------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 22
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Re: Slipping jokes past censors [ "Danica L. Stein" <danicas@baymoon. ]
Molly's Illness [ "michael Simon" <[removed]@wor ]
Re: Motivation [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
Reel-to-Reel and Reels FT/FS [ "Shawn Wolowicz" <wolowicz@bellsout ]
Sarnoff Music Box Memo [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
Chester Riley's daughter [ "adfull@[removed]" <adfull@eart ]
Gildy's Laughing Coyote [ "steven kostelecky" <skostelecky@ho ]
Wayne Raney & WCKY [ "rcg" <revrcg@[removed]; ]
Re: Forbidden Words [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
Walden Hughes & OTR On-Line [ Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed]; ]
B. Rathbone "Christmas Carol" [ Roo61@[removed] (Randy Watts) ]
Marconi - 100th anniversary [ Alan Chapman <[removed]@verizon. ]
Lonesome Gal [ "Jim Widner" <widnerj@[removed]; ]
MP3 Boomboxes [ "JLF" <infom@[removed]; ]
KAY LINAKER [ james h arva <wilditralian@[removed] ]
Re: Lonesome Gal [ "Robert M. Bratcher Jr." <bratcher@ ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:46:39 -0500
From: "Danica L. Stein" <danicas@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Slipping jokes past censors
Chris Holm mentioned the Fibber McGee and Molly show where the word "belly"
seems verboten:
Anyway, it is winter and Fibber is
talking to Tinny (I'm working from memory, so forgive me If I screw up some
of the details), and they are discussing sledding. He is about to ask if
they're doing belly whoppers, stops, and instead changing to the term "buckle
bruisers."
There's another one where the Old-Timer invites Fibber and Molly to go
"belly busting" (sledding). But the second time he says it, he clears his
throat loudly and says "stomach-busting." I thought OT was cleaning it up
for Molly's benefit; it sounds scripted to me. I also recall a show where
Fibber says something about navel oranges and excuses himself for using such
a term.
Speaking of "racy" jokes, I was listening to a Fibber show yesterday (I
can't remember which one it was, but it was from the 40's) and I nearly fell
off my chair. One of the characters says something about hundreds (?) of
children all over the [removed] (?)--I can't remember exactly what this was in
reference to--and Molly says "don't look at McGee, he's been here all
afternoon." !!!
Danica L. Stein
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:46:50 -0500
From: "michael Simon" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Molly's Illness
I am doing some research on Fibber and Molly and would appreciate any help
in finding material on Molly's illness in 1937 which resulted in her absence
from the show. I have the usual books but the sources indicate she was off
to "rest." Any help appreciated.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:47:55 -0500
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Motivation
The Awesome Aussie Ian Grieve recently responded to the question
1 - Do people only produce and release things for a financial reason?
Not always David, but it does seem to be prevelent these days to try and
make money out of a relationship instead of celebrating that person's
achievements and "spreading the word". One of the reasons I enjoyed Hal's
Book is that he resisted the temptation to just write about himself. He
introduced people to us that may never have had a chance to be introduced to
us before.
There Ian goes [removed] something nice about me.
(the comments about Hal's Book were entirely unsolicited and unpaid (the
cheapskate))
Not only that, but I had to use "costly" stamps to send three books to him
in Australia, and I asked if he could cut off the stamps I used, and return
them to me, since I sometimes add to my stamp collection. It saved me from
having to buy them from a stamp dealer. :) Now I ask you. If that's not
being a cheapskate, I don't know what is. :)
Now, if I may, let me brag on just how nice a guy Ian is. Not only did he
send back those cancelled US stamps, but a whole bunch of others from new
Zealand and Australia as well. And I also received an "Australian slang
dictionary, so I can understand the Aussie Christmas song CD he also sent
me. DO YOU REALIZE HOW ASHAMED THAT MAKES ME FOR BEING SUCH A CHEAPSKATE! :)
Now, I have a confession to make. I wrote my book about my years in OTR for
two reasons. The first, because I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the nice
people who are in the OTR hobby, either at Conventions, this Digest, and
Lois's Chat room, and they seemed eager to learn all they could about those
days from an insiders perspective. In a way, It was an attempt to "give
back" to them, as a sort of appreciation, for the warmth they have
demonstrated to me.
