Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #115
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 4/13/2007 11:47 AM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2007 : Issue 115
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  Cincinnati special                    [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
  "All Together Now!"                   [ Wich2@[removed] ]
  RE: Correction                        [ "David K. Bialik" <dkbialik@[removed] ]
  4-13 births/deaths                    [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
  Cisco was no Robin Hood               [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]
  Pabst-ett Processed Cheese            [ Ronald Reeland <ronreeland@[removed]; ]
  Cisco Kid                             [ "Barbara Harmon" <jimharmonotr@char ]
  Cisco Kid and Nightbeat               [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Marjorie Meets The Beaver             [ Archie <y_know_archie@[removed]; ]
  The Amalgamated Broadcasting System   [ Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed]; ]
  Frank Merriwell and Tom Brown         [ John Mayer <mayer@[removed]; ]
  Kurt Vonnegut                         [ Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed]; ]
  First Nighter still needed            [ Tony Baechler <tony@[removed]; ]
  Seattle Radio Article                 [ Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed] ]

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

Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 18:18:13 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Cincinnati special

I'm guessing if there is but one of the dozen vintage radio manuscripts I've
penned that might be appreciated universally by OTR enthusiasts, no matter
what your specialized interests, it's the one that has just rolled from the
presses:

"Radio Speakers:  Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales,
Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon
of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s -- A Biographical
Dictionary."

That's the volume with almost 600 biographies, many extensive, with details
never before published, certainly not in one place.  In addition, there's an
Appendix highlighting the assignments of another 600 networkers who are
sometimes forgotten but made vital contributions.

Knowing it's difficult for some to purchase references like this, I'm doing
something I don't usually do.  I've made arrangements with the publisher,
McFarland & Co., to have a limited supply of the 360-page hardcover book at
the Cincinnati OTR convention April 20-21 at a very special price.  It sells
for $59 including shipping and handling.  I'll have a few copies at
Cincinnati at 25 percent off that figure, $44, and I'll sign them if you
wish.

I'm happy to do this for my friends so you may take advantage of a deal to
add a reference work to your shelves that will answer questions for you
again and again.

Regrettably, I won't have any other titles there.  Like I said, I believe
this one will appeal to more people with wider interests because it touches
every genre.  When they are gone, there won't be any more at the convention
price.  My belief is you should take advantage early.

Jim Cox

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

Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:39:59 -0400
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "All Together Now!"

From: seandd@[removed]
Subject:  Radio Actors on Cartoon  Acting

...animation acting was very different
from radio acting ... he  wasn't always in the same room with the
other actors and that his roles often  had him sitting alone at a microphone
reading lines in a vacuum ... One can  only surmise that
superior editing technology developed between the eras that  Dick and Bob were
active in animation made it possible to record "Batman" in  real time in 1992

Dear Sean-
 
Nothing to do with technical advance; as mentioned, they could do it "all  in 
one" 80 years ago - if they wanted to! I'd bet that then, as now, it was  
simply a matter of Director/Producer choice.
 
Engineer/Tech focused folks often lean towards doing work in the smallest  
chunks possible, under the theory that it makes it all more controllable in the  
Editing/Mixing phase. 
 
Art/Performance focused folks, however, realize that that is a prescription  
for "canned" sounding work. It's still an Acting 101 truism, that Acting is  
Reacting.
 
Amazingly, I know some people producing audio drama today who  intentionaly 
go the piecemeal route. Makes no sense, except in emergency  cases where a 
needed performer CAN'T be there at the same time as the  others.
 
Best,
-Craig

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

Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:42:28 -0400
From: "David K. Bialik" <dkbialik@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  RE: Correction

I'm not sure what call WBNX was replaced by (1380kc)

What was WBNX is now WKDM 1380AM.

