Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #8
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 1/9/2006 4:18 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2006 : Issue 8
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  "Greatest"                            [ "Bill Knowlton" <udmacon1@[removed] ]
  Greatest!                             [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  1-9 births/deaths                     [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Great Performer, etc.                 [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
  John Dawson/E. Jack Neuman            [ William Harker <wharker@[removed] ]
  Re: Greatest Entertainers             [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
  Gildersleeve name origin; early radi  [ John <origami@[removed]; ]
  Cowboy Pilots                         [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
  What's Johnny Worth in 2006 Dollars?  [ "Joseph" <drjoewebb@[removed]; ]
  Newman/Dawson                         [ "WILLIS G Saunders" <saunders8@veri ]
  Greatest Radio Performer - Benny, Ha  [ "Penne Yingling" <bp_ying@[removed] ]
  NYT on 1940s Commercial Parodies      [ seandd@[removed] ]
  Golden Age of Radio and A One Night   [ "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed]; ]
  copying to digital                    [ "Roger Keel" <rlkeel@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 17:40:38 -0500
From: "Bill Knowlton" <udmacon1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "Greatest"

A:  In your estimation, who was the greatest entertainer of all time?

Elvis; for what it's worth I have never been a fan of his.

B: Who would you say was the greatest radio entertainer of all time?

Arthur Godfrey. See answer for A.

BILL KNOWLTON

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

Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 19:42:29 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Greatest!

Al Girard asks:

A:  In your estimation, who was the greatest entertainer of all time?

Liberace is the greatest entertainer that I have seen in person.

B: Who would you say was the greatest radio entertainer of all time?

Orson Welles!!

It is just a coincidence that both of them are from Wisconsin.

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 19:43:11 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  1-9 births/deaths

January 9th births

01-09-1886 - Arthur "Bugs" Baer - Philadelphia, PA - d. 5-17-1969
writer: "The Eveready Hour"
01-09-1898 - Gracie Fields - Rochdale, Lancashire, England - d.
9-27-1979
comedienne, singer: "Gracie Fields Victory Show"; "Gracie Fields Show"
01-09-1901 - Chic Young - Chicago, IL - d. 3-14-1973
cartoonist: Creator of Blondie Bumstead nee Boopadoop
01-09-1909 - Patrick Peyton - Carracastle, Ireland - d. 6-3-1992
preacher: (The Rosary Priest) "Family Theatre"
01-09-1913 - Richard Nixon - Yorba Linda, CA - d. 4-22-1994
[removed] president: "Image Minorities"; "Kennedy-Nixon Debates"
01-09-1914 - Gypsy Rose Lee - Seattle, WA - d. 4-26-1970
exotic dancer: "Advs. of Ellery Queen"; "What Makes You Tick?"
01-09-1915 - Anita Louise - New York, NY - d. 4-25-1970
actress: "Stars Over Hollywood"
01-09-1915 - Fernando Lamas - Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. 10-8-1982
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"

January 9th deaths

01-12-1894 - Tommy Handley - Liverpool, England - d. 1-9-1949
comedian: Minister of Aggravation "It's That Man Again"; "Radio
Radiance"
03-28-1904 - Day Keene - Illinois - d. 1-9-1969
writer: "Kitty Keene, Incorporated"; "Little Orphan Annie"
07-17-1906 - Anton Karras - Vienna, Austria - d. 1-9-1985
composer, zither: "The Third Man"
10-02-1893 - Roy Shield - Waseca, MN - d. 1-9-1962
conductor: "Design for Listening"; "RCA Victor Show"; "Eternal Light"
10-30-1896 - Bill Terry - Atlanta, GA - d. 1-9-1989
sportscaster: WAGA Atlanta
11-21-1919 - Steve Brodie - El Dorado, KS - d. 1-9-1992
actor: Mike Mallory "Mike Mallory"
xx-xx-1844 - Frank Chapman - d. 1-9-1940
singer: "The Voice of Firestone"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 19:43:41 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Great Performer, etc.

