------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2007 : Issue 1
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Hopalong Cassidy [ Jmeals@[removed] ]
Re: A&A in Wikipedia [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Re: Radio and Silent Pictures [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Re: movie actors and radio [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
Don Hastings on Radio? [ Stuart Lubin <stuartlubin6686@sbcgl ]
Re: Biel broadcasts [ "Michael Muderick" <michael@muderic ]
Hoagy and Chimes [ Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed]; ]
Quiet Please [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Wikipedia OTR [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Casey, Crime Photographer Comics [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
1-2 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
Jack Holden [ "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@sbcgloba ]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 15:59:03 -0500
From: Jmeals@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Hopalong Cassidy
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
I have been catching up on the radio digests today and would like to correct
what I believe was an error in #365 in an item penned by Martin Grams.
Martin certainly knows OTR far better than I do but I think he was wrong when
he
wrote that the Hopalong Cassidy show was set in the early fifties. I have
listened to many Hoppy episodes and I have never heard a car's engine or a
phone
ring. Hopalong Cassidy was set in the old west. I remember reading somewhere,
that William Boyd was pleased that Hopalong Cassidy was not set in the
present time because that fact distinguished Hoppy from his major
competitors, Roy
Rogers and Gene Autry. Of course, Hoppy was also different from Gene and Roy
in that he didn't sing.
Jim
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 17:23:52 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: A&A in Wikipedia
On 1/1/07 4:09 PM [removed]@[removed] wrote:
Okay: who wrote the very fine article about Amos 'n' Andy in Wikipedia?
Elizabeth is quoted and cited extensively, but I'm not sure that she would
have written the main article itself. Anyone know?
Weren't me, although I did submit a bit of information to flesh out the
"Characters" section. Whoever did the main piece did an excellent job --
quite a bit above the usual Wikipedia standard, I have to say. I normally
stay away from Wikipedia, since they have a rule against "original
research," but they do seem to be attracting a higher class of work than
was the case a few years back.
In any case, go read it. There's also a fine, almost haunting charcoal
sketch of the gentlemen themselves, done for a magazine.
That sketch did come from me, actually -- it was a scan I did from a 1930
magazine article. The artist is J. J. Gould, who was an illustrator for
the Saturday Evening Post and other slick magazines in the 1910s and
1920s, and is extremely close to the way Correll and Gosden themselves
imagined the characters. The dog was featured extensively in a storyline
airing in the spring of 1930, which indicates that the artist himself
paid close attention to the program.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 17:24:06 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Radio and Silent Pictures
On 1/1/07 4:09 PM [removed]@[removed] wrote:
Does anyone have a sense of how silent movies and radio worked together, if
at all? Movie actors were big celebrities, so I suppose it must have
occurred to radio people to bring them to radio in some context. And the
popularity of radio would have given movie people some ideas.
Movie actors with quality voices did many radio appearances in the
mid-twenties, and MGM, the most prestigious of the studios, involved
itself directly in broadcasting when its parent firm, Loews Inc., took
control of station WHN in New York. WHN's "Radio Movie Club" was a
regular feature during the last years of the silent era, and would often
feature reenactments of the filming of particular scenes from upcoming
films -- the mood music, the cameras grinding, the director calling out
instructions to the actors, everything but dialogue from the actors
themselves. Warner Brothers conducted similar programs over its Hollywood
station, KFWB -- Jack Warner was an enthusiastic radio fan, and
frequently appeared over KFWB himself -- in the persona of the suave
romantic crooner "Leon Zuardo." Warner contract actors would frequently
appear on "Leon's" program to promote their latest films, and the
broadcasts became quite popular with the Hollywood insider crowd.
There were also live broadcasts from theatres while silent films were
showing -- picking up the sound of the house orchestra performing the
film score and the response of the audience, while an announcer described
what was happening on the screen. MGM had plans to sponsor an entire
series of these broadcasts over CBS in 1928, with Ted Husing as the
narrator, but the idea was abandoned during Hollywood's scramble to adopt
sound production during that year.
