------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 296
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
RE: Bob Hope anecdote [ "Jan Bach" <[removed]@[removed] ]
Here's Howe [ Ronald Plumb <ronplumb@[removed]; ]
A question regarding call letters [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
Glenn Ford [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
Long Life [ JimBourg@[removed] ]
The OTR Trivia Question [ "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed]; ]
Re: Bob Hope [ "Cynthia "ChibiBarako"" <cvc@[removed] ]
Today in History [ William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed]; ]
Bob Hope roasted [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
Another tarzan question [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
Hope vs. Benny [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
OTR Trivia [ "John Eccles, Jr." <jeccles@earthli ]
News transmission in WWII [ Alan/Linda Bell <alanlinda43@yahoo. ]
Dehony Dr [ "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed]; ]
It Pays to Be Ignorant [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Bob Hope Cartoons [ lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed]; ]
16" transcription turntable [ "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@hotmail. ]
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Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 10:49:21 -0400
From: "Jan Bach" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: RE: Bob Hope anecdote
Hello again --
In the last OTR Digest Paul Fornatar wrote:
I remember a night when he told someone on the show," This eight year
old girl swallowed a pin and didn't feel the prick until she was
eighteen." Of course, it was the talk at school. Anyone remember that
line.
My memory of this event was that Bob was talking about eighteen-year-old
Shirley Temple, who had just married somewhat older John Agar.
He told the joke on the air, the program being broadcast live at that time,
and was immediately cut off by the network. I don't
remember if his show was kept off the air the following week, but I believe
there was some kind of "retribution" required of Bob. It was 1945 when the
event(s)occurred. And I recall that Agar was a WWII veteran and perhaps a
war hero.
Jan Bach
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Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 11:18:58 -0400
From: Ronald Plumb <ronplumb@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Here's Howe
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When I was in Buffalo, NY, during the mid to late 40's I used to listen to a
program that started - Here's Howe to tell you who, and when, and where, and
how (or something like that). This was on in the afternoon kids' block of
programs. I have been unable to find a reference to it anywhere. Anyone else
remember it?
Ron
Please visit my website -
[removed]
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Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 11:30:44 -0400
From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: A question regarding call letters
All this dicussion of call letters has got me wondering something. I know
stations that begin with W (WAMU, WUCX) tend to be east of the Mississippi,
while those that begin with K tend to be west of the mississippi. Yes, I
also know there are exceptions (KDKA). What I'm wondering is why W and K?
Canadian stations start with C (CIMX), which makes sense, and I believe that
Mexico stations start with X (XERA), which also sort of makes [removed] but
why the letters W and K. Why not Q and F, or B and R, or A and Z, or
anything else?
Any insight?
-chris holm
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 11:32:16 -0400
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Glenn Ford
Hi Everybody, Peter Ford the son of Glenn Ford is working on a book about
his dad. Glenn radio career will be covered, and Peter would love to find
copies of the below shows starring his dad.
1. The Doctor Fights 7-24-45
2. Sudden Death 12-17-46
3. One Great Hour 3-26-49
4. Time of Her Life 4-20-49
Take care,
Walden Hughes
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Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 11:59:06 -0400
From: JimBourg@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Long Life
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In a message dated 8/1/2003 9:51:02 AM Central Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
But remember, 100 is a good, long life. :o)
Unless you're 99. :o)
Jim
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Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 13:09:16 -0400
From: "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: The OTR Trivia Question
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My best guess is MAME!
Angela Lansbury, Bea Arthur, Willard Waterman were all in the [removed] they
all had old time radio connections. (If memory serves me correct, Bea Arthur
played Mary's [removed] The Jack Benny Show).
Of [removed] mega-star that replaced Angela Lansbury was Lucille [removed]
star of "My Favorite Husband" (with Richard Denning).
argydix
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Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 13:09:33 -0400
From: "Cynthia "ChibiBarako"" <cvc@[removed];
To: Old Time Radio Mailing List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Bob Hope
Yes, Bob Hope was Catholic, and yes, he was a convert.
