Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #267
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/8/2003 9:05 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2003 : Issue 267
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  East vs West                          [ "William Schell" <bschell@[removed] ]
  Shadow of Fu Manchu; Radio Spirits    [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
  Another DX story                      [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
  starting your own radio [removed]    [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
  Robert Bloch                          [ "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed]; ]
  Fibber McGee & Molly                  [ "Bob Burchett" <haradio@[removed] ]
  Re: AM                                [ Bill Harris <radioguy@[removed] ]
  portrayal of Japanese                 [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
  LONE RANGER                           [ oldpdb@[removed] (Paul Barringer) ]
  What show used "Home" as a theme?     [ Frank Kelly <fkelly@[removed]; ]
  "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper"        [ Roo61@[removed] (Randy Watts) ]
  Re: Tyler McVey                       [ rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed] ]
  The Werner/Tague Discussion           [ Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed] ]
  What show used "Home" as a theme?     [ Frank Kelly <fkelly@[removed]; ]
  July 9th births and deaths            [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Re: Robert Bloch                      [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]

______________________________________________________________________

    ADMINISTRIVIA:

    1) Yes, the server misfired today, sending out a single message
    instead of including it into the Digest. What rather surprises
    me is how much time I've had to spend REMOVING copies of this
    from this issue. Folks, I did mention there is a SERIOUS problem
    with the server currently; if you have any questions, direct them
    TO ME, please. It's regrettable that the server decided to fail
    in this fashion, and I apologize for the error; but it isn't exactly
    a major disaster, either - just a quick check of the header fields
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    single message gets distributed before the server is repaired
    tomorrow (unfortunately possible, considering the current state of
    the server), please just ignore it.

    2) The server WILL be down tomorrow (Wednesday) for some hours,
    starting sometime in the afternoon EDT (sorry I can't be more
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    the whole shootin' match is going off-line, so don't be
    surprised if mail is delayed. At the end of it things should be
    back to normal (whatever the heck THAT is)  --cfs3

______________________________________________________________________


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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 13:32:59 -0400
From: "William Schell" <bschell@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  East vs West

I read on the list how radio programs were sometimes done twice for East and
West coast listeners.  How was this done with the three hour time
difference?  Apparently, there was only a half hour between shows.   Also, I
have a tape of the Great Gildersleeve program titled, Bronco and Marjorie
Spat, broadcast in 1954.  The tape is marked "End of Series" yet there is no
mention of it being the last show and the announcer tells us to tune in next
week.   I checked the "Gildersleeve" site and it doesn't mention when the
last show was except a TV show started in 1955.  Was this indeed the last
radio broadcast?
Thanks
Bill Schell

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

Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 17:41:06 -0400
From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Shadow of Fu Manchu; Radio Spirits

I understand the First Generation Radio Archives has a
collection of "Shadow of Fu Manchu" episodes
available. I wondered if anyone knew if this was the
same storyline available from Radio Spirits a few
years ago, and if so, whether it's complete. The
"final episode" of the Radio Spirits version had
absolutely nothing to do with the previous stories.
It'd be nice to hear the actual final episode (or
episodes, as the case may be) to that storyline.

And speaking of Radio Spirits, I recently got their
latest catalog, and it's interesting to note that they
continue to resist listing the epiode titles in their
various collections. So, if you wanted to know which
episodes of "Gunsmoke", for example, are in their
three hour collection, you're out of luck. Unless you
go to their website (though the catalog doesn't tell
you this; you just have to know it).

Does this make sense to anyone? I know some people
have differing opinions about Carl Amari, but at least
when he was running Radio Spirits, the catalogs
actually provided a list of the episodes in the
various collections. No doubt some bright bulb there
decided it would be more efficient to be less
informative to the consumer.

Why am I not surprised?

Rick

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 15:12:42 -0400
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Another DX story
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With all this discussion of DXing, I have to tell my own twist on this hobby.

I was 13 and had decided that I wanted a cathedrale radio.  Big time.  My
mother and I had been collecting antiques for a few years and I already knew
how
to work the shows, auctions, and estate sales.  But this prize was not
something I'd seen much, if at all.
>From a friend of my father, we bought the shell of a 1932 Philco that had a
new radio put into it.  Was pretty to look at and played well, [removed]
was a purist, and wanted something with the original stuffins in it.

