------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 234
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Mail Call [ Jandpgardner@[removed] ]
Amos & Andy and Jester Hairston ? [ danhughes@[removed] ]
Re: Getting Back to Basics [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
OTR on TV [ "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed] ]
Monitor [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
Chester and the $8000 [ Harry Bartell <bartell@[removed] ]
David Brinkley [ "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed] ]
Charlie Summers OTR question [ "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed]; ]
OTR to TV [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
Transfer to TV [ "Brian Johnson" <CHYRONOP@worldnet. ]
Re: AM/FM Stereo [ George Guffey <grguffey@[removed]; ]
OTR Invades Life [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Birthdays, June 13th [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Re: See what you're missing [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
YBYL revival [ John Henley <jhenley@[removed] ]
reverse revivals [ "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@earthli ]
Captain Midnight on TV [ Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed]; ]
Amos n' Andy TV [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
______________________________________________________________________
ADMINISTRIVIA:
Quick note; we're adding more and more anti-spam filters and
RBLs (Realtime Blackhole Lists) all the time; if you have any
problems posting to the OTR Digest, please hit
[removed] and use the ICQ form on the sidebar of
the page to send me a message that there's a problem. --cfs3
______________________________________________________________________
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 10:01:07 -0400
From: Jandpgardner@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Mail Call
An edition of the AFRS show "Mail Call" was included in Chuck Schaden's Bob
Hope centenary tribute on WDCB last month. I listened to it here in England on
the Internet and found that this "Mail Call" it is the same as an edition I
purchased on cassette from Crabapple Sound some time ago. It has no number or
date and the [removed] is Jane Nigh (not Nye as her name is usually but incorrectly
spelt). Apart from her introductions, it is a compilation of parts of previous
shows in the series including songs by Dick Haymes and Marilyn Maxwell from
number 121 and a song by Betty Grable and a sketch based on Bob Hope's film
"Princess and the Pirate" with him, Betty Grable and Humphrey Bogart, (and
Bing
Crosby putting in a brief appearance at the end) from number 122. On comparing
the version of the sketch on the compilation edition with that on 122, there
are some differences, with some lines on 122 not on the compilation and vice
versa. There are also 2 songs by the King Sisters ("Candy" and "Accentuate the
Positive") that I have not been able to trace from any of the shows in the
series on which they appeared although they may come from number 90 that I
don't
have and my references do not list the songs they sing. Finally there is a
version of "Saturday Night" by an unnamed orchestra.
Harry Mackenzie's excellent book "Command Performance, USA!", that includes
"Mail Call", while listing 121 and 122, does not mention this compilation
edition, although he does include other (what he calls) "assembled (shows)
using
previously broadcast items".
I feel sure that some of the always knowledgeable readers of this Digest will
have information about the show I have described and can give its number in
the "Mail Call" series and the date it was released. It would also be
interesting to know from which show the songs by the King Sisters come, which
band
plays "Saturday Night" and how and why the variations in the sketch came about.
Best wishes to all,
John.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 10:01:33 -0400
From: danhughes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Amos & Andy and Jester Hairston ?
As some of you know, I buy and sell autographs. I recently acquired the
autograph of Jester Hairston, a black spiritual singer who conducted the
Oscar-winning score for the film Lost Horizon. While researching his
career, I found a couple of sources that mentioned in passing that he had
regularly acted on the Amos & Andy show for 15 years, both radio and TV.
Does anyone know if he played a specific character on Amos & Andy, or did
he do bit parts?
Thanks,
---Dan
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 11:36:41 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Getting Back to Basics
On 6/12/03 10:21 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:
In response to Charlie's question about which OTR
shows we would like to see revived to the TV screen, I
vote for Amos n Andy. I know that it would be next to
impossible for that to happen, but I still would like
to see it.
Well, Viacom was putting out very obvious feelers last year about finding
some place on cable for the A&A TV series, so anything's possible. Not
being much of a fan of A&A-TV however, I have very mixed feelings about
that possibility. (As Freeman Gosden himself said -- when CBS took over
creative control of the A&A property, "they butchered it." I don't
disagree.)
But what I *would* like to see done --- and any TV writers out there,
please take note -- is a return to the original character-based approach
to humor that Correll and Gosden pioneered during their serial years.
