------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 464
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Radio Happenings, New Year's Eve spe [ "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@hotmail. ]
OTR Premiums [ <jlsalley@[removed]; ]
Today in radio history [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
Re: Late Night Audiences [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Radio Recreation [ seandd@[removed] ]
audio tape cassettes [ "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed] ]
Re: Mutual Radio Theater [ passage@[removed] ]
[removed] Fields Testimonial [ Bob Fells <rfells@[removed]; ]
Re:good blank tapes? [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
Memory's Failures [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
For the fellow wanting good bulk cas [ "Robert M. Bratcher Jr." <bratcher@ ]
Submitted for your approval [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
Mutual Radio Theater [ ERIC COOPER <[removed]@sbcglobal. ]
The Christmas Story [ "Scott D. Livingston" <[removed]@comca ]
leftover tapes [ John Ruklick <ruklick55@[removed]; ]
New Year's Eve births/death [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Fats Waller in today's Wall Street J [ seandd@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 07:55:53 -0500
From: "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio Happenings, New Year's Eve special
Roy of Hollywood has some special programming for New Year's Eve, beginning
at midnight, KPFK [removed] FM, [removed]
WEDNESDAY, December 31, 2003
NEW YEAR'S EVE SPECIAL!
A Look at "Time"
12-12:30 Alan Watts "Time" Video from Electronic University, 1 (800)
96-watts, [removed]
12:30-1 "X Minus One: Seventh Victim" by Robert Sheckley. Originally
broadcast on NBC 3-6-57.
1-1:30 "The Mysterious Traveler: The Most Famous Man in the World"
Originally broadcast on Mutual, June 5, 1951.
1:30-2 "X Minus One: Sam, This Is You!" by Murray Langster. Originally
broadcast over NBC 10/31/56.
2-4 Eben Rey "Radio Alchymy" [removed] Where the fringe
eclipses conventional wisdom to put reality together with all the pieces.
New Years Special!
4-4:20 "X Minus One: Target One" Originally broadcast over NBC 12/26/57.
4:20-5:30 The Credibility Gap presents "The Rose Parade" These hysterical
and extremely politically incorrect bits were recorded during the Rose
Parades in the 1970's, broadcast live over (the old) KRLA, and issued in an
double LP called "A Great Gift Idea"
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 07:56:19 -0500
From: <jlsalley@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: OTR Premiums
With all the talk about how to receive a decoder or other premium, I
happened to be listening to a 1941 episode of Terry and the Pirates.
In 1941 a label from Libbys' tomato juice and pineapple juice and 10 cents
(two labels and a dime) sent to
Terry
c/o Libbys
Chicago
would get you a "Terry-Scope" just like the one Terry used - only better,
because Terry had to make his from pieces of mirror he had found and yours
would be manufactured. You could see around buildings and over walls.
Pretty exciting, boys and girls.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 07:56:29 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in radio history
From Those Were The Days --
1936 - The famous feud between Jack Benny and Fred Allen was ignited.
After a 10-year-old performer finished a violin solo on The Fred Allen
Show, Mr. Allen said, "A certain alleged violinist should hide his head
in shame for his poor fiddle playing." It didn't take long for Mr. Benny
to respond. The humorous feud lasted for ten weeks on both comedian's shows.
1942 - Mr. and Mrs. North debuted on NBC. Joseph Curtin played Jerry
North and Alice Frost played Pam. A typical Mr. and Mrs. North episode
would find Pam leading Jerry on what seemed to be a wild-goose chase as
they tracked down criminals. Pam always ended up being right and leading
police to the criminals. The theme song for the show was The Way You
Look Tonight. Sponsors included Woodbury soap, Jergens lotion and Halo
shampoo.
Joe
--
Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:13:12 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Late Night Audiences
On 12/30/03 8:16 AM [removed]@[removed] wrote:
Seriously, it was sometimes a problem for the New York programs
to get a quality audience for the repeat programs because they sometimes
started at midnight. I seem to recall Fred Allen having some comments
about this situation.
