Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #456
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 12/24/2003 1:48 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 456
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      OTR Christmas Shows                   [ "Tas Richardson" <tasrichardson@spr ]
      Re: Captain Midnight Ovaltine Decode  [ "Dennis Mansker" <dennis@[removed] ]
      Re: networks                          [ Mike Thompson <mthomp86@[removed]; ]
      The Best of Benny Series              [ "Matthew Bullis" <matthewbullis@run ]
      Today in radio history-- holiday edi  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Re: Radios and the Radio Audience     [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Commercials In Cipher?                [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Christmas Programming                 [ Rod Gowen <rgowen@[removed] ]
      Ukelele love                          [ "Clifton Martin" <MARTBART@peoplepc ]
      All Benny All the Time                [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      entertainment or life!                [ Allen Hamner <ahamner@[removed]; ]
      Merry Christmas to All                [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
      Christmas Day births/deaths           [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 00:28:46 -0500
    From: "Tas Richardson" <tasrichardson@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  OTR Christmas Shows

    Radio station CHQR in Calgary, 770 on the AM dial will be broadcasting a
    marathon of OTR Christmas programs beginning at six pm mountain time,
    Christmas Eve and running for 42 hours,  (if I heard right).  These will be
    programs such as Suspense, Dragnet, Jack Benny, etc.  CHQR can also be
    accessed on the Internet at [removed]  Thought some of you might be
    interested.  You might have to download a plug-in to hear the broadcast.  I
    did, but it was a quick and simple matter.  They play OTR seven nights a
    week from 11:05 till 1:00 am, and have for many years.

    Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy, healthy New Year!

    Tas in Southern Alberta, where it is beginning to look like we might not
    have a white Christmas.

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 03:12:52 -0500
    From: "Dennis Mansker" <dennis@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Captain Midnight Ovaltine Decoder
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Okay, I stand corrected. The original post was a conscious attempt, in the
    spirit of the season, to lovingly evoke echoes of the Jean Shepherd tale about
    the Red Ryder b-b gun, but using the Captain Midnight decoder instead. That
    attempt, it appears, has fallen flat on its face.
    In truth, I really can't remember what the decoded message actually was, only
    that it was something stupid and really not worth the time and trouble it took
    to decode it. But I've never been one to let the literal truth stand in the
    way of a good story (that's why I wrote a novel instead of a memoir).
    Evidently I should have this time.
    Mea culpa, folks. It was all in fun, and I'm sorry if it caused difficulties.
    Merry Christmas anyway, everybody.

    Dennis Mansker

    The Mansker Chronicles: [removed]
    Chairborne Ranger, featuring A Bad Attitude: A Novel from the Vietnam War:
    [removed]

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

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 03:13:34 -0500
    From: Mike Thompson <mthomp86@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: networks

    Michael Biel wrote:

>      But no network is
>     really "permanent" because there are constantly
>     changes in affiliates, and
>     rarely are programs aired on every affiliated
>     station.

    I think there's just a general misunderstanding out
    there as to what "network" really means. I see it in
    television all the time. While broadcast outlets like
    ABC, CBS, and even UPN are quite accurate to label
    themselves "networks," cable channels (and someone
    correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I am) are
    not. And yet all the time I see cable channels refer
    to themselves in promos and such as networks (like TNT
    billing itself as "the most-watched cable network" or
    Nickelodeon calling itself "the first kids' network),
    and some, like Cartoon Network or ESPN or the old
    Nashville/National Network, even put the word
    "network" in their channel name. But if they're cable
    channels, how can they be networks? There's only that
    one channel, and it just happens to be carried by some
    cable systems.

    Anyway, Happy Holidays everybody!

    Mike

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 04:00:38 -0500
    From: "Matthew Bullis" <matthewbullis@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Best of Benny Series

    Hello, Laura mentioned the Best of Benny series when replying to a Jack
    Benny question. This reminded me of a question I have. I have an episode of
    the program which has the Best Of tagline at the end, but the unique thing
    about it is that it is the absolutely best quality I've ever heard from any
    old time radio show. No noise reduction, because it sounded as though it was
    taken straight from the soundboard, or from the microphones of the actors.
    It's the episode where Jack has a cold in bed, after he was left out in the
    cold at Don's house. It's the Sportsmen episode, because the original airing
    of this skit was years ago without the quartet. Do any more of these
    programs exist in this stunningly excellent quality, or was this the only
    one?
    Thanks a lot.
    Matthew

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 10:46:17 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history-- holiday edition

     From Those Were The Days --

    12/24 --

    1906 - Professor Reginald A. Fessenden sent his first radio broadcast
    from Brant Rock, MA. The program included a little verse, some violin
    and a speech.

