Subject: [removed] Digest V2011 #125
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 8/6/2011 1:20 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to:
[removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2011 : Issue 125
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  The Fat Man's avoirdupois             [ Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed]; ]
  Dollar trivia                         [ norman flagg <magicbeard@earthlink. ]
  8-5 births/deaths                     [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Pete Kelly's Blues                    [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Chicago OTR convention                [ "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@sbcgloba ]
  Walter Tetley and Paul Frees          [ Ben Ohmart <benohmart@[removed]; ]
  Re: Bryan Wright's Comments on Conve  [ kcpymurphy <kcpymurphy@[removed]; ]
  OTR Conventions                       [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]

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

Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 15:16:17 -0400
From: Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Fat Man's avoirdupois

In the latest Digest, Jim Kitchen evoked the famous introduction to "The Fat
Man":

"There he goes, into that drugstore.

He's stepping on the scales.

Weight? 237 pounds.

Fortune? Danger."

I understand that the scripts for several episodes of "The Fat Man" were
repackaged for the Australian radio audience. This may seem like a silly
and/or trivial query but: did "237 pounds" translate for the Down Under crowd
or were the scripts changed to "16 stones 13"?

Would someone with J. Scott's smarts elucidate?

Yours in the ether,

Derek Tague

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

Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 15:16:23 -0400
From: norman flagg <magicbeard@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Dollar trivia
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One of the Johnny Dollar episodes centers around "Indestructible Mike," an
alcoholic bum the bad guys try to kill in a variety of ways to cash on an
insurance policy they've taken out on him. All attempts fail,  Mike keeps
bouncing back and of course Dollar does get the culprits and saves Mike in the
end.
This is based on an actual case labeled "Mike the Durable" that occurred in
1933 when a speakeasy boss and his friends decided to do this exact same thing
to an alcoholic old Irishman named Mike Malloy who drifted in an out of
employment and frequented the bar. They took out the policy ( which he gladly
agreed to for the  promise of unlimited drinks). They figured the unlimited
drinks would finish him but after two weeks, he seemed to thrive, they then
tried industrial alcohol from a gas station,  to run him over (this again
straight from the Dollar script) and finally did get him with carbon monoxide
- but he'd withstood, ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, broken glass, metal
slivers, ice water soaking and the automobile ambush. Too bad there wasn't a
real J. Dollar there to save him.
Found this in, "The Poisoner's Handbook."

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

Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 15:16:28 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  8-5 births/deaths

August 5th births

08-05-1868 - Marie Belloc Lowndes - London, England - d. 11-14-1947
author: "An Unrecorded Instance"
08-05-1882 - General Hugh S. Johnson - Ft. Scott, KS - d. 4-15-1942
militarist (Old Ironpants) 15 minute commentary thrice weekly on NBC
08-05-1887 - Reginald Owen - Wheathampton, England - d. 11-5-1972
actor, writer: "Lux Radio Theatre"
08-05-1890 - Al Goodman - Nikopol, Russia - d. 1-10-1972
orchestra leader: "Fred Allen Show"; "Al Goodman's Musical Album";
"Your Hit Parade"
08-05-1899 - Sam Beckwith - d. 10-1-1983
disk jockey: KEEN San Jose, California
08-05-1900 - Frances Royster Williams - d. 10-19-1998
cartoonist: Created "Cuddles and Tuckle" the basis for several radio
shows
08-05-1905 - Wilbur Evans - Philadelphia, PA - d. 5-31-1987
singer:"Vicks Open House"; "Stars from the Blue"
08-05-1906 - Allen C. Anthony - Buffalo, NY - d. 5-10-1962
announcer: "Dr. [removed]"; "Dr. [removed], Jr."
08-05-1906 - Joan Hickson - Kingsthorpe - England - d. 10-17-1998
actor: "Strong Poison"
08-05-1906 - John Huston - Nevada, MO - d. 8-28-1987
actor, writer: "Lux Radio Theatre"
08-05-1908 - Don Albert - d. 3-4-1980
orchestra leader: WGN Chicago, Illinois 1935
08-05-1911 - David Brian - NYC - d. 7-15-1993
actor: Mr. District Attorney "Mr. District Attorney"
08-05-1911 - Robert Taylor - Filley, NE - d. 6-8-1969
host, actor: "Good News of 1938"; "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Plays for
Americans"
08-05-1912 - Clyde Barrie - d. 11-xx-1987
baritone: CBS 1935-1937; KUOA Siloam Springs, Arkansas
08-05-1912 - Lew Valentine - San Benito, TX - d. 6-20-1976
quizmaster: Mennen Jury Trials"; "Dr. [removed], the Mental Banker"
08-05-1914 - Anita Colby - Washington, DC - d. 3-27-1992
actor: "Radio Hall of Fame"
08-05-1914 - Parley Baer - Salt Lake City, UT - d. 11-22-2002
actor: Chester Wesley Proudfoot "Gunsmoke"; Doc Clemmens "Rogers of
the Gazette"
08-05-1915 - Peter Lisagor - Keystone, WV - d. 12-10-1976
chicago daily news [removed] bureau chief: "Meet the Press"
08-05-1916 - Elizabeth Bemis - d. 11-4-2004
newscaster: WLW Cincinnati, Ohio
08-05-1917 - Don Stanley - Stoughton, WI - d. 1-20-2003
announcer: "Advs. of Nero Wolfe"; "Out of the Deep"; "The Saint"
08-05-1918 - Tom Drake - Brooklyn, NY - d. 8-11-1982
actor: "Harold Lloyd Comedy Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Proudly We
Hail"
08-05-1920 - Selma Diamond - London, Ontario, Canada - d. 5-14-1985
writer: "Big Show"
08-05-1923 - Eileen Browne - Edinburgh, Scotland - d. 4-14-1999
host: "Listed with Mother"
08-05-1924 - Eddie Brandt - Chicago, IL
writer: "The Spike Jones Show"
08-05-1938 - Ron Edwards
disk jockey for KRIZ Phoenix in the 1960s

