------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2007 : Issue 88
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Network Line Quality [ "Read G. Burgan" <rburgan@chartermi ]
truth or consequences [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
hearing and quality sound [ Chargous@[removed] ]
ILAM from an [removed] [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
re: why mp3 or even wave [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Re: One Man's Family [ StevenL751@[removed] ]
Re: ONE MAN'S FAMILY [ Grams46@[removed] ]
why mp3 or even wav? [ Jeffrey Keil <keilj_33@[removed]; ]
Truth or Consequences [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
Goodbye Open Reel Tape! [ Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed]; ]
Jack Benny [ Frank McGurn <[removed]@sbcglobal. ]
Arthur Godfrey [ "Joe" <jpostove@[removed]; ]
3-19 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
Sponsors Naming Rights [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
Advertisement for the Great Gildersl [ "Dale" <wclark4121@[removed]; ]
Light of the World [ "Randall F. Miller Jr." <rfmillerjr ]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:31:09 -0400
From: "Read G. Burgan" <rburgan@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Network Line Quality
My father was the engineer at a small radio station that was a Mutual
affiliate in the 40's and early 50's and an NBC affiliate in the mid 50's to
early 60's. Throughout that period, the only network line available from
AT&T for our area was a class C line.
In the 1970's, I was the director of a 100,000 watt FM public radio station
in the same area and we were still limited to a class C network line and for
much of that time the line didn't even meet the minimum specifications for a
class C line. Only when National Public Radio launched its satellite
service did we go from the stone age to the 20th Century.
My guess is that our situation was not unique and that there were many radio
stations in outlying areas whose network lines provided abominable quality
by today's standards.
Read Burgan
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:31:56 -0400
From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: truth or consequences
I even remember one show (on TV in the mid-1950s, when Bob Barker was
the host), where the contestant actually answered the question
correctly. He didn't win a prize, Bob Barker said he got a signal
>from the control room that he had asked the wrong question and asked
another.
I saw that one:
Q: What is snake oil used for?
A: To oil snakes.
The answer came without the slightest hesitation from the contestant, a man
who I guessed was in his twenties, and I thought it was great. The
quizmaster recovered well enough, but I was disappointed, as I guess
everyone else was, that there was no reward.
I suppose that when guests weren't rehearsed, or were determined to be
uncooperative, this sort of thing happens. It must have been interesting
when guests got strange on live radio. Groucho Marx could always add value
to such a situation, but I wonder about the others.
M Kinsler
Who remembers a fifty-year-old TV show, but not where he just laid the
shovel.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:42:26 -0400
From: Chargous@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: hearing and quality sound
Now this isn't meant as a barb to anyone, this is just the facts of life -
as we get older, we all experience hearing loss to some degree. I have
about average hearing for my age (20s) - I can hear into the 20 khz
range. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with some of the poor
quality recordings and mp3s - that the user can't hear the
difference? Correct me if I'm wrong, but many people can't hear about
12-14 khz. Perhaps, since they're fairly high frequency, a lot of people
can't hear some of the digital artifacts in bad encodes?
For instance, I've recently been complaining about a bad ground loop in an
otherwise enjoyable new-time production. I've notified them several times,
but nothing has changed so far. Am I the only one to hear it? (I also use
better headphones, so that might have something to do with it (they're
capable of 10hz - 39,000 hz) My soundcard can do 10-88,[removed]
I ask this, not to be insulting, but as a legitimate academic question -
does hearing loss have anything to do with a lot of the bad encodes out
there? (and coupled with less-than-stellar speakers or headphones, I'm
sure that wouldn't help either.)
And even the best quality dealers are routinely guilty of offspeed
recordings (it's easy for me to fix, so it's not a huge deal) - that's
another pet peeve of mine. It's not difficult to do, but it's kinda a
bummer to have to transfer the recording to the HD, open it up, and
time-correct it.
Travis
[ADMINISTRIVIA: It's been my experience that many of the lousy encodes
floating around out there were done by younger people who just didn't give a
darn; encoding a 25th generation cassette tape in real-time while playing
games and possibly downloading pictures of nekkid people on the same computer
at the same time.
