Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #322
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 8/14/2002 11:18 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 322
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Australian OTR                        [ William Harker <wharker@[removed] ]
      Conservatives Plug OTR                [ Kubelski@[removed] ]
      Re: the Magic of Charlie McCarthy an  [ SanctumOTR@[removed] ]
      what was Groucho referring to?        [ Jim Byrd <byrd@[removed]; ]
      Re:THE WAR OF THE WORLDS              [ SanctumOTR@[removed] ]
      E-mail-addresses needed!              [ "Marcus Antonsson" <[removed] ]
      Fear That Creeps Like A Cat           [ "Reggie York" <radnet3@[removed]; ]
      Re: The Eddy Myth (Continued)         [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      biggest selling cigarettes            [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
      Religious OTR broadcasts              [ "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed] ]
      [removed] played Reggie              [ "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@earthli ]
      Bickersons Scripts books are going o  [ bloodbleeds@[removed] ]
      The Jack Benny Show                   [ Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed]; ]
      "Home Front" radio series             [ "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed] ]
      Re: Attitude of answers to OTR        [ sfx-meow@[removed] (Ray Erlenborn) ]
      Looking for book                      [ Dancingdays72777@[removed] ]
      Actors                                [ JJLjackson@[removed] ]
      Australian OTR Question OMF           [ "Jamie Kelly" <[removed]@[removed] ]
      CBC Radio                             [ "Ed Ellers" <ed_ellers@[removed]; ]
      The S on Jughead's shirt              [ JimInks@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 14:25:49 -0400
    From: William Harker <wharker@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Australian OTR

    Many thanks to Ian and Jamie for their information.

    As for One Man's Family, I thought I was on to a source but it fell
    through.  Owens Pomeroy of the Baltimore OTR club told me the club had the
    episodes but had given them to the Washington, [removed] OTR club.  In turn,
    Mark Anderson of the Washington OTR told me that most of the Baltimore
    tapes had "fallen by the wayside," being sold to club members or being
    "ditched" because of poor quality due to "haphazard storage."

    My mother won second place in the talent portion of the Chatterbox Club
    show one week and was invited back to the show.  I was particularly
    interested in trying to track down copies of this program.  My mother most
    remembers One Man's Family and the Nicky and Tuppy shows along with
    Chatterbox Club.

    Bill Harker

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 14:28:47 -0400
    From: Kubelski@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Conservatives Plug OTR

    John Derbyshire of National Review Online traded a copy of "The Earth Abides"
    for a plug for Friends of Old Time Radio Show on National Review's webpage,
    including a link to Charlie's site, which can be found here.

    He had quoted from the book on which Earth Abides is based a few days ago and
    I wrote him to alert him to the radio play.

    So if we end up with a room full of movement Republicans in October, we'll
    know where it came [removed]

    [removed]

    Sean Dougherty
    Kubelski@[removed]

    {ADMINISTRIVIA: It would be nice if the link worked, [removed]  --cfs3]

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 15:06:42 -0400
    From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: the Magic of Charlie McCarthy and
     ventriloquism limitations

    In a message dated 8/14/02 10:01:59 AM, Thomas Mason writes:

>     As poor a ventriloquest as Edgar Bergen was, he created magic with his
>     characters.

    ***Actually, I've heard that Edgar Bergen was a very fine ventriloquist
    before he got into radio, but that the precise pronunciation required by
    radio forced him to become less of a ventriloquist.  As a former amateur
    ventriloquist, I can relate from personal experience that there are certain
    sounds that no one can say without moving their lips: "b," "p" and "f," for
    starters.  Onstage, a ventriloquist will usually turn his head away from the
    audience and speak those sounds from the concealed side of his mouth, or
    substitute similar sounds, "d" for "b," "eth" for "f," etc.  Radio required
    more precise pronunciation for the far larger audience listening at home."

