------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2010 : Issue 88
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Reflections on Orphan Annie [ Baughan Roemer <doylemilne@[removed] ]
Organist Rosa Rio Dies at 107 [ Doug Douglass <dougdouglass@[removed] ]
God bless Rosa Rio [ Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed]; ]
The Green Hornet in person [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Rhode Island Historian [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
5-15 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
[removed] Rosa Rio - Queen of the radio [ Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@earthlin ]
This week in radio history 16-22 May [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
5-16 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 21:21:39 -0400
From: Baughan Roemer <doylemilne@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Reflections on Orphan Annie
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Leapin' Lizards! hearing the sad news from the Chicago Tribune Syndicate
yesterday of Harold Gray's Little Orphan
Annie's impending departure, after more than 85 years, from her
newspaper comic strip haven brought back a wealth of warm memories. this
fabled redhead, not unlike a cat, has certainly enjoyed at least nine
lives. indeed she rightfully ranks among the great classic multimedia
creations of the 20th century!
2010 has been a tough year for Little Orphan Annie. in January Shirley Bell
Cole, who literally grew up portraying Annie for ten years on the radio,
died at age 89. among Shirley's radio co-stars on Little Orphan Annie was a
very young Mel Torme.
like many of you, I have a lasting fondness for Annie's radio
incarnation! first launched as a local show over the Chicago Tribune-
owned WGN in 1930, the Little Orphan Annie program went national in 1931 and
was broadcast over various networks for the better part of twelve
years. regarded as radio's first juvenile serial adventure, Little
Orphan Annie generated genuine edge-of- your -seat excitement and fun
for her many late-afternoon listeners. Annie's radio success reportedly led
to a dramatic surge in readership of her daily & Sunday comic strip.
not to mention a wide array of marketing and merchandising
opportunities. famously sponsored for much of her radio life by
Ovaltine, Little Orphan Annie is remembered as much for her premiums -
the decoders , badges and now-iconic shake-up mugs - as for the first-rate
action oriented plots. in 1945, three years after Annie's final network
broadcast, she made an unexpected return to radio via local radio station
WNYC in New York City. the occasion was the reading of the Sunday comics by
New York's legendary Mayor Fiorello La Guardia during a lengthy city
newspaper strike. with none of the major dailies being published, the public
service minded & media savvy La Guardia did not want the Children of his city
deprived of their beloved comics. Thus he took to the airwaves over
city-owned WNYC and enthusiastically narrated the latest comics each Sunday
of the strike; leading off with Little Orphan Annie on the second such
Sunday. (far more than an airport- La Guardia was an inspiration of sorts for
the Mayor LaTrivia character in Fibber McGee and Molly)
the Little Orphan Annie radio program was blessed with a wonderfully catchy
and endearing theme song. feeling oh so nostalgic now, I can not help but
share the lyrics with you - enjoy! :
"Who's that little chatter box?
The one with pretty auburn locks?
Whom do you see?
It's Little Orphan Annie!
She and Sandy make a pair
They never seem to have a care!
Cute little she,
It's Little Orphan Annie
Bright eyes, cheeks a rosy glow,
There's a store of healthiness handy.
Mite-size, always on the go,
If you want to know--"Arf," it's Sandy!
Always wears a sunny smile,
Now, wouldn't it be worth the while,
If you could be
Like Little Orphan Annie?" - Music and lyrics by Joe L. Sanders and Gus
Kahn, 1928.
as our Annie hopscotched from decade to decade & going from one
medium to the next, she repeatedly won our hearts. often experiencing
her share of ups-and- downs, it could be argued that Annie has had more
comebacks than Ed Wynn and Milton Berle combined. and like Madonna,
America's favorite Orphan long ago mastered the art of reinvention. I
suspect she will be back in some form before we know it. for as the
Broadway Annie reminds us "the sun 'll come out tomorrow."
Baughan
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Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 21:23:58 -0400
From: Doug Douglass <dougdouglass@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Organist Rosa Rio Dies at 107
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Her radio work included Lorenzo Jones, My True Story, The Shadow, When A Girl
Marries, Ethel and Albert, Front Page Farrell, Deadline Drama, Dunninger Show,
Hannibal Cobb, and a solo program, Rosa Rio Rhythms.
