Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #250
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 9/15/2006 4:18 AM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2006 : Issue 250
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  9-14 births/deaths                    [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
  OTR treasure trove on Google Archive  [ Michael Berger <makiju@[removed]; ]
  More Whistler                         [ Philip Chavin <pchavin@[removed]; ]
  More Spade/Continental Op connection  [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
  Radio in the Cold War era             [ Graeme Stevenson <graemeotr@[removed] ]
  Jack Benny's "short lived" TV show    [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
  9-15 births/deaths                    [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
  August Deaths                         [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
  new candidate for longest (almost) j  [ <wgaryw@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 08:01:07 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  9-14 births/deaths

September 14 births

09-14-1890 - Anthony Frome - Bellaire, OH - d. 1-20-1962
as "The Poet Prince" he sang and read poetry over NBC Blue in early
1930s
09-14-1899 - Hal B. Wallis - Chicago, IL - d. 10-5-1986
film producer: "Tex and Jinx Show"; "Academy Award Program"; "Lux
Radio Theatre"
09-14-1907 - Cecil Brown - New Brighton, PA - d. 10-25-1987
newscaster: "CBS European News"; "Sizing Up the News"
09-14-1908 - Bernard Green - NYC - d. 8-8-1975
orchestra leader: "The Clock"
09-14-1910 - Jack Hawkins - London, England - d. 7-18-1973
actor: "[removed] Steel Hour"
09-14-1916 - Jerry Doggett - d. 7-7-1997
baseball announcer: "The LIberty Broadcasting System"
09-14-1918 - Mike Stokey - Shreveport, LA - d. 9-7-2003
announcer: "One Night Stand"
09-14-1924 - Jerry Coleman - San Jose, CA
baseball announcer for the San Diego Padres
09-14-1925 - Bill Christy - Seattle, WA - d. 2-25-1946
actor: Franklin Dexter "Meet Corliss Archer"

September 14th deaths

01-01-1911 - Hank Greenberg - NYC - d. 9-14-1994
baseball great: "Play Ball"; "We the People"; "Philco Radio Time"
01-17-1903 - Warren Hull - Gasport, NY - d. 9-14-1974
actor: Jack Hamilton "Gibson Family"
02-17-1914 - Wayne Morris - Los Angeles, CA - d. 9-14-1959
actor: "Radio Reader's Digest"; "NBC university Theatre of the Air"
03-22-1893 - Tito Vuolo - Italy - d. 9-14-1962
actor: Uncle Carlo "The Goldbergs"
04-06-1883 - Vernon Dalhart - Jefferson, TX - d. 9-14-1948
singer, composer: "Barbasol Ben"
06-08-1921 - Gordon McLendon - Paris, TX - d. 9-14-1986
Founder of the Liberty Radio Network
06-24-1910 - Cootie Williams - Mobile, AL - d. 9-14-1985
jazz trumpet player: "Jubilee"
09-02-1904 - Vera Vague (Barbara Jo Allen) - NYC - d. 9-14-1974
comedienne: "Vera Vague Show"; "Bob Hope Show"; "Jimmy Durante Show"
10-03-1899 - Gertrude Berg - NYC - d. 9-14-1966
actor: Molly Goldberg, "Goldbergs"
10-06-1906 - Janet Gaynor - Philadelphia, PA,  - d. 9-14-1984
hostess, actor: "Hollywood Showcase: Stars Over Hollywood"; "Lux
Radio Theatre"
11-12-1929 - Grace Kelly - Philadelphia, PA - d. 9-14-1982
actor: "Family Theatre"; "Bob Hope Show"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 08:01:38 -0400
From: Michael Berger <makiju@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  OTR treasure trove on Google Archive

One way to mine the new GoogleArchive for OTR material
is to limit the search to one source. Time Magazine's
archives are a rich source of OTR-related stories,
dating back from the late 1920s.

A simple search of "Information Please, Time Magazine"
yielded a dozen stories, including one from 1943 that
told the story of Dan Golenpaul's disputes with Lucky
Strike and also included anecdotes related to how he
put the show together.

A similar search "Fred Allen, Time Magazine" [putting
it in quotes is important] provided an even larger
number of stories.

