Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #301
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 8/3/2002 9:51 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2002 : Issue 301
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Going to sleep to the radio           [ leemunsick@[removed] ]
  Dragnet Script Wanted                 [ "Marty" <martyd@[removed]; ]
  Fibber McGee and Molly questions      [ "Ron Vickery" <RVICKERY@anchorwall. ]
  MUZAK                                 [ Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; ]
  cassetts                              [ "ed olko" <ssssed@[removed]; ]
  Walter Tetley book coming             [ bloodbleeds@[removed] ]
  "Talking Piano"                       [ leemunsick@[removed] ]
  Re: 1951 Playoff Calls                [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
  WEAF on TV                            [ zbob@[removed] ]
  Winken & Blinken & Nod sailing off i  [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Fri, 2 Aug 2002 15:06:30 -0400
From: leemunsick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Going to sleep to the radio

Did it all the time!  I can remember listening to the 1948 presidential
conventions which ran well into the wee hours.  I never will forget the
Democrat Convention clerk booming out the beginning of each roll call with
"Al-lah-bayemmmmmmmmmmmm-uhhhhhhhh!"

My best such recollection of falling asleep to my radio, is waking up in
the wee hours to the "Milkman's Matinee" over WNEW in New York.  They were
playing this weird sounding record.  I loved it and wanted to buy it, but
fell off again before the DJ identified the record.

Whether by chance or deliberately, I left the radio on the same station the
following night.  Sure enough, I woke up hearing the same strange
instrumental.  This time I heard the title, but when I woke up the next
morning I could not recollect it for the life of me.

So I tried for a third go, and it worked again.  This time I wrote down the
information, and went off the next day to pick it up at the local record
store.  I was well known there, even at age [removed] a long-confirmed,
inveterate record collector.  My first job at age 14 for the summer was at
a local radio station where I put their record library in order, and often
purchased items at that record store, LPs and such which weren't provided
gratis to the station by the record companies.  At the end of the summer, I
worked after school for that same record store.  I remained good friends
with the marvelous chap who was co-owner until he passed away a few years ago.

The disc in question those on those nocturnal awakenings turned out to be
"Little Rock Getaway", by Les Paul.  He had produced a wild, fascinating
treatment!  Nothing like any other renditions I've heard of this old jazz
favorite, which one historian referred to as the epitome of the "transition
from stride to jazz".  Fortunately, my Les Paul version was a sturdy
Capitol 45 which resisted wearing out!

The same overnight DJ started experimenting with the record, and the two of
us found that it sounded just as good regardless of the speed at which it
was played.  Intrigued, I purchased a 78 rpm copy as well, so I could play
at several different speeds speeds speeds.  If you think playing a 45 at 78
sounds the same as a 78 at 45, you're mistaken; and there are all those
other fascinating permutations!

On the occasion of the Centennial of the Talking Machine, I was honored
with an invitation to a special luncheon on the grounds of Glenmont, Thomas
Alva Edison's beautiful home in Llewellyn Park, West Orange, New
Jersey.  Long tables were set out on the commodious lawn for the scores of
dignitaries, historians, and guests.

When I sat down to this historic lunchtime feast, I was incredulous to find
myself sitting next to Les Paul, who is still a resident of New Jersey.  He
was born Lester William Polfus in 1915.  We've had several other meetings
since, and I was proud to host him in a special program at the Friends of
Old Time Radio convention.

Among other things including the entire means of over-dubbing with a
single-recording-head tape machine, Les Paul invented the electric guitar,
stealing parts from his mother's radio and telephone!  He also developed a
special type of guitar which is still marketed by Gibson as the Les Paul
Guitar, with his name emblazoned above the fret hole.  As a result, Les
says, "Many people don't realize I play the guitar.  They think I am one".

Some years ago, a television commercial showed a teenage musician playing
his Les Paul model, when Les meanders over and sits down next to the young
man, who has no idea who his listener is.  After the youngster plays for a
while, the older man asks if he could try it.  The kid hands over his Les
Paul Guitar, and Les proceeds to pick out a storm, to the accompaniment of
the youngster's eyes just about popping out of his head.  "Wow!" says the
kid, "what's your name?"  Les points and says, "It's on your guitar".

Some readers may know that years later, he and Chet Atkins put out a couple
of fantastic albums called "Lester and Chester".  Well, this pair of Les
and Lee chatted all through that Centennial Lunch.  I eagerly told him that
I had copies of all that incredible 1950s string of big Capitol singles,
which Les put out with Mary Ford, his wife of the time.  I also have a
number of the earlier instrumentals with the Les Paul Trio.

He asked me which one of his recordings was my personal favorite.  No
problem!  I blurted out with no hesitation, "Little Rock Getaway"!

