Subject: [removed] Digest V2010 #153
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 8/31/2010 6:41 AM

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

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2010 : Issue 153
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      8-30 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Arthur Anderson on XM's Bob Edwards   [ Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed] ]
      History Detectives                    [ <radioaz@[removed]; ]
      Re: PBS Documentary                   [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
      History Detectives                    [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      History Detectives                    [ IreneTH@[removed] ]
      History Detectives and Contrivances   [ James Meadows <walthamus@[removed]; ]

    ______________________________________________________________________

        ADMINISTRIVIA:

       PLEASE read the blog post at:

       [removed]

       ...which explains why some subscribers are sending out spam,
       and what we're currently doing about it.  --cfs3

    ______________________________________________________________________

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:34:58 -0400
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  8-30 births/deaths

    August 30th births

    08-30-1797 - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - London, England - d. 2-1-1851
    creator of Frankenstein
    08-30-1879 - Fritzi Scheff - Vienna, Austria - d. 4-8-1954
    prima donna: "Lavender and Old Lace"; "The Philco Hour"
    08-30-1887 - Eduardo Ciannelli - Island of Ischia, Italy - d. 10-8-1969
    actor: "Hollywood Hotel"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    08-30-1896 - Raymond Massey - Toronto, Canada - d. 7-29-1983
    actor, host: "Doctor Fights"; "Harvest of Stars"
    08-30-1898 - Shirley Booth - NYC - d. 10-16-1992
    actor: Miss Duffy "Duffy's Tavern"; "Hogan's Daughter"; "Strictly
    Business"
    08-30-1901 - John Gunther - Chicago, IL - d. 5-29-1970
    writer: "Information, Please";"America's Town Meeting of the Air";
    "Royal Gelatin Hour"
    08-30-1902 - Ray Bloch - Alsace-Lorraine, France - d. 3-29-1982
    conductor: "Milton Berle Show"; "Take It or Leave It"; "Johnny Presents"
    08-30-1903 - Jack Bundy - Milwaukee, WI - d. 11-30-1973
    bandleader: "Heinie and the Grenadiers"
    08-30-1905 - Sarah Selby - St. Louis, MO - d. 1-7-1980
    actor: Grace Graves "Junior Miss"; Wife "My Mother's Husband"
    08-30-1906 - Joan Blondell - NYC - d. 12-25-1979
    actor: Mary Vance "Miss Pinkerton, Inc."
    08-30-1908 - Fred MacMurray - Kankakee, IL - d. 11-5-1991
    actor: George Harvey "Bright Star"; "Lux Radio Theatre
    08-30-1908 - Willie Bryant - New Orleans, LA - d. 2-9-1964
    host: "Night Life"
    08-30-1910 - Elinor Herriot - Duluth, MN - d. 6-10-2000
    actor: "Ruby Jones "Amos 'n' Andy"; Dorothy Wright "Couple Next Door"
    08-30-1910 - Joseph Holland - Virginia - d. 12-28-1994
    actor: "Royal Desserts Hour"; "Campbell Playhouse"
    08-30-1914 - Frank Latourette - d. 5-7-1985
    creator of "Hollywood Byline"
    08-30-1914 - Julie Bishop - Denver, CO - d. 8-30-2001
    actor: "Harold Lloyd Comedy Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    08-30-1916 - Herman Klurfeld - The Bronx, NY - d. 12-18-2006
    ghostwriter for Walter Winchell
    08-30-1917 - Dan Enright - d. 5-22-1992
    producer: "Put Up or Shut Up"; "Brain Train"; "Juvenile Jury"; "Life
    Begins at 80"
    08-30-1918 - Ted Williams, San Diego, CA - d. 7-5-2002
    baseball superstar: Several interview shows
    08-30-1919 - Kitty Wells - Nashville, TN
    singer: (Queen of Country Music) "Grand Ole Opry"
    08-30-1924 - Ivor (Arthur) Wilson - Grimsby, England - d. 2-xx-2002
    author: "Take Any Day"
    08-30-1925 - Jack Bivans - Evanston, IL - d. 8-14-2009
    actor: Chuck Ramsey "Captain Midnight"
    08-30-1926 - Jeff Brown - NYC - d. 12-3-2003
    actor: "Little Blue Playhouse"
    08-30-1939 - John Peel - Heswall, England - d. 10-25-2004
    disc jockey: "The Perfumed Garden"; "Top Gear"
    08-30-1941 - Sue Mac Gregor - Oxford, England
    announcer, producer: "The World at One"; "Woman's Hour"; "Today"; "PM"

