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

[removed] Digest				Volume 96 : Issue 297

Table Of Contents: 

	 Re: show logs
	 Omega Flats
	 Ken Lynch
	 the ponies
	 What do I miss about OTR?
	 Re: House of Mystery
	 Alyce King Clarke
	 has anyone heard from Fred Berney
	 profit motive
	 Re: good kiddie show
	 16" turntables
	 Kids Shows
	 Adventures In Odyssey
	 Listening Guide book update and [removed] presentation

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 04:49:10 -0400
From: DIANEK9331@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: show logs
Message-ID: <960824044910_464330896@[removed]>

I am attempting to better organize and catalog my OTR collection. I am
looking for logs from Burns and Allen, Jack Benny, Fibber McGee and Molly,
The Six Shooter, Box 13, and Have Gun Will Travel. Any help will be
appreciated. Either respond in the digest or e-mail me at DIANEK9331@[removed]
Thanx,
Diane

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

Date: 24 Aug 1996 06:41:06 GMT
From: "Mike T. Taylor" <taylor_mike@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Omega Flats
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

[This note has been sent to the following InterNet address(es):
[removed]@[removed]]


Hi y'all ( yes, I'm from Tennessee )

   This isn't related to a REAL old radio program, but - when I was in Okinawa,
in the Air Force, the Armed Forces radio was pretty lousy, but they had a
program on daily called Omega Flats.  It was pretty crazy, but fairly
humorous.   Anyone ever heard of it, or know if it's on tape anywhere?

   Also, on my frequent trips to Tennessee, I've noticed that a LOT of the
shops along the way have begun carrying quite a good selection of "books on
tape,"  and the Cracker Barrels carry a few editions of SUSPENSE, LIGHTS OUT,
JACK BENNY, etc. . . .

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 09:08:45 -0500
From: vintage@[removed] (Andy Blatt)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Ken Lynch
Message-Id: <v01540b00ae44bd427c42@[[removed]]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Ken Lynch also starred in Hop Harrigan as "Tank".

Andy Blatt
Vintage Broadcasts

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 09:39:47 -0400 (EDT)
From: MAX SCHMID <mschmid@[removed]>
To: dbrockway@[removed]
cc: airwavesOTR <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: the ponies
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

	Two shows came immediately to mind, my having heard them recently 
-  My Friend Irma (her boss buys a racehorse, may have stretched over 2 
weeks) and a Bill Stern Newsreel show about a lucky gambler, who, I believe,
haunted a racetrack, if memory serves (he was dead at that time).  I'm sure 
every detective series will yield at least one racetrack story, up to the 
70s series with Rod Serling (Zero Hour), which had a 5 part story taking 
place at the track, with Howard Duff as a Spadelike detective and Walter 
Tetley as a jockey.

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 09:42:33 -0400
From: "Michael A. Carraher" <carraher@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: What do I miss about OTR?
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Charles Laughlin writes:

>Lest we consider the impact by TV on radio too narrowly, let's recall
>that radio too replaced other more "old fashioned" [removed]

This posting puts a lot about OTR being replaced by TV in perspective. 
I'd question that radio is a "successor" to books.  Widespread literacy
and popular publishing did not preceed radio by very many years.  And
OTR was a performance medium, not a literary medium.  Books continue to
thrive.  With radio, movies and TV, book sales continue to grow.

What died with the birth of OTR?  Vaudeville (many of whose performers
became the leading stars of OTR and early TV).  Burlesque, Chautaugua
and Minstrel shows had given way to Vaudeville, in turn.  People also
went to churches, prayer meetings and revivals.  It can be argued these
forms actually were superceded by movies, which is true.  Radio was the
first performance medium which provided entertainment in the home.

What did people do at home before radio?  Not much?  Most people were
working to hard to survive to have much time for entertainment.  Before
electricity (and much of the country still was not electrified at the
time the OTR era had begun), most people's lives were set by sunrise and
sunset.  People didn't stay up late as we do now.  It's been said Edison
is responsible for the current wave of sleep disorders and chronic
fatigue.  Historical evidence suggests most people did not sit around
having "meaningful" family time conversations like the Waltons.  Nor did
most people gather around the piano and sing together.  The world was
for most people a harsher place.  Radio, among other things, helped
change that.

It also seems that when a technological watershed occurs, material in
the former medium largegly drops from sight.  Movies from the 30's and
40's are commonly available on cable, satellite and video; silent movies
are hard to find.  TV shows in color from the late 60's are re-run
constantly, few TV shows in black and white from the 50's and early 60's
are still seen (exceptions like Lucy, The Honeymooner and early Andy
Griffit episodes are gratefully noted).

Let's also keep in mind that high quality attempted have been made to
revive OTR (CBS Mystery Theatre, NPR-BBC audio dramas including Star
Wars).  Hardly anybody listened.  Local stations attempt to schedule OTR
(see the [removed]).  Most stations ended up dropping OTR
due to poor audience response.

What do I miss?  On reflection, not OTR itself.
I miss specific programs I remember with pleasure.  But I miss some old
TV shows, too.