Most of the humor in the early A&A (and, indeed, *all* of the humor from
about 1930 on, when the last vestiges of "cross-talk" humor disappeared
from the program) was entirely dependent on situation and
characterization: there were *no* gags, *no* jokes, and *no* punchlines.
Any hackwriter can string jokes -- or even worse, constant "hip, ironic"
pop-culture references -- together into a "sitcom." But it takes real
skill to create humor without jokes, and most sitcoms today fall short --
the scripts are built around setup/punchline gags rather than pure
characterization.
There are exceptions. I thought "Seinfeld" did an excellent job of this,
and Larry David's HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm" does likewise. And
the animated series "King of the Hill" is probably the closest approach
to Correll and Gosden's original style of character comedy I've ever seen
on television -- the series effectively mixes humor and heart just as the
original A&A did more than 70 years ago.
So it *can* be done. It doesn't have to be an overt revival of OTR --
and, indeed, I'd rather it wasn't. There's usually nothing I hate more
than "a modern take" on a vintage character or concept. (There are
exceptions -- I like "Smallville" very much. So there.) But what I'd
really like to see happen is a rediscovery of the basic writing
techniques that made the best of OTR successful.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 13:48:03 -0400
From: "[removed]" <[removed]@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: OTR on TV
In #232, Herb Harrison pointed out some things that wouldn't work:
The Green Hornet, or any hero whose identity is supposed
to be hidden by a simple half-mask.
To this I would like to had any superhero whose identity is hidden only by a
pair of [removed] oh, wait, they already did that.
-chris holm
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 13:49:21 -0400
From: otrbuff@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Monitor
This seems to be my week for citing inconsistencies. I apologize. It's
the nature of the beast. From "Those Were the Days" in digest #233 we
read:
1956 - "This is Monitor, a weekend program service of NBC Radio," was
heard for the first time. Notables such as Bill Cullen, Ed McMahon, Hugh
Downs, and Dave Garroway recited this line. It was a network cue to NBC
radio stations across the nation who carried the long form news,
entertainment and variety broadcast from New York City. Stations and
listeners who were "on the Monitor beacon" were entertained for six
hours or more each Saturday and Sunday night for nearly two decades.
NBC's Monitor was one of the last live network radio programs on the air.
Some editorial license taken there. For one thing the program debuted
June 12, 1955, not in 1956. A small matter but it lends credibility to
the truthful claim that the program continued for nearly two decades,
ending in early 1975.
Yes, listeners were "entertained" as stated but they were undoubtedly
equally "informed" by this revolutionary programming service.
And to hint that it was merely around for six hours "or more" each
Saturday and Sunday night doesn't give Monitor its just due. It easily
aired more hours on weekends and collectively across 20 years than any
other broadcast feature in the history of radio and television. At one
point it was available to local affiliates 40 hours per weekend. That
was reduced after some years but it was still heard nearly all day and
evening Saturdays and Sundays until its end approached.
I loved Monitor and miss it. I treasure a few recordings of this unique
innovative programming marathon and am grateful to have access to a web
site that singularly honors the series: [removed]. I'd also
like to plug Dennis Hart's fascinating little volume "Monitor: The Last
Great Radio Show." It's well written, authoritative, factual,
entertaining and a tremendously insightful turn down memory lane. You
may be able to find it elsewhere but you can order it from Writers Club
Press at [removed]. (I receive no recompense from this, merely a
satisfied buyer.)
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 13:49:40 -0400
From: Harry Bartell <bartell@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Chester and the $8000
Just to set the record straight: the original mortgage was for $400. I ought
to know. I held it and wanted to foreclose.
Harry Bartell
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 14:04:26 -0400
From: "Andrew Godfrey" <niteowl049@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: David Brinkley
Was wondering if David Brinkley had any radio background before getting
into television. He was probably the lowkey broadcaster of all time which is
what made him stand out among the crowd. Think the first time I heard of him
was at the 1956 political conventions.
Andrew Godfrey
[ADMINISTRIVIA: Willard Scott, being interviewed by Diane Rehm on her excellent
WAMU program, just mentioned he has been an, "Esso Reporter" on a local radio
station (I missed the call letters, unfortunately). His obit, available at:
[removed];content=article
...also talks about him being a reporter for NBC radio before making the
transition to television. --cfs3]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 14:48:05 -0400
From: "Gary Dixon" <argy@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Charlie Summers OTR question
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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Hi!
