Subject: [removed] Digest V2001 #320
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 10/1/2001 9:25 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2001 : Issue 320
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Rhiman Rotz                           [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
  Origin Show                           [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Grandparents                          [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
  Remembering OTR                       [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
  RKO Radio Pictures                    [ "Donald & Kathleen Dean" <dxk@nfoli ]
  OTR for kids                          [ "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@earthli ]
  1st Timer                             [ DROSEV@[removed] ]
  small correction-- Empire of the Air  [ Bill Harris <radioguy@[removed]; ]
  Major Armstrong                       [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
  Kix                                   [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
  Re: Turned Their Back on Radio        [ GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@ ]
  did they turn their back on OTR? NO!  [ Donna Halper <dlh@[removed]; ]
  reel to reel brake repair             [ BRC Productions <platecap@brcradio. ]
  Education, book                       [ "Tony Baechler" <tony@[removed]; ]
  re: Courses on Broadcast History      [ "Philip Railsback" <philiprailsback ]
  OTR and our parents                   [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
  Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey5@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 01:15:11 -0400
From: otrbuff@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Rhiman Rotz

I'm deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Rhiman Rotz, who posted to
this list frequently.  Although I never met the man, I had exchanged
messages with him on a number of occasions.  I found him to be
intellectual, expertly versed in OTR and particularly anxious to help a
fellow traveler.  Speaking of travels, when I was planning a trip to the
Chicago Museum of Broadcasting and other area landmarks in the summer of
2000, I found Rotz--who obviously knew Chicago like the back of his
hand--to be extremely willing and helpful to provide information about
transportation, hotels and sites to see.  He knew the area well and it
came across as a joy for him to share it.  There are many good men and
women who are just as wrapped up in OTR as Rotz was.  I'm thankful that
this hobby affords me opportunities to rub shoulders with some of you,
even when it is only by long distance.  This is surely one of the joyous
byproducts of our avocation.  And I'm thankful for Rhiman Rotz and his
contributions to it and to my own learning experience.

Jim Cox

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 01:16:21 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Origin Show

Tom Heathwood asked,

Which, if any, show of the HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL series might be
considered the origin show?  A similar question exists for GUNSMOKE
and SGT. PRESTON.
Some people suggested that the "origins" of these other shows were
not publisized like the origin story of the [removed]

Actually, HGWT did have an origin episode, scripted by one of the
co-creators.  During the final season of TV's HGWT, Sam Rolfe wrote an
episode entitled "Genesis" and revealed much of Paladin's origin, how he
came to live in San Francisco and how he got his suit and clothes and
morals.  The radio series never offered the origin of Paladin.  But what the
radio series did that the TV series didn't, was offer a concluding episode,
in which Paladin retired from his western life and go to Boston to claim a
family inheritance.  They never offered a conclusion on the TV version.

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 01:16:29 -0400
From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Grandparents

The recent posts having to do with the education levels and OTR
listening habits of the posters grandparents got me to thinking about my
own experiences.  My family tended to have a rather high educational
level going back many generations. There are ministers, school teachers,
and engineers among my ancestors ( I don't know what happened to me.( I
had but two years of college and went into business).

One of my earliest memories of OTR was listening to the Jack Benny Show
in 1941/42 at my grandparents home and how they laughed at what they
were hearing.
My grandfather was a carpenter/woodcarver and at times a schoolteacher.
Mostly I remember him listening to the news while we ate supper ( around
5pm).I think that we had a great variety of programs tuned in during the
evening hours, including music shows. The Voice of Firestone was one
that was never missed. Also we listened to every speech or fireside chat
that President Roosevelt made.

When television came on the scene I don't remember what my grandparents
watched,  however I do remember that my intelligent grandfather who had
taught me many many things, would always shave, dress in a coat and tie,
and comb his hair because he was convinced that those people on the TV
screen could see him as well as he could see them!

George Aust

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 01:16:53 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Remembering OTR

Philip Railsback, speaking about memories of OTR by the seniorer
generation, noted,

When I tried to start a conversation about radio with my 80 year old
mother and a friend of hers a few months ago, I was in for a rude shock.
They remembered Jack Benny, but that was about it.

