Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #30
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 1/28/2006 11:09 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2006 : Issue 30
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Re: H. G. Wells before the War        [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
  The Memory of Steel (?)               [ Wich2@[removed] ]
  Beulah and Hattie McDaniel            [ "Jan Bach" <janbach@[removed]; ]
  Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen           [ Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@earthlin ]
  This week in radio history 29 Januar  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
  OTR Shows, Medium Rare                [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
  Erratum on Sunset Boulevard!          [ "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed] ]
  reel to reel audio tapes              [ <vzeo0hfk@[removed]; ]
  Rochester's caps                      [ "Laura Leff" <president@[removed] ]
  Re: Dreft (From Procter and Gamble)   [ "Jonathan Sweet" <sweetedit@charter ]
  The Benny Scripts                     [ [removed]@[removed] ]
  Rochester's lines capitalized         [ Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed] ]
  ADVENTURES OF JUNGLE JIM              [ DurangoKid@[removed] ]
  Perhaps that wasn't the Jimmy Olson   [ "G. Morgan Watkins" <morgan@watkins ]

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 09:55:00 -0500
From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: H. G. Wells before the War

Needless to say, it's quite remarkable that [removed] Wells was on [removed]
network radio a full ten months prior to "The War of the Worlds."
For  the
benefit of all the other WOTW fans and officianadoes, does anybody
out there in
the ether have any info about this or any other radio speeches given
by [removed]
Wells from this pre-WOTW era?

H. G. Wells was on [removed] network radio quite a bit prior to "The War of
the Worlds."

After a certain amount of reluctance, Wells started giving talks over
the BBC in 1929. Hilda Matheson, head of the BBC's Talks Department,
wrote to him in June of that year arguing "that an internationalist
like yourself" should be "making use of the most international means
of communication there is."

In the August 17, 1929 Chicago Tribune, London correspondent Frank
Swinnerton mentioned that "Mr. H. G. Wells is making his first
appearance upon the London radio, from which he is to broadcast an
address on international relations."

Eventually, Wells became a regular at the Savoy Hill studio in London
and a number of his talks were broadcast in America. I don't have a
comprehensive list but here are a few items I stumbled across in a
cursory search of the usual computerized newspaper databases:

On November 2, 1930, Wells gave a talk from London called "The World
of Our Grandchildren" over CBS (in which, among other things, he
suggested that we should buy better houses, clothes and food for
disadvantaged people "whether they like it or not"). The January 1931
Washington Post radio column reports that CBS's London representative,
Cesar Saerchinger, had a hard time rounding up celebrities like John
Masefield and Sir Oliver Lodge for this series of talks and that
Wells, "once the ice was broken, was willing to go 'on the air' almost
for the first time in his life." Saerchinger says he used his own car
to drive Wells to Savoy Hill.

A July 1931 talk by Wells from London entitled "Russia in the Melting
Pot," was scheduled to air over CBS. "The famous novelist was last
heard by American radio audiences when he spoke from London over the
Columbia last November."

Wells gave a September 28, 1931 radio talk (the first of a series in
which British notables discussed "What I Would Do With the World")
from London which was picked up for rebroadcast by NBC-WEAF.

Wells came to the United States a few weeks later for a lecture tour
and, on October 17, gave a talk ("What Is Happening in the World
Today") on NBC from WJZ. The October 25 New York Times reported that
"Last week Mr. Wells actuated a New York microphone that gave his
words entree to a coast-to-coast network. It was his first experience
on the air in America."

Wells had written a 1927 essay giving a very harsh critique of radio
-- one of the nicer things he wrote was that "the future of
broadcasting is like the future of crossword puzzles and Oxford
trousers, a very trivial future, indeed" -- but, he told the Times in
'31, he had changed his mind about British radio.

"However, I think America is still back in 1927 in the matter of
broadcasting," he said, claiming that the BBC "could teach your
American exploiters of the air a lot they still have to learn." He
cited the discomfort he felt during his recent New York talk when he
had to contend with an audience of reporters "in a room that was not
soundproof. The microphone was jammed like a muzzle against my mouth."

In contrast, he preferred the quiet atmosphere of the Savoy Hill
studio where a speech could come across "like a friendly person
talking in the room with the hearer. This is the effect we always try
to achieve." Might have been interesting to get his reaction to the
Amos 'n' Andy episode that aired fifteen minutes before his talk.

