Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #47
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 2/8/2007 6:57 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2007 : Issue 47
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Howard Duff                           [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      ABC and the Blacklist                 [ "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross. ]
      RED SCARE MISINFORMATION              [ ddunfee@[removed] ]
      Leaving no Stone unturned             [ Hal Stone <otrjug@[removed]; ]
      Psychology Program (Help Please)      [ rfmillerjr1@[removed] ]
      MP3 player                            [ Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed] ]
      Houdini seance on radio               [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
      The last word on the Lone Ranger's f  [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 00:22:25 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Howard Duff

    RyanO asked for details why Howard Duff was removed from the SAM SPADE
    program.  The truth of the matter was, he wasn't removed - he was simply not
    invited back on the program for the series' brief revival.  To explain in
    detail would take TONS of pages so I'll make it brief.

    In 1947, the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), an
    investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, held
    nine days of hearings into alleged Communist propaganda within the Hollywood
    motion picture industry.  The events of the investigation soon spread fear
    among stage performers, movie actors, screen writers, directors, and others
    involved with the entertainment industry.  Eventually, more than 300 artists
    - including directors, radio commentators, actors and particularly
    screenwriters - were boycotted by the studios.  This included Lillian
    Hellman, who was having a long-term relationship with Dashiell Hammett.

    In 1948, Dashiell Hammett became vice-chairman of the Civil Rights Congress,
    an organization formed in 1946 by a merger of the International Labor
    Defense and the National Federation for Constitutional Liberties.  The
    Attorney General and the [removed] deemed the organization subversive.
    Suspicion regarding Hammett's loyalties to the United States, and his
    leanings as a Communist sympathizer earned him suspicion as being a
    Communist by trade papers, and the [removed], who began investigating Hammett.

    Hammett's name also surfaced before the HCUA, and both CBS and Wildroot, the
    sponsor for the detective program, became concerned.  At this point in
    history, anything "suspect" to communist infiltration was taboo for the
    broadcasting studios, who found themselves being pressured by various
    organizations and other parties such as sponsors to take some sort of "good
    faith" action.

    One such solution was to have the script writers incorporate patriotic
    messages in the scripts.  One such example was in "The Bow Window Caper"
    episode, broadcast November 9, 1947.  In that episode, Sam Spade makes a
    positive comment about the Constitution, quoting J. Parnell Thomas, chairman
    of the HUAC, who was responsible for meeting with film industry executives,
    intending to expose "subversives" responsible for Communist infiltration of
    motion pictures.

    The more Hammett's name appeared in the newspapers and trade papers, the
    more nervous the Columbia Broadcasting System was getting about Dashiell
    Hammett's links with pro-Communist groups, and more importantly, his name
    being mentioned twice in every episode of THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE.
    Despite inconclusive or questionable evidence, including Hammett's
    involvement with the Civil Rights Congress, Hammett was too hot for CBS, so
    the network dropped the program.

    During this time many thousands of Americans were accused of being
    Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive
    investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels,
    committees and agencies.  The primary targets of such suspicions were
    government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and
    union activists.   Many people suffered loss of employment, destruction of
    their careers, and even imprisonment.

    William Spier was not happy with CBS's decision, so he took the program to
    NBC who agreed to allow the program to be broadcast over their network,
    without skipping a weekend in the broadcasts, on one condition.  Hammett's
    name had to be removed from the program.

    Hammett could continue receiving royalty checks each week or month for the
    SAM SPADE broadcasts for the continued use of the SAM SPADE character, which
    legally they had to continue anyway unless they wanted to cancel the series.
      Beginning September 1949, Hammett's name was no longer mentioned on the
    program as creator of the character. VARIETY magazine reported about this
    time that the sponsor was not enthusiastic about Howard Duff, and remained
    uncertain about continuing sponsorship.

    On June 22, 1950, the right-wing journal, COUNTERATTACK, released a
    pamphlet-style book entitled RED CHANNELS naming 151 actors, writers,
    musicians, broadcast journalists, and others in the context of purported
    Communist manipulation of the entertainment industry.  Some of the 151 were
    already being denied employment because of their political beliefs, history,
    or mere association with suspected "subversives"; RED CHANNELS effectively
    placed the rest on the industry blacklist.

    Since Howard Duff was associated with the radio program that previously bore
    Hammett's name, he found his name among the 151.  Even though Howard Duff
    and Dashiell Hammett never met personally, the damage was already done.  The
    program suffered from what my good friend Jim Cox best referred to as "guilt
    by association."  Wildroot, the sponsor, decided to execute a clause in
    their contract, granting them permission to walk away from the series.  In a
    formal letter, the request was placed in writing.

