------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2007 : Issue 287
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Mickey Rooney [ "Wayne Johnson" <wayne_johnson@mind ]
More on the Captain Midnight 'Civili [ Stephen A Kallis <skallisjr@[removed] ]
10-8 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
More on German Rocket Planes and Cap [ Stephen A Kallis <skallisjr@[removed] ]
Petri and Two buck chuck [ "RadioAZ@[removed]" <radioAZ@bas ]
"Broadway Is My Beat" Series Name My [ Joseph Webb <drjoewebb@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 7 Oct 2007 19:10:47 -0400
From: "Wayne Johnson" <wayne_johnson@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Mickey Rooney
I was lucky enough to attend Mickey Rooney's show last night: "Let's Put On
A Show". It was mentioned that he had 4 starts in Holloywood and one was
for Radio. I have never personally run into anything that he has done in
radio. Can someone fill me in please?
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 7 Oct 2007 22:02:06 -0400
From: Stephen A Kallis <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: More on the Captain Midnight 'Civilian' First
Name
My previous posting on the derivation of Charles James Albright as
Captain Midnight's birth name was a result of discussions, occasionally
rather heated, with Leonard Zane.
In his posting, he notes,
Let's assure integrity, accuracy, and full
disclosure on this issue - beginning at least
with Stephen Kallis' coming fully clean and fully
retracting in public.
I had mentioned that I deduced (or made up) the first name. If that's
not "coming clean," I need a better definition.
However, a little more data on my book:
The basic stories were derived from the scripts at Ovaltine. Some of the
information besides that came from the in-circulation Skelly Oil shows,
"The Pareda Treasure" and "The Mysterious Voice." I also heard a few of
the earlier Black Gulch episodes, but not too many.
However, in the 30 September 1940 Ovaltine show, where the origin of the
"Captain Midnight" code name came from, we learn that he was a young
pilot in World War I. He was sent on a perilous mission against a man
who could change the course of World War I. The danger was never
specified, the young pilot's background was never given, so *everything*
up to the World War I origin story is sheep speculation on my part (or,
if you prefer, I made up the background). From the middle of Page 10
through Page 19 is sheer speculation on my part.
Starting on Page 21, and continuing through Page 235, everything covered
if derived from the radio scripts. The closing, I set during the time
immediately after the show's close in early 1945, and before 24 September
of that year, at which time World War II was over, so one could say that
was made up, too.
Within the Ovaltine shows, though, I had to make alterations to bring the
show closer to historic accuracy. For instance, the "Rocket Plane"
sequence had Captain Midnight following a German aircraft from Europe to
South America, then across the Pacific to Tibet. Nice fiction, but the
only German rocket aircraft of World War II was the Messerschmitt Me-163
Komet, a one-place fighter aircraft with a 22-mile radius of action. The
Komet was also a killer, as its oxidizer, 90%+ hydrogen peroxide, had the
nasty feature of dissolving the aircraft's pilot alive if the tank
ruptured on a hard landing. So, to make the story believable, I had to
posit ([removed], create/make up) a new fictional aircraft using rocket-ramjet
technology and a long-range glide capability, not unlike a U-2. Is that
spoiling the integrity of the work? IMHO, it is not.
Pure transcription of the stories, as broadcast, would be "accurate," but
in many cases, even by the technical knowledge of the time, sheer
fantasy. I wish to prevent that. If that's wrong, I plead guilty to it
now and forever.
Interestingly, nowhere in the Ovaltine radio scripts is Captain
Midnight's last name, Albright, mentioned, much less his first name. (The
"Jim" is from the much-different TV show.)
