------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 6
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Those Were The Days [ Larry Gassman <lgassman@[removed] ]
Gunsmoke Sponsors [ AandG4jc@[removed] ]
Radio Stamps [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
Re: intellectual property [ "J. Alec West" <Alec@[removed] ]
Personal Role Fits [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
A Rose By Any Other Name [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
Superman's Voice [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
Article on OTR Radio [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
Re: Personal Logs [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Casting Decisions [ "David H. Buswell" <dbuswell@rivnet ]
recording ra. files [ Michael Browning <aquarii2u@[removed] ]
Today in Radio History [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
AN EVENING WITH OTR [ "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed]; ]
Texaco Commercial [ "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed] ]
JOHNNY/PHILLIP MORRIS/AMOS & ANDY [ "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed]; ]
[removed] Dagwood [ Alan Chapman <[removed]@verizon. ]
"And Now the News, 1945" [ "J. Pope" <jpope101@[removed] ]
Re: My Favorite Husband [ GOpp@[removed] ]
Gunsmoke rehearsal [ "James B. Wood, [removed]" <woodjim@ ]
One Man's Family and Tom Mix [ Mark Justice <markjustice@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 01:40:26 -0500
From: Larry Gassman <lgassman@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Those Were The Days
Hi,
John and I just had a note from Chuck Schaden which was written on January
5, 2002.
For those of you who remember his Those Were The Days show, you might be
interested in the following.
Larry
You may know that late last year the classical music station I've been on for
25 years was sold and turned into another contemporary station. I moved my
TWTD program --intact-- to another station, WDCB, which is public radio from
the College of DuPage in the Chicago area. We moved stations, but stayed at
the same time, 1 to 5 pm Chicago time, on the same day, Saturday. We were
not off the air at all during the transition.
We still continue to broadcast from the Museum of Broadcast Communications so
not much has changed. Our signal is a bit smaller than the old station, but
we're doing fine. Our sponsors have changed into underwriters, so everyone
is happy.
Our old WNIB was on the Internet with streaming audio -- which was great --
but WDCB didn't offer streaming audio until just last week -- [removed]
so now we're almost back to normal. (Tune in if you get a chance.)
Normal, that is, except for the fact that two weeks ago strong winds caused
the 310 foot WDCB antenna tower to collapse and force the station off the air
for five days. It happened right in the middle of my program on Sat., Dec.
22nd! The station is back on the air, but at much reduced power for the
next several weeks. Well, that's radio show biz!
[ADMINISTRIVIA: We're proud to say that Mr. Schaden is also a subscriber to
the OTR Digest. --cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 02:02:10 -0500
From: AandG4jc@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Gunsmoke Sponsors
Dale Slack" <dslack@[removed]; wrote
There are no commercials,
only public service type announcements and plugs for other CBS radio shows.
I always thought this was a popular show and I assume it was relatively
expensive to produce so why no commercials. Was this common and if so how
did the networks make any money?
For the first two to three seasons there was no sponsors for Gunsmoke. The
program was self sustained until a sponsor picked up the program. Usually
when a program is "sustained" it means that the program is supported by the
revenue of our hit programs on CBS network. If a program was not picked up it
would be canceled with in a few weeks.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 02:03:42 -0500
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio Stamps
Mike Biel might have already seen this, but regarding his interest in radio
related stamps, there is an interesting article on this at
[removed]
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 02:21:43 -0500
From: "J. Alec West" <Alec@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: intellectual property
Philip Chavin wrote:
Today (06 January) on the NY Times web site ([removed]), there's a
review of a new book ("The Future of Ideas") which "argues that America's
concern with protecting intellectual property has become an oppressive
obsession." The review can be found in the site's Books section.
Thanks for mentioning it. Any mention of the author's name? Sounds
like the same thing the director of Project Gutenberg has been saying
for years. The big question remains _whose_ intellectual property we're
talking about? Laws change but law doesn't always equal justice --
especially in the case of OTR. Literature has always been around and
will always be around. But OTR was more than that ... a time in history
that came and went ... and it's always seemed a bit unfair that any
company (or group of companies) should have a stranglehold on history or
that the rights of 'product' should supercede the rights of
'posterity'. Hopefully, the book addresses that and I'll see if I can
find it. Again, thanks.
Regards,
J. Alec West
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:11:24 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Personal Role Fits
The idea of an actor being "born to play" a certain OTR (or any other)
role is something that can only be subjective. However, IMHO, there are
some people who made a role special. A few come to mind.
