Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #298
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 10/31/2006 12:07 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2006 : Issue 298
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      The limitations of authors            [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      You know you're an OTR fan            [ Richard Carpenter <newsduck@[removed] ]
      You Know You're An OTR Fan ..         [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
      10-31 births/deaths                   [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      You Knor You're Into OTR [removed]      [ "Andolina, Joe" <Joe_Andolina@cable ]
      Hark, the glad sound!                 [ Wich2@[removed] ]
      Re: WOW                               [ jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns) ]
      Answers for younger otr listeners     [ "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross. ]
      You Know You're an OTR Fan [removed]    [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
      You Know You're A Fan Of OTR [removed]  [ Frank Passage <fpassage@[removed]; ]
      Superman Serial                       [ "Jerry Bechtel" <jerrybechtel@jalc. ]
      An OTR fan is                         [ "Scott Livingston" <sdl@gosfgiants. ]
      OTR Christmas                         [ "Scott Livingston" <sdl@gosfgiants. ]
      You Know You're A Fan Of OTR [removed]  [ "Andolina, Joe" <Joe_Andolina@cable ]
      Puget Sound Convention                [ "Karen Lerner" <[removed]@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 21:06:06 -0500
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The limitations of authors

>     And finally I thank Jim Cox for putting the very  likable Larry Haines on

    the cover of  his excellent TV soaps book.

    Irene Heinstein, a walking encyclopedia on any subject and an
    extraordinarily resourceful and resilient one, is kind to thank me for
    putting Larry Haines on the cover of "The Daytime Serials of Television,
    1946-1960."  I'm chuckling to myself because the publishers I have dealt
    with generally reserved unto themselves the assignment of choosing titles,
    cover illustrations, promotional copy and marketing channels.  That's
    definitely the way it was when I got started in this business some years
    back.  But you know what?  As time elapsed I've occasionally had a chance to
    make a direct impact on those influential parameters.  Either policies have
    been relaxed or editors have become more "inclusive" or possibly they've
    decided authors know more about their subjects than they've been letting on!
    The editors haven't been replaced so the same folks are thankfully still
    around.

    In regard to the TV tome's cover, I don't recall now which of the "inside"
    photos someone at the publishing company selected for that propitious spot.
    But when I saw it I realized they had selected one from one of the less well
    recognized soaps delineated inside the book that defied explanation for its
    spot on the front, especially when contrasted with those of several other
    dramas readily available that communicated so much more.  So I gently called
    it to their attention and suggested substituting a typical scene from the
    set of "Search for Tomorrow" that viewers of that era could immediately
    connect with.  Mary Stuart, Larry Haines and Melba Rae (Joanne Barron Tate,
    Stu and Marge Bergman) replaced whatever was there almost overnight.

    The same thing happened on my book "Music Radio:  The Great Performers and
    Programs of the 1920s through Early 1960s" last year.  The photo selected
    for the cover was of Grand Ole Opry stars Cousin Minnie Pearl and Rod
    Brasfield.  I pointed out that they were two fine comedians who made huge
    contributions to entertainment.  But for a book focused on music it seemed
    more appopriate to put one or more musicians on the cover.  Minnie and Rod
    were yanked and in their place appeared Gordon MacRae and Jane Powell from a
    "Railroad Hour" production.  A nice touch.

    A number of years ago, before I felt I should even hint at changes, I was
    surprised when several proffered titles for one of my books were cast out
    and a work was released under the moniker "Say Goodnight, Gracie:  The Last
    Years of Network Radio."  Anybody who has read the book knows it's an
    investigative documentary on what transpired in and to national radio from
    1950 to 2000.  It truly is focused on the last years of the aural chains.
    The Burns family gets little mention other than references to their fading
    from radio and moving into TV, the same as many other shows.  Some may have
    thought they were ordering a treatise on George and Gracie, nonetheless.

    One last story:  When I submitted a manuscript for an encyclopedic
    compendium that encompasses about 600 radio performers and references yet
    another 600, to be released this upcoming winter, I never anticipated that
    my initial suggestion for its title would be adopted by the publisher.  It
    was far too flambuoyant and too lengthy, I suspected, for a traditional,
    quiet, laid-back publishing house that held with pride to high standards in
    quality and a scholarly perception within the industry.  I knew from
    experience that they also preferred more conservative titles, working
    "Radio" (or other performing arts) into them wherever possible.  Thus I was
    totally flabbergasted when they bought the whole ball of wax as I wrote it.
    The explanation was (and I'm paraphrasing):  "We've never done anything like
    this before; it just might work."

    So what's the title?