He was stunned!  "Most people don't even know of that record!  It's the
flip side of one of my hits!"  It sure was, it's the B side of "Tennessee
Waltz"!  For you collectors, it was Capitol No. 1316, reissued several
times since.

This was one of his biggest in that series of Capitol discs, which had Les
and Mary on one side with multi-tracked vocals and guitar wizardy, and the
two of them on guitar and guitar and guitar on the other side.

Patti Page covered many of those multi-track Les Paul/Mary Ford hits, with
her own versions of over-dubbed vocalizations.  She is billed on those
Mercury Records vocals as
Patti Page
Patti Page
Patti Page
Patti Page
Patti Page

Les Paul was delighted at my pick for special choice of all his records in
my collection.  He added, "That's my own personal favorite one of
everything I've ever done!"

Must be; he has re-recorded it several times since, although quite
differently, and with many other major jazz favorites.

Thanks for the memories!  And all because I fell asleep listening to the radio!

Lee Munsick
Appomattox, Virginia USA

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

Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2002 11:15:19 -0400
From: "Marty" <martyd@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Dragnet Script Wanted

Can anyone direct me where I can find (or purchase) the script to the
Dragnet Chistmas episode, "Big Little Jesus" from 12/22/53?  I friend
of mine belongs to a group that wants to perform this play.  They could
script it from tape, but I thought I would try this route first.

Thanks,
Marty

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

Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2002 11:16:10 -0400
From: "Ron Vickery" <RVICKERY@[removed];
To: "OTR Digest (E-mail)" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Fibber McGee and Molly questions

Hi all - I have a couple of questions about the characters in Fibber
McGee and Molly, but first of all, a comment on the sleeping to
OTR/Stress reliving qualities of this hobby.  I have started running
lately to get in better shape, lose weight, and also get ready for an 8K
race at the Minnesota State Fair (the Milk Run ;) ).  I have found that
the times I run with my MP3 player listening to OTR, I seem to be able
to run farther and with less noticable effort.  Plus I don't get bored
as easily.

Anyway, yesterday while running I listened to the Fibber McGee and Molly
episode from 6-22-43, which was titled "Camping At Dugan's Lake", and I
have a couple of questions about this episode and some of the
characters.  First, they had Mrs. Uppington stop in, which happens
often, but I don't remember ever hearing an episode where both Mrs.
Uppington and Dr. Gamble were in the same show.  Also, Mayor LaTrivia
stopped in for a visit while he was "on leave" from his Coast Guard
duties, and I would swear it wasn't Gale Gordon, but someone who just
sounded kind of like him.  Fibber and Molly also didn't refer to him as
the mayor, either.

OK, now my questions.  First, does anyone have a general "timeline" of
when the supporting charaters came and left?  Was this an episode where
they were phasing out "older" characters and introducing new ones?
Second, does anyone know if that was in fact Gale Gordon on actual leave
from his Coast Guard duties or just someone who sounded like him?  (He
was actually in the coast guard, wasn't he?)  Finally, was the hall
closet gag used throughout the entire series, or did Fibber finally
straighten out that closet one of those days?

Ron

[removed]  Hal, remind me to never get you riled up at me!!  I couldn't take
the punishment (just kidding)

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

Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2002 11:23:37 -0400
From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  MUZAK

          On the most recent edition of the mailing list, I said
that IMHO, MUZAK made a better sleep aid than any OTR
program ever could.  I stand behind that belief.  However,
I also admit to referring to Chopin in this description as well.
I only used this name as a generic reference to any classical
music. Although  I'm certain there are some who may enjoy this
particular genre of music, I am not one of them and I'm certain
there are many others who agree with me on  this point.

          If I offended anyone by this reference, I am sorry.  I assure
them it was not intentional.  I realize among classical composers,
Chopin is considered  to be quite talented.  It was just a general
opinion, however, which I believe I'm equally entitled to have
under the 1st  Amendment.

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

Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2002 11:26:19 -0400
From: "ed olko" <ssssed@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  cassetts
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Hi I've been a reader on this list for years. This is the first time I've ever
posted tho. Have been listening to otr for over 25 years and have accumualated
many programs on tape. First it was on real to real the cassettes. Have
recently been converting to mp3 and find I have this huge collection of
programs on cassete that I would like to get rid of. Many of the sets from
radio spirits and other such collections nicely cased. Also many(100's maybe
even thousands) of single cassettes. If interested please e mail me at
ssssed@[removed] for further info.
Thanks
 Ed

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

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

Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2002 11:27:04 -0400
From: bloodbleeds@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Walter Tetley book coming

Hi all. Just a note to let you know that next year I'll be putting out a book on Walter Tetley. 
But it's going to be a strange book: it's going to be incomplete. That's because I've been 
researching him for a while now and have gotten nowhere slowly. But. I have photos and 
information that has never been seen before. So, rather than hang onto everything I have for 
an indefinite period of time, I'm going to publish the book as is. 

