------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2006 : Issue 236
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
What about "Mr. and Mrs. North"? [ "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@juno. ]
Sam Spade book [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Fibber, Molly & WWII [ "RadioAZ@[removed]" <radioAZ@bas ]
THE MICKEY MOUSE THEATRE OF THE AIR. [ jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns) ]
Re: Superman In Space [ alo <alo@[removed]; ]
Bob Mitchell [ "Walden Hughes" <walden1@yesterdayu ]
8-30 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
Re: Journalist looking for Arch Obol [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
#OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig [ charlie@[removed] ]
Mercury Theatre "Sound Technician" O [ Steve Kostelecky <doyasteve@[removed] ]
William Castle [ JayHick@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 21:08:11 -0400
From: "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: What about "Mr. and Mrs. North"?
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I've read a bit about a series with Joseph Curtin and Barbara Britton
called "Mr. and Mrs. North" which sounds to me very much like the Charles'
of "The Thin Man", except for a few differences. The Charles had a dog
(Asta) which I don't believe was portrayed on radio and the North's had cats.
Nick Charles was a former detective whose wife kept dragging him into
investigation
while Jerry North was a book publisher who welcomed the forays into
crimesolving
with his wife Pam. (I'm sure there are many more.)
Are there any eps of this program available and are they of any note?
Is this program as good as "The Thin Man" and others with crimesolving
couples,
or better? Possibly worse?
Another OTR Fan,
Kenneth Clarke
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Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 21:08:57 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Sam Spade book
Someone asked:
Does anybody know when Martin Grams' Sam Spade book is coming out? I
saw a flyer for it FOTR last year, but haven't seen anything since. And
it's not listed on his website. I imagine he tackles all of this in detail
there.
Sorry about the delay, was away for a few days and just cleaning out the
e-mails. The SAM SPADE book is about completed and due for going to print
next month or the month after that. All depends on the time it takes to
format, page and index the book. Good books can't be rushed and this one I
am particularly proud of - it'll answer almost every question all Sam Spade
fans have wondered about for years.
Details of the book will be posted on the site, [removed] later
this week, sometime around Friday morning or afternoon.
Martin
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 21:09:07 -0400
From: "RadioAZ@[removed]" <radioAZ@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Fibber, Molly & WWII
During WWII, many, many episodes of Fibber McGee and Molly had home front
related themes--scrap drives, the housing shortage, rationing, etc. Looking
at a log of the shows, it could be 15-20% of them that had such themes.
Anyone care to reveal which one they think is the funniest war-themed
episode?
Ted
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 21:09:24 -0400
From: jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: THE MICKEY MOUSE THEATRE OF THE [removed]
Seeing this mentioned, today, on the list:
How many episodes of THE MICKEY MOUSE THEATRE OF THE AIR were produced?
Did the shows always feature the core Disney cartoon characters?
How many shows, survive?
(Three questions in honor of how many cartoon characters are drawn with
less than five [removed])
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 21:10:25 -0400
From: alo <alo@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Superman In Space
The episode "Panic in the Sky" was re-made as an episode of "Lois and
Clark," though I don't know the title.
This is venturing away from OTR-land (apologies for that) but just in case
anyone is interested, the Lois & Clark episode referenced to above is "All
Shook Up" & was written by Bryce Zabel, from the series' first season. It
first aired in the states in January 1994. Over the course of Lois &
Clark's four seasons on the air, Superman would travel into space on a
fairly regular basis, beginning with the show's very first (pilot) episode
which initially aired in the US on ABC as a two parter in September 1993.
(For those *seriously* *SERIOUSLY* into anything Super, be advised that the
*Australian* version of Lois & Clark's premiere episode(s) was released as
a general audiences video down under in the mid-90s, and included content
which did not air in the US version.)
Why do I feel I should sign off as "La Trivialta"?
