------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 397
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Arthur Godfrey redux x 3 [ leemunsick@[removed] ]
Re: Charlie Chan and Radio [ Shenbarger@[removed] ]
Re: Gene Twombly as questiond [ sfx-meow@[removed] (Ray Erlenborn) ]
Re: Real Hillbillies [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
Cuban Missile Crisis [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
inquiry: Paul & Peggy [ "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@earthli ]
#OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig [ lois@[removed] ]
Arthur Godfrey [ ABCDiehl@[removed] ]
OTR on DVD [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 08 Oct 2002 22:59:45 +0000
From: leemunsick@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Arthur Godfrey redux x 3
Doug Leary asked if the bands on the Arthur Godfrey programs had any quirky
trademark, as did "Doc" Severinson's on the "Tonight" Show.
Not as you suggest, Doug. The "trademark" for the Godfrey shows and thus
the band (and its succession of leaders and the understandable replacement
of musicians over nearly 30 years) was not the back end of the program's
theme, but its opening.
Carmen Lombardo was "one of the trio in the band", to quote Alec
Templeton. With John Jacob Loeb, Guy's brother had written a pleasant
ballad called "Seems Like Old Times". The two composers worked together
on other Lombardo hits, such as the Royal Canadians' hit "Boo-Hoo", and of
course the never to be forgotten "Rosie the Riveter", and "Wait Till She
Sees You In Your Uniform". Obviously, these didn't get the exposure on the
Godfrey programs that "Old Times" did!
When someone (presumably Mr. Godfrey) chose it as the theme (not the first
choice) for his programs, it was decided to have a trombone solo at the
very opening, with a slow, upward-sliding version of the first two notes
(that would have gone with the words "Seems Like"), and move on into a
moderate-tempo version of the chorus with the rest of the orchestra.
That opening was used in every segment of every Arthur Godfrey program for
many years, turning the pleasant song into an accepted American
standard. Eventually, Mr. Godfrey decided to write a song of his own,
which would also start with the trombone slide, and sound somewhat
similar. He wrote a number of songs. Nothing like his brother Bob
Godfrey, who wrote many songs and even more arrangements, mostly for barber
shop quartets.
They were both ASCAP composers, as was their mother Kathryn Morton Godfrey,
who wrote a few pieces including one which was recorded by Andre'
Kostelanetz and his Orchestra. There's an interesting tale about the
latter, but that's another story and another song. The widow Godfrey was
an accomplished musician; for a time she helped support her family of three
boys and two daughters by playing piano in a silent movie house in
Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. When Kathryn Godfrey had her first work
published, she inadvertently picked a BMI publisher, and was therefore
listed as a BMI composer. Her ASCAP sons screamed! Eventually the BMI
listing was somehow reversed, so all three Godfreys were and are today
listed as ASCAP composers.
In Mr. Godfrey's last few programs during those closing weeks of
recollections year-by-year, they returned to "Seems Like Old Times" for the
program's theme song.
Now, as to Richard Carpenter's query about Arthur Godfrey and Elvis Presley
(and indirectly, I'll include also Buddy Holly). Although he did intervene
either positively or negatively about specific artists at times, I was told
specifically that Mr. Godfrey did not personally "turn down" these two
artists. He might well have, but there was a substantial staff behind Mr.
Godfrey, and especially so for "Talent Scouts". Such decisions were left
to them. They were inundated by thousands of "talent scouts" desperately
wanting to get their relatives or proteges the enormous boost up which the
weekly Godfrey Talent Scouts program gave for ten years, first on radio,
then simulcast, and finally just on TV. The sponsors, network and staff
quickly realized that virtually all of the talents were top-notch, but the
public attraction for the show was the weekly conversations between Arthur
Godfrey and the amateur talent scouts, which preceded the actual act by the
talent they brought along. Although seldom acknowledged, the scouts were
often relatives of the performers who used different names. They almost
always either had some very interesting backgrounds of their own about
which Mr. Godfrey could get some laughs, or else were stunning looking
women who drew whistles and ogles from "Peck's Bad Boy" Godfrey. In this
sense, the actual talent performances were almost anti-climactic. Groucho
Marx fans will recognize here the similarity to the performances by Groucho
on his program "You Bet Your Life" which was a hit for much the same
reason. In both cases, the programs benefited from very thorough staff
research.
In fairness to all the behind-the-scenes folk and Mr. Godfrey, it should be
pointed out that many other programs rejected appearances on "main stream",
prime-time programs by Presley and Holly and numerous other rock-and-roll
performers. Television producers and directors were especially leery of
all that wiggling. Remember that even Sullivan instructed his people not
to show Presley below the waist, so as not to offend his audience. If you
recall the film "Back to the Future", think of when Michael J. Fox did his
kneeling, wiggling, bent-over, 1985, distorted-guitar routine and moon-walk
before a group of 1955 teenagers, who stood around with their eyes apop and
jaws agape. Undoubtedly this was the reaction of all those adult audition
controllers in the 1950s!
