Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #115
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 3/15/2003 4:03 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2003 : Issue 115
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Dennis Day                            [ "jim murtaugh" <jayeffemm@[removed] ]
  Shrimp Boats A'comin'                 [ "nbenson" <nbenson@[removed]; ]
  Dictabelts and others                 [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
  Ides of March Birthdays               [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Hotlips vs. Hotbreath                 [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
  High costs of 16-inch discs           [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
  Adventures of Charlie Chan            [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]
  ROUND TWO                             [ OTRDSIEGEL@[removed] ]
  Dragnet/Counterspy                    [ "steven kostelecky" <skostelecky@ho ]
  Ovaltine Factory                      [ Michael Shoshani <shoshani@[removed] ]
  Answer to Tantalizing Question        [ Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed] ]
  Shrimp Boats and Hal Peary            [ "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed] ]
  talk radio                            [ Kurt E Yount <blsmass@[removed]; ]
  Attention: Candy Matson Fans          [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:14:07 -0500
From: "jim murtaugh" <jayeffemm@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Dennis Day

Hello all.  I have been listening to a group of "A Day In The Life of Dennis
Day".  In my opinion, this show is terrible.  It is on a par with the Mel
Blanc show, as the writing is similar.  My question is, was Dennis Day so
popular then, that his presence carried the show?  I know it lasted a few
years, but I'm not sure why.

Also, if you haven't gotten your copy of Hal's book yet, you need to.  I got
it for Christmas, and was done the next day.  A great read.

Jim Murtaugh

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:14:18 -0500
From: "nbenson" <nbenson@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Shrimp Boats A'comin'
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If memory serves, that was usually Snooky Lanson (sp?) on "Your Hit Parade".
I think the song was just popular at the time, rather than being a theme
song.
Ivan Benson

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Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:14:59 -0500
From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Dictabelts and others

I somehow missed Chad Palmer's question last month as to whether radio
stations ever used Dictabelts for recording or replaying programs, and if
not, why not.  The answer is simple.  Dictabelts and almost all machines
designed for secretarial dictation do not have the sound quality necessary
for broadcasting.  They are designed for intelligibility of the upper
midrange frequencies, and usually are very noisy with loads of speed
irregularities.  That being said, I have seen occasional mentions of
dictating machines being used by announcers for rehearsals back as far as
the 1920s in the wax cylinder days.

Speaking of cylinders, if nobody else has followed thru on his request for
a Dictabelt, if he sends me his snail mail address I think I can send him
one.  The reason I link the request with the comment about cylinders is
that the Dictabelt is actually just a floppy cylinder made of flexible
celluloid or thin vinyl.  Instead of being placed on a large circular
mandrel, it is placed around two smaller circular rollers and passes thru
the machine in a more compact oblong shape.   But I have discovered that
there is a DIRECT link between the Dictabelt and dictating machine wax
cylinders.  Thanks to listmember Lee Munsick, many years ago he gave me a
huge cardboard box containing, as it turned out, experimental floppy
celluloid cylinders that would fit over a slightly undersized dictating
machine cylinder--which was also in the box.  These seem to be dated around
1939, but I don't think that the [removed] Dick company got around to
re-designing the machine till after the war.

I'll also add that in the 60s IBM used the exact size and shape of the
Dictabelt for a magnetic version called the Magnabelt.  Over the years
there have been many dozens of different dictating machine formats
produced, and ALL of them have the potential of having been used for making
reference recordings of broadcasts.  With very few exceptions, they cannot
be played on regular turntables, so archives are presented with the dilemma
of either having to maintain a museum of obsolete machines or else
manufacturing special machines to play these odd formats.  I recently
mentioned an unannounced quick shot of one of these in the History
Channel's Save Our Sound program--a Gates 16-inch turntable had been
modified to play the floppy celluloid logging discs that used
extraordinarily fine grooves and a rotational speed which decreased as the
recording moved outwards.  But that's a relatively easy one.  Try playing a
magnetic sheet that is the size and shape of typing paper!  Hint--it has to
be played as a cylinder!

Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:15:08 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Ides of March Birthdays

If you born on the Ides of March, you share your birthday with:

1877 - Montagu(e) Love - Portsmouth, England
1883 - Ernie Hare - Norfolk, Virginia
1887 - Billy Jones - New York City
1904 - George Brent - Dublin, Ireland
1914 - Macdonald Carey - Sioux City, Iowa

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Make your day, listen to an Olde Tyme Radio Program

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:15:27 -0500
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Hotlips vs. Hotbreath

I pulled my copy of Dunning's "On the Air" off the
shelf today, and re-read the section on Jimmy Durante.
Dunning unequivocally states on page 370:

"His stooges were Hotlips Houlihan and Candy Candido.
Hotlips was a sultry femme fatale whose lines were
delivered in a Mae West style by Florence Halop."

