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

[removed] Digest				Volume 96 : Issue 411

Table Of Contents: 

	 Responses: A&A, comedians, racism
	 Fu Manchu and Baseball
	 C120's and OTR comedy
	 The Night that Panicked America
	 Terry's Logs
	 Norman Corwin
	 Cat on Our Miss Brooks
	 Re: That poor cat !!
	 Halloween shows?
	 Ed Wynn
	 Commercials in Suspense?
	 More CON [removed]
	 FOTR Photos

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 96 10:37 CDT
From: John Henley <jhenley@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Responses: A&A, comedians, racism
Message-Id: <m0vGoJn-000k1SC@[removed]>

Dick Lupoff said:
> I think the main basis for objections is not the ethnic
>stereotyping (or at least, not solely that) but the fact that the show was
>created, the scripts were written, and >>the on-mike actors were all white<<.

Not after the revamping of the show to a half-hour format in 1943. 
Thereafter, many of the roles, including all the women, were played by
black actors.  But not, to be sure, the chief comic roles.

Then he asked:
>And I find myself wondering, Was Danny Kaye really funny in 1948? Was Jerry
>Lewis really funny in 1958? Or were we (the public) fooled into thinking they
>were funny, by massive Hollywood hype?

I think you ought to give the public more credit for deciding on its own
what it likes.  Danny Kaye became a really popular personality towards the
end of WW2 and in those days, it was word-of-mouth more than advertising
that got people into movie theaters - plus just the habit of movie-going. 
People came out on their own to see Kaye's films.  As to Jerry Lewis, when
he was with Dean Martin, they didn't seem to need much selling - whatever
it was they offered to the nightclub and early-television audiences, those
audiences ate it up.  There's lots of testimony that M&L sent live
audiences into convulsions in ways that the witnesses said they'd never
remotely seen before.  I don't think you can program people _in advance_ to
laugh that hard - at least, you couldn't then.  Maybe M&L were spotty on
radio, but they weren't really a radio act in the sense that Abbott and
Costello were - there was too much of a visual component.  As to Jerry's
later popularity, he retained some audience goodwill from the M&L days, and
in the late 50s American comedy was in pretty much of a low period anyway.
____
Chet Cox said of the TV Amos 'n' Andy:
>Alvin Chambers (if I remember the actor's name correctly) made an
>outstanding Amos.
 
Close  - he was Alvin Childress.
-------------
Per Rhiman Rotz:
>Racism has, unfortunately, been such a powerful force for so
>long in this country that I just don't think it's appropriate
>to parallel "Colored" stereotyping, as it was then called, with
>ethnic jokes about the Irish or Jews.  There's lots of evidence
>that black people experienced unpleasantness >>several quantum 
>leaps<< above other groups (there wasn't, for example, regular and
>persistent lynching of Irishmen).

Perhaps not, but there was lots of physical violence.  I suggest you ask
the descendants (if any) of Mr. Leo Frank, the descendants of Holocaust
survivors who are now being told by many people in the USA that "it never
happened," those who lived through the days of Father Coughlin and the
German-American Bund, and the descendants of the Irish in the Northeast who
faced both employers and landlords with "No Irish Need Apply" rules, if
they had it so easy over here.  This modern tendency to play the game of
oneupsmanship with the unfortunate experiences of various ethnic groups is
way off the mark and advances nothing.
I did not wish to get into this but I found Mr. Rotz' statement offensive
in itself.  That's all I'll say.

 
John Henley
jhenley@[removed]
ph  (512) 495-4112
fax (512) 495-4296

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 12:09:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: JROZGONYI <JROZGONYI@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Fu Manchu and Baseball
Message-id: <8548091225101996/A10253/LIBER/11AACB040D00*@MHS>
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

I'm interested in finding out about the availability (and sources,
if possible) for the two "series" above. 

I recently read one of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu novels for the first 
time and enjoyed it very much for its story and for it being very
much a piece of its time.  I understand there was a radio series
of Fu Manchu -- can anyone tell me when it aired?  was it an ongoing
story a la "I Love a Mystery"?  is it available anywhere?

