------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2007 : Issue 236
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
GROUCHO AND ME AND AFTERNOON TEA [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
"Pete Kelly's Blues" [ "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@juno. ]
Radio Speakers [ "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed]; ]
Goodnight Gracie [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
Lone Ranger episode [ "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed] ]
SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE--Tour [ jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns) ]
Phil Rizzuto dead at [removed] [ Afanofoldradio@[removed] ]
Memories of old time [removed] [ Frank McGurn <[removed]@sbcglobal. ]
8-15 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
July 2007 Deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
BBC Archive News recordings [ Graeme Stevenson <graemeotr@[removed] ]
#OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig [ charlie@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:38:23 -0400
From: PURKASZ@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: GROUCHO AND ME AND AFTERNOON TEA
Derek:
I'll tell the story of 'SUNDAY DINNER WITH GROUCHO MARX' and how it all came
about when I see you and the folks at the Panel, incidentally thanks for
inviting me, but right now let me close my eyes and spontaneously reach back
into the memory glare of that Sunday afternoon in 1971-72, hmmmm, eyes here
comes the [removed] recall the terror I suddenly felt as I was knocking at
the
door to Groucho's Lair in Holmby Hills.
(Music cue)
Living in Southern California one gets used to the heat and used to dressing
very casually. I recall this Sunday was a scorcher and I had left the house
without much concern for how I was dressed.
A habit that grows when your work involves other people dressing you when
you get to work.
Anyway, as I knocked I also looked down at myself and saw my reflection in a
large window to my right.
I was definitely NOT dressed the way I should have been to go to Sunday
dinner with an eminent and historical show-biz personality!
T-Shirt and baggy Peter Lorre pants, wrinkled accompanied with old sandals!
What was I thinking!!!
I panicked and was about to bolt back to my 1936 Buick parked in the drive
way when the door began to open slowly.
Expecting a butler or some other household help I was getting ready to
explain that I had an important stop to make but that it was still early in
the
day and that I would be back in time for dinner.
The door opened fully [removed] walked [removed] Bermuda shorts,
sandals and an oversized Marx Brothers T-Shirt!!!!!!!
He looked me up and down and I did the same to him.
The silence was perfect.
Then he said with the famous smirk,
"Nice suit."
A calm came over me and instead of freezing up as I thought I might, I
replied,
"You too."
He smiled big put his arm around my shoulders and ushered me in with,
"Chicken for [removed] too."
Then [removed], I'm telling too much so let me just say this [removed]
"See ya at the Panel on October 19th folks"
Michael C. Gwynne
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:41:43 -0400
From: "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: "Pete Kelly's Blues"
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
If anyone is interested in 2 eps of "Pete Kellys Blues" starring Jack
Webb, please contact me offlist. The sound quality is good, but it'snot
to my individual taste as far as OTR programs go. I'll accept anything in
trade (mystery, quiz shows, or comedy/variety).
BTW, I've been wondering if any sports programs were ever broadcast
on OTR, in particular, boxing matches. Some of the greatest boxers in
sports history, I'm told, fought at Madison Square Garden. Were any of these
fights broadcast on radio? Are any of these broadcasts available?
Another OTR Fan,
Kenneth Clarke
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:41:50 -0400
From: "Bob C" <rmc44@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Radio Speakers
Sloowwllllyyyyy, I turned ... page after page of Jim Cox's "Radio
Speakers" since receiving it early in May, and I finished it last
night. I recommend it for the joy of knowing a little more about
the people you hear on those old programs (or saw on old TV).
The book is not without its problems ... the kind that make
authors, editors and publishers ask, "How did that get in there?"
and "Didn't anyone proof this?"
There's the entry that has Lorne Greene as "Hoss" in Bonanza and
the one that says, "In 1934, former President Richard M. Nixon
...." There are references to United Press International, when
there was no UPI (just United Press), and a mention of "sound
byte" instead of "soundbite."
What was especially maddening was the repeated misuse (more than
a half-dozen times) of the word "infamous" when "famous" or its
synonyms clearly should have been the words of choice, and there
was a similar misapplication of "notorious" in describing Johnny
Olsen's role on The Price Is Right.