On January 9, 1934, Wells was the first speaker in "a series of
transoceanic broadcasts" from the BBC entitled "Whither Britain?"
which aired in the [removed] over NBC and CBS. Other scheduled speakers
included George Bernard Shaw and Winston Churchill. Wells urged
British cooperation with Roosevelt's New Deal programs.

On April 26, 1936, to promote the film "Things to Come," Wells (in
London) and actor Raymond Massey (in Radio City) were scheduled to
appear "a continent [sic] apart in a discussion of the picture" on
NBC's "Magic Key" variety hour. The other comedy team on the show that
night was Honeyboy and Sassafrass.

Wells' December 1937 talk from London over NBC-WJZ was part of "As I
See It," described as "a series of informal talks on the contemporary
world by leading figures in public life."  While plugging it,
syndicated columnist Paul K. Damai mentioned in passing that Wells
"has one of the oddest radio voices."

As far as radio dramas of Wells' fiction, I didn't find much. The
February 23, 1936 Washington Post has a couple of paragraphs about
that day's premiere of a 15 minute CBS series called "The Ghosts Walk"
for which "the world's greatest ghost stories will be dramatized." The
first episode is Kipling's "The Phantom Rickshaw" and Wells is
mentioned in a list of the authors "whose fiction will be drawn upon."

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 10:34:23 -0500
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Memory of Steel (?)

From: "Bill Scherer" bspro@[removed]

In the Superman radio  series, Jimmy Olson
... and his Dad are saved by Superman.   They
help give him ideas as to how he can hide his real
identity and  watch man

Dear Bill-

It's been a while since I audited those first, pre-Beck [removed]

But if memory serves, that man and his son (who, I think actually are  the
first to see Kal-El and his rocket, rather than the Kents?), are not [removed]'ed
as
Olsons.

Pep!,
-Craig

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 10:34:39 -0500
From: "Jan Bach" <janbach@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Beulah and Hattie McDaniel

Hello again --

It's high time that Hattie McDaniel be honored with a stamp bearing her
likeness, and gratifying that her radio career should even be mentioned in
the article about the stamp; this facet of so many Hollywood actors' careers
is so often missing from their obituaries or other published mentions of
them.
Let's remember that Hattie for a short time also played, under her own name,
Andy Brown's landlady in the latter days of the Amos and Andy radio show. I
thought she was particularly funny on that show in a broad way, compared to
her more gentle portrayal of Beulah on that dinnertime fifteen-minute show.
And on the same subject, let's take just a moment to remember comedian,
saxophonist and dialectician Marlin Hurt, the white man who created Beulah
on the Fibber McGee show, and whose tragic death from a heart attack at age
40 only a year after getting his own "Beulah" show, made Hattie McDaniel's
radio career -- and that of many other distinguished African American
actors --  possible.

Jan Bach

Visit me at [removed]

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 12:11:47 -0500
From: Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen

on 1/28/06 8:56 AM, Bill Scherer asks:
In the beginning of the series, maybe the second episode, Jimmy and his Dad
are
saved by Superman.  They help give him ideas as to how he can hide his real
identity and watch man at work and at play.  After that, that part of the
Superman
history seems to just disappear.  In later episodes, Jimmy doesn't seem to
know who Superman really is.  What happened hear?

There is a boy named Jimmy (played by Junior O'Day) that appears in the
second episode of the SUPERMAN syndicated radio series, but there's no
mention of a last name nor any suggestion that he's a DAILY PLANET copyboy.
I've always assumed that this is just a coincidence of the same first name
being used, since the character of Jimmy Olsen was created for the
syndicated radio series and introduced in the 28th episode.  The character
wasn't featured in the comic book or newspaper strip for several years after
he was introduced on radio, so there's no reason to assume that an earlier
boy named Jimmy has any relation to the DAILY PLANET copyboy.  As I recall,
Jimmy Olsen has a mother who runs a deli or convenience store but no live-in
father in the radio storylines, while the Jimmy who appears in the second
episode has a father who is a college professor.

BYW, the character of DAILY PLANET-editor Perry White (named Paris White in
the audition recordings) was also created for and introduced in the SUPERMAN
syndicated radio serial, along with Kryptonite, Inspector Henderson and the
Superman-Batman-Robin team.
--Anthony Tollin (who years ago in a galaxy far far away was the colorist of
the SUPERMAN comic books)

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 12:12:32 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  This week in radio history 29 January to 4
 February

 From Those Were The Days --

1/30

1933 - The Lone Ranger was heard for the first time.

