Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #361
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 11/22/2005 10:18 AM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2005 : Issue 361
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Lights Out TV / Wyllis Cooper         [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Re: Shoe that [removed]                 [ stevenl751@[removed] ]
      Maxwell                               [ "Laura Leff" <president@[removed] ]
      Truth or Consequences                 [ "Druian, Raymond B SPL" <[removed] ]
      "The Big Show"                        [ "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@juno. ]
      Everything Old is New [removed]        [ Wich2@[removed] ]
      Opera at Duffy's Tavern               [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
      A Tell-ing Example                    [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
      11-22 births/deaths                   [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      You Can't Handle the [removed] Cons  [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
      Celebrity Shock [removed]          [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 12:35:07 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Lights Out TV / Wyllis Cooper

    [removed] King asked:

>     Does anybody know of any other TV credits? Does anybody know what his
>     contributions were to the "Lights Out" TV series?

    I'll clarify.  The 1946 series in question was an experimental attempt to
    bring the radio show to the new medium of TV.  NBC apparently was favorable
    about the idea, as they had Cooper sign an agreement to do the radio revival
    in the summer of 1946 as long as he would write a solo teleplay for an
    experimental "pilot."  One week before the NBC series began in July of 1946,
    Cooper wrote the script for the following broadcast, historically known as
    the first LIGHTS OUT TV episode ever broadcast.

    Episode #1  "FIRST PERSON SINGULAR"  (June 30, 1946)
    Cast: Eva Cordon, Carl Frank, Robert P. Lieb, Russell Morrison, Gene
    O'Donnell, Vaughn Taylor, and Mary Wilsey.
    Written by Wyllis Cooper.
    Directed by Fred Coe.
    Story:  A murder is seen from the point of view of the killer, when a
    psychopath's wife's constant nagging and sloppiness prompts him to kill her
    in their apartment on a hot summer evening.

    Cooper had NO OTHER INVOLVEMENT with the series other than this one episode.
      He met his contractual requirement for NBC, and got the summer radio
    revival he wanted.  Fred Coe, however, wanted to do a TV series of LIGHTS
    OUT and shortly after, on August 11, 1946, the second LIGHTS OUT episode
    ever broadcast was featured.

    Episode #2  "SOMETHING IN THE WIND"  (August 11, 1946)
    The story was an original written by Coe, who also produced and directed.
    Characters from a play come to life to confront a TV producer who is
    planning on changing the play for television.

    There were only two other broadcasts for 1946, again experimental attempts
    to please the network and hopefully acquire a sponsor.

    Episode #3  "DEMORTIUS"  (September 1, 1946)  Script was adapted by Fred Coe
    from the John Collier short story.

    Episode #4  "THE BRAVE MAN WITH A CORD"  (October 13, 1946)  Fred Coe wrote
    the TV script based on the story by Peter Strand and Rudolph Bernstein.

    Cooper had no other involvement other than the first broadcast.

    Oddly, years later when the LIGHT OUT series did become a regular staple on
    NBC's prime-time line-up, Cooper did write two scripts for the TV series but
    he only wrote two and that was the only involvement he had with the series.

    Episode #85  "DEAD MAN'S COAT"  (May 14, 1951)  This was adapted from his
    QUIET PLEASE radio script of the same name.  Basil Rathbone and Norman Rose
    are among the cast.  I have this and it's a pretty good episode.

    Episode #89  "PIT OF THE DEAD"  (June 11, 1951)  Not sure the story origin,
    just that Cooper did write the script for the TV show.

    Info came from the scripts themselves - I did not consult any reference
    works which as it was pointed out in a recent issue, do have conflicting
    material between themselves.  I judge the scripts and the shows I have
    watched personally as a definitive source.

    Cooper incidentally, never liked writing for the screen, only radio.  He was
    paid to write the script for SON OF FRANKENSTEIN for Universal in 1938, and
    he had such a horible ordeal of rewrites and rewrites that he tried 9and
    eventually succeeded) walking away from Hollywood shortly after.  In fact,
    the QUIET PLEASE episode "Rain on New Year's Eve" was Cooper's attempt to
    express his dislike toward the Hollywood crowd by making the protagonist a
    script writer for a horror movie who didn't like writing for the studios . .
    . Cooper's personal experience incorporated in the script.

    Martin Grams

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 13:17:53 -0500
    From: stevenl751@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re:  Shoe that [removed]
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

>     There IS a long-standing group, though, whose Mission  Statement is
>     specifically the one you mention: committing Lost Episodes to tape*  (they
>     may have
>     even done a QP before?)

