Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #479
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 12/10/2002 3:03 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 479
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Blacklisting                          [ Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; ]
      Empire of the air                     [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
      More blacklist debate                 [ "J. Pope" <jpope101@[removed] ]
      NBC chimes                            [ "john abizaid" <JAbizaid@[removed]; ]
      Blacklists                            [ Alan Chapman <[removed]@verizon. ]
      Re: Elsa Maxwell                      [ Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@[removed]; ]
      Re: Listings in Red Channels          [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Secret Agent premiums                 [ "Candy Jens" <candyj@[removed]; ]
      Re: Pearl Harbor Interruptsions       [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      McCarthyism: Reuben Ship's "The Inve  [ Joyce Brabner <jbrabner@[removed]; ]
      Various oddities & questions          [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      the blacklist and McCarthyism         [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 13:13:01 -0500
    From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Blacklisting

              I wasn't even BORN yet when all of the blacklisting
    was happening.  I have, however, heard several reports
    of various actors and actresses whose names were
    placed on it.  Senator Joseph McCarthy really thought he
    was right by backing this blacklist--but thinking you're
    right and actuaally being right (especially in this case)
    were two different things!

              I found it interesting that most of the people being
    placed on this blacklist were in the entertainment industry.
    Some of the ones who stood up against it, I'm told, were
    June Havoc (Gypsy Rose Lee's daughter), Humphrey
    Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Danny Kaye, Edward G.
    Robinson and Jackson Beck among many others.  I was told
    they went to Washington, [removed] to stand up for the 1st
    Amendment.  Some of them actually appeared before the
    House Un-American Activities Committee, I'm told.

              Why was it that the entertainment industry was so
    summarily targeted?  Why didn't McCarthy research his allegations
    against these people more thoroughly before publicly placing
    their names on a list which damaged many of their careers?
    During a time when we were already having to fight enemies
    outside of our country, why did McCarthy feel it was necessary to
    start an entirely new war within it?

              I heard two quotes which seem to fit the bill adequately:
    'Politics is onely job where a man can sit all day, lie like a snake,
    and get paid for it' and one from Will Rogers: 'We have the best
    politicians money can buy!'

    Kenneth Clarke

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

    Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 13:13:29 -0500
    From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Empire of the air

    Thanks to Mark Lambert for alerting us to the re-run of Ken Burns' special
    about radio, "Empire of the air."  I checked our South Dakota schedule and
    it isn't there, at least not in December.  Guess I'll call the network
    headquarters and find out when we get the show.  I think I saw the program
    when it was new in 1992 and taped the audio.  Someone here also mentioned
    that that program was also carried on public radio.

    Ted Kneebone/1528 S. Grant [removed], SD 57401/605-226-3344
    OTR: [removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 13:38:59 -0500
    From: "J. Pope" <jpope101@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  More blacklist debate

    Anthony Tollin:

         The Bill of Rights applies only to government, and so is not relevant
    when discussing the blacklist.  As for "an effectively two-party system
    gives you only one more choice than the Russians had under Communism" -
    that's a nice, witty soundbite, but like most such things, it's a gross
    oversimplification to the point of being silly.

    Irene:

>     Your nice friends who believed that alleged Communists didn't deserve to
>     work have something to answer to IMHO.   How democratic is that?

         It's perfectly democratic, actually, if those "nice friends" were a
    majority at the time.  And it didn't matter whether belonging to the
    Communist Party was illegal or not; private organizations have the right
    to decide for themselves who to include among their ranks, based on their
    own criteria.

>     Even if their political views were wrong surely you're not suggesting
>     that they were an actual threat to anything.

         They were when they tried to use Hollywood as a political platform.
    Americans in general may be able to think for themselves, but most of
    their facts come from television and radio programs.  Control the media
    and you control minds - something of which communists, and totalitarians
    in general, are very much aware.

>     I can not admire them personally when their actions, not their beliefs,
>     are harmful and reckless.

         If one's beliefs are harmful and reckless, do you really think that
    one's actions will not be?

>     don't trivialize the reality of the real harm suffered by people, and
>     don't dismiss the need for some accountability.

         Don't trivialize the threat which communism was, and don't dismiss
    the power it had.  There's a general notion that communists were simply
    out for racial equality, women's rights, the elimination of poverty, etc.
    But there is a much, much darker side to the ideology - Marx also called
    for the violent overthrow of governments and destruction of the
    "bourgeoisie." Russia, China, North Korea, Cambodia, etc., all discovered
    the hard way which side of communism truly predominates.