So we found a beautiful 1933 General Electric K-63 for a really good
[removed] enough that we didn't press the buyer on whether or not it
worked.  We
brought it home from the show and placed it on the kitchen table.  My father
plugged it in, and my mother held up the wire that served as the aerial.  I
leaned closely into the speaker and waited breathlessly for the tubes to warm
up.
Adjusting the volume, I heard that unmistakable AM hum and turned the tuning
knob slightly.  And then we all heard it.

Fibber McGee and Molly.

We looked at each other in a mix of shock and confusion.  Everyone's brows
furrowed, and my mother made a comment of, "Gee, I guess some of the old waves
were still stuck in it."  Seems that a Boston station was replaying the show,
and stranger still, that seemed to be the only station we could pull in that
[removed] even local Grand Rapids AM stations.

The epilogue is me responding soon thereafter to a newspaper ad of an old
radio for $15.  I showed up to see an Emerson box with a louvered front in
breathtakingly mint condition.  Plugged it in and turned it on.  The first
words,
strong and clear, were, "Now we return you to the Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes!"  I said, "I'll take it."

--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]

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Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 13:32:40 -0400
From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  starting your own radio [removed]

Mr DellaChiesa asks about starting one's own radio station, presumably one
which has less than 100mW of power:

From: JaRRod DellaChiesa <gobojoe@[removed];
Could you tell us a little bit more about starting our own AM station?
Is there a catalog for buying this stuff?  Or websites on this topic?

Sigh.  I think every kid who could solder in the 1950's and '60's tried this
at least once.  I did, with little success.  The FCC's 'general radiation'
or whatever it's called will maybe get you next door, but intermittently at
that.  As good a strategy is a carrier-current station, which pumps a signal
into electric power lines.  These stink, too.

There are several points to consider.  One is that a radio station that
anyone would consider listening to requires more tedious work than you'd
ever imagine.  Another is the fact that it's no fun doing all this work if
you _know_ that nobody's listening.  Equipment costs, except for the
transmitter, are the same as those for a real radio station: try using
consumer stuff and you'll quickly learn why.

You'd be far better off figuring out how to stream your audio onto the
Internet, which our college here does, or using a subcarrier on a satellite
like Yesterday USA does.  OTR would sell well at many nursing homes,
veteran's hospitals, and social security waiting rooms.

I'm reminded of a kid named Bill Baker, who grew up to be a disk jockey for
at least a time in the Cleveland area.  He was so wild to be on the radio
that he literally built a station in his bedroom.  He figured out how to buy
telephone lines, so if you were having a party in 1961, you could pay Bill
and he'd narrowcast the necessary music to your event.  Dunno if he's still
in radio.

M Kinsler

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 21:52:25 -0400
From: "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Robert Bloch

The interview with Robert Bloch was on a show called Hour 25 a science
fiction show that ran on KPFK for a number of years.  You are right, you
have only deepened the mystery.  Are there any copies of the Kate Smith
show that contained Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper, if it was on that show?
 I do not have a copy of the interview, the details are provided by my
possibly cloudy memory, but that possibly cloudy memory says that he
attributed the loss of all those shows to the plane crash, but the
possibility is that my memory could be incorrect, since I had only pieces
of the puzzle and did not know how they went together.  To cloud the
waters further, the title Stay Tuned for Terror does vaguely ring a bell.
 Well, that still leaves us with a serious problem to be solved by the
willing student, doesn't it.  Kurt

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 21:55:31 -0400
From: "Bob Burchett" <haradio@[removed];
To: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Fibber McGee & Molly
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Sunday, August 24th 2PM at the ICC Performing Arts Center
in Peoria, IL there will be a "Peoria Remembers Fibber McGee and Molly"
progam. Tickets are $10. To order tickets by phone call 309 694 5136.
This came about as a result of Leo Jordon attending the Cincinnati
convention.

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 22:02:32 -0400
From: Bill Harris <radioguy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: AM

  SeptSev@[removed] wrote:
To: [removed]@[removed]

Tired of what's on AM radio?   Then start your own AM radio station!   You
can, you know--although your broadcasting range will be limited.   I'm not
talking about illegal, pirate radio either.   I'm talking about unlicensed,
legal
am broadcasting under Part 15 of the FCC regs.

