------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2007 : Issue 277
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
situation comedies [ "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed]; ]
Community College Radio [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Re: Doye O'Dell [ Don Shenbarger <donslistmail@sbcglo ]
Early use of sitcom [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
Comparing comedy shows [ Frank McGurn <[removed]@sbcglobal. ]
9-27 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
Betty Rhodes [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Jimmy Stewart on radio [ Christian Blees <christianblees@yah ]
Re: command performance [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
Diary State Radio HOF [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
Re: the term "sitcom" [ dixonhayes@[removed] ]
Radio Guide and Sitcoms [ "Bob Watson" <crw934@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:44:51 -0400
From: "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: situation comedies
Alan Bell asked about the term situation comedy or sitcom. We may
have been a backward household in rural Texas, but we always
referred to them simply as "comedies." For that matter, it was
until we got a TV set in 1956 that I ever heard the term
"commercial" ... it was simply an "advertisement" on the radio.
Bob Cockrum
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:45:14 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Community College Radio
David Easter commented about donating old-time radio to a community college.
He is probably referring to Harford Community College in Harford County,
Maryland. Web-site link below.
[removed]
They play OTR 9 am to noon EST, Saturday mornings AND on Tuesday evenings
from 10 pm to midnight. You can click on the top left of their screen to
hear the radio programs (played at random) during those hours.
I personally recommend anyone who is capable of duplicating OTR on CD format
to find a community college and see if they have a radio station and if they
are willing to play old-time radio. Terry Salomonson of Audio Classics
helped me two years ago arrange for copies of FAMILY THEATER and a LUM AND
ABNER and other shows to be donated to a radio station in Baltimore,
Maryland and to date, they still play the radio shows and accept donations.
You'd be surprised how many stations are willing to play old-time radio if
they were given enough donations.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:45:29 -0400
From: Don Shenbarger <donslistmail@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Doye O'Dell
On 9/26/2007 Bobb Lynes wrote:
I also watched DOYE (correct spelling) O'DELL on KTLA, channel 5, on early
TV. His Western Thrills show played old B westerns every evening (20
minutes at a time, continuing the next evening) and featured Doye singing
and interviewing kid visitors and guests.
Yes, his name is spelled Doye O'Dell. He was a recording artist for
Sage & Sand Records, a recording and music publishing business owned
by my uncle, Woddie Fleener. I have some of his records in my small collection.
Don
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:48:06 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Early use of sitcom
Alan Bell inquires:
I wonder if the term "situation comedy" arose in the
radio era or did it wait for TV? Certainly what we
call sitcoms were common then, but does anyone know if
the term itself was? If I had asked people in 1948
what their favorite situation comedy was, would they
have known what I was talking about?
Jim Cox, in the Introduction to "The Great Radio Sitcoms" released only two
weeks ago ([removed]), acknowledges:
"Merriam-Webster didn't add 'situation comedy' to its dictionaries until
1946, a term that it condensed into 'sitcom' in 1964."
While we see that the form was understood during radio's heyday,
surprisingly, one of the most respected of that epoch's reporters -- no less
a scribe than Erik Barnouw -- nearly dismissed the radio sitcom. In three
volumes that have become legendary for their historical themes, with the
exception of Amos 'n' Andy, the widely venerated wordsmith saw little in
comedy radio beyond Allen, Benny, Berle, Burns, Durante, Skelton, Wynn and a
few more vaudevillians practicing their craft before amused audiences.
Most others who have recorded the era for permanent safekeeping, however,
have given the Bickersons, Easy Aces, Ethel and Albert, Lum and Abner,
Margie, Vic and Sade, Gildersleeve, Irma, Harris and Faye, Archie Andrews,
the Aldriches, Ozzie and Harrie, Blondie, Snooks, Riley, Luigi, Millie,
Beulah and multiple others of their ilk their just due.
Situation comedy has been around since the 1920s. The term 'sitcom' perhaps
less than a half-century. Today's TV offspring, hardly recognizable by
those standards of long ago, nevertheless can credit radio with yet another
diversion passed from practitioner to practitioner, generation to
generation.
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:58:01 -0400
From: Frank McGurn <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Comparing comedy shows
"It Pays To Be Ignorant" could be compared to "Can You Top This",.
The 2 show are completely different Apples and Oranges. "It pays to be
Ignorant" had a panel of so called expert telling jokes and Ignorant
has people tying to answer questions like who is buried in grants tomb
in Grants tomb, and never give a correct answer. The panelist insult
each other [removed] the shows were funny when I was 9 or 10 ten, now
they are not funny any more.
