Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #14
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 1/11/2003 9:03 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 14
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      OTR Collection : To Catalogue or to   [ Shakehip@[removed] ]
      war of the worlds                     [ "Ed Carr" <edcarr@[removed]; ]
      How many affiliates?                  [ Larry Jordan <midtod@[removed]; ]
      More on Effects                       [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Greed versus the Grand Ole Opry       [ Larry Jordan <midtod@[removed]; ]
      Re: BOB MAXWELL                       [ SanctumOTR@[removed] ]
      Re: Sound effects (man?)              [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Vampire tales                         [ "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@earthli ]
      Vampire tales                         [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Opry changes                          [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
      Was crosby the greatest entertainer   [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
      Sound Effects                         [ William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed]; ]
      Glenn Miller on PBS                   [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
      love the list keep it up              [ sweetnanajean@[removed] ]
      Is TV a naughty word?                 [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]

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    Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 22:36:00 -0500
    From: Shakehip@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  OTR Collection : To Catalogue or to Store
     Away ?
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    Hi Folks,

    About 20 years ago (1982 to be precise) when I was only 11, there was an OTR
    Radio Show here in Philly on WCAU-AM called Radio Classics.  I had a nice
    tape deck and used to record them off the radio.

    I'm now moving to Japan from Philadelphia, and I'm trying to think whether
    its worth the time to catalogue [removed] I only have a limited amount of time.
     The key issue is, would most of this stuff still be in general circulation
    (hence not worth the endeavor), or is it possible that some have fallen back
    into the vaults - - and that should be shared with OTR enthusiasts ?

    (If there are any enthusiasts near the Philly area who would like to help me
    sort things out,  please feel free free to contact me privately.)

    Ed,
    (*lived in the orient 4 years, but never learned strange art to cloud peoples
    minds so they can not see him.)

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    Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 22:36:12 -0500
    From: "Ed Carr" <edcarr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  war of the worlds

    hi
    sometime back there was talk on the recording of war of the worlds
    and about copies made
    well, i just listened to 4 different cds and here is my take on it
    1st-a direct copy from the orig discs, much hash in the opening and loud
    this copy was sworn to me to be from the orig discs, i have no reason not
    to believe them
    2nd-from a 20/25 year old lp, same hash as 1st
    3rd-a cd from radio spirits, same as above
    this  lends me to the conclusion that all came from the same recording
    discs.
    4th-hardly any hash in open, really, overall quality through out not bad
    at all,you can tell this was cleaned up, some slight noise is still heard, but
    nowhere near like the 1st-3, total time just on this was 4/5 hours
    this copy is better than the 1st-3
    next to listen to will be the day the earth stood still
    ed

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

    Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 23:00:47 -0500
    From: Larry Jordan <midtod@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  How many affiliates?

    Can anyone out there tell me how many affiliates ABC radio had around
    1957? I'm doing research and urgently need to know! Thanks.

    Larry Jordan

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    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 09:21:56 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  More on Effects

    When I was in what's now called Middle school ("Junior High" way back
    then), there was a textbook used as part of an English course that had a
    writeup of the way many sound effects were made.  They had the usual
    explanations -- pouring dry rice of parchment to simulate rain, miniature
    door for opening/closing sounds, etc -- but they had one thing more:
    photographs of some of the gadgets used to make the noises.  One gadget
    they had was a wooden frame with a matrix of wooden pegs suspended (and
    linked) by rubber bands: these were used to simulate the sound of a troop
    of soldiers marching.    They claimed that the sounds of ship's ropes
    flexing could be simulated by gently drawing a violin bow across an empty
    strawberry box.  A good "behind the scenes" look at sound effects.

    The interesting thing is that it was a new textbook.  I read it in 1949.
    Just a little before the twilight of OTR.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 09:23:03 -0500
    From: Larry Jordan <midtod@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Greed versus the Grand Ole Opry