Most particularly, there was Brace Beemer as The Lone Ranger. His
delivery made the Ranger larger than life, but still a person. The stuff
of legends, if you will.
Then there was Bret Morrison as ... Lamont Cranston. Not the most
effective Shadow, to be sure, but a near perfect "wealthy young man about
town."
Last, but far from least, was Bennett Kilpack as Mr. Keen. I don't know
what the Humerts might have had in mind for the character, but The Kindly
Old Investigator was a perfect fit for Mr. Kilpack.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:11:41 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: A Rose By Any Other Name
George Wagner, speaking of Weird Circle, notes,
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" is transformed from
one of history's truly frightening horror classics into a turgid soap
opera featuring "Rod" and "Madge" Usher and their remarkably
uninteresting lives.
This reminds me of something that happened in AFRS in 1952 at Camp
Sendai, Japan. In those days, there was a relatively famous dance team
of Marge and Gower Champion. They were appearing in a film, and the
announcer would mention the picture, starring "Madge and Grover"
Champion. He used these names consistently for more than a week. Now
this _was_ AFRS, but I wonder how many equivalent mispronunciations of
that sort abounded in the good old days.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:12:31 -0500
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Superman's Voice
Spence wrote:
I remember, as a kid, listening to and often imitating Bud Collyer's change
of voice when our guy went from mild-mannered-reporter Clark Kent to
save-the-day-hero [removed] It's interesting to note that neither
George Reeves on TV nor Christopher Reeve in the movies used that change of
voice during his transformation.
Well, there was no need for the line to be used in movies or TV (although
George Reeves used it once, semi-humorously, in "The Birthday Letter"),
since we could *see* when Kent was about to change identities. However, in
the *earliest* episodes of TAOS (which did not air in the order they were
filmed), Reeves does indeed pitch his voice lower as the Man of Steel. It's
most notable in the very first half-hour episode to be produced, "The Case
of the Talkative Dummy." Over the course of the first season, it became
less pronounced and eventually disappeared entirely.
FYI, for those who can find it, the book "Superman at Fifty" contains an
excellent essay by Phillip Skerry about the TV series and the reason why
Reeves played Kent and Superman so similarly.
Michael
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:12:58 -0500
From: otrbuff@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Article on OTR Radio
That article that Jim Widner called to our attention in Saturday's
Courier-Journal seemed to carry at least one small misnomer. Its writer
claimed that Amos 'n' Andy (1928-60) was the longest-running radio
program ever. What would the folks at the Grand Ole Opry, the
Metropolitan Opera, the Salt Lake Tabernacle, Renfro Valley Barn Dance,
CBS World New Roundup, Paul Harvey News and -- by extension -- The
Guiding Light and Meet the Press have to say about that? It's an issue
we've considered on this forum many times and the fact remains, there
were several series that outlived A 'n' A by multiple decades, no matter
how much we reveled in the hilarity that duo offered. There are probably
more examples of longer running series that could be given, but the
writer obviously missed an a credible part of aural history.
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:13:46 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Personal Logs
Martin Grams wrote:
Does anyone know of any other producers/directors/writers who may have
actually compiled, week by week, their own broadcast log during their tenure
on the air?
I suspect this might have been more common than not, at least for
performers-writers-producers who were responsible for their own material.
For example, Charles Correll kept a written log for the half-hour Amos
'n' Andy series from 1943 to 1953, listing programs by date and script
title (the titles were usually very simple descriptions like "Bank Show,"
"Brother-in-Law Show," etc.) A copy of this log, obtained by the First
Generation Radio Archives, was one of the sources used in the preparation
of my own A&A sitcom log. This log may have been maintained as a
byproduct of the process of copyright registration: C&G registered their
scripts in batches, and the log was probably a tool for keeping track of
what had been registered when. They also retained two sets of bound
copies of all of their scripts, with a third copy going to the Copyright
Office.
Fred Allen may well have had some sort of personal index -- he kept a
bound collection of his scripts on his office bookshelf, and consulted
them frequently with an eye to reworking bits of material here and there.
