Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #311
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 10/10/2005 11:39 AM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2005 : Issue 311
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Encylopedia/WTIC GDOR                 [ "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed]; ]
      Senators and congressmen, oh my!      [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
      Re: FOTR Convention                   [ alo <alo@[removed]; ]
      Re: Murrow vs. McCarthy               [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
      Exploding another myth                [ "Jim Cox" <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      Ed Murrow                             [ "HOWARD BLUE" <khovard@[removed]; ]
      the first synthetic detergent         [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
      10-10 births/deaths                   [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Mr Kitzel                             [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Re:Ass Directors.                     [ Hal Stone <otrjug@[removed]; ]
      WLS "Stand By"                        [ "Bill Knowlton" <udmacon1@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 17:44:20 -0400
    From: "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Encylopedia/WTIC GDOR

    After 10 months of reading (or trying to read) a few pages each
    day, I have finally finished John Dunning's Encyclopedia of Old
    Time Radio. (I ordered it last year when it was on sale for about
    $19.) The thing that struck me the most was how many programs
    were short-lived. When we think of OTR, the best-remembered ones
    are those that were around the longest ...and obviously, they
    were around the longest, in most cases, for good reason. I didn't
    keep count, but the summer replacements and other special
    circumstances aside, it was interesting to see how many programs
    were on for only a matter of three to six months or one or two
    seasons. Same for TV today, of course, but I hadn't put OTR in
    that same perspective. Gee, weren't all OTR programs great and
    didn't they run 10-20-30 years?

    I also appreciated Dunning's recommendation of some programs and
    saying that they were available in good quality sound. I'll be
    getting several of "On Stage" with Elliott and Cathy Lewis, a
    series I missed way back when. Guess I need to go the library and
    look up the radio schedules in the newspapers to see what was on
    opposite the show. Even if there was a conflict with an existing
    favorite, I might have heard it once and decided it was beyond
    the mind of this 9-year-old.

    -0-

    In a posting last week, Steve Carter had praise for the reruns of
    WTIC's Golden Days of Radio on the Internet. I've enjoyed the
    programs, too ... but with some reservations, realizing a number
    of factors end up shaping the final program ... like why does the
    sample of a program run on and on and on? It could be the guest
    was late for the interview and because of another appointment
    could spare only a half-hour to talk. I do think some of the
    interviews were "by the seat of their pants" ... with questions
    not all that concise and directed toward getting some solid
    information from the guest. But it's easier these days to do the
    necessary research on a program or personality than it was in the
    mid-70s.

    However, it would have been nice if some misinformation by the
    guest were corrected or simply not used for the broadcasts then
    or now. For instance, Vincent Price made a comment to the effect
    that the stars' fees for appearing on Lux Radio Theatre went to
    the Screen Actors Guild home. Of course, he was thinking of the
    Gulf (etc.) Screen Guild Theater.

    The interview with Martha Raye is one of the worst I've heard ...
    not a relfection on the interviewers necessarily and no
    reflection on her talent back in OTR (she was a good singer),
    but -- if I heard her correctly (and it was hard to understand
    because of her mumbling) she told Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran
    that the USO tours didn't start until after the war -- which
    caught them short because they too knew that wasn't correct --
    and then she says she was over in London during the Blitz. She
    either was confused on her times or her terminology or both. In
    general, she just wasn't as responsive as you want a good
    interview to be ... you can hear in your own mind Dick and Ed
    thinking, "Say more, say more."

    So far, my two favorites of all the programs I've heard are
    Vincent Price for his sheer enthusiasm about radio acting ... and
    playwright Robert Anderson for his insight into writing for
    radio. Mel Allen, though he seemed awfully hesitant at times,
    also was a delight.

    Bob C.

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

    Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 17:45:34 -0400
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Senators and congressmen, oh my!

    "> It's by  the same reporter who

>     can't tell the difference between Senators and

    Congressmen"

    "Huh? Unless something changed when I wasn't looking,
    Senators are congressmen."

    That is _technically_ correct, as elected officials in
    both the [removed] House of Representatives and the [removed]
    Senate are members of _congress_. However, a senator
    is referred to as "senator", while a representative is
    referred to as "Congressman" (or "Congresswoman"),
    rather than "Representative."

    Thus: "As Congressman Stan Laurel led the way out of
    the Oval Office, Senator Oliver Hardy fumed after him.

