Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #232
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 6/23/2002 8:28 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2002 : Issue 232
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Re: Radio censorship resembled Comic  [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
  'Aldrich Family' show                 [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
  Re: OTR offspring                     [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
  Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
  Do you include amateurs?              [ neil crowley <og@[removed]; ]
  Radio Spirits                         [ Chris & Carla White <cncwhite@ricon ]
  Re: KBS                               [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
  re: The Aldrich Family                [ "william mahan" <wmahan@[removed]; ]
  If you ever wondered!!!!              [ Richard Fisher <w9fjl@[removed]; ]
  another famous entertainer and offsp  [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
  Wasnt selma diamond the cousin of---  [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
  Abbott and Costello-HELP              [ "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@hotmail. ]
  The Price Of Fear                     [ "Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed] ]
  Laura Leff-Waukegan Celebration       [ lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed]; ]
  The Most Recorded Song in History     [ DSmith7855@[removed] ]
  Lon Chaney Jr. on OTR                 [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
  Re: Tile, it's what's for dinner      [ Ga6string@[removed] ]
  Fred Allen                            [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]

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

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 09:39:56 -0400
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Radio censorship resembled Comics Code

Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed]; wrote:
 > There actually is a strong paralell between the creation of the Comics
 > Code Authority and what happened in radio in the late [removed]

And, of course, there's a connection between the creation of the Comics
Code and Archie comics. I hesitate to mention it lest one of the
digest's favorite contributors take offense, but I trust Mr. Stone will
not imagine I applaud his contributions to OTR any the less because his
show happened to have been based on a comic book that probably had quite
a bit to do with the destruction of comics as an art form.

I never read Archie unless it was the only comic book in the barber
shop. Before the Code debacle, Archie was just a bland, boring girls'
comic which unflinchingly carried the banner of conformity. The closest
thing to a rebel in the series, the one that most marched to his own
drummer, was called "Jughead" to suggest that being different is being
stoopid. But after _Mad_ mocked Archie's whitebread suburban sterility
by placing Starchie in a crime-ridden inner city, owner John Goldwater
joined the pack of rabid chihuahuas savaging Gaines, Feldstein, Kurzman
and all the other really creative people in comics who were threatening
to turn a children's medium into a real art form.

It was Goldwater who ended up running the Comics Code AUTHORITY, which
boasted of having the most restrictive code of censorship this country
had ever seen. Prohibited, for example were any mention of zombies,
werewolves, vampires, cannibals, torture or ghouls. The very words
"horror" and "terror" were forbidden in titles, and the word "crime"
could only be used in very circumscribed ways. These last strictures
directly targeted the EC comics line, which did, in fact, vanish with
only the magazine version of _Mad_ to mark its passing. As well vanished
most comics dealing with even remotely adult topics, all the horror
comics, all the crime comics of any company. Goldwater not only got
even, he got rid of a lot of his competition. EC tried to hang on with
some new titles like _Piracy_, but their spirit was broken. Ironically,
considering it was the pompous and self-righteous psychologist Wertham
who provided the psuedoscholarshop to arm the adversaries of the more
"grown-up" comics, one of their last comic titles was _Psychology_.
There are those who might argue, considering the amorphous nature of
psychology and its dubious accomplishments - a body of knowledge in
search of a science, as someone has called it - that comic books are the
perfect format in which to depict psychologists at work.

It's hard to realize how innovative EC comics were in some of their plot
lines, so many years and imitators later, or how daring they were in
broaching controversial topics, racism for example, that the Code
strongly discouraged. We can glean some idea of their merits, though,
and some notion of how good comics might have become had not the censors
intervened, by the fact that even after half a century stories taken
straight from the pages of _Tales From the Crypt_ and _The Vault of
Horror_ (which themselves were surely patterned after such shows as _The
Whistler_ and _Inner Sanctum_) still entertain us on tv.

Though somehow, the old comic book stories are not quite as good on tv,
a little less "classy." I suspect it's the OTR effect in reverse; where
radio made us use our imaginations to see the scenery and the
characters, comics made us use our imaginations to hear the voices and
sound effects, or even to feel the wind on our skin or smell the strange
fragrances wafting from the swamp, if we read the descriptive passages
in the yellow text blocks above the frame. Television doesn't permit us
to bring anything of ourselves to the story.

