Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #78
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 2/18/2003 7:51 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2003 : Issue 78
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  female newsies                        [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
  Frontier Gentleman                    [ Greg Burton <gregburton@[removed]; ]
  On "The Power of Radio"               [ "Barnett, Tom L" <[removed]@lmc ]
  Todd/Tonto                            [ "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@earthli ]
  Re: Encyclopedia of Radio             [ "lizmcl@[removed]" <liz@cybercas ]
  John Todd on Green Hornet show        [ "Ryan Osentowski" <rosentowski@neb. ]
  Re: OTR Time Machine                  [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
  John Todd & The Green Hornet          [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
  Whistler                              [ "Tom and Katja" <kattom@[removed] ]
  Re:Michael Biel's comment on disc re  [ "Greg Przywara" <gmprzywara@hotmail ]
  Jack Benny book                       [ bloodbleeds@[removed] ]
  OTR B&B                               [ Richard Carpenter <sinatra@ragingbu ]
  Re: Telephone Hour                    [ Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed]; ]
  OTR Links                             [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
  Re: OTR Time Machine                  [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
  Re: Radio Spirits                     [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
  The Road Ahead                        [ JayHick@[removed] ]
  Encyclopedia of Radio                 [ "Jim Hilliker" <jimhilliker@sbcglob ]
  Radio Encyclopedia                    [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
  Buttons on Jughead's cap              [ JOSEPH THOMS <jftesq@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 14:03:53 -0500
From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  female newsies

Michael Biel writes about Liz Trotta:

She's now a reporter for the Moonie
Washington Times and a Faux contributor--and NBC is
very lucky not to have her any [removed]
she claims she was ousted due to gender, her
performance on Saturday proves it was probably
otherwise.

Yeah, Mike, if they'd found out she was a Republican,
they'd have NEVER let her do news on a 'real' network!
 :P

I'm a little surprised this blatantly political dig
made it past the normally-eagle-eyes of our
administrator, but Dr. Biel does make a point:  I
agree Pauline Frederick became such a heavyweight
BECAUSE of her no-nonsense, straight ahead,
professional delivery.  She was third-string outside
the White House the night Japan surrendered in 1945;
by the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis almost twenty
years later, she had been lured away to NBC (and it
was a big step up, make no mistake), where she became
a radio news anchor and United Nations correspondent.
There she carried every bit of the gravitas of her
male colleagues, with the added attraction that her
female voice made her all the more distinctive on the
air.

Is that story about Ed Murrow telling her to take a
hike true?  That's a hoot, if so, and all the richer
considering Murrow repeatedly allowed his own wife to
broadcast from London during the war.

I think some of the recent posters on this topic are
committing the same error that many historians
do--counting Murrow and CBS as the whole of radio
journalism, which they most certainly were not.  Both
NBC and Mutual DID feature on-air female reporters, in
various levels of prominence, especially during the
pre-Pearl Harbor years.  NBC made extensive use of
Helen Hyatt, a war correspondent who was still
prominent enough to rate mention in the networks'
promotional material in late 1944; Day Brayton, who
was among the first voices to sound the war-is-looming
trumpet from the Pacific in 1941; and the
previously-mentioned Dorothy Thompson, an insightful
analyst billed on-air as "that noted woman
commentator"!  And Mutual's Siegfried Shultz was a
recognizable presence right through the end of the
war.  In addition, both NBC and Mutual routinely used
female on-air stringers in cities where they had no
regular correspondents: on the morning of December 8,
1941, just for an example, women reported the news
from Ankara, Turkey on NBC, and Batavia, Java on
Mutual.  If CBS really had no female newsies, it was
indeed alone in the distinction; perhaps if the BBC
had hired one, Murrow would have, too.

