------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2005 : Issue 102
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Re: Don Pardo [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
MP-3 Players [ Richard Fisher <w9fjl@[removed]; ]
Book Review: [removed], Archie! Re- [ "Chuck Case" <ccase3@[removed]; ]
Stan Freburg and the twilight of OTR [ David Loftus <dloft59@[removed] ]
3-30 births/deathc [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Early TV [ OTRadiofan@[removed] (Stuart Lubin) ]
Re: Better On TV [ "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed]; ]
Roger Krupp [ "thomas" <evander800@[removed]; ]
WWRL [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
SFX: The Lone Ranger, and Location R [ "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed]; ]
#OldRadio IRC Chat this Thursday Nig [ charlie@[removed] ]
More on Zach, [removed] And Chris Stein [ jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns) ]
John & Marsha [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
Margot Stevenson and Laurel & Hardy [ Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@earthlin ]
best detective/mystery [ "William Vest III" <tsukasasan@hotm ]
3-31 births/death [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 16:17:20 -0500
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Don Pardo
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In a message dated 3/28/05 3:02:26 PM Central Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
isn't don pardo the last staff announcer (did he depart this world when i
wasn't paying attention or have i just not watched saturday night live for a
long time?
Don Pardo still opens "Saturday Night Live," or did as recently as the week
Paris Hilton guest-hosted. But I think that's all he does on NBC now and it
may even be pre-recorded. He may not be on staff specifically at NBC anymore,
as I heard his voice about five years ago in a Frosted Cheerios commercial
that
ran on all broadcast and cable TV networks.
I love hearing Pardo's voice, and was pleasantly surprised to hear him open a
"Colgate Comedy Hour" with Abbott and Costello that I bought not long ago on
VHS at a discount store. I would love to hear him just doing an OTR big band
remote and I understand there's at least one recording that does exist of his
doing that.
Dixon
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 16:17:55 -0500
From: Richard Fisher <w9fjl@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: MP-3 Players
First, I have no connection with this company or anyone who sells this
product.
I recently purchased an Audiovox D1708 Portable 7" LCD Monitor and DVD
Player. Cost here in Hamilton, Ohio was $[removed]
To my surprise it plays low bit rate MP-3 with no problem. I have tried
it with a disc containing 100 shows and it performs magnificently.
However, it does NOT remember where you stopped or on what show. But it
does have a credit card thin remote which lets you fast forward up to
36x which is a great help. You skip to your last show and press fast
forward and do not have to hold onto the fast forward button. Just press
stop when you get where you want to go. The show number and minutes and
seconds are displayed on the screen.
Another plus is that it also plays DVD minus R home recorded DVD's. I
copy movies from HBO or the networks and then can watch them on this
player when I am away from home.
It may play DVD plus R discs but I have none to try.
It of course plays regular CD's and has two headphone jacks or you can
listen on the built-in speakers.
You have a complete home entertainment center in one small portable
unit. Battery life playing DVD's is listed as 3 hours (which I doubt).
Probably 2 hours is more likely. Plugs into your cigarette lighter in
the car.
Hope this is of interest to someone.
Dick
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 16:18:26 -0500
From: "Chuck Case" <ccase3@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Book Review: [removed], Archie! Re-Laxx!
Mr. Stone,
I finished your brilliant book about 1 week ago and I thought it was
excellent. I was not around when Radio was in its heyday. I now feel like I
know some of what went on. I really enjoyed all of the stories and a look at
what some of my favorite perfomers looked like.
I cut my OTR teeth on CBS Radio Mystery Theater so it was really great
to hear about and see Mason Adams, Leon Janney, Arnold Moss, and Robert
Dryden just to name a few.
I have listened to a few of the Archie Shows. How mwny do exist? I am
interested in getting more to listen to. If you could point me in the
direction of more Archie Andrews shows I would appreciate it.
In closing I would like to say THANK YOU for all of the great
performances and all of the memories that you have let us peek in on, in
your book.
Thanks Again
Chuck Case
[removed] If you write Part II I would like to put my order in right [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 16:19:11 -0500
From: David Loftus <dloft59@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Stan Freburg and the twilight of OTR
Thanks to the generosity of another list member, I have been able to listen
to the entire run of 16 shows that Stan Freburg and his wonderful cast did in
the wake of Jack Benny's departure for television. I've always loved June
Foray, but this time around I've especially enjoyed hearing all the many
voices of Daws Butler -- you can hear hints of the future Huckleberry Hound,
Yogie Bear, Augie Doggie, and Snagglepuss in his characters for Freburg.
Does anybody know who did the terrific voice of the Abominable Snowman in the
various Freburg sketches? Was that Butler or Peter Leeds?
What a brilliant, but shockingly short series it was. In retrospect, there's
an elegiac irony to the arc of the Stan Freburg series: the theme song starts
out boisterous, almost combative, for most of the run:
"You may not find us on your TV,
Because in case you did not know,
We're being brought to you on. . .
brought to you on . . .
Brought to you on R-A-D-I-O!"
But by the last two shows, the humor includes rueful references to Freburg's
inability to land sponsors (among which the sizable sketch about Freburg
advertising himself must be counted), and the theme song changes to:
"You may well find us on your TV,
Because in case you did not know
We're bidding fond farewell to . . . . R-A-D-I-O."
