------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2004 : Issue 415
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
On A Note Of Triumph [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
The Wistful Vista Triangle [ Froggievilleus <froggievilleus@yaho ]
New Years weekend with Walden Hughes [ BryanH362@[removed] ]
Characters in name only [ Richard Carpenter <newsduck@[removed] ]
Re: Unheard of [ Timothy Clough <timothy@[removed]; ]
re: Unheard of [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Re: Unheard Of [ "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed]; ]
Retconning [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Re: Charles Lane [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
Re: Unheard Of [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
New Year's day births [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Jerry Orbach and CBSRMT [ Eric Cooper <ercjncpr@[removed]; ]
Typo Olga Albani [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Shadow film [ Clif Martin <martbart@[removed]; ]
Uncle Dennis on Fibber McGee [ donskuce@[removed] ]
Artie Shaw [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
Re: Molly's Uncle Dennis, Not "Unhea [ Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@earthlin ]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 21:20:38 -0500
From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: On A Note Of Triumph
Richard Fisher posted:
I am working on arranging to get the program offered at the Public Radio
Exchange, and am trying to persuade National Public Radio to do
something. Appeals from more voices couldn't hurt! But beyond that, it
would be great to have any and all stations take the time to rebroadcast
NOTE OF TRIUMPH next May, and perhaps some of you can help with that.
Permission to broadcast is available free, with just three minor
conditions, along with a CD; the info's on the Corwin website.
I contacted Marlin Taylor at XM radio's 40's channel about running this
broadcast. He responded that the OTR channel does run it sometimes and says
that it is "controlled by the entity that supplies all the material heard on
Radio Classics( Radio Spirts).
They are planning to do some special programing to mark the 50th anniversary
of the end of WW2. They will rerun last years 40 hour of D Day special again,
but with some new material that was requested.
I might add that the 40's channel is going to feature 7 hours of remote
broadcasts of the big bands on New Years eve starting at 6pm EST, beginning
with a Glenn Miller remote.
On a personal note, I got XM in our new car that we bought last April and my
wife and I both really love it. We listen to the 40's channel and "Franks
Place" mostly, but also occasionally the OTR channel(My wife doesn't really
like OTR that much) Anyway she drives that car most of the time so I just
bought an XM radio, that I plug into my stereo system at home, and then if
I'm going to be driving any distance at all I will take with me in my car. It
works great! I am very pleased and all that good music(and OTR) without
commercials(except OTR) for $[removed](for two radios) per month. The hook ups
are super easy and I've had no reception problems either in the house of in
the car.
George Aust
[ADMINISTRIVIA: For a somewhat different take on XM's "RadioClassics" channel
(and Sirius' channel as well, since they are both programmed by MediaBay) see:
[removed]
Personally, I love XM, but more for XMPR Channel 133, and 70's-on-7. --cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 21:21:17 -0500
From: Froggievilleus <froggievilleus@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The Wistful Vista Triangle
Hi All,
Having read up on the recent postings regarding the
disappearance of Gildy's wife, I feel that now I
should enter into the discussion and toss in my theory
as to what happened to Mrs. Gildersleeve.
Basically, it is known as the Wistful Vista Triangle.
The concept works in the same vein as that of the
Bermuda Triangle. Characters appear for a while and
then disappear with no explanation or reasoning
whatsoever. This, I believe, is what happened to Mrs.
Gildersleeve.
Another character that mysteriously vanished suddenly
one day is that of Alice, who worked in the war plant.
She was there for quite a while, even after the war
ended. Suddenly she vanished without a trace.
What about Boomer? He was there oodles of times, then
[removed]
The McGee's second maid, Lena, disappeared without a
trace or explanation one day.
Those are just a couple that I know of at this point.
With further research, perhaps I can discover others
who have been caught up in this phenomenon.
:)
Elizabeth S.
