------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 383
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
The Night That Panicked America [ "evantorch" <etorch@[removed]; ]
Re: Diction [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
Re: For a good cause [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
Re: Archie Publications [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
Re: FOTR [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
BERNARD HERRMANN [ Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed]; ]
Re: Benny's "your' money or your' li [ "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed]; ]
Longest Laugh on Radio [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
Re: Black Cow [ Shenbarger@[removed] ]
OTR Theme Songs [ JimBourg@[removed] ]
Dizzy Gillespie [ Alan Chapman <[removed]@verizon. ]
10-22 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Zeroes [ Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; ]
FWD: Clark Gasoline Radio Commercial [ Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed] ]
Your Money or Your Life [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
fen [ k g-g <grams46@[removed] ]
Need help dating a Great Gildersleev [ Osborneam@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:43:14 -0400
From: "evantorch" <etorch@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: The Night That Panicked America
THE greatest and by far least sentimental and only modern realistic movie
about OTR may be rerun on stations soon as Halloween approaches, namely The
Night that Panicked America, originally broadcast as an ABC Movie of the
Week back in the late '70's. Paul Shenar did a fabulous job as Welles and
there is a riveting portrayal of the NYPD trying to figure out whom to
arrest at the half-way point to the end of TWOTW.
(yes,I loved Radio Days, but let's face it,technically it was all impossible
call letters and hand-cusped-over-the-ear stereotyping of OTR).
Evan Torch, MD
etorch@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:44:20 -0400
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Diction
Harry Button's post about having to learn "The Kings English" as an
announcer certainly brought back memories.
As a young kid "performer" growing up in New Yawk, It was sort of obligatory
(if one wanted to work in the theatre or radio) to be able to eliminate from
our speech pattern what was termed "The intrusive R". Much like the
Bostonian accent, New Yorekers would say "Canader", with an "R" instead of
Canada with the Ah sound.
I vividly recall having to take Diction and Elocution lessons around 10
years old. All radio performers were expected to speak "General American"
without a trace of regional accent, unless they were playing a part that
required it. It was also important to perfect foreign accents, with Cockney,
upper class Brits, German, and French accents being the most utilized on a
fairly regular basis. Remember, In the 40's, a war was raging in Europe, so
many shows were devoted to the plight of people from these countries.
"How now brown cow", and Peter Piper still ring in my ear. But I finally got
rid of the taste of marbles in my mouth. :)
To be perfectly honest, after switching from performing to TV Directing, I
would occasionally hear myself slipping, and the "intrusive R" would be
evident. It was really laziness on my part. Today, when doing recreations at
Conventions, I make a conscious effort to speak with the proper
pronunciation. That's why I love playing Character Voices. I don't need to
form "Pearl shaped tones".
See all youse guys at the FOTR Convention.
Hal(Harlan)Stone
Jughead
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:46:23 -0400
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: For a good cause
"Curley" Summers, our beloved interlocutor, just mentioned that he could use
some help with paying for the new "Server", (Whatever the hell that Gizmo
is). But apparently, it's required to handle the prodigious task of
"Publishing" the OTR Digest on a daily basis. Since the "Server" serves all
of us subscribers, I think it's a reasonable request to chip in $[removed] bucks
to help pay for it, rather than have "Chuckles" Summers bear he brunt of the
costs.
His posting [removed] that while at the convention;
I'm going to be holding an informal fundraiser for the new-server fund, by
selling an OTR/video CD. The disc contains bunches of OTR shows, a filmed
excerpt of a radio Jack Benny Program, some unexpected Lone Ranger video, and
even an episode of the OTR-to-TY crossover Burns and Allen, complete with
original Goodrich/Carnation commercials!
What??? No Archie Andrews. :) And after I just made a nice pitch to help you
raise money. For Shame.
(Charlie goes on to [removed])
No formal dealer's table (I was running late again this year), just look
me up. I'm easy to [removed] the mornings, I'm the rotund guy hanging out at
the coffee urn.
Permit me to give you folks a better description so he will be easier to
find, and that way, easier for you to part with your $[removed] bucks.
Having been a guest at many OTR Conventions, I'm not sure "Rotundness" is
all that unique among OTR fans. Charlie possesses 3 other more
distinguishable physical characteristics. Look for some guy with a mop of
really curly hair. (I think he perms it). Picture a dark haired "Harpo
Marx". Then too, Charlie always wears suspenders. But the best way to spot
[removed] Look for a suspender wearing guy with "ringlets" atop his head, who
is standing next to a beautiful Brunet lady named "Annie", (who he probably
doesn't deserve). :)
(In the evenings, I'm the rotund guy trying and failing to
drink Hal Stone under the table.)
Another suggestion, make the $[removed] donation for the server by check.
Otherwise, he might spend the dough trying to drink me under the table.
