Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #157
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 4/15/2003 5:30 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 157
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      old-time Soviet radio -snapshot 1     [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
      The Karen Hughes Cincy Report         [ danhughes@[removed] ]
      Vic Perrin                            [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
      Re: mp3's in Cincy                    [ rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed] ]
      MP3 vs cassettes                      [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
      Re: Vic [removed]                     [ jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns) ]
      Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar at Cinci   [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
      Re: Andy and the Matrimonial Bureau   [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Amos 'n' Andy Cured MY Racism         [ GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@ ]
      Great quote (OTR reference)!!         [ marklambert@[removed] ]
      Cincy Convention                      [ jeff quick <mrears69@[removed]; ]
      Lost a contact!                       [ "welsa" <welsa@[removed]; ]
      April 16th Birth Dates                [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      For you Fibber McGee fans and foodie  [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      Re: Radio Digest, Radio Guide         [ "Robert W. Paine" <macandrew@prodig ]
      missing Ranger                        [ "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@earthli ]

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

    Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 23:00:37 -0400
    From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  old-time Soviet radio -snapshot 1

    snapshot one:  --of an eight-year long book research project--Moscow: the
    old-time radio scripts that got away

    	I'm sitting on a bench in front of the Bolshoi ballet in Moscow. It's
    July of 1995. Tatyana G., a radio archivist,  hands me the scripts of
    three Soviet World War II radio plays. This is my second visit to Moscow
    in search of these plays--and here they are.  To her knowledge they are
    the only three such plays that exist.  Others might have been done.  But
    Tatyana's already told me that unlike in the West radio drama simply was
    not done during the war.  With the Germans having invaded their
    territory, the Soviets did not have the luxury of doing the fancy
    productions that the [removed] and Britain were able to broadcast. Having
    spent a month the previous year searching through radio archives, I
    believe her.

    	There's one very unpleasant hitch about the 3 scripts.  Tatyana will
    not
    let me take them with me. She wants first to see a contract for the book
    which is the reason for my interest.  But in 1995, I do not yet have a
    contract.

    	The years passed since this scene. And the nature of my research
    project
    changed to one which eliminated dealing with the Soviet, British and
    German propaganda radio plays that I initially hoped to study along with
    [removed] plays. In more recent years, I tried through intermediaries to
    somehow get hold of copies of the scripts.  Through them I offered
    Tatyana  an explanation both as to why I would not be writing about the
    plays and explaining why I was still interested in getting copies
    (essentially intellectual curiosity). I offered to pay her for her
    efforts which resulted in locating the scripts. But for whatever reason,
    she never made them available.  Even within the last month, Bryan, my
    former student who is spending a year teaching English in Moscow, tried
    unsuccessfully a dozen times to call her.

    Coming soon: snapshot 2: Nazi propaganda radio plays

    Howard Blue
    [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 00:01:07 -0400
    From: danhughes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Karen Hughes Cincy Report

    Our family has attended the Cincinnati OTR Convention the last seven
    years, and they just get better every year.  My daughter Karen has so
    many friends she sees just one weekend per year; thanks Charlie for
    making it possible for us all to keep in touch the other 51 1/2 weeks.

    Karen was 11 our first year, and she got to play a little girl in a Lone
    Ranger episode, opposite Fred Foy.  She's 18 now, and she has written
    quite a long report on the convention.  Rather than take up the space
    here, I've put it on our website:

    [removed]~[removed]

    Warning to Hal Stone, Bob Hastings, Jim Skyrm, and a host of others:  if
    you spent time with Karen this weekend, you may not want to read her
    report.  It will make your heads swell to the point that getting though
    doorways may be difficult.

