Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #337
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 11/30/2006 4:19 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2006 : Issue 337
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      11-30 births/deaths                   [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      Re: 2006 Hallmark Ornament            [ "Bill Harris" <nbcblue@[removed]; ]
      DELICIOUS                             [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
      Glass on the Radio                    [ Kelli Stanley <ks4color@[removed] ]
      Re: Halls of Ivy                      [ Henry <wa0goz@[removed]; ]
      Yes, there were awards                [ Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed]; ]
      It's a date                           [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      Re: award winners                     [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Delicious                             [ "Donald" <alanladdsr@[removed]; ]
      Delicious                             [ Bob Slate <moxnix1961@[removed]; ]
      RE: 11-19 births/deaths (Billy Sunda  [ "Druian, Raymond B SPL" <[removed] ]
      Awards fo OYR people                  [ "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@sbcgloba ]

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

    Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 22:06:38 -0500
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  11-30 births/deaths

    November 30th births

    11-30-1667 - Jonathan Swift - Dublin, Ireland - d. 10-19-1745
    writer: "The Columbia Workshop"
    11-30-1873 - Frederic William Wile - La Porte, IN - d. 4-7-1941
    commentator: "Political Situation in Washington"
    11-30-1874 - Winston Churchill - Oxfordshire, England - d. 1-24-1965
    british prime minister: War time broadcasts
    11-30-1884 - Rev. Dr. Daniel A. Poling - Portland, OR - d. 2-7-1968
    clergyman: "The National Youth Conference"
    11-30-1885 - Charles West - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 10-10-1943
    actor: "Dramas of Youth"
    11-30-1889 - Vito Pellettieri - d. 4-xx-1977
    stage manager: "Grand Ole Opry"
    11-30-1890 - Ramsey Hill - Georgetown, Guyana - d. 2-3-1976
    actor: "Escape"; "NBC University Theatre"
    11-30-1894 - David Ogden Stewart - Columbus, OH - d. 8-2-1980
    humorist: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    11-30-1900 - Geoffrey Household - Briston, England - d. 10-4-1988
    writer: "NBC Presents: Short Story"
    11-30-1906 - John Dickson Carr - Uniontown, PA - d. 2-27-1977
    writer: "Suspense"; "Cabin B-13"; "Murder by Experts"
    11-30-1907 - Happy Felton - Bellevue, PA - d. 10-21-1964
    actor: "Pot O Gold"; "Finders Keepers"; "Stop the Music"
    11-30-1907 - Jack Brinkley - Oxford, NC - d. unknown
    announcer: "Aunt Jemima"; "Couple Next Door"
    11-30-1913 - John K. M. McCaffrey - Moscow, ID - d. 10-3-1983
    newscaster: "Author Meets the Critics"; "What Makes You Tick?"
    11-30-1914 - Charles Hawtrey - Hounslow, Middlesex, England - d.
    10-27-1988
    actor, comedian: Hubert Lane "Just William"
    11-30-1915 - Brownie McGhee - Knoxville, TN - d. 2-16-1996
    blues guitarist, singer: "New World A' Coming"; "This Is Jazz)
    11-30-1918 - Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. - NYC
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    11-30-1919 - Joe Cabbibo - d. 10-xx-1973
    sound effects: "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar"; "Tennessee Jed".
    "Counterspy"
    11-30-1920 - Virginia Mayo - St. Louis, MO - d. 1-17-2005
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    11-30-1926 - Dick Crenna - Los Angeles, CA - d. 1-18-2003
    actor: Oogie Pringle, "A Date with Judy"; "Walter Denton, "Our Miss
    Brooks"
    11-30-1929 - Dick Clark - Mount Vernon, NY
    host: "March of Dimes March of Stars"; "Tribute to Murray the K"
    11-30-1947 - David Mamet - Chicago, IL
    writer: "Earplay"
    11-30-1952 - Mandy Patinkin - Chicago, IL
    actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"

