Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #11
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 1/9/2004 1:45 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2004 : Issue 11
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Re: Wheat Chex                        [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
      Jack Benny reference                  [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
      Sgt Preston of the Yukon              [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
      SPERDVAC meeting Saturday January 10  [ "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@hotmail. ]
      Puffery shot from guns                [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
      Captain Midnight's A=Bomb Ring?       [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Pennsylvannia Hotel                   [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
      Factory Tours and Chuck Schaden       [ eloyer@[removed] ]
      OTR and gasoline                      [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
      Re: Basil Rathbone mystery            [ "Cope Robinson" <coplandr@bellsouth ]
      Re: Cincy convention                  [ rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed] ]
      Re: Hotel Park Plaza                  [ TomR5@[removed] ]
      Ruby Keeler on Radio                  [ Dick Bertel <dbertel@[removed]; ]
      Rosa on Life with Luigi               [ Israel Colon <colon@[removed] ]
      Drinking Problems                     [ Faulknerian189@[removed] ]
      PARK PLAZA HOTEL - NEW YORK           [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
      Hotel Pennsylvania                    [ Alan Chapman <[removed]@verizon. ]
      buying a dvd player with cd and mp3   [ Jer51473@[removed] ]

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

    Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 23:57:56 -0500
    From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Wheat Chex

    I hope most of you realized that when I was talking about cereals the other
    day, I meant Shreaded Ralston and not Shreaded Wheat. Blame it on the time
    of night. Or was it a senior moment. What was I [removed]:-)

    Oh, yes, cereals. Speaking of Shreaded Wheat, does anyone remember Muffits?
    Whatever happened to them. The box use to say, the round "shreaded wheat".
    Maybe they were a regional thing. I've mentioned them to some people and
    they never heard of them.

    Now back to an OTR question. I should have started off with this question
    and then said "and now a word from our sponsor" and then lead into the
    cereal questions. Oh well.

    The question. AFRS transcription discs have a series number and then a
    rubber stamped number on their labels. Sometimes there is a rubber stamped
    date, but I've noticed that the date on the label does not always match the
    date that is etched on the space between the end groove and the label. So,
    what do the dates refer to? And, is there a data base somewhere that tells
    what the series number means? Or rather, does the series number and the
    number etched on the disc have a reference that will tell you where this
    program came from or when it was actually broadcast?

    Many times, the title they put on the label is not the title of the show.
    For example, today I was playing a record that had a label that said
    Hollywood Playhouse, but the announcer said, "welcome to Broadway
    Playhouse". How come?

    Lux Radio Theater is not listed as such but with another name. I'm guessing
    it may be because of the product name. Since these shows have no
    commercials, I guess the sponsors name can not be in the title.

    I have a whole set of programs that have a fictitious name and are probably
    Lux Radio Theater and other shows. But the original show opening has been
    cut and what sounds like a staff announcer introduces the show as "programs
    of the past" or some such title. And then you can tell they cut in a
    broadcast from the 40's.

    So, I was wondering if the series number would give more information as to
    where the show came from.

    Fred
    [removed]
    movie serials, old TV show and old time radio programs

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:11:10 -0500
    From: JackBenny@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Jack Benny reference
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    Alan Bell writes:

>     Folks, I have heard a laugh line on several Jack Benny shows,"Eastern
>     Columbia, Broadway at ninth.(Broadway at night?)" I apparently don't
>     have the episode that started this running gag. Can someone enlighten
>     me as to what this is all about?

    Someone asked that on the IJBFC bulletin board as well.  Per our knowledgable
    member Barbara Thunell:

    "The reference is Eastern Columbia, Broadway at Ninth. It was a reference to
    a department store in downtown Los Angeles. It must have been from a radio
    jingle advertising the store. Incidentally, that is very close to the May Co.
    where Mary worked."

    --Laura Leff
    President, IJBFC
    [removed]

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    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:12:04 -0500
    From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Sgt Preston of the Yukon

>     One more thing, I realize that the name of this show was changed to
>     Sargent Preston of the Yukon in the early fifties, but I swear that in
>     the early to mid forties when I listened to it, that all of the kids I
>     knew called the show Sargent Preston at that time.

    Anyone recall the square inch of the Yukon that you could get from, I think,
    Quaker Oats?  Gene Shalit, the movie critic, wrote into this list a few
    years back asking for details about it for a show he was writing.  I never
    heard anything more about it, though I don't watch television.

    M Kinsler

    my mother said, 'whoopee, a bag of dirt.'

