------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2008 : Issue 176
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Re: Alcohol [ <georgewagner@[removed]; ]
7-16 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
Fred Allen's spontaneous wit [ Larry Jordan <midtod@[removed] ]
Re: Earplay [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
Radio Report on Roswell UFO Crash [ George Tirebiter <tirebiter2@hotmai ]
7-17 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
Nickodemus [ "jazmaan@[removed]" <dmf273@yahoo ]
More on Earplay and Mind's Eye [ James Meadows <walthamus@[removed]; ]
Reminders of the past [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:06:31 -0400
From: <georgewagner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Alcohol
"Isopropyl alcohol" is what I intended by "rubbing alcohol." The 90
percent when I can find it.
Sincerely,
George Wagner
georgewagner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:06:36 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 7-16 births/deaths
July 16th births
07-16-1882 - Charles Egelston - Covington, KY - d. 10-31-1958
actor: Shuffle Shober "Ma Perkins"; Humphrey Fuller "Just Plain Bill"
07-16-1887 - Floyd Gibbons - Washington, [removed] - d. 9-23-1939
commentator: "Headline Hunter"; "World Adventures"; "Nash Program"
07-16-1888 - Percy Kilbride - San Francisco, CA - d. 12-11-1964
actor,host: "Paul Whiteman Presents"; "Melody Round-Up"; "Stars in
the Air"
07-16-1891 - Blossom Seeley - San Francisco, CA - d. 4-17-1974
song and dance trouper: "The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air"
07-16-1902 - Andrew Stone - Oakland, CA - d. 6-9-1999
film writer: "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-16-1903 - Carmen Lombardo - London, Canada - d. 4-17-1971
saxophonist: (Guy's brother) "Guy Lombardo and His Orchestra"; "Esso
Marketer"
07-16-1903 - Edith Walton - d. 3-1-1975
journalist: "Speaking of Books"; "Author Meets the Critics"
07-16-1906 - Asakusa Ichimaru (Mitsue Goto) - Japan - d. xx-xx-1997
singer: "Mitsukoshi Calendar of Songs"
07-16-1906 - Vincent Sherman - Vienna, GA - d. 6-18-2006
screenwriter: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Screen Director's Playhouse"
07-16-1907 - Barbara Stanwyck - Brooklyn, NY - d. 1-20-1990
actor: "Prudential Family Hour of Stars"; "This Is My Story"
07-16-1907 - Ned Calmer - Chicago, IL - d. 3-9-1986
news analyst: "World News Roundup"
07-16-1908 - Frank Singiser - Montevideo, MN - d. 5-28-1982
newscaster: "Mutual News"
07-16-1911 - Ginger Rogers - Independence, MO - d. 4-25-1995
actor: "Star and the Story"; "Packard Hour"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-16-1911 - Sonny Tufts - Boston, MA - d. 6-4-1970
actor: "Harold Lloyd's Comedy Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
07-16-1912 - Raphael (Ray) Barr - NYC - d. 3-17-1983
composer, arranger, pianist: "Cliquot Club Eskimos"
07-16-1915 - Elaine Barrie - NYC - d. 3-1-2003
actor: (Wife of John Barrymore) "Streamlined Shakespeare"
07-16-1915 - Joe O'Brien - Yonkers, NY - d. 7-24-2005
announcer: "Jack and Cliff"; "Rosemary"
07-16-1916 - Lionel Baxter - d. 11-11-2000
sportscaster: WAPI Birmingham, Alabama
07-16-1917 - William Woodson - Los Angeles, CA
actor: John Britton :Just Plain Bill"; Narrator "This is Your FBI"
07-16-1920 - Shirley Thomas - d. 7-21-2005
producer: "Hopalong Cassidy"
07-16-1925 - Cal Tjader - St. Louis, MO - d. 5-5-1982
jazz vibrophonist: "Music for Moderns"; ""Ass-Star Parade of Bands"
07-16-1926 - Stanley Clements - Long Island, NY - d. 10-16-1981
actor: "Family Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-16-1927 - Mindy Carson - NYC
singer: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
07-16-1928 - Robert Sheckley - NYC - d. 12-9-2005
writer: "X-Minus One"
07-16-1932 - Max McGee - Saxton City, NV - d. 10-20-2007
color commentator for the Green Bay Packers
07-16-1948 - Stella Kent - United Kingdom
writer: "Because"
July 16th deaths
01-01-1905 - Dick Aurandt - d. 7-16-1984
orchestra leader: "Voyage of the Scarlet Queen"; "Steve Canyon"
01-16-1910 - Dwight Weist - Palo Alto, CA - d. 7-16-1991
actor: Mr. District Attorney "Mr. District Attorney"
01-17-1904 - Patsy Ruth Miller - d. 7-16-1995
silent film star: "Arthur Godfrey and His Talent Scouts"
01-30-1885 - Ida Bailey Allen - Danielson, CT - d. 7-16-1973
homemaker: Told listeners her favorite recipies and household hints