Allen kept his scripts -- which were large black volumes taking up a
great deal of shelf space -- next to a small one-volume collection of the
complete works of Shakespeare, as a constant reminder of how
insignificant his great bulk of work really was.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:14:00 -0500
From: "David H. Buswell" <dbuswell@[removed];
To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Casting Decisions
Spence asked if there were any other regrettable decisions regarding actors
and roles. In Hollywood, the history of casting decisions shows that
inspired casting was often the result of the producer's second or third
choices. I'm sure that the same was true for OTR. While somewhat off point,
here are just a few motion picture examples of the first choices for various
roles:
1. Paul Muni not Bela Lugosi in Dracula
2. Clark Gable not Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan
3. Mae West not Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard
4. Doris Day not Anne Bancroft in The Graduate
5. Paul Newman not James Dean in East of Eden
6. Tuesday Weld not Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde
7. Rip Torn not Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider
8. Montgomery Clift not Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront
9. Olivia DeHavilland not Vivian Leigh in Streetcar Named Desire
10. Grace Kelly not Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
11. George Raft not Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon
12. Claudette Colbert not Bette Davis in All about Eve
13. Cary Grant not Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady
14. [removed] Fields not Frank Morgan in The Wizard of Oz
15. Joan Crawford not Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:14:09 -0500
From: Michael Browning <aquarii2u@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: recording ra. files
I have been an avid listener to otr ever since I was
around 15 years old. Now that I'm in my 50's, that
puts it at many years that I have listened to otr. I
grew up with the begining of television, so I know
what video has gone through the last 50 years. Thanks
to some of the channels that you can get on cable and
satellite you can watch a lot of the old movies from
the 30', 40's, 50's etc. But no mater what has
evolved with video, it sure can't take the place of
otr. With radio you had to use your own mind to
create the situations that you heard and for every
person it might have been different. So when radio
drama disappeared it took away the imagination of
everyone living today that didn't have the chance to
listen to it. Across the country there are radio
stations that do broadcast otr and it is once again
people can once again use their imagination. Then
again if you were lucky enough to have a computer and
be able to get onto the internet you are able to get a
whole lot of different stations that broadcast otr.
Now to get to my little problem. Ever since around
1970 I started to record otr off the radio onto
cassette tapes and do have a lot of programs on these
tapes. Also I bought cassette tapes of otr when I was
able too. Then a miracle happened to me about three
months when I had gotten a computer and was able to
get onto the internet. I was amazed at all the
programs that you are able to get on the internet. So
since my computer had a cd-rw drive, I have been able
to record otr programs onto my own cd's and am glad
about it because disks last longer than tapes. Now
comes the area that I have had a little problem.
Being new to the computer and the internet, I have
found out that there are two different formats that
programs are recored at. There is the mp3 format and
the ra format. I have been able to record the mp3
format by changeing the mp3 files to wav. files.
There are software programs out there that you can get
that you can change the file from mp3 to wav. But is
there a program or way to change a ra file to one that
you can record
those programs too. I have yet been able to find one
that will let me be able to do it.
So if there is someone out there that can help me with
this little problem, I would appreciate it.
Michael Browning
aquarii2u@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:14:19 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in Radio History
From Those Were The Days --
1926 - A famous marriage that endured for many years is remembered this
day. It’s the wedding anniversary of
George Burns and Gracie Allen who were married by a Justice of the Peace
in Cleveland, Ohio.
1940 - The gate to Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch opened. The ‘singing
cowboy’ would entertain on CBS radio for the next 16 years.
1941 - The NBC Blue radio network presented the first installment of The
Squeaky Door. You might not remember the show by its original title, but
how about when it became known as Inner Sanctum?
1950 - Ernest Tubb made his first appearance at The Grand Ole Opry in
Nashville, TN. Ernest also did a 15-minute radio program each day that
became very popular in West Texas. So popular, in fact, that he bought
the radio station that had aired the program for years and years: KGKL
in San Angelo, Texas.
Joe
--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:14:50 -0500
From: "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: AN EVENING WITH OTR
I wish to extend an invitation to anyone on the digest living in the MD, DC,
PA, DEL & VA area, to attend "An Evening With OTR," as the Golden Radio
Players will present 2 radio dramas: Gunsmoke, "Chester'a Inheritance," and
a production of Theatre Of Romance: "Death Takes A Holiday," to be
presented on Sat., [removed], 7:30 pm, at the Regular acheduled meeting of
the Golden Radio Buffs Of MD., Inc. For details on locarion and furthur
infornation, contact me at the email address above.
Owens
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:15:25 -0500
From: "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Texaco Commercial
Perhaps someone can direct a reply to this television inquiry I received.
Sandy Hedges is looking for a copy of a Texaco TV commercial featuring
mid-stream refueling that aired on the
"Huntley-Brinkley" NBC news from 1960-1962.
The pilot was Capt. Luster Perry in the commercial who was her husband's
Grandfather and she would like to obtain a copy for her husband and family.
Her e-mail address is Hedges_Sandy@[removed]
to reply directly with any suggestions or sources.