August 5th deaths

01-30-1950 - Bruce Lidington - Harrow, England - d. 8-5-1996
delighted listeners to Radio 4 serials
02-03-1933 - Suzan Ball - Jamestown, NY - d. 8-5-1955
actor: Intermission Guest "Lux Radio Theatre"
02-09-1904 - Carmen Miranda - Lisbon, Portugal - d. 8-5-1955
singer: "Hello Americans"
02-11-1906 - James Jewell - d. 8-5-1975
writer, actor director: "The Lone Ranger"
02-15-1914 - Roland Kibbee - Monongahela, PA - d. 8-5-1984
writer: "The Fred Allen Show"
02-21-1893 - Ernest Whitman - Fort Smith, AR - d. 8-5-1954
actor: Bill Jackson "Beulah"; Roustabout "Circus Days"
02-26-1921 - Clarice Blackburn - San Francisco, CA - d. 8-5-1995
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
03-27-1914 - Budd Schulberg - NYC - d. 8-5-2009
writer: "Free World Theatre"; "The New Theatre"
04-02-1914 - Alec Guinness - London, England - d. 8-5-2000
actor: "Kaleidoscope"
04-12-1935 - Gene Weed - Dallas, TX - d. 8-5-1999
disk jockey: "Shivaree"
04-23-1879 - Talbot Mundy - London, England - d. 8-5-1940
writer: "Jack Armstrong, The All-American Boy"
04-24-1916 - Eldon Shamblin - Weatherford, OK - d. 8-5-1998
guitarist: "Bob Wills and the Texax Playboys"
06-01-1926 - Marilyn Monroe - Los Angeles, CA - d. 8-5-1962
actor: "Hollywood Star Playhouse"; "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
06-04-1918 - Howard Culver - Colorado - d. 8-5-1984
actor: Steve Adams/Straight Arrow "Straight Arrow"; "Free lance"
06-19-1901 - Frederic Tozere - d. 8-5-1972
actor: Stephen Dallas "Stella Dallas"
06-30-1928 - Frank Marcus - Breslau, Germany - d. 8-5-1996
playwright: "The Hospital Visitor"
08-10-1910 - Sigmund Miller - d. 8-5-1998
writer: "Inner Sanctum Mysteries"
08-20-1881 - Edgar Guest - Birmingham, England - d. 8-5-1959
poet: (Poet Laureate of Radio) "Edgar Guest in Welcome Valley"; "It
Can Be Done"
09-07-1908 - Paul Brown - Norwalk, OH - d. 8-5-1991
football coach: "Greatest Sports Thrills"
09-17-1897 - Charles L. Bates - Villisca, IA - d. 8-5-1937
organized and accompanied the Rhythm Girls with Paul Whitemen
10-07-1925 - Fred Collins - Fort Wayne, IN - d. 8-5-2006
announcer: "Dimension X"; "X-Minus One"; "The Chase"
11-09-1899 - Mezz Mezzrow - Chicago, IL - d. 8-5-1972
jazz clarinetist: "BBC Jazz Session"; "For Your Approval"; "Americana"
11-10-1925 - Richard Burton - Pontrhydfen, South Wales - d. 8-5-1984
actor: Readings of poetry, plays and school programmes for the BBC
11-17-1916 - Frank Maxwell - The Bronx, NY - d. 8-5-2004
actor: Uthas P. Garvey "Colonel Humphrey Slack"
11-20-1916 - Judy Canova - Stark, FL - d. 8-5-1983
comedian: "Paul Whiteman's Musical; Varieties"; "Charlie McCarthy
Show"; "Judy Canova Show"
11-21-1920 - Ralph Meeker - Minneapolis, MN - d. 8-5-1988
actor: "Crime Does Not Pay"
11-27-1916 - Chick Hearn - Buda, IL - d. 8-5-2002
sportscaster: "Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts"; "Los Angeles Lakers play-by
play"
12-05-1912 - Hans Wolf - Hamburg, Germany - d. 8-5-2005
conducted operas and symphonies for radio
12-06-1925 - Robert William Cooke - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 8-5-1993
saxophonist: "Stan Kenton and His Orchestra"
xx-xx-1916 - Walter Gorman - d. 8-5-1972
director: "Road of Life"; "Young Dr. Malone"

