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


                           The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                             Volume 2001 : Issue 388
                        A Part of the [removed]!
                                ISSN: 1533-9289


                                Today's Topics:

 Glenn Miller/Andy Mansfield/McCoy Re  [ "Marty" <martyd@[removed]; ]
 Re: A&A Friday Night Minstrels        [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
 Re: MP3 players                       [ "[removed]" <swells@[removed]; ]
 RE: Cataloging Your Collection        [ Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed]; ]
 Amos 'n' Andy stuff                   [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
 Big Jon and No School [removed]        [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
 Q. about Jughead's Voice              [ David Martin <dbmartin5@[removed]; ]
 Favorite yule show                    [ Richard Carpenter <sinatra@ragingbu ]
 War of the Worlds site                [ Tony Baechler <tony@[removed]; ]
 Re: Big Jon and Sparkie               [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
 Re: Big Jon and Sparkie again         [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
 Re: Apex DVD Player                   [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
 Fibber's 1942 Christmas               [ Tony Baechler <tony@[removed]; ]
 the Emerson HD7088 MP3 player         [ Bob Noble <bobnoble@[removed]; ]
 Re: Printing Labels                   [ Christopher Werner <cwerner@globalc ]
 Re: Regional Sponsorship              [ OTRChris@[removed] ]

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

Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 20:52:03 -0500
From: "Marty" <martyd@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Glenn Miller/Andy Mansfield/McCoy Reels

I am looking for a copy of "The Glenn Miller Story" Andy Mansfield
produced years back.  It was on AFRTS as an 18-part series.  I was told
this was, at one time, available from Pat McCoy, reels #2037 & #2038.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

Marty
martyd@[removed]

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

Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 20:57:25 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: A&A Friday Night Minstrels

Harlan Zinck wrote:

And yet another rarity: "The Mystic Knights of the Sea Friday Night
Minstrel Show," a short-lived attempt by NBC to broaden the horizons of
"Amos 'n' Andy" and bring them into a semi-variety format. Only two of
these programs are known to exist and here's one of them, sponsored by
Pepsodent and benefiting the Harlem Community Fund.

Not only are there only two programs known, only two were broadcast
before the idea was abandoned. I'm not positive whose idea the "Friday
Night Minstrel Show" was -- but it was most likely a joint idea of Gosden
and Basil Loughrane, the agency supervisor for Lord and Thomas. 1936 was
a very unsettled year for A&A, with a lot of experimentation in the
storylines to try and find something that could spur the sagging ratings
-- and the experimentation with a variety format once a week was deemed
worth a try. There was precedent for this: Lum and Abner had done
something very similar in 1933 with their "Friday Night Sociables," and
in fact Correll and Gosden had done a weekly "WMAQ Minstrels" variety
series during 1928-29, coinciding with the first year of the A&A serial.
(I don't believe they actually appeared *as* Amos and Andy in that
series, however.)

The Mystic Knights of the Sea Friday Night Minstrel Show  November 4, 1936
(#901) (15:30) NBC - broadcast 10:15 to 10:30 PM

The date on this one should actually be 12/4/36 -- the only two "Friday
Night Minstrel" broadcasts were 12/4 and 12/11/36. The idea was supposed
to resume in January 1937, after Correll and Gosden made their annual
winter trip to California, but for whatever reason, it didn't happen. It
may be that there were logistical problems -- or it may be that Gosden
simply got tired of trying to find ways to work the shows into the
continuity of the regular series. (The weeks leading up to the 12/4 and
12/11 shows revolved around the backstage efforts at the lodge hall as
the members put the shows together.)

The "#901" is not the program number -- A&A was up to the 2400s in
episode numbers by December 1936. Most likely it's the NBC Electrical
Transcription Division label number assigned to the recording. The time
indicates that this is the "second show," broadcast for Chicago and
points west. I believe the recording in the NBC-LOC collection is the
Eastern broadcast, so there might be noticeable differences in the
performance.

This program is very significant in that it's the first time Correll and
Gosden broadcast before a live studio audience, and they were both
nervous wrecks before going on the air: while they had done plenty of
personal-appearance stage shows, in all the years they had been on the
air, they had rigidly enforced a strict privacy rule for actual
broadcasts, and this was the first time that rule was ever broken.

