Subject: [removed] Digest V2008 #280
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 12/7/2008 4:18 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2008 : Issue 280
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      12-6 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      What is this thing called Hi Hilarit  [ rand@[removed] ]
      This week in radio history 7-13 Dece  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      "The Silver Dagger Case"              [ "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@juno. ]
      Made-Up Titles                        [ KENPILETIC@[removed] ]
      Howard McNear [removed]                [ Peter Boe <boe5650@[removed]; ]
      12-7 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Re: The Old Time Radio Man            [ <georgewagner@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 09:53:33 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  12-6 births/deaths

    December 6th births

    12-06-1887 - Lynn Fontanne - Waterford, England - d. 7-30-1983
    actor: "Theatre Guild On the Air"; "Biography In Sound"
    12-06-1888 - Will Hay - Stockton-on-Tees, England - d. 4-18-1949
    comedian: British Radio
    12-06-1893 - Alma Platts - d. 7-13-1970
    actor: "The World's Great Novels"
    12-06-1895 - Lou Little - Boston, MA - d. 5-28-1979
    football coach: "Football Forecasts"; "Friday Night Quarterback"
    12-06-1896 - Ira Gershwin - NYC - d. 8-17-1983
    songwriter: "Lady in the Dark"; "Jolson Story"; "Barkleys of Broadway"
    12-06-1898 - Eric Sagerquist - Karlstad, Sweden - d. 9-11-1944
    orchestra leader/violinist: "First Nighter"; Romantic Melodies"
    12-06-1898 - Gunnar Myrdal - Gustafs, Sweden - d. 5-17-1987
    1974 nobel prize winner in economics: "United Nations Today"
    12-06-1898 - Jack Beall - Waxahachie, TX - d. 1-1-1963
    newscaster: "News of Tomorrow"; "American Legion Presents"
    12-06-1900 - Agnes Moorehead - Clinton, MA - d. 4-30-1974
    actor: Margo Lane "The Shadow";  Marilly "Mayor of the Town"
    12-06-1900 - Robert Effros - London, England - d. 9-12-1983
    trumpeter: "Vincent Lopez and His Orchestra", "Your Hit Parade"
    12-06-1903 - Hugh Farr - Llano, TX - d. 3-17-1980
    singer: (Sons of the Pioneers) "The Roy Rogers Show"
    12-06-1904 - Elissa Landi - Venice, Italy - d. 10-21-1948
    actor: "I'm An American"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    12-06-1904 - Eve Curie Lubouisse - Paris, France - d. 10-22-2007
    writer: (Daughter of Marie Curie) "This I Believe"
    12-06-1909 - Lyn Murray - London, England - d. 5-20-1989
    conductor: "Chesterfield Presents"; "Your Hit Parade"; "Ford Theatre"
    12-06-1913 - Karl Haas - Speyer-on-the-Rhine, Germany - d. 2-6-2005
    musician, broadcaster: "Adventures in Good Music"
    12-06-1913 - Oswald Hoffman - Nebraska - d. 9-8-2005
    preacher: "The Lutheran Hour"
    12-06-1916 - Elmore Balthis - d. 10-31-1989
    newscaster: KCOK Tulare, California
    12-06-1919 - Bob Blagg - d. 12-19-1998
    disk jockey: WDNE Elkins, West Virginia
    12-06-1920 - Dave Brubeck - Concord, CA
    jazz musician: "Dave Brubeck with the Paul Desmond Quartet"
    12-06-1920 - Howard Atwell - d. 3-20-2002
    disk jockey: WVPO Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
    12-06-1924 - Eric Merriman - Golders Green, England - d. 6-2-2003
    writer, creator: "Beyond Our Ken"
    12-06-1924 - Wally Cox - Detroit, MI - d. 2-15-1973
    comedian: "[removed] Steel Hour"; "Wally Cox Show"
    12-06-1925 - Robert William Cooke - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 8-5-1993
    saxophonist: "Stan Kenton and His Orchestra"
    12-06-1926 - Carroll Abbott - d. 7-6-1984
    sportscaster in Kerrville, Texas
    12-06-1934 - Vivienne Garrett - Iowa
    writer: "Breast Stroke"

