------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2005 : Issue 94
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Fwd: "Junior G-Men' [ JayHick@[removed] ]
Why OTR? [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Re: Edgar Bergen & Powel Crosley, Jr [ Jim Bollman <Jim@[removed]; ]
Re: Jack Benny commercials [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
DVD, MP3, Paperbacks [ "Jim Harmon" <jimharmonotr@charter. ]
Pittsburgh OTR [ William Harker <wharker@[removed] ]
On OTR publishing [ "erest@[removed]" <erest@bel ]
Re: OTR Movie tie in [ Brent Pellegrini <brentpl@rocketmai ]
Bob Crosby, Mahlon Merrick [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
Mahlon Merrick and the Sportsmen [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
Why Do You Listen To OTR? [ "Austotr" <austotr@[removed]; ]
[removed] It! [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
Re: Why Do You Listen To OTR? [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
Our Miss Brooks answer [ Frank =?iso-8859-1?Q?Ros=EDn?= <fra ]
Joan Tompkins Swenson [ OTRadiofan@[removed] (Stuart Lubin) ]
WOR Moves!! [ udmacon@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 18:31:39 -0500
From: JayHick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Fwd: "Junior G-Men'
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In a message dated 3/23/05 5:37:23 PM, moxnix1961@[removed] writes:
Hello Mr. Hickerson, I have been looking for "Junior G-Men' shows from the
1930's for a long [removed] you know where I might obtain some on CD's, or
direct me to some OTR dealers that you know that may have them, please? I
would appreciate any help in this regard. Thank you very much. Best
Regards, Bob Slate
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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 18:31:59 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Why OTR?
Keith Dabney asks:
How do others feel? What are the reasons we need to articulate to
keep the
art of OTR alive, to share with others the enjoyment that is available
in
abundant and relatively inexpensive quantities?
With me the main reason I love Olde Tyme Radio as much as I do is
because of its overall excellence. Another big factor is my abhorrence
to, gasp, television. I have never disliked anything as much as I
dislike television. Yes, there are some good things on the tube, but so
little that it isn't even worth mentioning.
Ron Sayles
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 19:13:12 -0500
From: Jim Bollman <Jim@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Edgar Bergen & Powel Crosley, Jr.
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 14:56:18 -0500
Subject: Edgar Bergen & Powel Crosley, Jr.
I'm looking for biographical information on Edger
Bergen and Powel Crosley, Jr.
Dreams Do Come True The Story Of Powel Crosley Jr.
by Edward Jennings & Lewis Crosley
334 pages soft bound
Price: $[removed] + $[removed] S/H ( No Credit Cards please)
Edward Jennings
3313 Progress Hill Blvd.
Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
I have read this book and it is a very complete biography of Powel
Crosley Jr. The author prints them in small runs so I don't know what
his current stock is.
It is not an overly polished book, it was a labor of love and published
out of Ed's own pocket. The coauthor is Powel's grandson and he died
before the book was finished and with his death the promise to help
with publishing costs. Lots of pictures that I never saw before and I
have been involved with Crosley history for over 40 years.
You can also get some information on Powel and his business holdings
off The Crosley Auto Club web site where I am the web master.
[removed]~cac/
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 19:13:49 -0500
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Jack Benny commercials
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In a message dated 3/23/05 11:12:51 AM Central Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
There's an episode where Jack and Mary go to the race
track, and they overhear Don ordering a hamburger; he uses the
same phrases, "round, firm, and fully packed" while ordering, and
that sequence of jokes meant nothing to me until years later when I
started hearing the old Lucky Strike advertisements.
Actually I think that may have *been* a commercial. I have that episode
somewhere and it's an AFRS copy, so if it was a commercial, the direct
reference
to Lucky Strike may have been cut out.
Someone awhile back posted a reference to some 1940s poll in which radio
listeners trashed some of the most memorable campaigns as their least favorite
(the Rinso whistle, for instance) and the Lucky Strike auctioneer was their
least
favorite. Apparently they thought the slogan repetition was obnoxious.
However, their favorites were the Johnson's Wax commercials Harlow Wilcox read
during the plot of "Fibber McGee and Molly." I wonder if the Lucky Strike
people
took note of that when they had Don and the Sportsmen working the LS/MFT ads
into the plot on the Benny show. (Yes, I know he did something like that
during the Jell-O years.)