I'm amazed nobody considered SUSPENSE to the list of OTR shows that might be
updated for television. With nearly 20 years of scripts and several amazing
plots (that could probably be updated a bit)...why not?
The sad thing is that most of the original actors are no longer with us.
Joseph Kearns as "the man in black" really got listeners all fired up for the
weekly 30 minute dramatic [removed] With [removed] actors with the calibre
of an Agnes Moorehead, Herbert Marshall, or Vincent Price might be a little
difficult. The beauty of the SUSPENSE was that nearly every big-name star
(during the 40s and 50s) wanted to do at least one show.
Here's some food for thought. Several original TV episodes from THE TWILIGHT
ZONE have been adapted into a radio format. And these shows are extremely
well done. Hopefully---there's a radio station in your vicinity that airs
them?
So I guess if a classic TV show can be adapted into a successful radio format,
the opposite can happen too?
Gary Dixon
argy@[removed]
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 15:10:53 -0400
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR to TV
In discussing the concept, Dennis Crow didn't think that The Fat Man
would be a good candidate, closing with,
Actually seeing Brad Runyon would ruin the metaphor we have for him.
Well, there was a The Fat Man movie, starring J. Scott Smart as Bradford
Runyon, and it worked okay. It demonstrated that J. Scott Smart was a
good dancer, too.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 15:11:21 -0400
From: "Brian Johnson" <CHYRONOP@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Transfer to TV
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
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Much of radio comdy was "personality" driven, and the characters closely
associated with actors who portrayed them. "Fibber McGee" failed on television
precisely because Jim and Marion Jordan weren't there. The chacter of "Jack
Benny" did because it was Jack who did the part.
The passage of time may make the transfer possible now. No one is really
comparing "Joe Fridays" in the new Dragnet since only us "old fogies" have
strong memories of Jack Webb.
If there was ONE set of charcters that could find a new and appreciate
audience I think it would be John and Blanche Bickerson. They had an "edge"
before the term was invented. But could you find someone as funny as Phil Rapp
to write it?
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 15:11:32 -0400
From: George Guffey <grguffey@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: AM/FM Stereo
In Digest V2003 #233, Glen Schroeder wrote:
I grew up in Milwaukee WI and in the early
sixties . . . . My older brother had a Fischer
stereo and the tuner had seperate knobs for AM and
FM. What I remember most about it is that sounded
dumb.
Perhaps Glen's brother had the Fisher 800-B model
lovingly described at:
[removed]
This Web page contains a good deal of historical
information relevant to the current Digest thread on
early AM/FM stereo technology.
George
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 15:37:58 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: OTR Invades Life
Have any of you wondered how Olde Tyme Radio creeps into your life? I was
thinking about this the other day. It is a very important part of my life. I
have one example of this that may amuse you. Twenty years ago the Milwaukee
County Zoo began an Adopt An Animal program. The animal that I adopted was a
polar bear, (Parley Baer). Just last year the zoo notified me that for some
reason they no longer have adoptions for for the polar bears, could I select
another animal. I selected an American Black Bear named Cinnamon (Cinnamon
Bear). Small example, but there you are.
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hometown of [removed] Kaltenborn and Spencer Tracy
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 15:38:17 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Birthdays, June 13th
Birthdays for June 13th:
06-13-1890 - Elmer Davis - Aurora, IN - d. 5-18-1958
newscaster: "Elmer Davis and the News"
06-13-1892 - Basil Rathbone - Johannesburg, South Africa - d. 7-21-1967
actor: Sherlock Holmes "Sherlock Holmes"; Inspector Burke "Scotland Yard"s
Inspector Burke"
06-13-1903 - Jack Fulton - Philipsburg, PA - d. 10-17-1993
singer: "Paul Whiteman"s Painters Show"; "Moon River"
06-13-1913 - Bob Bailey - Toeldo, OH - d. 8-13-1983
actor: Johnny Dollar "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar"; George Valentine "Let
George Do It"
06-13-1913 - Ralph Edwards - Merino, CO
host, announcer: "Truth or Consequences"; "This Is Your Life"; "Original
Amateur Hour"
06-13-1916 - Mary Wickes - St. Louis, MO - d. 10-22-1995
actress: Louise "Meet Corliss Archer"; Irma Barker "Lorenzo Jones"
Deaths for June 13th:
05-30-1909 - Benny Goodman - Chicago, IL - d. 6-13-1986
bandleader: (King of Swing) "Camel Caravan"; "Victor Borge Show"
06-14-1874 - Major Edward Bowes - San Francisco, CA - d. 6-13-1946
emcee: "Capitol Family"; "Original Amateur Hour"
07-26-1896 - Charles Butterworth - South Bend, IN - d. 6-13-1946
comedian: "Fred Astaire Show"
10-10-1913 - Johnny Downs - Brooklyn, NY - d. 6-13-1994
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
11-20-1907 - Fran Allison - La Porte City, IA - d. 6-13-1989
actress, singer: Aunt Fanny, "The Breakfast Club"; "National Barn Dance";
"Uncle Ezra"
11-22-1924 - Geraldine Page - Kirksville, MO - d. 6-13-1987
actress: "Arch Obler"s Plays"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hometown of [removed] Kaltenborn and Spencer Tracy
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 18:19:15 -0400
From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: See what you're missing
Laura Leff quoted from Leo Gorcey Jr.'s "Me And the Dead End Kid" about
seeing a TV with a "strip of blue gel taped over the top two inches of the
black and white TV screen and a similar strip of green gel taped over the
bottom two inches to get "color" TV.