Many thanks.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:14:35 -0500
From: "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: JOHNNY/PHILLIP MORRIS/AMOS & ANDY
Can ayone on the list help me with some info for research for articles for
our Newsletter? I need the web site for Little Johnny, who was the
spokesperson for Phillip Morris and opened all programs sponsored by them on
radio (and) TV. **** Also does any one have the web site for the Amos &
Andy that was posted here a few months ago (Elizabeth, I believe it was
you). Thanks in advance for any help youu can give.
Owens
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 13:37:58 -0500
From: Alan Chapman <[removed]@[removed];
To: Old-Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: [removed] Dagwood
Penny Singleton were too old to play the youngish Bumsteads
by 1968, which was the year that series started. And >Barbara Billingsley
did not play [removed] Harty
did.
The 1968 Dagwood was played by Will Hutchins ... a member of our RADIO
CLASSICS LIVE family in Brockton, MA (the 13th annual RCL is coming up
May 3-4, 2002). Will also has a regular web radio show -- GOLDEN
MELODY SALOON -- which can be heard at
[removed]
Alan Chapman
[ADMINISTRIVIA: And for those of you who were at last October's FOTR
Convention, he's still looking for his script. --cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 14:25:50 -0500
From: "J. Pope" <jpope101@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: "And Now the News, 1945"
I read this book over the holidays, and being a young'un who only
knows WWII from history class, it made quite an impact. Now I realize
just how different those times were from any I've known. For someone who
- up until 9-11 - only knew the Gulf War, which had total casualties of
around 250, reading of 15,000 killed and wounded in one DAY is a huge
eye-opener. The scale is absolutely mind-blowing.
This book also brings home what the people on the homefront were going
through, even when the war was obviously coming to an end in the Allies'
favor. Suddenly the calls to buy war bonds, plant victory gardens, etc.
on 'Fibber McGee and Molly' and 'Jack Benny' seem as vital as they really
were. And a new dimension is added to the humor of such shows; knowing
what was happening in their "real world," it's amazing to me that they
could be so consistently light-hearted and entertaining.
This book takes history and makes it reality. Any youngster
interested in OTR, or who wants to know what that time was really like,
should read it!
[removed]
Jennifer
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 15:16:11 -0500
From: GOpp@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: My Favorite Husband
Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2002 13:33:10 -0500
From: "Bob Watson" <crw912@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: My Favorite Husband----again.
Oddly enough, I had never really thought about this, until Gregg answered my
question about the Cugat/Cooper name change, but did Jess Oppenheimer ever
speculate whether or not the CBS brass would have gone ahead with My
Favorite Husband with Desi Arnaz in the lead had George and Liz's name NOT
been changed from Cugat???? Or was the brass so adamant that it wouldn't
have mattered??
Apparently it didn't matter, because the first 26 shows
(From July to December 1948) aired with the names
"George and Liz Cugat" and CBS refused Lucille Ball's
request to cast Desi as her radio husband. Despite the
name "George Cugat", the character was supposed to be
a polo-playing white bread type from a wealthy
midwestern family.
Interestingly, when CBS moved the "My Favorite
Husband" series to TV, starring Barry Nelson and
Joan Caulfield (a couple of years after "I Love Lucy"
got started), they retained the names "George and Liz Cooper."
You might think this was because they wanted
to follow the radio show closely (rather than the
book "Mr. & Mrs. Cugat"), but the guy who created
the TV show (Sol Saks) says he never even heard the
radio version. According to Saks, "I never heard
'My Favorite Husband' on radio. I knew CBS owned
the property and the title. Iknew it was a husband
and wife show, that's all. I went up there and I said,
"Look, I'd like to do a pilot for 'My Favorite Husband.'
They said 'Go ahead.'"
- Gregg Oppenheimer
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 16:04:14 -0500
From: "James B. Wood, [removed]" <woodjim@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Gunsmoke rehearsal
Dale Slack posed a question about Gunsmoke advertisers, which prompts me
to ask another, unrelated question about that series. A friend gave me a
recording of a Gunsmoke rehearsal, in which the actors began clowning
around quire irreverently. Are recordings of rehearsals common in OTR
collections?
Jim Wood
Brea, CA
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 16:04:11 -0500
From: Mark Justice <markjustice@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: One Man's Family and Tom Mix
A few days ago, I posted a request for episodes of One Man's Family and Tom Mix. I
received several helpful responses and I want to especially thanks Ed Humphrey,
most generous OTR fan who mailed episodes of both shows to me ...along with photos
of the casts! What a great hobby!
Best,
Mark
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #6
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