Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #246
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 8/26/2007 9:08 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to:
[removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2007 : Issue 246
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Lum & Abner book                      [ "joe@[removed]" <jsalerno@earthli ]
  Re: Homosexuality in OTR              [ Alan Bell <alanlinda43@[removed]; ]
  off the platter and into your home    [ "joe@[removed]" <jsalerno@earthli ]
  Fibber and WWII                       [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
  Speaking of Fibber McGee and Molly A  [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
  Re: Arch Oboler's Yesterday, Today,   [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
  MP3 CD/Cassette Boombox Recommendati  [ Ronald Reeland <ronreeland@[removed]; ]
  8-26 births/deaths                    [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
  Kathy Fiscus                          [ "Jay Manarky" <jayman@[removed]; ]
  OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK               [ "Jerry Haendiges" <jerryhaendiges@c ]
  Kidsopera, Tenn., Weston Wildernesss  [ <verotas@[removed]; ]
  Heinlein on Radio, one more           [ Mahlon Wagner <mwagner2@[removed] ]
  A legend in our time                  [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
  You know I'll bring her in some day   [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
  old time radio glenn miller           [ Gerand <gerand@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:22:56 -0400
From: "joe@[removed]" <jsalerno@[removed];
To: OTR List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Lum & Abner book

First the usual disclaimer, I have no financial interest in this book,
but it will be of interest to many OTR collectors, I'm sure. I just
found out about it, haven't ordered yet, or read it.

LUM & ABNER - Rural America and the Golden Age of Radio. Randal L. Hall,
managing editor of the Journal of Southern History at Rice University,
which is just a few miles from my house, BTW.

The gist of the book is this: L&A appealed to rural Southerners and
urban listeners. The addition of hillbilly and other popular music added
to it. As a result, Arkansas experienced a boom in tourism and southern
listeners began to immerse themselves in a new national popular culture.
  (So what were northern listeners were doing at the time?)

It's available from Kentucky University Press, $[removed], that's a 20%
discount plus postage.

[removed];Group=198&ID=1428

Joe Salerno

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:23:20 -0400
From: Alan Bell <alanlinda43@[removed];
To: Old Time Radio <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Homosexuality in OTR

Apropos of this little discussion of homosexuality in
OTR, some may be interested in an article included in
the book _RADIO READER_ edited by Michelle Hilmes and
Jason Loviglio. The title of the article is "The
Tendency to Deprave and Corrupt Morals"--Regulation
and Irregular Sexuality in Golden Age Radio, by
Matthew Murray.

It deals in part with what were then called "swish"
characters or "lavender gentlemen," and it's clear
that the standards and practices people at the
networks were on the alert for overt portrayals of
"gayness" (though that term wasn't used then). But
often the characterizations were in the performance,
not in the script. Also, they had to give a fair
amount of leeway because who was to say a character
was homosexual as opposed to being just weird?

Another character used as an example was the bodyguard
that Jack Benny hired to protect him from Fred Allen's
alledged thugs when the show visited New York. The
fellow is quite effeminate and keeps getting his brass
knuckles taken away from him.

The article also goes into other sexual "deviances"
such as the May West brouhaha following her appearance
in the Chase & Sanborn hour in which she not only
notoriously (?!) portrayed Eve but also tried to
seduce Charlie McCarthy.

An interesting read. I recommend the book to anyone
who wants to delve into the study of OTR beyond
fandom.

Alan

_________________
Alan/Linda Bell
Grand Rapids, MI

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:23:42 -0400
From: "joe@[removed]" <jsalerno@[removed];
To: OTR List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  off the platter and into your home

[removed];Qif=[removed];Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig

Wonderful contemporary article (1937) about radio transcriptions, 
manufacturing, and broadcasting.

js

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:42:12 -0400
From: "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed];
To: ""old-time radio digest">" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Fibber and WWII

Hi all,
I've been listening to a lot of Fibber McGee and Molly lately.
I'm always struck by how many shows they did where the storyline was set
around Rationing or some other
WWII related thing.
It seems more prevalent in there show than on most others.  Am I dreaming or
is this true.
They sure did a lot to help the war effort.
Can anyone name other shows that had many WWII related plots on an ongoing
basis?
Maybe it was more common than I know?
Bill

