Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #291
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 9/25/2005 11:46 AM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2005 : Issue 291
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Re: Ed Murrow film                    [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
  This week in radio history 18 Sept t  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
  Hoarding and MP3                      [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
  Lackmann's Comics book                [ benohmart@[removed] ]
  Thanks from Howard Blue               [ "HOWARD BLUE" <khovard@[removed]; ]
  FREBERG/KAISER                        [ Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed]; ]
  AXEL STORDAHL -- SINATRA'S LAST FOR   [ Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed]; ]
  Compressing OTR From RTR              [ ilamfan@[removed] (S Jansen) ]
  Hoarding/Collecting                   [ "Daniel W. Austin" <austindw@excite ]
  Re: Hoarding                          [ redsox45@[removed] ]

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

Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2005 19:01:30 -0400
From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Ed Murrow film

 "HOWARD BLUE" <khovard@[removed]; wrote:

The New York Times and Newsday have given rave reviews to Good Night, And
Good Luck, George Clooney's new film about Ed Murrow and the McCarthy era.
Has anybody seen it?

Warner Brothers is not releasing it into wide audience release until
October 7th. They must have seen a special publicity showing.

Jim Widner

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

Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2005 21:04:34 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  This week in radio history 18 Sept to 1
 October

   Due to connection problems last week I was unable to post the regular
TWIRH, so this week is a double header.

 From Those Were The Days --

2/18

1927 - The Columbia Broadcasting System was born on this day in 1927.
CBS broadcast an opera, The King's Henchman, as its first program.

1948 - The Original Amateur Hour returned to radio on ABC, two years
after the passing of the program's originator and host, Major Bowes.
Bowes brought new star talent into living rooms for 13 years.

9/19

It was just an average day this day in 1932, when Just Plain Bill was
first heard on CBS. It was "The real life story of people just like
people we all know." The 15-minute show (Monday through Friday at 7:15
[removed]) was all about (just plain) Bill Davidson and his daughter, Nancy,
who lived in (just plain) Hartville. Since Bill was the town barber,
everybody came to him with their problems -- and Bill helped them
straighten things out.

Instead of playing the usual organ, as a first, Hal Brown played
harmonica and whistled the Just Plain Bill introduction music (Darling
Nellie Gray). Hal also handled the closing theme (Polly Wolly Doodle) in
  the same manner.

The show, created by Frank and Anne Hummert, who also came up with Mr.
Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, Little Orphan Annie, Amanda of Honeymoon
Hill, Front Page Farrell, John's Other Wife, Mr. Chameleon, Our Gal
Sunday and many other radio dramas, later moved to NBC. Just Plain Bill
  chalked up over 20 years on the air. A few of the Just Plain Bill
sponsors over the years were Kolynos toothpaste and Clapp's baby [removed]

9/20

1921 - KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania started one of the first daily
radio newscasts in the country. The broadcast came from the city desk of
The Pittsburgh Post.

1953 - Jimmy Stewart debuted in The Six Shooter on NBC. He played Britt
Ponset on the Western.

9/21

1946 - After being tested on a regional basis, The Second Mrs. Burton
was heard for the first time on the entire CBS network. The Second Mrs.
Burton fared very well, having a relationship with the network for 14 years.

1948 - The serial Life With Luigi debuted on CBS. Luigi Basko was played
by J. Carroll Naish. Naish, an Irish-American, became typecast as an
Italian immigrant, and went on to play the same role in the TV version
in 1952.

9/22

1943 - Singer Kate Smith finished her War Bond radio appeal. For 13
continuous hours Smith had stayed on the air, collecting a whopping $39
million dollars in bond pledges.

1957 - The CBS Radio Workshop was silenced after 18 months of what the
critics said was "ingenious radio programming."

9/24

1942 - Glenn Miller ended his Moonlight Serenade series on CBS. It was
time for Miller to go to war. The show had aired three times a week for
Chesterfield Cigarettes.

9/25

1933 - America's favorite cowboy, Tom Mix, was heard for the first time
on NBC. The Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters continued on the air until
June 1950.