Although the program was actually broadcast from Merchandise Mart in
Chicago, it did in fact benefit the Harlem Community Fund -- a collection
was taken up among the studio audience members, and was supplemented by a
personal donation from Correll and Gosden. The second program in the
series was done on behalf of Christmas Seals on the same basis.

In addition to Correll and Gosden, you can also hear Elinor Harriot as
"Mandy" in Frank Parker's guest performance of the song by that name, and
Terry Howard as "Pun'kin," the little orphan girl Andy had taken in
during the fall of 1936 -- she's the little girl who chirps "what'd you
say mister?" (her catchphrase) as Basil Loughrane reads the NBC system
cue at the end of the show. Also heard are The Four Vagabonds -- an
excellent black rhythm quartet regularly featured on "The Breakfast Club"
-- and Joseph Gallicchio's orchestra.

A picture taken from backstage during the actual broadcast of this show
-- snapped just as Correll and Gosden were stepping to the microphone
after being introduced -- can be seen at
[removed]~[removed]

Elizabeth

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

Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 20:57:11 -0500
From: "[removed]" <swells@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: MP3 players

   Bryan stated last time:
Next on my list: A DVD player that will play MP3
CDs, one that I can make part of my stereo system. Any suggestions?

   Well, I am a big supporter of the Soul Player by AVC (
[removed] ) it will play about anything I throw at it and it has
the audio out-jacks for the home stereo, displays ID tags, might even
whistle a tune , :)  In my humble opinion, if you have the reciept to your
Rio, I would run back to the store and return it. I think that the Soul
Player is only marketed on the net. Anyway, you can't go wrong with it.
Shawn

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

Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 23:38:14 -0500
From: Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: RE: Cataloging Your Collection

Joe Salerno asks:

What databases have you discovered for cataloging an OTR collection? I am
open to
suggestions.

To catalog the Archives collection of first generation shows - now
numbering about 8000 - we use an Excel spreadsheet. It has many advantages,
in that the data can be easily duplicated, exported to other programs,
rearranged to create reports, and easily exported to Pagemaker to create CD
labels or other Windows-based applications for other purposes. We also
expect that, as the years go by, the data will be easily exportable to more
advanced programs - which is a major consideration for any individual or
organization that catalogs this extensively.

I imagine we record far more data than the average collector has the time
or interest to track, but here are the categories we use:

ARCHIVE NUMBER
The unique number assigned to each entry, which follows the show throughout
the preservation and restoration process

REVISED
The date on which the data was originally entered

SCAN
A hyperlink to our website, where scans of all the disk labels are made
available for viewing

RAW
Whether we currently have an unprocessed, unrestored, direct-from-disk CD
copy or not

CEDAR
Whether the raw copy has now been run through CEDAR processing to create a
WAV file from which the restored version will later be made

RESTORED
Whether the processed show has since been restored by a senior technician

LABELS
Whether a label has yet been laid-out, printed, and applied to the CD (The
master CDs we use to make circulating copies are not labeled, just
identified by an Archive number written on the disc with a CD-safe marker.)

LIBRARY
Whether a show has been added to one of our CD libraries

RR
Whether a show has been added to a Round Robin CD collection and, if so,
which one

OWE CD
To whom we owe a copy of the CD and in what form (raw or restored or both)
- this is usually the person from whom we obtained the original recording

GENERATION
The known generation of the recording, usually first generation

ET-CD/REEL
In what form we obtained the program (from a transcription, from a CD, or
>from a reel)

SHOW
The name of the program, such as "Suspense"

DAY
The day of the week on which the show was originally broadcast

DATE
The broadcast date

TITLE
The show title, such as "Sorry, Wrong Number"

AUTHOR
The author of the program, such as Lucille Fletcher

TIME
The running time of the show, normally 30:00 or 60:00 in first cataloging,
later entered more exactly once the restoration is completed (29:40, for
instance)

QUALITY
Based on the condition of the source material, sometimes later modified
when restored (a disk in VG- condition can become an EX show once CEDARed
and digitally restored)

NETWORK
CBS, NBC, LOCAL, SYND, AFRS, Public Service, etc.

