------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 387
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
shortwave revisited [ Pete <pappleyard_ca@[removed]; ]
Oct. 28 talk re old-time radio in Al [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
professional laughers??? [ Ruk77@[removed] ]
CHARLIE'S PICS [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
Japanese Code-O-Graphs? [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
Amos & Andy on the BBC [ "Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed] ]
FOTR Pictures [ "Bill Hintz" <retiredwillie@charter ]
KHJ RADIO HISTORY BOOK [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
War of the Worlds in Latin America [ "Andrew Schneider" <madjack71@earth ]
ARCHIE Incarnations [ "timl2002" <timl2002@[removed]; ]
OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK [ "Jerry Haendiges" <Jerry@[removed] ]
10-27 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Remote disk jockeys, comment [ Vincente Tobias <vincente_ca@yahoo. ]
FOTR [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
Robert Armbruster and Rex Koury [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 13:36:20 +0000
From: Pete <pappleyard_ca@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: shortwave revisited
Ok, I promise that this will be the last thing I
submit re sunspots/radio reception.
NASA and the USA government have put this address out
and I think that no matter how much I or others try
and explain what is going on re reception problems
this is the final and most complete answer to any and
all questions. Just go to:
[removed]
[removed]
When typing in this long address be sure and leave a
blank space between 23oct and the word spacestorm.
Thanks for your patience and be sure to listen to the
story via streaming audio.
Pete
[ADMINISTRIVIA: I believe the correct URL to be:
[removed]
--cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 00:59:43 +0000
From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Oct. 28 talk re old-time radio in
Albany, NY area
I'll be giving a talk about World War II era radio at 7 PM on Tues. Oct.
28 at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, 265 River Street in Troy,
NY. I'll be very happy to see any OTR digest subscribers who live in the
area
Howard Blue
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 01:05:05 +0000
From: Ruk77@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: professional laughers???
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I know that today 'canned laughter' is commonplace in sitcoms & [removed] shows.
M*A*S*H is an example of a show where the laughter is obviosly fake. I even
heard that there were disagreements on that show whether to use canned
laughter
or not. But i recall hearing about poeple that were actually planted in the
audience to laugh on purpose for live broadcasts.
I have been listening to each & every Jack Benny show cronilogically
starting several months back. I have noticed that on several cosecutive
shows some
of the audience's laughs sound like the same person. There was one woman in
particular that had a very distinguishing laugh and I noticed her in several
broadcasts. Also at times the laughter sounds a bit forced. We all know that
laughter is contagious. I was just wondering if anyone knew for sure
whether or
not there were 'plants' in audiences back then to commence laughter. Not just
Jack Benny, but any show. Sounds like a good subject for a [removed] maybe a
small magizine article (laugh).
god bless
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 01:05:38 +0000
From: PURKASZ@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: CHARLIE'S PICS
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In a message dated 10/25/2003 1:38:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
> I was delighted to see Charlie's photo album of that great night bit
> alas, most of it meant very little to mw without any identification of who
> anyone was.
> Kind of like the mystery of radio where you hear a person and create an
> image from your imagination only to be shocked by their actual appearance.
This was the reverse of that.
> Maybe that was his point.
> Anyway, some ID would be great when you get a minute Charlie.
> Michael C. Gwynne
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 01:09:04 +0000
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Japanese Code-O-Graphs?
Chris Holm, on the "Johnny Zero" thread, notes,
> The Allied code breaking efforts had pretty much broken most Japanese
> codes, and Allied naval victories were often the direct result of the
> codebreakers knowing the position of the Japanese fleet. Even Yamamoto's
> death (his plane was shot down) was because the Navy knew where his plane
> would be.
The Japanese had incredible faith in their cryptological equipment and
methodology. This was particularly odd considering that Herbert O.
Yardley's book, The American Black Chamber, published in 1931, noted that
a decade earlier his group had cracked the Japanese ciphers, giving the
United States an advantage in the Kellogg-Briand treaty.
During World War II, LCDR Rochefort's team had partially cracked the
Japanese RED cipher prior to the Battle of Midway. By a trick, they were
able to determine the area of attack in time to counter the Japanese
thrust, and bolster the US forces there.
> Perhaps he needed a Captain Midnight code-o-graph.
