Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #14
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 1/11/2004 3:59 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2004 : Issue 14
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Square Inch of the Yukon              [ "Jerry Reed" <jerry@[removed]; ]
      Significance of 2,130                 [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
      Glenn Miller's plane                  [ <welsa@[removed]; ]
      Helen Kleeb Revisited                 [ Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed] ]
      Regional jokes                        [ "david rogers" <david_rogers@hotmai ]
      FWD: Bart Marshall                    [ Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed] ]
      OTR and gasoline                      [ BH <radioguy@[removed]; ]
      re: MP3 DVD Players and OTR           [ <orders@[removed]; ]
      Re: A Stephen Kallis remark           [ Cnorth6311@[removed] ]
      Birth & Death List                    [ JimBourg@[removed] ]
      how to contact Jerry Haendiges?       [ Osborneam@[removed] ]
      Regional humor extended               [ Vincente Tobias <vincente_ca@yahoo. ]
      This week in radio history            [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Re: AFRS attributions, Regional Humo  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      OTR on DVD players                    [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
      Cereal packs                          [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
      Carnation Hour vs. The Hour of Charm  [ Richard Fisher <w9fjl@[removed]; ]
      1-12 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Smiths of Hollywood                   [ "Sharon Wright" <write@[removed] ]
      OTR Sit Coms                          [ "Sharon Wright" <write@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2004 21:21:43 -0500
    From: "Jerry Reed" <jerry@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Square Inch of the Yukon

    There was an article in the Wall Street Journal on Friday December 13, 1991
    titled:  Puffed-Cereal Eaters' High Hopes of Yelling 'Mush" are Groundless.
    Richard Gibson wrote: "...Quaker paid $1,000 for 19 acres and created an
    Illinois corporation, Klondike Big Inch Land Co., to divvie it up."
    "Well, the deed holders never did own the land. Quaker didn't register each
    tiny deed, because of the high cost; so the property legally remained the
    company's.  And, alas, no one bothered to pay taxes on the property. In
    1965, the Canadian government seized it for nonpayment. The bill: $[removed]"

    The article was in the Marketplace section of the WSJ.

    Jerry E. Reed

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

    Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2004 23:26:32 -0500
    From: Jer51473@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Significance of 2,130
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    The number of consecutive games Lou Gerhig played for the Yankees?

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

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

    Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2004 23:26:53 -0500
    From: <welsa@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Glenn Miller's plane

    Glenn Miller's plane has not been found.  But a recent documentary aired in
    some parts of the country details what most probably happened to it--most
    likely it was "bombed" out of the sky by a returning flight of Lancaster
    bombers which had to abort their mission, and therefore had to drop all
    their bombs over the English Channel.

    Trying to find one plane among all the war scrap lying at the bottom of the
    English Channel would be daunting indeed.

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 00:37:51 -0500
    From: Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Helen Kleeb Revisited

    Thanks to Barbara Watkins for her posting about one of our finest character
    actresses, Helen Kleeb. I am grateful that Miss Kleeb had a long, long
    life.

    As Barbara  noted, Helen Kleeb was born in the State of Washington, but her
    dramatic roots were placed firmly  in Portland, Oregon,  where she
    performed very early in her career in many local stage productions.

    During Oregon's centennial year, she starred on the long-playing record
    which commemorated our beautiful state. When she had a continuing role on
    television's "Harrigan and Son" in 1960, playing Roger Perry's  secretary,
    she became widely recognized even though her movie career started much
    earlier.

    Her voice appeared often on such important radio shows as "Gunsmoke."   My
    favorite television role of Miss Kleeb's after "The Waltons' " Mamie
    Baldwin, was her rare  appearance as the drunken Otis'  wife on "The Andy
    Griffith Show."

    Among her famous movie parts was  the brain-washing sequence in "The
    Manchurian Candidate."

    When she and her husband vacationed at Crater Lake in the early sixties,
    she was immediately recognized and drew constant stares and glances.  I was
    working there at the time and she was very friendly.

