------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2010 : Issue 127
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
OTR stars on Imagination Theatre [ lawrence albert <albertlarry@yahoo. ]
Russ Hodges [ IreneTH@[removed] ]
Peter Fernandez, An Appreciation [ Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed]; ]
09-30-1962 [ Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed]; ]
Unit 99 [ mchone@[removed] ]
7-16 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Re: Radio and Baseball [ jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns) ]
Giddins and Benny [ "Laura Leff" <president@[removed] ]
Gary Giddens [ Brian Johnson <chyronop@[removed] ]
This week in radio history 18-24 Jul [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
Correction to previous post [ Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed]; ]
7-18 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:06:53 -0400
From: lawrence albert <albertlarry@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR stars on Imagination Theatre
Well, I've finally done it. Just before the Reps Convention I put together a
4 CD set with 11 stories all featuring OTR stars in NTR shows written by Jim
French. We've got Harry Bartell, Gil Stratton, Herb Ellis, Art Gilmore,
Jeanette Nolan, Tyler McVey, Fred Foy, Herb Ellis, Rhoda Williams, Shirley
Mitchell, Peter Leeds, Dick Beals,Parley Baer, Lawrence Dobkin, Alice
Backes,Bob Hastings and Rosemary Rice. If you're interested check out
[removed] and look for "Stars of The Golden Age of Radio on
Imagination Theatre." I'm in a couple of the shows too.
Larry
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:08:05 -0400
From: IreneTH@[removed]
To: old time radio <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Russ Hodges
Thank you, Jim Meals for your comments on the book about Willie Mays and Russ
Hodges' call. Yes, Russ made the call on the radio. "The Giants
Encyclopedia", a fine history of the NY and SF Giants, by Tom Schott and
Nick Peters had this to say in the section on Russ Hodges --
"Hodges worked the fateful ninth by luck of the draw. It was partner Ernie
Harwell's turn to do TV, so Hodges was left with radio chores and called the
historic homer" Harwell: "What did radio bring Russ? Immortality, What
did coast-to-coast TV bring me? Nothing. It's fair to say that TV was still
not a household fact."
I own but haven't yet read the Mays book. I moved out to the SF Bay Area in
1958 to attend UC Berkeley. That was the same year the Giants moved here.
One thing that bothered me was that Willie did not get the attention he
deserved at first. The bay area was still loving the memories of the SF
Seals and had a 'show me' attitude. Now he has a wonderful, well-deserved
statute at AT&T Park and is a permanent "elder statesman" member of the
organization, always present at important events.
Radio will always be an important part of baseball. Even when we were at
games we listened to Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons radio coverage through
earphones.
Irene Heinstein, a Giants fan for over 60 years -- egads!
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:08:12 -0400
From: Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Peter Fernandez, An Appreciation
It's turning out to be a sad St. Swithin's Day. I received a phone call this
morning from my friend Corinne Orr (regular stock company player on "The
CBS Radio Mystery Theatre") informing me that her "Speed Racer" co-star Peter
Fernandez had died earlier today (15th) after a long bout with cancer. Most
folks will remember Peter as a child- and juvenile actor during the Golden
Age,
particularly on "Let's Pretend."
Peter had a varied showbiz career as an actor, writer, composer, and voice
talent. He wrote several episodes of the 1960s retrOTR series "Theater Five"
and
was known to a newer generation of fans not only as the American voice of
"Speed
Racer" but also as the composer of that programme's theme song (Corinne told
me
he was very proud of his association with "Speed Racer").
When interviewed for a 1997 book on "Speed Racer," Peter recounts how he was
cast in the 1949 film "City Across the River," which featured him, Tony Curtis
(then billed as "Anthony"), and another actor he didn't want to name (given
where this story is going) as three sailors on leave in NYC [the third actor
was
Al Ramsen, older brother of OTR actor/nightclub comedian/regular FOTR guest
Bobby Ramsen]. Years later, Tony Curtis wrote an autobiography which featured
a
publicity photo of the three actors which he captioned "And where are Peter
Fernandez and [Al Ramsen] now?...DOWN THE TOLIET OF NO RETURN." {Mr. Curtis's
caps].
'T'wasn't very nice.
