Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #69
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 2/27/2007 4:18 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2007 : Issue 69
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Young HARLAN Stone's theater credits  [ Wich2@[removed] ]
      Phil Harris disbands his orchestra?   [ "Stephen Davies" <SDavies@[removed] ]
      East coast / West coast versions for  [ "Stephen Davies" <SDavies@[removed] ]
      Frances Langford & Nash car with bed  [ "Stephen Davies" <SDavies@[removed] ]
      Phrase heard on OTR: "I've got a TL   [ "Stephen Davies" <SDavies@[removed] ]
      And then there was a long dry spell   [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      Gratitude for the list                [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      Dwight Weist & Harry Bartell          [ Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed]; ]
      Eric Blore                            [ "Dan Wildt" <dwildt@[removed]; ]
      Howard Hughes                         [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
      2-27 births/deaths                    [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      Hal Stone                             [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:02:50 -0500
    From: Wich2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Young HARLAN Stone's theater credits

    Dear Folks-

    (This is quite a wonderful  wake. I hope the ol' redhead is enjoying [removed])

    As spoken of at length in  his book, he was also one of the sons - Touring
    Company, I believe - in LIFE  WITH FATHER.

    As he told me the story, with tears welling in his eyes,  that's where his
    Stage mother, Lillian Gish, took him under her wing to the  extent of somewhat
    becoming a Surrogate mother.

    (Connecting the three  degrees of separation, if memory serves, dear departed
    Larry Robinson also did  that gig at one point.)

    Best,
    -Craig

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

    Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:33:50 -0500
    From: "Stephen Davies" <SDavies@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Phil Harris disbands his orchestra?

    I'm curious to know when Phil Harris gave up his orchestra and only led
    multi-purpose studio units for his radio programs.  On the early Jack Benny
    shows, they often mention Phil's engagements at different dance spots, but
    by the end of the war the cast seems to refer only to his novelty singing.
    The post-war years were difficult for big bands, and 90% of them broke up
    (my guess-timate).  Does anyone know the background of the Harris
    orchestra, including Remley?  I believe the real Remley toured Korea with
    Jack Benny's USO troupe.  Would that mean that Remley stayed with Benny,
    after the demise of the Harris orchestra?

    Stephen D
    Calgary

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

    Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:34:10 -0500
    From: "Stephen Davies" <SDavies@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  East coast / West coast versions for game
     shows, [removed]

    It must have been a logistical problem to schedule the two versions of
    national programs which were aimed at the different coasts and timezones.
    But how did the accommodate game shows or panel discussions?  Surely they
    only did one version per night which aired coast to coast (or as we say in
    Canada, from coast to coast to coast).

    Similarly, the band remotes must have started in the East each night and
    then progressed westward in origin as the night got later.  Is that a
    correct assumption?

    Stephen D
    Calgary

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

    Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:34:43 -0500
    From: "Stephen Davies" <SDavies@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Frances Langford & Nash car with beds

    Someone asked quite a while ago about the Nash make of car in which the
    front seats folded back to make beds.  I had heard this joked about in "The
    Bickersons", but I still haven't come up with an exact reference.  I
    thought I would throw this out, and someone else can furnish the episode.

    Following up on request for info about Frances Langford in OTR and movies,
    she appears in the Lum & Abner movie "Dreaming out loud" (1940).  She plays
    the post-mistress / love-interest, and she gets to sing the title song.
    Somehow Phil Harris was in it too (as I read now), but I have no
    recollection of him.

    Stephen D
    Calgary

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

    Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:34:25 -0500
    From: "Stephen Davies" <SDavies@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Phrase heard on OTR: "I've got a TL for you"

    One often hears the phrase "I've got a TL for you" before a warning or bit
    of advice.  I hear it on Jack Benny, Bergen & McCarthy, and a lot on Burns
    & Allen, all around 1940.
    Can anyone explain this phrase?

    Stephen D
    Calgary

    (I'm unburdening myself today of nagging questions.)

