Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #366
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 10/9/2003 2:46 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 366
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Radio Archiving- Is it Really any be  [ Chad Palmer <palmerch@[removed] ]
      Short Wave Radio Wanted               [ "mike kerezman" <philipmarlowe@cfai ]
      "How Ephemeral Is the Earth" -- Sir   [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      contacts                              [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
      research on tape deterioration        [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
      A&A rehearsals                        [ "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@earthli ]
      Radio drama died about 50 years ago   [ "david rogers" <david_rogers@hotmai ]
      Apple Ipod experience                 [ "david rogers" <david_rogers@hotmai ]
      [removed]    [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
      Quiz Show Question                    [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Radio drama dead?                     [ Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed]; ]
      Any Mistakes in On the Air: The Ency  [ otrdude@[removed] ]
      Radio Drama Dead?                     [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      I Love A Mystery book                 [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Elliot Roosevelt mysteries            [ Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; ]
      Help with iMP-150 mp3 player          [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
      10-10 births/deaths                   [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
      Re: Radio Archives                    [ Howard Bonner <howard_bonner@yahoo. ]

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

    Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2003 18:12:42 -0400
    From: Chad Palmer <palmerch@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Radio Archiving- Is it Really any better
     today?

    I know we often debate on this list why certain programs were saved, why
    others weren't, or wish that so and so had been recorded.

    I'm just curious exactly how much better radio preservation is today
    compared to the OTR era, at least on a local level?  I'm convinced that it
    isn't much better now than it was then, and actually MORE might have been
    recorded then.

    Now I'm assuming today that the big outfits like Westwood One keep some
    sort of archive of the sports & news broadcasts they produce, and I'd
    imagine many of the other talk show hosts (Rush Limbaugh, Dr Laura, etc)
    maintain their own archives.  But based on my experiences it seems that
    local stations keep hardly nothing nowadays,  especially when it comes to
    local sports & news.

    Here in the south high school football dominates local radio on Friday
    nights, and on some occasions I've contacted stations about getting tapes
    of games they've broadcast.  [removed] of the time they respond but explain
    that they do the games live and don't bother to record them.  I know many
    of the announcers at many stations around the area and that seems to be the
    standard practice,  you broadcast it and forget it.  Local newscasts &
    other sports are the same way.  In most cases they record segments on
    minidisc or reel to reel, edit them to a computer system for broadcast and
    then dump the computer files after the broadcast.  Nothing is kept.

    This is a disturbing trend considering years from now others will come
    along and try to study what radio was like in this time period.  They'll
    have plenty of music but other programming likely won't be around.

    I'd be curious to hear some input from others out there on this
    issue.  Does anyone have any background on exactly what Westwood or some of
    the other big outfits archiving policy entails, and exactly what seems to
    be the medium of choice for archiving today- cd, digital, still reel to
    reel, minidisc, etc?

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 00:05:56 -0400
    From: "mike kerezman" <philipmarlowe@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Short Wave Radio Wanted

    I'm wanting to find a good but relatively inexpensive radio that can pickup
    short wave broadcasts here in the United States. Any help would be
    appreciated.

    Mike Kerezman
    Macomb, Oklahoma

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 00:06:05 -0400
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "How Ephemeral Is the Earth" -- Sir Galahad

    Recently, I picked up a volume of bound galleys of Gerald Nachman's book,
    Raised On Radio.  I was thumbing through it and came across the only
    entry on my specialty, Captain Midnight.

    To my surprise, he characterized Captain Midnight as a "flying
    detective," and cited as a "typical" story, some criminals stole Chuck
    Ramsay's model airplane and used it to purloin "the crown ruby" [sic].
    He added that the title character was, "an unlikely hero named Midnight."

    Now the episode, "The Flying Ruby," was one of the relatively few
    half-hour stories that aired in the Fall of 1949.  It's the only one I
    know of that's in circulation.

    Regrettably, the half-hour program was the dumbed-down version that's
    outside of the Canon.  Ed Prentiss, who played Captain Midnight in 1938
    and 1940 through the Spring of 1949, didn't play the hero in the
    half-hour programs.

    What bothers me is that to the casual reader, it might be taken as
    gospel.  Someone totally unfamiliar with the history of the show might
    believe that Captain Midnight _was_ a show about a "flying detective,"
    rather than being the leader of a paramilitary force.

