------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 01 : Issue 101
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Dennis Day on Children's Records ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
Animal OTR stars ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
Marx Brothers Scripts ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
Buck Rogers in the ... Radio ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
Re: Question about an old radio ad [Bill Harris <billhar@[removed]; ]
Re: Phil Harris Jr. [Bill Harris <billhar@[removed]; ]
Re: The Twilight Zone [Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
Jack Carson ["Robert Sheldon" <rsheldon@[removed];]
re Verne Smith [John Henley <jhenley@[removed]]
Short Short Story ["Welsa" <welsa@[removed]; ]
Radio Spirits "custom series" ["Lee, Steve (DEOC)" <slee@[removed].]
Audio Cassette Labels & Tags [LeeMunsick@[removed] ]
Animal Sounds [hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
the disappearing claghorn [leonardfass@[removed] (Leonard Fass]
my little boy [leonardfass@[removed] (Leonard Fass]
Re: Lassie on the radio [Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed]; ]
Re: Tinkering with the Alley [Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed]]
Fibber McGee & SC Johnson [Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 12:13:26 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Dennis Day on Children's Records
Ted Kneebone notes, anent children's records,
Dennis Day did a neat rendition of Johnny Appleseed, did all or most of
the voices, and sang as
well. <<
The story appeared in the Disney film, Melody Time. I suspect that,
Disnet being Disney, the studio either just ran it off the sound track,
or had Dennis Day redo it, either way, as a film tie-in.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 12:13:31 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Animal OTR stars
Richard Pratz, musing about OTR stars, notes that Lassie was the title
character of the show, adding,
If we thought it was strange for a ventriloquist to star on [removed]
about the four-footed variety having their own programs?<<
How about a bunch of two-legged critters, as the Hartz Mountainn Singing
Canaries? I used to hear these, as a kid, if I was at home with a cold.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 12:14:17 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Marx Brothers Scripts
Dixon Chandler II, commenting on the Marx Brothers screenplays, notes,
On the other hand, there are dozens of good jokes in early drafts of
all of the Marx Paramount films and I have never felt the need to figure
out why some jokes stay and others go. Maybe they just didn't think it
was such a good joke. <<
The Marx brothers, according to a couple of biographies I've read, did
something clever. They'd rough out a film script, then take it on the
road as a stage play. They'd see how the audience reacted to their gags,
and those that fell flat were replaced with others. They'd often ad lib,
and if something clicked, they'd add it. By the time it got to the
screen, the shows had been audience tested.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 12:14:18 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Buck Rogers in the ... Radio
Shawn asks,
Does anyone out there know if there were ever any Buck Rodgers or Flash
Gordon shows? I know about the movie serials and the like, I am talking
strictly [removed];<
There were, as I'm sure a lot of others will point out. Flash Gordon was
broadcast before I was born, in 1935 and 1936. According to Dunning, the
1936 version ended with Flash and friends crashing into a jungle and
being rescued by Jungle Jim; the show morphed to the Jungle Jim show.
Buck Rogers is another matter, though. It ran sporadically from 1932,
ending first in 1936; it ran in 1939 and 1940. Finally, it ran in 1946
and 1947, which I heard as a kid in the Fourth Grade. This last version
offered as a premium the Buck Rogers Ring of Saturn, a retread of the
Jack Armstrong Dragon's Eye Ring, but with a red rather than a green
"stone."
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 13:02:39 -0500
From: Bill Harris <billhar@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Question about an old radio ad
That would be Philco which introduced this feature in 1938. Eight console
models
were introduced with the slant 'No Squat, No Stoop, No Squint' control panels
which
made it no longer necessary to bend over or squat down when adjusting the
controls.
I have a coin, about the size of a quarter, put out by Philco that advertises
this
feature. If I remember correctly, Philco had an ad showing a young Shirley
Temple
adjusting the dial on one of these sets.
Bill Harris
Harry Machin, Jr. wondered:
While reading the latest OTR Digest, I suddenly
remembered that there was a floor standing radio
that used the slogan "No Stoop, No Squat, No
Squint." (Because the radio stood on the floor,
you only had to bend over to turn the dial.) What
brand of radio was that? The ad ran about 60
years ago.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 13:02:42 -0500
From: Bill Harris <billhar@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Phil Harris Jr.