    "Well, Stanley, that's another fine mess you've gotten
    us into."

    In newspaper first reference, a member of congress
    would be identified as Sen. X or Rep. Y (or [removed]
    Rep.); and on the state level, it would be "State
    Sen." or State Rep."  However, for most people in
    ordinary conversation, the word "congressman" (or
    "congresswoman") has become synonymous with a member
    of the House of Representatives, rather than the more
    correct description of a member of either house.

    Why that is, I don't know; but even the senators and
    representatives do it via their press releases. Sen.
    Carl Levin doesn't send press releases from
    "Congressman" Levin; but Represenative Joe Knollenberg
    does send press releases identifying himself as
    "Congressman."

    Like I said, I don't know why senator aren't
    Congressmen (and women)- even though they are; but it
    was probably some elected official's fault.

    Rick

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

    Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 18:36:33 -0400
    From: alo <alo@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: FOTR Convention

    At 05:48 PM 10/9/2005, Jughead wrote in part:

>     BE STILL, MY HEART!!!!!  Will Elizabeth McLeod really be there. Does that
>     mean I will finally get to meet her in person, and thank her personally for
>     the nice "squib" that she wrote when she was one of the first people to read
>     the manuscript of my book.

    Yes, she'll be there. She's looking forward to it so much, I can't begin to
    tell you.

>     Hmmmm. I wonder if we can prevail upon her to do a few dance steps (in
>     costume) from the role she played in "Chicago". Now, that alone would be
>     worth the price of admission to FOTR.

    She says that the costume has been tragically lost. (She didn't use the
    word "tragically" though.)

    I do hope that folks enjoy her presentation, which probably will not be
    padded out by a song & dance number (though, hey, it *IS* an idea ....).

    Also, it's worth a mention that if you've not purchased her book, please
    consider doing so. It's very good & I (for one) would very much like to see
    her write another one. Ordering through her site gives her an extra nickel,
    too, which won't come amiss.

    [removed]~[removed]

    Amanda

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

    Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 21:05:43 -0400
    From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Murrow vs. McCarthy

    Dixonhayes@[removed] wrote:

    " seeing McCarthy's quotes rehashed in a newspaper column is *not* the
    same thing, and clearly wasn't back when television was new, its
    investigative powers largely untested."

    I'm glad to see Dixon mention this because for all the criticism Murrow
    might have gotten for coming to the gate late, there were several
    factors that made him the more memorable of the McCarthy critics.

    First, his radio reputation from World War II as a top-notch journalist.
    His commentaries during the war (and before America's entry into it) had
    profound effect upon the American public.
    Secondly, the power of television. Despite the Drew Pearsons, Scotty
    Restons and Herb Blocks's it has to be said that television was very
    rapidly becoming the medium of choice among Americans. As Dixon points
    out, the power of the image and sound was becoming much more powerful
    than the written word (for better or worse). The effect of Murrow's
    broadcast, despite being late, still probably was more effective in
    putting the final nails in McCarthy's coffin as a Senator.

    This was followed by both McCarthy appearing very badly (as Nixon did in
    the Kennedy/Nixon debates later) on television and his badly blabbering
    his response to Murrow's broadcast didn't help.

    Then came the McCarthy-Army hearings which were televised over ABC, as I
    recall. Once again, the power of the image and sound.

    So despite Murrow being late to the starting gate, his effect was
    probably more powerful. The earlier columnists and cartoonists certainly
    bloodied the Senator, but Murrow helped push the knife in.

    Jim Widner

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

    Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 21:06:23 -0400
    From: "Jim Cox" <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Exploding another myth

>     1937 - The longest-running detective show debuted. Mr. Keen, Tracer of

    Lost Persons lasted until 1955. Three different actors played the title
    role, Bennett Kilpack was Mr. Keen the longest, and Arthur Hughes saw
    the final show.

    I'm guilty of believing that Arthur Hughes, one of the most gifted and
    professional daytime actors (Just Plain Bill during its 23-year run),
    portrayed Mr. Keen in a major way, too.  It's true Hughes was one of few
    thespians in the Hummert camp who appeared to resonate with his superiors
    outside the studio, possibly the only one to do so.  But that didn't elevate
    him to portray "the kindly old investigator" in broadcasting's
    longest-running detective series, nevertheless, as several well-intentioned
    sources have stated.  I was guilty of making that mistake, too, until I read
    the 1,693 scripts for Mr. Keen while researching that venerable series for a
    book.  I was finally able to put that myth to rest in so doing.

