Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #283
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/23/2003 9:14 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 283
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Re: Yoo Hoo, Is Anybody?              [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Bela Lugosi Question                  [ "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed]; ]
      Dale Carnegie                         [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
      Soldiers of the Press                 [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
      The Goldbergs                         [ [removed]@[removed] ]
      Soldiers of the [removed]              [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
      Jack Benny 1935                       [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      Mr. Blasko                            [ Wich2@[removed] ]
      Call letters                          [ Harry Bartell <bartell@[removed] ]
      Soldiers of the Press                 [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Boris Karloff                         [ Musiciantoo47@[removed] ]
      Nightbeat                             [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
      Another comment on past political in  [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      Bela Lugosi                           [ "Jody Davis" <baroygis@[removed]; ]
      Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Nightbeat                             [ "Ian Grieve" <austotr@[removed]. ]

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:22:05 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Yoo Hoo, Is Anybody?

    On 7/22/03 11:37 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     One question:  the article says 'The Goldbergs'
>     "rivalled" A&A in popularity in the 1930s.
>     This quote may be either lifted, shared with, or
>     'insipred by' the exact same wording on the Gertrude
>     Berg bio on the Chicago Broadcasting Museum website.
>     But is it really true?

    Actually, depending on what numbers you look at, during 1931-32 the two
    programs were quite close in the ratings. The "typical CAB ratings" cited
    by Harrison Summers show A&A as the most popular program on the air for
    that season, with a rating of [removed],  while "The Goldbergs" rated third,
    with a [removed] (Eddie Cantor was second, at [removed])

    Howver, as has been noted here before, Summers' numbers are not actually
    representative of a full season -- they're just a single week taken as a
    sample of that season, not a statistical average. The *actual*
    season-average ratings for 1931-32, as published by C. A. B., show A&A
    leading with a 33 rating, and the Goldbergs not showing up in the top ten
    at all. A&A remained a top-ten series thru 1934-35, while the Goldbergs
    never attained that status at any time.

    So apparently what must've happened is that listenership for "The
    Goldbergs" must have spiked -- perhaps due to a particularly effective
    storyline at that time -- and then receded to a lower level. Eventually,
    the series came to an end in 1934 as a result of a cutback in the
    Pepsdodent Company's ad budget, and that was the end of its run as an
    A&A-like comedy-drama serial. When the series returned to the air after a
    hiatus of a couple of years, it was as a pure soap opera -- which it
    remained until the series ended again in 1945.

    It's this transformation into a straight soap that's most often ignored
    by modern-day cultural-history types writing about the radio program. The
    original concept of the series, a humorous narrative of tenement life
    with heavy ethnic overtones, ended with the conclusion of the Pepsodent
    series. During the soap-opera period, the Goldberg family lived on a farm
    in a small town in Connecticut -- and the ethnic, specifically-Jewish
    aspects of the program were radically toned down. There were occasional
    exceptions to this rule -- Jewish holidays were always acknowledged, and
    there were very rare instances where allusions to anti-Semitism were made
    -- but in general, from 1938-45 there was nothing to distinguish Molly
    Goldberg from Ma Perkins but her dialect.

    This is an essential point  -- because it runs directly counter to the
    columnists' assertion that Berg refused to compromise the program's
    Jewishness despite cultural pressures to do so. In reality, she did
    *exactly* that -- the deethnicization of the program in the late 1930s
    coincides precisely with the sharp increase in Coughlinesque
    anti-Semitism which swept the US during that period, as well as
    increasing pressure from Jewish activist groups to get "Yiddish
    caricatures" off the air.

    Unfortunately, this is just another instance where the facts don't fit
    the story the writer has already decided to tell -- so they're
    conveniently ignored. Par for the course nowadays, whether in academia or
    in the press.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:22:16 -0400
    From: "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Bela Lugosi Question
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    Hi!

    Regarding the radio shows that Bela Lugosi appeared [removed] ones that come
    to mind are:

    THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW (June 1947)
    MYSTERY HOUSE (which Bela hosted and starred in)
    SUSPENSE ("The Doctor Prescribed Death"--1943)

    I know Bela also made appearances on CRIME DOES NOT PAY and ELLERY QUEEN
    [removed] don't have the specific dates.

    Gary (argydix)

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    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:22:30 -0400
    From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Dale Carnegie

    I recently took the Dale Carnegie Course (It was pretty cool) and was
    surprised when I ran across the following statement in a short bio:

    "Mr. Carnegie was a prominent lecturer of his day and a sought-after
    counselor to world leaders.  He wrote newspaper columns and had his own daily
    radio show"

    I've never heard of a Dale Carnegie radio show.  He died in 1955, so any
    radio show would be solidly in the OTR era.  Does anyone have any information
    on this show?  Also, if someone has some in their collection, would you be
    willing to send a couple my way?  I don't have much to trade, and no index,
    but I'll work with you to figure out a deal.