About a month ago, I was listening to Max Schmid's "The Golden Age of Radio"
over WBAI-FM here in the NYC market. Max was featuring a show on a relatively
new Radio Spirits collection "The Many Voices of Johnny Dollar," a boxed set
showcasing episodes of all the actors who ever played "the man with the
action-packed expense account." The episode Max played was the very last
episode
of "Johnny Dollar" tahat originally aired on Sunday, September 30th, 1962."
Since this show was the last OTR show to play on that fateful day, it was, by
default, the last OTR programme to play on what is arguably the last day of
Old
Time Radio.
In the cast were a stable of NYC-based actors including the then-Johnny Mandel
Kramer, Jackson Beck, Jack Grimes, Joseph Julian, and Peter Fernandez [those
are
the names I [removed] Rick Keating or some other YTJD authority verify
them?]. At the time, I remember thinking Peter Fernandez is the only one
surviving and that he was the last link to the last programme of the last day
of
the OTR era.
We're going to miss you, pal.
On a sidenote, Peter Fernandez should not be confused with actor Peter Jay
Fernandez, who had a regular role on the late 1980s syndicated "Superboy" show
and who narrated many Talking Books with me at American Foundation for the
Blind.
Yours truly in the ether,
Derek Tague
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:10:07 -0400
From: Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: 09-30-1962
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
My friend and fellow OTR fan Steve Thompson, a mainstay at the annual
Cincinnati
OTR & Nostalgia convention, and I were speaking about how Peter
Fernandez was
featured in the last episode of "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar"
airing on OTR's
last day, Sunday, September 30th, 1962. When I noted that the
very next day,
October 1st, 1962, was the debut of Johnny Carson as host of
"The Tonight Show,"
Steve thought that this was an ironic passing of the
torch being that Carson was
the personification of the television era.
Not
everybody is comfortable with assigning 09-30-1962 as the "end of an era"
being that Arthur Godfrey and "Monitor" were still going; therefore, wide
acceptance of this theory of OTR yielding itself to the Carson-era reign of TV
is not particularly forthcoming. I wasn't even born yet.
Yours/ether,
Derek
Tague
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
[ADMINISTRIVIA: However, for the purposes of this list, 9/30/1962 IS the "end
of the OTR era." It's certainly arbitrary, but we have to have _some_
guideline, so I threw a dart and there it is. --cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:10:22 -0400
From: mchone@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Unit 99
Hello folks;
I have been trying to find some information on an OTR program from 1957-1958
called
'Unit 99' It seems to be another reality type cop show. I haven't found any
information on it and would appreciate the help of knowledgeable Digesters.
Thanks.
Roby McHone
Fairbanks, Alaska
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:10:28 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 7-16 births/deaths
July 16th births
07-16-1882 - Charles Egelston - Covington, KY - d. 10-31-1958
actor: Shuffle Shober "Ma Perkins"; Humphrey Fuller "Just Plain Bill"
07-16-1887 - Floyd Gibbons - Washington, [removed] - d. 9-23-1939
commentator: "Headline Hunter"; "World Adventures"; "Nash Program"
07-16-1888 - Percy Kilbride - San Francisco, CA - d. 12-11-1964
actor,host: "Paul Whiteman Presents"; "Melody Round-Up"; "Stars in the
Air"
07-16-1891 - Blossom Seeley - San Francisco, CA - d. 4-17-1974
