
 SEE INFO SECTION AT END OF THIS DIGEST FOR UNSUBSCRIBE AND OTHER INFORMATION. 
	  	         === Last Update 1/17/95  ====





	    [removed]   Volume 96 : Issue 220


Articles in this issue of [removed]:

	 Fred Foy as the Lone Ranger
	 Lone Ranger "shorties"
	 Commercials and War o' the worlds.
	 Re: Hindenberg (OTR ET Discs)
	 Boston Blackie
	 Gunsmoke date
	 When Radio Was
	 Waddaya Mean, "Live"?
	 Those missing "Falcon" commercials
	 Re: Mel Allen
	  Dead Media Working Note [removed]
	 Re:SPERDVAC
	 oNE OF THE SHADOWS
	 transcriptions, sound quality and what not
	 Re:Incorrect signature line
	 SPERDVAC
	 re: Those darn Lone Ranger 78s - one last time (I hope)

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 07:24:33 -0500 (CDT)
From: Dan Hughes <dhughes@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Fred Foy as the Lone Ranger
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

Pete, I talked with Fred in Cincinnati about his one appearance as the
Lone Ranger.  He told me that Brace Beemer's laryngitis, not his abscence,
was the reason Fred played the Masked Man.  It happened on Monday, March
29, 1954, and the episode was entitled "Burley Scott's Sacrifice." 
             ---Dan

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 08:37:20 -0500
From: John Henley <jhenley@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Lone Ranger "shorties"
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

We've been discussing the brief "Origin of the Lone Ranger" episode, and
similar 'shorties,' and then Rhiman Rotz wrote:
>It was, if memory serves, a set of two 78s, a different story on each
>side:  the origin of the Lone Ranger, how he found Silver, how he
>rediscovered Dan Reid, and something else I can't recall.

Based on that description, I'm now sure these are the four episodes which
make up side 1 of the 4-LP, 8-sided Lone Ranger set issued by Murray Hill
in the 1960s or 70s.  I was always curious as to the origin of these
obviously-condensed stories; sound quality pointed to the 1950s for sure,
but I didn't know if they were for home use, "filler," or what.  So thanks
for clearing that up for me.

BTW:  Anyone know what became of Murray Hill Records?  I started my OTR
collection with some of their items - price was very reasonable and sound
quality was great, better than the competing LPs of George Garabedian
(which were given full LP pricing - too much).
Did they get absorbed by RadioYesteryear/Radiola/Sandy Hook?

John Henley
jhenley@[removed]
ph  (512) 495-4112
fax (512) 495-4296

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 09:51:40 -0400
From: c holm <cbholm@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Commercials and War o' the worlds.
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Alan Bartenhagen wrote:

Can anyone recommend where I can get a clean, complete copy of the original
CBS broadcast [of the War of the Wrolds]? How about suggestions for books,
magazine articles or other documentaries?

Well, almost all the big catalogs have this on CD.  ([removed],
RadioSpirits, etc.)  I think its been digitally [removed] I don't know.
Some of the other people here would know better.  There was also a book,
written, I think, by the writer of the WOTW broadcast.  It was called "The
Panic Broadcast" or something.  The only place I've seen the book is here at
the VaTech library.


On another note, there was talk about AIC cutting commericials out of shows.
chris

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 14:37:37 GMT
From: Cameron Hughes <1yardbird@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Hindenberg (OTR ET Discs)
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

kg@[removed] (KEN GREENWALD) wrote:

>I have transferred over 5,000 radio broadcasts from ETs. Most of those
shows >are in real high fidelity sound. No, they do not have the stereo
dynamics of >later recording, nor do they have the added reverberation that
is often found >in present day recordings through "sweetening" or digital
enhancement. But >those recordings are very hi fidelity.

Is there any place where we can hear some of these?  Do you know if anyone
has ever released them on LP, or if they're currently available on cassette
or CD?  As an audio-restoration nut, I'd love to get some of these transfers.