    A personal note--I spent more time answering questions about my weight
    loss than talking about OTR this year.  I've dropped about 35 pounds
    since January; went from pants size 38 to 32.  I'm getting to first base
    a lot faster, and not running out of steam after a home run trot.  I'm
    embarrassed at how easy it was--I modified the Atkins diet a bit to fit
    my tastes; no pasta, bread, potatoes, or sugar; lots of fish and meat and
    salad, and the pounds just dropped away.  So anyway, next year we can
    talk about OTR [removed]

    ---Dan

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 01:38:57 -0400
    From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
    To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Vic Perrin

    Regarding Vic Perrin's date of death.   I went to the Social Security Death
    Index and there are 6 Victor Perrins but the one that seems likely to be our
    Vic Perrin was born in 1916, SS# issued in Wisconsin, last residence Studio
    City in LA.   He died July 4, 1989.    Vic Perrin was a graduate of the U of
    Wisconsin according to a profile at MSN.

    -Irene

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 11:22:07 -0400
    From: rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: mp3's in Cincy

>     I wonder what might happen to a genuine MP3 dealer if he ever sets up >at the
>     [removed] would he be mobbed, or mauled?

    Dealers have tried to sell mp3 discs at our convention and always found sales
    to be poor (even people who do offer mp3's, like Radio Memories, left them at
    home this year) because nobody wants to pay for what they can get for
    [removed] if there are guarentees that it'll be better sound quality.  If
    you just listen for storylines, then you have nothing to worry about, but
    otherwise, you have to pay for good sound quality.  Many mp3 collectors don't
    want to do that.  It's simply not important to them.

    But, this is getting into a mp3 vs. "whatever other format" debate, and
    personally, I don't want to get involved in another one of those.  The simple
    answer to the question is "People haven't found it worth their troubles to
    sell mp3's at the Cincinnati Convention".  And that only means that there
    will be more shows available in formats that I collect, so I'm not
    complaining.

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 11:21:52 -0400
    From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  MP3 vs cassettes

    As to why the animosity against MP3 recordings by some OTR fans:

    There are two kinds of OTR collectors.  The first group is comprised of
    those who want shows with the highest possible sound quality.  They love
    and cherish every single episode of every show they own.  These people
    tend to be older and less rushed in life.  They accumulated their shows
    over a long period of time, carefully choosing only those with the very
    best sound quality.  The people is this group take the time to savor
    every nuance in their recordings.

    The second group is comprised of those who go for quantity.  They want a
    whole lot of shows, and they don't care how they sound as long as they
    can be understood.  They want to enjoy the story; the quality isn't that
    important.

    Cassettes (and reel to reel) are favored by the first group; MP3s by the
    second.

    Generally speaking, the sound quality of MP3s is inferior to that of
    tape.

    Plus, MP3 technology allows you to put about 120 half-hour shows on one
    compact disc.  That's a week and a half of FULL TIME listening (at 40
    hours per week) just to get through one CD!  This huge volume of
    programming for such a small price--about four bucks each, or less than
    four cents a show--almost demands that the listener rush through each
    show.  And at this price you don't feel cheated that you don't get great
    sound quality.

    Cassettes can hold at most only four half-hour shows (and many collectors
    use C-60 cassettes, which are limited to two shows).  When you pay nearly
    the same for two cassette shows that you pay for over 100 CD shows, you
    naturally expect better sound quality.

    So, the audiophiles feel that MP3s are destroying the hobby.  As more and
    people settle for poor quality, those who spend hours and hours
    perfecting just one half-hour show will no longer be able to afford to do
    the work required to clean up the programs.  There will no longer be an
    appreciation (nor a market ) for high-quality programs.

    Seems to me there could be a compromise, because you CAN get excellent
    quality with MP3.  The downside is that the file size is increased if you
    go for high quality, so you can fit fewer programs on a CD.  This is an
    excellent tradeoff.  Music MP3s run how long?--about 5 or 10 hours per
    CD?  If OTR shows were handled likewise, you could get 10 to 20 shows on
    a CD, which still beats the heck out of 2 shows per cassette.