    December 6th deaths

    01-03-1911 - Al Sack - NYC - d. 12-6-1947
    orchestra leader: "Beula Show"; "Tony Martin Show"; "Frank Morgan Show"
    01-07-1908 - Eliot Daniel - Massachusetts - d. 12-6-1997
    music: "Fabulous Dr. Tweddy"; "The King's Men"; "Rudy Vallee Show"
    01-11-1910 - Izler Soloman - Minneapolis, MN - d. 12-6-1987
    conductor: "Design for Living"; "Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra!
    01-19-1909 - Hans Hotter - Offenback am Main, Germany - d. 12-6-2003
    bass-baritone: "Metropolitan Opera"
    01-29-1885 - Leadbelly (Huddie Leadbetter) - Louisiana - d. 12-6-1949
    jazz musician: "Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin street"
    02-02-1893 - Len Doyle - Toledo, OH - d. 12-6-1959
    actor: Harrington "Mr, Distric Attorney"
    02-23-1892 - Kathleen Harrison - Blackburn, England - d. 12-6-1995
    actor: ""Meet the Huggetts"
    03-22-1899 - Douglas Stanbury - Canada - d. 12-6-1980
    baritone: "Roxy's Gang"; "Kraft Music Hall"
    04-07-1915 - Fred B. Cole - Hingham, MA - d. 12-6-2007
    voice of the big bands
    05-23-1912 - John Payne - Roanoke, VA - d. 12-6-1989
    actor: "Hollywood Star Preview"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    05-31-1908 - Don Ameche - Kenosha, WI - d. 12-6-1993
    actor, singer: John Bickerson "Bickersons"; Captain Hughes "Jack
    Armstrong"
    06-30-1910 - Sundra Love - Chicago, IL - d. 12-6-1996
    actor: Kay Fairchild "Stepmother"; Ethel Foster "Guiding Light"
    08-01-1910 - Jerry Mann - NYC - d. 12-6-1987
    singer: (The Jerry Mann Voices) "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round"
    09-12-1897 - Walter B. Gibson - Germantown, PA - d. 12-6-1985
    creater of "The Shadow"; writer for "The Avenger"
    09-24-1921 - Edward Bryce - Allenport, PA - d. 12-6-1999
    actor: Captain Strong "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet"
    10-05-1911 - Jonquil Anthony/Antony - London, England - d. 12-6-1980
    scriptwriter: "Mrs. Dale's Diary"
    10-13-1917 - Burr Tillstrom - Chicago, IL - d. 12-6-1985
    actor, puppeteer: "The Northerners"; "Kukla, Fran and Ollie"
    11-01-1942 - Michael Zaslow - Inglewood, CA - d. 12-6-1998
    actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
    11-03-1909 - James Reston - Clyde Bank, Scotland - d. 12-6-1995
    new york times columnist: "University of Chicago Round Table"; "Meet
    the Press"
    11-12-1940 - Robert Francis Boulanger - Lewiston, ME - d. 12-6-2005
    sang on the radio at the age of 7
    11-23-1915 - Ellen Drew - Kansas City, MO - d. 12-6-2003
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Suspense"
    11-24-1925 - Alum Owen - Menai Bridge, North Wales - d. 12-6-1994
    writer: "Two Sons"; "It Looks Like Rain"
    12-26-1874 - Leon Rothier - Rheims, France - d. 12-6-1951
    opera singer: "The Metropolitan Opera"

    Ron

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

    Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 09:57:56 -0500
    From: rand@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  What is this thing called Hi Hilarities?

    I've been sampling shows from the "Singles and Doubles" collections at
    [removed] and ran into a curious show that I'm, well, curious about.

    The file is dated 1933; the show is called "Hi Hillarities".

    It's a fifteen minute comedy show with a host that sounds like he's doing
    a bad imitation of Jack Benny.

    What's the story behind this?  Was the Benny imitation intentional?