As I have also mentioned before, in the second book, I intend to add an
appendix discussing Mr. Albright's first name, and what's known, and
what may be uncovered by the time it's written.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 7 Oct 2007 23:38:27 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 10-8 births/deaths
October 8th births
10-08-1881 - Oscar O'Shea - Peterboro, Canada - d. 4-6-1960
actor: John Marshall "Those We Love"
10-08-1890 - Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker - Columbus, OH - d. 7-23-1973
host, narrator: "The World's Most Honored Flights"
10-08-1891 - Florence Malone - d. 3-4-1956
actor: Christy Allen "Against the Storm"; Mrs. Diamond "Advs. of
Captain Diamond"
10-08-1896 - Phil Ohman - d. 8-8-1954
Leader of a trio that played on the inaugural broadcast of WEAF NYC
10-08-1897 - Rouben Mamoulian - Tiflis, Georgia, Russia - d. 12-4-1987
film director: "Theatre Guild On the Air"
10-08-1902 - Gladys Bagwil - d. 12-xx-1969
blues singer: Hot Springs, Arkansas
10-08-1904 - Wally Brown - Malden, MA - d. 11-13-1961
actor: "The Jack Kirkwood Show"; "Joan Davis Time"
10-08-1906 - William N. Robson - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 4-10-1995
producer, director: "Beyond Tomorrow"; "CBS Radio Workshop"; "Escape"
10-08-1908 - Albert Maltz - NYC - d. 4-26-1985
screen writer: (One of Hollywood Ten) "Words at War"; "Lux Radio
Theatre"
10-08-1913 - Walter Schumann - NYC - d. 8-21-1958
composer: "Dragnet"; "Junior Miss"; "Modern Advs. of Casanova"
10-08-1918 - Ron Randell - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - d.
6-11-2005
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
10-08-1919 - Gabriel Dell - Barbados, British West Indies - d. 7-3-1988
actor: (The Dead End Kids) "Texaco Star Playhouse"
October 8th deaths
01-09-1915 - Fernando Lamas - Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. 10-8-1982
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
01-26-1913 - William Prince - Nichols, NY - d. 10-8-1996
actor: "Crime Does Not Pay"; "Philco Radio Playhouse"
02-14-1895 - Nigel Bruce - Ensenada, Mexico - d. 10-8-1953
actor: Doctor John H. Watson "Advs. of Sherlock Holmes"
02-18-1892 - Wendell Willkie - Elwood, IN - d. 10-8-1944
presidential candidate: "Information, Please"
03-04-1908 - Lee Allman - d. 10-8-1989
actor: (Sister of James Jewell) Lenore 'Casey' Case "The Green Hornet"
03-15-1901 - Madeleine Pierce - Philadelphia, PA - d. 10-8-1983
actor: Wiki "Just Plain Bill"; Rudy Cameron "When A Girl Marries"
04-10-1897 - Fred Hall - NYC - d. 10-8-1964
composer, performer: (Hall and Fields) "Old Man of the Mountain"
04-26-1891 - Paul Hoffmann - Western Springs, IL - d. 10-8-1974
foreign aid administrator: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy"
04-29-1914 - Derek Guyler - Wallasey, Merseyside, England - d. 10-8-1999
actor: "It's That Man Again"
05-01-1933 - Joan Hackett - NYC - d. 10-8-1983
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
07-23-1908 - Karl Swenson - Brooklyn, NY - d. 10-8-1978
actor: Lorenzo Jones "Lorenzo Jones"; Lord Henry Brinthrope "Our Gal
Sunday"
08-02-1900 - Helen Morgan - Danville, IL - d. 10-8-1941
hostess, singer: "Helen Morgan, Songs"; "Broadway Melodies"; "Fred
Allen Show"
08-30-1887 - Eduardo Ciannelli - Island of Ischia, Italy - d. 10-8-1969
actor: "Hollywood Hotel"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
11-06-1886 - Gus Kahn - Koblenz, Germany - d. 10-8-1941
lyricist: "Good News of 1938"
12-25-1916 - Oscar Moore - Austin, TX - d. 10-8-1981
guitar: "The King Cole Trio"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 15:12:02 -0400
From: Stephen A Kallis <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: More on German Rocket Planes and Captain Midnight
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
In my posting, "More on the Captain Midnight 'Civilian' First Name," I
noted that the only German Rocket Plane historically operational during
World War II was the Messerschmitt Me-163 Komet. I thought I'd forgotten
something, so I did a little digging. There was also a variant follow-on
Junkers 8-263 (AKA the JU 248), which had tricycle landing gear, a
slightly wider wingspan, and slightly improved performance. However, it
used the same propellants, had about the same range, and had slightly
better armament. However, it, too, was an extremely limited
fighter-interceptor, not the kind of aircraft that was described on the
Captain Midnight broadcasts.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 15:12:29 -0400
From: "RadioAZ@[removed]" <radioAZ@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Petri and Two buck chuck
I've heard back from my good friend who is in the California Wine business.
