Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #304
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 9/19/2004 1:24 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2004 : Issue 304
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Jack Armstrong radio log              [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Attention Madison, Wisconsin          [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Freberg Show box set                  [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      Re: broken disks                      [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      Fred Howard                           [ "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed]; ]
      War of the Worlds                     [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Re: TW3                               [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      "lost" SUSPENSE recording             [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      Amos 'n' Andy 1928 electrion record   [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      RE: 16 Inch Transcription Discs       [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      This week in radio history 9/19-25 S  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK               [ "Jerry Haendiges" <Jerry@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 16:42:16 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jack Armstrong radio log

    Norm Schickedanz asked:

>     Is there a log for "Jack Armstrong"?  I'm confused by various names for the
>     1940-41 sequence about the Philippines: The Luminous Dragon Eye Ring, The
>     Missing Professor Loring, The Zamboanga Adventure, and The Mysterious
>     Stranger.  Is there an official title?

    Small info you'll find of interest: There will be a broadcast log listing
    all titles, airdates and plots for each and every JACK ARMSTRONG radio
    broadcst, and it's due for release next year.
    MG

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

    Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 16:42:32 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Attention Madison, Wisconsin

    If anyone is within driving distance of Madison, Wisconsin, please contact
    me.  I don't mind spending the money to get a hotel or motel and airfare,
    but if someone within driving distance of Madison has plenty of free time
    and doesn't mind making some extra money, they could save me the time flying
    out and staying at a hotel for a week.
    Martin Grams
    mmargrajr@[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 20:02:39 -0400
    From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Freberg Show box set

    I have finally broken down and bought a copy of Volume One of Radio
    Spirits' The Stan Freberg Show box set despite its crummy, way below-par
    sound quality.  (Volume Two is basically fine--Carl Amari finally found the
    real master tapes in June Foray's possession.)  However, in addition to
    missing all of the high frequencies (easily audible on the Capitol Records
    LPs of excerpts of the series) my box set is missing a liner notes booklet
    -- IF there was one for it like there was for Volume Two.  On the outer
    box, in three places where it says on Volume Two "Liner Notes & Photos
    Included" instead on Volume One it says things like "Audio Forward by Stan
    Feberg and His Guests, June Foray and Peter Leeds."   This box doesn't
    mention a booklet.

    So before I return the set and try to find a copy with the booklet, can
    someone who had bought the first box new tell me if it had originally come
    with a booklet.  And now that Radio Spirits is but a shell of what it once
    was, does anybody have any word on whether they have any plans of putting
    the first box out with better sound from the correct master tapes?

    Thanks.

    Michael Biel   mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 20:04:23 -0400
    From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: broken disks

    Mark Kinsler asked if there ever been a successful repair of a broken or
    cracked phonograph record.

    Sure.  Cracks are usually no problem, and even a broken record can be taped
    together if the breaks are clean.  They would usually require declicking in
    the restoration processing, of course.  Many years ago I put together a
    wartime Eddie Cantor public service program that had been on a glass
    16-inch lacquer that had broken into four or five pieces.  I had to do a
    lot of retracking of the groves and tape editing to get a complete program
    with no skips or repeats.

    But perhaps the most successful and important restoration was the 16-inch
    Vitaphone soundtrack disc of Al Jolson's 1926 short, "Plantation Scene."
    Although the picture element was well known to film archivists, all copies
    of the soundtrack disc were known to be lost as early as 1934.  I had heard
    rumors in the 1970s that a Baltimore collector had a broken disc, and a few
    years ago The Vitaphone Project was able to track down his widow and
    confirm that the rumor was true.  The disc had been poorly glued together,
    and it was taken to a restoration expert who spent weeks undoing the glue
    and regluing it properly.  I understand that even he was amazed that it
    tracked perfectly without a stick or skip the first time.  It has been
    declicked and resynchronized with the picture, and has been shown in
    several expositions.  I've recently heard that a restoration of Jolson's
    1927 The Jazz Singer is being done using a full set of the original
    soundtrack discs for the first time, and I hope they will include the
    earlier short as an extra feature on the DVD.

