Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #88
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 3/19/2007 7:44 AM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2007 : Issue 88
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Network Line Quality                  [ "Read G. Burgan" <rburgan@chartermi ]
      truth or consequences                 [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
      hearing and quality sound             [ Chargous@[removed] ]
      ILAM from an [removed]                    [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
      re: why mp3 or even wave              [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
      Re: One Man's Family                  [ StevenL751@[removed] ]
      Re: ONE MAN'S FAMILY                  [ Grams46@[removed] ]
      why mp3 or even wav?                  [ Jeffrey Keil <keilj_33@[removed]; ]
      Truth or Consequences                 [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
      Goodbye Open Reel Tape!               [ Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed]; ]
      Jack Benny                            [ Frank McGurn <[removed]@sbcglobal. ]
      Arthur Godfrey                        [ "Joe" <jpostove@[removed]; ]
      3-19 births/deaths                    [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      Sponsors Naming Rights                [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
      Advertisement for the Great Gildersl  [ "Dale" <wclark4121@[removed]; ]
      Light of the World                    [ "Randall F. Miller Jr." <rfmillerjr ]

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:31:09 -0400
    From: "Read G. Burgan" <rburgan@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Network Line Quality

    My father was the engineer at a small radio station that was a Mutual
    affiliate in the 40's and early 50's and an NBC affiliate in the mid 50's to
    early 60's.  Throughout that period, the only network line available from
    AT&T for our area was a class C line.

    In the 1970's, I was the director of a 100,000 watt FM public radio station
    in the same area and we were still limited to a class C network line and for
    much of that time the line didn't even meet the minimum specifications for a
    class C line.  Only when National Public Radio launched its satellite
    service did we go from the stone age to the 20th Century.

    My guess is that our situation was not unique and that there were many radio
    stations in outlying areas whose network lines provided abominable quality
    by today's standards.

    Read Burgan

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:31:56 -0400
    From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  truth or consequences

>     I even remember one show (on TV in the mid-1950s, when Bob Barker was
>     the host), where the contestant actually answered the question
>     correctly.  He didn't win a prize, Bob Barker said he got a signal

    >from the control room that he had asked the wrong question and asked

>     another.

    I saw that one:

    Q: What is snake oil used for?

    A: To oil snakes.

    The answer came without the slightest hesitation from the contestant, a man
    who I guessed was in his twenties, and I thought it was great.  The
    quizmaster recovered well enough, but I was disappointed, as I guess
    everyone else was, that there was no reward.

    I suppose that when guests weren't rehearsed, or were determined to be
    uncooperative, this sort of thing happens.  It must have been interesting
    when guests got strange on live radio.  Groucho Marx could always add value
    to such a situation, but I wonder about the others.

    M Kinsler

    Who remembers a fifty-year-old TV show, but not where he just laid the
    shovel.

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:42:26 -0400
    From: Chargous@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  hearing and quality sound

    Now this isn't meant as a barb to anyone, this is just the facts of life -
    as we get older, we all experience hearing loss to some degree.  I have
    about average hearing for my age (20s) - I can hear into the 20 khz
    range.  I'm wondering if this has anything to do with some of the poor
    quality recordings and mp3s - that the user can't hear the
    difference?  Correct me if I'm wrong, but many people can't hear about
    12-14 khz.  Perhaps, since they're fairly high frequency, a lot of people
    can't hear some of the digital artifacts in bad encodes?

    For instance, I've recently been complaining about a bad ground loop in an
    otherwise enjoyable new-time production.  I've notified them several times,
    but nothing has changed so far.  Am I the only one to hear it?  (I also use
    better headphones, so that might have something to do with it (they're
    capable of 10hz - 39,000 hz)  My soundcard can do 10-88,[removed]

    I ask this, not to be insulting, but as a legitimate academic question -
    does hearing loss have anything to do with a lot of the bad encodes out
    there?  (and coupled with less-than-stellar speakers or headphones, I'm
    sure that wouldn't help either.)

    And even the best quality dealers are routinely guilty of offspeed
    recordings (it's easy for me to fix, so it's not a huge deal) - that's
    another pet peeve of mine.  It's not difficult to do, but it's kinda a
    bummer to have to transfer the recording to the HD, open it up, and
    time-correct it.