Dan Hughes, commenting on the "Greatest Performer," notes,

It is impossible to name a Greatest Performer of All Time because the
category is too broad.  It's like naming the greatest athlete of all
time.  Narrow that to the greatest baseball player, then to the greatest
third baseman, and you still will argue whether your criteria should
include batting or just fielding.  And if batting, power hitting, clutch
hitting, or batting average?

Narrowing categories reminds me of a popular radio hero, Sky King.  On
his radio show, he was billed as "America's favorite flying cowboy."
That definition was so narrow that I can't think of another who would
make claim to that title.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 19:44:02 -0500
From: William Harker <wharker@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  John Dawson/E. Jack Neuman

While not directly related to OTR, it should be noted that
Dawson/Neuman was one of the truly great hard-boiled
mystery/detective writers in those years.  So great that Raymond
Chandler, during negotiations to create a Philip Marlowe tv show,
insisted Neuman be the writer and director for the show.  They were
close enough as to exchange correspondence.  Unfortunately, as far as
I can tell, only one partial letter (a risque Chandler limerick)
between the two has been published.

Bill Harker

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

Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 19:44:21 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Greatest Entertainers

On 1/8/06 5:40 PM [removed]@[removed] wrote:

So to clarify, the question is, "What performer from the OTR era do YOU think
is the greatest?" And why?

As has been stated in other replies, judging someone as the "greatest
entertainer" doesn't necessarily mean the funniest personality or the
best singer or the greatest dancer or the most outstanding actor. For me,
it's a combination of talent and personal charisma that defines an
all-around entertainer -- and when this question comes up, for me it
turns out to be a matter of "what entertainer would I *most want* to see
in his or her prime, in person?"

And for me, that turns out to be a three-way tie between Al Jolson, Judy
Garland, and Elvis. Now that's a bill.

Elizabeth

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

Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 19:50:19 -0500
From: John <origami@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Gildersleeve name origin; early radio

A couple months ago I had the pleasure of meeting and subsequently chatting
with Jan Gildersleeve Acord, who told some interesting OTR stories.

She gave me permission to post the following clip which tells about the first
radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a station which much later was the
first one on which Mike Wallace worked.  Also, it tells of how "The Great
Gildersleeve" got his name:

[removed]

Sorry that the two ladies did not know who played the first "Throckmorton."

John W.

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

Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 21:08:45 -0500
From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Cowboy Pilots
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Stephen Kallis said that Sky King was billed as "America's Favorite
Flying Cowboy", which is so narrow a category that he can't think of
anyone else who would even be eligible.

I can.

Gene Autry had a private pilot's license, and he flew AT-6s, 7s and 11s,
C-104s and C-109s in World War II.

So Sky King was wrong, even with such a narrow window.

Should have been, "America's favorite flying cowboy with a niece named
Penny."

---Dan

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Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 21:08:23 -0500
From: "Joseph" <drjoewebb@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  What's Johnny Worth in 2006 Dollars?
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

 I found the comments about Jack Johnstone to be quite interesting since I'm
just finishing listening to all of the Bob Bailey Johnny Dollars. The
five-parters are definitely some of the best radio I have heard. There are,
of course, a few clunkers, where Johnstone seemed to have only had three
parts worth of story and padded things, but for the most part, there is a
level of character development that is quite unique among radio series. The
part that would always make me chuckle is the dollar values mentioned in his
expense account in relation to today's costs. I checked on the Bureau of
Labor Statistics site and learned that to compare costs of 1957 (about the
middle of the run for the Bailey series) you would multiply by 7 to get the
approximate value today. So when they ooh and ahh over a $50,000 policy in
the show, they're actually talking about a $350,000 policy today. And a
million dollar policy then is $7 million in 2006. When he takes someone to
get a cup of coffee,
and it costs 42 cents for the two of them, that's $[removed] It's obvious there
was no Starbucks in 1950s radioland. The airfares are very funny too. Many of
the fares are only one half of what it would be today, sometimes the same.
Thank you, Southwest Airlines. Comparing prices over so many decades is
difficult because so many things change, such as the time involved in air
travel, and the sheer size of today's common planes compared to the kind that
Johnny Dollar would have used. Since Spring 2005 and through today I have
listened to the entire Gunsmoke run and the Bailey Dollars. They have been
just a [removed] until you get toward the very late 1950s. The canned music
and the change in writers took its toll on Gunsmoke, and even Johnny Dollar
gets a bit tired. But I'll take a well-worn Gunsmoke or Dollar show any time
over many other radio and television series. Expense account, item 17, my two
[removed] or in 2006 dollars, my fourteen [removed] Joe Webb