    ---Dan

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 11:21:08 -0400
    From: jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns)
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Vic [removed]

    Long time STAR TREK fans will also remember that Vic Perrin was a
    frequent voice-over artist on the original series, including his
    peformance as "The Guardian of Forever," in the classic first season
    episode, "City on the Edge of Forever."

    Best, Jim

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: [removed], afraid not. As a long-time trekie (my bona fides
    include attending the last New York convention thrown by The Committee in the
    1970's before The Shyster took 'em over), I am pretty confident that another
    oft-used voice-over artist, Bart LaRue, was the voice of The Guardian of
    Forever (also v/o as the sportscaster in "Bread and Circuses," and others).
    Vic Perrin's voice DID appear, however, as the voice of Nomad in, "The
    Changeling;" and he guest-starred as Tharn in the episode, "Mirror, Mirror."
    And now you know how I mis-spent my [removed] can still name the title to any
    episode from the 60's series by simply flipping past Sci-Fi with a remote.
    Drives my wife crazy.  --cfs3]

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 11:26:11 -0400
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar at Cinci Con; Vic
     Perrin

    I just wanted to say thanks again to all those who
    participated in the performance of my Johnny Dollar
    script at the Cincinnati convention. For those who
    weren't there (and/or don't know the background), it
    was an original script written for and in honor of my
    16-year-old cousin, Kelley, whom I introduced to OTR
    through Johnny Dollar when she was 12.

    The production featured Hal Stone as Johnny; Karen
    Hughes as Kelley; Bob Hastings as Lt. Ryan; John
    Rayburn as Brandt; Derek Tague as Walter; Ed Weiss (I
    think I spelled that right) as Wilburt; Betsy Baird as
    the announcer; and Cindy Maddox (again, I think that's
    right; I don't have all the names in front of me) as
    the secretary.

    I'm drawing a blank on the name of one of the sound
    effects men, but the other was Dave Davies. And of
    course, it was directed by Don Ramlow.

    Kelley is going to love it when she gets a copy of the
    tape.

    I should mention, just for clarification's sake, that
    there was a typographical mix up in the script near
    the end, and Johnny ended up with one of the killer's
    lines. Johnny says "but I came to his office this
    morning while you were there and overheard him talking
    with you." That's supposed to be the killer saying he
    overheard Johnny's conversation with the victim. So,
    if you taped the performance, keep that in mind as you
    listen to it.

    For the record, I decided not to mention that goof
    because I didn't want to risk the actors getting
    confused about who had which lines if changes were
    made on the physical script. Besides, original OTR
    shows sometimes had slight goofs like that, so it
    fits.

    On a related note, why do OTR performers read from
    their scripts instead of memorizing their lines as
    actors do on the stage, screen or TV? Is it so they
    can synchronize their words and actions with the sound
    effects people, or for another reason?

    Re: Vic Perrin. He didn't die in 1974. I know this
    because I used to subscribe to Starlog Magazine
    between 1985 and 1993, and his obituary was listed in
    there. Without looking at the magazines to find the
    issue in question, I can't give the exact date, but
    the 1989 date someone offered is very probable. It
    feels right.

    Rick

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 11:21:45 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Andy and the Matrimonial Bureau

    On 4/14/03 11:13 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     But there's just one thing:  Did Andy have any luck with that matrimonial
>     bureau?  I was worried for him as he read that first letter!

    Andy did get into a bit of trouble when he wrote a couple of replies --
    because he had signed them "Amos Jones" as a way of "playing it safe."
    When Amos found out he exploded and threatened to knock Andy's head off
    if he ever tried that particular stunt again -- a sign of the rather
    fiery temper that Amos worked very hard to suppress, and which eventually
    vanished from the character entirely as the series evolved.