I remember a lot of shows, but few individual programs.  For instance, I
remember listening to The Count of Monte Christo, but I can't remember a
single story (all I remember is that the first time Edmond Dantes, The
Fabulous Count of Monte Cristo, "appeared" on the show, there was always
a fanfare.  All i really remember about Inner Sanctum Mysteries was,
Raymond, Your Host," asking pithy questions like, "May I take your hat
and throat?"  I could rattle off title after title of shows I used to
listen to, but remembering specifics of an individual show are difficult.
 I remember more Phil Harris-Alice Faye shows than any other (the Jack
Benny shows blended into a happy blur).  I remember listening to Pete
Kelly's Blues, but only one show remained in my memories before I got
some recordings to revisit.  Similarly Sam Spade.

It was obvious they couldn't care less about old time radio. My
suspicion is that the vast majority of radio fans dropped the habit the
day their TV appeared and never looked back.

It might be that TV made more of an impression on them.  A lot may look
back, but not as devotedly as we do.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 01:17:16 -0400
From: "Donald & Kathleen Dean" <dxk@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  RKO Radio Pictures

 Hi Gang:

 In the last Digest #319 Elizabeth asked the following.

A question for any CW-proficient ham operators in our midst -- what
exactly does the morse code in the RKO logo say? I've never had the
patience to try and figure it out.

I'm sure other hams on the Digest will quickly respond to this also.
I remember seeing that logo many times. The morse code you're
hearing is duplicating what is appearing on the screen, namely
RKO Radio Pictures.

Don Dean N8IOJ

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 01:17:27 -0400
From: "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  OTR for kids

Hi All!
I have an extremely bright, sensitive, and imaginative 6 year old nephew and
I am trying to think of some OTR that would be appropriate for this boy and
his 3 year old brother with the same attributes.  He likes The Adventures Of
Superman and The Cinnamon Bear and both of these collections are currently
on loan to [removed] enquired whether or not I have any more radio shows.  I
do (almost 2,000 shows) but most of them are of the mystery, suspense, and
horror genre and probably not all that appropriate for a boy his [removed]
least till he is a bit older.  Perhaps you folks could make some suggestions
as to help me dub some copies for him in time for the Christmas season.
Thanks!

Scott

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 01:17:49 -0400
From: DROSEV@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  1st Timer

I'm 66 and a new subscriber. Have been collecting shows since 1965. Grew up
with radio and still love it. Hardest thing to find besides some shows are
books on OTR. I have a modest collection, but most are long out of print.
Would appreciate some titles of anyones's favorites. I have the Mary Jane
Higby, Joseph Julian and Norman Corwin books. Concerning themes: The theme on
the 30's series "Calling All Cars" is the same theme used in the 1939 20th
Century Fox film "Jesse James". Any info on this piece of music?

Roy Bonario

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 01:32:18 -0400
From: Bill Harris <radioguy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  small correction-- Empire of the Air

From: Donna Halper <dlh@[removed]; corrected:

Umm, not exactly.  That was Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian (and a believer
in eugenics when he wasn't advancing the cause of broadcasting).

Thanks for the correction Donna, I knew I should have dragged out
the book, all those names of early broadcasters and who did what
tend to run together at times.

Bill Harris

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 01:43:35 -0400
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Major Armstrong

Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 13:16:34 -0400
From: "Ed Ellers" <ed_ellers@[removed];

He didn't invent FM either -- what Armstrong did in that case was come up
with the idea of using *wideband* FM, and then develop the first practical
circuits to generate and demodulate FM.

Ok, who did invent FM.  I've always heard it was Armstrong.  I've never
heard that Armstrong invented AM, but he supposedly invented several
forms of receiver circuitry, including superhetrodyne circuits.

But, of course, who invented what is often a matter of who made the
loudest noise about it.

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

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 01:43:30 -0400
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Kix

Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 13:17:08 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];

For latecomers: Kix back in the 1940s wasn't quite as hard as crushed
rock out of the box, but close.  You could let it stand in milk for as long
as you wanted, and it would get no softer.

I don't think it gets very soft in milk even now.  Some consider that a
strength, not a weakness.  But I'm curious about whether the product
was different in the 1940s.  I recall my mother giving me Kix for
breakfast when I was about 3 or 4 years old, around 1948-49.  When we
had it again a year or two later, it seemed different from what I
remembered.  Did the product actually change?

