Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #283
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/23/2003 9:14 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2003 : Issue 283
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Re: Yoo Hoo, Is Anybody?              [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
  Bela Lugosi Question                  [ "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed]; ]
  Dale Carnegie                         [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
  Soldiers of the Press                 [ Howard Blue <khovard@[removed]; ]
  The Goldbergs                         [ [removed]@[removed] ]
  Soldiers of the [removed]              [ "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed] ]
  Jack Benny 1935                       [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
  Mr. Blasko                            [ Wich2@[removed] ]
  Call letters                          [ Harry Bartell <bartell@[removed] ]
  Soldiers of the Press                 [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Boris Karloff                         [ Musiciantoo47@[removed] ]
  Nightbeat                             [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
  Another comment on past political in  [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
  Bela Lugosi                           [ "Jody Davis" <baroygis@[removed]; ]
  Today in radio history                [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
  Nightbeat                             [ "Ian Grieve" <austotr@[removed]. ]

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

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:22:05 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Yoo Hoo, Is Anybody?

On 7/22/03 11:37 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

One question:  the article says 'The Goldbergs'
"rivalled" A&A in popularity in the 1930s.
This quote may be either lifted, shared with, or
'insipred by' the exact same wording on the Gertrude
Berg bio on the Chicago Broadcasting Museum website.
But is it really true?

Actually, depending on what numbers you look at, during 1931-32 the two
programs were quite close in the ratings. The "typical CAB ratings" cited
by Harrison Summers show A&A as the most popular program on the air for
that season, with a rating of [removed],  while "The Goldbergs" rated third,
with a [removed] (Eddie Cantor was second, at [removed])

Howver, as has been noted here before, Summers' numbers are not actually
representative of a full season -- they're just a single week taken as a
sample of that season, not a statistical average. The *actual*
season-average ratings for 1931-32, as published by C. A. B., show A&A
leading with a 33 rating, and the Goldbergs not showing up in the top ten
at all. A&A remained a top-ten series thru 1934-35, while the Goldbergs
never attained that status at any time.

So apparently what must've happened is that listenership for "The
Goldbergs" must have spiked -- perhaps due to a particularly effective
storyline at that time -- and then receded to a lower level. Eventually,
the series came to an end in 1934 as a result of a cutback in the
Pepsdodent Company's ad budget, and that was the end of its run as an
A&A-like comedy-drama serial. When the series returned to the air after a
hiatus of a couple of years, it was as a pure soap opera -- which it
remained until the series ended again in 1945.

It's this transformation into a straight soap that's most often ignored
by modern-day cultural-history types writing about the radio program. The
original concept of the series, a humorous narrative of tenement life
with heavy ethnic overtones, ended with the conclusion of the Pepsodent
series. During the soap-opera period, the Goldberg family lived on a farm
in a small town in Connecticut -- and the ethnic, specifically-Jewish
aspects of the program were radically toned down. There were occasional
exceptions to this rule -- Jewish holidays were always acknowledged, and
there were very rare instances where allusions to anti-Semitism were made
-- but in general, from 1938-45 there was nothing to distinguish Molly
Goldberg from Ma Perkins but her dialect.

This is an essential point  -- because it runs directly counter to the
columnists' assertion that Berg refused to compromise the program's
Jewishness despite cultural pressures to do so. In reality, she did
*exactly* that -- the deethnicization of the program in the late 1930s
coincides precisely with the sharp increase in Coughlinesque
anti-Semitism which swept the US during that period, as well as
increasing pressure from Jewish activist groups to get "Yiddish
caricatures" off the air.

Unfortunately, this is just another instance where the facts don't fit
the story the writer has already decided to tell -- so they're
conveniently ignored. Par for the course nowadays, whether in academia or
in the press.

Elizabeth

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

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:22:16 -0400
From: "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Bela Lugosi Question
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Hi!

Regarding the radio shows that Bela Lugosi appeared [removed] ones that come
to mind are:

THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW (June 1947)
MYSTERY HOUSE (which Bela hosted and starred in)
SUSPENSE ("The Doctor Prescribed Death"--1943)

I know Bela also made appearances on CRIME DOES NOT PAY and ELLERY QUEEN
[removed] don't have the specific dates.