I found the manufactured "historiographer" nerve-grating, though
I know Jim, having worked so closely with this for so long, felt
he had to find some other name for a radio historian. His
frequent use of "interlocutor" in place of announcer or emcee was
like a speed bump to my eyes, getting in the way of a smoother
reading. Actually, in using the book as it is meant, a go-to
reference as needed rather than a cover-to-cover read, there's
little need to stretch for alternative words.
Having said all that, I go back to my recommendation in the
book's favor. You'll find yourself saying, "So that's who that
was!" or grabbing a show from your collection to once again
connect the biography with the voice. It was fun to learn a
little more about the men behind those voices: "Pall Mall Famous
Cigarettes ... outstanding! ... And they are mild!" And the
acknowledgment of some others you've heard freqently (such as
Bern Bennett - carried over to TV's Beat the Clock, To Tell the
Truth and the Rose Parade on CBS).
I was appreciative, too, of the recognition afforded CBS News'
B-team members, who nevertheless, were important parts of a Class
A news operation and the news on the hour, World News Roundup and
World Tonight broadcasts - reporters like the horn-rimmed Bill
Downs, Alexander Kendrick and Peter Kalischer. (I was a tad
disappointed that David Brinkley only was part of the list in the
appendix ... if I recall correctly from his autobiography, he was
on the air with reports for NBC in Washington in the 1940s; sure,
his greater fame came later on TV, but the same can be said of
Huntley, who was afforded more than two columns of space.)
It's a good book. You'll like it.
Bob Cockrum
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:37:23 -0400
From: "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed];
To: ""old-time radio digest">" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Goodnight Gracie
Hi all,
My wife bought my too Sons and I tickets to see Goodnight Gracie here in the
twin cities when it came through
a couple years back. Gorsin was still alive and was fabulous. Actually so
was the offstage voice of Gracie.
It was great fun for us to look around and see that my 2 boys were by far the
youngest in the audience. Both
are big fans of George and Gracie.
They will be 15 and 19 in the next couple months. I think they got more than
a couple looks as they sat there
and laughed like crazy.
Bill
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:50:53 -0400
From: "Jim Nixon" <ranger6000@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Lone Ranger episode
Joe Salerno asked about the episode of the Lone Ranger that was recently
added to the National Recordings Registry. Terry is correct about this. It
was a test episode recorded on Dec. 17, 1937. However, it is circulating as
"Silver Mine Surprise", episode No. 4, carrying the date of January 24th,
1938.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:51:01 -0400
From: jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE--Tour
Hasn't Jamie Farr been playing George Burns, at least intermittently?
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:48:33 -0400
From: Afanofoldradio@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Phil Rizzuto dead at [removed]
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Though I live in Cardinals-Cubs region, it is with sadness that the death of
"The Scooter"-Yankees broadcaster Phil Rizzuto was aired today (8-14-07)
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 01:14:09 -0400
From: Frank McGurn <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Memories of old time [removed]
We of advanced age, like Ted Kneebone and me, have had exposure to early
radio variety programs like the Shell Chateau, The Fleischmann Yeast
Hour (Rudy Vallee) that had true variety, classical music, popular
music, some Opera Stars & sometimes Broadway stars reading from plays.
Then we had The Telephone Hour, The metropolitan Opera broadcast and The
Longine Symphonette, You Hit Parade, The Manhattan Merry-Go- Round. We
had Big Bands on radio and Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore and many others.
I love music I have LP's, CD's, and Cassettes and I don't have head
phone stuck to my ears. I don't need to down load music from my
computer. Most of it isn't worth it to me. I have what I want and
[removed] much music can one person listen to ?
