------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2004 : Issue 70
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Say Goodnight Gracie Hits Tampa [ seandd@[removed] ]
Re: car radios [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
2-27 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
The real father of the Maxwell [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
Under The Dash [ "RBB" <oldradio@[removed]; ]
Car Radios [ "jfaulkner3" <jfaulkner3@[removed]; ]
Lest we forget (was Judy Garland Cov [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
More about Car [removed] [ Alec Cumming <arack@[removed]; ]
the needle [ k g-g <grams46@[removed] ]
re: Car Radios [ David Phaneuf <david_phaneuf@yahoo. ]
Further to Old Car Radios [ Elmer Standish <elmer_standish@telu ]
History of the Transistor [ Elmer Standish <elmer_standish@telu ]
Pearl Harbor [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
Weekends with Walden Hughes and .... [ BryanH362@[removed] ]
Tales Of The Sea?? [ "Jeff Quick" <mrears69@[removed]; ]
Alvino Ray [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
Message From John Gassman RE: Walt D [ "Kris Stone" <anaheim47@[removed] ]
2-28 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 15:33:24 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Say Goodnight Gracie Hits Tampa
And the critics aren't [removed]
SeanDD@[removed]
CLOSE, but not quite a cigar
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg,FL,USA
... The script by Rupert Holmes, the ultralame top 40 singer who became
a middle-age wunderkind of Broadway, isn't bad. But that's not saying
a lot. ...
<[removed];
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 15:57:37 -0500
From: Jer51473@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: car radios
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Im sure they go back to at least the thirties. However, most dont realize
that as recently as the sixties advertisements listed "radio and heater" as
extras. Thus, many cars still didnt have radios although all new cars in the
fifties and sixties had heaters i would think, and most had radios. The
"radio and
heater" ad was especially popular in used car ads.
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 15:57:50 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 2-27 births/deaths
February 27th births
02-27-1880 - Georgia Burke - Atlanta, GA - d. 11-28-1985
actress: Lily "When A Girl Marries"
02-27-1891 - David Sarnoff - Minsk, Russia - d. 12-12-1971
executive: National Broadcasting Company"
02-27-1892 - William Demarest - St. Paul, MN - d. 12-28-1983
actor: Mr. Cobb "Cobbs"; "Eddie Bracken Show"
02-27-1894 - Frank Munn - The Bronx, NY - d. 10-1-1953
singer (The Golden Voice of Radio) Paul Oliver "Palmolive Hour"
02-27-1894 - Upton Close - Kelso, WA - d. 11-14-1960
commentator: "Events and Trends of the Week"; "Close-Ups of the :News"
02-27-1903 - Reginald Gardiner - Wimbledon, Surrey, England - d. 7-7-1980
actor: "Document A/777"
02-27-1905 - Franchot Tone - Niagara Falls, NY - d. 9-18-1968
actor: "Arch Oboler Plays"; "Free Company"; "Knickerbocker Playhouse"
02-27-1906 - Leo Durocher - West Springfield, MA - d. 10-5-1991
baseball legend: "baseball announcer"
02-27-1907 - Mildred Bailey - Tekoa, WA - d. 12-12-1951
singer: (Rockin' Chair Lady) "Mildred Bailey Show"; "Camel Caravan"
02-27-1910 - Joan Bennett - Palisades, NJ - d. 12-7-1990
actress: "Ford Theatre"; "MGM Theatre of the Air"; "Skippy Hollywood Theatre"
02-27-1932 - Elizabeth Taylor - London, England
actress: "Theatre Guild on the Air"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
February 27th deaths
01-20-1899 - Joseph Buloff - Vilnius, Lithuania - d. 2-27-1985
actor: Barney Glass "House of Glass"
04-16-1918 - Spike Milligan - Ahmed Nagar, India - d. 2-27-2002
comedian: Eccles the Idiot "Goon Show"
06-16-1885 - Tom Howard - County Tyrone, Ireland - d. 2-27-1955
comedian: "It Pays to Be Ignorant"; "Sunday Night Party"
07-14-1901 - George Tobias - NYC - d. 2-27-1980
actor: "Cavalcade of America"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
10-14-1896 - Lillian Gish - Springfield, OH - d. 2-27-1993
panelist: "Arthur Hopkins Presents"; "Texaco Star Playhouse"; "Suspense"
12-31-1914 - Pat Brady - Toledo, OH - d. 2-27-1972
sidekick, stooge: "Roy Rogers Show"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 16:37:39 -0500
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The real father of the Maxwell
Sean Dougherty writes:
The Chicago Sun-Times TV critic includes Jack Benny's Maxwell on his list
of all time great television cars - and is savvy enough to credit Mel Blanc
with originating the "character."