Ron

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

Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 15:16:33 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Pete Kelly's Blues

Does anyone have the broadcast of August 22, 1951 of PETE KELLY'S BLUES? It
seems a lot of people have a recording floating about with that air date,
concerning the murder of Dutch Courtney and Gus Trudo running on the lam from
both Dutch's men and the police, but that is the July 4, 1951 broadcast,
titled "The Gus Trudo Story." (Yes, the radio scripts are titled, even though
the announcer does not give away a title on the air.) The August 22 episode
is titled "The Marie Walters Story" and I want to know if anyone truly has
the August 22 episode. Please contact me off the list. My friend Roy and I
are trying to complete documentation and need to clear this up. (I suspect
Radio Yesteryear was originally responsible for assigning the wrong broadcast
date to "The Gus Trudo Story.")
Martin
mmargrajr@[removed]

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

Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 15:16:38 -0400
From: "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Chicago OTR convention

I too wondered why in an area of at 3 million wth a great history of radio
there must be many collectors of OTR. For a long time I believed I was the
nly one in the area.

I the late 60's I started collecting otr by recording, on cassette tape,
from Chuck Scaden's "Those Were The Days" on Saturday afternoons. Chuck
eventualy has othe programs on different Chicago area stations. Jack Cripe
had program week days on an FM . For years WBBN had one hour of otr at
midnight.  Wayne Messner (great singer) had a Sunday afternoon program on FM
for several years

George Barker had an hour at 10;00 pm week nights (Otr from the ATTIC ) his
radio studo in Elgin, Illinois. Geoge died in the late 70's and a young man,
I too wondered why in an area of at 3 million wth a great history of radio
there must be many collectors of OTR.

I the late 60's I started collecting otr by recording, on cassette tape,
from Chuck Scaden's "Those Were The Days" on Saturday afternoons. Chuck
eventualy has othe programs on didderent Chicago stations. Jack Cripe had
program week days on an FM
station, Wayne Messner (great singer) had a Sunday afternoon program on FM.

George Barker had an hour at 10;00 pm week nights (Otr from the ATTIC ) his
radio studo in Elgin, Illinois. Geoge died in the late 70's and a young man,
Carl Amori, took over the program.
WGN  played some otr shows the were edited and full so static. didn't last
long.

There a few other otr progrms that didn't last. With all these programs I
never heard about any conventions. Why didn't some one get to the host of
all the shows and get publicy for a convention?

"Those Were the Days" is still as good as ever on WDCB FM every Saturday
afternoon and Carl Amari has a 4 or 5 hour Saturday nignts on WIND AM.

So maybe some group should start a movenent fo a conventin especially with
"The Musiun of Broadcast Comunications"opening soon .