I've never listened to this show, but since several
people here attest that the character's first name is
Hotbreath, not Hotlips, we'll assume Dunning made a
mistake. We've been discussing how OTR influenced
M*A*S*H--here's a telling example of how M*A*S*H
influenced OTR (or at least OTR research)!

Kermyt

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:15:38 -0500
From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  High costs of 16-inch discs

Last week the question came up as to why now were the prices on 16-inch
transcription discs going so sky-high.  One of the answers reminded OTR
collectors that record collectors were usually not satisfied with just
taped copies of recordings and want to own the original discs.  Quite true,
as is the comment that these discs are either one-of-a-kind or were
distributed in very, very limited quantities.  So rarity enters into the
picture as well.  Also true is that Ebay has changed the marketplace
because non-record collectors buy up items that might cross-over to their
special interests.

But those are only partial answers.  Even in the mail auctions that have
long catered only to record collectors, the prices being offered for
16-inch transcription discs has also risen in the past ten years.  As a
record collector who used to be astounded at how little competition he had
for these discs in the 1960s thru the 1980s, let me add something that was
told me by a dealer in the mid-70s as he handed over to me a hefty pile of
transcriptions that I was astounded that I had won at low prices.  Very few
collectors at that time had turntables which could play those oversized
discs, and they tended to ignore bidding on them if they couldn't play
them.  Same was true with cylinders.

But why the change now?  Because the consumer market for turntables has
almost disappeared, collectors get their new turntables from several
specialty dealers who have modified disco turntables to play the multiple
and variable speeds that collectors need, and each one of these dealers
offer several turntables that for a just a little more are also redesigned
to play oversized transcriptions.  I know of many collectors who have paid
the little extra to get one of these special turntables and now for the
first time can play transcriptions.

One other source of turntables that record collectors have tapped into are
the thousands of transcription turntables that have been thrown out by
broadcasters in the past ten years.  The industry secondary market for
these has also dried up, and stations which used to sell them to used
broadcasting equipment dealers are finding that these dealers are already
overstocked with turntables.  And yet another source are school disposal
sales.  The larger of the schoolroom phonographs, made by companies like
Rheem Califone, can fit 16-inch discs and have variable speed options.  Not
all will play 16-inch discs, but alot of them will.  I've got one right
next to me here at the computer, and another is set up in one of my
warehouses.  I use them just for reference purposes--I have better
turntables for more exacting uses, such as re-recording.

There had always been turntables available for collectors in the hi-fi
stores that could play 16-inchers, but many collectors didn't pay
attention.  Most of the manufacturers of separate tone-arms like Shure,
Rek-O-Kut, SME, Audio Empire, etc. made a longer version of their arms, but
larger mounting boards would usually be required.  To much extra hassle!
But one of the most beloved self-contained turntables, the Bogen-Lenco B-60
series, could play most 16-inchers, as well as having the variable speed
option that is necessary for pre-1930 records.  Many collectors (like me)
are nursing along some elderly examples of these--but the replacement L-75
version would NOT fit a 16-incher.  I also discovered in the 1960s that the
original AR turntable would fit some thinner 16-inch discs if you removed
the foam turntable mat--this was never widely known.  But almost every
other pre-built turntable-arm combination would not play any oversized
discs, and these were the ones that most collectors had.

So now as I look at my competition who are paying big bucks for discs I
used to get for two, all I can say is, Shoo!  Scat!  Go away!  Confoundit
and plaguetakeit!

Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:15:46 -0500
From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Adventures of Charlie Chan

Jay Hickerson's "Ultimate History" lists three surviving episodes of the
Charlie Chan radio show from WW II era which starred Ed Begley and no
surviving episodes from the 1947-48 version with Santos Ortega.

Anyone know the correct titles or dates of the three Begley shows?  I've
got two 15 minute ones, one about moving statues and another about
marching ants. I also have a 30 minute one about chemical bomb in a
doll. Is this all of Begley's shows?

Also, for the Australians viewing this site, when was the Australian
version of Charlie Chan  produced? 1960s?

Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:16:23 -0500
From: OTRDSIEGEL@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  ROUND TWO
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Dear Howard,
   Only a madman would read the same book twice within a matter of months.
    I am that madman.
    When Words At War arrived here I read it quite quickly (within A matter
of two or three days) and gave it my sincerest THUMBS UP.
     During the past week I have had some extra spare time and decided to
re-read the book, more slowly and more carefully.
   My conclusion is that my initial reaction to your book, though
enthusiastic, did not do it proper justice.
   Not only is your research and scholarship outstanding but your
organization, your writing, your support of statement by statement, your
insight, your follow through, you entire approach to the subject of wartime
broadcasting has produced a volume that belongs in every important reference
library in America.
    I am truly proud to know you.
    Dave

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Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:25:40 -0500
From: "steven kostelecky" <skostelecky@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Dragnet/Counterspy

