------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 01 : Issue 171
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Peg Lynch [Richard Veit <Richard_Veit@[removed]]
Re: OTR Dealers Association? ["Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@hotmail]
CD Prices [Tom Kleinschmidt <otr1962@[removed]]
Jealous? [Tom Kleinschmidt <otr1962@[removed]]
Lum 'n' Abner web sites [Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed]; ]
Amari and the OTR Community [Tom Kleinschmidt <otr1962@[removed]]
Marilyn Monroe ["Panke, Dan" <[removed]@[removed]]
ELIZABETH, WHERE ART THOU? [PURKASZ@[removed] ]
the deal is done ["J. Alec West" <Alec@[removed];]
Unshackled ["Ron Vanover" <vanoverr@[removed]; ]
Re: Copyright, Napster and RSI. (whe ["Lee, Steve (DEOC)" <slee@[removed].]
Re: Copyright, Napster and RSI. (whe ["Lee, Steve (DEOC)" <slee@[removed].]
Unshackled ["Read G. Burgan" <rgb@[removed]]
Those Old Copyright Issues. [OTRChris@[removed] ]
ON A LIGHTER NOTE!!! - QUE SERA, SER ["David Phaneuf" <dphaneuf@[removed]]
Train Shows [Tom Kleinschmidt <otr1962@[removed]]
Re: Arlene Francis [Marklambert@[removed] ]
THE COLLECTORS STARTED IT ALL ["Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed]; ]
Copyright Law and OTR [Tom van der Voort <evan@[removed];]
OOPS! I GOOFED! ["Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed]; ]
Once More Into The Breach ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
RSI ["Doug Leary" <dleary@[removed]; ]
Let's close the book on Napster disc [Paulurbahn@[removed] ]
"Public Domain" [Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed]]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 11:10:34 -0400
From: Richard Veit <Richard_Veit@[removed];
To: OTR Chatgroup <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Peg Lynch
Subject: Time: 9:11 AM
OFFICE MEMO Peg Lynch
Date:6/5/01
Does anyone happen to know whether Peg Lynch will be appearing at any OTR
functions this summer? My wife and I enjoy listening to "The Couple Next
Door" and "The Little Things in Life," and we would love meeting Peg and
perhaps seeing her perform an "Ethel and Albert" skit. Thanks for any
information you can provide.
By the way, I notice that there was an earlier version of "The Couple Next
Door" which began airing in 1935. It starred Olan Soule and Elinor Harriott.
Among lots of other credits, Olan Soule will be remembered in the role of
John Masters, the hotel clerk and choir director on "The Andy Griffith Show."
Richard Veit
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 11:40:46 -0400
From: "Michael Ogden" <michaelo67@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: OTR Dealers Association?
J. Alec wrote:
But, at the risk of being sarcastic, why should OTR fans stand up to
RSI when OTR dealers are unwilling to stand up for themselves? The >OTR
dealers are in dire need of their own "Michael Weiss" ... and >their own
OTR Retailers Association ... to stand up to RSI for their >own protection
and ultimate benefit.
If any OTR dealers are interested in forming such an association, they may
be able to find inspiration and information in a similar and
already-existing model (if it's still around). The head of the video company
Sinister Cinema is (or was) president of an organization of video dealers
who specialize in public-domain movies. If it's still a going concern and if
he's approachable, he may be able to offer some advice and guidelines for
setting up a similar organization within the domain of OTR. When starting
something new, it's always helpful to hear from someone who's "been there,
done that."
Mike Ogden
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 11:44:48 -0400
From: Tom Kleinschmidt <otr1962@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: CD Prices
Hello,
Thanks to Fred Berney for commenting on my note about
CD prices. Of course Fred was not one of the dealers I
was talking about and I consider his prices quite
reasonable. I donít think anyone has a problem with
dealers like Fred who invest a lot of time and money
in the shows they offer. Obviously paying for
transcription discs to issue shows that have not been
circulating and all the duplicating equipment, the
dealers have a right to try to get back their
investments. One could argue that some dealers like
Fred SHOULD be charging more for their product. The
same goes for Ted Davenport who purchased the discs of
uncirculating Shadow Of Fu Manchu episodes. He
deserves to get a return on his investment. Of course
I was talking about dealers who are offering
multi-generational tape copies, the same you can get
from many lending libraries or through trading. They
record them to a CD without attempting to clean up the
sound and then sell them at inflated prices simply
because they are on a CD.
