------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 29
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Listening to Old Time Radio [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Lone Ranger Collectible [ "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed] ]
RE: FAKED /RECREATED DOCUMENTARIES [ "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@hotmail ]
Hooked on Elizabeth's website [ "glen schroeder" <gschroeder10@char ]
Phil Harris /Alice Faye [ George Aust <austhaus1@[removed] ]
Past imperfect [ neil crowley <og@[removed]; ]
Arthur Godfrey [ William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed]; ]
Old Technology in OTR plots [ Christopher Werner <cwerner@globalc ]
Joel McCrea [ "Bruce R. Glazer" <bruceglazer@medi ]
Breaking the Networks' recordings ba [ Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed]; ]
Fibber's Car [ KENPILETIC@[removed] ]
No Peaking! [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
The appeal of OTR [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
Today in radio history [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 23:57:27 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Listening to Old Time Radio
Jim Knaggs mentions that in order to listen to Old Time Radio one should close
their eyes so as not to break the spell because more than likely it is coming
through some ultra modern piece of equipment. I agree. What I do is play all
my radio shows through a replica of a cathedral style Philco. It is a real
radio, but I use it as a speaker. It may sound stupid, but it really does take
me back to the good old days. Try it.
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 23:57:55 -0500
From: "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Lone Ranger Collectible
The masked man's 60th anniversary boxes of Cherrios are a limited edition of
one million, commermorative cereal packages from General Mills. In the
two-pack of "America's first ready-to-eat cereal" with a LR mini-lunchbox,
one package is a replica of a 1941 box, the second is a 2001 anniversary box
design.
Online ordering is available from The General:
[removed] for those of you who find the
local supermarket supply already depleted. The GMills spokesperson said
that people have been clamoring for them , so they decided to offer the last
of the one million supply on the Internet.
Heigh-ho, everybody! (wait, that's Rudy Vallee's line! ) Right,
kemo-sabe?
Russ Butler oldradio@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 23:58:28 -0500
From: "Dave Walter" <fredallenfan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: RE: FAKED /RECREATED DOCUMENTARIES
"Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed]; writes:
I have another album called "Tonight
At 8:30," a recreation of a very early OTR show called "Plantation
Minstrils." with impersonations of Pic & Pat, Bert Williams, Benny Fields,
Honey Boy West, and other great Minstril men of the early days of radio.
It would be rather unlikely (though not impossible) for Bert Williams to
have become an early radio star, as he died in 1922. Certainly, his
phonograph records could have been played on the air, but how common was
that in the extremely earliest days of commercial radio? As well, it's
interesting to note that, in the index to Nick Tosches' recent book on
blackface singer Emmett Miller and minstrelsy in general, WHERE DEAD VOICES
GATHER, neither the title "Plantation Minstrils" nor the other performers
listed above are mentioned at all.
However, Tosches does mention a weekly minstrel show, "Mr. Bones & Company,"
which apparently ran on the NBC Blue Network on Monday nights during the
summer of 1931, probably as a companion of sorts to "Amos 'n Andy" on the
same network.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 00:00:29 -0500
From: "glen schroeder" <gschroeder10@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Hooked on Elizabeth's website
Hi Elizabeth and list.
A few weeks ago I went to Elizabeth's website which was talked about on this
list. I looked at some of the links, and decided to bookmark the site and
come back to it later. Well, later turned out to be yesterday. I started
reading, and I couldn't put it down, so to speak. Great stuff. Right now I'm
reading about Amos and Andy. Being someone who didn't grow up with otr but
love it now, I especially like reading about it's history. Thanks Elizabeth.
One more [removed] Could someone tell me how to subscribe to the vintage TV
list that's connected with this one. I used to be on it but lost it. Thanks
in advance. Love this list.
Glen Schroeder
Madison WI
[ADMINISTRIVIA: I can answer the last question, at least. Hit:
[removed]
...and use the handy web-based subscription you'll find there. --cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 00:01:24 -0500
From: George Aust <austhaus1@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Phil Harris /Alice Faye
Dan Hughes asked if anyone else found the later Phill Harris/ Alice
Faye shows disappointing. This has prompted me to post my opinion on
the shows that I have heard which are all from the '48 and '49 season.