9/27

1933 - NBC debuted Waltz Time, featuring the orchestra of Abe Lymon. The
program continued on the network until 1948.

1938 - Thanks for the Memory was heard for the first time on The Bob
Hope Show -- on the NBC Red network.

9/28

1936 - Bachelor's Children debuted on CBS (at 9:45 [removed]) in addition to
its schedule on the Mutual Network (at 10:15 [removed]). The show's theme
song, Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life, opened the 15-minute, critically
acclaimed, daily serial. Bachelor's Children became very popular because
of its natural dialogue which made folks think they were hearing a real
event. Bachelor's Children ... brought to you by Old Dutch Cleanser,
Palmolive-Peet Soap, Colgate Toothpaste and Wonder Bread.

1939 - The final broadcast of The Fleischmann Hour was heard. The star
of the show, Rudy Vallee, wrapped things up after a decade of
entertaining radio.

9/29

1920 - Radios for 10 bucks! That's what Joseph Horne Company's
department store in Pittsburgh, PA was selling. The radios were
advertised in The Pittsburgh Sun for $10 and up. One could get a
ready-made radio in a box with headphones and tuning knob. This way, one
could do away with the Quaker Oats round box and the cat's whisker wire,
which was a pain to tune.

1930 - "This is Lowell Thomas." Those words were spoken for the first
time as a young Lowell Thomas made his debut on CBS. He replaced Floyd
Gibbons on the nightly (6:45 [removed]), 15-minute newscast. Thomas, who
started as a reporter for the New York Daily News (at age 19), was heard
on the radio for the next 46 years.

1930 - "Ba, ba, ba, boo. I will, ba ba ba boo ... marry you!" Bing
Crosby, America's premier crooner for decades, married Dixie Lee.

1940 - Double or Nothing was first heard on Mutual. Each time
contestants answered questions correctly, their winnings would double
from $20 to $40 to the big payoff of $80. If they gave an incorrect
answer, they were gone! Nobody bet on long how long the show would last.
Good thing. It kept going for a dozen years. Among the sponsors:
Feen-A-Mint, Chooz breath candy and Campbell's soup.

1946 - Mystery fans remember when The Adventures of Sam Spade debuted on
CBS this Sunday night. (It had aired in the summer of 1946 on ABC on
Friday nights.) The Adventures of Sam Spade, with Howard Duff playing
Spade, became a big hit in the Sunday night radio lineup. And now a word
from our sponsor: "Use Wildroot Cream Oil, Charlie ... it keeps your
hair in [removed]"

9/30

1930 - Death Valley Days was first heard on the NBC Red network this day
(and) became one of radio's biggest hits. The 30-minute,
Western-adventure series starred Tim Daniel Frawley as the Old Ranger,
Harvey Hays as the Old Prospector, John White as the Lonesome Cowboy,
Edwin Bruce as Bobby Keen, Robert Haag as Sheriff Mark Chase and Olyn
Landick as Cassandra Drinkwater.

The tales heard on Death Valley Days were all based on fact and were
human interest stories revolving around the borax mining town of Death
Valley, California. The show was created by Ruth Woodman, a script
writer for a New York ad agency. She had never seen Death Valley; but
had found the vehicle to sell 20-Mule-Team Borax. As time went on, Ms.
Woodman did make a trip to Death Valley. She went back again and again
after that, digging up facts for her scripts. She even met an
honest-to-goodness old ranger, Wash Cahill, who knew everyone and
everything about the mining town.

Death Valley Days was renamed Death Valley Sheriff in 1944 and The
Sheriff in 1945. And Ruth Woodman continued to write the scripts. She
even wrote scripts when Death Valley Days became a TV show. Buy some
20-Mule-Team Borax in commemoration.

