------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 188
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Today in radio history [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
WLW and MUTUAL [ "David W. Phaneuf" <otr_fan@[removed] ]
TONY WONS REVISITED [ "David W. Phaneuf" <otr_fan@[removed] ]
Re: "Prime Time" [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
The Man Who Came to Dinner~Jack Benn [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
Organist Bob Mitchell [ "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed]; ]
famous first answers [ Michael Berger <makiju@[removed]; ]
Dragnet Christmas episode; I Love Lu [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
Re: Ed Bolton [ "Eric N. Wilson" <enwilson@[removed] ]
Re: The Television Experience [ BryanH362@[removed] ]
Re: When did prime time start ? [ BryanH362@[removed] ]
Re: Dragnet Color print [ BryanH362@[removed] ]
Today in radio history [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
DVD query [ Ga6string@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 14:47:13 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in radio history
From Those Were The Days --
Today's birthday --
1911 Vincent (Leonard) Price, d. Oct 25, 1993
Joe
--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 14:47:38 -0400
From: "David W. Phaneuf" <otr_fan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: WLW and MUTUAL
Ok, this really came as a shock, because in my mind WLW (Cincinnati) has
always been affiliated with NBC. But in reading Leonard Maltin's book "The
Great American Broadcast" I came across this statement on page 15:
"The formation of NBC was followed several years later by the creation of
CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System. Then in 1934, four powerful stations,
WOR New York, WGN Chicago, WLW Cincinnati (each one a powerful 50,000-watt
giant), and WXYZ Detroit banded together to form "The Quality Group," which
later changed its name to the Mutual Broadcasting System. By the end of 1935
they had nineteen stations."
To be honest, this statement was quite a surprise. Having grown up in
Cincinnati in the era of WLW-T (WLW's television station) I thought WLW was
always associated with NBC. (Those tones sounding on station-breaks still
bring a warm feeling of familiarity to me.) In my reading, I can find no
further information on this. What was WLW's network affiliation prior to
Mutual ... was it an independent station? When did the NBC affiliation come?
Was WLW somehow both NBC and MUTUAL at the same time?
---Dave Phaneuf
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 14:57:31 -0400
From: "David W. Phaneuf" <otr_fan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: TONY WONS REVISITED
A few weeks ago on my return to the Digest, I posted an article re: Tony
Wons. Either I missed any replies, or it got lost in the shuffle, or (gasp!)
no one knew of this creature! lol
But I was curious as to who this character was. Anthony (Tony) Wons
evidently had a radio program or segment called RADIO SCRAP BOOK in which he
recited poetry, quotations, and anecdotes. Not ever having heard the
program, I don't know if that is all he did, or if there was commentary along
with the quotes, or anything else for that matter.
So I'm still curious. Has anyone ever heard of Tony Wons? Was he nationally
broadcast, or local? My curiosity was piqued because I came across a book in
my personal library (a book I have no idea where it came from!) which is by
Tony Wons and is entitled "Tony's Scrap Book (1940-41 Edition) Chicago: The
Reilly & Lee Company, 1940.
Excerpts from the dust-jacket:
"Tony is a very real friend to the thousands who hear his voice over the
radio" [seemingly, a low number to me if this was a national broadcast --dp]
"Who hasn't heard the magnetic, inimitable voice of Tony Wons broadcasting
his famous Radio Scrap Book? Perhaps a few. . . . Here are the words Tony
has chosen, from those he has spoken over the air. . . ."
>From Tony's dedicatory:
"At the request of many of my radio listeners for another edition of the
scrapbook, I have tried to compile in this book the kind of articles which
seemed to be most popular on the air."
One further note: This book is number 10 in a series of "scrap books" dating
back to 1927 from the early days of radio. So evidently ol' Tony was around
for quite some time.
Soooo, my questions still stand: Has anyone ever heard of this person, or
any recollection? Was he local or national? Were these brief segments aired
between shows, or within a radio show, or were they 15 minute or 30 minute
programs? [removed] are there any recordings of Mr. Wons' Radio Scrap Book, and
if so, where can I find them? My curiosity is up on this, and I'd like to
hear for myself that famous "magnetic, inimitable voice."
---Dave Phaneuf
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 20:23:50 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: "Prime Time"
On 5/27/02 2:52 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:
When did
prime time start during the day for radio? I think it was from 8 PM to 11
PM Eastern time, just by checking my recordings of D Day, but on Sunday my
guess would be earlier in the day.
"Prime time" as a phrase may be an invention of the television era.
However, "prime listening hours" does turn up well before 1940 as a clear
antecedant to the "prime time" concept, and that period was defined at
least into the mid-forties as the period between 6 pm and 11 pm. This was
the spread used by the FCC for calculating what percentage of "prime
listening hours" was devoted to commercial programs and what percentage
was devoted to sustaining -- and was also the spread used by the networks
in setting "nighttime" advertising rates.