    I remember her, too, from her work in the "Hidden Valley" commercials and
    for starring in a widely featured  United Airlines' Hawaii commercial.
    Helen was in a bathing suit and she looked wonderful. She must have been at
    least 75 at the time.

    Helen Kleeb was  a great lady. I will miss her.

    Dennis Crow

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 00:39:37 -0500
    From: "david rogers" <david_rogers@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Regional jokes

    Stephen A Kallis, Jr. wrote:

>     There were many regional jokes that popped into programs.

    This is true now (not just with jokes) with listening to otr shows that come
    form other countries.  I have some South African otr shows called "Squad
    Cars" and it is the specific regional references that make them seem so real
    and interesting.
    I am sure that there are many Americans who have not had the benefits of an
    English upbringing and education that still enjoy many British otr shows, in
    the same way that I enjoy US shows.  The specific references seem to make
    them more real in a time and space.

    Love as always, David Rogers

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 00:48:26 -0500
    From: Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  FWD: Bart Marshall

    Folks;

       Our friend Harry Bartell dropped me a note earlier this evening, and with
    his permission I forward it to you:

    --- begin forwarded text

    One of the most pleasant experiences of my entire time in radio was working
    with Herbert Marshall. We called him Bart. He was the absolute gentleman
    always offering an impeccable appearance but informal and with wonderful
    humor--frequently at himself. The loss of a leg in World War I he
    covered with great skill and developed an unusual walk to disguise the limp.
    His right hand man was his chauffeur--Joe--who was always ready with the
    town car and the Scotch; the latter never before five o'clock and not if he
    was working. He loved to play poker with the cast between shows East and
    West--not too well I might add.

    I knew and really liked two of the five wives. I had worked with Edna when
    she was acting and, of course, there was the Sherlock connection. Boots was
    one of the nicest woman I ever met. Not much of an actress but very sweet.
    We shared the physician who was treating her throat. I think Bart was always
    far superior to junky scripts of shows like Man Called X and I still miss
    him.

    --- end forwarded text

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 01:44:00 -0500
    From: BH <radioguy@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR and gasoline

    [removed] posted:

>     I wonder what is the cause in this difference in commercials.  Is it just a
>     result of tightened truth-in-advertising laws/enforcement?  Was there
>     significant differences in gasoline quality in the OTR era?  Some combination
>     of factors?

    I remember when my dad would pull into a gas station the attendent would
    ask, "ethyl or regular?" or "white or red?". Can't remember for sure but
    I think ethyl (pronounced like the name Ethel) was red, and regular was
    white (clear). Ethyl was supposed to perform better, uh-umm.

    Bill H.

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 02:39:45 -0500
    From: <orders@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  re: MP3 DVD Players and OTR

    This is a tricky issue.  The folks that make these things are of course
    mainly concerned about how well they play movies.  The whole MP3 playability
    issue is just an afterthought on most DVD players.  Your battling two major
    issues.  One, the designers are often just thinking about playing music
    Mp3s, so many, many of the players won't play any files at less than 48 or
    64 kb/sec - most OTR is recorded at 32KB/sec or less.  Two, the display that
    shows up on the TV often leaves a lot to be desired; for instance my Apex
    600A DVD player converts any title longer than 8 characters into a number
    sequence a0001 jackb, a002 jackb, and so on.  That will drive you nuts
    quick, when you are trying to find  a specific episode of Jack Benny.

    Now for the good news.  My brother-in-law picked up a $[removed] Panasonic
    DVD/VHS combo unit with MP3 capabilities and it plays otr just fine - even
    down to 24 kb/sec.  The display is also OK - it seems to show you the first
    15 characters or so, which should be enough to identify the show.  I would
    guess this would mean modern Panasonic DVD players with MP3 playback are a
    good bet for OTR enthusiasts. I have also heard that Apex DVD players, Sony
    DVD Players, and Go Video DVD players all do well with OTR, but I have no
    first hand knowledge.  I have a Sony Boombox cd/MP3 player that I have been
    very happy with it's OTR performance and they are always on ebay new for
    about $60.  Walmart suposedly has a $20 MP3 CD BoomBox that does OTR well.
    The entire line of iriver walkman type MP3 cd players also do OTR well.

