Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #189
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 5/28/2002 7:50 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2002 : Issue 189
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Some Lum and Abner imitators          [ Lanny Gilbert <morsefan1@[removed]; ]
  Re: WLW and NBC                       [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
  XM Radio and OTR                      [ "Bob Watson" <crw912@[removed]; ]
  Re: Tony Wons                         [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
  children hour                         [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
  MP3 Players for OTR                   [ "David Wikle" <glory@[removed]; ]
  WLW, Cincinnati and Mutual Broadcast  [ n0zezgfd@[removed] ]
  Tony Wons                             [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  DVD players                           [ danhughes@[removed] ]
  Tony Wons                             [ ArtsMilitaria@[removed] (Arthur Fun ]
  Re: Bolton's A&A                      [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
  MP3 Players for OTR                   [ "David Wikle" <glory@[removed]; ]
  Lum and Abner's switch to 30 minutes  [ Mark Justice <markjustice@[removed] ]
  TV on Radio & OMF                     [ Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed]; ]
  Tony Wons Scrapbook                   [ "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed]; ]
  Amos & Andy on TV                     [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
  20 Questions                          [ JayHick@[removed] ]

______________________________________________________________________

    ADMINISTRIVIA:

       A quick note to all those who have mail to me backed up; I've
       been a little under-the-weather lately, and am only now
       getting back up to speed. I _promise_ to catch up on my email
       by the end of the [removed] you've written me in the last week
       or so and don't hear from me by Friday, please re-send your
       mail and accept my apologies. Darned Katester gave me her
       chest [removed]   ;)           --cfs3

______________________________________________________________________


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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 12:55:04 -0400
From: Lanny Gilbert <morsefan1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Some Lum and Abner imitators

Howdy all. Greetings from beautiful Sandy Springs,
Georgia. I have a question about a couple of "comedy"
teams.

In 1945, Lum and Abner took a six week vacation during
the summer months. In their place, Chet Lauck exhorted
the listeners to tune into their replacements, Pick
and Pack. I've never heard of Pick and Pack. Does
anyone on the list know them? I'm guessing they didn't
go over too [removed]

Also, I found on the web somewhere a show starring two
L 'n' A clones called Cy and Elmer. It was a really
bad (IMHO) program, but I'd like to know if anyone
else has heard about it and how it came about.

I know that it can be argued that L 'n' A were a clone
of Amos and Andy, just set in the Arkansas hills, but
I thought it was an excellent program and think that
Messrs. Lauck and Goff are vastly underrated radio performers.

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 14:20:53 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: WLW and NBC

On 5/28/02 1:16 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

What was WLW's network affiliation prior to
Mutual ... was it an independent station? When did the NBC affiliation come?
Was WLW somehow both NBC and MUTUAL at the same time?

WLW was a Red Network affiliate even before NBC existed -- it was a
member of the old Telephone Group Red Network which operated from
1924-26, and after NBC took over that operation WLW continued its
association. But Powel Crosley was also very independent-minded, and
insisted on producing a heavy schedule of local programs, and he felt
free to refuse clearance to NBC programming if he could sell a local
program for the same time slot. This, in turn, led to the introduction of
the original Quality Group around 1930, feeding Crosley programming into
New York and Chicago as a way of spreading out production expenses.

NBC put up with this because despite Crosley's maverick nature, his
station was a very important Midwestern outlet -- and they needed him
more than he needed them. When the station began its "superpower" 500,000
watt operation in May 1934, under special permission of the FCC, the
station became even more valuable to NBC. And that, in turn, gave Crosley
even more power to insist on having his own way in terms of programming.

The "Quality Group" concept was renewed in early 1934, with WLW joining
the recently-formed WGN-WOR program cooperative, and WXYZ -- another
station with a heavy local-programming committment -- soon became the
fourth member of the chain. Under the leadership of WOR and WGN, this
combine formally incorporated as Mutual that fall, with WLW maintaining a
joint affiliation with NBC. (WGN also carried certain NBC programming
during this period, as a result of the complicated affliate situation in
Chicago after KYW relocated to Philadelphia.)

WLW dropped out as a regular member of Mutual in 1935 because of poor
sales and conflicts between Crosley and the WOR/WGN interests, and soon
after began a small ad-hoc network of its own called "The WLW Line,"
which fed Crosley programming into several other cities, including New
York, in much the same manner as the 1930-era Quality Group. During the
late thirties, long-term contracts had the station continuing to carry a
few well-paying Mutual features including the nightly "Inside Of Sports"
program with Sam Balter for Phillies Cigars, and the Lone Ranger for
Gordon Baking Company, but most of its network programming from then on
came from NBC. During the "superpower" period, WLW's rate card was on the
same level as WEAF and WJZ as NBC's most expensive and prestigious
stations.