Frank McGurn
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 04:04:44 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 9-27 births/deaths
September 27th births
09-27-1872 - Bentley D. Ackley - Spring Hill, PA - d. 9-3-1958
pianist for Billy Sunday: "Back Home Hour"
09-27-1885 - Harry Blackstone, Sr. - Chicago, IL - d. 11-16-1965
magician: "Harry Blackstone, the Magic Detective" based on him.
09-27-1887 - Pat "Uncle Ezra" Barrett - Holden, MO - d. 3-25-1959
actor: "National Barn Dance"; Uncle Ezra "Uncle Ezra"
09-27-1892 - Ed Tomlinson - Stockton, GA - d. 12-xx-1973
commentator: "The Other Americans"; "What's New in South American?"
09-27-1893 - Phil Cook - Coldwater, MI - d. 9-18-1958
comedian: "Radio Chief"; "Quaker Oats Man"; "Morning Almanac"
09-27-1898 - Vincent Youmans - NYC - d. 4-5-1946
composer: "Chicago Theatre of the Air"
09-27-1901 - Beasley Smith - McEwen, TN - d. 5-14-1968
pianist/orchestra leader: "Music In the Moonlight"; "Sunday Down South"
09-27-1913 - Hugh Rowlands - Racine, WI - d. 1-5-1978
actor: Trigger Brett "Island Venture"; Jimmy "Tom Mix"
09-27-1915 - Cy Howard - Wisconsin - d. 4-29-1993
creator, writer, producer: "Life with Luigi"; "My Friend Irma";
"Milton Berle Show"
09-27-1915 - Frank Gerstle - d. 2-23-1970
actor: "Escape"; "NBC University Theatre"; "Six Shooter"; "Gunsmoke"
09-27-1917 - James Andelin - Provo, UT - d. 12-27-2006
actor: "Arnold Grimm's Daughter"; Og, Son of Fire"; "Houseboat Hannah"
09-27-1917 - William Orr - d. 12-25-2002
actor: "Hollywood Theatre Group"
09-27-1918 - Barclay Allen - d. 12-7-1966
pianist/composer: "Freddy Martin, His Singing Saxophone and His
Orchestra"
09-27-1918 - James McCallion - Glasgow, Scotland - d. 7-11-1991
actor: Stephen Dallas "Stella Dallas"; Sydney Lawrence "One Man's
Family"
09-27-1920 - Jayne Meadows - Wu Chang, China
actor: "Hollywood Star Preview"
09-27-1920 - William Conrad - Louisville, KY - d. 2-11-1994
actor: Matt Dillon "Gunsmoke"; Louis Dumont "Jason and His Golden
Fleece"
09-27-1921 - Carol Thurston - Forsyth, MT - d. 12-31-1969
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-27-1923 - Mary McCarthy - Winfield, KS - d. 4-3-1980
actor: "MGM Musical Comey Theatre"
09-27-1925 - Burkett "Uncle Josh" Graves - Tellico Plains, TN - d.
9-30-2006
dobro player: (Foggy Mountain Boys) "Grand Ole Opry"
09-27-1934 - Claude Jarman, Jr. - Nashville, TN
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-27-1934 - DickSchaap - NYC - d. 12-21-2001
sportscaster: "Sports Answer Man: "Sports Week"
September 27th deaths
01-03-1900 - Cecil Underwood - Vienna, MO - d. 9-27-1976
producer, director: "Fibber McGee and Molly"; "Great Gildersleeve"
01-09-1898 - Gracie Fields - Rochdale, Lancashire, England - d.