    Hope this helps someone,

    Zongo out

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 13:32:36 -0500
    From: Cnorth6311@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: A Stephen Kallis remark
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Stephen made a remark in his post about premium classes that triggered a
    memory I have. His remark was something to the effect that "a person in
    Salinas,
    Ks. didn't have much of a chance to see a Mitsubishi AM6 Zero fly overhead."

    Well, a Zero was flown across the United States from coast to coast, and I
    recall the consternation of the government when the plane flew unspotted from
    either the West coast to the East coast, or vice versa. As a matter of fact, I
    saw the plane and reported it to the principal of the school I was attending,
    and was told no, I was imagining things. I did see the plane though as was
    reported some time later in our local paper.

    Thanks Stephen for dredging up an old memory.

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

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 13:33:03 -0500
    From: JimBourg@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Birth & Death List
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    In a message dated 1/10/2004 8:39:06 PM Central Standard Time,
    [removed]@[removed] writes:

>     Now that the list is almost one year old that means that I have completed one
>     cycle, do you want me to continue the list after February? I am more than
>     willing, I just don't want you to get sick of it.

    Would like to see a reference, if applicable, to video work if it would help
    us picture that person. Such as Howard McNear, Doc on Gunsmoke, played Floyd
    the Barber on The Andy Griffith Show. It would only be needed if the video
    part
    was meaningful enough that most would be familiar with it.

    Thanks,

    Jim

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

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 13:33:09 -0500
    From: Osborneam@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  how to contact Jerry Haendiges?

    Can anyone tell me how to contact Jerry Haendiges?

    I've a friend who sent him an order for cassettes back
    in September and hasn't heard a word.  He's afraid his
    order was lost.  He told me about it and I've been
    trying to help him contact Jerry with no luck.

    Both he AND I have sent email to Jerry using:
    Jerry@[removed]
    and
    Jerry@[removed]

    Neither gets a response.  How can Jerry continue to sell
    cassettes and tapes if he doesn't answer his email?
    My friend is getting frustrated and now that I'm in
    the loop, so am I!!!

    Arlene Osborne

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 13:33:46 -0500
    From: Vincente Tobias <vincente_ca@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Regional humor extended

    Adding to Stephen A. Kallis Jr.'s remarks:
    The Jack Benny program was broadcast on the West Coast
    at 4:00 [removed] Sundays (which was the "live" broadcast
    that appeared on the East Coast at 7:00 [removed]) but it
    was repeated at 9:30 [removed] following the Edgar
    Bergen-Charlie McCarthy show (also a repeat broadcast,
    I believe).
    Anyway, in one episode Jack says to Dennis Day, "You
    can say that again," to which Dennis replies "I will,
    at 9:30!"  This got howls of laughter from the studio
    audience who knew what he meant, but I don't imagine
    it meant much to the East Coasters or listeners in
    other time zones.
    Although I have never heard this segment since, I
    distinctly remember it from my chilhood listening to
    the show in bed at night. It was a Sunday evening
    ritual, then lights had to be put out.
    Vince

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 13:33:54 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  This week in radio history

     From Those Were The Days --

    Jan 11 --

    1947 - Amazing Mr. Malone (aka Murder and Mr. Malone) starring Frank
    Lovejoy, debuted on ABC.

    Jan 12 --

    1926 - Sam 'n' Henry debuted on WGN in Chicago, Illinois.

    1932 - Ed Sullivan joined CBS in a program of gossip and interviews.

    Jan 13 --

    1906 - Hugh Gernsback of the Electro Importing Company advertised radio
    receivers for sale for the low, low price of just $[removed] in Scientific
    American magazine. The first ad selling the gizmos guaranteed reception
    of about one mile.