[removed];catid=8
Doug Douglass
The New Busy is not the old busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox.
:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_3
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Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 21:24:12 -0400
From: Derek Tague <thatderek@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: God bless Rosa Rio
sad news from the ether. Word was just released that organist Rosa Rio, who
played for several OTR programmes and as a guest at FOTR conventions, has
left us at the age of 107.
[removed]
Derek Tague
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 21:25:48 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: The Green Hornet in person
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It's that time again. The fifth annual Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention will
be held September 23 through 25 at a new hotel this year. The Hunt Valley
Marriott in Hunt Valley, Maryland (20 minutes from Baltimore). Everyone who
attended last year knew of the crowded conditions because of the growth of
crowd size. The new hotel will allow us to add 70 more vendor tables, and more
leg and elbow space. Both floors of the hotel will be taken up.
We are really excited because Van Williams, TV's Green Hornet, will be
attending the convention as one of the guests. Mr. Williams has not done a
convention in something like fifteen years and will not be doing any others in
the near future. This is a favor for friends and family. There will also be a
"lost" Green Hornet radio show dramatized on stage and starring in the leading
role [removed] guess who?
There will be a second radio drama performed on stage during the weekend, open
to anyone wanting to try it out. Last year the room was filled with people
wanting to play a role but roles are limited so get there early!
Other guests include Mary Ann from GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, Roy Thinnes from THE
INVADERS (making is only autographing in 20 years for fans), Ed Nelson from
PEYTON PLACE and Roger Corman films, Mark Goddard (LOST IN SPACE), Geri
Reischel (The Brady Bunch Hour), Will Hutchins (SUGARFOOT), and Marsha Hunt
who needs no introduction, but was Blanche Bickerson beginning in 1948 when
Frances Langford stopped playing the role on radio.
Among the old time radio festivities is Terry Salomonson talking about The
Phil Harris and Alice Faye Show, Mike Henry will talk about Vox Pop, Fran
Striker Jr. will present a slide show on how his father created The Lone
Ranger, Paul Adomites will host a trivia contest (and you can win nice
prizes), and Harry Snodgrass will host a presentation about the restoration of
old movies. He's done work on TOUCH OF EVIL, VERTIGO and REAR WINDOW and his
specialty is sound restoration so if you want to apply that to restoring the
sound on old time radio, here's your chance to see it done first hand.
There will be a world premiere screening of "The Poet Laureate of Radio," a
documentary about Norman Corwin and what a perfect year to do that! Leah
Biel's critically acclaimed "For the Record" will also be screened as a
highlight of the weekend. "The Double Life of Moe Berg" will also have it's
world premiere screening at MANC, and the documentary does cover Berg's
appearances on radio's INFORMATION PLEASE.
Movie being screened include the 1956 Christmas Special with Bob Hope, MYRT
AND MARGE from 1934 which is based on the radio show of the same name, MYSTERY
BROADCAST (1943) which involves a murder at a radio station, Fred Allen's
guest appearance on THE HOWDY DOODY SHOW, and many others.
Drive-in movie theater in the hotel parking lot on Friday night, the original
Black Beauty from the 1966 TV series will be on display (not a replica!), and
many other events can be found on the convention web-site,
[removed]. If you can make reservations or
drive over, mark this on your calendar.
Sponsors include Alpha Video, Regal Cinemas, Geppi's Entertainment Museum,
Sony Entertainment and VCI Entertainment.
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 22:10:34 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Rhode Island Historian
Author Dave Goudsward sent me the following, for which I have no favorable
reply to send him. Anyone have any feedback for me to pas on to him? (Sorry,
I don't have his e-mail address, he contacted me through Facebook).
Back in the 1920/30/40 WJAR (NBC Red) ran a local spot called "Rhode
Island Historian of the Old Stone Bank" - they published 4 volumes of
transcripts, but I'm looking for an episode that was not included in the
book. The transcript/recording of a Jan 1932 episode on Fort Ninigret. Any
thoughts on whether it could still exist? Right now, the general
consensus is "Not a chance."
