------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 01 : Issue 26
A Part of the [removed]!
Today's Topics:
Ages ["Welsa" <welsa@[removed]; ]
Suspense logs ["Bruce Wilson" <[removed]@[removed];]
Sherlock Holmes dead? [JimInks@[removed] ]
Memory [Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed]]
#OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig [lois@[removed] ]
MARIANDI, MAN FROM MARS [GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@]
Our Ages ["kenwyn:First kenwyn:Last" <kenwyn@]
Ages and OTR ... and OSR ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
Ages ["George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm]
age [ajhubin@[removed] ]
My Age and OTR Involvement [KENPILETIC@[removed] ]
My Age and OTR Involvement [KENPILETIC@[removed] ]
Re: Our [removed] [StevenL751@[removed] ]
Re: Our Ages ["Robert Fells" <rfells@[removed]; ]
Our Ages [Michael Henry <mlhenry@[removed];]
BILLY MAY LIVE INTERVIEW [Duane Keilstrup <duanek9@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 00:14:08 -0500
From: "Welsa" <welsa@[removed];
To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Ages
I'm 60 y/o. I listened to a lot of these shows as a kid.
I know oa librarian in our town. Thelibrary has quite a collection of radio
shows. She tells me they are most checked out by high school students.
That's very encouraging.
A few years ago I started a re-enactment group here. We perform the
original scripts in variety of settings and have all ages involved. One
girl we have is only 12--and she just loves these shows.
Ted (Madison, Wisconsin)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 00:21:05 -0500
From: "Bruce Wilson" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Suspense logs
Does anyone have some Suspense logs in spreadsheet or database format?
I'd like to add more info to a Suspense site
([removed]) but typing in summaries
and broadcast details is too much work.
-----
Bruce Wilson
Photography: [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 04:27:48 -0500
From: JimInks@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Sherlock Holmes dead?
In listening to the various Sherlock Holmes series done during old time radio
days, it strikes me that since Watson never refers to Holmes in the present,
that the writers infer that Holmes was no longer alive. I know they use the
Watson narration gimmick because he was Homes' biographer but has this idea
ever occured to anyone else besides me?
As for age, 39 is all I admit to since I just passed that. Somehow, being
older than my waistline size isn't very comforting.
-Jim Amash
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 04:27:50 -0500
From: Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Memory
I attend Elderhostels at a retreat center close to my home and talk about
old-time radio.
I have been most impressed by the memories of some of my audience members.
Some of the more spectacular displays occurred this year. One lady
recited the opening of "Grand Central Station" nearly letter perfect; I
only wished I had had the sound effects to accompany her rendering.
Another gentleman remembered an obscure regional program called "Cecil and
Sally" from the very early thirties. I was able to find some of the shows
for him. He said it was his favorite show as a ten year-old, and he was
able to recall in detail some of the storylines.
Still another audience member remembered the number to call when voting
for a contestant on Major Bowes' "Amateur Hour."
The participants in these Elderhostels continue to amaze and inspire me.
Dennis Crow
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 04:52:00 -0500
From: lois@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Night!
A weekly [removed]
For the best in OTR Chat, join IRC (Internet Relay Chat), StarLink-IRC
Network, the channel name is #OldRadio. We meet Thursdays at 8 PM Eastern
and go on, and on! The oldest OTR Chat Channel, it has been in existence
over three years, same time, same channel!
Our numerous "regulars" include one of the busiest "golden years" actors in
Hollywood; a sound man from the same era who worked many of the top
Hollywood shows; owners of some of the best OTR sites on the Web;
maintainer of well-known OTR digest lists (we all know who he is)..........
and Me
Lois Culver
KWLK Longview Washington (Mutual) 1941-1944)
KFI Los Angeles (NBC) 1944 - 1950
and widow of actor Howard Culver
(For more info, contact lois@[removed])
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 05:09:11 -0500
From: GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: MARIANDI, MAN FROM MARS
MARIANDI, MAN FROM MARS was a popular kids'
program originated by WLW, Cincinnati, in 1937.
Mariandi arrived from Mars to fight crime on
Earth. He soon picked the regulation stupid Earthling
assistant.
Mariandi could catch bullets with his bare hands.