    November 30th deaths

    01-11-1908 - Lionel Stander - The Bronx, NY - d. 11-30-1994
    actor: J. Riley Farnsworth "Life of Riley"; Hoolihan "Grapevine Rancho"
    01-27-1916 - Merrill Mueller - NYC - d. 11-30-1980
    reporter: "NBC Stands By"; "Morning News Roundup"; "The Navy Hour"
    01-28-1892 - Ernst Lubitsch - Berlin Germany - d. 11-30-1947
    film director: Intermission Guest "Lux Radio Theatre"
    02-10-1910 - Joyce Grenfell - London, England - d. 11-30-1979
    writer, actor: "How"; "A Note with Music"; "We Beg to Differ"
    02-25-1901 - Zeppo Marx - NYC  - d. 11-30-1979
    comedian: (Marx Brothers) "American Review"
    04-08-1900 - Bert "Mad Russian" Gordon - NYC - d. 11-30-1974
    comedian: "Eddie Cantor Show"; Yasha "Duffy's Tavern"
    04-28-1900 - Val Gielgud - London England - d. 11-30-1981
    writer: (Brother of John Gielgud) "The Columbia Workshop"
    05-08-1899 - Arthur Q. Bryan - Brooklyn, NY - d. 11-30-1959
    actor: George Doc' Gamble "Fibber McGee and Molly"
    05-10-1884 - Olga Petrova - Tur Brook, England - d. 11-30-1977
    actor, writer: "Mary Margaret McBride"
    05-12-1901 - Harold "Scrappy" Lambert - New Brunswick, NY - d.
    11-30-1987
    singer: Mark "Smith Brothers: Trade and Mark"; "Town Hall Tonight"
    06-23-1894 - Laurie York Erskine - England - d. 11-30-1976
    author: "Renfrew of the Mounted"; "Adventure Story"; "National
    Children's Week"
    07-29-1900 - Don Redman - Piedmont, WV - d. 11-30-1964
    bandleader: "Don Redman and His Orchestra"; "Chipso Radio Program"
    08-11-1915 - Jean Parker - Deer Lodge, MT - d. 11-30-2005
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    08-15-1910 - Johnny Roventini - Brooklyn, NY - d. 11-30-1998
    commercial announcer: (Call for Phil-lip Mor-ress) "Ferde Grofe
    Show"; "Johnny Presents"
    10-09-1922 - Phil Sterling - d. 11-30-1998
    actor: "Radio City Playhouse"; "Hilltop House"; "Special Agent"
    10-16-1854 - Oscar Wilde - Dublin, Ireland - d. 11-30-1900
    writer: "The Columbia Workshop"
    12-04-1889 - Buck Jones - Vincennes, IN - d. 11-30-1942
    actor: "Hoofbeats"
    12-08-1906 - Richard Llewellyn - St. David's, Wales - d. 11-30-1983
    author: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "NBC University Theatre"

    Ron Sayles

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

    Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 23:09:35 -0500
    From: "Bill Harris" <nbcblue@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: 2006 Hallmark Ornament

     Jim Widner commented:

>     However, despite their seemingly nostalgic reminders the company seems
>     to have lost any sense of its radio history. I contacted them one time
>     about the Hallmark Hall of Fame on radio after seeing nothing on their
>     web site and they knew nothing about it. They were well aware of their
>     television history, but it seemed to stop there. Too bad.

    The current generation running these companies were born in the years of
    Television. They had nothing to do with radio so they simply think
    everything began with TV.

    Bill H.

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 00:02:56 -0500
    From: PURKASZ@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  DELICIOUS
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    Bob Ruble asks about Jim Backus and his delightful  1958 45 RPM novelty bit
    called DELICIOUS.
        One of my personal favorites and a damned fine  piece of work.
        In my radio days traveling around the country as a  young man, I would
    play that on or around New Year's Eve.
        I got fired more than once for doing so and I still  have the original
    copy.
        I  would sometimes play it at other times  of the year when I WANTED to
    get fired.
        It always worked and I would gather my 45s, that  one on top and head out
    the door.
        The big question that has always haunted me is, who  is that fabulous
    woman with the great laugh????????
        She makes the record.
        It's one fine thing to hear a drunken McGoo but she  is a complete
    knockout.
        The one party in Hollywood I regretted being late  for is the one in
    Beverly Hills back in early 70s when I was told that Jim  Backus and his wife
    had
    just left.
        I so much wanted ask him about that woman.
        I have only recently learned from someone who  should know that he is
    almost sure that it is Phyllis Diller.
        Someone please help.
        I hope Bob has the record.
        I still play it every year even if I have to take  it with me to a party
    or play it alone in a hotel room.
        Hey, it's almost time again!!!!!
        "Oooooo, we're gonna have fun."
                            Michael  C Gwynne

