------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 358
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
George Fenneman vs. John Stephenson [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
10-3 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Wanted to trade: Johnny Dollar [ rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed] ]
Mystery Playhouse returns to the air [ rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed] ]
You Bet Your Life on radio [ "Ronnie Wise" <rwise@[removed]; ]
Re: A&A -- The Song [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Re: BBC Radio For Sale [ "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed]; ]
Lux Radio Theater [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
Re: C-120 tapes [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
Eddy King at SPERDVAC [ "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@hotmail. ]
Miss Sherlock [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
Ann Scotland [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
People Are Funny [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
Re: Billy Murray and Amos 'n' Andy [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
Sound quality of OTR, was Lux Questi [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
OTR mistake [ Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 10:09:11 -0400
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: George Fenneman vs. John Stephenson
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Hey all you fellow Digesters:
SOMEBODY ALERT RIPLEY!!! Believe It or Not, my good friend Michael
Hayde, to whom I've given the quite-fitting sobriquet "Mr. Dragnet," has made
a mistake. The fact that Michael is also a phenomenal cartoon historian also
compounds the following faux pas. In response to a question posed by Kenneth
Clarke, Michael writes:
After Liggett & Myers began sponsoring "Dragnet," Fenneman eventually took
over this line from Eddy King: "The story you're about to hear is true.
Only the names have been changed, to protect the innocent." He also spoke
the TV variation of that line on every single "Dragnet" program through
1970.
Sorry to compromise Badge 714, Michael, but the wrap-around narration
from the 1966-1970 "Dragnet" incarnation was provided by veteran TV actor and
Hanna-Barbera voice-man John Stephenson. I can see how the misconception that
George Fenneman also announced the 1960s "Dragnet" is perpetuated to this
day as I don't ever remember Mr. Stephenson receiving any sort of on-screen
or spoken credit.
Don't worry, Michael. you're not the only one to make this
"dum-de-dum-dumb" mistake. I remember when Mr. Fenneman died a few years ago
& how the E! cable-channel on their "Entertainment Tonight" knock-off "E!
News Daily" played the opening "badge" scene from the 1960s "Dragnet" and
identified John Stephenson's voice as that of George Fenneman's.
As far as I'm concerned, Mike, you're still and always will be
"Mr. Dragnet." Besides, I need to be nice to you considering that your
"Dragnet" panel is the lead-in to my "comedians' panel" later this month at
the FOTR convention in Newark, NJ.
Speaking of "Dragnet," I see how the newest re-incarnation starring
Ed O'Neill on ABC has been re-titled "[removed] Dragnet" for the new season. As a
long-time fan of both "Dragnet" & of Jack Webb's oeuvre, I welcome this
titular differentiation and feel the more this 21st century "Dragnet" does to
distance itself from the original article, the better.
The former "Al Bundy" Ed O'Neill seems angry all the time. Why
don't they just call the entity "DRAGNETWORK" and have O'Neill/Friday shout
"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more!"?
In conclusion, I always liked how the early 1949 radio "Dragnets"
ended with each episode being dedicated to the memory of policemen who had
died in the line of duty. I remember hearing one being dedicated to a cop
named "Forrest Sawyer." I know this is a long-shot, but would anybody out
there happen to know if this lawman is somehow related to the latter-day TV
news anchor of the same name?
That's about the size of it!
Derek Tague
Orange, NJ (home of Byron G. Harlan)
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 10:09:19 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 10-3 births/deaths
October 3rd births
10-03-1873 - Emily Post - Baltimore, MD - d. 9-25-1960
commentator: "Emily Post"; "Right Thing to Do"
10-03-1890 - Henry Hull - Louisville, KY - d. 3-8-1977
actor: Honest Abe "Abraham Lincoln"; Nathan Hale "Roses and Drums"
10-03-1898 - Leo McCarey - Los Angeles, CA - d. 7-5-1969
judge: "This Is My Story"
10-03-1899 - Gertrude Berg - NYC - d. 9-14-1966
actress: Molly Goldberg, "The Goldbergs"
10-03-1916 - James Alfred "Alf" Wight - Sunderland, England - d. 2-23-1995
author: James Herriot Books
October 3rd deaths
02-24-1914 - Zachary Scott - Austin, TX - d. 10-3-1965
actor: "Suspense"; "Encore Theatre"; "[removed] Steel Hour"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
06-04-1917 - Charles Collingwood - Three Rivers, MI - d. 10-3-1985
newscaster: CBS News UN Correspondent/White House Correspondent
07-17-1914 - Eleanor Steber - Wheeling, WV - d. 10-3-1990
singer: "Voice of Firestone"; "[removed] Fox Trappers"
09-17-1928 - Roddy McDowall - London, England - d. 10-3-1998
panelist: "Keep Up with the Kids"
11-30-1913 - John K. M. McCaffrey - Moscow, ID - d. 10-3-1983
newscaster: "Author Meets the Critics"; "What Makes You Tick?"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 11:37:09 -0400
From: rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Wanted to trade: Johnny Dollar
I'm compiling a list of my episodes of Johnny Dollar, and I am missing many
episodes from the 30 minute Bob Bailey run. Anyone who would like to trade
these on cassette, please contact me.
