Subject: [removed] Digest V2009 #45
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 3/3/2009 7:58 AM
To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to:
[removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2009 : Issue 45
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Re: Not everyone had a radio during   [ Chargous@[removed] ]
  Re: OTR License Plate                 [ Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed] ]
  Subject: Re: Not everyone had a radi  [ "W. Harris" <nbcblue@[removed]; ]
  Oscar Levant                          [ Frank McGurn <[removed]@sbcglobal. ]
  Wendy Richards                        [ lawrence albert <albertlarry@yahoo. ]
  Re: OTR [removed]                      [ Afanofoldradio@[removed] ]
  Radio in my home town                 [ rand@[removed] ]
  Electricity-Free Radios               [ Stephen A Kallis <skallisjr@[removed] ]
  Battery Radios                        [ "Ian Grieve" <austotr@[removed] ]
  Not everyone [removed]               [ mchone@[removed] ]
  2-28 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  2-29 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  100 years ago                         [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:54:09 -0500
From: Chargous@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Not everyone had a radio during WWII

Prof. Biel is quite right, there were "farm" radios, battery powered, that
ran on a variety of different types of batteries, depending on the year
and/or what was in vogue at the time.  It ranged from dry A/B/C batteries,
6 v car battery recharged by a small windmill, 32 volt, [removed], and so
on.  They were generally 7 tubes or less, but Airline and a few other
companies had 10 or so tubes.  [removed] Scott made a luxury 11/12 tube one,
briefly, too.

Some of the later ones were "high-line", [removed] it had a rectifier tube, and
could be switched to A/C with a switch when electricity became available in
the area.

Farm radios were generally cheaper-looking (especially after 1939 when they
became pretty cheesy, but the cheesification applied to A/C models too),
but not always.  There are some, mostly 1935-37 models, that are
impressive-looking.  I have a magnificent "World's Fair" skyscraper farm
model, that ran on A/B/C batteries.  The radio itself isn't very special
but the cabinet is very impressive.

I have over 30 mostly 1930s radios, and have a couple of farm radios.  One
is a (tastefully) converted to A/C Zenith 6-V-27 tombstone.

All kinds of farm models were sold, tabletop, console, and chairside.

Travis

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:29:32 -0500
From: Al Girard <24agirard24@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: OTR License Plate

I once saw OLBLUYS.  It took a few minutes before I figured it out.

Al Girard

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:30:30 -0500
From: "W. Harris" <nbcblue@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Subject: Re: Not everyone had a radio during WWII

Michael Biel wrote:

Kristi Phillips, while discussing radio ownership during the depression and
WW II, mentioned "For those who didn't have electricy, well, they wouldn't
have one of course." Not true. Many companies, especially the catalogs like
Sears and Monkey Wards sold radios -- even large consoles! -- that ran on
batteries and looked just like regular plug-in radios.

Just to expound on this a bit further. There were three basic ways of
powering radios in the absence of commercially supplied electricity.

1. Radios could be powered by batteries consisting of an "A" and "B"
batteries. The A battery supplied the voltage and current to operate the
filament of the radio tubes (the part that lights up), and the B battery
supplied the higher voltage to the tubes.  The B battery would outlast the A
battery because the current requirement for the B supply was much less. Often
the A battery would be a six volt auto battery which could be recharged by
the automobile or tractor, or by taking it to the local filling station and
get it recharged for fifty cents or so.

2. Some farms had 32 volt DC system. This was as series of batteries that
were kept charged by a wind charger. The house would be wired just like a 110
VAC system. The lighting would be 32 volt lamps and appliances that operated
on 32 volts, including radios, were available. The wall outlets and appliance
plugs were identical to those used on 110 VAC systems. Everything is fine as
long as the wind blows to keep the battereis charged. For farms with this
system, converting to 110 VAC when the REA came was easy, just disconnect
from the batteries and connect to REA, and remember to change out all the 32
volts light bulbs.

It is not unsual to find a vintage 32 volt set today in which the filaments
of the tubes are blown because someone plugged it into a 110 vac outlet.

