------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2006 : Issue 38
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
2-5 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Re: Breaking the 4th Wall [ "jazmaan@[removed]" <dmf273@ya ]
They got it right. Sort of. [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
Breaking the fourth wall [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
Benny baseball references [ Michael Berger <makiju@[removed]; ]
Gracie on InfoPls [ Michael Berger <makiju@[removed]; ]
The End of Tom Mix [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
Kryptic [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
Looking for a NTR [ "Barth Wysong" <stargazerbw@excite. ]
Robert Benchley on Radio [ Richard Fish <fish@lodestone-media. ]
Bursting through the audio fourth wa [ "G. Morgan Watkins" <morgan@watkins ]
An OTR Oscar Nomination [ Richard Fish <fish@lodestone-media. ]
Old Time Radio Videos [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
A Night of OTR Programming [ "James Yellen" <clifengr3@[removed] ]
Re: Scene transition music effectsRe [ Graham Newton <gn@audio-restoration ]
Re: Breaking the fourth wall [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
WJSV and Superman [ "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 02:41:41 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 2-5 births/deaths
February 5th births
02-05-1893 - Carlton Coon - Rochester, MN - d. 5-4-1932
bandleader: (Coon-Sanders Nighthawks) "Florsheim Frolic"
02-05-1898 - Sidney Fields - d. 9-28-1975
comic, comedy writer: "Abbott and Costello Show"; "It's Time to Smile"
02-05-1901 - Arthur Sheekman - Chicago, IL - d. 1-12-1978
writer: "The Marx Brothers"
02-05-1906 - John Carradine - New York, NY - d. 11-27-1988
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
02-05-1918 - Tim Holt - Beverly Hills, CA - d. 2-15-1973
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
02-05-1919 - Red Buttons - New York, NY
actor: "Guest Star"; "Friar's Club Roast"
02-05-1934 - Hank Aaron - Mobile, AL
baseball legend: "Baseball: An Action History"; "Tops In Sports"
February 5th deaths
02-11-1909 - Joseph L. Mankiewicz - Wilkes-Barre, PA - d. 2-5-1993
screenwriter, film director: "Theatre Guild On the Air"; "Lux Radio
Theatre"
02-14-1905 - Thelma Ritter - Brooklyn, NY - d. 2-5-1969
actress: "Aldrich Family"; "Big Town "; "McGarry and His Mouse"
04-10-1868 - George Arliss - London, England - d. 2-5-1946
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
05-04-1913 - Carroll Moore, Jr. - Somerville, MA - d. 2-5-1977
writer: "The Henry Morgan Show"
06-10-1909 - Larry LeSueur - d. 2-5-2003
CBS news correspondent: "This Week in Europe"; "The World Today"
06-29-1908 - John Hench - Cedar Rapids, IA - d. 2-5-2004
actor: Stanley Gilman "Those Happy Gilmans"
07-06-1905 - Pauline Drake - Denver, CO - d. 2-5-1981
actress: Bessie "Great Gildersleeve"; "Miss Duffy "Duffy's Tavern"
11-07-1903 - Dean Jagger - Lima, OH - d. 2-5-1991
actor: "Crisis in War Town"; "Columbia Workshop"; "Cavalcade of America"
11-14-1914 - Court Benson - Vancouver, Canada - d. 2-5-1995
announcer, narrator: "Tennessee Jed"
12-01-1896 - Ethel Shutta - New York, NY - d. 2-5-1976
singer-comedienne: "Jack Benny Program"
12-08-1910 - Ruth Matteson - San Jose, CA - d. 2-5-1975
actress: Nicole Scott "Against the Storm"
xx-xx-xxxx - Kuda Bux - Kashmir, India - d. 2-5-1981
magician: "Believe It or Not"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 02:41:52 -0500
From: "jazmaan@[removed]" <dmf273@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Breaking the 4th Wall
The most effective "breaking the 4th wall" I know is when Peter Lorre did it
at the climax of "The
Horla". That scared the pants off me!
