Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #40
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 2/7/2006 4:18 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2006 : Issue 40
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  The other side of the sun             [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
  Talullah                              [ Michael Berger <makiju@[removed]; ]
  breaking the fourth wall, continued   [ "W. Gary Wetstein" <wgaryw@pacbell. ]
  robert benchley radio appearances     [ "W. Gary Wetstein" <wgaryw@pacbell. ]
  convention table needed               [ Ben Ohmart <benohmart@[removed]; ]
  Fourth wall                           [ Steve Kostelecky <doyasteve@[removed] ]
  Re: Breaking the 4th Wall             [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
  Captain ... Radio?                    [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@j ]
  The Mask of Medusa                    [ "jazmaan@[removed]" <dmf273@ya ]
  2-7 births/deaths                     [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  The Fat Man                           [ Rutledge Mann <cliff_marsland@yahoo ]
  OTR-related authors                   [ Rutledge Mann <cliff_marsland@yahoo ]
  Benny                                 [ "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@juno. ]
  Budd Hulick's death date              [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:43:31 -0500
From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The other side of the sun

Cynthia Heimsoth wote:

Rick Keating wrote:

There seems to have been a lot of speculation in the early part of the
twentieth century that Earth had a solar counter-balance that was invisible
because the sun was always between both planets.

I didn't write that. That was someone else
_responding_ to what I'd written on the subject.

Rick

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

Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:43:53 -0500
From: Michael Berger <makiju@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Talullah
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BBC Radio4 presented this weekend a play about Tallulah Bankhead that
includes her problems with NBC in putting together the Big Show in 1951.  Not
the center of the story, but an interesting sidelight.

Here's the link to a page where you can hear the play - or record it in mp3
format if you have a recording and playback program such as Mp3 Record:

[removed]

Michael Berger

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Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:44:04 -0500
From: "W. Gary Wetstein" <wgaryw@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  breaking the fourth wall, continued

one example i find to have been given far too little attention is the
revival of "easy aces" and "mr ace and JANE" in 1948.  unlike "easy
aces", on "mr ace and JANE" goodman ace acted as narrator as well as
jane's long suffering husband.

the shows opened with ace setting the story up, usually with other
characters chiming in responding to his monolgue.  he continues to
sporadically narrate throughout the course of episodes, and this seems
to me an obvious precursor to george burns acting as narrator on the tv
version of burns and allen.  (burns always credited the throton wilder
play "our town" with the idea, but somehow i have more faith that
george would "steal" from a contemporary comedy team than from a
"literary" source such as wilder's play.)

there are also several "mr ace and JANE" shows i've heard where ace
pokes self-referential fun at his own program.  [removed], there's a show
where he tries to convince a famous (fictional) comedy married couple
to go back on the air after several years (just as easy aces had been
off the air for several years before returning as a half hour show).
the show biz couple refuses to return to the air because they feel no
one would believe anymore that the character of the wife could be so
scatterbrained.  to disprove their point, ace simply introduces them to
jane and waits for her to confuse the heck out of them.  the fictional
couple, incidentally, was named mr and mrs king, an obvious reference
to goodman and jane "ace".

there are other, more minor, self-referencing jokes on "mr ace and
JANE", and i've *never* heard any examples of this kind of humor on the
"easy aces" shows still surviving.

--wgw

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

Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:44:17 -0500
From: "W. Gary Wetstein" <wgaryw@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  robert benchley radio appearances

i'm sure this is FAR from exhaustive, but i haven't seen anybody
mention these radio appearances by robert benchley yet:

Fred Allen 1942-11-01 Robert Benchley - Trouble Hearing Show
Fred Allen 1939-12-27 Robert Benchley
Gulf Screen Guild Theater 1939-11-19 Fred Allen, Robert Benchley
Mail Call 1945-01-17 #127 Groucho, R Benchley, I Lupino
GI Journal  AFRS 088  Robert Benchley, Linda Darnell
GI Journal 194x-xx-xx 071 Robert Benchley

the inital post seemed to be asking specifically about benchley's own
programs, which may be why no one has listed the above shows yet.  i'm
sure none of them are particularly rare, as i got almost all as
cassettes from commercial vendors over the years.

i would love to hear that "biography in sound" show about him
previously mentioned.  if anyone can point me in the right direction,
i'd really appreciate it-- i'd never heard of it before.

