------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2009 : Issue 240
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
OTR Christmas list [ "Dick Judge" <dickjudge@[removed]; ]
This week in radio history 13-19 Dec [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
No Dennis Day? [ Mike Murphy <mikeandzachary@verizon ]
12-13 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
"He Was There!" [ wich2@[removed] ]
re: CBS blacklist [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Syndicated Radio Programs [ "Thomas Heathwood" <HeritageRadio@m ]
Tiny Hamlin GA [ Bill Knowlton <udmacon1@[removed] ]
LONG Words On "The Cinnamon Bear"... [ "Glenn P.," <C128User@[removed]; ]
Phil Harris' Military Service [ <radioaz@[removed]; ]
ILLUSTRATION Magazine [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:55:25 -0500
From: "Dick Judge" <dickjudge@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR Christmas list
Two years ago I came up with a list of OTR shows of Christmas past in
circulation.
I have a new list of over 675 broadcasts that I would like to share with
anyone who is interested. And I can email this as an attachment if that is OK.
Thanks.
dickjudge
MEMORIES OF RADIO/Dick Judge
[ADMINISTRIVIA: I received a copy of this list, and will be posting it
shortly to the blog at [removed] for immediate download.
--cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:55:30 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: This week in radio history 13-19 December
From Those Were The Days --
12/13
1942 The characters of Allen's Alley were presented for the first time
on The Fred Allen Show. This particular segment of the show became very
popular and was used by Allen until 1949. Remember the stops along the
way in Allen's Alley? They were at the Brooklyn tenement of Mrs.
Nussbaum, the farmhouse of Titus Moody, the shack of Ajax Cassidy and
the antebellum mansion of Senator Beauregard Claghorn.
12/14
1953 Fred Allen returned from semi-retirement to narrate Prokofiev's
classic, Peter and the Wolf, on the Bell Telephone Hour on NBC.
12/16
1949 After a decade on radio, Captain Midnight was heard for the final
time. Put your secret decoder badges away now, kids.
12/17
1936 Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen kidded around with his pal, Charlie
McCarthy (who was a bit wooden, we [removed]), for the first time on
radio. The two debuted on The Rudy Vallee Show on NBC. Soon, Bergen
became one of radio's hottest properties, and was called Vallee's
greatest talent discovery.
12/19
1932 The British Broadcasting Corporation began transmitting overseas
with its Empire Service to Australia.
Joe
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:45:50 -0500
From: Mike Murphy <mikeandzachary@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: No Dennis Day?
We had an OTR show here in Boston some years ago that cut Dennis's
song from the Benny shows as well. I always thought, aside from time
constraints, it may have involved a lack of the rights to air the
tune.
Mike
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:45:56 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 12-13 births/deaths
December 13th births
12-13-1887 - Alvin York - Pall Mall, TN - d. 12-2-1964
world war I hero: "We the People"; "What Are We Fighting For?"
12-13-1890 - Marc Connelly - McKeesport, PA - d. 12-21-1980
writer: "Free Company"; "Security Workshop"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
12-13-1894 - Olin Landick - d. 3-26-1972
actor: Cassandra Drinkwater "Cousin Cassie"
12-13-1897 - Drew Pearson - Evanston, IL - d. 9-1-1969
investigative reporter: "Listen America"; "Drew Pearson Comments"
12-13-1901 - Jay Jostyn - Milwaukee, WI - d. 6-25-1976
actor: Max Tilley "Life of Mary Sothern"; Mr, District Attorney "Mr.
