Subject: [removed] Digest V2013 #5
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 1/13/2013 10:18 AM

To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2013 : Issue 5
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      This week in radio history 13-19 Jan  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Incredible as it may [removed]          [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2013 10:41:18 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  This week in radio history 13-19 January

     From Those Were The Days

    1/13

    1906 - Hugo Gernsback of the Electro Importing Company advertised radio
    receivers for sale for the low, low price of just $[removed] ($184 in 2011
    dollars) in Scientific American magazine. The first ad selling the
    gizmos guaranteed reception of about one mile.

    1910   Enrico Caruso and Emmy Destinn were heard via a telephone
    transmitter; rigged by DeForest Radio Telephone Company to broadcast
    from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

    1/14

    1927   Jack Benny married Sadye Marks on this day.

    1939   The program, Honolulu Bound, was heard on CBS. Phil Baker and the
    Andrews Sisters were featured on the program.

    1/15

    1945   Art Linkletter starred on the CBS debut of House Party. The show
    continued on the air for 22 years, including a long stint on CBS t-------n.

    1/16

    1939   The shrill siren call of radio's I Love a Mystery was heard for
    the first time as the show debuted on NBC's West Coast outlets.

    1/17

    1938   Francis X. Bushman was the star of the program, Stepmother, which
    debuted on CBS. The show continued on the air for the next four years.

    1/18

    1929   New York Daily Mirror columnist Walter Winchell made his debut on
    radio, broadcasting a blend of political commentary and celebrity gossip
    to "Mr. and Mrs. [removed]" His quick jabbing, penetrating manner
    became his trademark. And so did wearing his fedora hat.

    1937   CBS introduced listeners to Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories for
    the first time. A complete story was told in five, 15 minute episodes
    which aired Monday thru Friday each week. Aunt Jenny was played by Edith
    Spencer and later, by Agnes Young. The show continued on radio until
    1956 and was sponsored over the years by Spry shortening and Lux soap.
    Aunt Jenny's whistling canary, for those of you ready to inquire, was
    played by animal imitator, Henry Boyd.

    Joe

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

    Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2013 00:56:30 -0500
    From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Incredible as it may [removed]

    "It was purely a stunt, and took the form of a one-act play. We announced
    that it was only a stunt, and I cannot understand in these days of wireless
    and cable communication throughout the world, when there are newspapers every
    day, and when there has not for years been any suspicion of war between the
    Empire and any foreign countries, how people could be sufficiently upset as
    to think it was real. ... If we caused distress to anybody, we are sorry, but
    our action was taken solely with the object of adding to the interest of the
    programme prepared for the listening-in public. ..."--William Smallacombe,
    assistant manager of Station 5CL (quoted in the 2 July 1927 Adelaide Register)

    Eleven years before Orson Welles and company aired their version of "The War
    of the Worlds," Australia enjoyed a "panic broadcast" of its own.

    On Thursday, 30 June 1927, according to that day's issue of the Register,
    Adelaide's Station 5CL scheduled what was listed only as a "Special
    broadcast" between 8:09 and 8:25 that evening. The following day, the
    Adelaide Advertiser reported:

    "On several nights prior to Thursday the studio announcer had broadcast that
    something special would be sent out from 5CL last night. The programme
    started in the usual way with an orchestral number. At the end of this an
    announcement was made that startling news had been received, but that no
    official confirmation had come to hand. A woman then began her song, which
    was the next item on the programme, but before she had completed the number a
    big drum was sounded to represent the explosion of a bomb. The woman, as part
    of the play, screamed, and then the electrical effects of the invasion were
    introduced." (1 July Advertiser)

    The "physical and electrical effects," (i. e., sound effects) were
    "representative of bombing and gun firing, and suggestive of an air raid" by
    enemy planes attacking Port Adelaide. A listener gave this description:

    ***
    Listeners-in were keyed up to a high nervous tension by repeated
    announcements that there was trouble at the Port, but for lack of
    confirmation of the rumours they were unable to give any definite
    information. Following that, a soprano singer was unable to finish her song,
    and the explanation given was that she had become terrified at the news of
    the happenings at the Port. Still we were left in suspense, and some minutes
    later the awful news of the enemy invasion in all its sickening detail was
    given us. So realistic was it that the statement of the speaker, "Be calm,
    listeners-in, as long as I am spared to stand here I will tell you what is
    going on" was just the breaking point for many overwrought nerves. (Excerpt
    from a letter in the 2 July Register)
    ***

    The Advertiser reported that "within two minutes of the starting of the stunt
    innumerable telephone enquiries, including trunk calls, were made to the
    station in Franklin-street, asking what had actually happened. The calls
    included one from the police at the Outer Harbor, which was first received,
    and others were from the Police Department and the detective office in
    Adelaide. ... For two hours the three telephone lines of Central Broadcasters
    Limited [the station's owner] were employed solely in answering queries, and
    calls came from Melbourne and Terowie, among other places." (1 July
    Advertiser) Meanwhile, "Hundreds of people ... telephoned to the newspaper
    offices, the police, harbours, and telephone departments, and the fire
    brigades for confirmation" of the invasion. (1 July Register) Police and
    newspaper offices reported being "inundated" with "countless" phone calls
    "throughout the evening" even as the station made announcements "frequently"
    that
     the broadcast was "merely a play." (1 July Advertiser)

    Some idea of the public reaction can be gleaned from letters published in
    local newspapers in the days following. One writer condemned the broadcast as
    "a ridiculous, thoughtless joke, deserving severe censure. People in a weak
    state of health, especially women, would be seriously affected by it. I know
    of at least two who were unnerved by the event." Another wrote: "I wish to
    protest against the foolish action of station 5CL on Thursday night in
    working old women and children into a panic. My wife was frightened so much
    that she had to knock a neighbor up for company (I was working and was not
    home). In the street she met a middle-aged woman on the verge of collapse,
    and goodness knows how many invalids and aged people are suffering through
    the most indiscreet action of Central Broadcasters." (2 July Advertiser)

    Alfred Louis Brown, Central Broadcasters' general manager -- who described
    the broadcast as "a one-act play entitled 'An Imaginary Invasion,' in which
    30 performers had parts" (1 July Register) -- suggested that "the reason for
    the consternation among listeners was that they had tuned into 5CL after the
    play had started, and thus did not know the nature of the item."
    Word-of-mouth to non-listeners seems to have played a role as well: "...a
    woman who was the only person in possession of a wireless set in her street,
    immediately rushed out and told all the others in that thoroughfare, causing
    general alarm." (1 July Advertiser)

    A brief "Special Cable" to The New York Times (under the headline "'Air
    Invasion' by Radio Scares Australians") noted that "many women and children
    became hysterical and even men were alarmed" and "the fire brigade was called
    up and at least one family prepared to motor into the hills for refuge." (2
    July Times) The Times piece also discussed the similar "panic" inspired by
    Father Ronald Knox's January 1926 BBC segment "Broadcasting the Barricades"
    -- as did the same day's Adelaide Register, in a condemnatory editorial
    entitled "A Stupid Hoax":

    ***
    That so many people were deceived, and some of them terrified, is a tribute
    to the realism with which the affair was staged. But the ingenuity thus
    exhibited was misdirected, and the precautions taken to warn the more
    emotional section of the public of the fictitious nature of the proceedings
    described were entirely inadequate. It was not as if the authors of the
    "stunt" had not had warning of the unfortunate consequences liable to follow
    a too-realistio representation of so sensational an occurrence. Cable
    messages some months ago related the alarm which had been raised among
    nervous listeners-in in Great Britain, by the broadcasting from London of the
    description of an enemy [sic] bombardment of the metropolis, a hoax which was
    widely condemned, though it gave radio enthusiasts a good laugh after they
    had got over their tremors. (2 July Register)
    ***

    As in Britain, some Aussies had a good laugh, too. One listener wrote:

    ***
    It is indeed amusing to read of the consternation caused by the stunt put on
    the air by 5CL on a recent evening. It makes one wonder what has happened to
    the perceptive powers of some people. Although the whole thing was staged in
    the studio, there was no mistaking the fact that the whole thing was only a
    "stunt." In my opinion 5CL are to be congratulated for the diversion they
    submitted, especially the announcer, who showed a rare sense of humor in his
    impromptu utterances. His closing remark that the whole situation was saved
    owing to the timely arrival of a large body of "Twinklerites" and Boy Scouts
    should have been sufficient to illustrate to any one that the whole thing was
    a clever departure from the ordinary style of programme. (15 July Advertiser)
    ***

    The night after the broadcast, another station, 5DN, aired a skit poking fun
    at the "Invasion of Adelaide":

    ***
    Listeners were led in a spirit of fun to the "Island of Timbuctoo," where
    they heard the details of the invasion of the island by what was described as
    "a band of untamed Zulus." Much comedy was extracted from the situation,
    which served to show how ridiculous such "stunts" can be, if looked at from
    the right angle. (2 July Register)
    ***

    And then, exactly one week after the "panic," 5CL aired another, even more
    ridiculous stunt:

    ***
    Last Thursday evening, listeners throughout Australia who tuned in to
    broadcasting station 5CL were surprised to hear a remarkable broadcasting
    stunt, which has caused comment throughout the Commonwealth. This evening 5CL
    are staging another stunt. It is not likely on this occasion that people will
    be perturbed, as previous notice has been given. At [removed] a scientific novelty
    will be transmitted. It will consist of a description of a remarkable
    invention. Besides listening to the description, listeners will be able to
    see a part of the proceedings by watching outside when the signal is given by
    the broadcasting station. (7 July Advertiser)
    ***

    Incredible as it may seem, this week's play involved a professor,
    interplanetary travel, and some attacking Martians:

    ***
    ... The principal characters were "Professor Gravotti," an Italian scientist,
    and his two assistants, "James Jones" and "William Savage." By means of
    machinery capable of making use of the power of gravity for motive purposes
    the professor essayed a trip to Mars. The whole trip was described by radio,
    including the christening of the car by "Lady Byrd," the sound of the bottle
    of wine breaking, and of the dynamo giving trouble in the car during its
    flight. By means of re-broadcasting across an electronic ether beam from the
    car, a description of the events during the trip was given. The arrival on
    Mars of the party was described in detail, and signals from the car faded at
    a critical time when the Martians were attacking the car. 5CL have promised
    over the air that "Professor Gravotti" will return. A novel feature was the
    dispatch of a large rocket during the evening from the wireless station at
    Brooklyn Park. ... (8 July Advertiser)
    ***

    Yes, the station apparently launched an actual rocket during the broadcast.
    Here's an account from another newspaper:

    ***
    ... The whole of the details of a trip from the earth to Mars were given in
    novel fashion. Listeners had been informed beforehand that a certain
    Professor Gravotti had perfected a piece of apparatus in which he intended to
    make a trip through space. This consisted of a spherical car made of a new
    metal capable of withstanding the effects of corrosion and heat. At an
    advertised time, the departure of the car from the earth was broadcast in
    every detail. The sound of the whirring dynamos, the escape of surplus air
    from the car's air producing plant, the testing out of the different
    apparatus and the words of farewell were heard. Before being despatched the
    car was christened, and the breaking of a bottle against the metal walls of
    the car was heard. A small dog, the pet of the travellers, was heard barking
    his farewell before the airtight portholes were closed with a "crash."
    Listeners were then told to watch the sky above the city of Adelaide for the
     departure of the machine. Many saw the large rocket sent up by 5CL to
    heighten the allusion. [sic] Communication between the car hurtling through
    space and the broadcasting station was carried on and the noises associated
    with such an event were faithfully reproduced. All the information given
    during this broadcast was based on scientific knowledge of the heavenly
    bodies. (8 July Port Pirie Recorder)
    ***

    Station 5CL continued to schedule Thursday night "stunts" that summer and its
    activities apparently earned it some international coverage. The radio column
    in the 19 August Port Pirie Recorder notes that "reports have been printed in
    European papers of several [of] 5CL's stunt transmissions. Considerable
    interest is taken in Europe of events in Australia, but this is the first
    time that considerable space has been devoted to a description of one
    station's stunts."

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2013 Issue #5
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