Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #261
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/11/2002 7:38 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2002 : Issue 261
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  "To Be or Not To Be" story            [ Doug Berryhill <fibbermac@[removed] ]
  Today in Radio History - Herbert Mar  [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
  Soft Drink Jingles                    [ "David H. Buswell" <dbuswell@rivnet ]
  Birthday shows                        [ "Nemesis@[removed]" <nemesis@[removed] ]
  Lucky Lager Dance Time                [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
  Radio was the first                   [ AandG4jc@[removed] ]
  Ethel Romig Fuller                    [ Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed] ]
  Vernors                               [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
  GEE DAD, IT'S A ROOT BEER             [ Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed]; ]
  Lucky Larger Dance Time               [ Wwtom@[removed] ]
  Re: Birth programs                    [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
  Lucky Lager Dance Time                [ "Ed Kindred" <kindred@[removed]; ]
  [removed] Punch                [ "Ed Kindred" <kindred@[removed]; ]
  J. B. Kendall                         [ Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed]; ]
  Moxie                                 [ "jsouthard" <jsouthard@[removed]; ]
  Ovaltine and Associated Stuff         [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
  CBS "Chimes"                          [ Vntager8io@[removed] ]
  Lucky Lager Dance Time                [ lawrence albert <albertlarry@yahoo. ]
  radio scripts                         [ "randy story" <bygeorge@[removed]; ]
  9/30/62                               [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
  not quite dead                        [ "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@hotmail. ]
  Dr. Pepper's Secret                   [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
  Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 16:58:45 -0400
From: Doug Berryhill <fibbermac@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "To Be or Not To Be" story

The thread about Jack Benny in "To Be or Not To Be"
reminded me of a story Jack told about his father,
taken from the book "Sunday Nights at Seven, The Jack
Benny Story" (used without permission, so please don't
copy).

"...While I was shooting [To Be or Not To Be], my
father was living in Florida, where he had retired. He
liked to stay at simple, unpretentious inns,
patronized by elderly Orthodox Jews like himself.
Everybody he met had to listen to my show and be crazy
about me or Papa would have a fight with them. Every
Monday like clockwork he wrote me a letter in broken
English. The closing sentence was always the same: 'No
matter who I meet they always know about my son, Jack
Benny.'
..."To Be or Not To Be" came to Miami Beach. In the
first scene in the movie I wore a Nazi uniform and was
seated in my office in the theater. Another actor
entered and my right hand shot up in the Nazi salute.
'Heil Hitler,' I said.
My father watched the movie for about one minute and
when he saw this scene [removed] stomped out of the
theater.
For two weeks I didn't receive the regular weekly
letter. I wrote him. He didn't answer. I telephoned.
He was never 'in'. Finally, one evening he answered
the phone when I called.
'Hello, Dad,' I said.
No answer at the other end.
'This is Jack-your son.'
'You're no son of mine! I got nothing to discuss with
you.'
'What did I do?'
'You gave the salute to Hitler is what you did.'
'Did you stay for the whole picture?'
'I should stay for such a picture? I was never so
ashamed in my life. I don't tell people anymore I'm
the father of Jack Benny.'
'But that was only the begining of the picture. If you
had waited you would see that I'm against the Nazis.
I'm fighting them. Please go back and see it all the
way through.'
So he did. And how he loved that movie now. By his own
actual count, Papa saw 'To Be or Not To Be' forty-six
times. Imagine."

Other references to "To Be or Not To Be" reflect the
statements others have already made,... It was a great
thrill for Jack to be working with Lubitsch, and there
was only a passing reference about working with Carol
Lombarde (probably due to the painful memories of her
tragic death).

-Regards

-FIBBERMAC-

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 16:59:42 -0400
From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Today in Radio History - Herbert Marshall

Joe Mackey's Today in radio history mentioned:

<<1944 - The Man Called X, starring Herbert Marshall, debuted on CBS>>

Herbert Marshall is a particular favorite of mine and someone I think
qualifies for one of the greatest voices on radio (a discussion we once had
in this group).