    To the best of my memory, Paul Winchell was the only other major
    ventriloquist to perform regularly on radio (before he and Sheri Lewis became
    THE television ventiloquists).  True, Winchell eventually became a better
    technical ventiloquist than Bergen (and has been the primary inspiration for
    the last few generations of ventriloquists).  But Bergen was reportedly a
    very fine ventriloquist during his vaudeville years, and didn't begin moving
    his lips until required to by the constraints of radio.

    BTW, I'm very much in agreement with you regarding the magic of Charlie
    McCarthy's persona, and so is Paul Winchell who idolized Bergen.   (I was
    lucky enough to share a table with my childhood ventriloquist idol at the
    1986 SPERDVAC convention, the morning after I directed the SHADOW recreation,
    "The Man Who Dreamed Too Much.)  One of Winchell's fondest memories is
    appearing with his own idol on the MASQUERADE PARTY TV series, and having
    Edgar Bergen suggest they exchange dummies at the conclusion of the show.
    Bergen briefly performed as Jerry Mahoney opposite Winchell as Charlie
    McCarthy, and Winchell considered it a tremendous honor to be able to perform
    as/with Charlie. --ANTHONY TOLLIN

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 15:07:05 -0400
    From: Jim Byrd <byrd@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  what was Groucho referring to?

    A few months back, one of the programs I downloaded was a long radio
    marathon of celebrities campaigning for the reelection of FDR in 1944.
    Groucho Marx was one of them, and one of the songs he sang included "That
    old red scare, she ain't what she used to be" (sung to the tune of "That
    old gray mare").

    I don't remember hearing of any GOP "red scare" tactics in the 1944
    elections, but I wasn't around then. Does anyone know what he was referring
    to? Was the GOP up to something?

    This is especially puzzling, since the USSR was officially an ally at the
    time in World War 2.

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 15:17:03 -0400
    From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re:THE WAR OF THE WORLDS

    In a message dated 8/13/02 8:12:56 PM, Michael C. Gwynne writes:

>     I seem to recall reading in a Welles Biography that he received a
>     telegram from somebody referring to the fact that the audience was tuned into
>     one 'dummy' and then tuned into Welles thus two 'dummies' caused the whole
>     darn ruckus.
>         Does anyone remember the exact words of that telegram and who sent it?

    ***The telegram reportedly was sent by critic/radio personality Alexander
    Woolcott ("The Town Crier") and read: "This only goes to prove, my beamish
    boy, that the intelligent people were all listening to the dummy, and that
    all the dummies were listening to you."

    Decades later, Welles (who seldom was restrained by facts when it came to
    telling a good story) changed the telegram's author from Woolcott to Franklin
    Roosevelt. I'm certain the telegram didn't come from Roosevelt; Orson and FDR
    later became good friends and Welles even contributed portions of some of
    FDR's speeches.  However, there is no indication that Welles and FDR had any
    contact before Welles became a national celebrity following the panic
    broadcast.  I suspect Orson changed the story in later years when his
    audience would no longer remember who Woolcott was. ***

    And in a message dated 8/13/02 10:24:54 AM, Tom Kirby writes:

>     Apparently,
>     everyone tuned into the Charlie McCarthy show for the opening monologue,
>     then switched to something else when the singer came on, and the ones who
>     tuned into Mercury Theater missed the opening intro. I had heard before
>     that it was a singer that nobody really cared for, but this program named
>     the singer as Nelson Eddy, who I thought was popular. Have I overestimated
>     Nelson Eddy's popularity, or did it come later? Or,
>     perhaps he did something to offend everyone in 1938?

    ***As Elizabeth has stated, Nelson Eddy was extremely popular in 1938.
    However, I'm sure that some people tuned into the CASE AND SANBORN variety
    show for comedy and others for comedy.  And it's likely some comedy fans went
    station-surfing when Nelson Eddy and Dorothy Lamour came on to sing, and also
    likely that some listeners who had tuned in primarily for music switched
    stations when the comedy portions came on.

