Subject: [removed] Digest V2012 #32
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 2/17/2012 6:15 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to:
[removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2012 : Issue 32
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Old Time ... Racism?                  [ Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed]; ]
  Racism and OTR                        [ ginger g <gingerbaby2000@[removed]; ]
  Derek Tague & Hal Stone               [ otrguru@[removed] ]
  Stereotypes in OTR                    [ Stephen Donovan <sdonovan06@[removed] ]
  Anti Racism on OTR                    [ "Ryan O" <ryano218@[removed]; ]
  2-16 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Greatest Entertainer of All Time      [ A Joseph Ross <joe@[removed] ]
  Re: Memories of Hal (Harlan) Stone,   [ Don Shenbarger <donslistmail@sbcglo ]
  The Shadow Scrapbook and Australian   [ Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@earthlin ]

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

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:10:27 -0500
From: Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Old Time ... Racism?

I'd just like to agree with my pal Steve Jansen about some of the points in
the ongoing thread re: racial & sexist stereotypes in [removed]'d like to do this
by citing animation historians Jerry Beck and Will Freidwald. In the first
edition of their book "The Warner Brothers Cartoons" from 1981, they speak
about how certain W-B cartoons were then being diallowed from TV viewings due
to perceived racist content. These authors suggested that totally suppressing
decades-old material would be tantamount to denying that racial stereotypes
ever existed and that denying such is just as racist as anything depicted in
the objectionable cartoons.

That's about the size of it,

Derek Tague

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

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:10:34 -0500
From: ginger g <gingerbaby2000@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Racism and OTR
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Hi all,

I just had to comment on the Steve Donovan discussion, I'm black
in my 40's and I've listened to quite a bit of OTR, if the show is funny like
Duffy's Tavern & Jack [removed] appreciate the humor tremendously. When I hear
say, Beulah or the Judy Canova show I [removed] then I remember that it's
history, that was the way it was then. Anyone that wasn't "white" was fair
[removed] it a comedy show or in a song.  But if you listen to the early 30's
and the late 40's shows you can hear the difference, which makes you feel
somewhat hopeful.

Thanks,
Sandra

  *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
  ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:10:43 -0500
From: otrguru@[removed]
To: DIGEST OLD RADIO <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Derek Tague & Hal Stone

Derek Tague's Memories of Hal Stone in today's Digest (Vol. 2012-Issue
30)provided some good recollections about an OTR favorite. I had the
opportunity to interview Hal Stone for my Those Were The Days program during
a series of live broadcasts from Scottsdale, [removed] not far from Hal's
home in Sedona.  That 56 minute conversation with Hal was recorded March 4,
2006 before a small studio audience.  To hear it, visit my website,
[removed]  When you get there, click on "Interviews" and scroll
down to "Stone, Harlan" and enjoy.  -- Chuck Schaden

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

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:10:49 -0500
From: Stephen Donovan <sdonovan06@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Stereotypes in OTR

I would like to extend some appreciation to the thoughtful and insightful
comment that have been posted in response to my topic suggestion. They gave
me serious food for thought.

Please do know that it was not my intention to malign the name or works of
any of anyone's favorite stars. I brought up A&A as an example. Perhaps I
should have used the term "stereotyped" instead of "racist." Perhaps this is
splitting hairs. The dialects used in some OTR programs are audio
caricatures. Some have their basis in long histories of bigotry and hate.
Amos and Andy was a black-face act which came from vaudeville which came from
minstrels shows of the Jim Crow South. Caricatures often have the connotation
of being "lesser than" or inferior in some way. It would also be fair to say
that calling something cringe-worthy is actually a very subjective statement.
What bothers me may not bother someone else.

I very much appreciated the comments about remembering the historical context
of every program I listen to. Much of what I have heard comes from the 30's
and 40's. Much of the blatant racist things I have heard come from the 30's
time period. As examples, I am referring to World Adventurer's Club or Moon
Over Africa. Non-whites were characterized as fierce savages, faithful
servants, or evil masterminds. In the 40's, we were at war and the Germans
and Japanese were demonized. In the 50's, Cold War sensibilities had us at
odds with the Russians.