>     Over to you, Steve or  [removed]

    Well that would be us, the Gotham Radio Players.  Thanks, Craig.

    No, we've never done a lost "Quiet, Please" recreation.  The main reason for
    this is that, although I'm a fan of the series, from a production standpoint
    they just wouldn't be very interesting shows to recreate. Most of the
    episodes lean very heavily on first-person narration and have minimal sound
    effects, so much so that they're essentially one-person shows with music.
    Now we only do a handful of productions each year and I have nearly 20 actors
    now in Gotham's regular repertory company.  We can't use every actor in every
    show, but I do try to find scripts that will allow us to use more than just
    one or two people.  That makes the production process more communal and fun
    for all involved.  I think our smallest cast was 4 people and an average size
    cast involves around 6 actors.  We had our largest cast this past summer,
    with 15 people.

    Steve Lewis
    director, Gotham Radio Players

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

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 14:14:02 -0500
    From: "Laura Leff" <president@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Maxwell

    Rob wrote:

>     There was an obit for a highway engineer William R. Kahl in Saturdays
>     Baltimore Sun.  He was a colector and restorer of antique auto.  He owed
>     a 1913 Woods Mobillettes and a 1920's-era Maxwell roadster reportedly
>     owned by comedian Jack Benny.

    It's amazing how many Maxwells claim Jack in their pedigree.  It seems that
    most of them are just wanna-bes, and the few with a semi-legit claim were
    used as one-shot publicity deals.  When Jack was going into a city, Irving
    Fein or someone on the staff might call ahead to find a local car collector
    with a Maxwell.  Then the car could be used to pick Jack up at the airport,
    or some other publicity stunt.

    There is one that I believe has a legitimate claim, and was bought by a
    private collector at a Hollywood auction about 20 years ago.  I'm happy to
    say I've sat in both the front and back seats of it, thus standing in for
    both Jack and Rochester.

    --Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 14:14:30 -0500
    From: "Druian, Raymond B SPL" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Truth or Consequences

    Ralph Edwards:	Spell 'animal.'

    Contestant:		'a-n-i-m-a-l.'

    RE:			Now spell it backwards.

    C:			Um, 'l-a-m ... Uh ... i-n-a.'

    RE:			Wrong! It's spelled 't-i.'

    Thanx,

     B. Ray

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 14:14:41 -0500
    From: "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "The Big Show"
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

           Does anyone know where I can locate some eps of "The Big Show"
    starring Tallulah Bankhead, either on audio CD's or cassettes?

           Also, does anyone have any information on "Bulldog Drummond"?
    I'm attempting to discover who played him on OTR.  I listened to an episode
    of it last night called "Death Uses Disappearing Ink" and the voice
    sounded very familiar.

    Another OTR Fan,

    Kenneth Clarke

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

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 16:46:03 -0500
    From: Wich2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Everything Old is New [removed]

    From: "Walden Hughes" _hughes1@[removed]_ (mailto:hughes1@[removed])

>     I personally been  to 22 OTR
>     convention around the USA ... major reason why we do not have as  many guest
>     is strictly cost

    Dear Walden-
    As well, actors are People first.  I know from first-hand  conversations that
    some actors - hold on to your hats, folks! - are simply a bit  shy in real
    life. Facing a mic was not like facing a crowd. And some just don't  care for
    travel.

    For sure, money's a reason as well; some still consider themselves
    Professional in the sense that they don't care to "perform for free."  (Stan Laurel was
    like that, late in life.) Neither the OTR, nor the  MAD fields are swimming
    in cash; if I had a Billion, some of it would go  there!

    From: Dennis W Crow _DCrow3@[removed]_ (mailto:DCrow3@[removed])
    (Re: Cinnamon Bear)

>     The Portland Spirit -- is offering weekend  cruises in December ... (and)
>     sponsoring the radio show ... on the city's  most popular and profitable radio
>     station ... John Tesch, will be  providing music for the commercials
>     ... A new cinnamon cookie with a  special recipe will be available as will
>     the show tapes and other CB and  storybook items

    Dear Dennis-
    That is very, very cool - as well as frustrating. It shows that, with
    ingenuity, Radio Theater can still draw attention. Would that more  Station
    Managers/Program Directors had such
    drive and sense.

    Don't get me wrong; the pipedream some have of, "when Radio is what it  Was,
    [removed]" is never going to happen. BUT, this kind of Special Event
    programming CAN work (especially when keyed to Holidays; Quicksilver's  shows that can
    be pegged thus have always done the best - yes, even on  commercial stations.)

