Subject: [removed] Digest V2009 #49
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 3/5/2009 10:18 PM

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

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2009 : Issue 49
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Once more into the breach, dear frie  [ Wich2@[removed] ]
      Old Time - but not Radio              [ Wich2@[removed] ]
      3-5 births/deaths                     [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      RE: Crystal sets                      [ "W. Harris" <nbcblue@[removed]; ]
      You Bet Your Life Marriages?          [ "Janet Rogers" <edrog@[removed]; ]
      Re: Radio on the Farm                 [ <georgewagner@[removed]; ]
      Crystal Radio                         [ <georgewagner@[removed]; ]
      More on Wendy Richard                 [ Robert Paine <ka3zci@[removed]; ]
      Thanks Jim, etc.                      [ "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@juno. ]
      Farm Radio                            [ Rentingnow@[removed] ]
      ABC                                   [ Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 22:24:36 -0500
    From: Wich2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Once more into the breach, dear [removed]

     From: Gregg Oppenheimer <gopp@[removed];

>     I'll finally get [removed]  direct a re-creation of "The
>     Baby Snooks Show"--a show my father  wrote

    Cool indeed - congrats!

>     where could I find someone who could  really pull off the character of
>     "Snooks" ?

    (If you were on this coast - I'd say, "Corinne Orr.")

>     Mallory Lewis, has continued her mother's legacy by making  appearances
>     with Lamb Chop.

    I can hear that [removed]

>     Casting the rest of the show was a lot easier. Harold Gould

    SUCH a pleasure to work with him last year at FOTR - great guy, and  chops
    out ta there.

>     Tommy Cook

    (About which, ditto comments re: Hal above.)

    Sounds great, Gregg. Folks, if you haven't see Gregg's work in "our  peculiar
    institution," you've missed one of the real steady hands at the  game.

    Give them all a "break one" for me (and keep one for yourself!)
    -Cregg Wichman

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

    Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 22:25:11 -0500
    From: Wich2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Old Time - but not Radio

     From: Jerry Haendiges  <Jerry@[removed];

>     THE *GREEN* LANTERN
>     Episode 1     "The Origin Of The Green Lantern"
>     Narrator: Jackson Beck

    As  touched on here recently, that was never a broadcast show. It's from the
    series  of Leo the Lion children's lps of the '60's.

    But if you like OTR, you'll  like it!

    As well as Jack Beck, they feature such OTR faves as Ronnie  Liss, Gilbert
    Mack, Elaine Hyman, and Brett Morrison. And OTR characters like  Flash Gordon,
    The Shadow, and The Green Hornet were dramatized.

    And for  another vintage nod, for some reason the Green Lantern used here is
    not the  '60's Silver Age Hal Jordon, but the original Golden-Age Alan  Scott.

    Enjoy!
    -Craig W.

    [removed] - Jerry, did you get my off-list  note re: your recent Lincoln show?

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

    Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 22:25:17 -0500
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  3-5 births/deaths