Michael Berger

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 09:05:11 -0400
From: Philip Chavin <pchavin@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  More Whistler

Re The Whistler discussion:

And there was a local Chicago version of The Whistler,
with local actors, on WBBM in at least September 1946,
on Sundays, sponsored by Meister Brau beer.

-- Phil C.

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 14:35:04 -0400
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  More Spade/Continental Op connections

A few weeks ago, I wrote about some of the connections between radio's
Sam Spade and Hammett's earlier PI, the unnamed Continental Op. I've
been working my way through the complete Op stories, in chronological
order. (Well, complete except for 1923's It aka The Black Hat That
Wasn't There, which was last reprinted in Ellery Queen's 1951 The Woman
in the Dark anthology--if anybody has a copy of this please contact me
offline!) Re-listening to a few episodes recently, I've noticed some
more connections between Hammett's original stories and the radio
series that I didn't see before.

Sam and Psyche (aka Death of Dr Denhoff) 8/2/46: the writers bend over
backwards to link this story with The Maltese Falcon. Sam's lawyer is
mentioned at the start (name escapes me now--Sidney something), and the
supposed villain is a Joel Cairo clone, mentioning the Levant not once
but twice (and even performing a wonderful Peter Lorre imitation).

The Convertible Caper 6/15/47: features Tom Tom Carey, from the Op
story $106,000 Blood Money.

The Dick Foley Caper 9/26/48: I haven't heard this one in a while, but
as I recall Sam helps out Dick Foley, a fellow detective. In Hammett's
writing Dick Foley is another operative for the Continental Detective
Agency, and their best shadower. I heard a clip from this program the
other day on Sam Spade episode of the BBC documentary series "The Radio
Detectives." It was a scene in which Sam falls into San Francisco Bay.
The presenters highlighted this as an example of how the writers of the
radio series captured the essence of Hammett's writing. I think they
must not have realized that it actually *was* Hammett writing! The
entire scene is a virtually verbatim extract from the 1924 Op story
"The Tenth Clew."

It's interesting how, two years into the series, the writers are still
mining Hammett's original work for names, ideas, and atmosphere. An
interesting side note is--why bother? There couldn't have been more
than a small fraction of their national audience who caught these
references or even cared. It's nice to know the writers cared, and were
making the effort to incorporate the source material (even if their
version of Sam Spade ended up being very unlike the Satan-faced man in
the novel).

Kermyt

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 14:35:31 -0400
From: Graeme Stevenson <graemeotr@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Radio in the Cold War era
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Hi Folks.  I'm on the lookout for any recordings of Radio Moscow etc from the
Cold War era. If you can help, please drop me an email.
  Graeme Stevenson, Scotland.

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 14:35:56 -0400
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Jack Benny's "short lived" TV show

I was reading the wikipedia entry about Bob Crosy
([removed]), when I saw the following
line:

"Crosby also appeared on Benny's short lived TV show which ran for
about 3 years in the early 50's."

Well!

According to the wikipedia entry for Jack
([removed]), the TV show ran from 1950
through 1965, with occasional specials after that. Though it was not
seen weekly for all, or even much, of that 15 year period. Still,
that's a far cry from "short lived"!

Perhaps they Crosby authors meant to say that Bob appeared on Jack's
show for about 3 years in the early 50s?

Kermyt

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 22:22:31 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  9-15 births/deaths