COMMERCIAL
Roma Wine commercials, for instance

ACTORS
Agnes Moorehead, Joseph Kearns, etc.

COMMENTS
Generally helpful stuff like "linecheck recorded by Radio Recorders for
CBS/KNX Los Angeles" or "16" lacquer glass-based"

SOURCE
The person we obtained the show from, either through purchase, trade, or loan

RESTRICTIONS
Sometimes lenders will place distribution restrictions on the show, such as
"do not release until four months after restored version sent to lender."
This reminds us of the restrictions placed on the show when the lending
agreement was signed, prior to borrowing the disks.

MATRIX#
Any pertinent disk numbers, such as 101951-1 MS 101951. Information like
this can later be compared with network and/or recording studio records to
determine when the disk was recorded and/or pressed. (If you're curious and
willing, Dr. Biel, these numbers are for a 16" NBC syndication pressing of
the "Ford V-8 Revue," program #32 with Ferde' Grofe, possibly recorded for
extension spotting and dating from the mid-1930's. Based on the numbers
listed, what else can you tell me about this disk?)

ET NOTATIONS IN RUNOUT
Any additional useful information that was scratched into the center
portion of the disk

ET SIDES
How many disk sides the show was contained on - 2, in the case of most
half-hour shows recorded at 33 1/3 on 16" disks

As I said, this is pretty elaborate and likely far more than a hobbyist
would care to keep track of. But it is all useful information, flexibly
stored for future applications, and it has served us well to enter all this
data whenever we add a show to our collection.

Harlan

Harlan Zinck
First Generation Radio Archives
[removed]

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

Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 23:39:09 -0500
From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Amos 'n' Andy stuff

We were in an antique store yesterday.  On display was a framed collection
of movie clippings that someone had put together.  On one was Freeman Gosden
and Charles Correll hiking toward the camera, carrying shotguns and several
turkeys that they'd dispatched therewith.  They looked fairly young in the
picture, which I think was from the 1940's (I have to go back there tomorrow
to pick up an enormous sideboard that Natalie couldn't live without, so I'll
have another look at the date.)

All of which got me thinking: are there any videos of "Calvin and the
Colonel" extant, and would they give otherwise uninformed kids a good idea
of what the radio or TV series was like?  I think that just the sound track
would likely be adequate, actually.

M Kinsler
512 E Mulberry St. Lancaster, Ohio USA 740 687 6368
[removed]~kinsler

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

Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 23:39:26 -0500
From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Big Jon and No School [removed]

Thanks, Jan Bach, for your input on the subject of Big Jon & Sparkie/No
School Today.
   I have wondered about the dramatic records used, also.  The few shows
that I have are announced as Tailspinners productions.  Would be interesting
to find tapes of some of those excellent programs from discs.  The "No
School Today" shows I have include the stories of Columbus, 3 Musketeers,
Davy Crockett, and Robin Hood.  There were some other record companies in
the past that produced drama for records, one was Enrichment Records.
   That opens a whole new area for collectors.  I already have my living
room full of cassette storage shelves, I guess that's [removed]

Ted Kneebone
1528 S. Grant St., Aberdeen, SD 57401 / 605-226-3344
OTR:  [removed]

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

Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 23:40:03 -0500
From: David Martin <dbmartin5@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Q. about Jughead's Voice

After hearing an episode of Archie, I wish to ask Mr. Stone how close was the
Jughead voice to his own,  Also, how hard was it to keep that voice for an
entire program.  Eg. without going out of character.

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

Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 23:40:47 -0500
From: Richard Carpenter <sinatra@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Favorite yule show

 My favorite OTR Christmas show, which I play every holiday season, is
Reader's Digest's "Room for a Stranger," starring Frank Sinatra. It's about a
serviceman who runs into all kinds of problems trying to see his girlfriend,
however briefly, on Christmas. Love conquers all, thanks to the kindness of
strangers, and Sinatra imparts the perfect "aw gee" quality to this tale,
which I believe is based on a true story. You can find it on Radio Spirits'
"Sinatra and Friends" 20-tape collection, and perhaps other places, too.