    I have not completed the book, but if it were the only book on OTR that a
    person reads, it could misguide the reader.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 00:21:52 -0400
    From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  contacts

    Hi Everybody,  I am trying to find a way to contact the below people to
    below future interview guest for my show on Yesterday USA, or SPErdVaC.  If
    you have an idea please contact me of list.  Take care,

    Walden Hughes

    1.  Janet Blair
    2.  Betty Bonney

    3.  Nancy Norman

    4.  Lynn Roberts

    5.  Keely Smith

    6.  Eileen Barton

    7.  Gloria Wood

    8.  Kay Starr

    9.  Vic Damone

    10.  Mike Douglas

    11.  Jerry Vale

    12.  Marilyn King

    13.  Abbe Lane

    14.  Nillie Lester

    15.  Dick Winington

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 00:22:11 -0400
    From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  research on tape deterioration

    The Ohio State Unversity alumni magazine has a mention of some research work
    being done on old recording tapes.  The people are mainly concerned about
    data storage, but the work may apply to audio as well.  Turns out that the
    tape edges are critical.  When the cutters at the tape factory get dull,
    which they often did, the edges of the tape get ragged.  This encourages
    breaks (fatal for data tapes, I think) and causes degradation of the oxide
    layer near the edge of the tape.

    M Kinsler
    512 E Mulberry St. Lancaster, Ohio USA 43130 740-687-6368
    [removed]~mkinsler1

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 00:22:35 -0400
    From: "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@[removed];
    To: "OTR List" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  A&A rehearsals

    Here's a question probably best answered by Elizabeth McLeod.

    How did the Amos & Andy rehearsals that survive come into circulation among
    collectors? Is there a story behind this? Are there others that do not
    circulate?

    Joe Salerno
    Video Works! Is it working for you?
    PO Box 273405 - Houston TX 77277-3405 [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 00:22:43 -0400
    From: "david rogers" <david_rogers@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Radio drama died about 50 years ago

    "Radio drama died about 50 years ago ... Himan Brown, though, refused to go
    to the funeral."

    Has anybody mentioned this to the BBC?

    Love as always, David Rogers

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 00:23:01 -0400
    From: "david rogers" <david_rogers@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Apple Ipod experience

    I looked into buying an Apple Ipod for listening to stuff while I am on my
    travels.  I have never used one but I did read good reports.  The reason
    that I did not buy one was the price.  The problem was not really that it
    was expensive but rather that I thought that it was expensive for my purpose
    of listening to stuff while I was travelling.  When you are travelling there
    is a greater rsk of something getting damaged or maybe even stolen.
    Therefore, for my purpose I bought a hybrid CD player - one that plays mp3
    and audio CDs.  My hybrid player is quite tough, easy to carry and there is
    no problem with uploading files etc I just pop in a CD and a way we go.
    Also if it gets stolen I would be upset but it would not be the end of the
    world.
    It really seems to depend on what your needs are and how and where you plan
    to play your stuff.  As I say I did investigate the Apple Ipod but found it
    didn't really suit what I wanted it for.  Your situation may be different of
    course.

    Love as always, David Rogers

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 09:24:53 -0400
    From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  [removed]

    Ted Kneebone sent me an email saying he couldn't connect to an OTR site I
    mentioned. I think I transcribed the URL incorrectly.

    Try this URL, which I copied from my Windows Explorer "Favorites" list:
    [removed]

    Sorry for the confusion,

    Herb Harrison

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 09:25:11 -0400
    From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Quiz Show Question

    "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed]; asked about live radio quiz shows'
    production schedules. I have another question:
    Were any of the network quiz shows dishonest, like the later TV quiz shows
    were discovered to be, by feeding the answers to contestants, [removed]
    I realize that "The $64 Question" on radio is different from "The $64,000
    Question" on TV, but the temptation to draw the biggest audience would be
    the [removed]

    Just curious,
    Herb Harrison

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 09:25:20 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

     From Those Were The Days --

    1935 - Cavalcade of America was first broadcast this very day. The CBS
    show featured some of Hollywood and Broadway's most famous stars in
    leading roles in the half hour dramas. Thomas Chalmers narrated the
    stories about obscure incidents and people in American history. The
    orchestra was led by Donald Voorhees. The show aired from 1935 to 1953,
    changing from CBS to NBC in 1939; with one sponsor for its entire
    duration. The DuPont Company introduced its slogan on Cavalcade of
    America ... "Better things for better living through [removed]"