But while I'm assembling the first draft, I'd like to hear from anyone who might have singular 
information on him. Yes, I know he was the voice of Sherman on Peabody and Sherman. :) 
But if anyone here has anything that you think might [removed] different, please get in touch. Also 
please pass this message along to all the non-computer people you can. I've looked for 
friends and family of Tetley for over a year, and could find not a single person. Stan Freberg 
knew him, but he doesn't believe in returning phone calls. I've spoken with Tetley's last 
agent, but even he knew little about the man. Tetley was so private, it's incredible. 

Yes, I still have enough for a full book. But I'm still open for all the help I can get! I'll make 
sure you get a mention in the acknowledgements and a free signed copy of the book for 
significant contributions!

Thanks much. 

Ben Ohmart

The Bickersons Scripts book
[removed]

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

Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2002 11:39:28 -0400
From: leemunsick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "Talking Piano"

Marc Antonsson's comment about a program featuring a talking piano brought
up another of my memories.  First I thought of recordings which came out
shortly after WW2 which had all the instruments of the orchestra
"talking".  But that's not the subject here.

Because I am interested in mechanical music machines as well as OTR and old
films, I have various photos of player- and reproducing-pianos and organs
shown in radio studios, especially of the late 1920s and early 1930s.

There were reproducing grand pianos (sort of a high-tech player piano), of
a sort that was very popular around the 1920s, although their production
began long before and extended afterward.  One could buy rolls played by
Paderewski, Gershwin, Grieg and others.  These rolls would include not only
the notes like a regular player piano, but could re-create crescendos,
attack, volume changes and the like, just as does a live pianist.  In other
words, one could have George Gershwin playing his "Rhapsody in Blue" on
one's own Steinway Duo-Art piano like mine, for instance.  These devices
are still highly collectible, and rolls--re-cut and newly made--are still
available.  All of this was expensive then, and still is.  But charming.

There used to be--and perhaps still is--a place in the Los Angeles area
called "House of Magic", "The Magic House", or some such.  It's a
delightful establishment, run by an association of  prestidigitators,
professional and amateur.

There were reproducing grand pianos (sort of a high-tech player piano), of
a sort that was very popular around the 1920s, although their production
began long before and extended afterward.  Depending on which system one's
instrument utilized, one could buy rolls played by Myra Hess, Franz Liszt,
Rudolf Friml, and many other composers and pianists.  These rolls would
include not only the notes, but would re-create crescendos, attack, volume
changes and the like.  In other words, one could have George Gershwin
playing his "Rhapsody in Blue" on one's own Steinway Duo-Art piano like
mine, for instance.

They are still highly collectible and rolls--re-cut and newly made--are
still available.  All of this was expensive then, and still is.  But charming.

Anyway, located in this "Magical House" is one such piano.  Someone very
carefully hollowed out the leg or legs and had the pneumatic tubing that
operates the player mechanism extended down through the flooring to a room
below where sat an identical type of piano.  From that piano, rolls could
be played through the instrument above, which appeared to be a "normal"
grand piano sitting there all by itself.  Someone upstairs could request a
particular piece and a live artist below would play on his instrument,
while the one a flight above would match the performance.

When my colleagues and I operated Yesteryear Museum in the 1970s, a
favorite item was an upright coin-operated, roll-playing piano, or
nickelodeon, if you wish.  Young school students would come in groups to
tour the museum.  Inevitably they would stand in stunned silence while the
piano played all by itself!  "Ghosts!" they'd ooh and aah, shocked and
wide-eyed.  Adults would often mutter, "What will they think of next!"

The reaction of newly-attending adults at "The Magic House" weren't that
much different, especially if they had stopped in at the bar first.

Thanks for the memories!
Lee Munsick

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

Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2002 11:41:34 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: 1951 Playoff Calls

On 8/2/02 3:11 PM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

I would like to get copies of the radio broadcast of the last game of the
1951 Giants/Dodgers playoff game done by all three announcers:  Russ Hodges,
Red Barber and Gordon McClendon.  Can anyone help out?

The McLendon broadcast, an aircheck of WCFL, Chicago via the Liberty
network, is available thru the Miley Collection. Try
[removed] as one possible source. This is the only complete
recording of this game known to exist, and while the audio is quite
acceptable, McLendon himself will take some getting-used-to if you've
never heard him before. It's obvious he usually did recreations rather
than live broadcasts, because he constantly tries to impose excitement on
the game thru his voice rather than letting the game carry him along
naturally, and personally, I find him exhausting to listen to.

