------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 35
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Boxing on radio [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
Acting challenges [ Jim Murtaugh <JimM@[removed]; ]
Radio Spirits [ Ga6string@[removed] ]
Radio History Museum in Cleveland [ Michael Henry <mlhenry@[removed]; ]
Today in Radio History [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
Re: WOR and The Witch's Tale [ "Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@hotmail ]
re: Looking for help with a trivia q [ "ecrasez" <ecrasez@[removed]; ]
Warren Hull [ Richard Pratz <[removed]@[removed]; ]
Reel to Reel [ "Robert J. McKee" <mckee137@mindspr ]
Cincy and Telephones [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
Martin Grams' Ellery query [ "Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@hotmail ]
Amos and Andy audition tape [ Lanny Gilbert <morsefan1@[removed]; ]
Re: Looking for help with a trivia q [ Lanny Gilbert <morsefan1@[removed]; ]
Warren Hull [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
Unwrapped Source List [ "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed] ]
Trivia [ Michael Edwards <medwards_47@yahoo. ]
The Band is Beat?! [ Michael Edwards <medwards_47@yahoo. ]
Listening to OTR [ "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@earthli ]
Telephone Ringing [ "John edwards" <jcebigjohn41@hotmai ]
RE: Astrid Lindgren [ Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 10:11:11 -0500
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Boxing on radio
Spence noted recently:
Friday nights were special ones; I would bring up
a Pepsi and some potato chips and listen to the Gillette boxing matches from
Madison Square Garden (Louis, Graziano, Zale, etc.).
Wow! did that trigger a flood of fond memories. Actually, I believe that the
very first radio program I can actually recall listening to was one
featuring Jack Dempsey in an early Heavyweight Championship bout. I don't
recall who he fought. The participants were not the issue. It was the effect
it had on me.
The reason I can vividly recall it, was a "bonding" event between father and
son. My dad was a big fight fan (having been involved in some semi-pro bouts
when he was a young man). On this particular day, the Championship bout was
being broadcast in the afternoon. I was maybe 5 or 6. I was sitting on my
Dad's lap, in a rocker in front of the floor model radio, shelling & eating
peanuts, and listening to this slugfest. I couldn't help but pick up on the
excitement conveyed by the Ringside Announcer as the bout progressed, and
the excitement and body language of my Dad as he practically felt and
delivered each blow being reported. It sure was fun getting caught up in all
that excitement. And it was a ritual repeated many time over the years,
until I got too big to sit on his lap. (No [removed] was not twenty by then).
Thanks for triggering that memory, Spence Needless to say, I grew up being
a fight fan also. Just goes to prove that kids can be brainwashed at an
early age. I had one advantage over other listeners however. When I became
old enough to actually go to see fights, I lived close enough to four
classic "arena's" in the New York area. Madison Square Garden, Sunnyside,
St. Nicholas, and Fort (something or other) in Brooklyn.
Once, (during my OTR radio performing days) I even worked with Slapsy Maxi
Rosenbloom on his short lived Radio show on NBC, and that was a kick, to be
sure.
And one sort of sad memory comes to mind. The late Don Dunphy was once a
highly renowned "blow by blow" Ringside announcer. He eventually made the
transition from Radio to TV, when fights were simulcast (locally in the new
York area) about 3 nights a week from those different venue's. But
viewership and listenership dropped off dramatically over the years, and
Dunphy found himself out of work, replaced by younger, up and coming
Sportscasters.
later in life, during my TV Directing years, Dunphy would frequently contact
me, looking for work, and trying to promote ideas for TV Specials about the
fight game. I wasn't able to help him. He faded into oblivion. His almost
desperate and unsuccessful attempts to find work, and hopefully recapture
his "Glory Days", really saddened me.
But on the "flip side", I feel compelled to bring this up. It "Gladdens" me
(is that a word?) to know that my own Radio Performing days are being kept
alive by all of the wonderful OTR fans I've encountered through this Digest,
Lois's chat room, and the Conventions. Thanks! It appears I'm not quite
ready to fade into oblivion. That's a nice feeling.
Hal(Harlan)Stone
"Jughead"
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 10:11:45 -0500
From: Jim Murtaugh <JimM@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Acting challenges
Early this morning as I was leaving for work, I
glanced at the television and saw Harry Bartell playing a pool player on an
episode of Get Smart. My question for Mr. Bartell is this: was it more
challenging acting on radio or television? I'm sure this has been asked
countless times, but I'm interested in the answer. Thank you.