thanks,
rodney.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 11:37:28 -0400
From: rodney-selfhelpbikeco@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Mystery Playhouse returns to the air
For those who live in the Cincinnati area, WVXU ([removed]) is now airing
Mystery Playhouse rebroadcasts of Suspense and The Whistler weeknights at
7pm.
WVXU airs a full 24 hours of OTR material a week. Quite a feat for any
modern broadcast station!
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 11:52:22 -0400
From: "Ronnie Wise" <rwise@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: You Bet Your Life on radio
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Hi, radio buffs: I'm trying to get all the Your Bet Your Life radio episodes.
Does anyone have any idea how many YBYL radio broadcasts there were, and how
many have survived? Also, were the YBYL TV shows simulcast on radio, and what
date did that start?
Any information is appreciated.
Ron Wise
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 13:02:11 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: A&A -- The Song
On 10/2/03 10:49 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:
Now here's the promised OTR thread. Billy Murray, once billed as "The Denver
Nightingale," recorded a novelty tune in 1930 simply entitled "Amos 'n
Andy." I'd be interested in hearing it of course, but I'm guessing there's
little chance of that. So how about settling for a copy of the lyrics?
Anyone? Elizabeth?
Easy enough to oblige --
The song was "Amos 'n' Andy", AKA "I Wonder What Amos 'n' Andy Will Do
Tomorrow Night," with music by William Tracey and lyrics by Jack Stanley,
a couple of Tin Pan Alley hacks who specialized in upbeat novelty songs.
The song was cranked out in the early months of 1930 to capitalize on the
A&A craze which swept the nation during the winter of 1929-30, and was
recorded by several harmony teams, with the Billy Murray/Walter Scanlan
version recorded on 3/6/30 (Perfect 12597, also issued as Conqueror 9412,
and pseudonymously as "Saunders and White" on Banner 9412, Oriole 1900,
and Romeo 1261) probably the most successful.
The lyrics are as follows:
Verse:
There's a very fu-nny pair
Ev-'ry night they're on the air,
And fans are gath-ered ev-'ry where
A ra-di-o is han-dy
In homes or at the groc-'ry store
People listen in and roar,
They laugh un-til their sides are sore
At Am-os 'n' Andy.
Chorus:
Am-os 'n' An-dy,
They're al-ways in a stew
Bad luck seems to fol-low them,
No mat-ter what they do.
The boys are al-ways try-ing
but they nev-er save a bean
If King-fish does-n't get it
then it's spent on Mad-ame Queen.
We laugh at all their trou-bles
But we hope they'll end all right
We won-der what Am-os 'n' An-dy
will do to-mor-row night.
Second Verse:
In the res-t'rant where you eat
In the cars or on the street,
Now ev-'ry-bo-dy that you meet
Has just one con-ver-sa-tion
Go east or west or north or south
They're in ev-'ry-bo-dy's mouth,
There's just one sub-ject talked a-bout
Through-out all the nation.
Second Chorus:
Am-os 'n' An-dy,
What will their fin-ish be
This sus-pense is kill-ing us,
Such ner-vous wrecks are we.
Why ev-en old grand-mothers
sit around in chairs and rock
As soon as din-ner's ov-er
ev-'ry eye is on the clock.
This one important question
Has the na-tion sit-ting tight
We won-der what Am-os 'n' An-dy
will do to-mor-row night.
Third Verse:
Am-os 'n' An-dy,
Al-tho' they're nev-er seen
They've be-come more fa-mous than
The team of Pork and Beans.
When you step on the gas or
at a light you fail to stop
You hear that cer-tain whis-tle
and up jumps a traf-fic cop.
His mind ain't on his bus'-ness
On the ticket he will write
"I won-der what Am-os 'n' An-dy
will do to-mor-row night."
Correll and Gosden themselves never authorized this song, nor did they
license the use of their registered trademark in its lyrics -- although
there's no evidence that they ever pursued legal action against Tracey
and Stanley over it, as they did with various other infringers during
this period. They also never performed the song themselves, and there's
good reason to believe they were too embarassed by that sort of adulation
to ever consider doing so.
