Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #312
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 8/14/2003 10:13 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 312
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      History of Mystery Book               [ Christopher Werner <werner1@globalc ]
      Spike                                 [ kathleen grams-gibbs <grams46@bloom ]
      Harry Bartell                         [ Jmeals@[removed] ]
      Re: Where are the female Spike Jones  [ Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed]; ]
      Re:Richard Denning                    [ "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed] ]
      Richard Denning                       [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
      Re: My Favorite (TV) Husband          [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
      RE: Where are the female Spike Jones  [ "Cynthia "ChibiBarako"" <cvc@[removed] ]
      Re: Smoke Rings?                      [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
      Re: Jack Armstrong Scrapbook          [ Steven Kelez <otrsteve@[removed]; ]
      Re: CBS music                         [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
      Re: My Favorite Husband/Chesterfield  [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
      Re: My Favorite Husband on TV         [ Roo61@[removed] (Randy Watts) ]
      German Radio Broadcasts               [ "Larry Montgomery" <oscha_dierdorff ]
      re: Where are the female Spike Jones  [ Froggievilleus <froggievilleus@yaho ]
      Chesterfield cig. theme song          [ "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed] ]
      Spike Jones and Jack Benny            [ Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed] ]
      Responding to digest requests         [ lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed]; ]
      Smoke Rings                           [ Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:06:53 -0400
    From: Christopher Werner <werner1@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  History of Mystery Book

    About a month ago I mentioned a series of books with lots of color photos
    of pulp detective magazines and dime novels that I saw in the comic book
    store in New York when picking up the Moonstone OTR stories (talk about
    run-on sentences). Well - I ordered the book from the publisher and it
    arrived today. I can't say enough good things about the quality of the
    publication and the excellent background to the OTR hobby the book provides.
    The author, Max Allen Collins, covers 10 key authors works and the many
    others that followed in their style. He begins with a history of detective
    work by Francois Eugene Vidocq and Allen Pinkerton. There follows chapters
    on Pulp Fiction (Nick Carter, Shadow, Charlie Chan, Phantom, Avenger),
    Dashiell Hammett (Sam Spade), Erle Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason), Detective
    Comics (Dick Tracy, Sam Hill, The Saint, Nero Wolfe), Agatha Christie
    (Hercule Perot), Dilettante Detectives (Poe's Rupin, Hardy Boys, Murder She
    Wrote, Bulldog Drummond, The Saint, Charlie Chan), Ellery Queen, Raymond
    Chandler (Phillip Marlowe), Peepers (Mike Shayne, Shell Scott, Honey West,
    Richard Diamond, Shaft) Mickey Spillane (Mike Hammer), and Further Suspects
    (Modern Movie and TV detectives). It is a picture book, so don't expect 800
    pages of detailed research. That being said, the graphic cover
    reproductions are well done and the balanced narrative is worth the $45.
    The author does list Dunning's 'Tune in Yesterday' in the suggested
    Bibliography. [removed]
    So I'm browsing through the pages and my eyes land on a poster advertising
    77 Sunset Strip. Who is pictured on the left? Efram Zimbalist Jr. - kinda
    starts that thread all over again ;-)

    So now I wait for the Memoir's of Vidocq to arrive in the mail as the
    adventure continues.

    Chris

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:45:52 -0400
    From: kathleen grams-gibbs <grams46@[removed];
    To: otr <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Spike

    Derek Tague asked:

>     Is there any truth that it's mostly men who like Spike and comprise
>     his fan-base? Do women just  not  get it? Are they too sophisticated to
>     appreciate the intense volume and the seemingly obnoxious sound effects?
>     Would the lady Jonesians who read this list make their presence known?

    hmm, guess i am not sophisticated - i love spike and his city slickers.  my
    favorite is der furehrer's face.
    from a lady jonesian who also loves bill monroe, selena, and bach.

