Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #12
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 1/12/2005 1:34 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2005 : Issue 12
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Re: AFRS Ain't What It Used To Be     [ Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed] ]
  CHML-900 Old Time Radio               [ "tlones" <tlones@[removed]; ]
  #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig  [ charlie@[removed] ]
  shooting a gun out of the hand        [ "Jim Harmon" <jimharmonotr@charter. ]
  Mairzy Doats                          [ "Philip Railsback" <philiprailsback ]
  Re: shooting a gun out of someone's   [ joliver@[removed] ]
  Give That Ranger a Hand               [ "Katja and Tom" <kattom@[removed] ]
  Dumb [removed]                         [ "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed]; ]
  AFRS                                  [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
  Mairzy Doats                          [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
  The everlasting hills                 [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
  Weather forecasts during WWII         [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
  Jim Cox and Billy Rose                [ Christopher Werner <werner1@globalc ]
  Seattle OTR Reminder                  [ HRRMIKES@[removed] ]

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

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 00:00:35 -0500
From: Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: AFRS Ain't What It Used To Be

I suggest you tell your military friend to do the same, although the
venerable Zenith Transoceanic is no more (right?)

Actually there are dozens on eBay for pretty good
prices.

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

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 01:34:56 -0500
From: "tlones" <tlones@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  CHML-900 Old Time Radio

According to [removed] , Old Time Radio is aired [removed]
10PM-2AM Fridays (Saturday Morning) Midnight-2AM   Sunday 12
[removed] in my area CHML 900 is covered by local WCER AM 900 here
in Canton, Oh. .CHML does broadcast [removed]

Tim Lones

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 07:49:05 -0500
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 six 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!

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

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 07:51:50 -0500
From: "Jim Harmon" <jimharmonotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  shooting a gun out of the hand
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Hello -- Interesting to me to see all this discussion of the business of
shooting a gun out of an opponent's hand which I started.  I have written to
science fiction fanzines, including specifically letterzines since I was a boy
of thirteen and there when a person's letter was referred to, he or she was
always given name credit.  I guess I like that, having spent a lifetime
getting my name in print. But I see we don't always do that in OTR fandom.
    However, I am writing about marksmanship.   To take the opposite of my
original question as to whether a person could shoot the gun from another's
hand, I have some possibilities.
    My cousin, Brace Beemer, the Lone Ranger himself, was a "deadly" marksman
according to other family members.  He wasn't always.  Somebody had found the
Ranger's aim not impressive and he practiced on the Detroit police range to
perfect that skill.  Possibly, if anybody could shoot a gun out of somebody's
hand, he could really do it.
    My own father, John Harmon, who was 68 when I was born, grew up in the
days of the Old West and nearly always carried a gun, a Colt Peacemaker but a
.38, not the more famous .45, or a smaller .32 Smith and Wesson. He and Brace
had gone hunting together.  When I was about six, Dad was carrying a payroll
for his construction company, five thousand dollars in cash (equal to a
hundred thousand 2005 dollars) when he was attacked by three masked me who
came at him firing wildly.  He returned fire more accurately, causing one man
to collapse between the other two who dragged him away, one of the other two
limping.   Three nogoodnick brothers, drunks and chicken thieves, were
suspected.
One was reported as moving suddenly to Oklahoma.  My dad thought he had
fatally wounded him, and the other brothers had secretly buried him to avoid
being implicated in the attempted hold up.
Dad liked to practice driving nails the rest of the way into a fence with gun
fire from fifty feet away.
He could shot a gun out of someone's hand -- if he had choose to.  When I was
a little older he advised me: "Never draw a gun on a man unless you intend to
shoot him.   Never shoot a man unless you intend to kill him."
    The late science fiction writer, Robert Bloch ("author of Psycho" he
expected on his tombstone), a friend and mentor, repeated a story from film
writer and producer, Sam Peeples.   Sam knew the real Tom Mix as a boy, and
once Tom had spelled out his name, "Sam" in a wooden plate with pistol fire
for him. Tom could have done the deed in question.  But in several law
enforcement jobs cynics keep trying to deny him, I doubt Tom would have risked
it.  (When I visited the town in Oklahoma where the Tom Mix Museum is, the
very elderly taxi driver remembered when "Tom Mix was the law in Dewey" and
how he saw Tom bringing in a horse thief, both men covered in blood from the
arrest.)
    Still, it is a nice concept for kids to value human life and to try to
avoid taking it.  It is too bad we have to develop a harsher view of reality
as we get older. -- Jim Harmon

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 07:52:15 -0500
From: "Philip Railsback" <philiprailsback@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Mairzy Doats

I have a dim recollection of something on TV in the 1960s or 70s where
someone recited the lyrics of Mairzy Doats as if it was a profoundly
serious poem and the result was really funny.