    All of this was going on while Madam Queen was in Reno establishing
    residency in order to pursue a divorce from her husband Raymond -- the
    fellow who Amos located a year and a half before to bring a sudden end to
    the Breach of Promise suit. While in Reno, she had written Andy about how
    much she liked her lawyer, a handsome and well-spoken young man just out
    of college, and that he was "looking after her." This made Andy very
    jealous, and his jealousy prompted him to put an ad in the matrimonial
    bureau newsletter. Eventually Andy did strike up a brief relationship
    thru the  newsletter with a local widow by the name of Alice Barton, but
    this relationship went nowhere fast, and fizzled out after a couple of
    weeks.

    Meanwhile, Andy ended up on the personal bulk-mail list of Mr. Val
    Valentine, president of the matrimonial bureau, and for several weeks
    received a constant stream of offers for Valentine's line of self-help
    publications, including "How To Win A Wife," "Secrets of the Desert
    Shieks," and "Making Love In General." He eventually bought the whole
    Valentine library, and this led to a memorable scene in which Andy
    cajoled a reluctant Lightning into helping him rehearse some of the
    romantic patter contained in these volumes -- only to have Amos walk into
    the office at just the moment where Andy is pleading with Lightning to Be
    His Wife.

    I found the bulk-mail scenes in this storyline to be rather timeless,
    actually -- being the recipient of several hundred spam emails a day, I
    found it all too easy to relate to Andy's predicament.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 10:54:56 -0400
    From: GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Amos 'n' Andy Cured MY Racism

         First of all, I have to confess that I
    rarely listened to the radio Amos 'n' Andy as a
    child. With one exception - I always seemed to
    wind up spending Christmas Eve (or close to it)
    with Amos, Arbadella and the Lord's Prayer. But I
    was too young at that time to pick up on the
    racial element at all.

         But what I WAS exposed to, week after week,
    was the television version, which began running
    when I was around 10 or 11.

         The series took a dirty little proto-Nazi
    and turned him into something at least
    approaching a human being.

         But I wasn't the only one. My own Mother, no
    more racist than any other middle-class White
    homemaker in my lily-white home town, learned for
    the very first time in her life that there were
    Afro-American lawyers, business owners,
    physicians, school principals, and so on.

         So had it not been for AMOS 'N' ANDY I would
    not today be familiar with such individuals as
    Fats Waller, Madame J. C. Walker, Countee Cullen,
    James P. Johnson, James Weldon Johnson, Edith
    Wilson (who once gave me a great big bear hug!),
    Bessie Smith, and all the wonders of the Harlem
    Renaissance.

         Thank you, A&A. You saved my life.

         Sincerely,

         George Wagner
         GWAGNEROLDTIMERADIO@[removed]

    The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo
    [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 12:06:02 -0400
    From: marklambert@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Great quote (OTR reference)!!

    A great pleasure in my time as a student at the Univ. of Iowa law school was
    having former FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson as one of my professors.  Pal
    of Ralph Nader, the only FCC Commissioner ever to have his photo on the cover
    of Rolling Stone magazine, Johnson is one of a kind, and was truly a blast as
    a teacher.  Whilst browsing Nick's website today ([removed]) I
    discovered this great quote from him, which includes an OTR reference, out of
    a "where are they now" kind of article from The Washington Lawyer magazine in
    1999:
              Johnson will be 65 on his next birthday, and he is still up-beat
    about most things in his life, but he bemoans his students' slim grasp of
    what he considers modern history. "I mention McCarthy to my law students and
    then I have to stop and explain the difference between Charlie, Joseph, and
    Gene!"

    --Mark
    Mark Lambert

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 13:00:04 -0400
    From: jeff quick <mrears69@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Cincy Convention

    I wanted to comment on the Cincy convention that we just returned from.
    This was my 1st OTR convention & have to say it was well worth the trip.
    The recreations were 1st class & getting see Hal Stone, Bob Hastings & John
    Rayburn work their magic was the highlight of the trip.