Paramount became very interested in radio during 1927-28, and actually
bought a substantial interest in CBS in 1929, with the idea of turning it
into the "Columbia-Paramount Network," but those plans never blossomed,
and disappeared for good with the Depression.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 17:25:00 -0500
From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: movie actors and radio
Mark Kinsler asked:
Does anyone have a sense of how silent movies and radio worked
together, if at all? Movie actors were big celebrities, so I
suppose it must have occurred to radio people to bring them to
radio in some context.
Here's an interesting article from the December 30, 1925 Christian
Science Monitor:
Screen Stars Appear Often Before Los Angeles "Mikes"
Radio Fans Tuning in on California Stations Frequently Hear Their
Favorite Movie Celebrities Singing Songs or Telling Stories
LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 26 (Special Correspondence)--Radio concerts
and entertainment in Los Angeles rank among the best in the country,
but one feature of Los Angeles concerts distinct from those of other
cities is the great supply of talent furnished by the motion picture
industry.
The appearance of well-known screen stars at the Los Angeles radiocast
stations is a regular occurrence, and the programs on which they
appear are among the most popular. A great many players of the silent
drama are excellent musicians, singers, and entertainers who started
their professional career on the legitimate stage or in vaudeville or
musical comedy, and their participation in radio programs insures
double interest in the programs, because of the excellent quality of
entertainment promised, and because of their popularity with followers
of the movies.
During the recent Radio Exposition at the Ambassador Hotel Auditorium
a series of programs was radiocast direct from a platform in the show
through KFI and all of the programs were literally crammed with talent
from the studios. Each night the microphone was turned over to a
popular star such as Monte Blue, Herbert Rawlinson, Larry Semon, Lew
Cody and others, who acted as announcer and master of ceremonies for
the evening. Vocal and instrumental solos, monologues and dramatic
skits were rendered by famous stars and popular character actors of
the screen. The entire performance took place before an audience of
several thousand patrons of the Radio Show.
A regular motion-picture feature is the Wampas program radiocast every
other Wednesday evening between 9 and 10 o'clock through KFI, from the
studio of the Los Angeles Examiner. The Wampas, otherwise known as the
Western Motion Picture Advertisers, is an association of publicity men
whose duty it is to keep Hollywood and the studios on the map, and one
of their means of building up good will for the film industry is their
bi-weekly radio programs.
Each Wampas program is handled by a member of a different studio, and
as each member tries to outdo the others, the best entertainment is
enjoyed by radioland.
Frequently the studios themselves present programs at the radiocast
stations and their bills are always headed by their most popular
players. The orchestral music for these programs is furnished by the
studio orchestras who play for the actors while "shooting" scenes on
the set.
Film celebrities often appear on other radio programs. Many of them
belong to clubs that sponsor programs and they take a part in these as
well as other special concerts. Whenever an eastern DX fan tunes in
KFI, KHJ, or KNX, the new Hollywood station, he may be surprised to
hear his favorite star rendering song numbers or telling stories.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 17:27:44 -0500
From: Stuart Lubin <stuartlubin6686@[removed];
To: Time Radio Digest Old Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Don Hastings on Radio?
Again, Happy New Year, everyone!
One of the greatest things about this OTR Digest is that we can
go along with long time held assumptions, and then someone comes
along and sheds light, showing that your assumptions are wrong.
Call me a masochist, but I have always enjoyed being proved
wrong!
In my recent posting, I wrote that presently, there are no OTR
actors on "As the World Turns", Brian L. Bedsworth asks:
Don Hastings never did radio???
Frankly, I do not know. Hal Stone would definitely know, and
Don, who is alive and well, certainly would know. I do remember
Don as a child actor on a television series, the title of which
I have long ago forgotten. Don's brother, Bob Hastings,
certainly was on radio, and I faithfully listened every Saturday
morning as Swift's Premium Franks---we could never have them;
they were not kosher!---sponsored "Archie Andrews", one of the
best OTR kids' shows ever.