And Fred Iím sure you know that you can buy CD
Duplicators, just like cassette duplicators that will
make many copies at once. In fact you may want to get
one to get ready for Newark in October!
Eric Cooperís comments about dealers who are
converting MP3 files to WAV files, burning them to
CDís and selling them as ìdirectly from
transcriptionsî scares me to death though. Once those
CDís are copied and start making the rounds, quality
will go downhill and because itís on a CD in digital
form, many traders will think itís the best copy of
that show out there. I guess itís best to stick with
dealers you know who donít deal in MP3. Donít get me
wrong, Iím not against MP3, I record my own reel tapes
to wav files and often convert them to MP3ís to listen
to at work during slow periods, but I do not trade
them to others and do not convert them back to WAV
files. I even got some of the MP3 OTR discs that are
floating around, some of the sound quality isnít bad,
but too much of it is considerably worse than what I
have on tape already.
Iíd still like to hear from some of the other dealers
on this list about CD pricing.
Tom
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 11:45:17 -0400
From: Tom Kleinschmidt <otr1962@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Jealous?
Mike Ray suggests that people on this list might be
jealous or envious of Carl Amari for being able to
turn his hobby into a major business venture. I donít
think thatís it at all, at least not for most of us. I
think part of the problem as he himself has described
in the past is the fact that his ìclaims of ownershipî
are questionable as Mike Biel noted in the last
digest. For example he made a deal with Jerry Lewis to
release episodes of The Martin and Lewis radio shows.
Does Lewis own complete and total rights to the shows?
What about Dean Martinís estate? His deal for The Jack
Benny show is with The Jack Benny estate and Joan
Benny, again do they own total rights to the shows?
And how about the Frank Sinatra set? He probably made
a deal with Sinatraís estate, but are the songwiters
whose work he performed on the shows being compensated
for the performance of that work? Amari refuses to
tell anyone and I think that is part of what bothers a
lot of people.
Tom
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 11:47:56 -0400
From: Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Lum 'n' Abner web sites
The National Lum 'n' Abner web site: [removed]
(NLAS has an excellent listing of episodes.)
Lum 'n' Abner web site: [removed]
Sorry to be so slow in replying.
Jim Mayor <jmayor@[removed];
[ADMINISTRIVIA: And, of course, there's the popular Lum N Abner Phorum,
located at:
[removed]
--cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 12:04:15 -0400
From: Tom Kleinschmidt <otr1962@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Amari and the OTR Community
Just wondering if list members Anthony Tollin and Ken
Piletic who have nboth done work for Carl Amari have
ever asked him about his position in the hobby or many
of the issues discussed here recently.
On another subject, since Anthony has been involved
with the numerous set booklets that have been issued
by Radio Spirits perhaps he can answer a question. Why
don't Radio Spirits also offer their collections that
are sold at the carious warehouse clubs in the CD
format?
Tom
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 12:04:17 -0400
From: "Panke, Dan" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Marilyn Monroe
Did Marilyn Monroe ever do any radio broadcasts?
Dan Panke
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 13:07:58 -0400
From: PURKASZ@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: ELIZABETH, WHERE ART THOU?
Who is this protean whiz, this all-knowing and very entertaining soul who
signs her name "Elizabeth"?
I have been reading her work for almost a year now, maybe more and she
never fails to inform, fill in amazing blanks with delightful insights, and
make me smile with her heart!
Salute to you my dear.
If I knew where you were in the house, I'd offer to buy you a drink, sit
back and be prepared to just listen.
Thanks for the thoughts.
By the way, can you tell me whatever happened to the only genuinely
creepy voice to ever haunt the "Inner Sanctum," Paul McGrath?
I await your mind's workings and I shall just sit here quietly.
<A HREF="[removed],+Michael+C.">
Michael C. Gwynne</A>
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 13:25:33 -0400
From: "J. Alec West" <Alec@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: the deal is done
As I said earlier, the timing of Mediabay's legal action was most interesting
given the imminent demise of Napster. Well, now the demise is "semi-official"
(with the official press release slated for tomorrow). Here's the scoop:
[removed].
html
I suspect Mediabay knew all about this and wanted to get their injunction
request in "under the wire" while Napster was still just "Napster" -- and
before Napster launched under its new name, MusicNet, with BMG at the helm.