    I am convinced that, with the right care, other cherry-picked OTR  shows
    could be used like Paddy's. The sound quality has to be as up-to-today's  level as
    possible; but I could absolutely see such name-and-title value shows as  the
    Luxs, & Mercurys, working in this way.  (Call it, "When Radio Was  +").

    Ah, [removed]

    Best,
    -Craig

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 20:02:34 -0500
    From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Opera at Duffy's Tavern
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Once again, the editors ofr the syndicated newspaper puzzle feature
    "Cryptoquotes" have invoked something OTR-connected. This past Saturday's (19)
    was solved as

    "Opera is when a fella gets stabbed in the back and instead of bleeding, he
    sings."--Ed Gardner.

    That's probably from the same episode of "Duffy's Tavern"  in which Ed
    Gardner's character Archie decides to "class up da jernt" by staging an opera,
    a subject he knows little about. While Archie is writing his magnum opus, the
    Mad Russian [it always amazed me how some characters bounce around from show
    to show] suggests that Archie title his opera "The Barber of Seville."

    When Archie states "Barber of Seville? Dat's already been wrote," Jascha
    replies "A city the size of Seville, there's only one barber!"

    That's my all-time favourite joke--bar none.

    Derek "Ether" Tague

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

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

    Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 20:08:07 -0500
    From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  A Tell-ing Example
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Forgive my being several Digests behind.  OTR historian Joe Mackey cites:

>     11/18

>     1307 - The story of William Tell shooting the apple off of his young
>     son's noggin is said to have taken place on this day.

>     (If it hadn't been for Tell there would have been no opera, if there had
>     been no opera there would have been no overture, if there had been no
>     overture the Lone Ranger wouldn't have had the theme music we know. <g>
>     --ed)

>     Joe (that's a joke son, I say that's a joke).

    TPGJBTATWIHI; TWIHIIT [that's short-hand for "That's pretty good, Johnny, but
    that ain't the way I heerd it; the way I heerd it is this":]

    Anthropologists studying 14th century Central Europe discovered that faned
    Swiss archer William Tell and the members of his extebded family were avid
    fans of a primitive form of bowling. These same scientists have, so far, been
    unable to ascertain if bowling teams, leagues, and divisions existed back
    then. In short, nobody knows for whom the Tells bowled."

    Arlene Osborne liked the following & that gives me cause to re-iterate:
    Q: What would you call William Tell after he bought a cell phone?
    A: Cordless archer.

    Actually, the original joke was about Robin Hood. I have to admit it's getting
    better.

    Derek Tague

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

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 07:00:23 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  11-22 births/deaths

    November 22nd births

    11-22-1875 - Elizabeth Patterson - Savannah, TN - d. 1-31-1966
    actress: Maid "Halls of Ivy"
    11-22-1895 - Alexander Laszlo - Budapest, Hungary - d. 11-17-1970
    orchestra leader: "This Is Your Life"
    11-22-1899 - Hoagy Carmichael - Bloomington, IN - d. 12-27-1981
    singer, composer: "Hoagy Carmichael Show"; "King's Men"
    11-22-1904 - Roland Winters - Boston, MA - d. 10-22-1989
    actor: Russell Bartlett "My Best Girls"; "Milton Berle Show"; "Highways in
    Melody"
    11-22-1907 - Howard Petrie - Beverly, MA - d. 3-24-1968
    announcer: "Jimmy Durante Show"; "Judy Canova Show"
    11-22-1910 - Ethel Smith - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 5-10-1996
    organist: "Your Hit Parade"
    11-22-1911 - Ernie Caceres - Rockport, TX - d. 1-10-1971
    clarinet, saxophone: "Eddie Condon's Jazz Concerts"
    11-22-1913 - Benjamin Britten - Lowestoft, Suffolk, England - d. 12-4-1976
    composer: "Columbia Workshop"; "An American in England"
    11-22-1914 - Frank Graham - Michigan - d. 9-2-1950
    actor: Diogenes Smith "Lum and Abner"; Jeff Regan "The Lion's Eye"
    11-22-1921 - Rodney Dangerfield - Babylon, Long Island, NY - d. 10-5-2004
    comedian: "Voices of Vista"
    11-22-1924 - Geraldine Page - Kirksville, MO - d. 6-13-1987
    actress: "Arch Oboler's Plays"