    Personally, I will remember swiching back and forth between NBC and CBS in
    1964, determined to see as much as possible of "The Scarecrow of Romney
    Marsh" on WALT DISNEY'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR while not missing The
    Beatles on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW.  I suspect something similar occurred in
    1938. --ANTHONY TOLLIN***

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 15:42:53 -0400
    From: "Marcus Antonsson" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  E-mail-addresses needed!

    Hi Gang!
    First, many thanks to all who helped me out with the "talking piano
    question". I found the record I was searching for and more than that, thanks
    to you all!

    Now, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you something else. There are two guys I'd
    like to contact and I need there e-mail-addresses. They might be subscribers
    to this list. The first one is Tom Althoff, He made the database-program I'm
    using to keep track of my otr-collection, and I need to check some details
    with him.
    The other one is Ron Staley, He used to publish an otr-newsletter on tape.
    Now I've not heard anything about him for years.
    If anyone could provide me with e-mail-addresses to these gentlemen, or if
    they would be so kind as to contact me themselves I'd be very grateful.

    Best to you all!

    Marc Antonsson

    Ps. Excuse me for beeing a little of topic, but this was the best way I could
    think of. Ds.

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 15:54:17 -0400
    From: "Reggie York" <radnet3@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Fear That Creeps Like A Cat
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    I've been reading a long time and this is my first post.
    To "Ken Kay", if you will look on the back of the album, just in the middle,
    it states that Frank Breese played Reggie.

    Reggie York
    radnet3@[removed]

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 16:43:48 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: The Eddy Myth (Continued)

    On 8/14/02 2:36 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     This means that anyone who "tuned out" Nelson Eddy during his
>     "Logging Song" could have discovered Orson Welles at a very good
>     time to be completely taken-in by the War of the Worlds drama.

    Quite true. However, the findings of the only legitimate surveys taken in
    the wake of the broadcast -- which are tabulated in Hadley Cantril's
    "Invasion From Mars: A Study in the Psychology of Panic" (Princeton
    University Press, 1940, reprinted 1966.) -- indicate that the majority of
    those who tuned from the C&S Hour to WOTW did not do so at this point but
    at the conclusion of the first Bergen/McCarthy routine (Cantril, p. 83.).
    In reviewing the recording of the C&S Hour broadcast, one finds that this
    came at exactly 14:56 and led immediately into a Dorothy Lamour
    selection. (Charlie McCarthy did have a few lines in the program opening
    with Judy Canova, but Bergen is not heard at all during the opening.)
    There is no mention anywhere in Cantril's findings of Eddy as a factor in
    the tuneout.

    While this doesn't rule out the possibility of *some* people tuning out
    at "Logging Song" or any other point in the program, the fact remains
    that *most* of those who tuned from the C&S Hour to WOTW did not do so
    because of Nelson Eddy. The fact that any given modern listener may not
    care today for his work or choice of songs is irrelevant to what actually
    happend on the night of 10/30/38 -- when, as noted, Eddy stood as one of
    the most popular personalities in broadcasting.

>     It has come to my attention that most people who comment about
>     the Neslon Eddy tune-out had never heard (recordings of ) the
>     Chase and Sanborn Hour broadcast of October 30, 1938.

    Conversely, I accepted the "Nelson Eddy Tuneout" myth without question --
    it's one of those things "every OTR fan knows" -- until I actually had
    access to a copy of the program and compared it closely with the findings
    in Cantril's book. Both are necessary to understand what actually
    happened that night.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 16:44:45 -0400
    From: Jer51473@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  biggest selling cigarettes

