Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #189
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 6/4/2004 10:18 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2004 : Issue 189
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Veteran's Bedside Network             [ Alan Chapman <[removed]@verizon. ]
  Silent Radio                          [ Alan Chapman <[removed]@verizon. ]
  1950's Airchecks                      [ "RBB" <oldradio@[removed]; ]
  Sam Spade and Howard Duff             [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Zorro on radio                        [ Allen Wilcox <aawjca@[removed]; ]
  The Whistler                          [ "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@hotmail. ]
  Ronald Reagan                         [ "Roby McHone" <otr_alaska@[removed] ]
  Wyoming, Why Do You Begin with "W"?   [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
  Jack's birthplace                     [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
  6-4 births/deaths                     [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  comix to OTR                          [ "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@earthli ]
  John Todd                             [ "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed] ]
  Recording the D-Day re-creation       [ "Bob Watson" <crw934@[removed]; ]
  Radio Crossovers                      [ "John Abbott" <mraastro@[removed] ]
  Re: Paul Peterson                     [ Ken Dahl <kdahl@[removed]; ]
  Old Time TV shows                     [ <nemesis@[removed]; ]
  Re: University of Wyoming             [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
  America's Ace?                        [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
  Re: article on CBS and Paley          [ BryanH362@[removed] ]
  Remembering the WWII Generation       [ seandd@[removed] ]

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 13:52:09 -0400
From: Alan Chapman <[removed]@[removed];
To: Old-Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Veteran's Bedside Network

We are trying to make contact with the Veteran's Bedside Network - a
volunteer organization that goes into Veterans' hospitals and does radio
reenactments.  I met someone from the Network at FOTR in Newark a few
years ago, but I lost his card.  If anyone has a contact, please email me.
Many thanks.

Alan Chapman
alan@[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 13:52:36 -0400
From: Alan Chapman <[removed]@[removed];
To: Old-Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Silent Radio

An item in a February 24, 1930 [removed] Times radio column:

"... At 4:30 [removed] Voices From Filmland will bring Buster Keaton in his
first national radio appearance. In addition, Lottice Howell, a
newcomer to the pictures, will sing songs from her latest picture.
They promise a half-hour of unusual entertainment. ..."

Geez, what's next on radio? A ventriloquist?
--Alan

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 13:53:00 -0400
From: "RBB" <oldradio@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  1950's Airchecks

Could someone please point me in the direction of finding radio airchecks
from broadcasts in the 1950's?  I've gone through many of the aircheck
collector web sites, not finding **1950's** air work.

There are earlier OTR show sources, or course, and 60's, 70's+ "rock
station" airchecks, but nothing significant of some legendary personalities
from the late-1940's and the 50's decade .

In particular:  KSFO San Francisco (Don Sherwood, et al); WNEW 1130AM NYC
(William B. Williams, et al); WORL Boston (Norm Prescott, et al);
Chicagoland stations, KVI Seattle (Buddy Weber, et al), etc.

Thanks for your help. I can trade or compensate.

=Russ Butler  oldradio@[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 14:21:28 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Sam Spade and Howard Duff

Kermyt mentioned:

some people have argued that the detective named Sam played by Howard Duff
in the Suspense episode "The House in Cypress Canyon" (12/5/46) must be Sam
Spade, especially since both shows were directed by William N. Robson.
(Personally, I disagree because Spade was based in San Francisco, and
Cypress Canyon is very clearly set near LA.)

It was Spier's intention to feature Sam Spade in the broadcast.  True, the
location of the setting wasn't San Francisco, but then again, Elliott Ness
never busted criminals in just Chicago.  If Spier, the director of SUSPENSE
and THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE never intended to have the character of Sam
Spade appear in "The House in Cypress Canyon," then Howard Duff would never
have been hired to play the role of a detective named "Sam."  The character
and the actor would have been different.  The reason Spier made sure the
word "Spade" never appeared on the broadcast was because it would have meant
additional royalties, not to mention a break of contract with Dashiell
Hammett, who created and owned the rights to the character of Sam Spade.
Since the contract never mentioned anything about SUSPENSE in 1946, Spier
went about as far as he could go without facing legal problems.

The 1948 SUSPENSE broadcast was different, a contract between CBS, Spier and
the Dasheill Hammett and his legal rep granted Spier permision to
redramatize "The Kandy Tooth Caper" from the SAM SPADE series, including a
couple in-jokes.

(A lot like having Woody Allen nervously comment "I feel like I'm standing
with the cast of the GODFATHER" in ANNIE HALL, while standing next to Diane
Keaton.  Though no reference to Keaton's character from the GODFATHER film
was never made, the in-joke is still factioned on purpose.)
Martin Grams, Jr.

