Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #300
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 8/4/2003 10:42 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 300
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Re: Efrem Zimbalist                   [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      Jewish humor                          [ Jordan Young <jyoung@[removed]; ]
      Dragnet Shows                         [ lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed]; ]
      Movies about Atwater Kent and George  [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      Buddy and Bob                         [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
      Jack vs Bob                           [ PFornatar@[removed] ]
      Today in radio history 8/4            [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      twilight zone update                  [ "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed]; ]
      Another "Junior"                      [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
      Mame Trivia                           [ Pratz <[removed]@[removed]; ]
      Who's the Funniest?                   [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Re: Benny or Bob? Yes!                [ Ga6string@[removed] ]
      Re: Overseas News Transmissions       [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
      Phonograph                            [ "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@comc ]
      Bob Hope, NBC and knights             [ nemesis@[removed] ]
      Who's [removed] or Bob?          [ "KDK" <kdkalit@[removed]; ]
      Yesterday USA                         [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
      The Aldrich Family                    [ "Jerry Bechtel" <jerrybechtel@jalc. ]
      You're the best                       [ otrbuff@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 17:34:36 -0400
    From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re:  Efrem Zimbalist

    To answer Jim Cox's question,  violinist Efrem Zimbalist was actor Efrem
    Zimbalist Jr.'s father, and shortly before his father's death the two of
    them collaborated on a direct-to-disc LP featuring (I seem to recall) the
    father playing music written by the son.  Zimbalist Sr.'s wife was famous
    operatic star Alma Gluck, and both of them were long-time Victor Red Seal
    recording artists.

    Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 17:35:11 -0400
    From: Jordan Young <jyoung@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Jewish humor

    The post-war sensitivity to ethnic humor, and Jewish humor in
    particular, was certainly not unique to radio. Spike Jones was
    criticized for his record parody of "Tennessee Waltz," featuring Sara
    Berner and Earl Bennett with Yiddish accents (the latter doing his
    usual imitation of the Benny show's Mt. Kitzel).

    It annoyed Jones that Mickey Katz (Joel Grey's dad) could "get away"
    with his parodies -- but Katz himself was blasted by the Jewish
    editor of Variety for "defiling" the legend of Davy Crockett.

    Enough already. As Mickey used to say, I gotta go take a schvitz.

    Jordan R. Young

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 17:35:25 -0400
    From: lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Dragnet Shows

    Hello-

        Is there any one on the digest that could help me
    identify 3 Dragnet shows that are miss titled and
    have no dates.  I can give a discription of the
    story line.  I hope there is a Dragnet specialist
    out there to help me.  Please e-mail me.

    Many Thanks!!

    Lynn Wagar

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 17:36:07 -0400
    From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Movies about Atwater Kent and George Seldes

    I've never heard of this 1941 movie, but Fox Movie Channel is airing "The
    Great American Broadcast" on Tuesday Aug 5 at 4 PM with a repeat on
    Wednesday Aug 6 at 6 AM.  Time Out New York describes it as a largely
    fictional musical inspired by the life of Atwater Kent, tracing the
    evolution of radio as a form of early 20th Century entertainment.  Features
    John Payne, Alice Faye, Jack Oakie, Cesar Romero, The Ink Spots, and The
    Nicholas Bros.  They end by saying "A sequence with a clowning Milton Berle
    was filmed but not used in the completed movie."  I wonder if that is a
    hint that it might be included here or in a DVD release.  But they don't
    say if we'll see it.

    There also is a listing for a documentary about commentator George Seldes
    "Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press" on the
    Sundance Channel on Monday Aug 4 at 3-5 PM.  "Filmmaker  Rick Goldsmith
    caught up with Seldes in his final days to gather his opinions on the
    inadequacies of journalism, the government's abuse of power and other
    topics that are far more relevant today than they really should be."

    Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 18:50:40 -0400
    From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Buddy and Bob

    Hi Everybody,

    in the last digest a question was ask radio show Buddy Ebsen appeared on.  I
    ask Buddy this in an interview, and he told me he did not remember any.