=====
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 21:43:13 -0500
From: BryanH362@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: New Years weekend with Walden Hughes
Go to [removed] for live streaming . This weeks highlights
include:
Friday 12-31-04
Walden comes on with a mix of Christmas, New Year shows for around 12
hours.
Frank Bresee joins Walden at 1pm PST and Jim Harmon is the live guest
talking about Jack Lester
Later in the program Frank prsents a replay of Dick Clark wishing a happy
new year.
Followed later by replay of an interview with Janet Waldo.
Saturday 1-1-05 at 7-30pm PST.
An evening of Christmas OTR shows including the One Man's Family New
Year's show
Sunday 1-2-05
7:30 PM PST
A. For the first hour Prof. Mike Biel will be featured. ( Topic not
announced)
B. (8:30) Laura Leff presents Jack Benny. The program of 12-31-44 is
featured.
Wladen willend the evening with some favorite OTR shows.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 00:00:55 -0500
From: Richard Carpenter <newsduck@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Characters in name only
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Regarding radio characters whose names were mentioned but never actually
appeared on the show: What about Rishigan Fishigan of Sishigan Michigan of
"Vic and Sade" fame? Not to mention his wife, Jane Bayne from Paine, Maine.
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 00:01:17 -0500
From: Timothy Clough <timothy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Unheard of
--Myrt, the Telephone Operator, whom we never hear during those one-sided
flirty phone calls
Fibber McGee regales us with.
--Molly McGee's Uncle Dennis, the butt of many a drunk joke.
Not true, on both accounts.
Myrt: June 22, 1943--last show of the season
Uncle Dennis--several times, starting in the fall of 1943. I'm currently
in the process of listening to all surviving episodes, in order, and
right now I'm later in that same season (next episode is D-Day episode)
so I'm not sure how much longer he's on, but he's definitely been on.
Timothy Clough
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 00:02:18 -0500
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: re: Unheard of
I have a couple of minor corrections to Derek Tague's list of
characters whose voices we never hear:
--Myrt, the Telephone Operator, whom we never hear during those
one-sided flirty phone calls Fibber McGee regales us with.
Actually, Myrt shows up to deliver a brief line in person on the
episode broadcast on 06/22/43 (Camping At Dugan's Lake). I won't say
anything more about the circumstances, so as not to spoil the joke.
--Molly McGee's Uncle Dennis, the butt of many a drunk joke.
Ransom Sherman played Uncle Dennis for several months, round about late
43/early 44 I think. He even received billing on the air for the part.
--Ida "Mrs. Eddie" Cantor.
Ida appears on the Eddie Cantor show--or at least, an actress
portraying her. I've not listened to enough shows to figure out if
she's a regular character or not, but she popped up several times.
Here's a few unheard characters I'd like to propose:
* Eddie Cantor's five daughters (?)
* Grace Allen's mother. Mentioned a lot, but never seen.
* Mary Livingstone's mother. She gets letters from Momma a lot, but
unlike Babe, her sister, I don't think Momma ever put in an appearance.
* Fred Nitney, Fibber McGee's old vaudeville partner. (His daughter
shows up once.)
* Aunt Sarah on Fibber McGee. The old girl gave them a lot of grief,
especially whenever she sent a present--but if she ever shows up in the
flesh, I haven't heard it.
* There must be dozens of folks from Lum and Abner show are mentioned
but never heard. Like the telephone operator, and the guy who runs the
post office. Names escape me now.
* Derek already mentioned Vic and Sade. I'm sure Ethel and Albert, the
Easy Aces, and The Couple Next Door--or any serialized show with a
small cast--could count similar cases of oft-mentioned characters who
were never cast.
Kermyt
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 00:03:16 -0500
From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Unheard Of
Regarding OTR characters referred to "in name only," I can think of:
--Molly McGee's Uncle Dennis, the butt of many a drunk joke.