>     Was the world made safer because of the blacklist?  So far no one has
>     written a book which makes that argument.

         You need to do a little more research.  I'd recommend "The Red
    Decade: The Classic Work on Communism in America During the Thirties," by
    Eugene Lyons; "Hollywood Party: How Communism Seduced the American Film
    Industry in the 1930s and 1940s," by Kenneth Lloyd Billingsley; and
    perhaps "Joseph McCarthy: Reexamining the Life and Legacy of America's
    Most Hated Senator," by Arthur Herman.

>     I ask how they would have felt if their livelihood was taken away from
>     them for not doing anything wrong

         If whatever grad school I attend decides to unionize, I may be placed
    in exactly that situation.  I'll simply find somewhere else to make my
    living.  Some may argue for a "right to work," but there is no right to
    work at the job or location of your choice.

>     I am very surprised to find open supporters of the blacklist.

        You haven't found any.  We're not defending the blacklist.  We're
    making the point that many behind it were working with legitimate motives
    against a legitimate threat, sometimes with legitimate methods.

    Jennifer

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

    Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 14:46:40 -0500
    From: "john abizaid" <JAbizaid@[removed];
    To: "lcbb" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  NBC chimes
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    After reading the interesting discussion about the NBC chimes ,I decided it
    would be nice to have my door chimes play the wonderfully nostalgic notes-G-E
    & C. I found a place to buy what they call "Record-A-Chime" . Its wireless and
    your able to record up to 32 separate 10 second segments for playback. Now
    when someone rings my bell they hear Ken Carpenter(I think) intone the words,
    "This is NBC" followed by the chimes. I also put the Lone Ranger theme and a
    few others on the tape. You all probably know of this product, but for those
    who don't, and want the e-mail address, contact me at jabizaid@[removed].

                                                          Jack

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

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

    Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 14:47:07 -0500
    From: Alan Chapman <[removed]@[removed];
    To: OldRadio Mailing Lists <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Blacklists

    Irene Heinstein wrote:

>     ...I really don't know why being a "nice" or "pretty" person is
>     relevant to you in what seems to be your approval of the actions of
>     self-appointed "patriots"...etc.

    I concur entirely with Irene ... Thank you for an intelligent and
    forthright response.

    I would like to point that effects of the HUAC and McCarthy hearings
    were felt -- with far less fanfare -- across many sectors of our
    society.  The highly publicized hearings embolded people in many
    industries and communities to use "red scare" tactics to oppose anyone
    they either didn't agree with or in some way threatened their business
    or social institution.

    For example, "Blacklisting" of sorts occurred in many business sectors.
      Sometimes, it was driven by patiotic zeal, but it was also driven by
    personal or competitive jealousies, greed, and, in some cases, outright
    bigotry masquerading as patriotism.

    Both my father and uncle were "blacklisted" in their respective
    industries -- my uncle for supporting the unionization of newspaper
    truck drivers; my father for OPPOSING unionization in the retail trade.
    (Go figure, two opposite positions -- but than my father and uncle never
    did agree on much.  However, there was one common factor in their
    blacklisting -- they were Jewish.)  They were both labeled "communist"
    and "subversive" (those were the nicer epithets thrown at them)
    eventhough neither was a member of or supported the then legal Communist
    Party.

    The discussion that has been occurring here on this forum on the subject
    of the blacklist is an excellent example of the kind of free exchange of
    ideas that our Constitution guarantees.  Had the internet existed in
    1950, do you suppose we could have carried on this discussion without
    getting on one hate list or another?  I don't.

    BTW, I am reading Howard Blue's book "Words at War."  Whatever your
    position on the blacklist, this is book worth reading -- it is
    exceptionally well written, and it is an excellent snapshot of the time.
        This is NOT a book about blacklisting -- that is actually a
    comparatively small part of book -- this is book about RADIO (you know,
    that subject we used to talk about on this digest) and its role in history.

    Alan Chapman

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

    Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 15:21:42 -0500
    From: Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Elsa Maxwell

    Chris Holm wrote:

>     I've been listening to shows and during the commercial the announcer
>     uses the phrase: "famous entertainer Elsa [removed]"  Who was Elsa
>     Maxwell, and how does one become famous for entertaining.

