Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #253
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 9/2/2007 8:49 PM

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

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2007 : Issue 253
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      A way to clean up                     [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      Henry Leff, [removed]                    [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
      This week in radio history 2-8 Septe  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Recording Fidelity plus NBC Hollywoo  [ Ken Greenwald <kgradio@[removed]; ]
      NBC Hollywood floorplans, etc         [ Ralph Titus <rtitus@[removed]; ]
      Re: transcription response            [ Don Shenbarger <donslistmail@sbcglo ]
      9-2 births/deaths                     [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      Author panel                          [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]

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

    Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 23:50:49 -0400
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  A way to clean up

    I found it charming that -- as the dulcet tones of Mr. Keen announcer Larry
    Elliott wafted onto the horizon to introduce another Hummert drama, The
    Strange Romance of Evelyn Winters -- the studio mighty Wurlitzer (which was
    probably a Hammond) pealed out the familiar strains of a tune that could
    linger in one's head for a very long time.  I think the piece of music may
    have been titled "Sweetheart."  I know the first line, sometimes sung by one
    of the more seasoned uppercrust vocalists on The Voice of Firestone, began
    with "Sweetheart, Sweetheart, Sweetheart."  From there, I don't remember the
    lyrics, but it surely sounds like something Nelson Eddy would have pitched
    to Jeanette MacDonald, or vice versa.

    The point worth noting about this was that the Manhattan Soap Company
    brought that little matinee narrative to America's ears from 1944-48 over
    CBS five afternoons a week on behalf of its -- are you ready for this? --
    Sweetheart cleansing bar.  What a perfect collision of product and theme
    song (not a jingle theme dreamed up in some advertiser's shop, like
    "N-A-B-I-S-C-O, Nabisco is the name to know!  For a breakfast you can't beat
    ... Try Nabisco Shredded Wheat").

    This one, "Sweetheart," was already in public domain I presume, as so many
    of those ditties gracing Frank and Anne's exhibitions were -- they, with the
    four eyes incessantly fixed upon the bottom line!  The natural tie-in of
    sponsor and product was endorsement and reinforcement without ever saying a
    word.

    I've often wondered:  were there other shows where the theme song named the
    sponsor's product?  (Not the jingle kind, mind you, but the actual existing
    music selected.)  I'd be interested in reading any responses.  Perhaps
    others would, too.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 23:51:24 -0400
    From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Henry Leff, [removed]

    I regret to inform the OTR community of the death of Henry Leff, well
    known TV and movie actor, who played "Mallard" on the NBC radio
    series. "Candy Matson, YU 2-8209." He died from a variety of ailments
    at age 88 on August 12th in his home in San Francisco.

    He and his wife, Sylvia, were very active in Bay Area radio for many
    years. I had the opportunity to interview him over the telephone and
    an exchange of correspondence in 2002-03.  He was most cordial and
    helpful in adding to the background information on "Candy Matson" and
    other shows he had worked on.

    His son, Mark, a college professor in Athens, Ohio informed me today
    of his father's death. Mark is putting together a special video
    tribute to his dad for a memorial service to be held October 26th at
    Temple Emanu-El, intersection of Lake and Arguello Streets in San
    Francisco. He is seeking any pertinent materials that he can add to
    this presentation.

    Leff is survived by his wife, son Mark, daughters Judi and Miriam,
    and one granddaughter. The family has requested that donations in his
    name be made to National Yiddish Book Center, Weinberg Building, 1021
    West Street, Amherst, MA 01002 or to Congregation Emanuel-El , 2 Lake
    Street, San Francisco, CA 94118.

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    <[removed]>

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

    Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 23:51:35 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  This week in radio history 2-8 September

     From Those Were The Days --

    9/2

    1931 - 15 Minutes with Bing Crosby debuted on CBS.

    9/5

    1938 - The NBC Red network broadcast Life Can Be Beautiful for the first
    time. The program was "an inspiring message of faith drawn from life."
    The program aired until 1954.