Gary (argydix)

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Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:22:30 -0400
From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Dale Carnegie

I recently took the Dale Carnegie Course (It was pretty cool) and was
surprised when I ran across the following statement in a short bio:

"Mr. Carnegie was a prominent lecturer of his day and a sought-after
counselor to world leaders.  He wrote newspaper columns and had his own daily
radio show"

I've never heard of a Dale Carnegie radio show.  He died in 1955, so any
radio show would be solidly in the OTR era.  Does anyone have any information
on this show?  Also, if someone has some in their collection, would you be
willing to send a couple my way?  I don't have much to trade, and no index,
but I'll work with you to figure out a deal.

-Chris Holm

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

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:22:37 -0400
From: Howard Blue <khovard@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Soldiers of the Press

Charlie Summers asked about Soldiers of the Press .

Unfortunately while researching WORDS AT WAR, I found so little
information about the show that I wound up not even discussing it in my
book.  There are copies of some of the shows in circulation.  I have a
few.  But I don't have the capacity to reproduce them.  I'll forward this
message to the person from whom I obtained the shows and he will respond
if and as he wishes.

Howard Blue

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

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:24:45 -0400
From: [removed]@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Goldbergs
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Seeing the note about the NY Times article re: 'The Goldberg's' gave me a
pang similar to a sore appendix in the side. At the risk of starting a flame
war, I'm afraid I don't have much good to say about the radio program. I was
too young to hear it on the radio, but I remember the TV sitcom warmly,
except for the sad story of Phillip Loeb, who played Mr. Goldberg.

Recently, I acquired two mp3 CDs of the old radio show, apparently from
about 1942. I wasn't aware, until I listened to them while driving from
Phoenix to LA, that the radio show was a 15 minute soap, much like 'Ma
Perkins.' It was, in fact, sponsored by Duz, which at the time, did
everything.

Most of us have heard the old saw about a soap opera being a show where 'it
takes two weeks for a character to get through a revolving door.' Well, when
listening to 40 or 50 of these things back to back, it sounds much worse
than that. The one saving grace was that there was but a single commercial
at the beginning and end of each show. Still, it seemed like there was time
for only a single speech, possibly two, before each segment ended.

What was most painful to me when listening was to find that Molly Goldberg
was a monster. She was the worst kind of yenta and manipulatrix who had a
total inability to keep her hands out of anybody else's business. Yes, her
'maneuverings,' as she called them, did result in happy endings for the
characters, but it was obvious that her husband, who loved her for some
reason, suffered constantly through her machinations with others.

While listening, I had a fantasy about murdering one of several of the women
I knew when I was growing up, then playing these CDs for the jury in my
defense, pleading that Molly and my victim were identical, and that what I
did was justifiable. The fantasy ended with the jury awarding me both ears
and the tail. (Hey, the last I heard, fantasies are still legal, unless they
deal with Dubya).

Anyhow, its a sad commentary on learning that what I had hoped would be
pleasant listening, based on my memory of the TV show, turned out to be so
unpleasant. I just want to add that I hadn't realized, until listening to
the CDs, that the show was written entirely by Gertrude Berg. My dislike of
the product doesn't diminish my respect for that fine lady's talents and
abilities one bit. She created a tremendous output that might have been apt
for its time. I have to remember that the primary audience for all the soaps
were stay-at-home women, who were able to listen while they did their
housework. Considering my childhood memories, Molly Goldberg's character was
what so many of those women thought admirable. Too bad for the husbands and
children, though.

Thanx,

 B. Ray

   bray@[removed]
*Hug a malamute today!*
*  Don't blame me, I live in California!  *

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Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:24:53 -0400
From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Soldiers of the [removed]

I just listened to Walter Cronkite's NPR radio essay about "Soldiers of the
Press" and the man who was his radio voice while Walter was in England.  I
cannot answer any of Charlie's questions, but the voice of 26 year old
Cronkite sounds like one of the regular actors from "Cavalcade of America."
Can't tell which one, and not all the actors were identified in that series.
Maybe Martin Grams, who has published a book on "Cavalcade", might recognize
the voice.  I checked the index in Howard Blue's "Words at War" for
"Soldiers of the Press", but did not find an entry.

Ted Kneebone/1528 S. Grant [removed], SD 57401/605-226-3344
OTR: [removed]

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

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:25:11 -0400
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jack Benny 1935
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Matthew Bullis asked:

Hello, just looked at my mp3 list of Jack Benny shows, and there's a huge
gap, because there are only three shows in there from 1935. Are they just
not encoded, or not a lot of them survived from that whole year?

There seem to be only two surviving shows from 1935:  1/6 and 11/3.  The
transcriptions just don't seem to exist in any of the known collections, but
hopefully more will turn up some day.