3. Other farm sets were designed to operate from a six volt DC source, such
as a car battery. These sets had a "vibrator" type power supply, a unit that
converted the six volts DC to six volts AC and then a transformer produced
the proper voltages to operate the radio circuirty. The DC had to be
converted to AC because transformers don't work on DC. Often the farmer would
bring in the tractor battery in the evening to operate the radio to listen to
a few favorite programs, being careful to leave enough "juice" in the battery
to start the tractor the next day.
Auto radios used this same principal up until the early 1960's, when 12 volt
"space charged tubes"  that operated entirely on 12 volts DC, and transistors
came into being.

And we cannot leave out the crystal receiving set, which required no
electricity at all to operate, other than the miniscule current induced on
the receiving antenna from the radio waves being emitted by the very radio
station it was tuned to. An Oatmeal box on which  to wind the coil, a glena
crystal, a piece of adjustable wire called a cat whisker, a capacitor, ear
phones and one was in business. Operated 24/7 and zero cost.

Actually, one source of war news during WW II that is
usually overlooked were the newsreels in the movie theatres.

I remember those newsreels, I always turned away when that newsreel camera
(Movietone?) turned it's lens to face the audience. Don't know why, but for
some reason I didn't like looking at that thing.

Haven't heard the term "Monkey Wards" Michael used in some time.

Bill H.

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:30:51 -0500
From: Frank McGurn <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Oscar Levant

Peter Boe asked:
I would also like to take this opportunity to ask if anyone knows
of other sources of Levant audio.
I went to my references of OTR shows and found that Oscar was a guest on
several programs as follows;
Fred Allen show                           05/03/42
Jack Benny Program                     01/07/43
Philco Radio Time                         02/11/48
The Andre Kostelanetz Show        10/11/48  Sponsored by The Chrystel
Corp, "Portrait of George Gershwim"
Cavalcade of America                    07/14/37  Summer special
"Tribute to George Gershwin"

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:30:59 -0500
From: lawrence albert <albertlarry@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Wendy Richards
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Miss Richards appeared in several episodes of the BBC radio series "The Navy
Lark" along side Jon "Dr. Who" Pertwee
Larry

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:31:27 -0500
From: Afanofoldradio@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: OTR [removed]
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

I don't drive, but I have used "OTRFAN" as  my login for the NTN network
trivia games that you might see at  your local watering hole ([removed]
Damon's/Buffalo
Wild Wings) and for which I  have been playing since the very early 1990's
and people think it means "over  the road" until I tell them what the letters
[removed] they  [removed]

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  ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:31:50 -0500
From: rand@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Radio in my home town

Micheal Biel - " As for your parents not owning a TV until around 1958-59,
this was partially influenced by whether there were TV signals available
in your area. Because of the freeze on station applications from 1948 thru
1952, Lexington, KY didn't get its first TV station till around 1956, and
it was tough to get the stations from Cincinnati and Huntington before
then."

My family is from northwestern North Carolina, so there were tv signals
available from Roanoke, Winston-Salem and even Charlotte, NC at the time.
For many in that area, getting a tv was mainly an economic choice.  My Mom
remembers seeing her first tv around 1950 at school when they watched a
speech by Truman.

My home town, West Jefferson, got their own radio station, WKSK, in 1959.
The original owner of the station had set up several stations with similar
call letters around the state in the 1950s.

There seemed to be several smaller AM stations that were created in the
post-War area in small towns in the South = I know in the case of my home
town that there just wasn't enough of a business base to support the
advertising before then.  After the War, there were some factories that
opened up shop in my home town and the area became more prosperous.

The changes in my home town over the years have been reflected in the
radio station.  In the 70s, they went from playing country music all the
time to playing rock music after 5:00 pm for the kids.  Then, in the mid
70s, they tried a kind of mix of pop, country and lighter rock all day.
By the 1980s, when they were competing directly with FM country stations
for listeners, they went all country and had some special bluegrass
programming.  Today, with the influx of Hispanic immigrants in the area,
the station is still country, but broadcasts some Spanish language
programs on their schedule.

Randy

___________________
Randy Riddle
Mebane, NC

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:32:16 -0500
From: Stephen A Kallis <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Electricity-Free Radios

Michael Biel remarks,

Kristi Phillips, while discussing radio ownership during
the depression and WW II, mentioned "For those who
didn't have electricy, well, they wouldn't have one of course."