	
     ***************** Cameron Hughes *****************
     *********** 1yardbird@[removed] ***********
     **************** Carpe diem, baby ****************
     **************************************************

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 96 11:09:33 EDT
From: claughli@[removed] (Charles Laughlin)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Boston Blackie
Message-Id: <[removed]@superior>

I have just recently acquired a bunch of Boston Blackie episodes.  The
titles are all of that kind that we all know and love, a descriptive
title that is not an official one and that is incomparable with
somebody else's title for the same episode.  There are a few episode
numbers, however, which leads me to think there might be an official
title log somewhere.  Does anyone know of a good log of BB shows?

Incidentally, the one episode that Fred Foy played the Ranger on is on
Fred's CD.  I can't remember the title though.

Charlie
-- 
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Charles Laughlin                              Box 208
Department of Sociology & Anthropology        Wakefield, Quebec
Carleton University                           CANADA J0X 3G0
Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA K1S 5B6               Ph: 819/459-1121
E-mail: claughli@[removed]              Fax: 819/459-3537
    Homepage: [removed]~[removed]

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 09:20:35 -0700
From: dabell@[removed] (Alan Bell)
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Gunsmoke date
Message-Id: <v01520d02adee206dfa70@[[removed]]>

I don't know why this should make any difference to me but it does. It's
part of the collecting disease, I guess. Anyway, I just received a bunch of
Gunsmoke shows and realized that one I'd had before must have the wrong
date on it. There's an episode where Matt and Chester go to the Hantree
ranch and Matt has to amputate the man's infected leg in an unsuccessful
attempt to save his life. Well, the date I have on that show is December
18, 1952. (I got it from Don Maris about 20 years ago and that's the date
he put on it.) But that can't be right, because two of the shows I recently
got from RHAC were dated 12-13 and 12-20, 1952. So, does anyone have that
particular episode, or have a log and can tell me when it really aired?

And then, do you know about any counseling I might seek to help me get over
this kind of obsession? ;^)

_____________________________________________________________________
ALAN BELL  3768 Sonoma Avenue  Santa Rosa, CA 95405  dabell@[removed]
=============================707-546-6988============================

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 09:15:34 -0700
From: Rick_Botti@[removed] (Rick Botti)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: When Radio Was
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

     Does anyone know the phone number and mailing address for the "When 
     Radio Was" Program with Stan Freberg. I had seen it listed somewhere 
     on the internet awhile back, But I'm no longer able to find it.
     
     
     
     Thanks
     
     
     Rick_botti@[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 12:57:58 -0400
From: Bigkids@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Waddaya Mean, "Live"?
Message-ID: <960620125754_139168615@[removed]>

The discussion of "live" broadcasts, and what that means, is intriguing. On
the face of it, the answer should be obvious. What goes out of the air from
the actual site of the occurence, in "real time," is live. Anything either
recreated in the studio (as baseball-games-by-telegraph were at one time) or
played back from a recording of any sort, is not live.

But other meanings do creep in, don't they?

Sometimes I'll look at C-SPAN and see a message in one corner of the screen,
"live," and in another corner of the screen, "recorded earlier, no phone
calls please." I always find that amusing.

In my own radio work we do a lot of interviews. Most of them are either
"live" or "taped." The former are indeed done in real time and go out over
the airwaves even as we ask the questions and our guests answer them. For the
latter, we usually tape about 35 minutes, and my producer, bless his heart,
edits that down to 28 minutes for a "half hour" show.

But occasionally, when we know there won't be time to do that editing, we'll
do a "live on tape show," meaning, we'll work by stop-watch and we'll assume
that no editing will take place. Fluffs, coughs, cable-car bells -- whatever
happens, goes on the tape and gets broadcast.

I don't know that "live-on-tape" is the best possible term for this
technique, but it's the one we use.

I guess Herb Morrison's coverage of the Hindenburg disaster might have been
regarded as "live on disk."