Well, in any case, cheers,
Amanda
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 22:39:27 -0400
From: "Walden Hughes" <walden1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Bob Mitchell
Hi Everybody,
Bob Mitchell is coming in studio next week to tape an interview with Frank
Bresee. Thus I am trying to track down Bob radio appearances and shows
featuring his boy singers. . I have the Lum and Abner from 12-19-48, and
did he do any of Bing crosby radio shows or others? Take care,
Walden Hughes
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 22:47:23 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 8-30 births/deaths
August 30th births
08-30-1797 - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - London, England - d. 2-1-1851
creator of Frankenstein: "Suspense"; "The Weird Circle"
08-30-1879 - Fritzi Scheff - Vienna, Austria - d. 4-8-1954
prima donna: "Lavender and Old Lace"; "The Philco Hour"
08-30-1887 - Eduardo Ciannelli - Island of Ischia, Italy - d. 10-8-1969
actor: "Hollywood Hotel"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
08-30-1896 - Raymond Massey - Toronto, - d. 7-29-1983
actor, host: "Doctor Fights"; "Harvest of Stars"
08-30-1898 - Shirley Booth - NYC - d. 10-16-1992
actor: Miss Duffy "Duffy's Tavern"; "Hogan's Daughter"; "Strictly
Business"
08-30-1901 - John Gunther - Chicago, IL - d. 5-29-1970
writer: "Information, Please";"America's Town Meeting of the Air";
"Royal Gelatin Hour"
08-30-1902 - Ray Bloch - Alsace-Lorraine, France - d. 3-29-1982
conductor: "Milton Berle Show"; "Take It or Leave It"; "Johnny Presents"
08-30-1903 - Jack Bundy - Milwaukee, WI - d. 11-xx-1973
bandleader: "Heinie and the Grenadiers"
08-30-1905 - Sarah Selby - St. Louis, MO - d. 1-7-1980
actor: Grace Graves "Junior Miss"; Wife "My Mother's Husband"
08-30-1906 - Joan Blondell - NYC - d. 12-25-1979
actor: Mary Vance "Miss Pinkerton, Inc."
08-30-1908 - Fred MacMurray - Kankakee, IL - d. 11-5-1991
actor: George Harvey "Bright Star"; "Lux Radio Theatre
08-30-1908 - Willie Bryant - New Orleans, LA - d. 2-9-1964
host: "Night Life"
08-30-1910 - Elinor Harriot - Duluth, MN - d. 6-10-2000
actor: Ruby Taylor "Amos 'n' Andy"; Sally Gibbons "Story of Mary Marlin"
08-30-1914 - Frank Latourette - d. 5-xx-1985
creator of "Hollywood Byline"
08-30-1914 - Julie Bishop - Denver, CO - d. 8-30-2001
actor: "Harold Lloyd Comedy Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
08-30-1917 - Dan Enright - d. 5-22-1992
producer: "Put Up or Shut Up"; "Brain Train"; "Juvenile Jury"; "Life
Begins at 80"
08-30-1918 - Ted Williams, San Diego, CA - d. 7-5-2002
baseball superstar: Several interview shows
08-30-1919 - Kitty Wells - Nashville, TN
singer: "Louisiana Hayride"
08-30-1939 - John Peel - Heswall, England - d. 10-25-2004
disc jockey: "The Perfumed Garden"; "Top Gear"
08-30-1941 - Sue Mac Gregor - Oxford, England
announcer, producer: "The World at One"; "Woman's Hour"; "Today"; "PM"
August 30th deaths
01-23-1926 - Lyn Osborn - Wichita Falls, TX - d. 8-30-1958
actor: Cadet Happy "Space Patrol"
02-16-1926 - Vera-Ellen - Cincinnati, OH - d. 8-30-1981
actor: "Martin and Lewis Show"; "Tony Awards"; "Bud's Bandwagon"
03-09-1918 - Marguerite Chapman - Chatham, NY - d. 8-30-1999
actor: "Family Theatre"; "Silver Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
06-15-1909 - Joe DeSantis - NYC - d. 8-30-1989
actor: Jim Scott "Under Arrest"; "This Is Nora Drake"
06-17-1877 - Charles Coburn - Savannah, GA - d. 8-30-1961
actor: "Roses and Drums"; "Song of Liberty"
08-08-1913 - Axel Stordahl - Staten Island, New - d. 8-30-1963
conductor: "Songs by Sinatra/Frank Sinatra Show"; "Your Hit Parade";
"Coke Time"
08-30-1914 - Julie Bishop - Denver, CO - d. 8-30-2001
actor: "Harold Lloyd Comedy Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
Ron Sayles
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 22:48:32 -0400
From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Journalist looking for Arch Oboler
information
I'm especially interested in finding more about these things:
3- Any information about my favorite, scary episodes: Revolt of the
Worms, The Ball (Paris Macabre), Murder Castle, The Author and the
Thing.
The Author and the Thing
Although this script aired as the last episode of Oboler's 1942-43
_Lights Out_ revival, he had actually written a version of it early in
his 1936-38 Chicago run of the series. Curiously, according to
newspaper reports, he didn't play the role of the author in the
earlier version and may not even have been in town during the
broadcast. He certainly does a lively job with the part in the 1943
remake (Paul K. Damai, prominent radio columnist, once praised
Oboler's "excellent mike delivery" and suggested that "here might be
better actor than playwright").
Although he's portrayed as using a typewriter in this story, Oboler
seldom "wrote" his scripts but usually improvised the dialogue into a
Dictaphone or other recording device and edited a stenographer's
transcripts afterward, a method that likely accounts for the strengths
and weaknesses of his style. This episode probably gives us a taste of
what those recordings sounded like. A 1939 column item reports that
"Before Oboler took to using a dictaphone, [his wife Eleanor] acted as
his stenographer, and Arch claims she is the fastest and best in the
country."