I had never heard their show back in the days of OTR, so after reading
all the praise for the show on this digest ,I bought a Radio Spirits
set to see what all the hoopla was about. I think I may get threats on
my life for this but I didn't find the show funny at all. Well a couple
of chuckles per show maybe. I think it is silly and predictable and
generaly not up to the standards of the other great comedy shows. I
love Jack Benny's program, also Fibber McGee, the Great Gildersleeve,
Fred Allen, etc. just to give you an idea of what I consider good. I
have listened to 12 shows from that set and never listened to the other
six, though I probably will eventually. I don't know if the writing got
better in the '50 and '51 seasons but I am not impressed with what I've
heard so far.
George Aust
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 23:59:06 -0500
From: neil crowley <og@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Past imperfect
From: "Knaggs, Jim" <[removed]@[removed];
OTR is the closest thing to a time machine that any of us will ever
experience. ... you are experiencing essentially exactly the
same thing ... that a person listening to that program was experiencing
when they listened
to it first run in the 30s, 40s, 50s, etc.
It would be nice to step into the same river twice but nobody's ever been
able to. If you've recreated the environment carefully you may indeed be
subjecting yourself to the same stimulus as the listener of the 30's, 40's
but you know too much to have the same experience. Television is a
visionary future to the old listener but an everyday reality to you. The
Japanese are an implacable enemy to him, not a staunch ally. The twin
towers are not a part of his reality or even his imagination, much less a
haunting symbol of the hatred we must come to understand before we can
eliminate it.
You can close your eyes and imagine for a brief time that the innocence is
still there but eventually you have to open them and cope with today's
illusions.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 00:01:57 -0500
From: William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Arthur Godfrey
Another correction. Arthur Godfrey was not the narrator on the actual
broadcast of FDR's funeral. He was one of several announcers. I was
confused at first when I viewed a film of the event at one of our OTR
conventions in Newark. That film was probably a newsreel production which
Godfrey narrated later. I was confused as "I was there".
I was new at CBS at that time and was in the "break in" stage. My mentor
was Charlie Giriat, who was also new and had previously been a radio
parts salesman (he commented that I was really breaking him in). We were
sent to old studio four at 485 Madison to cover the standby on the FDR
funeral. WJSV, CBS affiliate in Washington, was originating the
broadcast, and one of their announcers, Arthur Godfrey, was on the curb
along Pennsylvania Avenue. As the casket passed him Arthur broke down in
tears, and the director cued to switch to another announcer along the
route. I do recall seeing Arthur walkiing along the curb on the video.
However , there was no television coverage in those days.
There has been much said about Julius LaRosa. I do not know what the true
story was but I did witness a previous incident. I was in a tape room in
the 485 building one morning prepared to tape the Godfrey Show (we
recorded the program every morning so that director Will Roland and
engineer Frank Telewski could assemble the "Godfey Digest", a weekly
program using excerpts from his daily show). One morning I was in one of
our tape rooms and had studio 21 up on my monitor speaker, when Julius
arrived and was "badmouthing" Arthur to the rest of the cast. I was
horrified, realizing that Arthur could hear him in his office as he had a
monitor speaker "bridged" across the output of studio 21.
I never see any mention of the fact that the Journal American newspaper
had a reporter in a press car parked in front of the studio building
every morning in an effort to get something on Arthur. Actually publisher
Randolph Hearst was not sore at Arthur but had a bug up his fanny against
Mr. Paley, due to Paley having married a former lady friend of Hearst.
Also, how about the newspaper item about Archie getting a ticket for
being parked with one of the singers near the old Worlds Fair grounds in
Flushing? I thought Arthur would have a comment about that as he always
needled Archie about driving an old Pierce Arrow sedan. No comment.
Arthur was a very congenial person. Always was the first to speak at
hallway meetings. I last worked with him in later years when we did a
vacation replacement for Jack Carney (not the producer or Art's brother),
the morning guy at KMOX, St. Louis, from a Columbia Records in New York.
His old friends, many of whom I knew, stopped in to say hello. It was
delightful two weeks. Moments one would like to live over.
Bill Murtough
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 10:34:46 -0500
From: Christopher Werner <cwerner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Old Technology in OTR plots
National Engineering Week is February 17-22 and in preparation to
introducing and promoting
Engineering to middle school students (I have a day of presentations and
demos to do), I thought
of putting a perspective on the importance of Engineering to all of our
lives. One approach was to
bring examples of devices that existed when I was their age and contrast
them with what is around
today (perculator/drip coffee; rotary phone/cell phone; Frieden
calculator/computer; [removed]).