All that survives of the Russ Hodges/WMCA broadcast is the last half of
the ninth inning, followed by the Giants' clubhouse celebration. The
recording is very crude, and is obviously the result of someone sticking
a microphone in front of a small, cheap table radio tuned to the
broadcast. The story is that the recording was made by a Dodger fan --
who tuned in the Giants broadcast in the last of the ninth and switched
on his tape recorder for the sole purpose of hearing Hodges break down
and cry when the Giants lost the game. When that didn't happen, he
realized that Hodges himself might want to hear what his call sounded
like, and sent him the tape. That tape was the source for the 78 rpm
promotional record distributed by Ligget and Myers, which in turn has
been duped and dubbed all over the place. The entire original tape, from
the last half inning thru the celebrations, used to be available from
Danrick Enterprises, but as noted in a prior post, they no longer sell
baseball recordings.

The only place I've ever heard the Red Barber call is on a 1986 broadcast
of "Costas Coast-to-Coast," in which Bob Costas interviews Barber and
Ernie Harwell about the game, and plays clips of all three calls. The
Barber clip is also an open-mike recording -- although it seems to have
been made off a better-quality radio than the Giants recording -- and was
supposedly recorded off WMGM by a salesman for the F. & M. Schaefer
Brewing Company, one of the Dodger radio sponsors.

The clip begins with Barber summarizing the just-finished top of the
ninth. His sidekick Connie Desmond then delivers a commercial for
Schaefer beer, and Barber returns for the bottom of the ninth -- noting
that some of the Giants fans in the stands appear "ill" as a result of
the 4-to-1 Brooklyn lead. The inning then proceeds, with Barber sounding
confused and surprised to see Branca brought in to pitch to Thomson
instead of Clem Labine. Desmond sums up Branca's pitching record as
Branca warms up, and Barber then takes over, noting that Thomson hit a
two-run homer off Branca the last time they met. The Barber call of the
home run:

"Big Branca called on for his most important job in his baseball
[removed], everything's the most important, for all of these
players that come [removed] it [removed]
[removed] [removed] on and belted deep out to left
field! It [removed] HOME RUN! AND THE NEW YORK GIANTS WIN THE NATIONAL
LEAGUE PENNANT -- AND THE POLO GROUNDS GO WILD! (Barber is silent for
exactly 59 seconds, allowing the hysterical crowd noise to tell the
story.) Well friends, we've got to try and get back above the screaming,
howling, compestuous noise that has reached an unprecedented height.
Never was there a more dramatic finish to a pennant race! There couldn't
be -- there never was such a playoff! And, the Giants coming to bat
apparently a beaten ball club in the last half of the ninth inning have
now ripped in four runs for the game -- the playoff -- the pennant!"

Contrary to popular myth, Barber was neither cold nor dispassionate in
this call -- he raised his voice quite markedly for the portion in caps.
Letting the crowd noise tell the story of what happened after the home
run was a typical Barber touch, and one which is still widely used by his
modern disciples -- his protege Vin Scully has made an art out of knowing
when *not* to talk. That, to me, is the real difference between an
ordinary baseball broadcaster and a great one.

I'd also suggest that, with the possible exception of Ned Martin (who had
an enormous vocabulary and used it masterfully), Red Barber is the only
baseball broadcaster in the business who could get away with using a word
like "compestuous."

Elizabeth

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

Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2002 11:41:58 -0400
From: zbob@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  WEAF on TV

I was just watching an old movie over the satellite
system - Too Hot to Handle, with Myrna Loy and Clark
Gable.  About 37 minutes into the movie, she
says "That's WEAF coming over the radio!"
'Twas part of the plot, a news report.
 Where's the OTM Group???

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

Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2002 11:42:11 -0400
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Winken & Blinken & Nod sailing off in a
 Bakelite Radio

I confess that I, too, often fall asleep listening to OTR. In fact, OTR seems
to be a surefire sleep aid when all else fails. But this has nothing to do, I
insist, with the fact that folks tend to nod off as they get older, no matter
what they're doing. I think it has to do with the fact that I so often used
to lie in bed in my room in our small house, pretending to be asleep while
listening to the shows my parents were enjoying in the next room. Of course,
I often drifted from feigned to actual sleep while listening. I think once
again hearing OTR in the next room, even though it now comes from a computer
rather than our old table model, almost has a primal effect on me. Sometimes
I almost hear my Mom saying, when there's a sudden surge of laughter or
applause or sound effects, "Better turn that down; peek and make sure he's
really asleep."

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #301
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