I seem to recall that Steve Allen did this kind of thing as a recurring bit.
  He'd read rock and roll song lyrics as if they were great poetrly.

  - Philip

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

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 07:54:22 -0500
From: joliver@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: shooting a gun out of someone's hand

Quoting [removed]@[removed]:

Mark Kinsler asked if one could really shoot a gun out of someone's hand.

Actually we had that happen here in Columbus a few yeas ago.  We had a person
setting in the middle of the street holding a gun and SWAT reponded and ended
up shooting the gun out of his hands - blew the gun apart. When they took him
the guy said ; Wow, d@#m good shot'  but he was fine.

Back to lukersville
Jess

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

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 07:56:05 -0500
From: "Katja and Tom" <kattom@[removed];
To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Give That Ranger a Hand

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr. notes,

Besides the Lone Ranger, though, there are few OTR heroes with that level
of marksmanship.

Matt Dillon was known to occasionally shoot a gun out of the bad guy's hand.

tjz

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

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 07:56:21 -0500
From: "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Dumb [removed]
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Hi!

I know several of us have gotten a chuckle or two out of the "Mairzy Doats"
[removed] more recently, "The Hut Sut Song!"  [removed] think both
tunes are more dumb than funny!  But since there seems to be an interest for
this type of music (at least on the OTR boards)....a few of you might want to
reference an old Spike Jones LP which is now available on Taragon (a company
that has reissued the album using the CD format).

60 YEARS OF MUSIC AMERICA HATES BEST contains Spike's interpretations of these
2 [removed] with "The 3 Little Fishies", "Knock, Knock, Who's There?",
"Strip Polka and Largo Strip" and "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb!"  It's
certainly not the best album Mr. Jones ever [removed](an earlier Lp called
[removed] also on this CD and it's 300% better)...but it might bring a
smile to one or two of you who feels that MD or the HSS songs were "cute?"

argydix

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 11:32:30 -0500
From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  AFRS

In number 11, Tom Greenli writes:

Your idea of a shortwave radio is a
valid one. Who the heck wants to
listen to Rap and Pop junk? Shame
on you AFRS!

I'm not sure what the specific mission of AFRS is, but if in fact it is to
broadcast to the armed forces - many of whom are in the 18-28 year old range
- than I would assume much of AFRS's target audience wants to listen to that
'junk'.

One wonders if, during the 40's, there were people complaining about AFRS
playing all that big band and swing 'junk' that the young soldiers all liked
so well.

-chris holm
actually, this does lead to an interesting question.  With the current
controversy over AFRTS carrying Limbaugh as its only partisan political
programming, I wonder what the history of selecting programming for the AFRS
was in the early years?  Has the official mission changed over time?  Was
there previous controversy over their programming?

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

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 11:34:15 -0500
From: "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed];
To: ""old-time radio digest">" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Mairzy Doats

From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];

I have a dim recollection of something on TV in the 1960s or 70s where
someone recited the lyrics of Mairzy Doats as if it was a profoundly serious
poem and the result was really funny.

Ah Yes Petticoat Junction.  Kate Bradley Recites it at a Hippee poetry
meeting or something.  And Kate was played by, Oh darn the name just took
flight from
my brain, She played one of the operators on the Benny show as well as the
voice for Betty Rubble on the Flintstones.
HELP!! I hate when my brain does this.
Ah well it's an OTR connection anyway.
Bill

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

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 11:37:52 -0500
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  The everlasting hills

In regard to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcasts, we read:

This program, undoubtedly the longest ongoing in radio history, celebrated
its 75th Anniversary last July.