1/31

1936 - The Green Hornet was introduced by its famous theme song, The
Flight of the Bumble Bee. The radio show was first heard on WXYZ in
Detroit, MI on this day. The show stayed on the air for 16 years. The
Green Hornet originated from the same radio station where The Lone
Ranger was performed. You may remember that the title character in The
Green Hornet was really named Britt Reid. He was, in fact, supposed to
be the great nephew of John Reid, the Lone Ranger. Both popular series
were created by George Trendle and Fran Striker.

2/2

1946 - The Mutual Broadcasting System presented Twenty Questions for the
first time on radio. Bill Slater was the master of ceremonies.

Joe

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

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 12:14:47 -0500
From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  OTR Shows, Medium Rare

Thanks to several Digesters who contacted me off-list, we now have
information on all five of the obscure shows for which I sought help
recently. There's a summary of that data below; in most cases I still
do not know how many copies survive of each series nor identities of
cast and crew.

Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
[removed]

DECIMAL SEVEN:  A syndicated show (probably from the 30s) about
inventor and super-scientist Dr. Decimal Seven, who is also a man of
mystery.  The doctor's assistant is Koto, a Martian. The daughter of
the doctor is Distar; her mother was a Martian princess. Series
involves a journey in a remarkable machine that transcends time and
outer space. Syndication company and cast not yet determined.

ADVENTURES WITH ADMIRAL BYRD:  Although Hake's Price Guide lists this
CBS show as 1935-37, the more probable dates are 1933-35.  It was a
curious hybrid of short-wave broadcasts by Byrd from Antarctica,
supplemented by music in NYC with William Daley's Orchestra and
vocalists Gordon Graham and Maria Silveira.  The sponsor was General
Foods who plugged their Grape-Nut Flakes in the commercials. The
short-wave broadcasts usually lacked clarity, but the novelty and
excitement of hearing from the South Pole were enough to attract
listeners. Program was a half hour; some surviving copies are only 15
minutes.

ADVENTURES OF SAILOR SAM:  Not a true OTR show, it aired in the 1970s.
It was a 15 minute drama portion within the one hour weekly children's
show by Moody Bible Institute. Most of Sam's stories had a religious
lesson of some kind. He was accompanied on his schooner, The Porpoise,
by his young cousins, Buddy and Nancy. Probably originated in Chicago.

FLYING COMMANDOS:  About three eps (5 minutes each) exist of this WW II
sustaining series for juveniles. Fairly violent compared to other kids
shows. Ace Chandler and Sgt. Flanagan in first eps. (6-12-42) attack in
their P-40 airplane named "the Avenger" and sink Nazi subs. No info yet
on cast.

TROBRIAND THE ADVENTURER:  Syndicated series from Radioart Guild of
America, probably 1930s. At least two copies exist, including the
audition one, with a pitch to potential sponsors or stations. Gayne
Whitman was both director and one of the leads; Bernard Mc Condill was
the writer.  Excitement in the South Seas, with pearl merchants,
head-hunters, pirates, native sacrifice of virgins, etc.

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 13:00:26 -0500
From: "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Erratum on Sunset Boulevard!

Oh, what this aging process does to the brain! For those of you who care
about Hollywood geography, Beulah was done at Sunset and GORDON, NOT Sunset
and Gower! Sorry!

Stuart

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 14:17:10 -0500
From: <vzeo0hfk@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  reel to reel audio tapes

A while back, I posted a notice about my interest in selling a bunch of brand
new blank 1800' Ampex audio tapes. A couple of people responded and then
blippo, my computer crashed before I could respond.

I'm back and running. If those people (or anyone else) is interested, kindly
contact me offline.

Thanks,

Howard Blue
Khovard@[removed]

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 14:17:46 -0500
From: "Laura Leff" <president@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Rochester's caps

From: Dan Hughes danhughes@[removed]

I  didn't look at everything there, but I noticed that Rochester's lines
are in  ALL CAPS, but the lines of everyone else were in lower case.
Anybody know  why?

Another poster theorized that this was done in only Rochester's copy of the
script, but that's not the case.  They're in all copies that I've seen.

