------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2005 : Issue 49
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
This week in radio history [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
2-13 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Clark Kent's Street Clothes [ Rentingnow@[removed] ]
Underated shows [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Superman's costume [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Clark Kent's clothes [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
Re: Arnold Stang/Katnip [ "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed]; ]
SUPERMAN YET AGAIN AND ONCE MORE [ "ME!" <voxpop@[removed]; ]
NBC history [ Bhob <bhob2@[removed]; ]
Re: Arnold Stang [ Hal Stone <otrjug@[removed]; ]
arnold stang [ "mike karp" <mkarp@[removed]; ]
Arnold Stang [ "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@comc ]
Baseball on OTR [ Lee Munsick <damyankeeinva@earthlin ]
Re: NBC Books/broadcast history [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:24:10 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: This week in radio history
From These Were The Days --
2/13
1939 - Virginia Payne, already popular as the voice of Ma Perkins, took
on a new character in NBC's soap opera, The Carters of Elm Street.
Virginia played the part of Mrs. Carter.
2/15
1932 - George Burns and Gracie Allen debuted as regulars on The Guy
Lombardo Show on CBS.
1943 - My True Story was heard for the first time on ABC. The program
continued for 17 years and was presented in cooperation with True Story
magazine.
2/18
1949 - Yours Truly Johnny Dollar debuted on CBS. The program starred
Charles Russell as the insurance investigator with the action-packed
expense account.
2/19
1922 - Ed Wynn became the first big-name vaudeville talent to sign on as
a radio talent. Previously, top talent had not considered radio a
respectable medium.
Joe
--
Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:24:19 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 2-13 births/deaths
February 13th births
02-13-1906 - Pauline Frederick - Gallitzen, PA - d. 5-9-1990
newscaster: "News of Tomorrow"; "Pauline Frederick News"; "Second
Sunday"
02-13-1908 - Lennie Hayton - NYC - d. 4-24-1971
conductor: "Your Hit Parade"; "Ipana Troubadors"
02-13-1915 - Lyle Bettger - Philadelphia, PA - d. 9-24-2003
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Family Theatre"
02-13-1916 - James Griffith - Los Angeles, CA - d. 9-17-1993
actor: "Gunsmoke"
02-13-1919 - "Tennessee" Ernie Ford - Bristol, TN - d. 10-17-1991
singer: "Tennessee Ernie Ford Show"
02-13-1920 - Eileen Farrell - Willimantic, CT - d. 3-23-2002
singer: "Eileen Farrell Sings"; "Prudential Family Hour"
02-13-1920 - Joan Edwards - NYC - d. 8-27-1981
singer: "Chesterfield Presents"; "Your Hit Parade"
02-13-1930 - Dotty McGuire - Middletown, OH
singer: (The McGuire Sisters) "Arthur Godfrey Time"
02-13-1930 - Frank Buxton - Wellesley, MA
author: "Golden Age of Radio"; "KIRO Mystery Playhouse"
02-13-1932 - Susan Oliver - NYC - d. 5-10-1990
actress: "Zero Hour"
02-13-1933 - Kim Novak - Chicago, IL
actress: "Bud's Bandwagon"
February 13th deaths
04-12-1904 - Lily Pons - Draguignan, France - d. 2-13-1976
singer: "Telephone Hour"; "Voice of Firestone"
05-29-1914 - Stacy Keach, Sr. - Chicago, IL (Raised: Milwaukee, WI) -
d. 2-13-2003
producer-director: "Tales of the Texas Rangers"
06-04-1900 - Dan Golenpaul - NYC - d. 2-13-1974
producer: "Information Please"
09-01-1886 - Regina Wallace - Trenton, NJ - d. 2-13-1978
actress: Alice Aldrich "Aldrich Family"
11-04-1919 - Martin Balsam - NYC - d. 2-13-1996
actor: "Cloak and Dagger"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:24:48 -0500
From: Rentingnow@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Clark Kent's Street Clothes
In a message dated 2/11/2005 9:08:50 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
ever wondered what happened to Clark Kent's street clothes
I would imagine that because of the strong grip he had, he probably could
have compressed them to a very small object and stored them under his
tongue.
Then the clothes would have been readily available to spit out as a
projectile to shoot down the bad guys. It would be the ultimate spit ball.
(I know, I know, too much Fred Allen!!)