Regards,
J. Alec
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 13:25:31 -0400
From: "Ron Vanover" <vanoverr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Unshackled
Owens Pomeroy said:
There is an organization that produces and distributes programs called
"Unshackled"... Their web site is [removed] .
Unless I'm mistaken, the producer of this series is the Pacific Garden
Mission in Chicago. Their website is [removed] . Hope this
helps any who wish to listen to Unshacked.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 13:25:30 -0400
From: "Lee, Steve (DEOC)" <slee@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Copyright, Napster and RSI. (whew)
Bravo to Michael Biel. His retort was insightful, well articulated and
bold. I was particularly interested in his line of reasoning regarding RSI's
apparent scare tactics in making people believe that RSI owns the copyrights
to nearly all OTR offerings and that they actually own few of the rights of
their 60,000 offerings.
I do not possess the legal knowledge to address this issue, but I have
stated several times in the past that Mr. Amari and RSI are a double edged
sword. I believe he has done much to insure that OTR will live a while
longer by having widened the base of potential fans. His products are clean,
nicely packaged and if one has the patience to wait for a sale, reasonably
priced. Ten, fifteen, twenty years from now people will come upon RSI's
offerings in garage sales and flea markets all over the country. Like WW II
vets, the number of people who actually heard and/or took part in OTR is
shrinking. Perhaps the cycle will be renewed. I owe my initial interest in
OTR to "Radio Spirits" & "Adventures In Cassettes" for opening the door to
this hobby. By the same token I have essentially "outgrown" what RSI has to
offer and I do 90% of my business with the sponsors from the "Old Time Radio
OTR" site - [removed] and learn nearly all my
OTR history and facts from Charlie's knowledgeable family of contributors.
Steven Lee
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 13:26:55 -0400
From: "Lee, Steve (DEOC)" <slee@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Copyright, Napster and RSI. (whew)
Bravo to Michael Biel. His retort was insightful, well articulated and
bold. I was particularly interested in his line of reasoning regarding RSI's
apparent scare tactics in making people believe that RSI owns the copyrights
to nearly all OTR offerings and that they actually own few of the rights of
their 60,000 offerings.
I do not possess the legal knowledge to address this issue, but I have
stated several times in the past that Mr. Amari and RSI are a double edged
sword. I believe he has done much to insure that OTR will live a while
longer by having widened the base of potential fans. His products are clean,
nicely packaged and if one has the patience to wait for a sale, reasonably
priced. Ten, fifteen, twenty years from now people will come upon RSI's
offerings in garage sales and flea markets all over the country. Like WW II
vets, the number of people who actually heard and/or took part in OTR is
shrinking. Perhaps the cycle will be renewed. I owe my initial interest in
OTR to "Radio Spirits" & "Adventures In Cassettes" for opening the door to
this hobby. By the same token I have essentially "outgrown" what RSI has to
offer and I do 90% of my business with the sponsors from the "Old Time Radio
OTR" site - [removed] and and learn nearly all my
OTR history and facts from Charlie's knowledgeable family of contributors.
Steven Lee
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 13:26:54 -0400
From: "Read G. Burgan" <rgb@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Unshackled
As far as I know, UNSHACKLED, which has been produced by the Pacific Garden
Mission of Chicago since the fall of 1950, has NEVER had a children's radio
program. I did check out both of their web sites ([removed] and
[removed]), and find no reference to such a program there.
I will leave it to other more intrepid posters to deal with the discrepancy
in the copyright information contained in the same posting.
Read Burgan
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 13:46:04 -0400
From: OTRChris@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Those Old Copyright Issues.
I am not disputing it at all however, I am curious ..
how did Howard Koch end up with the rights for War of The Worlds. I am fully
aware that he wrote the script.
However, Paramount owns Star Trek and not any writer of the various scripts .
Therefore, Koch must have obtained the rights via a later purchase or an
unusual deal with the network.
Who knows?
-Chris
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 13:46:06 -0400
From: "David Phaneuf" <dphaneuf@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: ON A LIGHTER NOTE!!! - QUE SERA, SERA
Our Digest has been verily boiling of late over the great Radio
Spirits/Napster/Copyright debate. It's been wonderfully enlightening, but
maybe something on a lighter note would be in order.
In one of the recent issues, David H. Buswell, commented on the fact of Jim
Ameche being the neighbor of his grandparents:
My grandparents were quite proud of the fact that a celebrity lived next
door.