Interesting that you should mention this, because I've been providing copies
of the Benny scripts back to an individual who was in the mimeograph
department at CBS.  Once in a while I'll find her initials on script pages
and send it to her.  She also noted that Rochester's lines were all caps,
but couldn't remember why they did that.  Some lines requiring particular
emphasis are typed in caps, but Rochester's are consistently capped.

It could have been vision (although all caps are actually harder to read),
but my theory (only a theory) is that it had to do with the way the lines
were to be read.  Rochester's vocal style is more exaggerated than the rest
of the gang, more theatrical and less conversational.  Read Dan's above
quote out loud.  Chances are you said "ALL CAPS" a little louder and with
more punch.  So it is with Rochester's lines.  Also, Don's introductions are
typed in ALL CAPS, which have that same sort of punch to them.

--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 17:25:08 -0500
From: "Jonathan Sweet" <sweetedit@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Dreft (From Procter and Gamble)

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 09:54:14 -0500
From: "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed];

When I was writing about Beulah, I was reminded that she was
sponsored by Dreft.  Is Dreft still around?

Dreft is still produced by Proctor & Gamble, as a laundry detergent for
babies. It's what our pediatrician recommended watching our daughter's
clothes in.

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 17:31:09 -0500
From: [removed]@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Benny Scripts

Dan Hughes wrote:
I didn't look at everything there, but I noticed that Rochester's lines
are in ALL CAPS, but the lines of everyone else were in lower case.
Anybody know why?

Candy Jens added
Probably it was "Rochester's" copy of the script, to highlight his lines.

I looked at some of the scripts and notice there was segments of of Don Wilon,
Bob (Crosby) and Jack Benny in caps, not not through the whole sript.
My suggestion it means to shout or emphasis those lines. And it normally sounds
like Rochester is yelling on the show.

Paul Urbahns
Radcliff, KY

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 18:35:22 -0500
From: Art Chimes <[removed]@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Rochester's lines capitalized

Candy Jens writes

Probably it was "Rochester's" copy of the script, to highlight
his lines - the others would have had copies with only their
lines capitalized, if my theory holds up.  Can you imagine
the work for the typists, compared to doing it on a computer?

That seems unlikely to me for a couple of reasons.

Back in the day, radio and early television scripts were mimeographed. There
was no practical way for each copy to be individually customized.

In any event, the copies in the tobacco documents archive were file copies,
many if not most marked "as broadcast" with annotations indicating digressions
from the typed script. I would imagine that performers, director, sound
effects crew, etc., would have marked up their scripts by hand to highlight
their own lines, indicate cues, etc.

Having said that, I don't have a good answer as to why the Rochester lines are
all upper case. The only thing that seems plausible to me is that they may be
a signal to Eddie Anderson to put on his "Rochester" voice.

Regards,
Art

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 18:36:17 -0500
From: DurangoKid@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  ADVENTURES OF JUNGLE JIM
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

. . Both were adapted into syndicated
15-minute "strip" shows - that is, shows designed to be played on a
five-days-a-week basis, and both were produced and sponsored by the Hearst
Newspaper Chain . .

The Jungle Jim shows were 15 min each to be played once a week . . For
instance, #250 is dated AUG-11-1940,  #251 is dated AUG-18-1940 and so on. .
I have shows #47 through #346 and they are all dated a week apart . . I
transferred them all from the disc's to reel-to-reel and I wasn't right in
the head for several months thereafter . . Some say, I've never recovered . .
 .
  Glenn E. Mueller
  Rowland Heights, CA

  *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
  ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

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

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 21:52:39 -0500
From: "G. Morgan Watkins" <morgan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Perhaps that wasn't the Jimmy Olson we all
 [removed]

The following question was raised about the Superman radio series:

In the beginning of the [Superman] series, maybe the second episode, Jimmy
and his Dad are saved by Superman.  They help give him ideas as to how he
can hide his real identity and watch man at work and at play.  After that,
that part of the Superman history seems to just disappear.  In later episodes,
Jimmy doesn't seem to know who Superman really is.  What happened hear?

In that very early episode, a man identified as "Professor" and his
son, Jimmy, are saved by Superman and they do end up giving him the
advice to join a great metropolitan newspaper.  But, I  don't believe
the professor is ever identified as Professor Olson.  Perhaps this 
particular young man didn't grow into the Jimmy Olson we all know.

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #30
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