    I know that in the early years of Suspense, when sponsored by Roma Wines,
    the announcer does refer to Elsa Maxwell, and I think that there might
    even be some words from her on serving Roma Wines at dinners and parties.

    I never really thought about it -- I'd never really heard of her in
    anything else (neither movies nor as a voice part in radio), but I always
    assumed that she was some kind of "high society" hostess, or maybe some
    "guru" on gracious living, good manners, etc. Sort of like a cross between
    Emily Post or "Hints from Heloise" or "Miss Manners", and maybe today's
    Martha Stewart. By "entertainer", it wasn't necessarily that she was a
    performer on stage, screen or radio, but she "entertained" invited guests
    at dinner parties that she "hosted".

    I did a "google" search on Elsa Maxwell, and came across the following
    page (among others): [removed]

    She lived for some eighty years, born in 1883 in Keokuk Iowa, and died in
    1963. She was with a Shakespeare touring company in her early 20s, but it
    mentions that in 1919 she found her "true calling", hosting a lavish
    dinner at the Ritz Hotel in Paris for England's Secretary of Foreign
    Affairs. She also appeared in movies, and she had her own radio program
    but the webpage bio doesn't seem to indicate what the program was about
    (was it "tips for hosting dinner parties" or was it some kind of stories
    about her life adventures?), but her primary "claim to fame" was as a
    hostess of "High Society" events. The webpage bio does mention that she
    was a frequent guest on Jack Paar's TONITE show (NBC-TV) in the early
    1960's. She also authored four books. Apparantly, she was NOT "born" into
    money, background or family, but became accepted into that "high society"
    as a hostess of such Society dinner parties and affairs.

    Mark J. Cuccia

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

    Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 15:22:57 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Listings in Red Channels

    On 12/9/02 1:38 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     How many people were listed in "Red Channels"?

    Exactly 151 names were listed: actors, writers, directors, producers,
    singers, dancers, folkorists, poets, and a harmonica player. Copies of
    the book were sent to every network office, advertising agency, and
    broadcasting station in the country in June 1950, and additional copies
    were available by sending a dollar to "Counterattack." Interestingly, the
    copies actually issued to industry insiders were serially numbered, as if
    they were a Confidential Official Document, while those available to the
    general public replaced the serial number with a lurid picture of a red
    hand clutching a microphone.

    Subsequent issues of the "CounterAttack" newsletter and the publications
    of Aware Inc. added significantly to the blacklist -- but these 151
    performers were the first to be denounced.

    Copies of Red Channels are hard to find today -- I picked mine up several
    years ago from a second-hand book dealer, and I think I paid $50 or so
    for it. For those interested in a closer look, excerpts from the book are
    available on line at
    [removed]  This site
    includes actual page scans of several prominent performers' listings --
    including the nearly two full pages devoted to that noted enemy of the
    state, Orson Welles.

    As a final thought on this subject, I might point out that an interesting
    bit of insight into the philosophy behind this volume can be found in a
    short note just before the listings begin. I quote verbatim:

    "The purpose of this compilation is threefold. One, to show how the
    Communists have been able to carry out their plan of infiltration of the
    radio and television industry. Two, to indicate the extent to which many
    prominent actors and artists have been inveigled to lend their names to
    these public records, to organizations espousing Communist causes. THIS
    REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY ACTUALLY BELIEVE IN, SYMPATHIZE WITH, OR EVEN
    RECOGNIZE THE CAUSE ADVANCED. Three, to discourage actors and artists
    from naively lending their names to Communists organizations or causes in
    the future."

    The emphasis in that paragraph is mine -- and I find it chilling to read.
    "Red Channels" wasn't about uncovering spies or saboteurs or hardcore
    Communists. It was about intimidation, plain and simple -- it was about a
    small, self-appointed body of inquisitors passing judgement on what would
    or would not be considered acceptable thought for those working in
    network broadcasting.

    That's about as Stalinist as you can get -- and such an attitude is
    repellent no matter which side of the political spectrum it's coming
    from. One does not conquer an evil by adopting its methods.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 16:03:34 -0500
    From: "Candy Jens" <candyj@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Secret Agent premiums

>     From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
>     Subject:  Secret Agent, Men -- And Women

    Another premium for budding spies was the hollow silver bullet offered on
    the Lone Ranger show.

    Our parents bought a lot of cereal and Ovaltine to get us the goodies - but,
    in my case at least, made sure the product was consumed!

