Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #174
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 4/23/2003 2:03 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 174
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Audio Restoration                     [ Jpotter64@[removed] ]
      Re: A [removed]                   [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      The New Lum & Abner, MediaPlayer      [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
      Bing Crosby's 100th Birthday          [ JJJ445@[removed] ]
      'Words at War' reviewed in trade pap  [ Art Chimes <achimes@[removed]; ]
      Sad News From Schenectady NY          [ Udmacon@[removed] ]
      LIFE OF HOMEMADE CD'S                 [ james h arva <wilditralian@[removed] ]
      Weddings and Conventions              [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
      Re: cincinnati convention dates       [ rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed] ]
      April 24th Birth Dates                [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Re: Am I in trouble?                  [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 12:49:53 -0400
    From: Jpotter64@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Audio Restoration

    My purpose here is to make you aware of a software package that lends itself
    very nicely to restoring OTR. I am in no way connected with any of the
    vendors. I feel that you need to know what is out there. In fact the manual
    is worth the price of the software. Yes, you get a manual.

    Some of the filters are the Impulse Noise Filter that takes care of pops and
    clicks. I don't know of any software that will get rid of the large pops and
    clicks or even cracks in the disc. In applying any of the filters that would
    reduce the click to barely audible, you would lose the material as well. See
    Paste Interpolate for a way to get rid of those big ones without losing any
    quality.

    The Continuous Noise Filter that takes care of continuous noise. Hiss, Hum,
    in fact any noise or sound that is a constant throughout the recording.

    Filters that will handle rumble, hum, buzz and dropouts. These filters can be
    selectively applied to any part of the file and not encroach on the areas
    that are not a problem.

    Reverberation, Graphic Equalization and file conversions.

    My favorite is the Paste Interpolate feature. You zoom in on a particular
    area in the wave that is troublesome and paste interpolate. The software
    replaces the artifact with material that would have been there had not it
    been for the artifact. This works very well if the record has a crack. You
    would never know they were there when finished.

    How about those speed errors? There is change speed correction.

    The gain control will allow you to selectively raise the gain on dropouts, or
    lower if need be.

    The above are just a few of the tools in this software. You aren't confined
    to a single venue. It is super for 45's, LP's or just any source. In general,
    Diamond Cut is perfect for noise removal for any format.

    I have used the software for 4 years and it just keeps getting better.

    There is a bulletin board for users where if you have a problem on how to do
    something, the answer comes from the software developers. Where else can you
    communicate with the authors? They are interested because they use the
    software themselves. There are many knowledgeable users that will also assist
    you with your situation.

    There are Forensics filters and a program that is separate from the main
    program that will allow you to chain filters together (you can chain filters
    in any of the packages). You run the material through a sound card into the
    computer. Apply the filters and route it back out to your recording device.
    This is all in real time.

    You can go to the following site to download a trial of the software. It will
    be the latest release. Price wise there is no program that can touch it.

    The Diamond Cut site has the user group and other information.

    I too have used Cool Edit Pro, but found that the visual simplicity of
    Diamond Cut placed it head and shoulders of anything else out there and is
    nowhere as expensive as Sound Forge. I do use Sound Forge as an editor only.
    I also have the plug-ins but prefer Diamond Cut.

    This software is a set of tools for performing audio restoration.

    You can find them at [removed]

    I would be happy to answer questions.

    Jim

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: Once again, not everyone on this list (or in the world) uses
    the same operating system, so when discussing computer software, PLEASE
    mention the operating system required so those not using it know to skip your
    post.  --cfs3]

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 12:50:00 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: A [removed]

    On 4/22/03 11:15 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     It certainly does matter if the story is completely untrue
>     and they never called any pianist or any other member of
>     the troupe any such thing, which I believe was part of the
>     point of Elizabeth's response.

    What I think has probably happened here is that the story was either
    manufactured out of whole cloth or that, more likely, it built on the
    kernel of something that *did* happen and then snowballed all out of
    proportion to the actual incident. And what leads me to believe this is
    not a compulsive desire to protect the reputations of Correll and Gosden
    so much as it is the fact that so much of the story, as related, *is*
    demonstrably false.