David Bialik (former chief engineer of WKDM)

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

Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:42:36 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  4-13 births/deaths

April 13th births

04-13-1886 - Willie Howard - Paramus, NY - d. 1-14-1949
comedian: (Howard Brothers) "Folies De Paris"; "The Royal Vagabonds"
04-13-1887 - Christian Rub - Austria - d. 4-14-1956
actor: (Voice of Pinnochio) "Lux Radio Theatre"
04-13-1889 - Herbert Yardley - Washington, IN - d. 8-7-1958
writer: "Stories of the Black Chambers"
04-13-1890 - Gene Rodemich - St. Louis, MO - d. 2-27-1934
orchestra leader/singer: "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round"
04-13-1899 - Larry Keating - [removed], MN - d. 8-26-1963
actor, emcee: "Murder Will Out"; "Scramby Amby"; "This Is Your FBI"
04-13-1902 - Bob Stanley - Lancut, Poland - d. unknown
orchestra leader: "Music Without Words"; "Benay Venura Program"
04-13-1905 - Eddie Dooley - Brooklyn, NY - d. 1-xx-1982
sports commentary: "Dooley's Football Forecast"
04-13-1906 - Bud Freeman - Chicago, IL - d. 3-15-1991
tenor sax player: "Camel Caravan"; "Fats Waller Jam School"; "Doctor
Jazz"
04-13-1906 - Samuel Beckett - Dublin, Ireland - d. 12-22-1989
writer: "All That Fall"
04-13-1907 - Harold E. Stassen - West St. Paul, MN - d. 3-4-2001
presidential candidate: "Meet the Press"; "The People's Platform"
04-13-1912  - Roy Winsor - Chicago, IL - d. 5-31-1987
director, writer: "Vic and Sade"; "Sky King"
04-13-1913 - Dave Albritton - d. 5-14-1994
disk jockey: Dayton, Ohio
04-13-1916 - Phyllis Fraser Cerf Wagner - Kansas City, MO - d.
11-25-2006
writer of radio soap operas
04-13-1918 - Brad Ansley - d. 1-23-1992
sportscaster: WIOD Miami Florida
04-13-1919 - Howard Keel - Gillespie, IL - d. 11-7-2004
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
04-13-1919 - Phil Tonken - Hartford, CT - d. 2-4-2000
announcer/newscaster: "Your Supper"; "Radio Newsreel"
04-13-1923 - Don Adams - NYC - d. 9-25-2005
comedian: "Kraft Music Hall"; "A Salute to Humble Howard"
04-13-1951 - Peter Davison - London, England
actor: Eric Brown "King Street Junior"; "Change at Oglethorpe"

April 13th deaths

03-01-1933 - Mary Linn Beller - d. 4-13-2000
actor: Barbara (Babby) "The Brighter Day"
04-02-1884 - Charles M. Courboin - Antwerp, Belgium - d. 4-13-1973
organ virtuoso: weekly half hour concert broadcast on NBC Red in 1940
04-11-1904 - Paul McGrath - Chicago, IL - d. 4-13-1978
actor, host: Host "Inner Sanctum Mysteries"; Robert Allison "My Son
Jeep"
05-11-1913 - Tutti Camaratta - Glen Ridge, NJ - d. 4-13-2005
orchestra leader: "Double Feature"
05-24-1909 - Howard Snyder - d. 4-13-1963
writer: "Jack Benny Program"; "Lum and Abner"; "That's My Pop"
07-10-1921 - Jeff Donnell - South Windham, ME - d. 4-13-1988
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-12-1917 - William Griffis - Chapel Hill, NC - d. 4-13-1998
actor: "Cavalcade of America"; "Roger Kilgore, Public Defender"
07-20-1869 - Howard Thurston - d. 4-13-1936
conjuror: "Thurston, the Magician"
07-20-1881 - Hugh Sothern - Anderson County, KS - d. 4-13-1947
actor: John Marshall "Those We Love"
07-20-1890 - Theda Bara - Cincinnati, OH - d. 4-13-1955
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
07-21-1926 - Josephine Premice - Brooklyn, NY - d. 4-13-2001
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
11-03-1910 - Richard Hurndall - Darlington, Durham, England - d.
4-13-1984
actor: Sherlock Holmes "BBC Light Programme"
12-13-1914 - Larry Parks - Olathe, KS - d. 4-13-1975
actor: "Kraft Music Hall"; "Faith for Tomorrow"; "Guest Star"

Ron Sayles

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

Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:43:54 -0400
From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Cisco was no Robin Hood

On Thursday, April 12, 2007, at 06:18 PM, A. Joseph Ross wrote:
The reference was to "O. Henry's Robin Hood of the Old
West." O. Henry was a pen name of William Sydney Porter, an American
writer
of the late 19th and early 20th century, who was best known for his
short stories with twist endings.  I don't know, but I assume the TV
and radio character was based on some of his stories.