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:14:04 -0500
    From: "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  SPERDVAC meeting Saturday January 10

    The January 10, 2004 SPERDVAC meeting will be in community room "C" at the
    Westside Pavilion, (Westside Too), 10800 W. Pico Blvd., corner of Westwood
    and Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (same place as the October 2003 meeting).
    Meeting is FREE and begins at 12 Noon.   Room C is on the 3rd level.  Plenty
    of FREE underground parking. The guest speaker is Ivy Bethune, east coast
    actress on radio soap operas, Superman, and later appeared on many TV shows.

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:15:10 -0500
    From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Puffery shot from guns

    Kenneth Clarke says:

>     One program I've been seeking was sponsored by
>     Quaker Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice, "the cereal shot from
>     guns" (sounds disgusting, doesn't it?).  If you should hear
>     about it during your research, let me know.  I've often wondered
>     what type person  would want a cereal shot from a gun.

    I found a site that gave the following info:

    "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951-1956 TV Series)

    Madison found fame on TV and radio on The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok.
    Produced from 1951 through 1956, the show made Guy Madison a household name
    and earned him a new crop of fans, especially among children. Soon,
    Madison's visage began appearing on cereal boxes, toys, and other
    promotional items."
    <Picture>, followed by caption:

    "Madison as [removed] Marshal James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, the role that
    made him famous. Andy Devine portrayed Jingles, Wild Bill's sidekick

    A total of 17 Wild Bill Hickok films were released to theaters between 1952
    and 1955, which were merely edited episodes of the TV program. In reality,
    Madison made few films during his stint on the show, and upon cancellation
    of Wild Bill Hickok in 1956, Madison found he had been typecast as the
    western hero and as a TV actor; quality roles dried up for the handsome
    actor almost overnight. He made a dozen or so films in America
    between 1956 and 1959 but without a great deal of box office success. In
    1959, Madison left Hollywood for a lucrative film career in Europe."

    Personal note: My brothers and I *loved* this show. I don't remember any of
    the plots, but they were believable to us at the time. We especially liked
    Andy Devine as the fat sidekick "Jingles", who often managed to help "Wild
    Bill" capture the bad guys.
    Sidebar: Mrs. Mitchell, our neighbor, once told me that Andy Devine's
    squeaky voice came from the time when he was a child and ran with a sucker
    (lollipop) in his mouth; he fell down, and the sucker stick stuck in his
    throat. I believed her then, but now I think she was inventing a cautionary
    tale.
    As for the "shot from guns" slogan - we thought it was true. We wanted our
    parents to buy us Quaker Puffed (Whatever), because no other "puffed"
    cereal was actually shot from guns!

    Herb Harrison

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:16:27 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Captain Midnight's A=Bomb Ring?

    Philip Chavin cited a short essay from the e-magazine, *Errata*, called
    "Captain Midnight & the Atomic Ring, noting,

>     I don't recall seeing any posting on this Digest referring to an online
>     OTR story entitled "Captain Midnight and the Atomic Ring".<snip> Maybe
>     Stephen K. will make some comments about it.

    This is one of those "Ralphie" stories: it reads better if you don't know
    anything about the subject.  It's illustrated with a photo of a 1942
    Code-O-Graph [radio], a decal-bearing Captain Midnight Shake-Up Mug [TV],
    and a cartoon that could have been adapted from the Fawcett comic.  The
    "Atomic Ring" of the title was really a Kix Atomic Bomb Ring, usually
    called the Lone Ranger Atom Bomb Ring, because, rather anachronistically,
    it was offered on The Lone Ranger program.

    The essay abounds in errors, which most people familiar with the show can
    spot easily.  Like Jean Shepherd, accuracy is subordinated to the
    writer's tale.

    However, there is one point of interest: associating the Kix ring with
    Captain Midnight.  I've seen this error many times on eBay listings.
    There is an understandable reason for this.

    The "bomb" on the top of the ring, which was a miniature spinthariscope,
    is held in place by a brass retaining band.  Looking down in it, it
    appears to be a winged clock with the hands at 12:00 -- the Secret
    Squadron symbol.  However, examining the symbol under magnification
    reveals that it's actually a reproduction of Bombardier Wings -- as worn
    in the Air Force of the time.  I presume that those who know nothing
    about the ring's origin would naturally associate it with the wrong
    program.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:16:47 -0500
    From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Pennsylvannia Hotel

    When I was in highschool, I went to a Jazz Band competition in New York City
    (this would have been around '90-91).  We stayed in what was then called the
    Penta hotel, and were told it was the old Pennsylvannia hotel.  Naturally,
    one of the songs in our set was Pennsylvannia 6-5000.  Was the Penta really
    the old Penn, or was someone snowing us?