I think most of all I miss the voices.  Gunsmoke on TV was a very well
done show, the equal of a feature film.  Good writing and good
production.  James Arness looked like Matt Dillion but he didn't sound
like Matt Dillion,  I missed Bill Conrad's voice.
The TV Lone Ranger was cheaply produced and it showed.  But it was still
the Lone Ranger, still the same music, still Fran Striker's stories. 
But Clayton Moore did sound like Brace Beemer and he didn't look like
Brace sounded.  And the TV narrator was no Fred Foy.

I have to admit, some shows improved with TV.  Burns and Allen, for
example.  George coming down stage to talk to the audience, or even
better, watching the show on TV in his den upstairs, added a whole new
dimension.

I miss Fibber's closet.  But Lucy on the candy assembly line or pressing
grapes IS even funnier.

If, somehow, TV had not been invented, the OTR shows we remember would
not be around.  Maybe radio's death at a young age helps us remember
them (like James Dean, Marilyn Monroe).

As Charles Laughlin pointed out, many shows are listened to more than
watched.  Sitcoms and character-based dramas rely largely on dialog
(like radio).  This is in contrast to action dramas designed to be
watched.  Film is far more visual.  The picture carries the drama in
most movies just as in silent films.  Dialog in most movies is expanded
subtitles.  Not TV.  Most TV shows can be grasped without looking at the
screen.  TV is radio with pictures.  Except TV producers forget this. 
They short-change us on music and on voices (especially voices).

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 10:01:24 -0400
From: JanBach@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: House of Mystery
Message-ID: <960824100123_267581109@[removed]>

Hello, again --
Bill Knowlton's musings about the House of Mystery included a reference to
Roger Elliot, and that name brought back a bunch of memories for me -- now I
remember that program quite well, even the voice of Roger, who to me was less
of a "scary guy" than somewhat sympathetic, a voice somewhat like that of
"Bud" Collyer in his Clark Kent role. I believe there were two children with
Roger, naturally a girl and a boy of about the same ages as Jimmy and Judy in
the Cinnamon Bear -- but I'm writing this note to ask if anyone else
remembers that the House of Mystery was also featured as a comic strip on the
side of a breakfast food box -- perhaps Post Toasties or some other corn
flakes. My memory is that I was surprised and disappointed that the artist
drew Roger as a middle-aged guy, a little portly, with a square face and
glasses. Am I hallucinating, or what?
Later,
Jan Bach

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 14:10:53 GMT
From: veedee@[removed] (Vincent R. Damiano)
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Alyce King Clarke
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Alyce King Clarke, whose deep rich voice gave a distinctive sound to the
King Sisters from the 1930s to TV's "The King Family Show" in the 1960s,
has died.  She was 80. 
 
Clarke was one of three dozen family members who starred in the variety
show, which ran in 1965-66 and was briefly revived in 1969. 
 
Earlier, a quartet of the King Sisters sang on the radio in the 1930s and
'40s and on TV shows of Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin. 
 
They had a series of hits in the early '40s, including the novelty song
"The Hut-Sut Song (A Swedish Sereade)" and "It's Love-Love-Love."  They
also made occasional appearances in films. 
 
Survivors include all five of Clarke's singing sisters.

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 09:17:43 -0700
From: [removed]@[removed] (Donald Dortmund)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: has anyone heard from Fred Berney
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Description: cc:Mail note part

  I apologize for posting this.
  Has anyone heard from Fred Berney, he was sending out the Lone Ranger 
  Tapes to several of us to listen too and then send alone to another OTR 
  fan. My e-mail to him is not getting through. Thanks
  Don

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 09:33:32 -0500 (CDT)
From: barrym <barrym@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: profit motive
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

> The other side of the story is that the networks stopped promoting radio.
> You didn't see ads in the newspaper about who Jack Benny's guest on his
> radio show was this Sunday.  You'd see ads about his TV show.  And the
> same has been true about things like the CBS Mystery Theatre.  There were
> awfully few people who even knew it existed.

It occurs to me that the added cost of tv might have been part
of it's attraction to the networks and studios.  If the investment
is greater the potential profit is greater.  On this same principle
I've always doubted the insurance companie's claims that they want
to keep accidents down.  The more accidents, the higher their rates,
an the greater their profits.  I wonder if this didn't play a part
in the demise of OTR.  TV was bigger and therefore more profitable
in terms of scale.

Barry

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 10:46:45 -0400 (EDT)
From: MAX SCHMID <mschmid@[removed]>
To: airwavesOTR <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: Re: good kiddie show
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

I have to recommend Land of the Lost, aka Red Lantern, which starred Art 
Carney as the talking fish who led the 2 kids to undersea adventure in 
the land where all lost things go.  Written by and featuring Isabelle Manning
Hewson (Hewitt? somebody fetch me a Dunning!), these shows are like cartoon
soundtracks, with lots of singing and bad puns.  Sounds like Mae Questal is
one of the regulars, too.  
	"Knives of the Square Table" features Billy's lost penknife Jack, and 
Lavinia Ladle ands the old soupspoon who talks in spoonerisms.  Other episodes
available feature Mike Pike at Waviation School (for flying fish), Kid Squid 
the boxer, Ralph Royster the Oyster, and an episode called Blue Pearl of 
Atlantis.  I have 4 of these shows, I think there's supposed to be one more 
out there.  
	The characters also appeared in at least one cartoon, a comic 
book series, and possibly a book or two.
	-Max