Uncle Dennis moved in with the McGees and made scattered on-mike appearances
during the early part of the war -- first as a stumbling sound effect, then
with occasional dialogue -- as Quinn and Leslie scrambled to fill airtime
abandoned by the losses of Hal Peary (to Earth-2 Summerfield) and Gale
Gordon and Bill Thompson (to the Coast Guard and the Navy, respectively).
--Big Chief something-or-other, whom Shreevie the Cab Driver on "The
Shadow"
is always talking about.
Dat, Mistah Cranston, would be Big Charlie himself, it would be. (Don't
believe he ever made an appearance, though there are far more episodes lost
to the <ahem> shadows of time than are extant (hey, another DC reference!).
I'm going out on a limb to hazard:
--Ida "Mrs. Eddie" Cantor.
I'd have to spend too much time trying to track the episode(s) down, but I
believe Ida was portrayed on-mike on at least one of the many Burns & Allen
shows dedicated to Cantor's eternal efforts to marry off one or more of his
daughters (usually to Bill Goodwin). Whether this was an actress playing the
part of Ida or the actual "Sweet As Apple Cider" lady herself, [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 00:04:06 -0500
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Retconning
Readers of this list who are puzzled about what became or Mrs.
Gildersleeve when Throckmorton moved to Summerfield, or any of dozens
of similar conundrums (whatever happened to Fibber and Molly's valet
Silly? Why did the Shadow lose his ability to read minds, and to
project hallucinations into people's thoughts? How could Mel Blanc's
salesman come back to sell Jack Benny shoelaces when he'd committed
suicide the previous year?) might be interested in the comic book term
"retcon". This is short for "retroactive continuity", and refers to
whenever writers simply choose to write out of existence anything
previously established that they don't like. [removed], Mrs. Gildersleeve
doesn't fit with the bachelor character they wanted to establish in
Summerfield; so voila! She never existed. For a brief synopsis of this
term, including some fascinating examples (I hadn't realized Frasier's
dad was a deceased research scientist during the Cheers years!), see
[removed] .
Kermyt
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 01:14:58 -0500
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Charles Lane
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
In a message dated 12/30/04 8:22:49 PM Central Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
I have two unknowns, Charles Lane and Wilbur "Budd" Hulick, again if some
knows their death dates please contact me off line.
Actually, I would like to hear onlist if Charles Lane is still alive. I keep
hearing from people who insist he is still, believe it or not, alive, and
even had a walk-on appearance in Adam Sandler's remake of "Mr. Deeds" (I can't
say because I didn't see it).
Dixon
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 02:16:42 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Unheard Of
Derek Tague commented on unheard people,
>--Myrt, the Telephone Operator, whom we never hear during those
one-sided flirty phone calls Fibber McGee regales us with.
Myrt was in at least one show. It was around the 1943 Christmas
season. A female letter carrier had a package for McGee to sign for.
They speak a couple of minutes about the worker shortage, women taking
over "men's jobs" for the duration, etc. After she leaves and the door
closes, Molly enters, asking "who was that McGee?' and he replies it was
Myrt, the telephone operator. (I think Shirley Mitchell played the
part, I can't recall).
> --Molly McGee's Uncle Dennis, the butt of many a drunk joke.
I'm currently listening, on Tuesday nights, to the 1944-45 season,
since those dates are the same as today, and Uncle Dennis is heard
several times, using flowerly language before getting to a point. He
was played by Ransom Sherman.
I'm Al Girard can add much more to this.