Dixon
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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 20:38:39 -0500
From: "Jim Harmon" <jimharmonotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: DVD, MP3, Paperbacks
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Hello -- There has been a lot of discussion in the Digest about MP3 players.
I would like to hear a recommendation for a DVD player that will also play MP3
and play them correctly, each selection straight through until the end. I
have a Samsung DVD player that does the video discs okay, but when I try to
play MP3s, which it SAYS it plays right on the front of the set, selections
virtually always cut off a few minutes before the end and jump to the next
track. On mystery shows the jump always comes at "And the murderer is --"
Squak! "Time now for Mister [removed]"
I don't think I mentioned in the Digest that I recently saw the great
radio dramatist, Norman Corwin, at his home, thanks to filmmaker Dave Parker.
Dave was filming an interview with him, and I asked to come along. He shot
one brief scene of us together. Another day, he filmed an interview with me
at my place, and shot some of my collectible radio premiums, cereal boxes, and
the like. But back to Corwin: he is 95 years old and his intellect is as
sharp as ever. To the questions Dave asked, his replies sounded as if they
had been carefully and thoughtfully scripted, not given as an immediate
response. Mr. Corwin was very cordial to my wife, Barbara, and myself,
inviting us back. (It is a longer trip for Dave Parker, living in the San
Francisco area.)
On another occasion, I attended (as I usually do) the Paperback Show at
the Mission Hills (California) Inn, March 13, 2005. It is a gathering for
collectors and writers, where writers sign books and magazines brought to
them, and often sell their new books. Full time dealers also sell books,
pulps, and who knows what. Frank Thomas, "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet" on radio
and TV is there, selling his new Sherlock Holmes novels, also scheduled was
Ray Bradbury whose stories are the basis for many X Minus One and Suspense
plays. I also ran into TV's Gary Owens, a great radio fan. I thanked him
for trying to get me a job on a panel TV show a few years ago, and he told me
he was producing a new show himself on "Retro" subjects and I might get on
that one. He certainly is one of the most sincere and unaffected celebrities
I have ever met.
We talked for some twenty minutes.
-- Jim Harmon
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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 20:38:56 -0500
From: William Harker <wharker@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Pittsburgh OTR
For those of you who grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania there was an
article in yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that mentioned Virginia
Cecil Myers' 100th birthday. She was a 1920s/1930s singer on KDKA radio
who specialized in Spanish songs.
The URL is: [removed]
Scroll down to "Radio singer, TV star."
Bill Harker
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 01:09:34 -0500
From: "erest@[removed]" <erest@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: On OTR publishing
I haven't kept up with it so Jay Hickerson may still be doing
updates to
"The Ultimate History Of Network Radio Programming and Guide To All
Circulating Shows"
My copy is dated in 1992 with a Supplement dated Oct., 1995. While not
loose leaf , it has about 20 tabs the pages fit on, it is easy to go
[removed] It lists the shows by title , actors, sponsors,network and
then lists the dates, day and time. Finally he lists the shows then
known to be in circulation.
Its a great resource!
Hope Jay doesn't mind an example.
Lineup, The (Crime drama; with Bill Johnstone as [removed] Guthrie of the
San Francisco Police
Department)
)(7/6/50-2/20/53)CBS(Various days and times
[removed])
7/6/50-3/1/51,SUS,Thu(except
9/9/50-9/23/50,Sat,8:30)(7/6/50-8/24/50, Thu
8 pm (Summer replacement for
FBI in Peace and War))
3/6/51-7/3/51, Tue, 10 pm
7/12/51-12/27/51, Thu
21 shows available; (1950) 7/20; 11/16; 11/23;
(1951) 1/4;1/11;2/8;2/15;6/14*-
7/6*;9/5;9/12;9/26-10/18;11/1;11/8;12/20-12/27
1/8/52-8/5/52, Wrigley(some shows), Tue, 10 pm; 9 pm as of 6/3/52
10 shows available;3/25;6/10-8/5
9/10/52-12/24/52, Plymouth (some shows),Wed, 10 pm
12/26/52-2/20/53, Fri, 9:30 pm
16 shows available; (1952)9/10-12/24
14 unstaed shows available
In supplement 3 you find;
Lineup,The; on 7/12/51_-8/23/51, _Thu, 9 pm
9/5/51-9/26/51,Wed, 9pm
10/4/51-11/29/51,Thu,10 pm
Cannot find any record of show being on between
11/29/51-1/8/52 in New York
Times
The first book. 2nd edition, was 476 pages with index. This is 10 years
old and I bet Jay has been keeping up with corrections and additions as
they have come along.