Also, in keeping with the theme of World Series time that's in the 
air, does anyone know of the availability of old radio broadcasts
of major league games?  I know that "america before TV" set has a 
portion of a Washington Senators game, but are there complete
broadcasts out there for sale or trade?  Specific teams are less
important than age -- the older the better (though the Yankees 
would make my wife very happy and the Detroit Tigers would thrill 
me to no end).

Thanks in advance --

Jay Rozgonyi
JROZGONYI@[removed]

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

Date: Wed, 25 Oct 1995 13:28:23 +0600
From: cbholm@[removed] (c holm)
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: C120's and OTR comedy
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>I must rise to the defense of C120s again, I guess.
>
>Blatantly ignoring the paranoia surrounding the thinner tape, both my wife
>and I have C120s playing in our car cassette machines most of our driving
>hours. Over the span of more than 5 years (and about 15 cars with various
>brands of tape and cassette players) I can recall only two tangles. And one
>of these tangles was a C60 that apparently had slack on insertion.
>
>Ron Hare

I have a few C120's myself, and have never had a problem with them.  The
only reason I don't use them more often is that C60's are much easier to
find.  (15 cars in 5 years?  Why'd you ever clean your deck, it seems by the
time it needed cleaning, you'd have a different car <grin>)

>Please, can we hear from some other OTR'ers regarding the original
>reason for this post, [removed] other lists of favorite radio comedy shows?
>(I thank the OTR Digest -- and Max Schmid particularly -- for my belated
>discovery of Jean Shepherd's very funny radio monologues; where have I
>been?)
>Jan Bach
>

  Well, if I had to pick only a few comedies, they would [removed]   well Jack
Benny, of course.  Fibber McGee and Molly and the Great Gildersleeve.  And
*DEFINITELY* the Halls of Ivy.  No one seems to like The Halls of Ivy, but I
love it.  I think it is one of the best shows of all time.  Being a college
student myself (go Hokies), its interesting to hear how the college
evironment was portrayed.

<new topic>
  Any one get TV guide?  Oh wait, we're all OTR fanatics, we don't watch TV!
<g>  Anyway, it the last two issues there has been two OTR references.  The
first one is the issue with Brooke Shields on the cover, and the (title?
caption? headline?) reads "Our Miss Brooke."  The second is the kids TV
issue.  In an interview with [removed] Stine (creator of the Goosebumps book
series) says "In fact, one of my earliest memories is this voice coming out
of the radio: 'Tales calculated to keep you in suspense.'   Pretty cool, huh?



  
Christopher Holm
Va Tech - Industrial and Systems Engineering
cbholm@[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 96 14:45:05 EDT
From: TBARNETT@[removed]
To:   otr@[removed]
Subject: The Night that Panicked America
Message-Id: <m0vGrFv-000k9xC@[removed]>

To: SMTP    --AHIPC2S  OTR Digest

From:    Tom Barnett
         EDS NAO/VDTO Finance and Personnel Systems Support
         (810)986-0389 (8-226) Internet:TBARNETT@[removed]

Subject: The Night that Panicked America

Just a reminder that the movie THE NIGHT THAT PANICKED AMERICA is
on at 12 pm EST on the SCI FI Channel tommorrow

Thanks to David Hassel for the info !!!

Tom Barnett
"There are no Ordinary moments." -Dan Millman

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 15:11:11 -0400
From: AIC4Radio@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Terry's Logs
Message-ID: <961025151111_340676410@[removed]>

<<I am trying to locate logs of Burns and
<<Allen, Dragnet, and the Lone Ranger. Any and all help is appreciated.

In speaking with Terry Salomonson yesterday, he indicates that in addition to
his Lone Ranger log, he has the following logs available:

Challenge of the Yukon (Sgt. Preston)
Green Hornet
Escape
Dragnet
Suspense
Great Gildersleeve
CBS Westerns Log
Lum & Abner Log

Contact him directly at:   terryotr@[removed] or fax 517-545-2775.

Valerie Hughes
Adventures in Cassettes
AIC4Radio@[removed]
[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 16:51:39 -0400 (EDT)
From: JROZGONYI <JROZGONYI@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Norman Corwin
Message-id: <3739511625101996/A11565/LIBER/11AACC320B00*@MHS>
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

I just received the new Wireless Audio Collection catalog for
Christams, and it has in it a bookshelf set called "Thirteen
by Corwin."  Does anyone know which 13 programs are included?
I have some Corwin, but I want to make sure I'm not duplicating
too much if I buy this set.