Elizabeth

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 14:21:18 -0400
From: "Bob Watson" <crw912@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  XM Radio and OTR

Don't really know if this will interest anyone, but I  saw an ad on TV for
the XM Radio the other day.  I visited their website and saw they still
didn't have a channel dedicated to OTR.  So, I wrote them an email and said
I MIGHT be interested in buying a system, but only if they had an OTR
channel.  Someone there wrote back and said that they planned on adding one
VERY soon.

Not that I really want to fork out over $200 on a system, but if they do get
OTR and it is done decently, it might be worth a second look.

Bob

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 14:24:13 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Tony Wons

Dave Phaneuf wrote:

Soooo, my questions still stand:  Has anyone ever heard of this person, or
any recollection?

Anthony Snow (his real name) was born in poverty in Wisconsin in 1891. He
quit school at thirteen to become a hobo -- wandering from job to job
across the Midwest. At various times he worked as a laborer, a mill hand,
a cowboy, a butcher, a trap-drummer, an accountant, and a salesman -- and
then was drafted into the Army in 1917.

His war service was the turning point of his life: he was wounded in
combat, and spent months in a military hospital. To pass the time, he
began keeping a scrapbook -- clipping poems, interesting news stories,
and other bits and pieces that caught his eye, in the manner of the
popular "Elbert Hubbard's Scrapbooks" series of books. Scrapbook-keeping
would remain a lifelong hobby.

Back in civilian life, Tony Snow settled in Chicago, and took a job in a
factory. He spent his free time reading, working on his scrapbook - and
listening to the radio. He was an early fan of the new technology, and
early on realized that radio had considerable dramatic potential. He
wrote and called the various Chicago stations of the early twenties,
trying to convince them that a series of Shakespeare readings would be an
interesting attraction -- and finally WLS agreed with him. But they took
the idea a step further -- they invited Tony himself to do the program.
He agreed, and made his radio debut with a condensed one-man reading of
"The Merchant of Venice." Self-conscious about his radio debut, he
performed under the name of "Tony Wons" ("Snow" spelled backwards.)

Under this new identity, Wons worked heavily in Chicago radio thru the
mid twenties, doing everthing possible: announcing, writing continuity,
performing violin solos, reading farm news. And then he hit upon the idea
that would make him a household name -- he began reading bits from his
scrapbook as on-air fillers. Listeners responded to the inspirational
poetry, the aphorisms, and the simple philosophy -- and "Tony Wons'
Scrapbook" quickly became a regular feature, first on WLS and later on
WLW in Cincinnati. These presentations were heard all over the midwest --
and in 1929, Tony published a selection of items from his broadcasts as
the first edition of "Tony Wons' Scrapbook."

By 1930 Wons' show was picked up by CBS as a sustaining fifteen-minute
feature, and he remained on the air off-and-on, in various formats for
various sponsors for the next twelve years.

Most of the Wons shows were simple, intimate presentations -- Tony would
start off with his catch-phrase "Are yuh listenin'??" and then segue into
whatever material he had chosen for the day. His philosophy was based
primarily on simple, non-judgemental human tolerance, and this basic
theme became his trademark -- he might express it with a poem, a piece of
music, a quote, or even an occasional joke -- but the central idea was
always there. And even though he had a nasal, rather grating voice, his
absolute sincerity made the program work.

Wons' most elaborate show came in 1934-35 -- "The House By The Side Of
The Road," a Sunday afternoon half-hour on NBC Red for Johnson's Wax.
This was a semi-dramatized feature, along the lines of Phil Lord's old
"Seth Parker" program. Wons played the part of John Whitcomb, a retired
Broadway actor who had achieved his lifelong ambition: to "live in a
house by the side of the road and be a friend to man." Neighbors, family,
and friends would drop by to listen to Whitcomb's stories -- which were
augmented by a full orchestra, a singing team, and Harlow Wilcox. All
this seasoning was a bit much for Wons -- and the series doesn't show him
to his best advantage. A simple, one-on-one approach was far more
appropriate to his style.

Tony Wons was considered a very peculiar person by those who knew him --
a Radio Guide profile from 1934 describes him as "strange and loveable."
He was a small, frail man who worried constantly about his health, and
was a compulsive hobbyist -- at various times he was involved with
modelmaking, boatbuilding, cooking, and taking care of a large collection
of stray animals. He was also extremely sensitive to criticism, and was
deeply hurt by "sophisticated" radio writers who enjoyed ridiculing his
programs as corny and over-sentimental.

