Subject: [removed] Digest V01 #205
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 6/26/2001 1:37 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                          The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                             Volume 01 : Issue 205
                       A Part of the [removed]!
                               ISSN: 1533-9289

                               Today's Topics:

     Re: Al Jolson the Entertainer        ["Peter Kenney" <pkenney@bostonpete.]
     Straight Arrow one more time!        ["William Harper" <whhsa@[removed]]
     Long-Ago Newspaper Clippings         ["Lois Culver" <lois@[removed];  ]
     Why We Remember Benny                [Kubelski@[removed]                   ]
     In Order To Make A More Nearly Perfe ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
     End of Soap Operas on radio          ["Tony Bell" <t_bell61@[removed]; ]
     taped sound degradation              ["Frank Phillips" <frankphi@hotmail.]
     The Topical Ones                     ["Brian Johnson" <CHYRONOP@worldnet.]
     Benny and Allen                      ["A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed].]
     Apologies to Mr. Kallis              [John Mayer <mayer@[removed];        ]
     Lone Ranger                          ["Tony Baechler" <tony@[removed];]
     Elizabeth to the rescue.             [hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];    ]
     Whisperin' Bill Anderson             [Duane Keilstrup <duanek9@[removed]; ]
     Al Jolson                            [William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];]

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

    Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 14:09:43 -0400
    From: "Peter Kenney" <pkenney@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: Al Jolson the Entertainer

    Al Jolson was born Asa Yoelson in Lithuania in 1886, the son of a Rabbi.
    The family fled in 1894 and settled in Washington CD.  As a child Jolson
    sang in the street, going on to take apprenticeships in the circus,
    burlesque, vaudeville and minstrel shows.

    In the twenties he became a top Broadway entertainer singing songs such as
    "Swanee", "Mammy" and "April Shower."

    In 1927 he starred in "The Jazz singer" which was based on his life story.
    This movie marked a milestone in film history, being the first part sound
    feature ever made.  Jolson went on to make several other movies and
    regularly was featured on radio.

    < As Lawrence Albert last posted "Al Jolson on radio" - Jolson was the host
    of at least three OTR variety shows. He hosted the THE KRAFT MUSIC twice, in
    the 30's and late 40's. Also in the 30's he was the host on SHELL CHATEAU
    (sp) and THE LIFEBOUY PROGRAM. >

    Jolson, the highest paid entertainer of his time died in 1950.

    Regards,
    Pete Kenney

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

    Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:06:09 -0400
    From: "William Harper" <whhsa@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Straight Arrow one more time!

    I think the point NABISCO was making was not that it owned the rights to
    straight arrow - the combined term is listed in dictionaries - the point was
    that one could not use Straight Arrow - NABISCO to promote a product.  Even
    in the late 50's and early 60's Straight Arrow comic stories were being
    published, but not as Straight Arrow of radio fame or NABISCO's Straight
    Arrow.  So anyone interested in publishing the cards, comics, etc and wanted
    to use NABISCO or "radio fame" would then be "messing" with the copyright.
    However I like the ideal of owning the rights to Straight Arrow and I might
    get it, but how would I promote what I had?  OK we could spend much time on
    this as we are on Kitty.  But what does it gets us?
    Manituwah,
    Bill

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

    Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:06:07 -0400
    From: "Lois Culver" <lois@[removed];
    To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Long-Ago Newspaper Clippings

    The ACTOR - July 26, 1941

    RADIO LIFE (by Lucille Bliss)
    Stork Specials:  A boy to Dorothy Kilgallen, newspaper and radio columnist,
    whose show is temporarily conducted by Gloria Swanson, and Richard Kollmar,
    who plays "David" in "Claudia and David".  A girl for Bob Dwan, NBC writer
    and producer.  For Howard Culver, new KFRC announcer, a baby daughter
    Pamela.

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

    Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 16:42:45 -0400
    From: Kubelski@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Why We Remember Benny

    The reason Fred Allen is a memory to most moderns and Jack Benny is, at least
    on some fading level, remembered, is twofold.  1) Jack Benny was on the air
    at least once a week with an entertainment program from 1932-1967 and he did
    periodic specials right up until his death in the mid-1970s.  Fred Allen died
    in early 1950s, if memory serves.  He just left behind a much less deep body
    of work.  2) Fred Allen relied more on topical humor in his programs.

