Subject: [removed] Digest V2004 #34
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 1/24/2004 10:15 PM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2004 : Issue 34
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Articles Mentioning Jack Benny        [ Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed] ]
  thirteenth floor                      [ ditmars@[removed] ]
  Re: Ann Miller                        [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
  Re: Cincy Convention                  [ hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed]; ]
  Billy May, age 87                     [ "RBB" <oldradio@[removed]; ]
  Subject CD burning Roxio 5            [ "Mike B" <mikar01@[removed]; ]
  Capt. Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)          [ "Mike B" <mikar01@[removed]; ]
  Jean Shepherd scripted?               [ ABCDiehl@[removed] ]
  Bill Murtough and the Lindbergh baby  [ leemunsick <leemunsick@[removed] ]
  Jack Benny 20th Anniversary           [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
  1-25 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Ann Miller OTR appearances            [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Jerry [removed]'t no K-Mart, thankfully!  [ Doug Berryhill <fibbermac@[removed] ]
  Warming Up                            [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
  Poets & poetry on OTR?                [ "Jim Erskine, Homeway Press" <homew ]

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

Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 23:22:08 -0500
From: Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Articles Mentioning Jack Benny

Here are a couple more articles that mention Jack Benny.  Can anyone figure
out what this Pennysaver TV is?  Looks like a group that is trying to bring
back a lot of radio-related properties to broadcast tv.

Sean  Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

THEN & Now Ann-Margret
The Ledger
... That led to appearances on "The Jack Benny Show" and a film contract
that began in 1961 with "Pocketful of Miracles," the last film directed
by Frank Capra in ...
<[removed]
/1021>

ADVISORS LENDING GROUP Picks PennySaver TV T For Classic Comedy ...
Emediawire (press release)
... George Burns & Gracie Allen, The Jack Benny Program, Red Skelton Show,
Groucho in You Bet Your Life, shows that haven't been seen in decades
on broadcast ...
<[removed];

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 11:04:54 -0500
From: ditmars@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  thirteenth floor

Does anyone know of a children's radio drama heard several times 1955/56 with
thirteenth floor in the title?  Story is two kids (brother & sister) get
separated from their parents in a dept store, stray onto an elevator & end up
on the 13th floor where very strange things went on (which I can't remember).
Happy ending of course
Tony Ditmars ditmars@[removed]

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 11:05:33 -0500
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Ann Miller
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In a message dated 1/23/04 10:28:05 PM Central Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:

My fondest memory of Ann Miller ...from the TV-ad for the Heinz Company's
"Great American Soup" she did for  adman & OTR vet Stan Freberg. in the
early
1970s. This ad has often been cited as having had been the most expensive
TV-commercial up to that point  as it featured Ann in a Busby Berkeley-type
choreographed production number with costumes,  art deco sets, chorus
[removed]

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but didn't I hear that Freberg
persuaded Busby Berkeley *himself* to come out of retirement to choreograph
this
ad?  Seems like I remember hearing Freberg tell a very funny story about only
20
girls being hired to dance behind Miller, while Berkeley was expecting 100.
When told he didn't have 100 girls, the old man reportedly said "Aaaah, don't
worry, I can make 40 girls seem like 100!"

Dixon

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 11:07:01 -0500
From: hal stone <dualxtwo@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Cincy Convention

  David Phaneuf posts, re: Convention in Cincinnati

I'm hoping to bring my son, aged 13, providing
everything works out schedule-wise. He's wanting to
meet "Archie" and "Jughead" and "Rosemary" if they
will be there this year.  Also hoping to bring a
friend along too.

Hmmmm! Is this friend you're bringing along male or female?

David, you can tell your son that. as of this writing, "Archie", "Jughead" &
"Betty" will be there, but that he shouldn't be too disappointed that we
don't look like the Comic Book characters. Prepare him for the fact that we
are three "OLD" looking geezers who think they can still play "Teenagers".

Will be my first convention in several years, and
frankly, I've kind of been missing it.

Well, David, we'll try and make up for all those missing years.