I noticed that Harry Bartell worked with him quite a bit.   I hope Harry
remembers him as the nice person I've always believed him to be.

As a Hitchcock fan I located and bought a few of Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood
English films one of which, "Murder" made in 1930 starred Herbert Marshall.

Irene
IreneTH@[removed]

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 17:00:08 -0400
From: "David H. Buswell" <dbuswell@[removed];
To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Soft Drink Jingles

Russ Butler asked about soft drink jingles on OTR in addition to Coke and
Pepsi.  I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and remember quite vividly a radio
jingle for Dad's Old Fashioned Root [removed] name of  the product was
sung to the beating of a [removed]"Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer/Dad's Old
Fashioned Root beer/etc.

I have no idea whether or not Dad's was a local, regional of national
product, but my grandmother in the 30s and 40s used to put a scoop of
vanilla ice cream in a mug of Dad's.  She called it a "Black Cow."  I called
it delicious.

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 17:00:25 -0400
From: "Nemesis@[removed]" <nemesis@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Birthday shows

Call me an idiot, or unobservant, or something, but I'm wondering where
people have been looking up shows that might have run on their birthday.  I
missed the link for the source.  Could someone please re-post it, or send it
to me off list?
Thanks in advance
Linda T.

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 17:00:33 -0400
From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Lucky Lager Dance Time

Bill  Rockhold remembered the program "Lucky Lager Dance Time" . I
remember it too, but I always assumed that it was a local show here in
Los Angeles as the beer was brewed here (actually in Azusa : attn Jack
Benny fans) and was broadcast on  local 50,000 watt station KMPC,
located on Sunset  Blvd in Hollywood. I think that it was only on
saturday nights but that could have changed to nightly later in the
50's.

The opening theme of the show was Benny Goodmans "Don't Be That Way". I
listened mostly in the late 40's and very early 50's and I remember
thinking that the best music that they played on that show was the
opening and closing themes

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 17:13:09 -0400
From: AandG4jc@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Radio was the first

    Back in 1945, the geniuses behind the Superman radio broadcast decided to
introduce Batman to the Man of Steel. Then about 10 to 15 years later DC
Comics decided to pair the two in a monthly magazine called "The Worlds
Finest."
    Now after more than 50 years, the studio heads at Warner Brothers, has
made a decision to do a Batman/Superman movie, because of the recent success
of the Spiderman film and other comic books.
    It was reported in Variety and other movie news sheets and it also
mentioned the comic connection but not the beloved radio series.
    Radio deserves more respect than this, folks!
Here is a brief on it from a news site.  "Fans who worried that DC Comics'
only response to Spider-Man would be "Wonder Twins" can rest a bit easier
today. Both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed recent reports that
the blockbuster crossover pic Batman Vs. Superman is, indeed on the
fast-track and targeted for a 2004 release.
Wolfgang Petersen (The Perfect Storm), who has long been attached as director
will also serve as producer on the movie."
Allen

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 17:26:40 -0400
From: Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Ethel Romig Fuller

Clif  Martin in yesterday's Digest, asked about Ethel Romig Fuller, a now
out-of-print Oregon poet who wast at one time quite renowned, at least
around the Pacific Northwest.

Ms. Fuller wrote frequently for THE OREGONIAN and has had her poems
collected in several books.  Ones  still available that can be found at
used bookstores are "Kitchen Sonnets and Lyrics of Domesticity," "White
Peaks and Green," and "Skylines."

Her signature poems were lovely lyrics about things we take for granted ---
the beauty in nature, the joys of everyday living, the wondrous interplay
of the Mt. Hood Forest and Mt. Hood itself.  Fuller was a tried and true
Oregonian.

I think she  also edited THE OREGONIANS'  poetry column for a number of
years.

