Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #499
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 12/21/2002 9:03 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 499
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Why the fascination with OTR?         [ Larry Jordan <midtod@[removed]; ]
      Young person-OTR                      [ "timl2002" <timl2002@[removed]; ]
      Hendrie, Firesign, BBC7               [ Bhob <bhob2@[removed]; ]
      "Media" is Plural                     [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      BBC7 homepage                         [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
      Favorite Christmas Shows              [ "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@comc ]
      Inflation Calculator                  [ leemunsick@[removed] ]
      otr and today's audio books           [ "[removed]" <ddunfee@[removed]; ]
      thanks and how I got hooked           [ "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@earthli ]
      Charles Isaacs                        [ JayHick@[removed] ]
      Sperdvac Web Site                     [ Larry Gassman <lgsinger@[removed] ]
      Frank Muir Goes [removed]              [ "Robert Angus" <rangus02@[removed]; ]
      OTR&Young?                            [ dantrigg422@[removed] ]
      Glory and the Dream                   [ "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed] ]
      "Words at War"                        [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Young(-ish) fan & Christmas OTR       [ KirkG12797@[removed] ]
      Christmas shows                       [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 00:57:52 -0500
    From: Larry Jordan <midtod@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Why the fascination with OTR?

    This is in response to Ron Sayles' question about how people got
    interested in old-time radio. I recently turned 50 (though I can hardly
    believe it!) so I'm certainly not a "younger" fan of OTR. But I do sort
    of straddle both worlds in that radio was still a large influence in our
    household when I was growing up in the 1950s. Some of my earliest
    memories are of hearing the old "Gunsmoke" show on radio and wondering
    why Matt Dillon sounded different than on TV! I also recall Don McNeil's
    "Breakfast Club" out of Chicago, and Aunt Fanny I believe her name
    was -- who was an Iowa celebrity of sorts. And then there was "the old
    red-head," Arthur Godfrey.

    My fascination with radio seems to stem from the fact that I got a
    crystal set as a Cub Scout and loved tuning in the stations that way. I
    remember visiting my aunt and uncle's farm and being mesmerized by the
    old console radio they had in their living room. (I now collect old
    radios).  Plus I received a Caravelle transmitter set as  Christmas gift
    when I was about 11. I set up my own little "radio station" and
    broadcast to my friends in the neighborhood. I even got on some record
    company distribution lists and was mailed deejay copies of new releases!
    I had a program schedule, a coverage map, the whole nine yards. A friend
    of mine across town even got his own Caravelle, and we set up a
    "network" whereby we traded programs by phone and also small
    reel-to-reel tape.

    But my real love of OTR still has to be attributed to a pioneer
    broadcaster, WMT in Cedar Rapids, Ia. I remember the "Voice of Iowa",
    which was a 15-minute noontime program. In fact, I can even remember the
    intro "It's 12 noon and now, from Studio E, the Voice of Iowa. SInce
    1935, the Midwest's leading audience participation show. Now, here's
    your [removed], Dean Lanfear!" It was fun to go up to the 5th floor
    of the old Paramount theater building and either be a member of the
    studio audience, or watch the show unfold through the double-paned
    soundproof windows.

    WMT was also one of the first stations to rebroadcast OTR, during their
    "Project 600" shows at night, beginning with "Lum and Abner." A guy
    named George Lilly was the instigator of that, I believe. George was a
    huge fan and collected thousands of shows. I have often wondered what
    happened to him. Perhaps someone knows.

    What is really a kick these days is to listen to OTR broadcasts on one
    of my beautifully restored Zenith or Philco consoles. Talk about a time
    warp!

    Thanks for indulging my [removed] Larry Jordan

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:13:55 -0500
    From: "timl2002" <timl2002@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Young person-OTR

    I became interested in Radio (Though not OTR) when I got a plastic table
    radio for my bed when I was probably around 10-12(I am 45 now)My mother was
    in a Avon type company that sold clothes, and a prize she got for getting a
    certain number of orders was an AM-FM-Shortwave radio which she promptly
    gave to me.  I listened to talk Radio at [removed] 1060 in Canton Ohio was
    my favorite, a small-market pioneer in local talk radio from 1968-73.  I was
    interested in DX and also enjoyed Larry Glick overnight from WBZ (still
    remember the number then-254-5678) as well as various KDKA Pittsburgh
    overnight hosts.
    Started listening to OTR from various stations like the former WCAU in
    Philadelphia WBBM, WMAQ etc.  Also collected some AIC tapes over the years,
    but I really got hooked in OTR when I was at my brother's house one
    Christmas and managed to hear Yesterday USA on his Big satellite dish.  I
    dont have the means to do a lot of collecting right now but enjoy listening
    when I can.  Have grown to love the list and hope all have a Merry
    [removed]

    Tim Lones,
    Canton, Ohio

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:23:22 -0500
    From: Bhob <bhob2@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Hendrie, Firesign, BBC7

>     Just wish it weren't the only choice for new radio humor today. At
>     least it's the only one I really know about.

