
 SEE INFO SECTION AT END OF THIS DIGEST FOR UNSUBSCRIBE AND OTHER INFORMATION. 
	  	         === Last Update 1/17/95  ====





	    [removed]   Volume 96 : Issue 197


Articles in this issue of [removed]:

	 GREAT GILDERSLEEVE
	 Help with Edith Meiser/Sherlock Holmes 
	 Nichols & May & McNeill
	 BBC. programs.
	 Nichols and May
	 Carl Froelich's catalog
	 RE: Nichols and May
	 Radio WENN
	 Wanna Buy a Duck?
	 Re: Cheap Tapes
	 questions: WWJ+Networks
	 SLURS AGAINST SENATOR MCCARTHY
	 Recycled Voices
	 A database
	 OTR Bits and Pieces Info

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

Date: Sat, 01 Jun 1996 10:52:24 -0700
From: PETER GRECO <pgreco@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: GREAT GILDERSLEEVE
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

HI,
  THE FOUR MOVIES WHICH  ALL STARRED HAROLD PEARY ARE THE GREAT 
GILDERSLEEVE,GIDERSLEEVE ON BROADWAY,GILDERSLEEVE'S BAD DAY AND 
GILDERSLEEVE'S [removed] DO HAVE THESE MOVIES IN MY COLLECTION IF ANYONE
IS INTRESTED IN [removed]

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jun 1996 11:29:38 -0400
From: IDickerson@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Help with Edith Meiser/Sherlock Holmes 
Message-ID: <960601112937_315727019@[removed]>

In the latest digest John Henley suggests that" Edith Meiser who, except for
the 1945-6 season, wrote practically every American radio episode of Sherlock
Holmes."

This is not strictly true as the 1944-45 scripts were written by Denis Green
and Bruce Taylor; Taylor providing the plots and Green the dialogue. When
Bruce Taylor--a pesudonym for a certain well-known mystery writer of the
time, got too busy to continue--Denis Green went into partnership on much the
same basis with Tony Boucher.

With regard to Marcus Antonsson's query as to why few of these shows are
[removed] honestly don't know, at least for the Taylor/Green shows. I
know scripts from this partnership exist (all of'em I think) but I'm not
aware of any recordings. I think it's just evolution; much the same way that
there are no recordings from the first two series of Taylor's subsequent
radio shows.

However if someone knows differently, please tell!!!!

Regards,

Ian Dickerson,
Author of A SAINT I AIN'T-the authorised biography of Bruce [removed]'oh!!!
I mean Leslie [removed]

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jun 1996 10:41:51 -0600
From: bigsteve@[removed] (Steve Darnall)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Nichols & May & McNeill
Message-Id: <v01530500add6222c64f3@[[removed]]>

Not that I want to drag us into this rather pointless "This is OTR and this
isn't" debate again, but the post about the PBS Nichols and May special
reminded me that they, like Bob & Ray, were infrequent contributors to
NBC's Monitor in the 1950s and 60s. Their album of material about doctors
remains one of my absolute favorites.

And to Peter Kinder: it's too bad there hasn't been more on Don McNeill,
but I doubt any of us could have delivered a eulogy as thoughtful and
heartfelt as your own. Good job.

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

Date: 1 Jun 1996 10:44:14 CST
From: [removed]@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: BBC. programs.
Message-Id: <m0uPspN-000YC4C@[removed]>

Hi, all, I was wondering if those of you out there would have
suggestions of favorite programs produced by the BBC. I haven't heard
any of their programming to speak of but have seen a lot of it out
there. Also if you have suggestions for Australian or South African
shows as well that would be helpful. Thanks in advance for any help.

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jun 1996 12:17:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: "John H. Collins" <collins@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Nichols and May
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

I saw the PBS special and it was a revelation.  They were the best, and 
now I want more!  Are there any Nichols and May cassettes out there?

-John Collins

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jun 1996 12:21:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: "John H. Collins" <collins@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Carl Froelich's catalog
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

My favorite OTR vendor is Carl Froelich, Jr. of New Freedom, PA.  I've 
been buying tapes from him for over two years.  He keeps promising to 
send a catalog, but never does!  Does anyone know how to get one of these 
catalogs?   -John Collins

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jun 1996 17:31:02 GMT
From: Francis Fisher <ffisher@[removed]>
To: Old Time Radio <otr@[removed]>
Subject: RE: Nichols and May
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Mccomedy@[removed] wrote:

> I don't know if anyone's talked about it, but I just want to mention that
> anyone who's a fan of Elaine May and Mike Nichols should watch the "American
> Masters" documentary on the duo when it airs on your local PBS station.  I
> know they came around too late to be part of OTR but their routines rival
> anything that the greats performed during the 30's
> and 40's.  Any other Nichols and May fans out there?  I'd love to know.
 