    Travis

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: It's been my experience that many of the lousy encodes
    floating around out there were done by younger people who just didn't give a
    darn; encoding a 25th generation cassette tape in real-time while playing
    games and possibly downloading pictures of nekkid people on the same computer
    at the same time.

    Those who wish to make quality encodes using licensed codecs and tender
    loving care do; those who don't give a rat's tail about the quality don't.
    Looking for more complex explanations seems silly to me; just as in the days
    of reels or cassettes, some are interested in quality, others are interested
    in quantity. (*shrug*) Any old-timers remember the cheap, off-speed,
    crappy-sounding reels sold in the Waterford room?  --cfs3]

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:43:29 -0400
    From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  ILAM from an [removed]

    Ken noted that he has never heard a decent dubbing of "I Love a Mystery."  I
    have one episode dubbed from an ET discarded by WNAX, Yankton, SD.  It was
    from "I am the destroyer of women" of May 12, 1944.  I am told by Brian
    Misiaszek, an expert on this series, that this is the final episode in the
    1944 run of ILAM.  The episode is from CBS and runs 15:00.  It was dubbed
    from the ET to an open reel tape, and from the open reel to cassette.  I
    still have the open reel tape.

    Another interesting bit of OTR history is a short promo for ILAM, dated
    November 3, 1943, following "Your daytime radio newspaper" (later called
    "Crisco's Radio Newspaper").  According to Brian, "It seems that the show in
    question is one of the interior episodes of the Hollywood version of 'My
    beloved is a vampire', which ran October 4 to November 5 [1943].  This is a
    show which has only one surviving episode, the final one from the second run
    of the [removed]"
    I dubbed this and 4 episodes of "Crisco's Radio Newspaper" using the same
    equipment as noted in the "Destroyer" episode above.

    I consider these recordings to be of excellent quality.  Too bad the rest of
    "Destroyer" is not available from the 1944 run of ILAM.

    Ted Kneebone / 1528 S. Grant St. / Aberdeen, SD 57401
    [removed]~stmarkch/

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:45:41 -0400
    From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  re: why mp3 or even wave

    Ed,

    A quick follow-up on your question. I think the key reason that mp3 is
    so popular is downloading. Even with lightening fast broadband, nobody
    wants to download wav files for a 30 minute show. And although now
    portable mp3 players have very large capacities (20 gb or so), until
    recently most of them were smaller. The cheaper ones, and virtually all
    of the non-skip ones ([removed] with flash memory hard drives) still are
    pretty small. When I bought my first mp3 player, about 6 or 7 years
    ago, it could hold only 32 MB. That was maybe five shows! Wave files
    were out of the question--simply couldn't fit them in. I've got much
    larger machines now, but most of the several I own and use are still on
    the smaller side. (I don't see the benefit of loading up 4,000
    shows--I'd get lost remember what I've heard or hadn't!) As long as
    people are using mp3 players and downloading shows online, people are
    still going to use the mp3 format. (Hopefully at higher encode rates,
    though. Most of the BBC stuff I get online is 128 kps.)

    Cheers,
    Kermyt

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:46:04 -0400
    From: StevenL751@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: One Man's Family

    In a message dated 3/18/2007 12:18:27 [removed] Eastern Daylight Time,
    [removed]@[removed] writes:

>     Does anyone know when Book 90, Chapter 25 aired? There is not a good  log for
>     this show available on the internet.

    According to H. Edwin  Titus' excellent OMF log, that episode ("That's Not
    Like Daniel") aired November  30, 1951.

    Steve Lewis

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:48:43 -0400
    From: Grams46@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: ONE MAN'S FAMILY

    otrdig2@[removed] asks:

>     Does anyone know when Book 90, Chapter  25 aired?

    from ed titus' one man's family log: november 30, 1951.
    peace from  kathy
    support our troops; end the war
    john 3:16

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:49:22 -0400
    From: Jeffrey Keil <keilj_33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  why mp3 or even wav?

    Greetings:

    I think this is a great question brought up by Ed
    Carr. With the low price of DVDs and hard drives it
    doesn't make much sense to me to compress audio files
    to mp3.

    A format that I personally use is flac. If you're
    interested you might check out the wikipedia article
    on flac.

    Flac is basically a zipped wav file. If you have a wav
    file you can encode it to a flac file. The flac file
    will take up about 1/4 the size of the original wav
    file.