    1943 - ABC presented Land of the Lost. The opening phrase for the show
    was, "In that wonderful kingdom at the bottom of the [removed]" This
    children's adventure-fantasy serial took the audience underwater where
    the main characters, Isabel and Jimmy, were guided by their friend, a
    red fish named Red Lantern and played at first by Junius Matthews and
    later, by Art Carney. Land of the Lost found a large audience and
    remained on the air until 1948.

    Joe

    --
    Visit my homepage:  [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 09:29:26 -0400
    From: Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Radio drama dead?

    On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 10:43:04 -0400 Wich2@[removed] said:

>     Dear Art (& co.)-
>     Oh Lord, here we go again. Attention: please listen closely:

>     RADIO DRAMA IS NOT DEAD.

    Hey Craig,

    If you're upset that an article in The New York Times describes radio
    drama as having died 50 years ago, please blame the newspaper or the
    author, not the guy who naively thought that other members of this
    group might be interested in knowing that one of the great talents of
    classic radio continues to soldier on at an advanced age, and that our
    most important newspaper chose to write about it.

    As it happens, I do not endorse the idea that radio drama is "dead" -
    though compared with its robust past, its current place in our culture
    is certainly greatly diminished. I suspect that only a tiny fraction
    of Americans under the age of 50 have ever heard more than a snippet
    of radio drama, comedy or variety of the sort that was a daily fixture
    of most people's entertainment calendar until about a half-century
    ago. Despite the efforts of many fine theater groups and radio
    stations that do work to keep the art form alive, I don't see it as
    anything other than a niche product that may continue to thrive
    (artistically, and with a tiny fan base), but one destined never again
    to take center stage in the home entertainment experience of the vast
    majority of Americans.

    Sorry, Craig, but that's reality.

    Having said that, I am delighted to acknowledge that since the last
    'Golden Age' shows winked out 41 years ago - and I marked their
    passing in an NPR commentary last year - radio drama has never
    completely faded away. In the 1960s, ABC tried to revitalize the genre
    with the rather lame if fondly-remembered Theater 5. Around the same
    time, WBAI in New York was doing cutting-edge drama with its own
    reperatory company on the [removed] Radio Theater. In the 1970s, Hi Brown
    returned with the CBS Radio Mystery Theater and its various siblings.
    Public radio offered Earplay and NPR Playhouse.

    In the 1980s, The Voice of America (which rebroadcast a number of
    network programs in its early years) aired an original, 26-part series
    of biographical dramas called Americans All, which were also broadcast
    domestically on public radio. More recently, VOA has continued as a
    home for radio drama, with several performances a year before an
    actual paying audience in our auditorium in conjunction with [removed]
    Theatre Works and the Smithsonian. In addition to being broadcast to
    our worldwide audience, these dramas have been heard on many public
    radio stations. (I work for VOA, but in news, and I have nothing to do
    with these dramatic programs.)

    In a parallel universe - say Britain or Canada - radio drama might
    have remained a core art form, rather than the niche product it is
    today in this country. Don't get me wrong: I love radio. I've worked
    in radio 20 years. And I love radio drama, which I've been listening
    to since I was a kid. It certainly is not "dead" to anyone subscribing
    to this list. But I simply do not believe that in this 500-channel
    universe there is any evidence it will ever regain the mass appeal it
    once had.

    Regards,
    Art

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 09:30:17 -0400
    From: otrdude@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Any Mistakes in On the Air: The Encyclopedia
     of Old-Time Radio?
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    I love "On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio" by John Dunning. It
    is favorite reference source for old time radio. Has anyone ever found any
    mistakes in it?

    Andrew Steinberg

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

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 11:03:15 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Radio Drama Dead?

    RADIO DRAMA IS NOT DEAD.
    Can I get a "amen" here? Barbara? Christian? Martin? Steve? Jack?

    AMEN, BROTHER!