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 22:10:41 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 5-15 births/deaths
May 15th births
05-15-1890 - Katherine Anne Porter - Indian Creek, TX - d. 9-18-1980
author: "NBC University Theatre"
05-15-1890 - Menasha Skulnik - Warsaw, Poland - d. 6-4-1970
actor: Mr. Cohen "Abie's Irish Rose"; Uncle David "The Goldbergs"
05-15-1897 - Jacques Renard - Kiev, Ukraine - d. 1-30-1973
bandleader: "Burns and Allen"; "The Joe Penner Show"; "Stoopnagle and
Budd"
05-15-1904 - Clifton Fadiman - Brooklyn, NY - d. 6-20-1999
emcee: "Information, Please"; "Conversation"; "RCA Magic Key"
05-15-1905 - Joseph Cotten - Petersburg, VA - d. 2-6-1994
actor: Matthew Bell "Private Files of Matthew Bell"; "Mercury Theatre
on the Air"
05-15-1909 - James Mason - Huddersfield, England - d. 7-27-1984
actor: "James and Pamela Mason Show"; "Studio One"
05-15-1909 - Thomas J. D'Andrea - Chicago, IL - d. 5-14-1887
script writer: Eddie Cantor"
05-15-1910 - Constance Cummings - Seattle, WA - d. 11-23-2005
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
05-15-1910 - Walter Cassel - Council Bluffs, IA - d. 7-2-2000
baritone: "General Motors Concerts"; "Calling America"
05-15-1913 - James Baxter - Yucalpa, CA - d. 12-11-1964
writer of radio scripts
05-15-1915 - Harold Barlow - Boston, MA - d. 2-15-1993
Music plagiarism consultant for radio stations
05-15-1915 - Jack Watson - Thorney, England - d. 7-4-1999
actor: "Biggles"
05-15-1916 - Bill Williams - Brooklyn, NY - d. 9-21-1992
actor: "Eternal Light"; "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
05-15-1917 - Wade Barnes - Alliance, OH - d. 2-25-1999
announcer/pianist: WHBC Canton, Ohio
05-15-1918 - Eddy Arnold - Henderson, TN - d. 5-8-2008
singer: (Tennessee Plowboy) "Grand Ole Opry"; "Eddy Arnold Show"
05-15-1918 - Joseph Wiseman - Montreal Canada - d. 10-19-2009
actor: "Crime Does Not Pay"
05-15-1921 - Margaret Lipper - Oliver, PA
actor: Hazel Toumey "Career of Ann Blair"; Patsy Curtis "Brenda Curtis"
05-15-1923 - Doris Dowling - Detroit, MI - d. 6-18-2004
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
05-15-1926 - Regis J. "Rege" Cordic - Hazelwood, PA - d. 4-16-1999
Replaced Bob Crane on station KNX in Los Angeles, California
05-15-1929 - David Healy - NYC - d. 10-25-1995
actor: "Kismet"; "Finian's Rainbow"; "The Music Man"
05-15-1936 - Anna Maria Alberghetti - Pesano, Italy
singer: "Here's to Veterans"
May 15th deaths
01-03-1923 - Charles Tingwell - Coogee, Australia - d. 5-15-2009
actor: "The Clock"
04-08-1928 - Eric Porter - London, England - d. 5-15-1995
actor: "Landscape"
06-23-1929 - June Carter Cash - Maces Spring, VA - d. 5-15-2003
singer: "Grand Ole Opry"
06-28-1914 - Zina Provendie - d. 5-15-2005
actor: Sylvia Bruno Wick "The Goldbergs"
07-03-1903 - Wynne Gibson - NYC - d. 5-15-1987
actor: Amah "Thanks for Tomorrow"; Angie "When a Girl Marries"
07-13-1886 - Father Flanagan - Roscommon, Ireland - d. 5-15-1948
