------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 341
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Harry Bartell [ "mike kerezman" <philipmarlowe@cfai ]
"the rest of the story" [ nicoll <nicoll@[removed]; ]
Favorite Comedy Vote / Commercials G [ Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed] ]
Weekend Radio [ BryanH362@[removed] ]
Zero Hour Revisited [ "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed]; ]
Re:Radio's demise [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
9-13 Births/Deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Re:Cost of CDs [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
re: Frank and Anne Hummert [ benohmart@[removed] ]
MP3s on DVD [ Richard Carpenter <sinatra@ragingbu ]
The Joy Boys [ "Kris Stone" <anaheim47@[removed] ]
REPS Showcase 2004 [ JJLjackson@[removed] ]
Spirited Radios [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
OTR and the family [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
Re: Joy Boys/ Rex Stout. [ gad4@[removed] ]
Re: How Many shows survive? [ "Jim Widner" <widnerj@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 09:22:11 -0400
From: "mike kerezman" <philipmarlowe@[removed];
To: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Harry Bartell
I saw Harry Bartell the other night on the Sci-Fi Channel on the THE
TWILIGHT ZONE "I SHOT AN [removed]" I could not miss that voice anywhere.
He's was in the Mission Control room in the episode teaser. Its great to see
the face with the voice I've come to know so well.
Mike Kerezman Jr
Macomb, Oklahoma
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 09:23:46 -0400
From: nicoll <nicoll@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: "the rest of the story"
Have you ever wondered how your childhood wagon got its name - "Radio
Flyer"? According to brochure the company sent to me this is way it came
about. The founder of the company, Antonio Pasin, arrived in country in
1914. By applying the mass-production techniques of the auto industry to
his wagon making he became a success.
"The names Antonio gave his toy wagons captured the spirit of the times.
For the wagon that has become an icon, the popular Model #18, he chose the
word Radio, because everyone was fascinated by the radio, the new wireless
invention of a fellow Italian, Guglielmo Marconi; and Flyer which gave a
nod to wonder of flight."
Will Nicoll
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 09:24:10 -0400
From: Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Favorite Comedy Vote / Commercials Go Old
Style
Two news updates today. The first is the Reader's Digest online poll of the
funniest movie ever. What does that have to do with old time radio? One of
the choices is "To Be or Not To Be," starring Jack Benny.
[removed];sessionid=2AZC0D3KNCXR0CTENILSGWT5AAAACIY4?articleId=9526793
Also, in the time of TiVo, advertisers are starting to want their products
integrated into the shows - just like the old days.
This back to the future moment is identified in this article on an
advertising conference for [removed]
[removed]
Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 09:24:36 -0400
From: BryanH362@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Weekend Radio
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
For those interested :
On Yesterday USA this weekend with Walden Hughes
Friday 9-12-03
Frank interview with Jack Bailey star of Queen for a Day
Saturday 9-13-03
A. Walden and Frank Bresee will interview Jim cox about his new book.
B. Sandy Singer interview with Margaret Whiting
C. the Gassman interview with Stan Freberg
Sunday 9-14-03 replay of the interview with Frances Pearson
I am a big listener of live OTR programs available on the internet . (ie
...Chuck Shaden , Yesterday USA , The Big Broadcast , The Glowing Dial ,
Heritage Theater [removed]) . Does anyone have a compilation of all the
different live shows available to the OTR fan via the internet ?
Thanks
Bryan
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 09:25:35 -0400
From: "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Zero Hour Revisited
To me, there is nothing more illuminating than listening to a whole
series of shows. I have done this with the first season of zero hour. On
the whole, this is a very good series. The five part novels really give
you a chance to have more of a story told. From the first novel, The Wife
of the Red Haired Man, to the last, Queen In Danger, the novels are all
good. The stars are all well-known to us, at least the radio stars, but
many of the TV stars of that era are used in the shows. However, there
are some interesting things about the series. The novel, Desperate
Witness, was originally called the clock years ago and No Way Out when it
was a movie. One of the novels is called Face of the Foe and it had a
song with guitar music in it. After that series is over, the guitar music
is used in the last couple of novels, which you wouldn't know if you
hadn't heard that series. I do have a couple of quibbles though. First,
there aren't enough credits. Not all the radio actors are identified.
Second, the original titles of the novels are not given. Third, the
person singing on Face Of The Foe is never identified. I got these shows
on two MP3 disks and it is most of the run. It has that usual boxy sound,
but the first season is available in stereo. It is good enough that I am
considering buying the run in stereo, since it was some of the last radio
work that many of these actors did. This is a really worthwhile series
and I would look for it if you like extended serials that are different
enough that you can listen to one right after the other and not get
bored. I would recommend that you seek the series out and try it. You
won't be wasting your time.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 09:25:45 -0400
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re:Radio's demise
Andrew Godfrey just asked;
Would like to know at what point it became evident that television would
overtake old time radio and that OTR slowly began to fade out of picture
.....and what it was like when shows had to cut back on budgets by
shortening shows and removing orchestras from shows in the last years of OTR
as we knew [removed] only 14 on September 30, 1962 so wasn't old enough to
really comprehend what was going in the last days of OTR.