The stupid assistant tried to duplicate this feat in
one episode, but all he got for his effort was a
bullet through his palm.
The program must have been really popular in the
Midwestern areas reached by WLW's clear channel. I've
had no fewer than three different people (two males
and a female) come up to me cold over the years, after
learning that I collect Old Time Radio, to tell me how
much they loved this program.
Alas, the series lasted only the first year.
Hundreds of mothers complained to WLW that the series
was simply too violent and station owner Powel
Crosley, Jr., took their concerns seriously enough to
cancel the show.
Unfortunately, this is all that I know about
MARIANDI, MAN FROM MARS.
Can anyone on the list contribute anything else?
GWAGNEROLDTIMERADIO@[removed] (George Wagner)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:41:33 -0500
From: "kenwyn:First kenwyn:Last" <kenwyn@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Our Ages
I am 59 years young and have been collecting OTR for about 5 years. Growing
up in the New York City area my family had a TV by the late forties. I
really don't remember listening to these great old radio shows as I was
hooked on TV's Flash Gordon, Don Winslow, Hopalong Cassidy, Sky King, and
Beanie and Cecil.
About twenty years ago a young Navy friend loaned me a collection of Shadow
records which I taped. I listened to the shows, enjoyed them and promptly
forgot them again. About five years ago I found them in a box while
cleaning out a closet. I listened to them again and ZAP! I was hooked. I
went to the Internet and discovered the wonderful OTR sites that were there.
I joined the SPERDVAC and RHAC clubs and went from them to active trading on
cassette. I'm now into collecting on Cds and am forever grateful for
discovering this great hobby and the good people in it.
I am now disabled and have plenty of time on my hands. OTR fills that time
much more than TV does. I watch sports on TV but most days the TV never
gets turned on. You'll find me walking the streets on Dodge with Matt and
Chester, inspecting Fibber's closet, going with Jack on a trip to the vault
or looking over Johnny's shoulder while he pads his expense account. Bob
Bailey, Parley Baer, Orson Welles, Dennis Day, John Dehner, etc. are far
more important to me than whoever is on current TV.
I'd like to thank all the great people who I've met through OTR. A finer
group doesn't exist.
Damn, I love this hobby!
Ken Kay
Chula Vista, CA
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:41:40 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Ages and OTR ... and OSR
>From Jeff G's 16 to those of us who used to listen to the shows when they
were first broadcast, the unifying experience of OTR shows that it still
is effective over a broad audience spectrum. Now this is in sharp
contrast to other older media. For instance, although Tom Swift novels
captured the imagination of a generation of youngsters, trying to read
one today is a chore. Likewise, looking at a Zoetrope or Mutoscope --
predecessors to today's movie projectors -- is an interesting cultural or
technical novelty, but nothing that one would want to keep coming back
to.
OTR is an art form that still works. Although my wife isn't an OTR fan
(she grew up after it phased out), she still was intrigued by a Pat Novak
For Hire tape that I played on her car's tape deck when we were on a long
trip. ("It's just like television," she said.) Although she hasn't
become an OTR fan, she was impressed.
This brings me back to the whole idea of Old-Style Radio (OSR). From
time to time, somebody tries to resurrect "The Theater of the Mind"
without fully understanding the medium. The CBS effort in the 1970s made
a huge mistake: their efforts were an hour long. It is not by accident
that the two dominant program runs in OTR were 15 minutes for serials and
a half hour for most other shows (with a few exceptions like Lux Radio
Theatre, sportscasts, and the Metropolitan Opera). Blame it on attention
span if you want to, but the actual reason is that there's a time
compression effect on radio that's impossible to do effectively on
television or film. While in the latter two media one can cut from place
to place with a subtitle or two to establish a shift, in OTR, the story
progresses rapidly with a more natural flow.
If OSR is to be successful, those producing it will have to emulate the
past.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:42:16 -0500
From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Ages
Hello All,
I'll turn 44 this year. My interest in OTR began before I had even heard
any. I knew that some of the comedians I liked as a kid, such as Bob Hope
and Jack Benny, had begun on radio (well, actually they began in vaudeville,
but they had been on radio in the pre-TV era) and I was curious as to what
thier comedy had been like without images.