Rob
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 01:09:45 -0500
From: Brent Pellegrini <brentpl@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: OTR Movie tie in
I watched a Bing Crosby Movie called Rhythm on the River the other night.
John Scott Trotter played himself and when he was introduced to the Crosby
character, Crosby went into the Speedy Riggs Lucky Strike Auction riff. I
remember
that Trotter was a replacement show for Fibber McGee once but I'm not sure
what the connection
with Lucky Strikes was. Crosby's riff sounded like an ad lib.
Also when the Trotter Band played in a night club it was done as
a radio remote with Ken Carpenter doing the announcing.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:11:24 -0500
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Bob Crosby, Mahlon Merrick
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 18:26:55 -0500
From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <BrianLBedsworth@[removed];
1952-55: Bob Crosby assumes Harris comedic duties while Merrick
retains musical control over the show. As Crosby's duties with his
'real" band require more frequent absences from the show, Merrick
begins to make more appearances on-mike as musical director,
I began listening to the show in 1955, and I don't recall Bob Crosby being
absent, nor to I
recall any appearances by Mahlon Merrick on-mike. I've never heard a taped
show from that
era in which Crosby was absent or Merrick appeared on-mike. I think Merrick
may have
been mentioned occasionally on the TV shows, but I don't recall ever seeing
him on camera.
--
A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed]
15 Court Square, Suite 210 lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2503 [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:12:10 -0500
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Mahlon Merrick and the Sportsmen
Brian Bedsworth writes:
In interviews, Harris always maintained that the Sportsmen had their own
arranger and that
neither he nor Merrick had anything to do with those segments, aside from
playing the
arrangements as given to them
I had the pleasure last year of interviewing Thurl Ravenscroft, one of the
founding members of the Sportsmen. He mentioned that Merrick had been the
main force to bring the Sportsmen into the show, and work specifically create
musical bits for them to do. So although Thurl's tenure with the Sportsmen
didn't overlap much with their time on the Benny show, he definitely
indicated
an influence from Merrick.
Mahlon Merrick was also credited as the orchestra leader on the 1/18/42
program, when Jack was absent due to Carole Lombard's death. Also on
3/10/40,
Jack says "Take it, Mr. Merrick" at the start of the skit; I have generally
taken that as an indication that Merrick was conducting the orchestra by then.
--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:12:26 -0500
From: "Austotr" <austotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Why Do You Listen To OTR?
It started not so much as nostalgia for the programs or even the style of
programs, because I was too young and missed the Golden Years of Radio, but
because many of the shows were related to either books or television. Okay,
NOW I understand that the television versions came AFTER radio, but when I
first discovered OTR on mp3 it was very much WOW!
So many of the shows I first listened to were related to books or stories
that were old friends. The Saint, Archie Andrews, Bulldog Drummond, Fu
Manchu, Charlie Chan, Phillip Marlowe, Sherlock Holmes, Hopalong Cassidy,
Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Lone Ranger, the Gumshoe type characters that I knew
from the old pulps. It was so easy to get hooked on OTR when it was just an
extension of the things that already interested me. From there it was a
matter of listening to shows that others recommended. Actually, OTR has
increased my pulp collecting and now I have many more Mike Shayne, Larry
Kent, Carter Brown, Zane Grey, Dragnet, and even The Shadow and lots of
other OTR related pulps than I ever had before.
Ian
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:12:33 -0500
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: [removed] It!
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Verily, I'm eagerly, looking forward to the upcoming Cincinnati OTR &
Nostalgia
Convention, Frisay & Saturtday, April 15th & 16th, 2005. Kudos to its
organiser Bob Burchett, Bob's major-domo and [removed], Robert Newman, and
re-creation director Don Ramlow for the fine job they do every year.
As an avid book reader and collector, I'd like to posit this query to any
of the dealers who will be attending "Cincinnati" this year: what OTR-
themed book titles, particularly new ones, will be available this year?
In the event Laura Leff and her International Jack Benny Fan Club cannot
make it, will copies of her impressive and exhaustive "Jack Benny Program"
radio-log be available at somebody else's table? I've seen a copy of Ms.