    I've used tinyurl to make a shortcut to the show if you want to check it out:

    [removed]

    Randy

    _____________
    Randy A. Riddle
    Mebane, NC

    [ADMINISTRIVIA: I've replaced the [removed] address with the real one, so everyone can see where the URI leads before clicking - in this case, clicking on the URL will get the MP3 and not a descriptive page. While [removed] has its uses, I'd prefer transparency in links on the Digest - just remember to turn OFF your word wrapping when sending an email with a large link (although I try to fix broken URLs before the Digest goes out, I don't always catch 'em).  --cfs3]

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

    Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 14:30:39 -0500
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  This week in radio history 7-13 December

     From Those Were The Days --

    12/7

    1948 - NBC presented the Horace Heidt Youth Opportunity Program for the
    first time. The talent show earned Dick Contino, an accordionist, the
    $5,000 prize as the program's first national winner. Over the years
    Heidt gave some big stars their big starts: Art Carney, Frankie Carle,
    Gordon MacRae, the King Sisters, Alvino Rey, Ken Berry, Frank DeVol,
    Dick Contino, Al Hirt, Fred Lowrey, Ronnie Kemper, Larry Cotton, Donna
    and her Don Juans, Ollie O'Toole and many others.

    1952 - My Little Margie, starring Gale Storm and Charles Farrell, made
    its debut on CBS. The TV version of the popular show had begun on June
    16, 1952. My Little Margie stayed on radio for three years.

    12/9

    1940 - The Longines Watch Company signed for the first FM radio
    advertising contract -- with experimental station W2XOR in New York
    City. The ads ran for 26 weeks and promoted the Longines time signals.

    12/10

    1927 - For the first time, famed radio announcer George Hay introduced
    the WSM Barn Dance as The Grand Ole Opry.

    12/11

    1944 - The Chesterfield Supper Club debuted on NBC. Perry Como, Jo
    Stafford and many other stars of the day shared the spotlight on the
    15-minute show that aired five nights a week. The show was sponsored by
    Chesterfield cigarettes.

    Little humour here:  The first display of the Northern Lights was
    recorded in America. The sighting was made in New England on this day in
    1719. The report said that a mysterious face seemed to appear in the
    atmosphere; and, since most aurora borealis displays occur in September
    and October and again in March and April, this is very strange, indeed!

    The green, red, and frost-white light displays occur most frequently
    when there is a great deal of sunspot activity.

    Old joke.  Phil Harris and Alice Faye go to Alaska to see the Northern
    Lights.  While watching them Phil notices Alice yawning and asks, "Does
    the aurora bore ya Alice?"

    12/12

     From The [removed] --

    1901 -- Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi receives the first
    transatlantic radio transmission in St. John's Newfoundland.

     From Those Were The Days --

    1937 - The Federal Communications Commission was a bit upset with NBC.
    The FCC scolded the radio network for a skit that starred Mae West. The
    satirical routine was based on the biblical tale of Adam and Eve and,
    well, it got a bit out of hand. So, following its scolding by the FCC,
    NBC banned Miss West from its airwaves for 15 years. Even the mere
    mention of her name on NBC was a no-no.

    12/13

    1942 - The characters of Allen's Alley were presented for the first time
    on The Fred Allen Show. This particular segment of the show became very
    popular and was used by Allen until 1949.  They were at the Brooklyn
    tenement of Mrs. Nussbaum, the farmhouse of Titus Moody, the shack of
    Ajax Cassidy and the antebellum mansion of Senator Beauregard Claghorn.

    Joe

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

    Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 14:32:57 -0500
    From: "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "The Silver Dagger Case"
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

           I've been informed that there is an episode of "Mr. Keen, Tracer of
    Lost
    Persons" which is titled "The Silver Dagger Case", and I can't say that I'm
    surprised.  In the 22+ years that I've been collecting OTR programs, I've
    come across several with similar titles.  This is especially true among the
    adventure, mystery, detective, and suspense programs.

           Another collector found the "Captain Midnight" episodes in question
    under the title heading "The Silver Dagger Strikes", as well as the episode
    dates.

           I was listening to the "Lux Radio Theatre" version of "It's A Wonderful
    Life"
    recently, and discovered that although it went pretty much along the same
    lines
    as the movie, there were a couple of discrepancies.  When George went up to
    see his daughter Zusu in her room, she had received a little bell at school
    (in
    the radio version), but in the movie version it was a rose.  When petals fell
    off
    of the rose, he placed them in his pocket (in the movie version).  Was this
    change made to accommodate the audio medium of radio or the other way
    around? And the bell which sounded at the end of the program was on their
    Christmas tree, not his daughter's bell from school.