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 15:26:13 -0400
From: Allen Wilcox <aawjca@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Zorro on radio

Speaking of comic books and comic strip hero's, I
recently heard a few episodes of a Zorro radio serial.
I was wondering if anyone out there know of the series
and when was it aired. I have a few episodes but was
wondering if there were more.
Allen

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 15:26:33 -0400
From: "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Whistler

Does anybody know who the actor is that portrays the Whistler in the early
CBS shows? As there may be more than one, I'd like to know who plays him in
the months of May and June 1943. It has been speculated that Gale Gordon and
Joseph Kearns were early Whistlers, but I don't believe it is either of them
in these particular broadcasts. Could it be Howard Culver? I've never seen a
suggestion that it is, but it sounds like him.

And if you can identify a show on which Gale Gordon or Joseph Kearns appears
as the Whistler, I'd like to know the date.

Thanks much!
Barbara

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 16:25:09 -0400
From: "Roby McHone" <otr_alaska@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Ronald Reagan

Mr. Reagan was a guest on the Burns and Allen Show in (I think) early 1948.

Roby McHone
Fairbanks, Alaska

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 17:01:54 -0400
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Wyoming, Why Do You Begin with "W"?

Jim Cox writes:

I can't answer how much of Benny's stuff was donated to the American
Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming but when I was there
researching two of my books, "Frank and Anne Hummert's Radio Factory" and
"Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons" released by McFarland
([removed] and 800-253-2187), I observed that they had
considerable holdings of Benny material.  I was impressed that the works of
many other leading radio broadcasters--William Boyd
(Hopalong Cassidy), for
instance--were housed there, too.

Joan donated her material there mainly because UCLA wouldn't pay the money
for the processing of the material, and it would have cost her money to add
it to their collection.  Wyoming put their hand up, and they got it.

I have the index of the Wyoming collection and haven't had a chance to get
there myself, but I always think of UCLA as being the major collection,
because those were Jack's files and there's over 100 boxes of stuff there.

(And if you don't "get" the subject of this E-mail, you need a copy of "39
Forever, Second Edition".)

Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 17:02:53 -0400
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jack's birthplace

Ron Sayles writes:

Yesterday, Memorial Day I went to Waukegan to see the statue of Jack Benny,
quite impressive. However, on one of the plaques that are there it stated
that
Waukegan is the birth place of Jack Benny, Laura . . . tell me it ain't so.
He
was born in Chicago. Did the city fathers succumb to
wishful thinking or
didn't they do the research?

Ah, quite a story about that plaque's journey over the years.  It used to be
on the South Genesee building where Jack spent most of his formative years.
Yes, Jack was born in Mercy Hospital in Chicago, and the plaque is not
technically accurate.  I teased my contact at the City of Waukegan when he
sent me the digital photo of the plaque, criticizing everything about the
verbiage.

Jack had various bits on his show about his being born, always set in
Waukegan.  So people think it's true.  Of course, he also portrayed that he'd
met Mary at the May Company, and now even members of Mary's own family still
think that's true.  I had fun sitting with Mary's first cousin, telling her
the detailed version of the REAL story behind Jack meeting Mary.

And speaking of misinformation, I got an E-mail the other day from someone
saying that her father served with Jack aboard the "Rochester" in WW1.  I
think not.

Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 17:17:04 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  6-4 births/deaths

June 4th births

06-04-1891 - Erno Rapee - Budapest, Hungary - d. 6-26-1945
conductor: "Roxy's Gang"; "General Motors Concert"
06-04-1901 - Carlton E. Morse - Jennings, LA - d. 5-24-1993
writer, producer, director: "One Man's Family"; "I Love A Mystery"
06-04-1906 - Vinton Haworth (Hayworth) - Washington, [removed] - d. 5-21-1970
actor: Fred Andrews "Archie Andrews"; Michael Shayne "Michael Shayne"
06-04-1907 - Rosalind Russell - Waterbury, CT - d. 11-28-1976
actress: "Four-Star Playhouse"; "Silver Theatre"
06-04-1917 - Charles Collingwood - Three Rivers, MI - d. 10-3-1985
newscaster: CBS News UN Correspondent/White House Correspondent
06-04-1917 - Helen Wood - Clarksville, TN - d. 2-8-1988
actress: Elaine Dascomb "Those We Love"
06-04-1918 - Howard Culver - Colorado - d. 8-5-1984
actor: Steve Adams/Straight Arrow "Straight Arrow"; "Free lance"
06-04-1919 - Robert Merrill - Brooklyn, NY
singer: "An Evening with Romberg"; "Robert Merrill Show"
06-04-1924 - Dennis Weaver - Joplin, MO
actor: Look Magazine Commercial "Have Gun, Will Travel"
06-04-1940 - Lassie (Pal) - North Hollywood, CA - d. 1958
actor: "Lassie Show"

