Subject: [removed] Digest V01 #94
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 3/24/2001 10:10 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                      The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                         Volume 01 : Issue 94
                   A Part of the [removed]!
                           ISSN: 1533-9289


                           Today's Topics:

 Re: Eloise Kummer & Paul Brentson    [Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];     ]
 Milton Berle                         [William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];]
 Re: "Fresh Air Taxi"                 [Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed]]
 Cincinnati Convention                [danhughes@[removed]                 ]
 Morningside and Peter Gzowski        ["J. Randolph Cox" <cox@[removed]]
 Gale Storm                           ["tas richardson" <tasrichardson@spr]
 WW II Radio Reporters                ["John Davis" <WolfpackFan@[removed]]
 Re: Amos n Andy in pop culture       [ecrasez@[removed]                ]
 Re: NIGHT THAT PANICKED AMERICA      [Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];       ]
 MEETING THE PIONEERS                 [Owens Pomeroy <george_arlis@[removed]]
 Truth or Consequences                [Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];       ]
 Truth or Consequences                ["Art Shifrin" <goldens2@[removed]]
 Re: Murtough's  Memories             [OTRChris@[removed]                   ]
 we'll meet again                     [Michael Berger <intercom1@attglobal]
 Up, Up and Away!                     ["A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed].]
 Superman                             [JimInks@[removed]                    ]

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 11:06:12 -0500
From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Eloise Kummer & Paul Brentson

I am seeking information about 2 Chicago radio folks: Eloise Kummer -
narrator of a series during World War II and Paul Brentson, an announcer.

Howard Blue

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 11:21:46 -0500
From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Milton Berle

In reply to the posting about Milton Berle, I was not speaking about the
Tuesday night Milton Berle program. This was just after the advent of the
transcontinental TV cable. We did not have a TV set in our home.
Consequently it was a treat to be able to watch the one in Radio
Recorders recording room. I know that it was Sunday night as I was there
for the playback of "The Whistler". In fact we diidn't have a home TV
untill we transferred back to New York. It was a Hoffman as I recall, a
very fine set. It had some sort of treated glass in front of the tube
which presented a much better picture.

About the "War of the Worlds" film, wasn't that shot in a movie studio
with all the inaccurcies? The studios were noted for that, such as
performers talking or singing into the back side of microphones. Having
been the engineer on many, many dramatic programs, I don't recall seeing
them in stocking feet or dropping script pages on the floor. Also, I
never encountered the sound of footsteps on the studio floor which was
covered with a common flooring material. No bare concrete. I knew and
worked with Art Hannes (he was a CBS staff announcer) for many years and
don't recall seeing him without his shoes on. In fact I don't recall ever
seeing anyone taking their shoes off. The only footsteps were created by
the sound effects person.

By the way, I knew Milton in the early days (circa 1936 and 1937). He
would sit with me at ringside when I would regularly broadcast
prizefights with Sam Taub, sponsored by Adam Hats over WHN and either the
Yankee or Colonial networks. Sometime I will tell the story of the night
that Sam turned the mike over to Milton to describe a round of a
preliminary bout. Much funnier than his regular material. (Milton never
bothered Sam again).

BILL MURTOUGH

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 13:12:53 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: "Fresh Air Taxi"

Owens Pomeroy,

  Did you ever answer my inquiry as to what happened
to the proposed Broadway musical, "Fresh Air Taxi,"
(Based on the A&A Show),that was suppose to debut on
Broadway a few years ago, and to star Johhny Brown in
the role of "The Kingfish?"

I'm pretty sure I've commented on this when it's come up in the past, but
in case you missed [removed]

"Fresh Air Taxi" was the work of Stephen M. Silverman, currently an
editor at People magazine, and was the focus of the famous Silverman vs.
CBS copyright infringement case in the 1980s. Silverman's play had
originally been copyrighted in 1981 under the title "Amos 'n' Andy in
Hollywood," and included elements derived from the A&A TV series and
post-1948 CBS-owned radio episodes (including several lines of dialogue
taken verbatim from these sources.) As a result of the verdict in the
court case, Silverman was forced to delete all CBS-owned elements from
the play, including the character of Calhoun and the disputed lines of
dialogue. The play was rewritten and recopyrighted as "Fresh Air Taxi,"
but in the end was unable to secure financing, and to my knowledge has
never been produced.


Elizabeth

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 13:12:55 -0500
From: danhughes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Cincinnati Convention

All the information in the Cincinnati Convention booklet is now on my
website.

You can read about the stars who will appear, see the schedule of
performances, and print the registration blank.  Bob Burchette's email
address is hard to read on the scanned material--it is
haradio@[removed], and his phone is 859-282-0333 (don't know why
anybody would want to call him, though!)

The cost to attend two full days of OTR fun is just fourteen bucks (or $7
a day if you're just passing through).  Special hotel rate for OTR
attendees is $75 per night, and other lower-priced motels are nearby.
But the beauty of staying at the convention hotel is that you get to
interact with all the other attendees all night.  It's like a slumber
party for grownups!

Here's my site:

[removed]~dan

The Cincy OTR Convention information is about midway down the page.