In any event, the inroads the female correspondents
had made were nearly erased once the war arrived; the
military simply wouldn't have allowed their presence
at the front.  Of course there's no reason women
wouldn't have made fine wartime studio announcers or
newsreaders, particularly on CBS, where the
newsreaders WERE simply glorified announcers (NBC's
anchors, in contrast, were mostly former combat
reporters or writers).  It is indeed jarring to look,
for example, at some of NBC's wartime publicity
material and see an entire album of exclusively male
faces.  However, it's not quite true that Pauline
Frederick, wonderful as she was, was the lone female
news presence on the radio airwaves.

Question:  I wonder how many women will be among the
reporters at the front lines in the impending war
against Iraq?  Doubtless there'll be no shortage of
volunteers; I wonder what the Pentagon's rules are?
DO times change, or will the wartime airwaves of 2003
resemble those of 1943?

chris (who had a female radio boss several years ago,
and can only IMAGINE the response if somebody had told
her "we don't hire women"!)

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 15:08:05 -0500
From: Greg Burton <gregburton@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Frontier Gentleman

Harry, you are correct about Frontier Gentleman being
of high quality. I have listened to the complete
series through twice and it is on my regular listening
list. The mixture of comedy and seriousness is superb.
John Dehner is wonderful. Second only to Gunsmoke as
far as westerns are concerned for me. Six Shooter and
Fort Laramie are right up there as well. I just never
get tired of listening to any of these series.

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 15:23:37 -0500
From: "Barnett, Tom L" <[removed]@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  On "The Power of Radio"

Nancy McAleer wrote:

Ah yes, the power of radio.

Yes, and the power of history. Funny how what was old is always new again.

Tom Barnett

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:00:53 -0500
From: "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@[removed];
To: "OTR List" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Todd/Tonto

Frederic, I would also love a film of a Ranger rehearsal or performance,
even a still photo would be great.

I knew Mike Wallace had announced for the Green Hornet, but I did not know
he was supposed to have played in other roles.

Joe Salerno

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:01:29 -0500
From: "lizmcl@[removed]" <liz@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Encyclopedia of Radio

On 2/18/03 2:30 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

  Irene Heinstein asked about the upcoming 3-volume "Encyclopedia of Radio"
set. Elizabeth McLeod, Stephen Kallis, and Howard Blue are known
contributors.
  [removed]'s the publisher?

When we all signed on, the publisher was Fitzroy-Dearborn, a house which
specialized in Big Thick Reference Books, but they were bought out late
last year by Routledge, and the Encyclopedia of Radio project fell under
the control of their Reference Routledge imprint. So that's who'll be
putting it out, when it comes out.

The Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago is still on board as a
sponsor, so far as I know.

Hopefully this'll be out soon. They pay on publication, and frankly I
could use the money!

Elizabeth

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:44:36 -0500
From: "Ryan Osentowski" <rosentowski@[removed];
To: "old time radio" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  John Todd on Green Hornet show

Hi all:
If you want to hear what John Todd sounds like when he's not playing Tonto,
listen to the Green Hornet episode called, "Circumstances Alter Cases"
(06/13/44).  He plays a major role as a prosecutor in it.  Its also a rare
opportunity to hear Donovan Faust in the role of GH/Britt Reed.
RyanO

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:44:42 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: OTR Time Machine

I was glad to see Tim Cronin weighing in with his picks for time-machine
preservation. I was also planning on those landmark 1920s broadcasts --
and maybe also Lee DeForest's coverage of the 1916 presidential election,
and Reginald Fessenden's 1906 voice-and-music tests. But I wa worried
about how much room I'd have in the the time machine after taping all
4,091 "Amos 'n' Andy" episodes between 3/19/28 and 2/19/43. That would
amount to over 1,022 hours of material, and there might not be much room
for anything else. (I'd also try to squeeze in room for "Harlem's Salute
To Amos 'n' Andy," a special NBC broadcast from the summer of 1930 which
may be the first network variety program ever aired with an entirely
African-American cast.)

