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The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2018 : Issue 56
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
This week in radio history 30 Septem [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
Captain Midnight premiums in Ovaltin [ "Cancilla, Dominick" <dcancilla@cal ]
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Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2018 21:41:19 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: This week in radio history 30 September to 6
October
From Those Were The Days
9/30
1930 Death Valley Days was first heard on the NBC Red network this day
(and) became one of radio's biggest hits. The 30 minute, Western
adventure series starred Tim Daniel Frawley as the Old Ranger, Harvey
Hays as the Old Prospector, John White as the Lonesome Cowboy, Edwin
Bruce as Bobby Keen, Robert Haag as Sheriff Mark Chase and Olyn Landick
as Cassandra Drinkwater.
The tales heard on Death Valley Days were all based on fact and were
human interest stories revolving around the borax mining town of Death
Valley, California. The show was created by Ruth Woodman, a script
writer for a New York ad agency. She had never seen Death Valley; but
had found the vehicle to sell 20 Mule Team Borax. As time went on, Ms.
Woodman did make a trip to Death Valley. She went back again and again
after that, digging up facts for her scripts. She even met an honest to
goodness old ranger, Wash Cahill, who knew everyone and everything about
the mining town.
Death Valley Days was renamed Death Valley Sheriff in 1944 and The
Sheriff in 1945. And Ruth Woodman continued to write the scripts. She
even wrote scripts when Death Valley Days became a TV show. Buy some 20
Mule Team Borax in commemoration.
1933 The theme song was Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here and it opened
the National Barn Dance. The half hour country music and comedy show,
originally heard on WLS, Chicago since 1924, moved to the NBC Blue
network this night. National Barn Dance was broadcast from the Eighth
Street Theater in Chicago, where the stage was transformed into a
hayloft every Saturday night. The host was Joe Kelly. Uncle Ezra was
played by Pat Barrett who was known to say, "Give me a toot on the
tooter, Tommy," as he started dancing. A few of the other Barn Dance
characters were Arkie, the Arkansas Woodchopper; Pokey Martin; the
Hoosier Hotshots; the Prairie Ramblers; cowgirl, Patsy Montana; Pat
Buttram; Lulu Belle and the Cumberland Road Runners. Gene Autry and Red
Foley were heard early in their careers on National Barn Dance. Although
there were plenty of sponsors (Alka Seltzer, One A Day vitamins,
Phillips Milk of Magnesia), the National Barn Dance was one of the few
radio shows to charge admission.
1935 "Calling all [removed]" The Adventures of Dick Tracy came to radio
for the first time on the Mutual Radio Network. Based on the comic strip
created by Chester Gould, the 15 minute adventure show was heard Monday
thru Friday at 5:45 [removed] The sponsors were Quaker Puffed Wheat and
Quaker Puffed Rice.
1962 - The death of OTR. The last regularly scheduled network programs,
Suspense and Johnny Dollar were heard.
10/1
1942 People Are Funny went on the air with host Art Baker.
10/3
1901 The Victor Talking Machine Company was incorporated on this day.
After a merger with Radio Corporation of America, RCA Victor became the
leader in phonographs and many of the records played on them. The famous
Victrola phonograph logo, with Nipper the dog, and the words "His
Master's Voice", appeared on all RCA Victor phonographs and record labels.
1946 Dennis Day started his own show on NBC. Dennis, a popular tenor
featured on The Jack Benny Show, played the same (type) naive young
bachelor he played on the Benny show. A Day in the Life of Dennis Day
aired for five years.
10/4
1948 Gordon MacRae hosted the premiere of a radio classic. The
Railroad Hour debuted on ABC. The theme song was I've Been Working on
the Railroad and the show was sponsored by get ready for it, America's
Railroads.
10/5
1930 - Father Coughlin, "The Fighting Priest" was first heard. He lit
up the airwaves with oratory that aired into the early forties.
10/6
1937 Hobby Lobby debuted on CBS. The host was the dean of American
hobbyists, Dave Elman. The show's theme was The Best Things in Life are
Free. Sponsors included Fels Naptha soap, Hudson paper products and
Colgate Dental Creme.
Joe
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Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2018 21:42:22 -0400
From: "Cancilla, Dominick" <dcancilla@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Captain Midnight premiums in Ovaltine
The recent movie The House with a Clock in Its Walls involves a character who
is a fan of the Captain Midnight show. There is a scene in the film where the
boy gets a bottle of Ovaltine and dumps it out to get a decoder badge. Were
decoder premiums ever actually placed in products like this? My impression
was that they were always mail-away items.
Dominick Cancilla
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End of [removed] Digest V2018 Issue #56
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