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:44:04 -0400
From: "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed];
To: ""old-time radio digest">" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Speaking of Fibber McGee and Molly Again

Still on my Fibber track, is there any way to find out the musicians in Billy
Mills' Orchestra in the early to mid
40's run?
The guitar player was amazing.
Thanks for any ideas.
Bill

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:44:40 -0400
From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Arch Oboler's Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Anyone got any information on this set of shows?
I believe it came out in the late 80's? It appears to be some shows
written by Arch Oboler to get the patriot juices flowing in WWII.

These are vintage recordings from various projects by Mr. O such as
Arch Oboler's Plays (1939-40, 1945), Everyman's Theater (1940-'41),
Plays for Americans (1942), et cetera. I haven't heard this particular
set but, according to its entry on the WorldCat search engine, it was
released by Metacom in 1987 and the titles of the plays (some of which
are short sketches excerpted from longer programs) are:

Johnny Got His Gun; This Precious Freedom; Suffer Little Children; The
Women Stayed at Home; Johnny Quinn, [removed]; Adolf and Mrs. Runyon; I
Have No Prayer; Letter at Midnight; This Living Book; The Family
Nagashi; Strange Morning; The Day the Sun Exploded.

The actors listed are Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, James Cagney,
Ingrid Bergman, Olivia DeHavilland, Bea Benaderet, Hans Conried,
Elliott Lewis, Jimmy Stewart, Lloyd Nolan, Raymond Massey, Norma
Shearer, Paul Muni, Mercedes McCambridge, Alfred Ryder, and Howard
Duff.

Not all of the plays are propaganda on behalf of the war effort. A
1987 New York Times article describes _ Yesterday, Today, and
Tomorrow_ as "a set of socially conscious radio dramas."  At least
five of the scripts were written before America's entry into the war
and one of them, "Johnny Got His Gun," is usually described as an
antiwar play.

The 1987 Times article claims that Oboler "held on to about 850 dramas
recorded on 16-inch disks and stored in his home in Malibu ..."
Approached by Metacom, "Oboler went through his collection to select
the stories he deemed most suitable for contemporary audiences."

850 seems like an awfully large number of recorded dramas for Oboler
to have saved. I'm wondering if the reporter has perhaps confused this
figure with, for example, the number of scripts Oboler claimed to have
written during his career.

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:45:13 -0400
From: Ronald Reeland <ronreeland@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  MP3 CD/Cassette Boombox Recommendation
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Chris Holm requested recommendations on combination MP3/cassette players. I
have had a Panasonic model RX-D29 since February 14, 2007. It does a good job
on MP3 CD,s without any skipping or dropout or loss of track. The cassette has
also been trouble-free. Here is a link to Google Products(Froogle) showing
various sources for the unit:
[removed];oe=UTF-8&scoring=p   I got mine from
Amazon at that time for $[removed] and free shipping. It might be well to obtain
it at a local electronics store or from a reputable online dealer such as
Amazon in case of problems. One irritation: The MP3 player does not have a
memory to recall the program  playing when you shut it off. The next time you
use it, you must use the remote control to advance to the desired program or
track. The tone is good, there is a "sleep timer" feature and I think it was a
good buy at $[removed] Good luck in your [removed]

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

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:45:20 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  8-26 births/deaths

