Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #108
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 3/23/2004 11:47 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2004 : Issue 108
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  The Horn Blows at Midnight            [ seandd@[removed] ]
  More On Milton                        [ "Donald & Kathleen Dean" <dxk@ezlin ]
  Random Follow-Up Thoughts             [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
  Mistakes in OTR Books                 [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
  Private Eyelashes books are in!       [ benohmart@[removed] ]
  Radio and TV -- aloft!                [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
  The next "Killer Act" (Stern)         [ Roger Lorette <roger@[removed]; ]
  Re: "Hi, John"                        [ "Jerry Salley" <jlsalley@[removed] ]
  Jack Benny Contest                    [ Ken Dahl <kdahl@[removed]; ]
  Buffalo Bob on Corning Glass show     [ Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed]; ]
  Re: The great radio heros             [ "Larry Cohen" <[removed]@[removed] ]
  Radio Drama of the 70's and 80's      [ "Morris Joseph" <mjoseph55@hotmail. ]
  The Lone Ranger's First Name          [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
  Milton Berle                          [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
  weekend show on YUSA                  [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
  3-23 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  [removed] Wells on Radio                   [ Dziadsj@[removed] ]

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

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 16:56:17 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Horn Blows at Midnight

A Canadian Press article on the worst movies ever includes the Jack Benny
iconic film "The Horn Blows at Midnight," proving that the critic has good
pop culture radar to recall's Benny's running gag about the film after so
many years -- but he has clearly not seen the movie.

Hey, there's no argument to be made that it was a GOOD movie, but if you look
at a bunch of the other films on the list it's clearly outclassed in badness.

The gags, of course, were a near-apogee for Benny's on-mike persona as so
hilariously self-deprecating they were among Benny's best use of his vainity
case character.  Johnny Carson was ripping off this material for decades
every time a bad movie came out.

Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

RELEASE of set of Raquel Welch films encourages fun in watching ...
940 News - Montreal,Quebec,Canada
... The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945): Jack Benny played an angel sent
to destroy Earth with a blast from Gabriel's powerful trumpet in this
fantasy-comedy. ...
<[removed];file=e032217A&n=1>

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

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 18:44:21 -0500
From: "Donald & Kathleen Dean" <dxk@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  More On Milton

Since Milton Berle seems to be the hot topic on the Digest
I thought I'd add my 2 cents worth. Most all libraries have
book sales at least once or twice a year to rid their shelves
of old or discarded books, etc. A few years ago, I purchased
the following book for the sum of .25 cents. The title is
Milton Berle's Private Joke File (Over 10,000 of his best gags,
anecdotes, and one-liners). It is hardback and contains 642
pages. It was printed in 1989 and originally sold for $[removed]
I've got a number of books on radio through these book sales.
Don Dean - N8IOJ

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

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 18:45:12 -0500
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Random Follow-Up Thoughts
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Hi gang:

MERCEDES McCAMBRIDGE/PRONUNCIATION:

       I want specifically to congratulate Max Schmid & his "Golden Age of
Radio" programme on NYC's WBAI-FM on the outstanding tribute he paid to the
late Ms. McCambridge last night (Sun. 03/21). However, fellow fan and Talking
Book reader Ken Kliban pointed out to me that some of the OTR-era announcers
pronounced her name as MUR-seh-deez and not the prevalent mur-SAY-deez (like
teh auto). I'm sure both are correct (a la CHICK-oh and CHEEK-oh Marx; or, for
that matter , Anthony TOE-lin or TAH-lin) but which one is the official
pronunciation? Hey, she already has two [removed] not two
pronunciations?