The notion of considering OTR as aural time travel was very helpful. It does
give us an ear into the sentiment of the times, not unlike reading a period
book. There are plenty of those in public domain as well and many of these
were made into radio programs. I am thinking of the Shadow of Fu Manchu as an
example.

I do have to wonder why I so rarely see a non-white face at the few OTR
conventions I have attended. Could it be that it does not have an appeal
because the non-white characterizations were not so complimentary? Besides
Charlie Chan or Mr. Moto, can anyone name a major non-white character of any
series that was not servant, sidekick, stooge, or villain? I could only think
of singers and perhaps a few sports figures. Then again, I am not as
knowledgeable as some of you, either.

I truly do appreciate all of the feedback and please do know that I was not
trying to offend anyone.
This discussion is actually quite cathartic to sort out my own thoughts.

Sincerely,
Steve Donovan

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

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:12:44 -0500
From: "Ryan O" <ryano218@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Anti Racism on OTR

I enjoyed Steve Donovan's comments on the digest the other day. When it
comes to the listening of classic radio drama, Stephen Jansen expressed it
best. It really does little good to view it through a modern lens of
political correctness.

I am a blind guy and consider myself to be very fortunate to be living in
the time and place that I am. Many negative stereotypes about blindness
still exist today, just as racism still exists, but while modern stereotypes
bother me because I have to deal with them on a personal level, I find it
very easy to laugh off the blatant and ignorant stereotypes whenever I
encounter a blind character in a radio story. My rationale is simple. That's
just the way it was back then and thank God we've come as far as we have.
Though I am a white guy and may not feel the sting of racism as do other
minorities, I've encountered my share of ignorant prejudice and know what it
feels like.

I can't recall many incidents of overt racism in otr. I know I've heard them
before on Jack Benny and The Great Gildersleeve. I don't care for Amos and
Andy so I can't give an informed comment.

What strikes me as a 21st century listener are the occasional anti-racist
themes that pop up in various otr dramas. Here is a partial list:

Escape, under the direction of William N. Robson, dealt with racism and
prejudice on a semi-regular basis. In, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,"
which takes place during the Civil War, the protagonist, who is a
Confederate soldier on the run after escaping from a Union hanging,
encounters one of his freed slaves who taunts him over his bigotry. In,
"Poison," the main character is a blatant racist living in India. One hot
night, he is trapped in his bed by a deadly, poisonous snake. He refuses to
let the local Indian doctor attempt to rescue him at first, calling him a,
"Gook."

In, "The fourth Man," three French escaped convicts are stranded on a raft
in the middle of the ocean waiting for a ship to rescue them. Their pilot is
an African who speaks no English. Throughout the entire story, the three
Europeans (criminals all) continually berate the African for his
inferiority, but in the end, the three Frenchmen kill each other while the
African survives. In, "Snake Doctor," a bigoted white trash farmer hates a
black man who sells snake oil for medicinal purposes, but ultimately, his
hatred costs him his life.

Two episodes of Gunsmoke come to mind, both with similar themes. "Nina," is
about an army scout who comes to Dodge with his Mexican wife and is bullied
by two local townsmen. "Sins of Our Fathers," broadcast about a year later,
has the same idea, but the two characters are a white mountain man and his
Native-American wife. Bias against Native-Americans was a common theme on
Gunsmoke, but "Sunday Supplement," is the only other example that comes to
mind.

Fort Laramie also dealt with prejudice against Indians. In, "The Massacre,"
a religious zealot leads a group of renegades in the slaughter of a peaceful
Indian tribe. Another good example is, "The Assembly Line," or "Never the
Twain."

David Harding, Counterspy features an episode called, "The Case of the
Poison Peddler," in which a local gangster runs a hate group charged with
stirring up trouble for minorities.

Tales of the Texas Rangers features four episodes that I know of that deal
with themes of racism, either overt or subtle. The best one is, "Cold
Blood," in which a local white farmer tries to lynch a black man after
falsely accusing him of murdering his sister. "Paid in Full," features a
greedy farmer who murders his Mexican share cropper because he'd rather buy
a new car with money made from chopping cotton than give the Mexican and his
family their fair share. The scene in which the farmer murders the Mexican
is particularly powerful as the farmer bellows, "Get back here, you stinkin'
wetback!" before blasting the fleeing Mexican in the back with a shotgun.
The other two episodes dealing with racial tensions are, "Pressure," and
"The Devil's Share."

