Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #198
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 7/6/2007 9:28 PM

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

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2007 : Issue 198
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      A recollection of collection          [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      Digest V2007 #197 Re:Ball game Recre  [ Frank McGurn <[removed]@sbcglobal. ]
      The Fugitive - and Conrad             [ "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed]; ]
      Midwest Baseball Network - Delayed 3  [ KENPILETIC@[removed] ]
      re: If my radio had a V-chip          [ Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed]; ]
      Re: [removed]                    [ "Glenn P.," <C128User@[removed]; ]
      WTIC's Golden Age of Radio            [ "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed] ]
      Re: Ballgame recreations              [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
      Re:What it was like for early collec  [ lasisk@[removed] ]
      Re: collecting OTRadio in the early   [ FabFicBks@[removed] ]
      Herb Jepko and the Nitecaps           [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
      Re: Long John Nebel On WOR            [ Default <swl2010@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 11:15:49 -0400
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  A recollection of collection

>     I'm curious to know what collecting OTR was like when the hobby first

    started in the '60s and '70s.  I know there at least a few people on the
    list that have been serious collectors since that time, and I hope they will
    share some thoughts and experiences.

>     How difficult was it to get shows?  Were catalogs of circulating shows very

    limited?  Were there any publications/fanzines that were around in those
    very early days of collecting?

    I'm absolutely certain there are several who can (and will) answer Sammy
    Jones' questions better than I.  But because I "was there," I'll contribute
    my experience.  November 25, 1960 was a dark day for me when all those
    dramas, variety series and musical features left CBS forever.  Radio had
    been my constant companion virtually all of my life.  While there would
    still be Monitor and a few more remnants of favorites for a while (House
    Party, The Breakfast Club, Arthur Godfrey, Suspense, YTJD), their total
    number of hours was comparatively small.  It was really like attending a
    funeral.

    I'm uncertain where I learned about Radio Yesteryear in the late 1960s but
    the idea of being able to acquire some of those beloved favorites on
    reel-to-reel tape and to hear those sounds again after such a long dry spell
    was almost too good to be true.  I got an address for the outfit in
    Croton-on-Hudson, N. Y.  I owned a reel-to-reel player already, and when
    those tapes came, I was in heaven!  That, of course, prompted me to order
    more and more and that persisted until cassette tapes came into vogue (very
    late 1960s or early 1970s, if I'm remembering my own experience about
    right).

    In the meantime, all the while I was writing notes to and getting replies
    from Michael Raphone who ran Radio Yesteryear.  To find someone who shared
    my passion was incredibly cool, I thought.  At some point I got my hands on
    a copy of his 104-page catalog, second edition issued in 1968, and was
    absolutely astounded by how much was then available for purchase (hundreds
    and hundreds of shows -- I still have the catalog and despite its use it's
    still in near pristine condition).

    Other salespeople eventually arrived on that turf, particularly as
    advancements were made in technology and recording and cleaning up static.
    They proliferated after cassettes got rolling.  But for me, that's how
    collecting began.  The interest, of course, went back to when I heard it
    live every day.  It's been in my bloodstream ever since.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:06:19 -0400
    From: Frank McGurn <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Digest V2007 #197  Re:Ball game Recreations

    I am not a writer like some.  I talk better than I write. So, I left out
    a word that changed the meaning of my sentenace.
    The sentence was  referring to the 2 Chicago ball teams "This was
    possible because they were in town on the same days".
    It should  have been "NOT" in town the same [removed] about that, it
    could happen again.
    Frank McGurn

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:06:43 -0400
    From: "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Fugitive - and Conrad

    Mea culpa! To tell you the truth, I wasn't even thinking of
    Conrad's announcing/narration at the time I suggested it ... I
    had the voice of whoever ringing in thoughts as he said "A Quinn
    Martin production" at the end of Barnaby Jones.

    As Fibber would say, "Be that as it may, or may not, be ..." we
    are back to "belanger's" question of whose voice it was that did
    the wrap-around announcing on "The Untouchables." I still have in
    mind a younger, more upbeat baritone that did those Warner Bros.
    TV shows. Perhaps Stewart Wright was, er, uh, right when he
    suggested Les Lampson. I'm not familiar with the name.