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:46:01 -0400
    From: Jmeals@[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

           The weekend of Sunday, August 24, will be special for OTR fans. On
    that weekend, Imagination Theater will present an original Sherlock Holmes
    drama
    that features Harry Bartell. Imagination Theater is heard on Sunday or
    Saturday in most areas. For a list of stations that carries the show, and more
    details about Mr. Bartell's performance, you can go to [removed]
           Like all readers of this newsletter, I very much enjoyed Mr. Bartell's
    articles on his career in radio. But to once again hear Harry Bartell do what
    he does so very well, act in a radio drama, --that will be a special event.

    Jim Meals

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

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:51:56 -0400
    From: Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Where are the female Spike Jones fans?

    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

            "Up on Cripple Creek" (1969) by the Band, attributes the following
    opinion to Bessie:

    <<<
    Now me and my mate were
    back at the shack
    We had Spike Jones on the box
    She said, "I can't take the way he sings
    But I love to hear him talk"

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:55:51 -0400
    From: "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re:Richard Denning

      Richard Denning went on to star in the television detective series, Mr.
    and Mrs. North which co-starred Barbara Britton.

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:23:07 -0400
    From: otrbuff@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Richard Denning

    Allen Wilcox asks what became of Richard Denning after radio's "My
    Favorite Husband" left the air.  He did not star in the series on CBS-TV
    (Sept. 12, 1953-Dec. 27, 1955 with reruns in 1957).  His most prominent
    after-Lucy role was probably as Jerry North in CBS-TV's "Mr. and Mrs.
    North" which costarred Barbara Hale as the spirited amateur crimesolvers.
     The series ran on Fridays from Oct. 3, 1952 to Sept. 25, 1953.  In 1954
    it shifted to Tuesdays over NBC-TV between Jan. 26 and July 20.  In the
    final season of the audio-only drama, which was still airing after the
    tube version departed, Denning and Barbara Britton were cast in the radio
    run--Nov. 29, 1954 to April 18, 1955 on Monday nights over CBS.

    >From Aug. 9, 1956 to Feb. 28, 1957 Denning appeared in the part of Uncle
    Jack over MBS Thursdays in the gumshoe drama "It's a Crime, Mr. Collins."

    He would later play the namesake role on NBC-TV's "The Adventures of
    Michael Shayne" between Sept. 30, 1960 and Sept. 22, 1961.  The show was
    on radio from 1944-53 with others in the lead.

    Source:  "Radio Crime Fighters" (McFarland, 2003).

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:46:51 -0400
    From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: My Favorite (TV) Husband

    Allen Wilcox asked:

>     Whatever happened to Richard Denning?

    While Lucy, Bea and Gale were basking in their respective TV sitcom glories,
    Richard Denning was doing a plethora of B-Movies, starring in the syndicated
    "Mr. and Mrs. North" TV series for 57 episodes, playing "Michael Shayne" for
    a season on NBC, moving to Hawaii, and finally closing his career with the
    recurring role of the Governor on "Hawaii 5-0."  He died in 1998.

>     Did CBS ever go though with thier plans to make the radio series a
>     television sitcom besides I Love Lucy? If it did happen
>     I'm sure that they had a differant cast.

    CBS did, and you are correct: Barry Nelson took Denning's part, while Joan
    Caulfield played Liz Cooper for two seasons (Fall 1953-1955), and Vanessa
    Brown replaced her for the final half-season (Sept-Dec '55).

    Michael

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 18:55:15 -0400
    From: "Cynthia "ChibiBarako"" <cvc@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RE: Where are the female Spike Jones fans?

    Here I am!  You see, Spike Jones is less like the Stooges than he is
    like Weird Al Yankovic (I'd say that WAY is SJ's musical heir!) and
    therefore he appeals to musicians.