founder of boys town: "Bill Stern Colgate Sports Newsreel"; "Good New
of 1939"
07-14-1914 - John Laing - NYC - d. 5-15-1979
announcer: "Great Gildersleeve"; "Sealtest Variety Theatre"
08-17-1916 - Ira Cook - Duluth, MN - d. 5-15-2007
disk jockey: KMPC Los Angeles, California
09-03-1910 - Grace Matthews - Toronto, Canada - d. 5-15-1995
actor: Ruth Evans Wayne "Big Sister"; Margo Lane "The Shadow"
10-10-1908 - Johnny Green - NYC - d. 5-15-1989
conductor: "In the Modern Manner"; "Jack Benny Program"; "Man Called X"
10-12-1931 - Sam Buffington - Massachusetts - d. 5-15-1960
actor: Luke Slaughter "Luke Slaughter of Tombstone"
12-10-1919 - Alexander Courage - Philadelphia, PA - d. 5-15-2008
music: "Broadway Is My Beat"; "Hollywood Soundstage"; "Romance"
12-28-1923 - Andrew Duggan - Franklin, IN - d. 5-15-1988
actor: "Hollywood Radio Theatre"; "Voice of the Army"; "Top Secret"
Ron
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 22:11:21 -0400
From: Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: [removed] Rosa Rio - Queen of the radio organists
dies at age 107
[removed]
[removed]
I was extremely lucky to have Rosa Rio Rosa perform the live music (on a
Hammond B-3 organ) for the first OTR recreation I directed at FOTR back in
1983. In addition to Ted Malone's BETWEEN THE BOOKENDS and thousands of soap
opera episodes, Rosa performed the mysterioso music on the 1938 Goodrich
SHADOW broadcasts starring Orson Welles and Margot Stevenson (and
occasionally substituted for Elsie Thompson in subsequent seasons). A child
prodigy, Rosa began her professional music career at four years of age,
worked as a silent film organist before moving to radio, and performed her
final public concert last August at the age of 107. --Anthony Tollin
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 22:14:17 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: This week in radio history 16-22 May
From Those Were The Days -
5/17
1938 - The NBC Blue network presented "Information Please" for the first
time. The show was moderated by Clifton Fadiman.
1939 - The Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, NY was the scene of a
memorable dual-network radio broadcast of Glenn Miller and his
orchestra. Both NBC and Mutual carried the event, which was attended by
1,800 people in the casino ballroom.
5/18
1942 - "David Harding, Counterspy" was heard on the NBC Blue network for
the first time. The program enjoyed a long run on radio, lasting for 15
years.
5/19
1921 - The first opera presented in its entirety over the radio was
broadcast by 9ZAF in Denver, CO. The opera, "Martha", aired from the
Denver Auditorium.
5/20
1933 - "Charlie Chan" was heard for the final time on the NBC Blue radio
network after only six months on the air. Not to worry. Several revivals
of the Chinese detective were on the air years later ...
5/22
1955 - Jack Benny signed off his last first run network radio broadcast
after a run of 23 years. The show continued in repeats for several more
years.
