Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #38
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 2/2/2007 10:18 PM

To: [removed]@[removed]

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2007 : Issue 38
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                 [removed]
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      2-2 births/deaths                     [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
      Mr. Keene's theme                     [ "RadioAZ@[removed]" <radioAZ@bas ]
      Alan Reed                             [ Stuart Lubin <stuartlubin6686@sbcgl ]
      The Lone Ranger                       [ "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross. ]
      Embarrassing Questions                [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
      Red Scare shows                       [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
      I'll have a chaser                    [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
      Nightbeat & the Communists            [ <vzeo0hfk@[removed]; ]
      Mr. Keen theme                        [ "Robert Birchard" <bbirchard@earthl ]
      Collection to go                      [ "Bruce Dettman" <bdettman@[removed] ]
      Communist OTR                         [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]

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

    Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 00:12:39 -0500
    From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
    To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  2-2 births/deaths

    February 2nd births

    02-02-1875 - Fritz Kreisler - Vienna, Austria - d. 1-29-1962
    violinist, composer: "Telephone Hour"; "Concert Hall"; "Gospel In Song"
    02-02-1877 - Charles Hanson Towne - Louisville, KY - d. 2-28-1949
    poet/actor: Quarter hour weekly conversational program on CBS
    02-02-1882 - Geoffrey O'Hara - Chatham, Canada - d. 1-31-1967
    tenor: "Roxy and His Gang"
    02-02-1882 - James Joyce - Dublin, Ireland - d. 1-13-1941
    author: "NBC University Theatre"
    02-02-1888 - Frank Lloyd - Glasgow, Scotland - d. 8-10-1960
    film director: "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Robert Arden Round Table
    Discussion"
    02-02-1888 - Lee Millar - Vancouver, Canada - d. 12-24-1941
    actor: (Husband of Verna Felton) Appeared on various radio shows
    02-02-1893 - Len Doyle - Toledo, OH - d. 12-6-1959
    actor: Harrington "Mr, Distric Attorney"
    02-02-1895 - George Halas - Chicago, IL - d. 10-31-1983
    football coach: "Tops in Sports"
    02-02-1898 - William Costello - Rhode Island - d. 10-9-1971
    actor: Freddie Frog "Betty Boop Fables"
    02-02-1899 - Benny Rubin - Boston, MA - d. 7-15-1986
    comedian: Tout "Jack Benny Program"; "Benny Rubin's Whirligig Revue"
    02-02-1901 - Jascha Heifetz - Vilnius, Lithuania - d. 12-10-1987
    classical violinist: "Telephone Hour"; "Soldiers in Greaspaint";
    "Concert Hall"
    02-02-1905 - Ayn Rand - St. Petersberg, Russia - d. 3-6-1982
    author: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    02-02-1908 - Cal Tinney - Pontotoc County, OK - d. 12-2-1993
    actor: Binnacle Barnes "Robinson Crusoe, Jr."
    02-02-1909 - Frank Albertson - Fergus Falls, MN - d. 2-29-1964
    actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
    02-02-1909 - Purv Pullen - Philadelphia, PA - d. 10-18-1992
    bird and animal imitator: Horatio G. Birdbath "The Spike Jones Show"
    02-02-1911 - Everett Freeman - NYC - d. 1-24-1991
    writer: "The Baby Snooks Show"; "The Eddie Cantor Show"
    02-02-1911 - Jussi Bjorling - Stora Tuna, Sweden - d. 9-9-1960
    singer: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
    02-02-1912 - Burton Lane - NYC - d. 1-5-1997
    composer: "Columbia Presents Corwin"; "Voices of Vista"
    02-02-1912 - Stefan Schnabel - Berlin, Germany - d. 3-11-1999
    actor: Herbert Yost "Joyce Jordan, [removed]"
    02-02-1914 - Beverly Freeland - Bristow, OK
    singer: "Brezzing Along"; "Heinz Magazine of the Air"
    02-02-1915 - Frank Telford - d. 5-19-1987
    producer: "This Is Our Enemy"
    02-02-1920 - Hughie Green - London, England - d. 5-3-1997
    host: "Opportunity Knocks"
    02-02-1923 - Bonita Granville - Chicago, IL - d. 10-11-1988
    actor: "Continental Celebrity Club"; "Stars Over Hollywood"
    02-02-1923 - Haleloke Kahuaolapus - Hilo, Hawaii Territory - d.
    12-16-2004
    singer: "Hawaii Calls"; "Arthur Godfrey Time"
    02-02-1936 - Arthur Lyman - Kauai, HI - d. 2-24-2002
    vibes: Won talent contest on Honolulu  radio, station KGMB
    02-02-1940 - Sir David Jason - London, England
    actor: "Week Ending  . . . "; "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