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

    Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:35:28 -0500
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  And then there was a long dry spell

    Tas Richardson recalls:

>     I am reading a biography of Enrico Caruso and it states that he was
>     fascinated by technical developments, and that any new experiment found him
>     eager to collaborate.  On the night of Jan. 3rd, 1910 he made his own niche
>     in radio history when part of 'I Pagliacci' was transmitted by Lee de Forest
>     from the Metropolitan stage to the Victor Talking Machine company's
>     headquarters in Camden, New Jersey, with a private link to Gatti-Casazza's
>     office (he was the manager of the Met) and several friends and employees.
>     The songs were also picked up by hams in Connecticut and even in the
>     wireless cabin of the steamer Avon at sea.

    That same night is recalled in my 369-page hardback volume "Music Radio:
    The Great Performers and Programs of the 1920s through Early 1960s"
    (800-253-2187, [removed]).  On that occasion, De Forest set mikes
    in front of Ricardo Martin, Enrico Caruso and Emmy Destinn making the Met's
    debut on the air with "Cavalleria Rusticana" as well as "Pagliacci."

    Picking up the story there, the wireless operator on board the SS Avon at
    sea was dumbstruck.  An earthly sound of human singing was clearly coming
    out of his headset!  In the decade ahead hobbyists would continue playing
    with their electrical toys, perfecting the transmission of sound over the
    air.  By 1917 there were in excess of 8,000 licensed broadcasters in the U.
    S.  Most didn't see any applications of wireless technology beyond
    broadcasting between ship and shore and  communicating experimentally among
    themselves.  Early hams, for sure.

    Following De Forest's test, meanwhile, an unmovable opera management stood
    resolute against subsequent broadcasts from the Met.  In spite of that
    injunction, New York's WEAF aired a Met performance of Verdi's "Aida" on May
    11, 1922, featuring Leon Rothier and Rosa Ponselle.  Narrated by WEAF
    announcer Tommy Cowan, the broadcast originated from the stage of
    Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx, and not from the Met facility itself.

    A resolute Giulio Gatti-Casazza, Met manager, forbade any more attempts to
    air Met operas after the 1910 experience.  He didn't mellow until 1931.
    Management, it seems, believed opera was not only a glorious musical
    experience but a visual spectacle as well, and radio would undercut and
    cheapen it.  "Opera is an art that must be seen as well as heard," Gatti was
    fond of saying.  There was also the legitimate fear that putting the Met on
    the ether could reduce proceeds, possibly catastrophically.  Nonetheless, a
    couple of other reasons were publicly stated -- that technical
    considerations could not be properly satisfied ([removed], not enough space for
    control room and equipment without blocking patrons' view), plus appearing
    in aired concerts was strictly forbidden in the contracts signed by Met
    artists.

    The pros and cons of all this are spelled out in detail in "Music Radio."
    Ultimately, as we are all aware, the Met reneged on its stand, motivated --
    of all things -- by money.  The Met's cash flow was seriously jeopardized by
    the stock market crash of 1929 which resulted in a pathetically dwindling
    gate.  When broadcasters vied for the Met's "business," the heart gave way
    to the head and CBS and NBC schemed to win such a prestigious plum.  That
    combative chase is spelled out in the book, a battle royal that NBC finally
    won.  (CBS won others.)  It's a fascinating narrative -- and it all began
    when Caruso and more sang for Lee De Forest and a handful of the curious
    tuning in way back in 1910.

    Oh yes, and putting the Met on the airwaves opened up its music to millions
    in successive generations who would likely never have had an opportunity to
    have been exposed to it.  Not only that, it helped significantly in raising
    the nation's awareness of -- as well as the contributions to -- the Met.  In
    hindsight, what else could have made such an incredible difference to the
    Met in those decades?

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:35:56 -0500
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Gratitude for the list

    You've read it here many times but I will say it again:  the readers of this
    forum are absolutely the best.