Hi Andrew. I'm sure the credible historians who are Digest members can give
you much better facts and figures (dates) than any I can come up with. I'm
relying solely on memory. However, having worked in both entertainment
mediums during that "Transition" from Network Radio to Television
programming, I can only offer some personal recollections.
Radio actors and directors (at first), considered TV an upstart "new
fangled" form of entertainment. Initially, I don't think we considered it a
threat to our livelihood as radio performers. After all, in the early days
of TV, it was not affecting radio programming at all.
Bottom line. It had to do with economics. Sponsors did not rush to the new
medium (in the mid 40's) because of what was called the "Cost per Thousand"
factor. Advertisers (and their Ad agencies) relied heavily on statistics.
Before they would commit to spending money to sponsor a radio show, they
wanted to know how much bang they would get for a buck. Ratings gave them an
indication of how many households (people) their commercial message would
reach. So one simply divided the cost of sponsorship by the number of
listeners (viewers for TV) to reach a $ cost per thousand people. Obviously,
the lower the cost per thousand, the more attractive the sale of air time
was to a sponsor.
As you can imagine, the more popular radio programs did not have trouble
finding, or keeping, sponsors.
It wasn't until the US population could begin to afford to purchase TV sets,
(in substantial numbers) that Advertisers would considered switching their
ad budgets from radio to TV. Not only that, the "quality" of the early TV
fare was not earth shaking, or spurring sales of TV receivers to any great
extent. As I mentioned earlier, the rank and file performer considered TV to
be more a novelty than any threat to radio programming.
As far as I'm concerned, (personally speaking) there were two things that
occurred that really were pivotal, and directly affected Radios demise. The
die was cast when "Uncle Milty" came along. (Researchers can give you the
year).
I believe that Milton Berle's program did more to HASTEN Radios demise than
any other TV offering. I think I was in my late teens. My family didn't own
a TV set. We had to go to a neighbors house up the street to watch the show
every week. I'm sure that scenario was repeated all across the country.
Uncle Milty did more to spur the sales of TV sets across the Country than
anyone believed possible. It was a phenomenon.
Then, once TV set sales skyrocketed, the Networks could afford to capitalize
on the burgeoning new medium, and spend money to develop more and better
programming. The other event(s) that occurred shortly thereafter was the
conversion of many of NBC's existing radio studios into TV studios. (Ripping
out audience seating to make room for cameras, scenery, etc.)
Basically, it was a slow process. And became accelerated when other TV
entertainment captured the publics fancy. (The Steve Allen show, Jack Parr,
etc). People were talking about what they had seen or heard. And those
without TV sets were envious, and figured they were missing out on
something. [removed] more and more TV sets were sold, making the medium more
attractive to Advertisers than the current Radio offerings.
Both mediums coexisted for awhile in the early 50's. I began performing on
TV in the early 50's, and was still playing "Jughead" on radio until it went
off the air in 1953.
I hope the above gives you a brief overview of the transition between the
mediums, and the driving force behind it.
For what it's worth, I go into more detail about that period of time in my
book, "Aw, Relax Archie, Relax!!! In a few chapters, I trace the careers of
many of the performers that I worked with in Theatre and Radio (over 15
years) that easily made the transition from radio to TV, and became highly
visible household names because of their success in the new medium. Which
also led, (due to TV exposure), to successful motion picture careers as
well.