[removed]
As far as the honorary knighthood goes, as I understand it anybody can
be given an *honorary* knighthood, but non-honorary knighthoods are
reserved for subjects of the Crown -- but, since Hope was born in
Eltham, he could make some claim on that point as well I suppose. (Of
course, as an American citizen he would be expected not to use the
honorific.)
Cynthia
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 13:13:32 -0400
From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Today in History
Commenting on Joe Mackey's posting. First, John J. Anthony's program
actually was orgfinated at WMCA and fed to the "Intercity Network" at
that time. I was an engineer at WMCA then. Anthony had his office there.
I think the program was called "Court of Human Relations" but I am not
sure. The Mutual origination may have come at a later [removed] to the
Caesar Petrillo situation, that was in Chicago. He insisted that
musicians operate the turntables for playing phonograph [removed] they
did not know how to operate the equipment, the stations assigned
musicians to the phonograph record originations, but they sat outside the
control room door while the engineer actually operated the equipment.
Apparently this arrangement satisfied Petrillo and "made work" for many
musicians. I don't recall how long this farce lasted. Chicago originated
many nightime dance band remote broadcasts. It was a "music city".
BILL MURTOUGH
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 13:51:56 -0400
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Bob Hope roasted
Regarding Bob Hope, Kenneth Clarke asked:
Does anyone remember whether he was ever 'roasted' on TV
or ever participated in one of them?
Yes, Hope was given a good-natured skewering on a "Dean Martin Celebrity
Roast" during the early 1970's. The programs are being sold as a monthly
mail order subscription from:
[removed]
According to this site, the Hope program is part of the deal. I've never
ordered, but I've viewed some of the tapes, and they're of good quality, if
you enjoy this sort of thing. I think the funniest moment of the Hope roast
is when Delores introduces him: "I want to thank you, Dean, for letting me
introduce the guest of honor - which, oddly enough, is what we call him at
home."
Michael
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 13:52:07 -0400
From: "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed];
To: ""old-time radio digest">" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Another tarzan question
Speaking of Tarzan again,
Has Tarzan and the Fires of Tohr ever been released?
I thought AIC had it but since they are gon I wondered if anyone else got the
rights or would be willing to trade.
Bill
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 15:28:00 -0400
From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Hope vs. Benny
Hope and Benny, now that they're both dead and buried:
Who was more influential? Who left bigger footprints?
And perhaps just as importantly, just a couple months
after we watched clueless entertainment writers
celebrate The Big 100 by crediting Bob with many of
Jack's innovations--once the Hope Death Hoopla dies
down, who will be better remembered in future times?
If you noticed, almost every single Hope obituary
article had a quote something like "he may not have
made us laugh the loudest, but he made us laugh the
[removed]" It was clearly recognized he was not
always a total barrell of laughs in later years. I
personally think Hope's longevity added an extra
dimension to his legend that, frankly, it might not
have deserved.
In Benny's case, it's sort of 'out of sight, out of
mind'--he died so long ago now many writers, fans, and
comedians just don't even remember him. OTOH, he
*did* manage to leave us before he did another 30
years of reputation-tarnishing lame TV specials, as
Hope did. It's kind of a paradox--which was
preferable?
I recently watched the November, 1965 "Jack Benny
Hour"--Jack's first "special" after his weekly show
ended. The guest was Bob Hope. The writing was
surprisingly sharp, in the monologue segments. The
sketches were verrrry lame; both men were already too
old to be prancing around dressed up like the Beach
Boys. Major observation: while Jack was clearly
giving the performance his all, almost poignantly so,
Hope was already well into his
sideways-glancing-cue-card-reading phase, and he had
obviously not learned the choreography in the closing
musical number--he probably had bruises from Elke
Sommer leading him around by the elbow!