In 1942, Tony Wons abruptly dropped out of radio. He retired to a small
town in Wisconsin, and spent the rest of his life doing woodcrafts and
making violins. From then on he avoided publicity, refused to be
interviewed, and turned his back completely on broadcasting. He died in
deliberate obscurity in 1967.

Elizabeth

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 14:24:40 -0400
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  children hour

My understanding that out here in California that the children hour was
between 5 to 6 PM.  I imagine for some kinds it was a tough choice what
shows to chose to listen to during that time.  Does any body know what kids
shows went head to head which each other and who generally won the rating
battle?  Its seem that mutual, NbC Blue later aBC had the majorities of
those shows.  Take care,

Walden Hughes

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 14:36:49 -0400
From: "David Wikle" <glory@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  MP3 Players for OTR
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Before I go and spend my $$$$ on a player, I need to know which ones work for
OTR. Portable MP3 Player is what I need.

Many Thanks

Dave
glory@[removed]

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

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 15:01:46 -0400
From: n0zezgfd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  WLW, Cincinnati and Mutual Broadcasting System

You might want to look at the following sites for more information about
WLW, and its unique history in the world of AM broadcasting.

[removed]

[removed]

You will also find more links regarding the history of WLW at these two
sites.

WLW was the only AM station in the United States authorized to broadcast
with 500,000 watts (there is NOT an extra zero there).  At the time it
was operating with 500kw the rate card for WLW was similar to the NBC
network card.

George F. Davison, Jr.

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 15:33:16 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Tony Wons

Tony Wons, (real name Snow) was born in Menasha, Wisconsin on Christmas Day
1891 and he died on July 1, 1965. His most famous show was "Tony Won's
Scrapbook" which ran from 1930 to 1943. He read poetry and offered a variety
of subject matter on his show. He read his poetry with a slow, full-toned and
low-pitched voice.

Wons started out at WLS in Chicago with hopes of bringing Shakespeare to the
air. He was given a series on Shakespeare and it lasted for three years in
the 1920s.

The above was taken from Thomas A. DeLong's book "Radio Stars, An Illustrated
Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers 1920 through 1960."

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in old time radio.

--
Ron Sayles

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 15:33:45 -0400
From: danhughes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  DVD players

Brian wants a DVD/MP3 [removed]

I love my Apex AD-1100W, which not only plays DVDs and MP3s, it also runs
slide shows from digital photos if you burn them to a CD.  And the
quality of the photos on the TV screen is fantastic!

This unit sells at Wal-mart for something like 60 or 65 bucks.  (I paid
$75 a few months ago, but it's come down).  Go get one!

---Dan

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 15:34:02 -0400
From: ArtsMilitaria@[removed] (Arthur Funk)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Tony Wons

Dave Phaneuf asked about Tony Wons.  I did a search on Google for "Tony
Wons" and found 39 www references to him.  Be sure to enclose the name
in quotation marks.

Regards to all,
Art Funk

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 17:22:09 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Bolton's A&A

On 5/28/02 1:16 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

Mr. Bolton has been working from the original scripts, and has made
it through several years of the serial since he started at his new
location.  Considering the previously stated lack of original A&A
recordings, this might be the closest we'll be getting to the original 15
minute series anytime soon.

Bolton is currently up to the end of May 1931, and earlier this month, he
presented the story of Ruby Taylor's bout with pneumonia -- and while I
don't have a chance to hear his broadcasts regularly, I made a point of
staying up to follow this one to see how he'd handle it. And I have to
say he did a pretty good job of getting across Amos's sense of
helplessness and grief when he thought Ruby had died -- without going
over the top.  It would have been very easy to overact that scene, but he
made it believable.

The big weakness in Bolton's work is that he's one guy, not two -- and
sometimes his work shows the strain of having one person do all the
parts, while trying at the same time to imitate the original voices. He's
better with the low-pitched characters -- his Andy is quite good and his
Kingfish isn't bad -- but his Amos is slightly off, and his Brother
Crawford is just a bit too whiny. But he's improved considerably since he
started the project, and if you approach his work less as a recreation
than as an affectionate reinterpretation -- and if you listen long enough
to pick up the storylines and the subtleties of the characterizations --
you can at least get a sense from his presentations of what made the
original show work.

Elizabeth

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 17:22:20 -0400
From: "David Wikle" <glory@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  MP3 Players for OTR
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Before I go out and spend money on a portable MP3 player, I need to know which
ones are good for OTR.