Oh, yes. The "Town Hall Tonight" broadcast for the West Coast aired from
midnight to 1 AM, and Allen recalled that it was often necessary to send
NBC pages out into the street to round up enough people to fill 8-H for
the broadcast. This often meant an audience made up of some of the more
flavorful elements of Manhattan nightlife -- grifters, winos, bums,
streetwalkers, and so forth.
Allen's most memorable comment on this subject was "It looks like
somebody tipped over a pool table and these people crawled out of the
pockets. I could reach into my toilet and pull out a better class of
people."
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:13:16 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio Recreation
This article from the Coshocton Tribune notes an upcoming radio recreation.
Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:13:40 -0500
From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: audio tape cassettes
Can anyone suggest where (online probably) to get bulk, Quality blank
tapes? I picked
up a bunch of 3-packs at the dollar store, but find that they record the
last 5+ minutes
on each side in a sped up way that really makes them worthless. I also
tried some
unlabeled white 64 minute tapes which I got by the box online (I forget
where), but 1 out
of 10 or so don't want to record.
It's possible that at least part of the problem is in the tape machine
itself. Check the condition of
*the rubber capstan roller. The outer surface should be black and rubbery.
They tend to become glazed from age and the tape lubricant. Scrub it with a
cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol. The roller should also rotate freely
on its little bearing.
*the capstan, a slim, shiny steel shaft that drives the tape along. Make
sure that it's shiny and not gunked up with oxide from the tape. It should
also not rattle in its bronze bearing.
*the torque on the takeup spindle. If the machine is bi-directional, both
spindles are take-up spindles. Moderate finger pressure on the rotating
spindle should stall it. If the torque is too low, you risk snarling the
tape. If it's too great, the tape will slip through the capstan and its
roller, and cause odd speed variations depending on the diameter of the
accumulated tape pack.
*the motor, the pulleys, and particularly the drive belts, all frustrating
items to repair/replace.
*the record lockout finger that tries to poke itself into a recess in the
rear of the cassette. If this is bent for some reason, it might be
occasionally fooled and thus prevent you from recording some tapes that
don't sit quite right in the machine.
*the tape head itself. These can get smeared with enough oxide and oxide
adhesive to impair the progress of the tape. Again, scrub it with alcohol.
<grumble> All of which is to say that the average cassette mechanism is a
mild disaster in terms of durability: it wouldn't have taken a lot of
engineering or cost to make a decent 3-motor machine that would last about
forever, but [removed];/grumble>
It's indeed likely that the tapes are at fault here. If the tape 'reels'
inside don't rotate freely (this is caused by poor molding tolerances)
you'll get strange, intermittent results. I'm afraid I don't have a source
for cheap, reliable tapes. You might have to use the high-quality,
high-profit brand-name kind nowadays, if indeed they're still available in
this age of CD's and MP3's.
M Kinsler
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:13:52 -0500
From: passage@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Mutual Radio Theater
William D. Clark asked:
Also could anyone tell me about the Mutual Radio Theater?
I figured others will answer the rest of your email but the best log
I've seen for this series can be found at
[removed]
It's written by Dick Judge and has a nice description of the series
as well as the log.
Frank
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:14:06 -0500
From: Bob Fells <rfells@[removed];
To: Old Time Radio <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: [removed] Fields Testimonial
I wonder if any of the researchers on the Digest have come across this
item. A newly published biography of [removed] Fields by James Curtis
discusses a testimonial dinner given in Mr. Fields's honor in Hollywood
on February 18, 1939. I suppose it's a long shot but I wonder if the
various speeches at this event were recorded, even if not broadcast,
similar to the testimonial dinner given in May 1941 to honor Jack Benny.
Replies off line are welcome. Thank you.
Bob Fells
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:14:19 -0500
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re:good blank tapes?
Ben, those blank tapes you bought that don't record, may just have had the
tabs removed. Look on the back of the tape and see if that is the case. If
so, put some scotch tape over the hole and they should now record.
Fred
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:50:53 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Memory's Failures
Dr. A. Joseph Ross, reacting to my assertion that the de facto
single-place aircraft of the Secret Squadron was the P-40, noted,
How so? This WAS a radio show. I would have thought the aircraft of
the Secret Squadron would have consisted of sound effects devices.
