Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #139
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 5/19/2006 9:03 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2006 : Issue 139
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Re: Mel Blanc vs. Suspense            [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
      HOUDINI TALKS TO WILL ROGERS          [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
      Houdini                               [ "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@sbcgloba ]
      "Rogers of the Gazette"               [ Fred Berney <fsberney@[removed]; ]
      A Houdini [removed]                     [ jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns) ]
      Bob Hope show                         [ "Walden Hughes" <walden1@yesterdayu ]
      Show That Ran Too Long?               [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
      Freberg funny?                        [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
      WCCO Radio                            [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
      Hickerson                             [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
      Freberg and Kovacs                    [ Ed Kindred <kindred@[removed]; ]
      Myrt makes an appearance?             [ Dancingdays72777@[removed] ]
      Short Run Series                      [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
      5-20 births/deaths                    [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 00:14:21 -0400
    From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Mel Blanc vs. Suspense
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    In a message dated 5/18/06 9:53:45 PM Central Daylight Time,
    [removed]@[removed] writes:

>     the show was silly and juvenile
>     for prime time at 8:30 PM Tuesdays on CBS. He was up against NBC's strong
>     line up of Suspense, Fibber McGee & Molly

    When was "Suspense" ever on NBC?  I thought it was always CBS, beginning to
    end.

    Dixon

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

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 00:15:02 -0400
    From: PURKASZ@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  HOUDINI TALKS TO WILL ROGERS
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    All this wonderful talk about Houdini and Will  Rogers set off a time bomb in
    my brain and I rushed to my library to search  [removed] here's the story.
        In 1971, while living in the Hollywood Tower on  Franklin in Hollywood, I
    was a regular frequenter to the Cherokee Bookstore on  Hollywood Boulevard
    run by a genial man named Gene Blum I think his name  was.
        He loved when I would walk in the store and would  loudly cry out some
    dialogue he'd heard me speak in a recent movie and I'd reply  with the next
    line.
        He was fond of showing me treasures he'd recently  acquired and one day
    he showed me a book written by Harry Houdini about the  spirit world, sadly
    the
    title eludes me at the moment, anyway I asked how much  and he said a
    ridiculously low price and I bought it.
        When I got home I realized he must have never  opened it because it was
    inscribed in sepia fountain pen ink in Houdini's  handwriting,
        "To my dear friend Will Rogers, best,"
        Then the ultimate showman's signature with the  self-serving appellation,
        "Houdini himself."
        I loved [removed] [removed] only I could find  it.
        Gotta be worth [removed]
        Anyone know the title?
                                Gwynne

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

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 00:23:44 -0400
    From: "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: "The Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Houdini

    So far no one has said a word about the 1953 movie "Houdini" that stared
    George Marshal, Tony Curtis as Houdini, Janet Leigh, Torin Thatcher, Ian
    Wolfe & Sig Ruman. To quote Leonard Maltin "Fanciful biography of famed
    escape artist; more fiction than fact, but entertaining." **1/2  It's on
    video tape if anyone wants to see it

    Frank McGurn

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 00:46:28 -0400
    From: Fred Berney <fsberney@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "Rogers of the Gazette"

    At 11:33 PM 5/17/2006, you wrote:

>     Will Rodger's Jr. had a series, "Rodgers of the Gazette" about a small
>     town newspaper publisher.

    I really enjoyed that show. I use to listen to it every week when it
    was originally broadcast. I had recorded one of the programs. The one
    dealing with the towns centennial. I didn't know that anyone else was
    aware of the show till one day I found another collector who had a
    number of them.

    Fred
    Check us out for old time radio & TV shows & Movie Serials
    [removed]

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 09:28:58 -0400
    From: jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns)
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  A Houdini [removed]

    Moe Howard's wife, Helen, was a relative of Harry Houdini's.

    Moe, of course, was the lynchpin of the Three Stooges.

    Which makes for some very interesting bloodlines.

    When I met Moe's and Helen's granddaughter a few years ago, I said:

    "Gee, as a kid growing up, you had it good.

