Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #22
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 1/15/2004 4:40 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2004 : Issue 22
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Re: Dealers suggestions               [ vigor16@[removed] ]
  World's Greatest Entertainer          [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
  Greatest Entertainer                  [ Udmacon@[removed] ]
  right and [removed]                    [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
  i lost some documents                 [ edcarr@[removed] ]
  BING CROSBY                           [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
  Jerry Handiges                        [ "W. Gary W." <wgaryw@[removed]; ]
  1-16 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Who Was The Greatest Entertainer?     [ wa5pdk@[removed] ([removed] L.) ]
  OTR in Education                      [ "Austotr" <austotr@[removed]; ]
  The Littlest Angel                    [ "Austotr" <austotr@[removed]; ]
  Greatest Entertainer Of All Time      [ "Austotr" <austotr@[removed]; ]
  Jerry Hendeges                        [ Ruk77@[removed] ]
  Greatest Entertainer                  [ eloyer@[removed] ]
  Re: Bebe Daniels <WAS>1-14 births/de  [ Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed]; ]
  Court of Missing Heirs                [ Paulurbahn@[removed] ]

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 13:05:06 -0500
From: vigor16@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Dealers suggestions

Hi all,

I read of people who have trouble with dealers on this list.  I had
problems with my first dealer, who comes and goes from time to time,
still, 17 years later.  The tapesn were poor quality and the shows were
not well reproduced.  The prices for many beginners are way too high.
All hobbies have their learning experiences.  As I was reading one
posting, I kept thinking, why do you keep ordering for years if you
didn't like the service?  That was one of my friend's questions back when
I was getting the mail order run around.

So I moved on:

Some ideas to try for collectors finding a new dealer:
1. Try a small amount first.  Don't order a lot of stuff.  Many times, we
can tell from the first couple of cds or tapes what kind of work they do.

2. Ask others about programs and quality.  I got a bad 1944 Amos & Andy
Christmas show before I heard my friends album of it that sounded a lot
better.  I thought they were all terrible shows til I heard his record.
3. If you gotta get a lot, use a dealer that is well known and respected.
 It isn't hard from this list to figure that out.  I can think of at
least 3 that come up constantly and have a track record of good program
recording.
4. Ask dealers about a return policy.  Some, believe it or not, have a
blanket returns policy that we may or may not know about.
5. Remember, few people are Carl Amari.  They don't make a living at
this.  If you find a good dealer, try to work with them.  If you find a
bad dealer, leave them alone.  They'll fade into bad salesmenship.
6. I always talk to my dealer on the phone.  I like e-mail, but
personality does not transfer to the keyboard very well.  If I speak to
my dealer, then he/she knows me, personally and that helps with problems.

7. Be suspect of any dealer that says they record all their holdings from
original recordings. That is dreaming at best.
Enough for now,

Hope this helps

Deric

Nice to hear from you!

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 14:06:54 -0500
From: "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed];
To: ""old-time radio digest">" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  World's Greatest Entertainer

Just to correct a bit about Elvis needing a Comeback special.
It was a comeback special refering to his returning to live performing.
He was still popular but his movies weren't doing as well and he wanted to
perform live again.
What better way than to do a tv special.
He was still having hit records at the time, however.  He was far from fading
out.
Bill

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 14:37:29 -0500
From: Udmacon@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Greatest Entertainer

 "Crosby made more studio recordings than any other artist in history (even
Sinatra)".

Um, Better check the careers of pioneer recording artists Billy Murray and
Henry Burr; I believe that each recorded at least 3,000 sides.

BILL KNOWLTON

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:45:19 -0500
From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  right and [removed]

In digest #21, Brian Johnson wrote:

I love these subjective questions (since we can all make fun
of one another's judgments and tastes and still nobody is
either right or wrong!)

I don't think we could ever figure out who is right, but I believe it's very
obvious when someone is wrong.  For example, I could state that I think Keanu
Reeves is the "Greatest Entertainer of All Time".  This opinion is wrong.

I think Alexis de Tocqueville wrote about this in _Democracy in America_.  It
went something like: "It's a curiously American trait that just because
everyone has the freedom to have their own opinion, they've come to believe
that all opinions are equally valid."  (I'm probably screwing that up, I
don't have the text in front of me.)

This is a very interesting question though.  Popularity polls like the
so-called People's Choice award are going to be heavily weighted to current
entertainers.  On the other hand, it's though to compare the entire career of
earlier stars with careers that are just beginning.  There may be some
entertainer out there who is just starting, an entertainer who, 40 years from
now, we'll all unanimously agree is the greatest ever.  Sometimes, it takes a
while to recognize a classic.