The aircraft of the show were pictured on the covers of the manuals that
accompanied the Code-O-Graphs. Each of them, save the bomber on the 1945
manual and the jets on the 1949 manual, were obviously P-40 variants,
even including the one that's been shot that he pilot has bailed out of
(and who seems awfully cheerful for just having lost his airplane).
The TV version did have a credit as to the ownership of the Silver
Dart. It was owned by Douglass Aircraft, I think. The pictures were
mainly a few stock shots of the plane in flight or taking off. The
cockpit interior scenes were probably a set.
But the TV version had the Secret Squadron a private organization. There
was no strong connection to the radio version, and much revisionism. I
don't consider the TV Squadron as Canonical to the Burtt and Moore
creation.
Speaking of whether Captain Midnight had a "personal" aircraft that he'd
named the *Sky King*, I'd pointed out that the aircraft allotted to the
Squadron were Government issue.
That doesn't seem at all inconsistent. Given that the government
provided the plane, there might still have been one plane which Captain
Midnight always used.
Even so, he didn't refer to any of his aircraft by name on the radio
show. I'd cited this in the discussion of Jim Harmon's book, *The Great
Radio Heroes*, where he cited the *Sky King* as part of a description of
how Captain Midnight rescued Chuck, Joyce, and Major Steele from The
Barracuda in Japanese occupied China, and the errors of relying solely on
memory. Actually, his description was supposed to have been derived from
a BLB adaptation of the program. He apparently didn't have one handy
when he wrote the section, because the BLB adaptation, with the rather
awkward title of *Captain Midnight and The Secret Squadron vs. the Terror
of the Orient, adhered very closely to the original radio script, and was
far from what Mr. Harmon related.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:51:06 -0500
From: "Robert M. Bratcher Jr." <bratcher@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: For the fellow wanting good bulk cassettes
Try
[removed]
they have both bulk & packaged cassettes at very good prices & even will
send you a few free samples (I got 4 bulk VHS videotapes that way) if you
ask on the phone. Oh & they have online ordering which is great for buying
stuff!
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:57:51 -0500
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Submitted for your approval
The SciFi Channel is having a two-day Twilight Zone
marathon, all day Dec 31 and Jan 1. (See
[removed]#tz for links to
the schedule.) I've never really watched the Twilight
Zone before--I have vague memories of seeing it as a
kid, but somehow have managed to miss it for the past
two decades or so. My question is: Are there any
episodes that feature old radio stars? It would be
nice to put a face to some voices!
By the way, did anybody catch the PBS special on Rod
Serling last night? I saw part of it. The first half
hour dealt with his work on live dramatic television
in the 50s, Playhouse 90 and stuff like that. I really
wish they still showed stuff like that on tv,
someplace! TV Land and Nick at Nite focus very heavily
on commercial hits. We need a cable channel that
replays classic and historically important tv shows,
not just the nostalgic stuff. Sort of like Turner
Classic Movies, but for early tv.
Anyway, back to the Rod Serling biography. When they
transitioned to discussing the Twilight Zone, they
made a big deal of how innovative these shows were, at
least for television. The snippets they showed,
however, struck both my wife and myself as heavily
influenced by old radio! Would that be fair to say, or
are we missing something? I don't mean to say that Rod
Serling was the Arch Oboler of his generation
(although the parallel came to mind several times
during the biopic). Is there any consensus of opinion
on how influenced by radio Rod Serling was?
Cheers,
Kermyt
[ADMINISTRIVIA: Many OTR stars performed in Twilight Zone episodes; our
friend Harry Bartell was featured in "I Shot an Arrow into the Air" (volume
18 of Image-Entertainment's DVD collection). --cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:58:03 -0500
From: ERIC COOPER <[removed]@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Mutual Radio Theater
Mutua Radio Theater had its roots in the Sears Radio
Theater which aired on CBS in 1979-80. Mutual simply
picked up the SRT tapes in the spring of 1980 and
rebroadcast them for a time under its own name. Then
VERY briefly in the fall of 1980, Mutual began
producing original episodes, but the network could not
find a sponsor so the new series was cancelled about
three months after it began.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 13:38:58 -0500
From: "Scott D. Livingston" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: The Christmas Story
Michael Beil wrote:
Last month Warner
Bros. issued a new 2-disc 20th Anniversary version of "The Christmas Story"
DVD, and the publicity mentioned that there were original Jean Shepherd
radio broadcasts included as extra features.