What's particularly ironic to me is that while we all remember Mel Blanc's
wheezing and sputtering of the Maxwell, my recent research has surfaced the
REAL
father of the Maxwell character. The wheezing, coughing, and sputtering was
originally done [removed] Colvig.
--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 17:33:22 -0500
From: "RBB" <oldradio@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Under The Dash
<<Thanks to Alec for posting a question about early automobile radios. I'm
reminded [removed];>
In the early 1950's, for me, the "under the dashboard" radio unit by
Motorola was my
prized possession. It was only the AM dial and compact enough, in a sturdy
brown metal case, to be attached under the dash of any car with just three
brackets. Reception quality was pretty good, some hum. It was not like the
powerful, family Philco in the living room, however.
All of us kids wanted a car radio to hear the hit tunes and Red Sox or
Boston Braves baseball games. This was the inexpensive way to go - and you
could do it yourself! I also installed a huge whip antenna on the back
bumper, but without the popular fad, the Davey Crockett "coons tail" flying
on top!
Later, The Blaupunkt FM tuner made FM reception in automobiles just as easy
and inexpensive, converting the AM-only radio to an AM-FM radio. Not too
bad reception, some hiss. The Blaupunkt was also easy to install with a few
brackets, and it was under the dashboard!
Everything that is old, is new again! Just wait!
Russ Butler oldradio@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 17:47:34 -0500
From: "jfaulkner3" <jfaulkner3@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Car Radios
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
I once restored a 1937 Plymouth coupe. The original factory radio did not
work, so I sent it to a place in Massachusetts for restoration, and when it
came back, it was really a simple matter to reinstall it. Of course, it
worked entirely on the 6 volt system, and there was a separate
cable-controlled apparatus which was installed under the hood. This radio,
when first turned on, hummed for about 30 seconds, and then the most clear,
loud audio came on. I have never seen a stronger radio, pulling in am
stations from as far as 200 miles in the middle of daylight. It had better
tone, better quality overall than anything being used today, and this, mind
you, was a tube radio. At nights, from North Carolina, I could get stations
as far west as Phoenix, Arizona and way into Canada and even Cuba! No modern
day radio is as powerful, unless it is shortwave.
I finally devised a way to incorporate my portable tape player into the radio,
and while driving down lonely country backroads, I was listening to Jack
Benny, Fibber McGee and even old music from the 30s. What an experience, from
someone who was born in 1949! James Faulkner
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 19:03:56 -0500
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Lest we forget (was Judy Garland Coverage -
Washington Post)
... Notorious network programming chief James T. Aubrey, the man who fired
Jack Benny and turned CBS into a network of gimmick-ridden and cornball
sitcoms ...
The majority of those "cornball sitcoms" were created and/or produced by
Paul Henning, an OTR vet who began as an assitant writer for "Fibber McGee
and Molly," moved on to "The Rudy Vallee Show" and joined "Burns and Allen"
in 1942 where he stayed for 10 years before moving to TV. It's worth
remembering that Henning's most successful creation, "The Beverly
Hillbillies," was a MONSTER hit. Well into the 1980's, one could find
several episodes among the top 25 highest rated TV broadcasts of ANY [removed]
and I think most of those are still residing in the top 50 today.
It also should be remembered that James T. Aubrey (apparently the "T" stood
for "The smiling cobra") also dumped the "cornball sitcoms" in 1971 when
demographics began to mean more to advertisers than ratings. No sense of
loyalty, that guy.
Michael
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 21:27:06 -0500
From: Alec Cumming <arack@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: More about Car [removed]
Thanks for all the great responses so far! Motorola has a neat little
flash-animation history at [removed]
with lovely photos of Motorola's car radios through the years, along with
their evolving ad campaigns.
I'm abashed to find out I was so far off in the beginnings of automotive
radio. I guess I think of listening in cars as typical modern-day
"multitasking", perfect for America's ever-shortening attention span, not so
perfect for the kind of listening that, say, "Suspense" required. (I also am
still amazed that tubes can take such banging around, but know that I'm a
child of the transistor age - born in 1961.)
Imagine, in 1935, a man in his seventies being driven around by his
gadget-loving grandson, listening to the wireless in a horseless carriage!
At what point did car radios stop being a novelty/luxury, and became
omnipresent?