This has some interesting parallels to the OTR/TV debate we get into
sometimes.  Just as it isn't honest to compare the best radio shows of the
entire OTR era to the average of TV shows of the current season, it isn't
really honest to compare the entire career of the greatest of earlier stars
to the partially complete careers of the average of current stars.

I don't know.  Without a better definition of words like greatest and
entertainer, I would hesitate to name anyone.  Does greatest mean total
record sales, box office draw, how many #1 hits, artistic impact, influence
on peers, span of media types, historical importance, current popularity,
past popularity, personal [removed]  there's too many factors.  Besides, what
makes someone a entertainer?  Is it just a singer or actor?  What about a
commentator (Paul Harvey?), what about a conductor (how about Toscannini?), a
writer (Charles Dickens) or director (Orson Welles, Spielberg), not to
mention the visual arts, the [removed]

It's seems like arguing over what's the best restaurant ever.

-chris holm

[ADMINISTRIVIA: The question is not, "Who is quantitatively the best
entertainer in the history of the human race," but rather, "Who is, in your
opinion, the greatest entertainer." Using this phrasing, all opinions ARE
equally valid, and equally "correct," or at least equally incorrect. We are
not going to play god, or more accurately TV Guide, and pretend that it's
possible to make a scored list of "finest," "best," or other nonsensical
subjective adjectives. What we _can_ do is read and consider each person's
personal opinion for "greatest entertainer," and what we _must_ do is give
each person's opinion the respect we expect to have granted to ours. We
aren't "arguing" over anything; we're opening our minds to possibilities we
might not have considered before. This isn't a competition, it's a
celebration. So let's all lighten up and not take it so seriously.  --cfs3]

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:45:25 -0500
From: edcarr@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  i lost some documents

hi
after 5 years i bought a new computer and proceeded to lose my
mailing list, if you were on it and still want to included please
help me out and resend your email address again.
if you would have any questions before doing so, you can
email me [removed]@[removed]
thanks
ed

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:46:54 -0500
From: PURKASZ@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  BING CROSBY
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

        A sad note about Crosby seems to be the undercurrent of insider
stories about him that are less than complimentary.
     I usually dismiss such drivel as it is usually wrong and definitely
second or even third hand. But the Crosby dark star seems to flicker from
time to
time.
     My own experience was the delight in getting checks for TV shows I did
from the Bing Crosby Company. My Dad would have liked that his son was getting
checks from a guy he admired. Him being a bandleader and singer in that
generation.
     It was also my experience one day in 1995 to be near Holy Cross Cemetery
in Los Angeles and having just been to the dentist and rendered almost
fang-like by recent surgery, thought it would be fun to drop by and visit Bela
Lugosi whom I knew was interred there and show him my vampire-like smile.
     I drove in and found Bela's grave under some shade trees on the side of
a hill.
     Very well kept, on it was a fresh, single yellow long-stemmed rose.
     I knelt down, said hello, introduced myself and showed Bela my new
fangs. There was still some blood from the surgery I'm sure.
     I think I may have frightened a nearby gardner.
     A moment of silence when I thanked him for all his portrayals.
     When I stood, I almost fell over some debris on a very unkempt plot of
land next to Bela.
     No flowers. Uncut grass. Some weeds.
     Feeling sorry for whoever was interred in such a un-visited and sad lot
of land, I looked closer at the tombstone.
     It said:
     Bing Crosby.
     1903-1977
     Dracula gets a yellow rose.
     The greatest voice of the Twentieth Century gets weeds.
     Go figure.
                    Michael C, Gwynne

  *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
  ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:49:24 -0500
From: "W. Gary W." <wgaryw@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jerry Handiges

i've had similar negative experiences with jerry
handiges, which was really disappointing because our
e-mail exchanges were always very friendly and he
seems like a genuinely good guy, not motivated by
greed in any way.

that said, i had the same problems with respect to
e-mails not getting answered for weeks at a time, and
orders being shipped far past the time he claimed they
would be sent with no status updates. once he even
mistakenly sent me someone's else's shipment of 50
gunsmoke tapes, which i remailed to the proper
customer on his behalf!

i've also found his online logs to be an excellent
resource, at least as a starting point.  but there are
errors, at least in the series i collect (easy aces,
fred allen, you bet your life, etc.), and he didn't
seem at all interested in the corrections i sent him.
(this was over 4 years ago, and the info on his site
still hasn't been updated).

obviously, from reading the various posts, people's
experiences with him vary greatly.  none of this is
intended as a personal attack-- jerry has contributed
an enormous amount to the OTR hobby in general-- but
simply to warn others about the unbusinesslike manner
in which his orders are sometimes handled.