    On September 9, 1950, the recent issue of BILLBOARD announced that Wildroot
    was no longer undecided about whether or not to continue sponsorship.  The
    publication reported the sponsor was dumping Spade and putting its money
    into a new series, CHARLIE WILD, PRIVATE DETECTIVE.  (Named after Wildroot's
    closing commercial jingle, "Charlie," and the name of the sponsor.)
    According to author/historian John Dunning, the report caused an avalanche
    of mail: 250,000 letters poured in protesting the decision.

    The sponsor, however, did not care for the feedback of the radio listeners.
    Duff was by then taking potshots at politicians on the trail of Communist
    sympathizers, and the heat was turned up.  The only material to which RED
    CHANNELS based their accusation was trade periodicals, which could be
    considered by many as "gossip columns."  Such gossip sold papers and the
    American public, especially the entertainment industry, couldn't buy enough
    of them.  (Duff did eventually clear his name and lead a successful career
    in Hollywood.  Hammett did not.)

    The July 13, 1951 issue of HOLLYWOOD LIFE called Dashiell Hammett "one of
    the most dangerous" Communists in America, and added, "Hammett is said to be
    responsible for selling the Red banner to dozens of men and women including
    actor Howard Duff, alias Sam Spade.  Duff is also a member of one or more
    red fronts, and a definite red sympathizer."  Just gossip about Duff was
    untrue, and again, "guilt by association."

    "Well, I wouldn't know if Dashiell Hammett had any affiliation with the
    Communist Party," Duff recalled decades later.  "I certainly didn't, and a
    lot of the people in the RED CHANNELS book didn't.  It was at a time when
    they were trying to smear liberals.  It was typical McCarthy smear stuff.  I
    was in RED CHANNELS and Hammett was in contempt of court, so the sponsor and
    the network, showing their usual great backbone, caved in, and that was it."

    The program did return to the airwaves, courtesy of the backing of William
    Spier, as a sustainer with no sponsor.  NBC agreed with the same condition
    of not mentioning Hammett's name during the programs and a new condition -
    no Howard Duff.  Spier agreed, and Steve Dunne was hired for the role.  Of
    course, the scripts were not up to par, and the SPADE program became a bland
    imitation of the radio detective shows that were airing weekly on the air
    (which in turn were weak imitations of the SAM SPADE program), and Dunne was
    no Duff.  NBC dropped the series after a few months.

    Duff never liked the idea that Spier would not allow him to come back for
    the revival, and it took him a number of years (decades, actually) to calm
    down about it.  So in short, Duff was not removed from the series, he was
    merely not invited back courtesy of the publications that featured his name.

    Final notes:
    When four Communists related to the organization were arrested, Hammett
    raised money for their bail bond.  When the accused fled, Hammett was
    subpoenaed in 1951 about their whereabouts.  At the hearing, the credibility
    of the Civil Rights Congress was questioned when the organization presented
    a denunciation of lynching in the United States, titled We Charge Genocide.
    Hammett, as a member of the CRC, was asked to provide information about the
    four communists accused of conspiracy.  Hammett he refused to provide that
    information, and was imprisoned for five months for contempt of court.

    To help launch the new series, CHARLIE WILD, which aired on Sunday evenings
    (beginning September 24, one week after the final Howard Duff SAM SPADE
    broadcast), Duff appeared in character on the first broadcast in the form of
    a vocal telegram, wishing the new hero well in his endeavors.  This means
    Duff's final role in the character of Sam Spade was on another detective
    program!

    The format was similar to the Sam Spade program, with Charlie dictating his
    adventures (to a tape recorder).  A few weeks after the series premiered,
    the character of Effie Perrine moved to New York and began assisting Charlie
    Wild.  Lurene Tuttle did not play the role of Effie for this series.  The
    actress was never billed on the air, and remains a mystery to this day.
    William Spier did not have any involvement with the Charlie Wild series,
    since the program originated from NBC's New York studios, instead of
    Hollywood.