on CBS
02-16-1933 - Rod Trongard - d. 7-16-2005
announcer: Minnesota radio
02-18-1901 - Wayne King - Savannah, IL - d. 7-16-1985
bandleader: (The Waltz King) "Lady Esther Serenade"
02-19-1896 - Eddie Jackson - d. 7-16-1980
comic: "Jimmy Durante Show"; "Mail Call"; "Big Show"
03-30-1896 - Samson Raphaelson - NYC - d. 7-16-1983
playwright: "Lux Radio Theatre"
04-15-1909 - Gordon Bambrick - d. 7-16-1977
announcer: "Reading Is Fun"
06-18-1913 - Harold Alberghini - d. 7-16-1993
disk jockey and newscaster: Maine
07-11-1884 - Howard Estabrook - Detroit, MI - d. 7-16-1978
screen writer: "Screen Guild Theatre"
07-12-1884 - Edgar Stehli - Lyons, France - d. 7-16-1973
actor: Dr. Huer "Buck Rogers"; Rex A. Starr "It's Murder"
07-27-1928 - Barbara Eiler - Los Angeles, CA - d. 7-16-2006
actor: Babs Riley "Life of Riley"; Millie Anderson "Day in the Life
of Dennis Day"
09-01-1902 - John J. Anthony - NYC - d. 7-16-1970
moderator: "Good Will Hour"; "John J. Anthony Hour"
09-02-1918 - Laurinda Almeida - Sao Paulo, Brazil - d. 7-16-1995
guitarist: "Stan Kenton and His Orchestra"
10-23-1904 - Margaret Speaks - Columbus, OH - d. 7-16-1977
singer: "Voice of Firestone"
11-03-1880 - Pearl King Tanner - Eureka, CA - d. 7-16-1980
actor: Mothere Sherwood "Hawthorne House"; "Eno Crime Clues"
11-10-1893 - John P. Marquand - Wilmington, DE - d. 7-16-1963
writer: "Information Please"
11-19-1913 - Blue Barron - Cleveland, OH - d. 7-16-2005
bandleader: "Blue Barron and His Orchestra"; "One Night Stand"
12-03-1916 - Whitfield Connor - Rathdowney, Ireland - d. 7-16-1988
actor: Harry Davis "When a Girl Marries"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:06:56 -0400
From: Larry Jordan <midtod@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Fred Allen's spontaneous wit
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
I just wanted to make sure that subscribers to this newsletter are
aware that in recent weeks, the reruns of the old "What's My Line?"
TV show being aired nightly on the Game Show Network include radio
legend Fred Allen as a panelist.
As an OTR fan, I of course was familiar with Fred, but I have to
admit I didn't realize what a true wit he really was until I started
seeing him on these old reruns.
I had heard that he was described as a "master ad-libber" and boy oh
boy, he sure didn't disappoint on "WML." His spontaneous humor was
just fantastic and he was very fast with a quip. But not overbearing
in the sense of wanting to hog the camera, or talk too much. Much of
his humor was quite self-effacing. He seemed to me to be a rather
gentle man with a twinkle in his eye at all times.
He was capable of being a genuine show-stopper, with a quip or two
that would be so funny that you couldn't help but laugh. Tonight's
show was a good example, and even host John Daly got into the act and
traded some barbs with him to hilarious effect. Despite the fact that
Fred was certainly not photogenic, he made a terrific panelist. The
reruns are being shown chronologically and tonight's was originally
broadcast on March 13, 1955. Mr. Allen was a regular each week until
his death around St. Patrick's Day in 1956.
His famous quip about TV: "You know, television is called a new
medium, and I have discovered why they call it a medium because
nothing is well done." He also wrote a couple of best-selling books,
including on classic radio itself, called "Treadmill to Oblivion."
Of course, everybody knows about his long-running gag that he was
feuding with Jack Benny, but when Benny's tenor, Dennis Day, was on
"What's My Line?" (as aired last week), it was clear that they were
friendly.
I hope that anybody who only knows Fred Allen through his scripted
radio shows will set your VCR or DVR to record some of these "WML?"
segments while you can, because Fred's humor is really in a class by
itself.
Larry Jordan
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:41:40 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Earplay
Earplay was a product that came out of the public radio group in Madison
Wisconsin somewhere around 1977-83. I have a letter received from its
Project Director Karl Schmidt, who is still around from 1978 in which he
explained at that time that contractual obligations with writers and
actors forbade distribution to non-commercial radio stations at that
time. He also included a list from the 1979 upcoming season.