Joe
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 22:15:09 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 5-16 births/deaths
May 16th births
05-16-1880 - Julius Tannen - Chicago, IL - d. 1-3-1965
comedian: (Human Chatterbox) "Goldenrod Revue"; "Seven Star Revue"
05-16-1881 - Henry Harlan Smith - Izard County, AR - d. 10-14-1931
emcee: "Hoss Hair Pullers"
05-16-1882 - Mary Gordon - Glasgow, Scotland - d. 8-23-1963
actor: Mrs. Emmett "Those We Love"; Mrs. Hudson "Sherlock Holmes"
05-16-1886 - Norman Ross - Portland, OR - d. 6-19-1953
05-16-1890 - Kenneth Perkins - d. 6-7-1951
writer: "Hawk Larabee"
05-16-1891 - Richard Tauber - Linz, Austria-Hungary - d. 1-8-1948
opera singer: "General Motors Concert"
05-16-1892 - Osgood Perkins - West Newton, MA - d. 9-21-1937
stage actor: "Flying Red Horse Tavern"
05-16-1904 - Ruth Coleman Bilchick - d. 2-11-1989
singer and pianist on radio
05-16-1905 - Henry Fonda - Grand Island, NE - d. 8-12-1982
actor: "Eyes Aloft"; "Romance"; "Suspense"
05-16-1905 - Sol Balsom - d. 10-xx-1968
newscaster: WCNW Brooklyn, New York
05-16-1908 - Ed Prough - d. 4-9-1993
announcer: WXYZ Detroit
05-16-1911 - Margaret Sullavan - Norfolk, VA - d. 1-1-1960
actor: "Electric Theatre"; "Hollywood Playhouse"
05-16-1912 - Studs Terkel - The Bronx, NY - d. 10-31-2008
journalist, sometimes actor: "Destination Freedom"; "Ma Perkins"
05-16-1913 - Woody Herman - Milwaukee, WI - d. 10-29-1987
bandleader: (The Thundering Herd) "Wildroot Show"
05-16-1915 - Chuck Cabot - d. 12-27-2007
bandleader: "The Fitch Bandwagon"
05-16-1916 - Adriana Caselotti - Bridgeport, CT - d. 1-19-1997
singer: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
05-16-1916 - Bernard Braden - Vancouver, Canada - d. 2-2-1993
actor: "The Gracie Fields Show"
05-16-1916 - Zeze Macedo - Rio de Janerio, Brazil - d. 10-8-1999
brazilian comic: "Home Sweet Home"
05-16-1919 - Liberace - West Allis, WI - d. 2-4-1987
pianist, singer: "Stars for Defense"
05-16-1922 - Larry Glick - Roxbury, MA - d. 3-26-2009
talk show host: Boston, Massachusetts
05-16-1924 - Frank Mankiewicz - NYC
president National Public Radio
05-16-1940 - Keith Miles - Cardiff, Wales
writer: "Just for the Day"; "Athlete"
05-16-1947 - Bob Edwards - Louisville, KY
newscaster: "All Things Considered", "Morning Edition"; "Bob Edwards
Show"
May 16th deaths
01-23-1910 - Django Reinhardt - Belgium - d. 5-16-1953
jazz artist: "Djanjo Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club France"
02-02-1905 - Jesse Johnson - Cumnock, NC - d. 5-16-1989
singer: "The Johnson Family Singers"
02-04-1909 - Charles Simon - Tettenhall Wood, England - d. 5-16-2002
actor: "Mrs. Dale's Diary"
02-27-1913 - Irwin Shaw - NYC - d. 5-16-1984
author: "Columbia Workshop";"Studio One"; "The Gumps"
03-29-1890 - Joe Cook - Evansville, IN - d. 5-16-1959
comedian: "House Party"; "Shell Chateau"
04-04-1904 - John Brown - Hull, England - d. 5-16-1957
actor: Digby "Digger" O'Dell "Life of Riley"; Melvyn Foster "A Date
with Judy"
06-22-1912 - June Carroll - Detroit, MI - d. 5-16-2004
composer: "New Faces of 1948"
07-02-1921 - Paul Atkerson - d. 5-16-1988
newscaster: KPHO Phoenix, Arizona
07-11-1906 - Fred Feibel - Union City, NJ - d. 5-16-1978
organist: "Between the Bookends"; "Organ Reveille"
09-26-1912 - Al Helfer - Elrama, PA - d. 5-16-1975
sportscaster: "Game of the Day"; "We Want a Touchdown"
11-08-1918 - Paul Barnes - Chicago, IL - d. 5-16-1983
actor: Red Albright/Captain Midnight "Captain Midnight"
11-23-1922 - Maze Jackson - North Carolina - d. 5-16-1996
evangelist: "The Truck Drivers Special"
11-24-1905 - Vee Lawnhurst - NYC - d. 5-16-1992
pianist, singer: "The Van Huesen Program"
12-09-1902 - Margaret Hamilton - Cleveland, OH - d. 5-16-1985
actor: Aunt Effie "Couple Next Door"; "The Free Company"
Ron
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2010 Issue #88
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