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 11:39:58 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  I Love A Mystery book

    In answer to a small number of e-mails, (and to keep the queries down a
    little), yes my I LOVE A MYSTERY book will be available at the FOTR
    convention late this month.  As for those who have pre-ordered and asked
    about the status, you'll be pleased to know that the books are being shipped
    out next week to those who paid for their copy in advance.  Appologies for
    the delay, and ignore the fliers that say December 2003, release date is the
    15th.
    Martin Grams, Jr.

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 12:58:22 -0400
    From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Elliot Roosevelt mysteries

              I checked and discovered that the Elliot
    Roosevelt mystery books were written by Michael
    Harrington.  Donald Bain (of "Murder, She Wrote"
    fame) had nothing to do with any of them.

              Michael Harrington and Donald Bain did
    share the same literary agent.  Harrington, a lawyer
    turned mystery author, commited suicide about a
    year or so ago.  I agree, the series was quite good
    and the occasional references to OTR and other
    aspects of the 1930's and 1940's were  quite
    interesting.

              BTW, who is this Kent Allard (?) person I've
    heard about and what connection does he have with
    "The Shadow"?  I think someone is pulling my leg
    when they suggested he was the Shadow.  (Wasn't
    that Lamont Cranston?)  If, indeed this person existed,
    could he have been one of the many agents working
    for the Shadow?  Was this person ever mentioned in
    either the OTR series or in any of the Street and Smith
    pulp magazines?  If so, which ones?

    Another radio buff,

    Kenneth Clarke

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 15:46:21 -0400
    From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Help with iMP-150 mp3 player

    I bought an iMP-150, and I need some help with the upgrade.

    I went to the website, downloaded the zip file (software version [removed]),
    exploded it into a file called
    [removed], burned that to a CD, played the CD in my
    [removed] got a "NO DISC" readout.  It still shows it is using
    version [removed]

    Did I leave out a step maybe?  Thanks for any [removed]

    ---Dan

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 15:46:31 -0400
    From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: <[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"
    10-10-1908 - Johnny Green - NYC - d. 5-15-1989
    conductor: "In the Modern Manner"; "Jack Benny Program"; "Man Called X"
    10-10-1913 - Johnny Downs - Brooklyn, NY - d. 6-13-1994
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    10-10-1926 - Richard Jaeckel - Long Beach, NY - d. 6-14-1997
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"

    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 - NYC - 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 (R:  Chicago, IL) - d. 10-10-1985
    actor: Lamont Cranston "The Shadow"; "Mercury Theatre on the Air"
    07-07-1915 - Yul Brynner - Vladivostock, Czarist Russia - d. 10-10-1985
    actor: "As Easy as [removed]"
    12-19-1902 - Sir Ralph Richardson - Cheltenham, England - d. 10-10-1983
    actor: Doctor John H. Watson, "Advs. of Sherlock Holmes"

    Ron Sayles
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

    Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 16:42:13 -0400
    From: Howard Bonner <howard_bonner@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Radio Archives

    Just back from a week in East Tennessee. The Boys
    played live on WSM-AM with the legendary Mac Wiseman,
    live( one hr. each )on WANT in Lebanon, Tenn. and on
    WDVX out of Clinton,Tennesse at 6:30 ( Central time)
    in the morning on Monday. They received hits on their
    website from all over the USA from the WDVX
    appearance and the WSM [removed] Midnite Jamboree
    for the Ernest Tubb Record Shops on WSM may be the
    second longest continuous running radio show still
    available. It was 2600 plus, I believe while the Opry
    is up to 4400 plus. Something like that.

    OH, BTW- the boys are 10 and 13 years of age and are
    having the experience of their lives. They play 3 or 4
    instruments and sing duets and quartet harmonies.
    [removed]

    When I arrived home, their was a large package waiting
    which the Radio Archives had sent. Both discs ( 16
    inch) survived the trip east from Seattle and what
    great treasures!! They will be going into a frame.
    They are both 1944 transcription discs #62 and #75 of
    the Red Skelton Show and the Fibber McGee and Molly
    show from 1944. The jackets are still with them and
    have Columbia of New York City all over them along
    with 'Buy War Bonds' and Property of the War
    Department. 'Absolutely fabulous!!' They will look
    great when enframed for display with a playable CD of
    each program.
    A great big THANK YOU to Harland Zinck for the careful
    packaging. One of life's little treasures.

    HB

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #366
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