    "Radio Speakers:  Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales,
    Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon
    of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s -- A Biographical Dictionary"

    It can be ordered for early shipment at [removed] or (800)
    253-2187.

    I'm glad I "chose" Larry Haines for that cover.  First impressions are so
    important.  And that includes titles, too.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 21:53:59 -0500
    From: Richard Carpenter <newsduck@[removed];
    To: Old Radio <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  You know you're an OTR fan

    You know you are a fan of old time radio when:

    * You have more than a dozen old-style radios.

    * You have a photo and autograph of Hal Peary.

    * You have a Mystic Knights of the Sea plaque.

    * You have a clock whose face resembles the dial of an old Zenith radio.

    ^ You have two watches with  old-fashioned radios on the faces.

    * You have so many OTR shows on MP3 discs that you could easily fill a
    30-gigabyte iPod with them, if you wanted to.

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

    Yes, if you have all these things -- and a lot more -- you're truly a fan of
    old time radio. Either that or you're nuts.

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 22:10:33 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  You Know You're An OTR Fan ..

    You know you're a fan of OTR when you scramble for a pencil and paper
    while listening to a recording of a Captain Midnight or Little Orphan
    Annie show so you can copy the secret message.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 22:09:13 -0500
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  10-31 births/deaths

    October 31st births

    10-31-1886 - Courtney Ryley Cooper - Kansas City, MO - d. 9-29-1940
    writer: "The Gibson Family"
    10-31-1887 - Chiange Kai-Shek - Hsikow, Chekiang, China - d. 4-5-1975
    world leader: "Free World Theatre"
    10-31-1896 - Ethel Waters - Chester, PA - d. 9-1-1977
    blues singer: "American Revue"; "Command Performance"; "Jubilee"
    10-31-1901 - Eric Hatch - d. 7-4-1973
    commentator: "Cresta Blanca Carnival of Music"
    10-31-1905 - Dewey Cole - d. 3-23-1991
    sound effects: "The Lone Ranger"; "Challenge of the Yukon"
    10-31-1909 - Thelma Boardman - Panama Canal Zone - d. 4-21-1978
    actor: Minnie Mouse "Mickey Mouse Theatre of the Air"
    10-31-1912 - Dale Evans - Uvalde, TX - d. 2-7-2001
    actor, singer: (Queen of the Cowgirls) "Charlie McCarthy Show"; "Roy
    Rogers Show"
    10-31-1915 - Chris Griffin - d. 6-18-2005
    trumpet: (Benny Goodman's Orchestra) "Camel Caravan"
    10-31-1922 - Barbara Bel Geddes - NYC - d. 8-8-2005
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Ford Theatre"; "[removed] Steel Hour";
    "Cavalcade of America"
    10-31-1922 - Illinois Jacquet - Broussard, LA - d. 7-23-2004
    jazz saxophonist: "One Night Stand"; "Command Performance"; "Jubilee"
    10-31-1926 - Shirley Dinsdale - San Francisco, CA - d. 5-9-1999
    ventriloquist: Judy Splinters "Judy in Wonderland, The Eddie Cantor
    Show"
    10-31-1928 - Cleo Moore - Baton Rouge, LA - d. 10-25-1973
    actor: "Bud's Bandwagon"
    10-31-1931 - Dan Rather - Wharton, TX
    newscaster: Houston Radio
    10-31-1942 - David Ogden Stiers - Peoria, IL
    actor: "Empire of the Air"