Frank McGurn
McHenry, Illinois

 staticaa. didn't last long.

there a few other otr progrms that didn't last. With all these programs I
never heard about any conventions. Why did some one et to the host of all
the shows and get publicy for a convention

"Those were the days is still agood as ever on WDCB FM every Saturday
afternoon and Carl Amari has a 4 or 5 hour Saturday nignts on WIND AM.

so maybe some group should start a movenent fo a conventin especially with
the Musiun opening soon .

Frank McGurn
McHenry, Illinois
  s

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

Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 15:16:50 -0400
From: Ben Ohmart <benohmart@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Walter Tetley and Paul Frees

Good evening!

I'm now getting into doing the 2nd editions of both my Walter Tetley and Paul
Frees books, and would urge Anyone who knew them or has info or pix that
weren't in the original books to Please get in touch. If I use it, you'll get
a free book and acknowledgement!

I seem to recall a rumor that someone in SPERDVAC was a friend of Tetley's
but wanted to remain anonymous. I never heard from him, but hopefully if he's
still around, he'll want to come forward now (if the rumor's true). I also
never got hold of Stan Freberg though I know several people who know him. I'd
sure like ask him some questions before it's too late.

Thanks again for all the help. Oh, and new radio books coming: the Philip
Rapp biography will be ready this month, and soon: Baby Snooks Scripts 3 and
4. I also have enough Rapp scripts (Cantor, Wynn, etc.) for a few more books.
[removed] Mel Blanc's nearly done! I wish I got offered more radio books, but
they don't come too often anymore. Martin Grams' Duffy's Tavern is well worth
waiting for though!

Ben Ohmart
[removed]

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

Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 15:17:24 -0400
From: kcpymurphy <kcpymurphy@[removed];
To: old time radio <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Bryan Wright's Comments on Conventions
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Truly enjoyed Bryan Wright's comments on past and possible future conventions.
Very nice insight and his ideas are to be applauded. Don't throw our the old,
just bring some fresh air to a wonderful medium as OTR.

Maybe Bryan could hook up with like-minded individuals able to conduct a
convention.

Kacie Murphy

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

Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 15:17:30 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  OTR Conventions

Seems I'm getting e-mails and phone calls and reading postings that warrants
me to chime in. The Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, for clarification, is
a nostalgia convention, not an old-time radio convention. We we have an equal
amount of old-time radio seminars and re-creations that it has been compared
to other OTR Conventions. MANC was started in an effort to keep a fraction of
the old-time radio hobby alive.

In my opinion, the hobby is made up of four fractions. The books and
publications, the fan clubs, the conventions, and of course, the collectors.
For every fan club that closes doors, for every knowledgeable person who did
research on OTR and never put his findings to paper and for every convention
that closes doors, a piece of the hobby dies away. Let's be honest. All OTR
Conventions are suffering from a declining attendance. Hundreds of people can
say that they believe is the problem, from a weak economy to an aging fan
base among hundreds of other reasons, but the fact remains, the attendance is
diminishing. I've been to REPS, SPERDVAC, FOTR, Cincinnati, etc. and even the
convention promoters who hail "this past week was our best convention ever"
are privately telling me that their attendance figures are not what they used
to be. The declining attendance is the same for Western Film Festivals, pulp
magazine conventions, and so on. (The only conventions holding strong are
horror/science-fiction and comic book conventions but they have a demographic
consisting of young people who spend money as fast as they earn their
paycheck.) Yes, it's partially about demographics.

Having seen the handwriting on the wall a few years ago, I was encouraged by
a lot of people to start my own convention, incorporating other forms of
nostalgic pop culture such as television, movies and comic books to ensure
the convention's longevity. It's the same reason why a publishing company
once told me that they were criticized for publishing books about old movies
and television programs instead of solely old-time radio books. He explained
to me that books on OTR don't sell like they used to, and he would be out of
business had he not chosen to venture into other forms of nostalgic pop
culture. "If publishing three books on classic TV shows and movies for every
OTR book allows me to stay in business and continue publishing OTR books," he
explained to me, "then I see it as a win-win for everyone."

I am not faulting conventions for not branching out. In fact, I commend them
for sticking to their guns. If the convention is strictly an old-time radio
convention, then keep it old-time radio. Revising an already successful and
established formula is not always for the better. A Western Film Festival
attempted this a couple years ago, venturing beyond Roy Rogers and Whip
Wilson Westerns. It went over bad and attendees used to cowboy westerns were
disappointed in the change. The convention since went back to strictly cowboy
westerns.