  For anyone interested in a low power part 15 AM transmitter you
might want to take a look at the one at the link below. It isn't
available yet, the web site says by July 15. It has impressive
features, does require soldering skills to assemble, and the price
is reasonable. I plan on ordering one when it becomes available.
Usual disclaimer applies, I have no connection with this enterprise.

   [removed]

As far as broadcasting to your neighborhood, be aware that part 15
does not give one cart-blanc use of the AM broadcast band. You
must not cause any interference to another licensed broadcast
station or the FCC could get involved.

Bill H.

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 22:11:42 -0400
From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  portrayal of Japanese

Sean Dougherty wrote "Every now and then you hear people decry the
portrayal of the Japanese in [removed] entertainment and other propaganda
during World War II.  There is a lot of disturbing period racism in old
time radio broadcasts that comes across badly 60 years later, but never
for a moment think the portrayal of the Japanese is in that [removed] .
. my wife's grandmother witnessed Japanese atrocities first hand during
the occupation and my wife has relayed stories to me worse than anything
I've heard on radio broadcasts.

Without wishing to start a huge thread about the extent of Japanese
atrocities, I must say that Sean's reasoning when applied to various
other national groups can yield interesting food for thought.

Somewhere there are some people who might be capable of writing "my
wife's grandmother witnessed American atrocities ([removed] My Lai,Vietnam)."
They could then try to argue that it might be justifiable to portray
Americans in general as the Japanese were portrayed during World War II.
But, would it really be justifiable? Should all Japanese be painted with
the same brush?

Howard Blue

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 22:13:23 -0400
From: oldpdb@[removed] (Paul Barringer)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  LONE RANGER

Ref. Sandy Singers posting that George Seaton came up with the The Lone
Ranger's cry of "Hi-Yo, Silver, I'm sure this is true, but I would like
to know if it is also true that the recorded voice of Earle Graser was
the voice used for the ending cry "Hi-Yo, Silver, away" during Brace
Beemer's run of The Lone Ranger, as well as the ending for the
television show with Clayton Moore and John Hart.

Also, did you know that HI-Yo, Silver was used during World War Two as a
countersign and password in England?

Paul

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 22:25:24 -0400
From: Frank Kelly <fkelly@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  What show used "Home" as a theme?

Now that we've settled the "Love Nest/Love in Bloom" controversy, let me ask
which show used "Home", written by Peter Van Steeden, as a theme?  I heard a
new jazz version of this nice tune yesterday, and it's driving me crazy that
I can't remember which show used it as a theme.
Frank Kelly

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 22:32:44 -0400
From: Roo61@[removed] (Randy Watts)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper"

Bloch's 'Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper' was also dramatized on "The
Mollé Mystery Theater" on February 27, 1945.  A recording of this
version survives, albeit as an AFRS "Mystery Playhouse" presentation.

Randy

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 22:33:41 -0400
From: rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Tyler McVey

I got to meet Tyler and his lovely wife three years ago at the Cincinnati
convention.  It was my second OTR convention ever, and working with them in a
recreation (we did The Fat Man, and Tyler did a really nice job) was quite a
thrill.

They were two of the first three OTR actors I'd ever met (toss Bob Hastings
in there for the third) and it was really exciting.  I'm sorry that Tyler is
no longer with us, and my condolences go out to Esther and any other family
that they may have.

He was a nice man.  I don't know what else to say besides that.

rodney.

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 22:34:27 -0400
From: Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  The Werner/Tague Discussion

I appreciate Christopher Werner's detailed information regarding a
conversation he  conducted with Derek Tague on the Digest last week.  I
didn't understand it and now I do.  Perhaps I helped others as well, I
don't know.  What I do know is that the OTR Digest and contributers such as
Werner and Tague have much to offer those of us who can't get enough
information about old-time radio.

I also appreciate the Cinnamon Bear reference as the program is my special
interest.   The only statement  I can add is that nobody ever fell into the
inkwell without being pushed.  That execution method was reserved solely
for the Inkaboo leadership.  Maybeland could be a wonderfully scary place,
but fortunately for children, justice always prevailed.

