------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2007 : Issue 128
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
4-27 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
1946 Rose Bowl [ Andrew Steinberg <otrdig2@[removed] ]
More on Walter Slezak [ "Jan Bach" <janbach@[removed]; ]
Re: Newspaper Article [ Fred Berney <fsberney@[removed]; ]
Oops! I stand corrected! [ Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed]; ]
King Kong [ "Ian Grieve" <austotr@[removed]. ]
Various musings [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
Cincy con [ Rodney Bowcock <pasttense_78@yahoo. ]
That ain't the way I heered it, monk [ Wich2@[removed] ]
Radio Speakers book [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Re: King Kong [ Andrew Steinberg <otrdig2@[removed] ]
Re: King Kong [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
REPS, anyone? [ "randy story" <hopharrigan@centuryt ]
King Kong [ Randy Watts <rew1014@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:41:03 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 4-27 births/deaths
April 27th births
04-27-1882 - Herman Bundesen - d. 8-25-1960
health official: "Adventures in Health"
04-27-1896 - Rogers Hornsby - Winters, TX - d. 1-5-1963
hall of fame baseball player: "Play Ball"; "Tops in Sports"
04-27-1898 - George McCall - Renton, Scotland - d. 11-28-1952
host: "Man About Hollywood"
04-27-1898 - Ludwig Behelmans - Meran, Austria-Hungary - d. 10-1-1962
author, panelist: "Author, Author"
04-27-1899 - Ned Wever - NYC - d. 5-6-1984
actor: Dick Tracy "Dick Tracy"; Anthony Loring "Young Widder Brown"
04-27-1902 - Harry Stockwell - Kansas City, MO - d. 7-19-1984
singer: "Broadway Matinee"
04-27-1907 - Matty Matlock - Paducah, KY - d. 6-14-1978
jazz musician: (Member of the Big 7 Band) "Pete Kelly's Blues"
04-27-1918 - Robert Mitchell - Casper, WY - d. 10-13-1992
writer: "The Advs. of Philip Marlowe"
04-27-1923 - Peggy Knudsen - Duluth, MN - d. 7-11-1980
actor: Karen Adams "Woman in White"; Lois "Bill Goodwin Show"
04-27-1933 - Casey Kasem - Detroit, MI
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
04-27-1937 - Sandy Dennis - Hastings, NE - d. 3-1-1992
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
April 27th deaths
02-15-1896 - Arthur Shields - d. 4-27-1970
actor: (Brother of Barry Fitzgerald) "Cavalcade of America"
02-16-1905 - Carleton D. Smith - d. 4-27-1984
announcer/executive: "Fireside Chat with FDR"
03-25-1899 - Bella Spewack - Bucharest, Romania - d. 4-27-1990
writer: "The Radio Guild"
04-06-1909 - Denver Darling - Illinois - d. 4-27-1981
country music: "NBC Thesaurus Library"
04-07-1915 - Stanley Adams - NYC - d. 4-27-1977
writer: "My Friend Irma"
04-10-1905 - Paul "Hezzie" Trietsch - Muncie, IN - d. 4-27-1980
musician-singer: "National Barn Dance"; "Uncle Ezra"
04-25-1908 - Edward R. Murrow - Pole Cat Creek, NC - d. 4-27-1965
newscaster: (This is London) "Edward R. Murrow with the News"
06-28-1908 - Alan Bunce - Westfield, NJ - d. 4-27-1965
actor: Albert Arbuckle "Ethel and Albert"; Jerry Malone "Young Dr.
Malone"
08-21-1908 - Tom Tully - Durango, CO - d. 4-27-1982
actor: Charles Martin "Stella Dallas"
11-07-1922 - Al Hirt - New Orleans, LA - d. 4-27-1999
dixieland trumpeter: "Voices of Vista"; "The Navy Swings"; "Here's to
Veterans"
xx-xx-1855 - Charles Goodell - Dudley, MA - d. 4-27-1937
clergyman: (The Shepard of the Air) "Sabbath Reveries"
Ron Sayles
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:41:22 -0400
From: Andrew Steinberg <otrdig2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: 1946 Rose Bowl
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Sorry, the Rose Bowl radio clip is part of a story at this page
[removed]
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Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 01:06:07 -0400
From: "Jan Bach" <janbach@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: More on Walter Slezak
Hello again --
My favorite Walter Slezak role is that of a doctor, a friend to another
doctor played by Cary Grant, and a double-bass player in the doctors'
orchestra that Grant conducts in the film "People Will Talk." How times
change. Now Walter is known primarily as the father of a soap opera
actress; earlier he was known as the son of a legitimate opera
singer/actor/comedian, Leo Slezak.