Many radio actors did appear through those 53 years of the above
soap. (It really IS a soap because I believe that Proctor &
Gamble either owned it, or still does.) The radio people who
have been on most recently, let's say within the past ten years,
have been Rita Lloyd, Paul Hecht, Arthur Anderson, and Patricia
Bruder. None of them are still on the show, but Don Hastings is
very much still there.
Stuart
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 17:30:09 -0500
From: "Michael Muderick" <michael@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Biel broadcasts
I listened to the B&B B (Biel and Biel broadcasts.) Aside from the
approximately 18 second difference from network television, and the most
annoying clipping of Mike's commentary by the audio system (it was explained
that the loudest signal wins-- it's a shame we didn't have true mixing), I
enjoyed their commentary against the video provided by the networks. Do it
again next year with a better audio mix. Happy New Year.
Michael Muderick
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 17:31:03 -0500
From: Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Hoagy and Chimes
With all the discussion of Hoagy Carmichael's many talents, there should
also be a mention that he hosted the "Saturday Night Revue", a 1953
summer replacement for "Your Show of Shows" on NBC Television .
(Remember summer replacements?) Although it wasn't the best tune turned
out by the composer of "Stardust" and "Buttermilk Sky", Hoagy would lead
into the mid-break in the program by singing
Due to a government decree
Stations affiliated with NBC
Have sixty seconds they must take
And that calls for a station [removed]
And speaking of NBC, on the opening of that network's TV coverage of the
memorial to President Ford, very loud and clear on the audio:
bong-BONG-bonggggg !
Only three chimes, not four. But coming out of the TV speakers in stereo
it did make an impression that was more than nostalgic.
A happy, healthy and reasonably exciting new year to you all.
-- Bill Jaker
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 22:47:19 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Quiet Please
Someone wrote:
Following the lead of "Fourble Board" on Quiet, Please, I want to recommend
my favorite shows from that series. I have chosen some both for their story
line and excellent acting, but because the audio is good. On many shows the
audio is so poor it is difficult to even follow the story. Some of the
shows in circulation are only half-shows. There is an excellent log book
published by Randy Eidemiller and Chris Lambesis, and they sell individual
scripts of the missing shows. I am not selling the book, but I suppose the
compilers read this Digest.
Very little has been written about QUIET PLEASE in publication, and the
Lembesis and Eidemiller log is one of the only publication to date about the
series. It's about 60 pages (my copy is one-sided, not two-sided pages) and
spiral/bound on the edge. It retailed about $[removed] a few years ago and I am
sure it's about the same price today.
Unlike most radio shows, QUIET PLEASE is one of the few radio programs that
you can actually find more information on the internet than a book. Jim
Widner runs a web-site devoted to the series, if I recall accurately, that
also features a comprehensive look at the series and all of the radio
scripts for the "lost" radio series so it's worth check out. I don't have
the address on hand, but Jim is a frequent poster on the Digest and I am
sure he can list the web-site for interested parties.
I had a query about what the title was for the Robin Hood vs. Hitler
episode. My apologies, I was describing a "lost" radio program but anyone
can check out Jim's web-site and find the script with ease to read. If
you've heard even half a dozen episodes of the series, you can easily
envision Ernest Chappel's voice in the narrative for the "lost" shows. Easy
to enjoy.
Martin
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 22:48:07 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Wikipedia OTR
Wikipedia is a free on-line encyclopedia that is constantly being revised
and expanded every day. The web-site allows almost anyone to submit
information to go on their site, which has it's obvious pros and cons.
(Which means if you wanted to submit a correction and tell them Fred Allen
scared American radio listeners with a War of the Worlds panic broadcast,
you can submit it to them and they might just put it on their site.) Keep
an open mind when reading anything posted to their site. LIKE ANYTHING, it
helps to find a second source to verify what is posted on any Wikipedia
site, and make sure that the second source is NOT another internet web-site
as people reprint material from one site for another.