Those who wish to make quality encodes using licensed codecs and tender
loving care do; those who don't give a rat's tail about the quality don't.
Looking for more complex explanations seems silly to me; just as in the days
of reels or cassettes, some are interested in quality, others are interested
in quantity. (*shrug*) Any old-timers remember the cheap, off-speed,
crappy-sounding reels sold in the Waterford room? --cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:43:29 -0400
From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: ILAM from an [removed]
Ken noted that he has never heard a decent dubbing of "I Love a Mystery." I
have one episode dubbed from an ET discarded by WNAX, Yankton, SD. It was
from "I am the destroyer of women" of May 12, 1944. I am told by Brian
Misiaszek, an expert on this series, that this is the final episode in the
1944 run of ILAM. The episode is from CBS and runs 15:00. It was dubbed
from the ET to an open reel tape, and from the open reel to cassette. I
still have the open reel tape.
Another interesting bit of OTR history is a short promo for ILAM, dated
November 3, 1943, following "Your daytime radio newspaper" (later called
"Crisco's Radio Newspaper"). According to Brian, "It seems that the show in
question is one of the interior episodes of the Hollywood version of 'My
beloved is a vampire', which ran October 4 to November 5 [1943]. This is a
show which has only one surviving episode, the final one from the second run
of the [removed]"
I dubbed this and 4 episodes of "Crisco's Radio Newspaper" using the same
equipment as noted in the "Destroyer" episode above.
I consider these recordings to be of excellent quality. Too bad the rest of
"Destroyer" is not available from the 1944 run of ILAM.
Ted Kneebone / 1528 S. Grant St. / Aberdeen, SD 57401
[removed]~stmarkch/
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:45:41 -0400
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: why mp3 or even wave
Ed,
A quick follow-up on your question. I think the key reason that mp3 is
so popular is downloading. Even with lightening fast broadband, nobody
wants to download wav files for a 30 minute show. And although now
portable mp3 players have very large capacities (20 gb or so), until
recently most of them were smaller. The cheaper ones, and virtually all
of the non-skip ones ([removed] with flash memory hard drives) still are
pretty small. When I bought my first mp3 player, about 6 or 7 years
ago, it could hold only 32 MB. That was maybe five shows! Wave files
were out of the question--simply couldn't fit them in. I've got much
larger machines now, but most of the several I own and use are still on
the smaller side. (I don't see the benefit of loading up 4,000
shows--I'd get lost remember what I've heard or hadn't!) As long as
people are using mp3 players and downloading shows online, people are
still going to use the mp3 format. (Hopefully at higher encode rates,
though. Most of the BBC stuff I get online is 128 kps.)
Cheers,
Kermyt
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:46:04 -0400
From: StevenL751@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: One Man's Family
In a message dated 3/18/2007 12:18:27 [removed] Eastern Daylight Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
Does anyone know when Book 90, Chapter 25 aired? There is not a good log for
this show available on the internet.
According to H. Edwin Titus' excellent OMF log, that episode ("That's Not
Like Daniel") aired November 30, 1951.
Steve Lewis
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:48:43 -0400
From: Grams46@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: ONE MAN'S FAMILY
otrdig2@[removed] asks:
Does anyone know when Book 90, Chapter 25 aired?
from ed titus' one man's family log: november 30, 1951.
peace from kathy
support our troops; end the war
john 3:16
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:49:22 -0400
From: Jeffrey Keil <keilj_33@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: why mp3 or even wav?
Greetings:
I think this is a great question brought up by Ed
Carr. With the low price of DVDs and hard drives it
doesn't make much sense to me to compress audio files
to mp3.
A format that I personally use is flac. If you're
interested you might check out the wikipedia article
on flac.
Flac is basically a zipped wav file. If you have a wav
file you can encode it to a flac file. The flac file
will take up about 1/4 the size of the original wav
file.
When you decode the flac file you receive the original
wav file.
I convert my OTR CDs to flac files and either back
these up to DVD or just leave the flac file on the
hard drive. I use Winamp to play flac files.