Jim Murtaugh
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 10:12:00 -0500
From: Ga6string@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio Spirits
RyanO mentioned that he'd placed an order with Radio Spirits on Dec. 28 and
it still hadn't arrived, and that his calls to customer service were not
returned. I also had placed an RS order on Dec. 28, to take advantage of an
expiring offer or two. I called this [removed] and was told that my order (and
presumably all orders) was "back-ordered" and would go out after Feb. 9, and
that they were "still getting the warehouse set up," or something to that
effect.
Bryan Powell
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 10:12:47 -0500
From: Michael Henry <mlhenry@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio History Museum in Cleveland
On your way to or from the Cincinnati Convention, you might want to make a side
trip to Cleveland to visit the John Milton Williams Museum of Radio Broadcasting
History, a museum created by Larry Kass, a Cleveland area physician, pianist, and
microphone collector. The museum, named in honor of veteran NBC radio announcer and
actor John Milton Williams, is a collection of microphones placed in historical
context along with photographs and other memorbilia relating to the Golden Age of
Radio. The museum is also a tribute to the men and women who performed on radio;
several sections are devoted to the singer Ruth Etting, as well as network radio
stars and local Cleveland [removed]
The museum is free, but it is in Dr. Kass' home, so you should call ahead to
arrange a tour.: 1-877-590-4849
For more information about the John Milton Williams Museum of Radio Broadcasting
History:
[removed]
You can also hear a special radio variety show called "The Mighty Wurlitzer Radio
Hour", which Dr. Kass produced for the openning of the museum in October and
broadcast live over WCLV (Cleveland, OH).
[removed]
-Michael Henry
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 10:11:28 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in Radio History
From Those Were The Days --
1945 - Lionel Barrymore became host of the Lux Theatre on radio this
day. Actually, he replaced the previous host. Some guy named Cecil B.
DeMille. (Note: Since there were several hosts over the years after CB
left, this is probably the first time Barrymore hosted, not became the
regular host).
1956 - One of the last of radio's popular series programs, Indictment,
debuted. The program, on CBS, stayed on the air for three years.
I've been asked to post the url for these bits of information. For
those interested check out:
[removed] For those not interested, just
ignore it. :)
Joe
--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:36:44 -0500
From: "Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: WOR and The Witch's Tale
In his posting about the networks' banning of recordings Mike Biel wrote the
following:
Mutual did not have a general prohibition of recordings because one of
its founding stations, WOR, and its Chief Engineer, Jack R. Poppele, had
proudly used recordings such as Chandu the Magician and The Witches
Tale.
This is certainly true as regards CHANDU, which was a West Coast show and
distributed widely across the country in transcription form. But THE WITCH'S
TALE originated live from the studios of WOR throughout its entire
eight-year run. In fact, the late Miriam Wolfe--who played "Old Nancy" from
1935 to 1938--told me that these live broadcasts were frequently very
chaotic because Alonzo Deen Cole was writing the script up to the very last
minute and handing the cast handwritten sheets and scraps to decipher and
read their lines from. Also, sometimes he would realize during the course of
a broadcast that they couldn't finish the story in the time allotted, so he
would scribble a revision of Nancy's closing announcement and hand it to
Miriam to inform listeners that the story would be continued the following
week.
Now, of course, THE WITCH'S TALE was indeed distributed in transcription
form, but this was done by Cole independent of WOR. He released two disc
series in 1934--one early in the year through All-Star Broadcasting (which
was associated with Jones & Hare, the Happiness Boys), and another in the
fall for Group Broadcasters which was sponsored on stations in the Deep
South by Kruschen Salts. Also, many of the surviving WITCH'S TALE shows are
from Australian recordings and have nothing to do with Cole at all, apart
from using his original scripts.
Mike Ogden
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:37:00 -0500
From: "ecrasez" <ecrasez@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: Looking for help with a trivia question
Here's my guess at a couple shows that begin with a telephone
ringing.
Yours Truly Johnny Dollar
Duffy's Tavern
Bob S.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:37:05 -0500
From: Richard Pratz <[removed]@[removed];
To: "OTR (Plain Text Only)" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Warren Hull
Thanks to all who wrote me personally as well as those who posted on the
Digest about the so-called "mystery man". Yes, it was the "other" old blue
eyes, Warren Hull (1903-1974) who played the roles of Mandrake the Magician,
The Green Hornet and The Spider in those "B" movie serial cliff-hangers as
well as roles in nearly 40 other motion pictures. The show he's
best-remembered for of course is "Strike It Rich" on both radio and TV in
the 40's and 50's. His other OTR credits are many. Judging by the personal
response I received, there are others out there who enjoy playing "Mr. Keen"
and guessing about OTR personalities when provided with obscure clues.
Thanks again for the fun.
