------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 444
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
THE DELIGHTFUL EDDIE BRACKEN [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
Henry Ford [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
Re: Sponsorship Restrictions [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Graham Newton [ JayHick@[removed] ]
That "OTR" Film [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
Re: JFK assassination [ "Robert W. Paine" <macandrew@prodig ]
re:Tape to CD [ "KDK" <kdkalit@[removed]; ]
Dear Abby [ "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed] ]
Television/Radio/JFK [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
JFK COVERAGE [ Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed]; ]
re: One Man's Family [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
Gene Nobels [ "Donald & Kathleen Dean" <dxk@ezlin ]
Re: Tape to CD (book to follow) [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 17:36:24 -0500
From: PURKASZ@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: THE DELIGHTFUL EDDIE BRACKEN
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It was my great privilege to work with Eddie on the "Lampoon
Vacation" movie.
I was doing a cameo as a security guard for my ole pal Chase.
John Candy too.
Eddie and I spent many days together and talked about our experiences in
radio. Mine from another era sadly and the pleasure of the new OTR awareness.
He was truly amazed they had come back again for another go 'round.
There was trouble one day though.
He was also the only other guy I knew that had NEVER been on a roller
coaster before.
It was amazing as we both discussed this plight of our reluctance to
speed around the rails at a death-defying speed.
we stood on the ground under the great beast at Six Flags amusement
park in Los Angeles sure that this could be our last day on earth.
We had just been told by the director, Harold Ramos, that he wanted us
all in the coaster for the final shot over the end credits of the movie.
I tried to protest that we'd never be seen but Harold was adamant and
walked away.
Silently, we both began to dwell on our doom.
"I've managed to live many years without going on one of these things,"
he said.
"Me too," was all I could mutter.
Then I had an idea.
I suggested that since the company had rented the entire amusement park
for the shoot and since we were actors involved in the shoot, we had free
rein to go places normally forbidden to most folks.
"Let's go see the control room," I said, "that way we'll see how it all
works and discuss the mechanics and safety features and it'll ease our minds
and souls."
He laughed, but then realized I was serious.
We both walked onto the platform for boarding the cars, crossed the
tracks into the working area and went 'backstage' looking for the master
control.
It was quite thrilling to be there.
The door actually said, "Master Control."
We knocked.
A young lady opened the door. Blonde, very pretty, obviously the
daughter of the operator.
"Hi. We'd like to see the operation of the works and safety controls and
basically how this baby runs." I said.
Eddie nodded agreement.
"Sure" she said cheerfully, "C'mon in."
We stepped into a very futuristic room with many blinking lights and
panels of controls.
It didn't take very long before the sense of doom returned.
With some alarm I noticed she sat in the main control position in the
big seat.
Eddie's eyes widened.
I heard a dry voice which was mine ask,
"Who actually runs this thing?"
"I do," she said.
Eddie was out of the door before I could even see him move.
It was like a cartoon exit.
I even think I heard a 'whoosh' sound.
We survived but if you look closely you can see genuine terror on his
face during the closing credits and I'm sitting next to Frank McRae, a black
man who also had never been on one of these before strangely enough.
He never once opened his eyes!
John Candy was in front but I think he was acting, though later at a bar
in Universal City Hotel where he was staying, he too, over drinks, confessed
that it was his first time.
Chevy Chase had to ride them all so he gets the hero badge, but I'll
never forget the look on Eddie's face when we learned our lives were in the
hands of a pretty teenager.
Kind of exciting now that I think of it that way.
Michael C. Gwynne
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 18:12:31 -0500
From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Henry Ford
Hello All;
Elizabeth wrote:
W. J. Cameron had been the editor of the Dearborn Independant, the
Ford-backed anti-Semitic newspaper of the early 1920s which became
notorious for its publication of a series of articles called "The
International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem," drawn to a considerable
extent from the fradulent "Protocols of the Elders of Zion."
This reminds me that someone once noted that by introducing mass productions
of automobiles and subsidizing the publication of anti-Semitic literature
Henry Ford managed to pollute both the air and the mind of America.
George
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 19:40:56 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Sponsorship Restrictions
Martin Grams wrote:
Was there some sort of law about the limitations of sponsorships during the
1940s? Or would this be something the producer wished to incorporate for
his own personal beliefs?