    Quoting from page 66 of "Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons" (McFarland,
    2004):   "By mid-1946, busy radio thespian Arthur Hughes was being called
    upon with some frequency to substitute for [Bennett] Kilpack as Mr. Keen.
    The regular actor was more often than not out of the lineup due to
    unexplained illness, sometimes for weeks at a time.  It was a pattern that
    was to plague him for much of the remainder of his tenure.  Hughes filled in
    for Kilpack a combined 22 weeks:  June 20, 1946 through July 18, 1946 (five
    weeks, due to illness); August 8, 1946 through September 19, 1946 (seven
    weeks, illness); September 25, 1947 (one week, illness); and February 19,
    1948 through April 15, 1948 (nine weeks, reason unstated).  On October 26,
    1950, the program's 1,314th show, Kilpack -- then 67 -- played for the very
    last time the part of Mr. Keen."  The following week Philip Clarke took over
    the role, remaining with it to the last aircast on Sept. 26, 1955 (and not
    an earlier date published by a usually reliable Dunning and several other
    reporters).

    Arthur Hughes was probably selected as the fill-in because he and Bennett
    Kilpack sounded so much alike, his perceived friendship with producers Frank
    and Anne notwithstanding.  But with 1,693 episodes and his performing in
    just 22 of them, he hardly could be considered little more than a bit player
    in the lead role.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 23:27:05 -0400
    From: "HOWARD BLUE" <khovard@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Ed Murrow

    I don't know if Ed Murrow was first to attack McCarthy or last -- but I do
    know that he put his money where his mouth was. The late actor Joe Julian
    who worked on March of Time etc. and did a lot of work for Corwin who loved
    him, was one of the victims of the blacklist during the McCarthy era.
    Julian decided to fight the people who smeared him by suing them. Ed Murrow
    put up $10,000 to help Julian with his legal fees.

    Howard Blue

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 00:22:57 -0400
    From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  the first synthetic detergent

    Joe Mackey writes:

>     1933 - Dreft, the first synthetic detergent, went on sale. Ten years
>     later, Dreft was the sponsor of The Dreft Star Playhouse.

    I didn't know detergents were sold that early. I thought they were a
    post-war product. Assuming detergents were better cleaning agents, why were
    radio advertisements still pushing laundry soaps into the late 1940s?
    Or do I have my timelines mixed up?
    Or was there a wartime shortage of chemicals to make detergents?
    Or were detergents too expensive vs. laundry soaps?
    Or were early detergents too harsh and/or "stinky"?
    Or did consumers just not want to change from their familiar products?

    Just [removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 09:17:51 -0400
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  10-10 births/deaths

    October 10th births

    10-10-1900 - Helen Hayes - Washington, [removed] - d. 3-17-1993
    actress: "New Penny"; "Electric Theatre"; "O'Neill Cycle"
    10-10-1903 - Vernon Duke - Pskov, Russia - d. 1-17-1969
    broadway composer: "Mildred Baily Show"; "Good News of 1940"; "March of Time"
    10-10-1908 - Johnny Green - New York City, NY - d. 5-15-1989
    conductor: "In the Modern Manner"; "Jack Benny Program"; "Man Called X"
    10-10-1909 - Florida Friebus - Auburndale, MA - d. 5-27-1988
    actress: "Great Plays"; "Theatre Guild On the Air"
    10-10-1911 - Marion Shockley - Kansas City, MO - d. 12-14-1981
    actress: Rosemary Levy "Abie's Irish Rose"; Nikki Porter "Advs. of Ellery
    Queen"
    10-10-1911 - Zeke Manners - San Francisco, CA - d. 10-14-2000
    singer, disc jockey: "Zeke Manners and His Gang"; "Zeke Manners"
    10-10-1913 - Johnny Downs - Brooklyn, NY - d. 6-13-1994
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    10-10-1915 - Harry 'Sweets' Edison - Columbus, OH - d. 7-27-1999
    jazz trumpeter: "Jubilee"; "One Night Stand"
    10-10-1918 - Paul Dubov - Illinois - d. 9-20-1979
    actor: Frank Race "Advs. of Frank Race"
    10-10-1920 - Bernard Grant - The Bronx - d. 6-30-2004
    actor: "Rober Kilgore"; "Big Story"
    10-10-1926 - Oscar Brown, Jr. - Chicago, IL - d. 5-31-2005
    singer: "Destination Freedom"
    10-10-1926 - Richard Jaeckel - Long Beach, NY - d. 6-14-1997
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    10-10-1930 - Harold Pinter - London, England
    writer, actor: "Focus on Football Pools"