But, if I was being totally altruistic, I would have been as generous as
Harry Bartell and posted my recollections in the digest for free. But then I
realized, I had been doing just that ever since I began subscribing and
posting to the digest. Anytime anyone asked a question of me, or it was a
topic that I could shed some light on due to first hand experience, I posted
and shared what I knew.
But then, having spent most of my post OTR life in a visually creative
field, (TV Directing), I realized that pictures could help tell the story so
much better. Put faces to names, and actually show the OTR work environment.
But it soon became apparent to me that in the process of accomplishing the
goal of writing a well illustrated book about those years, I would have to
give up other income producing activities that I was currently engaged in.
(Artwork, and the other book I started writing, about the idiots I
encountered in the world of TV Commercials). Added to that, was the expense
of hiring people part time to assist me (A computer dummy) to help with the
rather complicated learning curve for Pagemaker (text) and Photoshop
(graphics) software. Not to mention the actual printing costs.
So, bottom line. Am I interested in making a buck from the sale of my book.
You betcha. But at the expense of the neat people in the OTR Hobby. No way.
That's why I priced it as low as I could, from a practical standpoint on my
end, and to make it as affordable as possible to the OTR fans.
I wasn't motivated to write the book just to hear myself talk. I wrote it to
hopefully entertain an enlighten, and hopefully, not only recoup my costs,
but maybe make a buck or two. See [removed] idol has feet of clay. :)
I hate sounding self-serving by promoting the book, but I've been told that
people who have yet to buy a copy continually need to be reminded as to how
to order a copy. Geese, I wish I had a press agent to do this stuff. :)
[removed]
Hal(Harlan)Stone
Jughead
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:50:00 -0500
From: "Shawn Wolowicz" <wolowicz@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Reel-to-Reel and Reels FT/FS
I am offering a reel-to-reel and the associated reels to anyone interested.
The system is in great working order and the reels (20-30 of them) are
assorted music/comedy reels from the 60's and 70's. If anyone is
interested, I'll part with the whole shebang for $100 plus (exact) shipping.
Let me know if you're interested, otherwise I'm sending her off to the DAV.
Pax,
Shawn
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:50:24 -0500
From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Sarnoff Music Box Memo
Mike Biel writes about the Sarnoff Music Box memo. There is some
controversy about when he wrote it and what exactly it said (a later
version of the memo is sometimes cited as the original). Story here:
[removed]~[removed]
Also, Mike, you said, "The first radio receiving set in this country was
made in [removed] brainchild of David [removed]"
I was under the impression that although Sarnoff supposedly wrote his
memo in 1916, it was buried in a file and promptly forgotten. Are you
saying that someone actually built a receiver based on that memo? I
haven't heard that before.
---Dan
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:50:55 -0500
From: "adfull@[removed]" <adfull@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Chester Riley's daughter
Hi Everyone:
Although I'm an avid listener of THE LIFE OF RILEY, I only just yesterday
realized that the writers abruptly changed the name of Riley's daughter.
For the first few episodes, her name was "Eloise," but she suddenly became
"Babs" in the next episode. Anyone know why?
Adam Fuller
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:53:53 -0500
From: "steven kostelecky" <skostelecky@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Gildy's Laughing Coyote
Over at the Gildy Phorum we had a question pop up that has occurred before
and has never satisfactorily been answered. The 3/18/45 episode, "Laughing
Coyote Ranch," in the form I have heard, through Wayback, sounds like a
composite show from much later on. Though it credits Peary, it is pretty
clearly Waterman playing Gildy and it is not Lillian Randolph playing
Birdie. The show has no continuity with the shows preceding or after it
except Leilah is around. It stands out like a sore thumb if you are
listening to the shows in sequence.