Actually, the only similarity between the original Cisco Kid, created
by O. Henry, and the ones in radio, TV, and film is they had the same
name and they rode a horse. That's all that was borrowed from the first
telling of this Western tale.

Cisco made his debut appearance in a 1907 short story entitled "The
Caballero's Way" which appeared in Henry's book, "Heart of the West."
He is not a Latino; he's a Yankee who has killed several Mexicans. He
is hunted by the Rangers and overhears his current love, Tonia, in the
arms of Lt. Sandridge, one of the Rangers, as she agrees to send Cisco
a message, luring him into the clutches of Sandridge. Next night, the
Ranger gets a letter by messenger saying Cisco is with Tonia and he
will slip out at dawn disguised as a woman. Sandridge rides to her
simple home and as the dawn chases the moonlight, a woman emerges. The
Ranger fires five times, killing whom he thinks is the Kid. But he
dismounts to find the body of Tonia. (The Cisco Kid had sent him the
fake message)

So obviously the original Cisco was a heartless murderer, ruthless and
extremely cunning, who robbed only for his own gain and killed anyone
who opposed him. Fortunately most people had forgotten about this story
when the first film was made in 1929 with Warner Baxter as the hero.
The Cisco Kid now was a Mexican and a more kind, generous, and happy
soul one could scarcely ask for in a saddle companion. The picture, "In
Old Arizona," produced by Fox Film Corporation, was a big success,
Baxter won an Oscar, and he went on to make two more movies of the
Cisco Kid. Later at least 23 more films of the Cisco Kid were released,
with different leads: Cesar Romero, Duncan Renaldo, and Gilbert Roland.
This newly refurbished "Robin Hood of the West" would delight audiences
on radio, movie screens, and TV sets, even though O. Henry would never
recognize him.

Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
<[removed]>

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

Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:47:31 -0400
From: Ronald Reeland <ronreeland@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Pabst-ett Processed Cheese
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Ted recently obtained some information direct from Kraft pertaining to the
history of Pabst-ett cheese as advertised on "The Great Gildersleeve". Here is
a link to a picture of the product container:
[removed]

And here is some additional history from the Pabst brewing company
perspective: [removed]

Regards,
Ron Reeland

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

Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:11:32 -0400
From: "Barbara Harmon" <jimharmonotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Cisco Kid
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FROM JIM HARMON:  The Cisco Kid was created in one single short story by O.
Henry.  I've read it, but would have to hunt it out of my library to give
the exact title.  In the story, Cisco is a total outlaw without any
redeeming qualities whatsoever.   To escape the law, he changes clothes with
his girl friend and gets her shot dead by the sheriff while he makes a clean
getaway.  (The reader is supposed to be surprised by this - surprise was
always an element of every O. Henry story; surprise endings to any story
were known for years as "O. Henry endings".)  The story was very loosely
followed by the first major all-talking Western movie, "In Old Arizona"
starring Warner Baxter, winning him an Academy Award.  Even in 1929, Baxter
was a pretty old "Kid".  In the original story, he was young and slender
enough to disguise himself as a woman.  Many other movies followed, starring
various actors, making Cisco a Robin Hood type, and eventually -
particularly in the person of Duncan Renaldo - a thorough do-gooder hero.
The character was owned by the O. Henry estate and the credit on the radio
show was required, as "Hopalong Cassidy" was always credited to author
Clarence E. Mulford.