Around 1970 a local station began rebroadcasting OTR and I got my chance to
find out what OTR had been like. My interest waxed and waned over the years,
but the development of the Internet in general and this list in particular
has greatly increased my interest in OTR.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:42:40 -0500
From: ajhubin@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: age
I seem to be one of the more senior [removed]'ll turn
65 in early March, and of course listened to OTR when
it was just R. Got started collecting OTR in the 70s,
got caught up in other things for a while, and then
returned in the 90s. I've a middling collection of some
5600 cassettes of OTR. I'm now listening my way
through Tales of the Texas Rangers, partly for the
pleasure and partly for the writers identification (for
a writers database project). Maybe I'll post the TTR log
somewhere when I'm done (as I did with the Whistler
log which is on Charlie Summers' web site)--the TTR log
in Martin Grams' book is incomplete.
Al Hubin
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:45:02 -0500
From: KENPILETIC@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: My Age and OTR Involvement
Hi Gang - January 24, 2001 - Wednesday - 8:15 AM cst
It has been several years since I first "introduced" myself, and this seems
to be a good time for a re-introduction. I was born August 1, 1937 so that
makes me 63 years old. It seems that I was listening to radio forever.
In 1948, my dad brought home an Eicor tape recorder. I soon discovered
that you could "patch" the recorder to the loudspeaker of a radio using
alligator clips. Using this procedure, I recorded my first radio program off
the air. It was an episode of "The Shadow".
The tape was made of paper and was very expensive for an 11-year-old,
so I re-recorded the same tape many times until I could afford new tape,
which by then was made of plastic. At this point I was able to save the
programs that I recorded.
I taped all kinds of programs, mostly mysteries. In the mid 1950's I sent
for a second tape recorder - a Voice of Music VM 700. This was a popular
machine at the time. With two tape recorders I was able to re-record and
re-arrange programs on tape. Unfortunately, I deliberately deleted many
commercials to save tape. Eventually I realized that removing commercials
was not a good idea.
I continued to record radio almost every day. I even dragged the old VM
with me when I went out of town so that I wouldn't miss recording "Suspense"
or "X-Minus One". By 1960, radio as I knew it was almost gone, but I
had a rather large collection of programs on the shelf.
It was about 1964 when I stumbled on a classified ad placed by Don Maris
in a magazine. "Old Time Radio Programs on Tape" was the headline.
Up until this time I thought I was the only person who recorded and kept
radio programs. I called Don on the telephone and he advised me that there
were quite a few OTR collectors who had collections similar to mine.
I began trading tape with Don and several others. Just about everybody
recorded their collections directly off the air. Programs had station
breaks,
local commercials, jingles, and even some static and heterodynes. It was
great! Just like hearing the programs off the air. If the tape was too
short
for another "program", there were newscasts and weather forecasts to fill
to the end of the reel.
Eventually some collectors became dealers. Many of these dealers had
access to ETs, which had much better sound than those programs recorded
off the air. Of course I traded with any dealers who were willing to trade.
In 1972, or thereabouts, I became involved in "Round Robins". You submit
a reel of tape which is sent to the first of six people, that person records
it
and passes the "master" tape to the second person and soforth. Eventually
your master comes home. In the meantime, you receive five tapes one-at-
a-time from the other memebers of the Round Robin. I would up with six
tapes for every one I submitted. And I was involved with more than one
"Round Robin". With twelve half-hour programs on a single 1800 foot tape,
it is easy to understand that my collection grew rapidly.
I am also an Amateur Radio Operator (W9ZMR), and discussed OTR with
other hams on the air. We formed a group called the ORCATS (Oldtime
Radio Collectors and Traders Society), and we started our own little Round
Robin - which is still running today. In addition to the Round Robin, we
trade programs among ourselves. The collection continues to grow.
I believe I have about 70,000 programs - but there are some duplicates.
After 31 years at IBM, I retired (early). I was offered a part-time-job
at Radio Spirits, which I accepted. I use my "computer expertise" to
help design and maintain the various data bases there, and I use my
"OTR expertise" to help customers with their questions about OTR.
I am at RSI only 10 hours a week, and that's a great schedule for
everybody concerned.
I'm still using reel-to-reel for my collecting. It's easier, faster, and
better sounding than any other medium (in my opinion). I do, however,
still get programs on cassette and even MP-3, but I transfer these shows
to open reel for archiving.