    October 10th deaths

    01-20-1903 - Leon Ames - Portland, IN - d. 10-10-1993
    actor: "Earplay"; "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Screen Director's Playhouse"
    01-31-1892 - Eddie Cantor - New York City, NY - d. 10-10-1964
    singer, comedian: (Banjo Eyes) "Eddie Cantor Show"; "Chase & Sanborn Hour"
    03-19-1912 - Russ Case - Hamburg, IA - d. 10-10-1964
    orchestra leader: "On a Sunday Afternoon"; "Peggy Lee Show"; "Your Hit Parade"
    05-06-1915 - Orson Welles - Kenosha, WI (Raised: Chicago, IL) - d. 10-10-1985
    actor: Lamont Cranston/Shadow "The Shadow"; "Mercury Theatre on the Air"
    05-24-1886 - Paul Paray - Treport, Normandy, France - d. 10-10-1979
    conductor: "New York Philharmonic"
    07-07-1915 - Yul Brynner - Vladivostock, Czarist Russia - d. 10-10-1985
    actor: "As Easy as [removed]"
    07-08-1910 - Jack Rubin - New York - d. 10-10-1952
    writer: "Hallmark Hall of Fame"; "The Hardy Family"; "Hilltop House"; "The
    O'Neills"
    07-10-1918 - Ernest Ricca - d. 10-10-1987
    director: "Lorenzo Jones"; "Valiant Lady"; "Stella Dallas"; "Romance of Helen
    Trent"
    10-05-1912 - Tony Marvin - Brooklyn, NY - d. 10-10-1998
    announcer: "Arthur Godfrey Time"
    10-23-1884 - Cesar Saerchinger - Aix-la-Chapelle, France - d. 10-10-1971
    news correspondent: "Story Behind the Headlines"; "America's Town Meeting of
    the Air"
    11-30-1885 - Charles West - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 10-10-1943
    actor: "Dramas of Youth"
    12-19-1902 - Ralph Richardson - Cheltenham, England - d. 10-10-1983
    actor: Doctor John H. Watson, "Advs. of Sherlock Holmes"
    12-24-1914 - Ralph Marterie - Naples, Italy - d. 10-10-1978
    bandleader: "Marlboro Cigarettes Show"
    xx-xx-1940 - Phil Harper - (Raised: Chicago, IL) - d. 10-10-2004
    actor: Harry Nile "The Adventures of Harry Nile"
    --
    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 09:18:08 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Mr Kitzel

       Discussing what Mr Kitzel really looked like Laura mentions a 1955
    show with his appearance.
       I have a tape of a kino of a early '50s show where Jack is returning
    from a vacation in Hawaii and a mysterious man is seen through out the
    show on the ship covered head to foot with various items, including
    IIRC, a bee keepers outfit.  At the end it turns out to be Mr Kitzel who
    is hiding from his wife or the like.  His size and appearance fits will
    with the Kitzel character being short, thin, a bit on the mousey side.
       Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:  [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 09:19:43 -0400
    From: Hal Stone <otrjug@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re:Ass Directors.

    On the subject of Assistant directors in [removed] promise this is the last I
    have to say on the matter.

    I recently stated, adamantly, that in my 15 years as a performer in OTR, and
    working with many [removed] Directors, I NEVER SAW ANYONE OTHER THAN THE PROGRAMS
    DIRECTOR make timing notations on the script.

    Then, in deference (and out of respect for Doc Biel) left a little wiggle
    room for him by saying that Asst. Directors might have been used out there
    in La La Land, where all sorts of weird things were "practiced". (And still
    are.) :)

    However, my good buddy, and fellow Air Force Vet, and renowned West Coast
    OTR actor Conrad Binyon, substantiated my claim that [removed] were
    A figment of someone's imagination, EVEN IN [removed]!!!!!!