Dick Lupoff

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 13:03:38 -0400
From: Ted McKay <tmckay@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Those missing "Falcon" commercials
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Transcribed syndicated shows like The Falcon, The Cisco Kid, Boston
Blackie and many others were not produced with commercials.  Frederic W.
Ziv here in Cincinnati was one such producer.  A typical one half hour
episode would be on two 16 inch discs and consisted of positions for
three :60 commercials plus open and close billboards of about 10 or 15
seconds each.  If you have any of the shows WITH commercials they are
airchecks. One of the reasons so many of these series are complete is
that they WERE transcriptions, which also accounts for their superior audio
quality. 

Ted McKay
Cincinnati, OH

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 10:20:25 -0500
From: "Andrew C. Green" <acg@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Mel Allen
Message-Id: <[removed]@dlogics>

SartyK@[removed] (unsigned) writes:
>I learned of the death of former Yankee announcer, Mel Allen, this week. I
>believe that he hosted a quiz show, One for the Money, I think it was called,
>in 1947 or 48.  Can someone verify this?   

Me, I can't, but thought the following was worth mentioning anyway. 
Bear with me if I get a couple of details wrong because I didn't think 
I'd need to recall it all later:

Last Saturday, which I guess was a day or so after Mel died, Carl Amari 
on WMAQ 670-AM in Chicago (8-10 pm CST weekends; Midnight-1:00 am weekdays
with Fred Foy) played the pilot episode of "Duffy's Tavern", produced as
an episode of "Forecast" (?), a show specializing in new program tryouts 
to judge public reaction, although Carl mentioned later that in fact it 
never aired. The announcer was Mel Allen.

Unrelated note from the same OTR Digest issue:

>those
>discs were played with a special cartridge that held needles made from
>cactus.

You mean "needles made _by_ cactus"...

*rimshot*   :-)

Andrew C. Green            (312) 266-4431
Datalogics, Inc.
441 W. Huron               Internet: acg@[removed]
Chicago, IL  60610-3498    FAX: (312) 266-4473

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

Date: Wed, 19 Jun 1996 14:37:03 -0500
From: Bruce Sterling <bruces@[removed]>
To: dead-media@[removed]
Subject:  Dead Media Working Note [removed]
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

FYI---this may be of interest to some OTR [removed] Wright
                                                   meds002@[removed]
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Dead medium:  The Aluminum Transcription Disk

>From paul@[removed] (Paul Tough), disay@[removed] (David
Isay)

Hey there, Bruce. I received this press release (with a
cassette tape) in the mail yesterday, and thought
immediately of the list. The dead medium is the 16"
aluminum Transcription Disk, but as you'll see, the story
is a much about a dead cultural medium as a dead
technological one.

Date: Tue, 18 Jun 1996 07:48:44 -0700
From: disay@[removed]
To: paul@[removed]
Subject: Re: hey

ON THE AIR: YIDDISH RADIO 1925-1955

A decade ago, ethnomusicologist Henry Sapoznik (credited
with sparking the Klezmer music revival in the United
states)  tripped over a pile of 16" aluminum disks in a
musty storage room in New York City. On the worn-away
labels he could make out some writing:   [removed] [removed]
"Yiddish Melodies in Swing"..  "Stuhmer's Pumpernickel
Program"...   "Bei Tate Memes Tish" ("Round the Family
Table")..."Life is Funny with Harry Hirschfield, Sponsored
by Edelstein's Tuxedo Brand Cheese"...  In all, more than
100 discs.  He paid $30 for the collection.  The seller
was thrilled.

      Sapoznik tracked down an old Transcription Disc
turntable and sat down to listen to his find.  He put on
the first disc.  A clear, strong voice announced: "From
atop the Loews State Theater Building, the B. Manischewitz
Company,  worlds largest matzo bakers, happily present
Yiddish Melodies in [removed]"
      Fanfare.  Drum rolls.  Clarinets begin to swing.
Two announcerscontinued:

        "They do it to Eli Melekh!"
        "They do it to Reb Dovidl!"
        "They even do it to Yidl Mitn Fidl!"
        "Who does what to which?"
        "Yiddish Swing takes old Yiddish folk songs and
finds the groove for them in merry modern [removed] The
B. Manischewitz Company proudly presents Sam Medoff with
the Yiddish Swing [removed] Hit it, [removed]" And the
band launched into a raucous, swinging rendition of
Dayenu.