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 00:22:46 -0500
    From: Kelli Stanley <ks4color@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Glass on the Radio

    For any fellow Anchor Hocking fans out there who may remember my earlier
    post about products made in the [removed], I received some great news from
    the company--they still make their glass  in America, in Lancaster, Ohio
    and Monaca, Pennsylvania!

    Sigh. I'll enjoy Casey, Crime Photographer with a full and glad heart!

    I have a correction to my earlier query, however: it is the [removed] Smith
    company I was wondering about (whether or not they ever sponsored any
    radio programs), not the fictional [removed] Smith company, which only exists
    in the alternate typo universe. ;)

    Any radio info on them would be much appreciated.  Since I've had luck
    with Anchor, I'll also write them directly, but it seems as though the
    collective memory of many companies and corporations is only about five
    years long.

    Happy Holidays--I'll be drinking my eggnog in Anchor Hocking! :)

    Kelli

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 00:32:25 -0500
    From: Henry <wa0goz@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Halls of Ivy

    Hi Chris

    You wrote:

>     The theme was released on a single.  Ed Walker drags it out occasionally
>     on WAMU's The Big Broadcast, usually in the fall when school starts up.
>     If you listen to the Big Broadcast ([removed]), and there's no reason
>     you shouldn't be listening anyway, you might try hassling them to play
>     it this spring during graduation season.

    I live in Stillwater, MN. so I can't listen to WAMU from here.  I
    googled "The Halls of Ivy" and found information on it but nowhere I
    could get a copy.  I even emailed Jerry Haendiges and did not get a
    response.  I just emailed WAMU to see if I could get a copy of the
    original song from the program.  It may be copywrited and so I'd be
    out of luck even if they wanted to do it.

    Thanks for the information.

    Henry

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: Anyone can listen to WAMU's The Big Broadcast hosted by Ed
    Walker; check out the WAMU website at [removed] where
    you can find the show available on-demand the entire week following the
    broadcast. You can also listen on-demand to WBAI's Golden Age of Radio,
    hosted by our friend Max Schmid, at [removed] also for a week
    following the broadcast.

    Doesn't matter whether you're in Stillwater, MN or York, PA, these great
    shows are available to you, and on your schedule. No longer must we listen
    only to "local" radio; now excuse me, I need to turn on my XM Satellite
    Radio.  ;)    --cfs3]

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 07:49:02 -0500
    From: Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Yes, there were awards

    During the Golden Age of Radio there were a good number of magazines
    that gave awards; not all of those magazines were distributed
    nationally.
    One that comes to mind is RADIO LIFE, which started in 1940, in Los
    Angeles. It continued on through radio, then was renamed RADIO-TV
    LIFE, then -- you guessed it -- TV-RADIO LIFE. Finally, the magazine
    was bought up by a company that changed the name to TV GUIDE, which
    is still here with us today.
    RADIO LIFE gave yearly awards. They had categories similar to what
    the Academy Awards give --- you know, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best
    Comedy show, and so on.
    In the 1930s there were such national magazines as RADIO and RADIO
    GUIDE, which also gave similar awards.
    If you listen to radio shows long enough you will eventually run into
    a show where, before the half hour is over, someone comes on and
    awards someone for being the best actor or actress or best dramatic
    show, etc.
    Yes, there was recognition of radio back then because it was the only
    major entertainment medium besides motion pictures. Television had to
    wait a few years before it could step it and destroy a great medium
    of imagination.
    Ken Greenwald

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 07:50:09 -0500
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  It's a date

    This week I was reading from one of the several biographies on the life of
    David Sarnoff that has been on my bookshelves for years.  The author, Eugene
    Lyons, pointed out, just as I had remembered:

    "The National Broadcasting Company was finally incorporated in September,
    1926.  It had required the pooling of GE and Westinghouse stations with
    those of RCA, and then the absorption of WEAF and its facilities.  Fifty
    percent of the stock of NBC was held by RCA, 30 percent by General Electric,
    and 20 percent by Westinghouse."