August 26th births

08-26-1873 - Lee De Forest - Council Bluffs, IA - d. 6-30-1961
inventor: Audion tube
08-26-1891 - Frayne Baker - d. 8-15-1968
newscaster: KFYR Bismarck, North Dakota
08-26-1896 - Phil Baker - Philadelphia, PA - d. 11-30-1963
comedian, emcee: "Honolulu Bound"; "Take It or Leave It"
08-26-1903 - Jimmy Rushing - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Territory - d.
6-8-1972
blues singer: "Count Basie and His Orchestra"; "Blue Ribbon Guest Night"
08-26-1904 - Chirstopher Isherwood - High Lane, Cheshire, England -
d. 1-4-1986
writer: "NBC University Theatre"; "CBS Radio Workshop"
08-26-1905 - George F. Hicks - Tacoma, WA - d. 3-17-1965
announcer: "Metropolitan Echoes"; "Death Valley Days"; "Seth Parker"
08-26-1907 - Jack Berch - Sigel, IL - d. 12-10-1992
singer: "Kitchen Pirate"; "Sweetheart Serenade"; "Jack Berch Show"
08-26-1907 - Lester Lanin - Philadelphia, PA - d. 10-27-2004
bandleader: "Lester Lanin and His Orchestra"; "Here's to Veterans"
08-26-1911 - Hal Gibney - Woodland, CA - d. 6-5-1973
announcer: "Draget"; "The Six Shooter"; "Tales of the Texas Rangers"
08-26-1912 - Chuck Foster - Jeanette, PA - d. 12-12-2001
bandleader: "Treasury Bandstand"; "One Night Stand"
08-26-1915 - Jim Davis - Edgereton, MO - d. 4-26-1981
actor: "Dangerous Assignment"
08-26-1919 - Frances Wayne - Boston, MA - d. 2-6-1978
vocalist: "The Woody Herman Show"
08-26-1921 - June Whitley - d. 5-25-2006
actor: Margaret Anderson "Father Knows Best"
08-26-1924 - Gloria Holliday - Billings, MT
actor: Bessie "Great Gildersleeve"; Gloria "Honest Harold"

August 26th deaths

01-07-1898 - Art Baker - NYC - d. 8-26-1966
announcer, emcee: "People Are Funny"; "Dinah Shore Show"
01-13-1903 - Kay Francis - Oklahoma City,  Oklahoma Territory - d.
8-26-1968
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
01-17-1904 - Knox Manning - Worcester, MA - d. 8-26-1980
announcer: "Advs. of Sherlock Holmes"; "Headlines on Parade"
02-04-1902 - Charles A. Lindbergh - Detroit, MI - d. 8-26-1974
aviator: CBS awards program
03-10-1911 - Warner Anderson - Brooklyn, NY - d. 8-26-1976
actor: Patrick Ryan "Terry and the Pirates"
03-23-1899 - Peggy Paige - Ashville, NC - d. 8-26-1974
actor: Sassy "Grits and Gravy"; Nancy "Main Street Sketches"
04-13-1899 - Larry Keating - [removed], MN - d. 8-26-1963
actor, emcee: "Murder Will Out"; "Scramby Amby"; "This Is Your FBI"
04-26-1922 - Mike Kellin - Hartford, CT - d. 8-26-1983
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
05-22-1898 - Charles Borrelli - Philadelphia, PA - d. 8-26-1984
pianist: "Italian Sunday"
07-14-1892 - Gene Rouse - Boulder, CO - d. 8-26-1956
announcer/newscaster: "First Nighter"; "Grand Hotel"; "Vanity Fair"
07-14-1903 - Irving Stone - San Francisco, CA - d. 8-26-1989
author: "Cavalcade of America"; "Hallmark Playhouse"; "Arch Oboler's
Plays"
08-28-1897 - Charles Boyer - Figeac, France - d. 8-26-1978
actor: Michel "Presenting Charles Boyer"; "Hollywood Playhouse"
09-21-1921 - Gail Russell - Chicago, IL - d. 8-26-1961
actor: "Screen Guild Theatre"
11-17-1931 - Wayne J. Andre - d. 8-26-2003
trombonist: Benny Goodman Orchestra; Woody Herman Orchestra
11-23-1916 - Julie Stevens - St. Louis, MO - d. 8-26-1984
actor: Helen Trent "Romance of Helen Trent"; Kitty Foyle "Kitty Foyle"
xx-xx-xxxx - William McNeary - d. 8-26-1934
juvenile radio programming pioneer: "Man in the Moon"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:46:04 -0400
From: "Jay Manarky" <jayman@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Kathy Fiscus

      Don Dean, here are a couple things you may not know about Jimmie
Osborne's "The Death of Little Kathy Fiscus".