Well, RED was better than the Code-O-Graph, and PURPLE (the
highest-security cipher) was far better than RED. The _straight_
Code-O-Graph scheme was no more difficult to crack than those messages
published in daily newspapers. There are systems that can be added to
the basic messages that would make them far more difficult to crack, but
what was broadcast had "security" in brevity. Messages like "Outwit von
Karp" and "Mysterious Stranger" are a bit short for statistical analyses.
I _love_ Code-O-Graphs, but cryptologically speaking, they're all
variants on the Cipher Disk, developed in the 15th Century by Leon
Battista Alberti. Bare, without encipherment additives, they weren't
very secure.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 01:09:35 +0000
From: "Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Amos & Andy on the BBC
This coming Tuesday 28th at [removed] UK time (I guess breakfast time in
eastern USA) BBC Radio 4 are airing Part 1 of a two-part documentary called
"The Real Amos 'n' Andy".
Presented by Jeffrey Robinson (who introduced the excellent series on Radio
Detectives on R4 a few years ago) and produced by Dave Bachelor, part 2 is
at the same time the next week.
You can hear the broadcast online at [removed]
The notes in the listing magazine "Radio Times" says "Created in the 1920's,
this serial story of two African Americans from the Deep South trying to
make a new life in Harlem was the biggest thing in American radio, with one
in three Americans tuning in every night. But for 40 years it's been an
embarrassment - the actors who created and starred in Amos 'n' Andy were
white men, Freeman S. Gosden and Charles J. Correll."
Were you involved in the series, Elizabeth ?
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 01:12:57 +0000
From: "Bill Hintz" <retiredwillie@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: FOTR Pictures
Hi Charlie,
This pictures are great! However, for a guy like me who has never met any
of the great name performers, it would be nice to include names with the
pictures.
Just a comment. Not a criticism so please do not take it wrong.
Bill
K6RBH
Morro Bay, CA
[ADMINISTRIVIA: Taken in the spirit it was given, and I agree. Didn't mean
to be exclusive, was just in a hurry. There's been a whole lot to do around
[removed] --cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 01:13:08 +0000
From: PURKASZ@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: KHJ RADIO HISTORY BOOK
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All you "History of Rock & Roll" fans who remember the KHJ program
from some years ago might want to know that the man who produced that program
and in fact invented the entire concept of "Boss Radio" in Los Angeles namely,
Ron Jacobs, has just released a book on those wonder years of radio's second
'Golden' era.
He lives in Honolulu now and has some of the greatest and most hilarious
radio stories involving Elvis and other rock acts that toured the Islands
when he was a jock on KPOI.
Contact me off line and I will hook you up with how to obtain this book.
Michael C. Gwynne
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 01:13:23 +0000
From: "Andrew Schneider" <madjack71@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: War of the Worlds in Latin America
Fabio, my hat is off to you. I applied to UCLA's history department to do a
[removed] on the "War of the Worlds" broadcast, but they turned me down. I'd
heard about the Chilean version, but not the Venezuelan, Mexican or
Brazilian versions. My understanding was that the Chilean broadcast did
cause a minor panic.
I'm surprised, though, that you hadn't heard about the 1949 broadcast in
Quito, Ecuador. As far as I know, this is the only version of WotW over the
years (and there have been dozens) where the panic has actually resulted in
fatalities. After the citizens of Quito found out they were listening to a
play, a number of them were so furious that they formed a mob and burned the
radio station to the ground. The details are available at the following
URL:
[removed]
There have been any number of English language recreations that have been
done over the years: one in San Francisco, one in Phoenix, Arizona, three in
Colorado (only one of which was any good), one in Hilton Head, South
Carolina (abominable), one in Washington, DC, two in Buffalo, NY (the first
of which inspired a regional panic both in NY and across the border in
Canada), one in Providence, Rhode Island (which also resulted in a local
panic). And I understand that there is at least one other
Portuguese-language version out there, broadcast in Braga, Portugal in 1988,
on the 50th anniversary of the initial CBS broadcast. It too created a
local panic.
Hope that helps. Best of luck with your thesis!