District Attorney"
12-13-1904 - George Baxter - Paris, France - d. 9-10-1976
announcer: "Grand Central Station"; "The Career of Alice Blair"
12-13-1906 - H. C. Danby - Hull England - d. 9-xx-1975
author: "Remember It All"
12-13-1910 - Lillian Roth - Boston, MA - d. 5-12-1980
singer, speaker: "Pleasant Sunday Afternoon"
12-13-1910 - Van Heflin - Walter, OK - d. 7-23-1971
actor: Bob Drake "Betty and Bob"; "Philip Marlowe "Advs. of Philip
Marlowe"
12-13-1912 - Herb Sheldon - Connecticut - d. 10-27-1964
announcer, host: "Honeymoon in New York"; "Luncheon at the Latin
Quarter"
12-13-1913 - Archie Moore - Benoit, MS - d. 12-9-1998
light heavyweight boxing champion: "Tops in Sports"
12-13-1913 - Jimmy Carroll - NYC - d. 3-19-1972
singer: "Pot O' Gold"
12-13-1914 - Larry Parks - Olathe, KS - d. 4-13-1975
actor: "Kraft Music Hall"; "Faith for Tomorrow"; "Guest Star"
12-13-1914 - Tiger Haynes - Fredriksted, St. Croix - d. 2-5-1994
guitarist: (The Three Flames) "Scout About Town"; "Peter Donald Show"
12-13-1915 - Mark Stevens - Cleveland, OH - d. 9-15-1994
actor: "This Is Hollywood"; "Cavalcade of America"; "Suspense"
12-13-1917 - David Street - Los Angeles, CA - d. 9-3-1971
actor, singer: "Music Depreciation"
12-13-1917 - Wesley Tuttle - Lamar, CO - d. 9-29-2003
country singer: "Wesley Tuttle and His Coon Hunters"
12-13-1920 - Don Taylor - Freeport, PA - d. 12-29-1998
actor: "Indiana School of the Sky"; "Family Theatre"; "Hollywood Star
Preview"
12-13-1925 - Elleen Nilsson - Wichita Falls, KS
singer: (Nilsson Twins) "Furlough Fun"
12-13-1925 - Elsa Nilsson - Wichita Falls, KS
singer: (Nilsson Twins) "Furlough Fun"
12-13-1926 - Carl Erskine - Anderson, IN
baseball pitcher: "Baseball: An Action History"; "Dr. Norman Vincent
Peale"
12-13-1939 - Moe Keale - Niihau, HI - d. 4-15-2002
local disc jockey
December 13th deaths
02-03-1918 - Stanley Earl Cowan - NYC - d. 12-13-1991
director: "Club Hollywood"
02-15-1908 - Hugh Wedlock, Jr. - d. 12-13-1993
writer: "Jack Benny Program"; "Lum and Abner"; "That's My Pop"
02-23-1913 - Jon Hall - Fresno, CA - d. 12-13-1979
actor: "Texaco Star Theatre"; "Silver Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
02-27-1873 - Enrico Caruso - Naples, Italy - d. 8-2-1921
tenor: On 12-13-1910 made experimental broadcast with Lee DeForest
03-17-1916 - Mollie Hardwick - Manchester, England - d. 12-13-2003
author: "Madam, Will You Walk"; "Casting the Ruins"
03-23-1891 - Dr. [removed] DeHaan - Zeeland, MI - d. 12-13-1965
evengelist: "Radio Bible Class"
04-18-1904 - Pigmeat Markham - Durhan, N - d. 12-13-1981
comedian: ("order in the court ' cuz here come da judge) "Jubilee"
05-02-1916 - Robert Grapperhaus - d. 12-13-1966
sound effects: "One Man's Family"; "Fitch Bandwagon"; "Duffy's Tavern"
07-18-1908 - Martha Mears - Mexico, MO - d. 12-13-1986
singer: "G. I. Laffs"
07-19-1906 - "Tiny" Hill - Sullivan, IL - d. 12-13-1971
orchestra leader: "Tiny" Hill and His Orchestra"
08-08-1904 - Ray Buffum - d. 12-13-1980
writer, director: "A Man Named Jordan"; "Rogue's Gallery"
09-06-1889 - John Charles Thomas - Meyersdale, PA - d. 12-13-1960
singer: "John Charles Thomas Program"; "Westinghouse Program"
09-17-1914 - Charles Isaacs - Winnipeg, Canada - d. 12-13-2002
witer: "Al Pearce and His Gang"; "The Texaco Star Theatre"
09-28-1913 - Alice Marble - Beckworth, CA - d. 12-13-1990
tennis player: "Information Please"
11-24-1905 - Harry Barris - NYC - d. 12-13-1962
singer (member of The Rhythm Boys) "Paul Whiteman Presents"
12-07-1908 - Beatrice Churchill - d. 12-13-2006
actor: Betty Drake "Betty and Bob"
Ron
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:46:10 -0500
From: wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: "He Was There!"
Great story about the Radio-To-TV transit of "As The World Turns," Stuart.
Us youngsters (51+!!!) love to hear stories like that.
