------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 98
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Today in radio history [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
Re:Troublemaker [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
greatest thing since sliced bread [ "Robert Angus" <rangus02@[removed]; ]
Tales of Sarnoff and Farnsworth [ Christopher Werner <cwerner@globalc ]
late word on Roma wines [ Mike Sheets <msheets@texarkanacolle ]
Re: several questions [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
Leiningen Versus the Ants [ Brian Betsworth <brianbetsworth@cas ]
Archie Andrews in MP3 format [ "Jevnisek, Jeff" <[removed]@qg. ]
Wear 'em Field Glasses [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
Rings and Decoders [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
The Shadow "Knows" [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
Who's That Little Chatterbox? [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
my little boy, script search [ leonardfass@[removed] (Leonard Fass ]
Ah, so close. [ "mbiel" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
"The Big Story" [ leemunsick@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 10:00:19 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in radio history
From Those Were The Days --
1937 - Fred Allen and Jack Benny met on radio in one of the biggest
publicity gags ever. It was called, "The Battle of the Century." The two
comedians locked horns in the ballroom of the Hotel Pierre, exchanging
torrid insults that were heard by the second largest audience in the
history of radio. The 'feud', incidentally, lasted for the next 12
years. This was probably the longest-running publicity stunt in history,
too.
Joe
--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 10:01:34 -0500
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re:Troublemaker
Ted Davenport of Radio Memories posted:
Since Hal will be at Cincy this year and everybody is talking about how
handsome he is, I wonder if I can get him to my table this year.
Everybody??? I just know of one guy with failing eyesight!
As far as getting me to your table? Sure you can [removed] long as you can
provide a comfortable chair for my aged bones. :) I'd hate to just stand
around looking lost! A lazy-boy recliner would be nice. That way, I won't
have to go back to my room for my 3-a-day nips. Ooops! I meant to say
"naps".
Seems like we ought to have a professional photographer there. That way we
could work him up a portfolio and get him some modeling jobs.
Nobody likes a smart a--! :)
Since he is retired he would have plenty of time for posing, etc. Who knows,
Bob Burchett may want him as a pinup model for the cover of the OTR Digest.
Only if they shoot me from my good [removed](The back)... And I don't do T&A.
I'll just sit back and wait on Hal's response. I'm running for cover as I
[removed]
You can run, [removed] you can't hide! Like they [removed] are hell!
By the [removed] I heard from Ron Sayles who made the crack about my being
"good looking". It seems he was referring to the fact that I looked nothing
like "Jughead" as portrayed in the "Archie" Comic Book. Thank God for small
favors. I also thank my lucky stars that the Archie show was not on NBC
Television. I would have hated being hired for that part based on looks! :)
Hal(Harlan)Stone
Jughead
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 10:03:05 -0500
From: "Robert Angus" <rangus02@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: greatest thing since sliced bread
Do we really owe it all (in this case, The Lone Ranger) togood ole Otto
Rohwedder? Who, you may well ask, was Otto Rohwedder? According to Charles
Perry, writing in the Los Angeles Times, he's the man who invented the
automatic bread slicer back in 1928. Until then, homemakers had to slice
bread by hand. Not only did this result in uneven cuts, but it made almost
impossible the making of sandwiches with the air-filled white bread then
favored by the Upper Classes (densely-packed whole-grain breads were the
cheaper alternative for the lower orders, and they didn't collapse when a
breadknife cut into them). Suddenly, sliced white bread became not only
affordable for the masses and fashionable for the upward-strivers of the
Roaring Twenties, but actually more profitable for the bakeries (because of
the high content of air). By the time TLR started looking for a sponsor
five years later, dozens of local and regional bakeries were turning out the
familiar white loaves. One of these, Silvercup, apparently saw the
potential in urging kids to urge their moms to use soft, chewy sliced bread
for sandwiches. By 1933, 80 per cent of the bread sold in America was of
the Silvercup variety (in my hometown of Hartford, Conn., TLR was brought to
me by Bond Bread). The rest is history. Oh, yes---while TLR may have been
the greatest 20th century invention since sliced bread, Rohwedder's
invention was preceded by a year by the pop-up toaster, brainchild of one
Charles Strife. Problem with Strife's invention was that until Rohwedder's
perfect slices came along, the toaster would jam if the slices were too
thick. Just thought you'd like to know.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 10:03:29 -0500
From: Christopher Werner <cwerner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Tales of Sarnoff and Farnsworth
The April 2002 edition of Wired magazine ([removed]) has an excellent
article on Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of the Television. It does a
great job of describing the tactics of a large corporation (NBC and RCA)
trying to make someone else's idea their own. It also comments on the
ability of a lone inventor to successfully launch a product in a world
filled with corporate research departments. An interesting snapshot of
history as the birth of TV was viewed from radio eyes.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 11:11:41 -0500
From: Mike Sheets <msheets@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: late word on Roma wines
Friends,
I know that we have passed this topic, but I just received the following
email. Anyway it gives me an excuse to be say something.
