------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2005 : Issue 273
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Movies? [ Wich2@[removed] ]
GWYNNE -- CHIMING IN ON NBC CHIMES [ Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed]; ]
NBC Chimes [ Janet Chamberlain <pepsipenquin@yah ]
THEME SONG [ Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed]; ]
Transcriptions and Selling [ "Austotr" <austotr@[removed]; ]
What Happened to Molly? [ "William D. Clark" <wclark4121@stic ]
Re: NBC CHIMES [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
Theme song "I love to [removed]" [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
Paul Temple reruns on BBC 7 [ [removed]@[removed] ]
Re: Theme Song [ "Candy Jens" <candyj@[removed]; ]
Oliver Perry [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
Acting vs. reading a script [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
Beulah [ "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross. ]
Penthouse Murder Mystery [ Rutledge Mann <cliff_marsland@yahoo ]
9-9 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 15:41:20 -0400
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Movies?
From: PURKASZ@[removed]
like the
crazy movement of silent movie people was shown not to be real but a part
of
the technical problems of frame speed from camera to projector
Dear Mike-
Actually, that was a problem of the change in technology when sound came in.
>From the beginning, both cameras and projectors were hand-cranked. Which
meant, that as long as both were kept at the same speed - and this was
constantly adjustable - things looked "right."
When sound came in, for consistency in pitch, the equipment had to be
mechanized. And STANDARDIZED. The studios settled at 24 frames-per-second -
which,
alas, was a bit faster than most Silents - especially the earlier ones -
has been shot.
Best,
-Craig
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 17:01:59 -0400
From: Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: GWYNNE -- CHIMING IN ON NBC CHIMES
The chimes were automated to cut the program on the air at "25 seconds
past the program end time" -- in cases where a President was making a
speech, or news bulletins, etc., they had to physically reprogrammed NOT
to do the 'automatically' thingy.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 17:03:05 -0400
From: Janet Chamberlain <pepsipenquin@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: NBC Chimes
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Found this interesting website about the NBC Chimes:
[removed]
Penguins that live in Igloos, Love to Drink Ice Cold Pepsi:Cola!!!!!!!!!!
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 17:03:16 -0400
From: Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: THEME SONG
Eddie Cantor used both songs.
SS
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 18:35:54 -0400
From: "Austotr" <austotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Transcriptions and Selling
Well what an issue #272 was.
I mentioned we need to see more shows circulated and Dave Siegel wrote about
Barry Hill's collection going to a new home and that is good news. Not that
that means the shows will be circulated but its good to know that they are
going to someone who will appreciate them. Barry kept outbidding me on ebay
quite often whenever a British Comedy Transcription appeared. I am not sure
what [removed] or Australian Transcriptions he had but he sure had a lot of
British Comedy.
Unfortunately Dave's welcome news was followed by an mp3 seller who was
selling mp3 copies of Australian eps, some of which came from my collection
and the collections of other collectors who have stated that they don't want
the episodes sold. What Cliff didn't mention in his post about me releasing
shows was that I had stopped releasing on mp3 several months ago as a result
of not being able to convince certain websites and ebay sellers to stop
selling my Australian encodes.
I get requests for shows all the time and I love showing OTR people that
Australia did more than just have Australian versions of some [removed] scripts.
The count at the moment puts the Australian OTR Series to over 4,700
series/plays (not episodes, that figure would be staggering) which we are
documenting. But I don't know what we can do about the growing number of
people who see OTR mp3 as an opportunity to make money. Apart from
hoarding, which simply is not in my nature. At the moment I simply do not
encode to mp3, but do trade in non mp3.
Ironic, since it was mp3 that introduced me to this great hobby and the
wonderful people I have met and emailed with over the years.
Ian
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 18:36:12 -0400
From: "William D. Clark" <wclark4121@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: What Happened to Molly?
Hello,
My family and I are currently listening to the run of the Johnson Wax Show
Fibber McGee and Molly, and we are enjoying it immensely. We noticed that
Marion (Molly McGee) Jordan is missing from all shows from about December
1937 until April 1939. In many of the shows Jim (Fibber McGee) Jordan
alludes to the fact that Marion (Molly) is ill and sends her best wishes.
Can anyone here supply the details of what happened, and what her extended
illness was?
OTR lover in San Antonio
Dale
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 20:21:23 -0400
From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: NBC CHIMES
Michael Gwynne's response about the NBC chimes raise a number of
interesting issues.
I went to my piano and played those notes using the
middle C and was delighted to hear what I recall as
the NBC chimes!
But you will find that there are other note combinations that will also
create this melody. You would just be transposing it into other keys. For
example, try the C A F combination that Michael Shoshani mentioned in the
previous Digest. You will find as many different combinations as there are
musical keys.