--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]

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Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:25:50 -0400
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Mr. Blasko

From: eddieo396@[removed]
Subject:  bela lugosi

hi i am a big otr and bela lugosi fan does anybody know if mr lugosi
appreaed in any radio shows.

Dear Eddie-
>From the radio work of the sometimes excellent (DRACULA, WHITE ZOMBIE,
NINOTCHKA, SON OF FRANKENSTEIN), and never less than quirkily interesting
(if you're a fan, you've seen lots!)Bela, I've HEARD:

-SUSPENSE "The Doctor Prescribed Death" (I seem to recall a cue glitch, but a
solid show)
-MYSTERY HOUSE "The Thirsty Death" (not a great script, but you get to hear
him co-star with John Carradine!)*note: some copies in poor sound, but
Metacom used to offer a TERRIFIC one*

...KNOW OF:
-CRIME DOES NOT PAY "Gasoline Cocktail"
-COMMAND PERFORMANCE "The Bishop and the Gargoyle" (got it from lister Ed Carr)

AND SEEM TO RECALL:
-there might have been a FRED ALLEN appearance?

Best,
Craig Wichman
Quicksilver Radio Theater

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

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:26:14 -0400
From: Harry Bartell <bartell@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Call letters

Bob Reynolds asks:

I would like to throw out a couple of questions.  !.  Has anyone  done
research of  what some of the early radio stations call letters stand for

KPRC --- Kotton Port Rail Center (sic)

KTRH-- The Rice Hotel

Harry Bartell

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

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 20:14:07 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Soldiers of the Press

Charlie Summers asked:

 Heard an audio essay last night on All Things Considered by Walter
Cronkite; he talked about the radio show, "Soldiers of the Air," written and
apparently produced by United Press International where UPI reporters were
portrayed by actors.
   1) Does anyone have more information they can share about the series?

The program Charlie is referring to is entitled SOLDIERS OF THE PRESS.  It
was as broadcast for about two years on the Mutual Radio Network, from
February 28, 1943 to August 5, 1945.  The time slot jumped around but for
the most part, it was heard as a Sunday afternoon diversion from 12:30 to
12:45 [removed], EST.  The series was recorded in New York using New York actors
like Santos Ortega, Jackson Beck, Bret Morrison, Elspeth Eric, Lon Clark,
Myron McCormick, Everett Sloane, Arnold Moss and many others.  The program
was sponsored by the United Press with the intention of spreading word about
the [removed] and creating good public image.  The World Lateral Company in NYC
transcribed and syndicated the series, some small company that produced
music and many short-run (12 or 13 episode) syndicated programs, all usually
15 minutes in length.  They were recorded from November 1942 to early 1945,
but the first episode broadcast over Mutual was February 28, 1943.

I am not sure exactly how many episodes were recorded, but at 130 were made.
  The program was never sponsored, but because it was syndicated, the actual
broadcast dates and times vary from episode to episode.  Some station in
Chicago aired the episodes in a different order than what Mutual (WOR) in
NYC did.  For a brief time, Howard Clothes sponsored the series for that
lasted only a few weeks.

2) Do any of the dealers here carry this series?

Far as I know, the Radio Historical Association of Colorado has 28 episodes
in their rental library.  I am presently a member of their club and have
rented before so I can recommend their services.  Dick King in one of the
people in charge with the club, he can be reached at Box 1908 Englewood, CO
80150, and last e-mail I had for him was dickking@[removed] but that
e-mail address might be out of date.

   3) Is anyone here able to recognize the voice of the "New York actor" who
portrayed Cronkite in his episode of the series?

The specific episode Charlie heard was the following:
EPISODE #27  "DRY MARTINI"   Broadcast August 29, 1943.
Cast is unknown, sorry Charlie.

Ted Kneebone asked:

I just listened to Walter Cronkite's NPR radio essay about "Soldiers of the
Press" and the man who was his radio voice while Walter was in England. I
cannot answer any of Charlie's questions, but the voice of 26 year old
Cronkite sounds like one of the regular actors from "Cavalcade of America."
Can't tell which one, and not all the actors were identified in that series.
Maybe Martin Grams, who has published a book on "Cavalcade", might recognize
the voice. I checked the index in Howard Blue's "Words at War" for "Soldiers
of the Press", but did not find an entry.

Ted's on the right track.  The majority of the CAVALCADE OF AMERICA episodes
originated from New York, so the chances of a cast member being on both is
not coincidental.  Chances are Ted's ears are also sharp as it's probably
same actor he's heard on many CAVALCADE broadcasts.  Without the actual
script or production sheet for the series, the only answer we could come up
with would be a guess by hearing the voice, but no true answer.