If I want an mp3 file to play on an iPod, I use Nero
to convert the flac file to a 320 mbps mp3 file.
Nero will also let you create audio CDs directly from
flac files if you want an audio CD to play back on the
stereo.
Sincerely,
Jeff Keil
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:50:56 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Truth or Consequences
A. Joseph Ross, speaking of Truth or Consequences, reminisces,
I even remember one show (on TV in the mid-1950s, when Bob Barker was
the host), where the contestant actually answered the question correctly.
He didn't win a prize, Bob Barker said he got a signal
from the control room that he had asked the wrong question and asked
another.
I recall hearing a lady contestant on an earlier radio show give a
correct answer. The question was: why is a wedding ring worn on the
third finger of the left land? She responded, "There's a story that a
vein from that finger goes directly to the heart, so it shows that the
wedding ring has a close connection to one's heart." Ralph Edwards asked
the question, and when she answered correctly, he gave her a small cash
prize and moved on to another contestant.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 18:18:54 -0400
From: Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Goodbye Open Reel Tape!
Ed Carr mentioned that he purchased a lot of CDs made by Imation.
Imation is the name that was decided upon when Scotch chose to
discontinue open reel tape production. Another company took over
production of open reel tapes from Scotch and renamed the open reel
tape Imation tape. This same company also makes cassettes and CDs.
You can still purchase brand new Scotch open reel tapes from various
electronic stores, but it is really the remaining last stock
available of Scotch tape. I do not know how long Imation will
continue producing open reel tapes OR cassettes. For the consumer
those formats simply are no longer viable, now that CDs and DVDs can
be "burned" in the home by anyone who has a computer or a stand alone
unit.
Ampex stopped producing tapes years ago, but their tape division was
obtained by a company that renamed their tapes QUANTEGY. Quantegy
continued to produce open reel tapes for a number of years and then
"threw in the sponge." Surprisingly, the engineers and workers at
Quantegy pooled their money and went to the owners and offered to
purchase Quantegy so they could continue producing open reel tape.
The owners of Quantegy accepted and the company was turned over to
their employees. This lasted for about 5 years. The sad part is that
Quantegy just announced they are closing their factory and
discontinuing the production of open reel tape.
So, the two major USA tape manufacturers (Scotch/Imation and Ampex/
Quanategy) no longer exist. AGFA/GEVAERT stopped producing tape and
was absorbed by BASF, which also discontinued the production of open
reel tapes and cassettes.
In essence, analog is gone. Digital has taken over the industry. So
enjoy what you have in analog tape. Do be prepared to pay a lot of
money to repair tape machines, for they they are fast becoming
extinct and parts will be hard to find. I, for one, have stopped
mastering ETs onto tape and now go directly from the ET to my
computer and then store the radio shows onto CDs. This method retains
every nuance of sound and fidelity and allows me to make CD copies
with no loss of sound quality. You can't beat that with analog tape.
I do have a few professional tape decks I use to transfer my tape
masters to my computer, but I no longer record on tape. And when I
have finally transferred the last of my master tapes I will retire
those last remaining tape machines --- bless them for all the work
they did for me!
I mention all this in passing. I really don't intend to start up a
discussion on the difference between analog and digital and all the
ramifications caused by the pluses and minuses of both mediums. I
would be happy to answer any questions off list, as best I can, if
you wish. On list I am sure this analog versus tape topic could go
on forever, and there are much more interesting subjects to talk about.
Thanks for reading this [removed]
Ken Greenwald
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 18:58:39 -0400
From: Frank McGurn <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Jack Benny
Sean Doughterty asked :
Did Jack ever do hour-long shows on the radio?
Did a quick search of Jerry Heandeges [removed] Log and found one item of
60:00 minutes a 02/24/57 rebroadcast of a 05/15/55
"FRIAR'S CLUB ROAST". I don't think that would be considered a"Jack Benny
Program ".
Frank McGurn
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007 18:59:26 -0400
From: "Joe" <jpostove@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Arthur Godfrey
Was Arthur Godfrey An Anti-Semite?