Hal(Harlan)Stone
"Jughead" [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 09:26:50 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 9-13 Births/Deaths
September 13th births
09-13-1871 - Alma Kruger - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 4-5-1960
actress: Emily Mayfield "Those We Love"
09-13-1883 - Lewis E. Lawes - Elmira, NY - d. 4-23-1947
commentator: "Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing"
09-13-1900 - Gladys George - Patton, ME - d. 12-8-1954
actress: "Lincoln Highway"
09-13-1903 - Ken Trietsch - Arcadia, IN - d. 9-17-1987
musician-singer: "National Barn Dance"; "Uncle Ezra"
09-13-1905 - Claudette Colbert - Paris, France - d. 7-30-1996
actress: "Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players"; "Millions for Defense"
09-13-1908 - Mae Questal - The Bronx, NY - d. 1-4-1998
actress: Betty Boop "Betty Boop Fables"; Olive Oyl "Popeye the Sailor"
09-13-1909 - Leith Stevens - Mount Moriah, MO - d. 7-23-1970
conductor: "Death Valley Days"; "Molle Merry Minstrels"
09-13-1918 - Dick Haymes - Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. 3-28-1980
singer, actor: Dick Haymes Show"; Crane Dockery "I Fly Anything"
09-13-1920 - Carole Mathews - Montgomery, IL
actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-13-1924 - Scott Brady - Brooklyn, NY - d. 4-16-1985
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-13-1925 - Mel Torme - Chicago, IL- d. 6-5-1999
actor, singer: Joe Corntassel "Little Orphan Annie"; "New Mel Torme Show"
September 13th deaths
02-08-1913 - Betty Field - Boston, MA - d. 9-13-1973
actress: Mary Aldrich "Aldrich Family"
04-18-1882 - Leopold Stokowski - London, England - d. 9-13-1977
conductor: "NBC Symphony/Symphony of the Air"
06-14-1918 - Dorothy McGuire - Omaha, NE - d. 9-13-2001
actress: Sue Evans Miller "Big Sister"; "Joyce Jordan, [removed]"
08-31-1907 - Winifred Cecil - Staten Island, NY - d. 9-13-1985
singer: "Show Boat"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hometown of [removed] Kaltenborn and Jay Jostyn
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 11:32:47 -0400
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re:Cost of CDs
A few issues back, someone asked why OTR on CDs cost more than on audio
cassettes, since he said the blank price of both is about the same.
Material cost is only part of the pricing. Actually, CDs still cost a bit
more. A jewel case cost more than a polybox or Norelco box. A CD-R cost a
few cents more than an audio cassette. But, time is a big factor.
We have Sony Hi Speed duplicators with 15 slaves. I can run 100 audio
cassettes in an hour. I own two Bravo units for burning CDs and DVDs. It
takes 5 minutes to burn a CD. So in an hour each unit has burned and
printed about 12 CDs. That give me 24 CD per hour vs 100 audio cassettes. I
even have a unit that just burns CDs but has a slower burner than the
Bravo. So that unit, a Premiere Composer, turn out about 10 CDs per hour.
Using all three units, I can still only do about 34 CDs per hour. About 1/3
of what my audio cassette output is.
This is why we charge just a little more for CDs than audio cassettes. Not
only for OTR, but on our regular duplicating prices.
Fred
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 11:35:03 -0400
From: benohmart@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: Frank and Anne Hummert
I agree. Jim Cox should be knighted for his part in mining radio history. His books are
entertaining reads as well, and never fail to get good reviews from the likes of Classic
Images, etc. Between he and Martin Grams, Jr., radio's written word is getting out there
more, and I hope it brings about more scholarly works on this genre.
Ben Ohmart
The Walter Tetley book
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 11:35:12 -0400
From: Richard Carpenter <sinatra@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: MP3s on DVD
Deep in my heart, I still believe that the sound that comes out of a radio is
created by miniature people hiding inside. So imagine my amazement when I
bought a single DVD containing NINE HUNDRED THIRTY "Suspense" shows plus 20
"Black Museum" programs thrown in for good measure. The shows, all on MP3,
were recorded at 24kbp, but the ones I tested sound fine. As with almost all
MP3 collections, there is a variance in quality from show to show but every
one of the several I sampled was completely listenable. Today's technology
flabbergasts me. And so does the low cost.
All these programs cost me $[removed] plus postage at auction. Imagine what the
price would be if this were an audio CD collection. With two shows fitting on
each CD, 475 discs would be needed! (Of course there's the question of
whether these programs are in public domain or whether someone is being
deprived of income, but I don't think anyone truly knows the answer to that.)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 11:42:10 -0400
From: "Kris Stone" <anaheim47@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Joy Boys
Funny you should mention the Joy Boys of 1934:
I ran across this recently and thought you may find it [removed] Rex
Stout's first Nero Wolfe mystery, Fer-De-Lance, written in 1934, he talks
about Wolfe listening to the Joy Boys on the radio. Wolfe's assistant,
Archie, usually went for a walk during the show because "the Joy Boys seem
to me pretty damn vulgar." Can you explain this? - Jack Fischer
Since Ed and Willard were each born around that year, it wasn't this show. I
know several bands used the name Joy Boys around the '20s and '30s: Blanche
Calloway and her Joy Boys, Fess Williams and his Joy Boys, Anton Barbeau and
the Joy Boys. Maybe one of these bands had a radio show in 1934. Can anyone
tell us the rest of this story? -BB
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 13:08:16 -0400
From: JJLjackson@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: REPS Showcase 2004
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Here in Seattle, we're starting to work on 2004's Showcase, our annual OTR
convention, which will be June 24-27. We're really excited about next year's
theme because Showcase will be saluting Mutual Broadcasting and its West Coast
Affiliates. I did a quick (okay, a whole evening's) study of John Dunning's
Encylopedia, and found there are at least 153 shows that spent part of their
life on Mutual. That's a lot to choose from.