    -chris holm

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:16:59 -0500
    From: eloyer@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Factory Tours and Chuck Schaden

    Ah, the memory of the factory tour! I was blessed that my grandparents lived in
    Battle Creek and visits in the late 40's and 50's always featured tours of the
    Kellogg and Post factories where groups were led through the bowels of the
    operations viewing the manufacture of toasted corn flakes or the creation of
    the gravelly substance of Grape Nuts. These "educational" tours were presented
    with a primary focus on the scientific and hygenic preparation of the product
    and at the end the group entered Nirvana where we were served a cereal sundae
    that consisted of a scoop of vanilla ice cream smothered in the featured cereal
    of the day. It was in this hospitality room that all of the radio premiums -
    both kid and grown-up - were prominently displayed along with promo's of the
    shows that offered them. To a pre-adolescent, this was the Metropolitan Museum
    of Art.  For years I tried to figure out how to swipe box tops on the tour. I
    never could come up with a fool proof scheme.

    Adding to the previous kudo's for Chuck Schaden's book Speaking of Radio. It is
    a marvelous read and well worth adding to your library.

    Ed Loyer

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:17:25 -0500
    From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  OTR and gasoline

    I love the old gasoline commercials I hear in OTR shows.  I'll go farther
    with Signal gasoline according to The Whistler, while Calling All Cars
    assures me that Rio Grande Cracked gasoline will give me the power of a
    police car (what makes it cracked anyway?), and Ed Wynn has been trying to
    sell me Texaco Fire Chief for years.

    Now, gasoline for cars is pretty much a commodity, it doesn't really matter
    if I stop at the Sunoco, Mobil, BP, Citgo, or any other spot - it will all
    burn the same.  Today's commercials reflect this, either stressing the
    convenience of their stations or making REALLY vague claims about improved
    'performance' while not defining how one is to measure that performance.

    I wonder what is the cause in this difference in commercials.  Is it just a
    result of tightened truth-in-advertising laws/enforcement?  Was there
    significant differences in gasoline quality in the OTR era?  Some combination
    of factors?

    -chris holm
    who - if he had the choice - would be buying his gasoline from his Skelley
    (sp?) man, so he could get the Captain Midnight map showing all the planes
    and routes of the nation's airlines.  Man, that thing sounds cool.

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:18:35 -0500
    From: "Cope Robinson" <coplandr@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Basil Rathbone mystery

    Martin Grams Jr. writes:

>      Rathbone pretty much played himself,
>     who each week found himself caught up in a mystery, aided by a character
>     named Princess Fatima, who gave the listeners a secret clue from her CBS
>     echo chamber before the drama began.  The sponsor was (who else?) Fatima
>     Cigarettes (The Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company) ........

    That's not how I remember it but then again my memory is quite shaky about
    things which transpired so long ago.  I would have said that the
    echo-chambered voice of Fatima came not at the beginning but rather at some
    appropriate time later on in the show as an assist to Rathbone in solving
    whatever.  As a matter of fact, Fatima's opening words were my first, last,
    and only contribution to script writing in a long career.

    I was just a few years out of college and a new employee of Liggett's
    agency, Newell-Emmett. Assigned to the show, I accompanied Liggett & Myers
    advertising director, Larry Bruff, to the first script rehearsal.  I sat
    quietly in a corner of the studio as Basil Rathbone, Harry and Gail Ingram
    and Bruff pondered what would become the constant first words said by Fatima
    as she passed along a clue.  After many minutes, the group had not come up
    with anything which satisfied them.  From my corner, I volunteered, "Fatima
    reminds [removed]".  Basil said: "Smashing, my boy."  Or something like that.

    Cope Robinson

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:18:47 -0500
    From: rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Cincy convention

    This year's Old-Time Radio and Nostalgia convention will take place on April
    16th and 17th.  Tentative guests include:  Bob Hastings, Hal Stone, Rosemary
    Rice, Will Hutchins, and John Rayburn.  Music will be provided by the
    Boogie-Woogie Girls and the Blue Coal Trio.

    Rodney.