    Bob Hope mention in a 1975 interview done in England that radio was the most
    important part of his career.  It put him on the map.  Take care

    Walden Hughes

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 18:52:23 -0400
    From: PFornatar@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jack vs Bob
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          First, it's an unfair question since they weren't the same kind of
    comedian. When speaking of radio consider my experience. Is it typical?  When
    I
    listen to a Jack Benny radio show, I'm there, even if I've heard the show ten
    times. When I listen to an old Bob Hope radio show, I don't quite take the
    trip
    back. I find a few things that are amusing but it's not the same.
          As for ad-libbing, neither man is a master. Milton Berle wore that hat
    in my opinion. He was funny on radio but not very. Milton was a comedian that
    had to be seen in  person. I once saw him at the Chicago Theater do six live
    shows in one day. Every show was different. A fly came into view in one show
    and Milton did ten minutes on the fly. I''m afraid Jack and Bob needed writers
    for something like that.
         I think Benny might have been a better actor, especially in dramas he
    did in early televison. I think Bob did one fairly dramatic role in the
    movies.
    Which leads to Bob's strength: Movies. Say what you like, they were always
    fun. Jack's few were mostly just good tries.
        As for television, here again, they weren't the same. Jack was wise in
    bringing the radio family to TV because he didn't do stand up. Bob was wise
    and
    stayed with the things that made him the center. Jack was always on the
    outside looking in, and Bob was always on the inside looking out.  Someone
    mentioned
    that Jack's television shows weren't on TV land. True but neither are Bob's.
    However, Jack's TV shows are available on PBS stations late night or on
    Sundays.
       As a guest on TV talk shows, Bob had a chance to use his prepared jokes.
    Jack on the other hand offered a different side of himself usually.
       They were both great "givers" of their time. No one can deny the great
    efforts of Bob.  We who were in the midst of their primes must be thankful for
    having had them in our lives.  I met Bob once in 1950 at a big Hollywood Bowl
    blast. He was very nice to me, a young man at the time. He introduced me to
    Peggy Lee (who was godawful gorgeous) It made my life for quite a few months.
    Bob
    was a supreme MC that night and many nights on TV and private shows.
    Unfortunately, I never had a chance to meet Jack. I would have loved that.
        One last thing, which is probably personal. Try it. When you think of
    both men,  I like Bob Hope but I love Jack Benny. Does that make sense? Or,
    is it
    just  preference? I don't know. I do know, I've collected a lot more Benny
    than Hope even though I had more opportunity to get Hope.   Someone either on
    this list or another said something to the effect that they both left "Big
    footprints, its just that they wore different shoes." I think that's a
    wonderful
    way to compare two great entertainers, the likes we will not see again.
            Paul Fornatar

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    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 18:50:52 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history 8/4

     From Those Were The Days ==

    8/4

    1921 - The first tennis match on radio was broadcast on KDKA in
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was a natural since KDKA was the first
    commercial radio station in the United States. Within eight months the
    powers that be figured out that sports on radio would bring in big sales
    revenues. And so, the Davis Cup match between Great Britain and
    Australia was aired on the radio; but much to the wonderment of KDKA's
    listeners. Tennis anyone? On radio? It rates right up there with radio
    wrestling or, maybe, [removed]

    1927 - Station 2XAG, later named WGY, the General Electric station in
    Schenectady, NY, began experimental operations from a 100,000-watt
    transmitter. Later, the FCC regulated the power of AM radio stations to
    not exceed 50,000 watts on 'clear channels' (where few, if any, stations
    would cause interference with each other).

    1940 - Crime Doctor introduced a new kind of radio hero to audiences.
    The CBS program presented Dr. Benjamin Ordway, the show's main
    character, who was a victim of amnesia. He once was a criminal, but got
    hit on the head, and suddenly began to work as a crime fighter. Nice twist.

    Joe

    --
    Visit my homepage:  [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 18:51:16 -0400
    From: "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  twilight zone update

    Kfi did run twilight zone liast night/this morning.  As far as I know,
    they ran four Twilight Zone shows starting at one and ending I assume at
    five [removed]  My tape ran out after four [removed] so that is all that I can
    swear to.  By the time they run all the commercials, there isn't a lot of
    show there, but KFI is a good strong station and I am pretty sure they
    have a web presence so can be heard all over the world.  Hopefully this
    will be on next Sunday morning and hopefully we will remember.  Kurt

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 20:44:47 -0400
    From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Another "Junior"

    Jack French wrote:

>     As you may have guessed, they were father and son. Efrem, Jr. dropped
>     the "Junior" from his name after his father died. However, his fame by
>     then had probably exceeded his father's, though they were artists in
>     different venues.

    Another case of this is Fritz Leiber.  Fritz Leiber, Sr. was an actor on
    stage and in films. His son, Fritz Leiber, Jr. was a well respected
    science-fiction writer.  FL the younger dropped the "Jr." after his father
    died in 1950.  And, there is an OTR connection for both.  Fritz, Sr.
    appeared in at least 2 surviving OTR programs, a 1936 Lux and a 1937 CBS
    Shakespeare presentation.  And at least 3 of Fritz, Jr.'s stories were
    adapted for X Minus One in the 1950s.