Thanks in advance --

Jay Rozgonyi
JROZGONYI@[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 19:49:36 -0500 (CDT)
From: Dewana Burnham <dburnham@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Cat on Our Miss Brooks
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Hi all,

A couple of weeks back someone asked the question of who played the cat 
on the Our Miss Brooks show.  I don't know if noone ever answered it, or 
if I just missed it.  Who was it?

Troy Burnham

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 20:15:16 -0500
From: Glenn Raye <mickey@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Cc: bratcher@[removed]
Subject: Re: That poor cat !!
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The usually precise Bob Bratcher wrote:

>
>I generally use C-90's myself in the cat for long trips ....
>

Where, pray tell, do you insert them ? And what does the poor
animal think of it ?  :)

Oops, back into lurk mode before I get into trouble.

G
mickey@[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 18:41:00 -0700
From: Bob Crump <bobcrump@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Halloween shows?
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

It's been a long time since I posted anything.  I hope I haven't 
forgotten how.

I remember a couple of years ago a list a favorite holloween shows being 
shared by various members.  Does anyone remember that list.  Or perhaps, 
even better, just share your favorite halloween show(s).  I will be 
sharing this with a group of young adults who, for the most part, know 
nothing about shows being on radio.

Any help would be appreciated.

Bob Crump (bobcrump@[removed])

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 21:38:01 -0500
From: vintage@[removed] (Andy Blatt)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Ed Wynn
Message-Id: <v01540b02ae97296dcf80@[[removed]]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Ed Wynn was mentioned in the last Digest.  He did quite a bit of dramatic
appearances.  I recall at least one Twilight Zone.  He played a sidewalk
salesman, a pitch-man, delaying "Mr. Death" from leaving with an 8 year old
girl who had earlier been hit by a car.  The deadline came and went, so
"Mr. Death" had to settle for Ed Wynn.

Andy Blatt
Vintage Broadcasts
vintage@[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 21:44:50 -0500
From: Joe Oliver <joliver@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Commercials in Suspense?
Message-id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

        I'll appreciate it if someone who knows will e-mail me privately and
tell me if commercials are cut or included in the Radio Spirits' Suspense
sets at $[removed]  I'll be pleasantly suprised if they're included.

        I was unpleasantly suprised to find this week that Spirits has
bumped the price of their 6-tape, 9-hour sets up to $[removed], plus $[removed]
shipping.  BTW, the new, Smithsonian Western package from Spirits does not
included the commercials.

                                              joliver@[removed]
                                              Joe Oliver



                                   
W. Joseph Oliver
Department of Communication
Stephen F. Austin State University
Nacogdoches, TX  75962

     (409-468-4001)

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 22:07:11 -0400
From: Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: More CON [removed]
Message-Id: <v03007801ae970fad7438@[[removed]]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Evening, Folks!

   I have more 1996 FOTR Con photos up at:

[removed]

   Some bad photo links were fixed (oops!), and the photos have been split
up. The main photo page has been changed, too - let me know what you think.

   To answer a question I was asked, the reason the photos and sounds take
a bit longer to load is that they are not directly on my company's server,
and so are being pulled from a different server across the net. (My company
leases web space to other companies, so I have to take what I'm given, you
know?)

         Charlie

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 [removed] Communications                               charlie@[removed]
          Management Information Solutions for the Real World.
                        [removed]

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

Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 23:40:07 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: FOTR Photos
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Great photos, Charlie. Brought back some recent memories. 

Looking forward to the others.

>Afternoon, folks!
>
>   The first of the photos from the 1996 FOTR Con came in this morning, and
>I got a few on-line at:
>
>[removed]
>
>   (Please be kind; I am not a professional photographer, and am not real
>great with 1600-speed film. When more of the photos show up, I'll
>reorganize into seperate pages to help with load times.)
>
>   If I get some time over the weekend, I'll try to get some of the sound
>files up. (I came back to a lot more work than I [removed])
>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Widner                      INTERNET: jwidner@[removed]
Dayton, OH                      WWW: [removed]


                                                 




--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #411
*******************************************

