------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2001 : Issue 324
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Radio Actors [ Walt Baker <waltbaker@[removed]; ]
OOPS! I GOOFED!! [ "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed]; ]
Paladin's "real" name [ Jim Stephenson <jestephenson@[removed] ]
The Shadow May Know [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
Old-Style Radio Rises From the Ashes [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
Re: Family Theater [ Ga6string@[removed] ]
Re: Paul McGrath [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
Re: Comics Strips and OTR [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
The Begatting of a President [ HERITAGE4@[removed] ]
Openings [ "Edward Loyer" <Edward_Loyer@umich. ]
Wiring Paladin [ Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed] ]
Credit Rolls [ Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed] ]
Curse of Tobacco? [ dabac@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 12:25:43 -0400
From: Walt Baker <waltbaker@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio Actors
Stephen A. Kallis wrote:
Part of the difference was that I was a kid. Another part was that I was
listening to the shows, not studying them.
I, too remember just being a child/kid (apparently 'children' and 'child' will
disappear from the dictionary).
I listened in total rapture to the mystery and adventure shows and
occasionally to
the comedy and "Saturday morning shows". But I never paid any attention to
the actors
or writers or directors names. With the possible exception of Alan Ladd (Box
13).
I also was aware that the same actors voice may have been on many of my
favorite
shows but, again the actors name was not important. I would just say to
myself, "I
heard that voice on The Shadow while I was listening to Suspense" and leave
it at
that.
Although the voices of Bill Conrad, Howard McNear, etc. were EXTREMELY
familiar to
me, I had NO idea WHO they were.
Today I know just about ALL of their names; but I'm all grown-up now, aren't I?
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 12:26:15 -0400
From: "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OOPS! I GOOFED!!
Those of you who have been looking for OTR - type programs for the young
ones in your family, I goofed on the URL. It should have been:
[removed] Once there, click on Kids Radio, and then click on
"find your station"
Sorry
Owens
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 14:01:54 -0400
From: Jim Stephenson <jestephenson@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Paladin's "real" name
It was revealed that Hec Ramsay, an ex-gunfighter turned forensic
detective in early 20th century Oklahoma, once plied his trade under the
name "Paladin." Hec Ramsay was played by Richard Boone. ("Hec Ramsay"
was part of NBCs anthology series "Mystery Movie"--which also introduced
"Colombo," "McMillan and Wife," and "McCloud.")
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 14:02:18 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Shadow May Know
Hal Stone asks,
By the way. I heard a rumor that Carl Amari was no longer affiliated
with "Spirits". Any substance to that rumor?
Well, I notice that nowhere on the RSI website is there any notice of the
outcome of the Shadow Blue Coal Ring Swepstakes (nee Lottery). Maybe he
grabbed it and ran. :-D
[For newcomers to the net, the icon means I'm kidding.]
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 14:02:46 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Old-Style Radio Rises From the Ashes?
Ben Ohmart speculates,
I wondered if there Is a WW3, if it would bring back radio, because of
its ability to be heard by Anyone, even soldiers on the move, etc, like
Armed Forces Radio did/does forb troops.
Probably not. I can see two scenarios: one when service personnel are
encamped; the other, when they're on maneuvers.
If they're encamped, then whether or not they broadcast anything depends
upon security ([removed], are they afraid that a broadcast will reveal their
position, either for intelligence or attack?). If the area's secure
enough, then why not video? If not, then they won't broadcast anything.
If they're on maneuvers, then they'd be a little busy to listen to
anything. In fact, not paying full attention to the mission might be
dangerous.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 14:03:21 -0400
From: Ga6string@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Family Theater
In a message dated 10/04/2001 11:04:16 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
philiprailsback@[removed] writes:
Anyone know if there is a log available for Family Theater?
David Golden's site, [removed], has a pretty good listing, although
I found quite a few errors in it, and a few shows missing. But it's an
excellent starting point, because of all the detail he includes. Also, I know
many of your spurn the idea of buying OTR on MP3 via auction, but there's a
seller on eBay who offers a 4 CD, 382 program set on CD-R for $11, shipping
included. I bought it, and found it to be a mighty nice way to get acquainted
with the program.
Bryan Powell
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 14:04:21 -0400
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Paul McGrath
Regarding the lengthy list of under-appreciated or under-regarded radio
players, surely Paul McGrath must be included. <snip>
I would love to see one. Please contact me if you have any photos at all
of this mystery man.
Hi Gwynne
It just so happens that I have quite a few pictures of Paul McGrath. They
are contained in a Souvenir Program from the hit play "Tomorrow the World"
that Paul starred in around 1941/42.