Dave

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  ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 17:25:36 -0400
From: Mark Justice <markjustice@[removed];
To: OldRadio Mailing Lists <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Lum and Abner's switch to 30 minutes

Elizabeth McLeod wrote:

Overall radio listening at the 7pm hour had been declining steadily
since the mid-thirties, and reached an all-time low during 1942-43.
This was considered a consequence of wartime changes to many family
schedules -- people just weren't home in the early evening to follow a
continuing serial program.

I assume this would also be part of the reason Lum and Abner switched to the 30
minute format. Is there more to the story? Also, when L & A resumed the serial
format, were the shows repeats? Thanks!
Mark

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 17:33:58 -0400
From: Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  TV on Radio & OMF

Eric J Cooper writes:

The Honeymooners was NOT EVER done on radio!! Perhaps the Ebay person
confused the Bickersons with the Honeymooners. Jackie Gleason did have a
brief radio variety show but that was in the 1940s.

...which would explain why the set of disks went for such a high price, I
suppose.

By my memory, which I believe is accurate (at least in this case <g>), the
disks did indeed contain two episodes of "The Honeymooners" with openings,
closings, and commercials recorded for a *radio* version though the
soundtrack was from the filmed TV show. Now, were the shows ever released
or broadcast in this form? Were they unsuccessful auditions? Was the eBay
seller fibbing about them? I don't know, since I didn't have deep enough
pockets to win the auction - drat it all. But I'm certain that they were
indeed "The Honeymooners" and not "The Bickersons."

Perhaps one day the recordings - or transfers of them - will become
available for sale once again and we'll all know the answer. For now, they
remain an intriguing bit of trivia - probably hidden beneath the bed of
someone with money.

Dan Hughes writes:

Harlan mentions the Chester Morris / Chesterfield cigarettes
[removed] help me [removed] remember a story about [removed]
Fields mentioning his brother Chester often on some program sponsored by
a cigarette company, and it took a while before somebody realized that
the brother in question would be Chester Fields, a rival cigarette?

A great story and quite likely true, given Fields' proclivity for "tweaking
the proboscis" of authority. Fields starred in a short-lived radio series
for Lucky Strike and, as a contributor to the scripts, did indeed refer to
his son Chester from time to time. The story is told in the liner notes
from a series of LPs released by Columbia Records in the 1970s that
contained excerpts from various radio appearances by Fields - some of which
came from Uncle Claude's own home wire recordings, left to one of his
long-time housekeepers after his death.

George asks:

Does anyone know if any of the tonight radio shows exist? I think i heard
that none of the steve allen
tonight tv shows exist, but perhaps some of it exists in this format.

I've only read of the existence of a couple of AFRS "Tonight!" disks, but
both were from the Steve Allen period. I don't know who has them now, as
they were part of an auction by a seller of old records and I didn't bid on
them. However, if the AFRS recorded some of them they likely recorded quite
a few, so more may one day turn up.

BTW, though I doubt a great amount of Allen's "Tonight!" exists on
kinescope, I do know that *some* of it does. Allen used clips from them,
along with segments of other series, for his syndicated "Laugh Back" series
in the late 1970s.

Thanks to Barbara Watkins for letting me know that "What's My Line" was
indeed broadcast on radio as well as television - and not just by the AFRTS.

Finally, thanks to the many folks who wrote with additional information and
broadcast dates on the list of "One Man's Family" shows I posted here
recently. For those who are interested in obtaining copies of these shows
when they are released to our membership, I'd suggest visiting the Archives
website and requesting a free subscription to our newsletter. Full details
about how to receive copies of these and many other digitally restored,
uncirculated programs on audio compact discs will be in our next issue.

Harlan

Harlan Zinck
First Generation Radio Archives
[removed]

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 17:34:15 -0400
From: "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Tony Wons Scrapbook

I dont remember hearing Tony Wons on the air, but I did have a copy of his
Scrapbook, which I left behind when I moved 10 years [removed], poetry,
bits and pieces of many things - very enjoyable.  Wish I had kept it!!

But for [removed] [removed]  for a
picture and mention of Wons in 1932

Lois Culver

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 18:16:14 -0400
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Amos & Andy on TV

I realize this maybe a little off topic, but has anyone completed a log of
the Amos and Andy TV shows?

Fred
[removed]

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

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 20:35:23 -0400
From: JayHick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  20 Questions

Robert VanDeventer, son of Fred VanDeventer, is doing a panel about 20
Questions at our convention and is looking for Don Fredericks (Fred Stuthman
was his real name), Bruce Elliot and Jay Jackson if they are still alive.
Contact Robert at <rrinardv@[removed]; and also contact me.  Thank you, Jay

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #189
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