JIM HARMON/ MY FIRST OTR BOOK:

      So, Mr. Harmon, are you ever going to update/re-release "The Great Radio
Comedians" like you've already did for  "The Great Radio Heroes?"
      My pal Prof. Yoggy heartily recommends Harmon's "Heroes" as an
introductory book for the latter-day OTR [removed] I do remember taking it out of
the library as an adolescent, but I have to admit that the first OTR book I
ever read was the yellow paperback version of "THE PANIC BROADCAST" by Howard
Koch about WOTW. That TV-movie "The Night That Panicked America" was what
prompted me to visit the library in search of more info on the notorious 1938
broadcast.

FULTON SHEEN:

       Did Archbishop Sheen really say "I'd like to thank my writers: Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John." when "life Is Worth Living" won an Emmy Award?

Yours in the ether,

Derek "The Pronunciator" Tague

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

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 21:31:33 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Mistakes in OTR Books

Martin Grams notes,

I have yet to read a single book that doesn't have an error somewhere.
Remember that for brevity, a magazine article will suffice but a book is
merely a compilation of information.

Umm ... that depends upon the book.  Even novels have mistakes.  One
rather lengthy novel, Neil Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, killed off a major
character near the middle of the book, yet he reappeared toward the last
part of the book, and was reasonably important to the story, but his
resurrection was never explained.  I consider the book mind candy, but
mistakes do happen, sometimes weirdly.

Jim Harmon's The Great Radio Heroes was a nostalgia trip rather than a
scholarly reference work.  I suspect much of the book was gleaned from
Mr. Harmon's memory, and even Jove nods.  I cannot fault minor slips as
long as the spirit of whatever is being written about remains.  As with
many others, I'd recommend The Great Radio Heroes as a great introduction
to OTR to any neophyte.

For scholarly references, though, avoiding and eliminating errors is far
more important.  As I've mentioned, I've encountered references to
radio-premium "decoder rings" in serious cryptological literature, when
none ever existed.  However, when Dr. Simon Singh correctly points out in
his The Code Book that the Captain Midnight show had associated
Code-O-Graphs, and illustrates the point with a Radio Orphan Annie
Decoder Pin (if memory serves, the 1936 Secret Compartment model), it's
also an error, but not as bad.  Cryptologically, the ROA Decoder Pins and
Captain Midnight Code-O-Graphs were identical, being what cryptologists
call Alberti cipher disks.  (They were even commissioned by the same
sponsor.)   Would this level of error being worth picking nits over?
It's certainly not in the same league as the Ralphie "Be sure to drink
your Ovaltine" yarn.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 21:31:41 -0500
From: benohmart@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Private Eyelashes books are in!

And now - Jack French's great new book is in! Private Eyelashes - Radio's Lady
Detectives will ship out tomorrow to all those who've ordered. Thanks again
for your
support.

Ben Ohmart
[removed]

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

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 21:32:04 -0500
From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Radio and TV -- aloft!

It was good to read about the MPATI (Midwest Program on Airborne Television
Instruction).
    Going back a few years, there was the Indiana School of the Sky.  I have
a few of their broadcasts and understand that these were instructional radio
programs broadcast from an airplane.  A few years ago, I tried to find out
historical information about the Indiana School of the Sky. I wrote to the
state historical museum and the state library, but no one I asked knew
anything about the ISS.
    The three programs I have run 15:00 each and include one program on
authors and two music programs.  They are in a collection of open reel
tapes, dating from 1949-1953.
    The bulk of this collection is from the Minnesota School of the Air and
a few other "schools of the air."  If I were studying for an advanced degree
and needing a thesis or dissertation topic, the "radio schools of the air"
would be my choice.
    Unfortunately, the archiving of such programs seems to be quite limited.
However, the Minnesota Historical Society and Archive does have a collection
of their programs on tape as well as the scripts.
    This was a wonderful era in radio that few people, even collectors, seem
to know anything about.