= ====
regards, w. gary w.
"there's some folks out there that if they don't get it, you can't tell 'em."
--louis armstrong

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:49:39 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  1-16 births/deaths

January 16th births

01-16-1878 - Harry Carey - NYC - d. 9-21-1947
actor: "Lincoln Highway"; "Suspense"
01-16-1894 - John B. Kennedy - Wales, Great Britain - d. 7-22-1961
commentator: "Collier"s Hour"; "RCA Magic Key"
01-16-1901 - Sid Silvers - Brooklyn, NY - d. 8-20-1976
actor: Beetle "Phil Baker Show"; "Jack Benny Program"
01-16-1907 - Alexander Knox - Strathroy, Ontario, Canada - d. 4-25-1995
actor: "Document A/777", BBC
01-16-1909 - Ethel Merman - Astoria, NY - d. 2-15-1984
singer" "Ethel Merman Show"; "Home Front Matinee"
01-16-1910 - Dwight Weist - Palo Alto, CA - d. 7-16-1991
actor: Mr. District Attorney "Mr. District Attorney"; Stan Burton "Second
Mrs. Burton"
01-16-1911 - Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean - Lucas, AR - d. 7-17-1974
baseball broadcaster: (Baseball Hall of Fame) "Game of the Day"
01-16-1918 - Buddy Weed - Ossining, NY
musician: "Old Gold Party Time"; "Lanny Ross Show"
01-16-1920 - Elliott Reid - NYC
actor: Biff Bradley "Pepper Young"s Family"; "Julian Browning "Against the
Storm"
01-16-1930 - Rita Lloyd - Brooklyn, NY
actress: "Let"s Pretend"

January 16th deaths

03-25-1867 - Arturo Toscanini - Parma, Italy - d. 1-16-1957
conductor: "NBC Symphony Orchestra"
05-03-1907 - Earl Wilson - Rockford, OH - d. 1-16-1987
columnist: "Earl Wilson"s Broadway Column"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:54:33 -0500
From: wa5pdk@[removed] ([removed] L.)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Who Was The Greatest Entertainer?

I do not think this is a legitimate question.  There are too many
variables to draw a fair conclusion.  There have been so many talented
performers in so many diverse fields that I would hesitate to list
someone as being the "Greatest Entertainer."

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 16:22:09 -0500
From: "Austotr" <austotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  OTR in Education

Thank you to everyone who have replied, mainly directly to me, we have a
couple more weeks until the proposal deadline.  We do need more examples of
how OTR is used in a classroom as well as ideas on how it *could* be used.

Ian Grieve
Moderator
Australian OTR Group

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 16:22:47 -0500
From: "Austotr" <austotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  The Littlest Angel

Thank you to all those who replied, mostly direct to me, it was a great
response.  Another example of bulk mp3 collecting, which is how I collect
[removed] shows, I had the story on Family Theatre and didn't even know it.

>From what has been said and my own google searches, I would assume that the
announcer had the 78's set and that would have been how it was divided into
parts.

I do still have a couple of questions raised by some of the listings I
found:

"THE LITTLESt ANGEL by Charles Tazewell. Chic: Children's Press (1946).A
charming Christmas story, illus. with lovely full page color lithos by
KATHERINE EVANS. Nice copy of this popular story narrated on the radio by
Helen Hayes and made into a record narrated by Loretta Young"

Would anyone know on which program Helen Hayes would have narrated the
story?

This is from the radiogoldindex in regard to the Family Theatre broadcast
21st December, 1949, then the World Broadcasting System, in which Writer
changes to adapter and an Author is mentioned:

"Loretta Young (hostess, narrator), Charles Tazewell (writer), Gene Baker
(anouncer), Harry Zimmerman (composer, conductor), Jaime del Valle
(director), Jeffrey Silver, Ken Christy. 29:46. Audio condition: Very good.
Complete."

"24065. The Littlest Angel. World Broadcasting System syndication. A
Christmas fable about a special gift to a special baby in [removed]
the "littlest angel." The script was also used on "Family Theatre" on
December 21, 1949 (see cat. #64283) and on December 27, 1950 (see
cat.#65252). Charles Laughton, Charles Paul (organ), Charles Tazewell
(adaptor), Frank Luther, Hans Eisler and His Orchestra, Hans Christian
Andersen (author), Jesse Crawford, Loretta Young, The Ken Darby Choir,
Victor Young and His Orchestra. 28 minutes. Audio condition: Very good to
excellent. Complete."