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 02:43:43 -0500
From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: They got it right. Sort of.
One movie I really like is _The Final Countdown_. Even
though the plot, when you think about it, amounts to
much ado about nothing. I'll explain why in Spoilers
to follow.
But first the OTR connection that they got right. Sort
of. The USS Nimitz finds itself transported back in
time to December 1941 off the coast of Pearl Harbor,
though it takes them a while to realize this. One of
the first clues comes when they turn on the radio and
hear a clip from _The Jack Benny_ program.
Specifically, Rochester telling Jack he can't get
Carmichael to go to sleep.
So tonight, while watching my newly purchased DVD of
the movie, I pulled out my copy of _39 Forever_ and
checked to see if there'd been a broadcast on or about
December 7. Sure enough, there was a broadcast on
December 7, and it did concern Rochester trying to get
Carmichael to go to sleep.
Just one problem. The Nimitz had been sent back in
time to December 6. Pearl Harbor had not yet been
attacked. So, like I said, they got the right _Jack
Benny_ episode, just the wrong day. But hey, they
could have just picked something at random. I'm sure
there have been "period" movies that have done that.
[removed] Now to the SPOILERS about the film. Read no
further if you haven't seen it, but plan to, and don't
want any surprises ruined:
As I said, the Nimitz is transported back to 1941 (by
a strange storm of some sort). While there, the
Captain debates whether to intervene and prevent the
attack on Pearl Harbor. Ultimately, he decides to do
so. But first, he needs to get rid of a prominent
senator named Sam Chapman and his secretary, Laurel
Scott, whom crew members had rescued from an attack by
Japanese Zeros. He arranges to have them dropped off
on a small island, and sends one of his officers to
see to it.
In the original history, the Senator died in the
attack on his yacht; now he dies when he fires a flare
gun on board the helicopter, which he'd forced it to
take off from the small island. Meanwhile, his
secretary and the officer, Commander Richard Owen, are
stranded.
Also meanwhile, the attack on Pearl Harbor is about to
commence, and the Nimitz has launched fighters to take
on the Japanese fleet. Up pops the mysterious storm
again. The captain recalls the jets; the storm hits,
and the Nimitz is back home in 1980.
At the start of the movie, a civilian named Warren
Lasky, loaned out to the Defense Department, is seen
off on the voyage by his mysterious, wealthy employer,
Mr. Tideman, who, himself remains unseen in his
limousine. Tideman also was responsible for designing
and building the Nimitz (or at least played a large
part in that effort). At the end of the film, Lasky
is invited into the limo to join Mr. and Mrs. Tideman,
and discovers that they are in fact, Laurel Scott and
Richard Owen.
So, in essence, the Nimitz went back in time so one
crew member could be stranded in the past, and
eventually become the mysterious millionaire
(billionaire?) who helped design and build the thing.
Nothing was changed with regard to Pearl Harbor.
Senator Chapman still died. Like I said, the plot
amounts to much ado about nothing, when you think
about it. The ship's role in that major historical
event boiled down to serving as a time travelling
ferry for one man.
But it's still one of my favorite films.
Rick
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 02:43:57 -0500
From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Breaking the fourth wall
One example I can cite where a show broke the "fourth
wall" (after a fashion) is the April 10, 1949 episode
of the _Adventures of Sam Spade_, called "The Stopped
Watch Caper." In the story, Effie is out, and Sam has
someone else filling in. Why is Effie on leave? She's
visiting a sick friend, Lurene Tuttle.
Effie, of course was _played_ by Lurene Tuttle.
Rick
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:25:17 -0500
From: Michael Berger <makiju@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Benny baseball references
Not having heard that show, cannot answer the question
about why no reaction, but as a former Pacific Coast
League baseball fan, I can report that the Vern
Kinsfather and Steve Nagy were pitchers for Seattle
while Ed Chandler was a pitcher for Los Angeles. The
odd thing is that the other name, Lade, was that of a
pitcher, not a catcher.
Talk about trivia!!
