Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #74
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 2/29/2004 7:58 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2004 : Issue 74
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      RE: Transcription Discs               [ OTRDSIEGEL@[removed] ]
      Local announcements                   [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      Aubrey's firing and Jack Benny        [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      Harry Bartell                         [ "Scott Rogers" <srogerssprint5@eart ]
      Re: Harry Bartell                     [ "BrianLBedsworth" <BrianLBedsworth@ ]
      Car Radio Out of Cars                 [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Harry Bartell                         [ "Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@hotmail ]
      RE: AM car radios                     [ "Jack Feldman" <qualitas@millenicom ]
      Harry Bartell                         [ <robertgaxley@[removed]; ]
      Harry Bartell                         [ Mark Reesor <mrees@[removed]; ]
      Firing Jack Benny                     [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
      car radio lore                        [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
      Harry Bartell                         [ lawrence albert <albertlarry@yahoo. ]
      RE: Harry Bartell                     [ RPATO2@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 17:09:09 -0500
    From: OTRDSIEGEL@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RE: Transcription Discs

       I received a call this day from a gentleman who lives in upstate New York
    and who has recently acquirEd several hundred 16 inch transcription discs
    that he is interested in selling.
       If you wish additional information  feel free to contact me and I will
    provIde yOu with the fellow's name and phone number.
        Dave Siegel

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

    Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 17:09:44 -0500
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Local announcements

    Bob Watson writes:

>     And on more question on the subject.  The announcements on my copy of the

    Jack

>     Benny Program seem to be local, instead of national announcements.  Was this
>     program the west coast program or are the announcements actually for the

    east

>     coast??  Although, it does seem unlikely to me that the announcements are
>     meant for the east coast, I could be wrong.  Which probably means that the
>     copy I have is a west coast program, but would like to have some
>     confirmation.

    I've heard local or regional announcements on Benny programs from both the
    East and West Coast.  There are some recordings from the WEAF feed which
    feature
    advertisements for only New York and New England listeners about the new
    Jell-O Ice Cream Mix, which morphed into Jell-O Freezing Mix when released
    nationally.  There are still other recordings from the KFI feed that have ads
    for
    local optometrists, etc. after the top-of-the-hour time check and ID.  Can you
    provide a specific date when you're hearing these announcements?

    --Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 17:10:59 -0500
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Aubrey's firing and Jack Benny

    Dixon Hayes writes:

>     It wasn't Aubrey, because he was already gone long from CBS in '71, having
>     left (been fired, IIRC) in 1965.

    That makes more sense to me, as I'd heard that the firing of both Aubrey and
    Braselle from CBS was linked, at least in part, to Paley's ire over the harsh
    way that Jack Benny was dismissed.  This is claimed as a large part of the
    reason that Keefe Braselle held such a long-standing resentment towards Jack.
    However, I've heard that from other people and would be interested if anyone
    has
    any concrete evidence of this.

    --Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 18:35:42 -0500
    From: "Scott Rogers" <srogerssprint5@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Harry Bartell
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is then heard no more.

    Godspeed Mr. Bartell

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

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

    Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 18:36:43 -0500
    From: "BrianLBedsworth" <BrianLBedsworth@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Harry Bartell

    I didn't know the man, though I did come to understand a good deal about a
    good man over the years on this list.

    I knew the voice, I knew the actor, I knew the man who sat with John H.
    Watson over glasses of Petri, the man who helped keep Nero Wolfe and his
    orchids out of hock, the man of a thousand roles on a thousand episodes of
    the greatest shows of CBS' dramatic heyday in the 1950s: Escape, Suspense,
    and of course, Gunsmoke.

    I fell asleep at night as a child with his voice (among so many others; thank
    you, Jon & Larry) in my ears, he kept me company on long walks, long trips,
    and long rainy afternoons.

    I never took the time to let him know what he and so many others meant to me,
    though it would have been an easy thing to do.

    And now, this good and talented man is gone, and cannot hear my thanks. But I
    do thank you, Mr. Harry Bartell. I thank you and all those who may read this
    note and who were a part of making my childhood such a wonderful place (or,
    rather, making a wonderful place in which to =spend= my childhood) and giving
    me such imaginative entertainment to enjoy as an adult. Know that your work
    still lives on and reaches new audiences each and every day. You still touch
    hearts and minds, five, six, even seven decades on. You are beloved, and you
    are not forgotten.

    Even if some of us are too lazy to tell you so.