    October 31st deaths

    02-02-1895 - George Halas - Chicago, IL - d. 10-31-1983
    football coach: "Tops in Sports"
    03-05-1894 - Henry Daniell - London, England - d. 10-31-1963
    actor: "Theatre Guild of the Air"
    03-06-1918 - Roger Price - Charleston, WV - d. 10-31-1990
    writer, actor: "The Comedy Writers Show"
    05-11-1914 - Bob Atcher - Hardin County, KY - d. 10-31-1993
    singer: "Faultless Starch Time"; "WLS Barn Dance"
    05-25-1908 - Linda Watkins - Boston, MA - d. 10-31-1976
    actor: Dot "Amanda of Honeymoon Hill"; "Big Guy"; "Fat Man"
    06-21-1907 - Charles 'Bud' Dant - Washington, IN - d. 10-31-1999
    music: "A Day in the Life of Dennis Day"; "Glamour Manor"
    06-21-1921 - Joan Tetzel - NYC - d. 10-31-1977
    actor: Sylvia Field "When a Girl Marries"; Jane Brown "The Goldbergs"
    07-16-1882 - Charles Egelston - Covington, KY - d. 10-31-1958
    actor: Shuffle Shober "Ma Perkins"; Humphrey Fuller "Just Plain Bill"
    08-02-1915 - Johnny Long - Newell, NC - d. 10-31-1972
    bandleader: "The Teen-Timers Show"; "Judy, Joe, and Johnny"
    08-13-1913 - Rita Johnson - Worcester, MA - d. 10-31-1965
    actor: Martha Curtis "John's Other Wife"; Joyce Jordan "Joyce Jordan,
    [removed]"
    08-14-1889 - Robert Woolsey - Oakland, CA - d. 10-31-1938
    actor: "Hollywood Hotel"
    08-19-1915 - Ring Lardner, Jr. - Chicago, IL - d. 10-31-2000
    screenwriter: (Member of the Hollywood Ten) "Lux Radio Theatre"
    09-22-1902 - John Houseman - Bucharest, Romania - d. 10-31-1988
    writer, producer: "Mercury Theatre on the Air"; "Campbell Playhouse"
    09-24-1916 - Johnny Catron - Boston, MA - d. 10-31-1998
    bandleader: "The Union Oil Company Show"
    10-02-1902 - Percy Crawford - Minnedosa, Canada - d. 10-31-1960
    evangelist: "Young People's Church of the Air"
    10-18-1906 - Adele Ronson - d. 10-31-2000
    actor: Wilma Deering "Buck Rogers"; Sally Gibson "Gibson Family"
    10-23-1943 - Roger Scott - London, England - d. 10-31-1989
    disc jockey: "Three O'Clock Thrill"; "Hitline"
    10-26-1907 - Tony Pastor - Middletown, CT - d. 10-31-1969
    bandleader: "Tony Pastor and His Orchestra"
    11-18-1912 - Arthur Peterson - Mandan, ND - d. 10-31-1996
    actor: Reverend John Rutledge "The Guiding Light"; "World's Great
    Novels"
    12-09-1906 - Ken Niles - Livingston, MT - d. 10-31-1988
    announcer: "Hollywood Hotel"; "Rudy Vallee Show"; "A Date with Judy"
    12-28-1915 - Dick Joy - Putnam, CT - d. 10-31-1991
    announcer: "My Secret Ambition"; "The Saint"; "Advs of Sam Spade"
    xx-xx-xxxx - Merna Barry - NYC - d. 10-31-1976
    singer: (Barry Sisters) "Yiddish Swing"; "Molly Picon's Parade"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 22:11:38 -0500
    From: "Andolina, Joe" <Joe_Andolina@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  You Knor You're Into OTR [removed]

    ... anytime you listen to OTR is on your replica old time radio(s) and
    not on a regular stereo receiver with regular [removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 22:44:57 -0500
    From: Wich2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Hark, the glad sound!

    From: "Andrew Godfrey" _niteowl049@[removed]_ (mailto:niteowl049@[removed])

>     You know you  are a fan of OTR when each Christmas season you listen to
>     nothing but OTR  Christmas shows

    Dear Andrew-

    [removed] [removed]
    You mentioned no "CAROL!"
    Perhaps, the classic Welles/Barrymore? Or another of Lionel's many? Or
    Colman's? Or Gwenn's? [removed]
    ...maybe even, Quicksilver's?

    (Sorry - couldn't resist.)

    Best wishes for a wonderful retirement,
    -Craig

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

    Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 00:31:12 -0500
    From: jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns)
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: WOW

    Clearly, an annual rememberance of the Mercury Theatre's presentation of
    [removed]'s WAR OF THE WORLDS, could also be--

    An "Orsonversary"!

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

    Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 07:47:58 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Answers for younger otr listeners

>     Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2006 16:08:59 -0400
>     From: "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@[removed];

>     The name "Blue Coal" was the promotional trademark of the Reading
>     Coal Company, a subsidiary of the Reading Railroad.

    Interesting, in the 1950s and 1960s, I remember still hearing ads for
    coal on the radio.  The main brand that I used to hear was called
    "Famous Reading Anthracite."  They emphasized that they could be
    found in the phone book under "F" for "Famous."  I also remember ads
    for another company, called "New England Coke," which as a small
    child hearing the ads, I thought was a soft drink.

>     . Telegrams, Wires are the same. You could call Western Union Or
>     Postal Telegraph and dictate a short message  to an [removed]
>     Phone Company added the cost of the message to your phone bill.

    I seem to remember that Western Union sent its very last telegram
    within the past year or so.  It was still a useful way to send a
    message quickly until e-mail came along.

    I believe you can still wire money through Western Union.

