------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 50
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Re: Art Gilmore and TCM [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
RE: Printable MP3 playlists [ Habegger <amej@[removed]; ]
Glenn Miller's death [ "Donald Skuce" <donskuce@[removed] ]
Crosby's first radio broadcast [ "Steven Lewis" <slewis5@[removed]; ]
Re: Re-Syndication [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Re: UK shows on US Radio [ John Henley <jhenley@[removed] ]
Parley Baer [ "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@earthli ]
re: The Joy Boys [ "ecrasez" <ecrasez@[removed]; ]
Re: NPR and radio drama [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
Joy Boys [ "Peter H. Vollmann" <vollmann@hawai ]
Bob Clayton [ "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@hotmail ]
Re: Joy Boys [ "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed]; ]
re: What Ever Happened to Glenn Mill [ "Marty" <martyd@[removed]; ]
RE: The Joy Boys [ Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed]; ]
New radio drama vs OTR [ "Doug Leary" <doug@[removed]; ]
Glenn Miller & Peter Sellers [ "Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed]; ]
Have they been edited? [ "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@earthli ]
RE; AROUND THE HORN/PETER SELLERS [ grayghost@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 10:22:12 -0500
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Art Gilmore and TCM
Jim Cox wrote about a short titled "So You Want to Give Up Smoking," for
which Art Gilmore did the narration, adding "It's obviously designed as an
educational piece from about the 1940s."
Actually, this short was the very first of Warner Brothers' "Joe McDoakes"
one-reel comedies (also casually referred to as the "Behind the 8 Ball"
comedies), written and created by Richard L. Bare of "Green Acres" fame, and
starring George O'Hanlon as McDoakes. Gilmore's narration carried the
series during its early years, until O'Hanlon finally got to speak in "So
You Want to Be a Detective" (in which Gilmore turned out to be the killer!).
Coincidentally, Turner Classic Movies is showcasing its library of one and
two-reelers every Tuesday of this month, and McDoakes shorts are scheduled
at the unruly hour of 3:00am EST on Tuesday February 19. From the TCM
website:
The following Joe McDoakes comedies are being featured on Tuesday, February
19: So You Want to Give Up Smoking, So You Think You Need Glasses, So You
Want to Play the Horses, So You Want to Save Your Hair, So You're Going to
Be a Father (1947), So You Want to Be in Pictures, So You Want to Hold Your
Wife (1947) and So You Want an Apartment (1948).
Those of you who get the channel will want to check it out every Tuesday
night - you'll find the earliest (in some cases, only) film work of many
radio favorites ([removed], Red Skelton's first film, the short "Seein' Red," is
scheduled), not to mention big band and musical shorts. Those who don't get
it might do well to find friends and neighbors who do, and supply them with
blank tapes! The complete schedule may be viewed here (hopefully this
lengthy link will work):
[removed],3598,65|63|9288|,[removed]
Michael J. Hayde
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 11:22:23 -0500
From: Habegger <amej@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: RE: Printable MP3 playlists
Also, go to [removed] and scan their software file list.
I found one that is listed in the Utilities section:
MP3 Collector from [removed] look for others in
the same section. [removed] is a good source for mp3 info.
Dick
Anaheim
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 11:43:10 -0500
From: "Donald Skuce" <donskuce@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Glenn Miller's death
02/08/02
Comment: It was/is customary for safety reasons that aircraft
bomb ordnance be dumped before a plane lands.
I read, a couple of years ago, in a military oriented publication about
what is the apparent answer to how Glenn Miller died. First of all,
when a bomber left England during WWII and had to abort their mission
for any reason (weather, mechanical problem, etc.) they were not allowed
to land at their base with bombs on board. Landing with a load of bombs
created an obvious safety hazard. All bomber crews were debriefed after
each of their missions whether or not the mission was completed. Sometime
in the 1990's the record of a debriefing from December of 1944 was
uncovered that seems to explain the disappearance of Miller's small plane.
A British bomber returning from an aborted mission had to drop their bomb
load into the English Channel. It seems the Bombardier didn't see any
planes
in the area when he toggled the bombs free. A bomber crewman (possibly
the tail gunner?) saw a small plane fly out of a cloud bank and directly
under
the released bomb load. In the debriefing the crewman described seeing the
small plane "vaporized" by a direct hit from at least one of the bombs.