    -- Brian L. Bedsworth

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

    Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 19:30:19 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Car Radio Out of Cars

    Dan Hughes, speaking of adapting automotive radios for household use,
    notes,

>     Mark asks about using old car radios in the [removed] of the radio
>     magazines of the 60's (Elementary Electronics, I believe) had a great
>     article about this.

    It was Popular Electronics, but it wasn't alone.  Radio-Electronics had
    one, too, about mid-sixties.  Apparently about that time, everyone seemed
    to notice the extraordinary performance of these units.

    Candy Jens notes,

>     Also, something to put on the spark plug wires, and I even remember
>     (vaguely) something that one put into the hubcaps to cut down on
>     interference!

    The things on the spark plug wires were resistors.  The spark plug wires
    were nearly perfect resonators for the FM band, and the "suppressors," as
    they were called were particularly effective for FM reception.  I
    installed these on my 1956 Chevrolet in the early 1960s, and when I took
    the car for a tuneup, the mechanics replaced my ignition wires!

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 20:09:09 -0500
    From: "Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Harry Bartell

    I concur with Stewart Wright. I too will drink a toast to the living memory
    and the artistry of Harry Bartell.

    Like many another poster to this digest, the only contact I had with Harry
    was via e-mail. But I must reiterate what a gracious correspondent he was! I
    wrote to him several years ago concerning a series of Edgar Allan Poe
    adaptations he had been involved with in his early radio days in Houston. He
    didn't recall the specific series, but he replied with many memories of the
    station and the director of the series. Memories which enabled me to fill in
    some of the gaps in my research. If I could impress upon you how many people
    I have written who never bothered to respond, it would only heighten the
    sense of what a terrific person he was. He even--unnecessarily--apologized
    for lapses of memory of events from sixty-odd years ago. Heck, I myself can
    bearly remember what I did yesterday, let alone back in my twenties!

    Stewart also quoted Harry as saying: "Radio offered an actor or actress
    opportunities to play roles they couldn't obtain anywhere else." That's food
    for thought in a whole category of its own. Orson Welles once basically said
    the same thing--that taking away the visual dimension greatly expanded an
    actor's possible range. Certainly, in Welles' case, the obvious example is
    THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS. On radio Orson could play the spoiled-brat scion
    Georgie Minafer, but on film he had the wisdom to realize that physically he
    could not play the part.

    Interestingly, although I am not a religious person, the television role of
    Harry's that remains most embedded in my mind is that of the priest in the
    "Big Little Jesus" episode of DRAGNET.

    Raise a glass to Harry Bartell, a wonderful actor and a wonderful human
    being.

    Mike Ogden

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

    Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 22:38:55 -0500
    From: "Jack Feldman" <qualitas@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  RE: AM car radios

    Two reasons for AM car radios to be able to pull in distant radio stations.
    One was that the antenna was outside. The second was that as the last step
    in the installation you tuned a weak station in the high end of the band,
    and used a trimmer capacater to tune the radio to that antenna so there was
    a perfect match. Digital radios don't have that trimmer, and antennas are
    usually cut for FM reception since the frequency of FM broadcasting is line
    of sight, and needs a better matching antenna.

    As someone mentioned, we no longer have stations that try to reach across
    the country. In the early days there were, and still may be, clear channel
    stations which had a unique frequency assignened to them. they transmited at
    50,000 wats. Smaller local stations were assigned the same frequency, with
    the assignments being far enough apart geographically so they didn't
    interfeare with each other. Chicago's WGN was, and maybe still is. I also
    listen regularly to another, WTMJ in Milwaukee, for the Wisconsin and Green
    Bay footbal games.

    As far as eliminating noise, the "gadjet" in the hub caps were springs to
    make sure they the hubcaps were welll grounded. All the metal components of
    the car had to be made into one ground for noise puposes. That sometimes
    meant that the hood had to be grounded with a strap to the main body of the
    car. Both were rarely required.

    In addition, the ignition lead from the distributor was cut and a resister
    was inserted in the wire. They were round modules about two inces long with
    screws on each end. You simplly cut the ignition wire and then screwd them
    into the ends of the resister.

    When I was in high school in the early fifties I worked in a friend's shop.
    His father was a Blue Star auto parts store manager, and since his son was
    into radio and electronics, he set him up in his own repair and installation
    shop. That way when the father sold an aftermarket radio, he could send the
    customer across the street to his son's convienient shop for the
    installation. Instllation was a snap since the wires were already in the
    harness, and the mounting was already installed. All that was necessary was
    to drill a hole in the fender for the antenna.