If he's saying they are not always those particular notes then
we have what are called intervals to deal with.
Precisely! Remember, the actual physical chimes that the announcers struck
only had four notes on them. They were not like a xylophone or
glockenspiel that had all of the notes on them. Each four note chime set
was pitched to a specific key, and not all of them were the same. So you
had no choice in which lettered notes to play, only the interval spacing in
the key that the chimes were pitched to. Only the chime sets with G C E G
could provide G E C.
but someone made a decision to select those notes and others
made the decision to hold on to them as a signature.
You would think so, wouldn't you. Well, so did all of us, but NOWHERE has
any of us found some kind of memo in the NBC files or a contemporary item
in some radio magazine or newspaper radio section that announces what NBC
is starting to do with chimes. There seems to be the possibility that at
first there were five note combinations that denoted specific cities of
originations, because Elizabeth and I have separately found original discs
of different Chicago programs recorded off of Milwaukee and Boston stations
which have the same melody, and I found a Detroit area broadcast recorded
off of WJZ with a different melody. We need another WJZ recording to be
sure whether it identifies Detroit or Newark. But we have no way of
knowing if it even was a city locator because nowhere is there any
paperwork discussing this possibility. It might have just been what the
announcer liked to play. It is only years after the three notes melody we
now recognize was chosen that there is some written info in the files, but
by then nobody remembered how the melody came to be chosen and what came
before. And later we started to see competing and contrasting stories, but
these were all written long after the fact.
I was most excited by Michael's research into the correction
of pitch. I've always wondered if some of those old voices
were accurate
Back in the 1960s I entered the OTR area as a record collector, someone who
had been collecting the actual original discs. I quickly realized that
most OTR collectors were trading tapes that were copies of copies of copies
of copies of copies of copies of copies, etc. and not only did the sound
quality of most of these dubs stink to high heaven, few of them were at the
correct speed. I've written here before how I am still amazed at how many
OTR collectors will tolerate (and sometimes prefer!) the wretched sound
quality of some recordings that started off in glorious near-hi-fi sound on
the original discs. (Fortunately there are now some collectors who are as
concerned with preserving sound quality as I am.) But I still hear so
many programs being played very far off-speed. An easy example would be
some of the MP3 discs of The Lone Ranger that are circulating. Most
players can jump almost instantly from track to track to track. Try it and
see the wide variation of the pitch of the first notes of the William Tell
Overture. They should all be the same. Do it with discs of other series
that start off with a theme song. Now some people are doing it right and
making corrections, but others don't even notice it! And by the way, the
corrections MUST be made by changing the speed of the recording. You can't
just correct the pitch and leave the tempo alone as can be done on some
computer programs. I am afraid that some people have completely screwed up
recordings this way.
just like the crazy movement of silent movie people was
shown not to be real but a part of the technical problems
of frame speed from camera to projector. Unless there
really was way too much coffee at the Keystone Studios
in those days! Gwynne
Silent movies were almost all shot with hand-cranked cameras, and most
projectors in that era were also handcranked. The chase scenes were shot
"undercranked" so they would play faster, and sometimes the projectionists
would show them even faster (sometimes to get in an extra showing during
the day.) But the problem really began in the early days of television
when so many silent films were shown on kiddie shows because they were
cheap or free. The normal speed of silent film was 16 to 18 frames per
second, but most projectors used on TV film chains were set at the sound
speed of 24 frames per second and could not be varied because there was a
complicated shutter in use to synchronize that rate to the TV system of 30
frames per second. In later years some companies started
"stretch-printing" the films to allow them to look natural when projected
at 24 frames, but that wasn't done back in the early days of TV. So my
generation grew up thinking that this is what silent film looked like. We
thought that all normal action was speeded up, and that the chase scenes
were speeded up that much more. In reality, only the chase scenes were
supposed to be shown faster than normal.
And if you have seen Reefer Madness, especially in the new Showtime
version, it wouldn't have been COFFEE that they would have been high on to
get that fast action without undercranking!!!!!
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 20:21:57 -0400
From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Theme song "I love to [removed]"
That song was the theme for the "Eddie Cantor Show."
Ted Kneebone. OTR website: [removed]
Democrats: [removed]
1528 S. Grant St., Aberdeen, SD 57401 / Phone: 605-226-3344
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 23:07:33 -0400
From: [removed]@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Paul Temple reruns on BBC 7
Paul Temple the 1950s detective from BBC Radio is being rerun on the Crime and
Thrillers hour on BBC Radio 7.
Though a crime detective his adventures have the international intrigue
normally
found in James Bond thrillers. It is well produced, and worth a listen if you
like crime dramas. Americans will notice the British production lacks
background
music and sound effects are used only as necessary.