I had the pleasure of appearing in that play with Paul, and even though I
was a youngster of 12/13 at the time, I became quite friendly with Mr.
McGrath, and his wife Lulu Mae Hubbard, who was also in the cast. (She
played his Character's sister).
I will eventually scan those photo's with my computer. I intend to include
some of them in the book that I'm writing about my OTR experiences. (PLUG!
PLUG!)
I'll set your "digest posting" aside and try to remember that when I get
around to scanning the photographs, I'll e-mail you one of the pictures.
Hopefully, it may be within the next month.
Truly, Paul McGrath was a fine actor in radio as well. And a delightful
gentleman. But I honestly don't think he is under-regarded by the OTR crowd.
He was a delightful gentleman. I think he preferred living in [removed], so he
really didn't do too much of the prime time radio programs that eventually
gravitated to [removed], or originated from there. (To take advantage of the
Writer pool out that way, and the "Motion Picture Star's" drawing power and
popularity).
Inner Sanctum was probably his best know OTR work. However, Paul divided his
time between the Stage and Radio, and did not necessarily focus solely on
Broadcasting.
Regards,
Hal(Harlan)Stone
"Jughead"
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 14:04:45 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Comics Strips and OTR
On 10/4/01 11:03 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:
Don't at least some of the roots of radio and
television situation comedy trace back to the great
newspaper comic strips of the 1920s? Here we already
have Mom and Pop and the kids, the abrasive boss,
funny neighbors, and so on, in comedy situations
depending as much on narration and dialogue as on
graphics.
Absolutely -- in fact, the pattern of the continuity strip was the direct
inspiration for the creation of "Sam and Henry." While Correll and
Gosden chose not to directly adapt Sidney Smith's strip "The Gumps" for
radio, as they had originally been assigned to do, their work owes a
great deal to both the themes and the characterizations in that strip.
Henry (and later Andy) displayed a combination of key traits drawn from
the conceited blowhard Andy Gump and his hopelessly-naive Uncle Bim, who
were the prime movers of the narrative in "The Gumps," and that strip's
preoccupation with money issues and class-striving is clearly echoed in
both S&H and A&A.
Indeed, "get rich quick schemes" dominated practically all story strips
in the 1920s, just as they seemed to dominate much of every-day life in
the real world. The twenties may have been the golden age of scammers,
swindlers, grifters, flimflammers, live-by-your-wits hustlers, and con
artists of every kind, and this sensibility had much to do with the
cynical tone of the popular culture of the era. Andy Gump and Uncle Bim
were constantly being victimized by crooked salesmen, corrupt bankers and
politicians, shady stock promoters, fake mystics, scheming widows, and
assorted gangsters of every sort, and in this sense they were blood
brothers of Andrew H. Brown.
Interestingly, the near-fanatical devotion "The Gumps" inspired in its
readers in the mid-1920s was neatly paralelled by the A&A craze of
1929-32, and during the craze period, Correll and Gosden pursued at least
two storylines that had been done by "The Gumps" in earlier years -- in
1922-23, Uncle Bim was sued for breach-of-promise by the Widow Zander,
just as Andy was sued for breach-of-promise by the Widow Parker in 1929
and by Madam Queen in 1931. Later in 1931, Ruby Taylor fell ill and
nearly died -- and this storyline echoed a sequence in "The Gumps" from
the spring of 1929, in which a tragic young woman named Mary Gold fell
ill and *did* die, an incident which sparked an national uproar among
readers of the strip. As cynical as 1920's comic strips could be, the
"Mary Gold" sequence in "The Gumps" was a good example of the sort of
almost Victorian sentimentality which lay just under the surface of many
of them -- and this was also a key characteristic of the work of Correll
and Gosden.
I might also mention that you can go back even further than comic strips
in looking at the roots of the sitcom -- by examining the various series
of continuing-character short stories published in the popular weekly
magazines of the 1910s and 1920s. The "Potash and Perlmutter" stories of
Montague Glass, the "Chimmie Fadden" stories of Edward Townsend Waterman,
the "Scattergood Baines" stories of Clarence Buddington Kelland, and the
"Darktown Birmingham" stories of Octavus Roy Cohen (among many other such
series) are all legitimate ancestors of the broadcast situation comedy.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 14:50:16 -0400
From: HERITAGE4@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Begatting of a President
To: Ted and those interested The Begattin of a President with Orson Welles.
Write me for details - it is available.