    Mark also said

>     I once read that, after the lacquer master had been
>     recorded, certain 'microsurgery' techniques were used to correct certain
>     problems.   It would seem that such measures might restore shows that would
>     otherwise be lost.

    What you are discussing here are fixing minor burrs or clicks on a master
    used for making commercial pressings.  Often this was done on the metal
    parts after electroplating, not on the lacquer master itself.  This would
    be done to remove a tick that might otherwise appear on thousands of
    pressings that might be made from that metal part.  When playing back an
    individual OTR disc, sometimes scratches can be fixed this way, but more
    likely the playback tone arm might be held while playing the troubling
    section.

    Michael Biel   mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 20:04:37 -0400
    From: "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Fred Howard

    Thanks to Conrad Binyon for the information on Fred Howard, who also played
    Straight Arrow's sidekick "Packy" for the length of the "Straight Arrow"
    show.  I believe this might answer some of Bill Harper's questions, as Bill
    is writing a book on "Straight Arrow".
    Lois Culver, widow of Straight Arrow.

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

    Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 20:05:18 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  War of the Worlds

    Allan Chinn asked:

>     What effect, if any, did the "War of the Worlds" broadcast have on the
>     remainder of the CBS schedule that evening?

    Regardless of what Orson Welles biographies say, there was barely any
    effect.  Radio programs were broadcast over the CBS network as scheudled,
    with no difference to the programs themselves.  Only effect (if you could
    call it that) was the news bulletins between each program reminding
    listeners that the Mercury Theater broadcast heard earlier in the evening
    was pure fiction, and was not based on true events.  Those bulletins lasted
    about 12 - 15 seconds and that was about the extent.  (the "panic" that
    resulted from the WOTW broadcast was not something CBS took lightly and
    serious mentions or newsbreaks in the middle of shows would only have made
    the situation worse - not to mention the fact it could have been taken as
    bad publicity.)
    MG

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

    Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 20:07:10 -0400
    From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: TW3

    Derek Tague asked

>     Did anybody else catch the revived version of "That Was
>     The Week That Was" on this past Thursday's (9/16) edition of ABC News'
>     "Prime Time Live"? This is supposed to be a regular feature on the slightly
>     revamped "Prime Time." I didn't catch the name of the inginue doing the
>     Nancy Ames shtick of singing some of the past week's news in a humourous
>     [removed] overall I liked the new segment.

    Of course I first think of Millacent Martin who was the singer on the
    original BBC version and their two LPs, rather than Nancy Ames.  But from
    my daughter's videotape of the new program, the singer's name was Kristy
    Glass.  Here are the full credits for the segment.

    Vocalist -- Kristy Glass
    News Reader -- Keven Huf
    Pianist -- Brad Garside
    Writer -- Kim Powers
    Producer -- Allison Lynn
    Production Assistant -- Jack O'Brien
    Editor -- Michael Mongulla

    Derek went on to say:

>     Said segment was just a little too clever and
>     irreverent to last in today's cathode-ray climate, so I recommend we all
>     try to catch it while it lasts.

    Well, here's hoping you are wrong and that it has a long run.  After all,
    Mark Russell has had a long run at this type of thing, although in a
    different form.  Actually, there is a very similar venture of singing a
    summary of the week's news that has been running since April twice every
    Friday morning on AirAmerica Radio's "Unfiltered" program.  The singer is
    identified as Ambrosia, and the second airing is at the end of the program,
    about 11:53 AM Eastern.  It streams at [removed]

    Derek then suggested

>     If only ABC could cajole Tom Lehrer out of
>     retirement to write the [removed]

    Actually, this type of thing was never his bag.  His songs were about
    trends and general situations, not specific events.  If you listen to his
    "That Was the Year That Was" album you find that even his songs that might
    have been used on TW3 were about things like "Pollution," "New Math,"
    "Smut," folk songs,  WW III, the modernization of the Catholic church, and
    people like  Werner Von Braun, George Murphy, and Hubert Humphrey.  The
    closest he gets to being topical about a specific week is "National
    Brotherhood Week" but this is about the concept in general, not specific
    events of one specific week.