Thanks Alice for clearing that up.
Bill Harris
Lili101@[removed] posted:
Phil Harris, Jr. was the adopted son of Phil Harris and his first wife,
Marcia Ralston. The paper erroneously lists him as Alice's son, but he was
not. They did only have two daughters, Alice, Jr. and Phyllis.
-Alice:)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 13:02:44 -0500
From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: The Twilight Zone
Rod Serling did some radio work early in his career. If there are any
Twilight Zone buffs reading this, please contact me privately. I have a
few questions that concern the link between radio and his TV work.
Thanks,
Howard Blue
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 13:34:20 -0500
From: "Robert Sheldon" <rsheldon@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Jack Carson
I've been listening to some tapes of the Sealtest Village Store from May
1948 and I've been wondering if there are any tapes available anywhere of
Jack Carson's other radio program. The show for Sealtest features the fellow
who played Tugwell on his other show, which also featured Arthur Treacher as
his butler. I thought it was funny but it doesn't seem to have survived very
well. The Sealtest show features Hy Averbach and Eve Arden among others, and
one of the writers was Larry Gelbart. Does anyone know of any other
surviving Sealtest Village Store shows with Jack Carson or of his other
radio show?
--Bob Sheldon
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 13:57:39 -0500
From: John Henley <jhenley@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re Verne Smith
Biel:
Does anybody have any bio info and/or pictures of Verne Smith? I
first remember him as "The Walt Disney Story Teller" on several of the
Disney RCA Victor sets in the late 40s and early 50s, but he is probably
most remembered in OTR circles as the announcer for "The Adventures of
Ozzie and Harriet." .... I've always adored Smith's voice but have never
been
able to find anything about him.
Here is his obit, complete, from Variety, issue of May 1, 1968:
"Verne Smith, 54, radio and tv announcer who had been active in
both [removed] and Hollywood, died at Sawtelle Veterans Hospital, Los
Angeles, April 24 after short illness. Most recently he had been
doing commercials there. Surviving are a son and three daughters."
Not much, but it suggests ill health at a relatively young age, and
that he had served in the armed forces.
There may well be an obit in the [removed] Times from 4/25/68 or
nearby, but the UT-Austin library does not have the Times
Index past 1972 so I can't say for sure.
He also was the announcer on "A Day in the Life of Dennis Day."
John Henley
jhenley@[removed]
ph (512) 495-4112
fax (512) 495-4296
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 14:17:08 -0500
From: "Welsa" <welsa@[removed];
To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Short Short Story
Elizabeth:
Thanks to Elizabeth for the background you gave on this series. As for the
script length, it is true there are 18 pages. And I do not have the
commercials! However, as was common with those scripts, some of the pages
are not full. A few have only two or three lines on them.
I scanned the script and as I formatted it after scanning, I closed up the
gaps. What I wound up with, without commercials, was 11-1/2 pages. So that
seems about right if you add two pages for commecials.
Ted
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 14:37:42 -0500
From: "Lee, Steve (DEOC)" <slee@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Radio Spirits "custom series"
As was reported, Radio Spirits offers reports on "custom series" shows for
$5. (refundable with purchase only). However, my own experience with this
service requires me to offer a caveat to the readership of this list. Like
many of you, I occasionally seek programs that are unique or hard to find.
Last year I sent Radio Spirits $[removed] to obtain a listing of tapes they
offer for five different programs. After a one month wait, three of the
lists came back with less than 4 programs per series available. I feel they
should put in parentheses the number of programs that are available in each
series. They do not guarantee the order in which the tapes will be recorded
- which kinda shoots the name "custom series" - doesn't it. Finally, at
$[removed] per hour, the service is rather expensive.
Steven Lee
-
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 17:56:33 -0500
From: LeeMunsick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Audio Cassette Labels & Tags
Can anyone tell me where to buy computer labels for imprinting through my
computer? These would be the Audio Tape Labels to go on the actual audio
cassettes, PLUS the L-card which folds into the clear cassette box.
