------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2004 : Issue 221
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
house jameson [ "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed]; ]
Filed records? [ Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed] ]
glenn miller material available [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
Best Fibber Show? [ ilamfan@[removed] ]
Car Radio [ "Harry" <hb1379@[removed]; ]
David Amity [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
7-5 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Darth Vader [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
My Client Curley [ Richard Fish <fish@lodestone-media. ]
Re: Whither Amos? [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Amos and Andy [ William L Murtough <k2mfi@[removed]; ]
Rochester's voice [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
Genesee Theatre [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
Jack's Maxwell [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2004 11:37:41 +0000
From: "Kurt E. Yount" <blsmass@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: house jameson
I noted with interest your comments about House Jameson. Of course, he
had a very distinctive voice. He also read talking books for the blind
including gone with the wind and Life With Father and I think Life with
Mother as well. I just thought you would like to know that. Kurt
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2004 11:37:56 +0000
From: Lee Munsick <leemunsick@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Filed records?
I chanced to look at the Internet web page and history of station WLAC,
named in 1926 for its owner, which was a Life And Casualty insurance
company in Nashville. It's still there, going strong!
Click on the red square and gander at all the great early photos. The one
which really caught my eye showed announcer Charlie Chumley (yeah, really!)
pulling a recording from what appears to be a vertical file cabinet in
which records were stored! I've never heard of [removed] anyone else
experienced putting records in a file cabinet?
Best wishes from one whose first job in radio (actually my first job
anywhere other than mowing lawns!) was as Music Librarian at WMTR, a small
town local station in New Jersey. My my, all those green RecordVelopes
and 3x5 cards!
Lee Munsick
Bin 24, Record 73
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2004 11:38:41 +0000
From: Jer51473@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: glenn miller material available
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Try [removed] Go to "music broadcasts". Theres a lot of miller on several
of these. Number 13 has a great two hours of "Glenn Miller, Memory Maker"
which
was actually an eight hour program done on him, i think, in 1948. It covers
his whole life and career including all his recording sessions. Many
testimonials by his band members, friends, peers, etc. is included as well
as all the
hit songs. The two hours, of course, is only one fourth of the original
program
and i would give anything to find the rest of it if it still exists. If you
find it i would appreciate you letting me in on it. Also, at [removed] go to
"real radio 01". Theres a Glenn Miller tribute show that was done in 1945 that
is about 4 hours long with many armed forces officials and show business
personalities paying respects, performing, etc. This was a huge event back
in 1945.
This was not too long after his death and it is interesting to note the
confidence of many of these people that Glenn Miller was not dead and would
return.
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 03:16:23 +0000
From: ilamfan@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Best Fibber Show?
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
I have an upcoming project, and was wondering if some of you might be able
to send me your choices for the funniest "Fibber McGee And Molly"
episode. Please email me off-list at:
ilamfan@[removed]
Thanks very much! This will be a great help to me!
Stephen Jansen
--
Old Time Radio never dies - it just changes formats!
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 03:17:17 +0000
From: "Harry" <hb1379@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Car Radio
In reference to:
>> Motorola is considered the first company to
>> successfully commercialize car radios in the 1930's
>The inventor of the first practical car radio was William Lear, the
>designer and builder of the Lear Jet. Lear signed over the rights to
Motorola
The following is close, but no cigar. The practical car radio, which was
not subject to interference from the auto ignition was developed by Elmer
Wavering (later founder of Motorola) and Parker Gates (founder of Gates
Radio, later purchased by Harris Corporation which still uses the Gates name
on some products). A third young inventor in the trio was Bill Lear (of
Lear Jet fame). Parker and Elmer lived in Quincy, Illinois, and Gates in
Hanibal, Mo, just across the river. Thought the three shared an interest in
electronics - and the invention of the car radio - they we not close
friends. Gates was a bit of a "bounder" and arch conservatives Gates and
Wavering much disapproved of his life style.
The three went their separate ways to make their fortunes. All three were,
of course, very successful in business. Every broadcaster is familiar with
the Gates name, which at one time was RCA's chief competitor for station
equipment (transmitters, control boards, etc). And the fame of Motorola and
Lear goes without saying.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 03:17:29 +0000
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: David Amity
Does anyone have particulars on the serial drama "David Amity" which,
according to Hickerson's guide, ran in 1950-51 five weekdays for a
quarter-hour on ABC? It featured Joseph Bell and Mary Patton. I don't find
it in any of the usual documented sources, including Harrison Summers'
program listings for that season. Could it have appeared under another
title? I'd appreciate any information and you may contact me directly.
Thanks.