Actually they manufactured and sold tri-colored gels like this for TV sets,
blue on top, yellowish in the middle, and green on the bottom. You could
cut it to fit your screen size, but perhaps for a small portable they had
to cut out part of the middle section so that it was no longer in one
piece. I remember ads about this back in the 50s, and as confirmation my
brother-in-law recently found one of these gels, unused in the original
package.
But to get this on topic--do any of you remember radio stations which used
the slogan "Color Radio"? I do but I can't remember which station it was.
Probably there were stations all over the country using this--and I doubt
they were referring to an R&B format.
Michael Biel mbiel@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 18:19:42 -0400
From: John Henley <jhenley@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: YBYL revival
In his response to Charlie's query about possible TV updates
of OTR, Dominick asked
how about new versions of You Bet Your Life or It Pays To Be
Ignorant?
Well, actually, one of them's already been done - Bill Cosby's
version of You Bet Your Life which was syndicated in 1992.
He also did Kids Say the Darndest Things between 1998 and
2000. What, no one remembers these things? Maybe nobody
saw them; where I live, YBYL was always on at something like
11:30 at night.
On the other hand, Dominick also remarked
With good casting, these could still be quite funny.
Ah, maybe that was the problem.
John Henley
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 18:19:54 -0400
From: "joe@[removed]" <sergei01@[removed];
To: "OTR List" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: reverse revivals
What TV shows of today would make good radio shows?
Bonanza possibly, seems like Westerns always made good radio.
Maybe Friends.
Others?
Joe Salerno
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 18:43:55 -0400
From: Jim Widner <jwidner@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Captain Midnight on TV
Steve Kallis says:
"Also, Captain Midnight wouldn't work, except possibly as a
miniseries. Its plots are too complex for even n hour TV show."
That's assuming it would be some of the otr plots. I don't see why a 1
hour version of the characters from the series couldn't be embroiled in a
plot for that time? Just leave out some of the extraneous characters, focus
on perhaps, Midnight, Chuck, an Ivan Shark or Barracuda and then lesser
characters as needed. I think it could work easily.
Jim Widner
jwidner@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 18:47:36 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Amos n' Andy TV
Don Polite remarked:
In response to Charlie's question about which OTR shows we would like to see
revived to the TV screen, I vote for Amos n Andy. I know that it would be
next to impossible for that to happen, but I still would like to see it.
Here's hoping that Elizabeth M. could persuade the world that it has somehow
erred in it's premature burial of this great comedy. In comparison to some
of the shows I have viewed in the last 25 years, it is quite mild.
Actually, the Amos n' Andy TV shows may be tame by today's standards, but I
can recall having seen 60+ episodes that a few are a little risky. In one
episode, Kingfish goes to the local pawnshop in town to hock his wife
Saphire's jewelry for money. When the pawnshop dealer asked "Kingfish, is
this pearl cultured?" Kingfish replied, "Cultured? Why if that pearl could
speak it wouldn't speak to either one of us!"
I also observed how the few white people who occassionally show up on the TV
show are IRS agents, a police officer, and other authorities that Kingfish
and Andy tried to avoid. I can't recall any pedestrians being white on the
TV show. Course, it was just as funny as the radio program.
Martin
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #234
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