    All one of us has to do is to express a genuine desire or need and almost
    invariably somebody comes to the rescue in a hurry.  The other day I posted
    a request for an episode of Stella Dallas that had gotten away from me.
    Several folks responded within 24 hours, all volunteering information -- or
    recordings -- at once.

    Folks, you are the best.  Those of us who do intensive research in our
    preservation attempts realize it every time you act.  Thanks for being you!

    Now, do we have someone among us who reads Italian fluently?  I need help
    with the spelling of a name only "heard" on a broadcast.  Thanks.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:37:25 -0500
    From: Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Dwight Weist & Harry Bartell

    Lee Munsick's wonderful and perceptive observations on Dwight Weist
    reminded me of two things:

    First, Mr. Weist did make it to the west coast at times. And, one
    time, he actually came down to the PPB Radio
    Archives where I had a chance to meet and talk to him. A charming
    man. Whatever happened when Weist
    finally made it to the FOTR convention must have held over during his
    visit to PPB. For he was very, very
    enthusiastic about "remembering" the golden age of radio. He poured
    over many of the photos of radios
    great stars and talked about the old days. He seemed warm and gentle
    to me. I won't forget that day meeting
    him.

    Second, in 1989 I flew up to Oregon to have Harry Bartell record a
    number of special introductions for the Sherlock Holmes
    series I was producing (he was the original announcer on the 1945-46
    season). At that time he was teaching radio acting at
    the University of Oregon. He made an interesting comment to me. Seems
    that all the students who were taking his class knew
    absolutely NOTHING about radio or radio acting. Most were taking his
    class out of curiosity. He told me that every one of the
    students thought there had to be a microphone for everyone. Each
    actor had to have their own mike.
    The announcer had to have his own mike. Each section of the orchestra
    had to have a separate mike.
    All this was to go directly into a mixing board where the sound could
    be balanced properly.
    What surprised all the students was (Harry said) that only one or two
    mikes were needed. The Students were astonished. Of course,
    Harry had to demonstrate to them how those one or two mikes were
    used. How the actors could make themselves seem far away by
    moving to the side of the mike, and how two people could be on one
    mike and even how one of the two actors could move out of the
    way completely to allow a third actor to step up to the mike.
    Harry said every one of his students were completely amazed at how
    such an approach could work. All this because they thought
    in terms of present day mike placement for small rock groups.
    Well, Harry did teach them the difference. And they did learn and
    appreciate it. Still, Harry shook his head in disbelief. He expressed
    to me his realization that a great medium, radio, is truly lost on
    todays kids. That was why Harry was attempting to bring back an
    understanding of radio to young kids.
    And, of course, now that Harry is gone, even his attempts will soon
    be forgotten.
    It can't be helped. It's the natural unfolding of time and change.
    But we will remember, won't we? For we have the OTR Digest, OTR
    conventions, and, thank heaven, thousands of original radio
    broadcast to listen to and remember.
    Ken Greenwald

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

    Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:37:43 -0500
    From: "Dan Wildt" <dwildt@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Eric Blore
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Recent posts cited some work by Eric Blore.  One of his animation
    assignments was providing the voice of Toad in the Madcap Adventures of Mr.
    Toad, the full length Walt Disney cartoon
    based on the Wind in the Willows story.

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

    Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 22:06:29 -0500
    From: "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed];
    To: ""old-time radio digest">" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Howard Hughes

    Hi all,
    Well I've finally seen The Aviator.
    I'm curious if there's any available OTR coverage of Mr. Hughes, maybe from
    Hollywood, news coverage of
    his plane crashes, or the hearings?
    If so where could I get them?
    Thanks.
    Bill

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

    Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 22:46:00 -0500
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  2-27 births/deaths