I know this subject must have been touched upon (and held tightly too) more
than once on this list, but if you fine folks will indulge me, I would
appreciate it.
I am a Jew. And a big fan of Arthur Godfrey. All my life (I'm 50) whenever
the subject of Godfrey came up in Jewish circles, there was at least one
person there that insisted that AG was a raving anti-Semite. Asked for some
documentation, the story of his interest in a "restricted" hotel in Florida
( The Kenilworth Hotel) is about the only one I've heard regarding Godfrey's
antipathy or worse towards Jews.
Certainly, he worked with and hired Jews on his and other programs through
the years. And he was a wasp's wasp, but other than the Kenilworth Hotel
story, I've not seen or heard this presented other than in rumor and/or
innuendo. Or repeated again, such as in Eddie Fisher's book.
What is the truth? Is it known? And if so, is it true? Has Arthur Godfrey
gotten a bad rap over the years about his "anti-Semitism"? If it is true, I
sure would like to see some proof before I fall in line with lots of my
fellow Jews. And mourn this fault in one of my radio heroes.
Thanks,
Joe Postove
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 04:01:32 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 3-19 births/deaths
March 19th births
03-19-1889 - George L. "Doc" Rockwell - Providence, RI - d. 3-3-1978
comedian: "Camel Pleasure Hour"
03-19-1890 - Gayne Whitman - Chicago, IL - d. 8-31-1958
actor, announcer: Frank Chandler "Chandu the Magician"; "Cavalcade of
America"
03-19-1891 - Earl Warren - Los Angeles, CA - d. 7-9-1974
governor, supreme court justice: "Edgar bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
03-19-1892 - James Van Fleet - Coytesville, NJ - d. 9-24-1992
4 star army general: "A Tribute to Jack Benny"
03-19-1900 - Frank Chapman - d. 7-xx-1966
singer: "The Voice of Firestone"
03-19-1906 - Pat Adelman - d. 12-xx-1982
sportscaster: Austin, Texas
03-19-1907 - Kent Smith - NYC - d. 4-23-1985
actor: "NBC University Theatre of the Air";"Radio Reader's Digest"
03-19-1909 - Louis Hayward - Johannesburg, South Africa - d. 2-21-1985
actor: "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Harold Lloyd Comedy Theatre"; "This
Is My Best"
03-19-1912 - Russ Case - Hamburg, IA - d. 10-10-1964
orchestra leader: "On a Sunday Afternoon"; "Peggy Lee Show"; "Your
Hit Parade"
03-19-1915 - Patricia Morison - NYC
actor: "Family Theatre"; "Railroad Hour"
03-19-1916 - Eric Christmas - London, England - d. 7-22-2000
actor: "CBC Wednesday Night"
03-19-1916 - Irving Wallace - Chicago, IL - d. 6-29-1990
writer: "Have Gun, Will Travel"
03-19-1919 - Alfred Apaka - Honolulu, HI - d. 1-30-1960
vocalist: "Hawaii Calls"
03-19-1920 - Tige Andrews - Brooklyn, NY - d. 1-27-2007
actor: "Hollywood Radio Theatre"
03-19-1923 - Gordon Connell - Berkeley, CA
actor: Billy Sherwood "Hawthorne House"
03-19-1923 - Pamela Britton - Milwaukee, WI - d. 6-18-1974
actor: "Luncheon at Sardi's"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
03-19-1927 - Richie Ashburn - Tilden, NE - d. 9-9-1997
sportscaster: "Philadelphia Phillies Play by Play"
03-19-1933 - Phyllis Newman - Jersey City, NJ
actor: "NBC Radio Theatre"; "Tonight at 9:30"
05-17-1906 - Carl McIntire - Ypsilanti, MI - d. 03-19-2002
evangelist: "Twentieth Century Reformation Hour"
March 19th deaths
01-16-1895 - Irene Bordoni - Ajaccio, Crosica, France - d. 3-19-1953
singer: "The Coty Playgirl"
04-18-1912 - Al Hodge - Ravenna, OH - d. 3-19-1979
actor: Britt Reid/Green Hornet "Green Hornet"; "Columbia Workshop"
04-25-1887 - Charles E. Fuller - Los Angeles, CA - d. 3-19-1968
preacher: "Old Fashioned Revival Hour"; "Heart to Heart"
04-29-1887 - Robert Cushman Murphy - Brooklyn, NY - d. 3-19-1973