Larry Moore
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:25:15 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Underated shows
Don Frey mentioned:
The following have never gotten the attention they deserve. In
no particular order: Frank Merriwell, Hop Harrigan, Life In Your Hands, The
Lineup, Mysterious Traveler, Crime Classics, Tales of the Texas Rangers,
Judy Canova, Lora Lawton, Cloak and [removed] you have it and now you
know.
Though I agree with many of the titles on the list, I don't think MYSTERIOUS
TRAVELER is underrated. It has received entries in encyclopedias, numerous
magazine articles, the lost episodes are highly sought after, and many fans
of radio horror programs regard it as one of the top five. The program
spawned countless rip-offs and imitations (some like THE SEALED BOOK and THE
STRANGE DR. WIERD were scripted by Arthur and Kogan and reused the same
MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER scripts) and even a comic book and mystery magazine. A
few of the program's scripts were even adapted into short stories and
featured in mystery magazines and short story anthologies during the 1950s
and 1960s.
I do recommend NIGHTBEAT to be added to the list - it is rarely discussed in
magazines and digests, and probably has some of the best scripts (regarding
quality and dialogue) featured on radio.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:25:29 -0500
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Superman's costume
Cnorth6311@[removed] wondered what became of Clark Kent's street clothes
when he changed into his Superman costume. In the comics, the
explanation was that there was a secret compartment in Superman's cape
that would hold Kent's clothes (which were "super compressed").
Presumably upon changing back into Kent, Superman would have to a take
a moment to super-press his civvies, because they would have been
pretty wrinkled!
Kermyt
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 01:55:30 -0500
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Clark Kent's clothes
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 22:20:56 -0500
From: Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@[removed];
As a former colorist of DC's SUPERMAN comic books, I can safely say
that Superman stored his Clark Kent threads in a secret pocket in his
cape. As I recall, the Man of Steel's civilian suit was made from a
special material that Kal-el could compress to a very small size with
his super strength. --Up, Up and AWAY, Anthony Tollin
This was true in the continuity which existed up until the mid-1980s. In 1985, they had a
year-long feature called "Crisis on Infinite Earths," the purpose of which was to reorganize
the DC Universe and eliminate a number of the inconsistencies, parallel universes, and other
things that had been introduced over the years and which, in the opinion of the Powers that
Were at the time, needed to be wiped out to start over.
After Crisis, new creative teams took over a number of the major heros, including Superman,
Batman, and Wonder Woman, and they wrote things differently. One change, for example,
was that Superman's costume no longer was made from the blankets that he was wrapped
in from Krypton, but instead was made on earth by Ma Kent. That meant that it no longer
was invulnerable. Instead, they established that skin-tight clothing were within his aura of
invisibility and were, therefore, invulnerable. His cape, however, kept getting torn, and Ma
Kent kept making new capes for him.
Another change, BTW, was that Ma and Pa Kent were still alive in Superman's adulthood
and still operated a farm in Smallville. In the former continuity, Pa Kent had given up the
farm and operated a general store, and Superman started his superhero career as Superboy
around age 8. In the new continuity, he was never Superboy, but started wearing the tights
sometime after college.
--
A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed]
15 Court Square, Suite 210
lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2503
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 02:43:56 -0500
From: "Brian L Bedsworth"
<az2pa@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Arnold Stang/Katnip
Dixonhayes@[removed] suggested with regard to Katnip that:
His tag line was "I hate meeses to pieces!"
That tag was actually voiced by OTR veteran and longtime
Stan-Freberg-partner-in-crime Daws Butler as Mr. Jinx in the Pixie and Dixie
cartoons for Hanna-Barbera. Pixie and Dixie was sort of the anti Herman and
Katnip, hewing to the longstanding HB tradition of being long on talk and
short on action. About the worst thing that might happen to Mr. Jinx was a
mallet to the foot or barreling headlong into a suddenly-closed door. No
electrocutions or dismemberments while Joe and Bill were at the [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 03:19:31 -0500
From: "ME!" <voxpop@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: SUPERMAN YET AGAIN AND ONCE MORE
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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while everyone seems concerned about superman's civvies i have always
wondered what kind of magic glasses he wore that disguised him as clark
[removed] looked the same to me whether he be clark or super
chet norris
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 12:49:13 -0500
From: Bhob <bhob2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: NBC history
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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Michele Hilmes (RADIO READER, RADIO VOICES, ONLY CONNECT) began work on
a comprehensive history of NBC last year. She circulated this call for
articles in February 2004.