     As a naughty little boy and part of a naughty little group of boys during
    the forties, i and the rest of the group(not a gang) used to sneak smokes in
    our "camp" located in the woods behind my house. Now we smoked one or two
    daily and supplied ourselves by relieving our parents of them, unknowingly to
    the parents of course. My memory takes exception to Lee's information that
    chesterfield was one of poorest selling brands in 1946. The top selling
    brands were in this order: camels, lucky strikes, CHESTERFIELDS, phillip
    morris, and old golds. This also represented the order of popularity or
    numbers stashed in our camp as supplied by our parents. "Off brands" that
    showed up but not as often were dominos, raleighs, and maybe herbert
    tarytons(they carried the first name back then). Cavaliers sound familiar
    also. All of this, of course, is just a childhood memory of fun and not meant
    to contradict anything written by Lee. But the first 4 mentioned were, i
    think, the most popular; although im wondering right now where pall mall
    stood as it seems to me like the late forties before they really cracked into
    the leaders. Radio and magazines were full of ads back then about these
    leading brands. It would be interesting to read how some of our other posters
    remember "the leading cigarrets". Btw, camels, in addition to being the
    biggest seller(as i remember), was also by far the strongest. We didnt like
    them, but they were SO plentiful. Also, in the fifties as we opened C rations
    we were told were packaged in the forties, there they were again, these same
    4. I was never sure, though, those C rations were that old.

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 17:36:00 -0400
    From: "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Religious OTR broadcasts

       The late Rev. Dr. Preston Bradley of the Peoples (Unitarian) Church of
    Chicago had a daily 15-min. radio program on WGN for many years around the
    1940s.  I've been trying to find a recording of one of those broadcasts
    (complete or excerpt; from about 1942-52, if possible)
    (I've already tried WGN, Chuck Schaden, and the Museum of Broadcast
    Communications.)

       If any Digester possibly knows of a recording of Bradley's program or of
    a program he guested, could you please let me or us know.  Thanks.

    --Phil C.

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 17:36:23 -0400
    From: "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  [removed] played Reggie

    Hi All!
    In response to Ken's query as to who played Reggie in Jim Harmon's
    recreation of the ILAM "The Fear That Creeps Like A Cat" that would be Frank
    Breesee (not sure of the spelling here) who has worked in Radio for a number
    of years in a variety of capacities.  IMHO he is no great shakes as an
    actor; however, since it appears that his lines were done independently from
    the other two (Treyamaine and Clay) this may, in fact, be the problem.  Too
    bad Tony Randall didn't reprise the role, yet, we have in the past discussed
    his feelings about radio work.

    Best [removed]

    Scott

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 17:36:31 -0400
    From: bloodbleeds@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Bickersons Scripts books are going out!

    Yes, all you patient people - thanks for bearing with me. The books are IN
    and are going
    OUT to all ye who've ordered. It's a great looking book - and I think you'll
    all be pleased.

    Ben Ohmart

    The Bickersons Scripts book
    [removed]

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 17:40:33 -0400
    From: Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed];
    To: Old Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Jack Benny Show

    One of the tapes in Radio Spirits "Comedy, from the Golden Age of Radio"
    album  has three 30-minute episodes of the Jack Benny Show.  A brochure
    by Anthony Tollin describes the stars, episodes and show histories.  The
    third Jack Benny episode  is from 02/20/55, featuring The Beverly Hills
    Beavers putting on a children's version of The Jack Benny Show.

    In a past Old Time Radio Digest, someone said Harry Shearer was a
    Beverly Hills Beaver.  He may be the sole survivor of The Jack Benny
    Show.

    Jim Kitchen

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: Beverly Washburn, a guest at the upcoming FOTR Convention in
    Newark, NJ ( [removed] ) may have a few things to
    say about that, having also appeared on a number of Benny programs.  --cfs3]

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 17:38:56 -0400
    From: "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "Home Front" radio series

       A Digester or two recently mentioned "The Home Front (1938-1945)"
    eight-part radio series (on the air in about 1980 or so, I think; by E.
    Brown, [removed], and Wm. B. Williams; once available as a cassette album from
    The Mind's Eye.)  Some time ago I listened to the album.  To me, the title
    of the series was misleading because most of the material dealt not with the
    American home front but with *overseas* events (Blitz, Stalingrad, Normandy
    invasion, etc.).  A more accurate title would have been, for example, "World
    War Two: A Narration and Actual Sounds".