song and dance trouper: "The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air"
07-16-1902 - Andrew Stone - Oakland, CA - d. 6-9-1999
film writer: "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-16-1903 - Carmen Lombardo - London, Canada - d. 4-17-1971
saxophonist: (Guy's brother) "Guy Lombardo and His Orchestra"; "Esso
Marketer"
07-16-1903 - Edith Walton - d. 3-1-1975
journalist: "Speaking of Books"; "Author Meets the Critics"
07-16-1906 - Asakusa Ichimaru (Mitsue Goto) - Japan - d. 2-17-1997
singer: "Mitsukoshi Calendar of Songs"
07-16-1906 - Vincent Sherman - Vienna, GA - d. 6-18-2006
screenwriter: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Screen Director's Playhouse"
07-16-1907 - Barbara Stanwyck - Brooklyn, NY - d. 1-20-1990
actor: "Prudential Family Hour of Stars"; "This Is My Story"
07-16-1907 - Ned Calmer - Chicago, IL - d. 3-9-1986
news analyst: "World News Roundup"
07-16-1908 - Frank Singiser - Montevideo, MN - d. 5-28-1982
newscaster: "Mutual News"
07-16-1911 - Ginger Rogers - Independence, MO - d. 4-25-1995
actor: "Star and the Story"; "Packard Hour"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-16-1911 - Sonny Tufts - Boston, MA - d. 6-4-1970
actor: "Harold Lloyd's Comedy Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
07-16-1912 - Raphael (Ray) Barr - NYC - d. 3-17-1983
composer, arranger, pianist: "Cliquot Club Eskimos"
07-16-1915 - Elaine Barrie - NYC - d. 3-1-2003
actor: (Wife of John Barrymore) "Streamlined Shakespeare"
07-16-1915 - Joe O'Brien - Yonkers, NY - d. 7-24-2005
announcer: "Jack and Cliff"; "Rosemary"
07-16-1916 - Lionel Baxter - d. 11-11-2000
sportscaster: WAPI Birmingham, Alabama
07-16-1917 - William Woodson - Los Angeles, CA
actor: John Britton :Just Plain Bill"; Narrator "This is Your FBI"
07-16-1920 - Edwin Cooper - d. 8-14-1961
announcer, actor: "The Milt Herth Trio"; "RFD America"
07-16-1920 - Shirley Thomas - d. 7-21-2005
producer: "Hopalong Cassidy"
07-16-1925 - Cal Tjader - St. Louis, MO - d. 5-5-1982
jazz vibrophonist: "Music for Moderns"; ""All-Star Parade of Bands"
07-16-1926 - Stanley Clements - Long Island, NY - d. 10-16-1981
actor: "Family Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-16-1927 - Mindy Carson - NYC
singer: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
07-16-1928 - Robert Sheckley - NYC - d. 12-9-2005
writer: "X-Minus One"
07-16-1930 - Joey Giardello - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-4-2008
middleweight boxer; "Tops In Sports"; "Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts"
07-16-1932 - Max McGee - Saxton City, NV - d. 10-20-2007
color commentator for the Green Bay Packers
07-16-1948 - Stella Kent - United Kingdom
writer: "Because"
July 16th deaths
01-01-1905 - Dick Aurandt - d. 7-16-1984
orchestra leader: "Voyage of the Scarlet Queen"; "Steve Canyon"
01-16-1910 - Dwight Weist - Palo Alto, CA - d. 7-16-1991
actor: Mr. District Attorney "Mr. District Attorney"
01-17-1904 - Patsy Ruth Miller - d. 7-16-1995
silent film star: "Arthur Godfrey and His Talent Scouts"
01-30-1885 - Ida Bailey Allen - Danielson, CT - d. 7-16-1973
homemaker: "Ida Bailey Allen and the Chef"
02-16-1933 - Rod Trongard - d. 7-16-2005
announcer: Minnesota radio
02-18-1901 - Wayne King - Savannah, IL - d. 7-16-1985
bandleader: (The Waltz King) "Lady Esther Serenade"
02-19-1896 - Eddie Jackson - d. 7-16-1980
comic: "Jimmy Durante Show"; "Mail Call"; "Big Show"
03-30-1896 - Samson Raphaelson - NYC - d. 7-16-1983
playwright: "Lux Radio Theatre"
04-15-1909 - Gordon Bambrick - d. 7-16-1977
announcer: "Reading Is Fun"
05-09-1909 - Don Messer - Tweedside, New Brunswick, Canada - d.