    As always,

    Kenneth Clarke

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

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

    Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 14:34:11 -0500
    From: KENPILETIC@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Made-Up Titles
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Hi Gang -

    In a few recent issues of the digest several posters mentioned  'Made-Up
    Titles' for
    program episodes.  These titles usually refer to something that takes place
    during
    the episode in order to identify and distinguish one episode from another.
    This is
    generally done when the actual episode title is unknown or unavalilable.
    These home
    made titles can and should be corrected when the actual title becomes known.
    There is nothing wrong with this.  This becomes a problem only when a
    listener
    doesn't know whether  the title is made-up or original.

    In the early days of collecting (recorded off the air), episode titles were
    often not
    mentioned, so individual collectors made up their own titles, and the same
    show
    could wind up with several different titles.   To eliminate confusion, most
    collectors
    at that time would put QUOTES around the actual title, if known, and put NO
    QUOTES
    around home made titles.

    For example, there are (were) many Lone Ranger programs circulating with home
    made titles before the actual ETs or actual scripts with known titles became
    available.
    Most, if not all, of these episodes have since been corrected.  Another
    example is
    the Dragnet series.  Most Dragnet shows circulating today have proper titles,
    ie,
    "The Big (something)" and there is no confusion.

    I suggest that if a person needs to make up a title for an episode, do not
    put that
    home made title in quotes.  Simply write something like: Woman Becomes a Cat.
    Later, when the real title is known, change it to "The Cat Wife" (with
    quotes).

    Happy Taping -  Ken Piletic - Streamwood, Illinois and Alma, Arkansas

    favorite sites in one place.  Try it now.

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

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

    Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 14:43:31 -0500
    From: Peter Boe <boe5650@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Howard McNear [removed]

    Pardon the stupid question, but wasn't Howard McNear
    the same guy that played Floyd on the old 'Andy Griffith Show'
    series?  I had no idea of his rich radio past.

    pjb

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

    Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 23:15:14 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  12-7 births/deaths

    December 7th birthdays

    12-07-1879 - Rudolf Friml - Prague, Bohemia - d. 11-12-1972
    operetta composer: "Railroad Hour"; "Chicago Theatre of the Air"
    12-07-1888 - Heywood Broun - Brooklyn, NY - d. 12-18-1939
    theatre critic: "Author, Author"; "Fleischmann's Yeast Hour"
    12-07-1892 - Fay Bainter - Los Angeles, CA,  - d. 4-16-1968
    actor: "Nobody's Children"; "Cavalcade of America"
    12-07-1901 - Jack Taylor - Summershade, KY - d. 8-4-1962
    singer: (Prairie Ramblers) "Smile-a-While"
    12-07-1904 - Bob Brown - NYC - d. 2-14-1988
    announcer: "Vic and Sade"; "Quicksilver"; "This Amazing America"
    12-07-1905 - Charles Magnante - d. 12-30-1986
    accordionist: "Major Bowes Capitol Family"; "Singin' Sam"; "Tony and
    Gus"
    12-07-1905 - Leonard Goldenson - Scottsdale, PA - d. 12-27-1999
    owner of the ABC network
    12-07-1906 - Fred Stewart - Atlanta, GA - d. 12-5-1970
    actor: "The Columbia Workshop"
    12-07-1908 - Beatrice Churchill - d. 12-13-2006
    actor: Betty Drake "Betty and Bob"
    12-07-1909 - Arch Oboler - Chicago, IL - d. 3-19-1987
    writer: 'Lights Out"; "Adam and Eve skit on Bergen/McCarthy"
    12-07-1910 - Charles Baltin - d. 11-9-1992
    newscaster: WHOM Jersey City, New Jersey
    12-07-1910 - Rod Cameron - Calgary, Alberta, Canada - d. 12-21-1983
    actor: "Screen Guild Theatre"
    12-07-1912 - Louis Prima - New Orleans,LA - d. 8-24-1978
    jazz trumpeter: "You Can't Have Everything"; "Songs by Sinatra"; "The
    Navy Swings"
    12-07-1915 - Eli Wallach - Brooklyn, NY
    actor: "Eternal Light"
    12-07-1916 - Dorothea Brooking - Buckinghamshire, England - d. 3-23-1999
    announcer for the BBC
    12-07-1918 - Hurd Hatfield - NYC - d. 12-25-1998
    actor: "Best Plays"; "Crime Does Not Pay"
    12-07-1918 - Randy Atcher - d. 10-9-2002
    disk jockey: "Old Kentucky Barn Dance"
    12-07-1920 - Frances Gifford - Long Beach, CA - d. 1-22-1994
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    12-07-1922 - Don Maddox - Boaz, AL
    "Maddox Family Band"
    12-07-1939 - Nomi Mitty - NYC - d. 8-24-1994
    actor: "The Goldbergs"