    February 27th births

    02-27-1873 - Enrico Caruso - Naples, Italy - d. 8-2-1921
    tenor: On 12-13-1910 made experimental broadcast with Lee DeForest
    02-27-1880 - Georgia Burke - Atlanta, GA - d. 11-28-1985
    actor: Lily "When A Girl Marries"
    02-27-1888 - Lotte Lehmann - Perleberg, Prussia, Germany - d. 10-24-1976
    soprano: "Command Performance"; "Concert Hall"; "Here's to Veterans"
    02-27-1891 - David Sarnoff - Minsk, Russia - d. 12-12-1971
    executive: National Broadcasting Company"
    02-27-1892 - William Demarest - St. Paul, MN - d. 12-28-1983
    actor: Mr. Cobb "Cobbs"; "Eddie Bracken Show"
    02-27-1893 - Maurice Spitalny - Tetieff, Russia - d. 10-28-1986
    conductor: Music director for KDKA Pittsburgh
    02-27-1894 - Frank Munn - The Bronx, NY - d. 10-1-1953
    singer (The Golden Voice of Radio) Paul Oliver "Palmolive Hour"
    02-27-1894 - Upton Close - Kelso, WA - d. 11-14-1960
    commentator: "Events and Trends of the Week"; "Close-Ups of the News"
    02-27-1897 - Marian Anderson - South Philadelphia, PA - d. 4-8-1993
    singer: "Ford Evening Sunday Hour"; "Telephone Hour"; "New World A'
    Coming"
    02-27-1899 - Ian Keith - Boston, MA - d. 3-26-1960
    actor "The O'Neill Cycle"
    02-27-1902 - Gene Sarazen - Harrison, NY - d. 5-13-1999
    golf legend: "Tops in Sports"
    02-27-1902 - Joe Tarto - d. 8-24-1976
    musician: "The Ipana Troubadors"
    02-27-1902 - John Steinbeck - Salinas, CA - d. 12-20-1968
    novelist: "Radio Hall of Fame"; "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Screen
    Director's Playhouse"
    02-27-1903 - Reginald Gardiner - Wimbledon, Surrey, England - d.
    7-7-1980
    actor: "Document A/777"
    02-27-1905 - Franchot Tone - Niagara Falls, NY - d. 9-18-1968
    actor: "Arch Oboler Plays"; "Free Company"; "Knickerbocker Playhouse"
    02-27-1907 - Kenneth Horne - England - d. 2-14-1969
    comedian: "Round the Horne"; "Ack Ack Beer Beer"; "Beyond Our Ken"
    02-27-1907 - Mildred Bailey - Tekoa, WA - d. 12-12-1951
    singer: (Rockin' Chair Lady) "Mildred Bailey Show"; "Camel Caravan"
    02-27-1909 - Carl Frank - Weehawken, NJ - d. 9-23-1972
    actor: Jerry Malone "Young Dr. Malone"; Bob Drake "Betty and Bob"
    02-27-1910 - Joan Bennett - Palisades, NJ - d. 12-7-1990
    actor: "Ford Theatre"; "MGM Theatre of the Air"; "Skippy Hollywood
    Theatre"
    02-27-1912 - Ralph Camargo - Glendale, CA - d. 1-15-1992
    actor: "X-Minus One"; "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar"
    02-27-1913 - Irwin Shaw - NYC - d. 5-16-1984
    author: "Columbia Workshop";"Studio One"; "The Gumps"
    02-27-1915 - Donald Curtis - Cheney, WA - d. 5-22-1997
    actor: Michael Shayne "Michael Shayne"
    02-27-1920 - Jose Melis - Havana, Cuba - d. 4-7-2005
    bandleader: "Arthur Godfrey"s Talent Scouts"; "Arthur Godfrey Time"
    02-27-1921 - E. Jack Neuman - Ohio - d. 1-15-1998
    writer: "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar"; "Advs. of Sam Spade"; "Escape"
    02-27-1923 - Dexter Gordon - Los Angeles, Ca - d. 4-25-1990
    saxophonist: "Newport Jazz Festival";"White House Jazz Festival"
    02-27-1927 - Guy Mitchell - Detroit, MI - d. 7-1-1999
    singer: "Stars On Parade"; "1957 March of Dimes Galaxy of Stars"
    02-27-1927 - Ralph Stanley - Big Spraddle Creek, VA
    bluegrass singer: (The Stanley Brothers) "Farm and Fun Program"
    02-27-1932 - Dame Elizabeth Taylor - London, England
    actor: "Theatre Guild On the Air"; "Lux Radio Theatre"