The studio audience, however, obviously adored both
men, and at this point they were probably of equal
stature in the National Icon Department. Of course,
Benny died less than a decade later, while Hope had
actually yet to reach the height of his TV fame, with
his 1969-1970 'Christmas in Vietnam' programs. So
what happened to both men's reputations over the past
35 years? And what'll happen in the next 35?
chris
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 17:28:57 -0400
From: "John Eccles, Jr." <jeccles@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: OTR Trivia
1. Mame
2. Bea Arthur
3. Lucille Ball
John Eccles, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 22:56:59 -0400
From: Alan/Linda Bell <alanlinda43@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: News transmission in WWII
I just finished The Murrow Boys by Cloud and Olson and loved just
about every word. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the
development of broadcast journalism. I appreciate that, while it was
in general very respectful of the "Boys'" accomplishments, it didn't
shy away from dealing with their personal and professional
shortcomings. Even the sainted Murrow's portrait isn't entirely
flattering. It would make a terrific limited series on HBO, on the
order of Band of Brothers.
Anyway, as I was reading, I got to wondering about the technical
requirements of getting field reports from the battlefield on the
air. Before the relaxation of the recording ban, how did the
reporter's story get routed from his transmitter in, say, North
Africa, to the network in New York and then live to the rest of the
country? Yes, I know that field transmissions were on short wave, and
picked up somehow. Was it generally one or two hops to get home,
[removed], transmit in N Africa, where it's picked up in, say, London,
and then retransmitted to NY, etc? Something like that?
And another thing. How did he know WHEN to transmit? He finds a
story, writes it, and somehow locates a transmitter. How did the
reporter know exactly when to start talking? (And what frequency to
use?) Seems like he'd have to know that there was a newscast coming
up at, say, 6:00 pm Eastern time (whatever time that was in North
Africa) and that his report would have to begin at exactly 6:01:30,
or something like that. So how would NY even know that a report was
coming? You don't just find the nearest pay phone and call in that
you've got a story. There would have to be some sort of 2-way
communication to coordinate things. And how does he get his cue? I'm
sure he didn't have the producer in his ear giving him the countdown.
Or did he? The logistics of getting live reports from the field in
Belgium, Holland, Algeria, etc. without modern communications seems
amazing to me. I know there are a few contributors to this forum who
were engineers during that era or shortly thereafter. Care to
enlighten us? (... or maybe just me?)
Alan
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 22:57:28 -0400
From: "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed];
To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Dehony Dr
Dee Hoo Neee Drive
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 22:56:36 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: It Pays to Be Ignorant
Once again, the "Delta Oracle" Martin Grams has outdone himself with
his comprehensive list of OTR movie spin-offs. However, I'd like to add to
the list with a one-shot RKO short subject made circa 1946 based on the
"It Pays to Be Ignorant" franchise starring Miss McConnell and Messrs. Howard,
Shelton, and MacNaughton, and directed by the radio programme's director
Herb Polesie.
Does anybody out there in the ether have a VHS copy of this short
subject?
I second the motion - Derek has been looking for that short for some time
and I have been unable to find a print.
I have been under an assumption that the IT PAYS TO BE IGNORANT short was
destroyed in the famous RKO fire a long time ago (same fire that famously
damaged/destroyed CITIZEN KANE negative and the 17 INFORMATION PLEASE film
shorts). If anyone has a copy, I'll pay $. (My gift to Derek for bringing
it to my attention to years ago.)
Martin Grams, Jr.
mmargrajr@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 23:12:08 -0400
From: lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Bob Hope Cartoons
The cartoons on Bob Hopes passing were wonderful!!!
A BIG THANKS to George Tirebiter!!
George-thanks for those memories!!
Lynn Wagar
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2003 00:21:13 -0400
From: "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: 16" transcription turntable
Yoohoo, is anybody?
A friend of mine, Harvey Tow, is looking for a turntable to buy that plays
16" transcriptions. Please contact him at Videolad@[removed] if you can help
or have suggestions.
Thanks,
Barbara
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #296
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