Rich
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:37:46 -0500
From: "Robert J. McKee" <mckee137@[removed];
To: "Old Radio List" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Reel to Reel
eBay is one source for reel to reel machines with, I'm
guessing,
easily 50 - 100 machines at auction at any given time. Also
there
is a reel to reel e-group that is now under [removed] try one
of the
search engines or Yahoo to locate the (free) signup URL.
In the group is also a lot of knowledge and help for keeping a
machine up and running. One of the members, formerly with
Nortonics, has a stock of about 5,000 heads for replacement.
Reel to reel is alive and well.
Bob McKee
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:49:02 -0500
From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Cincy and Telephones
I hit a dead end when I tried to access Martin Gram's sister's Cincinnati
page. Wrong URL?
Here's one that has lots of photos from previous Cincy conventions:
[removed]~dan
That's my home page; just click on the Cincinnati convention links.
And as for OTR shows that start with a telephone ringing, didn't Lum and
Abner start that way, with Abner saying someling like "Lum, I believe
that's our ring."?
---Dan Hughes
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:49:16 -0500
From: "Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Martin Grams' Ellery query
Martin Grams repeated his request for information on a Summer '57 BBC Ellery
Queen series. Martin, I checked the BBC Author & Title Catalogues, but could
find no mention of this series. I even cross-referenced under "Dannay" and
"Lee" (and "Queen" as an author), but there was nothing. I have access to
the London Times and the Manchester Guardian at the library where I do most
of my research, and when I get a free moment (ha!) I'll check to see if I
can find any specific broadcast dates. Are you 100% positive that 1957 is
the correct year?
Mike Ogden
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:49:41 -0500
From: Lanny Gilbert <morsefan1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Amos and Andy audition tape
In a recent MP3 trade with a fellow OTR hobbyist, I
received an A 'n' A episode called "Auditions For 30
Minute Series" dated sometime in 1943.
It consists of a couple of different auditions using a
set piece where the Kingfish is telling Andy all about
atom power. He says (and this is one of my favorite
lines from the show) that atoms break up into
"protons, neurons, fig newtons and morons."
Another interesting thing is that Alvin Childress is
heard as *ANDY*, not Amos that he would play in the TV
program.
Anybody else have this recording who could maybe shed
some light upon when it was recorded, what was its
purpose, etc?
Thanks!
Lanny Gilbert
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:51:39 -0500
From: Lanny Gilbert <morsefan1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Looking for help with a trivia question
One of my favorites, the Bob Bailey 5-parters of Yours
Truly, Johnny dollar, opened with a phone ringing and
the announcer saying "And now, from Hollywood, it's
time [removed]"
Then Bob Bailey would answer the phone "Johnny Dollar."
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 12:24:33 -0500
From: otrbuff@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Warren Hull
Since Warren Hull's name has come up on this forum a few times recently,
I'd like to share a couple of poignant recollections about the man.
Of course any discussion of Strike It Rich, the program with which he
will forever be identified, would be entirely remiss without a meticulous
intersect with Hull. Running into Hull on New York's famed Madison
Avenue one day, producer Walt Framer affirmed that he was looking for a
replacement for Todd Russell, who was leaving the show. Hull had just
completed a brief stint hosting the lackluster Goodson-Todman game Spin
to Win. The series appeared on CBS as a Saturday night summer
replacement in 1949. Framer inquired if Hull--whom he originally met a
few years earlier when Hull, then a Warner Brothers actor, visited
Pittsburgh while promoting a film--would have interest in the role of
emcee.
Let me interject here that it would be arduous to separate a number of
Hull's business practices from the personal convictions that uniformly
characterized his demeanor. This stemmed from his abiding beliefs
typifying the Quaker environment in which he was raised. His behavior
often evidenced tender, benevolent, supportive traits which were not only
obvious to himself but to those around him. In retrospect, it would seem
that a show with a premise like that of Strike It Rich and the values so
strongly espoused by Warren Hull were eminently matched, and possibly
preordained.
Hull viewed Strike It Rich as one of radio's few public service programs
that genuinely attempted to better the conditions of people who were down
on their luck and facing almost insurmountable odds. "I'm intrigued with
the thought of helping one's neighbor," he told Farmer. "I'll agree to
perform for you for scale."
In the years he served as the show's host (1949-58), in almost daily
occurrences it was Hull who made the show the memorable one it became.
The personal agenda he brought transferred him into a visibly
demonstrative reactionary to the lamentable situations presented. Hull's
eyes frequently moistened, tears stained his cheeks and sometimes his
lips quivered at the stories told by some of Strike It Rich's
contestants.
Walt Framer observed all of this early in Hull's substantial run and even
set up a defense mechanism to deal with it. At such times, tears dimming
his eyes, his voice lost in a well of emotion, Hull simply wasn't in any
condition to continue until he regained his composure. Sensing that he
was breaking down, Framer would signal announcer Ralph Paul to stand by.