While Presley and The Beatles are remembered for their historic appearances
on the Ed Sullivan telecasts, it' should be recalled that even the Great
Stoneface or his staff turned them down several times before finally
relenting, in the face of the clamor by American money-spending youngsters
for their work. All three of these acts and others had problems getting
the major record companies to pay any attention to them for a long time.
In passing, we should remember that it was such eager young fans who bought
Beatles records in the UK and pirated them for their friends here in the
states. This grew and grew, until it brought "The British Invasion" to the
[removed], where the music business had been resisting it for some time.
This was very similar to the way certain dedicated OTR fans kept illegally
swapping tape recordings of old radio programs, resulting in the important
OTR hobby and business of today. Without these fans and record collectors,
there would be no nostalgic recordings, none of the many CD reissues and
the like that we see today. Even today, tiny little record companies like
EMI, Victor, MCA and the like rely on the libraries amassed by private
record collectors to obtain their own historic releases to be reissued in
the many CD compilations of the last decades. Will they--and the various
producers and networks of today--keep throwing away their archives with no
mind toward the future? Of course. And to whom will they turn down the
road when they want to do some new "retrospective"? You got it!
Mr. Godfrey had as long and successful a run as anyone, and more than most,
in encouraging young, unknown talents, not only on his "Talent Scouts"
shows, but on his other programs over the years. In connection with "AGTS"
it's interesting to note that while he and his staff knew that classical
and country artists seldom would win on that vital audience-reaction VU
meter, it was important for the broad entertainment industry and for
artistry and talent, for them to get exposure. So the "Talent Scouts"
program did two things: First, in frequent cases, such performers would be
called back for an additional appearance after some months or a year. I
know of at least one opera soprano who appeared thrice. To this day she
blesses Mr. Godfrey for the important exposure this gave her artistry.
Many actual, professional talent scouts watched the program every week, and
liked what they saw and heard. Record company A&R people, movie studio
scouts, agents, bookers. Often in the early AGTS shows, if there was time
at the end of the program, Mr. Godfrey would say that a phone call had come
in (or several) from so-and-so, the famous scout from MGM, or Decca
Records, or some outfit in Las Vegas. And it should be noted that such
contacts frequently were for ALL of the acts on that night's program. It
was not necessary to win the program to go on to a boffo career, and often
the winners petered out in theirs. After a while, there were so many such
calls from booking pros, that it was not fair to single out one for such
revelation. So the practice petered out. In any case, many programs ran long.
The winning act would be invited to appear on the morning Godfrey programs
for the next three days. Frequently by that first morning, such
discussions about future bookings would be revealed during the morning
show. This may have been lost on the talents, because many appeared on the
Talent Scouts program prepared with only one song or act! Usually this was
repeated by the Tuesday morning appearance, but Bleyer, arrangers and the
performer furiously worked up at least two more numbers for the ensuing days.
Mitch Miller was A&R man for Columbia Records, a man with a record of many
outstanding hit records and great reputations built for such stars as
Frankie Lane and AGTS alumnus Tony Bennett (who appeared as Antonio
Benedetto). Mitch Miller gave another "Talent Scouts" graduate a big
buildup. It resulted in a series of sprightly, monster hits for young Guy
Mitchell. Former classical oboist Mitch was so sure of Mitchell that he
chose the songs, did the arrangements, and led the orchestra on the Guy
Mitchell recordings.
It's important to note here that Mr. Godfrey had the first black American
in any network house band (his drummer), and spotlighted many minority
performers on his various programs. A number of them have pointed out to
me with great respect and admiration, that when they appeared on his
programs, there was never any mention of them being an "African-American
singer", "Negro performer" or the like, and certainly never the elsewhere
frequently heard and just as frequently insulting, "a credit to his
race". They were just introduced as talented artists. It was somewhat
known behind the scenes--but not publicly--that one of Mr. Godfrey's
frequent substitute hosts was homosexual. Mr. Godfrey took a terrible
chance in ignoring this fact, given the tenor of the time. He defended the
talented performer in the best way he knew, by giving him repeated
opportunity to perform, and host his shows when Mr. Godfrey went on
hiatus. That dreaded identification was probably worse in those days than
revealing that someone was a Communist. No matter what you may hear about
Arthur Godfrey being a bigot, don't believe it. Tain't true, McGee.