    Bob Cockrum

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:06:53 -0400
    From: KENPILETIC@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Midwest Baseball Network - Delayed 30 Minutes

    Hi Gang -

    Frank McGurn's comments about Chicago Cubs and White Sox Games  Broadcasts in
    Issue 197 reminded me of the "Delayed Broadcasts" of  Cubs games on the
    "Midwest Baseball Network" in the early 1950's.

    The flagship station was WIND in Chicago, and the broadcast of  the game
    would begin at (for example) 1 PM on WIND.   The broadcast  was recorded and
    fed
    to the network 30 minutes later (for example 1:30).  I  used to listen to Bert
    Wilson announce the game on WSIV in Pekin, Illinois -  because WIND had a very
    weak signal in LaSalle, where I lived.

    One day I was with friends and we heard the game on WIND my friends  had a
    better radio that I did.  The Cubs won.  After the game I went  home and told
    my
    dad that the Cubs had won.  He told me that the game
    was still being played (he was listening on WSIV).  It was then that I
    discovered how a betting person could really "clean up" by betting on things
    that
    had already happened during the game.  Naturally I didn't do  anything like
    that.

    Anyway, In 1957 I met the engineer who handled the broadcast from  WIND  He
    told me that four special
    tape recorders were "ganged together" so that when one was recording,
    another was playing.  They did this
    throught the game.  This means that broadcasts of all Cubs' home games  were
    recorded. Unfortunately, the tapes were immediately re-used, so it is
    unlikely that any complete Cubs games still exist on tape.

    I'm wondering why the broadcasts of the games were delayed 30  minutes.  It
    is obvious why such delayed broadcasts were discontinued.

    Happy Taping -- Ken Piletic (currently in Alma, Arkansas)
    _kenpiletic@[removed]_ (mailto:kenpiletic@[removed])

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:41:43 -0400
    From: Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  re: If my radio had a V-chip
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from text/html

       If my radio had a V-chip when I was young, I wouldn't have heard the
       "Adventures by Morse" episode where Capt.  and Skip Turner and
       desperately questioning their jungle guide while he is being consumed
       by a carnivorous plant.  "Senors, it is squeezing my brain out!!!"
       On the other hand, Harold Lloyd's "Old Gold comedy theatre" was
       consistently racy.  I'm sure this kind of humour would have earned an
       M-rating.
       Stephen D
       Calgary (the Stampede is on now)

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:42:16 -0400
    From: "Glenn P.," <C128User@[removed];
    To: Old-Time Radio Mailing List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: [removed]

    That's great news about the Harveytoons, but my own worry is for the logo:
    the LAST time I bought a VHS tape of Harveytoons, about fifteen years ago,
    the "H" on the TV set was GONE -- replaced by a *Paramount* logo!!! I nearly
    died choking over the soda I was drinking at the time, and I swear to God
    that if the corporate [removed] responsible for that particular travesty had
    been standing in front of me at the time, I'd've strangled him right there
    and then. Granted that Paramount had (apparently) obtained the rights to
    distribute the tape -- did they HAVE to destroy the legitimate Harveytoon
    logo?????

    It STILL kills me, even now, to think that any kids who might buy a copy of
    that tape will think that that's actually the way Harveytoons looked -- and
    never be any the wiser! Aaaauuuggghhhh!!!  :(  :(  :(

    Does the DVD have that marvelous "Harveytoon" theme music? (The Noveltoon
    theme wasn't bad, either!)

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:42:34 -0400
    From: "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  WTIC's Golden Age of Radio

    Tune in to [removed] to hear 89 "Golden Age of Radio" shows and
    43 One Night Stand with the Big Bands" programs. Just click on the link
    above, turn down the lights, and enjoy the shows.

    In addition, I've added some new programs that might be of interest -
    including a memorial tribute to Hartford native Ed Begley, hosted by Dick
    Bertel, and a special program featuring Mr. Begley as Mark Twain giving us a
    tour of his historic home in Hartford.