Only good, wholesome Dell comics, which had always specialized in less
sensationalistic stories (to say nothing of having 52 pages with no
advertising) refused to buckle under. Ironic because, years later in the
60's with their revenues faltering Dell was the only publisher of color
comics to turn to horror and monster stories. Within a few years, with
the country in turmoil over Vietnam, Marvel and DC began to test their
bonds. DC even began ending all its war comics stories with the
exhortation to "Make War No More." It remained, however, for Marvel to
finally break forever the iron grip of the Comics Code by printing a
story that involved drug use (condemning it) without the Comics Code
approval. I noticed the absence of that seal, already grown quite small
on the comics covers of the day, immediately when I saw the comic on the
stands; recognizing the significance I bought two copies, which I still
have.

The damage was done, though. Comic books had been resolutely confined to
the realm of kid stuff in this country (though they grew to include
adult comics in other countries) and they have never recovered. Now,
even though there are shops that specialize in comic books, most of
which do not carry the accursed imprint of the CCA, you'll search in
vain for the variety that was once taken for granted, unless they also
sell very old comics. Though creators of comics have regained their
freedom they don't know what to do with it; there is no tradition for
them to build upon. You'll find nothing there but a plague of
superheroes, most of them having not a fraction of the atmosphere,
research, plot line or character development of the weakest of the old
Uncle Scrooge adventures. And the youthful proprietor will likely
acknowledge, without a trace of shame, that he has never heard of EC comics.

Even though the National Association of Broadcasters Code of Ethics and,
later, the Comics Code failed to bring an end to juvenile delinquency as
they had promised, we still have the same shrill voices calling for the
same simple-minded approaches to the ills of the day. A few years back
there was an effort to get rid of role-playing games like Dungeons and
Dragons. Now we hear claims, without a shred of proof, that violent
video games cause school shootings. I deplore as much as anyone the
coarsening of America, but censorship is not the answer. (Which is not
to say I object to laws against public obscenity. It's one thing to
speak your mind; another to deliberately seek to offend others.)

Once I learned of Goldwater involvement with the Code my disinterest in
Archie comics changed to disdain. Not only had their owner helped to
bring down comics companies artistically far superior to themselves, not
only were the stories bland and repressive, they just weren't funny. As
for Wertham's field, psychology, I mentioned in a previous digest that
for a while I read psychology texts for a blind student. Now THOSE were
funny!

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

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 10:03:50 -0400
From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  'Aldrich Family' show

Jerry Bechtel <[removed]@[removed] wrote:

Am I beating a dead horse trying to find more? Am I the
only one that liked this show? I know it was very juvenile but then so
was I! [removed]

Here in the Los Angeles area, KNX (AM) radio broadcast episodes of this
show weekly, about two years ago, as part of their "KNX Drama Hour" series.
"The Aldrich Family' is not on their current schedule, but they might run
it again in the [removed]
The shows that they broadcast one day are available online the next day,
online, for your listening pleasure, at <[removed];.
You might try logging onto the site & e-mailing them your OTR questions
about HennnnRY!
Let us know if you get some useful answers.
[removed]  I liked the show, too.

Herb Harrison

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

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 10:06:34 -0400
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: OTR offspring

Forgive me, but in my earlier posting about famous performers who's children
are now in the business, I left off the name of child born to two performers
I worked with many years ago.

Joyce Van Patten was married to Martin Balsam. Their daughter is the actress
Talia Balsam.

Hal(Harlan)Stone
Jughead

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

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 10:03:59 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Today in radio history

  From Those Were The Days --

Born today: 1909 - Mary Livingstone (Sadye Marks) d. June 30, 1983
  Joe

--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]

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

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 10:02:48 -0400
From: neil crowley <og@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Do you include amateurs?

From: Jer51473@[removed]

Btw, does anyone out there know what is the most "sung" song of
all time? Again, this is "so they say", and how anyone would know for sure
amazes me.

One vote for "Happy Birthday". If there's a candlelit kid at the head of
the table even the shyest old fogy joins the croaking chorus. A child's
first experience of horror.

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

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 10:04:13 -0400
From: Chris & Carla White <cncwhite@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Radio Spirits

Hi Everyone,

I recently bought a Radio Spirits collection of Old Time Radio's Greatest
Shows at BJ's (only $[removed]) and found that instead of the 60 show sets that
they had been putting out before they now put out in 40 show collections.
And yet, the price remains the same. Why is this? I always liked the 60
show collections better. Well, I guess that's all for now.

                                            Bye,
                                            Bryant White

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

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 11:08:58 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: KBS

Eric Cooper wrote:

There are references in radio annuals etc of the late 40s/early 50s to a
Keystone Broadcasting System. Was this an actual network or transcription
service, or was it more of a rep chain designed to coordinate the sale of
advertising?