This had to do with contractural restrictions on the program's producer
or talent. Sometimes personell who were under contract to a network
sponsor would be involved in syndicated programming on the side -- and in
such cases, their sponsor would usually invoke an exclusivity clause to
prevent them from being sponsored in syndication by a competing product.
Prohibitions on beer and wine sponsorships are actually quite common for
syndicated programming, and I'm willing to bet that the yeast and gelatin
restrictions in this particular case are because someone connected with
this particular program was under contract to Standard Brands Inc. for a
network series, given that that firm was the nation's leading
manufacturer of yeast and the second-largest manufacturer of gelatin
desserts.
These sorts of restrictions are sometimes found on disc labels as well.
Aside from alcoholic beverages, the most common prohibitions disallowed
sponsorship by laxative products, deodorants, or depilatories.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 19:41:02 -0500
From: JayHick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Graham Newton
George Nester in New York is looking for the address and/or phone number of
Graham Newton who lives near Toronto in Canada. George is not on line. If
someone knows either please contact him at (212) 255-3715. Thank you, Jay
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 19:41:45 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: That "OTR" Film
Michael Beck notes,
There was a movie about the Shadow made in 1994 starring Alec
Baldwin.
While the film has been discussed once or twice, it's worth talking about
again. The beginning of the film was an origin story that had nothing to
do with what follows. It helps if you ignore that.
There were basically two incarnations/versions of The Shadow. One was
the radio version; the other, a pulp-fiction version. There was overlap,
but there were significant differences. One was that in the radio
version, the chief characters were Margot Lane, Lamont Cranston/The
Shadow, Moe "Shrevvie" Shrevits, and Inspector Henderson. The Shadow had
the power to cloud men's minds so they cannot see him. The pulp-fiction
story was such that The Shadow did not have any hypnotic power, but
blended into the darkness with his costume so that he was "invisible."
The pulp version had an organization of agents who had been rescued by
The Shadow, and who acted under his orders. He was not Lamont Cranston,
but actually Kent Allard, though he used the Cranston identity from time
to time, as the situation warranted. [The main author of The Shadow pulp
stories was Walter B. Gibson, writing under the pen-name of Maxwell
Grant. Gibson was an amateur or semiprofessional stage magician, and had
his version of The Shadow use equivalent tricks in his adventures.
Gibson had an interesting writing style, where he avoided the word
"said," as in, "'Wow!' he said." He used synonyms, such as "responded,"
"whimpered," "snarled," "whined," "stammered," "barked," and the like.]
The film (save for the silly and unnecessary origin story) is a
remarkable blending of the two versions of The Shadow. He retains his
OTR power of clouding minds, yet has the organization (including the
gadgets) of the pulp fiction version. His chief villain was the stuff of
pulps, yet the New York of the 1930s was done well. (My mother, who saw
the film when it first hit the theater, and who lived through the period
in New York City, said that the recreation was exact, and loved every
aspect of that).
An interesting amalgam, but the one thing Alec Baldwin couldn't do was
the signature cackle of The Shadow.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 19:44:30 -0500
From: "Robert W. Paine" <macandrew@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: JFK assassination
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Chris Chandler commented how low-tech was the TV approach to covering the
events from Dallas.
CBS, I have read (from the words of Walter Cronkite) wasn't even able to get a
live picture on the air for around twenty minutes. The cameras were in another
area, and needed to be warmed up. Cronkite went to an audio booth and the net
cut into Helen Wagner's and Santos Ortega's (the same OTR Santos Ortega) scene
with a CBS news bulletin slide.
OTOH, I think radio was on top of the story a bit more. Dan Rather, though
working both sides as correspondent, was responsible for CBS Radio having the
news of JFK's passing some twenty-thirty minutes before TV made the official
announcement. I refer you to his book, The Camera Never Blinks, for the
complete story. The condensed version is that he saw something going down but
didn't know what (he was handling a film drop along the motorcade route). He
ran back to the KRLD (is this correct?) studios, where CBS had its bureau.
Eddie Barker, the station's news director, told him over the phone that his
(Barker's) info was that the President was dead.
Rather said something to the effect that "that's what I heard, too." A voice
said "What was that?" and Rather, thinking it was Barker asking the question,
repeated himself. Suddenly, Rather hears a voice at the New York desk yell,
"Rather says he's dead" (or again, words to that effect).