That's impossible. I start the evening there.
All proceeds from the sale of this disk will go directly to paying for the
two new machines - the co-located web/mail server (which the Digest is now
running flawlessly on) and the local back-up server.
Well, we got that in writing, so don't [removed] can pay up in cash.
Just look for me around the convention, and even if you don't pick up a
copy of the fundraiser disk, be sure to say, "Hello!"
If I pay my $[removed] bucks, can I skip the "Hello" part. :)
Hal(Harlan)Stone
Jughead
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:47:18 -0400
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Archie Publications
Paul Barringer noted ;
Last year New York's Westchester County came up with a
public-education campaign called "Face Value' an anti smoking campaign
directed at teen- age girls". (SNIP) > Westchester County teaming up with
Archie Comics will start that campaign.
The company (Archie Comic Publications) is going to design and
publish a comic book that deals with the problems and issues that
teen-agers are confronted with, that include under-age drinking.
Archie, Jughead and all their friends are involved in the campaign.
The Comic Book Characters for sure. I don't think the OTR "Jughead" would
make a good poster boy. (I have been know to smoke and drink) :) In
moderation of course. :)
This may not be completely OTR related, but since one of my favorite
posters is on this list ( Jughead himself) I thought it might interest
others on the list also.
What's that expression? Your idol has feet of clay. :)
Actually Paul, ever since I can remember, Archie Comics Publications has
always tried to maintain a squeaky clean image. They had an ongoing battle
years ago with the proliferation of "Horror" and "Violence" in the Comic
Book industry. They positioned themselves in the "Wholesome" category, so
that parents would not object to their kids buying their books.
But what mystifies me is the way "Veronica" and "Betty" are now drawn, and
have morphed into sexy looking babes with pronounced cleavage :) Do you
suppose that's intended to appeal to the young boy market?
But then too, when you see what young teenage girls are now wearing to
school, I guess they are simply keeping current.
Anyway, hats off to the Publishers for helping curtail underage drinking and
smoking.
Regards
Hal(Harlan)Stone
JUGHEAD
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:47:36 -0400
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: FOTR
For those of you attending FOTR this year, I'd like to invite you to stop
by our dealers room. Martin Grams and I are sharing a room again this year.
Room 5.
As a special treat, I'm going to be showing some 3D videos of some old 3D
movies. We will also have a lot of new radio shows and a great number of TV
shows and movie serials.
This is also where I get a chance to put a face to the names on this
digest. See you in a few days.
Fred
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 10:41:26 -0400
From: Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: BERNARD HERRMANN
Orson Welles' The Hitchhiker, featuring the music of Herrmann, can be
found at
[removed]
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 11:30:02 -0400
From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Benny's "your' money or your' life"
episode
"rcg" <revrcg@[removed]; sent Mary the following missive from Plainfield, NJ:
Over the years I have read so much about the episode where Benny is accosted
by a robber and doesn't respond to the "your' money or your' life" threat.
Various OTR books and articles have claimed that the robber's line and
Benny's silence set off one of the longest and most sustained laughs in
radio history.
It was certainly the most celebrated at the time, perfectly capturing the
essence of the Benny character's best-known trait.
I have heard the show several times, including last evening on WAMU's Big
Broadcast and have always found the laughter to be fairly normal in both
intensity and length. Really, nothing special.
The laugh goes nearly a full minute in the 28 March 1948 original broadcast
of that line; although it is repeated several times over the course of the
Ronald Colman's Oscar story arc, it continues to garner wild laughter each
time thereafter, albeit of shorter and shorter duration with each successive
reairing.
I'm wondering if time has
embellished the memories of those who write about this episode or has the
recoeding been edited for purposes of time management.
You may have heard the version that opened the 04 April 1948 follow-up show;
this is the version that seems to be reproduced most often on best-of
collections, the one narrated by Don Wilson. The audience knows what's
coming, so the response isn't nearly as prolonged although it =is= nearly as
intense. Still, serious Benny students recognize that this incident did =not=
set off the longest or most sustained laugh in the show's history, let alone
that of radio.
Benny himself always claimed that the biggest laugh he ever got in radio came
later in the Colman story arc, on the 25 April 1948 show. Guest Dorothy
Kiersten (then of the Metropolitan Opera Company) and noted amateur opera
buff Don Wilson got involved in a long, technical discussion of operatic and
instrumental performance, orchestration and the like. The audience sits
anxiously through this bit, with the occasional nervous titter threatening to
set off a cacophony of hysterics at any moment, in anticipation of what's
sure to be a huge payoff. Finally, after at least 60-90 seconds of this, at a
lull in the conversation, Jack says:
"Well, I think --"
To which Mary responds snidely:
"Oh, shut up!"