Archeophone Records puts out an excellent CD compilation of Murray's
recordings, with the Perfect release of "Amos 'n' Andy" among them. (See
[removed])
Anyone who's seriously interested in early-20th-century pop culture needs
to know who Murray was -- and this CD is an excellent introduction to his
work. Or if you're a 78rpm collector, his recordings are still very easy
to find, and don't cost a lot. Plus they're a *lot* of fun.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 14:13:38 -0400
From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: BBC Radio For Sale
Allen Wilcox <aawjca@[removed]; asked the musical question:
Does any one know of any one who sells BBC radio
products?
If you don't mind paying through the nose (among other places), all of the Beeb's currently-in-production titles can be had at:
[removed]
(If the above address breaks, just go through the Amazon UK "front door" at [removed] and search for "BBC" in "Audio CDs".)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 15:17:20 -0400
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Lux Radio Theater
Hi Everybody,
regarding in the last digest about why does the 1939 Lux Radio Theater has a
special sound to them. [removed] grandson donated his collection to SPERDVAc
which mainly is from 1939 to 1945. That might help expand the answer if
your copy come from the SPErDVAC disc. Take care,
Walden
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 16:31:31 -0400
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: C-120 tapes
John Matthews talked about his having no problems 2 hour tapes. You might
just be lucky. There are two major problems with a tape that thin.
1. Print through
2. Weak batteries. Some portable machines tend to have a problem on the
take up side if the batteries get weak. Result. Tape jams. This could even
happen on a standard player if it is belt driven. The belts get stretched
and the tape jams.
My suggestion to all my clients is to not use C-120's. We had only one
client that ever did use them. And that is over a period of 30 some years.
Fred
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 17:01:59 -0400
From: "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Eddy King at SPERDVAC
Michael Hayde recently posted:
After Liggett & Myers began sponsoring "Dragnet," Fenneman eventually took
over this line from Eddy King.
You'll have a chance to meet Eddy King and hear about the other shows he
worked on, too at the next SPERDVAC meeting on October 11th. The guest
speaker will be EDDY KING, veteran radio/TV announcer who worked on
Hollywood-originated shows such as: "RICHARD DIAMOND"(w/Dick Powell), "ROCKY
FORTUNE"(w/Frank Sinatra), early "DRAGNET"(w/Jack Webb) among others.
The meeting will begin at 12 Noon, is FREE and open to the public. The
Library is located at 16244 Nordhoff St., North Hills (San Fernando Valley),
just west of the 405 (San Diego) Freeway.
Barbara
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 17:34:16 -0400
From: otrbuff@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Miss Sherlock
Once again Kenneth Clarke writes:
I'd like to get some information, if available
from anyone who knows about "Meet Miss Sherlock".
See "Radio Crime Fighters," page 175, for fuller details on this series.
There are presently only two known extant episodes of this 1946-47 CBS
series in circulation and Kenneth already owns one of those.
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 17:33:55 -0400
From: otrbuff@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Ann Scotland
Kenneth Clarke writes:
I've looked through John Dunning's book, and others,
but can't seem to find any info about "The Adventures of
Anne Scotland".
But did you look in mine? See pages 36-37 of "Radio Crime Fighters"
(McFarland, 2002). The program's title is "The Affairs of Ann Scotland."
The lady detective was considered a "satin-tongued cutie" and her series was
on ABC from October 1946 to October 1947 and starred Arlene Francis. You'll
find a lot of trivia about Arlene in the text.
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 17:43:28 -0400
From: otrbuff@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: People Are Funny
A. Joseph Ross tells us:
According to Art Linkletter's autobiography, People Are Funny initially was
co-hosted by him and Art Baker. Then after a few weeks, at Art Baker's
insistence, Linkletter was dumped, but remained involved with John Guidel
in the production end. This was because the show was too new to be able
to lose a host of Art Baker's status. After the show was renewed,
Art Baker was dumped and Linkletter returned as full host.
>From my book, "The Great Radio Audience Participation Shows" (McFarland,
2001), pages 12-13, comes this affirming detail:
"When Guedel proposed People Are Funny to NBC he preferred the extroverted
Art Linkletter as emcee over the more pedantic Baker. The network
disagreed; Baker would host the show while Linkletter, who actually thought
up many of the show's pranks, assisted for a little while. Linkletter,
incidentally, had been in on the ground floor of developing People Are
Funny. Guedel claimed the two men hatched the series in a corner booth of
the Brown Derby Restaurant near the famous intersection of Hollywood and
Vine. . . .