 By the way, following a series in New York where Jackson Beck played Cisco,
Duncan Renaldo told me years ago he and Leo Carillio played their parts on a
Los Angles-based radio series even as they did the famous TV show.  But the
location work for the visual medium made it too difficult for them to
continue the radio series.  It became the transcription series we are
familiar with, featuring Jack Mather and Harry Lang.   Renaldo selected
Mather himself as sounding the most like him, in his opinion.

 As a writer, I find it disheartening that so few know much about such a
major popular writer of the Twentieth Century as O. Henry and what has
become his most famous single character. - J. H.

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

Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:11:56 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Cisco Kid and Nightbeat

In addition to Jim Cox's informative posting about THE CISCO KID, Moonstone
did print three issues a few years ago, a three-issue story arc of THE CISCO
KID.

Regarding NIGHTBEAT, and the search for good sound quality . . . there is.
Every episode I ever heard was in exceptional sound quality, on CD and audio
cassette.  Apparently circulating recordings originated from NBC masters,
and the transfers were done professionally.  I did receive an MP3 from a
friend in Cincy the other year containing NIGHTBEAT and the sound quality
was par, but not above par like the CDs and audio cassettes I have had in
the past.

Martin

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

Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 07:59:50 -0400
From: Archie <y_know_archie@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Marjorie Meets The Beaver
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I was watching an episode of "Leave It To Beaver" the other day (Season 6
Episode 8 - Bachelor at Large) when a voice caught my attention.  Eddie
Haskell had left home and was living in a rooming house.  It was the voice of
the landlady that sounded familiar to me but I couldn't place it.

When the end credits rolled, the landlady was played by Lureen Tuttle.  Though
she was in her mid 50's by the time "Beaver" was filmed, she still looked like
the 1942 photo of her in "The Great Gildersleeve" book by Charles Stumpf and
Ben Ohmart.

Archie

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

Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:00:59 -0400
From: Bill Jaker <bilj@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Amalgamated Broadcasting System

    Well, ABS fans, the Amalgamated Broadcasting System is one of 
radio's oddest chapters, an entire network that came and went during a 
span of 34 days in September and October of 1933.  The guiding spirit 
behind it was comedian Ed Wynn, but he was still under contract to NBC 
and couldn't appear on his own network.  The ABS inaugural broadcast of 
25 September 1933 was a gala affair, to which the public was invited.  
Recordings of that broadcast exist and make it sound like an indoor riot 
was taking place.

 Ed Wynn poured his money and time into the project, starting with the owned
WBNX (now WADO)

WBNX  (which is now WKDM) was not owned by Ed Wynn, who may have wanted 
to buy it and change the call letters to WYNN.  But in 1933 it was also 
only 250 watts at 1350 kc, not much ooph for a New York network 
flagship.  Wynn

had envisioned 100 stations being affiliated with ABS but it never happened.
The competition was too great and there was too much to lose.

The ABS had an odd business plan that would limit the number and timing 
of commercial messages, almost like Public Radio does today, even 
referring listeners to other networks if they wanted to hear the whole 
commercial.  1933 was a bad time to start any new business, and even 
though struggling independent stations would welcome a network 
affiliation the "Ed Wynn network" without its star held little attraction.

 It was rumored
later on that Ed Wynn had a hand in founding 1130 WNEW (Ed Wynn) (now WBBR)
but that cannot be confirmed.

Yes, it can be confirmed that there was such a rumor -- or urban legend 
-- that the EW in WNEW stood for Ed Wynn.  That wonderful station was 
founded by advertising man Milton Biow, who believed that "NEW is the 
most exciting word in the English language."  The confusion with the 
Amalgamated Broadcasting System may have begun because WNEW's original 
Manhattan studios were the old ABS studios at 601 Madison Avenue.  So Ed 
Wynn may have earned some of his money back from WNEW but never owned 
the station.
                                                                           
-- Bill Jaker

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

Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:01:34 -0400
From: John Mayer <mayer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Frank Merriwell and Tom Brown

Bob Jennings FabFicBks@[removed] wrote:

The comment about the Tom Corbett book bearing some  resemblance to Harry
Potter should hardly be unique or surprising, since both  Tom and Harry Potter
roughly follow the basic form used by thousands upon  thousands of boys'
[removed] Some of those school-setting
adventures even made it to radio, including the
most popular and the most famous of the dime
novel school boys, Frank  Merriwell.