    1910 - Enrico Caruso and Emmy Destinn were heard via a telephone
    transmitter; rigged by DeForest Radio-Telephone Company to broadcast
    from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

    Jan 14 --

    1927 - Jack Benny married Sadye Marks.

    1939 - The program, Honolulu Bound, was heard on CBS. Phil Baker and the
    Andrews Sisters were featured on the program.

    Jan 15 --

    1945 - Art Linkletter starred on the CBS debut of House Party.

    Jan 16 --

    1939 - The shrill siren call of radio's I Love a Mystery was heard for
    the first time as the show debuted on NBC's West-Coast outlets.

    Jan 17 --

    1938 - Francis X. Bushman was the star of the program, Stepmother, which
    debuted on CBS. The show continued on the air for the next four years.

    Joe

    --
    Visit my slightly updated (1/1/04) homepage:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 13:36:44 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: AFRS attributions, Regional Humor and
     Birth/death list

    Joe Salerno wrote --

>     Many collectors discount the value of AFRS transcriptions because
>     they don't have commercials or have been altered from the original form,
>     and are all dubs

       I totally agree.  I am just so thankful that AFRS not only had
    recordings of the shows but also saved them so we can enjoy them today.

    Stephen A. Kallis wrote --

>     There were many regional jokes that popped into programs.  The Bob
>     Hope references to the laBrea Tar Pits probably meant little to a farmer
>     in rural Kansas, but they always got a laugh.

       What gets me are the number of times Brooklyn would be mentioned in a
    show with gales of laughter and applasue from the audience.  It was
    almost [removed]

    Ron Sayles asked --

>     As of this message I have 2,130 names on the list with more being
>     added every week. Quick tell me, what is the significance of the number
>     2,130?

       Its 126 years from now?

>     Now that the list is almost one year old that means that I have
>     completed one cycle, do you want me to continue the list after February?

       Absolutely!  There are new people joining the list all the time who
    probably don't know about these highly esteemed posts.   The reason I
    plan to keep posting "today in radio history" (though its going to be
    "this week in radio history" this year.  I'll keep at it until there is
    a mob of people with torches and pitchfolks storming my [removed]  :)

       Joe

    --
    Visit my slightly updated (1/1/04) homepage:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 13:37:16 -0500
    From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR on DVD players

    I have a Toshiba SD3950 DVD player, which plays MP3s
    and VCDs (though I haven't tested any VCDs yet). I
    just put in a standard OTR mp3 disc with 100 shows,
    and it plays beautifully!! Now I just need to hook it
    up to my stereo speakers so I can shake the house!

    Cheers,
    Kermyt

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 14:23:04 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Cereal packs

    On 10 Jan 2004 at 11:42, I wrote:

>     I remember Muffits.  They were a Quaker product.  In the 1950s it was
>     common for cereal companies to put out an assortment of small packages of
>     their cereals.

    When I went shopping the day after writing this, I noticed in the supermarket that Kelloggs
    still has more than one assortment of this type, but none of the other cereal companies have
    -- or at least no others were on display in the Brookline Stop & Shop.  Besides Kelloggs and
    Quaker, General Mills, Post, and maybe some others, had these assortments.  I seem to
    remember at least one assortment from a company that I can't identify and that may no
    longer exist.

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

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 15:16:57 -0500
    From: Richard Fisher <w9fjl@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Carnation Hour vs. The Hour of Charm

    A recent posting stated that: "Carnation Contented Hour" became the
    "Hour of Charm". This statement was in reference to AFRS deleting
    commercials and product references in the programs title of the shows
    they produced.

    The "Hour of Charm" was sponsored by General Electric and then the
    Electric Companies of America but not by Carnation Milk.

    The "Carnation Contented Hour" was a totally different show and was
    titled "Melody Hour" for AFRS broadcast (this info courtesy of Jay
    Hickerson's book).

    I have several AFRS "Hour of Charm" programs as well as one of the
    original shows sponsored by GE with Arlene Frances as the mistress of
    ceremonies.

