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

[removed] Digest				Volume 96 : Issue 330

Table Of Contents: 

	 Digital Audio Tape
	 Doc Savage on Radio
	 Woman detectives and Sherlock Holmes
	 Digital Audio Tape
	 Re: Who is David Karp?
	 Unknown E-mail
	 Twelve tapes for Mars trip
	 It's an old joke
	 Train OTR of the Day
	 CBS Radio Mystery Theater: Any Good? 
	 Re: Scat Davis

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

Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 17:26:59 -0400
From: "Read G. Burgan" <rgb@[removed]>
To: <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: Digital Audio Tape
Message-Id: <[removed]@btc1>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Troy Burnham asked about digital audio tape (DAT).  DAT has little value if
you're simply going to make an analog transfer, say from audio cassette. 
Current predictions are that DAT tape  is only good for about 10 - 15 years
before the signal begins to deteriorate.  This, however, is only
speculation.  But it is based on studies of similar materials.  The digital
signal as laid down on DAT is more prone to natural magnetic disturbances
than is its analog counterpart, [removed]: audio reel-to-reel tape, audio
cassettes, etc.

However, DAT has a great advantage if you're first taking your analog
material and digitally reprocessing it to remove the pops, clicks, record
surface noise and other analog noise.  I am currently involved with a
project for the David DuPlessis Center at Fuller Seminary to digitally
transfer and restore their transcriptions of Charles E. Fuller's "Old
Fashioned Revival Hour" program, and am able to arrive at a finished
product that closely rivals compact disc sound.  Under these conditions,
DAT is the medium of choice for archival.  Ultimately, we will probably do
the final archiving on CD, where the projected life span will be 100 - 150
years -- still only an estimate since CD's haven't been around long enough
to actually test their longevity.

By the by, plastic transcriptions (not aluminum or glass based) are
probably the most stable archival audio medium, although certainly not the
medium of highest fidelity.

Read Burgan

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

Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 16:47:23 -0800
From: John Olsen <jrolsen@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Doc Savage on Radio
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Apparently Doc Savage adventures have been on radio in two different
series.  There was a 15 minute series in 1934.  I have some of the
scripts, but I'm told that none of the recordings exist.  Too bad.

And then the second series was done on NPR about ten years ago, or so. 
I'm told that recordings of these DO exist.  They did a six part
adaptation of "The Thousand Headed Man" and a seven part adaptation of
"Fear Cay."  Does anyone know where I can obtain copies of the NPR
series?

If you can help me, please send me email or respond here.  I'll take
open reel or cassette.  Thanks for all your assistance!

John

-- 

=================================================
Visit HOCUS POCUS PALACE, home of the Great Mysto
and his Internet Magic Tricks.

[removed]~jrolsen
=================================================

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

Date: Thu, 12 Sep 96 00:25:36 UT
From: "KENNETH LANZA" <DRJOHNWATSON@[removed]>
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Woman detectives and Sherlock Holmes
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

OTR expert Jack French will be a guest speaker presenting a paper on "The 
Woman: Radio's Lady Detectives and Their Debt to Sherlock Holmes" at the 
meeting of The Red Circle, a  scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars. 
(members only)

This will be presented as part of The Red Circle's scion society 
meeting at the National Press Club (13th Floor of The National 
Press Club , 14th and F Streets NW in Washington, [removed] in early October. 

I will attempt to get a copy of the paper after its presentation. 

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

Date: Wed, 11 Sep 96 18:14:11 -0500
From: Nathan Gregory <ngregory@[removed]>
To: "[removed]@[removed]" <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: Digital Audio Tape
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

-- [ From: Nathan Gregory * [removed] #[removed] ] --

Troy wrote:

>I have recently heard about digital audio tape.  Can anyone give me some 
information on it >such as, what is it?  Is it better for storing OTR than 
regular cassette tapes?  Where can I >get it?  And how much should I  expect
to pay?  Of course if it is really no better for >keeping OTR than  regular
cassettes, then I don't need to know all of this.  Please let me  >know.

>Troy Burnham

I am sending Troy a private email with more details, as this is not 
the forum for expounding at great length about one of my favorite 
technologies.  Here is a very brief summary for the benefit of anyone 
else who has similar questions.

Digital Audio Tape (DAT) is indeed available and an excellent technology for

storing OTR or any other recording.  It really shines with high quality
audio, 
but even at it's lowest quality setting is still equal or better than
Compact 
Cassettes.  However, fair warning, the technology is not for the faint of 
heart.  It is a little expensive (a basic deck is >$500, and a better no-
frills
deck is >$1000), not overly reliable, and long term (>10 years) storage is
questionable.  The technology is very finicky.  I use DAT heavily, but
have recently began using another digital technology that is even better,
Compact Disk, which now costs about the same as DAT, and is much more 
reliable, and less finicky.