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

Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 00:37:46 -0500
From: "WILLIS G Saunders" <saunders8@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Newman/Dawson

Hi Everyone,

Many thanks for answering a quuestion which has been gnawing around in my
craw for a very long time.

Mr. Wright, you brought up some titles I'd forgotten about and gave me some
information about Mr. Johnstone's Jonathan Bundy ego that I didn't even know
existed, even though I have at least one Bundy script in my "Suspense"
collection.  In a letter I got from Mr. Johnstone in which I asked that
question, he gave an explanation which may have been partially true.  He
said that some writers would sell a script several times to various radio
serials to get a little extra money.  I've known some small-time performers
to perform under aliases when the bill collector was too close for comfort,
so that explanation made some sense.

Barbara, ma'am, your information was equally valuable and helpful.  In fact,
people with whom I've corresponded in the OTR Digest have been among the
most terrific people about providing needed information aabout old-time
radio.

Thanks again to everybody who's ever helped me out.

Buck Saunders

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

Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 09:00:42 -0500
From: "Penne Yingling" <bp_ying@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Greatest Radio Performer - Benny, Hands Down

I agree with Dan Hughes.  "Besides, everybody knows it's Jack Benny anyway."
   (That's my "Penne's" worth - used to be "two cents" worth, but with
inflation & [removed]).

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

Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 09:00:55 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  NYT on 1940s Commercial Parodies

The New York Times today salutes pre-product placement movies and how
Hollywood wrote parodies of then-current advertising into movies such as "The
Hucksters."

It has a lot of stuff about real radio advertising in it.

Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

[removed]

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

Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 09:01:09 -0500
From: "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Golden Age of Radio and A One Night Stand
 with the Big Bands

The latest "Golden Age of Radio" programs with Dick Bertel
and Ed Corcoran, and "A One Night Stand with the Big Bands"
with Arnold Dean can be heard at [removed].

In the coming weeks we will feature three complete shows
in MP3 format for your listening pleasure or for downloading;
two "Golden Age of Radios" and one "One Night Stand." We
present new shows every week or so. The current three
programs will be available on line at least until the morning
of  January 23, 2006.

Program 12 - March, 1971 - Carroll Carroll

Carroll, Carroll served as the head writer for the Kraft Music
Hall for many years, and it was he more than anyone else who
developed the relaxed, jovial persona of Bing Crosby so well
remembered today. Both Bing and Carroll shared a love affair
with big words and alliteration ("There's a lot of limber lumber
on that calfskin"), and the casual, laid-back banter with the
show's guests convinced many a listener that the show was
completely ad-libbed. Carroll wrote  memoir of his years in
the radio writing biz entitled None of Your Business: Or My
Life with J. Walter Thompson (Confessions of a Radio
Writer) in 1970, and he succinctly summed up the attitude
of KMH by commenting that the program served to "treat
opera as if it were baseball and baseball as if it were opera."

We'll hear the witty conversation and some of the programs
that this writer worked on.

Program 13 - April, 1971 - Jackie Kelk

Character actor Jackie Kelk was born  July 6, 1923, in
Brooklyn. He was perhaps best known for his radio acting
as Homer, Henry's best friend, on "The Aldrich Family," or
Jimmy Olsen in "Superman," but he appeared in many films
and on Broadway as well.