ortinthologist: "Information Please"
05-14-1868 - "Big Bill" Thompson - Boston, MA - d. 3-19-1944
mayor of chicago: "The March of Time"
08-28-1900 - Diana Bourbon - NYC - d. 3-19-1978
producer, director: :Double or Nothing"; "Life Begins"
09-01-1875 - Edgar Rice Burroughs - Chicago, IL - d. 3-19-1950
author: Creator of Tarzan
09-09-1908 - Ed Prentiss - Chicago, IL - d. 3-19-1992
actor: Red Albright/Captain Midnight "Captain Midnight"; Ned Holden
"The Guiding Light"
12-07-1909 - Arch Oboler - Chicago, IL - d. 3-19-1987
writer: 'Lights Out"; "Adam and Eve skit on Bergen/McCarthy"
12-13-1913 - Jimmy Carroll - NYC - d. 3-19-1972
singer: "Pot O' Gold"
Ron Sayles
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 04:01:56 -0400
From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Sponsors Naming Rights
On Sunday, March 18, 2007, at 12:18 PM, Ron Sayles wrote:
03-18-1911 - Audrey Marsh - NYC
actor: Esther " Harve and Esther"
Ah, for the good old days of Thirties' radio when sponsors could not
only dictate the name of the show, but also the characters within it.
Above, the Harvester Cigar Company insisted the two characters in their
comedy show be called "Harve" and "Esther" which became the title of
the series.
The Natural Bridge Show (a 15 minute variety program sponsored by
Natural Bridge Shoe Company) specified that the male lead be called
"Nat" and the female lead "Bridget." Palm Olive Soap sponsored a
musical program and regardless of who the leading singers were, the man
could only be called "Paul Oliver" and the woman "Olive Palmer." And
for you mystery fans, a syndicated lady detective sponsored by Philco
Radio Company was, of course, named "Phyl Coe."
Not even the juvenile adventure series were exempt. The 30s version of
"Bobby Benson" on CBS was sponsored by H-O Cereals so the series was
called "The H-BAR-O Rangers" and Bobby's ranch was the H-Bar-O.
Moreover, the symbol character for that cereal and flour company,
"Sunny Jim" (who was sort of a colonial Ickabod Crane lookalike) was
written into the scripts as a central character who was Bobby's
guardian. But all of that disappeared in 1949 when the Cowboy Kid was
brought back to radio on Mutual as a sustainer.
Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
<[removed]>
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 04:02:16 -0400
From: "Dale" <wclark4121@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Advertisement for the Great Gildersleeve
program
Recently I had the pleasure of coming across an interesting find. Among a
box of old items, I found a 4" high bottle with an advertisement for the
Great Gildersleeve Show on the lid. The ad reads:
Listen [removed]
"The Great Gildersleeve"
Radio's Laugh King
Wednesday Evenings - NBC
8:30 [removed] Eastern Time
8:30 [removed] Pacific Time
(Repeat Broadcast)
The lid is printed in red, white, and blue and measures 2" across, with a
caricature of Gildersleeve smoking a cigar. Does anyone here know what this
bottle may have contained? There are no product labels on the bottle. Who
were the show's sponsors over the years? Perhaps knowing that will solve the
mystery.
Dale Clark
OTR Fan
San Antonio, TX
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:42:14 -0400
From: "Randall F. Miller Jr." <rfmillerjr1@[removed];
To: "OTR Mail List" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Light of the World
In a recent digest it was pointed out that:
1940 - Light of the World was first heard on NBC. The soap opera was
unique in that it featured the Bible as the center of the story line.
Do any copies of this program exist?
--Randy Miller
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #88
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