--wgw

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

Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:44:36 -0500
From: Ben Ohmart <benohmart@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  convention table needed

Hi, all. It seems the Cincy convention doesn't have
any dealer tables left, and I wondered if anyone here
would consider parting with one for me (BearManor
Media). It would be the first and last time I'd be
attending, since I'll be moving out of the North in
July. Thanks.

Ben Ohmart

Old radio. Old movies. New books.
[removed]

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

Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 19:15:29 -0500
From: Steve Kostelecky <doyasteve@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Fourth wall

I think one of the most obvious and entertaining
examples of breaking the fourth wall is in the Jack
Benny show. It constantly shifted between the fantasy
of putting on the show and the characters' lives to
being an actual show. I enjoy it and enjoy it in drama
shows as well.

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

Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 19:17:07 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Breaking the 4th Wall

   I can't remember exactly which show it was, probably Richard Diamond,
where the hero is conked on the head.  When he comes to someone asks how
often that happened, to which the hero replied, "oh, about once a week".
   Joe

--
Visit my home page:  [removed]~[removed]

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

Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 19:54:11 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr" <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Captain ... Radio?

I picked up an odd ceramic cup or mug.  It has a superhero in white
long-underwear type costume, with the face masked, wearing red boots and
gloves and sporting a tan cape, accompanied by a dog of indeterminate
parentage, but about the size and configuration of a German Shepherd.
The mug has a dialog balloon from the superhero, saying. "Official
Captain Radio Ovaltine Mug."  Another picture, on the other side, has the
superhero saying, "Here's to your health, Radio Rangers."   The only
other marking is, M Garven Guild Radio."

Can anyone provide me with any details on this item?

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 19:55:49 -0500
From: "jazmaan@[removed]" <dmf273@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Mask of Medusa

My wife and I like to listen to OTR at bedtime.  We're relatively young and most OTR shows are new
to us.  Last night we listened to Peter Lorre in "The Mask of Medusa".   I just love Mr. Lorre's
voice!  It's so deliciously creepy!  "The Mask of Medusa" was an excellent story!   Was it ever
made into a movie?  Is it the same plot as Vincent Price's "House of Wax"?

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

Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 22:34:34 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  2-7 births/deaths

February 7th births

02-07-1812 - Charles Dickens - Portsmouth, England - d. 6-9-1870
author: "A Christmas Carol"
02-07-1883 - Eubie Blake - Baltimore, MD - d. 2-12-1983
jazz pianist: "Ragtime"; "White House Jazz Festival"
02-07-1885 - Sinclair Lewis - Sauk Centre, MN - d. 1-10-1951
novelist: "Campbell Playhouse"; "Ford Theatre"; "Cavalcade of America"
02-07-1895 - Irving Aaronson - New York, NY - d. 5-10-1963
bandleader: "Irving Aaronson and His Orchestra"
02-07-1901 - Bob Stevenson - d. 9-5-1970
announcer: "Life with Luigi"
02-07-1903 - Graemer Lorimer - Wyncote, PA - d. 9-xx-1983
writer: "Maudie's Diary"
02-07-1915 - Arthur Kurlan - d. 12-xx-1992
producer: "Keep 'Em Rolling"
02-07-1915 - Eddie Bracken - Astoria, NY - d. 11-14-2002
comedian: "Eddie Bracken Show"; Dizzy Stevens "Aldrich Family"
02-07-1923 - Keefe Brasselle - Elyria, OH - d. 7-7-1981
actor: "Stars in the Air"
02-07-1924 - Hattie Jacques - Sandgate, Kent, England - d. 10-6-1980
actress: Sophie Tuckshop "It's That Man Again"; Agatha Dangelbody
"Educating Archie"

February 7th deaths

02-09-1910 - Peanuts Holland - Norfold, VA - d. 2-7-1979
jazz trumpeter, singer: "One Night Stand"; "Jubilee"; "Yank Swing
Session"
02-14-1896 - Anson Weeks - Oakland, CA - d. 2-7-1969
bandleader: "Lucky Strike Show"; "Lady Esther Serenade"; "[removed]
Coffee Program"
02-22-1918 - Sid Abel - Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada - d. 2-7-2000
sportscaster: "Play By Play Detroit Red Wings"
06-30-1918 - Stewart Foster - Binghamton, NY - d. 2-7-1968
singer: "Stewart Foster Show"; "Galen Drake"; "On a Sunday Afternoon"
08-10-1896 - Walter Lang - Memphis, TN - d. 2-7-1972
film director: "Screen Director's Playhouse"
08-22-1909 - Philip G. Epstein - New York, NY - d. 2-7-1952
screenwriter: "Lux Radio Theatre"
10-18-1918 - Bobby Troup - Harrisburg, PA - d. 2-7-1999
singer, actor: "Navy Swings"; "Bobby Troup Program"; "Bobby Troup Trio"
10-31-1912 - Dale Evans - Uvalde, TX - d. 2-7-2001
actress, singer: (Queen of the Cowgirls) "Charlie McCarthy Show";
"Roy Rogers Show"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2006 00:38:44 -0500
From: Rutledge Mann <cliff_marsland@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Fat Man