    The author continues to observe on page 138 of the comprehensive account
    released in 1966:

    "The formal launching of the country's first and for some time only
    nationwide broadcasting organization took the form of a banquet in the
    ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria in January, 1927.  The one thousand guests
    included virtually all leaders of the industry, along with the most
    celebrated radio personalities.  The most impressive radio program ever
    attempted to that time was mounted in the ballroom and carried to
    twenty-five stations.  Although it reached only as far as Kansas City, it
    was the biggest hookup yet assembled."

    That estimated $50,000 bash, incidentally, included the likes of Mary
    Garden, Will Rogers, Weber and Fields, Walter Damrosch conducting the New
    York Symphony, Vincent Lopez's orchestra and more.

    I buy into everything Mr. Lyons has stated on the subject except his choice
    of dates for that momentous gala.  All I have ever read on the subject --
    most likely including literally hundreds of documented sources -- affirms
    that this inaugural extravaganza was broadcast from the Waldorf for four
    hours on the evening of Friday, November 15, 1926 and not in January 1927 as
    the biographer intimates.  If Mr. Lyons is accurate in his recollection,
    everybody else has missed it.  On the other hand, if he sidestepped an
    undabatable fact that's this imposing, what else might not be authentic in
    his treatise?  For a biographer, getting it right leaves little wiggle room
    when it comes to dates as historically profound as this one.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 11:06:17 -0500
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: award winners

    On 11/29/06 10:07 PM [removed]@[removed] wrote:

>     I'm thinking there may have been awards in some or all of these categories
>     in Radio Mirror, aka Radio-TV Mirror, aka TV-Radio Mirror.  I know there
>     were for the personalities, like "Best Soap Opera Heroine," "Best Daytime
>     Emcee," etc.  They were voted on by readers of this important fanzine.
>     Maybe citations weren't handed out on the ether but appearing in print such
>     designations carried a lot of weight with networks and advertisers and, I'm
>     sure, with performers at contract renewal negotiation time.

    The Radio Mirror awards were preceded by quite a few years by the Radio
    Guide Star of Stars awards, which began in 1943, and continued until the
    magazine folded in 1943. Awards were given in various categories, with
    "Star of Stars" being the most prestigious -- the individual receiving
    this honor was considered the top personality in radio for that year.
    Winners received a gold medal, presented to them on their own programs by
    a representative of the magazine.

    What makes this contest interesting is that the awards were decided by
    the readers of the magazine. Ballots were included in issues of the
    magazine thruout the spring, and readers were encouraged to submit their
    choices for each category. Running totals were published as ballots were
    tabulated, and the winners were announced in June.

    I don't believe a complete listing of Star of Stars winners has ever been
    published, but as an example, here are the winners and closest
    competitors for the 1934-35 season, as published in the 6/29/35 issue of
    "Radio Guide":

    Performer ("Star of Stars"):

    1. Jack Benny
    2. Lanny Ross
    3. Eddie Cantor
    4. Bing Crosby
    5. Joe Penner
    6. Fred Allen
    7. Frank Parker
    8. Will Rogers
    9. Edgar Guest
    10. Don Ameche

    Team:

    1. Amos 'n' Andy
    2. George Burns and Gracie Allen
    3. Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone
    4. Myrt and Marge
    5. Lum and Abner
    6. Elsie Hitz and Nick Dawson
    7. Mary Lou and Lanny Ross
    8. Jesse Block and Eve Sully
    9. Marian and Jim Jordan
    10. The Easy Aces