       I do not know if the song was ever released as a single (probably it
was, because of the time period involved.  But I do not know that)  I have a
copy of it on an old 8-tack tape which sounds as good as it did in the
1904's

       Also-Jimmie Osborne took his own life,  I do not know exactly where
or when or more sadly, why.

      Jay Manarky
      Owego, NY

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:46:11 -0400
From: "Jerry Haendiges" <jerryhaendiges@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK

Hi Friends,

Here is this week's schedule for my Olde Tyme Radio Network. Here you may
listen to high-quality broadcasts with Tom Heathwood's "Heritage Radio
Theatre" and my own "Same Time, Same Station."  Streamed in high-quality
audio, on demand, 24/7 at [removed]
Check out our High-Quality mp3 catalog at:
[removed]
=======================================

SAME TIME, SAME STATION

WORDS AT WAR
Episode 41    3-21-44   "Der Feuhrer"
NBC COUNCIL ON BOOKS IN WAR TIME
Thursdays 11:30 - 12:00 mid
Storys from books produced during War Time.

DR. CHRISTIAN
Episode 361    10-24-45    "Playboy"
CBS VASELINE
Stars: Jean Hersholt and Rosemary De Camp

CURTAIN TIME
Episode 36    3-15-47   "A Bridge For Martha"
HOST: Patrick Allen
STARS: Nanette Sargent, Harry Elders
NBC MARS MILKY WAY Saturdays 7:30 - 8:00 pm

THE FOUNTAIN OF FUN
Episode 9    10-11-42   "The Pinball Machine"
WLW MARS Candy Bars
HOST: Bob Jellison
STARS: Phil Brito, The Thrasher Sisters
MUSIC: Phil Davis and His Orchestra
ANNOUNCER: Don Cornell

==================================

HERITAGE RADIO THEATER

OFFICIAL DETECTIVE
(MBS)    2/17/50   "The Squealer"

IT PAYS TO BE IGNORANT
(CBS/AFRS)    7/14/44
The coo-coo quiz show with host: Tom Howard.

RADIO PREVIEWS THE MOVIES
December 1936 "Leo Is On The Air" Cavalcade of movie musical hits from the
MGM films of the year.

==================================

If you have any questions or request, please feel free to contact me.

     Jerry Haendiges

     Jerry@[removed]  562-696-4387
     The Vintage Radio Place   [removed]
     Largest source of Old Time Radio Logs, Articles and programs on the Net

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:46:37 -0400
From: <verotas@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Kidsopera, Tenn., Weston Wildernesss

Don Jensen raised questions about programs obviously which had profound
affect on him in the mid to late 1940s.  Apparently Don and I are of an age
(I was born in 1936).   I do not recall the opera for kids program to which
he refers, although I wish I had known of it at the time.  There were any
number of fine musical programs to which I was devoted,  but this one somehow
escaped me.  Perhaps just a little bit too early.

Tennessee Jed was a Western show on ABC, and I too remember that opening!
Don's recollection of the ricochet was right on target.  (Go away, Derek!).
What probably none of us knew at the time was that the theme was sung by a
30-something Elton Britt!

Tennessee Jed (Sloan) was voiced over time by Johnny Thomas and Don
MacLaughlin.  Thomas was also heard on True Detective Mysteries.  Raymond
Edward Johnson portrayed a gambling man named Masters, and the show's
narrator was announcer Court Benson.  Another well known announcer  - George
Petrie - appeared often in dramatic parts (the beauty of radio!).

But even more prolific was Don MacLaughlin, who starred as David Harding,
Counterspy.  He popped up occasionally with Peg Lynch on Ethel and Albert,
and on Gangbusters; was cerealized on The Romance of Helen Trent & We Love
and Learn;  starred as Dr. Brent on The Road of Life;  and got hissed at on
The Witch's Tale.   One wonders if perhaps he was a co-passenger with Orson
Welles in some of those now-famous cab rides!  MacLaughlin re-created several
of those soap roles in later TV revivals.