    February 2nd deaths

    04-18-1912 - Wendy Barrie - Hong Kong, China - d. 2-2-1978
    hostess, actor: "Detect and Collect"; "Jack Haley Show"; "Star for a
    Night"
    05-16-1916 - Bernard Braden - Vancouver, Canada - d. 2-2-1993
    actor: "The Gracie Fields Show"
    07-13-1903 - Milo Boulton - Ohio - d. 2-2-1989
    host: "We, the People"
    08-23-1912 - Gene Kelly - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 2-2-1996
    actor: "Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players"; "Star for a Night"; "Suspense"
    08-29-1914 - Willard Waterman - Madison, WI - d. 2-2-1995
    actor: Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve "Great Gildersleeve"; Roger
    Barton "The Guiding Light"
    09-01-1877 - Frank Tours - London, England - d. 2-2-1963
    orchestra leader: "Will Rogers"; "The Vince Program"
    09-07-1920 - Mende Brown - d. 2-2-2002
    director: "The Affairs of Peter Salem"
    09-11-1878 - Charles Harrison - d. 2-2-1965
    tenor: CBS Staff 1927-1928, had musical program on NBC 1935
    09-15-1894 - Edwin Cooper - Illinois - d. 2-2-1984
    actor: "The Eddie Bracken Show"
    09-28-1905 - Max Schmelling - Klein Luckow, Brandenburg, Germany - d.
    2-2-2005
    nazi propagnadist: Radio Berlin
    10-02-1896 - Bob Burns - Van Buren, AR - d. 2-2-1956
    comedian: (The Arkansas Traveler) "Kraft Music Hall"; "Bob Burns Show"
    10-28-1913 - Ruth Peterson - Wauwatosa, WI - d. 2-2-1985
    actor: Linda Carroll "Hawthorne House"
    11-23-1887 - Boris Karloff - London, England - d. 2-2-1969
    actor, host: "Starring Boris Karloff"; "Creeps by Night"
    11-25-1904 - Jessie Royce Landis - Chicago, IL - d. 2-2-1972
    actor: "We Are Always Young"
    12-02-1893 - William Gaxton - San Franciso, CA - d. 2-2-1963
    actor, singer: "Broadway Showtime"
    12-30-1914 - Bert Parks - Atlanta, GA - d. 2-2-1992
    emcee, announcer: "Break the Bank"; "Stop the Music"; "Double or
    Nothing"

    Ron Sayles

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

    Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 10:19:12 -0500
    From: "RadioAZ@[removed]" <radioAZ@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Mr. Keene's theme

    Grant and Sally Shorten were almost correct in naming the theme song for Mr.
    Keene.  Actually, it was "SomeDAY I'll Find You."  Composed by Noel Coward.

    Ted

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

    Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 10:19:33 -0500
    From: Stuart Lubin <stuartlubin6686@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Alan Reed

    I really do not have much more to contribute than what is
    already in the Jim Cox book.  I took especial note of Alan Reed,
    a very intense actor.  I was a kid in Hollywood and saw "My
    Friend Irma", in which Alan played Irma's boss, Mr. Clyde.  I
    believe that, like Gale Gordon, Alan Reed was mainly chosen for
    parts in which he would lose his temper.  And who would not lose
    one's temper with Irma Peterson? When Alan Reed got excited in a
    part, you could see the jugulars protrude, and his face got all
    red. It was a show all by itself.

    The very first radio program that I visited upon coming out to
    Hollywood from Brooklyn was "Life With Luigi".  And there was
    Pascuale, Alan Reed, as Luigi's not-so-altruistic mentor, with
    the biggest wish of his life:  marrying off his huge daughter,
    Rosa, (Jody Gilbert), and hopefully to Luigi. Here was always
    the "running routine":  Pascuale would call Rosa quietly, and
    she would not appear.  He got more and more angry, with his
    voice getting louder and louder, as he yelled "ROSA"!!!! Of
    course, she would finally come, giggling, but not before the
    jugular protruded again. The people at home waited for it
    weekly, and the repetition never caused it to be less hilarious.
    If there were any studio audience regulars, we really knew what
    to expect and relished it.

    I have heard Mr. Reed on several "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar"
    shows, as well as "Sam Spade", but I am certain that he appeared
    on many more. I have always had a question which has never been
    answered:  Who was Alan Reed, [removed]  This was a kid actor,, and
    he must have been Alan's son, but what ever happened to him?

    Stuart

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

    Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 10:20:08 -0500
    From: "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Lone Ranger

>     I was always under the impression that it was Daniel, as in Daniel Reid --
>     that was the "lone ranger" who survived the assault from the Cavendish gang.
>     Whether or not the name was mentioned in the radio show, I couldn't say.

    No, that was his older brother, who was the leader of the six Texas
    Rangers that were ambushed in Bryant's Gap.  He was the father of the
    LR's nephew, Dan Reid, and grandfather of the Green Hornet.