It was my intention to have MANC established for the day OTR Conventions
start closing doors, so those who enjoy a yearly diversion could still have a
place to migrate and shake hands and chat with friends they see once a year.
As Barb Davies once described it, "It's like a family reunion where no one is
related." One third of our presentations and seminars are old-time radio
related, a sufficient amount of time devoted to OTR. Even presentations last
year like Fran Striker Jr. talking about how his father created THE LONE
RANGER and NED JORDAN, and David Saunders' slide show presentation about the
pulp art of [removed] Ward (who also did the oil paintings for THE GREEN HORNET
and THE LONE RANGER) delved into OTR, if only briefly, while others might
consider them Q&A panels and purely pulp magazine material. We have had
guests that appeared on radio: Billy Gray (Father Knows Best), Jimmy Hunt
(Lux), Patty Duke (all of whom are coming this September), Celeste Holm
(Lux), Larry Storch (Duffy's Tavern), James Best (soap operas in late 1950s),
Marsha Hunt (The Bickersons) and so on.

The most important factor of MANC was to expose OTR to a crowd that would not
otherwise have considered going to an OTR Convention, but have gotten hooked
on OTR as a result of attending MANC. A young model around the age of 32
LOVES Boston Blackie radio shows and even participated in a re-creation of
THE SHADOW and THE LONE RANGER on stage. An elderly gentleman who loves BBC
television mysteries who drives all the way from Missouri every year got into
old-time radio shows because of the vendors at MANC. He admitted he never
found them interesting until he bought some to listen to on the way back
home. Now he listens to radio more than watching television.

MANC also has an open door policy. There is no official convention committee
that makes up the final decisions as to which of the committee members do
which presentations. At MANC, anyone who wants to do a presentation can do
one. Mike Henry came up from College Park to do a presentation on VOX POP.
Terry Salomonson drove down from Michigan to do a presentation about SERGEANT
PRESTON OF THE YUKON (clips now up on YouTube as of this afternoon). This
year, a good friend who is responsible for the restoration of old movies for
the major studios (such as Orson Welles' TOUCH OF EVIL and Hitchcock's
VERTIGO) will be showing people how old movies, step-by-step, are digitally
restored from archival masters. Not only the visual, but the audio as well.
For those who want to learn how the most expensive audio restoration
equipment can clean up the soundtrack for an old movie and want to learn how
to apply the same technique for restoring old radio shows, this is an example
where a cross-over may interest OTR fans. In short, if anyone feels like
doing a presentation next year at MANC, all you need to do is contact me.
(Don't assume I'm not interested. All it takes is an e-mail.) Half of our
presentations for next year are already filled and anyone who believes they
should not attend an event unless they are directly involved needs to
remember that there's more to having fun at a convention than being on stage.

While everyone has their own way of determining what is the success of a
convention, MANC has statistically grown every year, between 31 and 40
percent, from each past year. Last year was the largest, [removed] percent. And
pre-paid attendance is 35 percent larger than last year, indicating another
successful year this September. This is probably why MANC is being mentioned
in a number of posts when people make reference to it growing in size and/or
a success every year. MANC was NOT devised to undermine other conventions. In
fact, we've used MANC to promote FOTR and Cincy year after year with flyers
on the freebee flyer table. Leah Biel, who frequents the OTR Digest and
attends all of the conventions, helped Steve and I stuff goody bags last year
when we almost ran short and she can attest that among the flyers we stuffed
into each and every goody bags was one promoting FOTR. (The freebee bags
every year have included up to $45 retail value of DVDs, OTR CDs, tee shirts
and books, most of which are OTR related, for those who pre-paid their
attendance. Donations from vendors and companies wanting to expose their
products to a crowd that might want to know more about them.)

>From the mouth of the vice president of a radio club (that holds their
own OTR convention) to my ears told me, "OTR has just about run it's
course and your event will probably be the one big one after they are
all gone." Some people might not consider MANC an OTR convention. That's fine
with them. Others would disagree. While I agree that MANC can be compared to
an OTR Convention, it is strictly a nostalgia convention (for clarification)
and I am flattered that people are doing so. It is my intention that we can
continue what we are doing, exposing OTR to people who are not into the hobby
per say, but know only of its existence. One fourth of our attendees are
under the age of 35, and with the growth potential we continue to expect, I
feel certain that MANC will be around for a long time.

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