Subject: [removed] Digest V2011 #204
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 12/24/2011 10:18 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2011 : Issue 204
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      "White Christmas" on Kraft Music Hal  [ "David Easter" <davideaster@verizon ]
      Masked Man's Music                    [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Robert Easton, RIP                    [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
      The Mystery of the Masked Man's Musi  [ "jsalerno@[removed]" <jsalerno@ ]
      12-24 births/deaths                   [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      request performance                   [ <edcarr@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:41:17 -0500
    From: "David Easter" <davideaster@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  "White Christmas" on Kraft Music Hall

    I attended the Winter Concerts at the local high school. At the band
    concert, they played "White Christmas" (of course). The introduction
    claimed, among other things, that Bing Crosby introduced his version of
    "White Christmas" on the Kraft Music Hall in December 1941 and that no
    version of the program exists. My research seems to agree, with the
    exception that there may be a low quality air-check recording of the song.
    Does anyone have the actual program or the air-check? Can anyone add any
    more details?

    David

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

    Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:41:39 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Masked Man's Music

    I second Jim Nixon's endorsement for "The Mystery of the Masked Man's Music",
    published in the 90's by Scarecrow Press and written by Reg Jones.

    Last year on the Digest I commented it was one of the three best books of the
    year
    that I read. Worthy of acquiring a copy if you can.
    Martin

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

    Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:41:47 -0500
    From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Robert Easton, RIP

    A Quiz Kid who much later became the primary dialectician in
    Hollywood died December 16th at the age of 81. Robert Easton,
    originally a stutterer, self trained himself in speech dialect, and
    after a career on network radio, became a speech coach to the
    luminaries of the silver screen. He personally coached Forest
    Whitaker, Ann Hathaway, Robert Duval, Ben Kingsley, Helen Hunt, and
    Liam Neeson, among others and was still working when he died; three
    weeks ago he was coaching John Travolta for a new film. Easton's
    regular quarter-page ad appears in the current December issue of
    AFTRA magazine in which he always termed himself "The Henry Higgins
    of Hollywood, Inc."

    He was born Robert Easton Burke in Milwaukee, WI on 11-23-30 and
    would later drop his surname to create his professional name. When he
    was only 7, his parents divorced and he and his mother moved to
    Texas, where he immediately picked up a Texas drawl. At age 14, he
    was added to the panel in "Quiz Kids" and toured with these child
    prodigies around the country. He continued on radio as an adult,
    appearing on "Burns and Allen Show", "Red Skelton Show", "Jack Benny
    Show" and then on to TV's "Wagon Train" and "Rawhide."

    In 1961 he married June Grimstead and moved with her to England where
    he studied phonetics at the University of London. After three years,
    they moved back to California where his fellow actors began coming to
    him for dialect coaching and eventually it became a full time job for
    him. By the time of his death, his personal collection of books on
    languages of the world exceeded 400,000.

    His many successes in coaching performers became legendary. In 1981
    he coached Japanese actress Yoko Shimada, who spoke not one word of
    English, for her role in the TV mini-series, "Shogun" and within
    three weeks her English was good enough to record her dialogue. She
    went on to win a Golden Globe Award for that role.

    Easton died at his home in Los Angeles; his survivors include his
    daughter and granddaughter. His wife of 44 years had died in 2005.

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    <[removed]>

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

    Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:41:58 -0500
    From: "jsalerno@[removed]" <jsalerno@[removed];
    To: OTR List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Mystery of the Masked Man's Music

    Not only will OTR fans enjoy learning about the masked man's music,
    anyone interested in the production of such a program will enjoy the
    story of how those familiar music tracks came to be. It's almost as
    exciting as one of the LR's tales.
    --
    Joe Salerno

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

    Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:42:05 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  12-24 births/deaths

    December 24th births

    12-24-1881 - Charles Wakefield Cadman - Johnston, PA - d. 12-30-1946
    Composed "At Dawning," used as theme for "The Brighter Day."
    12-24-1886 - Michael Curtiz - Budapest, Hungary - d. 4-10-1962
    film director: "Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre"; Screen Director's
    Playhouse"
    12-24-1887 - Lucrezia Bori - Valencia, Spain - d. 5-14-1960
    opera singer: "Telephone Hour"; "Ford Sunday Evening Hour"
    12-24-1893 - Harry Warren - NYC - d. 9-22-1981
    composer: "Good News of 1940"; "Great Moments to Music"
    12-24-1895 - Ruth Chatterton - NYC - d. 11-24-1961
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    12-24-1901 - Nola Luxford - New Zealand - d. 10-10-1994
    broadcast journalist: "1932 Olympic Games"
    12-24-1906 - Chuck Webster - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 2-14-1983
    actor: "The Green Hornet"; "The Lone Ranger"; "True Detective Mysteries"
    12-24-1906 - Franz Waxman - Konigshutte, Germany - d. 2-24-1967
    composer-conductor: "Good News of 1939"
    12-24-1910 - Fritz Leiber - Chicago, IL - d. 9-5-1992
    science fiction writer: "X Minus One"; "Future Tense"; "Audion Theatre"
    12-24-1910 - John Bagni - NYC - d. 2-13-1954
    writer: Suspense"; "Family Theatre"; "Escape"
    12-24-1910 - Mitchell Ayres - Milwaukee, WI - d. 9-5-1969
    bandleader: "Dunninger Show"; "Chesterfield Supper Club"
    12-24-1910 - Tony Labriola - d. 6-17-1999
    actor: Oswald "The Ken Murray Show"
    12-24-1912 - Jay Bennett - Brooklyn, NY - d. 6-27-2009
    script writer: "Miracle of Christmas"
    12-24-1913 - Herb Allen - San Francisco, CA
    announcer: "The Guiding Light"; "Sherlock Holmes"
    12-24-1913 - Myrtle 'Lulubelle' Wiseman - Boone, KY - d. 2-8-1999
    singer: (Lulubelle and Scotty) "The National Barn Dance"
    12-24-1914 - Abram S. Ginnes - Brooklyn, NY - d. 5-20-2006
    adapter: "The Big Story"
    12-24-1914 - Ralph Marterie - Naples, Italy - d. 10-10-1978
    bandleader: "Marlboro Cigarettes Show"
    12-24-1915 - Helen Brown - Washington - d. 9-9-1994
    actor: Miss Foster "Big Town"
    12-24-1916 - Morton Fine - d. 3-7-1991
    writer: "Bold Venture"; "Broadway Is My Beat"; "The Front Page"
    12-24-1920 - John Barron - London, England - d. 7-3-2004
    actor: "Dad's Army"; "Brothers In Law"
    12-24-1921 - Phillip Grenville Mann - Manly, Australia - d. 6-19-1990
    writer: "The Sergeant at Burralee"
    12-24-1922 - Ava Gardner - Grabtown, NC - d. 1-25-1990
    actor: "So Proudly We Hail"; "Prudential Family Hour of Stars"
    12-24-1928 - Norman Rossington - Liverpool, England - d. 5-21-1999
    comic actor: "Big Jim and the Figaro Club"
    12-24-1974 - Ryan Seacrest - Atlanta, GA
    disk jockey: "Live from the Lounge of Ryan Secreast"

