Subject: [removed] Digest V2009 #98
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 5/26/2009 10:18 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]
Reply-to:
[removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2009 : Issue 98
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  5-25 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Jack Bennys Radio Violin              [ "Joe" <jpostove@[removed]; ]
  5-26 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Article on Command Performance        [ seandd@[removed] ]
  Phil Harris and Alice Faye -- new re  [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Bear Manor Media                      [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Help identifying a radio product      [ "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed] ]
  New Green Hornet                      [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 21:43:16 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  5-25 births/deaths

May 25th births

05-25-1877 - Billy Murray - Philadelphia, PA - d. 8-17-1954
singer: "The National Barn Dance"
05-25-1891 - William McNeary - d. 8-26-1934
juvenile radio programming pioneer: "Man in the Moon"
05-25-1892 - Bennett Cerf - NYC - d. 8-27-1971
narrator, panelist: "Biography in Sound"; "What's My Line?"
05-25-1893 - Ernest V. Stoneman - Monorat, VA - d. 6-14-1968
actor: "Irma dn Ezra"
05-25-1898 - Gene Tunney - NYC - d. 11-7-1978
heavyweight boxing champion: "National Guard Show"; "The Navy is Fit
to Fight"
05-25-1905 - Joseph C. Harsch - Toledo, OH - d. 6-3-1998
news commentator: "A Closer Look at the News"; "Emphasis"
05-25-1907 - Barbara Luddy - Helena, MT - d. 4-1-1979
actor: Carol Evans "Road of Life"; Janet Munson Adams "Woman in White"
05-25-1908 - Linda Watkins - Boston, MA - d. 10-31-1976
actor: Dot "Amanda of Honeymoon Hill"; "Big Guy"; "Fat Man"
05-25-1912 - Eddie Maxwell - Detroit. MI - d. 11-21-1999
writer: "The Spike Jones Show"
05-25-1913 - Richard Dimbleby - Richmond onThames, England - d.
12-22-1965
BBC's first-ever radio news reporter: "Down Your Way"; "Twenty
Questions"
05-25-1915 - Betty Ruth Smith - d. 2-1-2008
actor: Helen Trent "Romance of Helen Trent"; Catherine Monroe
"Backstage Wife"
05-25-1916 - Ginny Simms - San Antonio, TX - d. 4-4-1994
singer: "Ginny Simms Show"; "Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge"
05-25-1916 - Kevin O'Morrison - St. Louis, MO
actor: Charlie Wild "Charlie Wild, Private Detective"
05-25-1917 - Jimmy Hamilton - Dillon, SC - d. 9-20-1994
jazz clarinetist: "One Night Stand"; "A Date with the Duke"
05-25-1917 - Steve Cochran - Eureka, CA - d. 6-15-1965
actor: "Voice of the Army"; "Unexpected"; "Screen Director's Playhouse"
05-25-1918 - Henry Calvin - Dallas, TX - d. 10-6-1975
actor: Joshua Sharpe "Big Guy"
05-25-1919 - Lindsey Nelson - Campbellsville, TN - d. 6-10-1995
sportscaster: "Monitor Preview"; "Biography In Sound"
05-25-1921 - Kitty Kallen - Philadelphia, PA
singer: "Kitty Kallen Calling"; "Harry James and His Music Makers"
05-25-1923 - Eddie Ryan - Brooklyn, NY
actor: "The Charlotte Greenwood Show"; "Let's Pretend"
05-25-1925 - Jeanne Crain - Barstow, CA - d. 12-14-2003
actor: "Screen Guild Players"; "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Hallmark Playhouse"
05-25-1926 - Milt Bernhart - Valpariso, IN - d. 1-22-2004
trombonist: "One Night Stand"
05-25-1927 - William "Rosko" Mercer - NYC - d. 8-1-2000
disc jockey, announcer: CBS Network
05-25-1929 - Beverly Sills - Brooklyn, NY - d. 7-2-2007
singer: "Major Bowes Capitol Family"; "Uncle Bob's Rainbow House"
05-25-1937 - Mark Shields - Weymouth, MA
journalist; "Look at Today"
05-25-1943 - Leslie Uggams - NYC
singer: "The Peter Lind Hayes Show"