Also a source for (pardon the expression) Video Cassettes, [removed] the Face
label and the Spine label. I have the Avery products but their spine labels
are exceedingly narrow.
With respect to audio labels, Avery understandably does not have anything for
the L-cards, since they aren't really labels. And my Microsoft Word program
which goes with the Avery cassette labels, does NOT appear on the screen with
any outline showing the long oval which drops out of the label when pulled
off the backing page. So I don't know where NOT to type!
I imagine many of us inquiring minds would like to know!
Gratefully, Lee Munsick "That Godfrey Guy"
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 19:37:25 -0500
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Animal Sounds
Richard Pratz Re: the Lassie Show asked;
Was radio's Lassie really a dog in the studio or just a person making dog
sounds?
Inquiring minds want to know!!
Richard, I can't tell you for certain who made the "Lassie" dog sounds, but
it was highly unlikely that a real dog was used in the studio, for many
obvious reasons. Chief among them is that it's virtually impossible for a
dog (even one as beautifully trained as the "Lassie's" were) to be able to
respond on cue with split second timing.
I can only tell you with dead certainty that a wonderful, colorful and
eccentric radio performer named "Donald Bain" did most of the Animal Sounds
for most of the radio shows out of [removed]
His "menagerie" of vocal effects ranged from Dogs (all sizes and breeds),
Cats,(Young and old), Birds (of all different feathers) and gosh knows what
else. (Even baby cries, coo's and gurgles, I seem to recall).
He was a fixture around the industry in NY, and was a very busy man,
shuffling from NBC over to CBS and back again. I would have to assume that
the LA area also had performers who could do animal sounds.
When I knew met him, (mid 1940's) Donald was about 50 years old. (at least
he seemed that old to my teen-age eyes). He worked the "Archie Andrews"
program occasionally over our 10 year span, and we would get such a kick out
of the sounds that would come out of that little, chubby, bald headed man.
He had a cherubic face, spectacles on the bridge of his nose, standing
almost tip-toe at the microphone, face contorted, and it seemed he put his
whole body into the effect. He often worked without a script, because he
would often use two hands up to his mouth to achieve some of the incredible
animal sounds that he was able to replicate.
Although quite shy and self effacing, he was a true "character" and relished
his reputation. I'm sure that whenever a director scanned a script for his
pre-production read through, and an animal sound was written into the
script, his first thought was to "book" Donald Bain immediately.
The only problem, if you could call it that, was that when in front of a
studio audience, it always got a laugh when they saw (and heard) such sounds
coming out of this multi talented little Lepricon. I don't ever remember
hearing that Donald did speaking parts. I don't think he was an "actor" as
such, just the most incredible vocal magician I ever knew. Besides, he had
his niche in the industry, and virtually no competition, so why compete with
all the other actors when no one could do what he could. He was truly an
institution.
That is not to say Donald did EVERY animal sound on EVERY show. Obviously,
if a Sound Effects recording could adequately fill the need, it was used
because it eliminated a talent fee. (A pack of wolves, or single wolf
howling would be an example, or ducks quacking as they flew overhead.) But
if an animal or bird had to make a distinctive sound, and relate to dialogue
on cue, then it would be Donald Bain to the rescue. He probably saved more
"shows" than Lassie did people.
I remember him vividly, and with great fondness.
Hal(Harlan)Stone
"Jughead", The Archie Andrews Show
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 19:57:13 -0500
From: leonardfass@[removed] (Leonard Fass)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: the disappearing claghorn
heard lots of those broadcasts and do not recall claghorn not being
there or anyone else answering his door
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 19:57:27 -0500
From: leonardfass@[removed] (Leonard Fass)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: my little boy
was also done by helen hayes on the textron theater, changing the story
teller to the [removed] i used to read a script of the program (sent for
the asking at that time) to my classes, but as time went on i began to
choke, and once had a student who was into acting read the rest of the
show for me.
the announcer was frank gallop and the sponsor was [removed]"blended
like music every step of the way from the raw fiber to the finished
textron maserpiece."
this was the late 40's and the networks are so busy they had programs on
saturday afternoon, such as this one.
and here's how helen hayes encountered the story, alexander wolcott had
a private printing made for his friends as a christmas gift. that must
have been some gift list.