    --
    A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                           [removed]
     15 Court Square, Suite 210                 Fax [removed]
    Boston, MA 02108-2503           	         [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 07:51:34 -0500
    From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  You Know You're an OTR Fan [removed]
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    My pal Michael "Mention My Name In Sheboygan" Leannah initiated:

>     The challenge is to fill in this blank: You know you're really a fan of

    Old-Time Radio [removed]

    ... you  argue with folks about the correct way to pronounce Jerry Haendiges's
    last name.

    ... you actually resent that there's a popular actor using Matt Dillon's name
    professionally (and if you like early TV, ditto Edward Norton).

    ... you  actually purchase second-tier brands like Barbasol and Oxydol just
    because of their OTR cachet.

    ... you attend FOTR conventions and never get tired of Anthony Tollin doing
    his spin  on a  Senator Claghorne impersonation by saying "That's a Coke, son!
    Coke, that [removed]" whenever he orders a Coca-Cola.

    ... you end telephone conversations by saying "Bye-bye and Buy Bonds!"

    ...  you don't belong to SPERDVAC, but actually know what the letters to that
    acronym stand for.

    ... you name your pets after OTR characters.

    ... you've memorized by heart and can sing entire sections of "Dick Tracy in
    B-Flat" (or would that be "by flintheart"?)

    ... whenever co-workers even mention "Gunsmoke," "the Lone Ranger,"
    "Dragnet," or, to a lesser extent "I Love Lucy," you're quick to point out
    "the RADIO version was better!"

    ... you attend the Cincinnati convention and actually take a side-trip to
    visit the original WLW tower.

    ... you sign off your Digest postings with "Yours in the ether!"

    Derek Tague

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    Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 09:56:59 -0500
    From: Frank Passage <fpassage@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  You Know You're A Fan Of OTR [removed]

    You Know You're A Fan Of OTR [removed]

    You actually visited Grover's Mill because you
    were "in the neighborhood".  (If you haven't, you
    really should :-).

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

    Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:33:08 -0500
    From: "Jerry Bechtel" <jerrybechtel@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Superman Serial
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    I waited all week to record the Superman serial on TCM channel on
    Saturday! Got up, set my recorder and watched the whole serial run for
    the morning. Then I carefully put the vhs tape on top of my recorder to
    continue next Saturday. Alas, my wife gave the tape to our grandson to
    record Sponge Bob!!! I now have lost the first several chapters of the
    serial. HELP please! Does anyone know if the same chapters will be
    televised again in the near future? Or did anyone record the chapters
    that would be willing to share with me? I plan on recording all the
    remaining chapters but would very much like to have the entire set of
    chapters. I still remember sitting in the movie theater in the '40's
    watching these serials and would like to relive those memories. Thanks
    for your help!

    Jerry Bechtel

    jerrybechtel@[removed]

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    Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:33:24 -0500
    From: "Scott Livingston" <sdl@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  An OTR fan is
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>     when sitting in your driveway to hear the end of the program takes longer
>     than the drive home.

    I had to laugh at Wayne's statement of how you know if you are an old time
    radio fan. I was out running errands yesterday and when I drove into my
    driveway, I sat in my pickup with it idling for 10 minutes so as to be able
    to hear the last 10 minutes of a "Gunsmoke" episode that I'm sure I have
    heard several times before. Oh, the addiction of OTR!

    Scott

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    Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:33:34 -0500
    From: "Scott Livingston" <sdl@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR Christmas
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    All I can say to Andrew Godfrey's post is "Amen". It is not Christmas until
    the OTR Christmas shows begin to sound from the speakers of my office, living
    room and pickup radios.
    Scott

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

    Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:33:57 -0500
    From: "Andolina, Joe" <Joe_Andolina@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  You Know You're A Fan Of OTR [removed] (part 2)
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    to add on to my previous post, You Know You're A Fan Of OTR [removed] NOT
    ONLY do you listen to OTR on a replica old time radio, but you will not
    start a program until it's right on the hour or half hour to get the
    feel of what it was like when a program was just going on the air. Call
    me nuts, but that's what I do. And when I luck out and the announcement
    is made right after the closing of the program that the next program up
    will be what I have ready to play next, I am then ecstatic :-)  Either I
    need to get a life, or maybe just more OTR :-)

    Joe

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

    Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 13:04:59 -0500
    From: "Karen Lerner" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest (E-mail)" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Puget Sound Convention
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    Hi all,

    I am interested in learning more about the Puget Sound Convention which I
    understand is to be held in June.  If anyone can point me (and perhaps others)
    in the right direction, I would really appreciate it.

    Thanks,
    Karen Lerner
    Radio Spirits

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    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #298
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