    Someone commented in today's OTR Digest about the high prices being
    charged for admission to the Grand Ole Opry, the fact that a number of
    veteran performers have been dismissed in an effort to modernize the
    show, and that Opry attendance had declined (surprise, surprise!) Add to
    this the fact that in the last several days, WSM (the flagship station
    of the Opry, owned by Gaylord) has announced the dismissal of longtime
    WSM air personalities. There has been a wholesale housecleaning at the
    station, and the axe has even fallen on people like operations manager
    Kyle Cantrell, who had respect for the old-time Opry traditions and
    attempted to keep the station focused on its great legacy. A year ago,
    when word leaked that Gaylord was moving in the direction of changing
    WSM-AM to a sports/talk format and abandoning country music, the hue and
    cry was heard nationwide. Tens of thousands of listeners, who love the
    Opry and listen to the 50,000-watt station at night, signed online
    petitions in protest. At a subsequent press conference that was even
    covered live by rival stations in Nashville, Gaylord  scrambled to
    mollify critics in the face of this PR disaster, and pledged a renewed
    commitment to country fans. Now the pendulum appears to be swinging back
    in the other direction. It all comes down to the proverbial case of
    greed. Can they make enough money being ranked 3rd or 4th in their
    market -- and still serving millions of (older) listeners over a
    multi-state area? Or is it better to discard all those "undesirable"
    listeners and just add another sports/talk station to the Nashville
    scene and concentrate on becoming Number One in the metro among the
    youthful demographic thought most desirable by *some* advertisers (and
    narrow-minded management types)? When was the last time you heard of a
    station actually being concerned about "public service"? The Grand Ole
    Opry -- which is the longest running radio show in America to my
    knowledge -- is obviously imperiled. There are many who think that
    Gaylord is the worst thing that has ever happened to country music in
    Nashville, and given their track record of destroying TNN, Opryland
    theme park, the Opry and now WSM -- that strikes me as a fair
    assessment. -- Larry Jordan

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

    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 09:23:17 -0500
    From: SanctumOTR@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: BOB MAXWELL

    Bob also acted in the final broadcast of YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR.  He was
    a really nice guy who acted in a couple of my SPERDVAC recreations, including
    the LONE RANGER/WXYZ reunion around three years ago. --Anthony Tollin

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

    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 09:23:39 -0500
    From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Sound effects (man?)

    Hal Stone gives us lots of valuable info about how sound effects were
    created in OTR. I noticed that he referred to the "sound effects man" many
    times. Does he know of any "sound effects women"; and if so, were any as
    talented as their male counterparts?

    Herb Harrison

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

    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 09:23:46 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

>     >From Those Were The Days --

    1947 - Amazing Mr. Malone (aka Murder and Mr. Malone) starring Frank
    Lovejoy, debuted on ABC.

      Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 09:24:14 -0500
    From: "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Vampire tales
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    One vampire tale that comes to mind and that still raises the hair on the back
    of my neck is Quiet Please's "My Son, John."  A bit of a Dracula story with a
    twist.  As to "Sunrise To Sunset" this is one of my favorite CBSRMT tales and
    I still have an off the air recording I made when this originally aired almost
    30 years ago!  I too found the lack of a place and a time a bit disconcerting
    so I just assign a place and time that suits me whenever I listen to the
    story.

    Scott

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    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 09:59:02 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Vampire tales

    Mike Kerezman described a few Vampire stories.  I believe there were lots of
    vampire stories told on the radio.  The subject of vampirism was not taboo
    since the Lugosi film exposed people to the genre.

    I know at least one vampire story was done on LIGHTS OUT in the late
    thirties and a recording of that episode (to my knowledge) recently surfaced
    a few years ago.  INNER SANCTUM did quite a number of them (at least people
    suspecting someone was a vampire) and in one instance, the solution came
    down to a mad doctor with a needle and a bicycle pump "playing" the role of
    a vampire.

    I LOVE A MYSTERY did two such serials, "My beloved is a vampire" and "Temple
    of the vampires."  For anyone who has not head the surviving recordings of
    "Temple of the Vampires," it comes highly recommended.  I have had the
    distinction of reading the entire serial from the original scripts and I can
    say that "Temple of the Vampires" is probably the most terrifying and truly
    scary pieces of radio written in serial form.  Highly recommended.

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

    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 10:13:17 -0500
    From: otrbuff@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Opry changes

    I appreciate the comments of the unidentified poster Saturday concerning
    the prices of Opry admission and how the rules have changed to furnish
    younger talent at the expense of what made the Opry the mother church of
    country music.  I have observed those changes myself and been
    disheartened with every one.  There have been many more alterations for
    the worse, IMHO, than our poster noted.

