Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #384
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 12/14/2005 3:32 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2005 : Issue 384
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Scotching An Urban Legend             [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
      Re: Mr. Peepers                       [ "Jim Widner" <widnerj@[removed]; ]
      Re: Mike Wallace, salesman            [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
      Humphrey Bogart Theatre               [ "Don and Kathy Dean" <dxk@ezlinknet ]
      #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig  [ charlie@[removed] ]
      Cinnamon Bear Quilt                   [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
      WW II Christmas program               [ "thomas heathwood" <HeritageRadio@m ]
      Re: Mae West                          [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
      Cleaning up print through             [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
      Re:The Mad Masters                    [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
      12-14 births/deaths                   [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      The future of radio and recording st  [ "Jim Gordon" <jimgordon88@[removed] ]
      Any Box 13 stories?                   [ Melanie Aultman <otrmelanie@[removed] ]
      "Adam and Eve" skit                   [ "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@juno. ]

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

    Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 19:55:29 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Scotching An Urban Legend

    With the Christmas season in full swing, many people will rent or watch
    the film, A Christmas Story.  In that film, Jean Shepherd reprises his
    story of lusting after and finally getting a Little Orphan Annie decoder
    (the actual name was a Radio Orphan Annie Secret Society Decoder Pin,
    just for the record).  Eventually he found a discarded Ovaltine can and
    sent for one.  When it came, he waited for the first message he could
    decrypt, and when it came, he deciphered it to, "Be sure to drink your
    Ovaltine."

    Now the film is entertaining, and I own a copy, but, again, to struggle
    against the urban legend, the Little Orphan Annie show never broadcast
    that kind of message.  All the messages were previews of upcoming
    adventures.  A typical message, from memory, would be "Bridge collapses."
     A message containing an Ovaltine message could be found in the Secret
    Society "manual" that came with the Decoder Pin, but these weren't
    broadcast.

    This myth has gained sufficient momentum that it's appeared in serious
    cryptological literature.  So it's worth mentioning again.

    That aside, the film shows Ralphie, the main character, using a real
    Radio Orphan Annie Decoder Pin.  It was the 1940 Speedomatic model, with
    the number and letter scales on the badge edges.  I [resume this was done
    for dramatic effect, since it would better show Ralphie fumbling in his
    haste to decipher the message.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 19:55:39 -0500
    From: "Jim Widner" <widnerj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Mr. Peepers
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    At the risk of getting off topic of OTR, but since Martin Grams Jr. mentions
    it in the last digest I want to add a quick addendum. He said in his post:

>     At least one episode of MR. PEEPERS is in circulation but there are
>     and have been for some time, 8 episodes of HIRAM HOLIDAY available and
>     circulating in collector's hands.

    Recently, S'more Entertainment released the first 26 episodes of this series
    on DVD. There are supposedly 102 out of 127 episodes residing at the UCLA
    Film & Television Archive, so expect to see more eventually.

    Now back on [removed], Charlie, for the brief digresssion to clairfy a
    comment.

    Jim Widner

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    Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 19:55:45 -0500
    From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Mike Wallace, salesman
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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    In a message dated 12/12/05 7:34:01 AM Central Standard Time,
    [removed]@[removed] writes:

>     Mike Wallace was also heard as announcer on "The Spotlight Revue"
>     and/or "The Spike Jones Show" (CBS, 1947-49) on an irregular basis.

    I've also heard that Wallace did some announcing chores on "The Lone Ranger"
    and "The Green Hornet."  Do any of those exist or did he even do that?  I also
    heard he announced or at least did commercials on at least one radio soap
    opera.

    I've also seen TV commercials for Fluffo shortening (persumably they aired
    during "I Love Lucy" in its later years) and Parliament cigarettes in the
    1950s,
    but I have yet to be lucky enough to find him in some OTR.

    Dixon

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    Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 20:37:54 -0500
    From: "Don and Kathy Dean" <dxk@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Humphrey Bogart Theatre

    Hi Gang:

    In one of my mp3's recently I ran across an episode of The
    Humphrey Bogart Theatre. I beleive it was from the mid to
    late '40's. In all my 46 years of collecting OTR I don't recall
    running across any of these. Does anyone have any information
    on this program? I've misplaced that MP3 and when I find it
    I'll definitely have to listen to it.