Dr. Biel points out that there were battery-operated sets for country
use.  Almost forgotten, though, was that for those with a Quaker Oats
box, a lot of wire, and access to a galena crystal, there were also
crystal sets.  The beauty of the crystal sets was that they needed (and
to this day don't need) batteries at all.  The crustal set has often been
neglected in the history of radio.  Indeed, during World War II, some GIs
determined that by using an open safety pin as a "cat whisker" and a
razor blade with oxidation spots in place of the galena, they could
construct "razor-blade radios" that functioned as well as conventional
crystal sets.

With the advent of the semiconductor diode, in the 1950s, there were
several prepackaged crystal-set-style radios (the Rocket Radio is one I
remember) that had a single earphone and a grounding clip.  One I picked
up a few years ago still functions faithfully.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:32:52 -0500
From: "Ian Grieve" <austotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Battery Radios

The discussion on radios Pre WWII is timely.  Whilst I was aware from
reading 1920s and 1930s magazines that early radios were powered by battery,
I never gave it a lot of thought.  I am used to battery power and recharging
of batteries and assumed people recharged their radio batteries.  In my
early teens we undertook a tree-change and initially our rural property had
no electricity and we had a 12 volt system with gas cooking and kerosene
refrigerator.  This week I was reading a book about a pioneering family and
as is common in these books, they mentioned sitting around a radio described
as a 'rather cumbersome cabinet wireless set' as a family and listened to
various shows which they named in the book.  The part that interested me,
was that the author went on to mention that when the battery ran flat, they
used to send the radio off to the nearest town where it was 'charged' and
that it was away for several days.  It struck me then, that rural people in
those days wouldn't have had the means to recharge the batteries.  I now
wonder how many actual hours they would experience from a 'charged' battery.
This author made it sound like the whole radio was sent away, but he was
only a child at the time, but it sure makes you wonder if other people would
keep a spare or two, particularly those who were a long way from a town.  I
read a lot of Australian history books, family histories etc and I pick up a
lot of interesting information, but this is the first to mention the
charging of radio batteries and the delay in broadcast while awaiting its
return.  Living a long distance from town would put a hole in the serials,
but I guess like most soapies, not a whole lot happens in only a few days :)

Ian Grieve

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:33:39 -0500
From: mchone@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Not everyone [removed]

RE: Not everyone had a radio during World War II

My dad is 87 and lived in the foothills of the Smokey Moutains of North Carolina,
told me that his family got a radio in the mid-thirties, it was a battery operated
set.  He also said that he thought the best thing that FDR did was to create The
REA (The Rural Electric Administration) in 1935.  He said it seemed like as soon as
the REA was in effect that workers were setting poles and stringing wire and just a
short time later his family had electricity.  At first their electricity usage was
mostly just a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling of each room, but it sure was a
big improvement from trying to study by the light of a kerosene lamp.

ALSO  From the 'Looking Back' column in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Feb. 26, 2009:

75 YEARS AGO
Feb. 26, 1934-Radio fans who have been enjoying the "Chandu the Magician"
broadcasts, which have been sponsored by the National Grocery and Reliance Coffee,
will be happy to know that the program has been made into a talking picture.
The broadcast which is regularly heard over KFQD, can be seen at the Empress
Theater for this premier production.

Roby McHone
Fairbanks, Alaska
Sarah for Prez in 2012

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:33:46 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  2-28 births/deaths

February 28th births

02-28-1879 - Julian Noa - d. 11-26-1958
actor: Perry White "Advs. of Superman"; Judge Scott "The O'Neills"
02-28-1882 - Geraldine Farrar - Melrose, MA - d. 3-11-1967
opera singer: "Packard Hour"; "Metropolitan Opera"
02-28-1893 - Ben Hecht - NYC - d. 4-18-1964
panelist, writer: "Information, Please"; "Jumbo Fire Chief Program"
02-28-1907 - Milton Caniff - Hillsboro, OH - d. 4-3-1988
Creator of "Terry and the Pirates"
02-28-1911 - Gene O'Donnell - Iowa - d. 11-22-1993
actor: " I Want A Divorce"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
02-28-1914 - Jim Boles - Lubbock, TX - d. 5-26-1977
actor: Doc Long "I Love A Mystery"; Fulmer Green "King's Row"
02-28-1915 - Zero Mostel - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-8-1977
comedian: "Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street"
02-28-1919 - David Marshall Cox - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 11-16-1998
producer for WNAC Boston Massachusetts
02-28-1922 - Joyce Howard - London, England
actor: Meg March "Little Women"; Vi Waters "Backstage Wife"
02-28-1924 - Patti Clayton - Detroit, MI
vocalist: "Bouquet for You"; "Waitin' for Clayton"
02-28-1925 - Jean Carson - Charleston, WV - d. 11-2-2005
actor: "Broadway Is My Beat"; "Frontier Gentleman"
02-28-1928 - Louise Erickson - Oakland, CA
actor: Marjorie Forrester "Great Gildersleeve"; Judy Foster "A Date
with Judy"
02-28-1932 - Don Franck - Vancouver, Canada
actor: Archie "Advs. of Nero Wolfe"
02-28-1940 - Gordon Parker - Newcastle, England
writer: "Seance"