    Barbara Merlin claimed to see Nat Cole playing piano for Amos 'n' Andy.

    Nat Cole never played piano for Amos 'n' Andy.

    No Cole brother ever played piano for Amos 'n' Andy.

    These statements are not simply my opinion -- they can be proven by
    comparing the known activities and movements of the Cole brothers with
    the period in question. If Barbara Merlin witnessed such an incident, as
    she claimed to have done, it had to have occured during her time as a
    script supervisor connected to the program -- a period limited to the
    relatively narrow window of 1943 to 1948. The documented activities of
    the Cole brothers during this period simply don't match up with the
    possibility that any one of them could have performed with the A&A
    program.

    So, the only reasonable conclusion is that Barbara Merlin was not telling
    the truth when she claimed, specifically, to have seen Nat "King" Cole
    playing piano for A&A and being treated abusively by them. Note that she
    didn't say a generic "black pianist." Even the most out-of-it agency
    flunkey could be expected to know the difference between an anonymous
    studio musician and a national celebrity such as Cole was fast becoming
    during the mid-1940s. And Merlin mentioned Cole specfically, by name --
    despite the fact that he *couldn't* have been where she claimed he was.
    Either she had repeated this story so often that she had created a false
    memory, or she was consciously lying. But either way, she wasn't telling
    the truth.

    Now, we know, for a fact -- borne out by multiple eyewitness testimonies
    -- that Gosden could be a very difficult and sometimes tactless person to
    get along with. Organist Gaylord Carter described him as "aloof and
    distant, except when he was upset about something." Writer Hal Kanter
    described him as "something of a snob." Advertising man William Benton
    declared that as far back as their split with WGN in 1927, "no one could
    work with" Gosden. When his first wife divorced him in 1940, the grounds
    cited emphasized his inability to have a normal social life because of
    his devotion to his work.

    So there's plenty of reason to believe that somewhere along the line,
    someone who had run afoul of Gosden's temper complained about it to
    someone else. And that person told the story to another person -- and so
    on down the line until the story built and escalated until it became one
    of a beloved African-American entertainer being disrespected by not one
    but *two* crudely-racist white comedians -- despite the fact that the
    African-American entertainer in question never had any connection to the
    program, and that whatever complaints may have been made against Gosden,
    no one who actually *knew* Charlie Correll has ever indicated that he was
    anything but a pleasant, affable man who related to the African-American
    members of the program's cast with "an unforced friendliness devoid of
    condescension," as Melvin Ely put it.

    I think this whole story is an excellent illustration of the sort of
    irresponsible tale-telling that serious OTR historians have to be ready
    and willing to debunk. The fact that someone claims to have seen the
    incident firsthand can't override the fact that the incident could not
    have actually happened as she specifically claims to remember it. The
    example of the Uncle Don "Little Bastards" myth is clear proof of the
    tendency of urban myths to be supported by all sorts of alleged
    "firsthand testimony," even though invariably such testimony cannot bear
    up under close examination, and I think, based on the evidence I've
    presented, that this story deserves to be debunked and filed away in the
    same drawer with the Uncle Don legend.

    The Defense [removed]

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 13:03:09 -0400
    From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The New Lum & Abner, MediaPlayer

    I wonder how many heard the last nationally popular audio comedy skit
    ensemble, Firesign Theater, do its unacknowledged tribute to Lum and
    Abner yesterday on All Things Considered. I haven't listened to that
    many L & A shows, but it sounded like a very accurate impression to
    me. The characters Smut and (didn't catch the other name) were jawing
    about problem customers at their on-line store, apparently a website
    where customers make their selections and Jot 'Em Down on a Java
    form. A curiously obscure reference these days, it seemed to me, that
    I'm sure only a minute fraction of the listeners picked up on.