    December 24th deaths

    01-27-1899 - Milton Rettenberg - NYC - d. 12-24-1986
    pianist/conductor: "Chesterfield Presents"; "Cities Service Concerts"
    02-02-1888 - Lee Millar - Vancouver, Canada - d. 12-24-1941
    actor: (Husband of Verna Felton) Appeared on various radio shows
    02-07-1915 - Arthur Kurland - d. 12-24-1992
    producer: "Keep 'Em Rolling"
    02-13-1913 - Frank Phares - d. 12-24-1968
    writer: "This Is Your FBI"
    02-25-1912 - David Roberts - Jacksonville, FL - d. 12-24-1996
    NBC staff announcer
    03-10-1886 - Clarence Adler - d. 12-24-1969
    pianist: Member of the New York Trio
    03-20-1903 - Sarah Burton - London, England - d. 12-24-1994
    actor: Mrs. Bixby "Mrs. Miniver"; Lisa "Against the Storm"
    03-20-1908 - Frank Stanton - Muskegon, MI - d. 12-24-2006
    president of cbs 1946-1971
    04-09-1910 - Alan Melville - Berwick-upon-Tweed, England - d. 12-24-1983
    scriptwriter: "BBC Radio Newsreel"; "London Column"
    05-26-1895 - Norma Talmadge - Jersey City, NJ - d. 12-24-1957
    actor: "Thirty Minutes in Hollywood"
    05-31-1898 - Norman Vincent Peale - Bowersville, OH - d. 12-24-1993
    preacher: "Art of Living"
    06-10-1910 - Julie Haydon - Oak Park, IL - d. 12-24-1994
    actor: "Suspense"; "Cavalcade of America"; "Theatre Guild On the Air"
    06-19-1925 - Charlie Drake - South London, England - d. 12-24-2006
    comedian: "Jigsaw"
    06-26-1924 - Bob Maxwell - Custer, KY - d. 12-24-2002
    actor: "The Lone Ranger"
    06-29-1911 - Bernard Herrmann - NYC - d. 12-24-1975
    conductor, composer: "Columbia Workshop"; "Mercury Theatre on the Air/
    Campbell Playhouse"
    07-08-1898 - Melville Ruick - Boise, ID - d. 12-24-1972
    actor, announcer: "Cavalcade of America"; "Quiet Please"; "Suspense"
    09-07-1923 - Peter Lawford - London, England - d. 12-24-1984
    actor: "Radio Reader's Digest"; "Suspense"
    09-29-1915 - Derwood Brown - Texas - d. 12-24-1978
    singer: "The Musical Brownies"
    10-10-1930 - Harold Pinter - Hackney, England - d. 12-24-2008
    writer, actor: "Focus on Football Pools"; "A Slight Ache"
    11-23-1888 - Nana Bryant - Cincinnati, OH - d. 12-24-1955
    actor: Miss Tilsey "Fabulous Dr. Tweedy"
    12-01-1885 - Frazier Hunt - Rock Island, IL - d. 12-24-1967
    newscaster: Weekday morning newscast on Mutual
    12-12-1929 - John Osborne - London, England - d. 12-24-1994
    dramatist: "Danger"

    Ron

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

    Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:42:15 -0500
    From: <edcarr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  request performance

    Watching tv last night, antique roadshow, a fellow brought on a sign in/sign
    out
    book for the radio show request performance, he had the pages for it, it was
    signed by about 150 persons, the most valued one by it self was orson
    wells,but he would have had to cut it from the page.
    he said he paid $600 dollars for it, it was now worth $4000 to $6000 dollars.
    to learn more about it they said you can go to [removed]
    i haven't done so myself yet.
    ed

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2011 Issue #204
    *********************************************

    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]

    In the event of a major mail problem, please contact the listmaster via
      the web-based contact form available at [removed]
      (on the sidebar) or follow/DM CFSummers on Twitter

    To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]