After all this time, I am amazed a how much "new" material is still being
discovered. Yes, I'll still trade for anything I don't already have. I'm
still looking for "Stoopnagle and Budd". I have only one partial show in
my entire vast dusty-archives.
Happy Taping -- Ken Piletic - Streamwood, Illinois
kenpiletic@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:45:05 -0500
From: KENPILETIC@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: My Age and OTR Involvement
Hi Gang - January 24, 2001 - Wednesday - 8:15 AM cst
It has been several years since I first "introduced" myself, and this seems
to be a good time for a re-introduction. I was born August 1, 1937 so that
makes me 63 years old. It seems that I was listening to radio forever.
In 1948, my dad brought home an Eicor tape recorder. I soon discovered
that you could "patch" the recorder to the loudspeaker of a radio using
alligator clips. Using this procedure, I recorded my first radio program off
the air. It was an episode of "The Shadow".
The tape was made of paper and was very expensive for an 11-year-old,
so I re-recorded the same tape many times until I could afford new tape,
which by then was made of plastic. At this point I was able to save the
programs that I recorded.
I taped all kinds of programs, mostly mysteries. In the mid 1950's I sent
for a second tape recorder - a Voice of Music VM 700. This was a popular
machine at the time. With two tape recorders I was able to re-record and
re-arrange programs on tape. Unfortunately, I deliberately deleted many
commercials to save tape. Eventually I realized that removing commercials
was not a good idea.
I continued to record radio almost every day. I even dragged the old VM
with me when I went out of town so that I wouldn't miss recording "Suspense"
or "X-Minus One". By 1960, radio as I knew it was almost gone, but I
had a rather large collection of programs on the shelf.
It was about 1964 when I stumbled on a classified ad placed by Don Maris
in a magazine. "Old Time Radio Programs on Tape" was the headline.
Up until this time I thought I was the only person who recorded and kept
radio programs. I called Don on the telephone and he advised me that there
were quite a few OTR collectors who had collections similar to mine.
I began trading tape with Don and several others. Just about everybody
recorded their collections directly off the air. Programs had station
breaks,
local commercials, jingles, and even some static and heterodynes. It was
great! Just like hearing the programs off the air. If the tape was too
short
for another "program", there were newscasts and weather forecasts to fill
to the end of the reel.
Eventually some collectors became dealers. Many of these dealers had
access to ETs, which had much better sound than those programs recorded
off the air. Of course I traded with any dealers who were willing to trade.
In 1972, or thereabouts, I became involved in "Round Robins". You submit
a reel of tape which is sent to the first of six people, that person records
it
and passes the "master" tape to the second person and soforth. Eventually
your master comes home. In the meantime, you receive five tapes one-at-
a-time from the other memebers of the Round Robin. I would up with six
tapes for every one I submitted. And I was involved with more than one
"Round Robin". With twelve half-hour programs on a single 1800 foot tape,
it is easy to understand that my collection grew rapidly.
I am also an Amateur Radio Operator (W9ZMR), and discussed OTR with
other hams on the air. We formed a group called the ORCATS (Oldtime
Radio Collectors and Traders Society), and we started our own little Round
Robin - which is still running today. In addition to the Round Robin, we
trade programs among ourselves. The collection continues to grow.
I believe I have about 70,000 programs - but there are some duplicates.
After 31 years at IBM, I retired (early). I was offered a part-time-job
at Radio Spirits, which I accepted. I use my "computer expertise" to
help design and maintain the various data bases there, and I use my
"OTR expertise" to help customers with their questions about OTR.
I am at RSI only 10 hours a week, and that's a great schedule for
everybody concerned.
I'm still using reel-to-reel for my collecting. It's easier, faster, and
better sounding than any other medium (in my opinion). I do, however,
still get programs on cassette and even MP-3, but I transfer these shows
to open reel for archiving.
After all this time, I am amazed a how much "new" material is still being
discovered. Yes, I'll still trade for anything I don't already have. I'm
still looking for "Stoopnagle and Budd". I have only one partial show in
my entire vast dusty-archives.