Still, if you're serious about Audio, I cannot recommend DAT strongly enough
 .
I will happily try and answer any questions on either technology.


Cheers,
Nathan
<ngregory@[removed]>

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

Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 21:48:00 -0400
From: JanBach@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Who is David Karp?
Message-ID: <960911214759_306364495@[removed]>

Hello Again --

In a message dated 96-09-11 16:33:14 EDT, Robert Bates writes:

<< (Dick Van Dyke) had on Bert Gordon the Mad Russian, and two others whose
names I am not sure of - David Karp, the Fish Man and Florence Holliday, or
something, who did phone monologues. >>

I can't remember what "Florence Holliday" looked like, but "David Karp" was
definitely Richard Haydn, described by THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYLOPEDIA OF MOVIE
CHARACTER ACTORS as "tall, angular, aloof-looking English character actor who
cornered the market in prissy professors in the Hollywood of the forties. A
former dancer and revue artist, he became an inveterate scene-stealer in
comic cameos and also scored in the occasional serious role, such as his
schoolmaster in THE GREEN YEARS. Also directed."

I suspect the "David Karp" character was a vaudeville character that Haydn
resurrected for the Van Dyke program; I certainly don't remember his ever
being referred to in any OTR program I have ever heard. Most will remember
him as the entrepreneur of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Max Detweiller (patterned
after Max Reinhardt, later a Hollywood director, whose palatial summer home
in Salzburg was actually the scene of the boating incident in the film); he
was also the butler in the Agatha Christie AND THEN THERE WERE NONE of 1945.
He was also in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, FOREVER AMBER, PLEASE DON'T EAT THE
DAISIES, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, and CHARLIE'S AUNT. He died in 1985 at the age
of 80.

Jan Bach

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

Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 20:58:01 -0500 (CDT)
From: Dewana Burnham <dburnham@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Unknown E-mail
Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

The other day, I guess it was maybe two days ago, someone sent me a 
message replying to my request for OTR traders.  Whomever it was 
apparently my E-mail program doesn't serve your account.  I forget the 
address or the name, but if anyone who sent me an E-mail message a couple 
of days ago hasn't received a message back from me, I tried but the 
message was returned to me several times.  

Troy Burnham

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

Date: Wed, 11 Sep 96 19:49:33 -0500
From: Nathan Gregory <ngregory@[removed]>
To: "[removed]@[removed]" <[removed]@[removed]>
Subject: Twelve tapes for Mars trip
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

-- [ From: Nathan Gregory * [removed] #[removed] ] --

In generating my response to the proposed question I will make the 
following assumptions:

(1) Weight is the critical issue, and the weight of 12 cassettes
    is the limit

(2) There is a reasonable computer on board, at least a 133 MHz
    Pentium with CD-ROM and Audio.  This has other uses and would
    be there with or without my otr addiction.

(3) 12 Cassettes and 30 CDs (without jewel cases) weigh about
    the same.  (I haven't measured this, just guessing)

(4) Readily available technology as of today must be employed.
    No "near future" [removed]

With these assumptions, I think I would take my entire collection
and a sizable loan from another library as well.

Using Mpeg II layer 3 compression (readily available for the PC)
a CD-ROM will hold about 130 episodes.  (I have 110 episodes on the
CD I am making now, and have almost 100 MB left to fill.) That's 
about 4000 episodes of OTR within our weight margin.

That should be enough, I [removed]  ;^)

Cheers,
Nathan

<ngregory@[removed]>

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

Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 23:25:41 -0400 (EDT)
From: "'A. Joseph Ross'" <lawyer@[removed]>
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: It's an old joke
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

> Date: 10 Sep 96 14:12:37 EDT
> From: "Robert I. Scherago" <[removed]@[removed]>
> To: Old Time Radio <[removed]@[removed]>
> Subject: Don't talk with your mic open and other bloopers
> Message-ID: <[removed]@[removed]>
> 
> The story about MacKellar's remarks while on the phone with the mic 
> open makes me think of the many times announcers have been close
> to losing their jobs because of accidental- or on-purpose-remarks
> they thought they could get away with. One example; a favorite of
> mine: an announcer at a big Southern New England radio station
> reading some wire copy, said, "in Athol, Mathachusetts,
> today, ..." It really happened.

'Way back in the early 1960s, when Endicott Peabody was governor of
Massachusetts, it used to be said of him that there were three towns in
the state named after him:  Peabody, Marblehead, and Athol.