Ted's posting also got me thinking so I looked it up in my HISTORY OF THE
CAVALCADE OF AMERICA book.  Just two months before they began recording the
SOLDIERS OF THE PRESS series, CAVALCADE did present a drama entitled . . .
EPISODE #295  "SOLDIER OF A FREE PRESS"  Broadcast on September 7, 1942.
Cast:  Claude Rains
Written for Cavalcade by Peter Lyon, and two men whose last name is Lerner
and Wilson.
(This happens to be one of the VERY few episodes in which I don't have a
complete author credit for.  Sorry.)
Produced and directed by Homer Fickett.
Announcer is Clayton Collier.
Music composed and conducted by Donald Voorhees and his Orchestra.
Plot:  The biography of Richard Harding Davis, the first modern newspaper
correspondent.
(Sorry, I typed an abridged entry above - I can't retype the entire
half-page episode entry.)

Could this CAVALCADE broadcast have been a pilot or audition to check out
listener response?  Could this CAVALCADE broadcast had an involvement in
getting the SOLDIERS OF THE PRESS into existence?  Maybe.  Course, the
original script title for the CAVALCADE drama was "Soldier of Fortune" but
still . . . you never know.  Makes me wonder if it's possible or not . . . ?

Martin Grams, Jr.

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

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 20:14:15 -0400
From: Musiciantoo47@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Boris Karloff
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Hi - I'm Kenny; I've been a subscriber to the list for quite some time now;
but I haven't posted in awhile. I was hoping someone out there might have a
copy of the "An Evening With Boris Karloff & His Friends" that they might be
willing to make for me reasonably. I have only heard bits & pieces of it and
would
like to have the whole thing. Also, I've seen the front cover, but what's on
the back? Thanx!

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Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 20:15:46 -0400
From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Nightbeat

At 11:15 AM 7/22/2003 -0400, [removed]@[removed] wrote:

have about 40 Nightbeat shows that I am currently transferring from
<snip>
I just saw a mention on a web site that Don Rickles was the announcer. Is
this correct?

Actually, Rickles did do some of the announcing, but the principal
announcer was a gentleman by the name of Doug Gourlay who I believe was a
West Coast NBC staff announcer.

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

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 20:30:13 -0400
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Another comment on past political
 incorrectness
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[removed]

(This is the home page. Just make sure you read the "Erasing the Past"
article.)

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Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 21:30:01 -0400
From: "Jody Davis" <baroygis@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Bela Lugosi

Re: the question of Bela Lugosi's radio appearances, I have a guest shot to
contribute. I have a 1947 episode of ABC's "Candid Microphone" in which the
legendary actor was the centerpiece of the main gag.

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

Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 10:45:41 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Today in radio history

 From Those Were The Days --

1933 - The first broadcast of The Romance of Helen Trent was heard. The
show continued on the air for 7,222 episodes and 27 years. Amazingly,
Helen stayed at 35 years of age throughout the entire series. The show
used two Helen Trents over the years. The first Helen was played by
Virginia Clark (for 11 years) and the second by Julie Stevens (for 16
years).

1933 - During his fourth Fireside Chat, [removed] President Franklin D.
Roosevelt showed why the homey, warm, comfortable discussion was,
indeed, a fireside chat. The President stopped the discussion on the air
and asked for a glass of water, which he then sipped. Newsman Robert
Trout is credited with coming up with the name, Fireside Chat, because
of real moments like this.

1943 - Foreign Assignment, was first heard on Mutual. The title role of
Brian Berry was played by Jan Jostyn, who also starred in another
popular radio drama, Mr. District Attorney.

    Joe

--
Visit my homepage:  [removed]~[removed]

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

Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 10:46:22 -0400
From: "Ian Grieve" <austotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Nightbeat

In issue 282 Bill Harker asked the following:

Also, there was an Australian version of Nightbeat, as well as Gunsmoke.
Are any of these shows available on tape or CD?

Yes Bill you can purchase a 2CD set put out by Sony, called The Golden Days
of Drama that was released in 1993.  It  contains ep2 of Nightbeat, ep7 of
the Shadow, Address Unknown ep4, Around the World in 80 days ep1 and 2 as
well as Till the day I die ep1. At the moment that is all that is offered
commercially.  Most of the Australian Nightbeat series survives and one
particular Australian collector does have almost the entire set as well, as
several other collectors having large numbers.  I am also collecting it.

If you are interested in the above set, I believe I bought mine from the
Australian Archives [removed]

You are welcome to contact me directly.

Ian Grieve

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #283
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