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 17:11:39 -0400
    From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re:  Ballgame recreations

    A reminder from [removed]

>     Well, don't forget that most press boxes were
>     equipped with Western  Union tickers,

    Aaaaaah well this is a possibility.  There's just NO
    ambient noise, not even any other people in the
    pressbox. And the fellow stammers and stalls *just*
    often enough, when the little clicker goes silent, to
    make me suspicious.  I'm gonna try to post a clip
    online within a couple days.  Cause now I'm really
    curious! :)

    At the moment it's a mystery.  I appreciate all the
    historical info.  These re-creations are more honest
    that alot of "reality TV".  A lost art!

    Chris

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 17:46:04 -0400
    From: lasisk@[removed]
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re:What it was like for early collectors

    Sammy Jones wanted  to know what otr collecting  was like in the early days.
    I have been collecting otr for over 40 years and  I must have about 20,000
    shows in my computer, on dvds, cds, and yes still on cassettes. When I first
    started collecting, there were 2 or 3 FM stations in the [removed] area that would
    play otr. I eagerly listed to them and taped  programs off the radio. Then I
    got  the "bug" real bad. I  borrowed  and dubbed otr from library cassettes
    and from old records. When I travelled, I always took my radio recorder with
    me and recorded radio dramas off the local radio when I was in England,
    Holland and South Africa.  Later I discovered others with the same "bug" and
    began swapping shows by dubbing my shows on to blank cassettes and then
    mailing them to my trading partner. The first otr lists that I knew of where
    lists compiled by otr traders to one other so that they could choose the
    shows they wanted.  The 70's saw the birth of otr clubs which amassed their
    own collect
    ions and formed lending libraries for the benefit of their members, along
    with otr periodicals. I joined several of them and by making use of their
    libraries added shows to my collection, I never knew existed. The computer,
    mp3 and dvd have since revolutionized otr collecting which will never be the
    same.

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 18:42:12 -0400
    From: FabFicBks@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: collecting OTRadio in the early days of the
     hobby

    In response to Sammy Jones' question about  collecting in the early days of
    this hobby, let me just say it was murder.   There were very few of us
    collecting in the sixties; the collectors were  often extremely specialized,
    and were
    often clannish and had a dog-in-the-manger  attitude toward their material
    that is almost impossible to comprehend in this  day and age.  Not that there
    weren't some wonderful folks out there, but I  recall all too well that even
    up
    thru the mid 1970s there were collectors who  would not pass on the names of
    other fans for fear you might try to  trade stuff with them before they had
    exhausted your catalog, guys who had  restricted listings, so that if you got
    something which was (according to  them) rare from them you had to promise
    not to
    trade it with anyone else  for a year or more, and guys who didn't even bother
    to listen to their stuff,  just claimed everything in their catalog was in
    excellent sound, and if you  complained that the reels you got back from them
    were unlistenable they would  then try to bad mouth you to other collectors.

        Hell, it's supposed to be a fun hobby.  My  attitude has always been that
    the more people you can get to listen to and enjoy  the shows the better off
    the entire hobby is.  My view was a distinct  minority in the 1960s.  In
    addition there really weren't that many shows  available, altho there were a
    few
    dealers selling reels, mostly the programs  Michaelson had
    syndicated---Shadow,
    Green Hornet, Lone Ranger and some Johnny  Dollar.  Some of those dealers are
    still in the hobby, but most left when  they discovered they weren't going to
    become fabulously wealthy selling copies  of Jack Benny and the Green Hornet
    to millions of desperate collectors.   When I managed to record a lot of stuff
    from the Armed Forces Radio archives  while I was in the army stationed in
    Germany in the late 1960s it was a real  influx of new material for the hobby,
    and keep me trading steadily for the next  six years.

        Things are infinitely better these days.   Collecting clubs, and the
    expansion of the hobby have resulted in thousands of  old programs being
    discovered that we never dreamed would ever surface in  those early days.
    New formats
    mean more people can access the hobby, which  means there are even more
    chances for additional programs to be discovered and  shared.  Altho I
    approve of
    the use of many of the new formats, I have to  confess I still like to save my
    stuff on 7" reel-to-reel format, (altho I listen  to most programs these days
    on a portable cassette player.)

