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

[removed] Digest				Volume 96 : Issue 395

Table Of Contents: 

	 Video cassettes for audio
	 Comedy Collection: Where do i start?
	 The Joy of great radio actors
	 Gregory Hood & Fibber McGee
	 War of the Worlds 50th Anniversary Broadcast
	 Thanks for VCR Alerts
	 Tired Formulae
	 RE:convention
	 NJ convention

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

Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 22:41:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: ronhare@[removed] (Ron Hare)
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Video cassettes for audio
Message-Id: <v02130501ae8c5c95651a@[[removed]]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

To Troy Burnham:

My experience with recording audio on VHS-HIFI has been dismal. I've been
doing it for a long time, using dozens of machines of different brands. It
sounds great for a while, until your machine wears and starts to mistrack.
The tapes then become incompatible with other machines and are difficult or
impossible to play on other machines. Another thing that happens is that
the video tracks bleed into the audio and cause an annoying variable buzz.
If the FM electronics are misaligned or drift, a very unpleasant distortion
results. Don't even consider using this format for audio archiving. The
audio tracks are very fragile, using a miniscule portion of the available
magnetic capacity of the tape. VHS HI-FI was an afterthought and it's a
wonder that it even works!

Don't get me wrong - I'm a big fan of VHS HI-FI. I use it all the time for
time-shifting radio shows. I have a radio connected to the audio jacks of a
VHS HIFI VCR. It's very handy to use the VCR timer to record off the air
throughout the week. Then I copy to cassette for use in the car. I keep no
audio in this format.

Four reasons for using audio cassettes for OTR:

1) The storage volume of a VHS cassette (8 hours) is very close to that of
a stack of 8 C60 audio cassettes (8 hours) without their cases. The nice
Polyline 8-cassette library shelf storage cases double the storage volume.
So, the C120 method that I have used for years and recommend consumes about
the same storage space as the less-robust VHS cassette medium.

2) Audio cassettes are easy to label and catalog. Winding through an 8-hour
video cassette and waiting for the tape to load and unload is unwieldy.

3) A good, speed-accurate transport that won't destroy C120 cassettes with
Dolby HX-PRO will cost you less than a low-end VHS HIFI machine. Sure, the
specs are not as good as a HIFI Video cassette, but it's more than good
enough for OTR. I will admit to using DAT and CD for archiving precious
masters or music, but it's unnecessary for OTR IMHO.

4) You're going to end up with them anyway, because everyone else is using them.

So, my question is, why even consider anything but audio cassettes for an
OTR collection?

Any other opinions?

Ron Hare

Ron Hare
ronhare@[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 06:28:20 -0400
From: Charles Mazza <flash@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed], [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Comedy Collection: Where do i start?
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hello everyone,

I'm going to be expanding my collection to include comedy shows (from it's
present state of only including Mystery/Horror). I am wondering where to
start. I've heard wonderful things about Jack Benny, Fibber McGee, Our Miss
Brooks and Great Gildersleeve (among others) in private conversations with
other collectors. I'm sure a comedy collection would include all of these
and more, but, the question is, where to start? 

Which show is the best starting point and why?

Thanks for your help!

Charles Mazza

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

Date: 18 Oct 1996 03:22:10 GMT
From: kg@[removed] (KEN GREENWALD)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Joy of great radio actors
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Real stories about radio actors have always interested me, and I thought all
of you would be interested in the following, as it actually happened to me
during the recording of the special intros to my Sherlock Holmes cassette
series ---
In 1989 I had occasion to fly up to Medford, Oregon, to record Harry Bartell
doing some of the intros. We drove up to a studio where we had arranged a 4
hour session with the proviso that I would pay for only the time used in the
studio. When we arrived, I handed Harry the intros to 4 cassettes in the
series. He went over them carefully then said he was ready. We started
recording. Occasionally I would stop Harry and ask him to read again what he
had said as there was some emphasis I wanted, or Harry had made a mistake.
Harry NEVER went beyond the second take. His rhythm and pacing was
impeccable! As we came to the end of the session, the engineer and owner of
the studio got on the talk-back and said: "Harry, I'll never make any money
off you!" Harry and I laughed, then looked at the wall clock. It had taken
Harry Bartell only one hour and fifteen minutes to record the intros! That,
my friends, is a true professional!