Case in point: I found FOUR web-sites that mentioned the Scooby-Doo
connection to Carlton E. Morse's I LOVE A MYSTERY, years ago, and while two
listed no source for their information, one listed another web-site and the
fourth listed who they interviewed, dates and times and locations, and
periodicals they referenced to verify the information which led me to
believe that the fourth was the person who originated the info and the other
three web-sites merely reprinted her information. I credited the woman who
did the fourth site, since she revealed her sources and proved she did the
actuall interviews with the co-creators of SCOOBY DOO.
Wikipedia is like that. Be careful and always keep an open mind.
Martin
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 22:49:40 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Casey, Crime Photographer Comics
Actually, there were five comic books of CASEY, CRIME PHOTOGRAPHER, not
four.
I have all five comics in FV-NM condition.
The four mentioned in a previous posting was released through MARVEL comics
from 1949 to 1950. The initial contract was to do four and if they sold
well enough, the company was going to continue the series. Evidentally,
they did not sell well enough to make it profitable.
The first issue is valued at $168 in VF-NM condition.
Issues 2, 3 and 4 are valued at $112 in VF-NM condition.
Keep in mind that the values and prices for comics have gone both up and
down, depending on the comics, and the grading. There are three basic price
guides people work with, and OVERSTREET is the one used more than others.
Also, what a vendor considers is Near Mint, you may consider in Fine
condition. If you just want to buy the comic to read, and have to care to
preserve it or buy it for a $ investment, buy the cheapest price and the
most-worn copy. They pop up on eBay from time to time but beware of the
shipping costs and ask to see more than one photo as what you see on the one
photo isn't revealing all the defects. (If the staples are rusting, it's a
bad sign to beware).
The fifth issue was published by Bell Features, also known as Commercial
Signs and was published from Canada. Value of that issue is $30 for VF-NM.
Most of my comics in my collection have a price tag to them as I enjoy
reading them, but have no intention of keeping them for any long-term. Even
my Amazing Spiderman #1 has a price tag. But I my Casey Crime Photographer
issues do NOT have a price tag, sorry. If you want the best price possible,
the best way is either pratical patience on eBay or visit a comic book
convention. I have found that at conventions you can talk the price down
(especially if you are paying in cash) and can save as much as 35% off their
asking price with little hassle if the vendor doesn't have an attitude.
Anyone within driving distance of Laurel, Maryland may want to visit Holiday
Inn this Sunday. 11:30 to 3 pm. There is a small comic book vendor
convention. My wife and I visit those cause the prices are much lower than
that of the LARGE conventions where they bring more top-of-the-line comics
so talking the price down is VERY easy at that con. OTR comics are always
available. Anyone who wants an OTR comic and plans to go there will find
bargains.