    December 7th deaths

    01-12-1916 - Jay McShann - Muskogee, OK - d. 12-7-2006
    jazz pianist and bandleader: "Jubilee"; "Jazz Alive"
    02-27-1910 - Joan Bennett - Palisades, NJ - d. 12-7-1990
    actor: "Ford Theatre"; "MGM Theatre of the Air"; "Skippy Hollywood
    Theatre"
    03-01-1921 - Kenny Baker - Yorkshire, England - d. 12-7-1999
    trumpeter: "Let's Settle for Music"
    03-06-1904 - Hugh Williams - Bexhill-on-Sea, England - d. 12-7-1969
    actor: "Theatre Guild On the Air"
    03-12-1914 - Loretta Poynton - Jackson, MI - d. 12-7-1991
    actor: Betty Fairfield "Jack Armstrong"; Ruth Morrow "Flying Time"
    03-25-1919 - Jeanne Cagney - NYC - d. 12-7-1984
    actor: (Sister of James Cagney) "Movietone Radio Theatre"; "Suspense"
    04-01-1884 - Laurette Taylor - NYC - d. 12-7-1946
    actor: "The Everedy Hour"
    04-17-1897 - Thornton Wilder - Madison, WI - d. 12-7-1975
    writer: "This Is My Best"
    06-07-1891 - Alois Havrilla - Pressov, Hungary - d. 12-7-1952
    announcer: "Campbell Soup Orchestra"; "Jack Benny Program"
    06-21-1925 - Desmond Briscoe - Birkenhead, England - d. 12-7-2006
    sound technician and effects cooridinator for the BBC Radio
    06-23-1914 - Nat Hiken - Chicago, IL - d. 12-7-1968
    creator, director, writer: "Magnificent Montague"; "Texaco Star Theatre"
    07-01-1913 - Dolph Nelson - d. 12-7-1981
    actor, director: "Captain Midnight"; "Art Linkletter's House Party"
    07-04-1883 - Rube Goldberg - San Francisco, CA - d. 12-7-1970
    cartoonist: "Famous Comic Artists"; "The Shell Show"; "Biography in
    Sound"
    07-12-1895 - Kirsten Flagstad - Hamar, Norway - d. 12-7-1962
    opera singer: "General Motors Concerts"; "Metropolitan Opera"
    08-07-1904 - Dr. Ralph Bunche - Detroit, MI - d. 12-7-1971
    activist: "The Big Show"
    09-27-1918 - Barclay Allen - d. 12-7-1966
    pianist/composer: "Freddy Martin, His Singing Saxophone and His
    Orchestra"
    09-29-1910 - Bill Boyd - Fannin County, Texas - d. 12-7-1977
    singer: (Cowboy Ramblers) WRR Dallas, Texas
    09-30-1911 - Jerry Scoggins - Mount Pleasant, TX - d. 12-7-2004
    singer: (Member of the Cass County Boys) "Gene Autry's Melody Ranch"
    10-17-1910 - George W. Briggs, Jr. - Taunton, MA - d. 12-7-1994
    staff pianist and arranger for WBZ radio
    12-15-1901 - Gail Bonney - Columbus, OH - d. 12-7-1984
    actor: "Family Theatre"; "Joan Davis Time"; "NBC University Theatre"

    Ron

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

    Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2008 09:56:09 -0500
    From: <georgewagner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: The Old Time Radio Man

         I've been collecting Old Time Radio for 46 years (starting at age 21)
    and was a founding member of the Cincinnati Old Time Radio Club 29 years ago
    but I sure as blazes neither consider myself nor advertize myself as any sort
    of "expert" on the subject.

         Even so, I wouldn't have been guilty of any of the three errors made by
    the gentleman Martin Grams heard lecture on OTR at his local public library.

         Sincerely,

         George Wagner
         georgewagner@[removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2008 Issue #280
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