    February 27th deaths

    01-20-1899 - Joseph Buloff - Vilnius, Lithuania - d. 2-27-1985
    actor: Barney Glass "House of Glass"
    02-25-1908 - George Duning - Richmond, IN - d. 2-27-2000
    composer: "Bud's Bandwagon"
    03-16-1889 - Elsie Janis - Columbus, OH - d. 2-27-1956
    First female announcer on network radio
    04-04-1908 - Ted McMichael - Marshalltown, IA - d. 2-27-2001
    singer: (The Merry Macs) "Bing Crosby Show"; "Fred Allen Show"
    04-12-1908 - Robert L. Scott - Waynesboro, GA - d. 2-27-2006
    wwII fighter pilot, author: "Mail Call"; "Hop Harrigan"
    04-13-1890 - Gene Rodemich - St. Louis, MO - d. 2-27-1934
    orchestra leader/singer: "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round"
    04-16-1918 - Spike Milligan - Ahmednagar, India - d. 2-27-2002
    comedian: Eccles the Idiot, Miss Minnie Bannister, Count Moriarty
    "Goon Show"
    06-03-1900 - Frank Dailey - Bloomfield, NJ - d. 2-27-1956
    bandleader: "Matinee at Meadowbrook"
    06-16-1885 - Tom Howard - County Tyrone, Ireland - d. 2-27-1955
    comedian: "It Pays to Be Ignorant"; "Sunday Night Party"
    06-24-1909 - Milton Katims - Brooklyn, NY - d. 2-27-2006
    violist, conductor: "NBC Symphony"; "Eternal Light"
    07-14-1901 - George Tobias - NYC - d. 2-27-1980
    actor: "Cavalcade of America"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
    07-23-1918 - Anne Ayars - Los Angeles, CA - d. 2-27-1995
    vocalist: "The Chicago Theatre of the Air"
    08-09-1910 - Snag Werris - NYC - d. 2-27-1987
    writer: "The Comedy Writers Show"; "Quixie Doodles"
    10-14-1893 - Lillian Gish - Springfield, OH - d. 2-27-1993
    panelist: "Arthur Hopkins Presents"; "Texaco Star Playhouse"; "Suspense"
    10-28-1895 - John Boles - Greenville, TX - d. 2-27-1969
    actor, singer: "Texaco Star Theatre"
    11-30-1906 - John Dickson Carr - Uniontown, PA - d. 2-27-1977
    writer: "Suspense"; "Cabin B-13"; "Murder by Experts"
    12-31-1897 - Orry-Kelly - Kiama, New South Wales, Australia - d.
    2-27-1964
    costume designer: Intermission Guest "Lux Radio Theatre"
    12-31-1914 - Pat Brady - Toledo, OH - d. 2-27-1972
    sidekick, stooge: "Roy Rogers Show"

    Ron Sayles

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

    Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:31:49 -0500
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Hal Stone

    I've been a bit behind in reading the Digest, and when
    Karen Hughes asked in a recent E-Mail if I'd been
    reading all the Hal Stone posts, I thought she meant
    posts _by_ him, not about him. So I was surprised to
    learn he'd died.

    There isn't much I can say about Hal that hasn't been
    said by others. About all I can add is that I had the
    pleasure of seeing (and hearing) him speak dialogue I
    wrote when he performed as Johnny Dollar in a radio
    play I'd penned for the 2003 Cincinnati convention.

    That, and the fact that when he signed my copy of his
    book (that same year?), he took responsibility for the
    bad weather that preceded the convention.

    The Cincinnati con won't be the same without him. Now
    who'll give Bob Hastings a (good-natured) hard time?

    Rick

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #69
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