    9/6

    1920 - The first prizefight broadcast on radio featured Jack Dempsey
    knocking out Billy Miske in the third round of a bout in Benton Harbor,
    MI. Radio station WWJ in Detroit was the station that fight fans were
    tuned to.

    9/8

    1935 - The Hoboken Four, featuring Frank Sinatra as lead singer,
    appeared on Major Bowes Amateur Hour on WOR. The group won the
    competition held at the Capitol Theatre in New York City.

    1944 - Ed Wynn resumed his radio career after seven years off the air.
    Wynn starred in Happy Island on the NBC Blue network.

    Joe

    --
    Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 23:52:49 -0400
    From: Ken Greenwald <kgradio@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Recording Fidelity plus NBC Hollywood

    Hello:
    Joe Salerno and another OTRer asked about the fidelity of ETs. This much I
    know and car share here with all:
    Sound quality varied, depending on who was cutting the ET disc and whether
    the source was off the line or an aircheck. If the source was an aircheck,
    then the fidelity rarely went above 5000 cycles. That's because the AM tuners
    were made to pick up sound only to 5,000 cycles. (The same ws true of home
    radios. To build a radio or tuner that would pick up the full range of sound
    transmitted by the network would mean buying a radio would be far too
    expensive for the average person). If it was a direct line feed from the
    radio studio where the program was simultaneously going on the air, then the
    fidelity was from 100 cycles to 15,000 cycles! Bear in mind that the
    engineers who cut the discs at NBC, CBS, MUTUAL, ABC and at RADIO RECORDERS
    only cut discs directly off line feeds. These engineers were trained to do
    the best and most accurate recording available. Not long ago an engineer I
    know at NBC put two discs on the audio analyzer to find out what the actual
    frequency response was. One disc was a 16 inch ET of a Fibber McGee and Molly
    show from the 40s. The other disc was a 12 inch ET from the Screen Guild
    Players show.
    The 16 inch ET, running at 33 1/3 had a frequency response of 100 cycles up
    to 15,000 cycles.  The 12 inch ET, running at 78 rpm had a frequency response
    from 50 cycles to 20,000 cycles. So, those engineers knew what they were
    doing. Independed companies, such as ECCLES and STUDIO AND RECORDING ARTISTS
    would cut discs for actors or patrons and usually had to use an AM tuner as
    they were not linked by line directly to the networks. Thus the poor fidelity
    of those recordings. Hope this helps.

    Bob Cockrum wanted to know what NBC Hollywood was like; if there are photos
    of same and how the inside of the studios looked. As a kid I actually saw a
    Fibber McGee and Molly show in Studio A and an Abbott and Costello Childrens
    Show in Studio B. The NBC network built a vast, complex building at the
    corner of Sunset and Vine. It was completely Art Deco. The building was two
    stories high on one side (the side on Vine Street). The second story
    contained the business offices and script departments, etc. On the Sunset
    blvd. side, it was only one story high and this side contained three of the
    main studios: Studios A, B, and C. All the major network shows eminated from
    these three studios. A,B, and C took the entire length of one [removed]
    up to Argyle Ave., which paralleled Vine Street. On Argyle, the building
    continued with Studios D,E, and F. These three studios took care of live
    daytime shows like The Tom Brenaman Show, etc. These studios were for the
    daytime filler shows.
    The insides of all of the studios were completely Art Deco with special
    stages built for the performers and plenty of room for a full orchestra,
    sound effects and more; including the directors booth (usually on one side of
    the stage). The seats were all upholstered and very comfortable. Entering an
    NBC studio was like going into a major motion picture theater  --  only
    instead of looking at a big screen, you were watching live actors and
    actresses bring you the best (and sometimes the worst) of radio. The color
    used was a very, very low key light [removed] Microphones were
    permanently hung above the audience to catch the laughter. NBC Hollywood was
    a very professional place to work with everything carefully thought out, both
    in presenting radio shows and in how the building was constructed. I beleive
    that NBC may still have all of their network photos of NBC Hollywood in their
    files at their Burbank site. I do know they have their own radio and TV
    archieves (though most of it is TV not radio). Also, there are vast files of
    photos of all of Hollywood, including interior/exterior views of NBC
    Hollywood contained in the collection of First Federal Bank in Hollywood
    (corner Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave.) Whew! That's if for now.