I had enquired about Petri wine. Here is his reply.
"I've checked around here and find no one who has heard of the Petri wine
still in production. It looks like the old Petri wine production facility
was first purchased by Constellation Wines (Australian) and sold to Bronco
wines in 2003. Bronco -- who makes the famous 'two buck chuck' along with a
number of other low priced labels -- now produces a number of their wines
there. It's in Escalon, CA. Bronco may now own the label, but I didn't see
any indication in a search of wine business sites that anyone is producing
or marketing a wine under that label."
Ted
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 15:29:07 -0400
From: Joseph Webb <drjoewebb@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: "Broadway Is My Beat" Series Name Mystery
There seems to be a question as to the title of one of
radio's better 1950s shows much like the "Nightbeat" vs. "Night
Beat" question of a few months ago.
The question [removed] is it "Broadway's My Beat" or is it
"Broadway is My Beat"?
There appears to be adequate justification for BOTH names.
If one goes to the excellent newspaper listing site there
may be some clues there. [removed]
I checked three dates in the NY Times: 7/7/49, 3/22/52,
7/25/54, and they are all list as "Broadway's" This is also true of
another collector who did two spot checks and found the same for Wisconsin
State Journal 1/19/51 and the Bridgeport Telegram 5/5/51.
Then that same collector found a NY Times article that
included this comment: "Another CBS program, the mystery, 'Broadway Is My
Beat', will resume on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 9:30 to 10 [removed]"
Then this got yet muddier when he found "Broadway IS My
Beat" in NY Times SUNDAY listing for 11/12/1949 show AND THEN
"Broadway's My Beat" in the SATURDAY listing.
I decided to listen to one of the best sounding programs I
have of the series, the episode of 7/24/54. I created a file of the instances
where the series title is mentioned at the beginning, the middle break, and at
the close.
I have posted this file at
[removed]
I can't say it's [removed] the verbal journey from the
"y" to the "s" is clearly "is" sometimes but not
always. The mid-show break is clearly "IS" but the beginning and
close are more naturally flowing speech, and from looking at the Audacity audio
images, it sounds like "IS" but is pronounced so quickly that it
comes out as the contracted "Broadway's".
Danny Clover always says "Broadway's my beat," but
that is a common way of casual speaking, especially by NY cops, and New
Yorkers, of whom I was related to the former, and am one as the latter. We
always refer to things that way ("The East Side's the place I live,"
or "Brooklyn's where I grew up," but asked to give a more formal
speech or to write it down, it would have "is.") I would not put a
lot of weight on this dialogue as identifying the series title for that reason.
This should not be the first time that this question has
been raised, but I suspect that it may be. This is interesting because
recordings of the show have been around for at least the 35 years I've been in
the hobby and I have never seen it mentioned in anyone's catalog as
"Broadway's". It's always been "Broadway is My Beat." That does not
mean we can't have perpetuated mistakes, of which there are many instances.
The reason I say this is that it should have come up at
least once before. When collectors have recorded from the original electrical
transcriptions, they have always had the practice of writing down the name of the
series, the program name and/or number, and whatever dates would have been
written on the label or disc jacket. Some are sloppier than others in this
process, but there is usually such excitement or interest by the collector who
has the privilege of copying from an original disc that they usually get it
right.
The series has been in the hobby for a long time and did not
come out as one "discovered set," but in drips and drabs of a few episodes here
and a few episodes there over the years. Surely it would have shown up in
collectors catalogs under both names at one time or another because of that,
but I know I have never seen it.
This makes the question all the more [removed]
I wonder if any of the California collectors who would have
more familiarity with CBS' Hollywood operations, have light they could shed on
this topic.
In my mind, I would leave it as "Broadway is My Beat" until
someone comes up with a real photocopy of a few original script cover pages or
images of ET labels from various points in the series. It appears that CBS was
not consistent in the data it gave to the newspaper radio listings compilers,
and in that case, if we don't know the show originators true intent, the rules
of grammar should apply, much like the conclusion that "Night Beat" is the
proper name for that show, even though NBC was inconsistent.
At worst, this curiosity should be documented as one of many
radio shows unsolved mysteries. It's one of the things that makes the hobby so
interesting.
JWW
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #287
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