Sorry, but I couldn't resist!

======================================================================
A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                                      617/367-0468
15 Court Square                                   lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2573                    [removed]~lawyer/
======================================================================

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

Date: 11 Sep 1996 20:36:00 GMT
From: [removed]@[removed] (Ron B. Hare)
To: otr@[removed]
Subject: Train OTR of the Day
Message-Id: <[removed]@[removed]>

Nick Carter: "Murder On Mad Mountain" is set on a snowbound train on Donner
Pass. One of my favorites, and I almost forgot about it.

Roy: Wasn't Harry VonZell's slipup more like "Hoobert Heever"?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Transmitted via LiveWire, a Virtual Valley service. Modem: [removed]
(FirstClass, VT-100)              [removed]

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

Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 03:12:11 -0400
From: ErikS74342@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: CBS Radio Mystery Theater: Any Good? 
Message-ID: <960912031208_521017431@[removed]>

Hello, all. I've just been catching up with a stack of OTR Digests -- haven't
had much time to mess around with OTR lately because of a little election
coming up -- you may have heard about it.

But after reading some of the posts, I thought I should offer a thought about
the general quality of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater. I was 12 years old when
it first came on, and I still regard it as one of the seminal media events in
my life. I already had been infected with the OTR virus -- a local radio
station (Spokane's KHQ) had been broadcasting a nightly OTR show for more
than a year. So I suppose I had already been attuned to the idea of "hearing"
a story rather than seeing it on TV. After hearing the classic episodes of
Suspense and Lights Out, I was starting to develop a critical appreciation.

I started listening to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater the first week it aired
in January 1974, and heard it steadily for the next few years, even taped a
fair number of shows from the air. I had to acknowledge there were a fair
number of clinkers, shows that just didn't seem to go anywhere, shows that
seemed notable only in their padding.

And yet -- a few of them were of the sort that left me lying there in my bed
with the sheets soaked in sweat, filled with terror, and a number of them
left me laughing with the humor the author intended. I started to realize
that the batting average was something like one in three. Some of the most
memorable programs I found last year by swapping with another collector --
and I hesitate to mention the name, because I'd hate to see him inundated
with inquiries. But the best of the shows really do hold up.

Let me suggest a few titles that stack up with the best of the classics:

"The Gift of Doom" (an updating of "Medea" to Alaskan gold rush days)
"The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg" (part of a week-long Mark Twain series)
"The Fall of the House of Usher" (one of a week-long Edgar Allen Poe series)
"There's No Business Like Show Business" (A science fiction tale in which
prisoners are sentenced to the movies -- and when their character dies, so do
they.)
"What the Shepherd Saw" (A creepy atmospheric tale)
"The Chinaman Button" (What would you do if you stood to inherit a fortune --
by painlessly ordering the death of someone on the other side of the globe?)
"Return of the Moresbys" (A husband murders his wife because she blows her
fortune on a phony reincarnation-spouting religion. But maybe it's not phony
after all.)

Alfred Bester adapted a number of his wonderful science fiction stories of
the early 1950s for the show, back around '77 and '78. And the two episodes
that frightened me the most are the ones I never have managed to find -- an
updating of the tale "The Casting of the Runes," far more effective as I
recall than the version that aired on Escape more than 20 years before. The
other, I learned years later, was a new version of the classic Inner Sanctum
episode, "The Judas Clock."

There are a number of other outstanding examples with names that escape me at
the moment. But I think these are enough to prove my point. If you weren't
patient, you probably wouldn't be rewarded. But every now and then the show
produced something truly memorable.

One last thought -- the show didn't last 12 years. I was listening the final
night as well, the last week of 1982.

Erik Smith
Kennewick, Wash.

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

Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 07:09:20 -0400
From: JShnay@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Scat Davis
Message-ID: <960912070920_477002846@[removed]>

In a message dated 96-09-11 16:32:58 EDT, you write:

<< OTHER than singing hooray for hollywood.
 his first name was a nickname. stuff? snuff? if anyone has the busby berkely
 cd or the great warner brothers lp's that came out a bit ago celebrating 50
 years of talkies, he'd be listed as the talent.
 sterling holloway, though, was the voice of gyro gearloose.
 and ronal reagan has a bit part as a radio announcer in hollyood hotel.>>
  >>
Might this be Johnny "Scat"Davis, an otherwise undistinguished musician who
sang "Horray for Hollywood" as the Benny Goodman Orch. departed on a plane at
the start of the movie. 
jshnay@[removed]




--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V96 Issue #330
*******************************************