NPR got involved in the productions as a distributor and I am not sure
if these were separate shows, but they broadcast later something called
Earplay Weekday Theatre. NPR also would broadcast Earplay as part of
their generic NPR playhouse. There were a lot of original plays some
from classic fiction, others original scripts, some were even BBC
productions re-broadcast. I have a number of them recorded on reels
though I am not sure the condition of those reels and right now don't
have time to work with them. Much of what I have was recorded off the
air between 1978 and 1983.
If you want to know more, I would suggest you contact the Public radio
station in Madison.
Jim Widner
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:42:00 -0400
From: George Tirebiter <tirebiter2@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Radio Report on Roswell UFO Crash
A few years ago I saw a documentary on UFO's in which they played a brief
clip of what they said was a radio news broadcast on which the supposed 1947
Roswell UFO crash was mentioned. I always meant to write to the Digest to
ask if anyone knew about this recording, but I never got around to it.
Today I came across this site:
[removed]
As you can see there is a 18 second clip of what purports to be the 1947
Roswell announcement. The problem is that the announcer is "Long John"
Nebel. His Wikipedia article indicates he didn't get into radio until about
1953. And of course he had a great interest in UFOs. In short, the thing has
"recreation" written all over it. And I think its the same clip used in the
UFO documentary, though I can't be sure. Oh well. There looks to be some
interesting science fiction related audio on the site, although I haven't
listened to anything else yet.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:42:09 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 7-17 births/deaths
July 17th births
07-17-1881 - Artur Argiewicz - d. 5-10-1966
violinist: "Everyready Hour"
07-17-1883 - James Abbe - d. 11-11-1973
photographer: "James Abbe Observes"
07-17-1889 - Erle Stanley Gardner - Malden, MA - d. 3-11-1970
creator, writer: "Advs. of Christopher London"; "Perry Mason"; "Life
in Your Hands"
07-17-1899 - James Cagney - NYC - d. 3-30-1986
actor: "Arch Oboler's Plays"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
07-17-1902 - Edward Gargan - Brooklyn, NY - d. 2-19-1964
actor: "This Is Your [removed]"; "This Is Our Heritage"
07-17-1904 - John B. Hughes - d. 11-6-1989
news commentator: "Hughes Reel"
07-17-1905 - William Gargan - Brooklyn, NY - d. 2-17-1979
actor: Martin Kane "Martin Kane, Private Eye"; Barrie Craig "Barrie
Craig, Private Investigator"
07-17-1906 - Anton Karras - Vienna, Austria - d. 1-9-1985
composer, zither: "The Third Man"
07-17-1906 - John Carroll - New Orleans, LA - d. 4-24-1979
actor: "Hello Mom"; "Suspense"
07-17-1908 - Jack Douglas - d. 1-31-1989
writer: "Jack Paar Show"; "The Martin and Lewis Show"
07-17-1911 - Earl Glade, Jr. - Utah - d. 5-14-2001
announcer: "Music and the Spoken Word (Mormon Tabernacle Choir)"
07-17-1912 - Art Linkletter - Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
emcee: "People Are Funny"; "House Party"
07-17-1914 - Eleanor Steber - Wheeling, WV - d. 10-3-1990
singer: "Voice of Firestone"; "[removed] Fox Trappers"
07-17-1915 - Cass Daley - Philadelphia, PA - d. 3-22-1975
comedienne: "New Fitch Bandwagon"; "Cass Daley Show"; "Maxwell House
Coffee Time"
07-17-1916 - Irene Manning - Cincinnati, OH - d. 5-28-2004
singer: Night Club Singer "Mr. Broadway"; "Wehmacht Hour"; "Railroad
Hour"
07-17-1917 - Lou Boudreau - Harvey, IL - d. 8-10-2001
sportscaster: Chicago Cubs
07-17-1917 - Phyllis Diller - Lima, OH
comedian: "Special Delivery: Vietnam"
07-17-1918 - Red Sovine - Charleston, WV - d. 4-4-1980
country singer: "Country Music Time"; "Country Hoedown"
07-17-1920 - Helen Walker - Worcester, MA - d. 3-10-1968
actor: "Proudly We Hail"; "Suspense"; "Harold Lloyd Comedy Theatre"
07-17-1926 - Doyle Bladon - d. 6-4-2006
disk jockey: KFOR Lincoln, Nebraska
07-17-1935 - Diahann Carroll - The Bronx, NY
singer: "Army Bandstand"; "Manhattan Melodies"; "Stars for Defense"
07-17-1951 - Lucie Arnaz - Hollywood, CA
celebrity interviewer: "Tune In With Lucie Arnaz"
07-17-1954 - J. Michael Straczynski - Patterson, NJ
author: "Encounter at Twilight"
July 17th deaths
01-11-1910 - Donald 'Red' Barry - Houston, TX - d. 7-17-1980
actor: "All-Star Western Theatre"; "Forecast"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
01-16-1910 - Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean - Lucas, AR - d. 7-17-1974
baseball broadcaster: (Baseball Hall of Fame) "Game of the Day"