    1928 - The first broadcast of The Voice of Firestone was heard. The
    program aired each Monday evening at 8. The Voice of Firestone became a
    hallmark in radio broadcasting. It kept its same night, time (in 1931
    the start time changed to 8:30) and sponsor for its entire run.
    Beginning on September 5, 1949, the program of classical and
    semiclassical music was also seen on television.

    1944 - The Andrews Sisters starred in the debut of The Andrews Sisters'
    Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch on ABC. Patty, Maxene and LaVerne ran a fictional
    dude ranch. George 'Gabby' Hayes was a regular guest along with Vic
    Schoen's orchestra. The ranch stayed in operation until 1946.

    12/25

    1931 - Lawrence Tibbett was the featured vocalist as radio came to the
    Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. The first opera was Hansel
    und Gretel, heard on the NBC network of stations. In between acts of the
    opera, moderator Olin Downes would conduct an opera quiz, asking
    celebrity guests opera-related questions. The program's host and
    announcer was Milton Cross. He worked out of the Met's Box 44.

    1934 - The Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, was read by
    Lionel Barrymore on The Campbell Playhouse on CBS. The reading of the
    tale became an annual radio event for years to come.

    1937 - Arturo Toscanini conducted the first broadcast of Symphony of the
    Air over NBC.

    1942 - The longest, sponsored program in the history of broadcasting was
    heard on NBC Blue network. The daylong Victory Parade's Christmas Party
    of Spotlight Bands was heard over 142 radio stations. The marathon
    broadcast was sponsored by Coca-Cola.

    12/26

    1953 - Big Sister was heard for the last time on CBS. The show had been
    on the air for 17 years. Big Sister was the ongoing story of Sue Evans
    Miller and her relationship with her big sister, Ruth Evans. Actresses
    who played big sister Ruth over the years: Alice Frost, Nancy Marshall,
    Marjorie Anderson, Mercedes McCambridge. Little Sister Sue was played by
    Haila Stoddard, Dorothy McGuire, Peggy Conklin and Fran Carlon.

    1954 - One of radio's most popular programs, The Shadow, lurked around
    the airwaves for the last time. Vigilante crime-fighter Lamont Cranston
    battled greed and corruption since 1930. "Who knows what evil lurks in
    the hearts of men? The Shadow [removed]"

    Joe (Happy holiday, or non-holiday, of choice to all.)

    --
    Visit my homepage:  [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 10:47:15 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Radios and the Radio Audience

    On 12/24/03 12:29 AM [removed]@[removed] wrote:

>     I assume that a lot of people bought radios cheap in the second-hand market.

    There was a thriving market in used radios thruout the Depression -- if
    you scan the classified ads of any metropolitan newspaper from this
    period you'll find dozens of ads for used radios in the $5-$10 range,
    many of them obsolete 1920s battery-operated models. Radios were also
    (along with watches and handguns) among the most common items found at
    pawn shops.

    One of the bits of interesting memorabilia I found when cleaning out my
    grandparents' home after they died was the bill of sale for their first
    radio -- a second-hand 1928 Crosley Showbox which my grandfather bought
    in the fall of 1932. He paid $15 for it, with $5 down and the rest in $2
    monthly "Easy Kredit" (spelled exactly that way) payments. It was, of
    necessity, a battery-operated set, since they didn't have electricity
    until 1940.

    As for the total number of radios in use during the first two decades of
    broadcasting, there are really only estimated figures to go by, but here
    are some statistics that will give a good [removed]

    It's estimated that during the last six months of 1921, half-a-million
    sets were sold, and this number had doubled by the middle of 1922 as the
    radio fad swept the nation. By early 1924, it was estimated by the
    Broadcasting Department of AT&T that there were more than [removed] million
    receiving sets in use, although this is a very rough estimate considering
    the number of "home brew" recievers being constructed every day. More
    than half a million sets were believed to be in use in New York alone at
    the time of AT&T's survey. By contrast, the 1920 census pegged the US
    population at a bit over 106 million. So, there was quite a ways to go
    toward acheiving full penetration.

    But it was happening rapidly: RCA posted sales of $50 million during 1924
    -- more than double its 1923 levels, and by the end of the year, the
    number of receivers in use had topped four million. Growth continued at
    similarly impressive rates thruout the twenties.

    Skipping ahead to 1930, there were, according to figures compiled by
    "Radio Retailing" magazine, approximately 12,049,000 radio homes in the
    US at the time of that year's survey. Figuring a conservative average of
    4 listeners per household, that makes the total radio audience at the
    turn of the decade around 48 million (1930 census figures peg total US
    population at approximately [removed] million)

    There were a couple of factors which made 1930-31 a key point in the
    growth of the radio audience -- the first "midget" radios were
    introduced, low-priced AC-operated table models which were much more
    affordable than the more elaborate floor models, and it was also the peak
    of the "Amos 'n' Andy" craze, which spurred a great many non-radio-owners
    to acquire sets just to find out what all the fuss was about.