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 20:45:14 -0400
    From: Pratz <[removed]@[removed];
    To: "OTR (Plain Text Only)" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Mame Trivia

    Thanks to all who emailed privately or wrote the Digest regarding the 1966
    Broadway musical with the OTR connection. As Jay, Gary, John, Ruby and Ken
    all knew - - -

    The 1966 Broadway musical was "Mame," starring Angela Lansbury with Willard
    Waterman and Bea Arthur. The duet with the partial OTR lyrics was "Bosom
    Buddies" sung by Angela and Bea. It mentioned
    "Orphan Annie and Sandy and Amos 'n Andy."

    The 1974 film "Mame" of course starred Lucille Ball.

    A few even mentioned another OTR actress,  Rosalind Russell, who starred in
    the 1958 film "Auntie Mame."

    OTR folks are not only great, they're smart!

    Rich

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 20:46:11 -0400
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Who's the Funniest?

    In the "Bob Hope versus Jack Benny" thread, Laura Leff noted,

>     I think a big part of who is better remembered depends on how easily
>     accessible their material is.  For example, you can turn on TV Land and
>     see I Love Lucy, but not Jack Benny.  <snip>  So a 20-year old has a
>     better chance of knowing Lucy than Jack.

    This has echoes elsewhere.  The Tampa radio station, WFLA, carries the
    Phil Hendrie show.  [For those unfamiliar with the show, Phil Hendrie
    "hosts" a talk show, where one of his "callers" is Hendrie; the host
    often has arguments with his alter-ego caller persona.  The regular
    listeners consider the program comedic]  The station ran a promotion
    where it claimed that the Phil Hendrie show was declared to be, "the
    funniest show in the history of radio."

    I suspect that whoever made the claim wasn't even exposed to, much less
    listened to, any of the major radio comedies.  Of course, tastes vary;
    however, that claim is an extraordinarily sweeping statement.

    Now IMHO, nobody can (or should, for that matter) establish which show
    was "the funniest," or any other superfluity for that matter, but I can
    think of half a dozen OTR comedy shows that tower over Mr. Hendrie's
    show.   However, I suspect that there are people who might share the
    sentiment of WFLA radio.  And I suspect that they wouldn't have heard any
    of the OTR comedies, either.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 20:46:32 -0400
    From: Ga6string@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Benny or Bob? Yes!
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    In a message dated 8/3/2003 5:17:06 PM Eastern Standard Time, argydix writes:

>     Jack and Bob were [removed]'s enjoy 'em both!

    I agree! If I could only choose one, it'd be Jack, for my taste, but the fact
    is, we don't have to choose. Celebrate the accomplishments of each and enjoy
    the fact that their works are captured for the ages!
    Bryan Powell

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 21:24:56 -0400
    From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re:  Overseas News Transmissions

    Elizabeth answers Alan's question about shortwave news
    [removed]

>     It was actually a lot less complicated than this--
>     in fact, the entire process was strictly regimented
>     and carefully controlled by the military authorites.

    So much so that you can almost count on one hand the
    number of truly spontaneous wartime 'breaking news'
    events, broadcast live via shortwave:  James Bowen at
    the Graf Spee scuttling; Bert Silen at the bombing of
    Manila, to name a couple--and neither of these is the
    type of "with the troops in the field" reporting
    Elizabeth and Alan are talking about.

    And while the military press officer was indeed an
    onmipresent companion, sometimes the technical
    facilities left alot to be desired.  The first
    broadcasts from the allied invasion of North Africa in
    November, 1942 came from transmitting equipment
    sprawled on a hotel room bed, with CBS's Charles
    Collingwood reporting for several weeks thereafter he
    wasn't sure he was being heard back home (though he
    cleverly arranged to time his broadcasts so he knew
    he'd be the lead story.  Gotta admire that!)  NBC's
    John McVane--after rushing ashore, typewriter in tow,
    bullets flying around him--managed to stage a
    broadcast from Omaha Beach in the hours after the
    invasion of France--but British technicians refused to
    put it through because it didn't follow the
    agreed-upon arrangements:  a broadcast from the
    "British Sector" was supposed to be first, and by God
    it was!

    An interesting side effect of doing things this way is
    that an early radio newscast can seem quite
    bewildering to a modern listener.  On what we'd now
    call the 'network evening news', the familiar "most
    important story first, second story second" system
    simply didn't exist, and indeed wasn't possible under
    the networks' technical setups.  Thus you almost
    always had a remote from London, whether or not
    anything was happening there; or a remote from the
    Pacific sandwiched between three or four stories about
    European fighting; or ten minutes of foreign news at
    the beginning of a broadcast when clearly a domestic
    story should have been the lead.  It often seems
    terribly disorganized, and with the anchorman in those
    days being more 'announcer' than 'explainer', there's
    often no effort to put anything in a 'big picture'
    context, or even say "Hey folks, here's the most
    important story!!"