I've been listening to Dragnet and Counterspy lately and have been wondering
at what a difference in shows that ran back-to-back in 1951. After listening
to Dragnet, with its insistence on a realistic portrayal of police work
minute-by-minute and Counterspy, with its square-jawed hero and histrionic
organ music, Counterspy must have seemed like an anachronism at the time.
Both Gangbusters, the premiere police procedural of its time, and Counterspy
were produced by Phillips H. Lord, who seems to have backpeddaled from
realism to melodrama. Counterspy has its moments and it is great to hear
Mandel Kramer in an early role, but it is pretty obvious which direction
radio was taking.
Oh, and I wonder what Mr. Bartell thinks of the use of his name for a bad
guy in Dragnet's "The Big Children" from February of 1951. I wonder how many
insiders at Dragnet heard their names bandied about in the show.
The Digest continues to fascinate and amaze.
Steve

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:27:19 -0500
From: Michael Shoshani <shoshani@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Ovaltine Factory

Koni Shaughnessy wrote:

In Digest 107, David Buswell mentioned the Ovaltine factory in Villa
Park, IL. He wondered if it's still there.  The building itself is,
but not as a factory.  It was closed and boarded up for many years
while plans of housing and retail space were discussed.  From what my
friend Ken tells me, a portion of the building has been torn down and
the rest has been or is in the process of being rehabbed for retail
and condo space.

This has been under development for some five or six years, I think.
The general idea is, or was, to have either a condo or seniors place
with retail space, the whole thing known by the complex's former
address:  One Ovaltine Court.

When I saw the building last, about 3 years ago, it had a lot of
broken windows and some graffiti; the metal "Ovaltine Food Products"
signage was still up, and the engraved stonework still had the large
round A. Wander trademark with a cursive W beneath an Aladdin-style
lamp.

Michael Shoshani
Chicago IL

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 18:26:37 -0500
From: Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Answer to Tantalizing Question

I appreciate the nearly thirty folks who privately e-mailed or posted in
the Digest a response to my challenge:  who is buried at Forest Lawn
Memorial Park with the inscription: "The Golden Voice of Radio?"

Unfortunately, no one answered correctly but the answer would have eluded
me too unless I had found it accidentally while researching the ZIV
syndicated 1950's television series, "Science Fiction Theater." Its host
Truman L. Bradley is the answer to the question.  His gravestone can be
viewed at [removed]

Bradley appeared in movies as well as on radio.  I remember him for his
Roma Wine commercials on "Suspense." His other radio work included "The Red
Skelton Show,"  "The Burns and Allen Show," and "The Prudential Family
Hour."  This of course is not an inclusive list and he was, indeed, a busy
announcer.  Thomas A. DeLong in his book, RADIO STARS (McFarland, 1996),
indicates that Truman Bradley originated  the role of  Brad in "Easy Aces"
and got his start at KMTR Hollywood in 1929.

His opening and ending demonstrations on  "Science Fiction Theater" are
legendary and  well remembered by the many fans of this show.

Bradley was born in 1905 and died on July 28, 1974.

Dennis Crow

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 19:54:30 -0500
From: "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed];
To: "otr message" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Shrimp Boats and Hal Peary

I once had an unimportant little radio show on an AM station in Topeka,
Kansas from
about 1984-1995. I got to play my own records and had the greatest
experience of my
life. It was an oldies station and the station manager hated "Shrimp Boats"
just hated it.
So I played it [removed] liked it [removed] was a decca 45 by
Delores Grey I
think.

Derek mentioned patriotic [removed] was not but does anyone recall the
Harold
Peary recitations on Coral? They were "To a Little Boy" and "Whoa Emma." I
had
the privilege of sending him a cassette of the two songs once, he said his
copies were
destroyed in a fire.

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 23:09:39 -0500
From: Kurt E Yount <blsmass@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  talk radio

KSL had the night cap show (we're the night caps, nighty night caps, and
our hearts are light and gay, ...  On the Herbie side of the day, on the
Jepco
side of the day."  I think they had the Wick as well.  Ron Mccoy had the
night owl show in the 60s some time on KFI.  The other host on the night
cap show
had a name like Jessie Walgren and he also read the New Messenger, a
mornon publication for the blind.  (If you're real good, you're singing
the night
cap song as you read this.)  Kurt

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

Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 23:25:28 -0500
From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Attention: Candy Matson Fans

Henry Leff, playing Lt. Mallard, was the co-star of "Candy Matson, YUkon
2-8209".  He is in his early 80's and resides with Sylvia, his wife, in
a retirement home in California.  On March 11th, she underwent cardiac
surgery and she will be released from the hospital on March 16th to
continue her recovery at home.

The Leffs do not have email, but expressions of support and good wishes
via snail mail can reach Mrs. Leff at 1738 Stanley Dollar Dr, Apt. 2-B,
Walnut Creek, CA 94595. The Leffs have been married for sixty-plus years
and I urge all fans of Candy Matson to drop them a card or get-well
note.

Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
[removed]

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #115
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