    Michael Biel   mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 20:08:10 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  "lost" SUSPENSE recording

    Matthew Bullis asked:

>     Hello, is this Suspense play complete anywhere? Anyone have it in mp3
>     format? He's one of my favorites, and I'd really like to have this in its
>     complete form if it's possible. Please write to me if you have it in mp3, or
>     some other format.

    Sorry Matthew, it doesn't exist in it's entirety.  The way radio shows were
    recorded when broadcast live was through transcription discs.  Each side of
    the disc lasted about 15 - 16 minutes.  Had the technicians actually stopped
    recording the program in the middle of the broadcast, and flipped the disc
    over to record the second half of the radio broadcast on the second side of
    the disc, there would be about 20-30 seconds missing in the middle of the
    entire recording.  So the way they set the recordings up was to set two
    recoding units to attention.  Half way through the radio broadcast, one
    technician would lift the needle off the disc while another technician would
    put the needle down on the second recorder to pick up EXACTLY where the
    first one left off.

    This explains why there are scratches in the middle of some recording.
    Anyone who has heard the familiar QUIET PLEASE broadcasts recalls how, half
    way through the drama, there is a slight fraction of a pause and the sound
    of large scratches heard (like someone putting down the needle at the start
    of a record before the music begin).

    In the case of the "The Rescue," a collector/dealer only had access to one
    disc, so he only had half of one show and half of another.  Had he had
    possession of two discs, he would have had the complete recordings.  Only
    the first half of "The Rescue" from 4/19/51 and the second half of "The
    Thirteenth Sound" from 4/26/51 are the only parts of those radio broadcasts
    known to exist in recorded form.  The missing halves are not known to exist.
    Martin Grams, Jr.
    Source of material, SUSPENSE: TWENTY YEARS OF THRILLS AND CHILLS (1998)

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

    Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 20:08:56 -0400
    From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Amos 'n' Andy 1928 electrion record

    Alan Bell mentioned

>     I have an episode presumably from 1928 in which A'n'A
>     discuss the presidential election.  I believe it's not really a broadcast,
>     but a commercial recording, one of several that they sold but never aired.
>     Still, my cassette has a date of 7-27-28 on it. If it's originally a
>     record, then the date's bogus, but I don't know for sure.

    You are quite correct that it was a commercially sold phonograph record,
    not a broadcast.  Elizabeth has confirmed that a reading of all of the 1928
    broadcast scrips shows that this was never a topic used in the broadcasts.
    As for that date on your cassette, it is a typo of the actual recording
    date of the masters, July 17, 1928.  The record was released around
    September as "The Presidential Election," Parts 1 and 2 on Victor 21608.

    Michael Biel   mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 20:10:02 -0400
    From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  RE: 16 Inch Transcription Discs

    David Siegel discussed transcriptions of

>     NBC's record library  THESAURUS. It is my understanding that the
>     THESAURUS series was used as general FILL when required by the network. You
>     may have a better sense of how they were used.

    Actually they were not used by the network itself because NBC (and CBS) did
    not allow recordings on the network.  The library of the discs were leased
    to local stations, and they used them for many types of music programs
    during their local times.  Thesaurus was introduced in 1935 and lasted into
    the mid-1950s.  There are a few comedy, drama, and sound effects recordings
    mixed in among the musical discs.

    The catalog numbers that Dave listed for the discs he has are helpful for
    looking them up in the Thesaurus catalog, but the matrix numbers engraved
    into the discs which he did not include, can be used by record collectors
    and discographers to discover the actual recording dates.  These engraved
    matrix numbers on the original discs are VERY important.

    Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

    Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 20:10:47 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  This week in radio history 9/19-25 September

     From Those Were The Days --

    9/19

    It was just an average day this day in 1932, when Just Plain Bill was
    first heard on CBS. It was "The real life story of people just like
    people we all know." The 15-minute show (Monday through Friday at 7:15
    [removed]) was all about (just plain) Bill Davidson and his daughter, Nancy,
    who lived in (just plain) Hartville. Since Bill was the town barber,
    everybody came to him with their problems -- and Bill helped them
    straighten things out.

    Instead of playing the usual organ, as a first, Hal Brown played
    harmonica and whistled the Just Plain Bill introduction music (Darling
    Nellie Gray). Hal also handled the closing theme (Polly Wolly Doodle) in
      the same manner.

    The show, created by Frank and Anne Hummert, who also came up with Mr.
    Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, Little Orphan Annie, Amanda of Honeymoon
    Hill, Front Page Farrell, John's Other Wife, Mr. Chameleon, Our Gal
    Sunday and many other radio dramas, later moved to NBC. Just Plain Bill
      chalked up a total of 20 years on the air. A few of the Just Plain
    Bill  sponsors over the years were Kolynos toothpaste, Clapp's baby food
    and  BiSoDol shaving cream.

    9/20

    1921 - KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania started one of the first daily
    radio newscasts in the country. The broadcast came from the city desk of
    The Pittsburgh Post.

    1953 - Jimmy Stewart debuted in The Six Shooter on NBC. He played Britt
    Ponset on the Western.

    9/21

    1946 - After being tested on a regional basis, The Second Mrs. Burton
    was heard for the first time on the entire CBS network. The Second Mrs.
    Burton fared very well, having a relationship with the network for 14 years.

    1948 - The serial Life With Luigi debuted on CBS. Luigi Basko was played
    by J. Carroll Naish. Naish, an Irish-American, became typecast as an
    Italian immigrant, and went on to play the same role in the TV version
    in 1952.

    9/22

    1943 - Singer Kate Smith finished her War Bond radio appeal. For 13
    continuous hours Smith had stayed on the air, collecting a whopping $39
    million dollars in bond pledges.

    1957 - The CBS Radio Workshop was silenced after 18 months of what the
    critics said was "ingenious radio programming."

    9/21

    1946 - After being tested on a regional basis, The Second Mrs. Burton
    was heard for the first time on the entire CBS network. The Second Mrs.
    Burton fared very well, having a relationship with the network for 14 years.

    1948 - The serial Life With Luigi debuted on CBS. Luigi Basko was played
    by J. Carroll Naish. Naish, an Irish-American, became typecast as an
    Italian immigrant, and went on to play the same role in the TV version
    in 1952.

    9/24

    1942 - Glenn Miller ended his Moonlight Serenade series on CBS. It was
    time for Miller to go to war. The show had aired three times a week for
    Chesterfield Cigarettes.

    9/25

    1933 - Americaís favorite cowboy, Tom Mix, was heard for the first time
    on NBC. The Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters continued on the air until
    June 1950.

    Joe

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

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

    Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 10:27:39 -0400
    From: "Jerry Haendiges" <Jerry@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK

    Hi friends,

    	Here is this week's line-up for the week of 9-19-04 on my Olde Tyme
    Radio
    [removed] Featuring Tom Heathwood's "Heritage Radio Theatre," Big John
    Matthews and Steve Urbaniak's "The Glowing Dial" and my own "Same Time, Same
    Station" broadcasts, being broadcast on demand 24/7 in high quality
    streaming RealAudio at [removed]

    Past archived broadcasts are also available there.

    We look forward to having you join us!

    	Jerry

    Here's this week's lineup:

    SAME TIME, SAME STATION with Jerry Haendiges

    "The Faces of Chandu"

    CHANDU, THE MAGICIAN
    Episode 9  3-17-32  "Transferred To Europe"
    MUTUAL-DON LEE, KHJ
    WRITER: Vera Oldham
    MUSIC: Felix Mills, Raymond Page.
    STARS: Gayne Whiteman, Margaret MacDonald, Bob Bixby, Betty Webb