September 15th births

09-15-1876 - Bruno Walter - Berlin, Germany - d. 2-17-1962
conductor: "Salzburg Music Festival"; "Word from the People"; "New
York Philharmonic"
09-15-1878 - William Hard - Painted Post, NY - d. 1-30-1962
commentator: "Back of the News"
09-15-1889 - Robert Benchley - Worcester, MA - d. 11-21-1945
comedian: "Buick Program"; "Melody and Madness"
09-15-1890 - Agatha Christie - Torquay, England - d. 1-12-1976
author: Creator of "Hercule Poirot"
09-15-1894 - Edwin Cooper - Illinois - d. 2-2-1984
actor: "The Eddie Bracken Show"
09-15-1898 - Gene Arnold - d. 4-12-1954
singer: (the man with a tear in his throat) "National Barn Dance"
09-15-1899 - Dr. Milton Eisenhower - Abilene, KS - d. 5-2-1985
doctor: (Brother of Ike) "Second Seagram's Symposium"; "Meet the Press"
09-15-1901 - Alexander Kirkland - Mexico City, Mexico - d. unknown
actor: "Helen Hayes Theatre"; "Our Gal Sunday"; "Society Girl"
09-15-1903 - Roy Acuff - Maynardsville, TN - d. 11-23-1992
singer: (The King of Country Music) "Grand Ole Opry"
09-15-1904 - Sheilah Graham - London, England - d. 11-17-1988
gossip columnist: Intermission Guest :Lux Radio Theatre"
09-15-1904 - Tom Conway - St. Petersburg, Russia - d. 4-22-1967
actor: Sherlock Holmes "Sherlock Holmes"; Simon Templar "The Saint"
09-15-1906 - Kathryn Murray - Jersey City, NJ - d. 8-6-1999
hostess: "Advs. of Ellery Queen"
09-15-1907 - Jack Bailey - Hampton, IA - d. 2-1-1980
emcee: "Queen for a Day"; "Truth or Consequences"
09-15-1908 - Penny Singleton - Phildelphia, PA - d. 11-13-2003
actor: Blondie Bumstead "Blondie" Penny Williamson "Penny Singleton
Show"
09-15-1909 - Frank Richards - NYC - d. 4-15-1992
actor: "I Love A Mystery"
09-15-1915 - Al Casey - Louisville, KY - d. 9-11-2005
guitarist: "One Night Stand"; "New World A' Coming"; "Eddie Condon's
Jazz Concert"
09-15-1915 - John Conte - Palmer, MA - d. 9-4-2006
emcee: "Maxwell House Coffee Time"; "John Conte Show"
09-15-1915 - Phil Brito - Boomer, WV - d. 10-28-2005
narrator: "Moon River"
09-15-1916 - Margaret Lockwood - Karachi, British India - d. 7-15-1990
actor: "A Christmas Carol"
09-15-1919 - Nelson Giddings - NYC - d. 5-1-2004
writer: "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon"
09-15-1922 - Jackie Cooper - Los Angeles, CA
actor: "Campbell Playhouse"; "George Jessel Show"; "Voice of the Army"
09-15-1923 - Arvell Shaw - St. Louis, MO - d. 12-5-2002
jazz bassist: "Floor Show"; "Damon Runyon Memorial Concert"; "Jubilee"
09-15-1924 - Bobby Short - Danville, IL - d. 3-21-2005
singer: Sang on Chicago radio at beginning of his career
09-15-1928 - Cannonball Adderley - Tampa, FL - d. 8-8-1975
jazz saxphonist: "Voices of Vista"

September 15th deaths

01-20-1896 - Rolfe Sedan - NYC - d. 9-15-1982
actor: "Escape"; "Suspense"; "Mystery in the Air"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
02-09-1930 - Garner Ted Armstrong - Portland, OR - d. 9-15-2003
preacher: (Son of Herbert W. Armstrong) "Plain Truth"; "The World
Tomorrow"
02-17-1914 - Larry Douglas - Philadelphia, PA - d. 9-15-1996
actor, singer: "Here's to Romance"
03-06-1916 - Virginia Gregg - Harrisburg, IL - d. 9-15-1986
actor: Helen Asher "Richard Diamond, Private Detective"
04-24-1905 - Robert Penn Warren - Guthrie, KY - d. 9-15-1989
author: (All the King's Men) "NBC University Theatre"
08-20-1908 - Andre Baruch - Paris, France - d. 9-15-1991
announcer, disc jockey: "Your Hit Parade"; "Kate Smith Program";
"Myrt and Marge"
09-25-1895 - Jack Denny - Indiana - d. 9-15-1950
music: "The American Revue"; "The Harry Richman Show"
10-05-1904 - John Hoyt - Bronxville, NY - d. 9-15-1991
actor: "Escape"; "Suspense"
11-11-1906 - Harry Holcomb - Malta, OH - d. 9-15-1987
director, narrator: "Curtain Time; "Dr. [removed], The Mental Banker";
"Moon River"
11-26-1891 - Anne Nichols - Dales Mill, GA - d. 9-15-1966
writer: "Abie's Irish Rose"
12-13-1915 - Mark Stevens - Cleveland, OH - d. 9-15-1994
actor: "This Is Hollywood"; "Cavalcade of America"; "Suspense"
xx-xx-1880 - Gertrude Bondhill - Cincinnati, OH - d. 9-15-1960
actor: Dal Tremaine's Mother "Arnold Grimm's Daughter"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 22:22:38 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  August Deaths