>     Does anybody recall that the inscrutable Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons
>     also had a well-hidden first name?  While you never heard it on the air, he
>     was "born" with a given name besides "boss," "kindly old investigator,"
>     "kindly old tracer," "eminent" and "famous."  Do you know what it was?

    No, but I know the first name of J. Cornelius Cobb, on the Howdy
    Doody Show.  And the middle name of Phineas T. Bluster.

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

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

    Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 10:20:41 -0500
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Embarrassing Questions

    Mark Kinsler, discussing various questions in the mythos of superheroes,
    notes,

> >     The old Superman comic books had a 'Letters to Superman' section, and

    it was just splendid.  "How could Superman," read a typical letter, "see
    that there was money in the strongbox with his x-ray vision without
    setting the money on fire?"  Well, said the likely answer, what you
    didn't know was that Superman can modulate the intensity of said x-ray
    vision, thus enabling him to see the currency without incinerating [removed];<

    Well, since "The Adventures of Superman" was an OTR show, the question
    isn't *quite* off-topic.  The actual answer is that X-rays don't
    incinerate things: ask anyone who's undergone radiation therapy.  The
    comic-book Superman also has "heat vision," which he does use his eyes as
    heat projectors.

    Some things accepted at childhood are a little improbable, such as wealth
    so vast that Bruce Wayne inherited so that he could have all those bat
    gadgets when he assumed his Batman alter-ego.  His father was a doctor,
    but apparently an extraordinarily wealthy one.

    The Captain Midnight radio show was written as much for adults as for
    children: the original sponsor was Skelly Oil, and when Ovaltine assumed
    sponsorship, they kept the writers and the continuity established in the
    early years.  Thus, the formation of the Secret Squadron, as established
    in the first Ovaltine shows, had to make sense to all listeners.  By
    contrast, the TV version of Captain Midnight was aimed directly at
    children, and the need to explain the private version of the Secret
    Squadron was unnecessary.

    The Lone Ranger's silver mine was a rational explanation for how he and
    Tonto funded their missions, but then, The Lone Ranger had a significant
    adult listenership, too.
    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 10:23:28 -0500
    From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Red Scare shows

    On Friday, February 2, 2007, at 12:14 AM, Ted Kneebone wrote:

>     There are chapters in books like "Words at War" and others telling
>     something of the "red scare" after WW II.  "I was a Communist for the
>     FBI" is the program that comes to mind.  Are there others that consider
>     the "Communist threat"?

    Not many, probably because by this time dramatic radio shows were being
    dropped as listeners' attention turned to that glass box in the corner
    that featured wrestling, re-runs of old western movies, Howdy Doody,
    and lots of "snow" on the screen.

    In radio's short-lived "Mr. Moto," he was as likely to be fighting
    Communists as Nazi's or international spies. "Stand By For Crime" had a
    few stories involving the Communist menace and I have an episode where
    a Red cell is broken up and Defense Department secret documents are
    recovered.

    BTW, Ted, as an ex-FBI Agent, I don't put quotation marks around the
    "Communist threat," nor does anyone else who's read the documents
    released from KGB files after the Cold War ended.

    Jack French
    Editor: RADIO RECALL
    <[removed]>

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

    Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 10:22:59 -0500
    From: <otrbuff@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  I'll have a chaser

    Grant Shorten inquires:

>     Wasn't the theme song for  "Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons" , "Somewhere

    I'll find you" ?

    Close, Grant.  The kindly old investigator debuted in 1937 to the tune of
    Noel Coward's haunting refrain "Someday I'll Find You" (you were almost
    there!).  By the early 1940s, however, the ditty had been ditched in favor
    of Chopin's "Fantasie Impromptu," relying on its more familiar melody, "I'm
    Always Chasing Rainbows."  (Mr. Keen was then, you may recall, a chaser of
    lost persons -- literally, folks who had 'disappeared' unlike the murders he
    solved in his final dozen ethereal years.  An enterprising Bob and Ray
    sometimes parodied him as 'Mr. Chase, Keener Than Most Persons.'  I
    digress.)

    "Rainbows" soon got the ax, too.  As the program ended its serialized
    episodic plots in late 1943, its theme of earlier days returned.  "Someday
    I'll Find You" introduced it to legions of waiting ears, continuing until it
    left the airwaves forever on Monday, September 26, 1955 (a date five months
    beyond that reported by John Dunning and many other respected researchers,
    incidentally).  "Someday" was one of the most identifiable and durable
    musical scores among vintage radio series.  It also seemed the perfect
    melody for "Someday I'll Find You" expressed the spirit and optimism of the
    indomitable tracer of lost persons as well as any label could.