I'm really tired of dead bodies being dissected and Cops and robbers
and stupid sitcoms that I pay over $[removed] a month for poor shows. The
only reason I keep cable is for Sports, Base Ball and Foot Ball.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 01:14:19 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 8-15 births/deaths
August 15th births
08-15-1879 - Ethel Barrymore - Philadelphia, PA - d. 6-18-1959
actor: Hattie Thompson "Miss Hattie"
08-15-1885 - Edna Ferber - Kalamazoo, MI - d. 4-16-1968
author: "Cavalcade of America"; "Cables from Lisbon"; "Campbell
Playhouse"
08-15-1888 - Albert Spalding - Chicago, IL - d. 5-26-1952
violinist: "Forecast"; "Pause That Refreshes . . . On the Air"
08-15-1894 - Harry Akst - NYC - d. 3-31-1963
writer: "The Barry Gray Show"
08-15-1897 - Aben Kandel - d. 1-28-1993
screenwriter: "Lux Radio Theatre"
08-15-1897 - Charles Tobias - NYC - d. 7-7-1970
songwriter: (Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree) :Music for Millions";
"Great Moments to Music"
08-15-1898 - Monroe Upton - d. 8-6-1990
announcer, writer, comedian: KFRC San Francisco
08-15-1901 - Ned Washington - Scranton, PA - d. 12-20-1976
songwriter: "Dick Aurandt Show"
08-15-1901 - Sam Perrin - d. 1-8-1998
writer: "Jack Benny Program"; "Phil Baker Show"; "Tommy Riggs and
Betty Lou"
08-15-1903 - Jerry Cady - d. 11-7-1948
writer: "Major Hoople"
08-15-1907 - Margaret Brayton - d. 5-29-1992
actor: "Burns and Allen"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
08-15-1909 - Hugo Winterhalter - d. 9-17-1973
pop-music conductor, arranger: "Johnny Desmond Program"; "Musical
Showcase"
08-15-1910 - Johnny Roventini - Brooklyn, NY - d. 11-30-1998
commercial announcer: (Call for Phil-lip Mor-ress) "Ferde Grofe
Show"; "Johnny Presents"
08-15-1910 - Signe Hasso - Stockholm, Sweden - d. 6-7-2002
actor: "Charlie McCarthy Show"; "Hollywood Star Time"; "Lux Radio
Theatre"
08-15-1912 - Wendy Hiller - Bramhall, Cheshire, England - d. 5-14-2003
actor: Queen Vic "Original Dramatic Work"
08-15-1914 - Eve Alwyn - Christ Church, New Zealand - d. 11-16-2005
actor: WEAT West Palm Beacg, Florida
08-15-1916 - Van Patrick - d. 9-29-1974
detroit lions play-by-play: "Jean Shepard Show"
08-15-1919 - Huntz Hall - NYC - d. 1-30-1999
comedian: (The Dead End Kids) "Texaco Star Playhouse"
08-15-1923 - Baby Rose Marie - Lower East Side, NYC
singer: (Radio's first genuine child star) "Baby Rose Marie"
08-15-1925 - Bill Pinkney - Dalzell, SC - d. 7-4-2007
singer: (Drifters) "Grand Old Opry"; "Camel Rock and Roll Dance Party"
08-15-1925 - Oscar Peterson - Montreal, Canada
jazz pianist: "Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum"
08-15-1935 - Joey Jay - Middletown, CT
baseball pitcher: "Tops in Sports"
August 15th deaths
03-04-1888 - Fred Smith - Clarksburg, IN - d. 8-15-1976
announcer: (America's first Ambassador of the Radio) "Newsacting"
03-26-1907 - Clarence Stroud - Kaufman, TX - d. 8-15-1973
actor: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
04-04-1897 - Albert Bagdasarian - d. 8-15-1968
newscaster: WNBZ Saranac Lake, New York
04-04-1906 - John Cameron Swayze - Wichita, KS - d. 8-15-1995
host. panelist: "Monitor"; "Who Said That?"
05-03-1920 - Nina Bara - Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. 8-15-1990
actor: Tonga "Space Patrol"
05-26-1887 - Paul Lukas - Budapest, Austria-Hungary - d. 8-15-1971
actor: Albert Einstein "Quick and the Dead"
06-01-1909 - Ray Heatherton - Jersey City, NJ - d. 8-15-1997
singer, host: "Old Gold Hour"; "Musical Cruise with Spearmint Crew"
07-18-1906 - Clifford Odets - Philadelphia, PA - d. 8-15-1963
playwright: "Fleischmann's Yeast Hour"; "Cresta Blanca Hollywood
Players"
07-24-1911 - Raymond Edward Johnson - Kenosha, WI - d. 8-15-2001
actor: Raymond your host "Inner Sanctum Mysteries"; Don Winslow "Don
Winslow of the Navy"
07-28-1903 - Duane Thompson - Red Oaks, IA - d. 8-15-1970
actor: Telephone Operator "Hollywood Hotel"
08-26-1891 - Frayne Baker - d. 8-15-1968
newscaster: KFYR Bismarck, North Dakota
09-21-1907 - Jack Mather - California - d. 8-15-1966
actor: Cisco Kid "Cisco Kid"
10-23-1904 - Ford Bond - Louisville, KY - d. 8-15-1962
announcer: "Cities Service Concert"; "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round";
Highways in Melody"
11-04-1879 - Will Rogers, Sr. - Oolagah, Oklahoma Territory - d.