    November 22nd deaths

    01-04-1905 - Sterling Holloway - Cedartown, GA - d. 11-22-1992
    actor: "Railroad Hour"; "[removed] Steel Hour"; "Suspense"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    05-02-1895 - Lorenz Hart - New York, NY - d. 11-22-1943
    lyricist: "Jumbo Fire Chief Program"; "Chase and Sanborn Hour"; "Railroad Hour"
    05-13-1842 - Arthur Sullivan - London, England - d. 11-22-1900
    composer: (Gilbert and Sullivan) "The Railroad Hour"
    05-29-1917 - John F. Kennedy - Brookline, MA - d. 11-22-1963
    [removed] president: "CBS Radio Workshop"; "Kennedy-Nixon Debates"; "American Forum
    of the Air"
    07-26-1894 - Aldous Huxley - Godalming, Surrey, England - d. 11-22-1963
    writer: "Columbia Workshop"
    08-05-1914 - Parley Baer - Salt Lake City, UT - d. 11-22-2002
    actor: Chester Wesley Proudfoot "Gunsmoke"; Doc Clemmens "Rogers of the
    Gazette"
    08-17-1893 - Mae West - Brooklyn, NY - d. 11-22-1980
    actress: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show" (Famous Adam and Eve Skit)
    11-26-1917 - Adele Jergens - Brooklyn, NY - d. 11-22-2002
    actress: Carol Curtis "Stand By For Crime"
    12-31-1897 - Paula Hemminghous - Columbus, OH - d. 11-22-1997
    singer: "Philco Hour"; "National Radio Pulpit"; "Highlights of the Bible"
    --
    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 08:18:36 -0500
    From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  You Can't Handle the [removed] Consequences
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    In the on-going thread about "Truth or Consequences" and the recent passing of
    Ralph Edwards, Counsellor Ross posted:

>     The questions themselves were generally nonsensical riddles.  One I remember
>     was, "What
>     do an elephant and a clam have in common?"  Answer: "Neither can ride a
>     bicycle."
>     Another was, "What is the similarity between a girl preparing to go to the
>     beach and a man
>     doing his income taxes?"  Answer: "They both take off as much as the law will
>     allow."

    This reminds me of a "Second City Televison" sketch circa 1977 lampooning
    ToC's TV host Bob Barker in which Dave Thomas as "Bob Baker" asks ditzy
    contestnat Andrea Martin the preliminary riddle, which was "What do you get
    when you cross a do-do bird with an alligator?" to which  the answer was "You
    get 'Do-Do, the Alligator.'" Having had read this off his card,
    Thomas/Baker/Barker remarks "My God, who writes this stuff?!" and then
    proceeds to go crazy by throwing acid in Ms. Martin's eyesand then pulling out
    a gun and shooting the stage-hands.

    Speaking of ToC, last spring, there was a prime-time documentary on the first
    five years of NBC's "Saturday Night Live."  During the segment  celebrating
    the comic stylings of Garrett Morris, the notorious clip of Morris as a
    convict singing "I'm gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the whiteys I [removed]"
    was played. Morris then went on to say that the inspiration for this song was
    something he had seen on a live edition of "Truth" back in the 1950s. He had
    said that each show allowed a contestant  to display a talent and that one
    time a grandmotherly type from North Carolina was given the opportunity to
    perform at a piano one of the many songs she claimed to have written. The
    song: "I'm gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the [derogatory racial term] I
    see." Garrett Morris said that the TV screen and the audio went blank as soon
    as the offensive word was broadcast.

    Did this really happen?  What was the reaction in the next day's newspapers?
    Are there any Digest-ers  from that era who might have seen it?

    Yours in the ether,

    Derek Tague

    [removed]:  I'd like to thank personally all the folks who've congratulated me on-
    and off-list on my upcoming 19th anniversary of my sobriety. The actual day is
    this Friday the 25th, which also happens to be the birthday of FOTR's  Jay
    Hickerson.  I realise Listmaster Charlie does not allow for personal messages
    on the Digest, but hope he will make an exception regarding our Fearless
    Leader when I say I want to be the first one to wish Jay a joyful and wondrous
    birthday!!

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

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 08:18:41 -0500
    From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Celebrity Shock [removed]
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    ...no, that's not a new reality show on FOX, but give it time.

    I remember reading an interview with comedian Jonathan Winters in Parade
    Magazine circa December 1987. It seems Winters spent most of his pre-fame
    young adulthood suffering from depression. When shock-treatment was availed as
    an option, Winters refused it and would not sign the papers consenting to it
    feeling that he didn't want to turn his brain into "Swiss cheese." Having
    witnessed gruesome schock treatment scenes in films like "The Snake Pit" and
    "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," I can't say I blame him.

    And then there's the graffito I remember reading on the men's room wall at the
    Strand Book Store: "Vote Kennedy/Eagleton in 1980: The Waterproof and
    Shockproof Ticket." where's John cameron Swayze when you need him?

    Shovelling off,

    Derek Tague

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

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #361
    *********************************************

    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]