Science fiction was always good for allegories on prejudice. Dimension X
features a story called, "Courtesy," in which a group of space explorers
catch a plague on an alien planet and are slowly wiped out. In their
desperation to find a cure, they bully and terrorize the local natives, who
refuse to give them the answer. Bigotry toward the disabled is even explored
in, "Universe," where those who are labeled as "mutants" are contained in
the lower levels of a giant spaceship. Similar themes are explored in,
"Hello, Tomorrow," and "Pebble in the Sky."

Of course, the most obvious example of anti-racist rhetoric came from
radio's superman. Starting in 1946, the man of steel decided to forego the
usual super villains in favor of the Ku Klux Klan. Bigotry in American
became a running theme on Superman for the next two years as evidenced by
such serials as, "Klan of the Fiery Cross," "Drought in Freeville," "Knights
of the White Carnation," and "The Skin Game." I realize that this was aimed
at kids as a reaction to World War II. Producers felt that children needed
to have it drummed into their heads that bigotry and isolationism are bad.
Still, the pompous, preachy tones don't really do it for me anymore than do
Aaron Sorkin or Norman Lear today.

RyanO

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

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:12:50 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  2-16 births/deaths

February 16th births

02-16-1884 - Bert Kalmer - NYC - d. 9-17-1947
lyricist: "You Bet Your Life"
02-16-1884 - Joe Smith - NYC - d. 2-22-1981
comedian: (Smith and Dale) "Al Jolson"; "Kate Smith"
02-16-1893 - Jack Doty - Wisconsin - d. 4-13-1935
actor: Captain Hughes "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy"
02-16-1893 - Katherine Cornell - Berlin, Germany - d. 6-8-1974
actor: "Tribute to Ethel Barrymore"; "Victory Clothing Collection"
02-16-1896 - Alexander Brailowsky - Kiev, Ukriane, Russia - d. 4-25-1976
pianist: "Music America Loves Best"; "New York Philharmonic"
02-16-1900 - Albert Hackett - NYC - d. 3-16-1995
playwright: "Star Spangled Theatre"
02-16-1901 - Chester Morris - NYC - d. 9-11-1979
actor: Boston Blackie "Boston Blackie"; Great Merlini "Great Merlini"
02-16-1902 - Leif Eid - Idaho - d. 3-28-1976
nbc bureau chief: Washington, Ottawa and Paris
02-16-1903 - Edgar Bergen - Chicago, IL - d. 9-30-1978
ventriloquist: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
02-16-1903 - Norman Shelley - d. 8-22-1980
actor: John H. Watson "Corner In Crime, Saturday Night Theatre"
02-16-1904 - George F. Kennan - Milwaukee, WI - d. 3-17-2005
post world war two diplomat: "Meet the Press"
02-16-1904 - James Baskett - Indianapolis, IN - d. 7-9-1948
actor: Gabby Gibson "Amos 'n' Andy"
02-16-1905 - Carleton D. Smith - d. 4-27-1984
announcer/executive: "Fireside Chat with FDR"
02-16-1909 - Hugh Beaumont - Lawrence, KS - d. 5-14-1982
actor: Appeared on radio in 1931
02-16-1909 - Jeffrey Lynn - Auburn, MA - d. 11-24-1995
actor: "Keep 'Em Rolling"; "Gulf Stream Guild Theatre"
02-16-1910 - Jerry Lester - Chicago, IL - d. 3-23-1995
comedian: "The Jerry Lester Show"; "Kraft Music Hall"
02-16-1911 - Hal Porter - Thornbury, Australia - d. 9-29-1984
writer: "The Forger"
02-16-1911 - "Curly" Noland - Tennessee - d. 1-16-1993
bass: "The Swift Jewel Cowboys"
02-16-1912 - Del Sharbutt - Ft. Worth, TX - d. 4-26-2002
announcer: "Hobby Lobby"; "Jack Benny Program"; "Victory Theatre"
02-16-1914 - Jimmy Wakely - Mineola, AR - d. 9-23-1982
country singer: "All-Star Western Theatre"; "Hollywood Barn Dance"
02-16-1915 - Carlotta Dale - Ardmore, PA - d. 12-1-1988
vocalist: "Music for Moderns"; "Rhapsody in Rhythm"
02-16-1915 - Dorothy Lovett - Providence, RI - d. 4-28-1998
actor: Libby Collins "Lux Radio Theatre"
02-16-1915 - Leah Ray - Norfolk, VA - d. 5-27-1999
vocalist: (The Phil Harris Band) "Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou"
02-16-1917 - George Neise - Chicago, IL - d. 4-14-1996
actor: "The Judy Canova Show"; "The Man Called X"
02-16-1918 - Patty Andrews - Mound, MN
singer (Andrews Sisters) "Andrews Sisters Revue"
02-16-1918 - Win Blake - d. 8-4-2003
disk jockey: WKXL Concord, New Hampshire
02-16-1921 - Frances Rickett - Covington, KY - d. 8-6-2008
writer: "Family Theatre"; "Al Goodman's Musical Album"
02-16-1921 - Norman Swallow - Eccles, England - d. 12-5-2000
producer: "Speaking Personally"
02-16-1921 - Wayne Howell - d. 7-8-1993
announcer, disc jockey: "Chamber Music Chamber Society of Lower Basin
Street"
02-16-1922 - Robert Campbell - Detroit, MI - d. 5-xx-1981
announcer: "Out of the Deep"
02-16-1926 - Vera-Ellen - Cincinnati, OH - d. 8-30-1981
actor: "Martin and Lewis Show"; "Tony Awards"; "Bud's Bandwagon"
02-16-1928 - Desmond Cory - Lancing, Sussex, England - d. 1-xx-2001
Script writer for the BBC
02-16-1932 - Gretchen Wyler - Bartlesville, OK - d. 5-27-2007
singer-actor: "Sounds of Freedom"
02-16-1933 - Rod Trongard - d. 7-16-2005
announcer: Minnesota radio
02-16-1937 - Gary Barkdoll - d. 6-16-2001
disk jockey: WAYZ Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