    -Chris Holm

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:22:37 -0400
    From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Soldiers of the Press

    Charlie Summers asked about Soldiers of the Press .

    Unfortunately while researching WORDS AT WAR, I found so little
    information about the show that I wound up not even discussing it in my
    book.  There are copies of some of the shows in circulation.  I have a
    few.  But I don't have the capacity to reproduce them.  I'll forward this
    message to the person from whom I obtained the shows and he will respond
    if and as he wishes.

    Howard Blue

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:24:45 -0400
    From: [removed]@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Goldbergs
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    Seeing the note about the NY Times article re: 'The Goldberg's' gave me a
    pang similar to a sore appendix in the side. At the risk of starting a flame
    war, I'm afraid I don't have much good to say about the radio program. I was
    too young to hear it on the radio, but I remember the TV sitcom warmly,
    except for the sad story of Phillip Loeb, who played Mr. Goldberg.

    Recently, I acquired two mp3 CDs of the old radio show, apparently from
    about 1942. I wasn't aware, until I listened to them while driving from
    Phoenix to LA, that the radio show was a 15 minute soap, much like 'Ma
    Perkins.' It was, in fact, sponsored by Duz, which at the time, did
    everything.

    Most of us have heard the old saw about a soap opera being a show where 'it
    takes two weeks for a character to get through a revolving door.' Well, when
    listening to 40 or 50 of these things back to back, it sounds much worse
    than that. The one saving grace was that there was but a single commercial
    at the beginning and end of each show. Still, it seemed like there was time
    for only a single speech, possibly two, before each segment ended.

    What was most painful to me when listening was to find that Molly Goldberg
    was a monster. She was the worst kind of yenta and manipulatrix who had a
    total inability to keep her hands out of anybody else's business. Yes, her
    'maneuverings,' as she called them, did result in happy endings for the
    characters, but it was obvious that her husband, who loved her for some
    reason, suffered constantly through her machinations with others.

    While listening, I had a fantasy about murdering one of several of the women
    I knew when I was growing up, then playing these CDs for the jury in my
    defense, pleading that Molly and my victim were identical, and that what I
    did was justifiable. The fantasy ended with the jury awarding me both ears
    and the tail. (Hey, the last I heard, fantasies are still legal, unless they
    deal with Dubya).

    Anyhow, its a sad commentary on learning that what I had hoped would be
    pleasant listening, based on my memory of the TV show, turned out to be so
    unpleasant. I just want to add that I hadn't realized, until listening to
    the CDs, that the show was written entirely by Gertrude Berg. My dislike of
    the product doesn't diminish my respect for that fine lady's talents and
    abilities one bit. She created a tremendous output that might have been apt
    for its time. I have to remember that the primary audience for all the soaps
    were stay-at-home women, who were able to listen while they did their
    housework. Considering my childhood memories, Molly Goldberg's character was
    what so many of those women thought admirable. Too bad for the husbands and
    children, though.

    Thanx,

     B. Ray

       bray@[removed]
    *Hug a malamute today!*
    *  Don't blame me, I live in California!  *

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    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:24:53 -0400
    From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
    To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Soldiers of the [removed]

    I just listened to Walter Cronkite's NPR radio essay about "Soldiers of the
    Press" and the man who was his radio voice while Walter was in England.  I
    cannot answer any of Charlie's questions, but the voice of 26 year old
    Cronkite sounds like one of the regular actors from "Cavalcade of America."
    Can't tell which one, and not all the actors were identified in that series.
    Maybe Martin Grams, who has published a book on "Cavalcade", might recognize
    the voice.  I checked the index in Howard Blue's "Words at War" for
    "Soldiers of the Press", but did not find an entry.

    Ted Kneebone/1528 S. Grant [removed], SD 57401/605-226-3344
    OTR: [removed]

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:25:11 -0400
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jack Benny 1935
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    Matthew Bullis asked:

>     Hello, just looked at my mp3 list of Jack Benny shows, and there's a huge
>     gap, because there are only three shows in there from 1935. Are they just
>     not encoded, or not a lot of them survived from that whole year?

    There seem to be only two surviving shows from 1935:  1/6 and 11/3.  The
    transcriptions just don't seem to exist in any of the known collections, but
    hopefully more will turn up some day.

    --Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:25:50 -0400
    From: Wich2@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Mr. Blasko

>     From: eddieo396@[removed]
>     Subject:  bela lugosi

>     hi i am a big otr and bela lugosi fan does anybody know if mr lugosi
>     appreaed in any radio shows.

