Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #286
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/25/2003 9:43 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2003 : Issue 286
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Looking for radio programs from Germ  [ "Larry Montgomery" <oscha_dierdorff ]
  Another Amos & Andy Question          [ Chad Palmer <palmerch@[removed] ]
  Broadway show "Take Me Along"         [ Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed] ]
  Bela Lugosi                           [ Musiciantoo47@[removed] ]
  Call letters                          [ Ed Kindred <kindred@[removed]; ]
  "First Fifty Giants of Broadcasting"  [ Michael Henry <mlhenry@[removed]; ]
  Call letters                          [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
  Old Radio Days at Secaucus Library    [ Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed] ]
  heap good cornflakes                  [ "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed]; ]
  Radio station call letters            [ "Steve Dillie" <sjdillie@[removed] ]
  I'm Back!                             [ "Jeff G" <geddes_jeff@[removed]; ]
  Seabiscuit on radio                   [ Clifengr3@[removed] ]

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Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 12:13:30 -0400
From: "Larry Montgomery" <oscha_dierdorff@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Looking for radio programs from Germany

Hello:

I am looking for any old time radio programs from Germany from the 1930's or
1940's.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Larry Montgomery

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Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 13:24:05 -0400
From: Chad Palmer <palmerch@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Another Amos & Andy Question

OK I know this show comes up fairly often and I've probably missed the
answers to some of the questions I'm going to ask but here it goes anyway
(with apologize in those instances of course ;-)).

Exactly how many episodes of the radio series were recorded as opposed to
how many episodes were aired?

Also I've got a bigger question regarding the Amos & Andy TV series.  I
recently became interested in getting some of the episodes on video and
started looking around.  What I've found is a number of sites that each
offer the entire set of available episodes on DVD or VHS.  Does anyone have
any of these or know which one is actually the best copy out there?

Some guy has a site claiming he's the original source for most of the
others while the next guy doesn't claim he produced his discs personally
but they look a lot more professional than the first group.

Ah the perils of collecting old shows ;-)

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

Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 13:26:59 -0400
From: Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Broadway show "Take Me Along"

This is a tad off subject, but I hope it will ring a bell with a readers
who are followers of Broadway musicals of a half-century ago.

In 1959, Jackie Gleason appeared in the musical "Take Me Along", an
adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's 1933 play "Ah, Wilderness".  The fine
cast featured Walter Pidgeon, Eileen Herlie, Una Merkel, and a very
young Robert Morse.

The original cast album was issued by RCA Victor, and did fairly well.
It's now available as RCA CD 07863-51050-2, in case you'd like to obtain
it and enjoy the terrific songs therein.  Well worth it just for Walter
Pidgeon singing "I'm Staying Young", but there's Gleason as a veteran
drunk asking young Robert Morse after the latter's first imbibement,
"Did You See My Green Snake?"  And a number of other fun entries
including the townsfolk of 1906 Centerville, Connecticut ecstasizing
over the burg's purchase of a new horsedrawn "marvelous fire machine",
and serenading newspaper publisher Pidgeon for forcing the issue on the
town's fathers "by instigating a vote".

Pidgeon and Gleason brought down the house performing the title song
"Take Me Along" in front of the curtain during a scene change.  Superbly
complemented by some pretty nifty dance steps confirming Mr. Pidgeon's
long previous origin as a song-and-dance man.  Marvelous!  Gleason tells
a bunch of the local bar denizens (welcoming them as "Well, look at all
the bottle babies") of his didoes out of town, including cutting a
length off the bottom of a cane of an old geezer snoring away in his
hotel lobby.  "I've convinced him that he's growing taller!"  Pure Gleason.

Now here's my quandary.  The show had a one-year run, exactly the period
for which Mr. Gleason signed, after which he headed west to film "The
Hustler".  I have a recollection that for some period during or perhaps
after that year, Gleason's place was taken by Arthur Godfrey.  Messrs.
Gleason and Godfrey had become close friends who broke each other up, so
it's possible that Mr. Gleason suggested his replacement.

I believe that as of this late date, unfortunately the only surviving
cast member is Robert Morse, later earning renown in his one-man show
"Tru".  He has told me that he has no memory of Mr. Godfrey being
connected with the show.

My intellect questions how Mr. Godfrey could handle the part, in
anything remotely approaching Gleason elan.  I could more readily accept
him in the Pidgeon role.  "The Great One" played his part as pure
Gleasonia, a cross between his "Honeymooners" Ralph Kramden persona, and
"Reggie Van Gleason".

Yet there is still that nagging idea in my mind that Mr. Godfrey assayed
the role.  Did I dream this?  I've been unable to locate a Playbill
showing Mr. Godfrey in the cast, but that doesn't prove he didn't so
appear.   Can anyone shine a Klieglight on this for me?  Many thanks!