    When Viacom swept TNN under its umbrella a couple of years back we were
    promised that the half-hour live portion of the show on TV plus a
    preliminary backstage preview half-hour they were getting rid of to
    expand to an hour would be so much better.  Audiences have been told that
    for decades and hardly believe it any more.  My own skepticism was well
    founded--instead of three one-minute commercials per half hour, we are
    now feted with several minutes of same during numerous commercial breaks
    in the hour (just like talk radio).  Instead of training a camera on a
    live radio stage show, everything is tailored to fit the TV audience,
    complete with boring interviews backstage that blot out much of what the
    radio audience is hearing and the paid audience is seeing.  The "talent"
    is most often from that younger set, too--as the poster said, most of the
    stars of yesterday are withheld, particularly from the TV hour.  Viacom
    has done us no favors and I find it so unbearably dull that I long ago
    stopped watching it.

    The Opry's current owners, in their wisdom, shut down their cash
    cow--Opryland USA--maybe 5 years ago after raking in billions in profits
    since it opened in 1972 and drew one of the largest crowds of
    entertainment parks in America every year.  They replaced it with a
    megamall that has cost them plenty.  It was, without doubt, one of the
    poorest business decisions in the modern entertainment era according to
    reliable Nashville sources.  I'm told even the owners are still
    scratching their heads over that one, although strictly in private.
    Somebody was duped, we can be sure.

    An old song they used to sing at the Opry asked:  "Who's Gonna Fill Their
    Shoes?"  It referred to the legendary greats of country music who made
    the business what it was.  The people running the show today don't seem
    to get it.  One of these days it may come as no surprise that they've
    killed the goose that laid the golden egg.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 12:32:45 -0500
    From: Jer51473@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Was crosby the greatest entertainer ever?
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    I recently read another article about the comments of several so called
    experts  on the subject and most of them concede that he may very well have
    been the greatest. But they also concede that opinions vary pretty widely on
    the matter and everyone has the right to one. The arguements for crosby, as i
    see it, would have to be his dominance or near dominance of several mediums
    for long periods of time. He was among the very top radio stars for i would
    guess at least 20 years, he was the top box office attraction in the movies
    for an unprecedented number of years which i believe included something like
    6 years in a row and he also won 2 oscars, for years and years he was the top
    recording star in history and argueably still is, and he had his way with
    television in that he  could write his own ticket, but preferred to appear on
    a very limited basis. Some said he had the best speaking voice ever heard on
    the airways and he was unsurpassed when doing commercials  or stand up light
    comedy. And finally, he was known worldwide by his first name, Bing, and was
    a household name everywhere. He was not necessarily my personal favorite,
    although he was among them. There are many, many entertainers that good
    arguements could be made promoting them as the best ever, but the most
    frequently mentioned names, other than bing, seem to be elvis, sinatra, hope,
    and jolson of which good arguements can be made for all. Discussions of the
    greatest entertainer usually does not indicate who was or is the most
    talented, but is directed objectively toward the publics acceptance and/ or
    demand and their public impact. It would be interesting to hear from digest
    members opinions as to who was the greatest, again not your favorite or the
    most talented, but the overall impact of that star. For instance, i was not a
    big elvis fan, but i do recognize his impact. Imo, he was a poor actor, but
    the fact is he was huge at the box office with the b grade movies he made.
    His recording career speaks for itself as do his public appearances. So,
    being objective, one has to consider elvis. There are many names out there,
    of course, that i have not mentioned and it would be great to hear their
    names as someones choice as #1 in their opinion. O yeah, i guess my choice
    would have to be Bing.

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    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 13:12:49 -0500
    From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Sound Effects

    The subject of sound effects has come up, so here are a couple of
    incidents. I first joined the engineering staff of old WHN in the fall of
    1936. We had a morning "excercise" program  with a man named Harry Glick
    who would simulate running around the track in Central Park verbally,
    while staff pianist Harry Silver played a related accompanymentt. The
    staff announcer was Henry Gladstone (he later became a Mutual news
    broadcaster). One morning while on the air Henry slipped into a sound
    effects closet out of my eyesight and brought out the gadget to simulate
    a lion roar. It was a metal pail with a "drum head" stretched across it
    and a broom stick attatched to it and a resin cord connecting  the end of
    the stick and the drum head. Henry cued for his mike, commented that they
    were passing the lions cage in the Central Park zoo, and produced a lion
    roar that was deafening. In that I couldn't see what he was doing, I
    wasn't prepared for the enormous blast. The deafening roar knocked the
    transmitter off the air. The next morning the program had a new engineer
    and announcer.