7-16-1972
fiddle: "Don Messer and His Islanders"
06-18-1913 - Harold Alberghini - d. 7-16-1993
disk jockey and newscaster: Maine
07-11-1884 - Howard Estabrook - Detroit, MI - d. 7-16-1978
screen writer: "Screen Guild Theatre"
07-12-1884 - Edgar Stehli - Lyons, France - d. 7-16-1973
actor: Dr. Huer "Buck Rogers"; Rex A. Starr "It's Murder"
07-27-1928 - Barbara Eiler - Los Angeles, CA - d. 7-16-2006
actor: Babs Riley "Life of Riley"; Millie Anderson "Day in the Life of
Dennis Day"
09-01-1902 - John J. Anthony - NYC - d. 7-16-1970
moderator: "Good Will Hour"; "John J. Anthony Hour"
09-02-1918 - Laurinda Almeida - Sao Paulo, Brazil - d. 7-16-1995
guitarist: "Stan Kenton and His Orchestra"
10-23-1904 - Margaret Speaks - Columbus, OH - d. 7-16-1977
singer: "Voice of Firestone"
11-03-1880 - Pearl King Tanner - Eureka, CA - d. 7-16-1980
actor: Mothere Sherwood "Hawthorne House"; "Eno Crime Clues"
11-10-1893 - John P. Marquand - Wilmington, DE - d. 7-16-1963
writer: "Information Please"
11-12-1917 - Jo Stafford - Coalinga, CA - d. 7-16-2008
singer: "Tommy Dorsey Show"; "Ford Show"; "Chesterfield Supper Club"
11-19-1913 - Blue Barron - Cleveland, OH - d. 7-16-2005
bandleader: "Blue Barron and His Orchestra"; "One Night Stand"
12-03-1916 - Whitfield Connor - Rathdowney, Ireland - d. 7-16-1988
actor: Harry Davis "When a Girl Marries"
Ron
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:10:45 -0400
From: jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Radio and Baseball
Good points, Jim Meals!
Here's something I wrote about the Hirsch WILLIE MAYS book (which,
overall, is generally excellent)--
That ultimately involves another long time New York, and Massachusetts,
radio [removed]
Remembering Willie Mays as he turns 79 - James H. Burns, for Sporting
News - MLB - Sporting News
[removed]
Best, Jim
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:10:58 -0400
From: "Laura Leff" <president@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Giddins and Benny
Michael Leannah wrote:
I read somewhere that the single essay about Jack Benny in Gary Giddins'
2006 book Natural Selection: Gary Giddins on Comedy, Film, Music, and
Books
was worth the price of the book, so I went ahead and bought it. Now I wish
I
could remember where I read that plug, because I'd like to clobber the guy
who wrote it.
...
How much bad information am I going to be taking on if I read more of this
book?
Oh Michael, you have no idea how gratified I was to read your reaction.
Mine was very much the same, and even more so because I cringed constantly
at the incredibly large number of factual errors and myths that are conveyed
in that article. Having spent 30 years researching "The Truth" (which is,
admittedly, often elusive) about Jack, it was hard reading it. So you've
probably already taken in even more bad information than you may realize.
Just glad to hear someone else besides me say it.
--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:11:58 -0400
From: Brian Johnson <chyronop@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Gary Giddens
Giddens is a wonderful writer on jazz. His Bing Crosby biography is
considered definitive.
Vintage comedy is a difficult thing to critique. It requires context and most
people don't have it. As a historian, Giddens has the context but probably
assumes that average modern man would find the humor of OTR inaccessible.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:12:05 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: This week in radio history 18-24 July
From Those Were The Days
7/18
1936 The critically acclaimed, experimental theatre of the air, The
Columbia Workshop, debuted on CBS.
7/19
1942 The Seventh Symphony, by Shastakovich, was performed for the
first time in the United States by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony
Orchestra.
1948 Our Miss Brooks, starring Eve Arden and Gale Gordon, debuted on
CBS this day.
7/20
1935 NBC debuted G men. The show was later renamed Gangbusters.
Joe
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:12:41 -0400
From: Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Correction to previous post
You all have my profoundest apologies. In a previous posting I wrote about
Peter
Fernandez's passing, I had noted that Peter, Tony Curtis, and Al Ramsen played
sailors
on-leave in the 1949 film "City Across the River." It seems I got my movies
mixed up.
They actually played youthful members of a street gang. Said film was based on
the provocative novel "The Amboy Dukes" by Irving Shulman.
