------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 47
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Buffalo Bob's heart attack [ "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyro ]
#OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig [ lois@[removed] ]
MP3 players can read directories [ "Doug Leary" <doug@[removed]; ]
JELL-O 100 years old [ Tony Baechler <tony@[removed]; ]
Re: CORONATION OF KING GEORGE, VI BR [ Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed]; ]
Today in radio history [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
Re:transcribed announcements etc [ Eric J Cooper <ejcooper2002@[removed] ]
Radio Resurrectionist [ luckycowboy@[removed] (Gregory Robe ]
CBS Mystery Theater Site [ "glen schroeder" <gschroeder10@char ]
Hal Stone and Directors [ leemunsick@[removed] ]
Captain Radio? [ "Thomas Mason" <batz34@[removed] ]
Numbers Crunchers [ lawrence albert <albertlarry@yahoo. ]
RE: MUSIC SUBSTITUTES [ grayghost@[removed] ]
CBS Radio Mystery Theater [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Looking for 3 men [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Re: Hi! I'm back [ gad4@[removed] ]
Sidney Greenstreet as Nero Wolfe [ Carolie Minuscule <daggerofthemind2 ]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 01:28:28 -0500
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Buffalo Bob's heart attack
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 00:23:24 -0500
From: "Ed Ellers" <ed_ellers@[removed];
They did something similar after Bob Smith suffered a heart attack, IIRC
in 1955, only in this case NBC set up a makeshift studio in his basement
so that Buffalo Bob could appear live from the "far-off outpost" to which
he had been dispatched.
He was already away on one of his vacations, then they wrote a story line
in which Howdy suddenly left town and said the kids were in for a big
surprise. At the same time, they were mysteriously unable to contact
Buffalo Bob on the Super Talkascope. Eventually, Howdy returned (with
his voice slightly different, since Allen Swift was doing the voice,
instead of Bob Smith), and the surprise was a new Princess Summerfall
Winterspring. Eventually, they said that Buffalo Bob was "resting" at
Pioneer Village, and it took several months before they finally brought
him back from "Pioneer Village." He was recovered from his heart attack
because his doctors didn't want him fighting traffic into New York every
day. Finally someone decided that NBC could afford a limo to get him
back in Doodyville.
But among the casualties of the heart attack were the Howdy Doody radio
show and the Bob Smith radio show. The Howdy Doody radio show, which
aired Saturday morning, was recorded in segments after each daily TV
show. It disappeared fairly suddenly after the heart attack.
The Bob Smith Show on NBC radio aired at 10:00 AM in the east, and NBC
apparently hoped it would develop as a competition to Arthur Godfrey. It
continued after the heart attack (which was over Labor Day Weekend 1954)
until December, with Bob Nicholson hosting. I first heard it during that
time. One day when I was home from school (Columbus Day, I think), I saw
it listed in the newspaper and decided to listen, in hope of getting some
news of Buffalo Bob. I think I knew by then that he'd had a heart
attack. There was no news, but during the December school vacation, it
was first mentioned that the show was going off.
There was also a Bob Smith television show at noon in the east on
weekdays. This was a repeat of some items from the morning radio show.
Given Buffalo Bob's day, it was no wonder that he had a heart attack.
He'd come in and rehearse his morning radio show, then do the
radio show, then prepare and do the television show, then rehearse the
Howdy Doody show, then do the Howdy Doody show, then record segments for
the Howdy Doody radio show. He only lasted a few months with this
routine.
--
A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed]
15 Court Square, Suite 210 lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2503 [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 04:52:00 -0500
From: lois@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: #OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Night!
A weekly [removed]
For the best in OTR Chat, join IRC (Internet Relay Chat), StarLink-IRC
Network, the channel name is #OldRadio. We meet Thursdays at 8 PM Eastern
and go on, and on! The oldest OTR Chat Channel, it has been in existence
over five years, same time, same channel!
Our numerous "regulars" include one of the busiest "golden years" actors in
Hollywood; a sound man from the same era who worked many of the top
Hollywood shows; a New York actor famed for his roles in "Let's Pretend" and
"Archie Andrews;" owners of some of the best OTR sites on the Web;
maintainer of the best-known OTR Digest (we all know who he is)..........
and Me
Lois Culver
KWLK Longview Washington (Mutual) 1941-1944)
KFI Los Angeles (NBC) 1944 - 1950
and widow of actor Howard Culver
(For more info, contact lois@[removed])
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 08:01:15 -0500
From: "Doug Leary" <doug@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: MP3 players can read directories
I believe all recent MP3 players will read directories. Some will break the
shows out into a single list. Others (Rio Volt 250 for example) display the
structure of directories and subdirectories and let you navigate through
them.