    NBC had come closest to remedying this by the end of
    the war, giving over the first few minutes of its
    morning and evening ("News of the World") roundups to
    a broad summary that made the later overseas remotes
    make alot more sense.  CBS's nightly 'World Today'
    program was hindered by the fact that, for much of the
    war, it didn't run a full quarter hour; CBS lopped off
    the last few minutes for a commentary program which it
    sold to a different sponsor. This left even less time
    for actual news, in any form.

    Finally, there's the great irony, seldom discussed,
    that *none* of this brouhaha was necessary, if only
    CBS and NBC had allowed recordings on their air.
    Feeding reports to NY for later playback would have
    eliminated technical glitches, and would have allowed
    program content and story order to be determined on
    editorial, instead of technical, grounds.  Mutual
    routinely did this, and the world still turned.  And a
    program like BBC's 'Radio Newsreel' is a marvelous
    example of the kind of thing the American networks
    could have done every single night--but refused.

    chris

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 21:25:40 -0400
    From: "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Phonograph

    Sometime a while back, someone posted a link to a phonograph player
    available at [removed] that had a phono jack you could hook up to your
    computer for the purpose of transferring vinyl records to CDs.  I'd
    appreciate it if anyone who has that link would drop me a line off-list
    because I've looked all over the website and have come up with nada.

    Thanks in advance,
    Ivan

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

    Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 23:35:38 -0400
    From: nemesis@[removed]
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Bob Hope, NBC and knights

    I drove by NBC studios in Burbank yesterday (Saturday).  There's a
    four-story sign honoring Bob Hope:  "Thanks for the Memories" with
    photos--hanging on the building.

    I believe non-Brits do get knighthoods.  A friend of mine was part of the
    crew that located the Titanic and was awarded a knighthood.  He told me he
    was "Sir" only in the UK.  There's other terms here in the [removed]

    Linda T.

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

    Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 00:37:49 -0400
    From: "KDK" <kdkalit@[removed];
    To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Who's [removed] or Bob?

    argydix said:

>     When there are two excellent comedians whose styles were so influential in
>     all types of [removed] does there have to be a choice between one
>     or the other?  All of us have been influenced (and moved) by their comedic
>     [removed] can't we just appreciate their gifts and just enjoy them both?
>     Rocket scientists need to analyze and [removed] when it comes to
>     [removed]'t we just appreciate those who have it?
>     Jack and Bob were [removed]'s enjoy 'em both!

    Well said!  My sentiments exactly.  I was going to say something similar but
    feared the negative reaction, so I said nothing.  They were both with us for
    a long time.  Both were very funny.  Both were masters of their craft. They
    both left us with many happy memories and thru existing OTR episodes, we can
    relive many of those  memories as often as we wish.    To choose one over
    the other is like choosing McIntosh apples over granny smith apples or
    scrambled eggs over sunnyside up -- everyone will have their own preference
    and to them, their preference is the best!   Ken

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

    Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 09:22:22 -0400
    From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Yesterday USA

    Hi Everybody,
    some of the highlight that will be heard this week on Yesterday USA at
    [removed]

    Wednesday replay of the interview we did with Kathryn Crosby

    Friday Frank Bresee feature his KFI special with Jack Haley, and plays
    highlights of band remote from Stata canlina Island.

    Saturday interview with Phil Holdman with the Bowers, and the rerun of the
    interview that the Gassman did with Dick Joy

    Sunday rerun of the interview with Peggy Webber, and Jimmy Weldon.

    All time is 7-30 Pacific.  Take care,

    Walden Hughes

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

    Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 11:23:01 -0400
    From: "Jerry Bechtel" <jerrybechtel@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Aldrich Family
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    I'm making my annual plea for anyone out there that may be able to help
    me fill in my Aldrich Family collection. This collection is for my own
    enjoyment and personal use only. In the 40's this was my favorite radio
    show and I've spent years trying to collect all the shows. If you have
    any sources of information, shows that you might share or just advice on
    how to go about finding additional shows, I sure would like to hear from
    you. Anyone else enjoy this show as much as I did? Thanks for your help!

    Jerry Bechtel

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

    Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 11:24:08 -0400
    From: otrbuff@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  You're the best

    In addition to at least five responses to my inquiry into the possible
    connection between Efrem Zimbalist and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. provided on
    the digest by knowledgeable readers, to date I've received 10 personal
    replies on that matter.  My thanks to one and all.  I've known for years
    that we have some of the most generous intellects anywhere among this
    crowd and once again you've sustained my faith.  I'm grateful to all who
    were able to share.

    Jim Cox

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #300
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