    August 30th deaths

    01-23-1926 - Lyn Osborn - Wichita Falls, TX - d. 8-30-1958
    actor: Cadet Happy "Space Patrol"
    02-16-1926 - Vera-Ellen - Cincinnati, OH - d. 8-30-1981
    actor: "Martin and Lewis Show"; "Tony Awards"; "Bud's Bandwagon"
    03-09-1918 - Marguerite Chapman - Chatham, NY - d. 8-30-1999
    actor: "Family Theatre"; "Silver Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
    03-11-1903 - Dorothy Schiff - NYC- d. 8-30-1989
    owner of several radio stations in Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San
    Francisco
    04-17-1923 - Lindsay Anderson - South India - d. 8-30-1994
    film director: First person to udder the "F" word on the BBC
    05-01-1916 - Glenn Ford - Quebec, Canada - d. 8-30-2006
    actor: Christopher London "Advs. of Christopher London"
    06-15-1909 - Joe DeSantis - NYC - d. 8-30-1989
    actor: Jim Scott "Under Arrest"; "This Is Nora Drake"
    06-17-1877 - Charles Coburn - Savannah, GA - d. 8-30-1961
    actor: "Roses and Drums"; "Song of Liberty"
    07-28-1935 - Simon Dee - Manchester, England - d. 8-30-2009
    disk jockey "BBC Light Programme"
    08-08-1913 - Axel Stordahl - Staten Island, NY  - d. 8-30-1963
    conductor: "Songs by Sinatra/Frank Sinatra Show"; "Your Hit Parade";
    "Coke Time"
    08-30-1914 - Julie Bishop - Denver, CO - d. 8-30-2001
    actor: "Harold Lloyd Comedy Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    11-11-1909 - Bill Demling - Chicago, IL - d. 8-30-1974
    writer: "Mickey Mouse's Theatre of the Air"

    Ron

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:38:09 -0400
    From: Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Arthur Anderson on XM's Bob Edwards Show

    Folks;

       This coming Thursday, 2 September, my friend Arthur Anderson will be in
    conversation with my friend Bob Edwards on his XM Satellite Radio show.
    (Geez, dude, namedrop much?) From the show's promo:

    In the film Me and Orson Welles, Zac Efron plays a young actor who stumbles
    into the role of Lucius in the 1937 Broadway production of Julius Caesar. The
    young man actually cast in the role was Arthur Anderson. Now eighty-eight
    years old, Anderson went on to have a long career in radio and television,
    probably best-known as the voice of the Lucky Charms leprechaun. Anderson is
    the author of Let's Pretend and the Golden Age of Radio, and most recently,
    An Actor's Odyssey: Orson Welles to Lucky the Leprechaun.

       Air times for the show are, in eastern daylight time, 8 am, 9 am, 10 am, 3
    pm, 8 pm, 10 pm, and Friday 4 am and 9 pm.

       If you aren't a subscriber to XM Satellite Radio or Sirius Satellite Radio
    with the Best of XM package, you can still hear The Bob Edwards Show on the
    on-line service (better sound quality than from the satellites anyway) by
    signing up for a free trial at:

    [removed]

       And if all else fails, drop me a note after Thursday morning, and we'll
    see what we can do.

             Charlie

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:39:35 -0400
    From: <radioaz@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  History Detectives

    Someone commented on the business we always see on this show of the
    "detective" meeting the person at their home.  Of course that's contrived.
    The homeowner is already wearing a wireless mic
    and has met the TV star.

    Those "detectives" are really just that--TV stars.  They don't do any of the
    research--there is a staff of people who do all the leg work and
    pre-interview folks.

    An acqaintence of mine got a new house from the Extreme Makeover show.  I
    won't go into detail here, but it is really amazing how much is done ahead
    of time.  Suffice to say now that before the crew shows up to do any work,
    the homeowner has seen and approved the plans.

    Finally, remember a few seasons back when one show was luring pedophiles in
    and "arresting" them.  There has never been one conviction from that show.
    Why?  All of the arrests were "warrantless."

    And on and on--TV is all contrived and manipulative as far as I'm concerned.

    Ted

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: We're getting a little far-afield from OTR with this
    [removed]  --cfs3]

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:16:11 -0400
    From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: PBS Documentary

    Martin Grams Jr. wrote:

>       I would not fault PBS, however, as most of their
>     documentaries are independently produced and the mistake in the name of the
>     program would have been the producer who put it together and sold it to PBS.