Jim Cox
otrbuff@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 03:19:33 +0000
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 7-5 births/deaths
July 5th births
07-05-1899 - Tim Ryan - Bayonne, NJ - d. 10-22-1956
actor: "Tim and Irene Show"
07-05-1930 - Tommy Cook - Duluth, MN
actor: Little Beaver "Red Ryder"; Chester A. Riley, Jr. "Life of Riley"
07-05-1934 - Katherine Helmond - Galveston, TX
actress: [removed] Theatre Works "Night Mother"
07-05-1936 - Shirley Knight - Goessel, KS
Sang with the Horace Heidt Orchestra on Wichita Radio at the age of 8
July 5th deaths
01-01-1919 - Carole Landis - Fairchild, WI - d. 7-5-1948
actress: "Warner Brothers Academy Award"; "Command Performance"
01-16-1924 - Katy Jurado - Guadalajara, Mexico - d. 7-5-2002
actress: "George Fisher Interviews the Stars"
01-25-1906 - Mildred Dunnock - Baltimore, MD - d. 7-5-1991
actress: "Theatre Guild on the Air"
03-15-1916 - Harry James - Albany, GA - d. 7-5-1983
bandleader: "Spotlight Bands"; "Call for Music"
05-26-1911 - Ben Alexander - Goldfield, NV - d. 7-5-1969
actor: Frank Smith "Dragnet"; Bashful Ben "Great Gildersleeve"
08-30-1918 - Ted Williams, San Diego, CA - d. 7-5-2002
baseball superstar: Several interview shows
10-03-1898 - Leo McCarey - Los Angeles, CA - d. 7-5-1969
judge: "This Is My Story"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 03:19:45 +0000
From: Ron Sayles
<bogusotr@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Darth Vader
On my birth/death list I have listed Brock Peters as playing Darth Vader on
the NPR series "Star Wars" that aired in March and April of 1981. I have
received some e-mails saying that I must be mistaken, James Earl Jones played
Darth Vader. Yes, he did, in the movies. To make sure that I myself was not
going crazy I pulled out my copy of the program and listened to the credits.
Brock Peters is indeed listed as playing Darth Vader.
I want to thank those who are interested enough in the list to take the time
to point out errors. In this case it was not an error, but the next time it
may be. I have make errors, some on faulty research, but most because of typos.
If you see what you think is an error, please do not hesitate to contact me. I
want the list to be as accurate as I can possibly make it.
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 03:20:07 +0000
From: Richard Fish
<fish@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: My Client Curley
The original radio play, "My Client Curley," is available on CD from The
LodesTone Catalog at
[removed] as part of the "13 By
Corwin" collection.
I'm no longer running LodesTone, having sold it to John Weber, but I had
the happy privelege of remastering this collection. The sound quality of
"Curley" isn't as good as some of the other items, but is still quite
listenable and enjoyable; I wish we had found a better copy to work from.
This one had some disc surface noise, but it was all there was.
Norman wanted this piece as part of the collection; he was selecting his
favorites from the extant recordings. It was, originally, a short story by
Lucille Fletcher, and as such is most unusual in his CBS radio series. He
usually wrote original plays, but in this case loved the story so much he
adapted it for radio.
As has been mentioned, of course, Lucille Fletcher was Mrs. Bernard
Herrmann at the time, and Corwin of course worked often with Herrmann and
knew them both quite well.
And while I'm on the subject, Norman Corwin is now 94, living in Southern
California, teaching journalism at USC and still writing radio. My
correspondence with him shows that he's lost none of his delight in words,
sharpness of perception, and deep love of -- and concern for -- our country.
If anyone wants to write him, you can do so through me or through John at
LodesTone.
Happy Fourth of July!
Richard Fish
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 03:20:18 +0000
From: Elizabeth McLeod
<lizmcl@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Whither Amos?
On 7/4/04 10:39 AM
[removed]@[removed] wrote:
>Recently I've been listening to Amos & Andy shows and I notice at one point
>Amos was not much in the shows. The shows are mostly Andy Kingfish and
>others. Does anyone know why?
Amos was a genuinely heroic figure during the serial era of the show --
he was the pivot around which everything else turned. His gradual climb
from utter poverty to something approaching middle-class prosperity was
the basic theme of the program during its serial period. He foiled
gangsters on several occasions, got Andy out of various romantic and
legal entanglements, was an effective amateur detective who solved a
number of crimes including a tense murder mystery in which he was the
prime suspect, served effectively as the City Manager of a small town in
upstate New York, ran a grocery store, a gas station and a garage at
various times in addition to driving the Fresh Air Taxicab, and generally
functioned as the "everyman" figure for the series.
The turning point for the series was the marriage of Amos and Ruby
Taylor, after a seven year engagement, in December of 1935. At this
point, Correll and Gosden painted themselves into a corner with the
character of Amos: because he now had a wife to support (and as of
October 1936 a daughter), he could no longer be willing to throw in his
lot with Andy quite so willingly. Listeners wouldn't have stood for Amos
becoming involved in any activity or venture which might put his
livelihood at risk -- and while this was entirely logical and reasonable
given the kind of man his creators intended for him to be, it severely
limited the role he could play in the development of interesting
storylines.
In 1937, Andy became involved in a business venture with the Kingfish,
opening an escort service (and "escort service" did not mean then what it
does now). This business marked the first true "Kingfish and Andy"
storyline, and while Amos remained an essential figure for the remaining
years of the serial, more and more after this point the Kingfish became
Andy's regular entrepreneurial partner.