June 4th deaths

01-19-1908 - Ish Kabibble (Merwyn Bogue) - Erie, PA - d. 6-4-1994
comedian: "Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge"
03-11-1898 - Dorothy Gish - Massillon, OH - d. 6-4-1968
actress: Texaco Star Playhouse"; "[removed] Steel Hour"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
04-02-1919 - Tom Hubbaard - d. 6-4-1974
actor: Sergaent Cadet Stripes "Starr of Space
05-15-1890 - Menasha Skulnik - Warsaw, Poland - d. 6-4-1970
actor: Mr. Cohen "Abie's Irish Rose"; Uncle David "The Goldbergs"
05-27-1919 - Ray Montgomery - d. 6-4-1998
actor: Noel Chandler "Dear John"
07-16-1911 - Sonny Tufts - Boston, MA - d. 6-4-1970
actor: "Harold Lloyd's Comedy Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
07-25-1907 - Jack Gilford - NYC - d. 6-4-1990
comedian: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
07-29-1913 - Stephen McNally - NYC - d. 6-4-1994
actor: "Ford Theatre"; "Screen Director's Playhouse"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
08-16-1895 - Lucien Littlefield - San Antonio, TX - d. 6-4-1960
actor: "Hollywood On the Air"
09-09-1882 - Clem McCarthy - East Bloomfield, NY - d. 6-4-1962
sportscaster: The Kentucky Derby
--
Ron Sayles
For a complete list:
[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 18:14:48 -0400
From: "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@[removed];
To: "OTR List" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  comix to OTR

No one has mentioned Batman, probably because he somehow never had a series
of his own, but he did appear on the Adventures of Superman.

Joe Salerno

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 18:15:04 -0400
From: "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  John Todd

A question was raised concerning whether radio actor John Todd ("Tonto" on
The Lone Ranger for the entire run of the program), could have appeared on
another radio drama in 1938.  Unless it was broadcast from Detroit, that
would be unlikely, since John appeared three nights a week doing two shows
(live and transcription) during that year.

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 20:16:29 -0400
From: "Bob Watson" <crw934@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Recording the D-Day re-creation

I don't know if there is a way to do this.  The total time of the
re-creation is so large, but does anyone who has XM plan to record the
event??  Does anyone have any tips on how to do this for those of us that
would like to, but haven't got a clue as to the most effective method to do
this.

Thanks,

Bob

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

Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 20:19:04 -0400
From: "John Abbott" <mraastro@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Radio Crossovers

One more for the record.  In "The Case Of Bonnie Goodwin", Johnny Dollar
references Sam Spade, Phillip Marlow and Richard Diamond (who will sing a
song for you).

This program is from 8/7/49, with Charlie Russell.

John C. Abbott

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

Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 02:07:19 -0400
From: Ken Dahl <kdahl@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Paul Peterson

Paul Peterson is in dire need for the 1950 Lux Radio Theater script of The
Wizard of Oz.  I went to [removed] and came up
with only 5 radio scripts available for viewing of movies presented on the
Lux Radio Theater.  Sadly, the Wizarrd of Oz was not one of them.  However,
this site is a gold mine for tons of other radio program scripts.  I did go
to  the movie script page and came up with the1939 movie script that is
available for viewing.

Regards,
Ken Dahl

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

Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 02:07:43 -0400
From: <nemesis@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Old Time TV shows

For those of you with a handy Dollar Tree store, they have piles of DVD's
remastered of old TV (roots in OTR) shows--Flash Gordon, Lone Ranger, Mr. &
Mrs. North, Burns & Allen, etc.

Not bad for a buck apiece.
Linda T.

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

Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 02:08:35 -0400
From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re:  University of Wyoming

Thank you, Jim Cox, for that detailed information about the U of Wyoming
archives.    Makes me want to go there.  I don't write books but I do love
to pore over ephemera.

Another story Joan Benny told in that same interview was that after her
mother's death she also found what she felt must have been all the cancelled
checks her father ever wrote.    She dumped them, or at least most of them
and when her agent ran across one he said he's like to show it to someone
who could give him an idea of their value or interest.    He told her that
it was at least $1 but probably more.   She realized she had thrown out at
least $10,000 in cancelled checks.  Being a recovering pack rat I would not
have tossed them.  <grin>

I've often wondered about the agreements between archivists and donors about
accessibility and rights to copy, etc.   I've looked over various
collections on the internet at various university archives and it seems,
understandably,  that for the most part one has to physically go to the
archives and sort through the boxes themselves, the box identifications
often being very general.

I've also wondered if reels or tapes are properly preserved, and if they're
available to be copied.    I imagine there must be some episodes not in
circulation in many of those collections.