      "It was simply unbelievable.  Unlike anything I'd
ever heard," remembers Sapoznik.  "I felt like I was being
transported back in time to this real living moment in
history == it was unreal.  I was transfixed."

      He was also hooked.  Sapoznik has spent the past
eight years searching for transcription discs of Yiddish
radio shows [a transcription disc is the single 'air
check' of a program used for archival purposes before the
era of tape].  He's combed attics, flea markets == even
dumpsters == in an attempt to rescue and preserve these
remnants of Yiddish radio.  "You have to remember, these
are one-of-a-kind recordings," explains Sapoznik. "So much
was so close to being lost forever.  What choice did I
have?"

     Over the years,  Sapoznik has amassed the largest
(and only) collection of Yiddish radio in the world ==
more than 500 hours of material.  Rich, wonderful and
irreplaceable material from this critical and tumultuous
era in American Jewish history.

     In its heyday in the 1930s, Yiddish radio flourished
across America.  Thirty stations in New York alone aired
Jewish programming: advice shows, variety shows, man-on-
the-street-interviews, news programs, music and game shows
in both Yiddish and English.   The programs in this
collection afford us a snap-shot of American Jewish life
in the 1930s and 40s == the collision of Yiddish and
American cultures, the dawning reality of the genocide
occurring across the ocean, the day-to-day lives of
immigrants struggling to make it in a new land.

     The radio rescued in the Sapoznik collection exists
by pure chance == aluminum disks that survived WWII scrap
metal drives and the grinding gauntlet of time.   What's
been rescued is random.  There are more than five hours of
DER YIDISHER FILOSOF ("THE JEWISH PHILOSOPHER") from the
tiny Brooklyn station WFAB, and only 2 minutes of WEVD's
THE FORWARD HOUR, the most important and popular Yiddish
radio program ever.  But what serendipity has preserved is
magical == one-of-a-kind documentary evidence of the
explosive and fertile collision of Yiddish and American
culture in the 1930s == the sparks of which, in books
movies and music, continue to rain down upon us to this
day.

      Listen to ON THE AIR and eavesdrop on this singular
moment in American Jewish history.

     Funding is requested for the production of ON THE AIR
==  2 half-hour specials for broadcast on National Public
Radio in 1997 [this undertaking will include a major oral
history project involving veterans of Yiddish radio]
produced by Peabody Award-winner David Isay and Henry
Sapoznik.  Funding is also requested for the preservation,
storage and cataloging of the Sapoznik collection.

David Isay
disay@[removed]
Sound Portraits Productions, Inc.
230 East 12th St., Suite 9-H
New York, NY 10003
(212) 353-2548

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 15:03:35 -0400
From: RLINSURF@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re:SPERDVAC
Message-ID: <960620150334_418272726@[removed]>

Dear Jack--

I'm glad to hear you're a member! I only wish, like many other members far
off, that you could attend some of the meetings, but I know that a large
portion of our membership does fly in for the Convention. It really is
fabulous, and as I said, the accommodations are spectacular! Great
recreations, lots of Hollywood stars, a wonderful way to spend four days for
any fan of OTR. I know it's a long way, but after all, every OTR Convention
I've ever heard of has been held someplace. I know I've missed several from
other organizations because they were held on the East [removed], someday,
I guess. But if you haven't done so before, I think attending one of the
Conventions will not only be an experience to cherish, but I think you'll see
how many members actually do attend from all parts of the country.

Maybe next Convention, we'll see you there.

Yours,
Jeffrey Ellis

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 12:16:38 -0700
From: rrking@[removed] (richard king )
To: OTR@[removed]
Subject: oNE OF THE SHADOWS
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

John Archer has suffered a mild stroke about two weeks ago and will
not be able to attend the REPS Convention.

John and his wife Ann were the guests of RHAC last month and you 
would be hard pressed to find a nicer pair of people.

We hope that all of you wish the best for John.