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 10:58:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: MAX SCHMID <mschmid@[removed]>
To: airwavesOTR <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: 16" turntables
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Rick BVotti asked about finding a turntable that will take 16" discs.  Very
few turntables seem to be made anymore, but there is at least one that 
will (just barely) fit transcription discs, depending on how flat they 
pressed them (i've had a few that seen a tad bigger than 16" that scrape 
a bit on some upright part of the table.  It's the Technics SL-1015, R&B 
series.  The major drawback is the price - about $1000. 
	Another problem is that modern pick-ups aren't designed to track in
ounces, as these were intended to be played.  You get considerably more 
surface noise using the featherweight cartridges available today.
	You're best bet would be to turn them over to someone with the proper
equipment to make dubs for you.  I wouldn't be surprised if you've 
already had some offers from this list!
	-Max

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 96 15:30:08 UT
From: "Bruce Rosenberger" <BR3D@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Kids Shows
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Bill Scherer asks: 

>Hi, all,
>I thought it would be interesting to hear suggestions on the best all
>time kid OTR shows,be it favorite episodes of a series or an entire
>series. I am trying to find shows that my kids might like.

Y'know, I tried this same thing for a while, assuming that my kids would enjoy 
the childrens show of yesteryear. So I would buy things like "Let's Pretend" 
or "Superman" (I mean, who DOESN'T like Superman?) and play them on family 
trips to keep the kids from getting [removed] no response. But then one evening 
around the campfire, and no one could think of a scarey story to tell, I dug a 
horror show out of my bag and played it for the assembled group. SUCCESS! 
Everyone, including the kids, sat entranced for that half hour (wish I could 
remember what show it was) and later many of the adult there commented on how 
quiet it was for that half hour.
Since then I have not gone out of my way to purchase tapes that the family 
will like and find that when I do listen to shows in the car, the kids 
sometimes enjoy them and other times seem indiferent. As of yet, I can find no 
common link to their likes.
One show that I can reccomend is the Fibber McGee and Molly show of 4/29/52 
entitled "Potted Plants and Pet Show". My eight year old got a big laugh out 
of Fibber's experiment gone awry. He even noticed a vague reference to the 
show in the next weeks episode and wanted to know what had happened to the 
giant [removed] 
Even in a small town it seems like kids have to grow up just a little faster 
than in my time, maybe they're just a little more sophisticated in their 
entertainment.

Bruce R.

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 96 16:32:08 UT
From: "Bruce Rosenberger" <BR3D@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Adventures In Odyssey
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Occasionally someone asks if there are any "current" radio shows still in 
production. A friend (who has a 1-1/2 hr commute every day) has introduced me 
to "Adventures In Odyssey" a radio show that he found while surfing the dial 
on his long commute home. Now I should mention up front that the show is 
broadcast on a christian religious network, and I like many others, bristle at 
the proposition of being preached to. but, getting past that, I have to admit 
that I enjoy many of the shows broadcast in this series. The best of the 
episodes appear to be ones dealing with the townsfolk. Before I had started 
listening, my friend had told me about a long continuesd adventure that 
invovled some of the townfolk on a jouney to California and their adventures 
along the way. Since I've been listening I've only heard one of these 
continued adventures, about one of the regulars running for mayor. It was my 
favorite so far. Other tales are much more moralstic using a device called 
"the rom of consequence" to show people how their actionscould turn out. 
(These are my least favorite as I don't like beig slapped in the face with the 
moral.)
THe production values are the highlight of the series, well acted, and well 
produced, and featuring seasoned actors (Rueben Kincaid from the "Partridge 
Family" is a regular and I think I heard Charles Fliescher doing several 
characters on one episode) the downside being that they don't credit their 
actors.(JEERS!) I don't know what other stations it's on but it is definately 
syndicated.

Bruce R.

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

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 13:40:20 -0400
From: Platecap@[removed]
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Listening Guide book update and [removed] presentation
Message-ID: <960824134019_392993406@[removed]>

If you have the Friends of Old time Radio convention flyer, you'll know that
I'll be doing a workshop on starting and organizing an OTR collection.
Part of the reason I've had a lower profile in the OTR Digest this summer is
due to work on a revision and partial re-print of the last edition (1986) of
my Listening Guide to Classic Radio programs which hopefully will be ready in
time for the convention.  It's been 10 years, and a lot has changed in the
OTR hobby.  I'm not going to say "time flies when you're having fun," because
OTR has had its share of ups and [removed] but I'm still as active as ever, so
at least as far as I'm concerned, the good far outweighs the bad!
What is my book about?   It's been so long since the last edition, I've
missed a generation of new OTR collectors.  It's a HOW-TO hand book for
trading OTR, getting the best sound, taping techniques, cataloging, and much
more as well as a list of resources for OTR hobbyists.
Bob Burnham; BRC Productions;  Platecap@[removed]




--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #297
*******************************************