    As I noted before, the Firesign Theatre has been doing holiday shows for
    NPR. Go to [removed] and type in "firesign" and ten past
    segments will surface. One is a Peter Bergman interview that explores
    the Spike Milligan/GOON SHOW connection to Firesign. I find it
    interesting that the GOON-influenced Beatles and the GOON-influenced
    Firesign both appeared at the same time in the early 1960s.

    In satirizing talk radio, Phil Hendrie has created so many unusual radio
    comedy characters that he now has a million listeners, and NBC wants
    Hendrie to bring his characters to television. The primetime NBC series
    is in development, and there are now numerous websites devoted to
    Hendrie: [removed]
    NY TIMES article on Hendrie:
    [removed]

    On the other hand, NPR's I'D RATHER EAT PANTS was a true disaster, an
    unfunny script given what sounded like a cold reading before an
    uninterested audience. All could have been avoided if someone at NPR had
    simply rejected Peter Ackerman's meandering, amateurish script.

    And certainly bad timing for NPR to attempt this at the same time as the
    BBC7 launch with its spendiferous archive of comedy-drama from past
    decades. Now if only BBC7 will repeat the BBC Radio 4 productions of
    Dennis Potter's ALICE (1979) and TRAITOR (1981) with Denholm
    Elliott, both adapted from earlier Potter television dramas.

    Bhob @ FUSEBOX VINTAGE NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS @
    http:/.[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:23:40 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "Media" is Plural

    Lately, there have been comparisons between television (particularly
    early TV) and OTR.  IMHO, it's time to put that particular hound back in
    the kennel.  Radio, TV, books, stage plays, film, and interactive video
    games are all separate media, each medium with its strengths and
    weaknesses.  Some evolved from others.  For instance, early motion
    pictures evolved in part from stage plays.  In fact, some of the earliest
    films effectively *were* stage plays.  In time, each of the later media
    developed its special characteristics.

    A well-written book still gets a good audience, film and television
    notwithstanding.  IMHO, it's important to remember that many films were
    adapted from books, comics, or sometimes OTR.  Likewise, OTR programs
    were adapted from other media.  Red Ryder, Terry and the Pirates, Dick
    Tracy, and The Adventures of Superman, for instance, were all comic-strip
    and/or -book characters first before being adapted to OTR.  So were
    Blondie and Archie Andrews, to name some comedies.

    This is not to knock OTR.  My observations are to point out the inherent
    difficulty of judging one medium by another.  Humphrey Bogart's portrayal
    of Sam Spade in the film, The Maltese Falcon is great.  So is Howard
    Duff's portrayal of the title character in The Adventures of Sam Spade.
    But trying to make the case that one or another is a better portrayal of
    the PI is a bit futile.

    As it happens, I grew up listening to OTR.  Besides being a nostalgia
    trip to rehear shows I once listened to as broadcasts, I'm discovering
    (and enjoying) shows that competed with programs I used to listen to
    regularly.  I still believe that an Old-Style Radio (OSR) series of
    adventure serials, broadcast during rush hour, would be a good way to
    minimize road rage.

    But each medium has its strengths and weaknesses.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:23:49 -0500
    From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  BBC7 homepage

    I did a Google search. This the homepage/URL for BBC7:
    [removed]

    Hope this helps.

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:24:11 -0500
    From: "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Favorite Christmas Shows

    On the subject of favorite Christmas programs, one that I find myself
    listening to every year is the Phil Harris & Alice Faye broadcast where
    guest star Jack Benny agrees to play Santa for the Harris [removed]

    JULIUS: Oh yeah?  What would I find if I lifted up that white wig?

    BENNY: A brown one!

    Timeless, just timeless.

    Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:24:17 -0500
    From: leemunsick@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Inflation Calculator

    Thanks to Dennis Mansker for telling us about The Inflation Calculator!
    I've been looking for something like this for years!

    Lee Munsick

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:24:28 -0500
    From: "[removed]" <ddunfee@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  otr and today's audio books

    I'm a frequent user of recorded books.  While listening to one this morning
    I was reminded how much like otr the experience was.  There seems two
    factors that makes an audio book more like otr.  First is the quality of
    the narration.  Some commercial audio books go so far as to have more then
    one reader, but even with only one, a single person can by slight variation
    create an entire "cast".  Second is the style of writing.  The best are
    those which come across as though created as a story being presented among
    a group of friends.  In other words, if it does well spoken aloud, it was
    probably good writing to start. this is the case even with nonfiction.
    What say ye?