.............
I forgot what I wanted to say. Sorry about that.
Mike
- -----------------
Thank you for contacting the Canandaigua Wine Company web page. We
appreciate hearing from you and I apologize for the delay of my response.
At this time, Roma Duva wines are no longer in distribution.
Guild Wineries and Distilleries purchased Roma Duva wines quite some time
ago. When Canandaigua Wine Company purchased Guild we did acquire the brand
as well.
The Roma Duva wines were then produced at our sister company, Batavia Wine
Cellars with limited distribution.
We appreciate your interest and hope the information I have provided is
helpful.
If we may be of any assistance in the future, please feel free to contact
us via the web page [[removed]] at 1-800-836-9463 Ext. 7649.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 20:26:19 -0500
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: several questions
Christopher Lowell White wrote:
I had heard that TV Land was showing old
episodes of Dragnet. Does anyone know when these are on?
DRAGNET left the TV Land lineup at the end of last year. The admin of
[removed] heard a rumor that it was coming back in the Spring, but
there's no hard evidence of this. Also, the lineup consisted only of the
1967-70 version. The true "old episodes" from the 1950's continue to be
scarcer than hen's teeth.
...my friend and I were debating on which partner on the Abbott and
Costello show died penniless. I thought it was Costello but my friend
thought it was Bud Abbott. Which one of us is right?
Well, technically neither, although a rumor has gone around for years that
Bud Abbott died a pauper. This originated from a story in that most
respected bastion of reliable journalism, the National Enquirer. Both men
had tax problems, and Bud was hit pretty hard by them - he lost his Encino
home and his share of their filmed TV series. However, he'd worked out a
deal with the IRS that allowed him to keep some of his residuals, and he
died "in comfortable retirement" according to his son. (This info comes
from Abbott & Costello Quarterly.)
Speaking of A&C, Harlan Zinck mentioned the "Lemon Table" routine, and that
the boys performed it on "The Colgate Comedy Hour" and by Lou on Steve
Allen's "Tonight Show." They also did it in one of their films - I think
"In the Navy," but I'm not sure - and on their filmed TV series from
1952-53.
Michael
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 20:26:10 -0500
From: Brian Betsworth <brianbetsworth@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Leiningen Versus the Ants
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from MULTIPART/ALTERNATIVE
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Hello;
Does anyone know where I can find the show "Leiningen Versus the Ants"? I
believe that it was an episode of "Escape"
(possibly "Suspense") from around 1950.
Thanks.
Brian Betsworth
888-865-9282 brianbetsworth@[removed] [removed]
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 20:26:16 -0500
From: "Jevnisek, Jeff" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Archie Andrews in MP3 format
While on this subject, Jeff G. also asked in a recent [removed] if there
were any Mp3 copies of the Archie Show in existence.
Check out [removed] where the following were posted
on Sat, 09 Mar 2002.
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 20:25:54 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Wear 'em Field Glasses
Dan Hughes asks,
About 1955 or so I sent in for a premium. It was a pair of binoculars
(actually cardboard field glasses) with a tight elastic strap, so they
stayed on your head (in viewing position) and you didn't have to hold
them up to your eyes. <snip> Who used them as premiums (I think they may
have been from Ralston)?
Well, Ralston offered a Space Patrol premium, Space Binoculars, with the
wear-on-your-head characteristic. It was also sold in grocery stores.
At least some of these were plastic, though.
Most long-distance-viewing premiums were telescopes.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 20:38:46 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Rings and Decoders
David Rogers asks,
Was a decoding Ring mentioned in Woody Allen's movie "Radio Days"?
Radio Days , as I understand it was loosely based on reminiscences of
Jean Shepherd, who promulgated the canard that the Radio Orphan Annie
"secret messages" included a plug for Ovaltine. If that is the case,
mentioning a "decoder" would be natural.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 20:39:20 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Shadow "Knows"
Kevin Michaels noted, anent criticism of OTR,
It seems they objected to the opening credit each week that proclaimed
...'Cranston's friend an CONSTANT COMPANION, the lovely Margo Lane, is
the only person who knows to whom the voice of the invisible Shadow
belongs'....What they objected to was the reference to Margo being a
'constant companion' without being married.