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 22:11:32 -0500
From: k g-g <grams46@[removed];
To: otr <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: the needle
jeccles@[removed] wrote
How could I forget Lionel Atwill's taunt to Rathbone in "Sherlock Holmes and
the Secret Weapon" about "the needle to the last." .... I think it is
fascinating that even this oblique reference to Holmes' cocaine addiction
managed to slip by the Hays Office, let alone Rathbone's final line in
"Hound."
from kathy:
perhaps the hay's office assumed (as i did in those more innocent times) that
professor moriarity was referring to teasing or tormenting - not a drug
users' needle.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 23:29:28 -0500
From: David Phaneuf <david_phaneuf@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: Car Radios
Been away from the Digest for awhile (again! sheesh!)
but came back just in time to catch a fascinating
thread that has been something I've wondered about
[removed] and that is the emergence of the car radio.
But first, thanks to all who replied to my
now-long-ago-post concerning the origin of "Shamus".
My apologies for not expressing my appreciation
sooner.
Concerning car radios, I've wondered too how long ago
they actually began, usually whenever I've plopped a
cassette of OTR into the radio and wondered if the
folks of olden day would have listened in their cars
as they drove along.
Ellsworth O Johnson made an interesting statement that
brought a smile to my face:
Ford motor company was a pioneer in this regard and
furnished some nice factory radio installations as
early as 1935 and built in the auto radio antennas at
the factory into the fabric roof of the car. <<
I was surprised to hear that, since I've always
understood Ford, with the exception of the assembly
line, was resistant to inovation ("you can have any
color you want, just so long as it's black" -- wasn't
that Ford?), and was, at least as Iaccocca's
biographer (name escapes me at the moment) tells the
story, responsible for the near demise of his own
company as a result of his reticence to embrace
anything new.
I guess Ford was a paradox in that regard
DPhaneuf
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 23:30:11 -0500
From: Elmer Standish <elmer_standish@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Further to Old Car Radios
I grew up with Vacuum Tubes and my initial electronics
training in the Royal Canadian Air Force was all Tube
Oriented.
I recall a hybrid (tube/Transistor) circuit from the 1960s
that used the special 12-volt tubes in all but the output
stage The Output was provided by a DELCO "doorknob"
germanium power transistor while all previous stages used
the tubes that required only 12VDC for their Plate and
Screen
voltages.
One of these radios at least had a very sophisticated
"Signal Seeking Tuner" (AM only) which automatically
tuned in the next station up the band that produced a
strong enough signal.
Hope this provides some more insight into the
older days of Radio.
===> Elmer Standish
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 23:30:40 -0500
From: Elmer Standish <elmer_standish@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: History of the Transistor
Those interested in the early days of the transistor
might enjoy this site.
===> ELMER STANDISH
- --------------------------------------------------------
Transistorized! The History of the Invention of the
Transistor
"The Transistor was probably the most. important
invention of the 20th Century,. and the story behind
the invention is one. of clashing ... Description:
Describes the history of most important invention of
the 20th century: the transistor.
Category: Science > Physics > History
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 00:18:48 -0500
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Pearl Harbor
Chris wrote:
am extremely dubious--the John Daly bit sounds exactly like the "I Can Hear
It Now" forgery (or does it??), and the Albert Warner report wouldn't
actually have started quite this early--but I've never heard these clips in
this particular configuration before. Is there any chance this is for real?
Chris, the John Daly is actually a clip that is linked from my site (look
at the clip info when you mouseover the link). To the best of my ability it
is authentic. I did not get it from the "I Hear It Now" record. The reason
it probably sounds familiar is that it was used and attached to the
announcement of the "Death of Roosevelt" by Ed Murrow and Fred Friendly. If
you listen to that clip on the "I Hear It Now" recording you can detect a
volume/quality change. Even Bob Trout admitted years later that it is what
they did.
However, the Daly clip I had (not sure where I got it originally) and is
the opening to the news. CBS was the only network to actually have a news
program coming on at 2:30 PM EST - The World Today and Daly opened it up
with that bulletin. Whether you consider it a good source or not, that same
dialogue is quoted in Ed Bliss' book "Now the News."
The other clip at the web site you mention I believe is also authentic. I
was contacted by that webmaster/archivist a long time ago when he was
setting up that site asking my permission to link to the other clip
mentioned above. He had access to a number of clips I had never heard
before. You can hear the same Albert Warner monologue at my web site. I
have tried to document the first day of radio's handling of the Pearl
Harbor bombing. You can get a breakdown by time based upon my research with
sound clips by going to
[removed]
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 08:54:07 -0500
From: BryanH362@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Weekends with Walden Hughes and .....