    When you decode the flac file you receive the original
    wav file.

    I convert my OTR CDs to flac files and either back
    these up to DVD or just leave the flac file on the
    hard drive. I use Winamp to play flac files.

    If I want an mp3 file to play on an iPod, I use Nero
    to convert the flac file to a 320 mbps mp3 file.

    Nero will also let you create audio CDs directly from
    flac files if you want an audio CD to play back on the
    stereo.

    Sincerely,
    Jeff Keil

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:50:56 -0400
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Truth or Consequences

    A. Joseph Ross, speaking of Truth or Consequences, reminisces,

>     I even remember one show (on TV in the mid-1950s, when Bob Barker was
>     the host), where the contestant actually answered the question correctly.
>     He didn't win a prize, Bob Barker said he got a signal
>     from the control room that he had asked the wrong question and asked
>     another.

    I recall hearing a lady contestant on an earlier radio show give a
    correct answer.  The question was: why is a wedding ring worn on the
    third finger of the left land?  She responded, "There's a story that a
    vein from that finger goes directly to the heart, so it shows that the
    wedding ring has a close connection to one's heart."  Ralph Edwards asked
    the question, and when she answered correctly, he gave her a small cash
    prize and moved on to another contestant.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 18:18:54 -0400
    From: Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Goodbye Open Reel Tape!

    Ed Carr mentioned that he purchased a lot of CDs made by Imation.
    Imation is the name that was decided upon when Scotch chose to
    discontinue open reel tape production. Another company took over
    production of open reel tapes from Scotch and renamed the open reel
    tape Imation tape. This same company also makes cassettes and CDs.
    You can still purchase brand new Scotch open reel tapes from various
    electronic stores, but it is really the remaining last stock
    available of Scotch tape. I do not know how long Imation will
    continue producing open reel tapes OR cassettes. For the consumer
    those formats simply are no longer viable, now that CDs and DVDs can
    be "burned" in the home by anyone who has a computer or a stand alone
    unit.
    Ampex stopped producing tapes years ago, but their tape division was
    obtained by a company that renamed their tapes QUANTEGY. Quantegy
    continued to produce open reel tapes for a number of years and then
    "threw in the sponge." Surprisingly, the engineers and workers at
    Quantegy pooled their money and went to the owners and offered to
    purchase Quantegy so they could continue producing open reel tape.
    The owners of Quantegy accepted and the company was turned over to
    their employees. This lasted for about 5 years. The sad part is that
    Quantegy just announced they are closing their factory and
    discontinuing the production of open reel tape.
    So, the two major USA tape manufacturers (Scotch/Imation and Ampex/
    Quanategy) no longer exist. AGFA/GEVAERT stopped producing tape and
    was absorbed by BASF, which also discontinued the production of open
    reel tapes and cassettes.
    In essence, analog is gone. Digital has taken over the industry. So
    enjoy what you have in analog tape. Do be prepared to pay a lot of
    money to repair tape machines, for they they are fast becoming
    extinct and parts will be hard to find. I, for one, have stopped
    mastering ETs onto tape and now go directly from the ET to my
    computer and then store the radio shows onto CDs. This method retains
    every nuance of sound and fidelity and allows me to make CD copies
    with no loss of sound quality. You can't beat that with analog tape.
    I do have a few professional tape decks I use to transfer my tape
    masters to my computer, but I no longer record on tape. And when I
    have finally transferred the last of my master tapes I will retire
    those last remaining tape machines --- bless them for all the work
    they did for me!
    I mention all this in passing. I really don't intend to start up a
    discussion on the difference between analog and digital and all the
    ramifications caused by the pluses and minuses of both mediums. I
    would be happy to answer any questions off list, as best I can, if
    you wish.  On list I am sure this analog versus tape topic could go
    on forever, and there are much more interesting subjects to talk about.
    Thanks for reading this [removed]
    Ken Greenwald

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 18:58:39 -0400
    From: Frank McGurn <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Jack Benny

    Sean Doughterty asked :

>     Did Jack ever do hour-long shows on the radio?

    Did a quick search of Jerry Heandeges [removed] Log and found one item of
    60:00 minutes a 02/24/57 rebroadcast of a  05/15/55

    "FRIAR'S CLUB ROAST". I don't think that would be considered a"Jack Benny
    Program ".