    Now, mind you, I wonder how many of us out there in the ether are fans
    of either the Marx Brothers or the Goons.  (I happen to be both.)  They
    seem to specialize in the same sort of physical, lowbrow humor as the
    Stooges.  And a more modern equivalent would be Jim Carrey (who, for the
    most part, I can't stand).

    Cynthia

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:47:05 -0400
    From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Smoke Rings?

    Jim Cox wrote:

>     All my life I've sung the catchy little Chesterfield commercial to the
>     words "Smoke dreams, smoke, smoke dreams, while a Chesterfield burns <snip>
>     Now, flipping through Dunning I discovered the Chesterfield Supper Club's
>     theme was "Smoke Rings."  Have I been inadvertently singing the wrong words
>     all
>     these years?

    Hopefully our resident Liggett and Myers expert, Cope Robinson, will give us
    "just the facts" on this [removed] but I've heard the commercial many
    times, and I *thought* the lyrics were "Smoke dreams from smoke rings, while
    a Chesterfield burns."

    Michael

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 18:57:57 -0400
    From: Steven Kelez <otrsteve@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Jack Armstrong Scrapbook

    Walden Hughes asked about a Jack Armstrong book published during the 1970's.

>     I believe in the late 1970s there was a book put out about the story lines
>     of Jack Armstrong.  Does any recall who was the author, and is there any
>     copies out their?

    I don't know if this is the book he is thinking about, but I have a self
    published
    (xerox) book entitled: Jack Armstrong Scrapbook - A Study in Premium
    Advertising.
    It was published in 1979 by Fred King. Sorry to say, the book is about
    premiums,
    and Jack's appearances in movies (the Columbia serial) and comic books. No
    story
    lines. There is a film strip included with the book that looks like photos from
    one of those staged magazine articles, and loads of reproductions from premium
    ads, etc. It's too bad a lot of the reproductions are faint, due to the copying
    technology of the time.

    Steven Kelez
    RADIO SHOWCASE
    [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 19:33:20 -0400
    From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: CBS music

> >     This is why

>     anyone with a keen ear and quick memory can listen to a broadcast of CBS
>     RADIO MYSTERY THEATER and hear the theme song to DARK SHADOWS, pieces by
>     Bernard Herrmann from various TV programs, and even the sound tracks to the
>     TWILIGHT ZONE.

    Now I've heard the "Twilight Zone" music on CBSRMT (the actual RMT opening
    theme can be heard in the TZ episode "Two," with Charles Bronson and
    Elizabeth Montgomery), but where did the "Dark Shadows" theme come from?  The
    1966-71 "Dark Shadows" was always an ABC fixture.  I don't remember hearing
    it on the "Mystery Theatre."

    Dixon

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 20:42:10 -0400
    From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: My Favorite Husband/Chesterfield

>     We all know what happened to three of the main cast members after My Favorite
>     Husband went off the air (ie,Lucy, Gale and Bea) but what ever happened to
>     Richard Denning? Did CBS ever go though with thier plans to make the radio
>     series a television sitcom besides I Love Lucy? If it did happened I'm sure
>     that they had a differant cast.

    "My Favorite Husband" did, indeed come to CBS in 1953, with Joan Caulfield as
    Liz and Barry Nelson as George.  In 1955 Joan was replaced by Vanessa Brown,
    but the show was cancelled that December.  Apparently the show was filmed, as
    it was rerun in the summer of 1957.

    As for Richard [removed], he did come to TV as two other radio
    characters.  He played Richard Shayne, and he co-starred with Barbara Britton
    in "Mr. and Mrs. North." Of course, we baby boomer TV watchers will always
    remember him as the Governor of Hawaii in "Hawaii Five-O."

>     Gerald Nachman says the Chesterfield theme was "Smoke Dreams," not "Smoke
>     Rings."  If he's wrong, two of us have been singing off key.

    I thought the lyric said something like "Smoke dreams of smoke rings," or
    "Smoke dreams are smoke rings."  I've heard it a zillion times on tape
    compilations, usually followed by the Barbasol jingle, so I should know
    better than I do.