    Ken Greenwald

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

    Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 23:57:21 -0400
    From: Ralph Titus <rtitus@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  NBC Hollywood floorplans, etc

    In the 31 August Digest, Bob Cockrum asked about floorplans and
    photos of NBC Hollywood.  The Architectural Forum magazine of March
    1939 has several parges of floorplans and photos of the studios at
    Sunset and Vine (which had just opened).  The June 1938 issue of the
    Forum has photos and floorplans of Columbia Square, CBS in Hollywood,
    just a block down Sunset Blvd. from NBC.

    Old Radio [removed]

    Ralph S Titus

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

    Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 23:59:17 -0400
    From: Don Shenbarger <donslistmail@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: transcription response

    On 9/1/2007 Joe Salerno  wrote:

>     I am not sure I agree with the part about vertical recording being
>     the better of the 2 formats. Like Dick, I would like to see some
>     unbiased figures. Has anyone ever encountered pristine copies of the
>     same radio program in both vertical and lateral formats?

    Historically there were side by side comparisons of horizontal and
    vertical recordings that suggest a slight advantage for vertical
    recording. Most phonograph enthusiasts would agree that in the
    acoustical era, vertical recording was superior. Edison (vertical)
    ran countless tone tests for audiences coast to coast which
    repeatedly demonstrated their inability to tell if it was live or
    recorded sound they were hearing. My guess is some writers throughout
    the electrical era carried over their acoustic experience and
    opinions during their entire careers. Commercially, I doubt
    comparisons exist because the two technologies were used by
    competitors. Musically, I believe the Victor Talking Machine Co. paid
    more for better talent than Edison was willing to spend and so those
    performances were more popular. But we are talking about ETs here and
    it would surprise me if several engineers did not perform their own
    tests if they had the equipment to do it.

    For years one of the strongest arguments for cylinder records was the
    absence of "skating force" inherent in disc records. The cylinder
    records could have stronger modulation and play louder because of
    this--important in acoustical records. Horizontal disc recordings
    especially suffered near the center of the record from distortion
    caused by the skating force which tends to cause the needle to climb
    out of the bottom of the groove. Vertical cut disc records were
    apparently less prone to having this problem.

    Horizontal success really had to wait for the invention of the
    crystal pickup. This pickup permitted greatly reduced tracking force
    on the record and allowed the technology to move forward to acetate
    on aluminum discs. At the same time electrical recording methods
    replaced acoustical methods. Overall distortion was greatly reduced
    using these new developments.

    By the middle 30s, all development on vertical recording had ended.

    Recording fidelity is another matter. Microphones were available in
    the early 30s capable of frequencies out to 15,000 Hertz. The RCA
    44-BX ribbon-type is one of them. Getting that quality all the way to
    a radio studio produced transcription disc is another matter. Decca
    (British, not US) developed a wide frequency range microphone during
    WW-2 used to record German submarines underwater at very high
    fidelity. That technology was used to produce the London-Decca FFRR
    (Full Frequency Range Recording) records in the late 40s. Those are
    the first commercial records I am aware of that claim recording range
    to 14,000 Hertz (cycles per second at that time).

    Most of this information comes from "From Tin Foil to Stereo", Oliver
    Read and Walter Welch, 1959 & 1976.