The 30 minute drama airs 5 days a week (M-F) and the shows are archived for 7
days at the BBC 7 website. The current adventure started today called Paul
Temple and The Alex Affair. Paul Temple is called in by Scotland Yard when
three
deaths occur which have in common the names Alex and Mrs Trevelyan. This
particular series has 8 episodes.
You can hear the Paul Temple shows by going to the BBC Radio Player:
[removed]
Then select BBC 7 and on the following page select the Paul Temple episode
you wish.
It's nice to see the BBC making this 50 year old show available again.
Paul Urbahns
Radcliff, KY
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 23:08:06 -0400
From: "Candy Jens" <candyj@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Theme Song
A friend has asked me if can recollect what show the song
"I Love To Spend One Hour With You" was the theme.
I "think" that Eddie Cantor used this at the end of his show, but not
absolutely sure . . .
Candy
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 23:10:30 -0400
From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Oliver Perry
Can anyone tell me how many times private detective
Oliver Perry, who suspected Britt Reid of being the
Green Hornet crossed paths with Reid, and what the
episodes in which he appeared were called? I know some
refer to Perry by name ([removed] "The Last of Oliver
Perry"), but at least one does not ("The Unexpected
Meeting").
Rick
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 23:11:34 -0400
From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Acting vs. reading a script
The discussion has come up about how some radio
performers could make you believe they were actually
_acting_, while others sounded like they were simply
reading from a script. Among the names broached in
this discussion was Vincent Price. Now, as it happens,
I enjoy listening to _The Saint_, and I love Price's
portrayal of Simon Templar. Maybe it's because his
portrayal was the first non-written incarnation of
_The Saint_ I encountered, but I consider Price to be
the definitive Simon Templar.
Now, to quote Bill Cosby, I told you that story to
tell you this one. When I listen to _The Saint_, I
don't hear Vincent Price reading a script in a studio;
I hear Simon Templar talking to whomever is with him.
Now, intellectually, I _know_ Price (and everyone
else) is reading a script, but he doesn't make that
fact blatantly obvious, as has been suggested.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I've
been listening to OTR since I was 12- decades before I
had any inkling that the actors read from scripts
rather than having memorized their lines; but unless
an actor is _really_ bad, I tend to focus on the story
and the characters, forgetting that these are actors
in a studio.
(Unless, of course, I'm specifically listening for
something- like trying to identify whether a voice
belongs to actor A or B; I'm actually thinking about
the actors reading their scripts; or C, Lou Costello
asks, "what page are you on, Abbott?").
Case in point: When I listened to "Superman Vs. the
Atom Man" during my drive up to (and back from) our
place up north, I _knew_ Mason Adams was standing in
front of a microphone with a script either in his
hand, or on a stand in front of him; but what I heard
(and saw in my mind's eye) was the Atom Man growing
ever more restless and impatient for the opportunity
to go one-on-one against Superman.
On another, but related note: I've asked this before,
and if I remember correctly, Hal Stone provided the
answer, but I still don't get it: Why did/do radio
actors have their script in hand when they
perform(ed)? If Hal (for example) is hired to portray
a character on stage, TV or in a movie, he would
memorize his lines, go out on stage (or before the
cameras), and perform as that character. But on radio,
he would come out with a script in hand, and read from
it, acting the part (not just "reading" it) as he goes
along.
Why? Yes, most radio was live, but so are plays, and
so was early TV.
For that matter, were there _any_ radio shows in which
the actors didn't read from scripts, but had
previously memorized their lines?
Rick
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 23:57:55 -0400
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Beulah
Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2005 11:35:04 -0400
From: "Druian, Raymond B SPL" <[removed]@[removed];
Could someone refresh my ever-fading memory; the way I remember it,
Oriole was played by Butterfly McQueen, and, when Hattie McDaniel
became too ill to perform, her role as Beulah was taken on, first by
Ethyl Waters and then by Lillian Randolph, until Ms. McDaniel passed,
after which McDaniel reruns were broadcast.
Ethyl Waters played Beulah for a couple of years on the television show. Then, the entire
show was re-cast, and Louise Beavers took over the role. According to Alex McNeil in "Total
Television," Hattie McDaniel was scheduled to take over the part, but never did because of
her illness. But I do remember a few episodes of the show with the second cast in which the
announcer said "Starring Hattie McDaniel as Beulah."
--
A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed]
15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax [removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2503
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2005 00:22:20 -0400
From: Rutledge Mann
<cliff_marsland@[removed];
To:
[removed]@[removed]
Subject: Penthouse Murder Mystery
Hi again,
I'm also sharing the only episode to surface of the
Penthouse Murder Mystery, circa 1930-33, which hasn't
been in circulation, as far as I can tell. It's on
[removed] - the same
place as the Abbotts. Perhaps Elizabeth could provide
more exact information about the series upon listening
to it.