The "Talent Scouts" program went all-out to give performers the best
possible venue for their artistry with choice of number, musical
arrangement, makeup, costume, lighting, and stage presentation. The
orchestra was huge compared to that on the other Godfrey programs,
augmented with violins, extended percussion, and even a harp.
As an example of this loving care, take Patsy Cline. She had been a
country performer, appearing in stereotype "formal" cowgirl outfits, gaudy
western wear with spangles, sparkles and fringes. Sort of a female Gene Autry.
The AGTS staff felt she had a chance to become a "crossover" success both
in C&W and on the Pop charts. Despite her objections, they had her tone
down the westernness in her performance, and sing a nice ballad in a lovely
prom-type dress. As with other artists, Archie Bleyer's orchestra worked
with a truly outstanding arrangement. The stage, costume and makeup people
did their [removed], their very best to show her in the very best
possible way. If you know anything about Patsy Cline, you will remember
that this professional experience and effort worked beyond the wildest
hopes, especially hers! All this was standard for the AGTS program, and
there are scores of major performers out there who will attest to its
positive results!
Finally, Ed Howell asked about the possibility of Arthur Godfrey airing on
WSB in Atlanta in the 1930s and 40s, "before he became famous". Mr.
Godfrey was quite well known by a bit into the 1930s, thank you Ed, on his
programs in Washington DC, and by the mid-40s on the full network. He had
several exposures on the networks (first NBC, then CBS) during the earlier
period as well.
I have no idea to whom you refer on WSB, but apparently Ed and his Dad
recall a voice there that sounded like Mr. Godfrey. I'd be curious to know
if other Georgians would know who this might be.
It's possible that they were listening to "Singin' Sam, the Barbasol
Man". That program could well have been aired on WSB; an Atlanta radio
historian could perhaps research this. "Singin' Sam" was Harry
Frankel. He and Arthur Godfrey sounded incredibly alike at times,
especially when dropping into their respective voices' lower regions. I
have found when listening to them sing a song, that I have to hear a few
bars before becoming sure to which one I was listening. This same
phenomenon occurs vis-a-vis the more mature recordings of both Frank
Sinatra and Julius LaRosa.
When Harry Frankel finally retired, another singer took his place as
"Singin' Sam" for a time, with Frankel's approval. That singer sounded
uncannily like Mr. Frankel. His name was Arthur Godfrey. For exactly how
long and precisely when, I haven't learned, and hope someone else out there
can tell me!
The "Singin' Sam" programs aired off and on over all three major networks
and/or in syndication via ETs, from 1930 into 1947. This sounds very much
like like the period to which Ed Howell refers.
Thanks to you all for "Reminiscin'..."
Lee Munsick
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 08 Oct 2002 23:01:14 +0000
From: Shenbarger@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Charlie Chan and Radio
In a message dated 10/8/2002 10:45:09 AM Central Daylight Time, Martin Grams,
Jr. writes:
> Randy Story reminded me of another Chan film worth catching, especially if
> you love old-time radio. It's called MURDER OVER NEW YORK and featured my
> favorite of the Chans, Sidney Toler.
Another film featuring a radio station and experimental TV station with
Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan is "The Scarlet Clue". The plot involves the
"Cosmo Radio Center" staff.
The jukebox in "The Shanghai Cobra" appears to be a prop. I would be
interested in the history of remote operated juke box systems, if any, also.
Don Shenbarger
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 08 Oct 2002 23:00:41 +0000
From: sfx-meow@[removed] (Ray Erlenborn)
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Gene Twombly as questiond
by Mark Kinsler.
Dear Mark: "Twomb" was a buddy of mine when he moved from NBC to KNX/CBS
We rode the range with cocoanut shells together for Gene Autrey and his
"Sidekick".
Gene Twombly was a talented and well liked addition to our FX staff at
CBS. He was also liked by the humorous comedy Pro, Bea Benedaret who
married him and was still with him when he quit CBS and began doing free
lance effects. It was sad days for me when I learned that wonderful duo
had passed away with only a few days interval between the two funeral
ceremonies. Many of our OTR friends were in attendance, listening to the
eulogies for those two radio personalities with sad hearts. (Sorry, I
can't remember the dates, but as I recall, they were very active,
working before the mikes until their
sudden demise.)
Twomb and Bea, thanks to OTR fans your
talents have been preserved and are played by enthusiasts everywhere!
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 08 Oct 2002 23:00:59 +0000
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Real Hillbillies
Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed]; said:
> Randy sounded [not his real voice] like a real hillbilly…
As a lifelong resident of the mountains of East Tennessee, I'm curious: how
do I sound?
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 08 Oct 2002 23:01:40 +0000
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Cuban Missile Crisis
40 years ago this month, the world was concerned with a different crisis -
one that would bring the cold war to it peak.