    On September 20, 1950, three days after Duff's final broadcast, Maggie Foss
    wrote to Mr. Rosenberg reporting:
    	"Today I sent 3,000 pieces of mail to Sam Spade, 1 East 48th Street,
    New
    York City, NY, air express collect.  The postcards are in one hundred lots
    (meaning there are 100 names on the postcards as they are assorted).  In
    other names if fifteen people signed a postcard, I counted that as fifteen
    pieces of mail.  I did not open the letters.  I only put them in 100
    packages.  There were 543 letters and the rest, approximately 2,498 were
    names on postcards.  There are as many at NBC again and I will send them to
    you later today.
    	I read all 2,498 postcards and I was particularly interested in the
    sponsor
    mention in practically two-thirds of them.  Another items of interest -
    several people said 'Even if Jack Benny was on at the same time, we'd listen
    to Howard Duff.'"

    John Dunning's On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio claims that
    the Sam Spade program marked Duff's final radio role for six years,
    according to historian John Scheinfeld.  This trivial statement is mistaken
    (not Dunning's fault as that section of his book featured material from
    another researcher and Dunning was going on the basis of that researcher as
    stated in that program entry).  Duff found himself in the cast of numerous
    radio programs including Suspense (January 13, 1951) and Hollywood Star
    Playhouse (March 5, 1951) to name a couple examples.

    Years after, Howard Duff was asked to portray a detective on television, but
    he turned down several offers.  The only known attempt at Duff portraying a
    detective was a filmed pilot episode for ZIV's I LOVE A MYSTERY television
    series, and that never went beyond the initial pilot.

    Like I mentioned, it's a brief summary.  I know I could go into pages and
    pages of details but I had to sum it up as short as I could.  I know Charlie
    probably wants the subject of "Communism" to fade away now so postings can
    be more OTR-oriented, but I figure this is OTR enough to be worth typing.
    My schedule is extremely busy this month so my apologies if I am silent on
    people's e-mails or postings in the coming weeks.  I'd love to elaborate
    more but I do NOT have the time.

    Martin Grams Jr.

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

    Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 09:27:26 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  ABC and the Blacklist

>     Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 01:07:36 -0500
>     From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];

>     Not all networks were intimidated by Red Channels.  The NY Times
>     of April 27, 1951 reported that ABC had received a special Peabody
>     Award for "its courageous stand in resisting organized pressure and
>     its reaffirmation of basic American principles."

    ABC may have had a special incentive.  As the newest of the networks,
    trying to get noticed, they could ill afford to lose any stars that
    they had.  And if any big stars came to ABC from the other networks,
    it would be to its benefit.  Just as ABC got Bing Crosby away from
    NBC by being willing to let him pre-record his program.

>     There was one instance when HUAC, CBS and a sponsor handled a case
>     with fairness and discretion.

    That certainly was a rarity in those days.  I think that the HUAC was
    itself an un-American activity.

    --
    A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                           [removed]
     15 Court Square, Suite 210                 Fax [removed]
    Boston, MA 02108-2503           	         [removed]

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

    Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 10:38:48 -0500
    From: ddunfee@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RED SCARE MISINFORMATION

>     Reader XB seems to have his hat on backwards regarding who broke the law
>     during  that tumultuous time. Let me quote the Encyclopedia  Britannica: In
>     1949, the Justice Department prosecuted the  eleven top leaders of the
>     party for violation of the Smith Act of 1940, which  made it illegal for
>     anyone "to teach and advocate the overthrow and destruction  of the United
>     States government by force and violence."

    This makes my original case all the stronger.  All those who were punished
    by loss of livelihood and career were done so extralegally.  It was illegal
    to do as above, it was not to be a communist or left leaning or to
    associate with same in any way.  Had anyone in the entertainment business
    ever been found to have violated the above you can be assured all efforts
    would have been made to prosecute them if for nothing else then the huge
    publicity value to the red scare agitators.

                                   XB
                                    IC|XC

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

    Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 10:40:08 -0500
    From: Hal Stone <otrjug@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Leaving no Stone unturned

    My thanks to "Donald" for clearing up some confusion.

>     Just to keep things straight and correct, Hal Stone is not the actor on 21st
>     Precinct. That is Harold J. Stone, a favorite of mine from early television
>     ("Untouchables" and others)

    Actually, it can get even more confusing. For the [removed] name is not
    even "Hal" Stone. My Birth certificate [removed]
    Harold Frederick Stone Jr.

    At age seven, when I was cast in my first Broadway play, before I could
    perform, my parents had to enroll me in Actors Equity, the union for Stage
    Actors.  At that time, the Union representative told them that I needed to
    change my first name to avoid confusing me with another actor who was
    already as member of the Union. Yup! None other than Harold J. Stone.