This 2 disk version did sell like "hot cakes" I saw them in our local
Wal-Mart one day and the next went back to buy five of them and they were
gone. I did however go to a neighboring town the same day and buy five of
the last sets they had.
My kids (oldest now 28 and the youngest of the 4 now 21) grew up watching
"The Christmas Story" (at least from the time it came out on VHS). They all
learned to turn on the TV the last several year and let it run for 24 hours
while TNT showed it nonstop during Christmas eve and Christmas day. (By the
way, perhaps my memory is failing me but wasn't it shown without commercial
interruptions all the years before this one? This year we put in the DVD and
just let it rerun over and over to avoid the annoying commercials.) Anyway,
I saw the special edition and told my wife about them and she insisted that
we buy each of our kids and their spouses the new 2 disk set for Christmas.
>From the calls we received Christmas from Luxemburg, New Jersey, Utah and
Arizona, the 2 disk set was a hit and will be a treasured Christmas gift for
years to come. They all commented on the great radio stuff of JS's on the
second disk. I listened to it 3 times on Christmas day between viewings of
thee movie itself. Ah, what a great Christmas.
Scott "Fibber" Livingston
PS Also thought I would mention, as part of our Christmas decorations, we
have a framed 11X14 ad for a Red Ryder-200 shot-range model- air rifle
hanging next to our tree and a 1990's-ish model of a Red Ryder BB gun
propped against the wall underneath the ad. The air rifle was a give to me
several years ago from one of my kids (they have a pack not to tell which
one) as I never had one as a child.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 14:45:41 -0500
From: John Ruklick <ruklick55@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: leftover tapes
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
hi everyone, over the years i have been transfering my mp3 old time radio
shows onto cassette so i could listen in the car, walkman, [removed] problem
now is that i have hundreds of cassettes filling up a walk in closet and I'm
driving my wife nuts.
each cassette contains 3 shows, usually of the same series. I thought
instead of throwing them away, I could offer them to a new fan who is looking
for an inexpensive way to get some shows. I thought $[removed] tape plus shipping
would be fair. I could either make a mix or find a series that you are
interested in. this is less than the cost of the original tapes and as I
said, there are 3 shows on each tape. they all sound very good for the most
[removed] If anyone is interested, please contact me at ruklick55@[removed]. I
just hate to throw these things [removed] Thanks.
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 17:31:22 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: New Year's Eve births/death
Today in history:
1943 - Four hundred New York City police are called out to control the frenzied
crowds as the young Frank Sinatra begins a singing engagement at the
Paramount Theatre.
New Year"s Eve Births
12-31-1897 - Paula Hemminghous - Columbus, OH - d. 11-22-1997
singer: "Philco Hour"; "National Radio Pulpit"; "Highlights of the Bible"
12-31-1905 - Jule Styne - London, England - d. 9-28-1994
songwriter: "I Don"t Wan to Walk Without You"; "I"ve Heard That Song Before"
12-31-1910 - Richard Kollmar - Ridgewood, NJ - d. 1-11-1971
actor: John Perry "John"s Other Wife"; "Boston Blackie "Boston Blackie"
12-31-1914 - Pat Brady - Toledo, OH - d. 2-27-1972
sidekick, stooge: "Roy Rogers Show"
New Year"s Eve death
05-08-1940 - Ricky Nelson - Teaneck, NJ - d. 12-31-1985
actor: "Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 17:31:50 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Fats Waller in today's Wall Street Journal
Nat Hentoff has an article on page D8 of today's Wall Street Journal on a
recent set of Fats Waller remotes "The Amazing Fats Waller: You'll Remember
Me," on the Solo Arts label.
The WSJ doesn't provide free content on the Internet but notes that you can
order the recordings at [removed].
Just an update for those musically inclined,
Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #464
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