    Don Dean - N8IOJ

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 02:12:00 -0500
    From: charlie@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Night!

    A weekly [removed]

    For the best in OTR Chat, join IRC (Internet Relay Chat), StarLink-IRC
    Network, the channel name is #OldRadio.  We meet Thursdays at 8 PM Eastern
    and go on, and on! The oldest OTR Chat Channel, it has been in existence
    over nine years, same time, same channel! Started by Lois Culver, widow
    of actor Howard Culver, this is the place to be on Thursday night for
    real-time OTR talk!

    Our "regulars" include OTR actors, soundmen, collectors, listeners, and
    others interested in enjoying OTR from points all over the world. Discussions
    range from favorite shows to almost anything else under the sun (sometimes
    it's hard for us to stay on-topic)...but even if it isn't always focused,
    it's always a good time!

    For more info, contact charlie@[removed]. We hope to see you there, this
    week and every week!

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 08:28:32 -0500
    From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Cinnamon Bear Quilt

    I should have mentioned this weeks ago, but in reference to the
    Cinnamon Bear, a family tradition in, I'm betting, many of the homes
    on this list as well as a widening circle of families who just happen
    to know some OTR buffs: there is a great limited edition (hand-made)
    Cinnamon Bear quilt available. You may see it at
    [removed] The central image
    on the quilt is the same painting that Radio Archives is using on
    their Cinnamon Bear site, along with some smaller pieces by myself
    and some original album art:
    [removed]  I have had several
    versions of this show, starting with one I got on reel to reel back,
    I think, in the late '60's when I first discovered it was available,
    and the Radio Archives version definitely has the best sound of any.
    It sounds, really, like it was just recorded.

    The quilt's creator, Ms. Barbara Webster, was the winner of last
    year's World Quilting Championship in London (I can't recall the real
    name of the competition); the quilt is meticulously hand-crafted and
    the artwork is not printed on but dyed into the fibers of the fabric.
    One of the subscribers to this list, Dennis Crow, is one of the few
    people to have purchased this quilt and his judgment of it is doubly
    significant as he is both, I think it fair to say, the world's
    foremost authority on the Cinnamon Bear as well as being the husband
    of another prize-winning quilter. He has, in the past, expressed his
    approval of the work.

    The artwork is some I'd done in black and white back in the early
    '70's for the program guide of our local public radio station when
    they ran the show. Ms. Webster saw the art and asked if I'd be
    willing to add color so that she could base a quilt on it, which, of
    course, I was highly honored to do. You can see the art in greater
    detail, as well as some additional art I did in case she required it
    for decorative purposes, but which she elected not to use, at my own
    unpublished website:
    [removed] Some of
    the additional art is also on the Radio Archives site.

    I can't say in this case that I have no financial interest in the
    proceeds from the quilt; Ms. Andrews has insisted on giving me a
    percentage of the sales, though I told her that was unnecessary.
    After a "career" as a professional artist I've learned not to expect
    to be paid for my work. Not so you'd notice, anyway. If you request
    it, I'll happily donate my portion of a purchase made by anyone on
    this list to charity. My only real interest in the quilt is helping
    it find the market I think it rightfully deserves, and justifying Ms.
    Webster's faith in this project. This quilt will become a family
    heirloom that will no doubt find special meaning at Christmas time.
    Yours will be one of very few families who own one and my
    understanding is that no two are exactly alike.

    ~ John Mayer

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 08:28:47 -0500
    From: "thomas heathwood" <HeritageRadio@[removed];
    To: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  WW II Christmas program
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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    In answer to the many inquiries in the DIGEST re: the radio show that dealt
    with the
    American GI's in a German POW camp at Christmastime - the show was "Barbed
    Wire Christmas" and was heard well after the war on NBC's CAVALCADE OF AMERICA
    on 12/16/52. The drama starred Edmund O'Brien, and was the moving tale of a
    group of 4000 GI's incarcerated at Christmas
    If you would like to hear it,  it will be on HERITAGE RADIO THEATRE (on the
    Olde Tyme
    Radio Network) the week beginning 12/18/05. The access address is:
    [removed]<[removed]
    t>          Scroll down to the Heritage Radio Theatre
    section.   You can hear it anytime in streaming audio 24/7 starting Sunday.
    Enjoy --- and Merry Christmas!!     Tom Heathwood