    But then, My other good friend, (and secret lover) [removed] (Snooks) Watkins
    [removed]

>     Yep, Jug, that was the way some did out here on the West Coast. In fact it
>     was even demonstrated to us in 1982 when Fletecher Markle directed a
>     re-creation of a Suspense show at Columbia Records in Hollywood. Ken McManus
>     was his assistant director who did the timing.

    To which I [removed]!!!!!

    BJ, my darlin, permit me to pick your statement apart. And set you back on
    the road to enlightenment, truth, and the real facts of life in OTR land.
    You [removed] if it was totally factual, "That was the way some did out here
    on the West Coast".

    Huh? Vas you dere, Sharlie? Can you tell me with any degree of certainty
    that during the period of Radio's predominance as an entertainment medium
    (1930's to the mid 50's) that Directors had "Assistant Directors" who timed
    their shows for them. Was it "some"... "a few"... or one Hollywood idiot who
    either couldn't tell time, couldn't read a script and still make notations
    in the margins, or couldn't exist without some flunky doing his menial tasks
    for him, which probably included polishing his boots. After all, that was
    the "uniform" of the posturing, pretentious Hollywood Director. Boots,
    Jodhpurs, cap, etc. I wonder if he also used a megaphone to talk to the
    radio cast. :)

    I say [removed] vast majority of the Directors in OTR (99 &9/10s) did not
    use someone else to time their scripts for them. (If in fact, one or two
    West Coast Woo Woo's did, that does not make it standard practice in OTR,
    anymore than the myth that many performers dropped their script pages on the
    floor during a performance. (Oh, please God, let's not get into that red
    herring again).

    But here's the really telling point of [removed] posting. She had every right to
    assume that Asst. Directors were used to time scripts. After all, and I
    again quote  ...

>     In fact it was even demonstrated to us in 1982 when Fletecher Markle
>     directed a
>     re-creation of a Suspense show at Columbia Records in Hollywood. Ken McManus
>     was his assistant director who did the timing.

    Let's examine that statement. I retired, after 20 years as a TV Director, in
    1980. I used many Assistant Directors during those 20 years. (It was not
    only a DGA (Directors Guild of America) union requirement, but when a
    director has to concern himself with Camera movement, lighting, performances
    scenery, and idiot producers, he needed all the help he could get. Heck, in
    films, they sometimes had 2nd and 3rd asst. Directors.

    So I offer this possible explanation for what you saw demonstrated in 1982.
    Your Director, Fletcher Markle ( I don't know the gentleman) was probably so
    used to using an Assistant Director (if he had graduated to TV in the 50's)
    that the two of them became inseparable.

    Whenever I shot TV on the West Coast, (Which was often enough) I always used
    the same wonderful man who was an invaluable AD. His name, Buddy Morrison.

    My AD on the East Coast was like my right arm. His [removed] Rockefeller.
    (And yes, he was related to "the" Rockerfeller's). What fun it was to boss a
    "Rockefeller" around. :)

    Ad's and "Floor Managers" (two separate categories essential to live TV
    production) were used almost from the beginning of TV's domination (and
    eventual demise) of Radio Broadcasting.

    So BJ, my dear one, what you saw in the 80's did not at all reflect what
    went on in the heyday of OTR.
    Love ya

    Hal(Harlan)Stone
    Jughead

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

    Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 10:57:56 -0400
    From: "Bill Knowlton" <udmacon1@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  WLS "Stand By"

    Stand By," a weekly magazine published by WLS, Chicago, was published from
    1935 to 1938. It not only reported on the activities and programs of WLS and
    its staff, it also ran items about the radio world in general. I've been
    assembling a collection of "Stand By" and am enjoying the tidbits. As the
    [removed]

    "Jack Benny, comedian, has commissioned Adrian, celebrated style expert who
    creates screen costumes for Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer and other M-G-M
    stars, to design a bib for Joan Naomi Benny, his one year old daughter."-Aug
    3, 1935

    "Even the Burns and Allen baby, Sandra, is a seaplane commuter. The comic
    couple flies to the CBS studios from Catalina, where George and Gracie are
    filming a picture. So they've got the youngster flying back and forth
    because they're afraid she might get lonesome without them"-Aug 3, 1935

    (didn't both these kids get involved with biographies on their respective
    parents?)

    "a New York matron telephoned the CBS studios the other day: 'I want you to
    have your Mr. Broake Carter come right over to my house and fix my radio. It
    hasn't worked right for a week.'"-Aug 3, 1935

    BILL KNOWLTON

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #311
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