But assuming there was room, I'd also grab as many pre-1935 band remotes
as I could get, especially Duke Ellington's 1928-29 broadcasts from the
Cotton Club. Also the "Camel Pleasure Hour" from 1930, featuring Bix
Beiderbecke's final broadcasts -- recordings which would probably ensure
my financial future for life if I could get hold of them.

I'd also be interest in getting a complete run of "The Stebbins Boys,"
the 1931-32 Maine dialect serial with Arthur Allen and Parker Fennelly,
which was in many ways a direct forerunner of "Lum and Abner." And also
the first year of "Easy Aces," in which the series was a humorous
instructional show about how to play better bridge. I've always wondered
how Goodman Ace managed to write a show balancing the didactic element
against the humorous.

And there's a lot of obscure local stuff I'd want -- especially the
informal late-night music/comedy/variety series that were so common in
the mid-twenties, especially in the midwest: the WLS Midnight Frolic, the
WDAF Nighthawk Frolic, the WCX Red Apple Club, the WGN Pepper Party, and
on and on. And of course, I'd tune in on WEBH to pick up a few
performances by Correll and Gosden, The Life of the Party -- and see what
the boys did to earn those blue-plate dinners.

And also "The RKO Hour," "The Vitaphone Hour," and "The Paramount-Publix
Hour," all programs used to promote the new talking pictures of 1929-30
with appearances by the top screen stars of the day.

And also a batch of "Medical Question Box" broadcasts by the pioneer of
goat-gland surgery, Dr. John Romulus Brinkley, over KFKB in Milford,
Kansas: the most popular station in the United States in 1929-30,
according to a Radio Digest reader poll. And a few anti-chain-store rants
out of Shreveport, from "Hello World, This is W. K. Henderson speaking."

Actually, there isn't enough tape in all the world to hold everything I'd
try to grab if I had the [removed]

Elizabeth

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:44:57 -0500
From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  John Todd & The Green Hornet

This may have been mentioned by someone else, but I
haven't had a chance to do more than glance at the
five OTR digests that arrived in my E-Mail between
yesterday and today. So apologies if someone already
touched on this.

Although I've never heard any episodes with him in the
role, I understand that John Todd appeared in early
episodes of The Green Hornet as the elderly Dan Reid,
father of Britt Reid. (and, of course, nephew of John
Reid, the Lone Ranger).

Speaking of the Green Hornet, who else but Kato knew
that Britt was the Green Hornet? I have an episode
from later in the series' run (I forget the title
offhand) that suggests Lenore Case eventually knew.
Did she? The Now Comics Green Hornet series of the
1990s established that the police commissioner knew
the radio-era Hornet was Britt Reid, but was that
taken from the radio series, or made up for the comic?

 One thing that suggests the commissioner may have
known Britt was the Hornet was a phone conversation
Reid had with the commissioner at the end of the
episode "A Matter of Evidence." I don't have the tape
with me, and don't recall the exact wording of the one
sided conversation (we only hear Britt talking), but
it came across to me as if both were acknowledging,
indirectly, that Britt was the Hornet. (Which was why
the Commissioner wasn't going to pursue certain
matters related to the Hornet).

The first 14 issue run of the Now Comics Green Hornet
series (a 40 + issue run soon followed), which tells
the history of the Reid family's Hornet legacy, was
collected in hardcover some years back. It still pops
up from time to time. I saw it at a Borders Outlet a
few years ago. It was a good series (except for the
unfortunate insistence on spelling "all right" as one
word) that tied together the radio Hornet, Britt Reid,
the TV Hornet, Britt Reid II, and the current era
Hornet (in the comics), Paul Reid. Following in the
Lone Ranger tradition, each was the nephew of his
predecessor.
   In this series, the TV Kato was the son of the
radio Kato.

And the name of the villain who unmasked the Paul Reid
Hornet and offered to sell his identity to the highest
bidder?

Johnny Dollar.