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 08:29:56 -0500
    From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Mae West

    oldtime radio wrote:

     > Frankly, if anyone should have been called on the carpet for this
     > incident, it's Janet MacRorie -- the head of NBC Continuity Acceptance
     > at the time, with whom the buck was supposed to stop on all matters of
     > script clearance, and who clearly must have been fast asleep when this
     > particular script was moving thru the system.

    I rechecked portions of the interviews I referred to in the last digest
    with Don Ameche and Edgar Bergen. While memories might have been cloudy
    by the time of the interviews, Ameche says he did check with the
    sponsor's agency, J. Walter Thompson - specifically Danny Danker, who
    looked it all over and said the script was fine. Ameche says the real
    reason for the uproar was the connection with Mae West and the way they
    talked about the Bible.  But he also refers to the dialogue between
    Bergen/McCarthy and West.

    Bergen refers to the same section of the show and emphasizes again HOW
    West read lines such as "Oh, I'll let you play around in my woodpile"
    and when Charlie hesitates, she says " I like a man who takes his
    time."  Looking at these lines in this email seems tame, but try to put
    them into your best Mae West imitation and you begin to see how one
    could be upset by the playlet.

    The fact that Janet MacRorie saw no issues with the script seems to me
    not a problem, if the advertising agency also saw it and approved it.
    After all at that time, it was the agency who would have been most
    embarrassed. NBC only received blame because of the complaints to the
    FCC. I agree that the buck has to stop with NBC, but I think it was a
    two edged sword that both parties should have been called on the carpet.
    I just don't think you can lay it all at MacRorie's feet.

    Jim Widner

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 08:30:17 -0500
    From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Cleaning up print through

    I have been asked a question that I am not sure can be answered. It is
    directed toward the sound archivists of this digest.

    Is there anyway to clean up the sound coming from an old reel tape that
    is experiencing the "print through" effect?  That is, can this somehow
    be removed or minimized to the point of near extinction?

    And can it be done with lesser equipment, say, than processes such as
    CEDAR?  The person asking me this I know does not have that kind of
    money to clean up the sound.

    Thanks, in advance.

    Jim Widner

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 08:31:11 -0500
    From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re:The Mad Masters

    Dan  Haefele wrote:

>     Andrew Steinberg wants  to know the correct date of the one episode of
>     TheMad Masters which is in  circulation.  That program originated through
>     SPERDVAC.
>      I checked the  transcription discs and the broadcast date is March 19,
>     1946.

     The 1946 date is not correct unless the program was recorded a year before
    it was aired, actually 16 months

    The Mad Masters program premiered as a summer replacement on  7/12/47 as
    listed in the NY Times.  It appears in the 7/12/47  highlights identified as
    a premiere,  on from:  8:30 - 9:00 on WNBC

    The NY Times listings for  Mad Masters covers the period from 7/12/47 to
    10/11/47 on WNBC.
    The first 2 programs were 30 minutes
    The rest. from 7/26/47 - 10/11/47  were 15 minutes and as you'll see below
    it appears that two 15-minute programs were aired on 4 airdates in September

    The Chicago Tribune and Washington Post also listed Mad Masters for the same
    period.