Now he realized that it was the NY desk that had asked. Time for controlled
internal chaos. Rather said it was the longest period he ever spent, until the
official confirmation. He also let out a blast to the effect that he'd not
authorized such an announcement.
It was at that time that he heard what I remember hearing in the 7th grade
classroom. Allen Jackson said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the
United States is dead". The next thing I clearly recall is the playing of the
National Anthem.
If you go to Jeff Miller's website and listen to the CBS clips, you'll find
more than the brief announcement I quoted. Amazing that it was exactly as I
recalled but that in the ensuing years I had forgotten that there was more to
it.
Funny, too, that after these 39 years, the sound of Allen Jackson making that
announcement takes me back to a moment that is frozen in time. I sometimes
sense the shock, the fear and the feeling I had then, that it was a nightmare
not unlike the Twilght Zone. And, sometimes I still want to cry.
Macandrew
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Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 19:44:43 -0500
From: "KDK" <kdkalit@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: re:Tape to CD
[removed]@[removed]
asked:
I would like to copy some tapes to CD. They don't have to be great, I just
want a few for the car. Can someone
recommend a good way of doing this?
Hi Chris. To answer, IMHO:
a) I use Roxio's product, EZ CD Creator 5. Some people have problems with
it but I haven't with either Win98, Millenium, or XP Pro. However, you
may already have software that came with your sound card.
b) probably best to copy to disk first, that way if there is a problem
(buffer underrun, failed verification, etc.) you only have to restart the
burn and not Waste the time to recopy the tape.
c) CD's are ultra cheap these days, from free to 4 cents [removed] don't cram
too much on if you don't need too.
The Roxio software noted above has filters available if you want to get of
rid tape noise like hiss and such. Works real well--just be careful not to
over filter or you'll end up with a dull, muddy sounding copy.
Roxio also converts to MP3 (and vice-versa) and you can get between about
15 and 100 1/2 hour programs depending on your burn Khz. Most Mp3's are
done at 24-32Kb/s. But many recommend at least 44Kbs these days.
Be sure to use CD-Rs rated for your burner or higher. That is, if your
CD-R has a 12X burn capability, use 12x, 24x, or higher. If you use less,
your burner "should" adjust the speed downwards, but not all do and you end
up with a wasted CD because of errors.
Don't overdrive your recording. Your sound card likely has simulated
needles for recording volume---use them.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 20:33:50 -0500
From: "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed];
To: "OTR message" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Dear Abby
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You all realize that Dear Abby featured Mr. Harry Bartell as the "mail
reader" and he must have done 100's of [removed] have seen any
available. Does anyone have any of those. Don Frey---
alanladdsr@[removed]
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 20:53:43 -0500
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Television/Radio/JFK
Chris Chandler asks:
So how about it: I'm not old enough to remember, but those of you who
were--are your broadcast memories that day of TV, or radio?
Though I know we are touching on the edge of the digest focus here, I have
to chime in because I was only on the very edge of "the golden age of
radio" but my formative years were television.
My recollection of late fifties/early sixties television is that when
outside of a studio television coverage was not very good at that time. I
think the issue here is parallel to radio coming of age in terms of news
coverage with World War II. If you think about it, there really wasn't any
real major news event for television pre-1963. There were the odd
conventions but that was all rather choreographed. The Korean War was
almost too early for TV coverage except for whatever news programs they
might have had.
Just as Pearl Harbor was rather chaotic in its "live" event coverage, so
too, the Kennedy Assassination was chaotic as television just wasn't
prepared for such an event. They had to put together fast breaking news -
remember, Kennedy was killed, a couple of days later, Oswald is killed,
then the funeral of Kennedy. It was all very, very fast in terms of the
events. They did not have the technology to handle it.
Personally, I think it was the Vietnam war and the events of 1968 that
really brought television news into the modern coverage we see today.
Vietnam was long and drawn out and television news could evolve with
it. Just as the continuing coverage of WWII by radio gave news
organizations time to develop and be ready when D-Day rolled around.