    March 5th births

    03-05-1881 - Toby Gremmer - Bainbridge, GA - d. 9-6-1981
    actor: Hermit "The Hermit's Cave"
    03-05-1882 - Eustace Wyatt - Bath, Somerset, England - d. 10-25-1944
    actor: Lord Percy "Our Gal Sunday"
    03-05-1891 - Chic Johnson - Chicago, IL - d. 2-28-1962
    comedian: "Olsen and Johnson"; "Rudy Vallee Show"
    03-05-1892 - Paul Wing - Sandwich, MA - d. 5-29-1957
    actor/emcee: "The Story Man"; "Uncle Toddy"; "Youth vs. Age"
    03-05-1893 - Dorothy Sands - Cambridge, MA - d. 9-11-1980
    actor: Mary Ann Clarke "Barry Cameron"; Margot "Backstage Wife"
    03-05-1894 - Henry Daniell - London, England - d. 10-31-1963
    actor: "Theatre Guild of the Air"
    03-05-1898 - Bud Selvin - d. 7-15-1980
    bandleader: "Devoe Redskins"; "Kolster Radio Hour"
    03-05-1900 - Martin Magner - Stettin, Germany - d. 1-25-2002
    director: "Under Arrest"; "Wooden Fish"
    03-05-1900 - Sam Hearn - Jersey City, NJ - d. 10-27-1964
    comedian: Schlepperman "Jack Benny Program, Glamour Manor"
    03-05-1903 - Minerva Pious - Odessa, Russia - d. 3-16-1979
    commedienne: Mrs. Pansy Nussbaum "Fred Allen Show"
    03-05-1906 - Aileen Carlyle - San Francisco, CA - d. 5-3-1984
    vocalist: "Spike Jones and His City Slickers"
    03-05-1906 - Harry Lubin - d. 7-21-1977
    music: "Glamour Manor"; "Burns and Allen"; "Blondie"
    03-05-1908 - Rex Harrison - Huyton, England - d. 6-2-1990
    actor: Rex Saunders "Private Files of Rex Saunders"
    03-05-1911 - Joseph Tometty - Ireland - d. 6-7-1995
    writer: "The McCooeys"
    03-05-1913 - Dick Whittinghill - Montana - d. 1-24-2001
    disk jockey: "Did you Whittinghill This Morning?"
    03-05-1920 - Virginia Christine - Stanton, IA - d. 7-24-1996
    actor: "Confession"; "Gunsmoke"
    03-05-1921 - Milt Kamen - Hurleyville, NY - d. 2-24-1977
    satirist: "Voices of Vista"; "Here's to Veterans"
    03-05-1922 - Robert Burr - Jersey City, NJ - d. 5-13-2000
    actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
    03-05-1925 - Lucy Gilman - Chicago, IL - d. 11-23-2006
    actor: "(Sister of Toni Gilman) "I Love A Mystery"; Welcome Valley"
    03-05-1925 - Nora Dugon - Northern Ireland
    writer: "Can't You Hear Me Talking to You?"
    03-05-1927 - Jack Cassidy - NYC - d. 12-12-1976
    singer, actor: "Stars for Defense"; "Cue Magazine Salutes ASCAP"
    03-05-1927 - Rachel Gurney - Eton, England - d. 11-24-2001
    actor: BBC Home Service; Emma Woodhouse "Emma"
    03-05-1936 - Dean Stockwell - North Hollywood, CA
    actor: "Hallmark Hall of Fame"