       One of the many partial music-recordings heard was the popular song
    "You'll Never Know" (from 1943).  Fine.  However, the version played was
    sung by Rosemary Clooney and was recorded, I believe, some seven years after
    the war ended.  Most or all of the other song recordings used were actually
    recorded 1938-1945.

       Relatively minor items, I know, but still .....

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 19:27:42 -0400
    From: sfx-meow@[removed] (Ray Erlenborn)
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Attitude of answers to OTR

    [removed] on!

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 19:35:21 -0400
    From: Dancingdays72777@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Looking for book
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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    Does anyone know where I can find a copy of "

    "A Thirty-Year History of Programs Carried on National Radio Networks in the
    United States,1926-1956" by Harrison B. Summers? I've heard rave reviews
    about it, and it's been out of print a long time.

    Thanks,

    Matt

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 20:00:44 -0400
    From: JJLjackson@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Actors

    Such a fuss about genre-preferences!
    I thought I'd chime in with the comment that it proves how great their acting
    skills are. And that's really what the audio/vidual entertainment is about.
    We're looking at people who are portraying other humans (well, sometimes
    aliens).
     The best plays give us a way to handle situations by example, and yet we
    need the occasional fluff as well.
    But we all need to remember that these heroes of ours were just human, and
    not to confuse the real person with the character they were portraying. When
    an actor is zoned in on a character, his personal self is on a back shelf,
    for the length of the performance. That character is the one we continue to
    listen to all these years later. The character takes on a life of itself, and
    sometimes even overtakes the actor. We need to cherish the acting. The
    personal lives of the actors may influence how each actor gets into his or
    her emotions, which can make what they do, and how they do it, so
    fascinating. But we're talking two different things here--characters vs
    actors.

    Joy Jackson
    Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 20:07:24 -0400
    From: "Jamie Kelly" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Australian OTR Question OMF

    In issue 321 Steve pointed out that at least one episode of OMF survives
    also someone els emailed me privately with similar information.

    This amazes me so often really rare Ausie shows that don't exist in
    Australia turn up overseas. I know we exported thousands and thousands of
    shows as 90 percent of our drama productions were produced for export as
    well as local air play. Its great that this material is surfacing overseas
    that doesn't seem to have survived as 70% of our transcriptions were dumpt
    as I've commented upon in previous issues of this digest.
     .Jamie Kelly

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 20:31:29 -0400
    From: "Ed Ellers" <ed_ellers@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  CBC Radio

    Tas Richardson <tasrichardson@[removed]; wrote:

>     I have been listening to a 13 part series on the life of Artie Shaw.  It is
>     being aired on the CBC-FM network, on the 'After Hours' program, from 11:05
>     till midnight, each weeknight, and is about half over."

    I think you mean CBC Radio Two, which used to be called CBC Stereo.  They
    have a live Internet stream -- go to [removed] and take your
    choice of RealAudio, QuickTime or Windows Media.  Better hurry -- tonight's
    the next-to-last night (the final part is on next Wednesday, the 21st).

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

    Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 23:30:55 -0400
    From: JimInks@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The S on Jughead's shirt

    I'm wayyyy behind in reading my e-mails, especially since the traffic has
    picked up on several, like this list.  And it'll be a few days before I even
    read this one.  But I asked my editor at Archie Comics aboiut the "S" on
    Jughead's shirt, since the question was asked here.

    My editor said that the secret died with creator Bob Montana.  It may have
    stood for a sports team that Montana was a fan of, but nobody really knows.
    Sorry that I couldn't find out because I've always wondered, too.

    -Jim Amash

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #322
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