    Musical Program:

    1. Maxwell House Show Boat
    2. Rudy Vallee's Hour
    3. Jack Benny's Program
    4. Richard Himber's Studebaker Champions
    5. Fred Waring's Program
    6. WLS Barn Dance
    7. Palmolive Beauty Box Theatre
    8. Town Hall Tonight
    9. Breakfast Club
    10. Lombardoland

    Dramatic Program:

    1. One Man's Family
    2. Lux Radio Theatre
    3. March of Time
    4. First Nighter
    5. Dangerous Paradise
    6. Today's Children
    7. Red Davis
    8. Mary Pickford Stock Company
    9. Myrt and Marge
    10. Death Valley Days

    Orchestra:

    1. Wayne King
    2. Guy Lombardo
    3. Richard Himber
    4. Ben Bernie
    5. Jan Garber
    6. Kay Kyser
    7. Don Bestor
    8. Fred Waring
    9. Rudy Vallee
    10. Walter Blaufuss

    Announcer:

    1. James Wallington
    2. Don Wilson
    3. Harry Von Zell
    4. Ted Husing
    5. David Ross
    6. Milton J. Cross
    7. Phil Stewart
    8. Don McNeill
    9. Tiny Ruffner
    10. Jean Paul King

    A total of 209,388 ballots were cast by Radio Guide readers over the
    course of the 1934-35 contest. What makes the contest most interesting is
    the fact that it drew heavy participation from rural listeners -- a
    segment of the audience totally ignored by the ratings services then in
    use.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:18:40 -0500
    From: "Donald" <alanladdsr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Delicious

    I had the record, on '45. Terrific. I believe his wife (Henny?) was the
    woman in the dialogue.

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:18:49 -0500
    From: Bob Slate <moxnix1961@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Delicious
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    I bought the "Delicious" 45 record in the summer of [removed] still have [removed]
    Bacus in the late 1960's or 70's said to Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show,"
    that they looked all over for actresse's that could do the voice for  the
    "and Friend" part, but to no avail. It so happened that an unknown lady truck
    driver was in the studio at the recording session, and she had such an
    infectious laugh, that the session people said, 'Thats it, she can be the
    "Friend!"So she accepted graciously and along with Jim Bacus had a very
    hilarious, delightful [removed] the recording was over she just walked out
    of the studio never to be seen again. They wanted to pay her for her part on
    the [removed] never did find out who she [removed] late mother and I, even
    after 40 years still cracked up everytime they started that crazy infectious
    [removed] was the funniest record outside of "Mr. Grillon"by the George
    Garabedian Players and the much earlier "What It Was, Was Football" and
     "Silhouettes"by Andy "The Screekin' Deacon" [removed] other side of
    "Delicious" was "I Need A Vacation" that was silly and funny at the same time.

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:19:08 -0500
    From: "Druian, Raymond B SPL" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  RE: 11-19 births/deaths (Billy Sunday)

>     11-19-1863 - Billy Sunday - Ames, IA - d. 11-6-1935
>     preacher: "Back Home Hour"

    It's pretty seldom that Ron Sayles leaves something out, and I believe I've
    stated before that I'm rather sensitive to anything having to do with
    Chicago, especially the Cubs and Sox. Well, Ron didn't mention that Billy
    Sunday was an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs, I think sometime during the
    1880s. I suppose it can be excused though, because I doubt that the games
    were broadcast in those days.

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

    Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:19:16 -0500
    From: "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: "The Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Awards fo OYR people

    Was listening to Jack Benny's last NBC show 12/26/48. Don was introducing
    Jack at the start of the show when Jack interrupt Don and says he wants
    introduce Don who has been voted the best announcer for 1948 by "Fame
    Magazine' . Then Don tells that Jack has voted the best comedian of 1948 in
    the same issue of "Fame Magazine". .They make a good comedy routine out
    trying to be humble.

    I can't remember shows but other OTR stars have been given award by various
    magazine and groups. Red Skelton and Fibber McGee have gotten awards on the
    air.

    Frank McGurn

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #337
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