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 01:07:38 -0500
From: Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Lassie on the radio
Richard Pratz asked us:
Hey gang, I recently came across a reference to "The Lassie Show" on radio
which set me to thinking about how unusual it was to feature animals as the
stars of OTR programs. If we thought it was strange for a ventriloquist to
star on [removed] about the four-footed variety having their own
programs?
On Lassie's radio aventure series (The Lassie Show-1947-50), sponsored by
Red Heart Dog Food, Lassie barked, whined, growled and cried.
.....
Was radio's Lassie really a dog in the studio or just a person making dog
sounds?
According to Dunning, that was the real Lassie barking when cued by
his (yes, his) trainer Rudd Wetherwax. However, if anything went wrong
an animal impersonator named Earl Keen was on standby to bark, growl or
pant "and to play the roles of other dogs."
We've lately had some discussion in this group about the imprecision
of memory, but I believe I remember this scene accurately:
At the end of a "Lassie" program announcer Charles Lyon would read
the Red Heart Dog Food commercial and then say, "Now here's Lassie with
a word for all the dogs in the audience!" My little fox terrier
Cinnamon would do a near-perfect pose of His Master's Voice as Lassie
barked out what I assumed was an additional plug for Red Heart. Then
Cinnamon would bark back at the radio and I'd think, "Wowee, they're
talking in dog language!"
But maybe it was really Earl Keen. I don't know what kennel he
attended to learn to speak fluent Dog.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 10:07:27 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Tinkering with the Alley
Chris Chandler wonders,
I always thought this a bizarre development, since Kenny Delmar would
obviously be on the show anyway, and the character seemed to be the most
popular Allen's Alley resident. I chalked the change up to the particularly
inexplicable tinkering with Allen's format during the 1948-49 season
(Allen's Alley becomes "Main Street"; familiar musical bridges disappear,
etc etc)....it never occured to me, but maybe the political climate had
something to do with THIS, too?
Possibly -- you'll note that one of the characters that temporarily
replaced Claghorn was the
"columnist for Pravda," Sergei Stroganoff, who was tanked almost
immediately. The official explanation was that a real man named Sergei
Stroganoff protested the use of his name, but I've always figured there
had to be more to the story than that. On the other hand, there was
plenty of precedent for tinkering with the Alley format over the years,
as various characters came and went. The "classic"
Claghorn-Moody-Nussbaum-Cassidy configuration was actually intact for
only about two and a half seasons of the Alley's
approximately-five-season run.
A lot of the odd tinkering with the Allen format during 1948 had to do
with two major factors -- the desire to stir things up as a way of
spurring listener interest in the face of increased competition
(specifically, "Stop the Music" on ABC) and the shift in sponsorship from
Standard Brands to the Ford Dealers of America advertising cooperative.
The sponsorship change was the specific motivation for the replacement of
Allen's Alley with the "Walk Down Main Street." Such a format made it
possible to emphasize that your local Ford dealer was an integral part of
your community -- a fixture on your own Main Street. They took this even
further by having Allen "arrive" at the start of each show, "driving up
in his new Ford." The irony of this, of course, is that Allen in real
life *despised* cars, never owned a car, and in fact as long as he lived
he never even had a driver's license. Given that most of his life was
pretty closely compartmentalized between Radio City and his apartment on
West 58th Street, most anyplace he needed to be was within a few blocks'
walk and he never had any good reason to learn to drive.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 10:30:36 -0500
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Fibber McGee & SC Johnson
Though I am waiting to hear back from them, it looks like another
corporation has forsaken its past history. SC Johnson, which for years has
had a "history" page on its web site featuring its longtime sponsorship of
"Fibber McGee & Molly" appears to have removed those pages and re-designed
its web site.
Too bad.
Some recent changes at my web site:
April Timelines
New article from Jack French on Lonesome Gal
New adventure of Moon Over Africa.
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #101
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