However, few sponsors put on large-scale big-budget programs before 8 pm
-- the 6 to 8 timeslot on weeknights usually contained a mixture of
quarter-hour programs with the occasional moderate-scaled half-hour
program from 730 to 8. During the first half of the thirties it was
common, due to the success of "Amos 'n' Andy," to find family-oriented
comedy-drama serials in the early-evening time period, but by the dawn of
the 1940s, this span was increasingly dominated by short musical features
and news/commentary/talk programs -- reflecting the fact that families
weren't settling down for the evening as early as they once had. Many
stations used part of this early-evening spread for local time, spotting
paid transcription features instead of sustaining network shows.
Sunday night was the big exception to this rule -- the big family "Sunday
Dinner" was still a common tradition, and sponsors tailored the Sunday
night schedule accordingly.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 20:24:44 -0400
From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: The Man Who Came to Dinner~Jack Benny
I was listening to the 12/24/49 program of 'Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar' and
the network announced that on the next day, Christmas, there would be
special holiday programming with Jack Benny as the lead in 'The Man Who Came
to Dinner'.
I was wondering if this clip is available out there.
Irene
IreneTH@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 20:24:11 -0400
From: "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Organist Bob Mitchell
Those from the Los Angeles area who are familiar with Bob Mitchell (of the
Mitchell Boy Choir who made its name in Bing Crosby's "Going My Way") may be
interested to know that Bob is still playing the organ at a number of places
in that area. Those who enjoy seeing the movies at the theaters in
Hollywood which show the old time silent pictures, may find Bob playing the
organ for the background music there! Last week was Harold Lloyd week
there.
Bob was the organist for the KFI Los Angeles "Stairway to the Stars" and "A
Joy Forever" poetry shows, starring Howard Culver reading poetry with Bob's
organ and piano background. I have just been in touch with him today, and
he is well.
Lois Culver
KWLK Radio (Mutual) Longview, WA 1941-44
KFI Radio (NBC) Los Angeles CA 1945-47, 50-53
Widow of Howard Culver, actor
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 06:05:27 -0400
From: Michael Berger <makiju@[removed];
To: otr <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: famous first answers
As promised, here are the answers to those "famous radio
firsts":
1. First Pres. convention to be broadcast
1924 Democrat convention from Madison Sq. Garden, NY; GOp
convention also broadcast several weeks later
2. First heavy title fight to be broadcast:
July 2, 1921 - Jack Dempsey vs. Georges Carpentier from
Boyle's 30 Acres, New Jersey. Announcer was Maj. Andrew
White.
3. First radio address by a President:
Warren Harding, June 1922
[first address from the White House, Calvin Coolidge,Feb
1924]
The above info was part of the InfoPls broadcast, but I
tried to recheck using various web sites and confirmed all
the above, plus the Coolidge info in brackets.
Michael Berger
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 06:05:59 -0400
From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Dragnet Christmas episode; I Love Lucy
Just out of curiosity, what was the Dragnet Christmas
episode "Big Little Jesus" about? The Christmas
episode I'm most familiar with is .22 Rifle for
Christmas (12/22/49) one that Dunning cites (as "A Gun
for Christmas") in "On the Air." "The Big Little
Jesus" certainly doesn't sound like the same story,
but I'd still be curious to know what it was about.
On another note, a brief hello to Gregg Oppenheimer
who quoted portions of my statement about "I Love
Lucy" on radio in his comments on the subject. I
interviewed Gregg about "Laughs, Luck and Lucy" when
the book first came out.
Rick
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 06:06:50 -0400
From: "Eric N. Wilson" <enwilson@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Ed Bolton
Anyone know where (or even IF) you can still listen to Ed Bolton's
"Magnificent Time Machine" on the net?
Interesting how this ties in with the ongoing [removed] Bolton's Amos
& Andy recreations are still running on WBCQ Sunday-Friday (or early
Monday-Saturday) at midnight ET on 7415 shortwave or through their Live365
feed. Mr. Bolton has been working from the original scripts, and has made
it through several years of the serial since he started at his new
location. Considering the previously stated lack of original A&A
recordings, this might be the closest we'll be getting to the original 15
minute series anytime soon. He also runs Uncle Ed's Musical Memories on
6:30 Thursdays on the same station.
If you don't have a shortwave radio, run a search on [removed] for the
WBCQ studio [removed] of the most fascinating radio stations I've had a
chance to hear. Hope this helps.
(and the Disclaimer: I'm not connected with Mr. Bolton or [removed]'ve just
got a lot of info that is screaming to leave me.)
--Eric Wilson
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 06:08:24 -0400
From: BryanH362@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: The Television Experience
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Jer51473@[removed] wrote:
In 1949-50 we bought our first tv
and from that point on radio was in second place and eventually disappeared
from our entertainment menu
Makes sense! TV , as you put it , was just radio with pictures .
Providing the complement of the visual with the sound. TV was exciting
because it was new.
New creative styles were being invented for this medium and all the big stars
were jumping ship. For those who had not yet bought a TV less and less could
be found each night on the radio . If these people missed their favorite
radio star they need only buy a TV and see them there.