    Jack

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

    Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 23:48:10 -0500
    From: <robertgaxley@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Harry Bartell

    Like so many who will eulogize Harry, I can only add how much we will miss
    him and his marvelous reminiscences of OTR on the Digest.  I remember sending
    him a sympathy card from our OTR club in Chattanooga and receiving a very
    gracious and prompt reply of thanks.  His memories of OTR that he shared with
    us about a year ago through the Digest really opened up aspects of the media
    that were so intimate and informative.  It seems like about every one in ten
    OTR programs had Harry in a role.  He, like our good friend Hal Stone, Lois
    Culver, and others of the period, have opened up what it was like to work in
    that wonderful time period.  Just as we said about Bob Hope, thanks for the
    memories Harry!
    Bob Axley

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

    Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 01:08:58 -0500
    From: Mark Reesor <mrees@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Harry Bartell

    I also never had the pleasure of meeting Harry in person, but so enjoyed his
    posts and Struts and Frets series. He mentioned in his last one that he
    "expected arguments but they didn't materialize." I e-mailed to thank him,
    saying "I think we're all in awe of you and your experiences (I know I am!)
    You don't argue with people of your stature sir -- you listen and learn --
    and proudly tell your friends, children and grandchildren of your brush with
    fame!"

    His modest reply - "If this were 1890, I think the proper phrase would be
    "You do me too much honor, Sir!" My deepest sympathy to his family for this
    great loss.

    Mark Reesor

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

    Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 01:09:28 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Firing Jack Benny

>     Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 18:19:30 -0500
>     From: JackBenny@[removed]

>     Also, even the Benny show was getting into some rather corny gags by the
>     last season.  Some will recall his show with the Kingston Trio, which ends
>     (going by an old [removed]'t seen it in a while) with a skit where
>     Jack plays his violin in the Tijuana Jail.

    I remember that one, and I think I have it on a videotape.  As I recall, the
    Kingston Trio
    singing "Tijuana Jail" dissolves into Jack being thrown into said jail.  One
    of the people he
    meets there is Mel Blanc's Mexican character.  I think eventually, when Jack
    says he wants
    a lawyer, Mel Blanc's character turns out to be a lawyer.

>     Supposedly Braselle fired Jack with words along the lines of, "You're
>     THROUGH, old man!"  Paley had wanted to drop Jack's weekly show but
>     keep him on for the specials, and was mightily upset when he'd heard
>     that Braselle had dismissed one of his "diamonds" in such a manner.

    Was that when Jack moved back to NBC?

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

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

    Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 01:08:27 -0500
    From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  car radio lore

    Here are responses to several car radio matters posted on the list:

>     Why is a car radio
>     able to pick up distant AM stations better than boom boxes or home
>     reciever's?  Is it the quality of the radio or that the car is able to use
>     the whole chassis as an antennae?

    It is emphatically _not_ the antenna.  An automobile radio antenna is very
    close to an ideal length for our FM band, but nowhere near the ideal length
    for our AM frequencies.  Thus there is a special transformer used inside the
    radio to compensate.  And to compensate for _that_, there is an extra stage
    of amplification used.

>     If it is indeed the quality then
>     somewhere there should be a home radio with that same level of quality I
>     would guess.  There is a small town radio station, KMIL AM 1330 in Cameron
>     TX, the plays my favorite show every day, Lum and Abner at 12:45 pm.  I am
>     80 miles away and can not get it on any boom box (including outdoors using
>     batteries) or home receiver but can get it pretty clearly on ANY car radio
>     with the engine off.

    Yep, it's the quality of the radio, as you've discovered.  You might
    consider adapting a car radio as discussed here.  In general, the quality of
    the AM reception of radios varies dramatically and unpredictably.  I have a
    loss-leader digital clock radio that cost ten dollars, new, and it has an AM
    range that's quite astounding.  I've also dealt with big, expensive hi-fi
    receivers whose AM sections consist of an integrated circuit and a tuner of
    minimal design and performance.

    It is possible that the GE SuperRadio is equal to a car radio, though I have
    one and I haven't been able to determine the truth of that.  For what it's
    worth, the various hi-fi receivers sometimes have good AM sections in them,
    but are rather critical when it comes to the antenna that's used.  Some
    don't come with an AM antenna at all these days: you're expected to know
    that you should clip a random length of wire to the "AM ANT" terminal.