February 28th deaths

01-22-1895 - Ethel (Everett) Remey - d. 2-28-1979
actor: Kathleen Norris "By Kathleen Norris"
02-02-1877 - Charles Hanson Towne - Louisville, KY - d. 2-28-1949
poet/actor: Quarter hour weekly conversational program on CBS
02-12-1903 - Todd Duncan - Danville, IL - d. 2-28-1998
baritone: "NY Philharmonic Symphony"; "First American Opera"
03-02-1890 - Paul De Kruif - Zeeland, MI - d. 2-28-1971
writer: "Men Against Death" based on De Kruif's book
03-02-1933 - Anthea Askey - Golders Green, London, England - d.
2-28-1999
actor: Violet Elizabeth Bott "Just William"
03-04-1921 - Joan Greenwood - London, England - d. 2-28-1987
actor: "Stagestruck"
03-05-1891 - Chic Johnson - Chicago, IL - d. 2-28-1962
comedian: "Olsen and Johnson"; "Rudy Vallee Show"
03-29-1905 - Philip Ahn - Los Angeles, CA - d. 2-28-1978
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
05-12-1891 - Charles A. Bayha - NYC - d. 2-28-1957
composer: "The Radio Aces"
07-04-1926 - Mary Stuart - Miami, FL - d. 2-28-2002
actor: "Doctor Christian"; "Advs. of Maisie"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-15-1906 - Richard Armour - San Pedro, CA - d. 2-28-1987
humorist: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy"
07-22-1879 - Harry Armstrong - Somerville, MA - d. 2-28-1952
composer/singer
08-04-1904 - Theodore Newton - Lawrenceville, NJ - d. 2-28-1963
actor: Christopher Parker "Joyce Jordan, [removed]"
08-16-1884 - Bess Flynn - Tama, IA - d. 2-28-1976
actor, writer: Mother Moynihan "Painted Dreams"; Tilda "The Gumps"
08-22-1893 - Cecil Kellaway - Capetown, South Africa - d. 2-28-1973
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Cavalcade of America"
08-25-1910 - Ruby Keeler - Halifax, Nova Scotia - d. 2-28-1993
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-18-1905 - Eddie Anderson - Oakland, CA - d. 2-28-1977
actor: Rochester Van Jones "Jack Benny Program"
10-14-1891 - Joseph M. White - NYC - d. 2-28-1959
singer: (The Silver Masked Tenor) "Goodrich Silvertown Orchestra"
11-06-1901 - Juanita Hall - d. 2-28-1968
actor: "Story of Ruby Valentine"
11-25-1894 - Laurence Stallings - Macon, GA - d. 2-28-1968
writer: "Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt" based on his play "What
Price Glory?"
12-04-1897 - Doc Whipple - d. 2-28-1963
orchestra leader: "Ma Perkins"; "The Mysterious Traveler"
12-04-1930 - Harvey Kuenn - West Allis, WI - d. 2-28-1988
baseball great: "Tops in Sports"
12-15-1888 - Maxwell Anderson - Atlantic, PA - d. 2-28-1959
writer: "Free Company"; "Keep 'Em Rolling"; "O'Neill Cycle"
12-20-1923 - Charita Bauer - Newark, NJ - d. 2-28-1985
actor: Mary Aldrich, "Aldrich Family"; Bert Bauer, "The Guiding Light"

Ron

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:33:52 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  2-29 births/deaths