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:45:04 -0500
From: "Tom and Katja" <kattom@[removed];
To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Whistler

Hello List:

[removed] played the best Whistler?

Joseph Kearns, Gale Gordon, or Bill Forman?

I vote for [removed] just seems to have that inflection and attitude down.

Tom Z.

One of the nameless terrors of which they dare not [removed]

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:45:18 -0500
From: "Greg Przywara" <gmprzywara@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re:Michael Biel's comment on disc recorders

I believe my great grandfather had one of those and he
had some kind of microphone attachment on it that he would use to record
family gatherings.
Unfortunately those discs are no longer in the family.
If he had made any recordings of radio shows that are now "lost" that stuff
would
be worth a %$@! of a lot of money!

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:45:48 -0500
From: bloodbleeds@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jack Benny book

Greetings! A new OTR project is cropping up, and I'd welcome your thoughts & entries: 

I don't know if you know Midnight Marquee books, but they've been doing a series of 
books of 
nonfiction essays on horror films. There haven't been any books of this sort done yet on 
otr, and I think it would be a good idea to start. The first would be on Jack Benny, 
though all major series (like Amos n Andy, Fibber McGee, etc.) could have their own 
volume later. To give you an idea of topics for this book: a history of the Benny-Allen 
feud; the changing role of Rochester from the early years in which there was an 
emphasis on his fondness for chicken and for playing craps to a more positive image, 
perhaps best illustrated by the New Year's Eve show in 1950 when he shares a toast 
with Jack as a colleague and friend; the railroad shows and how they captured a sense 
of the adventure of traveling by train; a rundown of the bloopers; the wonderful use of 
sound effects on the show and how they contributed to the enjoyment of the listeners by 
appealing to the imagination; specific writer contributions to the series; the masochistic 
Jack and the anatomy of an ego. There are lots more ideas possible, and in fact, I'd like 
to hear ideas from you rather than just take something from this brief list of samples. 

I was curious what you think of this notion, and if you'd like to contribute. I'd like to solicit 
different topics from different writers, perhaps 20, plus pictures. Submissions can be 
between 1000 to 4000 words, however much it takes to say what you want to say. I'll 
start with Benny, and if it interests enough people, move on to other shows. I haven't 
solicited many writers about this yet, though the below have signed up so far. I can pay 
$50 plus 2 copies of the book for use of the non-fiction. I hope you'll be interested. Let 
me know. Thanks. 

Already signed up: 
Brandon S. Morley (on why Jack was a better film actor than his movie roles allowed)
Derek Tague & Michael Hayde (Jack Benny in cartoons)
Dr. Pam Munter (Jack's vaudeville career)
Martin Grams Jr. (a collection of JB trivia)
Clair Schulz (the scripts/writing of the radio show)
Ken Miller (Jack in the UK)
undecided (the running gags of the radio series)
undecided (Rochester's blosoming role from stereotype to friend)

Ben

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:46:06 -0500
From: Richard Carpenter <sinatra@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  OTR B&B

   Re the question of a Vermont inn that plays old
time radio, I think the person may actually be
thinking of a place in Hillsborough, New Hampshire,
that was called the Inn at Maplewood Farm. Alas, the
inn no longer exists. Although it was hugely
successful, the owner decided to give up inkeeping and
go into public relations.
   Of course, there also could be such an inn in
Vermont, but I've never heard of it.

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 17:15:38 -0500
From: Harlan Zinck <buster@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Telephone Hour

Joe Salerno (sergei01@[removed]) writes:

Has anyone ever prepared on seen a log of the Bell Telephone Hour broadcasts?

Yes, I have one. I also have a log of "Voice of Firestone" broadcasts as
well. Both were passed on to me awhile back and, though I've not determined
that they're 100% accurate, the occasional reference over the past couple
of years indicates that they're pretty reliable.

If you or anyone else on this list would like me to e-mail a copy of the
logs, write me at preservation@[removed] and I'll pass them on.