May 25th deaths

01-02-1894 - Robert Nathan - NYC - d. 5-25-1985
writer: "CBS Radio Workshop"
01-06-1918 - Buddy Weed - Ossining, NY - d. 5-25-1997
musician: "Old Gold Party Time"; "Lanny Ross Show"
01-08-1926 - Chester Feldman - d. 5-25-1997
producer: "The Henry Morgan Show"
01-13-1931 - Charles Nelson Reilly - The Bronx, NY - d. 5-25-2007
actor: "Visual Radio"
01-21-1895 - Muriel 'Molly' Pollock - The Bronx, NY - d. 5-25-1971
concert pianist: "Radio-Keith-Orpheum Hour"; "Sonara Hour"
01-22-1894 - Rosa Ponselle - Meriden, CT - d. 5-25-1981
opera soprano: "Atwater Kent Hour"; "Metropolitan Opera"
02-15-1934 - Graham Kennedy - d. 5-25-2005
began career on radio in 1950s as sidekick to Nicky Nicholls
02-21-1901 - Reginald Kirby - England - d. 5-25-1972
writer: "Road to Tokyo"
04-18-1880 - Donald Crisp - Aberfeldy, Scotland - d. 5-25-1974
actor: Jonathan Trimble "Jonathan Trimble, Esquire"
05-01-1922 - Katy Abraham - Wayland, NY - d. 5-25-2005
gardening expert: "The Green Thumb"
05-27-1880 - Joseph C. Grew - Boston, MA - d. 5-25-1965
[removed] ambassador to japan: "Report from Tokyo"; "Cavalcade of America"
05-31-1925 - Bob Aro - d. 5-25-1996
disk jockey: WHLB Virginia, Minnesota
07-31-1909 - Roger Krupp - Minnesota - d. 5-25-1987
announcer, newscaster: "Advs. of Ellery Queen"; "Famous Jury Trials"
08-26-1921 - June Whitley - d. 5-25-2006
actor: Margaret Anderson "Father Knows Best"
08-27-1926 - Pat Coombs - London, England - d. 5-25-2002
comedian: Nola "Hello Playmates"
09-08-1914 - Hillary Brooke - Astoria, NY - d. 5-25-1999
actor: "Suspense"
09-11-1909 - Kenneth Banghart - Paramus, NJ - d. 5-25-1980
announcer: "Archie Andews"; "Lora Lawton"; "Robert Shaw Chorale"
10-09-1907 - Henry Hunter - Rahway, NJ - d. 5-25-1985
actor: Anthony J. Marleybone "Affairs of Anthony"; Terry Regan
"Attorney at Law"
11-06-1899 - Francis Lederer - Prague, Czechoslovakia - d. 5-25-2000
actor: Guest Armchair detective: Ellery Queen

Ron

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

Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 21:43:24 -0400
From: "Joe" <jpostove@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Jack Bennys Radio Violin

During the radio run of Jack Benny, was it Jack actually playing the violin
when called for in the script, or was it a band member? The mechanics would
have called for Jack to put down his script and pick up the violin in order
to do this (and then either have the script held for him or (goodness no!)
Jack would have to ad-lib or act from memory. I would guess it was a member
of the band (who?).

If Jack did not play during his radio shows it could not have been anything
but a disappointment for audience members. Did all they get, in most radio
shows, just a script reading, and really no physical acting among the cast?

    Joe Postove

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

Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 21:50:42 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  5-26 births/deaths