February 16th deaths01-06-1934 - Bobby Lord - Sanford, FL - d. 2-16-2008
country music artist: "Country Music Time"
01-19-1932 - George Mann MacBeth - Lanarkshire, Scotland - d. 2-16-1992
poet, producer: BBC Radio
02-09-1912 - Bob Hannon - Chicago, IL - d. 2-16-1993
singer: "American Melody Hour"; "Waltz Time"
02-17-1906 - Virginia Mansfield - Covington, KY - d. 2-16-2001
singer: "Andy and Virginia"; "Turn Back the Clock"
03-10-1918 - Gloria Stewart - d. 2-16-1994
actor: (Wife of James Stewart) "Lux Radio Theatre"
03-18-1911 - Smiley Burnette - Summum, IL - d. 2-16-1967
host, comedian: "Smiley Burnette Show"; "Hollywood Hotel"
04-12-1914 - Ken Williams - Canada - d. 2-16-1984
actor: Brian Wells "David Harum"
04-21-1933 - Jim Harmon - Mount Carmel, IL - d. 2-16-2010
author: "The Great Radio Heroes"
05-04-1909 - Howard Da Silva - Cleveland, OH - d. 2-16-1986
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Forecast"; "Suspense"
07-03-1920 - Louise Allbritton - Oklahoma City, OK - d. 2-16-1979
actor: "Screen Guild Theatre"; "This Is My Best"; "Cavalcade of America"
08-01-1912 - Ronnie Kemper - Missoula, MT - d. 2-16-1997
bandleader: "Ronnie Kemper"; "Horace Heidt Orchestra"
08-03-1911 - Ken Patterson - Montana - d. 2-16-1990
actor: "Dragnet"
08-29-1904 - Ronald Watkins - Surrey, England - d. 2-16-2001
Reader of prose and poetry
09-29-1907 - Richard Harkness - Artesian, SD - d. 2-16-1977
newscaster: NBC network, occassionally filled in for [removed] Kaltenborn
11-30-1915 - Brownie McGhee - Knoxville, TN - d. 2-16-1996
blues guitarist, singer: "New World A' Coming"; "This Is Jazz)

Ron

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

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:13:42 -0500
From: A Joseph Ross <joe@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Greatest Entertainer of All Time

Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:06:37 -0500
From: Al Girard<24agirard24@[removed];

...
I was astounded when "the people" voted Tom Hanks as the greatest
entertainer of all time.