The main reason I think the show is a composite is the editing. The
beginning sounds tacked on and there are no real musical transitions to
speak of. There are no ads and the show clocks in at around 20 minutes, so
obviously the ads have been edited out.
In my own opinion, it also sounds like there are fewer people responding to
the jokes--almost like a rehearsal. It could just be the bad sound blotting
out the rest.
Anyway, does anybody know where this show came from? Could it be one of the
later, missing shows done as a rewrite of the 1945 episode? If anyone knows
where the show came from originally it would help. If not, listen to the
show again and see what you think.
Best,
Nussbaum
PS If anyone has any knowledge of the Neiman-Marcus/Nostalgia Lane records I
unearthed, please post. Just curious.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:54:04 -0500
From: "rcg" <revrcg@[removed];
To: "Otr Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Wayne Raney & WCKY
I'll never forget these immortal words:
"Send your' order to Asthma, WCKY Cincinnati Ohio".
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:54:54 -0500
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Forbidden Words
"Roby McHone" <otr_alaska@[removed]; remarked:
Seems pretty silly to make words like 'belly' forbidden on [removed]
I recall a movie in which [removed] Fields starts to say "my leg" but
catches himself and says, "[removed] my limb."
In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something
shocking. But even today it's not true that "anything goes." I think
there are just as many words today that are forbidden as there were
in the days of OTR, they're just different words. Maybe we've
forbidden the right words this time, but I'm not so sure things are
really better now.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:56:33 -0500
From: Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Walden Hughes & OTR On-Line
"Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; wrote:
I would like to promote any OTR club, conventions, or newsletter on
Yesterday USA.
Just a quick note of thanks to Walden for allowing me to appear on his
Saturday night program recently on behalf of the Archives. Walden is a very
nice and knowledgeable fellow and I'd encourage anyone with an interest in
OTR to "tune in" on his Saturday night program via the Internet. Just go to
[removed] for quick and easy instructions.
If you're associated with an OTR club, group, or related activity, take
Walden up on his offer and schedule an appearance with him. Anyone who
appears on his show will have a very nice, easy and relaxing time doing so.
And he plays some great shows, too!
On a related subject - tuning in OTR over the Internet - I'd also suggest
three other shows you can hear on a weekly basis:
* Joe Riddle hosts the "Community Cares Radio Theater" every Saturday
evening from 8-10 PM over KRMG-AM in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Joe plays OTR shows
in their entirety, commercials and all, over this popular AM talk station.
Go to [removed] for details and to tune in.
* Max Schmid has been hosting "The Golden Age of Radio" on Sunday nights
over WBAI-FM in New York City for well over twenty years now. You can hear
his show from 7-9 PM eastern time over the Internet by visiting his website
at [removed]
* Chicago radio legend Chuck Schaden hosts his long-running program "Those
Were the Days" from Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications every
Saturday afternoon from 1-5 PM over WDCB-FM. You can hear the show over
your computer by visiting the WDCB website at [removed].
For additional information, visit Lou Genco's "Original Old Time Radio
(OTR) WWW Pages," where he has posted a list of stations currently
broadcasting OTR via the web and/or standard and short-wave broadcast
bands. This list is available at
[removed] -- but be sure to browse Lou's
site at [removed] no matter what. There's great stuff to be
had there!
Harlan
Harlan Zinck
First Generation Radio Archives
[removed]
[ADMINISTRIVIA: As a programming note, Yours Truly will be Walden's guest
this Saturday night; we'll hopefully be talking about all the great people
here on the Internet OTR Digest. --cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:56:50 -0500
From: Roo61@[removed] (Randy Watts)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: B. Rathbone "Christmas Carol"
Among some tapes I was going through recently there was a full-cast
dramatization of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," starring Basil
Rathbone as Scrooge and with narration by Harlow Wilcox. Running time
is approximately 23-24 minutes and there's no opening or closing. The
only notation attached to the tape is "source unknown; possibly
syndicated or AFRS."