    You can listen to a Benny show today and still get most of the jokes once you
    know who the characters are.  With Fred Allen, you practically have to have a
    graduate degree in [removed] history to know what he is talking about.  I'm not
    saying it isn't worth it, or that he wasn't a genius.  Clearly he was and you
    can make any number of arguments that the best of his radio work compares
    favorably with the best of Jack Benny's work.

    As a boy, I stumbled on to Benny as a performer through reruns of his
    television show and a tribute broadcast ("Loveletter to Jack Benny") hosted
    by Burns, Hope and Johnny Carson.

    You couldn't do that with Fred Allen, there is no "To Be Or Not To Be" taught
    in film classes or rebroadcast frequently.  There is no television show to
    syndicate.  In fact, the only reason I stumbled into being a major Fred
    Allen fan is that I encountered him on the Benny program.

    You can say the same thing about Jim Jordan - since Fibber McGee and Molly
    didn't make it to television, it's faded faster from memory, kept alive by
    only by hidden references in frequently broadcast Warner Brothers cartoons
    and references to his closet in the general media (not to mention that great
    episode of "News Radio" that had Andy Dick's character come into control of
    the show's rights).  Jordan had the added handicap of working under an
    assumed name.

    That was a pretty fun show at its best, with a stable of charcters who
    weren't as fully formed as Benny's troupe, but were really funny nonetheless.
     The best Fibber McGee & Molly episodes were also up there in quality with
    the best Benny shows.

    We probably are in the last generation of young people who will even remember
    who Jack Benny is (I have employees in their mid-twenties who sort of
    remember his name, but couldn't tell you anything about his performing
    style).  He's held on longer in memory because he held on longer in
    performance.  As collectors, we are the connoisseurs of popular culture -
    selecting the best material to enjoy, and Fred Allen certainly qualifies.
    But be fair to Benny.  Spending 35 years in America's living rooms and never
    letting his audience down should make him more memorable and beloved than any
    other radio star.  He earned it.

    Sean Dougherty
    kubelski@[removed]

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

    Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 16:42:47 -0400
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  In Order To Make A More Nearly Perfect Union ...

    Ian Grieve, speaking about the whole copyright/licensing business, states
    some ideals:

>     I am not suggesting that owners give away their rights.

    Nor should anybody who believes in fairness, IMHO.  I suppose that one
    question that keeps springing up is just what the rights are, what extent
    they have, and who really owns them.

>     I would like to see Copyright Owners protected.

    So would I, to the extent that a copyright covers a work.

>     I would like to see Dealers who can, sell the shows and pay a
>     royalty.

    Provided they have to.  Naturally, if a show belongs to a copyright
    holder, royalties are legitimate; if the show's in public domain, that's
    another matter.  Part of the problem is, to parse Mr. Grieve's
    observation, what's meant by "who can"?  According to the RSI camp, from
    the reports of other dealers, almost nobody besides RSI "can."  If this
    is the case, either others would have to effectively close up shop, or
    (as has been suggested in previous communications) become "associates" of
    RSI.

>     I would like the public to be able to collect and listen to the shows
>     without being called pirates or thieves.

    I would like the public to be able to collect and listen to shows without
    the confusion currently abounding throughout the hobby.  There are those
    on both sides of the issue who seem to be taking very hard lines, and
    extremism helps nobody.  If reports are accurate, there are some shows
    under contention where there is a significant difference of opinion as to
    their actual status.  And again, this completely sidesteps the legalities
    of the initial recordings with the programs in some cases labeled with
    prohibitions against copying them.  Using my mythical radio series, The
    Fiddler, suppose that  I had copyright on The Fiddler when it was aired,
    and that it was broadcast in the late 1940s.  Furthermore, assume the
    only existing recordings, which were discarded from the network's storage
    facility, had notices against being reproduced.  Nevertheless, a tape is
    struck, and this finds its way to a dealer.  The dealer makes copies of
    the programs and sells them.  The dealer may or not claim rights to
    distribute the program series.  During all this time, I as the original
    copyright owner haven't been made aware of all this activity until it was
    well under way.  Now here's the problem: under these circumstances,
    should the sales stop on the item, per the strictures on the original
    recording?  If they continue, how does this affect the status of the
    work?  By all accounts, the network prohibition on the record would make
    _any_ sale a "theft" or "piracy."