Primarily the latter. Keystone was formed in 1941 and specialized in
representing small-town stations in dealings with national advertisers --
and, in fact, they're still very much in business, under the slogan "The
Voice of Home Town America."

KBS also handled distribution of transcribed programming for national
sponsors wanting to reach rural stations not affiliated with wire-line
networks, or to supplement their use of live network programming. One of
their major clients in the 1940s was Miles Laboratories -- with KBS
acting as the sales agent and distributor for the transcribed version of
"Lum and Abner" from 1941 to 1948. KBS vinyl pressings are the original
source for many of the 1000-plus Miles Labs-era L&A programs circulating
in the OTR world.

Elizabeth

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

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 13:51:52 -0400
From: "william mahan" <wmahan@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  re: The Aldrich Family

Jerry Bechtel wrote about the Aldrich Family,

Am I the only one that liked
this show? I know it was very juvenile but then so was I!

This remains one of my favorites, though I must confess a little
embarrassment in admitting it.  It was certainly one of the most saccharin
shows ever produced and despite the shows claim that Henry was a "typical
teenager", I never knew any teenagers that acted like Henry and Homer.   If
Homer ever spoke with that whinny voice in my school he'd have never made it
home for dinner.  Maybe that's why I liked it.  It was a world where
everyone was safe and despite the trivial plots, some good writers managed
to make it very funny.
There are a few dealers out there selling those shows but, like you, I have
not seen a lot of episodes available.

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

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 13:52:35 -0400
From: Richard Fisher <w9fjl@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  If you ever wondered!!!!

On June 21st 1948 this was introduced to the public. The listening time
was increased from 4 to 23 minutes and the quality was better because of
a smoother surface. It became known by it's two letter name. What is it?
What is unusual about the two letter name?

Answer:

What was introduced in 1948 was the first successful microgrove records.
Made of "vinilyte" plastic the smoother surface increased fidelity.
These 33 1/3 RPM records were known as "LP's" a name copyrighted by
Columbia. All record companies could produce long playing records, but
only Columbia could produce the "LP".

So what's the point?  People have asked me why those HUGE 16 inch
transcriptions discs which were recorded at 33 1/3 contain only 15
minutes per side whereas their LP collection also recorded at 33 1/3
uses 12 inch discs and plays for 23 minutes per side.

Now you know the rest of the story!!!

The 4 minutes mentioned above was for 78 RPM records. I don't think 33
1/3 recordings were available to the public until the introduction of
the microgrove. Elizabeth, is that correct?

New subject.  For anyone interested in a piece of radio history I just
discovered that KDKA in Pittsburgh which was supposedly famous for a lot
of firsts is selling pieces of their tower that was erected in 1936 and
was torn down in 1994 in lucite block paper weight form. The profits
from these sales are used as a fund drive for the Children's Hospital
Free Care fund of Pittsburgh. If you have any interest please advise off
the digest and I will give you their 800 number. I have one of them and
they are very nice.

I have no connection with KDKA or the fund and just thought this might
be of interest to someone.

Dick

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

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 14:02:58 -0400
From: Jer51473@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  another famous entertainer and offsprings

 Someone mentioned john carradine in a recent post. His sons david and keith
have been just as successful, if not more than he has, as actors of course.
Actually there may be a third son that acts, anyone know?

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

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 14:14:12 -0400
From: Jer51473@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Wasnt selma diamond the cousin of---

 RICHARD DIAMOND?  "thats a joke son, a joke!"

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

Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 00:33:02 -0400
From: "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Abbott and Costello-HELP

Abbott and Costello have been mentioned recently on the Digest. Perhaps
there is someone who can answer a question that has been bothering me for a
LONG time.

As a kid I enjoyed going to the movies to see their films. There is one
scene that stands out in my mind and no one so far has been able to identify
the movie in which it appeared, nor even remember the scene. Costello is
being interrogated at a police station and he refuses to give up the
information. Finally in desperation they leave him all alone sitting in the
room, thinking that he will eventually get hungry and then have to talk for
food.

Costello pulls a hot water bottle out of his clothes and pours himself a cup
of coffee, then takes out a fountain pen and squirts some milk into the
coffee. He takes out his billfold and removes a sandwich, and enjoys a meal.
I thought this was so cool I began to carry peanut butter sandwiches around
with me in my pocket, along with other asorted odd objects.

Please, please, please, what is the name of this movie??? I'd love to see it
again.

