------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2005 : Issue 225
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Re: Laurel & Hardy [ Fred Berney <fsberney@[removed]; ]
Walter Brennan [ "randy story" <hopharrigan@centuryt ]
Superman vs. the KKK [ "RICHARD RIEVE" <Rieve9@[removed]; ]
Re: Superman vs. the Ku Klux Klan [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
Texas Rangers and Friendliness [ "Jim Harmon" <jimharmonotr@charter. ]
The Rest of the Story! [ "dennis townsend" <dltnkt@[removed] ]
Somebody was asking about ... [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
Re: Prerecorded network Program drui [ BryanH362@[removed] ]
This Is Your Life [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
in the audience [ "Mike Hobart" <zines50@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 09:17:41 -0400
From: Fred Berney <fsberney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Laurel & Hardy
One of the DVD that we sell is the This Is Your Life Laurel & Hardy.
Email me directly for complete information. We also have almost the
complete collection of L & H films transferred to DVD.
Fred
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 11:51:17 -0400
From: "randy story" <hopharrigan@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Walter Brennan
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A recent birthday entry for Walter Brennan mentioned these performances:
Grandpa Vanderhof "You Can't Take it with You"; Judge Roy Bean "Law West of
the Pecos"
Anyone have access to some of these shows if they still exist? I would love
copies of them as I am a huge Brennan fan!
Let me know of these or ANY other shows featuring the three time Oscar winner.
Brennan was a great character actor whose work is still enjoyable.
Thanks,
Randy
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Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 11:51:36 -0400
From: "RICHARD RIEVE" <Rieve9@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Superman vs. the KKK
Joel Siegel wondered whether the episodes of Superman vs the KKK still
exist. Yes and they are all available on cassette from both Sperdvac and
the Radio History Society of Colorado. Look for the Knights of the White
Carnation which ran from February 26 to March 18, 1947.
Best regards, Rick Rieve
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 12:32:43 -0400
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Superman vs. the Ku Klux Klan
joelsiegel@[removed] asked:
in the new book Freakonomics, there is a chapter on a man who
infiltrated the KKK (in Atlanta) and passed all of the secret
handshakes, words and rituals to the people who produced Superman on
the radio. Superman not only fought the Klan but Klan members were
aghast when they saw their own children making fun of the Klan.
Membership plummeted. The year would have been 1946. Do any of these
episodes exist?
Indeed they do. In fact, the entire series of KKK adventures were
broadcast here in Knoxville on our lamented Pirate Station KFAR on a
program called _The Esoteric Trip_, hosted by Cat and The Cockroach
(no connection, apparently, to Don Marquis's creations Mehitabel and
Archie). In passing, since some on this list have questioned OTR's
continuing appeal for those who are too young to remember it, I'll
mention that the demographic for this station was almost entirely
high school and college kids; the response to OTR (and NTR) was
entirely favorable.
The racist organization on the show was called The Klan of the Fiery
Cross; It was clear enough that it was the KKK that was represented.
I suppose it's possible that, in that day, had the actual name Ku
Klux Klan been used there would have been a real possibility than
some manifestation thereof might actually have been able to sue for
defamation or libel. Some Klans were incorporated and would have had
standing to bring action.
The original victim of racism in the story, as it happens, was
Chinese rather than black. An interesting choice. One wonders whether
the producers of the show wished to skirt the issue of discrimination
against blacks and Jim Crow laws, or whether they were hinting at the
recent injustices visited against another group of people of Asian
origin, Japanese Americans.
Needless to say, secret handshakes would not have had much impact on
radio, but rallies with burning crosses and the like were vividly
described. The KKK members were portrayed, quite accurately, as
ignorant, cowardly bullies. This took quite a bit of courage as the
Klan was not simply scattered bands of comical country bumpkins
trying to compensate for their total lack of any source of pride
other than that they attached to their accident of birth as white
people, as they are today. And it was not a Southern phenomenon, as
so many today would like to believe. In the KKK's largest rally in
about 1929, hundreds of thousands marched through the streets of DC;
according to newspaper reports 90% were from the North. The Klan and
its activities were so widespread, it seems unlikely that any
"infiltrator" would have been necessary to accurately depict their
rituals.