"The rather avant-garde radio series premiered on April 10, 1942. As time
rolled by it became increasingly apparent to many that the show lacked a
vital ad-lib quality at the top. A year-and-a-half later Guedel abruptly
replaced Baker with Linkletter. Baker sued him and lost. People Are Funny
became Linkletter's venue, and the fans quickly forgot there ever had been
another host."
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 18:55:07 -0400
From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Billy Murray and Amos 'n' Andy
I don't have the recording by Billy Murray (I'll have to look it up in the
Murray discography) but I do have records of two A&A songs from the
1929-1930 era. My favorite is called "Amos 'n' Andy" but should really
have been called "I Wonder What Amos 'n' Andy Will Do Tommorrow Night."
The other song is much less inspired, called "I'm Dreaming of Amos 'n'
Andy." Now that I have found my tape of Episode 28--the earliest one know
to exist--perhaps I should include these two records when we distribute it.
And to add to Murray's OTR links, he did do broadcasts, and I have his
appearance on the first program ofThe Edison Hour, Feb 11, 1929.
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 18:56:06 -0400
From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Sound quality of OTR, was Lux Question
Bob Fells asks why the 1939 Lux Radio Theatre recordings are much more
vivid than the earlier ones. There can be many reasons, ranging from the
quality of the original discs to the care that was taken or not taken in
the initial transfers to tape, and also whether the earlier ones might have
gone thru more generations of collector dubbings. There also can be a
difference based on whether it was recorded off the line in the city where
the program originates vs. being recorded in a distant city with network
lines.
Even two recordings of the same program can be quite different in quality.
Just yesterday I was starting to make a dub of Corwin's "We Hold These
Truths" for my daughter to use for a class assignment, and I figured I
could save time by just cloning the version on the Radio Spirits Walter
Cronkite set. I knew it was not as good as my tape, but I thought it would
be good enough. But I knew that I HAD to add the CBS Network introduction
to the program that was on my tape but was not on the RS CD. So I got out
the edited version of the program I play in class and was intending to use
it just for that network intro (it lists the programs and sponsors that
were being pre-empted.) But when I compared the sound quality I was
absolutely floored at how much better mine was. It was sparkling crystal
clear. High frequencies to 10 K and perhaps beyond were quite evident.
Deep resonate bass. Both in the music and in the voices such as Lionel
Barrymore in the opening. The Radio Spirits, on the other hand, was
muffled, blurry, slushy, thin and bass less, and altogether disgustingly
bad--especially considering all of Carl A's hype of their great sound
quality. It sounded like a seventeenth generation cassette that may have
been recorded from a disc made in a city other than the originating city of
LA. Mine sounds like the first or second generation dub of a line check
recorded in LA, probably at Radio Recorders. It is open reel 7 1/2 IPS.
So there is an example of how two recordings of the exact same broadcast
can differ so much in sound quality. And Leah, you'll have to wait a
couple of weeks till I can pull out the unedited original tape and dub it
real time to CD.
Bob also indicates that "the 1939 broadcasts sound as though they were
recorded directly inside the Music Box Theater, sort of the way RCA
recorded Toscanini's NBC Symphony concerts inside Studio 8H." They would
never have the recording machines in the studios. They would always be in
separate isolated rooms. They have to be able to monitor the sound off of
speakers with no interaction with the original sound. They also have to be
careful not to have any sonic vibrations strong enough to vibrate the
recording machine, discs, cutting head, etc. From what I have heard from
the people who have worked directly with the original NBC and RCA Victor
masters for the official CD reissues, both organizations were recording
side by side in the same facility using their own equipment. It was
elsewhere in the building. I've also been told that usually the NBC
recordings sounded better than the RCA Victor masters. Occasionally for
the broadcasts there were feeds with and without the announcer, so there
might have been a half dozen recording machines going.
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 19:49:18 -0400
From: Kenneth Clarke <kclarke5@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR mistake
I believe I asked about an OTR program recently
I referred to as "The Adventures of Anne Scotland". Well,
I was wrong about the title. The correct title of the program
was "The Affairs of Anne Scotland". If anyone knows where
I can get cassettes of this program, let me know.
Can anyone suggest a few good OTR detective/mystery
programs from OTR apart from the usual ones? (I already
have "The Fat Man", "The Thin Man", "Candy Matson", "Sherlock
Holmes", "The Shadow" and the like.) Are there any others
which are available which anyone can recommend? If so, let
me know offline.
Kenneth Clarke
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #358
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