This dynamic continued after the serial ended in 1943, to be replaced by
a situation comedy -- and as the tone of the sitcom became more and more
broad during the mid-forties, so too did the tone of the Kingfish and
Andy's activities. It became less and less believeable for Amos to have
any real role at all in the stories -- as Charles Correll put it, "We got
so we couldn't use him -- if he came into the scene he'd listen to what
they were doing and say 'you're off your bean -- it can't be done,' and
that would be the end of that."
Much more about this evolution will be found in my upcoming book,
recently retitled "The Original Amos 'n' Andy: Freeman Gosden, Charles
Correll, and the 1928-43 Radio Serial," to be published later this year
by McFarland & Company.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 03:20:27 +0000
From: William L Murtough
<k2mfi@[removed];
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Amos and Andy
To answer Sharon Wtight's question, as I recall Freeman lost a son, but
still maintained his schedule, showing up at the studio that very day.
This would have been between 1945 and 1951 which was during the time that
I was an engineer at CBS Hollywood (KNX).
They were doing a half hour show on NBC which was sponsored by the same
outfit that handled the Lux program and CBS wanted to do a promo with
them on the Lux Radio Theater. However Freeman didn't want to come into
the studio so I was assigned to take a remote amplifier out to Freeman's
home where Charlie would join us and we woiuld feed the live promo into
the Lux show. This brought about a long friendship with them both. (Mrs.
Gosden baked a terrific pie for the occasion).
Bill Murtough
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 03:20:36 +0000
From:
JackBenny@[removed]
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Rochester's voice
Philip Railsback writes:
> A couple of nights ago I watched that classic Bette Davis movie
>"Jezebel". An actor appeared on screen who looked quite familiar. But
>then he talked and he didn't
*sound* familiar at all. That is the voice
>did not match the face. I'm talking about Eddie Anderson, of course.
>There was no gravel in his voice. In fact, he sounded perfectly normal.
>The movie was made in 1938, though I don't know if that makes a
>difference. My question -- how real was his Rochester voice? If that
>was his real voice, how come he sounded so different in 1938? Did
>something happen to his throat?
The story goes that Rochester damaged his vocal chords by attempting to
out-shout other newsboys in his hometown of Oakland,
California. I've heard him
as Noah in "Green Pastures", and you can hear some of the gravel in his
voice. I think what was cultivated for the Benny show was more of
the inflection
and higher notes in his voice. This is easily recognizable in his "Yesss
Bosss" response to Jack's "Oh Rohhhhchester!" The higher his voice, the more
you can hear the gravel.
--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 03:20:46 +0000
From:
JackBenny@[removed]
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Genesee Theatre
Michael Leannah writes:
> As you might recall, two Junes ago a statue
> of Jack Benny was unveiled across from the theater. It was a weekend of
> celebration featuring performances by Benny impersonator Eddie Carroll,
> radio show reenactments by the International Jack Benny Fan Club, speeches
> by local officials, and more.
Hey! I remember something like [removed]
> Those in attendance were allowed to view the interior of the Genessee
> Theater, where premier showings of Jack's movies were run. We were told the
> theater was to be renovated and were led to believe that after the work was
> completed, a performance by Eddie Carroll and a Jack Benny movie would
> highlight the reopening.
Yes, that was my understanding at the time. Since then, some folks have
become involved with the renovation who have "broader showbiz
connections", and
they were thinking of having a larger show with a number of big-name
celebrities. One of the challenges has been that they want to insure
that they can
finish on time, so it becomes a chicken-and-egg of when to schedule
the show.
Last I heard, they were looking toward September. I have offered our
assistance if they want to do a Jack Benny tribute, and the person in
charge of the
renovation expressed that they were still anticipating including Jack in
some fashion during the opening week.
> There is work going on at the theater but not much progress is being
> made. It looks like a wreck. The man I spoke with said funds have not just
> run out, they have been pilfered and several individuals are under
> investigation.
I know there had been some changes in personnel due to challenges in
fundraising. Our latest issue of "The Jack Benny Times" had a piece with
information about the Genesee renovation, and I hope to have an update
in the next
issue, due out in August.
--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 03:20:55 +0000
From:
JackBenny@[removed]
To:
<[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Jack's Maxwell
Richard Rieve writes:
> Does anyone know what year was Jack Benny's model of Maxwell?
And now BACK by popular [removed](happy I can just copy this from my May
submission):
On the 10/8/39 show, it's indicated as a 1920 Maxwell. On 1/28/40, it's
said to be a 1923 Maxwell. On 10/20/40, they call it a 1921 Maxwell.
The one truly authentic Maxwell I've found that was used for multiple Benny
publicity shots is a 1922 model. Here's a photo of Jack and Roch with the
Maxwell I know:
_[removed]_
(
[removed])
However, I've also seen publicity photos with Jack riding in a Maxwell
2-seater that looks much more like a circa 1914 model.
Here's a page that has many excellent links to Maxwell photos:
_[removed]_
(
[removed])
--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #221
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