    Those indefatigable, enterprising Hummerts (Frank and Anne), incidentally,
    who produced the show for its 18-year run, maintained a predilection for
    selecting music for their more than 125 radio features from public domain.
    (Notice both of Keen's musical themes.)  That way they avoided usage fees
    that would have lowered their net profits significantly.  Nobody worked this
    formula any better than they.

    The melodic opening, closing and intervals (or bridges) between scenes on
    Mr. Keen utilized a console organ.  This was also true nearly everywhere
    else in the early days of live audio dramatic productions.  Virtually every
    network studio, no matter what its size, was equipped with such a revered
    instrument.

    In particular, Hummert radio features were symbolized by a heavy reliance
    upon an organ to establish mood and emphasize reactions.  This trend was to
    be supplanted by recorded music in the nighttime productions down the road.
    By then a blend of standardized musical scores, sometimes combined with an
    organ, were offered routinely.  But until the late 1940s, when the national
    chains relaxed their longstanding policies against airing prerecorded
    material, the live organ was a crucial and intimate part of almost every
    dramatic series on the air.  And it certainly was prominent during the
    memorable halcyon days of the Keen series in the 1940s.

    Jim Cox

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

    Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 10:45:16 -0500
    From: <vzeo0hfk@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Nightbeat & the Communists

    Ted Kneebone asked "Are there [other books] that consider the "Communist
    threat"? I assume that he means by that books about the broadcasting
    blacklist -

    One good source on the topic besides WORDS AT WAR is Sue Foley's (published)
    [removed] dissertation - I have a copy if anyone is interested. There's also
    Victor Navasky's NAMING NAMES which  discusses the blacklist in very broad
    terms [removed] which includes info on the broadcasting industry

    Howard Blue
    [removed]

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

    Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 12:18:26 -0500
    From: "Robert Birchard" <bbirchard@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Mr. Keen theme
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Grant & Sally Shorten asked "Wasn't the theme song for "Mr. Keen, Tracer of
    Lost Persons" , "Somewhere I'll find you" ?

        It's actually "Some Day I'll Find You,"  written by Noel Coward for
    "Private Lives" in 1931.

    REFRAIN:
    Someday I'll find you,
    Moonlight behind you,
    True to the dream I am dreaming.
    As I draw near you
    You'll smile a little smile;
    For a little while
    We shall stand
    Hand in hand.
    I'll leave you never,
    Love you for ever,
    All our past sorrow redeeming:
    Try to make it true,
    Say you love me too,
    Someday I'll find you again.

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

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

    Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 12:19:31 -0500
    From: "Bruce Dettman" <bdettman@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Collection to go

    2-2-07

    Due to an upcoming move, a lack of storage space and some personal
    considerations, I'm going to have to part with a lot of otr collection. I
    have nearly two thousand shows, most detective, horror and anthology shows.

    Problem is I purchased these shows on cassettes with two sides so that, for
    instance, a DRAGNET might be on one side and a FALCON on the other.

    I know this will make selling them difficult.

    Any suggestions or interested parties?

    B. Dettman
    San Francisco

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

    Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 14:51:19 -0500
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Communist OTR

    Ted Kneebone asked:

>     "I was a Communist for the FBI" is the
>     program that comes to mind.  Are there others that consider the "Communist
>     threat"?   Did "David Harding, Counterspy" deal with the Communists?  I do
>     have the movie audio of the Army-McCarthy hearings, the Bob and Ray  parody
>     of those hearings in Skunk Hollow, and the CBC version called "The
>     Investigator."

    There are.  During the 1950s, during the Red scare, many producers
    incorporated the Red scare into their broadcasts by making the villains
    Communists.  For some producers and directors and writers, it was an attempt
    to save face from being suspected, and to show their loyalty.

    THE GREAT ADVENTURE did a two-part episode featuring a dramatization of
    Herbert A. Philbrick's I LED THREE LIVES novel.

    There were only two episodes of THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE that touched the
    subject, and they both exist in recorded form.
    Episode #226  "THE 25/1235679 CAPER"  Broadcast December 15, 1950  In that
    episode, Sam subtitles the drama, "The Russians' Number is Up".

    Episode #230  "THE RED STAR CAPER"  Broadcast January 12, 1951

    The December 1, 1950 broadcast of THIS IS YOUR FBI entitled "Communist
    Agent," episode #295, featured a villain who was a Communist.
    Also September 14, 1951  "The Interrupted Journey"
    December 7, 1951 (ten years after Pearl Harbor) "The Un-American Patriot"

    Many episodes of THE GREEN HORNET during the earl-mid 1950s made the
    villains Communists.  In fact, when they started reusing the same scripts
    from WWII, the only change was the ethnic of the villain from German and
    Japanese to Russian and "Commies".

    I believe there are two recordings from October and November 1947 where
    Hollywood celebrities gathered to offer to the radio listeners their support
    on the fight against Communist.

    These are a few you can seek out.  I am sure there are others.

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #38
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