For those who may not know, Nichols and May were regulars on NBC's Monitor.
Bud Drake was their producer and he told me that they worked without a
script -- they'd just go on an idea and see where it took them. By the time
I got there, in 1964, they'd quit producing although their material was
still used on Monitor. Some of the unedited stuff (to be kind) exceeded the
bounds of good taste and was edited by Bud and his engineer. There are
engineer's tapes around, I know, I had one at one time, and it was hilarious.

Francis
____________________
Francis P. Fisher II
Dir of Engineering
WV Public Radio

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

Date: Sat, 01 Jun 1996 14:07:12 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio WENN
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Just a reminder that the first new episode of Radio WENN airs tonight over
AMC on television.

This episode is poignant in the sense that it truly goes to the heart of
imagination. Molly Ringwald plays a blind fan of one of Mackie's voice
characters and writes a letter wanting to meet him. She imagines him in a
much different way than Mackie looks, and Mackie is scared she will find out
the truth.

Sounds like a great episode.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Widner                      INTERNET: jwidner@[removed]
Dayton, OH                      WWW: [removed]
COMPUSERVE: 74566,3041          
AOL: JimWidner                            

                                                 

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jun 96 11:08 PDT
From: lois@[removed] (Lois Culver)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Wanna Buy a Duck?
Message-Id: <m0uPv6g-0004HxC@[removed]>

The discussion about Joe Penner and "Wanna Buy a Duck?" jogs my memory and I
THINK that on his crypt in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale CA, this phrase
is  found on the bronze plaque.

Lois Culver
KWLK Radio - Longview WA 1941 - 1942
KFI Radio - Los Angeles CA 1944 - 1953

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jun 96 19:53:22 UT
From: "Bruce Rosenberger" <BR3D@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Re: Cheap Tapes
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

There was some discussion here a few months ago regarding "cheap tapes". I've 
been going to the FOTR convention in New Jersey for about five years now and 
I've purchased hundreds and hundreds of tapes from the many dealers there. 
I've bought "cheap" tapes (inexpensive) and "CHEAP" tapes (poorly recorded). 
In fact the first year I attended I walked in the dealers room and bought a 
dozen RTR tapes for $[removed] each. The sound on most of these reels was somewhat 
less than [removed] But, I've also purchased perfectly good reels for the 
same price, probably a dealer cleaning out his (or her) own [removed] I wish 
there were a lesson to be learned from this, but unfortunately there are no 
hard and fast rules. A year or two later I gave the reels (the reels 
themselves were fine) to Ed Carr so that something of quality could be 
recorded on the reels. (and if you want to talk quality, talk to Ed Carr!)
Experience has taught me to by from those I know to have good quality (and at 
this point I should mention that Vintage Broadcasts has yet to sell me a bad 
tape, I buy them 10 or 12 at a time to get the better price), and if I DO have 
a problem I know that they will GLADLY fix it.
If you're at a show and don't know the dealer, buy a tape or two and check the 
sound quality with a portable player that you've brought along just for this 
purpose. If those are good, chances are you can count on the rest. 

NEW TOPIC
I ordered "the Fear That Creeps" from the Adv. In Cassettes catalogue, but 
unfortunately have not yet recieved it as it was on backorder. I will report 
as soon as I get to listen. Jim Harmon played excerpts a couple of years ago 
at FOTR. It is a NEW production using the original scripts and some veteran 
radio actors. It may take a little getting used to the new voices, but I'm 
looking forward to the first "new" ILAM to be "found" in years!
I did recieve the other part of my order, "Stuff the Lady's Hatbox" a 
hardcover ILAM mystery written in 1988 by Carlton E. Morse. It was a mere 
$[removed]! 

BTW - In the front of the book it says it's the "first" in a series, since it 
was written in 1988 can I assume that the "series" is no longer in production?