Gratefully, Lee Munsick

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

Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 15:36:13 -0400
From: Musiciantoo47@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Bela Lugosi
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Hi - Speaking of Lugosi's "Mystery House (Thirsty Death)" episode: every copy
I've ever found has been Incomplete. I surely would like to hear the entire
program. Does anyone have a complete copy that they would be willing to send
me? I'll be glad to work something out (-:

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Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 15:55:47 -0400
From: Ed Kindred <kindred@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Call letters

Thanks to Jim  Hilliker I found the tour of call letter listing
fascinating, finding most of those I was looking for and discovering a
bunch in my previous home state that I had never known. I thought KCLS in
Flagstaff was named after Charlie L Saunders the owner but the list said it
was after a daughter Cheryl Lynn Saunders and the owner was Ken Saunders.
Who to believe? One glaring omission was KPHO. This was a pathetic little
250 watt ABC affiliate on 1230 during my early days. Something happened  in
the late 40's that they moved and joined KTAR, KOY and KOOL the other
network affiliates and beefed up to 5000 watts. The biggest scoop of all is
that they became the first TV station in Arizona with a transmitting tower
astride the then classy Westward Ho hotel in downtown Phoenix. Despite
their four network affiliation including Dumont there was a lot of ennui in
their scheduling. On the flip side their was Omnibus with my first exposure
to the Watts towers and Leonard Bernstein on classical and jazz. There was
Lily Pons on Toast of the Town and Saroyan on live theatre. This
electrician's son found culture in the desert on network television. Of
course there were all of the old boring black and white movies that we are
now thrilled to see on TCM. Our parents were offered the opportunity to by
7" round B&W tv's for $400+ while making $5k a year. Ah it was an exciting
time.
Ed Kindred

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

Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 18:29:07 -0400
From: Michael Henry <mlhenry@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "First Fifty Giants of Broadcasting"

Thanks to Jim Koski for mentioning the "First Fifty Giants of Broadcasting"
and the
Grand Opening of the Library of American Broadcasting in its newly renovated
25,000
square ft. facility at the University of Maryland in College Park. The luncheon
will be held at the Grant Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday September
18,
2003. If you would like to purchase a table or would like more information
about
the event, please contact Lucille Luongo at (914) 238-8292 or by e-mail at:
broadcastlibrary@[removed]

One small correction, the Library of American Broadcasting is not an offshoot
of
the NAB. We've had a long relationship with them and were located with them in
their building for twenty-three years, but we each have our own separate
organizational structure and governing body.

Who are the "Fifty Giants" being honored? Men and women who have had a
significant
impact on radio and television from the beginnings of broadcasting to the
present.
Some are still with us and others have passed away. They are:
Fred Allen, Amos n' Andy, Edwin H. Armstrong, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny,
Gertrude
Berg, Edgar Bergen, Milton Berle, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Sid Caesar and
Imogene Coca, Frank Conrad, Joan Ganz Cooney, Bill Cosby, Walter Cronkite, Bing
Crosby, Powell Crossley Jr., Lee De Forest, Allen B. Dumont, Philo Farnsworth,
Pauline Frederick, Dorothy Fuldheim, Jackie Gleason, Arthur Godfrey, Leonard H.
Goldenson, Jack Harris, Paul Harvey, Ragan Henry (no relation), Bob Hope,
Stanley
E. and Stanley S. Hubbard, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, [removed] Kaltenborn,
John
Kluge, Guglielmo Marconi, Donald H. McGannon, Fibber McGee and Molly, Gordon
McLendon, Tom Murphy, Edward R. Murrow, William S. Paley, Irna Phillips, Ward
Quaal, J. Leonard Reinsch, David Sarnoff, Eric Sevareid, Frank Stanton, George
Storer, Ed Sullivan, Sol Taishoff, Lowell Thomas, and Vladimir Zworykin.

Thanks again for the mention.

-Michael Henry
Library of American Broadcasting
[removed]

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

Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 18:28:51 -0400
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Call letters
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These aren't OTR, but they still fit the topic of call letters as acronyms.
I used to work for a station called WEHB (Where Every Hour's Better), which
later changed their call to WBYW (We Bring You the World).  Both stations are
now, sadly, defunct (WOTA = We're Off The Air).

I also worked for a couple Kalamusic stations.  Kalamusic wanted to be the
big shot in easy listening, but never made it as big as Bonneville.  So
Kalamusic had bought up a bunch of calls that had "EZ" in the middle of them.
One of
the announcements on 3x5 cards that you would do just before going back to
music was "This is [removed]"  I worked at WEZV (easy listening FM) and
WEZR
(oldies AM), and Kalamusic intended to transfer the EZR call to another future
easy listening station somewhere else in the country.  However, this was 1991
and easy listening was becoming extremely passe in the radio industry.
Kalamusic was then trying so hard to get away from the "elevator music" image
that
(as far as I know) they dropped all their EZ calls.

--Laura Leff

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Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 21:53:35 -0400
From: Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Old Radio Days at Secaucus Library

Old Time Radio's popularity in New Jersey doesn't begin and end in October!
The Secaucus Library has a Sunday program of old time radio shows at the
Library.