01-19-1916 - Marion Sweet - d. 7-17-1978
actor: Dragon Lady "Terry and the Pirates"
03-09-1918 - Mickey Spillane - Brooklyn NY - d. 7-17-2006
writer: "That Hammer Guy" based on his novels
04-07-1915 - Billie Holliday - Baltimore, MD - d. 7-17-1959
singer: "Artie Shaw Band"
05-10-1917 - Margo - Mexico City, Mexico - d. 7-17-1985
actor: (Wife of Eddie Albert) "Suspense"; "Free Company"; "Texaco
Star Theatre"
06-14-1895 - Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards - Hannibal, MO - d. 7-17-1971
singer: Jiminy Cricket "Fun and Fancy Free"; "Cliff Edwards, Ukulele
Ike"
07-04-1900 - Robert S. Allen - Latonia, KY - d. 7-17-1978
news commentory: "Listen America"; "News of the World"
07-19-1901 - Juano Hernandez - San Juan, Puerto Rico - d. 7-17-1970
actor: Kolu "Jungle Jim"; Lothar "Mandrake the Magician"
07-21-1912 - Frank Deniz - Cardiff, Wales - d. 7-17-2005
guitarist: "Harry Parry's Radio Rhythm Club"
07-23-1924 - Gavin Lambert - East Gristead, England - d. 7-17-2005
writer: Wrote commercials for radio
09-25-1912 - Bobby Worth - Cleveland, OH - d. 7-17-2002
songwriter: Had his own radio program at an early age
11-11-1872 - Maude Adams - Salt Lake City, Utah - d. 7-17-1953
actor: "Maude Adams"
11-24-1913 - Geraldine Fitzgerald - Dublin, Ireland - d. 7-17-2005
actor: "Arthur Hopkins Presents"; "Ford Theatre"; "Cavalcade of America"
12-18-1886 - Ty Cobb - Narrows, GA - d. 7-17-1961
baseball great: "Coca Cola Top Notchers"; "Baseball: An Action History"
12-18-1938 - Chas Chandler - Heaton, Newcastle, England - d. 7-17-1996
rock musician: (The Animals) "Saturday Club"
12-22-1913 - Dudley Brooks - Los Angles, CA - d. 7-17-1989
soloist: "On Target"
12-26-1922 - Harry Choates - Rayne Arcadia Parish, LA - d. 7-17-1951
performer: "Jesse James and His Gang"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
No longer the home of Miller High Life
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:42:17 -0400
From: "jazmaan@[removed]" <dmf273@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Nickodemus
Nicodemus (Nick Stewart) also can be heard in comedy routines on several
episodes of "Jubilee", the AFRS variety show aimed at colored troops.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:42:47 -0400
From: James Meadows <walthamus@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: More on Earplay and Mind's Eye
After reading Jan Bach's entry about Earplay and Mind's Eye, I went
looking online for places where I might buy copies of these programs. Not
much luck on Earplay (although I haven't checked eBay yet). But I did find
some mention of the history of Earplay from Wisconsin Public Radio, where the
program originated. Here's a page about Karl Schmidt, who directed Earplay
during its first decade:
[removed]
On the page is a link to another Schmidt project, his radio adaptation of
Walter Miller's science fiction novel "A Canticle For Liebowitz", with an
audio excerpt from the show.
Highbridge Audio sells CD's of what I believe is the Mind's Eye radio
versions of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings", but doesn't seem to
have any other Mind's Eye production. However, they also offer the NPR radio
versions of the first three Star Wars movies. Highbridge is at:
[removed]
Jim Meadows
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:43:25 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Reminders of the past
Sometimes I think I'm nodding off in the twilight zone and that OTR is still
alive and kicking.
To wit, on this morning's (7/17) CBS World News Roundup, when they did a
piece on the modern Federal Bureau of Investigation, anchorman Neil Young
referred to the unit's illustrious history. Suddenly, unless my ears were
deceiving me, I was hearing the unmistakable strains of the March from
Sergei Prokofiev's "Love for Three Oranges" playing underneath Young's
revelations, exactly as I used to listen to it in the years between 1944-58
on CBS. And then -- there was surely no mistaking this -- there was the
discerning voice of Warren Sweeney proclaiming: "The FBI in Peace & War!"
(And though he didn't say it in that snippet, I added, "Drama! Thrills!
Action!")
Every now and then it seems contemporary radio reaches back and pulls from
its files one of its most widely celebrated cassettes (with apologies to Mr.
Keen). It's like living in a dream world, in -- let's say -- far horizons
of the unknown ... reminiscent of stories of the past, in which we lived in
a million could-be years on a thousand may-be worlds.
Jim Cox
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2008 Issue #176
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