    Candy Jens

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

    Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 16:17:54 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Pearl Harbor Interruptsions

    On 12/9/02 9:42 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     (Does anyone have the details on what NBC Red,
>     NBC Blue and the Columbia Network were carrying at the time they broke in
>     with the news?)

    The break on NBC was fed simultaneously over Red and Blue, with the
    insert coming on the Red Network just at the conclusion of the Sammy Kaye
    Serenade program. On the Blue, the break came just about halfway thru a
    "Great Plays" production of "The Inspector General."

    CBS did not interrupt regular programming at all to broadcast the first
    flash, faked recordings to the contrary (and this may be why Murrow and
    Friendly found it necessary to fake a recording in the first place: in
    retrospect, they might have thought it made CBS look bad that they were
    the last network to air the news of the attack.) The first CBS
    announcement of the attack came as the lead item on the
    regularly-scheduled 2:30pm news period.

    I believe the interrutpion during the Dodgers-Giants football game was
    only on WOR, not the full Mutual network -- I've not seen any evidence
    that the game was fed to the network or carried anywhere outside of New
    York. Other Mutual stations for which I've seen December 7th listings
    show only local programming for this time period.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 16:18:39 -0500
    From: Joyce Brabner <jbrabner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  McCarthyism: Reuben Ship's "The Investigator"

    Canadian radio writer Reuben Ship was living in California when he was
    deported from US States. Summoned to appear before the HUAC because of
    past membership in the Communist Party, he refused to name names.

    He got back by producing the then censored parody of the 1950s McCarthy
    Hearings, "The Investigator." A recently deceased "McCarthy" tries to
    uncover conspiracies in heaven after a plane crash. It's brilliant
    because the actor actually traveled to the hearings and mastered
    Tailgunner Joe's voice and nuances perfectly. The story of the CBC
    broadcast's suppression and clandestine distribution is pretty amazing.

    You'll find it at
    [removed]

    There's a recent new Canadian recording starring John Drainie, Barry
    Morse & James Doohan as an audio book, but why bother?

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

    Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 21:37:54 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Various oddities & questions

    Various odd questions.  Any bright light bulbs know the answers to any of
    these?  One is of curiousity, the other two are for research.

    What the heck is a Capehart?  was it a turntable for 78 rpm or LP records in
    the forties?

    I came across a fan letter mailed to a broadcasting station regarding a
    radio mystery, and it was signed Gerry de la Ree.  A very knowledgable
    authority said they believe he was a well-knonw science-fiction fan or
    author of the 1950s.  Anyone know who he is?  It's be interesting because of
    the letter he wrote.

    A radio actor once lived in Dougleston, Rhode Island, but after checking a
    few maps, can't find such a city.  Was there really such a city during the
    forties?

    I misplaced the e-mail address to Kim Gillespie in California.  Kim, can you
    drop me a line so I can drop you a line?

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

    Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 10:57:50 -0500
    From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  the blacklist and McCarthyism

    Wow.  The senior people on this list lived through some of our most
    tumultuous times, and I get to hear them discuss it.

    For those of you who are younger (I was born in 1947) let me assure you that
    the McCarthy period was scary, even for little kids.  We got harangued in
    school about the Communist threat--we had to see movies that dramatized the
    great struggle, etc.  If we hadn't been in the second grade, they probably
    would have made us sign loyalty oaths.  Our teachers had to, as did both of
    my parents at their jobs.

    But we're Jewish, and at home my parents would speak in hushed tones about
    one or another friend of theirs who was in trouble.  Both of my parents went
    to the University of Chicago, which was considered a hotbed of Communist
    activity by the right wing.  Hence, my parents made arrangements for the
    care of me and my sister in case they were forced to leave the US suddenly.
    It didn't happen, but it was sure something to think about in Cleveland
    Heights, Ohio in 1954.

    I am grateful to hear the stories and opinions of those who were on both
    sides of the conflict.  I believe that, for all the suffering that was
    involved, it was something that our nation had to endure to ultimately grow
    and survive.

    Mark Kinsler
    512 E Mulberry St. Lancaster, Ohio USA 740 687 6368
    [removed]~kinsler

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

    Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 11:00:32 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

>     >From Those Were The Days --

    1927 - Announcer George Hay introduced the WSM Barn Dance as The Grand
    Ole Opry. The show's title may have changed but it remained the home of
    country music.

      Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #479
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