>     One of the radio magazines of the 60's (Elementary Electronics, I
>     believe) had a great article about this.  What the guy did was buy old
>     car AM radios (this was when everyone was dumping their AM radios and
>     replacing them with AM/FM) for next to nothing, then building them right
>     into big speakers.  He'd buy a set of medium-to-large inexpensive stereo
>     speakers, cut a hole into the speaker and mount the radio in the hole.
>     One set of speakers gave him two radios, and he was able to cut the wood
>     panel that held the speaker without hurting the speaker (the speaker
>     itself was round; the wood mounting panel rectangular so there was room
>     to mount the radio without having to move the speaker itself). He also
>     mounted a 12v converter in the box so he had a complete radio, no
>     out-of-box wiring necessary.  They looked really great, too.

    I remember this article, and I might have swiped the idea.  It was, however,
    a pretty elaborate
    project for my feeble woodworking skills.  I recall that the final product
    was pretty nifty-looking, with the whip antenna mounted atop the speaker
    box.

>     As for static, there were "ground straps" that one mounted to the back
>     bumper so they just grazed the road surface.  Also, something to put on the
>     spark plug wires, and I even remember (vaguely) something that one put into
>     the hubcaps to cut down on interference!

    Yep.  Lots of car radio interference is caused by electric charge buildup
    from the tires.  In fact, it's worse these days because the new high-mileage
    tires use a rubber with so little carbon that they're very good insulators.
    If you find that your AM reception and static level improves on wet roads or
    on concrete (as opposed to blacktop) then this is your trouble.  I fixed my
    particular problem when I replaced the tires.  I tried various sorts of
    ground straps, but they did not help in my case.

    The devices in the hubcaps were spring-brass contacts that provided a
    positive connection from the stationary front-wheel axle to the wheel
    itself.  This prevented intermittent bangs as static charge buildup on the
    tire arced over from the wheel to the axle.  The grease tended to act as an
    insulator.
    On front-wheel-drive cars, this problem now occurs on the rear wheels.

    Even the little bead atop the antenna was an anti-static device (as well as
    a safety device to keep the antenna end from poking you.)  It turns out that
    a pointy antenna will build up a high enough electric field at its tip to
    noisily leak static electric charge into the air.  The ball on the end makes
    things quieter.

>     In general, I think older sets had better sound quality than new ones . . .
>     or is it my ears/ <g>

    Might be the radios.  Some car audio systems are optimized for CD's (MP3's,
    soon) and stereo FM reception.  But I must say that the system installed in
    Natalie's 2002 Saturn is utterly superb in both sound and AM reception.
    Delco did a good job with that one.

    Mark Kinsler

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

    Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 09:56:29 -0500
    From: lawrence albert <albertlarry@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Harry Bartell

      I find it difficult to put into my head that I will
    no longer be able to pick up the phone and dial a
    number and hear my friend Harry say "Hi Lar." He was
    the only person I've ever allowed to call me that.
      I spent the better part of twelve years doing my
    best to gain his approval of my work as an actor,
    director and writer. Sometimes I wondered why I
    bothered, but I always gave myself the same answer.
    His opinion mattered to me. Why? Because my respect
    for him as a man, as a highly skilled and successful
    practitioner of our craft, and as a loving husband and
    loyal friend was boundless. His straight forwardness
    and compassion, his lack of pretension and his
    understanding of the work made him a human being whose
    good will mattered.
        I spent time in his home, with the beautiful Bev,
    I listened to him and was listened to by him for
    hours. Of all the OTR people I've met over the years
    his was presence I wanted most to be in.
         Harry performed his last work as a professional
    radio actor last Summer in an episode of our Sherlock
    Holmes series that was written especially for him. He
    told me that he had never played a part like that
    before and wasn't it nice that he could still try
    something new at his age. I had all of three lines
    with him but to be with Harry, in that context, well,
    those three lines were golden.
         The last time I was to be alone with him was at
    last years REPS showcase. He was dressed for the
    banquet and standing by the no host bar all by
    himself. He saw me approaching and broke out in a
    smile. I wish I could recall what we talked about, it
    probably wasn't anything other then some chit-chat,
    but for ten minutes or so I just stood there and
    talked to my friend and the sun was shining.
      Harry has gone to join his beloved Bev. He is
    together again with his heart. We shall always have
    his voice and image through his radio, film and
    television work. But I have lost that smile and the
    sound of my name as he said it and I shall missed it
    for a very long time.
          Dear Lord please take your true and faithful
    servant Harry into your loving embrace and bless him
    with the bounty of your love.
            Amen
          Larry Albert

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

    Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 09:57:23 -0500
    From: RPATO2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RE: Harry Bartell

    Rest well Harry,we will see you in the morning friend===Bobb

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #74
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