Dennis Crow

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 17:27:14 -0400
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Vernors

Irene, you have returned the favor with the information on Vernors.  I was a
kid in the midwest who was raised on Vernors (probably more that than water),
and I still love the stuff although it's harder to come by in California.
HoJo's used to serve something called a "Boston Cooler", which was basically
Vernors mixed with milk and a little ice cream.  Odd as it may sound, I still
like Vernors and milk.

I was told by a friend of mine that Vernors was boycotted by African
Americans in the 40s and 50s.  It seems that the management, at least in
their Detroit plant, was a known racist, wouldn't hire blacks, and didn't
even want them anywhere near the plant, which led to several incidents.
Evenutally more rational heads prevailed.

Sorry for being off-topic, but you don't hear people talk about Vernors too
much.

--Laura Leff

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 17:58:21 -0400
From: Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  GEE DAD, IT'S A ROOT BEER

...Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer!

Remember their slogan -- HAVE YOU HAD IT, [removed]

      [removed]
      A DATE WITH SINATRA

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 18:41:18 -0400
From: Wwtom@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Lucky Larger Dance Time

I fondly recall hearing Lucky Larger Dance Time on KNBC (now KNBR) in San
Francisco around 9:30 in the evening.  Does anyone have a similar Bay Area
recollection?

Wesley Tom
Redlands, CA

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 19:14:36 -0400
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Birth programs

Says Harry Bartell:
The radio shows on the day I was born consisted of a lot of dots and
dashes.

To which I say, "The Morse the Merrier!"

Michael

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 19:14:56 -0400
From: "Ed Kindred" <kindred@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Lucky Lager Dance Time

During my "pearl diving" (dishwashing) days in a root beer stand in the
early 50's I would take my portable radio to the root
beer stand in order to hear the Phoenix Senators (Class C Arizona-Texas
League) baseball games and then afterwards listen
to "Lucky Lager Dance Time". What I don't remember is if I heard it on a
local  or San Francisco station. In those days most
of the Phoenix stations did the Francis Scott Key at midnight leaving the
airwaves open for the western 50 kwr's. As far as we
were concerned LA, SF, SLC, DEN, ALB, DAL, San Antone and Des Moines'
biggies were local stations at night.
This was before Rock and Roll drove the big bands and classy pop singers
underground. It was wonderful but then R&R turned
me into a mid teenage classical nerd. Ah, Ray Anthony, Ralph Marterie, Russ
Morgan, Sauter-Finnegan, Tony Arden, Fran Warren,
Peggy Lee, Perrry Como and Jo Stafford, what did they do with you? I
couldn't find you after Elvis et al arrived.
Ed Kindred, a senior citizen nerd

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 19:15:20 -0400
From: "Ed Kindred" <kindred@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  [removed] Punch

The Dove into Dover reminded me of a charades type game we were playing
once concerning state capitols.
My wife grabbed the sides of her slacks and pulled them out as if it were a
skirt and started sashaying and shaking
her head from side to side. The whippersnappers and I stared at each other
in puzzlement. She had to explain
that she was doing the capitol of Idaho and she was illustrating that it
was NOT GIRLSE.  We had to admit that
she was indeed creative and that never in our life times would we have
solved that one.  None of us have forgotten
it either and it is always good for a family chuckle.
Ed Kindred

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 20:09:14 -0400
From: Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed];
To: Old Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  J. B. Kendall

In episode #5, "The Lost Mine", originally broadcast 3-2-58, Kendall is
in Fort Benton looking for a story.   He's directed to Short Horn Tom, a
grizzled old prospector who claims to have discovered a lost gold mine 6
years earlier.  Short Horn Tom talks Kendall into going partners
to search for his lost mine. After several confrontations, they leave
Fort Benton traveling towards the High Wood  mountains.  Kendall asks
Short Horn Tom what his real name is.  Short Horn Tom says in his youth
the name was Weatherly.  Short Horn Tom then asks Kendall what the J. B.

stands for?  After some hesitation, Kendall says, "Jeremy Brian!"
Short Horn Tom sympathizes with him and says, "A man could get killed
out here with a name like that!"