Of course, Frank Merriwell was preceded, probably
inspired, by Tom Hughes' _Tom Brown's School
Days_. I can't find any indication that was ever
on American radio, but, considering its
popularity, I wouldn't be surprised to discover
there was such a series on British radio. The
story is based on the experiences of the author
and his brother at the Rugby School in England.
Perhaps surprisingly, there's a connection
between the English Rugby and a town of the same
name about an hour west of my hometown of
Knoxville. Largely with the money he made from
his Tom Brown books, Hughes tried to create a
utopia in the desolate hills of East Tennessee,
founding a town with many Victorian cottages, a
hotel, a cafe, a small Episcopal church and a
well-stocked library, a cannery and a new Rugby
School; this was to be a refuge for young men of
breeding who were, sadly, victims of
primogeniture, the first-born takes all principle
in English inheritance law. Here they could live
in familiar and comfortable style while carving a
living out of the wilderness. Unfortunately, very
few of these lads had any knowledge of tilling
the fields, let alone clearing new ground in
order to do so, and short rations, harsh winters
and disease devastated the population. Many of
the buildings still stand and others have been
reconstructed, making Rugby a fascinating place
to visit. The area is still pretty remote and the
little Victorian village seems strangely out of
place on the Cumberland plateau. The old
Gentlemen's Swimming Hole is about a 30 minute
hike into the Big South Fork National Forest from
the still-standing Harrow Road Cafe, which is, by
the way, the only place in East Tennessee to find
good English cuisine.

Sorry; I know this was a bit off-topic. But maybe
someone can redeem my contribution by letting us
know about any radio dramatizations of the Tom
Brown stories. The Flashman books, btw, are
hilarious continuations of the story, revolving
around the cowardly bully that was Tom Brown's
nemesis.

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

Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:02:20 -0400
From: Kermyt Anderson <kermyta@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Kurt Vonnegut

I didn't see any direct mention of Kurt Vonnegut's passing in today's
OTR Digest (apart from an oblique reference by James Burns). Vonnegut
had at least one OTR connection. His first story story, "Report on the
Barnhouse Effect," was dramatized on Dimension X. It was one of the
relatively few stories from that series not re-broadcast for X Minus 1.
Did he do anything else for OTR?

I think there were 13 programs from Dimension X not repeated on X Minus
1. Does anybody know if there was any rhyme or reason to what they
repeated or didn't?

Kermyt

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

Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:17:23 -0400
From: Tony Baechler <tony@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  First Nighter still needed

Hi,

I'm still desperately looking for the First Nighter shows.  As much
as I don't like mp3, I'll take them since it's now the last minute
and I found nothing else.  I found that there are two shows surviving
that I need, one from I think 10-13-39 and one from 1941.  I don't
have titles but I think "Symphony" is in the title of the 1939
show.  I tried downloading from [removed] but I got "bandwith
exceeded" errors.  At this point, if you know of a site to download
from, that's best but I can also provide ftp upload on a private
server or email attachment.  Please send each show as a separate
attachment if you want to do it this way but frankly ftp or a
download site is probably best.  I don't really have time now to pull
from the newsgroups.  I really need these by April 15th.

The shows are for my grandpa's 80th birthday.  I would like to make
an old man happy.  He grew up in Chicago and watched the shows being
performed live.  Thanks very much for any help!  If you do have these
not in mp3, please still contact me.  I still would like to get
better, non-mp3 quality if possible even though it would be too late
for the birthday.  I can send them later.
----------
Tony Baechler
Baechler Productions

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

Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:17:35 -0400
From: Sean Dougherty <seandd@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Seattle Radio Article

This article covers the "two golden ages" of radio in the Pacific Northwest
and might be of interest, in particular, to our REPS fans.

Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]

[removed]

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #115
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