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 10:53:05 -0500
From: Sandy Singer <sinatradj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: JFK COVERAGE
I'm certain you marvelous broadcast historians will remember, NBC-TV was
the only network covering the Sunday Oswald incident live. The on-air
reporter, Tom Pettit, was an old broadcast buddy [we worked together in
the '50s]. I ran into Tom in 1967, and asked him what went through his
mind, being in the middle of the sudden mayhem. He told me he "Didn't
know whether to duck, or continue reporting--no matter what, it will
always be the scariest moment of my broadcast career."
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 10:53:22 -0500
From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: One Man's Family
Mike Sprague says:
Dan Trigg asked about information in a One Man's
Family premium that bore Fanny Barbour's
name->probably Fanny Barbour's Memory Book from
[removed]
And Mike is right, of [removed] had a major brain
fart this afternoon, and had my premiums
[removed] "Memory Book" did indeed date from
1940. I had it mixed up with the similar offering
from 1953--and after that, the other stuff I wrote,
I'm SURE, is true! :)
chris
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 10:53:31 -0500
From: "Donald & Kathleen Dean" <dxk@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Gene Nobels
Ed Howell also sparked a memory for me also when he mentioned WLAC
Nashville.
I recall listening to WLAC back in the early '50's to a DJ that came on late
in the
evening. He played what was then called rhythm & blues or race music (rock &
roll
was still to come) as most all the 78 rpm recordings were of black artists.
As I
recall he was sponsored by a record company that dealt in these recordings.
He
was also always talking about or to his "cohort". Could this have been Gene
Nobles
or does any old timers out there know who I'm talking about or remember
listening
to him?
Don Dean N8IOJ
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 10:54:01 -0500
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Tape to CD (book to follow)
a) recommend software?
If you are using a PC, my suggestion is Cool Edit. [removed]
It is shareware and you can download it for free and use it until you
decide to buy it.
b) tell me if I should first copy the tape to the hard drive, and then burn
the file, or try to go straight from tape to CD in real time?
Connect the output of your tape deck to the input of your sound card. If
you card has an aux or line in, use that instead of the Mic in. In
preferences in Cool Edit select your sound card as the recording device.
You will want to record to your hard drive and then burn to your CD.
Although recording can be done directly to the CD, there are less chances
for errors and bad discs if you go to your hard drive first.
Record to the hard drive. Save the file as Windows PCM (.WAV) (I can hear
Charlie screeming MP3, MP3, but for now save it as WAV)
Cool Edit allows you to do some enhancement of the file. If the original
audio tape has any problems, you can run it through an equalizer or remove
hum or other constant noises, but if it generally sounds good and you don't
have any experience with noise reduction software, then just leave it along.
c) pass along any tips or tricks
Cool Edit allow you to turn on a Monitor Record Level. Do that. Run a test
and keep the highest level from going above -3. Some other might recommend
not going above -10. The main thing is that at no time do you want the
levels to go above 0 or show up in the RED area to the right of 0.
Use the line output of your tape deck. If you are working with a portable
unit that only has an earphone output, then adjust the level control on
your tape deck to about 25% above minimum.
Double click on the speaker button in your task bar and up will come a
group of volume controls. One of these should be the line input volume. Set
it at about half way. Then adjust the volume on the tape deck to bring the
level where you want it.
If you are just working with a tape deck that has no volume control, then
adjust the volume control on your computer to where you want it.
Once you have recorded the material, save it. Then use Cool Edit to clip
off the beginning and end of the sound clip so that all you have is where
the program material starts. IOW, you are removing the dead air at the
beginning of the sound clip and at the end.
I've forgotten which CD burner you have, but I'm hoping you said you had
one. Use whatever software that came with the burner to burn the CD.
You don't need to buy any special audio CDs. Any good brand of CD-R will
work. If you want to play the CD back in a standard audio CD player, then
you will burn an audio CD. If you own an MP3 CD player, you may (stop
drooling Charlie) want to make an MP3 disc. In this case, you will need to
convert the WAV file to MP3. At this point, 100 people will now jump in and
give their opinion as to which encoding format and setting to use. This
could take a whole day, so all I'm going to say is that if you are making
an MP3 disc, you will want to set your software to make a DATA disc. Then
you drop in the MP3 file.
If you are going to play this on an audio CD player, then you set your
software to make an audio disc and you drop in the WAV file or files.
This should get you started. If you really need more help, email me
directly, since we could fill up the entire digest on just this subject.
Hope this helps.
Fred
[removed]
Thanks for any help.
-Chris Holm
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #444
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