>     I would like to see the Actors, Announcers, Engineers etc get
>     recognition of some sort.

    Indeed.  But what sort?

>     I would like this whole copyright issue/slanging match come to an end
>     (don't ban it from discussion)

    Well, I'd agree that the namecalling and the like coming to an end would
    be something I'd welcome.  However, the basic concern to the OTR hobby
    centers on the "copyright issue."  I'd go farther, and point out that the
    real problem is distribution rights rather than simply copyright.

>     I can understand Carl being upset at dealers selling products that he
>     has the rights too.

    I'd be upset as well, of anyone selling products I had _exclusive_ rights
    to.  However, the nub of this discussion is that the very nature of the
    problem is that some of the reported communications haven't specified
    which of another dealer's inventory Mr. Amari has exclusive rights to.

>     I can understand the dealers saying what rights?, show us, don't bully
>     us.

    I can see RSI's reluctance to publish for public consumption a listing of
    every show they have rights to.  Taken in the aggregate, these comprise
    company-sensitive marketing information.  On the other hand, it's
    perfectly reasonable for a dealer to ask, "Which of the shows I'm selling
    do you claim rights to?  I'd like some proof of that, please."

>     The has to be a solution that works for everybody.  Why don't we form a
>     group and broker a deal.

    Good idea if one could find an impartial group.  However, the
    discussion's really polarized folk.

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 17:43:34 -0400
    From: "Tony Bell" <t_bell61@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  End of Soap Operas on radio

    I think most students of OTR remember that November of 1960 saw the end of
    soaps on radio with the last perfomances of "Right to Happiness", "Young Dr.
    Malone" and "Ma Perkins" as well as several others on CBS Radio.  My
    question is when did NBC wrap up it's soaps?  Did ABC and Mutual ever air
    soaps and, if so, when did they leave the air?  (Jim Cox, I seem to recall
    you have a book coming out on this subject, but I don't remember your
    publication date.)

    Tony Bell

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

    Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 21:28:34 -0400
    From: "Frank Phillips" <frankphi@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  taped sound degradation

    Ref. the degradation of taped sound --

    When I worked in radio, I was told about 10 percent of the sound quality was
    lost with each copy -- which is one reason why digital recording has become
    so popular.

    For you "purists" out there who want to argue with everything written here
    -- yes, I know DAT is different than analog tape. By "cassette" I am sure
    analog cassettes were the issue.

    Frank

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

    Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 23:03:53 -0400
    From: "Brian Johnson" <CHYRONOP@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  The Topical Ones

    To expand on Ms. McLeod's analysis of the fading of Fred Allen and the
    staying power of Jack Benny:

    Fred Allen's ultimate drawback is that he was a topical comedian, much in
    the same vein as "This is Bob broadcasting from Cleveland Hope." The
    difference here is that Allen never had a successful movie presence, let
    alone a TV career. To enjoy a good deal of Allen's material (and the first 7
    minutes of a Bob Hope show, too) you have to be a very cognizant of what was
    going on in the world at the time.

    Monologists do not wear well. I recently had the occasion to listen to two
    "Tonight Show" tracks from the 1970's and taken as random samples of his
    work, Johnny Carson will probably suffer the same fate, as will Jay Leno and
    David Letterman. I would even go as far as to label Letterman the Fred Allen
    of his generation - quirky, combative with his network(s) and most assuredly
    an acquired taste.

    And while most Americans born before 1975 will always have vivid memories of
    Hope as a monologist on both radio and television, future generations, no
    doubt, will gain exposure to him mostly through his film work. (Woody Allen,
    who is almost the anti-Hope in his personal life and in his own work, ranks
    Bob among Fields and Chaplin as a screen comedian.)

    I believe I have voiced this opinion before, but Jack's heir apparent in my
    mind has always been Kelsey Grammer. Like Benny, his character has highly
    unlikeable traits and yet he has managed to play it to great affection. And
    like Jack, he has done it for a remarkable run. At the end of the current
    contract just signed Dr. Frasier Crane will have been a part of the
    first-run television landscape for 21 years. Not even Lucille Ball played
    the same character over the entire run of her series.

    Brj

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

    Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 01:02:10 -0400
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Benny and Allen

>     Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2001 15:29:15 -0400
>     From: Partridge <rpartrid@[removed];

>     why has Jack endured  while Fred has largely been forgotten. I'm often
>     in awe of the knowledge displayed by the correspondents and I was curious
>     to get their opinions.