Martin
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 22:49:52 -0500
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 1-2 births/deaths
January 2nd births
01-02-1892 - Artur Rodzinski - Dalmatia, Yugoslavia - d. 11-27-1958
concuctor: "NBC Symphony Orchestra"; "Cleveland Symphony Orchestra"
01-02-1894 - Robert Nathan - NYC - d. 5-25-1985
writer: "CBS Radio Workshop"
01-02-1904 - Bernardine Flynn - Madison, WI - d. 3-10-1977
actor: Sade Gook "Vic and Sade"; Mathilda Barker "Welcome Valley"
01-02-1904 - James Melton - Moultrie, GA - d. 4-21-1961
singer" "Palmolive Hour"; "Telephone Hour"; "Harvest of Stars"
01-02-1913 - Anna Lee - Ightham, Kent, England - d. 5-14-2004
actor: "Soldiers in Greaspaint"; "Lifebuoy Show"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
01-02-1915 - Nick Fatool - Milbury, MA - d. 9-26-2000
drummer: (Member of the Big 7 Band) "Pete Kelly's Blues"
01-02-1917 - Vera Zorina - Berlin, Germany - d. 4-9-2003
ballet dancer: "Duffy's Tavern"; "I'm An American"
01-02-1918 - Joan Merrill - Baltimore, MD - d. 5-10-1992
singer: "The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show"
01-02-1920 - Corny Peeples - Oak Park, IL
actor: William Snood "Tom Mix"; Bud Fairchild "Stepmother"
01-02-1920 - Isaac Asimov - Petrovich, Russia - d. 4-6-1992
Author: "I, Robot"; "Nightfall"
01-02-1925 - Richard Jessup - d. 10-22-1982
writer: "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet"
01-02-1928 - Howard Caine - Nashville, TN - d. 12-29-1993
actor: "The Brighter Day"; "The Guiding Light"
01-02-1930 - Julius LaRosa - Brooklyn, NY
singer: "Arthur Godfrey Time"
01-02-1931 - Renee Roy - Buffalo, NY - d. 7-30-2005
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
January 2nd deaths
01-12-1905 - Tex Ritter - Murvaul, TX - d. 1-2-1974
singer: "Lone Star Rangers"
02-09-1902 - Fred Harman, Sr. - St. Joseph, MO - d. 1-2-1982
cartoonist: Creator of Red Ryder
02-19-1915 - Dick Emery - London, England - d. 1-2-1983
comedian: "Educating Archie"
03-08-1918 - Alan Hale, Jr. - Los Angeles, CA - d. 1-2-1990
actor: "Smiths of Hollywood"
04-14-1915 - Richard Hart - Providence, RI - d. 1-2-1951
actor: "Family Theatre"
05-04-1913 - Joe Aleman - d. 1-2-1996
disk jockey: KPRL Paso Robles, California
06-15-1921 - Erroll Garner - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 1-2-1977
jazz muscian: "Jubilee"; "Command Performance"; "Arthur Godfrey Show"
08-23-1906 - Harriet Parsons - Burlington, IA - d. 1-2-1983
commentator: (Daughter of Louella Parsons) "Hollywood Hotel"
08-25-1912 - John Rarig - Washington - d. 1-2-1991
singer: (Member Sportsmen Quartet) "Jack Benny Program"
09-08-1902 - Milton Watson - d. 1-2-1982
vocalist: "Burns and Allen"
10-20-1897 - Adolph Deutsch - London, England - d. 1-2-1980
arranger, conductor, composer: "Kraft Program"; "This Is Hollywood"
10-27-1910 - Jack Carson - Carmen, Canada - d. 1-2-1963
comedian: "Jack Carson Show"; "New Sealtest Village Store"
11-02-1921 - Shep Menken - NYC - d. 1-2-1999
actor: "Six Shooter"; "NBC Presents: Short Story"; "Four-Star Playhouse"
11-14-1904 - Dick Powell - Mountain. View, AR - d. 1-2-1963
actor: Richard Diamond "Richard Diamond, Private Detective"; Richard
Rogue "Rogue's Gallery"
11-19-1897 - Bud Green - Austria - d. 1-2-1981
lyricist: "Great Moments to Music"
12-10-1903 - Una Merkel - Covington, KY - d. 1-2-1986
actor: Adeline Fairchild "Great Gildersleeve"; "Johnny Presents";
"Texaxo Star Theatre"
xx-xx-1897 - Alfred Brown - d. 1-2-8-1978
actor: Og "Og, Sopn of Fire"
Ron Sayles
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 23:41:19 -0500
From: "Frank McGurn" <[removed]@[removed];
To: "The Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Jack Holden
A reminder of my youth. Jack Holden lived in River Forest, Illinois back in
1945. River Forest is a small upscale bedroom community a suburb just about
10 miles west of Chicago's Loop. Jack had a son, I think he was Jack Jr.,
He was a year a head of me at Oak Park-River Forest High school (about 4500
student) Why I remember him was he had dads car a 1946 Buick Convertible
and it was always full with great looking girls. Cars were very hard to get
after [removed]
Frank McGurn
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #1
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