    Dixon

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 22:00:50 -0400
    From: Roo61@[removed] (Randy Watts)
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: My Favorite Husband on TV

>     Did CBS ever go though with thier plans to
>     make the radio series a television sitcom
>     besides I Love Lucy? If it did happened I'm
>     sure that they had a differant cast.

    MY FAVORITE HUSBAND ran on CBS Television from 1953 through 1955,
    originally with Joan Caulfield -- later Vanessa Brown, as Liz Cooper and
    Barry Nelson as husband George.  I saw a couple of episodes of the
    series on tape a few years ago and it didn't seem to have a great deal
    in common with the radio version.  Same basic premise but played in a
    more subdued, less "wacky" manner.

    Randy

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 22:01:16 -0400
    From: "Larry Montgomery" <oscha_dierdorff@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  German Radio Broadcasts

    Hello again:

    I collect any of the radio broadcasts from Germany during the war years and
    the years during the Weimar era and I can say the following regarding
    [removed]

    I have scoured the web for it for only about two years and have come up with
    limited material.  Incomplete news and music broadcasts for the most part.
    There is a German Radio Broadcast Museem in Berlin, but they want an
    exorbitant amount of money PER HOUR to peruse their collection (I believe
    that it is over $100).  Here is their website

    [removed]

    The Germans were early users of magnetic tape, in fact I believe that they
    invented it.  Anyway, much archival footage exists and sounds very clear for
    the most part.

    If anyone has any archival civilian broadcasts of ANY type from the war
    years in Germany, I would really like to acquire a copy of it!

    Thanks to all

    Larry Montgomery

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 18:06:11 -0400
    From: Froggievilleus <froggievilleus@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  re: Where are the female Spike Jones fans?

    Here I am!  LOL

    I have been a fan of Spike Jones for a few years now.
    I obtained a copy of a Spike Jones compilation a few
    years back, just out of curiosity.  I ended up
    listening to that disc a whole lot while driving
    about.  My favourite song is 'Little Bo Peep Has Lost
    Her Jeep', which is a great driving song and can hear
    it playing in my mind right now.

    Elizabeth S.

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 19:31:21 -0400
    From: "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Chesterfield cig. theme song

       Jim C. asked about Chesterfield cigarettes' theme song in the OTR period.

       Dunning is in error ('On the Air', Chesterfield Supper Club entry).
    "Smoke Dreams" (not "Smoke Rings") was the song used as a theme by
    Chesterfield on the radio.

       "Smoke dreams from smoke rings/While a Chesterfield burns", I believe the
    commercial's
    lyrics went.

       If one goes to [removed] and types in: smoke dreams lyrics, many links
    will lead you to the song's lyrics.  If one types in: smoke rings lyrics,
    ditto.  Two different songs, one by Klenner/Shaffer/Steele, the other by
    Gifford/Washington.

      -- Phil Chavin

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 23:02:53 -0400
    From: Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Spike Jones and Jack Benny

    My good friend and noble researcher Derek Tague raised the question of
    whether only men seem to appreciate Spike Jones, his aggregation, and
    their musical abilities.

    I know at least three very fine musical artists of the female gender who
    absolutely love Spike Jones.  One especially, as she is my wife.  Her
    college music professor, private teacher and outstanding accompanist
    went out of her way to find video recordings of the Spike Jones
    television program, very hard and costly to find.  We spent a delightful
    evening at her home watching their shenanigans.

    Perhaps it is because these are fine musicians, that they can appreciate
    the Jones Boys.  It's a truism that the finest skaters in ice shows are
    the clowns.  I would guess the same in rodeos.  How many of our readers
    are familiar with the artistry of "Jonathan and Darlene Edwards"?  Jack
    Benny?  Victor Borge?  Alec Templeton?  In all these cases, these are
    truly accomplished artists in their fields, who are expert enough to
    pull off humor at the apparent expense of their expertise.  I guess here
    as in other areas, "It takes one to know one".