Tom Heathwood - [removed]
Heritage4@[removed] 10/05/01
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 20:05:00 -0400
From: "Edward Loyer" <Edward_Loyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Openings
Reading John Burns list of clips he uses for his presentation and specifically
focusing on the openings, a favorite of mine popped to mind, that of Grand
Central Station: "As a bullet seeks its target, shining rails in every part of
our great country are aimed at Grand Central Station, heart of the nation's
greatest city. Drawn by the magnetic force, the fantastic metropolis, day and
night great trains rush toward the Hudson River, sweep down its Eastern bank
for
140 miles, flash briefly past the long red row of tenement houses south of
125th
Street, dive with a roar into the two and a half mile tunnel which burrows
beneath the glitter and swank of Park Avenue and [removed](the sound of
escaping
steam from a locomotive)..Grand Central [removed] of a million
private lives." It still holds up, doesn't it, especially in light of recent
events.
Ed Loyer
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 20:05:39 -0400
From: Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Wiring Paladin
I see the responses re "WIRE PALADIN" from readers of the
Digest and I can't help but think of the old joke attributed
to Groucho Marx. He's in a car with a friend who pulls up to
the curb in front of a Western Union, saying "Do you mind if we
stop here for a minute? I have to wire my father."
Groucho asks, "Why? Has he fallen apart again?"
I trust most here on the Digest remembers Western Union? It was
the leading company of "telegrams!" There were others of course.
WU is still in business but with much fewer offices noticeable in
the towns and cities all over the country; mostly the company
touts its ability to transfer sums of money between physical
locations, but in the early days Western Union was the primary
source for the exchange of rapid messages between individuals.
Over the air we'd hear the JOHN and JANE characters in a radio
drama saying something such as:
JOHN: I've just received a telegram from Steve."
JANE: Oh, John, read it to me.
JOHN: (Reading telegram) Have news of Farnsworth STOP
Found him in Saint Louis STOP Will wire
particulars later STOP.
JANE: John, What' wrong with Farnsworth's particulars?
Have they all fallen apart again?
Sorry. (Also for any format aberrations) We as listeners would
know the character was reading from a telegram because of the
spoken word "stop."
I always wondered why those who read telegrams out loud said
"STOP?" What "STOP" stood for of course was the end of the
sentence signified in text writing by the period punctuation
mark. (Didn't they have a telegraphic symbol for the period?)
Usually when we read aloud, our voices fall to indicate the end
of the sentence being spoken. Seldom do we say "STOP" or
"Period," although for emphasis we might. [removed] "I don't want
to hear about you getting a belly ring again. PERIOD."
Telegrams were often messages of a more serious nature. One sent
telegrams to friends graduating from schools, achieving elected
office. obtaining a new promotion, a message to denote any major
milestone of life. I got one from Carlton E. Morse upon my
graduation from [removed] Pilot Training School. The [removed]
government used Western Union to send casualty messages
to the relatives of armed forces members missing, wounded, or
killed action, to the point that during WWII, the sight of a
Western Union messenger at the door could bring much angst.
(Mickey Rooney plays such a messenger in "The Human Comedy.")
At any rate telegrams, radiograms and the other forms of early
message sending have all been replaced by email, and faxes.
In old show biz movies, those square pieces of paper stuck to
dressing room mirrors are congratulatory telegrams of
"good luck," "Good show," "well done" statements by friends
and fans.
And of course we all know, the John Dehner, Richard Boone
Paladin character surely had a bunch of them. *G*
CAB
--
conradab@[removed] (Conrad A. Binyon)
From the Home of the Stars who loved Ranches and Farms
Encino, California.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 20:05:47 -0400
From: Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Credit Rolls
Like Jim Stokes, when I was a kid in the forties, the credit rolls at the
end of programs (whenever they were given) fascinated me. I remembered
hundreds of names of radio actors, the more obscure, the better.
When television came around, I was able to associate faces with voices
because many of the radio actors were in early episodic television. In
fact, I even won a trivia contest in the mid fifties by correctly
answering the question: "Who played the dog, 'Neal', on "The Adventures of
Topper?" I knew the answer because I had seen it on the credit roll at the
end of the show.
Dennis Crow
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2001 10:29:43 -0400
From: dabac@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Curse of Tobacco?
Please excuse me if this has been mentioned before. While listening to a
cigarette commercial during one of my favorite shows, it occured to me
that given modern societies present stance on the subject, and
regardless of anything else, it would be highly unlikely that otr could
hope to expand beyond it`s present level of popularity. This of course
would be most unfortunate. I`d be interested to know other folks opinion
on this. -- D. Bacca
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2001 Issue #324
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