Both Don Wilson and Frank Nelson, though, always said that the "Dreer Pooson"
show of 08 January 1950 elicited the =two= biggest laughs in the show's
history -- the first being Wilson's immortal fluff of the veteran newsman's
monniker, the second coming from a quick rewrite of a Nelson line later in
the show that built on the Nelson blooper.
Interestingly, Nelson fought the show's writers on the change, fearing that
Benny -- who didn't care much for supporting players straying even an inch
from the script -- would be furious at what would seem to him to be an ad
lib. One of the scribes (memory wants me to say it was Tackaberry) convinced
him to go through with the switch, saying they (the writers) would back
Nelson up completely.
Nelson had no reason to fear; Benny spent the next several minutes after his
line in hysterics, pounding on walls and the floor, utterly unable to regain
his composure.
I'd say it's a toss-up whether this bit or the Fred Allen eagle incident of
20 March 1940 was the biggest laugh I've ever heard in OTR.
I'd appreciate it if anyone with an absolute knowledge of the situation
would post their comments.
It's not "absolute", but then, absolutely nothing is. :)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 11:54:45 -0400
From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Longest Laugh on Radio
You're right--"your money or your life" did not get the longest laugh at
all.
One of the Benny biographies discusses this mistaken belief. It says the
longest laugh on the Benny show was when Don Wilson was discussing the
finer points of opera with an opera singer (who was the guest that week),
and when Jack tried two or three times to bluff his way into the
conversation that was obviously over his head, Mary finally said to him,
"Oh, shut up." Trust me, this bit was absolutely hilarious and deserved
the tremendous laugh it received.
---Dan
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 13:05:23 -0400
From: Shenbarger@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Black Cow
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
In a message dated 10/21/2003 Kenneth Clarke writes:
I never heard of a 'black cow' in this context. What is
it? Is it possibly a soft drink or ice cream soda of some
kind?
I make them all the time and they may still be available from local icecream
shops around here. It's simply vanilla icecream in root beer, served in a tall
soda glass. This is apparently a Chicago (where I grew up) term, but widely
known elsewhere. Some people call them root beer floats.
Don Shenbarger
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 15:00:19 -0400
From: JimBourg@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR Theme Songs
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
In a message dated 10/21/2003 8:49:26 AM Central Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
Hello radio fans!
I was wondering if there was anybody that has put on
CD some of radio's most popular theme song.
I have a cassette from Radio Yesteryear called "Themes" Like Old Times that
has 90 original program openings. Don't know if it was ever put on CD.
Jim Bourg
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 14:59:51 -0400
From: Alan Chapman <[removed]@[removed];
To: Old-Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Dizzy Gillespie
Ron Sayles wrote:
> 10-21-1917 - Dizzy Gillespie - Cherow, SC - d. 1-6-1963
> musician: "This Is Jazz"
This is incorrect. Gillespie died on Jan. 6, 1993.
-- Alan
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 15:00:30 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 10-22 births/deaths
October 22nd births
10-22-1891 - Parker Fennelly - Northeast Harbor, ME - d. 1-22-1988
actor: Titus Moody, "Fred Allen Show"; Dan Tucker, "Lawyer Dan Tucker"
10-22-1905 - Constance Bennett - NYC - d. 7-24-1965
interviewer, panelist: "Constance Bennett Calls on You"; "Leave It to the
Girls"
10-22-1907 - Roger DeKoven - Chicago, IL - d. 1-28-1988
actor: Professor Allen, "Against the Storm"
10-22-1917 - Joan Fontaine - Tokyo, Japan
actress: "Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players"
10-22-1938 - Derek Jacoby - Leytonstone, London, England
actor: Renaissance Theatre Company in association with BBC Radio Drama
10-22-1939 - Jim Cox - Pineville, KY
author: "Radio Crime Fighters"; "Great Radio Soap Operas"
10-22-1939 - Tony Roberts - NYC
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
October 22nd deaths
02-17-1908 - Walter "Red" Barber - Columbus, MS - d. 10-22-1992
sportscaster: (The Old Redhead) "Schaefer Star Revue"
04-29-1903 - Richard Leibert - Bethlehem, PA - d. 10-22-1976
organist: "Dick Leibert"s Musical Revue"; "Organ Rhapsody"
06-13-1916 - Mary Wickes - St. Louis, MO - d. 10-22-1995
actress: Louise "Meet Corliss Archer"; Irma Barker "Lorenzo Jones"
10-30-1910 - Francia White - Greenville, TX - d. 10-22-1984
singer: "Palmolive Beauty Box Theatre"; "Fred Astaire Show"; "Telephone Hour"
11-22-1904 - Roland Winters - Boston, MA - d. 10-22-1989
actor: Russell Bartlett "My Best Girls"; "Milton Berle Show"; "Highways in
Melody"
11-25-1905 - Will Osborne - Toronto, Canada - d. 10-22-1981
bandleader, singer: "Abbott and Costello"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 15:00:43 -0400
From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Zeroes
I've seen several replies regarding Ciro's Restaurant
(I believe that was in New York) and the reference to 'Zeroes'.