On October 15th, U-2 flyovers of Cuba showed that the then Soviet Union was
building medium and long range missile bases in that country. On October
22nd, 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced that the United States
would quarantine Cuba preventing ships carrying military related equipment
from entering Cuban waters. Khrushchev would have none of it and challenged
the quarantine by sending ships into the area.
President Kennedy said "We will [removed] the course of worldwide nuclear
[removed] neither will we shrink from that [removed]"
The world held its breath.
You can read a brief background and listen to several sound bites including
portions of Kennedy's address to the American public as heard over the
radio as well as reactions from Radio Havana and Radio Moscow via
shortwave. There is one other clip, a fascinating one, of Kennedy privately
summarizing his recollections of a meeting of the Executive Committee - a
group of 12 men who literally held the fate of the world in their hands.
[removed]
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 08 Oct 2002 23:02:01 +0000
From: "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: inquiry: Paul & Peggy
A friend of mine has some PAUL AND PEGGY shows. I am trying to determine the
dates of the series. Dunning and McFarland says nothing about it under this
title or the sub-title "Love on the Line".
Any one have any info on this series?
Joe Salerno
Video Works! Is it working for you?
PO Box 273405 - Houston TX 77277-3405 [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 9 Oct 2002 04:52:10 -0400
From: lois@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Night!
A weekly [removed]
For the best in OTR Chat, join IRC (Internet Relay Chat), StarLink-IRC
Network, the channel name is #OldRadio. We meet Thursdays at 8 PM Eastern
and go on, and on! The oldest OTR Chat Channel, it has been in existence
over five years, same time, same channel!
Our numerous "regulars" include one of the busiest "golden years" actors in
Hollywood; a sound man from the same era who worked many of the top
Hollywood shows; a New York actor famed for his roles in "Let's Pretend" and
"Archie Andrews;" owners of some of the best OTR sites on the Web;
maintainer of the best-known OTR Digest (we all know who he is)..........
and Me
Lois Culver
KWLK Longview Washington (Mutual) 1941-1944)
KFI Los Angeles (NBC) 1944 - 1950
and widow of actor Howard Culver
(For more info, contact lois@[removed])
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 15:51:38 +0000
From: ABCDiehl@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Godfrey's radio career, according to a book by Arthur [removed]
(McFarland & Co) began in October of 1929. While still a full-time Coast
Guardsman, he was moonlighting three evenings a week singing and playing the
banjo on Baltimore's WFBR. According to Singer one evening the announcer who
normally introduced Godfrey and his show, and who also read the commercials
on the program, failed to show up. So Arthur just picked up the script and
did his own announcing. The president of the station liked what he heard and
was quoted as saying "You can talk fifty times better than you can sing" and
offered him announcer spots on the staff at $25 a week. By 1930 Godfrey had
quickly become a Baltimore institution but in November of that same year he
moved on, taking a job at Washington's WRC, NBC's flagship station in the
capitol carrying programming of both NBC's Red and Blue networks. Next stop,
WMAL in Washington
where Godfrey hosted a morning show "The WMAL Breakfast Club." In 1934
Godfrey
began doing mornings at Washington's CBS station, WSJV,later WTOP In 1941
Godfrey
got an offer from CBS, an offer that would "put him on the air in New York,
as well as Washington. (6 to 7:45 AM on WABC, then a CBS O & O) By 1945
Godfrey, (again from Singer's book) was bringing in for the network several
million dollars. "Arthur Godfrey Time," premiered in January 1946, and
singer says he was billed as the "Huckleberry Finn of Radio and the 'Grouch
Killer." Arthur Godfrey Time remained on the air, five days a week, for 27
years. Of course he branched out to television, with "Talent Scouts,"
and a night time TV show, which I believe aired Wednesday nights on CBS and
for awhile a portion of his morning radio show was simulcast on TV. Despite
his sweetness and light air personna Singer points out that like the firing
of Julius La Rosa (during a radio broadcast) charges of anti-Semitism dogged
Godfrey the rest of his life although disputed by many who knew him. Singer's
book is the best I've found on Arthur Godfrey's career. A & E's Biography
several years ago also did a terrific show on Godfrey which
is occasionally repeated and might be available on home video, and includes a
fascinating interview with La Rosa talking about Godfrey.
Bill Diehl
ABC Radio Network
New York
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 15:53:02 +0000
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: OTR on DVD
There is an audio format called AC3. I have not done a lot of research on
it other than to know it was developed by Dolby and is the sound that you
hear on most if not all DVD's. The files are smaller than WAV files, but
the quality does not seem to suffer at all.
I have the ability to record AC3 on DVD discs. Would there be an interest
in DVD discs that contain hours of OTR at a sound quality much higher than MP3?
Fred
[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #397
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