1933 - The theme song was Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here and it opened
the National Barn Dance. The half-hour country music and comedy show,
originally heard on WLS, Chicago since 1924, moved to the NBC Blue
network this night. National Barn Dance was broadcast from the Eighth
Street Theater in Chicago, where the stage was transformed into a
hayloft every Saturday night. The host was Joe Kelly. Uncle Ezra was
played by Pat Barrett who was known to say, "Give me a toot on the
tooter, Tommy," as he started dancing. A few of the other Barn Dance
characters were Arkie, the Arkansas Woodchopper; Pokey Martin; the
Hoosier Hotshots; the Prairie Ramblers; cowgirl, Patsy Montana; Pat
Buttram; Lulu Belle and the Cumberland Road Runners. Gene Autry and Red
Foley were heard early in their careers on National Barn Dance. Although
there were plenty of sponsors (Alka Seltzer, One-A-Day vitamins,
Phillips Milk of Magnesia), the National Barn Dance was one of the few
radio shows to charge admission.

1935 - "Calling all [removed]" The Adventures of Dick Tracy came to radio
for the first time -- on the Mutual Radio Network. Based on the comic
strip created by Chester Gould, the 15-minute adventure show was heard
Monday thru Friday at 5:45 [removed] The sponsors were Quaker Puffed Wheat
and Quaker Puffed Rice.

1939 - Captain Midnight was heard on radio for the first time -- on
Mutual. The Captain flew his single-engine plane all over the place
fighting crime. Talk about a popular show: Ovaltine dropped its
sponsorship of Little Orphan Annie to climb on board with Captain
Midnight. The show was also sponsored by Skelly Oil.

10/1

1942 - People Are Funny went on the air with host Art Baker.

Joe

-- Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]

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

Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2005 21:05:53 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Hoarding and MP3

PAtrick asks,

Is there truly a wrong way to collect/? It does seem each of us have
grown a way which suits them whether it suits others or not.

There are few things more frustrating to a person who collects things to
know something exists that one cannot get one's hands on for one's own
appreciation.  I have found this out both inside and outside the OTR
hobby.  It may be particularly frustrating if all that is needed to get
an item of one's own is to copy it with easily available equipment.

Outside the OTR area, I have a friend who's an airline pilot.  I found a
rare book for him that he loves, and wants to share with other pilots.
He asked me whether I thought it would be okay for him to run off copies
at a Kinko's.  I explained gently that this would be a gross violation of
copyright.  I also gave him pointers to rare book dealers.

>From his perspective, the book was so good he wanted to share it ("I
wouldn't make any profit from it," he said).  I can understand it: I gave
him a copy because he was a pilot, and it is a book tailor-made for
pilots.  But since pilots are a small percentage of the population, it
never had wide circulation.

Likewise with OTR recordings.  Philosophically, it would be nice to
provide anyone a copy of any existing recording at no more than
reproduction costs, but IMHO without the assent of the "hoarder," it
would be theft.  Not being omniscient, I don't know why anyone "hoards"
anything, and there may be reasons an outsider may not be aware of.

On MP3 sound quality: I again observe that most of us used to listen to
programs on fidelity challenged equipment.  A cheap All-American 5 tube
radio with a 3-inch speaker is far from the fidelity we can now achieve
easily with consumer equipment.  Those shows I have on MP3 disks sound as
good as what I used to hear as I was growing up.  If a person is happy
with an MP3 collection, I'm comfortable with that.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2005 21:06:07 -0400
From: benohmart@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Lackmann's Comics book

Yes, there were errors in Ron's Comics book which I published earlier this
year,
however, a second version of the book, corrected by a well respected member
of the
OTR community, will be out at the beginning of next year. :) I admire Ron's
work and
want to see that it's put in the best light possible.

Ben Ohmart

Old radio. Old movies. New books.
[removed]

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

Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2005 21:06:39 -0400
From: "HOWARD BLUE" <khovard@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Thanks from Howard Blue

Somebody just sent me a review of my book. From time to time, other
subscribers to the OTR list have sent me very nice and helpful messages,
some of them related to my book and earlier (over a number of years) others
related to my research for it. I know I've thanked many people
individually, but I'm not sure that I ever reached everybody. There really
is an OTR community and portions of it gather annually in Newark, LA,
Cincinnatti, Seattle and elsewhere. And I am very grateful to so many of
you.

So again, I thank Dave Siegel, Charlie Summers (who often has had to correct
my lazy spelling on this digest!), Derek Tague, Jack French, Martin Grams,
Jr., Conrad Binyon, Jay Hickerson, Jim Widner, Bill Jaker Irene Heinstein,
Richard Fish . . . I won't be able to name everybody, so I will have to stop
here.