Michael Berger
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:25:48 -0500
From: Michael Berger <makiju@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Gracie on InfoPls
The inquiry about Gracie Allen's appearance on
Information Please prompted me to re-listen to that
show, one of the good ones in a superb series. We're
lucky she was invited when she was, because at the end
of the program, it's announced that she appeared
'courtesy of Chesterfield cigarettes'. A year later
and the InfoPls sponsor would have been Lucky Strike
and probably no chance for Gracie.
As it was, she was delightful and the only negative in
the program was the perhaps unintentional
condescension of host Clifton Fadiman, who played to
the 'dizzy dame' image that Gracie thrived on, rather
than just letting her be her witty self, which she was
throughout, saying at one point, 'wouldn't George be
proud of me?' She was a treasure, and not just to
George.
Michael Berger
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:26:26 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The End of Tom Mix
Jack French relates the dramatic confrontation between Tom Mix and Caesar
Ciano.
He issued a series of threats to Tom and Mike and declared they would
not broadcast their show today. Bluffs and counter-bluffs went back and
forth until Ciano demanded to know how each program ended. Don Gordon
said he ended each show so guns were trained on him. He nervously
concluded the show with something like "Tom Mix has been brought to you
by the makers of Ralston" and the episode ended there.
I remember that show like yesterday. Ciano was in the studio while Mix
was on the air, and he (Ciano) wanted the program to end. After having
his henchmen shoot up the "on the air" light with a Thompson submachine
gun, he forced Don Gordon, at gunpoint to say, "This is .. uh .. the
Mutual Broadcasting Network." No closing Ralston jingle or anything!
That was the most effective show ending I ever heard!
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:26:58 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Kryptic
A Joseph Ross, [removed], commenting on Rick Keating's various questions about
Superman and his planet of origin, responded to the idea of a
"counter-Earth" as a fictional device.
I don't know if there was either at that point, but it seemed a
convenient story device and there didn't seem to be any reason why it
couldn't be so. The theory of Lagrange points existed, but I don't think
it was very well known at the time.
The idea goes all the way back to Classical Greece, long before anyone
understood orbital dynamics. Even in the Ptolemaic system, the idealized
counter-Earth was hidden by the Sun.
During the 1940s, a science fiction series about a radio relay station in
one of the stable Lagrange points in Venus' orbit, the "Venus
Equilateral" stories, was being run. The author, George O. Smith, was a
radio engineer.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:27:10 -0500
From: "Barth Wysong" <stargazerbw@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Looking for a NTR
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
I've been looking for a particular show, I beleive its a new time radio show
(1970-80s). It concerns an archeologist who discovers a skull from a missing
link(?). Turns out that the skull is a fake and he has been duped by a
collegue and there's murder [removed] thought it was linked to a CBS Radio
Mystery Theater episode called "Yesterday's Giant" but this show is not in
their canon. Its been bugging me for years. Thanks!
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:28:29 -0500
From: Richard Fish <fish@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Robert Benchley on Radio
Here's one Benchley broadcast, which happens to be one of my all-time
favorite OTR programs:
Robert Benchley appeared as the Interpreter in Norman Corwin's "The
Undecided Molecule," broadcast over CBS July 17, 1944. The cast for this
show was just perfect, including Vincent Price, Norman Lloyd, Keenan
Wynn, and even Groucho Marx. (Perfect casting was the rule for Corwin,
of course!)
It was done just a few months before Benchley died, and may be his last
radio appearance (?? -- anybody know?). It was also, as far as I'm
aware, Benchley's only appearance with Groucho in any medium. The
broadcast has survived and is available on CD as part of the "13 X
Corwin" collection.
For more info, and click-to-hear excerpts, go to:
[removed]
Richard Fish
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:28:40 -0500
From: "G. Morgan Watkins" <morgan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Bursting through the audio fourth wall
I remember the Adventures of Sam Spade had one or more
self-referencing scripts while Howard Duff was doing the series.