Good Yontif,
-Craig
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:46:44 -0500
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: CBS blacklist
Michael Biel has called me to task for using the phrase "the official CBS 'do
not hire' list from the 1950s". Mea culpa. Re-reading my original post, I can
see that's an overstated claim. The document in the blog (which is only
partially reproduced -- see
[removed]) is a blacklist of some
sort. Its actual origin is unclear. It was apparently used by some personnel
at CBS in regards to employment decisions, as Sig Mickelson reported that
"[Frank]Stanton literally handed him a list and said, 'No one on this list
gets hired.'" And the author of the blog, Jeff Kisseloff, refers to this list
twice (in the title and in the blog entry itself) as "the CBS blacklist."
The blog raises a lot of unanswered questions. It would be interesting to see
a full reproduction of (to use Kisseloff's term) the "CBS blacklist." (The
page reproduced in the blog apparently comes from Michelson's archives at the
University of Texas.) Are the names simply a reproduction of the list in Red
Channels? Or are there additional names on the "CBS blacklist" that were not
in that publication? What was official status, if any, of the "CBS
blacklist"? If it was enforced, how long did that enforcement last? Someone
has already pointed out that at least one name on the list was hired by CBS
by the late 50s.
I'm not an historian, but I am academic, and it's important to me to get
facts right. I was incorrect in calling this "the official CBS 'do not hire'
list from the 1950s". Is it an open question, though, or has it been
resolved, on the extent to which this is an unofficial CBS do not hire list?
Cheers,
Kermyt
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:46:52 -0500
From: "Thomas Heathwood" <HeritageRadio@[removed];
To: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Syndicated Radio Programs
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
The recent discussion re: theme music on syndicated shows has been almost
covered completely, but it might be helpful to add a note that Syndicated
disks provided by producers especially in NYC and Hollywood, attempted to send
out "complete" programs that could then be sold locally by radio stations
and/or ad agencies.
Especially in the early syndication days of the 30's, Almost all synd. shows
had lengthy intros and outros for most of the programs they provided allowing
a local announcer to insert a "local intro" to the program and provide a
commercial message. This was repeated at the end of the program, and many
listeners thought these shows were coming directly from the local station, and
would often write mail to the show's characters at the local station address.
Sometimes local newspapers would refer to a new (synd.) show as originating at
the local station. Clever timing and production would amplify this belief.
The last show I did like that was in
the very early 1950's on Sunday mornings when I introduced "The Comic Weekly"
- the Hearst feature on a Boston radio station which was provided on 2
15-minute
16" transcriptions. We got mail addressed to "Jungle Jim" and "Katzenjammer
Kids" among others. Tom Heathwood
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:48:05 -0500
From: Bill Knowlton <udmacon1@[removed];
To: oldtime radio <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Tiny Hamlin GA
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
It's the winter of 1939 in tiny Hamlin, Ga., where a rare blizzard has
gripped the town for three days. At radio station WHAM, the cast and crew
anxiously await a visit from Orson Welles for a special holiday [removed]
I'm sure the folks at WHAM, Rochester NY will be anxiously tuned [removed];g>
BILL KNOWLTON, "Bluegrass Ramble," Sundays: 9 pm to midnight (EST) over
WCNY-FM ([removed]) Syracuse, WUNY ([removed]) Utica, WJNY ([removed]) Watertown NY, also:
[removed] udmacon1@[removed] Since 1973!
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:48:17 -0500
From: "Glenn P.," <C128User@[removed];
To: "[The Old-Time Radio Mailing List]" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: LONG Words On "The Cinnamon Bear"...
Consolidating a few replies [removed] first:
On Sat., 12-Dec-2009, at 05:14:15pm EST (-0500 GMT),
"Mr. Frank McGurn" <[removed]@[removed]; posted
to [The Old-Time Radio Digest] on the subject of "More
on The Cinnamon Bear":
> When I posted my answer to "The Cinnamon Bear my" old brain forgot
> to mention that several years ago Chuck Schaden on His "those Were
> The Days" Program Played a recording that was, I think, called "The
> Making Of The Cinnamon Bear" that was made for potential sponsors.
> Maybe Steve Darnall could find the [removed]
[ Snip ]
Frank, if you're referring to the recording I THINK you're referring to,
it's on the sixth and last CD of "The Cinnamon Bear" 6-CD-set.