    As to problems with Microsoft MediaPlayer: with so many great mp3
    players, .wav players, .aiff players and multiple format players,
    including Apple's Quicktime, available for free download, I would
    think it would be unwise to purchase any programs encoded in
    Microsoft's proprietary format, which only benefits Microsoft.
    Microsoft has a long history of trying to leverage its Windows
    monopoly to bring every aspect of computing under its control, but
    there's no need to facilitate their scheme. Or even to use Windows,
    for that matter.
    --

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 13:03:26 -0400
    From: JJJ445@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Bing Crosby's 100th Birthday

    Those of you who enjoy Bing Crosby's radio shows and who live in the
    Northwest area might want to consider attending a special salute to him
    coming up next week. The Washington-native who pioneered the modern art of
    pop singing and became this nation's first multimedia superstar, will be
    honored by the Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound and the Museum of History and
    Industry at a special event commemorating his 100th birthday on May 3, 2003
    at the museum in Seattle.

    The two-hour program, "BingCentennial: A Salute to Bing Crosby on his 100th

    Birthday," will feature radio program excerpts, film clips, music and
    photographs to convey the power of this jazz age innovator who personified
    America in the 1930s

    and '40s when he held sway over popular culture as no entertainer ever had.

    Bing achieved unparalleled stardom on radio, records and film and was the
    first to master the use of the microphone. He sold hundred of millions of
    recordings during his long career, with a record thirty-eight No. 1
    hits---the Beatles had 25, Elvis 19.

    Other firsts include:

    He was a major radio performer longer than any other star, from 1931 until
    1954 on network, and 1954 to 1962 in syndication

    Appeared on approximately 4000 radio broadcasts, nearly 3,400 of them his own
            programs.

    Made more studio recordings than any other singer in history (about 400 more
    than  Frank Sinatra).

    Between 1927 and 1962 he scored 368 charted records under his own name, plus
    twenty-eight as vocalist with various bandleaders, for a total of 396. No one
    else has ever come close: Paul Whiteman (220), Sinatra (209), Elvis (149),
    Glenn Miller (129), Nat "King" Cole (118), Louis Armstrong (85), The Beatles
    (68).

    Made the most popular record ever, "White Christmas," the only single to make
    American pop charts 20 times, every year but one between1942 and 1962.

    In 1960 he received a platinum record for having sold 200 million discs, a
    number doubled by 1980.

    Between 1915 and 1980 he was the only motion picture star to rank as the numb
    er one box-office attraction five times (1944-48). Between 1934 and1954 he
    would appear in the top ten fifteen times.

    He was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor three times and won once
    for "Going My Way."

    His songs from his motion pictures captured 14 Academy Award nominations.

    Besides the afore-mentioned "White Christmas," Bing introduced a list of

    songs that became standards, "Please," "Sweet Leilani," "I'm an old Cowhand",

    "Swinging on a Star" and his theme song, "Where the Blue of the Night meets

    the Gold of the Day."

    The Tacoma-born Crosby was also the voice of optimism and calm during the

    depression and World War II when 50 million Americans listened to his Kraft

    Music Hall radio show. He was also big at the box-office where he moved

    from romantic lead to comedy side-kick by making a series of "road" pictures

    with his chum, Bob Hope (also celebrating his 100th birthday on May 29th). A
    clip of the rarely seen "The Road Home" starring Bing and Bob will be shown
    as well

    He passed away August 14, 1977, while playing golf in Spain.

    In addition to playing excerpts of some of Crosby's films and radio shows,

    there will be a screening of the rarely seen 1933 Crosby film short, "Please"
    which got limited theatrical release once Paramount realized Bing's
    box-office potential and slated him strictly for feature films.

    "BingCentennial:A Salute to Bing Crosby on his 100th Birthday" will begin at
    3 PM, Saturday, May 3, at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI),  2700
    25th Ave. E, in Seattle. General admission to the museum covers this event.
    MOHAI (206) 324-1126.

    John Jensen
    Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 13:03:52 -0400
    From: Art Chimes <achimes@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  'Words at War' reviewed in trade paper

    The April 7 edition of Radio World ("The newspaper for radio
    managers and engineers") includes a positive review of Howard
    Blue's book.  Unfortunately, the review does not appear to be on
    Radio World's web site ([removed]).

    Reviewer Read G. Burgan describes the book as "a fascinating read
    [that] will serve as a valuable resource."

