sound on side one of the first disc. Again a space would be
cut into the 2nd disc. Then, the first disc would be turned over
while the second was still being cut, and again an overlap and
another space cut into the disc.
What this did, Bob, was to segment the 3 sides into 3 ten minute
segments with some overlap. And there would be 3 distinct visual
segments of 10 minutes each if you looked at the recorded discs.
The ten minute segments that were played were at the outter edge
of each side so there would be no possible auditory degrading of
sound.
I have transfered to tape and hard drive dozens and dozens of all
types of 16" ETs and 78s, and the best fidelity came from those
discs that were segmented with 10 minute areas with overlap.
Those discs were played on air often during the mid to late 50s.
Gunsmoke is a perfect example of this type of ET recording, and
also Escape and Suspense.
I hope this clarifies everything, Bob. Either that or I might
have confused you more! If only we could be standing in front of
each other it would be so much easier to show you the discs and
demonstrate the various types of recordings made and the inherent
problems with fidelity and recorded grooves.
To those reading this info, many thanks for your time.
To those who skipped over, many thanks for still enjoying the digest.
Ken Greenwald
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:38:36 -0500
From: "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: WOTW
Wow, thanks for all the great responses to my WOTW recording question,
especially Michael Biel, Elizabeth McLeod, Craig W, Ken Greenwald, and
Ray Markham.
-chris holm
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:02:11 -0500
From: Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Studs Terkel
Folks;
I'm currently looking for any and all radio programs featuring Studs
Terkel; it would be _really_ nice to find some of the early interview shows,
and even nicer to find some of his even earlier radio drama work originating in
Chicago.
Please email me with anything you can find; I promise to share with the
group.
Charlie
[removed] Keep an eye on the podcast/blog at [removed] - I've
been running behind, but will be running the Can You Top This? episodes
[removed], as well as the nine surviving episodes of Empire Builders
recently discussed here. And if I ever get some time, I'll be posting more
pics of the recent FOTR convention, too.
Me
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #320
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