Joe
--
Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 11:12:09 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: New Year's day births
H A P P Y N E W Y E A R
New Year's Day births
01-01-1879 - [removed] Forster - London, England - d. 6-7-1970
novelist: "NBC University Theatre"
01-01-1889 - Charles Bickford - Cambridge, MA - d. 11-9-1967
actor: "Radio Hall of Fame"
01-01-1897 - Walter Greaza - St. Paul, MN - d. 1973
actor: "Columbia Workshop"; "Suspense"
01-01-1900 - Xavier Cugat - Tirona, Spain - d. 10-27-1990
bandleader: (King of the Rhumba) "Camel Caravan"
01-01-1908 - Bob Russell - d. 1-24-1998
singer, songwriter: Helped create " Name that Tune"
01-01-1909 - Dana Andrews - Collins, MS - d. 12-17-1992
actor: Matt Cevetic "I Was A Communist for the FBI"
01-01-1911 - Hank Greenberg - NYC - d. 9-14-1994
baseball great: "Play Ball"; "We the People"; "Philco Radio Time"
01-01-1916 - Earl Wrightson - Baltimore, MD - d. 3-7-1993
singer: "Highways in Melody"; "Getting the Most Out of Life"
01-01-1917 - Ted Cott - Poughkeepsie, NY - d. 6-12-1973
announcer, emcee: "So You Think You Know Music?"; "Music You Want"
01-01-1919 - Carole Landis - Fairchild, WI - d. 7-5-1948
actress: "Warner Brothers Academy Award"; "Command Performance"
01-01-1929 - Terry Moore - Los Angeles, CA
actress: Shirley 'Bumps' Smith "Smiths of Hollywood"
01-01-1938 - Norma Jean Nilsson - Hollywood, CA
actress: Kathy Anderson "Father Knows Best"; Cookie Bumstead "Blondie"
New Year's Day deaths
02-15-1907 - Cesar Romero - NYC - d. 1-1-1994
actor: "Movietone Radio Theatre"
04-17-1915 - Joe Foss - Sioux Falls, SD - d. 1-1-2003
south dakota governor: "Tops in Sports"
04-25-1919 - Albert Aley - NYC - d. 1-1-1986
actor: Hop Harrigan "Hop Harrigan"; Bob James "Stella Dallas"
05-16-1896 - Margaret Sullavan - Norfolk, VA - d. 1-1-1960
actress: "Electric Theatre"; "Hollywood Playhouse"
09-12-1888 - Maurice Chevalier - Paris, France - d. 1-1-1972
actor, singer, host: "Chase & Sanborn Hour"; "This is Paris"; "Bing Crosby
Show"
09-17-1923 - Hank Williams - Georgiana, AL - d. 1-1-1953
singer: "Louisiana Hayride"; "Grand Ole Opry"; "Health and Happiness"
12-16-1890 - Jane Morgan - North Platte, NE - d. 1-1-1972
actress: Mary Lane "Aunt Mary"; Mrs. Margaret Davis "Our Miss Brooks"
12-25-1902 - Barton Maclane - Columbia, SC - d. 1-1-1969
actor: "Thirty Minutes In Hollywood"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 11:12:20 -0500
From: Eric Cooper <ercjncpr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Jerry Orbach and CBSRMT
For what it's worth, The CBS Radio Mystery Theater Episode Guide by
Gordon Payton and Martin Grams Jr, does not list Jerry Orbach
Eric Cooper
Lake Forest, CA
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 11:12:35 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Typo Olga Albani
I had a typo on Olga Albani, I thank those of you who pointed this out to me.
She did indeed die, this is what I have on her.
08-13-1905 - Olga Albani - Barcelona, Spain - d. 6-3-1940
singer: "Coca-Cola Hour"; "Silken String"
I also heard that Charles Lane is still with us, that is good to hear.
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 11:13:04 -0500
From: Clif Martin <martbart@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Shadow film
The Sci fi channel ran The Shadow movie Thursday night. Unspeakably awful.
I don't know if it was intentionally campy or it just turned out that way.
Sure was better on radio. Only interesting part was Peter Boyle of "Everybody
Loves Raymond" as Cranston's personal driver in a cab that appeared to be a
Cord.
Clif Martin
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 11:14:19 -0500
From: donskuce@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Uncle Dennis on Fibber McGee
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
12/31/04
A remark on Derek Tague's posting:
Regarding OTR characters referred to "in name only," I can think of:
--Molly McGee's Uncle Dennis, the butt of many a drunk joke.