Doug
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 08:01:38 -0500
From: Tony Baechler <tony@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: JELL-O 100 years old
Hello all. While not strictly related to OTR, I can hear the J-E-L-L-O
jingle in my head from the Benny program whenever I come across a mention
of it. Also, if you were listening to the "Those Were the Days," program
of February 2, they began Jack Benny month with some discussion of
Jell-O. I was surprised that it is 100 years old this year. Maybe Chuck
can share this on his next program.
Subject: [netsites] JELL-O: 100 Years Old
JELL-O: 100 Years and Still the Coolest
[removed]
Re-live the history of Jell-O -- the coolest desert around. :-)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 08:02:02 -0500
From: Michael Biel <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: CORONATION OF KING GEORGE, VI BROADCAST
From: grayghost@[removed]
I was wondering if there are any tapes available of the Coronation
of King George, VI. There doesn't seem to be anything available
over here, and I was wondering if perhaps two of your Major Networks,
CBS, & NBC, may have Broadcast it in its entirety at that time, and
may, perhaps, might be in circulation, recordings of this event.
Gray Ghost
I'm rather surprised to hear that you haven't been able to find any
recordings of King George VI's May 12, 1937 coronation over in England,
because the ceremony was issued for public sale by His Master's Voice
(HMV) on fifteen 78 RPM records, and these were reissued on LP for the
50th anniversary in 1987. The 78s are hard to find because a full set
was rather expensive, but the LPs are probably available for loan from
many libraries, or on sale at used record stores. I found my copies of
the LPs here in the states when they were new.
I also have the NBC broadcast which was mostly a rebroadcast of the BBC,
which ran from 3:44-10:40 AM Central time, then the special program
Empire's Homage with speeches by all of the Empire Prime Ministers at
1:20-2:02 PM followed by the King's speech at 2:02 to 2:16 PM. Then the
Coronation Party at 2:13 to 3:00 PM which consided of famous British
entertainers. Then finally the midnight chimes of Big Ben and a poem by
John Masefield at 5:45-6:01 PM Central time. This, of course, is much
more than HMV issued on records, but not in as good sound quality as the
records because it was a short-wave rebroadcast.
I also have the CBS broadcast of the Kings speech, and herein lies a
story. A very young and inexperienced Robert Trout was sent to London
by CBS to sit in a special booth at the BBC and listen VERY CAREFULLY to
the King's speech. The new King had a speech inpediment, and it was
thought by the American networks that he might choose to pre-record his
speech. Since recordings were FORBIDDEN on the CBS and NBC, Trout's job
was to TAKE THE KING OFF THE AIR if he detected any evidence that it was
a recording. When I had a chance to meet him I asked him about it.
Would he have had the guts to cut the King off of American radio. "No"
he told me.
Now, to make this story even stranger, it turns out that during the
Empire's Homage program which preceeded the King's Speech, there WERE
six short recordings of portions of the ceremony replayed at the start
of the program while they were waiting for the Prime Ministers. NBC, at
least, allowed those recordings to be played--if they noticed them at
all--and no legally required announcement was made. This is one of the
reasons why I always cite the Hindenburg Disaster and the Chamberlin
Declaration of War as being the two recordings that NBC
___purposefully___ allowed on their networks. I could find no evidence
in NBC's files that they even noticed these recordings. But I did find
some very angry notes in the files concerning a recorded interview with
French Premier Blum that Lowell Thomas used in his broadcast from
England that week and a July 31 program from Amsterdam featuring Dutch
Queen Wilhelmina and Lord Baden-Powell. NBC stated they were "the
victim of a loose condition in foreign broadcasting circles". Meaning
that those painted hussies of European broadcasting had such loose
morals that they felt no shame in using recordings on the air!
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 08:02:15 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in radio history
From Those Were The Days --
1943 - Frank Sinatra made his debut as vocalist on radio's Your Hit
Parade. Frankie had left the Tommy Dorsey Band just four months prior to
beginning the radio program. He was described as, "...the biggest name
in the business."
1950 - For the first time, NBC radio broadcast Dangerous Assignment. The
show starred Brian Donlevy in the role of soldier of fortune, Steve
Mitchell.
Joe
--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 09:25:51 -0500
From: Eric J Cooper <ejcooper2002@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re:transcribed announcements etc
I can recall even into the mid 70s , the program logs at the small
college radio station I was at, had constant references to "ET"
announcements and "ET" on the disc jockey shows, meaning the FCC still,
at that late date, wanted to know which part of of the programming
contained "trascribed material". We just didn't have to say it any more.