-Andrew C. Schneider
>
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 16:52:10 +0000
From: "timl2002" <timl2002@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: ARCHIE Incarnations
While I don't particularly recall The Archie Comics as being especially
violent or gruesome, There have been different variations on the characters
over the years. Being a big Archie fan from childhood I remember there was
a short series featuring the gang as Superheroes with Archie as "Pureheart
the Powerful", Jughead as "Captain Hero" Betty as SuperTeen and Reggie as
Evilheart. These came out about 1966-67 during the Batman TV craze. I also
vaguely remember them earlier doing a James Bond Spoof in the "Man from
[removed]
While these stories were more Adventure/Suspense. They werent really violent
as [removed] like most fads, they only lasted a short time.
Tim Lones
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 17:23:41 -0500
From: "Jerry Haendiges" <Jerry@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: OLDE TYME RADIO NETWORK
Hi friends
Come and join us for the second of our two-part Halloween special
Here is this week's line-up for the week of 10-26-03 on my Olde Tyme Radio
[removed] Featuring Tom Heathwood's "Heritage Radio Theatre," Big John
Matthews and Steve Urbaniak's "The Glowing Dial" and my own "Same Time, Same
Station" broadcasts, being broadcast on demand 24/7 in high quality
streaming RealAudio at [removed]
Past archived broadcasts are also available there.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Jerry
Here's this week's lineup:
SAME TIME, SAME STATION with Jerry Haendiges
Halloween Special - Part 2
OUR MISS BROOKS
Episode 64 10-30-49 "Halloween Party"
Connie Brooks: Eve Arden
Philip Boynton: Jeff Chandler
Walter Denton: Dick Crenna
Stretch Snodgrass: Leonard Smith
Mrs. Davis: Jane Morgan
Harriet Conklin: Gloria McMillan
Osgood Conklin: Gale Gordon
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Al Lewis
LIFE WITH LUIGI
Episode 150 10-30-51 "Trick Or Treat"
Stars: J. Carrol Naish, Alan Reed, Jody Gilbert, Gil Stratton, Mary Shipp,
Hans Conried, Joe Forte, Ken Peters
Creator/Producer: Cy Howard
THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE
Episode 416 10-31-51 "Gildy Finds a Little Lost Boy On Halloween"
Stars: Willard Waterman, Walter Tetley, Earle Ross, Richard LeGrand, Lillian
Randolph
ANTHOLOGY
Episode 35 10-31-54 "The Three Witches of McBeth"
Stars: Alec Guiness and The Old Vic Company
Announcer: Fleetwood
Director: John Malcom Brennen
Producer: Steve White
Writer: Draper Lewis
---------------------------------------------------
HERITAGE RADIO THEATRE with Tom Heathwood
Halloween Special
THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY
MBS 10-27-47 "The Ghost Who Forgot Halloween"
John Griggs plays "Roger Elliott" - The Mystery Man
THE WITCH'S TALE
MBS 8-27-35 "The Knife pf Sacriface"
Adelaide Fritz-Allen as "Nancy the Witch
THE STRANGE DR. WEIRD
MBS 5-15-45 "Revenge from the Grave"
Host: Maurice Tarplin
EXCERPT: HALLOWEEN, 1946 - At Baby Snooks' House
CBS Stars Fanny Brice and Hanley Stanford
--------------------------------------------------
THE GLOWING DIAL with Big John and Matthews and Steve Urbaniak
Halloween Special
The Mercury Theatre On The Air
"The War Of The Worlds"
with Orson Welles, Frank Readik, Kenny Delmar
10/30/1938 - CBS
Excerpt from Press Conference with Orson Welles the morning after the
broadcast
10/31/1938
Excerpt from an NBC interview
Orson Welles remembers the broadcast some 40 years later
Excerpt regarding War Of The Worlds from Theatre Of The Imagination: The
Story Of The Mercury Theatre
with Leonard Maltin, John Houseman, Orson Welles, Arlene Francis
[removed] Wells meets Orson Welles radio interview
from KTSA, San Antonio, Texas - 10/29/1940
WKBW's re-creation of The War Of The Worlds
10/30/1971 - WKBW 1520 AM - Buffalo, New York
Big John & Steve present their own tongue-in-cheek homage to The War Of The
Worlds, done Glowing Dial style
-----------------------------------------------------
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or requests for upcoming
shows.