    Regarding "sanitizing" the programs by removing commercials and any
    commercial reference in the title - when I worked in the Pentagon near
    the AFRS guys they told me the thought behind "sanitizing" was the
    soldiers listening to these programs during WWII would have no interest
    in the commercials since most could not get the product overseas and
    they felt this might lower moral. They were trying to produce a product
    strictly for entertainment of the soldiers and the commercials served no
    purpose in meeting this objective. This was the opinion of many
    different AFRS guys that I talked to at the time I was stationed in the
    Pentagon.

    "Produced" by AFRS only refers to their recording the programs, removing
    the commercials, and then distributing these discs to the AFRS network -
    no intent to indicate they were the original shows actual producers.
    They merely produced the AFRS discs.

    Dick

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 15:44:13 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  1-12 births/deaths

    Seiji no hi (Coming of Age Day) (Japan)

    January 12th births

    01-12-1892 - Ed McConnell - Atlanta, GA - d. 7-24-1954
    host, actor: Smilin" Ed McConnell Show"
    01-12-1896 - Harry Reser - Piqua, OH - d. 9-27-1965
    bandleader: "Cliquot Club Eskimos"
    01-12-1905 - Tex Ritter - Murvaul, TX - d. 1-2-1974
    singer: "Lone Star Rangers"
    01-12-1906 - Henny Youngman - Liverpool, England (R:  Brooklyn, NY) - d.
    2-24-1998
    comedian: "Kate Smith Hour"
    01-12-1910 - Luise Rainer - Vienna, Austria
    actress: "Linclon Highway"; "Yesterday"s Children"
    01-12-1910 - Patsy Kelly - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-24-1981
    comedienne: "MGM Musical Comedy Theatre"; "Hollywood Hotel"; "Screen Guild
    Theatre"
    01-12-1911 - Lon Clark - Frost, MN - d. 10-4-1998
    actor: Nick Carter "Nick Carter, Master Detective"; Keith Richards "Bright
    Horizon"
    01-12-1912 - Sara Berner - Albany, NY - d. 12-19-1969
    actress: Mable Flapsaddle "Jack Benny Program"; Ingrid Mataratzo "Jimmy
    Durante Show"
    01-12-1926 - Ray Price - Perryville, TX
    singer: "Galaxy of Stars"

    January 12th deaths

    01-23-1919 - Ernie Kovacs - Trenton, NJ - d. 1-12-1962
    announcer: WTTM Trenton, NJ
    04-20-1914 - Betty Lou Gerson - Chattanooga, TN - d. 1-12-1999
    actress: Mary Marlin "Story of Mary Marlin"; Charlotte Wilson "Guiding Light"
    06-18-1904 - Keye Luke - Canton, China - d. 1-12-1991
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Image Minorities"
    08-03-1903 - John S. Young - Springfield, MA - d. 1-12-1976
    announcer: Foreign news for NBC in Nyw York
    09-15-1890 - Agatha Christie - Torquay, England - d. 1-12-1976
    author: Creator of "Hercule Poirot"
    10-18-1911 - Helen Claire - Union Springs, AL - d. 1-12-1974
    actress: Virginia Lansing "Backstage Wife"; Joyce Jordan "Joyce Jordan,[removed]"
    12-21-1917 - Rolly Bester - NYC - d. 1-12-1984
    actress: "Tales of Tomorrow"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 17:38:09 -0500
    From: "Sharon Wright" <write@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Smiths of Hollywood
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Hello,
    I've been listening to the Smiths Of Hollywood and I can't figure out who was
    sponsoring the show, can someone tell me?
    Sharon

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

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

    Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 17:38:23 -0500
    From: "Sharon Wright" <write@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  OTR Sit Coms
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Hello,
    I'm looking for lesser known sit com like shows such as Life With the Lions
    and The Smiths of Hollywood, which I have. Can anyone suggest some others and
    tell me a little about them?
    Sharon

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

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #14
    ********************************************

    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]