Dick King 
President RHAC

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 16:22:43 -0400
From: Platecap@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: transcriptions, sound quality and what not
Message-ID: <960620162242_418325491@[removed]>

I enjoyed Ken Greenwald's discussion on fidelity of electrical
transcriptions.  I would have to say what constitutes high fidelity by todays
standards is an open issue, but considering the technology available during
radio's hey-day, yes, it was hi-fi for *that time,* and network engineers
certainly knew what they were doing with the tools that had to work with.

Signal to noise ratio (amount of background noise vs. desired audio) of
course, is also an important part of what constitutes High Fidelity, and
transcriptions / records will never hold a handle to what the public is used
to [removed] or even what is inherent in a $100 cassette deck with Dolby C,
much less Digital Audio Tape or Compact Disks.

Most home stereo equipment is easily capable of 20-20,000 Hz
recording/reproduction.
A frequency response of 50-15,000 Hz is pretty dismal, and broadcast
standards of transmitting equipment produced for the past 20 years will
exceed that range.  This range is actually comparable to FM standards when FM
was first introduced, but even AM transmitters of today are easily capable of
full 20-20,000 bandwidth (although the FCC limits the upper range to 9,000 on
the AM band to reduce interference to nearby stations).

I mention all of this to put some perspective on the numbers Ken was
referring to.

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 20:15:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: elchurch@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re:Incorrect signature line
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Both my wife and I use the same email program. Unfortunately the last two
messages I sent to the Digest re the Falcon and OTR related videos contained
my wifes tag line. Sorry for the confusion. Hopefullly this message will go
out with the correct signature.

 Edgar L. Church Jr.  OTR lives on!

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

Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 22:30:10 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: SPERDVAC
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

John Hale wrote:
>Just another factpoint on this topic.  I am a member of SPERDVAC and =
>enjoy it greatly.  It is the only club I belong to and find the lending =
>library to be a great resource.  However, about 6 months ago there was a =
>desperate call for librarians and I responded that I would volunteer.  My =
>"references" within the OTR hobby were checked and the matter was voted =
>on & PASSED by the Board of Directors.  But, after the vote, one of the =
>directors agreed to host the library and thus my services were not =
>needed.  The issue?  I happen to live in Texas and the Powers That Be =
>didn't feel comfortable letting the tapes reside outside the LA area. No =
>one bothered to call me and let me know what had happened.
>
>For a club that has a national presence, there is a California-centric =
>element to SPERDVAC.  I don't think anyone can deny that. 
>

John, while I too think the greatest of SPERDVAC, I agree completely. At one
time I offered services, but was never taken up on it. I have heard that
same complaint. Now I know there are some who serve the club who do not
reside in CA, but those persons originally DID reside there. It is a very
west coast based club and while I can understand the spreading of tapes
around the country creating a problem, I don't believe their charter
mentions being so West Coast. This has been somewhat disappointing. 

On the other hand, NARA has become nearly non-responsive. I used to belong
and offered to this group too, but while I got some initial nibbles of
interest that just sort of died.  It is very hard to get into this club in
the sense of the slowness of response. I recall someone complaining that
they sent a check and was never heard from.  So who knows?  These are
volunteer organizations, but if the volunteer structure is faltering, why
don't they want help?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Widner                      INTERNET: jwidner@[removed]
Dayton, OH                      WWW: [removed]
COMPUSERVE: 74566,3041          
AOL: JimWidner                            

                                                 

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

Date: Fri, 21 Jun 1996 05:19:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: MAX SCHMID <mschmid@[removed]>
To: airwavesOTR <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: re: Those darn Lone Ranger 78s - one last time (I hope)
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>

	Of course they were 78s.  Remember a few issues back, the run-down
of the album re-issue from the sixties with the stupid cover?  Each story 
was listed as parts 1 & 2, in other words, both sides of a 78 record, about
3 1/2 minutes a side, seven minutes per story.  They were re-issued more than
once.  I even found a tape copy of them on a 10" reel for broadcast lying 
around the radio station.
	Thank you and good night already!

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

    


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---- 
End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #220