Sorry for finding out about this late, but the last of three sessions is
this Sunday.

Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

[removed];BRD=1298&PAG=461&dept_id=142349&rfi=6
Radio Sundays at the library

Starting on Sunday July 13 and continuing for the following two Sundays,
July 20 and 27, the library will feature "Old Time Radio Nostalgia" program.

This will be a remarkably pleasant treat for those who grew up listening to
the "Jack Benny Show," "I Love Lucy," or even "The Shadow," or for those
curious about what radio comedy and drama was all about.

Martha McGuire will facilitate these workshops on radio nostalgia. Steffens
said, "The classic radio shows will bring back fond memories to many as well
as entertain those hearing them for the first time."

McGuire has copies of "The Adventures of Sam Spade," "Inner sanctum,"
"Dragnet", "Jack Benny," "I Love Lucy," "Abbott and Costello," and "The
Shadow," to name a few. "These shows, dating back from 1938 to 1952,
represented the main form of entertainment for most families in the '30s,
'40s and '50s," McGuire said. "Many shows were so popular they went on to
air on television. What makes the original radio shows even more interesting
is that they come with the commercials intact. Often, the commercial is just
as nostalgic as the show itself."

McGuire said there are very few people who will fail to recognize the "Who's
on First" skit first performed on the radio by Lou Costello and Bud Abbott
in April 1945.

"That skit went on to be performed many times on television," she said. "The
phrase itself has become synonymous with confusion."

In addition to enjoying the afternoon, those attending will be eligible to
win a $25 gift certificate to the Secaucus Syms, where McGuire is employed.

"It's very generous of Ms. Marcy Syms to donate the gift certificates in
support of her employee's volunteer endeavor," Steffens said. "Syms
Corporation has always been a good friend to the library."

Those planning to attend should call the library to register.

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

Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 23:13:01 -0400
From: "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  heap good cornflakes

Well listers, I said that Gunsmoke held up.  The commercials don't.  The
Post Toasties Heap good cornflakes and the most forgettable song I can't
remember are the worst, and I would think insulting to people with Indian
ancestry, but the Rice Crinkles, making your breakfast more fun than a
circus, are almost as bad.  I will provide information later in which
episode Ken Peters either coughs or sneezes during the commercial, after
a suitable pause, of course.  I have come accross a lot of interesting
details, but that will have to wait until I can check on dates etc.
Well, I don't really care for cornflakes, but the heap good cornflakes
and all your little indians etc will have to wait for another day.  Kurt

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

Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 23:30:38 -0400
From: "Steve Dillie" <sjdillie@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Radio station call letters
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Bob Reynolds asks:

I would like to throw out a couple of questions.  !.  Has anyone  done
research of  what some of the early radio stations call letters stand for

WLS - Chicago - Worlds' Largest Store - Sears
WOC - Quad Cities - Wonders of Chiropractory - school  of chiropractory
WMBD - Peoria, IL - Worlds' Most Beautiful Drive - it is a pretty drive along
the bluffs of Peoria
WSOY - Decatur, IL - Soybean Processing Capital of the World!  You are advised
to buy property upwind of the processing plants.

Steve Dillie

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Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 01:03:26 -0400
From: "Jeff G" <geddes_jeff@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  I'm Back!

All,

Well, folks, it's been about two years since I've been subscribed to this
list, and now I'm back :)  I just wanted to post a quick message to say hi
to everyone, and say how excited I am to get back into the OTR loop!

My name is Jeff Geddes, and I live in Ontario, [removed] I started
collecting OTR when I was about twelve years old, and it has continued to
satisfy my hobby needs for the past 6 or 7 years.  I'm off to University
next year, so the piles and piles of OTR that I have collected will surely
do me justice while I'm away.

I wish you all happy reading and happy listening, and want to thank each one
of you for making this digest themost entertaining and welcomed e-mails that
visited my inbox oh so long [removed] and here's to many more!

jeff, young enthusiast extraordinaire
aka johnsonswax

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

Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 09:59:49 -0400
From: Clifengr3@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Seabiscuit on radio
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I haven't seen the new movie SEABISCUIT yet but I plan to ASAP after reading
Roger Ebert's review in this morning's newspaper.

The review makes a couple of interesting references to radio.

In the first reference he says that the famous match race between Seabiscuit
and War Admiral was "heard, we are told, by the largest audience in history.
Businesses closed for the afternoon so their employees could tune in."

Is this an urban legend or fact? Does anyone have any comments, anecdotes,
facts about this? Is the broadcast available to listen to?

Ebert's second radio reference refers to a character in the movie named Tick
Tock McGlaughlin "a manic radio announcer who throws in corny sound effects
and tortured alliterations as he issues breathless bulletins from the track."
Could this character be based on a real-life announcer of the time?

Jim Yellen

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End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #286
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