Bhob
---
Call for Articles for New Anthology on History of NBC -- PLEASE FORWARD
Edited by Michele Hilmes, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is one of the most influential
sites for the innovation and dissemination of broadcasting in the
United States, and among the most important in the world. One of the
very first true broadcasting networks to develop, NBC with its two
linked chains, Red and Blue, during the age of radio virtually invented
the commercial network system, dominated the development of early
television, and continues even in this multichannel age to play a
leading role in television programming and practice. Furthermore, it is
the only US network whose history has been preserved in depth, with
collections of papers, scripts, and recordings available to scholars
both at the Library of Congress and at the Wisconsin Historical Society
in Madison, WI. Hundreds of scholars have consulted these papers over
the years.
Yet, no comprehensive history of this network has ever appeared
(compare to the history of the BBC, which Asa Briggs has chronicled in
5 comprehensive volumes to date). Though this project cannot compensate
for that lack, it seems more than time to organize an attempt to
address NBC's vital contributions to world culture through a collection
of essays that span its history.
This volume seeks papers that examine aspects of National Broadcasting
Company history, from its earliest pre-network days to the present
time. Programs, policy, industry practices and personnel, audience
constructions, marketing and promotion, and cultural and global
influence (among others) are all a part of the NBC story, as are those
that focus on its relations with other media organizations or fields of
production.
Please submit a 300-word proposal, with brief bibliography and short
bio, to
Michele Hilmes
Professor of Media and Cultural Studies
Director, Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
University of Wisconsin-Madison
6140 Vilas Hall
Madison, WI 53706
Or electronically to mhilmes@[removed].
Michele Hilmes is the author or editor of several volumes on
broadcasting history, including The Television History Book (Ed with
Jason Jacobs, BFI 2003), Only Connect: A Cultural History of
Broadcasting in the United States (Wadsworth, 2001), The Radio Reader
(Ed. with Jason Loviglio, 2001), and Radio Voices: American
Broadcasting 1922-1952 (Univ. of Minnesota, 1997).
Michele Hilmes
Professor of Media and Cultural Studies
Director, Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Department of Communication Arts
University of Wisconsin-Madison
6040 Vilas Hall
821 University Ave.
Madison, WI 53706
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 12:50:15 -0500
From: Hal Stone <otrjug@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Arnold Stang
More about my friend Arnold Stang.
One recent posting mentioned.
Also -- speak of the devil! -- he got his start in OTR by
replacing Hal Stone (who was serving in the Korean War)
as Jughead on the Archie Andrews Show!
Then, Dixon just [removed]
I thought Stang appeared on the late '40s "The Henry Morgan Show" before the
Korean War (1950-53), though.
Give that man a cigar. He is absolutely correct. Now for the straight scoop.
Arnold was, quite correctly, an actor in radio long before he "substituted"
for me in the role of "Jughead" on Archie Andrews.
I find it quite generous of Arnold to mention me by name in his biography on
MBDS. But whoever wrote the bio got it wrong. That he "got his start in OTR"
by replacing me as "Jughead" is totally inaccurate.
I worked with Arnold quite a few times on various radio programs in the mid
to late 40's. I seem to recall we even used him a few times on "Archie" in
the late 40's.
Arnold didn't substitute for me as Jughead (I prefer that term instead of
"replace")... until sometime around 1951/52. In Show Biz, the term "to
replace someone" usually had a negative connotation. In OTR, one usually was
not replaced unless they couldn't cut it, they stunk, or were difficult or
unreliable. See why I like the word "Substitute"? :)
Now, as living proof of Arnold's early radio career, on page 264-265 of my
book, there is a reproduction of a "United States Steel Theatre Guild of the
Air" program, (a two sheet program like those handed out to the audience
when they attend Broadway Theater productions) that shows that Arnold and I
both appeared in Theatre Guilds OTR presentation of "Dead End".
The [removed] 24, 1946.
He played the role of of "[removed]"... I played "Spit". I was about 16, Arnold
was probably about 20.