    "You could poke someone in the eye, and then [removed]"

    Jim Burns

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 09:29:16 -0400
    From: "Walden Hughes" <walden1@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Bob Hope show

    Hi Everybody,

    reading in the last OTR digest about the Bob Hope show     might have seen
    its better days after Garry left.  I feel that Bob Hope Season from 1948 to
    1950 was the very best part of his run.  He added new writers like Larry
    Gelbart, he had two great singers.  Doris Day for two season  who showed her
    skill as a great comedian as well as a great singer.  My friend Bill Farrell
    who was the male singer on the show the 1948 to 1949 Season.   Jack
    Kirkwood, and Irene Rilen.  I hope Radio Spirit can put out more Bob Hope
    shows from the 1948 to 1950 season.  I am also a close friend of Beryl Davis
    who came over from England on a Bob Hope Radio contract and started to sang
    on Bob Hope show from 2-11-47.  I hope Radio Spirit could issues more of Bob
    Hope shows during that time frame too.  Take care,

    Walden

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 09:30:06 -0400
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Show That Ran Too Long?

    Kermyt Anderson, speaking of shows that ran too long, notes,

>     I also gather that Captain Midnight's final season
>     or so (if I'm remembering correctly) threw out a lot
>     of the character's backstory and wasn't very good.

    Actually, it was the half-hour show that degraded.  This ran twice a
    week, alternating with the half-hour Tom Mix show. It ran from 20
    September through 15 December 1949.  From 1938 through the Spring of
    1949, the 15-minute serial had a continuity that was overlooked in the
    half-hour programs.  This is one reason that in chronicling the radio
    program, I do not consider the half-hour programs to be canonical.

    The 15-minute serial had a listenership of 49% of voting age ([removed],
    adults), according to my contact at Ovaltine, Lyle Bergmann.  The
    30-minute version was aimed squarely at the grade- to middle school
    listeners, and the plots and vocabulary were simplified considerably.
    The half-hour series did not star "the voice of Captain Midnight," Ed
    Prentiss; rather, it starred Paul Barnes.  He did the best with what he
    had, but it's fitting that Ed Prentiss was spared the degradation of the
    character's presentation.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 10:26:43 -0400
    From: "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed];
    To: ""old-time radio digest">" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Freberg funny?

    To quote Denis Day, "I'll probably get slugged for this but,"  I didn't think
    the Freberg show was all that funny.
    I haven't heard many of them, but 1 bit that stands out to me was the
    interview with the abominable Snowman.  Not funny.  I loved his radio adds,
    and I loved
    his recordings--particularly the song and dragnet parodies.
    Maybe I heard the wrong shows?
    He had a
    fabulous cast and it should have been incredible.
    Oh yeah the Blanc show wasn't good either as mentioned by someone else.
    I'd better duck.
    Bikll

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 10:26:57 -0400
    From: "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed];
    To: ""old-time radio digest">" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  WCCO Radio

    Hi all,
    A year or so ago, our local twin cities radio station WCCO AM celebrated it's
    85th anniversary.  I think that's what it was anyway.
    They put out a book that contained CD's of their programming over the years.
    The disks are no longer in print and I was wondering if anyone out there may
    have  bought these?
    I'd love to get a copy of the disks and would be happy to negotiate some kind
    of trade if he or she would be willing.
    Thanks.
    Bill

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 10:27:27 -0400
    From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Hickerson

    I sent my copy of the 2nd edition of Hickerson to the first person who
    wanted it.  Next time Jay does a new edition of "Ultimate History of Radio
    [removed]" I would suggest some other kind of binding.  Mine got so
    frayed I had holes punched so I could put it into a 3-ring binder.  At that
    point I split the book into two volumes; it was easier to use that way.
    Anyhow, Jay, that book is one of my "Radio Bibles."  Keep up the good work!

    Ted Kneebone / 1528 S. Grant St. / Aberdeen, SD 57401
    [removed]~stmarkch/
    Democrats: [removed]

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 15:16:06 -0400
    From: Ed Kindred <kindred@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Freberg and Kovacs

    Sandy Singer said

>     Stan had one of the most creative minds
>     in the biz, somewhat like that of Ernie Kovacs -- sadly, few 'understood'
>     their comedy.

    Can you imagine staring at your colorfully monochromatic TV and seeing
    only an immobile graphic
    of  a city street at night and listening to the Bartok Concerto for
    Orchestra for many minutes? Who
    would do such a gutsy, strange thing? The Wild Magyar Kovacs that's who. I
    was a teenager at the
    time who did own a recording of the Bartok so I was fascinated that it
    would be on the telly. I kept
    waiting for something to happen on the screen. It never did but I enjoyed
    hearing the Bartok in what
    I thought was a bizarre setting. We missed a lot of potential that night
    he wrapped himself around the
    power pole.

    The following is excerpted from:

    [removed]

    'Eighty percent of what I do is in the category of sight gags, no
    pantomime. I work on the incongruity
    of sight against sound."