I will only be attending the FOTR convention for most likely just a day --
we are in the middle of selling our house----- But I look forward to seeing
a bunch of you

Howard Blue

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

Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2005 00:32:59 -0400
From: Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  FREBERG/KAISER

Honestly, I am not in business to make $$$ -- just want to share this
rare treat.  First, the LP from which I dubbed the CD's is pristine -- no
surface noise.  Secondly, it features the talents of Frebert, Don Ameche,
June Foray, etc.  Again, I am not in business to 'sell' anything--just
share a very funny moment in Freberg time.

[removed]
           Sandy
[removed]
        [removed]

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

Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2005 00:33:07 -0400
From: Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  AXEL STORDAHL -- SINATRA'S LAST FOR CAPITOL

My source was Milt Bernhart, trombonist on all those dates, who said that

Sinatra sang everything no more than once, had little contact (and no
conviviality) with the players or the booth, and left after three hours
(or
less) at each session.  Milt said he thought he was only there because of

his contractual obligations with unpleasant potentials appurtenant
thereto.
He was not a happy singer.

[removed]
           Sandy
[removed]
        [removed]

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

Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2005 09:07:13 -0400
From: ilamfan@[removed] (S Jansen)
To: [removed]@[removed] (OTR Bulletin Board)
Subject:  Compressing OTR From RTR

     In the last OTR Digest Jed Dolnick wrote in regarding tranfer of his
reel copies of OTR to the digital format:

Flash forward to 2005. My reel equipment is ancient and the first signs of
degradation are hitting my tapes. So I decide to transfer to CD.

     Now is the time for all good men to transfer their tapes to cd -
especially since fresh tapes are rapidly becoming as hard to find as Carter's
Little Liver Pills!  Besides, as it turns out, most reel-to-reel
manufacturers are no longer making product: not even replacement parts!
Machines go bad from sitting in disuse, as well as from overuse.  RTR repair
techs are going the way of the dodo, and the few that are left are charging
so much it's not funny.

I quickly discover that I can't put much material on a CD without
compression.

     Well, you should be able to fit 80 minutes uncompressed on a cd: two
30-min shows and one 15-min, and a cd sure takes up less space than a reel or
a cassette.  You can fit 200 or so in a cd binder.  There is also
MonkeysAudio, a lossless compression scheme at [removed]

Magix Audio Cleaning Lab for the conversion. The sample rate is
[removed] and the Mp3 format is 128kBits/s.

     Audio cd's have to be recorded at [removed]  128kBts mp3 is often called
'cd quality' by the companies selling the software, but is far from cd
quality.  192kBts is typically considered cd quality as far as music is
concerned, though OTR might not gain that much from the extra bits.  A
320kBts music file really does sound great, but the file size is not as small
as some would like it.

I can't tell the difference between it and the same program converted to MP3
with the above parameters.  Are my ears missing something?

     Yes.

     The real question is: why are you converting the shows?  If it's for
posterity, for archival purposes, so the kids and grandkids can listen in the
future, or if the shows are rare, save in the most common lossless format:
uncompressed audio cd.  If it's for your own listening pleasure and ease of
use and size of storage, compress them into mp3.  Keep reducing the bitrate
until you notice a difference in audio quality, and go with that.  OTR is
commonly posted on the internet at 32 kBts.

Some view compression with the same vehemence as the old (bad) practices of
double-speed copying or using 1-7/8 ips to fit more on a tape.