The number of years seem right (based on a July 1929 start) but then there's
that persistently thorny matter of the Grand Ole Opry that simply doesn't go
away when thinking durability!  So many otherwise authoritative
historiographers forget that when they document their "early beginnings" of
radio.  I'm not favoring one series over another but am anxious for
authenticity.

Perhaps those who have loved the music of this great choir will benefit from
some excerpts about it  in my forthcoming book "Music Radio:  The Great
Performers and Programs of the 1920s through Early 1960s" that McFarland
will release this year.  It can be ordered now, by the way, at 800-253-2187
or [removed] or fax 336-246-4403.  There is a chapter on the
sacred music shows as well as numerous other strains within the genre (pop,
big band, contests, country, western, classical, semiclassical, jazz, disc
jockey, etc., plus in-depth focuses on more than 100 individual performers
whose names were familiar in every American household of that epoch).

The following is from the chapter on sacred music programming:

Clearly the most memorable and resilient of the religious music programs was
one that went by several monikers.  To some it was the Salt Lake City
Tabernacle Choir.  To others, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Purists,
however, insisted that its proper designation was (and is) Music and the
Spoken Word from the Crossroads of the West (MSWCW).  The broadcasts of the
350-voice choir of the Church of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) have
emanated from Temple Square, the church's headquarters, in Salt Lake City
since 1924, according to one source, when it began locally over KEPT.   (If
that is the case, it makes the series the longest running radio program in
the world, exceeding the Grand Ole Opry's longevity record dating to October
1925.  Since that hasn't been challenged, the 1924 start date appears
dubious.  Even church literature advocates a launch of the Mormon broadcasts
in 1929.)

The choir is still going strong today, heard weekly over a hookup of
stations nationwide.  Meanwhile, a Sunday daytime half-hour was still
carried by CBS in the late 1970s.

 On July 15, 1929 KSL, then a NBC Blue affiliate, began piping the
broadcasts across the nation.  When the station realigned with CBS in 1932,
MSWCW moved with it.  Professor Anthony C. Lund of Brigham Young University
was the group's first choirmaster.  Earl J. Glade produced and announced
from the beginning.  Upon Lund's death in 1935, J. Spencer Cornwall presided
over the mass choir (1935-1957).  Richard L. Evans assumed responsibilities
as producer, director and announcer in 1930 and remained at the helm until
his death in 1971.  He was followed by Spencer Kinard who was succeeded in
1990 by a one-time anchor of CNN Headline News in Atlanta, Lloyd Newell.
The announcers' brief editorial vignettes ("The Spoken Word") in the midst
of the half-hour musicale are still recalled by millions for their
inspirational tone.  Other famous organists to play the grand instrument
have included Frank Asper, Clay Christiansen, Richard P. Condie, Richard
Elliott, John Longhurst, Jerrold Ottley and Alexander Schreiner.  The
nonpaid choir, all church members representing many occupations, is
purportedly the largest permanent singing group in the world.  There is a
long waiting list to audition for the choir and most aspirants have
extensive singing and choral backgrounds.  Members must be at least 25 years
of age; they can participate until age 60 or 20 years' tenure, whichever
comes first.

 The organ itself is one of the best-known, most widely heard instruments in
the nation.  Australian convert Joseph Ridges built it out of
straight-grained soft pine taken from southern Utah.  He spent a dozen years
shaping the seasoned logs into 2,000 pipes.  The task was completed in 1858.
The organ has subsequently been increased to 11,623 pipes in 206 rows, with
the console featuring five 61-note keyboards and a 32-note keyboard.

Author Tom DeLong provides some helpful research on the matter of acoustics
surrounding the vast domed performance venue seating 6,000 worshipers,
indicating that the program's producers were working well ahead of their
time.

The placement of microphones contributes significantly to the success of the
weekly broadcasts.  Initially, a single microphone picked up the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir.  However, because the large ensemble occupied considerable
floor space, engineers began to notice a "sound lag" from mike to control
room.  To correct this, they installed nine microphones.  The engineer for
each broadcast-which had no full rehearsal due to the long-distance travel
necessitated by some choir members-literally "played" his control board in
the manner of an instrumentalist.  Sopranos, altos, baritones, tenors, and
bassos each utilized a mike.  Their voices were "Mixed" with the pickup from
a trio of microphones flanking the organ and from an all-directional one
suspended from the 100-foot-high ceiling.  The result was a rich stereolike
sound, years before even hi-fi had come into the audio vocabulary.