    Several reasons, I think.  One is that Jack lived longer and was on
    television for many years, so that many more of the people now living
    remember him.  Fred Allen did very little television, and his radio show
    ended before Jack's did.  So far fewer people today have ever even heard
    of him.

    I first heard Fred Allen's show in the 1970s, when I began to collect otr.
    Having listened to quite a few Fred Allen and Jack Benny programs at this
    point, I'd say Jack's humor holds up better because it is more universal.
    The character Jack portrayed was an exaggeration of character traits in
    people we know.  Fred Allen's humor was far more topical, so to understand
    a lot of the jokes, I had to ask my parents what they were talking about.
    This happened occasionally with Jack Benny, but not as often.

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

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

    Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 09:25:06 -0400
    From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Apologies to Mr. Kallis

    "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed]; corrected me:
       > I am not now, nor never have been, a lawyer!

    Sorry, I don't know how I came by that misimpression, but I assure you I
    intended no offense.

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

    Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 09:25:08 -0400
    From: "Tony Baechler" <tony@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Lone Ranger

    Hello all.  Without elaborating too much on what I consider a "great"
    entertainer, I would mention Benny, A&A, and of course The Lone Ranger.  I
    would not mention Fred Allen or the other Trendel shows since they have
    been mostly forgotten.  Another way to look at what is "great" is if the
    networks (in this case TV) are still willing to run the programs and try
    to make advertising money out of them.  Obviously they must still be in
    the mind of the public otherwise they would not be on TV.  Likewise, in a
    way, with RSI.  They would not put some obscure series in the catalog
    unless they were sure it would sell.  (Maybe this has been mentioned
    before, but did anyone else ever notice that RSI carries and broadcasts
    nothing by Morse?  That would be almost amusing to see how quick the
    lawyers of the Morse estate would be after them.)

    Anyway, on to the question in the subject.  As most collectors realize,
    the majority of the surviving Lone Ranger shows are syndicated, so there
    are no commercials.  There are some stories about what I would assume are
    premiums ([removed] a flashlight ring, a special gun, and something else) but
    not many.  First, why do so few network versions of the programs survive
    with commercials?  Also, why are there so many more Lone Ranger shows
    compared to the other Trendel shows?  I realize that there were not as
    many broadcasts of The Green Hornet or Challenge of the Yukon, but it
    seems that proportionally, many more Ranger shows seem to exist.
    Secondly, (sorry to those who are sick of premium discussion) what were
    the various premiums offered and when?  I am just trying to put the rest
    of the show in context with what is missing by not having the commercials.

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

    Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 09:25:10 -0400
    From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Elizabeth to the rescue.

>     Subject:  Re: Contractural Rights

    Elizabeth McLeod has done it again. Re: my recent posting about the old NBC
    Contract I found (while researching material for my book) She has responded
    with a wealth of information. And I thank her for that.

    If I felt that I had any good legal justification in pursuing the matter,
    and that attorney's fee's wouldn't consume any or all of the judgement, I
    might be interested in seeing how far to take up the "Cause" for all OTR
    performers.

    However, I sure don't have the time to devote to it. If any of you "Barroom
    Lawyers" out there are interested, (Like my good friend Steven Kallis), have
    fun and see where it gets us. I'll split the winnings three ways. One third
    to be shared by the "Legal" team, One third donated to the OTR Digest, and
    one third to me just for the hell of it.

    To whet your appetites, Elizabeth said, in capsule form:

>     This is standard language for NBC contracts from approximately 1942
>     forward --

>     As has been noted before, there was never *ANY* intention that NBC
>     Reference Recordings would *EVER* be commercially distributed.

    I LOVE THE EMPHASIS!

>     "Copyright Material Herein of NBC Et Al Usable Under License Terms Only"

>     Whether these restrictions still apply or are enforceable today is for
>     the lawyers to decide -- but it would make for an interesting test [removed];

    I LIKE THAT LAST SENTENCE!

>     NBC itself still controls licensing rights to its radio recordings held
>     by the LOC, but given the standard language in its performance contracts,
>     one does have to wonder exactly what the true legal status of the
>     materials actually is.

    SEE WHAT YOU STARTED "TREASURE MOUNTAIN"?