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:19:14 -0500
    From: TomR5@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Hotel Park Plaza

    Now, I don't know if it's still there, but there WAS a hotel Park Plaza on W.
    77 St near Columbus Ave, in NYC.  (This is the block where they blow up the
    Macy baloons)  The last time I noticed it was when I worked on W77th, about
    20 years ago.  Since the other hotels mentioned in the 10/30/38 broadcasts
    were real, I always assumed this was the building in question.  Whether or
    not it had a 'Meridian Room', I do not know.  But I can verify the existance
    of an NYC hotel by that name.
    I can go back to lurking now.
    Regards,  Tom Rose

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:19:27 -0500
    From: Dick Bertel <dbertel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Ruby Keeler on Radio

    Did actress Ruby Keeler ever make a radio appearance and if so, do any
    examples of her work still exist?

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:59:46 -0500
    From: Israel Colon <colon@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Rosa on Life with Luigi

    Hi,

    I have been recently been listening to episodes of Life with Luigi and
    have a question about Jody Gilbert, the actress who played Rosa.  Was the
    actress overweight?  She certainly did an excellent job of sounding
    overweight.

    Israel

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 11:09:25 -0500
    From: Faulknerian189@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Drinking Problems
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    The onset of drinking problems to old time radio actors and to filmscreen
    stars is surely nothing new.  It has reached, of course, to rock and roll
    stars
    as well.  The public exacts a terrific toll on performers.  Some can handle
    it,
    some simply can't.  Many go into a quiet, dark cave, and drink their way into
    obscurity.  Jim Faulkner

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    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 15:41:12 -0500
    From: PURKASZ@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  PARK PLAZA HOTEL - NEW YORK
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            I walk past her historical bones every day that I have to visit my
    agent in New York.
         She is now called the Omni Park Central at Seventh Avenue between
    Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth on the West side of the street.
         After many a walk by and a few nostalgic stops under the canopy, I
    walked in last year and found a Bell Boy from the old days who remembered
    when Mr.
    Gleason, as he called him, would run around like he owned the joint.
         Jackie's suites and offices, alas, have all been remodeled and even
    restructured to the point of unrecognizability.
         On October 25th, 1957, Murder Incorporated's Mr. Big, Albert Anastasia
    had his last haircut there.
         Still a fine hotel at 870 Seventh Avenue when in NY and just down the
    street you'll find the last two great delis in Manhattan. The Stage and The
    Carnegie.
         Katz's on the Lower East Side may disagree but hey, that's New York!
         So go awready.
                        Michael C. Gwynne

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    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 15:41:52 -0500
    From: Alan Chapman <[removed]@[removed];
    To: Old-Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Hotel Pennsylvania

     > Apparently the Statler Hilton has been bitten by the Retro/Nostalgia
     > Bug, because according to its website ([removed]),
     > it is now operating as New York's Hotel Pennsylvania. Still located at
     > Seventh Avenue and 33rd Street, and its phone number is still (212)
     > 736-5000. (Why they don't advertise it as PEnnsylvania 6-5000 is
     > beyond me; they can get a good nostalgia appeal with [removed])

    The hotel changed ownership a couple times since Statler owned it.
    Ramada Inn bought it in the early 90's, renamed it the Hotel
    Pennsylvania and refurbished it in the style of the original Hotel
    Pennsylania (I don't know if Ramada still owns it). I stayed there
    several times in the mid-90's on business trips to NYC.

    While the phone is now all digits, when you call the hold music is
    "PEnnsylvania 6-5000."  For people unfamiliar with New York, the hotel's
    name comes from the fact that is it located on 7th Avenue directly
    across the street from Pennsylvania Station -- better know simply as
    Penn Station.

    Alan Chapman

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

    Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 15:42:26 -0500
    From: Jer51473@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  buying a dvd player with cd and mp3
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     Please advise. I just bought one, but it wont play my otr mp3s as the
    recording level of the mp3s is too low. I was told that they would play , but
    i dont
    think most salespeople know what im talking about(i probably dont either).
    Anyway, theres no way i can tell if the otr mp3s will play unless i buy it,
    take
    it home, unpack it and read the manual, and then try it out. When i bought my
    band box i was able to try it out right at the store, but these decks are not
    hooked to amplifiers(sp) and im unable to sample. I want one that plays dvds,
    cds, and video tape. Of course,   it MUST play mp3s and at the otr 32 bit
    level. Some advertise mp3 and WMA, which i understand means "window media
    audio".
    Does this mean it will play at a low enough level for otr? Please email me
    with advise at jer51473@[removed]. thanks!

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    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #11
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