        I my opinion times have changed for the better in  this hobby.  I foresee
    even more ranscriptions turning up, while better and  more focused research
    as well as an ever broadening listener base for  OTRadio which will continue
    to
    benefit everyone interested in the old  shows.

    ---Bob Jennings

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 20:53:58 -0400
    From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Herb Jepko and the Nitecaps

    Bill Knowlton wrote about Herb Jepko's Nitecap program:

>     It allowed no political or religious discussions--or anything
>     controversial--so it was an eternat night of people calling in and reporting
>     what their weather was.

    Well, strictly speaking religion was the only no-no.  You could talk about
    politics if you wanted, but Herb wouldn't express a political opinion of his
    own and it was obvious he disdained this type of call. It was a fun show.
    There used to be a good fan site about it with audio clips and photos but
    that doesn't seem to be around any more.

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

    Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 23:27:33 -0400
    From: Default <swl2010@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Long John Nebel On WOR

    Bill and Jim are correct Herb Jepko was carried by Mutual in-between
    Nebel and King.  Here is the rest of what I can remember and I'll retire
    my end of this topic.

    Thanks for triggering my memory on Kreskin - he indeed was a frequent
    guest on Nebel before he hit the big-time and afterwards.  I also
    remember the great Chuck McCann spending a night as a guest and talking
    about the early days on live TV, Ernie Kovacs and of course Laurel and
    Hardy (McCann hosted several kids programs in NYC one of which he showed
    L&H moves - he also played Hardy for years in those Anco wiper blade
    commercials).  Somehow I think he may have had one or two Mad Magazine
    writers on occasionally.  Jackie Gleason was also a guest and a fan of
    the show (he was fascinated with the paranormal), Jacqueline Susan
    (before Valley of the Dolls)

    One of the great stories Nebel told was when he was doing a WOR show out
    at the transmitter shack.  He had a fellow on - and amputee with one leg
    who claimed that he had could psychicly will a limb where his  missing
    leg was.  Nebel said the fellow sat quiet for most of the night and
    suddenly got up and walked out of the studio - missing limb - like he
    had two legs.  Nebel swears it was true.

    Some of the members of Nebel's panel were Sanford Teller, publicist, Al
    Lottman, Insurance Agent, Sol Schilizzi, locksmith, Donald Bain author,
    Paris Flammonde (who was Nebel's producer and ghost writer for Nebel's
    UFO books) - those are the ones I can remember.  There were many others
    but that is all I can remember.  Alan Colmes is a huge Nebel fan.  In
    the eighties when Colmes was on WABC, he assembled several members of
    Nebel's panel for an overnight tribute show.

    Nebel only slept for a brief time daily.  I remember as a kid going into
    Manhattan and having breakfast at the Cromwell Drug Store in the RCA
    Building.  I remember seeing Nebel come in to get coffee once, around 9
    or 10 am - several hours after his program ended.

    If anyone is interested:

    A transcript of a Nebel program from WNBC in 1964:
    [removed]

    Article about the Candy Jones Mind-Control conspiracy:
    [removed]

    [removed] Nebel audio files:
    [removed]

    Jepko was another story.  Five hours a night of senior citizens talking
    about absolutely nothing - nothing I tell you!  Listening to that
    program was like being consigned to the grandparents table at family
    gatherings.  I tend to think the religious and political ban was because
    KSL, the station Jepko started on was owned by the LDS church.  A lot of
    night-standers were of that particular faith.  I used to get KSL on the
    east coast when the skip was good.  When the Mutual run ended he still
    could be heard on a number of stations.  What killed Night Cap was the
    Weather Channel.  When the Weather Channel premiered on cable in the
    late 70's, every senior parked themselves in front of the TV 24/7 never
    to be heard from again until it was time to go to the 4:00 pm
    all-you-can eat restaurant - and then back to the Weather Channel.

    I thank the group for indulging me.  It's not often I actually know
    something and I'm always learning about OTR history from the posts by
    the members here.

    DR

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #198
    *********************************************

    Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
      including republication in any form.

    If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
       [removed]

    For Help: [removed]@[removed]

    To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

    To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
      or see [removed]

    For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
      in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

    To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

    To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]