And although off topic (apologies), i also recall similar TV
announcements here on the West Coast in the early to mid 1960s, when
soaps such as the Edge Of Night were still live, the tape delayed East
Coast CBS announcer would say, "Presented Live!" and the West Coast
announcer would hurriedly and breathlessly interrupt with " Some or all
of today's CBS Television Network programs are recorded on tape for
broadcast in this time zone" That announcement disappeared by 1968 or so
Eric Cooper
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 09:42:39 -0500
From: luckycowboy@[removed] (Gregory Robert Jackson, Jr.)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio Resurrectionist
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has an article about Henry Rogers, who
with his wife, operates the Western Historic Radio Museum in Virginia
City, Nevada. The museum contains more than 200 vintage radio. The
article features photos.
The article can be found at:
[removed]
Greg
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 10:20:44 -0500
From: "glen schroeder" <gschroeder10@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: CBS Mystery Theater Site
Hi all.
In regard to the Bob Cook RMT site, sometimes that forbidden message comes
up even if you're registered on the site which I am. I just get mad and go
away and come back a few hours later and usually get in. I'm not able to
download shows from the site though. Has anyone else had that trouble. When
I download the show and play it, only about a third of the show is there.
Regarding promo copies of records, back in the late sixties and early
seventies, I bought a llot of 45's at one of the large record stores in
Milwaukee, and once in a while when we bought a lot of records, the owner
would come up and give me some 45's and say take these home and play them
and see what you think. These were white label records and were marked not
for sale. Most of them were songs that never got to be hits, but a few of
them did.
Love this list.
Glen Schroeder
Madison WI
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 10:56:49 -0500
From: leemunsick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Hal Stone and Directors
Hal Stone made reference to his thinking that actors on the west coast
shared the view of directors as "The Enemy", but recalled that he could
think of none in the east that he didn't like.
I think I may have a reason for that, courtesy of our friend Barney Beck,
the longtime east coast SFX artist and sharer of his wit, wisdom and humor
at OTR get-togethers. Barney would often demonstrate SFX techniques for
audiences. His marvelous sense of humor added greatly to the process.
Barney said he dreaded those occasions on which a radio program would be
directed by a film director (thus the west coast connection). His point is
that radio is a sound medium, and film is visual. In one such show, the
director stopped Barney in rehearsal while he was "walking" for a female
member of the cast. The director said it sounded too much like a man, not
a woman. So Barney did it again, lightening the steps and speeding up the
process to convey shorter steps. The director was still not satisfied,
saying it still sounded to him like a man. Bear in mind that Barney is
doing all this on a raised platform in our OTR conventions, in front of all
the SFX paraphernalia.
Barney grabbed a lady's purse. With exactly the same sound as before, this
time Barney minced and sashayed his way across the floor, waving his arms
around as he walked.
THAT'S IT! cried the ace movie director.
By the way, I think Barney would love to hear from his friends. I don't
think he will mind my giving out his address. He is not well, and probably
will not answer your correspondence, but you can certainly brighten his
senior home days. Keep those cards and letters going out to our friends!
Barney Beck
% King David Residence
80 West Broadway
Long Beach NY 11561
Many readers know and love Dave Warren of the mighty Dave Warren
Players. Dave is recovering at home from a very serious time in the
hospital. I know he would love to hear from you all. Here is his Email
address, shared by Dave and his wife Lois:
lowie52@[removed]
If you'd like a wonderful inspirational story about a patient in a
hospital, ask Lois to send you "Perspective". It'll give you a [removed]
perhaps a tear or two.
Best to all - Lee Munsick
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 11:03:25 -0500
From: "Thomas Mason" <batz34@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Captain Radio?
Recently I saw a ceramic Ovaltine Mug with the image of "Captain Radio" on
[removed] he seems to be in some sort of Flying Outfit and has a dog. Anybody
ever heard of him?
Tom Mason
batz34@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 12:23:50 -0500
From: lawrence albert <albertlarry@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Numbers Crunchers
Hal Stone and Harry Bartell have both had recent
postings in which they mention the people who make the
decisions on programming, the numbers crunchers. Well.
I here to say not much has changed.
Back in January of 1999 Jim French the writer-producer
of IMAGINATION THEATRE(New Time radio Drama) received
a call from the new Program Director of our flag ship
station KIRO-CBS Seattle. She wanted a meeting. Jim
correctly assessed, after fifty years in the business,
that this could only mean one thing, she was
cancelling the local version of the show and that KIRO
was pulling its financial backing. He was right. We
would still be in syndication, but the folks of the
Pacific Northwest for whom these new shows were
started back in the 70's wouldn't be able to hear
them.
The [removed] readily admitted that she had never heard
the program and didn't have any idea of its history.