May 26th births

05-26-1884 - Charles Winninger - Athens, WI - d. 1-19-1969
actor: Captain Henry "Show Boat"; Uncle Charlie "Uncle Charlie's Tent
Show"
05-26-1886 - Al Jolson - Srednick, Lithuania, Russia - d. 10-23-1950
singer: (The Jazz Singer) "Shell Chateau"; "Kraft Music Hall"
05-26-1887 - Paul Lukas - Budapest, Austria-Hungary - d. 8-15-1971
actor: Albert Einstein "Quick and the Dead"
05-26-1893 - Edward MacHugh - Dundee, Scotland - d. 2-3-1957
singer: "Gospel Singer"
05-26-1893 - Eugene Goosens - London, England - d. 6-13-1962
conductor: New York Philharmonic
05-26-1895 - Norma Talmadge - Jersey City, NJ - d. 12-24-1957
actor: "Thirty Minutes in Hollywood"
05-26-1903 - Austin Armer - d. 2-11-1984
flutist: KTAB Oakland, California
05-26-1904 - George Formby - Lancashire, England - d. 3-6-1961
singer, actor: "Manitoba Flood Relief Show"
05-26-1905 - Fred MacKaye - Hackettstown, NJ - d. 9-10-1980
actor, director: Monk Rice "Point Sublime"; "Lux Radio Theatre";
"Romance"
05-26-1905 - Margaret Fuller - Butler, PA - d. 1-6-1952
actor: "Attorney At Law"; "Today's Children"
05-26-1907 - John Wayne - Winterset, IA - d. 6-11-1979
actor: Dan O'Brien "Three Sheets to the Wind"
05-26-1908 - Robert Morley - Semley, England - d. 6-3-1992
actor: "[removed] Steel Hour"
05-26-1908 - Vera Van - Marion, OH - d. 4-16-1992
singer: "The George Jessel Show"; "The Vicks Open House"
05-26-1909 - Richard Maibaum - NYC - d. 1-4-1991
screen writer: "Lux Radio Theatre"
05-26-1910 - Larry Rhine - San Francisco, CA - d. 10-27-2000
writer: "Duffy's Tavern"
05-26-1911 - Ben Alexander - Goldfield, NV - d. 7-5-1969
actor: Frank Smith "Dragnet"; Bashful Ben "Great Gildersleeve"
05-26-1912 - Barbara Lee - Denver, CO - d. 11-11-1986
actor: "Big Sister"; "Valiant Lady"; "Our Gal Sunday"
05-26-1913 - Peter Chushing - Kenley, England - d. 8-11-1994
actor: "Aliens in the Mind"
05-26-1914 - Ziggy Elman - Philadelphia, PA - d. 6-25-1968
trumpet: "Benny Goodman Orchestra", "The Tommy Dorsey Show"
05-26-1915 - Martin Stone - d. 6-7-1998
producer: "Howdy Doody"; "Author Meets the Critic"
05-26-1915 - Ray Austin - NYC - d. 6-24-1998
composer/arranger for many big bands
05-26-1915 - Sam Edwards - Macon, GA - d. 7-28-2004
actor: Tracy Baker "One Man's Family"; Dexter Franklin "Meet Corliss
Archer"
05-26-1915 - Vernon Alley - d. 10-3-2004
musician, disk jockey: San Francisco area
05-26-1918 - John Dall - NYC - d. 1-15-1971
actor: "Cavalcade of America"; "Voice of the Army"
05-26-1920 - Peggy Lee - Jamestown, ND - d. 1-21-2002
singer: "Jimmy Durante Show"; "Chesterfield Supper Club"; "Peggy Lee
Show"
05-26-1923 - James Arness - Minneapolis, MN
announcer for station WLOL Minneapolis, Minnesota
05-26-1923 - Roy Dotrice - Island of Guernsey, Channel Islands
actor: Sir Gregory Pitkin "Men from the Ministry"
05-26-1924 - Leonard Maguire - Glasgow, Scotland - d. 9-12-1997
actor: "Navigator in the 7th Circle"; "Evening of Scottish Horrors"
05-26-1928  - Eugene Dinovi - Brooklyn, NY
composer, pianist: "Morningside"
05-26-1931 - Chet Norris - B rooklyn, NY
actor: "Tomorrow Calling"; "Cisco Kid"; "ABC Radio Workshop"

May 26th deaths

01-15-1913 - Frank Derrick - Maywood, IL - d. 5-26-1999
member of staff orchestra WBBM Chicago, Illinois
02-01-1916 - Helen Walpole - Birmingham, AL - d. 5-26-1992
actor: Sylvia Bardine "Just Plain Bill"; Frances "Lorenzo Jones"
02-28-1914 - Jim Boles - Lubbock, TX - d. 5-26-1977
actor: Doc Long "I Love A Mystery"; Fulmer Green "King's Row"
03-15-1904 - George Brent - Dublin, Ireland - d. 5-26-1979
actor, moderator: "Doctor Fights"; "Leave It to the Girls"; "Lux Radio
Theatre"
04-22-1906 - Eddie Albert - Rock Island, IL - d. 5-26-2005
actor: Walter Mitty "Secret Life of Walter Mitty"; "Eddie Albert Show"
05-31-1901 - Joe Kelly - Crawfordsville, IN - d. 5-26-1959
emcee, quizmaster: "National Barn Dance"; "Quiz Kids"
06-13-1912 - Sam Taylor - Chicago, IL - d. 5-26-2000
writer: "Tales ofWillie Piper"
07-08-1885 - John Brinkley - Jackson County, NC - d. 5-26-1942
the "goat gland doctor"
07-09-1919 - Earl Hagen - Chicago, IL - d. 5-26-2008
conductor: "Music With Wings"; Wrote TV Theme for "Andy Griffith Show"
07-24-1915 - Lloyd Marx - d. 5-26-1988
composer, conductor: "Capitol Family Hour"; "Original Amateur Hour"
08-15-1888 - Albert Spalding - Chicago, IL - d. 5-26-1952
violinist: "Forecast"; "Pause That Refreshes . . . On the Air"
09-01-1925 - Colin Free - Sydney, Australia - d. 5-26-1996
writer: "Brain Drain"
09-08-1897 - Jimmie Rodgers - Meridian, MS - d. 5-26-1933
singer: "The Singing Brakeman"

Ron

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

Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 21:55:48 -0400
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Article on Command Performance

The Examiner, a Wilmington paper, takes a look back at Command Performance in
advance of Memorial Day.