And, Hal, I'm really hoping you'll be there, as I'd
love to have the chance to meet you in person finally.

As you know by reading the above, yes, I will be there. (The good Lord
willin'.) And I will look forward to meeting you and your son, (and the good
looking female "friend" you're bringing. :)

Incidentally, Bob Burchett has asked Hastings and me to do our "Bob & Ray"
sketches at Cincinnati this year, after he heard how much people the People
at the SPERDVAC convention enjoyed us playing many of the silly characters
that "Bob and Ray" were famous for. We sure had fun doing them. At one
point, Hastings broke me up. He was so funny, tears were streaming down my
face, I was laughing so hard.

See you there David. And from the looks of things, (postings to the digest)
we will have more youngsters in attendance than usual. That will be "cool",
as the kids say. Regards

Hal (Harlan)Stone
Jughead

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 11:07:18 -0500
From: "RBB" <oldradio@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Billy May, age 87

We've lost another legend in the music business, Billy May, at age 87.  At
age 23, he did Charlie Barnet's classic arrangement of "Cherokee" in 1939 as
a trumpeter with the band, it became one of the biggest hits in the
swing-era, and the inspiration for bebop saxaphonist, Charlie Parker's
"Ko-Ko" based on the chord changes in "Cherokee."  He also played trumpet
and arranged for Glenn Miller before he formed his wartime, Army orchestra
in the 1940's.

That was just the beginning for Billy May.
Later, his trademark "blusey glissando" or "slurping saxaphones"
arrangements became a much sought-after, "new sound" for Frank Sinatra's
series of "travelling themed", #1 albums.  Crosby then also recorded two
"travelling" albums. May shifted to a "brass choir" sound and won Grammy
awards with that.

May was on early radio with a number of singers including Bing Crosby. He
was also the Musical Director for Stan Freberg's radio comedy series in the
late-1950's.   He then worked in television and movie sound tracks, and was
a ghost-writer-arranger-composer.

He wrote children's "story and song records" producing over 60 albums for
the Capitol label.  His talent for prolific music writing is in his
statement:  "I write faster than anyone, better - and better than anyone,
faster!"

So long, Billy - thanks for all the great music!

Russ Butler  oldradio@[removed]

(Source [removed])

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 11:07:32 -0500
From: "Mike B" <mikar01@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Subject CD burning Roxio 5

I personally upgraded to Roxio 6 for CD's, but I still prefer Nero 5.  Nero
takes a little bit longer, but don't have any "error" messages.  Its just a
"workhorse".  [removed]

Mike Barron
Rockford, IL

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 11:07:55 -0500
From: "Mike B" <mikar01@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Capt. Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)

What the radio did for many, including our parents (as you can tell I'm only
56), Bob Keeshan did for my generation.  I even missed school if something
special was to come on (school started halfway through the program hour in
CST).
CBS has a complete tribute with 3 video clips.
Make sure you click on all the sidebars.
[removed]

Mike Barron
Rockford, IL

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 12:03:04 -0500
From: ABCDiehl@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jean Shepherd scripted?

A follow-up to Lee Munsick's OTR posting about Jean Shepherd's shows on WOR.
While it's Lee's belief that everything Shep said was (as far as he could
see) scripted,
my friend Gil Gross (former ABC and CBS correspondent who also worked at WOR)
says NOT SO. "Shep," says Gross "often made an OUTLINE of a story he was
going to tell,
but only so he could get to the end of it on the air in the time allotted,
but many nights he just free associated and , in fact, even fans would say,
especially in the last years, he did that all TOO often."   As for the lack
of WOR
shows in the station's library, one of
Jean's producer's in those days told a friend of mine that there would have
been no reason for WOR to keep them because they didn't own them or have the
rights to them. Jean was an independent contractor, who took all his stuff
with
him when he left.
Bill Diehl
ABC News Radio
New York

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 13:33:07 -0500
From: leemunsick <leemunsick@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Bill Murtough and the Lindbergh baby?

Bill Murtough reminisced about working years ago with Bob Dryden.  Also
while in radio, he said, he was the engineer on "Casey, Crime
Photographer".  He referred to H. Norman Schwarzkaupf on "Gangbusters", who
had the rank of Colonel in the New Jersey State Police.