Several years ago, someone on this forum asked who the best comic of all
time was.  Someone (I believe Laura Leff) pointed out that it's hard to
answer that because we only have a record of entertainers of the past
century or so when sound recordings, and later motion pictures, became
available.

I then responded about Groucho Ben Nun, Joshua's younger brother, who
kept everyone laughing in the Israelite camp.  They say he did great
Moses imitations.

--
A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                     [removed]
92 State Street, Suite 700          Fax: [removed]
Boston, MA 02109-2004     [removed]

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

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:14:09 -0500
From: Don Shenbarger <donslistmail@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Memories of Hal (Harlan) Stone, 1931-2007

On 2/15/2012 Ian Grieve wrote:
5 Years, didn't think it was that long. I wish I had met you in person
Hal.

I agree with all of that. And I do so miss his thoughtful comments on
this board.

Don Shenbarger

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

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:15:14 -0500
From: Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  The Shadow Scrapbook and Australian & Brazilian
 Shadow broadcasts

on 2/15/12 11:18 PM, Ian Grieve wrote:

Anthony Tollin, I enjoyed your Shadow Scrapbook, I am no expert on The
Shadow and you have just educated me and a lot of other folks on what
questions still need answers.

Actually, THE SHADOW SCRAPBOOK wasn't my book. My late friend Walter Gibson,
who created the character of Lamont Cranston and wrote 283 of the Shadow
pulp novels, authored the majority of the book. I'm very honored that he
enlisted me to help him on HIS book!

My favorite chapters of THE SHADOW SCRAPBOOK aren't the ones I personally
wrote, but Walter's own first-person accounts of the development of THE
SHADOW MAGAZINE and his legendary pulp crimebuster, the creation of The
Shadow's Lamont Cranston alter ego, the introduction of the Dark Avenger's
true identity of aviator Kent Allard and the Mutual radio revival. Walter
wrote from his own memories, enhanced by the daily diary entries he always
maintained except during the dozen-year period when he was pounding out two
or three Shadow novels each month. In Walter's explanations of the events he
personally lived, we get a richer, more human picture of those times, and
also how he worked with scriptwriter Edward Hale Bierstadt on the 1937 radio
relaunch.

There will be a revised and expanded edition of THE SHADOW SCRAPBOOK coming
out next year, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1963 Shadow
paperback and radio revival. Walter's portions will be largely unchanged,
though enhanced by some other articles he wrote on The Shadow, a lot more
vintage photos and some new sidebars. And of course my radio chapters will
be substantially revised and expanded (for example, correcting the omission
of Margot Stevenson and the 1935 MacGregor & Sollie syndicated series
starring Carl Kroenke, and listing all 26 episodes of the 1938 Goodrich
summer series). I also didn't have photos of Shadow illustrators like Tom
Lovell, Edd Cartier, Bob Powell and the Rozen brothers when THE SHADOW
SCRAPBOOK was published in 1979, nor images of James La Curto, Orson Welles
or Bill Johnstone costumed as The Shadow.

BTW, Ian, I was very happy to read your informative chapter on Grace
Gibson's Australian Shadow series in Martin's book, which considerably
expanded our understanding of the Australian series. (I'd been especially
curious to learn who voiced the evil Shadow doppelganger in "The Shadow
Challenged," the role Frank Readick returned to enact in the American
version.) Lloyd Lamble died just a couple years ago, and it's a shame nobody
thought to do a full-fledged interview with the last surviving Shadow from
the Golden Age of Radio. Or was he? Is Richard Ashley, the second Australian
Lamont Cranston still alive?

BTW, if anyone on the list is curious to know what the opening of the
Brazilian SHADOW series sounded like (in Portuguese!), it can be heard on my
website at:

[removed]

--Anthony Tollin (in the shadows)

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2012 Issue #32
********************************************

Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
  including republication in any form.

If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
   [removed]

For Help: [removed]@[removed]

To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
  or see [removed]

For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
  in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

In the event of a major mail problem, please contact the listmaster via
  the web-based contact form available at [removed]
  (on the sidebar) or follow/DM CFSummers on Twitter

To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]