Weren't 'zeroes' what Allied airmen used to refer to enemy
aircraft during WW II? I remember someone mentioning seeing
some 'zeroes being shot down' by the American Air Force
during that time period.
Isn't this true or am I way off base?
Kenneth Clarke
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 16:19:58 -0400
From: Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: FWD: Clark Gasoline Radio Commercials
Folks;
Received this note on the website; if you can help, remember to copy the
questioner directly (although they have been invited to join us on the
Digest).
Charlie
--- begin forwarded text
From: "Dan and Beverly Wildt" <dwildt@[removed];
To: <webmaster@[removed];
Subject: Clark Gasoline Radio Commercials
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 22:40:52 -0500
I am seeking Clark Gasoline radio commercials from around 1960 that
featured the famous Warner Bros. cartoon voice talent Mel Blanc portraying
two characters named "Fizbee" and "the Chief." The premise of these spots
was that "the Chief" was Fizbee's boss at Clark Oil, a blustery blowhard who
was always coming up with hare brained schemes to promote Clark gas.
"Fizbee" was a meek, mild mannered Every Man, who always managed to save the
Chief >from his ridiculous ideas. These ads were played between innings of
Milwaukee Braves baseball games, since Clark was a prime radio sponsor of
Braves broadcasts. I have procured twelve of these commercials >from an
eastern US university broadcasting archive, but since this was at least a
two-year campaign, I am certain there are many, many more. Clark's
advertising agency was Tatham-Laird of Chicago, since swallowed up by a
larger company. Do you have any suggestions on advertising museums, halls
of fame, repositories, etc., where I can seek such radio spots? Thanks,
Dan Wildt Greenfield WI
--- end forwarded text
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 16:48:40 -0400
From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Your Money or Your Life
'rcg' wonders about Jack Benny's "Your Money or Your
Life"...
Various OTR books and articles have claimed that the
robber's line and Benny's silence set off one of the
longest and most sustained laughs in radio history.
I'm wondering if time has embellished the memories
of those who write about this episode or has
the recoeding been edited for purposes of time
management.
This is one of the clearest, best,
easiest-to-understand examples of how certain things
'everybody knows' really didn't happen; how lore and
recollection often overtake facts when it comes to OTR
memories.
'rcg' is absolutely [removed] its first broadcast on
3/28/48, the gag got a middling response; it got even
less of a laugh when repeated at the top of the show
the next week. The routine was also repeated on TV at
least once several years later. In terms of big Benny
laughs, this one's not even up [removed] 4/25/48 "Oh
shut up!" laugh barely a month later is easily longer
and louder; so is the Frank Nelson "Dreer Pooson"
surprise line a couple years later; so is the 4/14/46
"Hello, Louella?" line (my personal vote as the
funniest thing I *ever* heard); and other Digesters
I"m sure can come up with other examples.
I've wondered *how* this particular gag became such a
part of the Benny legend. Certainly it's a line that
perfectly sums up his entire 'character', and indeed
this single routine launched a very memorable story
that lasted a couple months on the air. But the
'biggest laugh' notion is just silly, and even a
cursory listen can confirm it.
It's one of those OTR notions---certainly, certainly
not the only one, and not even one of the more
destructive--that's seeped into the popular
consciousness after being said or written once or
twice, then repeated an infinitum for years afterward.
On the scale of importance, it's not on the level of
"Amos and Andy were racist" or "CBS invented broadcast
news", but it's an instructive example nonetheless.
Secondary sources can lead a writer into trobule, and
memories get fuzzy over time.
Benny himself, for example, told an interviewer in the
early '70s that the 'buildup' to the 'Oh shut up' gag
was "eight minutes". Clearly this was untrue; it was
actually pretty much impossible. This is why, in OTR
as in the Cold War, the best policy is often "trust,
but verify".
chris
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 17:07:24 -0400
From: k g-g <grams46@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: fen
is there a book available about armed forces radio in the 1950's -
especially the far east network? i know there are some books that mention
armed forces radio. what i am looking for is something that gives quite a
bit of detail.
from kathy
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 17:26:18 -0400
From: Osborneam@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Need help dating a Great Gildersleeve show
I've got an episode of The Great Gildersleeve
that has a date of 10/20/55. This is AFTER
the show ended. I'm trying to find the correct
date and title.
In the show, Floyd closes his barber shop, buys a
big car and appear to be rich.
Anyone know the title/date? Any help would
be much appreciated.
Arlene Osborne
see you at the Friends of Old-Time Radio convention!
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #383
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