    Frank McGurn

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

    Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 18:59:26 -0400
    From: "Joe" <jpostove@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Arthur Godfrey

    Was Arthur Godfrey An Anti-Semite?

    I know this subject must have been touched upon (and held tightly too) more
    than once on this list, but if you fine folks will indulge me, I would
    appreciate it.

    I am a Jew. And a big fan of Arthur Godfrey. All my life (I'm 50) whenever
    the subject of Godfrey came up in Jewish circles, there was at least one
    person there that insisted that AG was a raving anti-Semite. Asked for some
    documentation, the story of his interest in a "restricted" hotel in Florida
    ( The Kenilworth Hotel) is about the only one I've heard regarding Godfrey's
    antipathy or worse towards Jews.

    Certainly, he worked with and hired Jews on his and other programs through
    the years. And he was a wasp's wasp, but other than the Kenilworth Hotel
    story, I've not seen or heard this presented other than in rumor and/or
    innuendo. Or repeated again, such as in Eddie Fisher's book.

    What is the truth? Is it known? And if so, is it true? Has Arthur Godfrey
    gotten a bad rap over the years about his "anti-Semitism"? If it is true, I
    sure would like to see some proof before I fall in line with lots of my
    fellow Jews. And mourn this fault in one of my radio heroes.

    Thanks,

    Joe Postove

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

    Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 04:01:32 -0400
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  3-19 births/deaths

    March 19th births

    03-19-1889 - George L. "Doc" Rockwell - Providence, RI - d. 3-3-1978
    comedian: "Camel Pleasure Hour"
    03-19-1890 - Gayne Whitman - Chicago, IL - d. 8-31-1958
    actor, announcer: Frank Chandler "Chandu the Magician"; "Cavalcade of
    America"
    03-19-1891 - Earl Warren - Los Angeles, CA - d. 7-9-1974
    governor, supreme court justice: "Edgar bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
    03-19-1892 - James Van Fleet - Coytesville, NJ - d. 9-24-1992
    4 star army general: "A Tribute to Jack Benny"
    03-19-1900 - Frank Chapman - d. 7-xx-1966
    singer: "The Voice of Firestone"
    03-19-1906 - Pat Adelman - d. 12-xx-1982
    sportscaster: Austin, Texas
    03-19-1907 - Kent Smith - NYC - d. 4-23-1985
    actor: "NBC University Theatre of the Air";"Radio Reader's Digest"
    03-19-1909 - Louis Hayward - Johannesburg, South Africa - d. 2-21-1985
    actor: "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Harold Lloyd Comedy Theatre"; "This
    Is My Best"
    03-19-1912 - Russ Case - Hamburg, IA - d. 10-10-1964
    orchestra leader: "On a Sunday Afternoon"; "Peggy Lee Show"; "Your
    Hit Parade"
    03-19-1915 - Patricia Morison - NYC
    actor: "Family Theatre"; "Railroad Hour"
    03-19-1916 - Eric Christmas - London, England - d. 7-22-2000
    actor: "CBC Wednesday Night"
    03-19-1916 - Irving Wallace - Chicago, IL - d. 6-29-1990
    writer: "Have Gun, Will Travel"
    03-19-1919 - Alfred Apaka - Honolulu, HI - d. 1-30-1960
    vocalist: "Hawaii Calls"
    03-19-1920 - Tige Andrews - Brooklyn, NY - d. 1-27-2007
    actor: "Hollywood Radio Theatre"
    03-19-1923 - Gordon Connell - Berkeley, CA
    actor: Billy Sherwood "Hawthorne House"
    03-19-1923 - Pamela Britton - Milwaukee, WI - d. 6-18-1974
    actor: "Luncheon at Sardi's"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    03-19-1927 - Richie Ashburn - Tilden, NE - d. 9-9-1997
    sportscaster: "Philadelphia Phillies Play by Play"
    03-19-1933 - Phyllis Newman - Jersey City, NJ
    actor: "NBC Radio Theatre"; "Tonight at 9:30"
    05-17-1906 - Carl McIntire - Ypsilanti, MI - d. 03-19-2002
    evangelist: "Twentieth Century Reformation Hour"