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:24:57 -0500
    From: "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@[removed];
    To: "OTR List" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  thanks and how I got hooked

    Thanks to everyone who wrote to inform me that Larry Kiner was deceased, a
    fact I was well aware of. I meant to write DAVID Kiner. Must be old age
    setting in [removed]

    Speaking of, I am certainly not the oldest on this list, but at half a
    century I am not the youngest either, as I've learned recently by reading
    the posts of you young whippersnappers in your 30s and 40s.

    I got hooked on OTR just like this - I have always been fascinated by sound
    recordings. Some of my earliest pre-school memories are of playing my
    mother's old 78 rpm records and watching the changer operate. LPs took too
    long to cycle on our old Philips TV/AM/FM-LP/78-45rpm entertainment center,
    so I preferred 78s.

    My sister studied RTF in school and worked at the U of Houston radio
    station. One day she called me up and said "turn on KUHF at 5 pm they are
    going to play the Lone Ranger". Well, the LR was one of my all time TV favs,
    so I listened. Earl Blair, another student, was doing a show that he called
    "Experiment in Radio" and played OTR shows. Earl went on later to start a
    nostalgia dealership, the name of which I forget. Anyway, that was it, I was
    hooked. Brace Beemer immediately wrested the #1 position of my favorite
    Ranger from Clayton Moore. Today LR is still one of my top fav OTR shows for
    all time.

    Joe Salerno
    Video Works! Is it working for you?
    PO Box 273405 - Houston TX 77277-3405 [removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:55:11 -0500
    From: JayHick@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Charles Isaacs

    Did anyone know Charles Isaacs, comedy writer on radio and television?  He
    died Dec. 12 at the age of 88.

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:55:25 -0500
    From: Larry Gassman <lgsinger@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Sperdvac Web Site

    Chet,
    Try [removed]
    It is still under construction and so there isn't a lot up there, but it is
    a start.
    Merry Christmas!
    Larry Gassman

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 14:36:13 -0500
    From: "Robert Angus" <rangus02@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Frank Muir Goes [removed]
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    A while back, I had the pleasure of exchanging a couple of episodes of the BBC
    comedy series "Frank Muir Goes [removed]" with a gentleman from the list.  I'd
    like him to know that I've just stumbled on four more episodes (The Post
    Office, Class, Inventors and Consumer Affairs.  Unfortunately, a virus wiped
    out my computer memory a while back so I no longer have his name or address.
    If he needs any of these and will contact me offline, I'll be pleased to make
    arrangements for another trade.

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    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 16:58:47 -0500
    From: dantrigg422@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR&Young?
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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    Having been born in 1946 I hit the 60s ready, willing and able, and absorbed
    all of the good and bad, from that time on.
    In 88 or 89 I heard "When Radio Was" for the first time on KTRH 740am in
    Houston Texas. The more I listened  to the show the more I noticed that
    things were really different in their thinking and mine. The shows had
    morals, good and bad, and the "Good Guys" won, because they were good.
    I started to look at these generations totally different. Amos' n' Andy, Lum'
    n' Abner, and many shows talked about saving fat, tin cans, driving under the
    speed limit to save gasoline, and tires. All of this was for "Our Boys" who
    were fighting the war.
    The OTR Generations saw the depression, WW2, and the Korean War. They are the
    "Greatest Generation."
    Old Time Radio has really changed the way I think today.

    Dan

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    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 17:02:37 -0500
    From: "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed];
    To: "OTR message" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Glory and the Dream
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from text/html

    Mention has been made recently about William Manchester's The Glory and
    the Dream and how it providedinspiration to several subscribers in
    beginning otr collecting and interest. KANU, a local NPR outlet here inKansas,
    has carried for years The American Past, an hour long Peabody Award
    winning series conducted by an emeritis professor here at the University
    of Kansas. In September, 1992, he presented a 3 part, 3 hour tribute to
    thebook. I've been fortunate to obtain over 200 of these programs and
    this 3 part presentation is one of his [removed] free to contact me at my
    email if you wish more information.  Don Frey--- alanladdsr@[removed]

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    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 16:59:16 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  "Words at War"

    I have just completed Howard Blue's book, "Words at War." It is much more than
    a book about the blacklist, which many have been led to believe, in point of
    fact the black list makes up just a very small portion of the book.

    I have two passions in life, Old Time Radio and World War II. Howard has
    put the two together magnificently. It is a wonderful book that I would
    recommend to anybody.  I am impressed with what Howard has done. It had to
    have taken
    one heck of a lot of research to come up with what he did.  I would love
    to see it become a best seller.  I want to thank Howard for giving me some
    wonderful hours. It goes on my bookshelf with all of my other important
    Old Time Radio books.