I distinctly recalling Uncle Dennis speaking on at least one FM&M episode.
He had, as you would expect, a very pronounced Irish brogue and was quite
loquacious. It's interersting that the "Irish drunk" stereotype hasn't been
the lightening rod for ethnic outrage that other obvious stereotypes have
been.
Don Skuce
Happy New Year to all!!!
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 11:11:59 -0500
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Artie Shaw
On learning of the passing of Artie Shaw, I went back to my notes about him.
He was dubbed "The King of the Clarinet" and his signature song was
"Nightmare." Among his most notable tunes were "Begin the Beguine," "Lover
Come Back to Me," "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "Rosalie." Vocalists who
sang with his band included Helen Forrest, Georgia Gibbs, Billie Holiday,
Lena Horne, Kitty Kallen, Tony Pastor, Mel Torme, Bea Wain and others.
Among his sidemen at varying times were Johnny Best, Russ Brown, Ray
Conniff, Jerry Gray, Bernie Privin, Buddy Rich, Sid Weiss and many more.
The only regular radio series I could find for him, aside from big band
remotes, was "Melody and Madness" in 1938-39 on CBS Sunday nights for P.
Lorillard and "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" in 1940-41 on NBC
Monday nights for Hormel.
Here's a synopsis of his professional career included in my newest volume
"Music Radio" to be released in 2005 ([removed]):
Assessing Artie Shaw's music, an author claimed: "One of the best swing
outfits ever, led by an eccentric genius who couldn't stomach the harsh
light of fame." It's true. He didn't like the adulation that went with big
bands, refusing to sign autographs. He was a man dispossessed--with strong
indications that he, himself, was often to blame. He dispossessed himself
of bands he started in 1935, 1936, 1940, 1940 (a second time), 1941, 1942,
1943, 1944, 1949 and 1953. He suffered a rare blood disease and collapsed
on more than one occasion, prompting real uncertainty. He was a talented
man who was incessantly restless. He dumped one band and took off to Mexico
to contemplate his circumstances. Among his eight wives were movie idols
Lana Turner and Ava Gardner and also Betty Kern, composer Jerome Kern's
daughter. When he quit the music business in 1954, he never looked back;
his afterlife included farming, gun collecting, writing (a biography, The
Trouble with Cinderella) and dispensing motion pictures. Sickly much of his
career, ironically he has outlived all of the other key bandmasters.
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 11:14:59 -0500
From: Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Molly's Uncle Dennis, Not "Unheard Of"
James Yellen at [removed]@[removed] wrote:
Regarding OTR characters referred to "in name only," I can think of:
<SNIP>
--Molly McGee's Uncle Dennis, the butt of many a drunk joke.
Another would be Shrevie's friend, Big Charlie, on THE SHADOW.
Actually, Uncle Dennis was unfortunately eventually heard on FIBBER McGEE
AND MOLLY, voiced by Ransom Sherman. However, the character was far better
when he was left to the listeners' imagination, and only mentioned as he was
heard drunkenly climbing up the back stairs. "It was great as long as we did
that," Jim Jordan observed in Chuck Schaden's excellent SPEAKING OF RADIO
interview book, insisting that the illusion was destroyed when the character
was reintroduced as an on-air voice. "That ended it. The appeal of it was
gone." Jim Jordan went on to point out that it would have been similarly
awful if Wallace Wimple's wife "Sweetie Face" had ever been heard.
Ransom Sherman is heard as Uncle Dennis in the October 5, 1943 and January
25, 1944 episodes which respectively introduce the characters of Alice
Darling (Shirley Mitchell) and Beulah (Marlin Hurt). Both shows are
included in Radio Spirits' BEST OF FIBBER McGEE AND MOLLY collection, which
also features a historical booklet by --ANTHONY TOLLIN
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #415
*********************************************
Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
including republication in any form.
If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
[removed]
For Help: [removed]@[removed]
To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]
To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
or see [removed]
For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]
To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]
To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]