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

Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 23:38:46 -0500
From: Tony Baechler <tony@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: War of the Worlds site

Usual disclaimers about accuracy apply.  I have not visited the site listed.

[removed]
A historical perspective on the Orson Welles radio broadcast of the the
War of the Worlds show.

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

Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 09:18:30 -0500
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Big Jon and Sparkie

One of the tapes I received from Big Jon, explained how Sparkie's voice was
recorded. I'm am trying to find it, but here is what I remember.

The tape was not doubled. The engineer used a Magnacord tape record. As Jon
Arthur explained on the tape, the speed was about 50% faster. So if he
recorded it at 7 1/2 ips it was played back at a speed closer to 11 ips,
not 15 ips.

He said they did this by sliding some kind of cover over the capstan.

I've got to find this second tape letter. He went into a lot of technical
detail, plus gave me the names of the people he worked with.

If I didn't mention it before, I meet Big Jon at WQAM when he was in Miami
for a personal appearance. He mentioned my name over the air on one of the
shows. Then I started sending him tape letters and he responded to two of
them. One is up on my web site. The other is hiding from me at the moment,
but I WILL find it.

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

Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 09:18:48 -0500
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Big Jon and Sparkie again

I believe that the broadcast as done live or at least recorded live.

During some of the shows, Big Jon will ask Sparkie a question and then when
you don't hear Sparkie's voice he will start to ad lib and suddenly in
comes Sparkie's voice and Big Jon will laugh.

He may have done some of the shows from his home. I remember him starting
one of the tapes to me by saying that he was recording this from his house
and then go on to tell me what equipment he had.

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

Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 09:19:10 -0500
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Apex DVD Player

Apex makes a DVD player that also plays back MP3. This is the reason I
purchased one about a year ago. Although it will not play back files
sampled at 22. They show up on the TV monitor, but don't play.

Several other companies are now making DVD/MP3 players, but I don't have
any experience with them.

At 06:04 PM 12/5/01 -0500, you wrote:
Next on my list: A DVD player that will play MP3 CDs, one that I can make
part of my stereo system. Any suggestions?

Fred
For the best in Old Time Radio Shows [removed]
New e-commerce page [removed]

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

Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 09:19:36 -0500
From: Tony Baechler <tony@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Fibber's 1942 Christmas

Hello.  Al Girard, are you out there?  I have no idea where the 1942 show
of Fibber doing the Christmas song for the first time can be found, but I
have it in mp3 so it must be on tape somewhere.  I got it from Al's
excellent site so maybe he has a source?  If it is popular enough I will
upload it to an ftp site for all to hear.  It is a very good show and I
think it is the best of the 1940's Fibber Christmas shows.

I just finished listening to the 12-20-47 Truth or Consequences show.  This
has to be one of the most touching shows I have ever heard and if you have
it in your collection I encourage you to listen to it, especially in this
time of war.  Very, very good show.  Maybe it is scripted but I would
rather believe it is not.  No, I am not going to spoil it but I have that
in mp3 also.  I am looking for that or any other quiz shows on tape if
anyone has them.  If you want any of these shows in mp3, write me privately.

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

Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 09:19:59 -0500
From: Bob Noble <bobnoble@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: the Emerson HD7088 MP3 player

Hi all

Boy! I got several emails from some of my fellow OTR lovers asking about
the Emerson MP3 player, and I'm glad to help out as much as I can. I
thought it might be a good idea to condense some of the emails and post
them here, in case some others are wondering about this unit, but didn't
bother to write me separately.

First, a disclamer: let me state I have no stock in Emerson, so I'm not
getting a penny promoting the unit.

One person wanted to know if it would handle Adaptec CD disks. I don't
even know what they are, but this thing seems to be quite flexible, so
I'm guessing it will. Best approach: bring your MP3 disk into Wal-Mart
and ask if you can play it on their shelf model. Most stores will let
you do this, so they won't have to deal with returned models which don't
work for the customer.

Another wanted to know if it would play 24Kbps tracks. I have my doubts
about this, but again it's the same suggestion: bring one in and try it
out.

