Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #36
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 2/3/2006 10:31 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2006 : Issue 36
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Law West of the Pecos                 [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  WJSV broadcast day                    [ "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed] ]
  Johnny Dollar                         [ "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed] ]
  Stan Freberg is Superman???           [ "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed] ]
  Information Please                    [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Karloff on radio                      [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Copyright Office's report on Orphan   [ Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed] ]
  War of the Worlds                     [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Great Caesar's [removed]               [ Wich2@[removed] ]
  Robert Benchley                       [ "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm ]
  New OTR Resource Guide Now Available  [ "David S. Siegel" <otrdsiegel@veriz ]
  "Ice Cream Song"                      [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
  2-4 births/deaths                     [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  NY Philharmonic & Met Opera           [ Rutledge Mann <cliff_marsland@yahoo ]
  Re: Robert Benchley on OTR            [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 14:34:21 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Law West of the Pecos

Andrew Steinberg asked:

Is anyone familiary with an OTR show called Law West of the Pecos? This is
the name of the show, not the name of the episode. From the end credits, it
seems to have been on in 1946. Does anyone have more details about it?

To answer the question:
>From THE HISTORY OF THE CAVALCADE OF AMERICA (1999, Morris Publishing)

Episode #439  "THE LAW WEST OF THE PECOS"
Broadcast June 11, 1945
Cast:
Walter Brennan as Judge Roy Bean
Howard McNear as Pancho
Harry Lang as Torres
Barton Yarborough as Black Bart
Jack Edwards Jr as the bandit
Parley Baer as the cowboy
Griff Barnette as the second voice
Pinky Barker as the cowboy
Howard McNear as the executive (yes, two roles)
Hal Gerard as the gambler
Lou Crosby as the Ranger

Written for CAVALCADE by William E. Robinson.
Produced and directed from Hollywood (not NYC) by Jack Zoller.
Frank Graham is the announcer and Gayne Whitman is the commerial spokesman.
Music composed and conducted by Robert Armbruster.

STORY:  Ruthless killings and mob violence were everyday occurrences in
Vinnegarron, Texas in the 1880s.  There was no legal authority - no law
officers.  The man whot first was right.  Vinnegarron was the lawless Old
West at its worst.  Into this maelstrom cam Roy Bean.  Normally a business
man, he had planned to set up a store but he soon decided that law and order
were more important.  So he appointed himself judge and proceesed to enforce
his own law.  With a shabby copy of "The Revisited Statutes of Texas, 1879"
in his hip pocket and a pair of guns in his holsters, he set out to bring
justice and some sort of order to the vast plains of West Texas.  Not always
did he act according to the exact letter of the law, but he was what the
country needed.

TRIVIA:  About a year after this broadcast, circa 1946, Walter Brennan
reprised his CAVALCADE performance of Judge Roy Bean for an experimental
western radio pilot entitled "Law West of the Pecos" (sans "The").  Scripted
by William E. Robinson, this second radio performance featured the
continuing adventures of Judge Roy Bean and the character of Bean was to be
the regular protagonist week after week.  The script was not the same one
dramatized for CAVALCADE.  The second one involved Judge Roy Bean's battle
against the Pecos Kid, played by Lou Crosby.  Wilbur Hatch composed and
conducted the music for the pilot, and Ford Pearon was the announcer.
Whether this pilot was ever broadcast or not remains unknown.  The recording
date is 1946.  The pilot never picked up a sponsor or a network.

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 14:35:24 -0500
From: "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  WJSV broadcast day

Since people are discussing the WJSV broadcast day, I thought I'd
describe a little experiment I tried.  One Saturday, when I knew I would
be around the place all day, I started the WJSV broadcast at the correct
time and let it run the whole day.

While I'm positive I'm not the first person to try this, I was surprised
by what I experienced.  I found a lot of it fairly tedious.  It's
interesting from a historical and collector perspective, but I didn't
find a lot of it entertaining.  In fact, I found it almost exactly like
today's television.  There's a few interesting things, but most of it is
just background noise.

I sometimes forget that as collectors we tend to focus on the best of
the best, but for every Dragnet there are dozens of forgettable,
cookie-cutter police shows.  The same holds true with all the other
great shows we love.  Because I forget this, I sometimes make the
mistake of comparing the very best shows of 30+ years of radio with the
average of what's on TV this week, and decide that radio is better.  But
that's not really a fair comparison.

-chris holm

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 14:35:54 -0500
From: "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Johnny Dollar

I was listening to some Mandell Kramer episodes of Johnny Dollar (60?
61?) the other day, and was struck by something.

During the story, one of the characters in the story told Johnny how he
liked his radio show.  And at another point, Johnny Dollar plugged a
station that carried his show, because the station was located in the
town Johnny was doing his investigation in.