Mea culpas from the ether,
Derek Tague
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:12:46 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 7-18 births/deaths
July 18th births
07-18-1891 - Gene Lockhart - Ontario, Canada - d. 3-21-1957
actor: "Nebbs"; "Doctor Fights"; "Abroad with the Lockharts"
07-18-1893 - Richard Dix - St. Paul, MN - d. 9-20-1949
actor: "Eveready Hour"
07-18-1903 - Chill Wills - Seagoville, TX - d. 12-15-1978
actor: "Armed Forces Radio Theatre"; "Dinner Bell Round-Up Time"
07-18-1903 - Riza Royce - Lancaster, PA - d. 10-20-1980
actor: Victoria Lorring "Young Widder Brown"
07-18-1906 - Clifford Odets - Philadelphia, PA - d. 8-15-1963
playwright: "Fleischmann's Yeast Hour"; "Cresta Blanca Hollywood
Players"
07-18-1906 - [removed] Hayakawa - Vancouver, Canada - d. 2-27-1992
[removed] senator: "Americana"
07-18-1908 - Lupe Velez - San Luis Potosi, Mexico - d. 12-14-1944
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Speed Show"
07-18-1908 - Martha Mears - Mexico, MO - d. 12-13-1986
singer: "G. I. Laffs"
07-18-1909 - Harriet Nelson - Des Moines, IA - d. 10-2-1994
actor: Daisy June "Red Skelton Show"; "Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"
07-18-1910 - Lou Bush - Louisville, KY - d. 9-19-1979
orchestra leader: "Guest Star"; "Stars for Defense"; "Here's to
Veterans"
07-18-1910 - Wyn Sayre - Lakeview, IA - d. 12-17-2007
singer: (Doring Sisters) "Contented Hour"
07-18-1911 - Hume Cronyn - London, Ontario, Canada - d. 6-15-2003
actor: Ben Marriott "Marriage"
07-18-1913 - Eric Pohlmann - Vienna, Austria - d. 7-25-1979
actor: During WWII broadcast for BBC European Service
07-18-1913 - Joe Ripley - d. 2-3-1993
announcer: "Armstrong Circle Theatre"; "Dorothy Dix on the Air"
07-18-1913 - Marvin Miller - St. Louis, MO - d. 2-8-1985
actor: Ben Lyon "Jeff Regan, Investigator"; Gil Whitney "Romance of
Helen Trent"
07-18-1913 - Michael Roy - Hanaford, ND - d. 6-26-1976
host: "Mike Roy's Kitchen"
07-18-1913 - Red Skelton - Vincennes, IN - d. 9-17-1997
comedian: "Avalon Time"; "Red Skelton Show"
07-18-1914 - Phyllis Brooks - Boise, ID - d. 8-1-1995
actor: "Silver Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Command Performance"
07-18-1916 - Irene Winston - NYC - d. 9-1-1964
actor: Myra Gordon "Valiant Lady"; Rosemary Hemingway "Woman In White"
07-18-1918 - Jane Frazee - Duluth, MN - d. 9-6-1985
vaudeville act with sister
07-18-1920 - Charlie McCarthy - Chicago, IL - d. 9-30-1978
dummy: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
07-18-1923 - Sam Gray - Chicago, IL
actor: "High Moment"; "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
07-18-1927 - Kurt Masur - Brieg, Germany
conductor: New York Philharmonic
07-18-1964 - Wendy Williams - Ocean Township, NJ
host: "The Wendy Williams Experience"
July 18th deaths
01-03-1925 - Jill Balcom - London, England - d. 7-18-2009
actress: "Time for Verse"
02-26-1900 - Jean Negulesco - Craiova, Rumaina - d. 7-18-1993
film director, screenwriter: "Screen Director's Playhouse"; "Lux Radio
Theatre"
03-26-1900 - Creighton Allen - Macon, MS - d. 7-18-1969
pianist for NBC in 1935
05-28-1918 - Johnny Wayne - Toronto, Canada - d. 7-18-1990
comedian: (Wayne and Shuster) "Army Show"; "March of Time"
08-12-1897 - Bob Emery - Abington, MA - d. 7-18-1982
host: "The Small Fry Club"; "This Wonderful World"
09-10-1885 - Carl Van Doren - Hope, IL - d. 7-18-1950
author/lecturer: "New York Philharmonic Orchestra"; "Words at War"
09-14-1910 - Jack Hawkins - London, England - d. 7-18-1973
actor: "[removed] Steel Hour"
10-16-1926 - Paul Duke - Richmond, VA - d. 7-18-2005
newscaster: "News of the World"
10-28-1917 - Ron Rawson - Iowa - d. 7-18-1994
announcer: "Right to Happiness"; "Advs. of Topper"; "Advs. of the Thin
Man"
11-12-1915 - Richard Ney - NYC - d. 7-18-2004
actor: "Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre"; "Suspense"
12-25-1911 - Larry Menkin - NYC - d. 7-18-2000
writer: "The Sparrow and the Hawk"
Ron
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2010 Issue #127
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