There is a loving memoir of his father which Walter wrote about in his
autobiography "What Time's the Next Swan?" Infact, the book is as much about
his father as it is about him. You can use Google to search for an on-line
edition of that book.
yOurs TRuly,
Jan Bach
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 01:06:44 -0400
From: Fred Berney <fsberney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Newspaper Article
When you get your picture in the paper it is kind of exciting. My
wife and I have been very fortunate to have that happen a number of
times over the past few years. It helps living in a small town. Local
papers tend to use local news more often than metropolitan newspapers.
The most recent article talks about my hobby. OTR. You can see a copy
of it on my web site. [removed]
From the home page, select the link that shows a video switcher and
says SERVICES AND INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS. Then just select the article.
It is the last one in the list.
Of all the articles, this is the one that I like the most. It talks
about my hobby and strongest interest. Old Time Radio. It also
mentions the club I below to, The Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club.
If you happen to glance over the other articles listed, you will
probably notice something that I became aware of when I did this. I
can see my hair turning grey from year to year. I keep thinking of
myself as this young kid playing with his tape recorders, but those
darn pictures don't lie.
Interesting choice of words. X Minus One has a program by the same name.
Fred
Check us out for old time radio & TV shows & Movie Serials
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:31:19 -0400
From: Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Oops! I stand corrected!
Ed Carr replied to my information:
good afternoon
ken's always up on his research, but i didn't say it was a movie
soundtrack,
someone else mentioned it.
I apologize, Ed. I seem to be misinterpreting some information here
and there from
Ed Carr and others. I try to be as accurate as possible. I thought it
was you, Ed,
who asked why audio tracks were made of TV shows (I never mentioned
movie
soundtracks).
You also mentioned that you had 2 - 16 inch ET discs with 3 sides. I
just want to
comment here on a process that radio engineers often used to preserve
the best
sound possible: They did this by recording on 2 discs, in 3 parts. In
other words,
they would record the first 15 minutes of a half hour show on side
one of the first
disc. At the 10 minute mark on the first disc, they would move the
cutting head so
there would be a gap. The head is still cutting. On the second disc,
the engineer
would start recording just before the first 10 minutes of the show
was aired. In
other words this second disc would be started 10 minutes into the
radio show. At
the 10 minute mark on the second disc the engineer would create a
gap, then let
the recording continue. The first disc would be turned over and, 20
minutes into
the show, the engineer would start cutting the third and final side.
Whew! So, what we end up with is 2 discs with three sides, with
plenty of overlap.
Disc 1, side 1 - the first 10 minutes, then a gap
Disc 2, side 1 - the second 10 minutes, then a gap
Disc 1, side 2 - the final 10 minutes.
The reason for this was retaining the best fidelity. Using the first
10 minutes on each
disc side put the sound near the outer edge of the disc, which spun
around faster on
the turntable, thus better fidelity.
When discs were allowed to be played on the air as "transcribed
earlier," the engineer
who would be airing the show would line up the second ten minutes
while the first 10
minutes of the show was airing. At some pause in the dialogue, after
the gap on the
first disc, the engineer would switch to the second disc and the show
would continue
with the audience non the wiser. And so on for the third 10 minute
segment. On the
air it sounded great to the audience, while the engineer had to
"sweat" through the
whole half hour!
Did anyone reading this REALLY need to know this small fact? Probably
not. But,
hopefully, there are a few who were interested.
Thanks ---- Ken Greenwald
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:32:11 -0400
From: "Ian Grieve" <austotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: King Kong
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In issue #127 Tom Heathwood, who is almost an Australian, asked:
Anyone have an idea of the details re: a 1938 radio adaptation of the 1933
film, "King Kong" ?
This was last asked here in August 2004.
The recording is from a Kiddies record and Paul Urbahns from the Radio
Researchers Group came up with a solution last year.
"I have listened to the King Kong 1938 and it is definately the Golden
kiddie Album issued about 1963 and reissued on Wonderland Records
about 1974 just in time for release of the famed producer Dino De
Laurentiis version of the story in 1976."
[removed]
I was glad to get an answer to that mystery because I had been wondering if it
was another George Edwards Production that had been incorrectly dated as being
from the 1930's.
Hope this helps Tom.