9-27-1979
comedienne, singer: "Gracie Fields Victory Show"; "Gracie Fields Show"
01-12-1896 - Harry Reser - Piqua, OH - d. 9-27-1965
bandleader: "Cliquot Club Eskimos"
01-13-1914 - Stanley Waxman - Ohio - d. 9-27-1998
actor: "Escape"; "Man Called X"; "Tell It Again"; "Presenting Charles
Boyer"
03-06-1885 - Ring Lardner - Niles, MI - d. 9-27-1933
writer: "Hallmark Hall of Fame"; "NBC Presents: Short Story"
03-27-1915 - Hugh Conover - Washington, [removed] - d. 9-27-1992
announcer: "Amanda of Honeymoon Hill"; "Big Sister"; "Right to
Happiness"
05-21-1904 - Robert Montgomery - Beacon, NY - d. 9-27-1981
actor: "Doctor Fights"; "Suspense"; "This Is War"
05-24-1907 - Bill Bouchey - Clare, MI - d. 9-27-1977
actor: Red Albright/Captain Midnight "Captain Midnight"
05-29-1909 - Bruce Seton - Simla, India - d. 9-27-1969
actor: Flint "Flint of the Flying Squad"
06-26-1914 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias - Port Arthur, TX - d. 9-27-1956
all-around athlete: "Babe Didrikson Zaharia Sports Show"
07-29-1905 - Clara Bow - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-27-1965
actor: (The It Girl) "Kay Parker in Hollywood"
08-04-1904 - Phil Clark - London, England - d. 9-27-1985
actor: Mr. Keen "Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persosn"
08-11-1902 - Lloyd Nolan - San Francisco, CA - d. 9-27-1985
actor: Johnny Strange "Results Inc."; Martin Kane "Martin Kane,
Private Eye"
08-28-1925 - Donald O'Connor - Chicago, IL - d. 9-27-2003
comedian, actor: "Ginny Simms Show"; "Philip Morris Playhouse";
"Suspense"
09-18-1916 - Samuel Badillo - d. 9-27-1992
newscaster: WIAC San Juan, PR
10-04-1909 - James Webb - Denver, CA - d. 9-27-1974
screenwriter: "Lux Radio Theatre"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 04:05:06 -0400
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Betty Rhodes
I just listened to the Old Gold Comedy Theater production of "You Can't
Ration Love," which co-starred Betty Rhodes (reprising her role from
the film). Harold Lloyd introduces her as "the first lady of
television." That seems like quite a strange sobriquet for February
1945, when virtually nobody in the US owned or had ever seen a tv. Does
anybody know the origins of this nickname for Betty Rhodes?
Kermyt
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 08:21:04 -0400
From: Christian Blees <christianblees@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Jimmy Stewart on radio
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Folks,
I'm looking for audio clips or written sources that are dealing with Jimmy
Sterwart's career on radio. Has anybody got any hints if Jimmy himself was
ever interviewed or quoted what he thought about his radio career? Are any
interview clips in circulation in which he is asked about his radio work?
Thanks,
Christian
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Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:53:08 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: command performance
> i may have new command performace shows from the disc, prog#203 and
prog#277
#203 should be in circulation if you refer to the Dennis Day/Jack Benny
Christmas program.
#277 is uncirculated.
Jim Widner
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:12:20 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Diary State Radio HOF
For those of you who have an an interest, I have a website of
pictures of people connected with radio who also have a connection to
the state of Wisconsin. It can be found at:
[removed]
I am always on the lookout for Wisconsin connections. Just today I
added Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, she graduated from the University of
Wisconsin in 1918.
If per chance you decide to visit the website, I hope that you enjoy it.
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:13:41 -0400
From: dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: the term "sitcom"
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I wonder if the term "situation comedy" arose in the radio era or did it
wait for TV? Certainly what we call sitcoms were common then, but does
anyone know if the term itself was? If I had asked people in 1948 what
their favorite situation comedy was, would they have known what I was
talking about?
I'm thinking Variety magazine may have originated the term, and I seem to
recall (though with an admittedly faulty memory) that they used it as far
back as the 1950s to describe the TV version of "The Life of Riley."? I think
it may have been also used in those days to describe "I Love Lucy" and
"Father Knows Best" from what I've seen printed from that era, but again I
can't exactly cite dates.
Dixon
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:01:24 -0400
From: "Bob Watson" <crw934@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Radio Guide and Sitcoms
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I'm not sure, but I guess the digest that possibly started the thread on Radio
Guide somehow got construed as being virus material by my antivirus software
and was made unreadable by it.
I had heard of Radio Guide very early on in my OTR experience, but my attempts
to get hold of a copy only yielded a copy that had had the radio programs
section taken out. For some reason, it never dawned on me that part of the
magazine was missing. So, I never looked for another Radio Guide. I must say
that I am amazed at the scans that I have seen. I wish I had not given up so
easily. These magazines are gems. I wish to thank Al and Radio Researchers
for making them available.
What years was the guide published? I see it had become Movie-Radio Guide by
the 1940's. The wartime paper shortages seemed to have forced them into a
monthly schedule sometime during WW2. Also, was there a Southeastern Edition,
and more importantly to me, do any Southeastern issues survive? I am already
keeping a watch on Ebay, but the issues I have seen offered don't indicate
which region.
As to the question about sitcoms, certainly a great deal of the classic radio
shows fall into that catagory: My Favorite Husband, Our Miss Brooks, Life
with Luigi, My Friend Irma, etc. I have read somewhere that The Great
Gildersleeve is regarded by many as the first true situation comedy.
As for the term "situation comedy" or "sitcom", as it is now known, I believe
that term is strictly a television term. I am sure someone with more
expertise will say for sure. The reason for including it in my post is that I
do seem to remember when the term "sitcom" was first used in the tv magazines
and hating it. Situation comedy has always sounded more dignified to me than
the term sitcom.
Bob
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End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #277
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