Ted Kneebone/1528 S. Grant [removed], SD 57401/605-226-3344
OTR: [removed]

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

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 21:53:51 -0500
From: Roger Lorette <roger@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The next "Killer Act" (Stern)

There have been rumors about Stern moving to satellite, where he
would be safer from the regulation (or persecution, depending on
your point of view) of the FCC.  If he were to do that, I bet we'd
see a large jump in the number of satellite subscriptions.
Additionally, I bet he'd put whichever service
(XM or Sirius) he signed with over the breakeven point.

If Charlie allows this thread to continue briefly I just want to quickly
state that even though I am disgusted by Sterns on-air presence I do agree
that if he moves to satelite radio it will give the medium a huge boost.  I
am in the electronic sales field in Toronto (Canada) and since Stern was
"booted" from Canadian airwaves a couple of years back, not a week goes by
that someone doesn't come in looking to buy a radio that can pick up any New
York state radio stations that do broadcast Stern's show.  If that's any
indication that he can drive [removed] I don't know what is.

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

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 22:44:36 -0500
From: "Jerry Salley" <jlsalley@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: "Hi, John"

I can remember the Gunsmoke discussion about "Hi, John" coming up before,
either here or somewhere else.  (My memory is rather [removed] and
[removed])  I know it's mentioned in the History of Gunsmoke episodes, too.
Can anybody give us some episode examples of when this happens?  I mean
actual dates or episode titles of when to listen for it?  There are a LOT of
Gunsmoke episodes, and I've listened to my fair share of them, but the only
one I remember is the Christmas espisode and it doesn't really fit the
definition of an out-of-place or out-of-character "Hi, John."
Any help here?

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

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 22:44:50 -0500
From: Ken Dahl <kdahl@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jack Benny Contest

If my memory serves me correctly, Jack had a contest in the late 40's where
people would complete the phrase "I can't stand Jack Benny because"....Does
anyone remember what the winning entry was?

Regards,
Ken Dahl

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

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 23:13:37 -0500
From: Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Buffalo Bob on Corning Glass show

    There's been a lot of discussion here about the dawn of TV and the
radio experience of performers who came to the visual medium in its
early days.  An article in the March 18th edition of the "Corning
Leader" -- the daily paper in Corning, NY -- tells about "Buffalo Bob"
Smith a few years before he left for New York to do the wakeup show on
WEAF/WNBC and create "Howdy Doody".
    According to Dick Peer's column:
    "...he frequently came to Corning in 1942-43.  He'd drive here each
weekend from Buffalo, where he broadcast his regular radio show.  In
Corning he hosted the radio program, 'The Corning Glass Works Hour,'
which was broadcast from the Corning Masonic Cathedral.  It was a
program aimed at selling war [removed] Buffalo Bob did that job with
great expertise."
    "It was also a program which aired local talent: Many are the
performers here who can remember being a part of the show.  Buffalo Bob
would leave Buffalo each Friday afternoon by train (he taught himself
shorthand during the hours of the trip back and forth), and in the
evening he would rehearse the CGW men's and women's choruses, which he
organized, in preparation for the 2 [removed] Sunday shows."
    Peer quotes a piano player, "My foot was pounding on the floor so
hard in time to the music that Buffalo Bob came over and held it down
because the microphone was vibrating."  [Worse than dropping script
pages, eh?]
    Dick Peer wasn't sure which station it was on, and I wonder whether
it might have been fed to one of the networks.  (Gary Yoggy, are you
there in Corning?  Any clues?)
    But it's fun finding Buffalo Bob before he was stringing along with
Howdy Doody.   He was a multi-talented individual -- and a stenographer
too.  (Guess it's always good to have something to fall back on).
                                            --Bill Jaker

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

Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 00:18:04 -0500
From: "Larry Cohen" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: The great radio heros

Well I'd just like to say that my father, gave me this book in 1967 (I was
12 than) to pieqe my interest in OTR, All I can say that this is the only
book (besides my NY Met book from 1965) that still sits on my bookshelf
today. It might have mistakes in it, but I am proud to own a copy.