Ian Grieve
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Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:34:15 -0400
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Various musings
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CINCINNATI FOLLOW-UP:
I wanted to thank all my friends who regularly attend the Cincinnati OTR &
Nostalgia convention for once again bringing it to me via cell-phones,
especially Melanie Aultman and Karen Hughes. It was fun hearing from
everybody, and I'd especially like to congratulate award recipients; newcomer
Ruth Last and author Jim Cox for receiving the "Ezra Stone/Willard Waterman
Award" [Jim's my pal; I helped with the research on his phenomenal "Radio
Speakers" book]; our favourite Listmaster Charlie Summers getting the "Parley
Baer Award" [the award's administrator Terry Salomonsen worked hard at
convincing absentee Charlie to attend, but, alas!, Charlie's schedule and
obligations prevented him receiving it in person]; and the three regular Cincy
sound effects men--Thomas "Dave" Davies, Jerry Williams, and Randy
Vanderbiecke ([removed]) for obtaining the newest award "The Dave Warren Award,"
bestowed on individuals who excel at re-creations . I have a particular
interest in this one as it was co-created by Bob Burchett and me to honour the
late Dave Warren, arguably the first person to assemble fan-based re-creation
groups designed to perform at OTR conventions.
Get well soon, Bob Burchett.
TAKEN OFF THE AIR:
With that recent high-profile shock-radio firing, I cannot, for the life of
me, think of any instances from the OTR era in which somebody was abruptly and
irrevocably taken off the air or fired for something that was said over the
airwaves. We all know the "Uncle Don" Carney story was, at best, apocryphal.
Mae West was supposedly "banned" from appearing on radio for several years
after the racy 1937 "Garden of Eden" parody on the "Bergen-McCarthy/Chase &
Sanborn Show." Father Couhlin was silenced by his archdiocese.
Maybe in a more gentler time, pushing the envelope just wasn't done. Can
anybody summon up any "taken off the air'" incidents?
OH THE HUMANITY (IES):
Several questions about the [removed]
The 70th anniversary of the Hindenburg explosion is coming up a week from
Sunday (on 6th May). Living here in [removed] where it occurred, I have yet to hear
of any upcoming events to mark this tragedy. Any anniversary shows due on OTR
radio-, satellite-, and Internet showcases?
I looked up the Hindenburg and Herb Morrison on the Internet. The much
maligned Wikipedia claims Morrison said "Oh, the humanity!" but I have heard
some folks claim the it's actually the plural form "humanities." Once again, I
defer to the Digest's astute assemblage of authorities. BTW, our own Prof.
Mike Biel is cited in "Morrison, Herb" entry.
Incumbent on my comments about being taken off-the-air, the Wikipedia stated
that, contrary to popular belief, NBC did not fire Morrison for his Hindenburg
-derived "outburst," nor was re-assigned to a lower-profile job. That's
good to know. However, what were some of Morrison's other radio triumphs and
accomplishments?
SEE YOU IN THE FUNNY PAPERS:
On a personal note, next Saturday (May 5th--also Will Hutchins's birthday),
I'm going to be in the [removed] of? I'm friends with syndicated
newspaper cartoonist Tom Batiuk, who draws the strips "Crankshaft' and "Funky
Winkerbean," the latter being a depiction of life in a Mid-western high
school. In the on-going "Funky" storyline, there is character having problems
with an HMO. I gave Mr. Batiuk a joke I wrote and it's set set to run on the
5th; it starts out with "How many HMO providers does it take to screw in a
lightbulb?" Be looking for it. I hope everybody here gets a chance to see
it either in print or on-line.
That's all for now from the ether!
Derek Tague
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Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:34:44 -0400
From: Rodney Bowcock <pasttense_78@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Cincy con
I'd think that during his closing remarks on Saturday,
Bob would've mentioned the loss of our friend Hal
Stone, but things being what they were, he was unable
to attend himself. It's hard to say what exactly he
had planned.
All in all, I had a great time, and am glad that there
will be another event next year (the 18th and 19th, I
presume). Barb and Dave Davies did a swell job of
pinch hitting and getting us through in a fix.
Rodney
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 10:51:48 -0400
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: That ain't the way I heered it, [removed]
From: "thomas heathwood" <HeritageRadio@[removed];
Subject: KING KONG
Anyone have an idea of the details re: a 1938 radio adaptation of the 1933
film, "King Kong" ?