    I know that it is a little late, but what a wonderful Christmas present it
    would make. Because it is so late maybe one could give it as a New Year's
    gift, or better yet, just do a random act of kindness and give it for no other
    reason than it is a great book.

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Make your day just a little better, listen to Olde Tyme Radio!

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

    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 17:00:30 -0500
    From: KirkG12797@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Young(-ish) fan & Christmas OTR
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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    I'm 43 this year, and one of my earliest memories of hearing OTR was listing
    to 8-track tapes of shows on family cross-country car trips.  Our parents had
    told us about some of their favorites and got the tapes so we could listen.
    They also let us play their 78's--though not in the car--and my sister and I
    loved all that stuff.

    I was nuts about all the popular culture before my time.  The Blackhawk Films
    catalog--remamber that?--was my favorite "wish book."  But back here in
    Nevada, there wasn''t any radio station I knew of the regularly played OTR.
    The one exception was at Christmas, when one station or another would play
    holiday-themed shows all day.  I collected some of my first shows by taping
    off the air.  So my earliest best known shows were the Christmas episodes.

    Eventually, I got my first job at the Washoe County Library, and discovered
    they had a collection of tapes for check-out.  Wow!  That's where I first
    heard The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show and--surprise of surprises--heard
    Nightmare on The CBS Radio Workshop.  Frankie Remley in a serious role, and
    writing and directing as well.  This opened me up to the broad range of work
    done in the medium.  Yes, there was The Lone Ranger and The Shadow that
    everyone knew about, but there was also incredibly powerful adult dramatic
    work, and off-beat comedy (I love Bob & Ray and Vic & Sade).

    Anyhow, I continue to love the medium and the art, and it seems every year I
    find something new.  I remember avoiding Dragnet episodes for quite a while,
    based on my less-than-charitable memories of the sixties TV show.  Now I
    think it was one of the best uses of radio ever.  That led me to question my
    aversion to Gunsmoke, borne of similar reasons.  I'm glad I did.

    When everyone else was going crazy over Who Wants to Be a Millionaire a few
    years back, I was discovering the much more enjoyable Information, Please.

    I am constantly amazed at the work of creators like the afore-mentioned
    Elliott Lewis, Wyllis Cooper, Paul Rhymer, Jack Webb, Norman Macdonnell, and
    that great poet Norman Corwin (who was kind enough to give us permission to
    do a live performance of We Hold These Truths last year--and if you think
    listening to his shows is powerful, you should try acting in one).

    My point (and I do have one) is that this isn't just old stuff and nostalgia
    to me--these are vital and relevent works of art.  Sure, sometimes I feel
    like the last holdout just trying to make certain that at least one person
    knows about radio (and silent film--another passion of mine) until I really
    get involved in the latest show I'm listening to.  Then it's as current as
    anything.  I know you all feel the same way.

    Happy Holidays to Everyone (and thanks for all the information you share all
    year long).

    Kirk Gardner

    [removed]  My favorite holiday show is Jack Benny playing Santa on Phil
    Harris-Alice Faye.  I listen to it every year.

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    Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 17:33:22 -0500
    From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Christmas shows

    Hi Everybody, I love Christmas shows and I am many time over the years I
    pulled out my favorite ones to play again.  Some I would recommend are the
    Doris Day show of 12-23-53.  Doris singing Silent Night is a treasure, and
    also hearing Don Wilson singing on a Christmas song.  Two Fiber McGee and
    Molly show I enjoy are the 12-24-46 where Fibber is trying to fix toys for
    the kids in town, and the broadcast 12-20-49 where Fibber is trying to
    decorate his house.  Three Great Gildersleeve show stick out both the 1944,
    and 1945 because it has a grate feeling of Christmas time, and the 12-22-48
    broadcast where Gildersleeve make the grate decision in returning his baby
    back to her father.  I would recon highly that any one should get all of the
    Fall 1948 broadcast of this classic run of around 12 show and feel the Love
    the warms, comedy of this grate show.  The great Gildersleeve is very
    special.  I would also recommend three Lux Radio Theater, the broadcast of
    3-25-40 called Remember the Night  has a strong Christmas feeling and
    Barbara Stanwyck, and Fred Mcmury are grate in the part.  I love Lux Radio
    Theater 3-10-47 titled Its A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart.  I also feel
    that Lux Radio Theater of 12-18-50 called Holiday Affair is a grate show.
    Laraine Day does a grate job as being the mom on this show.  She is one of
    my favorite movie actress that handle radio very well.  I hope some day I
    will be able to interview her.  My favorite Christmas Command Performance is
    the 1944 broadcast.  A special part of this broadcast is the end where Judy
    Garland, Dinah Shore, Dorothy Lamoure, Frances Langferd, Jenny Sims, and
    Virginia OBrien sing Christmas Carol.  Merry Christmas to all,

    Walden Hughes

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #499
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