Hopefully,
Barbara

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

Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 00:33:54 -0400
From: "Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  The Price Of Fear
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In Digest 230 Arte mentioned a 1939 date for The Price Of Fear.

In Steve Arnold's British Drama website [removed] he
writes

<<Vincent Price is undoubtedly high up amongst the kings of horror, and apart
from the many films he appeared in, he was also a regular to the medium of
radio. His portrayal of Simon Templar, The Saint, is definitive, but this was
not his only work to go out over the airwaves. In the 70s, he was contracted
by the BBC to record, initially, 5 episodes of a series entitled, THE PRICE OF
FEAR.

This series was broadcast of the BBC World Service daily from 17th to the 21st
of December 1973, and Price was then contracted to record a further 5 in April
of the same year, another 3 in the July, 2 in November, and then later, 6 in
the July and August of 1975. His final commitment to the BBC on this series
was for another 6 editions in [removed];>

They are pretty common among UK collectors and are well written & performed. A
few are genuinly disturbing.

Steve has a sister site for British comedy, more detailed, with episode logs
of many shows. [removed]

Regards to all from the UK.
Phil

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Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 00:34:15 -0400
From: lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Laura Leff-Waukegan Celebration

I would like to send my appreciation, thanks and many
kudos to Laura Leff and anyone else who contributed
to the posting of the Waukegan Celebration on the
Jack Benny web site!!!  IF you haven't checked it out
yet go to [removed].  While reading Lauras
diary and looking at the pictures I felt like I was
right there with her.  A better job could not have
been done!!  For those of us who couldn't be there
this is the next best thing!!  Check it out, you won't
be disappointed!!

THANKS LAURA!!!!

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

Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 00:34:47 -0400
From: DSmith7855@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Most Recorded Song in History
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According to John Edward Haase, the Curator of Education at the Smithsonian
Institution, the most recorded song in history [removed] Carmichael's
"Stardust."
Stardust was first recorded in 1927 so it got a head start on the Beatles and
on Irving Berlin's "White Christmas."   "Stardust" has been recorded by
virtually every musician you can think of from The Boswell Sisters to Larry
Adler to Nat King Cole to Willie Nelson to Crystal Gayle to Teresa Brewer to
Maynard Ferguson to Harry Connick, Jr. to Tommy Dorsey to Duke Ellington to
Billy Eckstine to Lionel Hampton to Dick Haymes to Engelbert Humperdinck to
Harry James to Joni James to Barry Manilow to Mantovani to Johnny Mathis to
Liberace to The Mills Brothers to Charlie Parker to Les Paul to Artie Shaw to
Ringo Starr to Mel Torme to Lawrence [removed] the list goes on.   No song
can match the number of recordings of "Stardust"....not "Yesterday"....not
"White Christmas."  According to Haase it can well lay claim to the title,
"Song of the Century."

Dave Smith

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Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 00:58:20 -0400
From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Lon Chaney Jr. on OTR

Lon Chaney Jr. played Lennie in an excerpt from "Of
Mice and Men" in an episode of the 1939-1940 series
"The Pursuit of Happiness." Burgess Meredith played
George. (This information comes from Dunning's "On the
Air.")

Rick.

[removed] While many people think of Chaney Jr. as simply a
horror actor (or horror/comedy in the Abbott and
Costello film(s?) in which he appeared, he did appear
in at least one non horror drama: "The Defiant Ones"
with Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis.

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

Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 01:08:17 -0400
From: Ga6string@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Tile, it's what's for dinner
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Hal Stone writes:
I will take a photograph of said tile floor (in living color) and send to
any interested parties. The [removed]$[removed] Send [removed]+ $[removed] shipping and
handling. >> SNIP <<For a measly $1,000, I will even pose laying butt naked
on said floor and personally inscribe the [removed]

Sounds like a play, Hal, but the danger in this is that someone will scan
your photos, claim the legal rights to them, and start selling them on eBay
on CD-ROMs for $[removed] apiece!

Bryan

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

Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 10:26:33 -0400
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Fred Allen

Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 20:48:58 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
As for Fred Allen, he seems to have had much more trouble with NBC than
CBS 

Did Fred Allen move from NBC to CBS or vice versa.  If he was one of the many stars who 
moved from NBC to CBS in the late 40s, I wonder whether standards and practices was part 
of the negotiations.

-- A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed] 15 Court Square, Suite 210 lawyer@[removed] Boston, MA 02108-2503 [removed] -------------------------------- End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #232 ********************************************* 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]