The copy a listener sent to me for use on Heritage Radio Theatre appears
complete in the dramatization
minus any program opening or closing.
Dear Tom-
(Love your show - keep up the good work!)
I hate to say it, but you may be hearing a dub of the mid-'60's lp version.
It is one of those that does indeed sound like OTR, likely because it was
done by a cast & crew who were Vets of same. Around that time, folks like
Jack
Beck, Peter Fernandez, many of the SUPERMAN cast, Lon Clark, Bret Morrison,
Elaine Hyman, etc., did a series for MGM called "The Official Adventures
[removed]"
(famous comic characters.) They're very well done; good writing, good
acting, sfx & music; for all the world, they sound like OTR.
The main character, the captain of the boat, sounds like Paul Muni, and
there
is one other voice who sounds a good deal like a radio character actor,
whose
name I can't recall at the moment.
The story of KONG - excellently adapted & compressed by Cherney Berg - is
told by the ship's captain; Dan Ocko (who also directed) fairly channels the
voice of the original, Frank Reicher. Also in the cast Ralph Bell and Elaine
Rost.
These productions are little gems, not at all "watered" for juveniles; but
they're squarely 60's record jobs, not classic era radio.
(NOW, if you HAVE come across a 30's show, it's BIG [removed]!)
Best,
-Craig Wichman
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:29:48 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio Speakers book
Back from Cincinnati and just took the past couple hours to browse through
Jim Cox's RADIO SPEAKERS book I acquired at the convention. (Thank you,
Jim.) Anyone who can save money on a McFarland book should always take
advantage.
As usual, Jim's attention to detail is great, and his research is thorough.
The subtitle is lengthy: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys,
Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized
the Jargon of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s - a Biographical
Dictionary. And the book is simply that. A dictionary or encyclopedia so
reading it from the first page to the last isn't productive unless you can
remember everything you read in alphabetical order. The information,
however, is valuable and if you're like me, and have almost every
encyclopedia/book on OTR on your bookshelf, this will be a welcome addition.
The entries on Edward R. Murrow, Ken Roberts, Bert Parks, Louella Parsons,
Jinx Falkenburg are amusing reads. I was surprised to see an entry for
Norman Schwarzkopf with quotes from my own GANG BUSTERS book, correctly
citing who Norman left the show for other duties and who took his place "by
proxy."
I believe Jim said he had a few leftover from Cincy. If you collect OTR
books and love being able to find an answer to a question with ease, I
recommend this one.
Martin
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:54:45 -0400
From: Andrew Steinberg <otrdig2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: King Kong
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This was discussed by the members of OTRR some time back and the consensus
was that it was a recording of a Golden Records Kiddee record dating from
around the 1960s. As you mentioned it has no opening or closing credits which
is consistent with a record. The length of the recording is not consistent
with a radio show ([removed], 15, 30 or 60 minutes). I used to have this as an mp3
file and remember its length was something odd like 38 minutes. I deleted it
after deciding it was not an OTR program.
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Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:55:03 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: King Kong
Tom Heathwood has asked about a "1938" King Kong version:
I have had a copy of that for some time and have asked about it to
others. I do know that there was a 1933 promo by RKO wherein they
produced a small serialized radio version of sorts. Not sure how it
sounded or any more about it, but it was supposedly done in chapters, so
I don't think this copy is the same. The openings and closings are
chopped off of the version Tom refers to. How the date 1938 was
attached, I am not sure, but that version is passed around with 1938 as
part of the name. I did some cursory research trying to find out
anything, but came up with nothing.
I'd be curious to also know if anyone else has any more details.
Jim Widner
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 20:05:47 -0400
From: "randy story" <hopharrigan@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: REPS, anyone?
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Hi, folks.
I am trying to plan at least some type of vacation on a limited budget and I
was wondering about REPS, the old time radio convention they host in Seattle
every June? I know it may be expensive, but I have always wanted to see that
part of this country and the lure of OTR is very strong. I am still working on
attending the FOTR in October, but the REPS meeting might be terrific, too.
Can anyone help me out here? Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Randy Story
PS I am not opposed to sharing expenses with another if they are interested in
attending REPS or FOTR.
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Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 21:07:38 -0400
From: Randy Watts <rew1014@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: King Kong
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Anyone have an idea of the details re: a 1938 radio adaptation of the 1933
film, "King Kong" ?
It's possible that what you have is the dramatization released on LP by the
Golden Records label in the 1960s. It was very faithful to the movie.
Randy
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--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #128
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