I love the game of name dropping, so here goes.
Legend has it that the great Doris Day was none other than the baby sitter
for my step-dad William Mulford. (I say legend, because Bill was the
world's all-time greatest BS'er -- so while we like to "tell" the story, we
always do so with a disclaimer.) However, my step-dad's story is completely
plausible. He was born and lived his early childhood years in Norwood,
Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, where, indeed Doris Day herself was from. And
the ages would be appropriate, too. She would have been, I believe, in her
early teens when my step-dad was a child. Unfortunately, the only one who
is able to shed light on this subject now would be Ms. Day herself, as the
Mulfords are all long since gone.
Incidentally, WLW Radio in Cincinnati, sometimes called "The Cradle of the
Stars" boasts the honor of Ms. Day performing there in her early years. I
assume most of her association with OTR would have been through the Big
Bands. Does anybody know if she was ever a guest on any show, or played any
significant role in OTR? TBH, I've never seen anything with her listed.
For those interested, a nice, succinct bio of Doris Day can be found at:
[removed]+Day&AN=Doris+Day&AID=28410&MID=6650
Any body know how she is doing?
Dave Phaneuf
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 14:43:47 -0400
From: Tom Kleinschmidt <otr1962@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Train Shows
On the subject of train shows, there is a show from
the mid 1950's from Chicago called Americana. It was
produced by the speech department of Northwestern
University. The shows feature short dramatizations,
readings of poetry, prose, [removed] and some folk music.
At least two feature Railroad Themes. They are:
3/13/54 Some Railroad Reminiscences
10/23/54 Memoirs Of A Railroad Century
I highly recommend the series in general, but I
don't see it in dealers catalogues or on many trading
lists, but it's worth seeking out.
Also on railroads, and this is from memory, but
didn't Bob Elson do interviews from The 20th Century
Limited out of Chicago? I think I have two such
programs in my collection, but it's been years since I
last listened to them.
Tom
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 16:44:25 -0400
From: Marklambert@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Arlene Francis
I apologize for this off-topic posting, but I just had to write
this:
Wow!
What a wonderful thing the Internet is! If anyone had told
me twenty years ago that, in the year 2001 when I was 40 years
old, I would be reading an e-mail listserve of postings from OTR
fans from around the country (and world), and that one day I'd see
a posting from my former high-school computer teacher, I'd have
never believed them. Hello, Mr. Knox! These computers have
come a long way since the old punch-card machines we had in
class back in the late 70s, haven't they?
--Mark Lambert
marklambert@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 16:34:59 -0400
From: "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: THE COLLECTORS STARTED IT ALL
I wonder if all of you who are posting about the (c) that it was people
like the collectors - some of whom were engineers at he stations - who
started recording the transcriptions at the stations and the fans who were
air-checking off the radio with ancient wire and R to R recordings for our
own enjoyment. Along comes a guy who has air-checked maybe about a hundred
in his collection over the years, trading them with other collectors,
suddenly decides to go into business. Now, where would all those
interpreters of OTR programs be today, if it had not been for guys like us,
the collectors - whose only goal was to share these programs with others of
likewise interest, with no thought of monetary gain.
Owens Pomeroy
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 16:34:57 -0400
From: Tom van der Voort <evan@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Copyright Law and OTR
It has been argued in this digest that copyright law is essential to
protect the rights of creative people and that we should not complain about
the problems this causes our hobby.
This is true to a point--but is pretty much irrelevant in any
discussion of old time radio. Here's why:
1) Copyright holders tend not to be creators of the material. Often
they are advertisers, networks, ad agencies, publishers, etc.
2) It was highly unusual for performers, composers, etc. to receive the
benefits of copyright protection and even more unlikely that they are
getting income today. I seriously doubt that Harry Bartell, Hal Stone, Lois
Culver, et al, are receiving royalties. Let me know if I'm wrong.
3) Any copyright protection that benefited program creators such as
Carlton Morse, Gosden and Correll, etc., at best provides income to heirs
and assigns, not the brilliant creators themselves, who are now part of
history. We could argue about the importance of augmenting the income of
offspring, but this is not the place (seque to a discussion of the estate tax).
Copyright law has evolved into a game played by wealthy corporate
entities. That is why the law is almost as confusing as the Internal
Revenue Code. That is why programs that aired fifty or more years ago are
still under copyright. Every time a provision of the law is about to
expire, corporate holders race to the Congress to get it extended. If
copyright law had originated in Shakespeare's time, his plays would still
be under copyright and owned, probably, by Viacom or Sony Entertainment.