You can't beat that for documentation of the facts, right? :)
Hal(Harlan)Stone
Jughead
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 13:11:24 -0500
From: "mike karp" <mkarp@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: arnold stang
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I seen to remember that Arnold Stang was a regular on the Milton Berle tv show
of the early 1950's
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 13:11:55 -0500
From: "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@[removed];
To: "Old-Time Radio Digest (Plain Text Only)" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Arnold Stang
Fans of Arnold Stang will want to check out the recent DVD box set of the
1961-62 cartoon series, TOP CAT--since one of the special features in the
set includes an interview with the man who voiced [removed]
There's also an interview with actors Marvin Kaplan (Choo-Choo) and Leo De
Lyon (Spook, the Brain)--Kaplan recalls how he landed a part in the
star-studded comedy film IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD (1963) but was
concerned about some of the stunts he had to do in the film (throwing
things, being thrown out a window, etc.). His agent told him that he didn't
have to do anything his partner couldn't do--which is when Marvin found out
that Arnold would be his partner (they play the two gas-station proprietors
whose business is completely wrecked by an enraged Jonathan Winters).
Ivan
Classic movies, television and old-time radio at Thrilling Days of
Yesteryear! [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 13:12:39 -0500
From: Lee Munsick <damyankeeinva@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Baseball on OTR
Andy Ooms wrote about baseball coverage in the OTR days. My dad was
something of a baseball fan, and he chided when listening to Mel Allen's
"reporting", or game coverage. He never could exactly say why Mr. Allen
annoyed him so much that he routinely added an "S" to Allen's first name when
referring to him.
With the beginning of televised games, Dad decided it would be interesting to
watch the game while listening to Mel Allen's commentary on the radio. After
a few innings, Dad turned around and asked - quite seriously - "Is he
watching the same game we are?" Apparently he felt that Mel The Great was
guilty of what could then be called "literary license", to be kind about it.
Dad had also listened to baseball "re-creations" of the sort that are now so
connected with memories of Ronald Reagan, although many other broadcasters
did it. We've heard so often that listeners in many cases had no idea they
were not listening to someone describing the game from the press box in the
stadium. Frankly, I felt that I saw through the ruse rather quickly, when I
realized that the same event in a game such as crowd reaction, bat hitting
ball and the like, always sounded exactly the same, and I thought that the
commentator's excitement seemed a bit false.
In my father's case, he would read the next day's newspaper coverage of the
game (in those days they actually did a play-by-play), and ask nearly the
same question he posed about Mel Allen, wondering if in the radio coverage he
had heard (but had no idea was a re-creation), was the announcer watching the
same game we read about the next day? Of course, the answer was "No"; he
wasn't watching the game at all, just the tickertape. Still, one had to
admit it was a singularly fascinating and creative device, especially when
done well, albeit dishonestly.
Lee Munsick That Godfrey Guy
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 13:13:42 -0500
From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: NBC Books/broadcast history
[removed]@[removed] wrote:
Someone mentioned broadcast history being "Columbiacentric," perhaps
that's because NBC has never stepped up to the plate and has never
been big on its own history."
I agree with this. I think there were several factors in making
broadcast history so
Columbiacentric:
1. Much better PR machine probably best driven by William Paley himself.
I suspect
he had a better sense of history in this area. Something at which
NBC seemed to have
failed.
2. The presence of Edward R. Murrow who was a dominating force in
broadcast history.
Everyone seems to have heard of Murrow, but how many have heard of
Fred Bates or
Max Jordan and others. Even moving to television, Murrow dominated
by openly
challenging McCarthy, etc. All very publicity driven events.
3. The dominance on television of Walter Cronkite. Sure there was
Huntley-Brinkley and
I do not want to take anything away from them, but let's face it at
one point or another
everyone watched Uncle Walter.
4. The whole Murrow-boys phenomenon created a plethora of books about or
even by
the reporters. I have had difficulty finding specific books on radio
broadcast history by
NBC reporters. I have one by Max Jordan, not sure the Kaltenborn
books I have would
count as he mostly recounts his own personal history and less the
networks for which he
toiled.
Elizabeth and others like to lay the onus for Columbiacentricity on
number one above, but
I think it was a lot of factors. I won't take anything away from NBC
radio - at least they seemed
to have preserved some of their own history whereas CBS to their
original dismay had KIRO
in Seattle (Milo Ryan Phonoarchive). But I really think it comes down
that CBS news was
heading their news organization more toward the "star" status phenomenon
that we now see.
Their reporters were truly excellent as were NBC reporters. The
difference is that the CBS
reporters were always led to believe they were stars of sort and spun
off their stardom into
popular history, which seems to be the dominat historical archive
without going below into
the nether regions of research.
Jim Widner
[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #49
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