Hope to see you there!

---Dan Hughes

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 13:12:57 -0500
From: "J. Randolph Cox" <cox@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Morningside and Peter Gzowski

Thanks to one and all who answered my question about the Morningside show
and Peter Gzowski's career. I don't hear much Canadian radio today
(Minnesota Public Radio airs an hour of "As It Happens" every weekday
evening to which I often  listen), but I remember hearing some shows late at
night while driving across upstate New York back in the 1960s.

My ex-wife was Canadian and it was her mother's Christmas gift to me of the
first Morningside Papers that introduced me to the show -- of which I had
never heard. (The reason she chose it was that my wife told her I was
interested in radio.) I also have the next three collections (New, Latest,
and Fourth Morningside Papers) as well as Gzowski's _Private Voice_. That
was all that was in print when I was looking for them a few years ago. They
are fascinating.

I find it interesting how little we know of Canadian radio and culture
though Canada isn't that far away -- I should add, I live in Minnesota.

Randy Cox

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 13:40:43 -0500
From: "tas richardson" <tasrichardson@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Gale Storm

Yes, 'Dark Moon' was also recorded by Bonnie Guitar.  I have the 45 records
of both her and Gale Storm, both on Dot records.  I think I prefer Bonnie's
version.  Also have another of Bonnie's, 'Making Believe', which I think was
a big hit for her.  Wonder if Gale covered that too?

Thanks, John from Germany, for pointing the way to [removed] .
Some nice OTR stuff there, and found another Peter Gzowski item.  He is
interviewing the grand-daughter of Nellie McClung, who was Canada's great
feminist and suffragette, and there is a reading from her 1935
autobiography.

How could I have forgotten 'Capt. Midnight' in my previous listing of kid's
shows I listened too?

Tas

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 13:40:45 -0500
From: "John Davis" <WolfpackFan@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  WW II Radio Reporters

Pardon me for asking this question, if it has been previously answered. Does
anyone have any recommendations on books about reporting news during WW II.
I have been re-listening to a number of news broadcasts made on Dec. 7, 1941
and would love to learn more about some of the reporters mentioned. One of
my favorite clips is when the reporter from Honolulu is giving his report on
NBC and the telephone operator interrupts the report saying she needed the
line for an emergency call. Thanks in advance.

=====
John Davis WolfpackFan@[removed]
[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 13:40:47 -0500
From: ecrasez@[removed]
To: Old Time Radio <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Amos n Andy in pop culture

Stephen Jansen mentioned Frank Zappa's "Thing-Fish". A&A also pop up in
the lyrics of "You Are What You Is". The album has nothing to do with
otr, but mocks many of the wannabees in the world.

... You are what you is
And that's all it is
A foolish young man
>From a middle-class family
Started singin' the blues
'Cuz he thought it was manly
Now he talk like the Kingfish (mmm, Saffi!)
>From the Amos 'n Andy (holy mack'l dere, holy mack'l dere) ...


cheers,
Bob S.

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 14:23:58 -0500
From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: NIGHT THAT PANICKED AMERICA

In a message dated 3/22/01 11:51:14 AM, Michael Biel writes:
As I have mentioned before, a film made many years after the
OTR era largely by people who were not a part of it is not
the most authoritative source.  >>

And Anthony Tollin replied:
Actually, THE NIGHT THAT PANICKED AMERICA is often a fairly
reliable source

Actually I don't disagree with this, but notice that Anthony says it is
"often a fairly reliable source."  That is almost exactly what I had
said in my earlier posting in issue 90:
"...although much of the film is fairly accurate--so much so that I use
portions of it in my classes to demonstrate traditional radio drama
techniques--there are many flaws in the techniques shown.  I've
mentioned some on this digest in the past, and I spotted a dozen more
tonight ..."  What WOULD be a more authorative source would be films
made in the studio during actual broadcasts.

That accuracy, of course, came from the participation of the man
who actually put the show together and directed many of the
rehearsals. ... Paul Stewart was involved as a consultant.
(Technical? Historical? Don't recall his credited title.)

"Creative Consultant".

Years ago, I once called my neighbor Kenny Delmar and recommended
he watch it.  Kenny was amazed at how accurate the actor
impersonating Welles was at mimicking the way Orson Welles
actually directed a broadcast.   ANTHONY TOLLIN

Do you have any idea if Stewart was actually there in the film studio
while it was being shot and if the director was willing to change things
to correct details during shooting?  Consultant's advice is sometimes
overruled by the necessity of the visual dramatic effect.  For example,
the woman sound effects person's very klutzy way of slip starting
records is obviously just a show for the camera.  While the main form
and structure is correct, and they obviously took great care to perfect
the re-creation of Welles' directing technique, some of the little
technical businesses are not perfectly re-created--most likely becuase
in the heavily unionized industry no one person would be experienced in
all of the jobs in the studio--and memories fade or play tricks after
many years.  Notice that it takes literally half the film before someone
apparently noticed that the Shure 55 in front of Tom Bosley was pointing
up to the sky!  And the dead air and false re-start after the station
break is pure dramatic fluff.  Perhaps someone misinterpreted the dead
air in the station break on the original master discs as happening
during the program's time.  It actually is the space where the local
station's announcements were inserted.  It's been cut out of all of the
issued versions of the recording.  There was no dead air in the
broadcast due to Welles argueing in the control room.  My tape of the
discs is unedited, and the only dead air is between the 2nd and 3rd
announcements which were respectively before and after the station
break.  And those were not inserted or augmented due to public reaction
to the program.  Those announcements were planned and were read just as
originally written.  But changing reality sure made that part of the
film more exciting.