    March 5th deaths

    02-18-1907 - Billy de Wolf -  Wollaston, MA - d. 3-5-1974
    actor: "Ginny Simms Show"; "Philco Radio Playhouse"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
    03-03-1939 - Sam Chu Lin - Mississippi - d. 3-5-2006
    newscaster, actor: "Empire of the Air"
    03-07-1880 - Sidney Scott Booth - Birmingham, England - d. 3-5-1946
    radio performer
    03-17-1879 - Sid Grauman - Indianapolis, IN - d. 3-5-1950
    theatre owner: Intermission Guest "Lux Radio Theatre"
    03-21-1943 - Vivian Stanshall - Shillingford, England - d. 3-5-1995
    pop musician: "Viv Stanshall's Radio Flashes"
    03-31-1922 - Richard Kiley - Chicago, IL - d. 3-5-1999
    actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
    04-08-1896 - Yip Harburg - NYC - d. 3-5-1981
    lyricist: "Columbia Presents Corwin"
    04-18-1889 - Gene Carroll - Chicago, IL - d. 3-5-1972
    comedian: Lena, the maid "Fibber McGee and Molly"
    05-02-1908 - Wilms Herbert - d. 3-5-1951
    actor: Sergeant Otis Ludlum "Richard Diamond, Private Detctive"
    05-12-1894 - Leora Thatcher - Logan, UT - d. 3-5-1984
    actor: Mrs. Kramer "Right to Happiness"
    07-06-1875 - Roger Babson - d. 3-5-1967
    economist: "Babson Reports"
    07-15-1913 - Cowboy Copas - Muskogee, OK - d. 3-5-1963
    singer: "Grand Ole Opry"; "Country Music Time"
    07-29-1892 - William Powell - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 3-5-1984
    actor: Father "My Mother's Husband"
    07-29-1909 - Bernard Mackey - d. 3-5-1980
    singer, guitarist: (Member of the Ink Spots) "The Four Ink Spots";
    "Let's Go Nightclubbing"
    08-02-1915 - Gary Merrill - Hartford, CT - d. 3-5-1990
    actor: Bruce Wayne/Batman "Adventures of Superman"
    08-03-1886 - Russ Westover - Los Angeles, CA - d. 3-5-1966
    writer: Creator of the comic strip "Tillie the Toiler"
    08-23-1869 - Edgar Lee Masters - Garnett, KS - d. 3-5-1950
    author: "Cavalcade of America"; "CBS Radio Workshop"
    09-04-1898 - Harry Salter - Bucharest, Romania - d. 3-5-1984
    conductor: "It Pays to Be Ignorant"; "Lanny Ross Show"; "Stop the Music"
    09-06-1915 - Kleve Kirby - d. 3-5-1949
    actor: John Murray "Today's Children"
    09-08-1932 - Patsy Cline - Gore, VA - d. 3-5-1963
    country singer: "Country Hoedown"; "Town and Country Time"
    09-19-1921 - Michael Noonan - Christchurch, New Zealand - d. 3-5-2000
    writer: "The Man Who Changed the Wind"
    09-26-1915 - Tony Romano - Fresno, CA - d. 3-5-2005
    guitarist: "The Bob Hope Show"
    09-29-1918 - James Wood - Elgin, Scotland - d. 3-5-1984
    author of radio plays
    10-26-1910 - Clarence Hartzell - Huntington, WV - d. 3-5-1988
    actor: Uncle Fletcher "Vic and Sade"; Pappy Yokum "Li'l AAbner"; "Ben
    Withers "Lum and Abner"
    11-07-1897 - Herman J. Mankiewicz - NYC - d. 3-5-1953
    screenwriter, producer: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    11-17-1905 - Mischa Auer - St. Petersburg, Russia - d. 3-5-1967
    actor: "Mischa the Magnificent"
    12-02-1906 - Donald Woods - Brandon, Manitoba, Canada - d. 3-5-1998
    actor: Leslie Foster "Those We Love"; "Woolworth Hour"
    12-22-1921 - Hawkshaw Hawkins - Huntingdon, WV - d. 3-5-1963
    singer: "Country Style [removed]"; "Country Music Time"

    Ron

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

    Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 11:43:03 -0500
    From: "W. Harris" <nbcblue@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  RE: Crystal sets

>     from kathy;
>     my uncle paul built a crystal set. he and my mother and the rest of their
>     family listened to the 1938 joe louis/max schmeling fight on that radio in
>     arlington texas.
>     the african american family that worked for my grandparents also heard the
>     match - but from outside the window.

    Are you sure this was a crystal set they were listening too? By 1938 the
    crystal set had long been replaced by AC powered table top and console
    radios. Crystal sets were now mostly for young radio enthusiasts who wanted
    the thrill of constructing their own receiving set, which they could listen
    to late at night in bed when they were supposed to be asleep. Yes, I did that
    also. A crystal set just barely provides enough power to drive a set of
    earphones, certainly not enough volume for several people to listen in
    without taking turns sharing the earphones.

    My mother told of an uncle who purchased the first radio in the community.
    This was a tube radio that had enough audio power to drive a horn speaker,
    which he could not afford at the time, and it would drive a set of headphones
    with some volume. He would place the headphones in a metal wash tub, turn the
    volume to max and everyone would set around the tub to listen on this
    homemade version of the horn speaker.