Col. Schwarzkaupf was the Commandant of the New Jersey State Police, and a
key figure in the investigation leading up to the Lindbergh baby kidnaping
trial in Flemington, New Jersey.  He was indeed the father of General
"Stormin' Norman" Schwarzkaupf  of fame in the first Iraq War.

The kidnaping trial gave the Hunterdon County Seat a disgustingly carnival
atmosphere for days, reminiscent of the infamous Scopes Trial.  It rocketed
radio reporting years ahead.  New York station WOR sent a crew to cover the
trial.  Much of the time, nothing was happening, so they had to fill in
long spaces of time, yet be ready to switch back to the courtroom on a
moment's notice.

Enter the studio engineer in New York, suddenly thrust into those empty
spaces.  He chatted in his affable baritone, played records, added other
information, yet constantly had his ear to the feed from Flemington, to
throw the switch for the trial coverage.

Who was this novice air personality who thus attracted the attention of the
station executives, as well as the listeners up and down the east coast?

His name was John B. Gambling.  He took over the WOR morning program when
exercise guru Bernarr MacFadden didn't show up for his program.  Gambling's
program was initially called "Gambling's Musical Clock", but eventually it
became known to millions of listeners over several generations of listeners
and John Gamblings, as "Rambling With Gambling".   He continued MacFadden's
calisthenics routines, but added a live orchestra.  As a kid, I can
remember listening to that orchestra decades later.  I always thought it
was the most "canned" sounding live orchestra I had ever heard!  Still do.

John B's son John A. eventually appeared on the programs, and then got his
own evening show on WOR called "Music From Studio X", which was a giant
hit.  He then often appeared with his dad in the morning, and began
substituting for John B. when the father needed time
off.  Eventually,  they reversed roles; John A. took over the show and John
B. would visit occasionally.  In time, John A. brought along his son John
R., who hosted the program until WOR dropped it some years ago.  He moved
to competitor WABC, where I believe he is still heard, but only on Saturday
mornings.

Now, Bill Murtough, see what you've gone and done!

Bestus, Lee Munsick

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 15:18:52 -0500
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jack Benny 20th Anniversary
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Joe Postove asked:

I am listening for the first time to the CBS Radio Network Special
celebrating Jack's 20th year in radio. Does anyone know the original airdate

November 9, 1951.

--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]

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Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 15:51:33 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  1-25 births/deaths

January 25th births

01-25-1874 - Somerset Maughan - Paris, France - d. 12-16-1965
writer: " Somerset Maughan Theatre"
01-25-1906 - Mildred Dunnock - Baltimore, MD - d. 7-5-1991
actress: "Theatre Guild on the Air"
01-25-1910 - Portland Hoffa - Portland, OR - d. 12-25-1990
comedienne: (Wife of Fred Allen) "Fred Allen Show"
01-25-1916 - Les Crutchfield - d. 10-6-1966
writer: "Escape"; "Fort Laramie"; "Gunsmoke"

January 25th deaths

10-15-1921 - Robert Rockwell - Chicago, IL - d. 1-25-2003
actor: Philip Boynton "Our Miss Brooks"
12-03-1902 - Bill Slater - Parkersburg, WV - d. 1-25-1965
emcee: ""Uncle Jim's Question Bee"; "Twenty Questions"; "Dunninger Show"
12-24-1922 - Ava Gardner - Grabtown, NC - d. 1-25-1990
actress: "So Proudly We Hail"; "Prudential Family Hour of Stars"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 18:02:37 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Ann Miller OTR appearances

The passing of movie and stage dancer Ann Miller saddened me. I can't
think of any of her radio credentials--but I'm sure Ron Sayles can dig up a
couple.

I am sure that she appeared on several, but this is what I came up with.

Forecast
Hollywood Hotel
Mail Call
Command Performance
[removed] Journal

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 18:03:53 -0500
From: Doug Berryhill <fibbermac@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jerry [removed]'t no K-Mart, thankfully!