Wyllis Cooper, who created the series and wrote it for two and a half
years before Oboler took over, was fond of writing similarly
self-referential play-within-a-play scripts. One of them, about a
_Lights Out_ rehearsal that goes badly, was revived in 1946 as "The
Coffin in Studio B." Most of Cooper's _Lights Out_ scripts are lost
but, for his later _Quiet, Please_ series, he wrote episodes like
"Bring Me to Life" (which is also about a radio writer who has a
character accidentally come to life) and "Rain on New Year's Eve"
(about a horror movie writer with the same problem). So it wouldn't be
surprising if there's a lost _Lights Out_ script by Cooper with a
similar idea that may have inspired Oboler's.
Here's a couple of blurbs about the 1936 broadcast of "The Author and
the Thing":
*****
[September 9, 1936 Winnipeg Free Press - You Will Hear ...]
... The author of the play himself as the leading character in the
"Lights Out" drama, when a horror play titled "The Author and the
Thing" is broadcast over NBC at [removed] [removed] Although the writer is the
central character, Author Arch Oboler will not play the role. He'll
sit safely at home and hear himself go through a very uncomfortable
evening.
*****
[September 11, 1936 Chicago Tribune]
"Lights Out," the midnight horror show written by Arch Oboler, put on
a drama Wednesday night in which Oboler cast himself, his mother, his
brother, and a girl friend. A monster enters his room (according to
the script and Oboler's imagination) and consumes his brother and
mother and murders his girl friend. "Oboler" summons the police, who
can find no monster. So they hold "Oboler." A sanity hearing ensues in
which physicians bearing the surnames of the radio editors of Chicago
examine him. They pronounce him a lunatic. And then the thing comes
and consumes him!
At the conclusion of the broadcast your reporter made a telephone call
to Oboler's home and finding him in New York, apologized to his mother
for disturbing her at such a late hour.
"That's quite all right," she said. "Your call reassures me that I am
still alive. I heard the broadcast all alone here except for our dog!"
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 02:12:00 -0400
From: charlie@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Night!
A weekly [removed]
For the best in OTR Chat, join IRC (Internet Relay Chat), StarLink-IRC
Network, the channel name is #OldRadio. We meet Thursdays at 8 PM Eastern
and go on, and on! The oldest OTR Chat Channel, it has been in existence
over nine years, same time, same channel! Started by Lois Culver, widow
of actor Howard Culver, this is the place to be on Thursday night for
real-time OTR talk!
Our "regulars" include OTR actors, soundmen, collectors, listeners, and
others interested in enjoying OTR from points all over the world. Discussions
range from favorite shows to almost anything else under the sun (sometimes
it's hard for us to stay on-topic)...but even if it isn't always focused,
it's always a good time!
For more info, contact charlie@[removed]. We hope to see you there, this
week and every week!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 13:13:52 -0400
From: Steve Kostelecky <doyasteve@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Mercury Theatre "Sound Technician" Obit
I read newspapers for a living and, in the course of
my duties read this obit in the Santa Fe New Mexican
for today, Augutst 30, 2006:
DAVID HUYLER GAINES, 1914-2006
David Huyler Gaines, a popular fixture in Santa
Fe's theater scene for 25 years from the 1970s to the
1990s, died Sunday in Hilo, Hawaii, at age 92.
Gaines attended private schools in Connecticut and
was accepted at age 18 into the Yale Drama School
program without a high school diploma. During a summer
break, he worked as a stage carpenter at the Mount
Kisco ([removed]) Playhouse, where his roommate was actor
Burgess Meredith.
After leaving Yale, Gaines worked in radio in New
York City. He was a sound technician for Orson
Welles's Mercury Theatre radio shows in the 1930s.
After service in the [removed] Army during World War II, he
got jobs in television in Minneapolis and in
Washington, [removed] Gaines was later a producer of films
for the [removed] Information Agency and its network, Voice
of America.
Haven't had a chance to check further into his
contributions.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 20:30:38 -0400
From: JayHick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: William Castle
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Can anyone help?
I am researching a documentary on the legendary showman and gimmick film
director/ producer, William Castle (produced Rosemary's Baby) for Automat
Pictures in Los Angeles. The film is produced and directed by Jeffrey
Schwarz.
I am looking for any radio interviews with William Castle from 1958
(beginning with his first gimmick film, "MACABRE") through his death in
1977.
We are also looking for mentions of Castle's death in 1977 on any local or
national radio news broadcasts - the death of a showman, that kind of thing.
If you DON'T have anything, I would appreciate any referrals to private
collectors or obscure sources.
Many thanks,
--
Michelle Sullivan
Automat Pictures
3255 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 615
Los Angeles, CA 90010
T: 323-661-3546
violetplanet@[removed]
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End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #236
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