Later, when I was recording special intros and 4 minute mini-dramas to
precede the actual Sherlock Holmes show, I had a similar thing occur. This
time it was Parley Baer and Elliott Reid doing the intros. I noticed I never
had to go beyond a second take with these professional radio actors! When we
got to recording the special "mini-dramas," I had Parley portray Professor
Moriarty and Elliott as Mycroft Holmes. Suddenly, there was an even greater
difference in their work. What happened was an interaction between two radio
actors, not just one reading an intro. Suddenly, both men came to life. There
was excitement in their eyes. I understood they were reliving radio as it
used to be and both men were mesmerizing in their performances. Parley asked
me just how I wanted him to play Moriarty. "Portray him as a raging, very
angry man who hates Sherlock Holmes from the depth of his heart, yet
restrains his anger as he challenges Mycroft Holmes." Parley smiled. And that
is the EXACT performance I obtained from him. Elliott had portrayed Mycroft
Holmes on a previous cassette. He took the time to listen to his previous
performance (done some 6 years earlier) and reproduced the exact attitude and
feel of the character as he had done before.
These radio actors, and others still alive today, are more than
professionals. They have years of experience in radio and understand the
medium as no actor today can understand who has not lived through those
Golden Years. My hat is off to them all. I am indeed thankful I had the
pleasure working with them (and will again).
May radio drama live long in its little corner of the world!
Ken Greenwald 

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

Date: 18 Oct 1996 03:23:21 GMT
From: kg@[removed] (KEN GREENWALD)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Gregory Hood & Fibber McGee
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Gregory Hood started as a summer replacement for the Sherlock Holmes radio
series, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. On the last broadcast of the
1945-1946 season, announcer Harry Bartell introduces Gregory Hood at the end
of the show. This was done to entice the Holmes listeners to stay tuned to
this new summer series. Gale Gordon played Gregory Hood in that first summer
season. The shows were written by Denis Green and Anthony Boucher (who were
writing the Holmes shows) and the plot line followed a similar approach to
the Sherlock Holmes series, [removed]: Gregory was a specialist in antiques who
dabbled in crime detection. He had an assistant, similar to Dr. Watson, who
helped Gregory in his efforts at crime detection. The show was produced in
Hollywood and was sponsored by Petri Wines, the same sponsor of the
Rathbone/Bruce Holmes series. 
The following season, Gregory Hood was given his own time-slot, with Hood now
portrayed by Elliott Lewis. The show had moderate success.
An entire season of Gregory Hood shows does exist on the original ETs, but
they have yet to be released because of copyright problems and ownership. 

When Figger McGee and Molly went to the 15 minute format, it was evident that
the shows popularity was waning, and badly, at that. This because television
had already surplanted radio as THE medium of entertainment. Fibber and Molly
spent their last hours of existence as a segment of NBC's MONITOR radio show.
Their segments were about 7 minutes long and were as weak as their earlier 15
minute shows, sad to say. Why? Partly because Don Quinn had long ago left the
show to write and produce THE HALLS OF IVY. Phil Leslie had also left the
show to write for television. Those who took over from these two marvelous
writers were good, but were not given the time to develop Fibber and Molly. I
mean, how much fun can you have with a 15 minute segment when there's no
audience for the jokes to bounce off of? And when it got down to 7 minutes,
it was just not possible to sustain the brilliant stories or jokes the half
hour shows were able to create.
Shall we all now turn our tv sets on and fume for a while?
Ken Greenwald

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

Date: Fri, 18 Oct 96 07:35:44 EDT
From: TBARNETT@[removed]
To:   otr@[removed]
Subject: War of the Worlds 50th Anniversary Broadcast
Message-Id: <m0vEDDN-000k4UC@[removed]>

To: SMTP    --AHIPC2S  OTR Digest         SMTP    --AHIPC2S

From:    Tom Barnett
         EDS NAO/VDTO Finance and Personnel Systems Support
         (810)986-0389 (8-226) Internet:TBARNETT@[removed]

Subject: War of the Worlds 50th Anniversary Broadcast

The Gearge Lucas produced 50th anniversary program took place on
October 30, 1988.

It went onto the air at 8pm without even the introduction that Welles
made famous.

Other than the missing opening and references to the world being updated,
the program is COMPLETELY faithful to the original script. The show is
excellent in condition - and as I said before is a lot more entertaining
to listen to than the original.

It is followed by a 10-15 minute War of the Worlds 50 Years Later program
where Howard Koch is interviewed along with Orson Welles and local people
from the town of Grover's Mill, NJ.  Also a socialogist puts in his
2cents.