One writer said he could not find the player at his local Wal-Mart and
also said the store was not much help. He probably got hold of a
Xmas-season temporary help worker. I'm in the northeastern [removed], and
have seen these units in several stores. If you don't find them locally,
write an email to Wal-Mart from the contact link on the company's web
site.

And finally, although I was unable to read it, perhaps because I use a
Mac with an older browser version, you might have luck checking out the
Emerson website: [removed]

There may be a contact email address and/or a toll-free number you can
call to get info. I can't say, because I can't read this url.

Yesterday a friend gave me an MP3 CD with all 19 Beatles albums on it.
244 songs in all! And the unit played them beautifully. And previously
the only songs it had played were sung by Kenny Baker or played by Phil
Harris' orchestra. I guess it can do it all!

--Bob

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

Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 09:25:43 -0500
From: Christopher Werner <cwerner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Printing Labels

In response to Fred Berney's question, I've used MySoftware's My Deluxe
Label Maker software for years to label my cassettes (OTR and otherwise).
It provides a visual layout of the printable area, the ability to add a
graphic (logo), and takes input from a database. It accepts csv,
tab-seperated, and I think db2 format directly - you just map the data
column to the internal data field name. It is not that expensive (less than
$100) and ties into their mailing list management and address/zip
management software rather nicely (one of a few that are sanctioned by the
USPS for address accuracy checking). I [removed] the program is pre-loaded
with the dimensions of Avery, NEBS, and 4 other brands of labels. All of
them. You can also customize the printing.

I have only two 'gripes' about the program. They don't document the field
widths of their internal data field names so one must create a 'cheat
sheet' of each field type to assure your mapped field will not be truncated
and be of the right format (number vs text). Of course once you do this the
setup is easy.

The second problem occurred when I purchased Norelco case liners from NBS
([removed]) to properly label the cases with more than a number. The sheet
is 8x12 and the program only handles 8-1/2 x 11. These labels/cards also
need a borderless printer (I just purchased an Epson 285EX which is one)
and I'm hoping I can convince the program to print without borders. It
depends if the program reads the printer setup data/driver or not. Sigh.
There's always [removed]

But for cassettes it works great. Both Laser and Inkjet. But you will find
the commercial label prices much higher than your pin-feed materials were.
Unless you want to create a custom label.

Happy printing.

Chris

At 06:04 PM 12/5/2001 -0500, Fred Berney wrote:

As long as we are talking about database for cataloging, what about printing.

I wrote a basic program that will print dot matrix labels (pin feed).
However, I've rather use a laser printer and was wondering if there is
anything out there that will let you put all the information into some kind
of database and then just enter the tape numbers and it prints out the labels.

The program I wrote does exactly that, but I can't figure out a way to
modify it for a laser printer.

The way my program works it to store all the information into DATA
statements. One of the statements is the label number. Then when you run
the program, you just enter a number and it prints the label. You can
specify which sides and how many labels.

It is a neat little program, but it only works in basic and with pin feed
labels. It would be handy to find a similar program that printed laser labels.

Right now we are using a Word Processor, but that requires a few more steps.

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

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

Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 12:25:06 -0500
From: OTRChris@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re:  Regional Sponsorship

12-06-2001

I was just [removed]

I realize that because of the time zone difference many west coast shows
were established to fill vacant evening time periods in the Pacific Time Zone
( these west coast shows were a mix of sustaining and sponsored).  However, I
have often seen cases where western shows were established to fill the air
time with a sponsored program when the national feed was a sustaining program
. As an example: At 10:30 PM the netork (CBS in this case) would broadcast a
sustaining program to their Eastern audience (ESCAPE) while the western
audience was hearing the  regionally sponsored
Whistler  program (Signal Oil ).
Of course it was nice to be able to sell the time  on your western stations
but I wondered if this hampered the ability , in the long run , of selling
the time on the eastern stations? A national sponsor couldn't step in and get
the whole network so only a  sponsor interested in a regional (eastern )
hookup would be interested. Perhaps  there would actually be more possible
propects for sponsorship with the  limited distribution?


-Chris

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2001 Issue #388
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