On occasion, Paul had to walk right onto the stage and take over.
In one instance there was a youngster who came on the show whose plight
was so awful that practically everybody there was thunderstruck. Both of
the lad's parents were desperately ill, as well as financially destitute.
The youth himself was in the unrelenting throes of leukemia, his very
being in constant grave danger. "I was standing by, as Warren talked to
him," Framer remembered. "There were tears in Warren's eyes and I
wondered what words he could possibly find. Suddenly, Warren put up his
hand and said quietly, 'Let's all bow our heads and pray for this boy.'"
How many times did you hear that petition dispensed on a non-religious
program before 9/11?
In the early 1950s I recall attending a public event in our town where
Hull was invited to speak. The aura and magnetism that surrounded him on
that occasion was nothing short of stunning. As he pushed through the
crowds, his dapper, clean-cut features, flashing eyes and broad grin
became overpowering. It was obvious that the assemblage was electrified
by his very presence.
Hull was personally bruised when media reviewers trashed shows with noble
purposes like Strike It Rich and Queen for a Day by claiming they
insulted human suffering. Framer responded that most of the publications
that doubted such shows' motives were regularly filling their pages with
human distress.
Warren Hull, who was born Jan. 17, 1903 at Gasport, N. Y., gifted with a
gregarious personality and both singing and acting abilities, died at the
age of 71 on Sept. 14, 1974 at Waterbury, Conn. His mentor and friend,
Walt Framer, whose own background was imbued with the simple values of
working hard, believing in this nation and lending a helping hand to
those who could use it, was born of Russian immigrants in 1908 in
Pennsylvania. He died at 80 in Miami on June 21, 1988 while coming up
with new ideas for human interest shows late in life. The story of
Framer's personal pilgrimage is as fascinating as that of his more
celebrated protege.
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 12:25:09 -0500
From: "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Unwrapped Source List
Walden asked about sources for retro items. The
Food TV program, "Unwrapped," has an extensive
list relating to their program at this address:
[removed],5011,,[removed]
Russ Butler oldradio@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 12:40:30 -0500
From: Michael Edwards <medwards_47@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Trivia
Wayne Boenig writes: "The challenge was to name at
least five OTR shows that regularly began with the
ringing of a telephone. The only two I could think of
were Duffy's Tavern and Candy Matson. Would any other
readers be so kind as to provide names of other series
that fit this description?"
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and The Falcon spring to
mind.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 12:40:52 -0500
From: Michael Edwards <medwards_47@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Band is Beat?!
In reference to Beat the Band, Michael Biel writes:
If the band didn't know the answer the first time
they heard the question, how could they NOT know it
when they heard it again three hours later?? They
were not THAT stoned!!
Perhaps it was Phil Harris' band?
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 12:41:17 -0500
From: "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Listening to OTR
Not being old enough to experience OTR when it was originally on the air I
tried this out. After purchasing a couple of Reel to Reel recordings of The
Shadow I went to a local antique/junk shop and found a Philco Floor model
that had most of the insides [removed] bought it for about $10 dollars and
took it home. My Dad had a speaker that just fit in the cabinet where the
original speaker would have been. I hooked that speaker into my reel to
reel and the illusion of listening to The Shadow from a radio from OTR
heyday was enough for [removed] fact to enhance the illusion I also put a
nite-lite behind the dial scale to give the illusion that the radio was
actually on! Sadly, I no longer have that radio or any of the others that I
had collected, I had four or five of [removed] floor models and a very large
table model and a smaller table model. If I had hung on to them and with
the wealth of information on the net about restoration I could have probably
gotten them restored and in working [removed]
Scott
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 13:06:06 -0500
From: "John edwards" <jcebigjohn41@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Telephone Ringing
Hi, Wayne Boenig was wondering how many shows started off with a telephone
[removed] don't know but two come to [removed] & Abner & Yours Truly,
Johnny Dollar. There must be many [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 14:30:10 -0500
From: Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: RE: Astrid Lindgren
I had not heard of her passing, but her Pippi books were so wonderful. I
used to look forward to reading them to our children more than the kids did
(I think). Then we got to see most of the old movies on 16mm. They were
wonderful also.
I was so embarrassed by the new version and its absolutely FATAL flaw of
having Pippi being rescued by the adults each time there was a problem, the
EXACT opposite of the original stories (and movies). What a pity.
But Ms. Lindgren will be long remembered by some people, at least all of
our family.
> Sorry to hear about Ms. Lindgren. I recall her Pippi Longstocking stories.
> Does anyone know if they were ever on radio? I know there were films, but
> cannot recall radio versions.
> Jim Widner
> jwidner@[removed]
Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed];
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #35
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