Thanks to all the people that had kind words about the
Abbotts, I'm glad I could be of help.
I don't think my hopes of getting more transcription
collectors to come forward to share, or at least trade
will work, but at least I can do my part. No use
sitting on it forever. You can't take it with you.
Trav
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2005 08:17:34 -0400
From: Ron Sayles
<bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 9-9 births/deaths
September 9th births
09-09-1828 - Leo Tolstoy - Yasnaya, Polyana, Russia - d. 11-20-1910
author: "Great Plays"; "Arthur Hopkins Presents"; "Hour of St. Francis"
09-09-1873 - Max Reinhardt - Baden, Austria - d. 10-30-1943
film director: "Texaco Star Theatre"
09-09-1882 - Clem McCarthy - East Bloomfield, NY - d. 6-4-1962
sportscaster: The Kentucky Derby
09-09-1887 - Raymond Walburn - Plymouth, IN - d. 7-26-1969
actor: "That's My Pop"
09-09-1894 - Arthur Freed - Charleston, SC - d. 4-12-1973
songwriter: "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-09-1898 - Frankie Frisch - The Bronx, NY - d. 3-12-1973
baseball broadcaster: (Baseball Hall of Fame) New York Giants
09-09-1899 - Neil Hamilton - Lynn, MA - d. 9-24-1984
actor: [removed] Raffles "Raffles"
09-09-1899 - Waite Hoyt - Brooklyn, NY - d. 8-25-1984
sportscaster, "Sports Review"; "According to Hoyt"; play-by-play: Cincinnati
Reds
09-09-1900 - James Hilton - Leigh, Lancashire, England - d. 12-20-1954
host: "Hallmark Hall of Fame/Hallmark Playhouse"; "Ceiling Unlimited"
09-09-1908 - Ed Prentiss - Chicago, IL - d. 3-19-1992
actor: Red Albright/Captain Midnight "Captain Midnight"; Ned Holden "The
Guiding Light"
09-09-1915 - Richard Webb - Bloomington, IL - d. 6-10-1993
actor: "Family Theatre"; "Crime Does Not Pay
09-09-1924 - Jane Greer - Washington, [removed] - d. 8-24-2001
singer, actress: "Rudy Vallee Show"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-09-1927 - Elvin Ray Jones - Pontiac, MI - d. 5-18-2004
jazz drummer: "Newport Jazz Festival"
09-09-1927 - Mary O. Major - Santa Barbara County, CA - d. 8-12-1998
vocalist: "The Eddie Cantor Show"
09-09-1930 - Martha Steinberg - d. 1-29-2000
detroit radio: WQBH-AM
September 9th deaths
01-31-1872 - Rupert Hughes - Lancaster, MO - d. 9-9-1956
writer: (Uncle to Howard Hughes) "The Story of Holly Sloan"
03-19-1927 - Richie Ashburn - Tilden, NE - d. 9-9-1997
baseball hall of famer, sportscaster: "Tops In Sports"; "Philadelphia Phillies
Play by Play"
03-21-1903 - Nan Boardman - New York City, NY - d. 9-9-1984
actress: "The Modern Adventures of Casanova"
05-23-1921 - Helen O'Connell - Lima, OH - d. 9-9-1993
singer: (Jimmy Dorsey Band) "Kraft Music Hall"; "Fitch Bandwagon"
06-30-1905 - Nestor Paiva - Fresno, CA - d. 9-9-1966
actor: "NBC Presents: Short Story"; "Escape"
08-02-1892 - Jack L. Warner - London, Ontario, Canada - d. 9-9-1978
film studio owner" "Jack Benny Program"; "Warner Brothers Academy Award
Theatre"
09-13-1911 - Bill Monroe - Rosine, KY - d. 9-9-1996
mandolin player: (Father of Bluegrass) "Rider's Radio Theatre"
09-22-1900 - Hanley Stafford - Hanley, Staffordshire, England - d. 9-9-1968
actor: Mr. Higgins "Baby Snooks Show"; Julius C. Dithers "Blondie"
11-16-1907 - Burgess Meredith - Cleveland, OH - d. 9-9-1997
actor: "Red Adams/Red Davis "Red Adams/Red Davis" (the precursor to "Pepper
Young's Family")
12-23-1922 - Ruth Roman - Boston, MA - d. 9-9-1999
actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Hollywood Sound Stage"
12-24-1915 - Helen Brown - Washington - d. 9-9-1994
actress: Miss Foster "Big Town"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #273
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