    I got a chance to meet Hal & purchase a copy of his book.  For any of you
    who have not had a chance to pick this up yet, I highly recommend it.  I
    ended up finishing it up in two sittings & have to say it was  one of the
    best books I have read on OTR in a very long time.  Hal keeps it light, but
    sprinkles some fascinating facts along the way.   (OK Hal---you can send me
    that 5 bucks you promised me now:)

    We had the rare treat sitting with Leo Jordan and his wife at the Saturday
    night dinner.  They told us some stories about Fibber & were more than happy
    to answer all of our questions.   Leo & his wife are in the process of
    setting up a Fibber & Molly Museum in Peoria IL which is tentatively
    scheduled to be open in August of this year. As of now they only have a few
    tapes of the show.  I'm encoding & burning a few audio CDs from my reels for
    use at the museum.  If any of you have scripts or other Fibber Material the
    museum could use, contact me off list & I can put you in touch with Leo.

    I know there were a lot of pics taken at the convention.  Does anyone have
    anything up on the web yet?  I'll be uploading my pics sometime this week &
    will post a link.

    Well, it's back to "lurker" status on the digest, but I just wanted to post
    about the great time we had at the convention this year.

    Thanks to Charlie & all of the regular posters for a stellar list.

    Jeff Quick
    (AKA Cadet_Jeff)

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 16:23:50 -0400
    From: "welsa" <welsa@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Lost a contact!

    Someone write me a few weeks ago about a manual for a Teac reel-to-reel.  I
    lost the e-mail address.  Can you write again?  (Apologies for taking up the
    digest space for this.)

    Ted

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 16:23:57 -0400
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  April 16th Birth Dates

    If you were born on the 16th of April, you share your birthday with:

    04-16-1889 - Sir Charles Chaplin - London, England
    04-16-1897 - Milton J. Cross - NYC - d. 1-3-1975
    04-16-1898 - Marian Jordan - Peoria, IL - d. 4-7-1961
    04-16-1904 - Fifi D’Orsay - Montreal, Quebec, Canada - d. 12-2-1983
    04-16-1913 - Les Tremayne - London, England (HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY LES!)
    04-16-1914 - John Hodiak - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 10-19-1955
    04-16-1921 - Sir Peter Ustinov - London, England
    04-16-1924 - Henry Mancini - Cleveland, OH
    04-16-1929 - Edie Adams - Kingston, PA
    04-16-1930 - Herbie Mann - NYC
    04-16-1935 - Bobby Vinton - Canonsburg, PA

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Make your day, listen to an Olde Tyme Radio Program

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 16:24:03 -0400
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  For you Fibber McGee fans and foodies

    Just ran across the following McGee reference:
    [removed]

    Any vintage food fan (well, looking at vintage food ads and cookbooks, not
    vintage [removed]) will probably enjoy the site as [removed] take the
    URL up to /gallery/ and enjoy.

    But I can't find Jack and Mary's Jell-O Cookbook [removed] shame!

    --
    Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 17:26:42 -0400
    From: "Robert W. Paine" <macandrew@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Radio Digest, Radio Guide

    I'm looking for radio listings from Radio Digest, Radio Guide or similar
    magazines, for any months between August 1936 and February 1954.

    If anyone has issues for this period and is willing to photocopy or scan,
    would you e-mail me?

    Thanks,
       Macandrew

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

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 18:10:24 -0400
    From: "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@[removed];
    To: "OTR List" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  missing Ranger

    A few weeks back I downloaded from a newsgroup a Lone Ranger ep, I believe
    the title is Devil's Sink 421113. This ep is unusual in that the Ranger is
    hardly in it at all. He says a few lines, max of 2 in the entire ep, and
    Tonto carries on alone - does all the work capturing the crooks while the
    Ranger nurses his injuries sustained at the beginning of the ep. This is NOT
    from the transition series.

    It sounds like Beamer's voice the few time he speaks, so he is not on
    vacation or ill that I can tell. He just plays the most minimal role in the
    ep possible without actually being gone.  What happened here?

    Joe Salerno

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #157
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