    THE BURNS AND ALLEN SHOW
    Episode 22  2-28-40  "GRACIE ALLEN FOR PRESIDENT" Part 1
    This is the first of a 14-part mini series, which we will be airing over the
    next 12 weeks.
    CBS    HINDS HONEY AND ALMOND CREAM    Wednesdays 7:30 - 8:00pm
    STARS: George Burns and Gracie Allen
    WITH: Frank Parker
    ANNOUNCER: Truman Bradley
    MUSIC: Ray Noble's Orchestra

    CHANDU, THE MAGICIAN
    Episode 154  1-28-49  "Frank Returns To India"
    MUTUAL-DON LEE
    Sponsor: White King Detergent
    MUSIC: Juan Rolando (Korla Pandit) at the Organ
    STARS: Tom Collins, Irene Tedrow, Lee Miller, Joy Terry, Vieola Vonn, Luis
    Van Rooten
    WRITER: Vera Oldham

    CHANDU, THE MAGICIAN
    Episode 1  2-3-49  "The Black Steps"
    All Information the same as above

    CHANDU, THE MAGICIAN
    Episode 2  11-26-49  "Island Of Disappearing Men"
    All Information same as above except series is now heard on ABC and is
    Sustained.
    =======================================

    HERITAGE RADIO THEATRE with Tom Heathwood

    LET'S PRETEND
    CBS    1/9/54    "Robin Hood"

    INNER SANCTUM MYSTERIES
    NBC/BLUE    3/7/43   Peter Lorre stars in "The Black Seagull"
    The host is Raymond Edward Johnson.

    THE BLACK HOOD
    MBS    [removed]   "The Emerald Ring"

    BOB & RAY "EXTRA"
    ======================================

    THE GLOWING DIAL with Big John Matthews and Steve Urbaniak

    The Glowing Dial tips it's magnifying glass to the world's premier
    detective, Sherlock Holmes.  We present five different actor pairings of
    Holmes and Watson plus a special commentary by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

    "William Fox has the honor to present the world famous author and scientist
    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle"
    soundtrack from a short film produced around 1930 or 31 in which Conan Doyle
    talks about his literary creation, Sherlock Holmes as well as his interest
    in spiritualism.

    Sherlock Holmes - "The Case of the Limping Ghost"
    originally aired September 3, 1945 on MUTUAL
    Starring: Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, Nigel Bruce as Dr. John H.
    Watson, Harry Bartell announcing.
    Sponsor: Petri Wines

    Sherlock Holmes - "The Adventure of the Haunted Bagpipes"
    originally aired February 17, 1947 on ABC
    Starring: Tom Conway as Sherlock Holmes, Nigel Bruce as Dr. John H. Watson,
    Joseph Bell announcing.
    Sponsor: Kreml Hair Tonic and Shampoo

    Sherlock Holmes - "The Case of the Cradle That Rocked Itself"
    originally aired November 30, 1947 on MUTUAL
    Starring: John Stanley as Sherlock Holmes, Alfred Shirley as Dr. John H.
    Watson, Cy Harrice announcing.
    Sponsor: Clipper Craft clothes for men

    Sherlock Holmes - "The Case of the Six Napoleons"
    originally aired December 7, 1954 on BBC
    later aired on NBC and ABC in 1955 & 1956
    Starring: Sir John Gielgud as Sherlock Holmes, Sir Ralph Richardson as Dr.
    John H. Watson, John Cabazon, Robert Rietty, Denis Goacher
    Sponsor: none on BBC, unknown on NBC and ABC

    Sherlock Holmes - "The Adventure of Silver Blaze"
    originally aired July 24, 1962 on BBC
    later aired on WFMT, Chicago, IL
    Starring: Carleton Hobbs as Sherlock Holmes, Norman Shelley as Dr. John H.
    Watson
    Sponsor: none on BBC, unknown on WFMT
    ====================================

    Please feel free to contact me with any questions or requests for upcoming
    shows.

                Jerry Haendiges CET <Jerry@[removed]; 562-696-4387

      [removed]  The Vintage Radio Place
      Largest source of OTR Logs, Articles and programs on the Net

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #304
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