    By 1935, the total radio homes stood at 22,869,000 -- and the audience
    thus increases to around [removed] million. By 1940, the figures were [removed]
    million radio homes for an audience of around 116 million. (In 1940,
    total population stands around 151 million.) 1945 shows figures of 34
    million radio homes and 136 million listeners. And, by 1948, there were
    an even 40 million radio homes for 160 million listeners. At this point,
    one could say that radio had achieved its saturation point: just about
    every American had access to it.

    All these estimates are on the conservative side, but they give you a
    general idea of the growth involved. And the most interesting fact is
    that there was *n*e*v*e*r a decline in either the number of radio homes
    or in the audience -- there was a substantial increase every single year
    between 1930 and 1948 -- on the average, about a million homes added
    every year.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 10:48:29 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Commercials In Cipher?

    In writing about Dennis Mansker's recapitulation of the Jean Shepherd
    Ralphie story about deciphering a message to, "Be sure to drink Ovaltine
    every day," I mentioned,

>     I cannot speak for the TV show (busy being in college and all that), but
>     can state unequivocally that there was never an Ovaltine commercial
>     during the Code-O-Graph era.  (In the radio scripts, they had both
>     numbers and letters, though why the announcer would need to know what the
>     message was beats me.)

    A Joseph Ross noted,

>     The TV show did have commercials.  At first, Ovaltine alternated as
>     sponsor with Kix, but by the time the decoder offers came along, it was
>     just Ovaltine.  But the code messages didn't have to do with Ovaltine,
>     they were a two or three word message that had something vaguely to do
>     with the following week's story.

    Well, in the context, what I meant to say was, "[I] can state
    unequivocally that there was never an Ovaltine commercial in the cipher
    messages during the Code-O-Graph era."  Of course there were commercials
    in every program, but these were overt, not enciphered.  The two- to
    three-word messages also used short words, shorter than "Ovaltine," at
    any rate, of the few I've seen.  I find it hard to believe that the
    program would run anything like "drink your Ovaltine," or any variant of
    that, as a ciphered message.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 10:57:45 -0500
    From: Rod Gowen <rgowen@[removed];
    To: Old Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Christmas Programming

    Hello,
    And Happy Holidays from
    the Staff and Volunteers at
    Golden Hours Radio Reading Service, Portland, Oregon.

    We will be presenting over 120 hours of
    Christmas programming, beginning
    on 12-24-03 at 1 PM and
    running through Monday, 12-29-03 at 7 AM.

    Most of the programming will be OTR. Some will be NPR Music and specials
    on Christmas Day.

    The whole thing begins with the Cinnamon Bear at 1 PM, 12-24.

    Golden Hours is broadcast on the SAP of Channel 10 TV in the Portland, OR
    area and local cable. It is also simulcast on [removed] on the web. Just
    click on the "Listen to Golden Hours" link to the
    live stream.

    We hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season.

    Take care,

    Rod Gowen
    Golden Hours Radio

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 12:26:58 -0500
    From: "Clifton Martin" <MARTBART@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Ukelele love

    I'm surprised that none of our Arthur Godfrey fans have brought one of his
    songs into the "making love" discussion. Remember "Makin' love ukelele
    style?"  Maybe just  a bit less painful than guitar love, eh?

    Clif Martin

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 12:51:40 -0500
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  All Benny All the Time

    Zongo wrotes:

>     I was actually amazed at how much warning they did give that this was the
>     final episode of the Jack Benny Radio show.  At the beginning of the show Don
>     Wilson says this is the last show of the season and of the current series.
>     Throughout the show they talk about it being there last show.  Mary doesn't
>     even dub her lines for this show.  The Sportsman sing kind of a tribute song.

    Well, partially right.  It was common even back into the 30s to note "this is
    the last number of the last show of the current Jell-O series"...current
    series generally equating to season.  There are at least two copies of this
    in [removed] without Mary's dubbed lines, and one with.  So Mary did
    dub her lines, but that doesn't seem to be the copy that's in wide
    distribution.

    Zongo also wrote:

>     I was wondering if anyone in this great braintrust of OTR could help me. Mr.
>     Kitzel became a famous character on the Jack Benny show around 1946. I
>     believe
>     he was kind of a replacement for the Schlepermann character of the early 40's
>     Benny show.

    He did end up being a character similar to Shlepperman, and when Sam Hearn
    wanted to come back to the show, they had to change his character to the rube
    from Calabasas because they didn't need two Yiddishkeit characters.  However,
    I don't know that there was an overt effort to replace the Shlepperman
    character, as he had been off the series for a number of years when Artie
    Auerbach started as Kitzel.