>     While I'm not sure how many "Archie" programs are in current circulation,
>     at least 127 exist at the Library of Congress.

    WOW! THAT MANY! I ONLY HAVE ABOUT TEN THAT I PICKED UP BY CHANCE AT A
    CONVENTION.

>     and five of these are from the 1945-46 season.

    WE CAN'T GET RICH ON ONLY 5 SHOWS. :)

>     LOC has nothing from 1946-47, but the 1948-49 and
>     1949-50 seasons survive essentially complete.

    VERY INTERESTING!

>     Archie Comics Publications, of course, controls the rights to the
>     characters -- but I can't speak with certainty as to the copyright status
>     of the radio programs. To make dubs of the actual discs at the LOC would
>     require the consent both of Archie Comics and NBC.

    AND ME PERHAPS?ŠŠŠ AND LET'S NOT FORGET MY BUDDY BOB HASTINGS (ARCHIE) and
    ROSEMARY RICE (BETTY) AND JANE WEBB (VERONICA).

    By the way, if any of you "Barroom Lawyers" take the case, make sure you
    secure Elizabeth's services as either Co-Consul, or at the very least, the
    "Expert Witness".

    Elizabeth, I owe you a drink or two. Hope we get to meet someday.

    Regards,

    Hal(Harlan)Stone
    "JUGHEAD"

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

    Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 10:12:26 -0400
    From: Duane Keilstrup <duanek9@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Whisperin' Bill Anderson

    Grand ole Opry's Whisperin' Bill Anderson (about to celebrate 40 years of
    performing) once was a radio DJ.  Anyone know of any transcriptions or tapes
    of his shows on radio?  Bill will be interviewed live on Yesterday USA on
    Sunday, July 1, at 8:00 [removed] Eastern.

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

    Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 15:24:22 -0400
    From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Al Jolson

    Many eons ago, before my time at KNX, CBS Hollywood originated a network
    "Al Jolson" program. Staff conductor, Lud Gluskin, was the musical
    director. That would be some combination. Jolson's ego versus Lud's habit
    of telling people how to do their job.

    As usual, Lud was telling Jolson how to sing. Jolson was annoyed and
    informed Lud that he would listen to him when Lud could prove that he was
    worth a million dollars. The next week Lud  came in armed with his bank
    book showing that he did indeed have a million dollars in the bank.

    My close friend, announcer Dick Joy, told me the story. I asked the
    obvious question as to how Lud came into such wealth. It turned out that
    he had invested in Hollywood real estate in the early days.

    Lud was a character. He looked like a chimp and walked like a chimp so I
    always maintained that the company bought a chimp, dressed him in a suit,
    and taught him to wave a baton. He conducted the house orchestra on "Sam
    Spade". Studio 1 was the music studio. I was the engineer. (the program
    originated from one of our theater studios, probably studio A). As usual,
    Lud came into the control room to tell me how to do my job. I went along
    with it, starting with the audio console. He was satisfied with my mixer
    positions. Then I took him over to the amplifier "racks" and asked how he
    wanted me to set the gain controls on the various amplifiers. He called
    me a couple of vile names and stomped out of the control room, never to
    darken my door again.

    I had a 44-BX mike on a short stand in front of the French horn, which
    was beside the conductor's podium. During the dress rehearsal I noticed
    Lud reach down and change the "tilt" of the mike. I opened my talk back
    mike and told him that he tilted it too much. As his fingers touched the
    mike to tilt it back, I told him that it was OK. He got the message, and
    made a few nasty comments.

    Wilbur (Bill) Hatch was also a staff conductor, a delight to know and
    work with. The staff organists were Milton Charles, Dick Aurandt (a
    flying buddy of mine), and Eddie Dunstedder (formerly from KMOX) . Studio
    4 housed our large pipe organ. (Dick only played the Hammonds). Dick and
    I did a weekly sustainer to the Pacific net, originating from the very
    large Studio 2 (two stories high). Dick surrounded himself with the
    Hammond console, a piano, and a celeste. Besides the individual mikes, I
    had a 44-BX on a high stand in the middle of the studio.  I arranged with
    the announcer to sign the program on cold, then get out of the studio and
    sit with me in the control room, telling Dick to "let it fly". He did!
    What a sound! Fun days!

    Bill Murtough

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #205
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