    I don't think my folks put too much creative effort into coming up with my
    new "Stage name". Since I had been hired to play the part of the youngest
    son in "Life With Father", and that characters name was "Harlan", they
    simply stuck me with "Harlan Stone" for the rest of my professional acting
    career, for all the Stage, film, Radio and TV shows that I performed in (or
    on).

    I really didn't like the name. (I thought it was sissy sounding). I'd rather
    have been called Biff, or Rocky or Tim.

    After I made the transition from acting to TV Production in the mid 50's, I
    didn't have to stick with the stage name, and used my real name for the
    required membership in the Director's Guild of America. Early on, Someone
    once called me Hal, I liked the sound of it, and used it as my first name
    for the past 50 years.

    Harold J. Stone was a very busy character actor, and played mostly
    "Heavies'. Tough bad guys, or tough cops. He "looked" tough.
    [removed] was too pretty to play "heavies". (Just kidding folks).

    But if you're [removed]'s a picture of Harold J. in my book, along
    with just a few pictures of me.([removed] more than a few).

    You can get the book ordering info at [removed]

    [removed] off sending me any personal e-mails for the next few
    weeks. I have to go into the hospital in a few days (Feb 12th) for an
    operation on my heart. No big [removed] a new Aortic valve. The Arteries
    are all okay. I fully expect to be up and around (more ornery than ever) in
    time for the Cincy Convention  April 20/21, and of course REPS in June.

    Hal(Harlan)Stone
    "Jughead"

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

    Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 10:40:41 -0500
    From: rfmillerjr1@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Psychology Program (Help Please)
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    A friend of mine asked me the following;  Since I have no clue, I thought I
    would pass it along to this esteemed group.  Does anyone know about this, or
    could point me in the right direction?
    Thanks in advance

    May I ask you a question about old radio? You said you collected programs and
    were really interested in it. This question may be a far out area. My dad
    used to tell me about hearing a [removed] in the 1920s if original or
    based on it and done [removed] the self-help psychology and
    autosuggestion technique of Emile Coue of France.  He died in 1926 but had
    visited the US and found a warm reception with "the masses." The catch-phrase
    Father said he used was "Every day in every way I'm getting better and
    better." Do you by any chance have a broadcast of his, or his technique, or
    whatever program might have developed from it? I think it was very popular
    for a time.

    Randall F. Miller Jr.

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    Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 12:35:05 -0500
    From: Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  MP3 player

    Hi Lynn,

    I would recommend the 30 GIG or larger iPod.  It's s,all enough to use
    while walking or riding a bus or while on a flight, plys there are dozens of
    different docks which can be used to ampify the OTR through speakers.

    I personally have a Sony mp3 boombox, a Rio Volt mp3 CD player and
    an 80 GIG iPof, and I find the iPod is the best of the bunch because of its
    capacity and versatility.

    Al Girard

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

    Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 14:38:39 -0500
    From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Houdini seance on radio
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    Last night (7th), the TV Land network presented its original series "TV Land's
    Myth and Legends," designed to dispel and tell the real story behind various
    show-biz derived urban legends. One segment concerned Houdini and went on to
    say that the annual seance held every Halloween  was broadcast over the radio
    on the tenth anniversary of his death.  Can anybody flesh this out with some
    more info?...Maybe some resident OTR historian who knew Houdini's protege
    Walter B. Gibson quite well.

    Also, on the same program, a segment on the death of  George Reeves featured
    commentary from this list's very own Michael Hayde, one of the world's leading
    authorities on both "Dragnet" and "Superman."  Kudo to "Mr. Dragnet" on this
    and on his recent ascendency to the presidency of the Metro-Washington Old
    Time Radio Club. Sah-LOOOOT!

    Yours always in the ether,

    Derek Tague

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

    Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 14:39:18 -0500
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The last word on the Lone Ranger's first
     [removed]

    won't make its appearance any time soon. Whether it's
    discussed here or elsewhere, people will continue to
    debate the matter. It'll keep going and going and
    going and-

    Holy Cow!

    The Lone Ranger is really the Energizer Bunny.

    But wait, does that mean his first name is "The" or
    "Energizer"? Is it "The Energizer Bunny" or just
    "Energizer Bunny"?

    The answer's obvious. His first name is "The."

    Unless, of course, it's "Energizer"....

    "Now cut that out!"

    Rick

    [removed] Just a reminder: Feb. 14 is Jack Benny's
    birthday, and not some other, lesser holiday.

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #47
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