* **************************

     Mp3 is not evil.  Those "bad" practices were right for those people in
those times on their budget.  There IS such a thing as poor mp3 encodes, but
the format itself is great.  SOME people disagree with mp3 because they have
a financial stake in their shows, and need a return on their investments -
they might need to change their sales habits to reflect the current times.
     Ted Davenport advertised his set of "new" Fu Manchu shows about 6 years
ago, stating that he needed checks from a "x" number of interested customers,
or he would return the checks and not release the set.  I sent him my fifty
bucks, and got my set (and a great amount of enjoyment!), and he (I expect)
got a full return on his investment.  Hopefully some more.  Some OTR dealers
hold mp3 in disdain since a SINGLE mp3 post to the internet can 'pull the rug
out' from their already small profit margin.  I think it's more a marketing
challenge than anything else.
     First Generation Radio Archives has members sign a contract stating that
they will not make copies of the FGRA shows they buy.  Those twenty or so
Radio Orphan Annie shows from 1936 were discovered, cleaned up, and released
by them two years ago.  If you appreciate that they exist at all, let alone
in pristine gorgeous cd audio, you will purchase them from FGRA, and NOT from
any other dealer or hobbyist.
     Mp3 has injected such energy and excitement into this hobby!  I'm sure
that there are many, many more fans of OTR now because of mp3 than there
would have been otherwise.  If someone on this board mentions an interesting
show, then I can check my database, flip to the proper cd in my binder, and
listen to the show immediately - I don't have to try to remember the show,
and remember to order it, and wait weeks for delivery.  How cool is that?!?
I can bring THOUSANDS of shows to listen to on a trip, changing shows to
match the mood or the weather or the passengers' [removed]
     The key, I think, is the "do unto others" rule - if you're a dealer,
keep in mind mp3 is out there and needs to be considered.  If you're a
customer, don't just go posting everything around freely, ESPECIALLY if
you've made an agreement beforehand.  There's not really so many of us OTR
people, and word gets around pretty fast these days.

* ***************

"Comments from the experts are welcome."

     I'm not an expert, but I play one on - oh, never mind.

Stephen Jansen

--
Old Time Radio never dies - it just changes formats!

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

Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2005 13:33:18 -0400
From: "Daniel W. Austin" <austindw@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Hoarding/Collecting

Greetings, all!
     I've been a lurker here for several months, as I have recently started
enjoying and collecting OTR.  What I have purchased over the last couple of
years (slowly and modestly, as I am nowhere near wealthy) has came from about
half-a-dozen mp3 sellers over the internet; I have not bought anything
unknown from any E-bay sellers.  I have acquired a nice little collection of
approximately 40,000 shows (that would be scoffed at by many here, I'm sure)
and enjoy listening to what I have.  It will take me the rest of my life to
listen to what I now have (I am 44 years old).  I believe it is like any
other collection, such as a rare book collection.  If someone takes the
trouble to seek out a rare book and purchase it, he does not feel guilty if
he does not donate it to his local library, does he?  It would be nice for
those of us who enjoy listening to these programs if all the shows were
available on one massive internet library site, free for all to either jump
in and listen
whenever they wanted or download anything for later listening.  Until the day
that happens (and it just might!), a serious collector should enjoy what he
has taken the trouble to seek out and purchase.  Just my two cents.

Daniel Austin

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

Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2005 13:34:09 -0400
From: redsox45@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Hoarding

I'm just getting caught up on the past few days' discussion of "hoarding" OTR
shows and have a few thoughts.

1. The real problem isn't MP3, or ebay, or the internet. The real problem is
that we have dishonest, unethical people out there. The technology is a
vehicle, but the real problem lands squarely on the individuals pawning off
sets on people who have no legitimate way of knowing what they're getting when
they buy CDs.

2. The fellow who said there ought to be a site where legitimate collectors can
meet and compare notes, possibly buy, sell or trade shows in a fair, open
manner, is 100% right. If there's already a site like this, it needs to be
promoted.

3. There are too many people looking for something for nothing. I hate to admit
it, but there are. If you go on ebay, pull up otr listings, you'll see hundreds
of listings for under $5. Do you really think you're getting thoroughly gone
over, well-produced OTR CDs? I don't. I never have. If it's cheap, it is cheap.

That said, I think it's a great thing that shows are traded on the net. It's a
great thing that quality OTR is sold on the net. But nobody is entitled to
anything other than a square deal -- be it purchase, trade or a GIFT.

4. Mp3 is a functional, space-saving way to collect shows, and if you are
choosy
about your collection, you can have a pretty good collection of mp3 files and
save way more space than through cassettes or audio cds or reel to reel.

Will Tuell

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #291
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