It all seemed a little weird.  It was just so self-referential.  Was the
character of Johnny Dollar supposed to be an investigator and a radio
actor?  Were they implying that there's a real Johnny Dollar, whose
exploits were being dramatized?  No one tells Matt Dillon or Joe Friday
how much they enjoy their radio [removed]

I found the breaking of the forth wall (if I can use that expression in
this context) all a little bit disturbing.  It seemed to intrude
unnecessarily on the suspension-of-disbelief required in fiction.

Or maybe it's all just me.  Anyone else experience this and found it a
little weird?

-chris holm

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 14:36:22 -0500
From: "Holm, Chris " <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Stan Freberg is Superman???

While reading Digest #35, right in the middle of Rick Keating's very
interesting post on the origins of Superman, I ran into this:

 and the Kents' names (originally John and Mary,
but ultimately established as Jonathan and
Martha;

>From that point on, you can guess what wouldn't get out of my [removed]

[removed] [removed]
[removed] [removed]
[removed] [removed]
[removed] [removed]
[removed] [removed]

-chris holm

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 14:37:32 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Information Please

Ken Clarke commented:

I've heard several people tell me that Gracie Allen made several
appearances on "Information Please" and did very well.  I believe the
words they used were 'surprisingly knowledgeable' and 'quite different
from the "Dumb Dora" type persona she presented on the "Burns and
Allen" radio show.

If anyone knows where I might find some of these programs with
Gracie on them (either in cassette or audio CD format, but not MP3) please
contact me off list.  I'd like to hear for myself how she did.

Answer, page 30 and 156 of INFORMATION, PLEASE (Bear Manor Media, 2004)

Episode #58  Broadcast June 20, 1939
Panelists: Franklin P. Adams, John Kieran, author/correspondent John Gunther
and comedianne Gracie Allen

This was Gracie's ONLY appearance on the show.  She was very intelligent
(Lillian Gish impressed even me) but she appeared in character so her
answers were in the forms of jokes often enough.  She never did any other
appearances on INFORMATION, PLEASE.

When Gracie was attempting to answer a question and Fadiman was about to
offer assistance,, she remarked "No, No. Don't tell me."  Later, when asked
what silk underwear had to do with the recent news, Gracie remarked "Macy's
basement."  It was pure ad-libbing, not rehearsed.

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 15:00:46 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Karloff on radio

11-23-1887 - Boris Karloff - London, England - d. 2-2-1969
actor, host: "Starring Boris Karloff"; "Creeps by Night"

Does anyone know if any of these shows (Starring Boris Karloff) still
exist?

Thanks,
Mike

STARRING BORIS KARLOFF
Also known as PRESENTING BORIS KARLOFF, this Wednesday evening horror
program featured horror star Boris Karloff in dramas of terror and murder.
Mildred Natwick played a female lead in each episode, often the victimized
wife or heroine being rescued by the killer or madman.  Originated from
ABC's NY studio, and broadcast 9:30 to 10 [removed], EST. (Some sources say 9 -
9:30 but mine says 9:30 to 10)  Robert Corcoran wrote many of the scripts.
Episodes 11 and 13 were based on Cornell Woolrich stories.  Episode three
was written by Arch Oboler.  George Gunn was the announcer.  George
Henninger was the organist.

1.  Five Golden Guineas  (9/21/49)
2.  The Mask  (9/28/49)
3.  Mungahara  (10/5/49)
4.  Mad Illusion  (10/12/49)
5.  Perchance to Dream  (10/19/49)
6.  The Devil Takes a Wife  (10/26/49)
7.  The Moving Finger  (11/2/49)
8.  The Twisted Path  (11/9/49)
9.  False Face  (11/16/49)
10.  Cranky Bill  (11/23/49)
11.  Three O'Clock  (11/30/49)
12.  The Shop at Sly Corner  (12/7/49)
13.  The Night Reveals  (12/14/49)

More amusing was that ABC aired a televised version of the same series,
STARRING BORIS KARLOFF, also known as MYSTERY PLAYHOUSE STARRING BORIS
KARLOFF, which aired on Thursday nights.  Which meant when Cranky Bill was
dramatized on radio on November 23, Karloff did the televised version on
November 24.  The entire TV series used all 13 stories in the exact order,
for TV the evening after the radio counterpart.  Mildred natwick also
starred.

No episodes are known to exist of this series either TV or radio.

CREEPS BY NIGHT was a previous attempt to have a weekly horror/mystery
anthology with Karloff playing the lead role.  It only lasted a few weeks,
with an attempt weeks after the series concluded to revise the program with
Peter Lorre in the lead but that only lasted one week.

Only six episodes of CREEPS BY NIGHT exists, two of them are AFRS
rebroadcasts so they are somewhat edited from the original airings but it's
all we have left.