"A One Night Stand with the Big Bands" With Arnold Dean

 George T. Simon and Glenn Miller - Part 1 - July, 1974

The subject tonight is Glenn Miller, with George T. Simon,
author of The Big Bands and Simon Says: The Sights and
Sounds of the Swing Era, and the foremost authority on the
Big Band Era. Simon helped Glenn Miller organize his first
band, played drums in it, and fostered Miller's reputation
through his writing for Metronome, The New York Herald
Tribune, and other leading publications. He went on to
become a leading expert on the music of the swing era
and the big bands. He wrote several other acclaimed books,
including The Sinatra Report (1965), as well as copious
articles, liner notes for recordings, and occasionally even
song lyrics for the likes of Duke Ellington and Alec Wilder.

In the 1970's WTIC decided that there was a market in
the evening for long-form shows that could be packaged
and sold to sponsors. Two of those shows were "The
Golden Age of Radio" and "A One Night Stand with the
Big Bands."

Dick Bertel had interviewed radio collector-historian
Ed  Corcoran several times on his radio and TV shows,
and thought a regular monthly show featuring interviews
with actors, writers, producers, engineers and musicians
from radio's early days might be interesting. "The Golden
Age of Radio" was first broadcast in April, 1970;  Ed was
Dick's co-host. It lasted seven years. "The Golden Age
of Radio" can also be heard Saturday nights on Walden
Hughes's program on Radio Yesteryear.

Arnold Dean began his love affair with the big band
era in his pre-teen years and his decision to study
the clarinet was inspired by the style of Artie Shaw.
When he joined WTIC in 1965 he hosted a daily program
of big band music.  In 1972, encouraged by the success
of his daily program and "The Golden Age of Radio"
series, he began monthly shows featuring interviews
with the band leaders, sidemen, agents, jazz reporters,
etc. who made major contributions to one of the great
eras of music history.

Bob Scherago
Webmaster

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

Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 11:29:52 -0500
From: "Roger Keel" <rlkeel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  copying to digital

In regard to the transfer of disks and tapes to a digital format, I would
like to clarify something on my part. I like the fact that my OTR shows have
a bit of noise in them. This to me, makes them sound like their first radio
broadcast.  I try when I copy from tape (reel and cassette) to my computer
not to do too much in regard to cleaning up the sound. I try to remove the
loud snaps and pops that have crept in to the recordings over the years, but
I just tone down the static and try to clean up the program a little.  The
remaining static or crackle I leave in as it adds a flavor to the show that
makes me think that I am listening to it in my room in the 30's. I do try my
best to make each show easy to understand and fix any problem that may have
come about from the coping.

A few years back, I purchased the first 25 Jungle Jim episodes on cassette.
The problem with the cassettes was the fact that when they were dubbed the
result was very bassy. I would have to adjust the bass on my stereo using
the equalizer to enjoy the shows. Since I have transferred these shows to
CD's I have adjusted the bass on each and the result is a lot better. I
still have some transmission noise (static, cracks and in one show a brief
fade out), but this I don't mind.
As most of you know, AM radio broadcasting was/is filled with static,
crosstalk, and fadeouts both back in the early days and even now. So, a
little noise in some of the shows is just a little character

If I had the time and money to invest on the equipment and programs to make
my collection crystal clear and noise free, I still might not.

On a side note, I think that I should introduce myself a little as I am the
newcomer here.

I work as an administrator of youth service programs for the Government of
Canada.
I have been a fan of OTR and other forms of entertainment of the 20's to the
early 60's (pulps, comics, serials, and b-movies) for quite awhile. I got
interested in OTR in the early 80's when I purchased some cassettes from Jim
Harmon (The Shadow, Escape, I Love Adventure and Green Hornet, thanks Jim).
I have since then built a large collection of OTR. I am still adding to this
as I hear about new shows or episodes being discovered every day. I hope
that I can in some small way add to the discussion on this digest and thanks
for having me.

Roger Keel

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #8
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