My question is in regard to the author.  In all the books and records I
found listings of on the net, Charles Tazewell was listed as the author.
But from this last listing Hans Christian Anderson is listed as the author.
This I assume is correct, but that Charles Tazewell did very well out of
adapting the story for radio and also books which predate the Family Theatre
performance.  A very nice Christmas Story.

Ian Grieve

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 17:19:45 -0500
From: "Austotr" <austotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Greatest Entertainer Of All Time

I liked David's nomination, I wonder how many people went "who?"

Its a tough question and whilst I agree with most of the choices mentioned
so far, I could mention names here that are Australian and you have probably
never heard of them.  I suspect the same would have to be said in other
countries.  So assuming we are choosing someone well known in the [removed], I
would nominate George Burns.  How can you go past GOD?

Being a relative youngster, until I discovered OTR I knew nothing about
Gracie, but I sure knew of George Burns.  Having read some books about them
both, written by George so maybe he brainwashed me, I feel that he really
captured people and did it for a very very long time.  Bob Hope did the same
and he would be my next choice.  From there down it would be so hard to
seperate the next ones.  All I know is that I am glad that they were around
in an age of sound and vision and their images were captured.  Perhaps Great
Entertainers of All Time would sum it up better.

Ian Grieve

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 17:20:06 -0500
From: Ruk77@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jerry Hendeges
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

I felt I had to chime in since I too have been ignored gy Mr. Hendeges for
over a year.
    I made several orders from him which went fine. then I made an order that
arrived with 2 tapes missing. I remember that one of the shows was the first
nighter program, episode : the three dwarves.
    He called me on the phone to explain that it was a mistake to have that
show in his catalog. It was on a reel that was misplaced or something like
that. Fine.
    Then somehow the conversation turned to MP3's and his dislike for them,
Implying that mp3 users were basically stealing from venders like him. Then I
made the comment : 'No one wants to pay $[removed] a tape for something they might
only listen to a couple of times'. The conversation ended amicably and I was
tolds that I would be credited fot the tapes that I ordered and didn't recieve.
    I never heard from him again. I must have sent over 100 e-mails since
then and got no responce. I have been ignored. Yes he has an increadible
collection but he has prbably made hundreds of thousands of dollars off of
OTR. I just
find it offensive that He ignored me just because I told him that I do use
mp3's. as if he took it personally. as if mp3's were taking away his
livelyhood.
I am still owed 2 tapes that I paid for but am ignored whenever I try to
contact him. Who wouldn't rather have 100 shows for $[removed] rather than 2 shows
for
$[removed] It's not like he had anything to do with the production of these shows.

    I am not trying to be mean, it's just that my feelings were hurt because
I was ignored. And that is MY 2 cents.
[removed] : MP3'S RULE!!! you can't fight technology.

  *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
  ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 17:22:29 -0500
From: eloyer@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Greatest Entertainer

Every name thus far submitted is a winner by all standards. Let me add my
nominee: Louis Armstrong. The man just simply made you feel good whether you
listened to him or saw him on stage or screen. Actually I think Bing might have
nominated him if he were still around.

Ed Loyer

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 18:38:49 -0500
From: Stephen Davies <SDavies@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Bebe Daniels <WAS>1-14 births/deaths:

      In Ron Sayles's excellent and always interesting list of "passages",
specifically on January 14th, he mentions that Bebe Daniels appeared
casually on American radio.  But to repeat Phil Watson's comment from last
month, Bebe Daniels was a mainstay on BBC during the 1940's and '50's.
      She married English comedian Ben Lyon, and they settled in London
during WWII.  They appeared throughout the 1940's in "Hi, Gang!".  They
moved on to a series comprised of the comedic episodes about their own
life, wherein their children were played by their real children.  It was
called "Life with the Lyons", though Molly Weir, a supporting actress,
humourously called her radio autobiography, "Into the Lyons' Den".
      Notoriously, the BBC has kept few recordings of even their most
popular programs, but the "Life with the Lyons" show had a good long run
(1951-61 on radio).  It spawned a couple of movies and three short
television series.  It would have been heard in Canada and along the [removed]
border via transcriptions.
      There is a television clip of Bebe Daniels and her son if you go to
BBCi Comedy Archives:

[removed]

                              Stephen Davies

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 18:39:00 -0500
From: Paulurbahn@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Court of Missing Heirs

Does anyone know what University or repository might have the files (scripts,
disks, etc) for this CBS program? I know there was at least one book written
on the subject and I assume it vptains some of the cases mentioned on the
show. I would like to hear from anyone having access to that book.
Thanks!

Paul Urbahns

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #22
********************************************

Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
  including republication in any form.

If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
   [removed]

For Help: [removed]@[removed]

To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
  or see [removed]

For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
  in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]