    March 19th deaths

    01-16-1895 - Irene Bordoni - Ajaccio, Crosica, France - d. 3-19-1953
    singer: "The Coty Playgirl"
    04-18-1912 - Al Hodge - Ravenna, OH - d. 3-19-1979
    actor: Britt Reid/Green Hornet "Green Hornet"; "Columbia Workshop"
    04-25-1887 - Charles E. Fuller - Los Angeles, CA - d. 3-19-1968
    preacher: "Old Fashioned Revival Hour"; "Heart to Heart"
    04-29-1887 - Robert Cushman Murphy - Brooklyn, NY - d. 3-19-1973
    ortinthologist: "Information Please"
    05-14-1868 - "Big Bill" Thompson - Boston, MA - d. 3-19-1944
    mayor of chicago: "The March of Time"
    08-28-1900 - Diana Bourbon - NYC - d. 3-19-1978
    producer, director: :Double or Nothing"; "Life Begins"
    09-01-1875 - Edgar Rice Burroughs - Chicago, IL - d. 3-19-1950
    author: Creator of Tarzan
    09-09-1908 - Ed Prentiss - Chicago, IL - d. 3-19-1992
    actor: Red Albright/Captain Midnight "Captain Midnight"; Ned Holden
    "The Guiding Light"
    12-07-1909 - Arch Oboler - Chicago, IL - d. 3-19-1987
    writer: 'Lights Out"; "Adam and Eve skit on Bergen/McCarthy"
    12-13-1913 - Jimmy Carroll - NYC - d. 3-19-1972
    singer: "Pot O' Gold"

    Ron Sayles

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

    Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 04:01:56 -0400
    From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Sponsors Naming Rights

    On Sunday, March 18, 2007, at 12:18 PM, Ron Sayles wrote:

>     03-18-1911 - Audrey Marsh - NYC
>     actor: Esther " Harve and Esther"

    Ah, for the good old days of Thirties' radio when sponsors could not
    only dictate the name of the show, but also the characters within it.
    Above, the Harvester Cigar Company insisted the two characters in their
    comedy show be called "Harve" and "Esther" which became the title of
    the series.

    The Natural Bridge Show (a 15 minute variety program sponsored by
    Natural Bridge Shoe Company) specified that the male lead be called
    "Nat" and the female lead "Bridget."  Palm Olive Soap sponsored a
    musical program and regardless of who the leading singers were, the man
    could only be called "Paul Oliver" and the woman "Olive Palmer."  And
    for you mystery fans, a syndicated lady detective sponsored by Philco
    Radio Company was, of course, named "Phyl Coe."

    Not even the juvenile adventure series were exempt. The 30s version of
    "Bobby Benson" on CBS was sponsored by H-O Cereals so the series was
    called "The H-BAR-O Rangers" and Bobby's ranch was the H-Bar-O.
    Moreover, the symbol character for that cereal and flour company,
    "Sunny Jim" (who was sort of a colonial Ickabod Crane lookalike) was
    written into the scripts as a central character who was Bobby's
    guardian.  But all of that disappeared in 1949 when the Cowboy Kid was
    brought back to radio on Mutual as a sustainer.

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    <[removed]>

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

    Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 04:02:16 -0400
    From: "Dale" <wclark4121@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Advertisement for the Great Gildersleeve
     program

    Recently I had the pleasure of coming across an interesting find. Among a
    box of old items, I found a 4" high bottle with an advertisement for the
    Great Gildersleeve Show on the lid. The ad reads:

    Listen [removed]
    "The Great Gildersleeve"
    Radio's Laugh King
    Wednesday Evenings - NBC
    8:30 [removed] Eastern Time
    8:30 [removed] Pacific Time
    (Repeat Broadcast)

    The lid is printed in red, white, and blue and measures 2" across, with a
    caricature of Gildersleeve smoking a cigar. Does anyone here know what this
    bottle may have contained? There are no product labels on the bottle. Who
    were the show's sponsors over the years? Perhaps knowing that will solve the
    mystery.

    Dale Clark
    OTR Fan
    San Antonio, TX

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

    Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:42:14 -0400
    From: "Randall F. Miller Jr." <rfmillerjr1@[removed];
    To: "OTR Mail List" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Light of the World

    In a recent digest it was pointed out that:

>     1940 - Light of the World was first heard on NBC. The soap opera was
>     unique in that it featured the Bible as the center of the story line.

    Do any copies of this program exist?

    --Randy Miller

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #88
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