Dennis Crow

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 22:25:24 -0400
From: Frank Kelly <fkelly@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  What show used "Home" as a theme?

Now that we've settled the "Love Nest/Love in Bloom" controversy, let me ask
which show used "Home", written by Peter Van Steeden, as a theme?  I heard a
new jazz version of this nice tune yesterday, and it's driving me crazy that
I can't remember which show used it as a theme.
Frank Kelly

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 22:45:12 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  July 9th births and deaths

July 9th births:

07-09-1878 - Hans Von  "[removed]" Kaltenborn - Milwaukee, WI - d. 6-14-1965
commentator: "Current Events"; "Editing the News"
07-09-1881 - Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel - Stillwater, MN - d. 1-13-1936
emcee: "Roxy's Gang"; "Roxy Revue"
07-09-1894 - Dorothy Thompson - Lancaster, NY - d. 1-30-1961
commentator: "Commentary"
07-09-1917 - Ted Steele - Hartford, CT - d. 10-15-1985
bandleader: "Ted Steele's Studio Club"; "Chesterfield Supper Club"

July 9th deaths:

02-22-1905 - Robert Weede - Baltimore, MD - d. 7-9-1972
singer: "Great Moments in Music"; "For America We Sing"
08-03-1894 - Harry Heilmann - San Francisco, CA - d. 7-9-1951
sportscaster: WXYZ Detroit
10-20-1911 - Will Rogers, Jr. - NYC - d. 7-9-1993
actor: Will Rogers "Rogers of the Gazette"
11-26-1912 - Eric Sevareid - Velva, ND - d. 7-9-1992
correspondent: "Eric Sevaried and the News"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hometown of [removed] Kaltenborn and Jay Jostyn

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

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 22:47:19 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Robert Bloch
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from text/html

Kurt Yount mentioned:

The interview with Robert Bloch was on a show called Hour 25 a science
fiction show that ran on KPFK for a number of years.  You are right, you
have only deepened the mystery.  Are there any copies of the Kate Smith
show that contained Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper, if it was on that show?
 I do not have a copy of the interview, the details are provided by my
possibly cloudy memory, but that possibly cloudy memory says that he
attributed the loss of all those shows to the plane crash, but the
possibility is that my memory could be incorrect, since I had only pieces
of the puzzle and did not know how they went together.  To cloud the
waters further, the title Stay Tuned for Terror does vaguely ring a bell.
 Well, that still leaves us with a serious problem to be solved by the
willing student, doesn't it.  Kurt

Here's another assumption. I was always under the assumption that the
STAY TUNED FOR TERROR episodes were basically adaptations of his own
short stories.  A few years ago a publishing company released a set of
three (maybe four?) books featuring a total of ALL of Bloch's short
stories.  I have always assumed that Bloch also used the same titles as I
know he definately wrote short stories entitled "Yours Truly, Jack the
Ripper" and "Lizzie Borden Took an Axe . . ." and those are the same
titles of the radio scripts.  So technically, even if recordings of the
radio program didn't exist, we could still sit back and read the same
stories that were dramatized . . . for any curious parties.

Bloch had a distinct style of writing short stories.  His tales usually
dealt with one of two topics.  People who were mentally ill (madmen,
insane people) like "Enoch" and "A Home Away From Home" (recommended
reading), and people who were hacked to death or beheaded like the
"Lizzie Borden" and "Jack the Ripper".  Maybe it's me, but decapitation
seemed to be Bloch's choice of death in MANY of his stories.  Hech, I
still remember reading the passage in PSYCHO when Marian was killed in
the shower that went "and the knife cut off her screams . . . and her
head."

Incidentally, Bloch's stories were also adapted for other radio programs
but unlike STAY TUNED FOR TERROR, he didn't write the radio scripts.
DIMENSION X
"Almost Human"  (5/13/50) with Jack grimes and Santos Ortega

X MINUS ONE
"Almost Human"  (8/11/55)  same script but with different cast with John
Larkin  and Bill Quinn  (later rebroadcast on MONITOR in August 1974?)

MOLLE MYSTERY THEATER
"Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper"  (2/27/45)
"Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper"  (1/2/48)

Martin Grams, Jr.

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End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #267
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