Ok, so I recalled that I listened recently to an Ellery Queen Minute
Mystery that described what a
witness said and from the statement determined why they were guilty of a
crime. In this case a
driver of a car heard certain information about the crime while driving
through a tunnel. The clever
detective determined she lied because *everybody knows* that a tunnel
blocks radio reception.
This of course was true for AM but not FM radios. Clear evidence of a plot
that would not make
sense if it were today.
My question: Can any of you think of other examples of events from OTR
programs that would not
make any sense because of todays technology - because of Engineering advances?
Chris.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 10:35:23 -0500
From: "Bruce R. Glazer" <bruceglazer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea has been a longtime hero of mine.
I enjoy listening to his excellence in "Tales of the
Texas Rangers, as well as watching his movies.
If anyone has met or worked with him, I would
learning about this experience. Thank you.
BRUCE
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 10:38:07 -0500
From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Breaking the Networks' recordings ban
From: "Brian Johnson" <CHYRONOP@[removed];
The networks did break these rules on occassion. I have a copy
of a CBS Admiral broadcast with a transcribed interview with
WACs on Guam. Interviews such as these were often scripted and
then prerecorded for security reasons.
What was the date of the broadcast? Live interviews were often scripted
as well. There would be even LESS reason to script a pre-recorded
interview for security purposes.
From: "A. Joseph Ross"
As I understand it, ABC broke the live broadcast rule somewhat
earlier than 1949 with Bing Crosby.
Yes, quite true, these sorts of things have been discussed here before.
The 1949 date I cited is when NBC withdrew ALL restrictions on the use
of any recordings for any purpose on its network. It was memo #2-49-005
dated Feb 8, 1949. Prior to that date NBC had occasionally allowed
recordings for specific purposes. The first notable one was, as was
mentioned a couple of days ago, the Hindenburg disaster--but an excerpt
was played only once per network. A few recordings were accidentally
played from Europe a few weeks later around and during the Coronation,
but the next recording specifically allowed on NBC was Chamberlain's
declaration of war. Late in WW II there were a few battlefield
recordings allowed.
Also allowed were certain West coast delay repeats on the Pacific Coast
Blue around 1940 to try to save some programs being taken over to CBS
which was already allowing selective West coast recorded delays. Other
than that, the only CBS use of recordings in the 1930s I've traced was
one FDR Fireside Chat. Oh, wait, there was one other. CBS was tricked
by Senator Arthur Vandenburg into allowing him to debate with recordings
of FDR during the 1936 campaign. A fascinating story I think we've told
here in the past.
Mutual did not have a general prohibition of recordings because one of
its founding stations, WOR, and its Chief Engineer, Jack R. Poppele, had
proudly used recordings such as Chandu the Magician and The Witches
Tale. ABC had inherited the general prohibition of recordings from its
NBC Blue background, but relented when the Big Bucks of Philco and Bing
were dangled in front of them in 1946. Remember, Pacific coast Blue had
allowed recorded delays in the past, so they were willing to try
again--but only if the ratings didn't suffer. The program was to go
live if the ratings dropped. They didn't (at least not too much), so
the program stayed.
The comment about Crosby leading the way for Groucho was less about
pre-recording and more about editing. Of course the pre-recording of
both program series was a necessary element to the editing, but it was
the fact that these programs were recorded at great length and then
edited down to time, that was the most important part of the story. It
allowed for a relaxed atmosphere for Bing, and allowed Groucho to
occasionally be risqué. You see, a little known fact is that in 1946
ABC was already allowing the recording and delaying of ALL of its
programs to the areas that had not switched to Daylight Saving Time. So
Bing's Philco Radio Time was NOT the only recorded program on ABC--it
was the only EDITED program on ABC. As such, it probably was the only
program to be heard via recording on the entire network, but the
Daylight Saving Time delays had been going on for four months by the
time of the first Philco program.
But getting back to the original context of my statement, the use of
re-creations on The March Of Time, this is just the sort of program
which NBC and CBS would NEVER have let use recorded actualities during
the 1930s and most of the 1940s. I've seen the memos of refusal in the
NBC files when similar programs requested permission to use short
recorded actualities. They didn't allow the use of a recording of
Marconi's voice during a memorial program for him!!! They didn't allow
RCA Victor to play the voice of the long dead Enrico Caruso!! I mean,
these guys at NBC were TOUGH!!! They only started to play some recorded
battlefield reports after receiving a long handwritten letter from an
Army Colonel taking them to task for not using submitted recordings from
the Italian front in 1943 saying: THESE PEOPLE RISKED THEIR LIVES TO GET
YOU THESE RECORDINGS. (That fiery letter still seemed warm to the touch
when I read it nearly 30 years after it was written.) And even then the
reply from NBC was that they were going to continue to be very selective
in the use of battlefield recordings. Both the BBC and the CBC did not
have prohibitions against recordings, and both even sent mobile
recording trucks to the front to send back recorded reports throughout
the war.