As a measure of the fear the KKK was able to instill in Americans in
their heyday, in his introduction to _Far Lands, Other Days_,
published in the '70's by Carcosa, E. Hoffman Price, a gutsy guy and
a genuine swashbuckler, a guy who fought Pancho Villa and had many
adventures similar to those he wrote about in the pulps, apologizes
to the KKK for any offense he may have given in the writings of his
reckless youth. Hey, they killed people.
So, in running this series, the writers, producers and Mutual's
officers were actually sticking their necks out (though it was not,
as far as I know, until several years later a radio personality was
shot by a racist for his on-air views). And, physical danger aside,
it wasn't just a few Southern bigots they risked offending.
In speaking of Ku Klux Klan infiltrators, I have to mention an old
friend, the late Delmar Dennis, who was, I believe, a genuine hero.
He was the one who infiltrated the Klan, if "infiltrated" is the
right word, and made possible the original solving of the murders of
the three freedom riders in Mississippi and the ultimate conviction,
however belatedly, of at least one of the murderers, just a couple of
months ago. His reminiscences, recounted by the author of
_Klandestine_, also led, eventually, to the conviction of the
murderer of Medgar Evers.
Mr. Dennis had actually been invited to meetings of the Klan, perhaps
had even joined (I don't recall), but quickly became disgusted by
their activities, though he remained a conservative all his life. His
"infiltration" consisted of continuing to attend Klan rallies and
reporting serious criminal activity to the FBI, long after he
otherwise would have stopped attending their meetings. After their
investigations and the original trials were complete, the FBI
relocated him to East Tennessee, where he lived quietly but not in
hiding, and where I met him. He ran a health food store in Pigeon
Forge for a few years, and then wrote for a local newspaper. He was
depicted in the movie _Ghosts of Mississippi_, though not accurately;
he was actually a well-read and intelligent man, not the uneducated
redneck portrayed. In helping to put an end to the Klan's reign of
terror in Mississippi he paid a heavy price: his house and car were
bombed, he lost his livelihood and his marriage ended. He once told
me no one had ever thanked him.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 13:50:41 -0400
From: "Jim Harmon" <jimharmonotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Texas Rangers and Friendliness
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Hello -- The other day I Googled the Texas Rangers as any of us can do, but I
will give a brief rundown of what is there, in case everybody doesn't go to
the trouble of investigating themselves.
When the name of the organization is mentioned I frequently think of the
line introducing Joel McCrea in "Tales of the Texas Rangers" on radio --
"Texas-- more than two thousand square miles and fifty men who make up the
oldest and most famous law enforcement body in North America". That was back
in the late 1940s. Today there are 140 Texas Rangers. Remember Walker, Texas
Ranger's black sidekick on TV? He must have hung in there longer than
Walker.
Today the "Captain (Chief)" of the Rangers is pleasant-looking black man.
As I recall the statistics, last year the Texas Rangers investigated about
ten thousand crimes, resulting in five thousand convictions. That is an
incredible record -- like hitting a home run every second time you come up to
bat. Someone has said the only law enforcement group equal to the stature of
Britain's Scotland Yard in America is the Texas Rangers.
It is not a group of fired-up youths. You have to serve eight years with
distinction on some other law force to get into the Rangers. The average age
this year of a Ranger is 44. (Last year it was 45.) There is no recruitment
necessary, with a long waiting list available.
I did find a disappointment. Years ago I thought I had bought two
different genuine Texas Ranger badges, but according to the Rangers site both
are fakes. One is a faithful reproduction looking as if it were stamped from
a Mexican peso (see the back). The other is a fantasy item -- reading "State
Ranger -- Texas" in a horizontal half-moon design. Live and learn.
To change the subject completely, I was reading Jim Cox's excellent book,
"Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons" (I haven't got to his new and equally
excellent I understand "Radio Music" book, both available through him or
McFarland). In the book, Mr. Cox doubts the wisdom of New York City
residents admitting Keen into their homes without any real proof who he is.
As I wrote him, many of the listeners were not in New York but lived in the
mid-west and accepted the mores of that area.
In the forties, as a boy, I lived in Mount Carmel, Illinois and during the
long, hot summers many a time a man or a woman we did not know, out on a walk,
would knock at our door and ask
"Could I trouble you for a glass of water?" They didn't give their name or
occupation, but my mother would say "Of course, won't you step in?" And then
the uninvited guest would often be served ice tea or lemonade instead of plain
water. And my mother was not the most open and friendliest person in town,
believe me.
Yes, real people were more hospitable during the Golden Age of Radio,
similar to the characters they listened to on the air.