However, as Jim as told me the first job of any new
[removed] is to make changes, needed or not. She said the
show was costing to much and besides she was tired of
the outraged calls she was getting whenever the
program was bumped for Seattle Mariners baseball
games.
The upshot of all of this was an agreement,
reluctantly agreed to by the [removed], to move the show to
a sister station of KIRO's, KNWX. This was a new
station with less range, and to have a different
source foot the bills. How'd it work out? Well, we're
still on KNWX and since the move we have steadily
beaten our compitetion in our time slots here in
Seattle. We own the hour of 9:00 pm to 10:00 Saturday
and Sunday.
To sum up, as in the days of otr there are still
those who can't see beyond there balance sheet.
Larry(To long winded for me) Albert
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 16:05:12 -0500
From: grayghost@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: RE: MUSIC SUBSTITUTES
In the last issue, Spence made the observation that during the Musician's
Strike, that various groups did musical interpertations of instruments to
back up Vocalists. I can remember listening to such groupson the wireless
as the Billy Williams Quartet and the Mills Brothers who could impersonate
nearly every musical instrument in the orchestra. Can any one think of
others? (A thank you to those who responded off-line to my request in the
last issue. Much appreciated.)
Gray Ghost
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 20:14:57 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: CBS Radio Mystery Theater
In reply for Lou Genco:
Broadcast #619 "THE LITTLE OLD LADY KILLER"
Broadcast on September 15, 1975, rebroadcast February 14, 1976.
Cast: Diane Baker as Lt. Louise Kramer
Anne Seymour as Mrs. Bernadette Cobb
Berry Kroeger as Tom Fessler
Alan Reed as Sperky Wilson
Written for CBSRMT by Sam Dann.
Story: A hunter who has killed a 350-pound buck, a gambler who stages
dogfights for his betting clientele, and a woman whose Doberman Pinscher
dies from heat prostration in her parked car are all victims of a .22 pistol
fired by a little old lady with an aversion toward people who kill animals.
The police are baffled by the murders, except for a woman detective (!)
whose notions about the killer's identity make her the laughing stock of all
the male members on her force.
Notes: Diane Baker was no stanger to horror and mystery, having played roles
on big-screen flicks such as The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Alfred
Hitchcock's Marnie (1964), Straight-Jacket (1964) and Journey to the Center
of the Earth (1959). She even made an appearance on the ABC television
series The Invaders (c. 1968). Alan Reed we all know too well, Berry
Kroeger and Anne Seymour were both veteran actors who worked under the
direction of Himan Brown in hundreds of radio productions during the forties
and fifties. Seymour was known by many as a scream queen, appearing in
dozens and dozens of Inner Sanctum dramas. Berry Kroeger also played
numerous leads on Inner Sanctum, but he also took over Raymond Edward
Johnson's hosting role for a few weeks when Johnson went on vacation during
the summer of 1942 (or 1943, this is off the top of my head).
This drama was not replayed during the short-run summer 1998 reprisal.
Hope this helps!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 20:15:13 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Looking for 3 men
I'm looking for three men who are probably still around the OTR hobby.
If anyone has an e-mail or address or phone number so I can contact them,
can you please let me know?
Chuck Juzek
Victor Berch
Jim Harmon - author of THE GREAT RADIO HEROES
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 22:56:42 -0500
From: gad4@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Hi! I'm back
Remember me! I'm Bryant the 12 year old OTR fan. Well, I'm 13 now(I turned
13 on November 16) and I still like OTR. I just subscribed to the OTR
digest again. I had unsubscribed because I didn't have time to read it all.
I am emailing to ask if anyone would want to rebroadcast Yesterday USA in
the New England area. We have no stations here in Rhode Island that
broadcast OTR and we would really appreciate one.
Hi Bryant,
I'm sorry, I don't know of any otr stations in your area.
I think it's great that you have an interest in OTR though. It's great
entertainment and I hope you enjoy listening to it.
If you have your parents email me with a mailing address and what types of
shows you like, I'll send you out a couple mp3 disks of otr. That should tie
you over for a while and give you some enjoyment.
This is all I can do to help. Sorry I can't do more.
Sincerely,
George Downes
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2002 00:23:36 -0500
From: Carolie Minuscule <daggerofthemind2000@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Sidney Greenstreet as Nero Wolfe
Harry Bartell said:
I think there was some general dissatisfaction with Greenstreet's Wolfe.
That may account for the turnover in Archies; trying to find a better
chemical mix to soup up the show. This is all speculation on my part.
Mr. Bartell, may I ask what your relationship with Greenstreet was? Did you
get along at all or did he keep himself to himself? As a theatre actor, was
he as good as the radio 'pros' in getting his performance down 'the first
time'?
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #47
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