    7/12/47 - 8:30  Premiere - program listed as 30 minutes w/Tony Freeman
    Orchestra, Paul Waltie, Tenor
    7/19/47 - 8:30  program listed as 30 minutes
    7/26/47 - 8:45  program listed as 15 minutes
    8/2/47   - 8:45  program listed as 15 minutes
    8/9/47   - 8:30 AND 8:45 listings - 15 minutes each
    8/16/47 - 8:30 AND 8:45 listings - 15 minutes each
    8/23/47 - 8:30 AND 8:45 listings - 15 minutes each
    8/30/47 - 8:30 AND 8:45 listings - 15 minutes each
    9/6/47   - 8:45 listing - 15 minutes - Truth or Consequences on from
    8:30-8:45
    9/13/47 - 8:45 listing - 15 minutes - Truth or Consequences on from
    8:30-8:45
    9/20/47 - 8:45 listing - 15 minutes - Truth or Consequences on from
    8:30-8:45
    9/27/47 - 8:45 listing - 15 minutes - Truth or Consequences on from
    8:30-8:45
    10/4/47 - 8:45 listing - 15 minutes - Truth or Consequences on from
    8:30-8:45
    10/11/47 - 8:45 listing - 15 minutes - Truth or Consequences on from
    8:30-8:45 - Last program
    10/18/47 - Truth or Consequences becomes a 30 minute program from 8:30-9:00

    Probably more than you want to know about 'Mad Masters'  <grin>
    The NY Times review was unfavorable for both 'Mad Masters' and 'Wayne and
    Shuster' another summer replacement which aired before 'Mad Masters'

    Irene

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 08:31:38 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  12-14 births/deaths

    December 14th births

    12-14-1893 - Carl Brisson - Copenhagen, Denmark - d. 9-26-1958
    singer, actor: "A Voice In the Night"
    12-14-1894 - Theo Goetz - d. 12-29-1972
    actor: Papa Bauer "The Guiding Light"
    12-14-1898 - Lillian Randolph - Louisville, KY - d. 9-12-1980
    actress: Birdie Lee Coggins "Great Gildersleeve"; Sapphire's Mama "Amos 'n'
    Andy"
    12-14-1911 - Spike Jones - Long Beach, CA - d. 5-1-1965
    bandleader: "Bob Burns, The Arkansas Traveler"; "Spike Jones Show"
    12-14-1912 - Gurney Bell - Los Angeles, CA - d. 9-xx-1976
    singer: (Member Sportsmen Quartet) "Jack Benny Program"
    12-14-1912 - Morey Amsterdam - Chicago, IL - d. 10-29-1996
    comedian: "Morey Amsterdan Show"
    12-14-1914 - Dan Dailey - New York, NY - d. 10-16-1978
    singer, actor: "King's Men"; "Philip Morse Playhouse"
    12-14-1915 - Jerry Daniels - d. 11-7-1995
    singer: (Member of the Ink Spots) "The Four Ink Spots"; "Let's Go
    Nightclubbing"
    12-14-1919 - Shirley Jackson - San Francisco, CA - d. 8-8-1965
    writer: "NBC Presents: Short Story"
    12-14-1932 - George Furth - Chicago, IL
    actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
    12-14-1934 - Johnny Moore - d. 12-30-1998
    lead singer: (Member of The Drifters) "Camel Rock and Roll Party"
    12-14-1947 - Patty Duke - New York, NY
    actress: "Zero Hour"