It sounded odd, but it was a delightfully strange show at times anyway.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:29:27 -0500
From: Richard Fish <fish@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: An OTR Oscar Nomination
"A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin," a documentary by
Eric Simonson, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the
Documentary (short subject) category.
If anybody knows people who vote for these things, it's time for some
good, clean, honest-and-above-board, albeit impassioned and dedicated,
lobbying!
Richard Fish
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:30:14 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Old Time Radio Videos
My wife is making me clean out the loft and this includes stuff I no longer
need or want. (These are the sacrifices a newlywed must learn to start
[removed])
I have 350+ VHS videos in three big boxes that I no longer need. Rather
than throw them away (people do NOT really buy videos anymore at film
conventions - I should know - they buy DVDs instead), I figured to offer
them a good home. First come, first serve basis. The cost I would like to
offer is $[removed] (that's a bit more than a buck a video) plus postage. A
little more than a dollar a video seems fair to me since that's about the
cost of blanks at the moment.
Among the videos
OUR MISS BROOKS the movie, RICHARD DIAMOND TV episodes, DRAGNET tv episodes,
HENRY ALDRICH television show, THE ARCHIES unaired TV pilot, THE PHANTOM
unaired TV pilot,
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DENNIS DAY unaired TV pilot, MISTER ED unaired TV
pilot,
EDGAR BERGEN AND CHARLIE McCARTHY SHOW 2 unaired TV pilots, SPACE PATROL,
TALES OF THE TEXAS RANGERS lots of TV shows, CHARLIE CHAN, BIS STORY tv
shows (one with James Dean), The CRIME DOCTOR movies, DR. CHRISTIAN tv
shows, BIG TOWN movies,
WILD BILL HICKOCK Tv shows, BOSTON BLACKIE movies, WHISTLER television
shows,
SKY KING same, ROCKY JONES SPACE RANGER, CAPTAIN VIDEO tv shows, LUM AND
ABNER movies,
STUDIO ONE tons of episodes, some movies adapted from PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE and
PIER 23,
SUSPENSE television episodes, DEATH VALLEY DAYS, FIBBER McGEE AND MOLLY
television episodes, THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE TV episodes, HENRY ALDRICH
movies, BULLDOG DRUMMOND movies, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT movie, rare horror
films from 1930s and 40s, THE SAINT movies and TV shows, ELLERY QUEEN tv
shows, complete series of THR PRISONER (retailed $[removed] when purchased from
Columbia House), and of course TV and movies like THE UNTOUCHABLES,
PLAYHOUSE 90 (about 7 or 8 of these!), SHEENA, RAMAR OF THE JUNGLE, SEA
HUNT, HIGHWAY PATROL, FU MANCHU movies, SEA HUNT, and a bunch of cliffhanger
serials, and a LOT, LOT MORE.
I just want to clean these out so I have more room in the loft. So I want
to sell them all at once, not as brief selections as it would take forever
to sell them so I would rather people not pick and choose. Serious inquires
as I don't want to repost this a second time. $[removed] plus postage for 350+
videos containing what's listed above PLUS LOTS MORE.
All disclaimers apply, contact me personally, sold on a first-come,
first-serve basis. All sales final. They come as they are. Quality varies
from video to video but they are all videos I purchased from dealers or
traded for so they are good enough for dealers to resell even today. If
they were to be purchased today on DVD, we're talking over $2,[removed] of
material. I prefer to mail them rather than drop and deliver as I want them
out of the house, not taking up space. I do accept Credit Card at the house
if it's easier for anyone. If you want tons of old-time radio related shows
to watch, here's a bargain of a price.
Martin
mmargrajr@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:30:32 -0500
From: "James Yellen" <clifengr3@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: A Night of OTR Programming
When my brother Bob and I were driving to the FOTR in Newark last October,
we passed the time on the New Jersey Turnpike by trying to decide what would
be our perfect fantasy evening of OTR. If you were the program manager of a
radio station playing Old Time Radio and could present any radio show that
you want without regard to network or time or year, what would you present?