Friday
Frank Bresee-
Tribute to Jack Paar from special materials by Frank Bresee.
Saturday
Live interview with Charles Stumpf who helped Ben Ohmart gather the materials
for the book on Walter Tetley.
old interview with Jay Stewart who was the announcer on the Great
Gildersleeves show from the 1940s.
Sunday
Michael Biels talk
Laura Leff -
this weeks Jack Benny program is from 2-21-37 .
Friday , Saturday and Sunday 10:30 Eastern / 7:30 Pacific .
streamed live on the internet at [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 10:50:35 -0500
From: "Jeff Quick" <mrears69@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Tales Of The Sea??
I received this e-mail today. Can anyone on the list help with this? I'm
sure this individual would also like a place where he could purchase this
program if it's available.
Maybe you can help me. I was born in 1935. My earliest memories as a
toddler included one particular program that my father would listen to:
"Tales of the Sea" or something to that effect. The intro and background
music was Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture. I don't remember any of the
stories but every time I hear "Fingals Cave," I am thrown back in time to my
early childhood. How can I track this down and find out what the program
was?
Sincere thanks,
Bill Grant
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 10:50:50 -0500
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Alvino Ray
Hi Everybody,
I heard today that big band leader Alvino Ray pass away yesterday at 95
years old. According to his sister in-law Marilyn King told SPErDVAC last
year that Alvino was playing his guitar every day and use is ham radio daily
too. Take care,
Walden Hughes
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 13:08:00 -0500
From: "Kris Stone" <anaheim47@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Message From John Gassman RE: Walt Disney
Hi:
My name is John Gassman and I've collected a few radio shows in my time.
I work for Disney booking reservations into the three hotels at the Disney
Resort in Anaheim.
I emailed Dave Smith the Disney archivist and probably the most
knowledgeable person connected with Disney history about the questions
recently circulating on this digest and he wrote:
Clarence Nash did indeed do the voice of Herman the duck on the Burns &
Allen show for two seasons. Walt Disney allowed him to do it, as long as
the duck was not called Donald.
I am not familiar with the Treasury Star Parade show, but I doubt very much
that Walt ever did Donald Duck's voice.
Dave Smith
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 15:14:39 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 2-28 births/deaths
February 28th births
02-28-1893 - Ben Hecht - NYC - d. 4-18-1964
panelist, writer: "Information Please"; "Jumbo Fire Chief Program"
02-28-1914 - Jim Boles - Lubbock, TX - d. 5-26-1977
actor: Doc Long "I Love A Mystery"; Fulmer Green "King's Row"
02-28-1915 - Zero Mostel - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-8-1977
comedian: "CBS Mystery Theatre"; "Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street"
02-28-1928 - Louise Erickson - Oakland, CA
actress: Marjorie Forrester "Great Gildersleeve"; Judy Foster "A Date with
Judy"
February 28th deaths
03-04-1921 - Joan Greenwood - London, England - d. 2-28-1987
actress: "Stagestruck"
03-05-1891 - Chic Johnson - Chicago, IL - d. 2-28-1962
comedian: "Olsen and Johnson"; "Rudy Vallee Show"
08-04-1904 - Theodore Newton - Lawrenceville, NJ - d. 2-28-1963
actor: Christpopher Parker "Joyce Jordan, [removed]"
08-22-1893 - Cecil Kellaway - Capetown, South Africa - d. 2-28-1973
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Cavalcade of America"
08-25-1910 - Ruby Keeler - Halifax, Nova Scotia - d. 2-28-1993
actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-18-1905 - Eddie Anderson - Oakland, CA - d. 2-28-1977
actor: Rochester Van Jones "Jack Benny Program"
10-14-1891 - Joseph M. White - NYC - d. 2-28-1959
singer: (The Silver Masked Tenor) "Goodrich Silvertown Orchestra"
11-06-1901 - Juanita Hall - d. 2-28-1968
actress: "Story of Ruby Valentine"
12-15-1888 - Maxwell Anderson - Atlantic, PA - d. 2-28-1959
writer: "Free Company"; "Keep 'Em Rolling"; "O'Neill Cycle"
12-20-1923 - Charita Bauer - Newark, NJ - d. 2-28-1985
actress: Mary Aldrich, "Aldrich Family"; Bert Bauer, "Guiding Light"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #70
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