Yes, Don, there was a Weston family - a whole slew of them were heard on
Wilderness Road, where Lon Clark played Sam Weston and William Johnstone was
Simon Weston.  Daniel Boone was voiced by Ray Collins - I wonder whatever
happened to him after that!  Parker Fennelly often showed up, but somehow I
don't think as the Pepperidge Fahm guy, or sounding like Fred Allen's pal.

Thanks to Buxton and Owen for filling in a few cracks in some of my own
memories.

If we are to believe the set-up in  the Edward R. Murrow recordings, it was
the Wilderness Road program which was interrupted for that World War II
headline bulletin by John Daly with which we are all so familiar as a result.

Don - thanks for the soap box - sorry I can't help with the kids' opera
things - I look forward to someone else filling us in on that!  Bestus, Lee
Munsick

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:47:02 -0400
From: Mahlon Wagner <mwagner2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Heinlein on Radio, one more

Would I be correct that Heinlein's "Jerry was (is) a Man" was never on
radio?

I thought my 12-year old neighbor would enjoy that particular program.
Thanks
Mahl

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:47:14 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  A legend in our time

1922 - The first commercial to be broadcast on radio was heard on WEAF
in New York City.

That's a popular theory.  Actually, when I was researching that fact for a
book to be released in 2008, to my unmitigated surprise -- ultimately
unintendedly poking holes in a belief long deemed sacrosanct by OTR lovers
past and present -- I discovered no fewer than three such prior occurrences
in the period 1915-21 by previous operators of radio transmitting equipment.
While WEAF's attempt might possibly have been the first in which cash
physically changed hands, the guys that got there first were hawking goods
and services like radio parts (from the broadcaster's own garage, by mail
order), phonograph records (a deal made with a local record store in
exchange for letting the DJ borrow discs for ethereal play, then promoting
sales of those tunes from the shop) and nightclub seating (a maestro
plugging performances at a nearby venue).

All of this, to me, suggests that these were commercial efforts, [removed]
attempts over the air to persuade the public to purchase something.  Once
the new idea caught on, WEAF officials reneged on a previous hard-line stand
against advertising and permitted it, in limited quantity, starting August
1922.  (WEAF's first pitch pronounced the joys of residential apartment
living.)

In the interest of full disclosure, I must state that two of the early
outlets were experimental stations run by ham operators (although KDKA grew
out of one of those within a matter of weeks) and the third was WJZ, already
a "legitimate" broadcasting success.

I think it's another case of our accepting what has been written as gospel
and perpetuating the myth, as the WEAF tale of being first to advertise has
been oft repeated by scores of well-intended authors and hobbyists.  In
reality, I find little substantive data that convinces me to buy into it any
longer, even though it makes a charming legend.

Jim Cox

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:47:43 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  You know I'll bring her in some day

Every age has its music.  As a youth of the 1950s, mine was rock 'n' roll.
If you're from that era, you recall a tune by The Coasters simply titled
"Searchin.'"

I don't know that anybody has ever mentioned it on this forum but I'm
continually amazed every time I hear it, how many radio sleuths are
suggested in the lyrics.  In addition to an unidentified Northwest Mountie
(Sergeant Preston perhaps?), there is Sherlock Holmes, Sam Spade, Sergeant
Friday, Charle Chan, Boston Blackie and Bulldog Drummond, for a total of 7.
Didja ever think about the link with radio?

And a more pertinent question:  Who can find a song with lyrics that names
more than 7 radio series?  Gotcha?

Now, go in peace, brothers and sisters, and listen to the "Searchin'" tune
resounding in your head for a spell!

Jim Cox

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

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 20:23:06 -0400
From: Gerand <gerand@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  old time radio glenn miller

Have a 3 LP record set of "Glenn Miller The Man and his Music" Mutual
Broadcasting System Presents a Special Tribute dated 1983.  Part of the label
states "...and must be destroyed immediately after broadcast".  The album box
is printed in blue (picture of Miller) and red all on a white box background.

Any idea of how many of these remain and if it is a rare item and its overall
value.  Pictures available if interested.
Let me know as it seems to be an interesting collection of what was done 25
years ago.

Thanks,

Jim
Anchorage, Alaska

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #246
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