Jim Kitchen

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 20:09:41 -0400
From: "jsouthard" <jsouthard@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Moxie

I  grew up in New England and tried Moxie. But even in the late 40's it was
becoming scarce in Western Massachusetts. The reason is because it tasted
awful. I put in the same category as "Beef Iron and Wine" and castor oil. I
cannot drink Dr. Pepper today because it reminds me of Moxie.  The best
drink of my youth was home made Root Beer.
John Southard

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 20:24:51 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Ovaltine and Associated Stuff

Tom Mason noted,

I also remember the great cold shake of Ovaltine, milk and ice in an
ole Orphan Annie or Captain Midnight shake up mug.

On both the radio and TV show, the commercials were busy explaining how
best to prepare the shakes.

I still can't see why some people have this disdain for Ovaltine to
this day.  I still keep a jar in the house.  Its great sprinkled over
cereal

Ovaltine did some creative things with the product.  Onmce they marketed
a Nestles_Crunch-type chocolate bar.  However, instead of crisped rice,
they put in crystals of Ovaltine!

And a year or so ago, they offered a decoder ring (finally.)

Which reestablished the tradition began in 1934 -- substituting numbers
for letters.  From the first Radio Orphan Annie Secret Society handbook
through the 1955-56 TV "Plane Puzzle Decoder, (they weren't Code-O-Graphs
in the TV incarnation), this scheme had been used.  But the 1957 "Silver
Dart Decoder" used a letter-letter substitution.  It was the first and
only break with tradition: the ring used the letter-number scheme.

The current crop of Ovaltine folk weren't aware that there had never been
a ring before 2000.

On the ring: it's okay, but virtually unwearable.  The "decoder" crown is
too bulky.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 23:47:40 -0400
From: Vntager8io@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  CBS "Chimes"

Although this is a bit more recent than OTR, CBS radio news reports contain a
very fast three or four tone "chirp" to cue local stations before every
commercial break. This comes after the announcer says "This is CBS Radio
News" followed by the "chirp" and then the commercials. We don't have any CBS
radio news stations around here any more, the last time I heard this was
about five years ago, when our local CBS Radio news station changed formats.
Does anyone know if this "chirp" is still used?

Bryan Wright

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

Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 08:02:39 -0400
From: lawrence albert <albertlarry@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Lucky Lager Dance Time

Hey all:
      I'd completely forgotten about Lucky lager Beer.
I grew up in and around the Seattle area and I can
still remember the commercials.
     Regarding LLDT, I ask Jim French if he remembered
the show and his eyes lit up. It seems LLDT was sort
of a franchise affair. A script would be sent out to
different radio stations around the country. Each
station would put in it's own MC and so on. So if you
heard the show in Texas, we heard the same script here
in Washington but with a different cast.
      Jim was the program director of KING radio in
Seattle for a short spell in the fifties and remembers
going down to either [removed] or San Fransisco to meet
with ad agency reps from McCann - Erickson to discuss
the program. He's promised to write it all out for me
in detail later.
       Larry Albert

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

Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 08:03:22 -0400
From: "randy story" <bygeorge@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  radio scripts

SOS SOS SOS
[removed] not quite that serious, but i do need some help.
i need to find scripts for these christmas shows. i also need several of
them on tap or cd if possible. i have starred(*) these shows.
take a look below and let me know if any of you can help me. mail me off or
on list, but please contact me if you can help in ANY way. i need these for
some holiday projects with my students and our local theater group.