    It is doubtful that Ernie Kovacs would find a place on television today.
    He was too zany, too unrestrained,
    too undisciplined. Perhaps Jack Gould of The New York Times said it best
    for Ernie Kovacs, "the fun was in  trying."

    [removed]
    Kovacs is buried in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery  in Los
    Angeles.
     His epitaph reads "Nothing in moderation-We all loved him".
    Ed Kindred

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 21:56:38 -0400
    From: Dancingdays72777@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Myrt makes an appearance?

    I hear there's an episode of Fibber McGee and  Molly where Myrt the telephone
    operator actually makes a brief appearance on the  [removed] has a couple of
    lines. Does anyone know which episode that was and  the date of it?

    Thanks,

    Matt

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 21:56:47 -0400
    From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Short Run Series

    I have 2 nominees:

    1) "The Bickersons" - This began as a part of DRENE TIME in the '46-'47
    season and continued as part of the OLD GOLD SHOW in '47-'48, then was on
    BERGEN/MCCARTHY in the fall of '48.  The only full length 30 minute sitcom
    was THE BICKERSONS in the summer of 1951.

    2) THE STROKE OF FATE - This was on NBC for 13 weeks in late 1953.  First
    rate dramitizations of "what ifs" of history (what if Hamilton killed Burr
    in the duel, what if Lee accepted Lincoln's offer to command the Union Army
    in 1861 etc.).  Real thought provoking stuff and generally well done drama
    as well.

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

    Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 23:01:54 -0400
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  5-20 births/deaths

    May 20th births

    05-20-1894 - Adela Rogers St. Johns - Los Angeles, CA - d. 8-10-1988
    novelist: Commentator on NBC 1936-1937
    05-20-1899 - Stan Lomax - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 6-26-1987
    sportscaster: "Evening Journal Sports"
    05-20-1899 - Virginia Sale - Urbana, IL - d. 8-23-1992
    actor: Martha "Those We Love"
    05-20-1906 - Lyda Roberti - Warsaw, Poland - d. 3-12-1938
    actor, singer: Freelance; Sang with Al Jolson two days before her death
    05-20-1908 - Jimmy Stewart - IN, PA - d. 7-2-1997
    actor: Britt Ponset "Six Shooter"
    05-20-1909 - Jerry Hausner - Cleveland, OH - d. 4-1-1993
    actor: "Lum and Abner"; "Silver Theatre"
    05-20-1911 - Patricia Dunlap - Bloomington, IL
    actor: Betty Fairfield "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy"
    05-20-1911 - Vet Boswell - Birmingham, AL - d. 11-12-1988
    singer: (The Boswell Sisters) "The Boswell Sisters"; "Woodbury Soap
    Show"
    05-20-1920 - Dorothy Howe (Virginia Vale) - Dallas, TX
    actor: "Gateway to Hollywood"
    05-20-1920 - George Gobel - Chicago, IL - d. 2-24-1991
    comedian, actor, singer: (Lonesome George) Jimmy "Tom Mix"; "National
    Barn Dance"
    05-20-1921 - Joel Kane - Los Angeles County, CA - d. 4-20-1993
    writer: "Fibber McGee and Molly"
    05-20-1925 - Vic Ames - Malden, MA - d. 1-23-1978
    singer,: (Ames Brothers) "Sing It Again"; "Robert Q. Lewis Show"
    05-20-1926 - Miles Davis - Alton, IL - d. 9-29-1991
    sideman: "Billy Eckstien Orchestra"
    05-20-1936 - Anthony Zerbe - Long Beach, CA
    actor: "Earplay"

    May 20th deaths

    06-30-1920 - Dean Harens - South Bend, IN - d. 5-20-1996
    actor: Arthur Anderson "We, the Abbotts"
    07-07-1919 - Jon Pertwee - Chelsea, England - d. 5-20-1996
    actor: The Doctor "Doctor Who"; Worzel; Gummidge "Worzel Gummidge"
    11-28-1917 - Elliott Lewis - NYC - d. 5-20-1990
    actor, director: Frankie Remley "Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show"; "On
    Stage"; "Mr. Aladdin"
    12-06-1909 - Lyn Murray - London, England - d. 5-20-1989
    conductor: "Chesterfield Presents"; "Your Hit Parade"; "Ford Theatre"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Birthplace of Judy Tyler

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #139
    *********************************************

    Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
      including republication in any form.

    If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
       [removed]

    For Help: [removed]@[removed]

    To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

    To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
      or see [removed]

    For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
      in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

    To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

    To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]