    Not [removed] I can play is the radio.  Oh yes, and the player piano!

    This gives me an opportunity to trot out my favorite story about Jack
    Benny, which he loved to tell on himself.  He ould and did tell it far
    better than I can.  On one of several occasions when he performed at The
    White House, Jack Benny came up to the guard house before the entrance.

    A sentinel asked his name.  Mr. Benny told him.  The guard replied with
    a wise guy remark, and the Waukegan Wit insisted that he was in fact
    Jack Benny, the famous comedian.   The guard acted like he didn't
    believe, and sarcastically said, "Yeah, and I suppose that's a machine
    gun in that case!"  Benny thought that was pretty funny, and replied
    with his familiar "[removed]".

    To which the guard snapped back, "Oh, thank Heaven, I was afraid you'd
    brought your violin!".  Benny fell on the floor.  He told this story for
    years adding, "Why can't my writers ever think of a line like that?"

    Lee Munsick

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 23:03:13 -0400
    From: lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Responding to digest requests

    To Everyone:

         Over the past few weeks I have needed help with
    information on the show Dragnet and help with a story
    I am doing on Harry Von Zell.  I just wanted to thank
    everyone who e-mailed me again for your help and
    support!!

         I recieved many e-mails on both requests and I
    just wanted every one to know to not be shy about
    asking for help on the digest.  We have some of the
    kindest, most helpful and supportive people in our
    hobby that I have ever come across!!  It makes me
    proud to belong to such a special group of people!!!

         My thanks to all!!!

    Lynn Wagar

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

    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 23:03:24 -0400
    From: Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Smoke Rings

    "Smoke Dreams" was written by John Klenner, Lloyd Shaffer and Ted
    Steele, published in 1947.  It was introduced as the theme of the radio
    show "The Chesterfield Supper Club" by its star, Jo Stafford, and sung
    by various stars of that program and its successor Chesterfield
    sponsored shows, including Perry Como, Arthur Godfrey, Bing Crosby, and
    others.  The song became legend because of the constant reinforcement,
    just as did Arthur Godfrey's theme "Seems Like Old Times" written by
    Carmen Lombardo.  On the Chesterfield programs the words were slightly
    altered to include "While a Chesterfield [removed]".

    At the time "Smoke Dreams" was introduced, the band leader on the
    "Supper Club" was co-composer Lloyd Shaffer.  Ted Steele also headed up
    the show's orchestra, as did Sammy Kaye, Tex Beneke (with the Glenn
    Miller Orchestra), and Mitchell Ayres.  In another run, the show
    featured Peggy Lee, when the orchestra was conducted by her husband,
    Dave Barbour.

    Now, on to "Smoke Dreams", which was introduced a decade earlier in the
    film "After the Thin Man", which starred William Powell and Myrna Loy.
    It was written by Arthur Freed (dozens of major songs including "You
    Were Meant for Me"), and Nacio Herb Brown (also many hits including
    "Singin' In The Rain").  "Smoke Dreams" was recorded by many orchestras
    and vocalists.

    "After the Thin Man" was the sequel to the very successful film "The
    Thin Man", which started a run of films totalling seven, which had the
    cinematic public calling William Powell's character "The Thin Man" in
    error.  Actually, the thin man was the murder victim in the initial
    film.  The characters Nick and Nora Charles became hits via Dashiell
    Hammett's book, the films, and an ongoing radio series "Adventures of
    The Thin Man"  from 1941 to 1950, which starred Les Tremayne and Claudia
    Morgan.  Featured as rural sheriff Ebenezer Williams was perennial
    Yankee Parker "Howdy [removed]" Fennelly, he who didn't hold with
    furniture that talked back.  And finally, a television series with Peter
    Lawford and Phyllis Kirk.

    Lee Munsick

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #312
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