Is there some kind of directory of institutional OTR collections?

-Irene

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

Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 02:09:09 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  America's Ace?
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In a private posting, Derek Tague wrote me:
**********
In your list of  comic strips/-books inspiring OTR programmes & vice
versa,  there was one glaring omission [quite surprising for an aviation
man like yourself] viz., "Hop Harrigan, America's Ace of the AirWaves."
I'm not sure whether the comic book feature or the radio show came first.

I also don't think Hop ever sustained a comic book title in which he was
the sole star (a la Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Captain Marvel),
so technically your observation that "Superman" being the "only" comic
book  to inspire a radio show might also be legitimate.  I remember
seeing 1940s "house" ads for other National/DC/All-American comics
& features which included "[removed]" when DC Comics was reprinting their
series "Famous First Editions" (such as "Action Comics #1," "Detective
Comics #27," "All-Star Comics #3," "Batman #1," et. al.) in the
[removed]; if I remember correctly, Hop was a feature in "All-American
Comics," whose biggest draw was the original "Green Lantern."

Other comic strips into radio: "Mark Trail." Possibly "The Phantom"?
Query?

Comic books into radio: Wasn't there a "Blue Beetle" radio show?

Radio shows into comics: I think there was a short-lived revival of "I
Love a Mystery" in syndicated comic strip form in the 1980s.
*******************
To which I responded:
*******************
Well, the list wasn't meant to be comprehensive; I intended to start a
thread.

Hop Harrigan is an interesting case.  It started in All-American Comics
as a secondary feature and so remained.  I started listening to it around
the time I started listening to Captain Midnight.  One thing that used to
bother me as a kid was the closing, where the announcer said,
approximately, "Hop Harrigan can be seen in All-American Comics
magazine."  As I listened to it, I couldn't hear the italics, and thought
that the announcer was saying that Hop Harrigan could be found in all
comic books in the United States.  Having read many different comic books
in those days, and having never encountered Hop Harrigan, I thought the
announcer was daffy.

Hop was an interesting character, significantly less mature than Captain
Midnight, and his mechanic, Tank Tinker, was almost as thick as Mike
Clancy of Mr. Keen.  The postwar adventures were fairly sophisticated,
but sometimes the writers forgot what they'd written.  In the Wailing
Witch adventure, the wailing was explained, but the witch connection was
forgotten.  But then, what did kids know?

As an aviation show, it was ... marginal.  The opening exchange between
the tower and "CX-4" is hilarious to a pilot.  I wonder what would have
happened if I'd radioed the tower at Hanscom Field, "Okay!  This is Steve
Kallis, coming in!"  Outside of the strange looks I'd get from other
pilots, to be sure.
********************
Which led him to observe:
********************
you might want to consider posting our exchange on the OTR Digest.
***********************
... Which I did.  After due [removed]

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 02:09:36 -0400
From: BryanH362@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: article on CBS and Paley
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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I recognized the inaccuracy of the article  as well . I  chalk it up mostly
to lazy journalism and little to no research . Some of  the posts in th OTR
digest seemed to indicate that the article was  practically written by the CBS
publicity department.  What was meant by  this ?   I doubt if the current CBS
publicity department even  cares about CBS radio history . (perhaps I am wrong
??   ) .  Or  was it simply meant that CBS sources have mostly written radio
history over the  years ?  This is an interesting subject and I would like to
hear  more.
As far as radio history is concerned  do we really need to emphasize  the BS
in CBS when reading some of the history of the network?
-Bryan

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

Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 09:56:30 -0400
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Remembering the WWII Generation

I strongly recommend the editorial in today's Wall Street Journal by Yale
Professor David Gelernter (p. W15) "Too Much, Too Late."  It's online here:
[removed].

Last year we had a brief thread about the portrayal of the Japanese on OTR
during the war in which I was one of a handful of members who pointed out
that they did ask for the negative portrayals based on their barbaric
occupation of the Phillippines and elsewhere.

This editorial makes that point as well as several others that are relevant
to our ongoing discussions.

It also made me recall finding out at FOTR about two years ago that OTR actor
Cliff Roberts was in the 102nd Airborne and was among the soldiers who fought
off Hitler's last big push at the battle of the bulge.  He only brought up
the story to explain that many of his fellow soldiers didn't understand what
a radio actor was -- they assumed that they were listening in on the lives of
real people!

I asked Mr. Roberts after the panel where he was during the battle (I had
just seen "Band of Brothers," so I was able to pretend a knowledge of WWII
battle history that I don't actually have) and he said he was dug in on the
North flank near Bastogne.

"We were the only thing between Hitler and the channel and we knew it," he
said.  "We held it because we had to."

You can't help but be a little in awe when you meet someone who was involved
in something like that.

Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #189
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