8-15-1935
humorist: (America's Greatest Humorist) "Gulf Headliners"
11-28-1916 - Richard Tregaskis - Elizabeth, NJ - d. 8-15-1973
author, war correspondent: (Guadalcanal Diary) "Lux Radio Theatre"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 01:14:30 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: July 2007 Deaths
06-03-1927 - Boots Randolph - Paducah, KY - d. 7-2-2007
saxophonist: "Grand Old Opry"
05-25-1929 - Beverly Sills - Brooklyn, NY - d. 7-2-2007
singer: "Major Bowes Capitol Family"; "Uncle Bob's Rainbow House"
08-15-1925 - Bill Pinkney - Dalzell, SC - d. 7-4-2007
singer: (Drifters) "Grand Old Opry"; "Camel Rock and Roll Dance Party"
02-23-1927 - Regine Crespin - Marseille, France - d. 7-5-2007
operatic soprano: "Voices"
12-22-1912 - Lady Bird Johnson - Karnack, TX - d. 7-11-2007
first lady: owner of radio station KTBC Austin, Texas
09-03-1926 - Bill Flemming - Chicago, IL - d. 7-21-2007
sports director: WUOM Ann Arbor, Michigan
05-12-1936 - Tom Snyder - Milwaukee, WI - d. 7-29-2007
talk show host: ABC Network
08-10-1921 - Marvin Zindler - Houston, TX - d. 7-29-2007
disk jockey, spot news announcer: KATL-AM, Houston, Texas
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:57:29 -0400
From: Graeme Stevenson <graemeotr@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: BBC Archive News recordings
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
This weeks edition of Ariel ( the BBC staff magazine ) carried the following
piece by Carla Parks :
'How to find your piece of audio - in just a few seconds' :
If you wanted a piece of audio from the global newswire team at Bush House
( BBC World Service HQ ) four years ago, you would have had to visit the
sixth floor of the building,go through a huge box of tapes and spool through
perhaps 100 news items to find what you were looking for. In other words, you
wouldn't get it in a hurry.
Today, the same process takes just a few seconds because 350,000 news items
- gathered by the former actuality unit since 1971 - have been archived
online.
Because of the archives size, it took ten technical assistants three years
to play in the audio from 4500 reels of tape and to copy the material from
500 double- sided magneto optical discs. Another 6 people spent two years
transcribing 30,000 news stories. ' The project was driven by the need to
preserve and digitise these fragile assets - analogue tapes, magneto optical
discs and paper copies of scripts and cues - so that they could be used in a
modern production environment ' explains media asset manager Russell Gould,
who oversaw the [removed]
' It also includes unique news items from our language sections at Bush
House - in the original language - which no other broadcaster or archive
would have ' says producer Jonathan Fenton-Fischer.
Graeme Stevenson Editor: Tune into Yesterday ORCA / UK
A link was given for the site but I suspect it can only be accessed by BBC
staff:
[removed]
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:17:47 -0400
From: charlie@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Night!
A weekly [removed]
For the best in OTR Chat, join IRC (Internet Relay Chat), StarLink-IRC
Network, the channel name is #OldRadio. We meet Thursdays at 8 PM Eastern
and go on, and on! The oldest OTR Chat Channel, it has been in existence
over nine years, same time, same channel! Started by Lois Culver, widow
of actor Howard Culver, this is the place to be on Thursday night for
real-time OTR talk!
Our "regulars" include OTR actors, soundmen, collectors, listeners, and
others interested in enjoying OTR from points all over the world. Discussions
range from favorite shows to almost anything else under the sun (sometimes
it's hard for us to stay on-topic)...but even if it isn't always focused,
it's always a good time!
For more info, contact charlie@[removed]. We hope to see you there, this
week and every week!
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #236
*********************************************
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]