----------
Next, to the multitudinous people who replied to my query to explain that
the lengthy music on "The Cinnamon Bear" was primarily used by local
broadcasters for commercials -- THANK YOU for your insight! I suppose I
ought to have thought of that myself.
By the bye, I think I ought to mention that I'm very much the impatient
type: I've already listened to the whole thing. :) More on that at the
very end of this MONSTROUSLY long [removed]
----------
Now the next thing: someone here -- I neglected to note who it was before
I deleted the digest I was reading (I really MUST stop doing that!), or I'd
post a header and exact quote, as I did for Frank above -- someone, as I
say, said something to the effect that he was glad for the long music
because so many retailers of OTR shows "cut" or "edit" them, rendering
them useless as historical artifacts.
I am very decidedly of two very different minds on that subject.
On the ONE hand, you will receive no argument on that score from me! When
one releases such a work, it is VITAL that it be released complete and
unedited -- the SHOW, the WHOLE show, and NOTHING BUT the show. Nothing
else is anywhere close to proper treatment. Were anyone to do that to "The
Cinnamon Bear", you'd hear me bitching and screaming along with everyone
else.
But on the OTHER hand, however, and all of that being said, CD players are
NOT radio stations, and they do NOT air commercials; so while the Extra
Music on "The Cinnamon Bear" may be pretty, when listened to at home, most
of it is just plain Dead Air.
How MUCH Dead Air? A really, REALLY excellent [removed]
In a previous post, I mentioned that the music occupied a total of 3:40, or
220 seconds, per episode. You might find it enlightening to follow me in a
little Thought Experiment (a thing for which Albert Einstein was justly
famous) based upon a little Arithmetic, to see exactly what all that Dead
Air actually implies. It turns out that it REALLY adds up!
Let's say we wanted to be sacriligious and Cut that long theme down to size.
As someone else previously actually posted -- I noticed it, too! -- thirty
seconds seems about right, as there's a natural break at just about that
exact spot. So let's say we keep 30 seconds at the beginning, and another
30 seconds at the end, of each episode. That leaves us with 220 seconds,
minus 60 seconds, or 160 seconds, of "dead" music -- 2:40 -- to be Cut. Per
episode.
Well, folks, there are THIRTY-SIX episodes, and that blamey music is repeated
on EACH and EVERY single one of them!!! THINK about that for just a moment.
We multiply, 160 seconds x 36 episodes, and we get 5,760 seconds total for the
whole series, or in other words, <<choke>> NINETY-SIX MINUTES IN ALL (work it
out for yourselves: 5,760 / 60 = 96)!!! Ouch!!!
And THAT, mind you, is with 60 seconds of music per episode STILL LEFT IN!
96 minutes / 15 minutes per episode is [removed]
MEANING, there's space enough for SIX additional episodes, plus almost half
of a SEVENTH!
Oh!!! No!!! Wait!!! Ooooooooooopsie!!! I have FORGOTTEN something!!!
I'm using the OLD episode timing of 15 minutes!! I quite forgot -- I have
just CUT 2:40 from each and every episode, haven't I? In other words, the
episodes, in this little Thought Experiment, AREN'T 15 minutes long: they're
only 12:20, or 740 seconds, long. We must Recalculate! (It'll be easier to
do this using seconds):
96 minutes = 5,760 seconds.
5,760 / 740 = [removed] (Approx.) -- in other words, room enought for SEVEN extra
full episodes, plus most of an EIGHTH episode!!! Why, you could actually
"squidge" (as we'd say as kids in my house) in an EXTRA WEEK of episodes!!!
Folks, I don't care WHAT you say, that's a LOT of wasted space!!!
----------
And penultimately, folks, the format bothers me a little, for a few reasons.
The music is a good part of it -- take away most of it, and you don't have a
15-minute episode any more -- most of the actual Action takes place within
only TEN minutes' time! But mostly, I don't like that long, protracted, story,
more than a month long! I mean really -- isn't that "A Little Much"?