    Don

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

    Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 23:59:26 -0400
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  9-2 births/deaths

    September 2nd births

    09-02-1896 - Amanda Randolph - Louisville, KY - d. 8-24-1967
    actor: Mama "Amos 'n' Andy"; Oriole "Beulah"
    09-02-1898 - Arthur Young - Bristol, Gloucestershire, England - d.
    2-24-1959
    actor: Junior Fitz "Ma Perkins"; Son "The Baxters"
    09-02-1901 - Phil Napoleon - Boston, MA - d. 9-13-1990
    bandleader: "Napoleon's Retreat"
    09-02-1902 - Henry J. Taylor - Chicago, IL - d. 2-24-1984
    commentator: 'Your Land and Mine"; "News Commentary"
    09-02-1904 - Vera Vague (Barbara Jo Allen) - NYC - d. 9-14-1974
    comedienne: "Vera Vague Show"; "Bob Hope Show"; "Jimmy Durante Show"
    09-02-1907 - Irving Miller - NYC - d. 4-xx-1986
    musician: "Mel Blanc Show"; "Garry Moore Show"
    09-02-1909 - Adrienne Marden - Cleveland, OH - d. 11-9-1978
    actor: Patrica Jordan "Story of Bess Johnson"
    09-02-1912 - Phil Agrestra - d. 7-xx-1986
    sportscaster: WBT Charlotte, North Carolina
    09-02-1914 - Tom Glazer - Philadelphia, PA - d. 2-21-2003
    folk singer: "[removed] Radio Project"; "Living 1948"; "The Eternal Light"
    09-02-1917 - Cleveland Amory - Nahant, MA - d. 10-14-1998
    writer: "Brain Trust"

    September 2nd deaths

    01-13-1918 - Steve Dunne - Northampton, MA - d. 9-2-1977
    actor: Sam Spade "Advs. of Sam Spade"
    01-14-1908 - Russ Columbo - Camden, NJ - d. 9-2-1934
    singer, bandleader: "Russ Columbo Show"
    03-08-1899 - Gladys Thornton - Madison. Fl - d. 9-2-1964
    actor: Aunt Addie "My Son and I"; Mrs. Tasek "The O'Neills"
    04-02-1919 - Charles Frederick Lindsley - Minnesota - d. 9-2-1990
    judge: "Noah Webster Says"
    05-07-1908 - Edmund MacDonald - Massachusetts - d. 9-2-1951
    actor: Tommy Hughes "Big Town"; Inspector Burke "Murder Will Out"   s
    05-12-1900 - Mildred McAfee - Parkville, MO - d. 9-2-1994
    navy's first female line officer: "Information Please"
    05-18-1907 - Clifford Curzon - London, England - d. 9-2-1982
    pianist: "March of Dimes"
    05-28-1928 - Billy Roy - Detroit , MI - d. 9-2-2003
    actor: "Smilin' Ed's Buster Brown Gang"
    08-10-1902 - Curt Siodmak - Dresden, Saxony, Germany - d. 9-2-2000
    film writer: "Suspense"
    08-22-1904 - Jay Novello - Chicago, IL - d. 9-2-1982
    actor: Sam Sabaaya "Rocky Jordan"; Glenn Hunter "One Man's Family"
    08-27-1896 - Morris Ankrum - d. 9-2-1964
    actor: "Shakespeare Festival"; "Campbell Playhouse"; "A Report to the
    Nation"
    11-22-1911 - Frank Graham - Detroit MI - d. 9-2-1950
    actor: Diogenes Smith "Lum and Abner"; Jeff Regan "The Lion's Eye"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2007 22:48:20 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Author panel

    Dave Siegel, Mel Simons and I are going to be on the author's panel at FOTR.
      I just talked to Jay and ONLY people who had a new book on old-time radio
    show within the past year are invited to become a member of the panel.  My
    wife will be using her digital camera and projector to put covers of the
    books up on the wall for display during the event (assuming authors are
    bringing at least one copy of their book).  Rather than holding up their
    book for display on the table, the attendance, even those in the far back
    seats, can see the book covers up on the wall easily.  It's just the three
    of us right now (Mel, Dave and I), so if anyone wrote an OTR book within the
    past year and wants to participate on the panel, let me know by e-mail so we
    can get a copy of the book cover into a digital file for the panel.  It's a
    cute novelty and don't want to overlook anyone.

    Martin
    mmargrajr@[removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #253
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