One of the ironies of the current law is that radio programs, films,
etc., are preserved by collectors despite the neglect of copyright holders,
but those collectors can then be sued for trying to make others aware of
the wonders they have unearthed.
This diatribe is not meant to sanction the violation of copyright
law, but only to explore its dubious foundations as applied to OTR.
Tom van der Voort
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 15:59:01 -0400
From: "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OOPS! I GOOFED!
Sorry, people, but I gave the wrong url for Unshackled; It shoukld have
been: <[removed]; instead of .com
Owens Pomeroy
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 18:01:02 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Once More Into The Breach
Anent the MediaBay/RSI/Amari controversy about rights, Michael Biel
notes,
>From what I have heard, RSI has yet to prosecute any infringers. Thus
the status of any of their copyrights has yet to be challenged. No doubt
he does have some legitimate copyrights, but they probably are still only
a small fraction of the total OTR [removed];<
What might be even more interesting to find out is what percentage of
RSI's total offerings is copyright by MediaBay/RSI. I suspect that the
majority of those items listed in his catalog are in Public Domain,
or/and are not exclusive to RSI ([removed], can _also_ be distributed by
others through negotiations with the rights owner).
I think it's worth reiterating that a lot of us, certainly in my care,
are not people who hate or are jealous of Mr. Armani. However, as
reported, some business practices associated with MediaBay/RSI seem to be
... deplorable. As I've said more than once, if I want something that
RSI has in its catalog that's clearly their exclusive property, I'll buy
it from them. If it's a Public Domain item, I'd like to shop around. If
after shopping around, RSI seems to have the best or most cost-effective
copy of what I'm looking for, I'll buy it from them.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 20:31:17 -0400
From: "Doug Leary" <dleary@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: RSI
Wow, having missed the last 4 issues due to email problems, I'm surprised
this discussion is still going on.
If the people supposedly infringing on RSI's rights actually went to court,
RSI would have to produce proof of the infringement. Perfectly legitimate
requirement.
Unfortunately, most pople contronted with legal treats do not go to court
because it's expensive. They give in to the threats unless they are
absolutely sure they are right, and even then they might give in because of
the expense.
So RSI has little to lose by hiding information about its properties. The
only incentive would be good citizenship, which nowadays is a pretty
uncommon motivator. On the other hand, simply by relying on people
predictable behavior, RSI can become the exclusive distributor of material
it doesn't even own, and that's just plain wrong. RSI obviously doesn't
genuinely care about OTR, or they would want people to freely trade public
domain material. The really sad thing is that a lot of this material
probably would not even exist today, but for the efforts of the very people
RSI is now threatening.
One good thing about the Internet is that it is slowly making public
information public. As in, putting it where the public can actually find it,
not publicly available in filing cabinet 681 in basement D of the Library of
Congress. Businesses that rely on the difficulty of obtaining information
will slowly wither and die.
Doug Leary
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 20:34:47 -0400
From: Paulurbahn@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Let's close the book on Napster discussion
Let's face it most of us hate Radio Spirits regardless of what they do. Many
of our assembled group realize the technical advance Napster is. But there
are always going to be those on the other side of the fence. It does not
advance the hobby to bicker among [removed]
Charlie and I discussed Napster several months ago off line, and even though
we both know computers, I still couldn't convince him Napster file sharing
was the new wave of the future. We have Al Gore to thank for the Internet.
Now Radio Spirits takes Disneys place in the Betamax case.
Eventually thought technolgy will move on. Yes Napster will be killed off by
big business the way Betamax was, but something similiar that did not have to
but out the dollars in their defense will survive.
Let's drop the discussion on Radio Spirits and Napster and get back to the
subject that binds us together. Old Time Radio.
Paul Urbahns
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 20:34:48 -0400
From: Dennis W Crow <DCrow3@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: "Public Domain"
The continuing discussion of who owns what in the world of old-time radio
pivots, to some extent, on the phrase "public domain".
Can someone give me a definition of "public domain" as it applies to golden
age radio programs, or as it applies generally, if old radio shows are
treated the same as other media categories. Perhaps a simple answer is
impossible. But if one does it exist, I would appreciate knowing it.
Thank you in advance.
Dennis Crow
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #171
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