I realize that most people on the Digest are quite familiar with Mutual, but
for some of us, Mutual is a mysterious other-not NBC, not CBS, not ABC. This
is going to be a chance to get up close and personal with what made Mutual a
contender.
One exciting development has been the offer by Harlan Zinck and First
Generation Radio Archives to combine the first Mutual broadcast with the first
Don Lee broadcast from their transcription disks, and put it on a CD. Wouldn't
it be neat if each showcase attendee received one? We'll see.
That's just one of the ideas that has been generated in response to next
year's theme.
Thursday's tribute to the stars will honor Sam Edwards, the MC will be Harry
Bartell. And Jack Edwards, Sam's brother, has agreed to be there.
Of course, our regular Company of OTR actors will be on hand: Alice Backes,
Dick Beals, Frank Buxton, Herb Ellis, Ray Erlenborn, Jim French, Barbara
Fuller, Esther Geddes, Art Gilmore, Jimmy Lydon, Anne Whitfield Phillips, Hal
Stone, Gil Stratton jr, Ginny Tyler, Doug Young.
The location of the Showcase will be at the same place, Seattle Center, where
we've been for the past six years. The convention hotel is also the same,
Comfort Suites, is located half-mile down the street from the convention. Last
year's shuttle service was excellent to and from the hotel.
You won't want to miss Showcase 2004.
I will be at the FOTR convention in October. Please button-hole me at the
convention to find out the latest. See you there.
Joy Jackson
Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound ([removed])
Showcase 2004 chair
JJLjackson@[removed]
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 13:37:43 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Spirited Radios
Larry Montgomery asks,
I am a recently new listener and would like to know if any of you out
there have any really good "radio memories" of what it was like back in
the 1930's and 1940's listening to the radio.
As I've recounted before, there was usually a radio on at any waking
moment every day (a practice our family followed since the Pearl Harbor
attack). So there was always a background of broadcast sounds in our
house. When the children's shows (Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters, The
adventures of Superman, The Cisco Kid, Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth
Century, etc.) were broadcast, we children went to our rooms to listen (I
don't recall what my parents listened to, given that I wasn't there at
the time). I also had a Hallicrafters S-38X AM/Shortwave radio, come to
think of it. In the evening, we'd usually migrate to the living room and
settle ourselves down on various pieces of furniture to listen to the
great evening shows.
What radio did you have and how important was it that your radio be
kept in good working order?
Well, few of us tweaked the radios. My folks had one in the living room,
another in the kitchen. My sister and I each had one in our bedrooms.
The living room console was an AM/FM radiophonograph. Mine were a
Silvertone AM Radiophonograph (a turntable-and-arm table model unit); my
sister's a table model radio, brand forgotten, but a wooden cabinet.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 13:59:29 -0400
From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR and the family
I strongly suspect that the image of the family sitting around the living
room, entranced by the glowing dial, is mostly a product of advertising art.
Each family has its own rituals, but we certainly didn't operate like that
once there was more than one radio in the house. Everyone did their own
stuff.
My favorite advertisement along these lines was one that showed the march of
technology. It consisted of maybe six separate drawings, each one showing a
family sitting around a fire. The series progressed from cave men around an
open fire, a Roman family around a brazier, a medieval family around a crude
fireplace, pioneers around an equally crude but presumably democratic
fireplace, a Victorian era family around a refined fireplace in a
wood-paneled living room, and finally a modern American family. They were
gathered around a TV set.
M Kinsler
entranced by the glowing Cartoon [removed]
512 E Mulberry St. Lancaster, Ohio USA 43130 740-687-6368
[removed]~mkinsler1
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 14:20:49 -0400
From: gad4@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Joy Boys/ Rex Stout.
Kerymt wrote:
However, this clearly cannot be the "vulgar" show that Rex Stout
wrote about in 1934.
I am no expert on the subject but based upon this sentence, my thoughts are
that in fictional works they try to keep real names/characters out of it. I
would think that would be more so if one is calling a show "vulgar". Perhaps
this is meant to be a takeoff on the "happiness boys", a very famous
singing/comedy radio team of the late 20s to early 30s.
Sincerely,
George
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 15:09:39 -0400
From: "Jim Widner" <widnerj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: How Many shows survive?
It was asked:
Has anyone attempted to count how many recordings of OTR shows are
known to have survived? I'd be particularly interested in knowing
how this number has changed in recent years as new copies of
unavailable shows are found."
In my opinion the closest to this you can get is Jay Hickerson's Guide.
He attempts to list how many of a show is in circulation (not
necessarily in existence). He provides regular updates of the
information based on input from vendors and individuals.
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #341
*********************************************
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]