LUX RADIO THEATER
Christmas In July            6-26-44*
Christmas Holiday           9-17-45
It's A Wonderful Life       3-10-47
Miracle of the Bells          5-31-48
The Bishop's Wife            12-19-49*

SCREEN GUILD THEATER
Meet John Doe                9-28-41* THIS ONE IS A PRIORITY!
Going My Way                1-08-45
Christmas In Conneticut    8-5-46*
Bells of St. Mary's            Unknown Date

any and all help will be deeply appreciated.
thanks.
god bless us all in this one nation UNDER GOD.

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

Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 08:03:51 -0400
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  9/30/62

Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2002 12:31:54 -0400
From: JIMWMQT@[removed]

One of the reasons I got interested in old time radio was because of the
day I was [removed]

September 30, 1962.

I suppose there's supposed to be some significance to the date, but I'm afraid I'm missing it.  
Would you care to elucidate?

-- A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed] 15 Court Square, Suite 210 lawyer@[removed] Boston, MA 02108-2503 [removed] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 08:07:23 -0400 From: "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@[removed]; To: [removed]@[removed] Subject: not quite dead I thought of you guys while listening to Paul Harvey's show today. He mentioned a fellow who everyone thought was dead and was taken to the morgue. He woke up there. So it still happens! Did anyone else catch this broadcast? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 08:09:17 -0400 From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; To: [removed]@[removed] Subject: Dr. Pepper's Secret I had written of my experience in getting a poorly mixed Dr. Pepper at a soda fountain and how much the extra syrup made the drink taste like prune juice. I wondered if prune juice was not Dr. Pepper's secret ingredient. Little did I realize that legions of others had been wondering the same thing since the 30's. "Garry D. Lewis" <glewis@[removed]; provided the following urban myth links: [removed] [removed]~[removed]#q7 [removed] It had never occurred to me to attempt to debunk my notion, since I didn't know anyone else shared it. One of these pages mentions a theory that the rumor was started by a Dr. Pepper competitor to harm their business. No such conspiracy theory is necessary to account for the belief, however; if I thought the syrup tasted like prune juice, no doubt others did also. However, the matter is not entirely settled by Dr. Pepper's denial; it's just remotely possible a large corporation can fib, just as it is speculated that Coke has not been entirely truthful in repudiating all the Coke formulas that have been submitted to them for verification. More likely, though, the 23 fruit flavors that Dr. Pepper claims are present just happen to taste like prunes; one dried, pureed fruit tastes much like another, I suppose. I personally happen to like prunes (especially now that they've become dried plums); my mother used to bake a very tasty prune cake, which had no particular side effect. Garry adds, rather cryptically: "yours and there's on coca in Coke either." Well, if I interpret this to mean there is no trace of the coca plant in Coca-Cola, it would seem on this point you are mistaken, Garry. Not all urban myths are without foundation. The original Coca-Cola did contain cocaine which was also used, at least until recent years, as a pain killer, particularly by dentists, precisely because it is not physically addictive. Cocaine is no longer an active ingredient, of course, but, according to one of the sites you cite, Coke still contains a derivative of the coca plant. Curiously, with all the discussion of OTR's soft drink sponsors, I'll be darned if I can remember a single show that Coke sponsored, nor any pre-tv Coke jingles. Also, does anybody know the name of the white-haired elf who wore a coke cap for a cap and who appeared so often painted in Brobdingnagian, rather than elfin, proportions on the brick sides of so many stores? I was always pretty sure the little guy was Speedy Alka-Seltzer moonlighting. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 08:09:24 -0400 From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed]; To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: Today in radio history From Those Were The Days -- 1934 - The first appointments to the newly created Federal Communications Commission were made. The governing body of the American broadcasting industry was first served by seven men named as commissioners. Today's birthday: 1906 - Harry von Zell radio/TV actor, announcer: Eddie Cantor, Burns and Allen and other programs; d. Nov 21, 1981 Joe -- Visit my home page: [removed]~[removed] -------------------------------- End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #261 ********************************************* Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved, including republication in any form. If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it: [removed] For Help: [removed]@[removed] To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed] To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed] or see [removed] For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed] To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed] To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]