Since no radio transmission or "mayday" was ever received from Miller's
pilot it's apparent that their demise was sudden and deadly. The story
makes sense. It just doesn't make sense that it took over 50 years for the
truth to come out.
Hope that this helps.
Don Skuce
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 12:02:07 -0500
From: "Steven Lewis" <slewis5@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Crosby's first radio broadcast
Rob Spencer asked who conducted the orchestra in Bing Crosby's first solo
network radio broadcast, Sept. 2, 1931.
According to Malcolm MacFarlane's new biography, "Bing Crosby: Day by Day,"
published in December by Scarecrow Press, Victor Young conducted the
orchestra with Eddie Lang on guitar. The announcer was Harry Von Zell. You
can hear all that remains of the first broadcast at the Bing Crosby Internet
Museum:
[removed]~[removed]
Steven Lewis
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 12:03:19 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Re-Syndication
Harlan Zinck wrote:
Syndicators like Charles Michaelson frequently re-released shows that were
as much as fifteen years old to smaller stations who couldn't afford higher
priced programming.
And in addition to reissues by the producers who originally distributed
the programs, some early syndicated programs eventually sold off in
blocks to different distributors entirely -- who would put out new
pressings under their own labels. One of the most important examples of
this was the Radio Transcription Company of America -- "Transco" -- which
was one of the most successful syndication producers of the 1930s. In the
1940s, the Transco catalog was taken over by a company called Bruce Eells
and Associates -- which re-pressed and reissued many of the series under
their own logo.
As a result, you have a series like "Origins of Superstition," which was
recorded by Transco in 1932 and issued by them on shellac discs beginning
in 1933 -- turning up again a decade late on vinyl pressings with an
entirely different label. Ditto for "Pinto Pete," "Comedy Capers,"
"Komedy Kingdom," "Hollywood Casting Office," "Hollywood Spotlight,"
"Laff Parade," "Police Headquarters," and many other Transco features of
that era. Much of the material on these programs was mouldy when it was
first recorded -- so one can only wonder how such embalmed entertainment
was received by the audiences of ten years later.
It should also be noted that "The Cinnamon Bear" was part of the Transco
package taken over by Eells, and probably aged much better than most of
the other programs they were distributing.
Some syndicators were a bit more careful about keeping their reruns
"timely." When Ziv syndicated old "Easy Aces" episodes from 1936-38 in
the late 1940s, they omitted entire storylines because one or two
episodes contained topical references that would have revealed that the
programs were ten years old. For example, an October 1936 storyline in
which Jane runs for president of the local country club was left out of
the Ziv rerun package because it contained references to the
Roosevelt-Landon presidential election. Rather than try to edit out those
references, Ziv simply dropped the entire storyline, and bridged the gap
in continuity by having an announcer who was clearly not Ford Bond record
a new intro to the first episode after the omitted sequence.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 12:16:25 -0500
From: John Henley <jhenley@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: UK shows on US Radio
Eric Cooper said
National Public Radio , as a network, I don't think
ever actually included the BBC in its schedule, except perhaps
HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY or something like that.
When I heard the BBC series "What Ho, Jeeves!" in the
1980s, it was presented as part of NPR Playhouse, with
added commentary by frequent public-radio announcer
Fred Calland. (sp?) I presume its actual scheduling was
left up to individual stations, but it was available to all.
--
John Henley
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 12:31:59 -0500
From: "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@[removed];
To: "OTR List" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Parley Baer
The other night I happened across an old ep of Hogan's Heroes in which
Parley Baer had a small role as a doctor. I believe I have seen his name
listed at least one other instance on this show.
Joe Salerno
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 13:03:06 -0500
From: "ecrasez" <ecrasez@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: The Joy Boys
I think much of the Joy Boys material is preserved. Check their
website at [removed] for details. Ed Walker occasionally
plays some of his old bits on the Big Broadcast on WAMU, which
also airs live on the net at [removed].
Bob S.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 12:58:54 -0500
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: NPR and radio drama
Henry Howard, <hhoward@[removed];, moderator of radiodrama@[removed],
<[removed]; wrote:
NPR will cease carrying any radio drama in October of this year.
The great Public Radio Guru David Giovannoni, who admitted that he
didn't like radio drama before his studies, convinced enough stations
to not carry radio drama in their best interest, that NPR Playhouse
expenses are no longer justified.