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

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 01:43:59 -0400
From: GEORGE WAGNER <gwagneroldtimeradio@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Turned Their Back on Radio

     So did I at age seven when we obtained our first
television set - a 10-inch RCA purchased in February
or March, 1949. (My parents both thought that I was
dying and wanted to make my last days pleasant.
Fortunately, my doctor and I both had quite different
ideas about my health.)
     Up to that time I'd been an inveterate radio
listener. I can remember listing to THE CARNATION
CONTENTED HOUR (the original one, before the Buddy
Clark version) and THE HARZ MOUNTAIN CANARIES. I
listened faithfully to TERRY AND THE PIRATES and SKY
KING. I was no more than four or five when I'd sit
down once a week to listen to the opening of THE
PHILIP MORRIS PLAYHOUSE - I was too young to
understand the stories, but I was beginning a
life-long love affair with Ferde Grofe's "On the
Trail." I listened to ETHEL AND ALBERT when it was a
segment of Kate Smith's afternoon program and Albert
was played by (are you ready for this?)....Richard
Widmark!
     One of my birthday presents in 1946 was a chance
to attend a Ruth Lyons broadcast at WLW. My mother and
I even got a tour of the sound effects closet.
     But as I said, I threw this all over at age seven
in favor of that most insidious glass-eyed
monstrosity, television.

     But I rediscovered radio again at age 12 or 13.
It was such a private pleasure to sit in my bedroom
and listen to SUSPENSE and GUNSMOKE and JOHNNY DOLLAR.
I got to listen to the entire last season of THE
SHADOW ("Is THAT still on the air?"  my father asked)
and some of the penultimate one.
     It was only a few years after that when NBC
announced that they were ending all network
broadcasting save for news and sports (and MONITOR,
for a few more years). When CBS made the same
announcement a few years later I realized that Classic
Radio had to be saved, and thus was born my OTR
passion.
     In addition, I'd started collecting jazz,
vaudeville and specialty records as early as age 10
(1951-1952). Thus I was already amassing a lot of
early OTR history ("Sam and Henry" being perhaps the
classic example), without being truly conscious of
what I was doing.

     George Wagner
     GWAGNEROLDTIMERADIO@[removed]

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 08:36:38 -0400
From: Donna Halper <dlh@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  did they turn their back on OTR?  NO!!!

First, for Howard Blue-- I've been teaching the History of Broadcasting
(and of Journalism too) for years.  That having been said, several of you
noted that when you talked to your grandparents, they couldn't remember
anybody but Jack Benny (or Eddie Cantor).  As a radio consultant for many
years, I've done all sorts of market research and found that even with
younger listeners (except for teens who are VERY aware of which groups sing
which songs), the vast majority of people have no clue about the names of
the artists they hear on the air.  If you've ever answered the request line
at a radio station, you get calls like "I heard a song three weeks ago, and
it had the word 'love' in it. Can you tell me what it was?"

I give a lot of talks about the "good old days" and when I do, I make sure
I bring lots of visuals.  Usually, all I have to do is show some of the
old-timers the radio magazines (like "Radio Stars" or "Radio Mirror" that
have the big name celebrities on the cover, or I have a table on which I
put out some sheet music of the big hits, and those visual cues really
seems to get their memories going.  Asking them what they listened to 40
years ago doesn't usually work out, not because they forgot OTR once TV
came along, but because they haven't thought about this stuff in years.
Popular culture is often very time-bound-- even I, who do research for a
living, am sometimes reminded of some item I had heard about on radio or
seen on TV and I had not thought about it in years.  I also find that
getting a microfilm listing of the day's radio shows and some of the news
stories from a particular date and then asking about certain  news
commentators or certain hit shows, or singing a little bit of a theme
[removed] all of this usually helps the old-timers step back into those days
when radio was a central activity.  And many old-timers tell me their first
forays onto the internet have led them to Charlie's and Lou Genco's
nostalgia pages, and they are amazed to find that the younger generation
has kept the Golden Age alive.

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 08:37:19 -0400
From: BRC Productions <platecap@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  reel to reel brake repair

I wish I could be more helpful to Barbara Watkins regarding the ill reel
deck.  Sadly, Pioneer has been out of reel equipment business for 20 years.