That TV emerged as the dominant medium does not suprise me at all . However,
after all these years I personally think TV has grown stale . (Been there,
seen that ).
What DOES surpise me is the number of hours the population devotes to TV and
how they have become slaves to this entertainment source.
What also surprises me is that even in the TV age how a few radio shows do
not
get more attention .Even with our total devotion to the visual we all know
how some things were just meant to be an audio experience. This kind of show
is missing from our entertainment staple today. In the early 1950s my father
still ran home Sunday afternoon to listen to the Shadow long after the family
had TV . My mother recalls neighborhood kids still listening to The Lone
Ranger also after already having TV.
A few shows still inspired some to still listen . Its too bad that we don't
have a radio show that atleast gets people talking in this video age. Just
imagine if our
favorite OTR stars existed today .
Can you imagine the following ? :
" Do you ever hear Amos N Andy on your drive home ? "
"No. On my drive home I have been listening to Allen's Alley . You know
the funny characters who have a humorous take on current issues? It runs
for about 10 minutes after the top of the hour news.
"On Wednesdays just before I go to sleep I slip into bed and listen to that
really
creepy program -LIGHTS OUT"
" OH I don't like creepy things but on Sunday afternoons when cleaning and
doing yard work I listen to Jack Benny , Harris and Faye , Sam Spade and
Suspense."
-Bryan
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 06:08:58 -0400
From: BryanH362@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: When did prime time start ?
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Walden Hughes wrote?
When did prime time start during the day for radio?
I think the concept of "prime time " came after big time radio's decline
. Prime time for radio today is about 4-6pm . Prime time in TV used to be
7:30 -11pm until the advent of the prime time access rule . This is where the
networks were limited to three hours of programming during the hours of
7-11PM Eastern Time .
I guess if there WAS a radio prime time it was 7:30 to 11PM . In the 1930s
sponsors did seem to be wary of the 10:30 spot. Perhaps it was seen as too
late to schedule a big time show. Oh there were a few but not like in the
40s when shows like Red Skelton , Screen Guild Players and Jimmy Durante all
held down the 10:30 spot. But as big time shows were filling up the 10:30
spot fewer sponsors wanted to
put a BIG TIME show on in the 7:30 spot. Too early now or competition with
Lone Ranger not advisable ? 7:30 was once the proud time slot of
Cavalcade of America, Burns And Allen and other expensive shows. This only
speaks to weeknights as on Sundays network radio was offering big time shows
as early as 6pm . The 7:00 -7:30 time period on weeknights was usually
occupied by a 5 times a week 15 minute feature. It could be news , It could
be music or it could be Amos N Andy. All times referenced have been Eastern
Time. Many shows were heard out west three hours earlier and some had a
second performance so that the broadcast could be heard out west at a more
convenient time. As an example in January 1948
NBC aired the following 8:00 EST Cavalcade of America 8:30 EST Voice of
Firestone.
The Cavalcade program had a special west coast broadcast so it could be
heard in the Pacific time zone at 8:30 pm while the Firestone program did
not so it was heard at the early hour of 5:30 pm.
-Bryan
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 06:09:22 -0400
From: BryanH362@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Dragnet Color print
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Michael J. Hayde wrote:
(1953-55) the original aired on the network, so it was only those
stations on the east coast with color reception capability who got it that
way. Other cities broadcast a b&w 16mm print - that includes Los Angeles ->
I would assume any station connected to the "LIVE " network got the same
color feed although only seen in BW in most cases.
In 1953 there were basically two such feeds by NBC . One out of NY which
went atleast all the way to KOA Denver . And then a later feed by master
control in Los Angeles for the west coast. This was to accomodate the three
hour time difference.
NBC may have just broadcast a B&W print to its western stations. Also
stations in remote areas not connected to the "LIVE" feed may have been
shipped the program
on 16MM B&W film.
-Bryan
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 08:57:36 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in radio history
From Those Were The Days --
1922 - Otto Krueger conducted the Detroit News Orchestra, the first
known radio orchestra, which was heard on WWJ Radio in Detroit, MI.
1931 - WOR in New York City premiered The Witch’s Tale.
Joe
--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 12:53:06 -0400
From: Ga6string@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: DVD query
Hi gang,
I'm interested in taking the plunge into the land of DVD. I want to choose a
player that will play my MP3 CDs, most of which I purchased on eBay or
elsewhere (I know, I know, not the best path, but as a father of two very
small kids, it was the most effortless). Most of these were recorded at the
lowest possible sampling/bitrates -- concepts I know almost nothing about --
and I'd like to find a player that will let me play them.
In the past, several of you have mentioned specific DVD player brands/models
that did or did not measure up to this task. I should have been taking notes,
or keeping a file or something, but like I [removed] two small kids, etc. So,
can anybody catch me up on what's worked for them? Feel free to reply
directly or via the digest.
Thanks,
Bryan Powell
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #188
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