    Just before WW-II  I was a very young studio technical supervisor for
    WOV. The station had previuosly been an old time Italian language station
    and been purchased by the Arde Bulova interests and modernized into a
    showplace. For the time being the early part of the day (untill
    mid-afternoon) they continued to broadcast Italian language programs,
    soap operas, news, and so forth. One program was "The Chipaduzas", a
    husband and wife talk show. They insisted on doing their own sound
    effects and had a prop phone on their table. One day a lady friend of
    theirs was sitting at the table with them. As part of the dialogue, Mrs.
    Chipaduza received a phone call, talking into the prop telephone. At the
    end of the call she didn't know what to do with the dummy phone so handed
    it to the lady guest, who thought that it was a call intended fof her and
    began screaming "hello" into the mouthpiece. They had a tough time
    shutting her up. I don't know what the radio audience thought ot the
    performance.

    When I first was informed that I would be assigned to the Phillip Morris
    Playhouse, I was told that old timer Jackj Amerhein would be my sound
    effects man, I was concerned as I knew that he had a sharp  tongue.
    However, we "bonded" and we had a very close association. In fact when I
    was told that I would be taking the show to Europe for five weeks and was
    asked whether I wanted Jack or another engineer to accompany me, I was
    quick to reply that I wanted Jack as I couldn't get along without him. We
    both had motion picture cameras and had great plans.  Then came the sad
    news. The plan was scrapped. We had an excellent sound effects staff at
    CBS-NY. Not only were they great at their trade, but I was proud to have
    known and worked with them all.

    BILL MURTOUGH

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

    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 16:34:16 -0500
    From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Glenn Miller on PBS

    John Mayer  asked if  anyone had seen the PBS special "Glenn Miller's
    Last Flight".
    I watched it and was very happy with it.  They did indeed endorse the
    theory of  British bombs being jettisoned as the cause of Miller's plane
    going into the English Channel, but they also covered the other
    theories, as ridiculous as they are, about what might have happened.
    I thought that they did their research for the show and even used actual
    recordings of Miller's Army Air Force Band with only a couple of
    recreations used. I bought the tape of the show ( why don't they offer
    it on DVD?) but haven't watched it a second time yet.
    On the other hand there was another show on the subject by A&E (or was
    it the History Channel?) about a year ago that was just terrible. They
    had almost everything wrong.

    George Aust

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

    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 17:38:45 -0500
    From: sweetnanajean@[removed]
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  love the list keep it up
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    i am an old time radio fan from way back im only 56 years old but feel like a
    kid  when i read the artiales thank you  i worked in local radio when iwas in
    high school wish i had stayed the alabama flash

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    Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 18:56:05 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Is TV a naughty word?

    There has been some debate in past postings as to whether television is a
    naughty word or not. Our esteemed web master doesn't seem to think so, as do
    several others.

    Although television is more than four letters long, it definitely is a
    naughty word.

    Why do I think so? Watch television for an hour tonight and see what passes
    for entertainment today. Television replaced something that was good with
    something that is sporadically good, but is bad the vast majority of the time.

    I would be a dreamer if I said that all radio was good. "Amos 'n' Andy" is a
    for instance, but "Amos 'n' Andy" not withstanding, the worst radio is better
    than the best television.

    I assume some of the responsibility for radio's demise. Like I said once
    before, the glare of the tube blinded me and except for Jack Benny, I stopped
    listening and started watching.

    To my credit, once I saw the filth that television produced, I stopped
    watching.

    Thanks to the miracle of recordings, radio as I knew and loved it will never
    die. True, there are no new programs being turned out, but if you are
    listening to something that you last heard more than fifty years ago, it's new.

    Another advantage to recordings; what program was opposite "The Jack Benny
    Show," who knows? I always listened to Jack and his gang. Today, not only can
    I listen to "The Jack Benny Show," I can also listen to the shows that played
    opposite. Not a bad deal.

    In that context, maybe, just maybe the word television is just a tad naughty,
    for if television were not so bad I wouldn't listen to Olde Tyme Radio, I
    would be watching television.

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

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: A discussion of whether television is "good" or "evil" is not
    on-topic for this list; please respond to the poster privately. I will only
    note that, for the purposes of this list, there is NO reason to avoid the use
    of the word "television."  --cfs3]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #14
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