    I think Jack indicated that Elizabeth DID correct them that it was from
    the Lucky Strike Hour and they still continued to refer to it as if it
    were a separate series. That is poor documentation.

    Personally, I learned long ago never to worry about programs such as
    History Detectives (even though by their very name, they tout themselves
    as if they were experts or detectives seeking experts). They have an
    agenda to provide entertainment to subjects that normally might not be
    of interest to many people. I don't take them as scholarly though I know
    purists might be disturb by the corruption of history they seem to be
    doing when they show their episodes. Normally I would always recommend
    critical viewing when watching such shows, but it seems to be becoming a
    lost art among the American public anymore. And so unfortunately, what
    is understood is by many viewers is incorrect or in some error.

    At least Digesters can bounce it past others in the hobby and hopefully
    get a more accurate understanding of this type of history.

    Jim Widner

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:20:17 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  History Detectives

    Given the discussion this program has generated, I thought I'd add a bit
    to clear up a few things that have been discussed.

    I was approached by the HD folks late last year, based on my prior
    association with the show, and they were quite pleased to learn that I
    owned the original discs for the only known recording of a "Special Agent
    Five" episode, even though it wasn't actually the specific episode in the
    script. I insisted they make this clear as a condition of allowing them
    to use the recording, and I was satisfied that they did so. I would have
    preferred they come here to film the segment, but their budget didn't
    allow such a trip -- it was cheaper to fly me down there -- but I did
    insist on having the right of approval of the location, and I was pleased
    with the choice of Seth Winner's studio, on the condition that they make
    it clear in the program that it wasn't mine. My only regret there is that
    Seth himself wasn't given a chance to appear on air as well -- he's one
    of the most knowledgeable people in the business on the preservation of
    vintage recordings.

    The debate over the title of the program is a tempest in a teapot, really
    -- it was made quite clear in the segment as broadcast that "Special
    Agent Five" was merely a short segment of the "Lucky Strike Hour" and not
    a self-standing series. The title appearing on the script itself,
    however, is "Special Agent Five," and they chose to emphasise that during
    the program because, as they explained to me, they wanted to stress the
    point of what the episode was about. There were additional concerns about
    giving too much attention to Lucky Strike cigarettes -- for that reason
    they didn't use various advertising and promotional items relating to the
    show that I had furnished. They also chose not to go into detail about
    the actual authorship of the finished episode -- while George F. Zimmer
    wrote the original story, the final script was the work of NBC staffers
    Finis Farr and George Williamson, working from Zimmer's treatment, with
    production under the supervision of the Lord, Thomas and Logan agency.
    While I gave them all of this detail over the four hours of interview we
    did, they obviously couldn't use it all, and I had no expectation that
    they would, especially based on my prior appearance on the program --
    such are the realities of infotainment television.

    Such programs are looking to entertain the general public, not hard-core
    fans of whatever special topic they happen to be considering, and there's
    certainly a place for such programming -- personally, I feel that any
    popular material that stimulates the general public's awareness that a
    vast popular culture existed prior to 1950 is worthwhile, even if it
    isn't presented as a peer-reviewed scholarly treatise. As long as the
    essential facts are presented correctly -- and they were here -- I say
    more power to them.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:23:26 -0400
    From: IreneTH@[removed]
    To: old time radio <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  History Detectives
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    I'm surprised at the amount of disapproval of 'contrived interviews' being
    voiced by this group .B B  Of course they're [removed]  And viewers know
    that,B  How else depictB this kind of B process? The same is true of Henry
    Louis Gates, Jr's genealogy programs on PBS and "Who do you think you are" on
    [removed]  How would you present this process and information andB  B make it
    interesting to viewers?

    Irene Theodore Heinstein

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    Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:41:32 -0400
    From: James Meadows <walthamus@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  History Detectives and Contrivances
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Dick Fisher wrote, on the subject of the TV show "History Detectives":

>     As Jack French said "contrived" interviews.  This is what absolutely drives
>     me NUTS about this program. The whole thing is soooo fake  - for example when
>     they walk up to someones door and meet them for the first time -- first time
>     my foot and it gets worse from there.

    On the other hand, OTR provides plenty of examples of extremely contrived
    interviews, where everyone, including non-showbiz folk, are apparently reading
    from scripts. The advent of recording has freed producers up to use a lot more
    relatively genuine material --- although I'm sure there's a lot of
    pre-interviewing going on.

    Jim Meadows

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    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2010 Issue #153
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