Larry Cohen
Anchorage, Alaska

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

Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 00:18:29 -0500
From: "Morris Joseph" <mjoseph55@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Radio Drama of the 70's and 80's

          I remember reading about the various drama series mentioned but
only the CBS Radio
Mystery Theater was on the air in the Toronto area.  I recall searching the
radio dial in the evenings
for the other series ([removed] Sears, Mutual, Adventure Theaters) but I couldn't
find them.  The Buffalo
[removed] CBS radio affiliate carried the Mystery Theater but dropped it a few
years before it finished its
run.  I recall being quite upset that no Buffalo radio outlet was picking up
any of the drama series
at that time.  Theater Five and Zero Hour were  also kept off the airwaves
by the Buffalo stations.
At times I wished that I lived closer to other [removed] border cities whose
radio outlets still believed
in radio theater.  I even wrote to WBEN (CBS radio in Buffalo)  and WEBR
(now WNED) the public
radio station in Buffalo but without [removed] response alluded to a
lack of enough interest
in radio drama at the time.   There was no longer a Mutual affiliate in
Buffalo when Zero Hour and
the Mutual Theater were on the air.
          I think it would be great to be able to listen to these series
again on the internet outlets
on Shoutcast or Live 365.  The CBS Mystery Theater is available [removed]
how about the other
[removed]([removed] Sears,Adventure, Mutual Theaters, Zero Hour, and Theater
Five?)

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

Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 00:19:20 -0500
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Lone Ranger's First Name

Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 21:04:10 -0500
From: Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed];

4.  That the "Lone Ranger's" first name was John.

Actually, it's "The."

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

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

Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 00:19:53 -0500
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Milton Berle

Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 14:28:51 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];

Berle returned in the fall in a new series for Buick, which completely
abandoned the vaudeville format, and tried instead to present Berle as a
Jack Benny-like character in a show-within-a-show semi-sitcom style. No
less a talent than Goodman Ace was brought on board to supervise the
writing, and there were high hopes for this "New Berle" characterization,
but it didn't work. 

For something that didn't work, it lasted for two seasons.  This was when I was first allowed 
to stay up that late, and I loved it.  I've recently gotten hold of some videos of twelve shows, 
and they're still pretty funny.

The set of tapes that I bought was labeled as episodes of "Milton Berle's Buick Hour."  
Imagine my surprise when the first show began with the old Texaco Star Theatre opening.  
Turns out it was an elaborate gag.  As the Texaco men are singing their song, Berle comes 
out, demanding to know what's going on, since the Texaco men aren't supposed to be on 
this year. "Didn't you get the cancellation letter?"  Berle calls out Ruth Gilbert as his 
secretary, Max, and ascertains that she didn't send the letter.  He then explains that he's 
selling Buicks this year, and this is how it's going to go from now on.  Then the new Buick-
Berle Show opening is played.

The comments I was seeing in the newspaper and in TV Guide at the time was that Berle 
was suffering from overexposure.  During the 1953-54 season, Berle was still on every week, 
except that he was pre-empted once a month by Bob Hope.  During the next season, he 
was on alternate weeks, with Martha Raye and Bob Hope on the other weeks.  In the latter 
part of the season, when it was known that Buick had dropped the show at the end of the 
season in favor of Jackie Gleason, Berle poked fun at his own firing, used Gleason's face on 
a dart target, etc.

For his last season on Tuesday night, he was on every third week.  The sponsors were RCA, 
RCA Whirlpool, and Sunbeam.  On his first monolog, Berle quipped, "I've got three sponsors 
this year.  I'm not taking any chances."

I do remember being a bit disappointed myself in Berle's show in the last season.  I liked the 
"show-within-a-show" format that Berle used in the Buick shows, pioneered on radio by Jack 
Benny.

Berle was back in the 1958-59 year for a half hour on Wednesday nights under sponsorship 
of Kraft, under the "Kraft Music Hall" title.  Perry Como took over the time slot and the "Kraft 
Music Hall" the following year.