Bruce M. Rosenberger Hellertown, PA

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

Date: Sat,  1 Jun 96 23:02:57 PDT
From: Izi Mann <izi_mann@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: questions: WWJ+Networks
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

Dear Friends,
For my daily columns and special programs of RADIO DAYS I produce and 
present in Voice of Israel for 100 years of radio and 60 years of radio in 
Israel, I am looking for some answers to these questions. Thanking in 
advance to any of you who can assist.
[removed] have heard about WWJ station as one of the "first" radio broadcasts, but 
with no dates or story. Could anybody tell me more about them and any if 
they exist today, where I can find them or their successors.
2. I am looking for the history of the main radio networks, such as CBS, ABC 
and NBC. Besides the printed material, I am looking for their Public 
Relations Departments or headquarters or main offices. If anybody knows 
their addresses (e-mail or snail mail), I'll apprecite.
3. Does the Mutual Broadcasting System still work? I have got their first 
broadcasts, but want to know more. Also - if they exist - their address 
(e-mail or sanil).
Thanks for your help,

Izi Mann
Voice of Israel
-------------------------------------
Name: Izi Mann
E-mail: izi_mann@[removed]
Date: 06/01/96
Time: 23:02:58

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

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

Date: Sat, 1 Jun 1996 17:45:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: Don Todd <dtodd@[removed]>
To: OTR@[removed]
Subject: SLURS AGAINST SENATOR MCCARTHY
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Friends:
     I am aware that this is not a politcol forum.  However in the last six
months I have been reading the forum there have been numerous slurs on
Senator McCarthy that have until now gone unanswered.  I will answer the
latest slur, but so as not to disrupt the joy that we all get from the
discussion of OTR I would suggest that those who disagree would reply to me
by E-mail.  If anymore slurs are posted on the digest they will be replied to.

     The lastest slander on the memory (he has been dead for over 40 years)
of Senator McCarthy came from Mr. Peter Greco in regards to a radio actor
which I am not aware of by the name of John Brown. Mister Greco glibly
states that Mister Brown was a great actor whose career was ruined by being
called before the McCarthy committee.

     Mr. Greco, whose opinions are apparently as wrong as his facts, does
not seem to know that Senator McCarthy held no hearings what so ever
regarding the communist infiltration of the entertainment industry.  Senator
McCarthy concentrated on the communist infitration of the US government with
emphasis on the State Department and the Department of Defense.

     Recently I saw a headline in my local paper that said "McCarthy was
Right He Undestimated the Problem."  This comes from Soviet files that are
now available and Soviet cabals that were intercepted and are now availble
to the public.

     As to Mr. Brown, if he was a supporter of the mass murder of Mr. Stalin
then I am not surprised that decent people did not want to be assciated with
him.

Don

     

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jun 1996 00:02:46 GMT
From: bilj@[removed] (Bill Jaker)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Recycled Voices
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

There was a comment here a few shows back about the similarity of some of 
the voices done by Mel Blanc -- I think they were referred to as "recycled 
voices".  A few years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Mel Blanc (who I had 
always considered to be some kind of wild and crazy guy, so I was a little 
surprised to encounter a courtly soft-spoken gentleman).  He told us that 
Jack Benny's buddy called Sy ("Sy?" "Si."  "[removed]") later evolved into Pedro 
on the Judy Canova Show ("Pardon me for talking in your face, [removed]") 
and then became the little mouse Speedy Gonzalez.  Same voice, not so much 
recycled as adapted.  In fact, it was common that radio actors resumes would 
list characterizations that could be adapted to many uses, [removed] an old 
sourdough voice could also be inflected (recycled) into a weary parson.  
They couldn't all be Paul Frees or Jimmy Scribner or Phil Cook.
             ////////////// 0 \\\\\\\
And speaking of speaking, and of voices that changed and didn't:  Do you 
remember a couple of ABC announcers named Arthur Van Horn and Dean Cameron?  
They were, in fact, the same person; I think Van Horn was the name on the 
paycheck  There may have been other instances of announcers using more than 
one name on the same station.  Do you know who they may have been?
                //////////// 0 \\\\\\\\
        "Where are the shows of yesteryear?" 

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

Date: Sun, 2 Jun 1996 10:10:54 +0900 (JST)
From: ROY WAITE <rwaite@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: A database
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

I am not new to this list but somehow I missed something. I understand that
there is a page somewhere where I can select OTR items of interest, by
entering the name of a program or performer.  Could someone please bring me
up to date on that?

And where can I find Lou Genco's page?  Looking at [removed] seems to be
less than useless, unless I am doing something wrong.