Most reel brakes consist of metal bands with felt glued to it.   If the
metal part is still servicable, my guess is they can be brought back to life
by gluing some new felt strips in place of where the old ones were.

If not, both Tascam (Teac) and Otari are still supplying parts for their
professional equipment.  Replacement bands from either that could be
modified MIGHT work on the Pioneer.  I haven't seen the insides of one of
those decks in over 10 years, so I don't remember any of the details.

I do know a lot of service centers don't like to be very creative with
substititing parts like this -- but that is the approach I'd use.

On the plus side, with computers and MiniDiscs replacing reels at most
stations and studios, the used market for pro reel decks has exploded.  You
can pick up a great machine that once cost thousands of dollars for probably
the same price or less than what the Pioneer 707 originally cost in the mid
1970s.

Good luck!
Bob Burnham
BRC Productions

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 08:37:42 -0400
From: "Tony Baechler" <tony@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Education, book

Hello all.  I have not posted in awhile, but here are two comments about
recent subjects discussed here.

First, I would tend to agree with the lowering standards of education.  I
have read with interest about how many people dropped out in the 8th grade
but were still quite literate, but by studying the surviving OTR programs,
you can see a decline shortly after the end of the war.  Maybe it is just
me, but I think the Lone Ranger programs from 1938-41 are written at a far
more advanced level than those of 1945-46, and those seem to be more
advanced than the 1954-55 reruns.  Considering that this is supposed to be
a kid show, I think it can be used to show an overall intellectual level.
In other words, it would have to be written at a level which they could
understand.  Again, maybe it is just me, but I could almost call the
earliest surviving shows at an adult level.  I have read in various places
that many adults listened to the Ranger as well as kids.  By the end of
the series, it declines to a far simpler level and is not worth listening
to.

Second, for the blind members of the list, the recently discussed book is
available from web Braille.  It is _Empire of the Air_ and is five
volumes.  The book number is BR 9073.  It can also be ordered from your
regional NLS branch library.  I have no idea if it is recorded or not.

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 08:37:59 -0400
From: "Philip Railsback" <philiprailsback@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  re: Courses on Broadcast History

Alan Bell wrote:

I teach such a course at Grand Valley State
University in western Michigan, plus a course under the "Media and
Society" heading called Radio and American Culture: 1920-1960. There
are several readings from contemporary and historical sources about
radio of the era, plus they have to listen to LOTS of radio shows,
both in and outside of class.

That's neat that you do so.  I actually have a degree in Radio TV Film.
Though my interest was in film, I did take a couple of communications
courses.  Other than discussions about pivotal events, I don't remember much
any material about radio at all.  I never once listened to an actual
broadcast.  I recieved my degree in 1980.

  - Philip

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 08:38:46 -0400
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  OTR and our parents

Philip Railsback wrote:

My suspicion is that the vast majority of radio fans dropped the habit the
day their TV appeared and never looked back.

Maybe so. Both of my parents were born in the late 1930's, and these days
they both listen to OTR shows on tape - not so much to rekindle old memories
but to experience what they missed.  Their primary OTR childhood
recollections are of bands and singers (as a child, my mother once attended
a Perry Como broadcast), and WWII news updates.

They were both entering their teens when TV came in.  My dad remembers a
family ritual of visiting a neighbor who owned one until his folks could
afford their own set.  When I was young, my mother would watch Martin &
Lewis movies with me and tell me how screamingly funny they were on "The
Colgate Comedy Hour."  Or I'd be watching the late-sixties "Dragnet," and
she'd tell me about the Ben Alexander version.  Yet today, they're not so
interested in watching these things on video.  They'd rather put on a tape
of "The Shadow."

No doubt there are many among us who enjoyed OTR in our younger days and
collect shows to indulge that nostalgia.  But I suspect that the majority of
those who were there at the time just considered it a part of everyday life.
  For them, going to the [removed] *that* was special.  Those of us who grew
up with television collect OTR to experience something unique.  As with my
parents, most of these shows are [removed] to us.

Michael

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

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 09:37:34 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey5@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Today in radio history

  Well, not actually today, but on 29 September-- From Today in History
--

In 1946, "The Adventures of Sam Spade," with actor Howard Duff playing
detective Spade, became a big hit in the Sunday-night radio lineup.

   Joe

--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2001 Issue #320
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