    And Walden asked:

>     I am trying to find a audio CD or tape copy of the Bob Hope show from
>     12-6-49 with Jack Benny.  I was sent a MPe CD of Bob Hope shows, but I would
>     like to find a better sounding copy of this show or any other Bob Hope show
>     with Doris Day that is not in wide spread hands yet.

    We have an MP3 of that in the IJBFC audio library, but I can't say if it's
    better quality than yours.  Know that it's available if you need it.

    And just a reminder if folks haven't renewed their subscriptions to The Jack
    Benny Times [removed] Friday I'll be sending our current issue, which is 20
    pages devoted to Gisele MacKenzie.  Lots of pictures and an exclusive
    interview with her.  She was a lovely lady and is very much missed by us.
    For more information on subscribing, go to [removed].

    Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 14:28:29 -0500
    From: Allen Hamner <ahamner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  entertainment or life!

    The creator of the Walton's television series is Earl
    Hamner.  He also wrote several of the episodes.  The
    story line first appeared as a movie called Spencer's
    Mountain.  The name of the family in the movie was
    Spencer then when the tv show began the name was
    changed to the Waltons.

    Earl Hamner did grow up in the Blue Ridge Mountains in
    Virginia and many of the characters are based on his
    actual family members.

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

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 14:28:49 -0500
    From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Merry Christmas to All

    Hi Everybody,

    I just want to say Merry Christmas to All.  This list is a wonderful way for
    all of us to get together and share our feelings about those great days of
    radio and I feel that we know each other through this formate.

    Merry Christmas,

    Walden Hughes

     .
    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 15:44:46 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Christmas Day births/deaths

    M E R R Y  C H R I S T M A S ! !

    Christmas Day births

    12-25-1889 - Nat Shilkret - Queens, NY - d. 2-18-1982
    conductor: "Music That Satisfies"; "Palmolive Beauty Box Theatre"
    12-25-1891 - Tony Wons - Menasha, WI - d. 7-1-1965
    host: "Tony Wons Scrapbook"; "House by the Side of the Road"
    12-25-1893 - Robert L. Ripley - Santa Rosa, CA - d. 5-27-1949
    emcee: "Colonial Beacon Light"; "Baker"s Broadcast"; "Believe It or Not"
    12-25-1899 - Humphrey Bogart - NYC - d. 1-14-1957
    actor: Slate Shannon "Bold Venture"; "Stars in the Air"
    12-25-1904 - Gladys Swarthout - Deepwater, MO - d. 7-8-1969
    singer: "Prudential Family Hour"; "Voice of Firestone"
    12-25-1907 - Cab Calloway - Rochester, NY - d. 11-18-1994
    band leader: "Quizzical"
    12-25-1909 - Mike Mazurki - Tarnopol, Austria - d. 12-9-1990
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    12-25-1912 - Tony Martin - Oakland, CA
    singer: "Burns and Allen"; "Tune-Up Time"; "Tony Martin Show"
    12-25-1913 - Candy Candido - New Orleans, LA - d. 5-24-1999
    comedian: "Sealtest Village Store"; "Jimmy Durante Show"
    12-25-1924 - Rod Serling - Syracuse, NY - d. 6-28-1975
    host: "Zero Hour"

    Christmas Day deaths

    01-25-1910 - Portland Hoffa - Portland, OR - d. 12-25-1990
    comedienne: (Wife of Fred Allen) "Fred Allen Show"
    01-29-1880 - W. C. Fields - Philadelphia, PA - d. 12-25-1946
    comedian: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
    04-16-1889 - Sir Charles Chaplin - London, England - d. 12-25-1977
    actor: "Dodge Brothers Hour"
    06-07-1917 - Dean Martin - Steubenville, OH - d. 12-25-1995
    singer, comedian: "Martin and Lewis Show"
    08-30-1906 - Joan Blondell - NYC - d. 12-25-1979
    actress: Mary Vance "Miss Pinkerton, Inc."
    09-19-1905 - Betty Garde - Philadelphia, PA - d. 12-25-1989
    actress: Peggy O"Neill "O"Neills"; Kate Mason "Maudie"s Diary"
    10-29-1894 - Jack Pearl - NYC - d. 12-25-1982
    comedian: Baron Munchausen "Baron and the Bee, Jack and Cliff, Jack Pearl Show"
    12-07-1918 - Hurd Hatfield - NYC . d. 12-25-1998
    actor: "Best Plays"; "Crime Does Not Pay"
    12-28-1914 - Lee Bowman - Cincinnati, OH - d. 12-25-1979
    actor: Jonathan Kegg "Life in Your Hands"; George Cooper "My Favorite Husband"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #456
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