A couple years ago, the Fat Man audition and an
uncirc. broadcast of the series turned up on ebay in
ETs.  Has this surfaced since then?  Other shows I've
noticed (on ET) in the past were a whole bunch of
Queen For a Day, various uncirc. Ozzie and Harriet,
etc. etc.  A very poor mp3 turned up of the partial
Flywheel that turned up in the 90s, I haven't been
able to find a quality copy.  Hopefully these will
surface some day.  Like it was said at the convention
once (referring more to private collectors) dealers),
the golden age of selling is past, and longer people
sit on stuff, the less they'll get.  Anyway, Shame
when stuff disappears - it's so pointless. hopefully
they'll surface; I'm sure a lot of people, including
myself would be more than happy to trade very good
stuff.

Trav

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

Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2006 07:44:06 -0500
From: Rutledge Mann <cliff_marsland@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  OTR-related authors

I'm lucky to have 2 good used bookstores nearby that
carry inexpensive used books (1 to 3 bucks for a
book).  One would be surprised how many OTR shows were
spawned from these great writers.
  Henry Kane, author of Peter Chambers, is one that I
enjoy.  It was only very recently that I knew that
George Harmon Coxe was the creator of Casey, Crime
Photographer.  I don't know if any of his books
featured Casey, but they featured a Casey-clone
(without the supporting characters), Kent Murdock.
The books are readable.
  Ellery Queen has become my favorite mystery book
series and I'll snap up anything with that character
in it.  I think the creators of EQ were ahead of their
time, as EQ mysteries were better than most of the
stodgy mysteries of the 20s-30s.  I can't really
understand why EQ fell out of favor and isn't in print
as much as Agatha Christie.
   The literary Mike Shayne and Peter Chambers are far
racier than the radio counterparts, but I noticed some
if not all of the radio Chambers episodes came
straight from the books.
   I really like the radio shows, but I never got into
Philip Marlowe bookwise.  Never got into Mike Hammer
either.
   My favorite British series is Inspector West, but
those are hard to find around here.
   Did you know that Nick Carter became a spy in the
60s? - nothing like the OTR character.
  I'm an avid mystery reader, and most of these books
are out of print now, but are inexpensive at used
bookshops.  In my opinion, they're beter than most of
the current mysteries.  Current authors like Lilian
Jackson Braun are an ok read, but I couldn't really
picture an exciting drama being made of it.

Trav

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

Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2006 13:51:29 -0500
From: "kclarke5@[removed]" <kclarke5@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Benny
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       I've often wondered if all of the jokes about Jack Benny's violin
expertise (or lack thereof) were justified.  I've never actually heard him
play the violin.  I remember his OTR show and some of his TV shows,
but don't remember him performing on the violin.  Did he know how to
play it or was it just a running joke which he (and other comedians) used
to get laughs?

Another OTR Fan,

Kenneth Clarke

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Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2006 13:54:00 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Budd Hulick's death date

I received this from Rianne Schroeder, it looks like she has tracked
down a radio icons death.

I think that I have tracked down the death date of the elusive Budd
Hulick of Stoopnagle and Budd fame. In the April 12, 1939 issue of
Variety Hulick's marriage to Elizabeth V. Sahner was announced. I
next entered Hulick's name in Ancestry, thinking to find his death
date in SSDI. However, I got two hits--one from Florida's divorce
index, which listed a 1947 divorce between Wilbur Ball Hulick and
Elizabeth Hulick. The other was the Florida Death Index and a date of
March 1961 was given for Wilbur Ball Hulick. I think that all of this
hangs together and that the OTR Hulick died in Florida in March 1961.

Congratulations Rianne, this is wonderful new for those of us who care.

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #40
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