I hope you will keep an eye out for my forthcoming BearManor book, "It's
That Time Again -- New Stories of Old Time Radio", Vol. 3, edited and with
several stories by me, other stories by
other contributors to these internet pages.
-- Jim Harmon
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Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 18:00:22 -0400
From: "dennis townsend" <dltnkt@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Rest of the Story!
Most of us have listened to Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story on the radio
but did you know he also put them out on video? I have just converted my
copies to DVD and would like to sell my VHS copies if anyone is interested.
Dennis
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 20:52:30 -0400
From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Somebody was asking about ...
1. Somebody was asking about various authors on OTR.
Sartre's "Les Jeux Sont Faits" was apparently adapted for NBC
University Theatre in 1950 as "The Chips Are Down."
The indispensable [removed] lists 25 entries for Guy de
Maupassant. In addition, a half dozen of this author's stories were
adapted in mid-1933 for CBS' "Columbia Dramatic Guild," which I gather
was sort of a precursor to "The Columbia Workshop." I don't know
whether or not any of these broadcasts still exist (probably not, I'm
guessing) but here's a partial "log," culled from newspapers:
05-14 The Necklace [by Guy de Maupassant]
05-21 Murders in the Rue Morgue [by Edgar Allan Poe]
05-28 A Piece of String [by Guy de Maupassant]
06-04 The Invisible Wound [by Karoly Kisfaludi?]
06-11 How He Got the Legion of Honor [by Guy de Maupassant]
06-18 The Tell-Tale Heart [by Edgar Allan Poe]
06-25 The Specter Bridegroom [by Washington Irving]
07-02 The Man With the Golden Brain [by Alphonse Daudet]
07-20 The Cask of Amontillado [by Edgar Allan Poe]
07-27 The Watch Dog [by Guy de Maupassant]
08-03 The Fall of the House of Usher [by Edgar Allan Poe]
08-10 The Devil in the Manuscript [by Nathaniel Hawthorne]
08-17 The Mask [sic] of the Red Death [by Edgar Allan Poe]
08-24 Lilie Lala [by Guy de Maupassant]
08-31 The Body Snatcher [by Robert Louis Stevenson]
09-07 The Black Cat [by Edgar Allan Poe]
09-14 The Horla [by Guy de Maupassant]
09-21 The Pied Piper of Hamelin [by Robert Browning]
09-28 Metzengerstern [by Edgar Allan Poe]
10-05 [?]
10-12 The Ace of Cads [by Michael Arlen?]
10-19 [?]
10-26 The Tell-Tale Heart [by Edgar Allan Poe]
2. Somebody was asking about 1944's "The Star and the Story." Here's
all I know, which isn't much:
The Star and the Story
(sometimes listed in newspapers as "The Walter Pidgeon Show")
Dramatic anthology, mostly motion picture adaptations
Sponsored by Goodyear Tire and Rubber
Sunday nights, CBS (30 mins.)
Walter Pidgeon "acts as both host and leading man" with a different
leading lady each week. According to publicity, the series was
Pidgeon's idea and he "not only suggests the leading ladies he would
like to have opposite him ... but he also makes arrangements for their
appearances ..." Jerry Haendiges' site ([removed]) has a complete
log with the titles and guest actresses.
A March 1944 item in Joe Rathbun's syndicated column "Joe's Radio
Parade":
Alfred Newman's orchestra on the new CBS series, "The Star and the
Story," is made up almost entirely of musicians from 20th-Century Fox
studios where Newman is music director. Only two members of the
orchestra have appeared regularly on a radio series before but all
possess many years experience in music for films.
3. Somebody was asking about married couples in OTR. One obscure
couple I didn't see mentioned was Ernest Chappell and Claudia Morgan.
Morgan guested on at least five episodes of Chappell's "Quiet, Please"
series.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 00:14:14 -0400
From: BryanH362@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Prerecorded network Program druing summer
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Nope; Arizona folks follow the same protocol as Chicagoans (at least during
the summer). Everything is aired an hour earlier than it is on the east and
west coasts. I think the way the OTR programs handled the four time zones
with two broadcasts was to have one broadcast for the Pacific and Mountain
zones and another for the Eastern and Central zones.