12-09-1915 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf - Jarotschin, Posen, Germany - d.
8-2-2006
singer: Austrian Radio
08-11-1925 - Mike Douglas - Chicago, IL - d. 8-11-2006
singer: "Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge"
06-22-1909 - Milton Kaye - Brooklyn, NY - d. 8-14-2006
pianist/arranger: "Roger Kilgore, Public Defender"; "Under Arrest"
xx-xx-1915 - Vernile Morgan - Oak Park, IL - d. 8-17-2006
actor: "Curtain Time"
05-28-1928 - Maynard Ferguson - Montreal, Canada - d. 8-22-2006
trumpeter: "Bud's Bandwagon"
02-15-1930 - Mary Lee Robb - Chicago, IL - d. 8-28-2006
actor: Marjorie Forrester "Great Gildersleeve"
05-01-1916 - Glenn Ford - Quebec, Canada - d. 8-30-2006
actor: Christopher London "Advs. of Christopher London"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 22:37:27 -0400
From: <wgaryw@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  new candidate for longest (almost) jack benny
 laugh, and a   lingering question. . .
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still catching up on old digests, and i just read a thread from about amonth
ago about the longest laugh on the jack benny program.  this seems to come up
pretty regularly.  there's certainly no debating that "your money or your
life" wasn't even close to the longest laugh.

by sheer coincidence, i happened to be listening to a late period show,
1954-05-16 The French Restaurant, while i was reading the digest posts, and
found to my surprise that this show actually has one of the longest laughs--
it may not be *the* longest, but it's darned close and i've never heard this
joke mentioned before in discussions of record setting audience laughs.

early in the show, jack gets a massage from the frank nelson character for
$3, the rate being so low because it turns out that frank had been using
chicken fat as a lubricant. . . later on, jack takes gertrude to a french
restaurant, and while they're driving, the following exchange takes place:

GERTRUDE: Say, did you notice a little bump a minute ago?
JACK: No.
GERTRUDE: Neither did I, but it smells like we ran over a chicken.

now, according to my copy of the program, the laugh for this line starts at
17:44, and lasts until 18:15, a full *31 seconds.*  that's a REALLY long
laugh, though i can see why it's never mentioned:  first, because it's from a
very late era program (these tend to receive a lot less attention than
earlier period benny programs), and second because it's not a line that
displays a great deal of wit on the part of the writers (it *is* funny, but
it's just not the kind of line a writer would probably want to be remembered
for.)

it reminds me of a question i;ve had for a long time.  there's no accounting
for the two broadcast versions of the programs before the transcription era.
i've posed this queswtion more than once before, but never got a response,
about the line fluffs (mostly mary's) that became running gags in subsequent
programs, and how this was handled with respect to east/west coast
broadcasts.  if the east coast broadcast had the flub, did they "recrreate"
it for the west coast show?  otherwise, how would the folks on the west coast
understand the later weeks' running gags about the bloopers?  and if the flub
took place in the *second* broadcast, the east coast listeners *definitely*
would not have heard it.

this relates to the question of the longest laugh, because in cases like the
famous "chiss sweeze" flub by mary, in the recording i have the mistake gets
only a moderately big laugh, nothing exceptional.  jack also frequently
talked about this show, and claimed that mary flubbed the line several times
without realizing what she was saying, and jack milked it by having her
repeat the line several times.  this is not in the recording i have, so i
always wondered if the original flub took place in the east coast show, but
that we only have the west coast show in circulation.  it's plausible, as
this show was from 1946, before transcription recordings were broadcast.  or
it may just be another case of a performer's memory not being very accurate--
[removed], benny always claimed that he and fred allen never discussed their feud
until 8 or 9 months after it started, when in fact they appeared together in
the "climax" of the feud about three months into it on the benny show.

anyhow, it just doesn't add up to me that the writers would make a running
gag out of bloopers that only half the country had actually heard.
but it seems equally unlikely that benny would attempt to restage a
spontaneous blooper self consciously, as this would most likely come off very
stiffly and unnaturally.

does anyone have a clue about this issue?  it's always bugged me. . .

--w. gary w.

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