Which is just one of the reasons I have quit contributing either time
or money to Public Radio. There was a time when Public Radio was all
local, a real live DJ, spinning classical platters, willing to fill
requests, with the occasional transcription of Shakespeare or a radio
drama from a series such as Earplay thrown in. Some of these were
excellent, a logical progression from OTR and often quite moving.
Perhaps some will remember the story they did entitled _Wings_, which
later became a stage play. If not, I highly recommend seeking it out;
it will have special resonance for many older members of this group.
In addition, our local station WUOT, aired a locally produced radio
drama. I've never had much interest in acting, but I eagerly
participated in this show, and it was great fun (to those actors like
Mercedes McCambridge and Tony Randall who say radio drama isn't
really acting, the performances of a bunch of amateurs, I fear,
provided a sort of negative proof to the contrary). Also, they aired
genuine OTR with a Christmas theme during that season.
When their new program director Regina Dean took the helm, all that
went away. Apparently in step with NPR, she has also abandoned much
of the classical music (available nowhere else in this town) in favor
of such shows as _Car Talk_ (not funny enough to be comedy, and not
much help in keeping my car running, either), and _The Splendid
Table_, where people call in to talk about the pleasures of gluttony,
and _Morning Edition_, which assumes that people would rather wake up
to World Crisis than to the World's Great Music. To support all this
they have yearly fund drives, daily pleas to "do our part" by sending
in donations and to include them in our wills, and increasingly
lengthy underwriting announcements that are beginning to sound more
and more like commercials.
All of these fundraising efforts are succeeding marvelously; I am
reliably informed that they are rolling in dough, are funded way
ahead of their needs, but continue to solicit funds "for a rainy
day." Reportedly, the station management has had to come up with
creative ways to spend money, including lavish appointments for their
offices. On the plus side, I no longer feel the slightest need to
send them any of MY hard-earned money, particularly when I realize
the money goes to fund all the things that, in my opinion, have
ruined public radio.
None of this has anything to do with the perceived leftward slant of
their broadcasting; I myself am a liberal, but my interest in Terri
Gross's interviews with gay, Jewish rock stars has its limits. If you
are unhappy with the direction NPR has taken, stop sending them money
(it's funny how long it took me to figure that out). Don't volunteer
to man their phones during fund drives. Maybe threaten to boycott
their underwriters. Encourage congress to cut whatever federal
funding may remain. Maybe then NPR will go away and public radio will
again become the pleasant, unassuming local production it once was.
If not, satellite radio is on the horizon. Who knows what the future
may bring? Maybe some of the better parts of the past.
--
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 13:07:44 -0500
From: "Peter H. Vollmann" <vollmann@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Joy Boys
I remember listening to the Joy Boys of Radio on AFRTS (in Germany) in the
early sixties. So their program was probably syndicated and also made
available "to our Armed Forces overseas". To my shame I have to admit that I
confused them (at the time) with Bob and Ray and thought they were one and
the same.
Peter from Hawaii
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 13:46:08 -0500
From: "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Bob Clayton
HERITAGE4@[removed] writes:
One of the most popular post-war radio hosts in the Boston/New England area
was
BOB CLAYTON, who passed away Monday, 2/4/02, due to complications of a
recent surgery. He was 87 years of age.
Would this have been the same Bob Clayton who replaced Ed McMahon as master
of ceremonies on NBC-TV's game show "Concentration" in 1969, remaining with
the game until NBC-TV cancelled it three-and-a-half years later?
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 13:46:34 -0500
From: "Michael Hayde" <mmeajv@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Joy Boys
Nelson Bryant asks about the Joy Boys of Washington DC radio, "does anyone
in Radio Land, perhaps the DC area, know if these gems of humor
have been preserved and/or available?"
Yes indeed: there is a website devoted to Ed and Willard,
[removed]
where you may feast on TONS of sound bites, and purchase aircheck CDs
(they're up to 87 discs), including 200 COMPLETE half-hour shows from 1960 &
'61.
Incidentally, Ed Walker is still affiliated with WAMU-FM at American
University. His weekly OTR show, "The Big Broadcast," is a Sunday-night
perennial, and hopefully always will be. You can listen via streaming
RealAudio at: [removed] and clicking
"Listen Live." Occasionally he'll play a "Joy Boys" show.