I'm still almost a week behind on reading the Digest,
but I had to put my 2 cents worth in on the Jerry
Haendiges thread.

It's obvious that there are a number of folks who can
rate their experiences with Jerry with a "thumbs
down". My personal experiences with purchasing from
Jerry a few years back were, on the whole, quite
positive. One of my e-mails got lost, but a friendly
phone call got my order back on track.

I suspect that those who are unhappy with Jerry are
under the impression that he has a big organization
with departments for dubbing, billing, shipping,
customer service, etc. and he makes hundreds of
thousands of dollars (as someone stated) in the OTR
business. But when I called about my order, it was
Jerry himself who returned the call. The high quality
of his web page gives one the impression that you're
dealing with a big organization, like K-Mart. In fact,
from what I can tell, he's just another collector,
like us. But think of it, his collection is over
60,000 shows. They are all on tape (no mp3's to help
with the storage problems). They are organized,
catalogued, inventoried, and listed on the web. Talk
about a logistical nightmare! I get overwhelmed
keeping half that number of mp3 files in order on my
computer.

Personally, I'm extremely grateful that Jerry has gone
to the effort to make so many programs available to
collectors like myself. When I was trying to put
together a complete set of all existing Inner Sanctum
Mysteries, I got fills from Jerry that I couldn't find
anyplace else. A K-Mart(or Radio-Spirits-at-Costco)
type store will give you a "Best of" set and a
customer service department to back it up, but Jerry
will be able to offer you that last few episodes of
your favorite star's obscure series. (If you've only
got 20 episodes of Archie Andrews, you can get 6 more
from Jerry and not miss a single second of Hal Stone's
genius.)

As for the logs on his web site, I too have learned to
take them with a grain of salt. I found some of them
to be excellent ([removed] "Suspense") and others to be
suspect ([removed] "Fibber McGee and Molly"). While Jerry's
logs may not be up to "historian" standards, I've
found them to be extremely useful by my "collector"
standards.

I know that Jerry H. subscribes to this list, and as
of a week ago, he had not posted a response to the
criticism. If he has since made a statement, please
forgive me for being behind on my digest reading, but
I think that his
"pay-after-you-get-the-order-and-only-if-you're-satisfied"
policy is a pretty good way to make up for the lack of
a customer service department.

I am not affiliated with Jerry H. in any way, but I
did want to submit a few words in his defense and to
say, on behalf of all of us satisfied customers and
collectors out there, thank you Jerry, for all of the
many ways you've contributed to the hobby. I, for one,
have benefitted greatly from your efforts.

-FIBBERMAC-

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

Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 20:18:13 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Warming Up

With the excessively cold weather hitting much of the Northern
Hemisphere, I started thinking about the wintertime in my youth.  When
one wanted to listen to the radio, after it was turned on, there was a
delay before one started hearing the program or commercial.  The
technical reason for this was that the cathodes in the tubes had to be
heated to work, and the process was commonly called "warming up."

Once a set was going, the glow of the tube filaments generally was a
cheery radiance spilling out of the back of the radio.  Particularly when
listening to shows in my own room with a small tabletop radio (that
utilized what my father referred to as "peanut tubes" Because of their
relatively diminutive size), that glow was part of the OTR experience.

I've recently seen ads for replica radios, most table-model cathedral
style, and often with semiconcealed cassette or CD drives.  There innards
are solid-state, but I've never seen anyone turning them on.  I wonder
whether any of them have a built-in "warmup" lag.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 00:08:11 -0500
From: "Jim Erskine, Homeway Press" <homeway@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Poets & poetry  on OTR?

Hi all,

I'm working on a "poetry" related project for some homeschoolers.

Anyone know of any programs that are biographies of famous [removed] or
dramatize a famous poem?

So far, I have "Little Boy Blue", which was an episode of Family Theater
that told the story behind Eugene Field's [removed]

And also an episode of "Worlds Greatest Short Stories" which did a reading
of Poe's "The Raven"...

Anyone know of any others?

Thanks for any leads you can give,

kylistener

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #34
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