Jerry Haendiges <Jerry@[removed];
[removed] The Vintage Radio Place
Largest source of OTR Logs, Articles and programs on the Net
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 17:23:47 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 10-27 births/deaths
October 27th births
10-27-1890 - Bob Becker - Terryville, SD - d. 8-10-1962
commentator: "Fireside Chats About Dogs/Pet Parade"
10-27-1908 - Josephine Antoine - Boulder, CO - d. 10-30-1971
singer: "Contented Hour"
10-27-1910 - Jack Carson - Carmen, Manitoba, Canada (R: Milwaukee, WI) - d.
1-2-1963
comedian: "Jack Carson Show"; "New Sealtest Village Store"
10-27-1911 - Leif Erickson - Alameda, CA - d. 1-29-1986
actor: Richard Rhinelander III "My Friend Irma"
10-27-1914 - Dylan Thomas - Uplands, Swansea, Wales - d. 11-9-1953
writer: "Life of the Modern Poet"; "Modern Muse"
10-27-1918 - Teresa Wright - NYC
actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"
10-27-1920 - Nanette Fabray - San Diego, CA
singer, actress: "Advs. of Ellery Queen"; "MGM Musical Comedy Theatre"
10-27-1923 - Ruby Dee - Cleveland, OH
actress: "Story of Ruby Valentine"
10-27-1939 - John Cleese - Weston-Super-Mare, England
comedian: "Fawlty Towers"
October 27th deaths
01-01-1900 - Xavier Cugat - Tirona, Spain - d. 10-27-1990
bandleader: (King of the Rhumba) "Camel Caravan"
03-05-1900 - Sam Hearn - Jersey City, NJ - d. 10-27-1964
comedian: Schlepperman "Jack Benny Program", "Glamour Manor"
09-20-1911 - Frank DeVol - Moundsville, WV - d. 10-27-1999
conductor: "Rudy Vallee Drene Show"; "Sealtest Village Store"; "Dinah Shore
Show"
10-25-1891 - Father Charles Coughlin - Hamilton, Canada - d. 10-27-1979
commentator, preacher: (The Radio Priest)
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 17:24:32 -0500
From: Vincente Tobias <vincente_ca@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Remote disk jockeys, comment
From: Michael Mewborn <mmewborn@[removed];
Subject: Remote disk jockeys
This is marginally OTR [removed]
See, this has a radio connection.
Sure this is OTR related. I too used to go to these
drive-ins. In Los Angeles a certain Lash Lazaar (sp?)
held forth. I remember once sitting comfortably in the
car with a friend, and Lash came out in the pouring
rain to get our request. I wondered at the time: why
would an adult do such a thing?
For me OTR means not only the network radio drama and
comedy programs, but, especially in the 1950's, also
the disk jockeys who made up such an important part of
our folk hero mythology. Names like Art Laboe, Hunter
Hancock, Huggie Boy, etc. are as legendary as Amos n
Andy, Jack Benny, etc. at least in my books. I was
listening to them in the 50's with equal fervor.
Vince
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 17:24:39 -0500
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: FOTR
I wondered if the FOTR convention could get any better before going last
week. I wonder no more. It did. In every way. My grateful appreciation
to Jay Hickerson and all who made it happen. It was incredible. What may
they possibly do for an encore? And the $52 rate at the Sheraton was a
deal, too. Now I wonder if it will last!
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 17:24:57 -0500
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Robert Armbruster and Rex Koury
Robert Armbruster was one of radio's busiest house band conductors,
providing music on numerous shows we recall. He was born Oct. 9, 1897 but
thus far I have been unable to establish if he died. If not, he has lived
in three centuries. I'm trying to track down information on his
whereabouts. Does anyone on this list know what became of him?
Rex Koury is remembered for providing the music for lots of radio shows but
perhaps none more prominent than Gunsmoke. Yet the biographers of old time
radio haven't exactly made him their most comprehensive topic, at least
those that normally carry lots of detail about a plethora of personalities.
Does anybody have birth and death dates and places for Rex Koury? I may be
overlooking some obvious sources. Several reliable researchers I've asked
are also batting zero on this. Any help directly to me will be sincerely
appreciated.
Jim Cox
otrbuff@[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #387
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