Michael J. Hayde
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 14:11:10 -0500
From: "Marty" <martyd@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: What Ever Happened to Glenn Miller?
In addition to George's question, one of my questions came to mind:
Was there ever a "full" search for Glenn Miller's plane? Did
anybody/group ever do any kind of search after the war to find this
missing plane? Or was this sort of looked at as a "casuality" of the
war?
Thanks,
Marty
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 14:37:49 -0500
From: Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: RE: The Joy Boys
In the late 50's and early 60's, I remember tuning in to WRC Radio in
Washington, DC and enjoying the short (3 to 5 minute) skits of The Joy Boys
of Radio, Ed Walker and Willard Scott
<snip>
does anyone in Radio Land, perhaps
the DC area, know if these gems of humor have been preserved and/or
available?
Unfortunately, I can't help you there, Nelson, but you might be interested
in some URLs:
[removed]
[removed]
[removed] Scroll down for their theme and intro
[removed]
I remember them well. What a joy they were. The Big Broadcast on WAMU,
locally, sometimes carries them, since Ed Walker is the host (at least the
last time I was in DC he was).
Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed];
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 15:35:57 -0500
From: "Doug Leary" <doug@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: New radio drama vs OTR
On the subject of liking OTR better than [removed] I was just listening to the
Journey Into Space series lately. Even though it was recorded around 1960,
it sounds to me like a more recent production and somehow not as satisfying
to listen to as other space shows. I was wondering if this has something do
with the way it was physically performed.
The dialog in Journey Into Space sounds as if the actors were speaking very
close to the mike most of the time. Very crisp and clean, but 2-dimensional.
The effect is really noticeable in headphones. In other OTR shows, even in
headphones and in mono, the actors seem to be moving around the room, not
via stereo separation but in some undefinable way that makes it easier, at
least for me, to visualize them as really being in the fictional setting
rather than just behind the speakers (or in my ears).
I gather that modern recording engineers like to shoot for technically pure,
pristine sound and then manipulate it as needed. Aside from the evolution of
studio equipment, was there someting about the way OTR was produced that
would account for a degree of realism? For example, did the actors tend to
move around more? Or am I just nutz?
Doug
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 15:58:13 -0500
From: "Phil Watson" <philwats@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Glenn Miller & Peter Sellers
George Archer mentioned a Spanish report that Miller was killed when RAF
bombers emptied their bomb bays while returning from a trip to Germany. On
New Year's Eve the UK Channel 4 TV screened an hour-long documentary
entitled "Glenn Miller's Last Flight", which interviewed the wartime RAF
pilots involved. Although Miller's tiny plane should have been miles to the
west of the bomber squadron's flight path home, sea defence staff reported a
small plane crossing the coast on a path that would meet the returning
bombers. One bomber's crew spotted a small plane approaching just as the
following squadron was ordered to jettison undropped bombs. Sadly it was
concluded that the plane was hit by one of the bombs dropped.
And David Rogers is quite correct - Peter Sellers was never in "Round The
Horne". BBC Radio 4 recently ran a four-part tribute to Sellers
concentrating on his early radio work, playing many recordings from Sellers'
own archives of acetates he'd had recorded of his own radio appearances,
including his first appearance in 1946. Never broadcast since the 40's, they
had long since disappeared from the BBC's own archives. I believe ORCA have
several cassettes taken from Sellera' archives (I don't mean that literally)
but their catalogue has no details of the contents.
As always, a fascinating digest, I look forward to it every day.
Regards to all from England
Phil
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 18:08:36 -0500
From: "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Have they been edited?
Hi All!
Got a question [removed] have been listening to the Superman serial "Superman
Vs. The Atom Man"...the version that came out a couple of years ago via
Radio [removed] playing the CDs the time that shows up is
approx. 12 [removed] the Goldindex I found out that the time should
be approx 14:30 [removed] my question is have these episodes been edited?
Have some of the commecial spots been excised? I noticed under sponsor
information that the show is not only sponsored by Kellog's Pep but also by
Kellog's 40% bran flakes! Any information on this would be appreciated.
Scott
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 18:08:54 -0500
From: grayghost@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: RE; AROUND THE HORN/PETER SELLERS
In answere to David Rogers inquiry about Peter Sellers being in the cast of
ATH, although not a regular member, he did appear a number of times as guest
artist on that show as well as HHGTTG, and RD.
Gray Ghost
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #50
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