February 29th births

02-29-1888 - Tess Sheehan - Ann Arbor, MI - d. 10-29-1972
actor: Dorrie Warren "Wendy Warren and the News"
02-29-1896 - William A. Wellman - Brookline, MA - d. 12-9-1975
film director: "Screen Director's Playhouse"
02-29-1904 - Jimmy Dorsey - Mahanoy, PA, - d. 6-12-1957
bandleader: "Kraft Music Hall"; "Your Happy Birthday"
02-29-1916 - Dinah Shore - Winchester, TN - d. 2-24-1994
singer: "Eddie Cantor Show"; "Dinah Shore Show"
02-29-1920 - Arthur Franz - Perth Amboy, NJ - d. 6-16-2006
actor: In radio following WWII
02-29-1932 - Malcolm J. Ross-Macdonald - Chipping Sodbury, England
writer: "Kristina's Winter"; "World from Rough Stones"

February 29th deaths

02-02-1909 - Frank Albertson - Fergus Falls, MN - d. 2-29-1964
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
02-12-1912 - Kylie Tennant - Manly, Australia - d. 2-29-1988
writer: "Tether a Dragon"
04-30-1907 - Sidney Harmon - Poughkeepsie, NY - d. 2-29-1988
writer, director: "The Life of Riley"; "Honest Abe"
07-14-1915 - Jerome Lawrence - Cleveland, OH - d. 2-29-2004
cbs staff writer: "Frank Sinatra Show"; "Doris Day Show"; "Kate Smith
Show"
10-24-1903 - Melvin Purvis - Timmonsville, SC - d. 2-29-1960
fbi agent, narrator: "Top Secrets of the FBI"

Ron

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

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:41:57 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  100 years ago

Born 100 years ago in March

03-02-1909 - Mel Ott - Gretna, LA - d. 11-21-1958
sportscaster: Play-by-Play Detroit Tigers; "Babe Ruth Show"
03-02-1909 - Narvin Kimball - d. 3-17-2006
vocal, banjo: (Preservation Hall Jazz Band) "Newport Jazz Festival"
03-04-1909 - Harry Elders - d. 11-25-1993
actor: Dr. Bill Evans "Road of Life"; David Houseman "Stepmother"
03-06-1909 - Floyd Holmes - Glasgow, KY - d. 1-1-1970
singer: (Prairie Ramblers) "Smile-a-While"
03-08-1909 - Anthony Donato - Prague, NE - d. 10-29-1990
composer: "Surprise Serenade"
03-08-1909 - Claire Trevor - NYC - d. 4-8-2000
actor: Lorelei Kilbourne " Big Town", Theresa Travers "Results, Inc."
03-09-1909 - Victor Seydel - d. 8-xx-1973
director: "Counterspy"
03-10-1909 - Bob Taplinger - Philadelphia, PA - d. 11-24-1975
head of publicity CBS: Credited with idea of Gracie Allen"s lost brother
03-11-1909 - Karl Tunberg - Spokane, WA - d. 4-4-1992
film writer: "Lux Radio Theatre"
03-11-1909 - Ramona - Lockland, OH - d. 12-14-1972
singer, pianist: "Kraft Music Hall"; "Paul Whiteman's Musical Varities"
03-13-1909 - Herbert Kline - Davenport, IA - d. 2-5-1999
worked for a loyalist radio station in Madrid during the Spanish
revolution
03-15-1909 - John Roeburt - d. 5-22-1972
writer: "Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator"; "Inner Sanctum
Mysteries"
03-18-1909 - Samson De Brier - China - d. 4-1-1995
host: "Gangplank"
03-19-1909 - Louis Hayward - Johannesburg, South Africa - d. 2-21-1985
actor: "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Harold Lloyd Comedy Theatre"; "This Is
My Best"
03-20-1909 - Doris C. Frankel - Manhattan, NY - d. 2-3-1994
writer: "Ma Perkins"; "Romance of Helen Trent"
03-25-1909 - Frank James Damico - Jersey City, NJ
aranger: "Texaco Radio"
03-25-1909 - Jay Blackton - NYC - d. 1-8-1994
composer, conductor, pianist: "Stu Erwin Show"; "Broadway Showtime"
03-31-1909 - Earle Graser - Kitchener, Canada - d. 4-9-1941
actor: Lone Ranger "Lone Ranger"

Ron

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