    Bill H.

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

    Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 11:43:58 -0500
    From: "Janet Rogers" <edrog@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  You Bet Your Life Marriages?
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    I have listened to almost all of the episodes of YBYL and it was very common
    for Groucho to play cupid with contestants. It seems many contestants were
    selected purposely to give Groucho a platform to make a pretense at
    matchmaking. He often closed off the interview portion with a comment
    wishing them a happy marriage or a happy life together or something of that
    nature.

    My question. Did any of the contestants, in fact, get married? Some seemed
    rather interested in each other based on some of their remarks but it is
    hard to know if that was for show or for real. Just curious if anyone knows.

    Ed Rogers

    Paso Robles, CA

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

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

    Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 11:44:31 -0500
    From: <georgewagner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Radio on the Farm

    One of the most popular program's broadcast by WLW, Cincinnati, during the
    1940s and 1950s was EVERYBODY'S FARM, which was broadcast from WLW's *own*
    experimental farm.

         The program was every bit as popular with CITY housewives within the WLW
    broadcast area (it was a clear-channel station) as it was with their country
    cousins. I remember walking down my city block during summer vacations and
    hearing the program through open windows.

         Sincerely,

         George Wagner
         georgewagner@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 11:45:39 -0500
    From: <georgewagner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Crystal Radio

    My late Dad's family had a single crystal radio down to the late 1920s. (The
    house was electrified in 1927, a common year for many Greater Cincinnatians.)
    The family would sit around the dining room table nights straining to hear
    the single earphone, which had been placed in an empty sugar bowl.

         Sincerely,

         George Wagner
         georgewagner@[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 11:47:22 -0500
    From: Robert Paine <ka3zci@[removed];
    To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  More on Wendy Richard

     From the BBC News:

    Former EastEnders actress Wendy Richard had died at the age of 65, her agent
    has confirmed. The star, who played Pauline Fowler in the BBC One soap opera
    for 21, had been suffering from cancer.  Her agent, Kevin Francis, said, "She
    was incredibly brave and retained her sense of humor tight to the end." Last
    October, Richard revealed she had an aggressive, terminal form of cancer.
    Soon after, she married her long-term partner, John Burns.  Francis said the
    star passed away in the Harley Street Clinic in London with her husband by
    her side.  (Used with the kind permission of BBC7 Radio.)

    Just a few things about Miss Richard. She was well-known as Miss Shirley
    Brahms, junior shop assistant to Mrs. Slocombe in the "Ladies Intimate
    Apparel" department of Grace Brothers department store in "Are You Being
    Served?". The series ran on BBC television from 1978 to 1985, and had a
    follow-up series, Grace and Favour, known in the [removed] as "Are You Being
    Served? Again". Beside her other television work ("Stranger On The Shore",
    which theme was the recording of the same title by Mr. Acker Bilk), Miss
    Richard had a considerable portfolio of radio work: Cat's Whiskers; the radio
    version of Dad's Army; Desert Island Discs; Just a Minute and Woman's Hour
    were only a few. She was a proud card-carrying member of The Archers fan
    club.

    Former co-stars of AYBS Mollie Sugden, Frank Thornton and Trevor Bannister
    were among the friends and colleagues who commented to the media of their
    friend's passing. Miss Sugden, who played Mrs. Slocombe, said Richards was
    practically a member of Sugden's family and was like "the daughter I never
    had."

    Personal thoughts: I emailed Miss Richard a year or two back, when I learned
    she had cancer. She replied with a lovely note of thanks, which I will always
    treasure. I was advised that she would send me a signed photo, but I didn't
    want to trouble her under the circumstances. Now, I wish I had asked for one.

    Thank you, Wendy, for the entertainment you brought to us. I won't say
    goodbye; rather - "Are you free, Miss Brahms?"