I'm really tempted to do the Unthinkable -- make my own CD's. (I could then
stereoize them as well!) I'd splice together three, or maybe four, episodes
together and end up with perhaps one week's worth of episodes, lean, mean,
and all meat and no fat. No doubt you're all screaming blue bloody murder,
but it'd only be for me, myself, and I -- and any family I have -- no one
else at all. (I couldn't play it for anyone else anyway, or not legally,
since any such edited version would violate the living bejeezus out of the
copyright.) So do please try to keep your hair on. Some of you need it. :)
----------
And lastly -- FINALLY! -- I wish to review "The Cinnamon Bear" from a purely
literary standpoint. I collect children's books, records, movies, and yes
even a few OTR shows ([removed], Orphan Annie). However, others on this list
haven't finished listening to the whole series yet; and I have no desire to
post any spoilers. My review, therefore, will have to wait until next year.
One word I can say, however, without spoiling much of anything: "McGuffin".
Look it up on Wikipedia if the term puzzles you
And with that -- as Crazy Quilt would say -- my verbiage is terminated! :)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:49:03 -0500
From: <radioaz@[removed];
To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Phil Harris' Military Service
I was just listening to the episode of Jack Benny where it was announced
that Phil Harris and the entire band had joined the Merchant Marine. For
some reason it struck me odd that all the members of the band went in the
same branch of the service at the same time. Does anyone know if they all
went in together as an entertainment and morale unit? Did any of them,
including Phil, ever see active duty on the high seas?
Ted
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:49:19 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: ILLUSTRATION Magazine
Passing on a small bit of inside news I learned today.
A good friend of mine has been spending the past two years researching an
artist named H. J. Ward, who was primarily known for his cover art for spicy
pulp magazines in the 1930s. His cover paintings almost always portrayed a
beautiful woman (modeled by his wife Viola) posed in shock and surprise or
fleeing for her life from a thug, fiend, or monster in little more than her
tattered undergarments.
What's the old-time radio connection? Read on.
Ward lived just outside of Philadelphia and in 1931, at age 22, he began to
visit New York City pulp publishers who would take time to look at his
portfolio of prospective cover paintings. He made his first sale to Complete
Detective Novel Magazine. Sensational pulp covers by [removed] Ward were soon
appearing on ACE-HIGH, EASY MONEY, PARIS NIGHTS, SPICY ADVENTURE, SPICY
MYSTERY, SPICY DETECTIVE, and SURE-FIRE SCREEN STORIES.
Ward first became involved with George W. Trendle when New York publisher
Harry Donenfeld decided to start a pulp magazine based on the exploits of THE
LONE RANGER. Trendle and Donenfeld negotiated a complex business arrangement
that would allow WXYZ to retain all illustrations for their own promotional
purposes in exchange for a re-usage fee. As Donenfeld's top cover artist,
Ward was the natural choice to be assigned the cover paintings. Ward painted
the cover art for seven of the eight issues. (The first issue's cover was
provided by a different freelance illustrator, Steven R. Kidd.)
Ever seen the famous oil painting of The Lone Ranger that hung on the wall in
Trendle's office? The same painting in the background of the publicity photo
where Trendle signed over the rights to The Lone Ranger to Jack Wrather? The
same painting referenced in that memorable GREEN HORNET radio broadcast when
Dan Reid revealed his family ancestory to Britt Reid? That was [removed] Ward's
work. And Ward was responsible for doing a number of oil paintings for
Trendle of Ned Jordan and The Green Hornet.
Like a lot of those obscure, but important facets of old-time radio, [removed]
Ward's biography and pulp art has been given limited coverage and worse, lots
of inaccurate information. Thankfully, that will be corrected. And having
seen the David Saunder's work first-hand, the images and artwork are
breathtaking. Saunder's article will appear in the March issue (Number 29) of
ILLUSTRATION Magazine. The entire magazine is now almost completely digitally
assembled by the editor publisher, Dan
Zimmer, in St. Louis. While the magazine can be purchased from Barnes and
Noble and other venues, from what I understand the retail price of the
magazine is the same if you buy it from the company direct. The web-site is
[removed] and to my knowledge, THE LONE RANGER
and THE GREEN HORNET will also be featured in the VERY lengthy article.
At least 80 pages are in full color (which is expensive for anyone who isn't
familiar with the publishing biz), but the cost of the issue will be worth
it. And if you place an order, tell them you appreciate the fact that they
featured a lengthy article that features the likes of THE LONE RANGER and THE
GREEN HORNET.
Martin
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2009 Issue #240
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