(Parenthetically, a new auditorium was opened in 2000 to accommodate growing
space requirements, but the tabernacle continues to house the choir and its
radio, television and recording activities.)

The program has been simultaneously carried by hundreds of television
stations for decades.  By 2003 it was estimated that 2,000 radio and TV
stations worldwide were airing the broadcasts.

Music and the Spoken Word arrives weekly with this epigraph:  "Once more, we
welcome you within these walls with music and the spoken word from the
Crossroads of the West."  Half an hour later, the organ tolling softly in
the background, the announcer concludes with these words:  "Again we leave
you from within the shadows of the everlasting hills.  May peace be with you
this day and always."

In 2003, old time radio researcher-writer Jim Snyder reported his
impressions of multiple journeys to Temple Square to witness the Mormon
broadcasts himself.  A portion of his summary follows.

Visitors to Salt Lake City have the opportunity to hear the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir two times each week.  Each Thursday, from 8:00 to 9:30
[removed], a rehearsal for the Sunday broadcast is held.  Visitors are free to
wander in and out at their pleasure during the rehearsal.  Each Sunday the
Music and the Spoken Word broadcast begins at 9:30 [removed] although the doors
are closed and visitors must be seated by 9:15 to avoid interruptions during
the broadcast.  There is no charge for attending these programs but visitors
are asked to fill out a card before entering giving their name, address, and
answering a yes or no question whether they wish to receive a complimentary
copy of the Book of Mormon.  Be warned, however, that based on my three
visits, a couple months after your visit two missionaries will show up at
your door with "your" Book of Mormon even if you checked 'no' on that
entrance card.

The Mormons, and a significant contingent of their peers, discovered early
that radio was a priceless means of communicating their messages of hope to
the masses.  Sacred music was most frequently the vehicle of choice in doing
so.  Their good intentions translated into reassurance and inspiration for
vast numbers tuning in.

Jim Cox

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

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 11:38:13 -0500
From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Weather forecasts during WWII

I don't recall hearing any weather news during the war years.  The Godfrey
program was aired in 1939 before our entry into WWII.  I have recordings
from WNAX, Yankton, SD, fifteen reels of it from ETs, and I can find no
reference whatever to weather.  I do not recall hearing even a reference to
rain or sunshine!

Remember, "A slip of the lip may sink a ship." There were other "button your
lip" wartime slogans.  We were very careful not to give the enemy any
advantages, should he head for our shores to bomb us or invade the US.

Ted Kneebone / 1528 S. Grant St. / Aberdeen, SD  57401
[removed]

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

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 11:38:35 -0500
From: Christopher Werner <werner1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jim Cox and Billy Rose

Tough choice you've given [removed]

Buy the book, read it at my leisure

*OR*

Fly to New York, pay for a cab ride to Lincoln Center/Billy Rose, read
until the library closes, take a cab to the airport, fly home. (let's see,
that would be ~$370 from Detroit)

Hmmm.

You sure the 'Ether' isn't the vaporous type???

Oh, I forgot the prestige of reading in the NYPL was priceless!  Silly me.
(Derek just likes to chat with the copy girls anyway)

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

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 11:40:20 -0500
From: HRRMIKES@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Seattle OTR Reminder
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      Reminder:   Radio Memories will take place on February 5 in Redmond,,
WA, sponsored by the Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound.   It is described by
club president Dick Beals as "A classy celebration of the Golden Age of
Radio."
     The featured guests will include Jim French, Anne Whitfield Phillips,
Doug Young, Hal Stone, Gil Stratton, Jr., Dick Beals and Frank Buxton. They
will
be joined by others in the various casts.
      There will be complete re-creations of The Shadow and Gunsmoke.   And,
in a "Do Twist That Dial" session, there will be segments of The Great
Gildersleeve, Allen's Alley plus Ethel and Albert.   A new feature called
Improv
Radio is expected to be a hit with fans.   There will be a segment called
Memory
Lane and some time with Dr. Radio.
     The program will run from 10:30 AM to 4 PM and registration information
can be found at    [removed]
      Information on the Radio Showcase in June will follow today or
tomorrow.

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End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #12
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