Anyone wanting to hear an episode of STARRING BORIS KARLOFF can listen to
the SUSPENSE episode "Perchance to Dream" from March 18, 1962.  Although the
radio script for STARRING was an original story (not an adaptation from an
already-published piece), by Robert Corcoran, the same script was dramatized
for this SUSPENSE episode (sans Karloff in the cast).  SUSPENSE also did a
dramatization of "The Death of Alexander Jordan" on September 2, 1962.  That
was a script from the CREEPS BY NIGHT series so again, even though the
broadcast with Karloff doesn't exist, you can still listen to the SUSPENSE
episode using the same script, and envision Karloff in the lead.

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 15:01:09 -0500
From: Andrew Steinberg <otrdig1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Copyright Office's report on Orphan Works
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The Copyright Office's report on Orphan Works (copyrighted works whose owners
may be impossible to identify and locate) is now available at
[removed]

Visit [removed] for OTR program title and date corrections

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 18:08:43 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  War of the Worlds

The latest issue of Necropsy has an article about War of the Worlds for
anyone interested.

[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 18:09:45 -0500
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Great Caesar's [removed]

From: Rick Keating _pkeating89@[removed]_ (mailto:pkeating89@[removed])

...that was a nice essay, Rick!
A few points (which may be addressed by Anthony, as well?)

...and the Kents' names
(originally John and Mary, but  ultimately established
as Jonathan and Martha; on the "Adventures  of
Superman" TV show, for some reason, they were Eben  and
Sarah)...

I BELIEVE they were first assigned monikers - "Eben" and "Sarah"  - by George
Lowther (at various times writer, narrator, and  director of the radio show)
in his 1942 novel.

...someone at DC Comics (then called
National Periodical  Publications) decided that stories
about Superman as a boy would be just as  [removed]

Again, if memory serves, that "someone" was The Man of Tomorrow's REAL
"parents", Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster -
though the idea was stolen and mis-used by National.

Best,
-Craig

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 18:14:22 -0500
From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Robert Benchley

Benchley also appeares on at least one surviving "Command Performance".
Going off topic, the demise of the telegram reminds me that Benchley and
Dorothy Parker once contemplated getting a telegraph address together -
"Parkbench".

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 23:02:22 -0500
From: "David S. Siegel" <otrdsiegel@[removed];
To: OTR DIGEST <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  New OTR Resource Guide Now Available

I'm pleased to announce that the new OTR reference book, "A Resource Guide
to the Golden Age of Radio: Special Collections, Bibliography, and the
Internet," co-authored by my wife and I, is now available for immediate
shipping.

Whether you're doing research for a future article or book or are just
plain curious where someone's papers ended up, this is the book that will
help you find what you're looking for.

The book, the first-ever guide to 3,800 primary and secondary sources of
information dealing with all aspects of old time radio, includes

--  2,300 Special Collections in academic and public libraries, historical
societies, museums, corporate archives and privately held collections that
include the personal and business papers of the people who made radio
possible  (writers, actors, directors, station owners, etc.), plus program
scripts, recordings, photographs and other memorabilia.

-- 1,400 Bibliographic citations grouped into 54 subject categories from
Advertising to World War II

-- 100+ non commercial research oriented Internet sites

--  A comprehensive Index that integrates all 3,800 listings and which can
be searched by program, person or subject/genre.

The 215 page hardcover book sells for $[removed] plus $5 for media mail
shipping and handling, or $[removed] for priority mail, and can be ordered from
our web site, [removed] or by calling us at (914)
245-6608. We accept Visa and Mastercard.

If your budget is limited, encourage your local library to order a copy.

David Siegel
Book Hunter Press
PO Box 193
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
(914) 245-6608  Fax: (914) 245-2630
[removed]   bookhunterpress@[removed]

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 23:03:21 -0500
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  "Ice Cream Song"
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The ever-diligent Sean Dougherty posted recently:


The writer of the "Ice Cream Song" as sung by Kenny Baker on the Jack Benny
program has died. <snip>

Sean also provided the link

[removed]

The only "Ice Cream Song" I know was used in a couple of Hal Roach comedies
circa 1933:  the "Our Gang" short "Shrimps for a Day," where it's sung by
midget performer Olive Brasno; and  "I'll Take Vanilla," which starred Charley
Chase. This one starts out with the line "When your hot and bothered, here's a
little plan--/Hurry with your worries to the ice cream [removed]" According to
the obit,  Richard Klaus was born in 1919, which means he would've been around
14 if he wrote the "Ice Cream Song" I referred to--and this seems unlikely.

My guess is that the "Ice Cream Song" Kenny Baker sang for Jack Benny is an
entirely different one--which is not at all impossible considering that
there's a different Kenny Baker who plays R2-D2. Does anybody have any clues?
What's the scoop? [Sorry, I couldn't resist].