And veteran radio actors like Casey Kasem also helped the TV-film's
authenticity.

Was Kasem really a veteran radio actor?  I am very impressed with his
performance in the film--he really IS the best radio actor in the film's
cast.  What are his prior acting credits?  I only know of him as an
announcer and a DJ, such as in "America's Top 40" and his self-named
successor program.

Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 15:28:14 -0500
From: Owens Pomeroy <george_arlis@[removed];
To: RADIO DIGEST <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  MEETING THE PIONEERS

    Over the past 30 years, as C-founder of The Golden
Radio Buffs, I have had the honor of meeting,
interviewing and maintaining a correspondence with the
following Pioneers of radio, when they came to
Baltimore to be honored by our club:
 Jackson Beck    Anne Elstner Matthews (Stella Dallas)
 Fred Foy        Sybil Trent
 Lon Clark       Bea Wain (Vocalist, Mrs. Baruch)
 Boris Aplon     Charlotte Manson
 Dwight Weist
 Andre' Baruch
 Ezra Stone
 Dan White(Radio's first Red Ryder)

   These are the pioneers - both living and deceased -
 who furnished, through the interviews, most of the
postings that I placed on this Digest.
*******************************************************
Here is a Lone Ranger Story from an interview with
Fred Foy, Baltimore, MD 6/3/'72

  It seems there was a contract dispute between Beamer
and the producers of the LR.  Foy was approached by
the producers to be ready to fill in for Beamer - just
in case they did not reach an agreement. Obviously
they did as you can see, Foy never portrayed the LR.

Owens Pomeroy

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 19:07:04 -0500
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Truth or Consequences

1940 - 1st radio broadcast of "Truth or Consequences" on CBS
Are there any shows available today?

If you want to hear a short clip (5 minutes) of the show, check out my
Timelines section.

[removed]

There are shows available.

Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 19:55:52 -0500
From: "Art Shifrin" <goldens2@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Truth or Consequences

I have one I transferred from disks years ago: Saturday, December 6, 1941.
According to my database it's an NBC show, but that notation could be
incorrect.

Best,
Shiffy

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

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 22:53:54 -0500
From: OTRChris@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Murtough's  Memories

William  Murtough  Writes:

 I regularly went there on my way home Sunday nights ... I always
 enjoyed that assignment as they had  a TV set in the recording room and
 I could watch Milton Berle.

Biel replies:

 What?  But Milton Berle was on TV on Tuesday nights!

There were a few other factual discrepancies in the post such as :

Jack Benny went to CBS  in 1949 not 1944 or 1945.
The West coast taped show was played back at 9:30  pm Pacific time not 7:00.

However, I think our CBS engineer gives a pretty good picture of the typical
duties  involved based on just his memory. Over time it's hard to remember
specific details like that . But I  have learned a lot from Mr. Murtoughs
postings and always enjoy reading his posts.

-OTR Chris

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

Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 00:04:45 -0500
From: Michael Berger <intercom1@[removed];
To: otr <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  we'll meet again

The   Vera   Lynn version, if I remember correctly, was the music
over the final scene of Dr. Strangelove.

But to make this a true OTR  post,  would  like to ask:

Can anyone refresh our memories about who did the script writing
on  Pat Novak, For Hire? And was it, perhaps, the same person who
scripted  the Songs By Sinatra series, especially Frank's opening
spiel?   Both  were  in  the  "so  bad  they  were  good" writing
category.

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

Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 00:15:50 -0500
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Up, Up and Away!

Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 15:15:34 -0500
From: "J. Alec West" <Alec@[removed];

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'd _swear_ he said "Up, Up, and Away!" in
some of the cartoons of the 1940s.

I think you're right.  Those cartoons were based on the radio show.  I
think he may even have said it in the 1960s Saturday morning TV cartoons,
in which Superman was again voiced by Bud Collier.

I've never seen the early movies.  I was thinking of the more recent
Christopher Reeve movies, in which he didn't say that when taking off.  He
also never said that in the Broadway show starring Bob Holliday.

But there was a popular song, in the 1970s I think, called "My Beautiful
Balloon," in which that phrase appears, even though the song has nothing
to do with Superman.


 A. Joseph Ross, [removed]                        [removed]
 15 Court Square                     lawyer@[removed]
 Boston, MA 02108-2503      [removed]~lawyer/

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

Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 00:33:36 -0500
From: JimInks@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Superman

I believe Superman, as voiced by Bud Collyer, said "Up, up, and away" in the
1960's cartoons.  If I'm misremembering, Tony Tollin will hopefully swoop
down from the sky and rescue me!

-Jim Amash

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #94
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