Well, as I recall the quote, it was "friend and companion," without the
"constant." However, certainly in the Bret Morrison era, Lamont Cranston
and Margo Lane usually addressed each other as "darling." That's
friendlier than some husband-and-wife teams on other OTR shows. And
Lamont and Margo were always going away together on trips, etc., which
leads one to believe that they were probably _very_ friendly.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 20:39:48 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Who's That Little Chatterbox?
Kenneth Clarke notes,
It may just be me, but every time I think of Ovaltine and
the program they sponsored on OTR, I tend to recall a young curly haired
girl and a dog. Don't ask me why. The only OTR program I can recall with
such characters is "Little Orphan Annie".
Ovaltine sponsored Little Orphan Annie from 1931 through early 1940 by
Ovaltine (and into 1942 by Quaker Puffed Wheat Sparkies). It was dropped
by Ovaltine so that they could pick up Captain Midnight. Some Radio
Orphan Annie premium concepts were adapted to the newer show. There was
the Radio Orphan Annie Secret Society and the Captain Midnight Secret
Squadron, and the ROA Decoder Pins, and the Secret Squadron
Code-O-Graphs. Both the Secret Society and the Secret Squadron
cryptological premiums used letter-number substitution rather than the
more normal letter-letter exchange. Both the Secret Society and the
Secret Squadron had accompanying manuals. And, possibly most
significant, both the Secret Society and (the radio version of the)
Secret Squadron were abbreviated "SS."
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 20:49:17 -0500
From: leonardfass@[removed] (Leonard Fass)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: my little boy, script search
"my little boy" was written by carl ewald -- enjoyed so much be
alexander wolcott that he privately had an edition printed for his
friends, one of whom was helen hayes, who had it adapted for radio
series on cbs, the textron theater. does anyone know a source for the
script or maybe even a tape of the program?????
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 20:49:44 -0500
From: "mbiel" <mbiel@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Ah, so close.
From: Grbmd@[removed]
Back in those days I taped a weekly top-hits AM radio program on
a big old Bell reel-to-reel tape recorder. After each show I
edited out the songs I particularly liked. I literally cut out
and taped together, end to end, the songs to create a sort of
"Greatest Hits of 1956" 7-inch reel. Spence
There is a double irony in this. First of all, your practice is evidence
(usually ignored by the RIAA) that home taping instead of buying records is
not a new development--kids were doing this even before you! But secondly,
It is the stuff inbetween the records that you tossed away or erased that is
FAR more important and valuable than the tapes of the records which could be
gotten anywhere. Recordings of local stations and local DJs are the
categories that are the most difficult to find. But sooooo many kids did
exactly as you did. Sigh.
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 20:50:35 -0500
From: leemunsick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: "The Big Story"
To answer Bill Rockhold's question: "The Big Story" ran on NBC 10 [removed]
Wednesday nights 1947 to 1951, during which year it moved up to 9:30 and
continued to 1954. I found information in Ron Lackmann's "The Encyclopedia
of American Radio - An A-Z Guide to Radio from Jack Benny to Howard
Stern". If you try to find the book, be sure you use the last part of the
title and Ron's name, as there is an older book with the first part as its
title. Both are indispensable to OTR researchers.
Each tale aired won a $500 "Pall Mall Award" for the reporter who wrote the
original newspaper story. It's not a surprise that Ernest Chappell was an
announcer, along with Cy Harrice. Both were connected with the sponsors of
the program, Pall Mall ("[removed] they are mild!" and Lucky Strike
("[removed]", but I can't possibly spell that chant!) cigarettes. Ron
doesn't say whether the name of the award was changed for the Lucky Strike
airings. Seems a safe bet.
The original news reporter guested on the program, which was narrated by
Robert Sloane. He was one of the writers of "The Life of Riley" and "The
Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. North", but he is not credited by Lackmann as
writing "Big Story". I'd be curious to know if Robert was any relation to
Everett Sloane.
As for Mr. Rockhold's comments on OTR contributors, we are ALL astounded by
Elizabeth, and cracked up by Hal! I never cease to be amazed by both of
them, Mike Biel, Charlie Summers himself, and many other contributors to
this Digest! Thank you one and all.
Lee Munsick
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #98
********************************************
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]
To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]