      "Blue provides mini-sketches of the major and actors
      who spearheaded radio's wartime programming ...
      [providing] details of their lives and political and
      social orientation and relates anectodes about their
      personalities inlcuding their methods of writing and
      passions for various causes that influenced what they
      wrote. ...

      "But he also tells a troubling story in which yesterday's
      heroes become today's enemies. He relate how many of the
      writers and actors who produced radio's finest wartime
      dramas later were persecuted for the very work that had
      gained them such praase."

    The review also briefly mentions how Howard's interview requests
    were received by some of his sources, including Arthur Miller, Art
    Carney and Allan Sloane. Several paragraph-length excerpts of the
    book appear in a sidebar.

    Art Chimes

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 13:04:09 -0400
    From: Udmacon@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Sad News From Schenectady NY
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    WGY'S FIRST HOME COMING DOWN
    April 23

    ONE OF THE OLDEST BUILDINGS AT THE G-E POWER SYSTEMS COMPLEX IN SCHENECTADY
    IS BEING DEMOLISHED. SCHENECTADY MAYOR AL JURCYZNSKI GAVE THE APPROVAL
    YESTERDAY FOR THE DEMOLITION OF BUILDING 36, AN 82-YR-OLD BUILDING THAT
    HOUSED THE FIRST STUDIOS OF WGY, AND SOME EARLY EXPERIMENTAL TELEVISION
    STATIONS.

    Auld Lang [removed]

    BILL KNOWLTON

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

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 13:04:29 -0400
    From: james h arva <wilditralian@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  LIFE OF HOMEMADE CD'S

    23 APR 03

    I noticed some dialogue regarding the usable lifetime of the CD's that
    we're now writing on our computers.  If someone does have a concern about
    this medium, an obvious precaution might be to keep a log of every CD one
    writes.  Then, in 20 years - or whatever he deems appropriate - start at
    the beginning of the log and make copies of everything that's 20 years
    old.  One of the advantages of digital information storage is that as
    long as the recording is readable, it's perfectly readable, [removed], a
    reproduction of it will be indistinguishable from the original when
    played.

    Regards,

    Jim Arva
    wilditralian@[removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 15:52:56 -0400
    From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Weddings and Conventions

    When I first read Bob Burchett's admonition "Make sure your daughter
    doesn't plan to get married that weekend", I thought he must be directing
    that at me, since I'm the only one I noticed at Cincy with a daughter of
    marginally marriageable age (she's almost 19, though she looks 12).

    But then I thought that Bob must surely know that Karen, given her own
    wedding and the Cincinnati convention, is gonna leave her beau on the
    church steps every time.

    So don't worry about us, Bob; only a dire illness could keep us away.

    ---Dan, Kathy, and Karen Hughes
    [removed]~dan (spiffy home page with lots of photos and
    reports from the last several Cincinnati conventions)

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 15:53:03 -0400
    From: rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: cincinnati convention dates

>     There may not always
>     be a next year if you don't attend. Block off next
>     years dates now, and plan to attend. Make sure
>     your daughter doesn't plan to get married that
>     weekend.

    And then, check with your girlfriend and see if she's willing to change the
    date of your (my) wedding.  :-)

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 15:53:08 -0400
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  April 24th Birth Dates

    If you were born on the 24th of April, you share your birthday with:

    04-24-1893 - Leslie Howard - London, England - d. 6-2-1943
    04-24-1910 - Richard Conte - Jersey City, NJ - d. 4-15-1974
    04-24-1911 - Jack E. Leonard - Chicago, IL - d. 5-10-1973
    04-24-1924 - Marilyn Erskine - Rochester, NY
    04-24-1934 - Shirley Maclaine - Richmond, VA

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Radio is theatre of the mind, TV is theatre of the mindless

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 15:53:14 -0400
    From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Am I in trouble?

     lynn wagar posted;

>     Thanks for posting those picture from the convention.  There were only a few
>     but for those of us who couldn't make the convention they were great to see!!
>     Besides I finally got to see what Hal Stone looks like!!

    Please don't let that discourage you from staying with the OTR hobby, :)

    Hal(Harlan)Stone

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #174
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