    Thanks to Charlie for advising me about this post and for allowing me to use
    so much space. Thanks to the BBC for their kind permission to use the quotes,
    and to the Wendy Richard Appreciation Page for the radio information that was
    used in this post.

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

    Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 14:11:17 -0500
    From: "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Thanks Jim, etc.
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

           Thanks to Jim Cox  and everyone regarding my recent queries regarding
    ABC and its development from NBC-Blue.  Just to clarify, before I ask any
    questions, I check out all of the sources I have at my disposal.  Apart from
    John Dunning's book, one titled "Don't Touch That Dial!", "Information
    Please",
    and "Radio's Golden Age", that's about the extent of my OTR books.  I've
    checked with Barnes and Noble, Border's, and Waldenbooks (who many times
    will tell me that they don't have any books on the subject(s) I need
    available)
    and the ones I'm fortunate enough to locate, I've already got.

           I'm sure there are books out there containing the information I'm
    looking for,
    and their titles and where to find them will help immensely.  I just thought
    that
    since one of the purposes of this site is to share information, that I'd ask
    those
    who might know more than I regarding these topics.  Their help is most
    appreciated,
    I assure you.

    As always,

    Kenneth Clarke

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

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

    Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 19:54:15 -0500
    From: Rentingnow@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Farm Radio

    You can tell you grew up on a farm in the  40's and 50's if you understand
    what news report followed the line:

    "It's  a beautiful day in Chicago".

    The answer for those who were not up at 5  ish in the morning in Wyoming: the
    answer " the stock report".  And I  don't mean the Dow Jones.

    I still use the phrase on occasion but one  shouldn't put much stock in the
    accuracy.

    Larry Moore

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

    Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 19:57:59 -0500
    From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  ABC

    There were a bunch of ABC networks prior to the NBC Blue, later The Blue
    Network, becoming the American Broadcasting Company.  It has already
    been mentioned that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, (formerly
    the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and originally the Australian
    Broadcasting Company) is still called  ABC, and that there had been an
    "American Broadcasting Company founded in Seattle by Adolph Linden
    around 1927". At that same time there was WABC in New York owned by
    [removed] Grebe's Atlantic Broadcasting Company (but Bill Jakers NYC radio
    station book mentions that there had been an agreement between Grebe and
    the Ashville Battery Company in North Carolina.  Did they have the WABC
    calls?)  After it became the flagship station of CBS it was bought by
    CBS in Dec 1928 but didn't become WCBS until Noc 2, 1946.  WJZ took the
    calls WABC in April 1953 as the flagship station of ABC (the old Blue).

    But there had been several other ABC's and ABS's in NYC.  In 1933 Ed
    Wynn attempted a network called the Amalgamated Broadcasting System with
    WBNX as the flagship station.  (On the opening night the network was
    system-cued as "This is the Amalgamated Broadcasting Network.")  When
    Amalgamated quickly went bust, some of the stations became part of the
    American Broadcasting System that had WMCA as the flagship station.
    Both of these could be considered as ABS although Amalgamated didn't use
    letter abbreviations.  When the owner of WMCA became dissatisfied with
    the network business in early 1935, the network re-emerged as the
    American Broadcasting Company with WNEW as the flagship station.  This
    lasted only a few months, but I do have a recording of the station from
    the Summer of 1935 with some programs announced as being from ABC.  It
    MUST be noted that WNEW never had ANYTHING to do with Ed Wynn or the
    Amalgamated.  WNEW was not even on the air in 1933.  It did, however,
    take over the abandoned Amalgamated studios at 501 Madison Ave when it
    signed on on Feb 13, 1934.

    Michael Biel   mbiel@[removed]

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2009 Issue #49
    ********************************************

    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]

    In the event of a major mail problem, please contact the listmaster via
      the web-based contact form available at [removed]
      (on the sidebar) or follow/DM CFSummers on Twitter

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