Yours always in the ether,

Derek Tague

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

Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 23:03:33 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  2-4 births/deaths

February 4th births

02-04-1889 - Walter Catlett - San Francisco, Ca - d. 11-14-1960
actor: "This Is Your [removed]"; "Escape"; "Campbell Playhouse"
02-04-1901 - Tom McKnight - d. 4-22-1963
producer, director, writer: "Beulah Show"; "Gibson Family"; "Marx
Brothers"; "Sherlock Holmes"
02-04-1902 - Charles A. Lindbergh - Detroit, MI - d. 8-26-1974
aviator: CBS awards program
02-04-1904 - MacKinlay Kantor - Webster City, IA - d. 10-11-1977
writer: "Lest We Forget"; "Author's Playhouse"
02-04-1905 - Eddie Foy, Jr. - New Rochelle, NY - d. 7-15-1983
vaudevillian: "Starlight Operetta"; "Mitch Miller Show"
02-04-1908 - Gordon Fraser - Lawrence, MA - d. 1-1-2000
newsman on the Blue Network
02-04-1908 - Manny Klein - New York, NY - d. 5-31-1994
trumpet: "The Ipana Troubadors"
02-04-1909 - Robert Coote - London, England - d. 11-26-1982
actor: "Campbell Playhouse"
02-04-1912 - Erich Leinsdorf - Vienna, Austria - d. 9-11-1993
conductor: "NBC Symphony Orchestra"; "Pioneers of Music"; "Musicians
Off Stage"
02-04-1918 - Ida Lupino - London, England - d. 8-3-1995
panelist, actress: "Hollywood Byline"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
02-04-1918 - Janet Waldo - Grandview, WA
actress: Corliss Archer "Meet Corliss Archer"; Irene Franklin "One
Man's Family"

February 4th deaths

01-22-1924 - J. J. Johnson - d. 2-4-2001
jazz trombonist: "Arthur Godfrey Show"; "One Night Stand"
03-10-1920 - Kenneth C. Burns (Jethro) - Georgia - d. 2-4-1989
comedic singer: (Homer and Jethro) "Town and Country Time"
05-16-1919 - Liberace - West Milwaukee, WI - d. 2-4-1987
pianist, singer: "Stars for Defense"
07-31-1904 - Brett Halliday - Chicago, IL - d. 2-4-1977
creator of Michael Shayne; host on "Murder by Experts"
08-06-1915 - Jim Ameche - Kenosha, WI - d. 2-4-1983
actor: Jack Armstrong "Jack Armstrong"; Jim West "Silver Eagle"
09-19-1904 - Dr. Bergen Evans - Franklin, OH - d. 2-4-1978
host: "Down You Go"; "Of Many Things"
10-19-1921 - George Nader - Pasadena, CA - d. 2-4-2002
actor: "Family Theatre"
11-08-1921 - Jerome Hines - Hollywood, CA - d. 2-4-2003
singer: "Standard Hour"; "Voice of Firestone"
12-18-1917 - Ossie Davis - Cogdell, GA - d. 2-4-2005
actor: "Cavalcade of America"; "Story Hour"
xx-xx-1894 - Stuart Buchanan - d. 2-4-1974
actor, producer, director: "Goofy "Mickey Mouse Theatre of the Air"
xx-xx-1900 - Maria "Gamby" Gambarelli - La Spezia, Italy - d. 2-4-1990
ballerina, singer: "Roxy's Gang"; "Dance with Gamby"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Sat, 4 Feb 2006 00:20:19 -0500
From: Rutledge Mann <cliff_marsland@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  NY Philharmonic & Met Opera

With all the talk about the Met, I decided to help
out.  I'm not into classical music, so I rarely dub
any classical transcriptions, but I did dub some home
recordings of the Met Opera from 1941, I posted them
on the OTR highspeed group
([removed]) in
usenet.  It was part of a very odd lot. Also includes
an ultra-rare (rehearsal?) session of WBBM's Gold
Coast (not a home recording). I also posted a NY
Philharmonic from 51/12/30 (not a home recording
either).  The home recordings include some snippints
from some episodes of radio shows that aren't in
circulation too.

I'm not a classical expert, so the music that wasn't
labeled or announced as such is untitled.

Can someone help identify the Axis announcer in the
clip I have about Italy from 7/x/43?.  It was part of
the home recordings lot.

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

Date: Sat, 4 Feb 2006 00:29:45 -0500
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Robert Benchley on OTR
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In a message dated 2/3/06 10:59:05 AM Central Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:

I'm not aware of show recordings with Robert in them, but I'm sure someone
else has more info if it's available, but there was a biography in sound
program done on him.


I'm sure Benchley made more than a few guest appearances.  One of the very
first radio show tapes I ever acquired featured two "Amos 'n' Andy" episodes,
and one was a half-hour AFRS show from 1943 or so in which Benchley portrayed
himself.

Dixon

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