    December 14th deaths

    01-14-1906 - William Bendix - New York, NY - d. 12-14-1964
    actor: Chester A. Riley "Life of Riley"
    01-17-1874 - Edna Wallace Hopper - San Francisco, CA - d. 12-14-1959
    Gave beauty tips on the networks 1930-1932
    02-25-1914 - John Arlott - Basingstoke, England - d. 12-14-1991
    BBC radio cricket commentator
    02-26-1875 - Emma Dunn - Cheshire, England - d. 12-14-1966
    actress: "The Eveready Hour"
    03-11-1909 - Ramona - Lockland, OH - d. 12-14-1972
    singer, pianist: "Kraft Music Hall"; "Paul Whiteman's Musical Varities"
    04-20-1897 - Gregory Ratoff - St. Petersburg, Russia - d. 12-14-1960
    panelist: "Information, Please"
    05-25-1925 - Jeanne Crain - Barstow, CA - d. 12-14-2003
    actress: "Screen Guild Players"; "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Hallmark Playhouse"
    06-04-1906 - Richard Whorf - Winthrop, MA - d. 12-14-1966
    actor: "Cavalcade of America"; "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Jack Benny Program"
    06-29-1911 - Milt Josefsberg - New York, NY - d. 12-14-1987
    writer: "Jack Benny Program"; "Bob Hope Show"
    07-18-1908 - Lupe Velez - San Luis Potosi, Mexico - d. 12-14-1944
    actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Speed Show"
    07-20-1890 - Verna Felton - North Hollywood, CA - d. 12-14-1966
    actress: Blossom Blimp "Sealtest Village Store"; Liz Pierce "Judy Canova Show"
    07-23-1894 - Arthur Treacher - Brighton, England - d. 12-14-1975
    actor: "Philco Radio Playhouse"; "Philip Morris Playhouse on Broadway"
    08-02-1905 - Myrna Loy - Raidersburg, MT - d. 12-14-1993
    actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    08-03-1885 - Arthur Sinclair - Dublin, Ireland - d. 12-14-1951
    actor: John A. Considine "Jumbo Fire Chief Program"
    08-08-1896 - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings - Washington, [removed] - d. 12-14-1953
    novelist: "Stars in the Air"
    08-29-1924 - Dinah Washington - Tuscaloosa, AL - d. 12-14-1963
    blues singer: "Jubilee"; "Bob Hope Show"; "One Night Stand"
    09-23-1893 - Louis Sorin - New York, NY - d. 12-14-1961
    actor: Pan Pancho "Cisco Kid"
    10-10-1911 - Marion Shockley - Kansas City, MO - d. 12-14-1981
    actress: Rosemary Levy "Abie's Irish Rose"; Nikki Porter "Advs. of Ellery
    Queen"
    11-07-1913 - Margorie Anderson - London, England - d. 12-14-1999
    disc jockey: "Forces Favourites"; "Woman's Hour"; "Home for the Day"
    11-11-1918 - Stubby Kaye - New York, NY - d. 12-14-1997
    comic, singer, actor: "The Heartbeat of Broadway"
    11-16-1919 - Marion Bell - St. Louis, MO - d. 12-14-1997
    actress, singer: "The Railroad Hour"
    --
    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 10:32:58 -0500
    From: "Jim Gordon" <jimgordon88@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The future of radio and recording streaming
     audio on Radio 7

    Hello,

    Like David Rodgers, I too have been recording streaming audio Llisten Again'
    features. I have, however, been noticing for some time, that on BBC Radio 7
    recordings that I have made using the, usually, reliable Service Recorder
    software, there is occasional audio skipping on playback, sometimes
    accompanied by background noises like a cat meowing, bells and whipping!
    Rather than me hallucinating, am I right in thinking the BBC are running
    some kind of programme in the background of the Radio 7 'Listen Again'
    streams to discourage and disrupt recordings of these streams? I would like
    to know if other Digest readers have experienced similiar problems.

    Jim Gordon

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 15:30:51 -0500
    From: Melanie Aultman <otrmelanie@[removed];
    To: OTRDIGEST <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Any Box 13 stories?
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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     If Box 13's Dan Holiday was conducting research for story lines, were there
    ever any stories produced from his adventures?

       [I've only listend to five shows so far.]

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 15:31:06 -0500
    From: "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "Adam and Eve" skit
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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           I recently discovered that the famous (infamous?) "Adam and Eve"
    skit which starred Don Ameche and Mae West was written by Arch Oboler,
    who had a prolific career in radio and was one of its great writers.  One
    thing I'd like some clarification on is what penalty Mae West had to contend
    with as a result.  Facts on this issue vary.  One person told me that all
    other
    radio performers were asked never to mention her name on the air--or else.
    I also heard that she was banned from performing on radio for 16 years, 26
    years, or ever again.  Which is the truth?

           I agree, that part of the fault for what happened should've been on
    the
    show and the network.  After all, she did have a reputation for using double
    entendres in the movies in which she appeared.  It should've been obvious to
    them that she'd attempt to put her own spin on whatever script she was
    reading.
    That's another thing, she wasn't making up the performance as she went along.
    She was performing from a written script which was given to her.  As far as
    the difference between the table reading and the actual performance, the
    table
    reading was probably meant to see how the timing of the skit would be and to
    make
    sure that all actors involved were aware of the cues they had to adhere to.
    The
    writer(s) of the skit should've known that basing any comedy skit on
    something
    like the Bible would've been controversial to begin with.

    Another OTR Fan,

    Kenneth Clarke

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    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #384
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