Harlan

Harlan Zinck
First Generation Radio Archives
[removed]

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 17:52:23 -0500
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  OTR Links

Walden Hughes asked:

Hi Everybody, I receive a private email asking me about the Bed and
Breakfast that plays OTR in there house in Vermont. Does any one recall
there web site,

That B&B no longer is in business. My wife and I stayed there several years
ago (it was in New Hampshire, not Vermont). The proprietor (cannot recall
his name right now) was a fan of OTR and had radios in all the rooms and
used an AM transmitter to play OTR if you wanted to turn the radio on.  It
was a real treat.

He also asks:

Does any one have a site that carried all the OTR links like Jack
did.

Well, I carry a database at my site that contains nearly 600 links. I try
very hard to keep it current, though there are many more out there. It is
in database format, which means, you can simply list them all, or enter key
words and get links related to the subject. [removed], entering "mp3" will get
you a list of sites.  You can also put your email address on a list which
sends out a link update every time I add one - to be clear, you get the new
link only each time, not a complete list, that you can get anytime. You can
also submit links as well.

I am always looking for any help in keeping these current.

[removed]

Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 18:24:06 -0500
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: OTR Time Machine

If I could record any OTR, I would [removed]

Some of the earliest material, like "The Eveready Hour" from the 1920s and
"The Happiness Boys."

The 15 minute "Amos 'n' Andy" episodes, especially the Madame Queen material.

The earliest "First Nighter" shows with Don Ameche.

The earliest "Lights Out."

Vic 'n' Sade

Dixon

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 18:24:38 -0500
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Radio Spirits

Hi all,

I checked out a couple of Radio Spirits multi-show releases from my local
library recently, and what I heard was appalling.  In many cases,
commercials, intros etc. had been purposefully deleted.  I noticed this on
the "Science Fiction" and "Comedy" releases.  Anyone know why they did this,
and if they still do it or do it often?  What's the rationale, anyway,
shoe-horning shows onto a 90 minute tape? I don't understand the business
thinking that went into multilating shows before releasing them.  And I know
a lot of these are in general release intact, because that's how I originally
heard the "Suspense" two-parter "Donovan's Brain" and the Radio Spirits
version was hacked to smithereens.

Dixon

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 18:25:01 -0500
From: JayHick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Road Ahead

I received a letter from Robin Pechota <rpechota42@[removed]; about her
grandfather, a double amputee from WW II,  who was on  "The Road Ahead" on
5/2/45.  She indicated Bob Hope was a guest.  I find no copies to be in
existence unless someone knows something I don't.  Can anyone help her?    I
talked to her and told her that probably no program exists.  She also said
the Library of Congress does not have it.  Jay

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 18:57:30 -0500
From: "Jim Hilliker" <jimhilliker@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Encyclopedia of Radio

Hello!  I too have a couple of articles that will appear in the
upcoming "Encyclopedia of Radio."  My two articles are on radio stations KFI
and KNX in Los Angeles.  I'm not sure how they chose me for this assignment,
but I'm proud to be among the others in this group who are taking part in
this large project.

jh

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 19:51:34 -0500
From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Radio Encyclopedia

Derek Tague wanted to know who's publishing the forthcoming encyclopedia.
I sent him a link privately but in case anyone else is interested the
publisher is Fitzroy Dearborn in Chicago (and the UK) and they describe
themselves as a "library reference book publisher".     I noticed that
Norman Corwin and Stan Freberg are on the Advisory Board.

-Irene

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

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 20:46:54 -0500
From: JOSEPH THOMS <jftesq@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Buttons on Jughead's cap
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

I purchased Hal Stone's book "[removed], Archie! Re-Laxxx!" and enjoyed it
immensely.  All OTR fans should have it in their libraries.  I have one
question:  What did the buttons originally say on Jughead's cap?  Sincerely,
Joe Thoms

  *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
  ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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