However, a friend's father recalls his parents owning a 78 rpm album of
"A Christmas Carol" that he thinks, but isn't certain, starred Rathbone.
Can anyone confirm the origin of this recording?
Randy
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:57:08 -0500
From: Alan Chapman <[removed]@[removed];
To: Old-Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Marconi - 100th anniversary
Tomorrow, Jan, 18th, is the 100th anniversary of Guglielmo Marconi's
transmission of the first radio telegram. A ceremony and celebration is
planned at the site of his transmission station at Brant Rock in
Wellfleet on Cape Cod. The honored attendee is Marconi's daughter Mary
Elettra (Princess Mary Elettra Elena Anna Marconi of Italy).
This morning on NPR Morning Edition, Susan Stamberg talked with the
Princess about the work of her father, inventor Guglielmo Marconi. You
can hear the interview at:
[removed]
Alan Chapman
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:57:40 -0500
From: "Jim Widner" <widnerj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Lonesome Gal
Andrew Godfrey asked:
Was wondering how many remember a show called Lonesome Gal.
About a year ago I was contacted by the son of the "Lonesome Gal" (I'm
at work, so can't remember her name right now) and he told me he had
lots of her shows on various media and wanted to share them with
others.
When I got back in touch with him on how he might do that, I never
heard back, so not sure what happened.
Lonesome Gal got its start here where I live in Dayton, Ohio.
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:58:19 -0500
From: "JLF" <infom@[removed];
To: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: MP3 Boomboxes
Does anybody out there have experience with any of the mp3 boomboxes
discussed here as to their am radio capabilities. Problem is one can only
buy these in metro areas and thus can't test the am radio portion in remote
rural areas where you really need it. Thanks
JLF
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:59:15 -0500
From: james h arva <wilditralian@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: KAY LINAKER
17 JAN 03
Janine Preston writes about Kay Linaker being a guest at the "39
Forever" convention in LA. Regretfully, I will not be there, as that's a
fur piece from Harrisburg, PA, but I am well familiar with Kay's
delightful charm, as I have attended a number of annual festivals in
Rochester, New York held by the Buck Jones Rangers of America where she
is a regular guest because she acted in one of Buck Jones' films.
Kate -- which is what she goes by now -- has quite an acting history.
I
first became familiar with her as a collector of Charlie Chan movies,
since she was in a number of them. Those eyes bewitched me. She looks a
lot different than she did in the late 30's and those Chan movies, but
those captivating eyes are still the same.
She also had a role in "Drums Along the Mohawk," that John Ford
masterpiece. Ask her to tell you the story about the scene in that movie
where she was to be running through the woods and be hit with an arrow
... and how they padded her to take the hit ... and how it knocked her
flat on her back every time the arrow hit and she couldn't breathe for 30
seconds ... and how, in the end, the Hayes commission made them strike
the scene because of the stage blood gushing all over the place when the
arrow hit. Ask her about how John Ford controlled Claudette Colbert in
that movie.
Ask her about doing her own stunts - like falling down the stairs -
because she was new in Hollywood and no one told her that she could have
a stunt woman do it for her.
Ask her about the studio coming to her to write "The Blob" - music and
everything - and how it was presented to get ... and the compromises she
had to make due to a miniscule budget.
Get Kate talking with you ... then sit at her feet and listen for
hours.
It just might be the most fascinating conversation of your life. What a
gal! Oh, yes - and tell her the guy from the Buck Jones Convention who
mailed her the Charlie Chan video tapes says, "Hello!"
Jim Arva
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:59:55 -0500
From: "Robert M. Bratcher Jr." <bratcher@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Lonesome Gal
Was wondering how many remember a show called Lonesome Gal.
I've got a 4 disc 78rpm album set of her singing somewhere in my massive
record collection. Also there are several of her shows in MP3 format in the
OTR collector world. I didn't keep any but perhaps someone on the list
would give them to you if you asked.
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #22
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