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

Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 08:56:34 -0500
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  weekend show on YUSA

Hi Everybody,

on Yesterday USA this weekend includes

Friday

A.  Frank Bresee interview with Art Gilmore.  Art just clebrated his 92
birthday last week.

Saturday

A.  a new interview with Jeanning Mancini to talk about her career and the
new stamp that will come out on her lat husband Henry Mancici on 4-13-04.
You can find out more information at [removed]

B.  Frank Bresee interview with Gloria Jean who is celebrating her birthday
on April 4.

Sunday

A.  Mike Biels starting a new topic

B.  Laura Leff on the Jack Benny show of 3-21-37

C.  interview with Red Steagale

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

Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 08:56:41 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  3-23 births/deaths

March 23rd births

03-23-1904 - Joan Crawford - San Antonio, TX - d. 5-10-1977
actress: "Arch Oboler's Plays"; "Everyman's Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
03-23-1910 - Akira Kurosawa, Tokyo, Japan - d. 9-6-1998
film director: NHK Tokyo, Japan
03-23-1910 - Paula Winslowe - d. 3-7-1996
actress: Peg Riley "Life of Riley"; Jill "Joe E. Brown Show"
03-23-1912 - Francis De Sales - Philadelphia, PA - d. 9-25-1988
actor: Bill Weigand "Mr. and Mrs. North"; Parris Mitchell "King's Row"
03-23-1916 - Grant Richards - Raleigh, NC - d. 7-4-1963
actor: Charles Dobbs "This Is Nora Drake"; Hal Thomas "Against the Storm"
03-23-1920 - Maurice Marsac - La Croix, France
actor: French Teacher "Our Miss Brooks"
03-23-1926 - Martha Wright - Seattle, WA
actress: "Stars for Defense"

March 23rd deaths

02-13-1920 - Eileen Farrell - Willimantic, CT - d. 3-23-2002
singer: "Eileen Farrell Sings"; "Prudential Family Hour"
03-25-1920 - Howard Cosell - Winston-Salem, NC - d. 3-23-1995
sportscaster: "Speaking of Sports"
06-03-1911 - Paulette Goddard - Whitestone Landing, Long Island, NY - d.
3-23-1990
actress: "Cresta Blanca Players"
06-26-1904 - Peter Lorre - Rozsahegy, Hungary - d. 3-23-1964
actor: [removed] Moto "Mr. Moto"; "Creeps By Night"; "; "Mystery in the Air"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 08:57:38 -0500
From: Dziadsj@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  [removed] Wells on Radio
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In a message dated 3/22/2004 5:04:11 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:

Allen Wilcox <aawjca@[removed]; asked about the
prevalence of HG Wells (not Welles) on radio, apart
from the famous version of War of the Worlds by Orson
Welles (not Wells). Here's a listing of the shows I
know of:
<snip>

This is my first time de-lurking so I hope that this message makes it!! There
were according to Gordon Payton's old catalog many early BBC Wells
adaptations (most lost but not quite forgotten). They include The Country of
the Blind
(1933,'35,'45), The Man Who Could Work Miracles ('34,'44,'51), The Invisible
Man ('48), Things to Come (1950), The War of the Worlds (1950), The Island of
Dr. Moreau (1950), The First Men in the Moon ('53,'54,'81,'96), The War in the
Air 1954), The Sleeper Awakes (1962,'72), Ghost Stories of [removed] Wells (1985),
The Purple Pileus (1935,'37,'39,'44), The Truth About Pyecraft (1949,'53),
Tono
Bungay (1952), The New Accelerator ('51), The Star (1955) and probably a
bunch that I missed.

Alien Voices (while not OTR) has produced some good [removed] Wells adaptations as
well.

Didn't the Wells/Welles interview occur in San Antonio?  If memory serves,
both of them happened to be there at the same time and a local station
arranged
the chat.

Steve

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