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 10:39:21 -0500
From: KENPILETIC@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Fibber's Car
[removed]
Approved: ctrn4eeWlc
Hi Gang - January 26, 2002 - Saturday - 9 AM
cst
In issue 23, Joe Mackey writes:
... And this brings up another question: Did Fibber own a car or not?
He owned a car for at least one episode. As I recall, Fibber was
driving his car and hit a bump after which there was a loud "clang".
Fibber got out of the car and found a large, heavy piece of metal
lying on the street. He concluded that it was the flywheel from his
car and proceeded to bring it home with him.
Later in the program, Mayor LaTrivia tells Fibber and Molly that
a manhole cover is missing from Elm Street (it may not have
been "Elm" street, but you get the idea).
Happy Taping - Ken Piletic - Streamwood, Illinois
kenpiletic@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 10:39:09 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: No Peaking!
Jim Knaggs has asked,
Is the OTR hobby currently at its peak to date?
To which Owens Pomeroy responded,
IMHO the peak was in the 70's when there were no less than 20 OTR Clubs
around the country, both "mail-order" and active meeting -wise clubs.
Now there are no less than 9 or 10 clubs still active today. This drop
in the peak of OTR was due to a lot of business people who saw a gold
mine and $$$ in this "new" venture.
This brings up an interesting, and perhaps unanswerable, question. What
do we mean by "peak"? The way one views that enigmatic little word could
make a big difference in the answer. This also has to do with the way we
view "hobby." Both are tied to a perception difference, and I suspect
nobody will necessarily agree with everybody else on just what
constitutes that. At one end of the field is the casual gatherer of
recordings, in whatever format, primarily to be entertained. Such a
person may have become intrigued by boxed sets of tapes or CDs available
at various bookstores, particularly during the holidays. Such a person
might or might not start building huge collections. But they're an
element in those involved with OTR. At another end of the field might be
the nostalgist who is trying to re-savor the fond experiences of more
than half a century ago. And at another end of the field )fields are two
dimensional, and may have a lot of endpoints) there is the dedicated
collector who, for whatever reason, wants to build such a huge collection
of programs so as to never run out of fresh material. And at yet another
end there's the scholar who has intense interest in the whole history of
OTR and/or specific OTR show or shows.
Are we speaking of number of different shows available and/or in
circulation? Are we speaking of organized OTR activities such as
meetings, conferences, and/or conventions? Are we speaking of
collectors, regardless of size and scope of a collection?
Depending on which of the foregoing criteria we pick would define our
answers. I don't think there is just one "correct" response.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 10:35:05 -0500
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: The appeal of OTR
Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 10:44:27 -0500
From: "Knaggs, Jim" <[removed]@[removed];
Turn on your favorite OTR program, close your eyes (this step is
important--no peeking at your computer, MP3 player or state of the art >
stereo)
I can do better than that. I have a patch cord from my stereo to play
through the speaker of an old Philco radio that my father bought in 1947.
When I turn off the regular stereo speakers, and turn on the radio, so
that the dial light is on, it feels just like listening in the old days --
it even sounds a lot more like otr, too.
Because of its visual nature, early television does not provide the same
experience. You might watch repeats of Jack Benny's program but you very
likely will be doing it on something akin to a modern 32 inch widescreen
TV that does not exactly give the illusion of a 1950s Philco.
Well, you could watch them on a small portable. You could even get an
old TV set, put it in working order, and play the video through it.
Trouble is, even that may not work, since the copy-protection encoding on
some videotapes makes for a distorted picture on older TV sets.
--
A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed]
15 Court Square, Suite 210 lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2503 [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 10:38:19 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in radio history
From Those Were The Day --
1931 - NBC radio introduced listeners to Clara, Lu 'n' Em on the Blue
network. The show became the first daytime radio serial when it was
moved from its original nighttime slot.
1948 - Wire Recording Corporation of America announced the first
magnetic tape recorder. The "Wireway" machine with a built-in oscillator
sold for $[removed]
1957 - The CBS Radio Workshop was heard for the first time. This first
broadcast featured Aldous Huxley narrating his classic, Brave New World.
Joe
--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #29
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