Leff's
magmun opus, and it goes beyond the standard OTR-log by providing plot
synopses and descriptions in addition to the standard episode title and date.
Wishing everybody a Blessed Easter and Passover season.
Yours in the Easter,
Derek Tague
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Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:12:52 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Why Do You Listen To OTR?
I listen for the sheer enjoyment. To me the majority of radio
programs far surpass what is taken for entertainment to day on that
other medium. (It does something's good, such as news and
documentaries, otherwise, yech!) And there were some lousy radio shows.
Not all were "great".
With radio my mind creates the scene, and everyone has imagined
different scenes of the same event/show. The characters look as I
imagine them to look. The mood is set by music and sound effects.
Something that would be impossible and unbelievable in a visual medium
is taken for granted. Not noticing a elephant in the middle of a living
room, for example, until it's pointed out.
As Stan Freberg once said, Television can stretch your imagination,
to about 21 inches.
Joe
--
Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:48:02 -0500
From: Frank =?iso-8859-1?Q?Ros=EDn?= <frankr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Our Miss Brooks answer
It is possible this may be correct in answer to the date of the Our
Miss Brooks episode 'American Tragedy'. I only have an AFRS copy of
this particular episode with open and close music clipped.
At one place in the 'American Tragedy' program there is a mention of
trouble with elevator shafts the previous week. That previous week
program was 3-6-55 and sometimes titled 'Project X, or PA System'.
That would make the 'American Tragedy' episode 3-13-55.
I have 171 distinct episodes of Our Miss Brooks (some AFRS) that have
been carefully listened to and cross referenced for title and date to
see there are no duplicates. Among those are 4 in rather poor sound.
Besides these there are at least 4 or 5 more episodes in circulation
that I do not have. I would sure like to upgrade sound in the 4 and
find those other 4 or 5 episodes.
Frank Rosín frankr@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:48:57 -0500
From: OTRadiofan@[removed] (Stuart Lubin)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Joan Tompkins Swenson
I am profoundly saddened to report the passing of one of the finest
actors I have ever known, as well as a sterling human being. According
to an obituary in The Los Angeles Times, 3/24/05:
"Joan Tompkins Swenson died peacefully at home on January 29, 2005.
Early in her career, Joan Tompkins, in 1938, played opposite Henry Fonda
in a run of plays in White Plains, New York. She later became well known
on radio in the title role of the daytime serial, "This Is Nora Drake".
During her long years in radio she also acted on Broadway in "Pride and
Prejudice", "My Sister Eileen",and many other plays.
"Joan met the actor Karl Swenson, "the man of a thousand voices" in the
radio studio and later married him. When they later moved to Southern
California, they both worked in movies and many TV series---notably,
Joan in "General Hospital", and Karl, in "Little House on the Prairie".
Together they founded an acting company in Beverly Hills, with Karl
directing and Joan acting.
"After Karl's death in 1978, Joan retired into a new career. She
established a writing group. She wrote several books herself and was an
insightful critic and a voice of encouragement to the group members, who
themselves, published many books."
I am not certain about the Beverly Hills acting company, but I know that
they were very active in a Beverly Hills acting company, the prestigious
"Theatre 40", which goes on to this very day. That might have been
started by Joan and Karl. It was at Theatre 40 that I had the honor of
meeting them. Had I not met Joan there, later it was meant to be that I
would meet her when she became an honorary member of SPERDVAC.
Stuart Lubin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 12:02:37 -0500
From: udmacon@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: WOR Moves!!
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The New York Post's Liz Smith took note this past Sunday of WOR's move from
1440 Broadway to a "Beautiful old landmark building" at 111 Broadway near
Wall street. Think of it! 1440 Broadway hosted three generations of John
Gamblings, the Mutual Network in its glory days, Jean Shepherd, Mary Margaret
McBride (as the first "Martha Deane"), producer/announcer Roger Bower, Arlene
Francis, Bob & Ray and so many, many others. 80 years at 1440 Broadway
deserves a plaque on that venerable building.
Liz notes that "[removed] O'Reilly, Joy [removed] Grant, [removed] will be
making the trek downtown. And how will their guests like that?"
BILL KNOWLTON: "Bluegrass Ramble," WCNY-FM ([removed]) Syracuse, WUNY ([removed])
Utica; WJNY ([removed]) Watertown NY. On the web: [removed]. Sundays: 9 pm to
midnight EST (since 1973) 315-457-6100
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End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #94
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