    Dear Eddie-

>     >From the radio work of the sometimes excellent (DRACULA, WHITE ZOMBIE,
>     NINOTCHKA, SON OF FRANKENSTEIN), and never less than quirkily interesting
>     (if you're a fan, you've seen lots!)Bela, I've HEARD:

    -SUSPENSE "The Doctor Prescribed Death" (I seem to recall a cue glitch, but a
    solid show)
    -MYSTERY HOUSE "The Thirsty Death" (not a great script, but you get to hear
    him co-star with John Carradine!)*note: some copies in poor sound, but
    Metacom used to offer a TERRIFIC one*

    ...KNOW OF:
    -CRIME DOES NOT PAY "Gasoline Cocktail"
    -COMMAND PERFORMANCE "The Bishop and the Gargoyle" (got it from lister Ed Carr)

    AND SEEM TO RECALL:
    -there might have been a FRED ALLEN appearance?

    Best,
    Craig Wichman
    Quicksilver Radio Theater

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:26:14 -0400
    From: Harry Bartell <bartell@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Call letters

    Bob Reynolds asks:

>     I would like to throw out a couple of questions.  !.  Has anyone  done
>     research of  what some of the early radio stations call letters stand for

    KPRC --- Kotton Port Rail Center (sic)

    KTRH-- The Rice Hotel

    Harry Bartell

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 20:14:07 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Soldiers of the Press

    Charlie Summers asked:

>      Heard an audio essay last night on All Things Considered by Walter
>     Cronkite; he talked about the radio show, "Soldiers of the Air," written and
>     apparently produced by United Press International where UPI reporters were
>     portrayed by actors.
>        1) Does anyone have more information they can share about the series?

    The program Charlie is referring to is entitled SOLDIERS OF THE PRESS.  It
    was as broadcast for about two years on the Mutual Radio Network, from
    February 28, 1943 to August 5, 1945.  The time slot jumped around but for
    the most part, it was heard as a Sunday afternoon diversion from 12:30 to
    12:45 [removed], EST.  The series was recorded in New York using New York actors
    like Santos Ortega, Jackson Beck, Bret Morrison, Elspeth Eric, Lon Clark,
    Myron McCormick, Everett Sloane, Arnold Moss and many others.  The program
    was sponsored by the United Press with the intention of spreading word about
    the [removed] and creating good public image.  The World Lateral Company in NYC
    transcribed and syndicated the series, some small company that produced
    music and many short-run (12 or 13 episode) syndicated programs, all usually
    15 minutes in length.  They were recorded from November 1942 to early 1945,
    but the first episode broadcast over Mutual was February 28, 1943.

    I am not sure exactly how many episodes were recorded, but at 130 were made.
      The program was never sponsored, but because it was syndicated, the actual
    broadcast dates and times vary from episode to episode.  Some station in
    Chicago aired the episodes in a different order than what Mutual (WOR) in
    NYC did.  For a brief time, Howard Clothes sponsored the series for that
    lasted only a few weeks.

>     2) Do any of the dealers here carry this series?

    Far as I know, the Radio Historical Association of Colorado has 28 episodes
    in their rental library.  I am presently a member of their club and have
    rented before so I can recommend their services.  Dick King in one of the
    people in charge with the club, he can be reached at Box 1908 Englewood, CO
    80150, and last e-mail I had for him was dickking@[removed] but that
    e-mail address might be out of date.

>        3) Is anyone here able to recognize the voice of the "New York actor" who
>     portrayed Cronkite in his episode of the series?

    The specific episode Charlie heard was the following:
    EPISODE #27  "DRY MARTINI"   Broadcast August 29, 1943.
    Cast is unknown, sorry Charlie.

    Ted Kneebone asked:

>     I just listened to Walter Cronkite's NPR radio essay about "Soldiers of the
>     Press" and the man who was his radio voice while Walter was in England. I
>     cannot answer any of Charlie's questions, but the voice of 26 year old
>     Cronkite sounds like one of the regular actors from "Cavalcade of America."
>     Can't tell which one, and not all the actors were identified in that series.
>     Maybe Martin Grams, who has published a book on "Cavalcade", might recognize
>     the voice. I checked the index in Howard Blue's "Words at War" for "Soldiers
>     of the Press", but did not find an entry.

    Ted's on the right track.  The majority of the CAVALCADE OF AMERICA episodes
    originated from New York, so the chances of a cast member being on both is
    not coincidental.  Chances are Ted's ears are also sharp as it's probably
    same actor he's heard on many CAVALCADE broadcasts.  Without the actual
    script or production sheet for the series, the only answer we could come up
    with would be a guess by hearing the voice, but no true answer.