Thanks for your help.  I really enjoy reading the interesting comments by
persons on this posting, and appreciate the good manners and friendly tone.
I hope I can contribute something from time to time.  In my 60s I grew up on
OTR.  What a great era it was!
Roy Waite
Tokyo, Japan

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

Date: 02 Jun 1996 05:19:24 GMT
From: kg@[removed] (KEN GREENWALD)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR Bits and Pieces Info
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Hello, again!
Have some info for all and won't bother to reprint words, but will address
the info to those individuals who wrote. Here they are:
For John Henley ---
Edith Meiser not only wrote most of the Sherlock Holmes radio scripts
throughout the years, but it was Ms. Meiser who actually got NBC to broadcast
the first of the SH series. This first show starred William Gillette in a
recreation for radio of his famous stage play. It went over so well that NBC
contracted Ms. Meiser to produce the SH radio series. Her husband, Tom
McKnight was the producer. Hand in hand they almost single handed created the
series which lasted through 1950. Ms. Meiser stopped writing the series in
1943 (not the 1945-46 season( when she handed over the chores to Leslie
Charteris (creator of The Saint). Glenhall Taylor produced the shows at that
time, and even directed some of them. Charteris did not want his name being
used, so Glenhall and Nigel Bruce came up with a new name for him: "Why not
use our last names for your SH writing name?" And thus, Bruce Taylor was
invented. Charteris left the show in 1945 and Denis Green (head writer took
over and hired Anthony Boucher to help). Though Boucher lived in San
Francisco and Green lived in Los Angeles, the two wrote every one of the
shows together! They were on the phone all the time working on the scripts. I
know this is true because Mary Green and Phyllis White (Boucher's widow)
confirmed this to me.
For Alan Chapman ---
The pre-Allen's Alley show you refer to was called TOWN MEETING TONIGHT.
Roger Ritner found huge piles of the original 16" transcriptions in a storage
area. They were stacked on the ground in piles reaching 6 and 8 feet high!
The problem was that the discs had been lying there for so many years that
the fibers of the protective sleeves imbedded themselves into the disc
grooves. Roger called me to find out if there was a way to get those fibers
out. I made some suggestions and he followed suit and did additional work.
Because of his efforts many, many of those shows were saved from total
destruction.
By the way, John Brown appeared continually on that show, assuming many
different roles, such as loud mouthed individuals, taxid drivers, con men,
brash people and various characters. He never played Falstaff Openshaw. As
already mentioned, Teddy Bergman (later changed to Alan Reed) was the only
one to play the role of Falstaff. Also, believe it or not, Walter Tetley
popped up on a number of the shows before he moved to the west cost and
became famous as Leroy on The Great Gildersleeve.
For Barbara Kliene ---
There are a number of Al Pearce shows in the archives of PPB (Pacific Pioneer
Broadcasters). I've listened to some and, the humor still holds up after all
these years. Elmer Blurp was a great character.
For Bill Slankard ---
The A-1 stands for the A-1 detective agency that was run by Jack Packard, Doc
Long and Reggie York. That agency was located in Los Angeles, just around the
corner from Hollywood Blvd. Also, did anyone know that Tony Randal played
Reggie York in the 1950s version of ILAM? Randall auditioned for the role of
jack Packard and was disappointed when not chosen for it. Carlton Morse
called him back and asked him if he could do an english accent. He said yes.
He got the job as Reggie and a major start in his career.
For PDKinder ---
On the Don McNeill Breakfast club, Fran Allison played Aunt Franny. She went
on to become even more famous on the Kookla Fran and Ollie tv show. Of
course, she played the role of Kookla (just kidding!) A few years ago PPB
honored Burr Tillstrum with the Golden Icon(oscope) award. I will never
forget that special program. I was setting up the lights and audio for it and
Burr had put a little stage up on the dias. Suddenly Kookla and Ollie
appeared and Ollie yelled at me: "Ken, can you hear me all right?" I said
yes. Then Burr stuck his head out and said, "Fine." What a thrill to be
addressed by Ollie!
For Marcus Antonsson ---
The Sherlock Holmes shows - all of them! - were recored on Electrical
Transcriptions. In my work on producing the Rathbone/Bruce cassette series I
found out that Northwestern University has a large collection of the discs,
but they moved them to a storage facility and it has been most difficult to
get them released. I feel sure that, someday, they will. Also, WOR, New York,
has a collection of the 1939-1944 shows, but they are holding on to them, as
of this date. 
To all --- 
Though PPB cannot release any of the radio broadcasts in their archives, we
welcome visitors to our archives in Los Angeles. If you happen to fall out of
a plane passing over us, be sure to contact me at kg@[removed] before coming
and I or Ron Wolf will be glad to give you the 25 cent complete tour. The
archives are only open one day of the week. Monday, from 1:30 pm to 4:30pm.
Why so little time and only one day? Because PPB keeps a low profile and the
archives is not really for OTR fans (sad to say) but for researchers, book
writers and those few individuals who wish to come down and enjoy the
pleasures of our archives. Listening to any of the shows we have (and there
are over 50,000 down in our catacombs) would please us very much.
That's it for this long message. Thanks for reading and, keep in touch!
Ken G.

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

    


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---- 
End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #197