Happy Taping -- Ken Piletic - Streamwood, Illinois
kenpiletic@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:45:19 -0500
From: StevenL751@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Our [removed]
In a message dated Mon, 22 Jan 2001 9:27:00 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
I am constantly surprised at the age group found in the OTR mailing list.
I'm sure you will be, also!
I'll be 16 in [removed] No, not 61, 16!
What about everyone else?
Hi Jeff,
I'm 37, and I've been collecting OTR since I was about 16. I was very much
into silent movies back then, and in the mail I received a catalog from
Blackhawk Films. They had a page offering old-time radio shows from a
company called Radio Reruns on Cassette. For some reason I ordered a bunch,
and the rest is (as they say) history. I remember that first batch of shows
included episodes of BURNS & ALLEN ("Jack Benny Caught in a Beauty Parlor"),
CHARLIE McCARTHY, THE LONE RANGER, and THE GREEN HORNET.
Steve Lewis
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:46:04 -0500
From: "Robert Fells" <rfells@[removed];
To: "old time radio" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Our Ages
What a wonderful thread we have going here! I just turned 50 so I have no
personal nostalgia for OTR. I first became aware of the field when I was a
teenager back in the mid-60s. Every so often on a Sunday night, WNBC AM in
New York City would devote a couple of hours to the Golden Age of Radio by
playing excerpts from various shows. The producers must have assumed that
listeners knew all about these shows because little in the way of
introductions were provided. I had no idea that some of the greatest OTR
shows like Gunsmoke, Suspense, and Bing Crosby, had just gone off the air a
couple of years before I started tuning in.
I recall that Fibber McGee and Molly were represented by the sound of the
famous closest opening, the sound of junk falling out, amid the uproarious -
and shrill - audience laughter. That was it! And for whatever reason, the
sound quality of the excerpts were pretty bad. But after all, these were
OLD shows, so I assumed they would sound poorly.
I remember one night the host claimed that few OTR shows survived because
the networks donated the discs to the scrap metal drives during WWII.
That, of course, made the bad sounding excerpts seem even more important
than they were. It would be many years later that I learned how many shows
had survived, and in good to excellent sound. Today digital sound
restoration techniques can make many broadcasts sound new, which is fine by
me. I never got much out of scratchy or dim sounding recordings.
I think the future OTR is with the young people. It's great that many
seniors, and seniors-to-be like myself, enjoy the hobby but if it's going to
be around 20 years from now, we need to encourage the younger generations
all we can. And I think the regular poster on the Digest here do a good
job of answering the inquiries from the newbies, even if they are basic
things to the rest of us. We need these people so let's give them every
assistance we can.
Bob Fells
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:46:06 -0500
From: Michael Henry <mlhenry@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Our Ages
Like James, I'm 32 and began my love of OTR when I was 12.
As is true for many people born after the Golden Age, my
first exposure to radio drama was the CBS Mystery Theater.
I grew up in San Jose, CA and listened to CMT on KSFO-San
Francisco every night of the week. KSFO also played the
vintage radio programs three hours a night, seven days a
week! They played the entire range of programming, comedy,
drama, soap operas, science fiction, you name it! I still
have many of the weekly schedules that were sent to me.
The programs appealed to my active imagination and my
interest in the history of the 1930's and 1940's. Needless
to say, I quickly got hooked and began collecting tapes and
books, joining clubs, and tuning in other radio stations
that played vintage radio.
Vintage radio is still an important part of my life. I'm an
officer of the Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club
([removed]). I work full time at the
Library of American Broadcasting ([removed]).
I'm a phone room manager during the membership campaigns of
WAMU in Washington DC, which features vintage radio every
Sunday night ([removed]). I'm
also on the planning committee for the Friends of Old Time
Radio Convention.
-Michael Henry
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:54:44 -0500
From: Duane Keilstrup <duanek9@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: BILLY MAY LIVE INTERVIEW
Great Big Band Leader and Musical Arranger Billy May will be interviewed
live on Yesterday USA Radio Networks at a special time this Friday, Jan. 26,
at 5:30 Eastern. Then on the Sunday Night Bill Bragg Show after 7:30
Eastern, Classics & Curios will feature a mystery radio and recording
vocalist as well as one of Les Brown's great recordings. Tune in for these
and OTR programming at [removed].
Duane Keilstrup
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #26
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