    Ted's posting also got me thinking so I looked it up in my HISTORY OF THE
    CAVALCADE OF AMERICA book.  Just two months before they began recording the
    SOLDIERS OF THE PRESS series, CAVALCADE did present a drama entitled . . .
    EPISODE #295  "SOLDIER OF A FREE PRESS"  Broadcast on September 7, 1942.
    Cast:  Claude Rains
    Written for Cavalcade by Peter Lyon, and two men whose last name is Lerner
    and Wilson.
    (This happens to be one of the VERY few episodes in which I don't have a
    complete author credit for.  Sorry.)
    Produced and directed by Homer Fickett.
    Announcer is Clayton Collier.
    Music composed and conducted by Donald Voorhees and his Orchestra.
    Plot:  The biography of Richard Harding Davis, the first modern newspaper
    correspondent.
    (Sorry, I typed an abridged entry above - I can't retype the entire
    half-page episode entry.)

    Could this CAVALCADE broadcast have been a pilot or audition to check out
    listener response?  Could this CAVALCADE broadcast had an involvement in
    getting the SOLDIERS OF THE PRESS into existence?  Maybe.  Course, the
    original script title for the CAVALCADE drama was "Soldier of Fortune" but
    still . . . you never know.  Makes me wonder if it's possible or not . . . ?

    Martin Grams, Jr.

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 20:14:15 -0400
    From: Musiciantoo47@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Boris Karloff
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    Hi - I'm Kenny; I've been a subscriber to the list for quite some time now;
    but I haven't posted in awhile. I was hoping someone out there might have a
    copy of the "An Evening With Boris Karloff & His Friends" that they might be
    willing to make for me reasonably. I have only heard bits & pieces of it and
    would
    like to have the whole thing. Also, I've seen the front cover, but what's on
    the back? Thanx!

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    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 20:15:46 -0400
    From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Nightbeat

    At 11:15 AM 7/22/2003 -0400, [removed]@[removed] wrote:

>     have about 40 Nightbeat shows that I am currently transferring from

    <snip>

>     I just saw a mention on a web site that Don Rickles was the announcer. Is
>     this correct?

    Actually, Rickles did do some of the announcing, but the principal
    announcer was a gentleman by the name of Doug Gourlay who I believe was a
    West Coast NBC staff announcer.

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

    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 20:30:13 -0400
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Another comment on past political
     incorrectness
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    [removed]

    (This is the home page. Just make sure you read the "Erasing the Past"
    article.)

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    Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 21:30:01 -0400
    From: "Jody Davis" <baroygis@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Bela Lugosi

    Re: the question of Bela Lugosi's radio appearances, I have a guest shot to
    contribute. I have a 1947 episode of ABC's "Candid Microphone" in which the
    legendary actor was the centerpiece of the main gag.

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 10:45:41 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history

     From Those Were The Days --

    1933 - The first broadcast of The Romance of Helen Trent was heard. The
    show continued on the air for 7,222 episodes and 27 years. Amazingly,
    Helen stayed at 35 years of age throughout the entire series. The show
    used two Helen Trents over the years. The first Helen was played by
    Virginia Clark (for 11 years) and the second by Julie Stevens (for 16
    years).

    1933 - During his fourth Fireside Chat, [removed] President Franklin D.
    Roosevelt showed why the homey, warm, comfortable discussion was,
    indeed, a fireside chat. The President stopped the discussion on the air
    and asked for a glass of water, which he then sipped. Newsman Robert
    Trout is credited with coming up with the name, Fireside Chat, because
    of real moments like this.

    1943 - Foreign Assignment, was first heard on Mutual. The title role of
    Brian Berry was played by Jan Jostyn, who also starred in another
    popular radio drama, Mr. District Attorney.

        Joe

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

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

    Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 10:46:22 -0400
    From: "Ian Grieve" <austotr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Nightbeat

    In issue 282 Bill Harker asked the following:

>     Also, there was an Australian version of Nightbeat, as well as Gunsmoke.
>     Are any of these shows available on tape or CD?

    Yes Bill you can purchase a 2CD set put out by Sony, called The Golden Days
    of Drama that was released in 1993.  It  contains ep2 of Nightbeat, ep7 of
    the Shadow, Address Unknown ep4, Around the World in 80 days ep1 and 2 as
    well as Till the day I die ep1. At the moment that is all that is offered
    commercially.  Most of the Australian Nightbeat series survives and one
    particular Australian collector does have almost the entire set as well, as
    several other collectors having large numbers.  I am also collecting it.

    If you are interested in the above set, I believe I bought mine from the
    Australian Archives [removed]

    You are welcome to contact me directly.

    Ian Grieve

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #283
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