It wraps up with an interview from the War of the Worlds Golden Anniversary
committee. Yes they actually had a parade and week end long celebration in
Grover's Mills NJ to mark the occasion (which ended with a monument being
dedicated at the site where the martians supposedly landed!)

It is a great program for fans of the broadcast!

I have it and will trade if anyone is interested.

Tom Barnett
"There are no Ordinary moments." -Dan Millman

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

Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 08:24:17 -0400
From: Shadow1940@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Thanks for VCR Alerts
Message-ID: <961018082417_213881179@[removed]>

To all who post VCR alerts for us about items of interest on cable. I thank
you. 
It is greatly appreciated.

I will be tuning in for "The Night That Panicked America" 

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

Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 08:31:17 -0400
From: PDKinder@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Tired Formulae
Message-ID: <961018083115_1212932349@[removed]>

John Henley is, I think, correct about the tiredness of some formulas by the
dawn of television.  With notable exceptions, [removed], Jack Benny, long-time
shows tended to become reduced in innovation and humour.  Even Fred Allen.

Radio humour was rooted in vaudeville.  But vaudeville was dead, and it was
probably George Burns, not Jack Benny, who killed it.  Compare the Gracie for
President shows (pure, hilarious stand-up vaudeville) with what the two were
airing in the late 40s.  Move over Ionesco, here comes a big Rhino.  Benny,
it seems to me, split the difference between vaudeville and the absurdist
world Burns created.

Fibber McGee & Molly was not a show I listened to when I was young.  My
youngest son, age 12, loves them, and we've bought the collections offered by
Radio Spirits and Adventures in Cassettes (I'm a very, very satisfied
customer of both).

FM&M in 1940-41 is as funny as any show ever was on radio -- even the great
Jack Bennys from 1948-50.  What a supporting cast!  What non-stop action!
 "Mrs. Uppington" was priceless, and far funnier than her humourless
replacement.  "Mr. Depopoulous" and "Boomer" (the same actor, I believe) were
brilliant.  Could Gale Gordon ever be stale or boring?  Never!  And, if
Harold Peary was so funny on FM&M -- and he was -- how come the Gildersleeve
shows are so moronic?

But, as the years went on, FM&M became deathly formulaic.  "Alice" was a real
drag; "Doc Gamble" had one shtick, and it gets tiresome.  (OK, I just turned
50, and I'm sensitive about my weight, I admit it!)  "Buelah" is funny, but
again the tight format limits the possibilities.  "Heavenly Days" is notably
unenlightening on why actors left FM&M, but the deadly pace of the later
shows makes me very curious.

One of the saddest tapes I own is an FM&M after Johnson's Wax had dropped the
show.  The principles sound scared, as if they don't understand what has
happened to them and nothing is working.

The radio mavens really blew it in the 50s, I think, by giving up on it as
anything but a medium for music.  Radio drama, comedy and soaps would never
have had the lock on the audience that they had pre-TV, but an audience
remained -- and remains.  What a pleasure it is to go to Europe and hear new
radio drama and productions w/extraordinary values.  But, of course, it's
state-sponsored, and we couldn't have that, could we?

I hesitate to give broadcasting programmers any credit -- everything Fred
Allan said  in the 40s about their collective intelligence (an oxymoron if
ever there was one) remains true today.  But, the response of the Nets to
cable shows what radio might have done with the advent of TV.  Sad.  

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

Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 06:45:56 -0500
From: "...." <jsalerno@[removed]>
To: "'[removed]@[removed]'" <[removed]@[removed]>
Cc: "'jwidner@[removed]'" <jwidner@[removed]>
Subject: RE:convention
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

Jim, when they announce how to buy tapes of the Lone Ranger recreation/Q&A, would you let us know? I'm really interested in this one.

Well, this is certainly long enough, and I will try to be briefer in
future updates.

PLEASE DON'T!

Joe Salerno
jsalerno@[removed]





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end

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

Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 07:47:12 -0500 (CDT)
From: caldwell@[removed] (Wayne Caldwell)
To: otr@[removed] (otr mailing list)
Subject: NJ convention
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Length:        851

Jim
 Thanks for the update on the NJ convention and keep up the good work.

 Is there a chance of having a convention in the Dallas area? I would be
interested in helping.

[removed]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Wayne Caldwell        |                                  |   
  [removed] 831183        |    caldwell@[removed]    |   972-436-2724
  Richardson, Texas     |    MSGID = CWB                   |  answer machine
  75083-1183            |                                  |   
                    [removed]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"They say your memory is the second thing to go. But I can't remember what
 the first was."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------




--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #395
*******************************************