Here's what I came up with. Does anyone want to share his/her selections?
6:00 Captain Midnight- "More Ovaltine, Mom!"
6:15 Hop Harrigan- This is a kid's adventure that I still enjoy listening to
as an adult.
6:30 Lone Ranger- Hi Yo, Silver!
7:00 Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet- OK, so this is a low-key, kind of
corny show, but since my brother and I are about the same age as Ricky and
David, we could relate to the Nelsons. The only thing is that our father
wasn't much like Ozzie. Ours was more like the Old Man in Jean Shepherd's
Christmas Story.
7:30 Dr. [removed] A little mental exercise
8:00 Jack Benny Program- Need I say more?
8:30- Alice Faye and Phil Harris Show- Phil and Frankie are always in
trouble. Sing Alice, sing.
9:00 Let George do it- I just like this one.
9:30 The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street- From barrelhouse to
boogie-woogie. A nice change of pace.
10:00 Your Truly, Johnny Dollar- "Before I left Hartford I stopped at Sal's
Super Service to fill up. Ten gallons of gasoline, two dollars and twenty
cents."
10:30 Suspense- One of the best
11:00 The Mysterious Traveler- "We'll thrill you a little and chill you a
little."
11:30 Lights Out- I remember the time my brother actually turned out the
lights and scared the #%@^&$ out of both of us.
12:00 Murder at Midnight- Of course.
Jim Yellen
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:31:03 -0500
From: Graham Newton <gn@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Scene transition music effectsRe:
"G. Morgan Watkins" <morgan@[removed]; said to the OTR [removed]
On the subject: Scene transition music effects
As I listen to different OTR programs, I am surprised by the number
that use the same transitional music effects between scenes.
There were (and still are) music library companies that license recorded music
for use in radio, TV and film productions. It is MUCH cheaper to license
their
material than to hire a composer, arranger and orchestra to record your own
material, although some of the larger OTR shows did do this.
Some popular libraries used in OTR shows were:-
Chappell (Black Museum used cues from here)
Boosey and Hawkes
Capitol "Q" and "Hi-Q"
Mutel
Conroy
Video Moods
Impress
Weinberger
Paxton
FDH
Many of these libraries were distributed by Emil Ascher Inc in New York and
Regent Recorded Music Inc., in Hollywood. This accounts for why British
libraries found their way into North American productions.
... Graham Newton
--
Audio Restoration by Graham Newton, [removed]
World class professional services applied to tape or phonograph records for
consumers and re-releases, featuring CEDAR's new CAMBRIDGE processes.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:31:23 -0500
From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Breaking the fourth wall
I find this thread on radio characters interacting with their real
counterparts interesting. Several examples of the fourth wall being
broken by the show moving beyond its fictional self into the real world
have been presented.
Another, albeit weaker example, was from Richard Diamond, Private
Detective when Dick Powell in his character as Diamond says:
"Hello there, this is Diamond. You know, I like to say that: 'Hello
there, this is Diamond.' I don't know why, maybe it's just because I say
it all the time. Hello there, this is Diamond. You know I think it
sounds kind [removed] bad. Of course, I'd rather say: 'Hello
there, I've got a sponsor Diamond.' But that's silly too because if I
had a sponsor I wouldn't have time to say 'Hello there, this is
Diamond." I'd be over shining your shoes."
Anybody know of any other examples? This is kind of fun.
Jim Widner
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 15:31:42 -0500
From: "Bill Scherer" <bspro@[removed];
To: ""old-time radio digest">" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: WJSV and Superman
Hi all,
First thanks for setting me straight on my Superman question about Jimmy. Of
course you were all right. I had totally forgotten that they never mentioned
the last
name.
Now just to add to the WJSV chat, I thought it was boring as well. I truely
expected it to be much better. It's a good time Capsule I suppose, but I
don't expect
to drag it out and listen anytime soon.
I have always wondered if there was another entire day captured a couple
years later if it would have been any better?
Any ideas?
Bill
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #38
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