[removed]~y2009m5d20-Command-Perfor
mance

Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

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

Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 21:58:27 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Phil Harris and Alice Faye -- new recordings
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Besides a couple SHADOWS and a TON of GREEN HORNETs, Radio Spirits also
recently released a set of Phil Harris and Alice Faye and to my knowledge,
they are all un-circulated. Anyone keeping track will note that they have been
releasing the series chronologically and if this new set sells well enough
they acknowledged that another set will be produced with the next 20 episodes
all un-circulating. GREEN HORNET has the same stipulation so seriously, folks,
buy the sets (and not the unlicensed copies) so they know that producing
another set is worth it. I hear too many complaints about "why doesn't
Universal put out a season two of DRAGNET?" and such stuff but the answer is
simple: sales were not strong enough to dictate further releases. I already
have my SHADOW, PHIL HARRIS and GREEN HORNET on order.

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

Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 22:28:28 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Bear Manor Media
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Kenneth Clarke commented about Heavenly Days possibly being available from
Bear Manor. The initial poster asking where they could get a copy was already
forwarded Bear Manor's web-site, and the company has been mentioned a number
of times on the Digest. I know not everyone keeps track of what books or how
many get released through Scarecrow, McFarland, etc. but for those who don't
keep [removed] Bear Manor Media is technically now the leading publisher when
it comes to producing books about old-time radio and other cross-overs. And
they offer better prices than the competition and comparing books I reviewed
for all three publishing companies (Yeah, I have about 100 books published in
the past year from all three) Ben has reigned supreme. Those seriously looking
for books on OTR who never gave it a second thought might want to check the
web-site periodically for their latest releases.

Last two conventions Bear Manor attended they were one of the most popular
vendors at the event. Heck, one of their books was HEAVILY promoted by Robert
Osborne on TCM for an entire month (he was literally holding the book up and
giving a personal recommendation) recently. Their web-site is
[removed]

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

Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 18:56:18 -0400
From: "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Help identifying a radio product

In the past few weeks, WAMU's The Big Broadcast has played a couple of
episodes of Gunsmoke with the commercials left in.  These episodes are
from 1959, and do not have a single sponsor.  Rather, they have
individual commercials from several different sponsors (Mutual of Omaha,
Longine Watches, etc), much like today's radio and TV.

Of particular interest to me has been a couple of commercials for
automotive products.  I'm an engineer with an auto parts supplier, and
have an interest in car-related nostalgia.  I've been recording and
cutting out those commercials on mp3 to tuck away with all my other car
and car-related commercial audio files.

However, my problem is that I don't recognize the company.  It sounds
like Kaysight.  Though it could be Case-ite, or K-site, or some other
variation.  My Google-fu has failed, and I've been unable to find the
proper company name.

One of the commercials advertised seals, the other advertised "tune-up
in a can."  Does this brand ring a bell with anyone?  Does anyone know
the proper spelling?

Thanks,
-chris holm

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

Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 18:56:25 -0400
From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  New Green Hornet

Bob Keller points out that Radio Spirits has a new collection of 20
previously unreleased Green Hornet episodes. In actual fact, at least two of
those 20 episodes have previously been released. And by Radio Spirits.

Those episodes were "Circumstances Alter Cases" and "Paroled for Revenge."
Radio Spirits released those episodes as part of "The Green Hornet Vol. 1"
and "The Green Hornet Vol. 2", respectively. Each was a collection of six
tapes containing 18 episodes.

Speaking or Radio Spirits and tapes, when I was in Cincinnati I bought the
six tape Fibber McGee and Molly collection. I notice that that same
collection is being re-released on CD in the current Radio Spirits catalog.
It's being touted as a new release, which strikes me as a bit disingenuous.
It may be the first time those episodes were released on CD, but it's not a
new release. That implies those episodes have never before been released.

Anyway, I've gone ahead and ordered the Green Hornet collection. Let's just
hope Radio Spirits doesn't screw up like they did earlier this year when they
sent my order to an address I no longer live at, despite the fact that my
current address is printed on the catalogs. That led to more hassles before
(almost) everything was straightened out almost two months later and they
re-sent my order to the correct address.

Rick

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2009 Issue #98
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