Well sort of. In Network TV there was only two feeds. One for the East,
Central and Mountain time zones coming out of New York and one for the
Pacific
Time Zone out of Los Angeles. What happened in the mountain time zone was
very inconsistent because different stations did different things. For
example on
a typical Saturday evening in 1966 one Utah station did the following--
Jackie Gleason came into Utah at 5:30 pm (7:30 NYT) . One station aired the
program at 5:30 pm while one station , KSL I believe, delayed the show until
9pm
later that evening. However, beginning at 6:30 both stations took the feed
direct . 6:30 Pistols and Petticoats (8:30 EST) , 7:00 Mission Impossible
(9:00
EST ) , 8:00 Gunsmoke ( 10pm EST) . At 9pm the one station aired the Gleason
delayed broadcast while the other aired a movie (local) . For the most part
by the 1970s Mountain time zone stations were delaying the prime time
programs one hour to be aired at the same clock time as they were being aired
in the
central time zone. Some stations had started much earlier with this practice
and some not. Daytime programming was not delayed from the feed . In fact
many daytime network programs were actually shown one hour earlier on the
west
coast also . For instance The Price is Right airs at 11am in New York, 10 am
in Chicago , 9am in many mountain time zone cities ( 10 am in others ) and 10
am out west.
In radio there is much talk about East and west coast broadcasts but many
programs did only one show. For instance the Lux Radio Theater was heard out
west at 6pm , Fibber McGee and Molly at 6:30 pm because they only performed
one
show aired live at one time to the whole nation. When there was a 2nd
broadcast
for the west sometimes the second broadcast went to the Pacific and mountain
time zones and sometimes only for the Pacific.
For example on Sunday Night on CBS Sam Spade was heard at 8pm EST, 7pm CST,
6pm MST and 9pm PST. (Only the Pacific time zone received the 2nd
broadcast).
When Sam Spade moved to NBC at 8pm it eliminated the west coast show and was
heard out west at 5pm. NBC west coast stations evening time slot were
already filled by the
Standard Hour and the Jack Benny rebroadcast. The was no room for a Sam Spade
2nd broadcast .
When the Railroad Hour aired on NBC Monday Nights at 8pm . It was heard at
7pm in the Central Time Zone and then a 2nd show went to the west coast at
8:30
pm PST and also to the mountain states at 9:30 pm .
In radio it was never that consistent. Not like todays idea of prime time TV.
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Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 00:14:32 -0400
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: This Is Your Life
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 10:21:52 -0400
From: Lee Munsick <damyankeeinva@[removed];
Normally "This is Your Life" guests were not told about their
involvement in the program until escorted onto the stage of the
program, already in progress. ... One can understand why a lot of
the unhappy guests truly did not like all this.
I wonder if anyone ever flatly refused to appear. And I wonder what Ralph
Edwards would
have done if they had.
This, of course, brings to mind Sid Caesar's parody, on "Your Show of Shows,"
in which Sid
plays the guest/victim. As soon as he learns what's going on, he starts to
run, and they
chase him all over the stage, into the audience, and back, for what seems
like a couple of
minutes, and the longer it went on, the harder I laughed, until they finally
caught him and
forced him into a seat on stage to hear the first voice from his past.
--
A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed]
15 Court Square, Suite 210 lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2503 [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 08:22:56 -0400
From: "Mike Hobart" <zines50@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: in the audience
Recently I had the pleasure of attending the broadcast of a live radio show,
complete with studio audience and announcer.
It wasn't really an Old Time sort of radio show - it was actually a concert
for "Sunday Live" by a jazz quartet at the Federation Concert Hall on the
waterfront in Hobart, Tasmania.
The announcer retired behind a screen when she wasn't speaking to the
national audience, and the microphones were very discreet compared to the
traditional equipment used in the golden age of radio.
But there was a certain frisson from the thought that if I had a coughing
fit or one of the musicians fell off the stage, the sound would be beamed
across the continent in stereo on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's
Classic FM network.
Just for a moment I felt a oneness with all those studio audiences from
half-a-century ago, whose laughter and applause still exists on recordings
of classic radio shows.
Speaking of classic radio, "Theatre Of The Mind" this week aired an episode
of the 1940s thriller serial "First Light Fraser". Billed as the story of
a latter-day Scarlet Pimpernel, this Australian-produced 15-minute drama was
the [removed] show in the ratings in 1944.
Sadly this is the only episode known to still exist. *Sigh* It would be
nice though to think that one day a cache of old recordings of this "drama
of war-torn Europe" may turn up somewhere.
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #225
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