David Loftus
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 16:25:58 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 3-30 births/deathc
March 30th births
03-30-1892 - Ethel Owen, Racine WI - d. 12-28-1990
actress: Siri Allen "Against the Storm"; Clara Noble "Backstage Wife"
03-30-1893 - Dennis Hoey - London, England - d. 7-25-1960
actor: Edward Welby "Pretty Kitty Kelly"
03-30-1896 - Samson Raphaelson - NYC - d. 7-16-1983
playwright: "Lux Radio Theatre"
03-30-1913 - Frankie Laine - Chicago, IL
singer: "Big Show"
03-30-1919 - Turhan Bey - Vienna, Austria
actor: Francois Tarique "Notorious Tarique"
03-30-1926 - Bill Farrell - Cleveland, OH
singer: "Bob Hope Show"
03-30-1927 - Peter Marshall - Huntington, WV
actor: "Hollywood Radio Theatre"
03-30-1929 - Richard Dysart - Augusta, ME
actor: "We Hold These Truths"
03-30-1930 - John Astin - Baltimore, MD
actor: "Zero Hour"
March 30th deaths
01-11-1902 - Charlie Nehlsen - d. 3-30-1980
engineer: Recorded Hindenburg disaster as reported by Herb Morrison
07-17-1899 - James Cagney - NYC - d. 3-30-1986
actor: "Arch Oboler's Plays"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
07-25-1905 - Harold Peary - San Leandero, CA - d. 3-30-1985
actor: Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve , "Fibber McGee and Molly and The
Great Gildersleeve"
09-17-1890 - Gabriel Heatter - NYC - d. 3-30-1972
news, commentator: "News and Comment"; "We. the People"
11-20-1908 - Alistair Cooke - Manchester, England - d. 3-30-2004
host: "Transatlantic Quiz"; "Letter to America"; "Stage and Screen"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 16:25:52 -0500
From: OTRadiofan@[removed] (Stuart Lubin)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Early TV
Derek Teague had a question about TV performers of the 60's and 70's who
are now doing "OTR-related pursuits". A quick perusal of the list of
performers in OTR conventions can give Derek the answer that he is
looking for. The only one I can think of off-hand is Harold Gould, whom
I admiringly remember from "Golden Girls" (Miles, the suitor of Rose).
Mr. Gould has become a regular at SPERDVAC conventions, performing in
re-creations. He is part of Greg Oppenheimer's (son of Jess
Oppenheimer, radio's "My Favorite Husband" and tv's "I Love Lucy")
prestigious group of actors.
I was one of the persons who contributed here on the Digest, on
information about Linda Kaye Henning, and I brought in the Paul Henning
connection. At the time, I was unaware that Paul was still living, and
I apologize for any confusion that might have caused. Our condolences
go to Linda Kaye in the recent loss of her father, Paul Henning.
Stuart Lubin
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 18:43:36 -0500
From: "Brian L Bedsworth" <az2pa@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Better On TV
Off the top of my head, I can think of several shows that exceeded their
radio origins on early TV:
Father Knows Best (far superior talent on the video side's cast)
Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (though this could be more directly
attributable to the boys' growing older and developing distinctive
personalities that could be mined for stories than the move to TV per se)
You Bet Your Life (even though Groucho was such a verbal comedian, often a
sense of his facial and other physical mannerisms really helped to grasp the
subtleties of his performance)
Our Miss Brooks (no worse than the second-best long-running TV sitcom of its
era)
The Milton Berle Show (duh!)
Burns and Allen (as great as the 1940s married-couple radio show was, their
TV series was absolutely groundbreaking in both its technical and artistic
innovation, still copied directly by shows today)
Adventures of Superman (the astoundingly bad one-note characterizations of
Perry White [vicious, insulting] and Lois Lane [arrogant, conniving; check
out her career-climbing backstabbing in the Kryptonite/Scarlet Widow/Atom
Man era!] from the radio days were replaced with genuinely human rethinkings
of both; Jimmy Olsen [stupid, hypercautious] and Clark Kent [hysterical,
unpersuasive] were both allowed to act in something resembling a resourceful
manner)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 19:34:07 -0500
From: "thomas" <evander800@[removed];
To: "old_time_radio" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Roger Krupp
Lee Munsick says Ray Poindexter identified Robert Krupp as playing the
role of radio announcer in the 1932 film, "Are You Listening?". The AFI
catalog of feature films for 1931-40 lists Frank Whitbeck as the radio
announcer.
Tom
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 22:37:21 -0500
From: PURKASZ@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: WWRL
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In 1967 it was both my horror and my delight to be hired as the All-Night
House Party DJ at WWRL.
I was a big hit in the Bay Area of San Francisco in 1966 and requested a
change of venue so that I might study acting with Stella Adler.
They agreed.
I arrived on my 25th birthday, October first and I knew it was a haunted
house the moment I walked up the stairs but what I didn't know was that it
has the history it seems to have in the world of radio historians.
I do remember a night when the wife of Willie Mays came to the studio
with her daughter to visit me.
I was the only white guy on the air but that was my choice as I always
preferred the Motown sound to many of the 'Bubble gum' tunes of the 60s.
I knew then that I was in an historical place but like many of my past
adventures, it came to me only after I had left.
They fired me for not adhering to the 'play list' which was odd as I was
sure I would NEVER have the problem once I got on a real R&B station.
The list was put together by a nineteen year old guy I never met. When I
reminded me that they had hired my from the base in San Francisco, KDIA and
that I was known to play records from other eras with impunity, I was
reminded once again that I was fired.
Sigh.
WWRL, beloved in my memory and proud to have been a player at one time.
Michael C. Gwynne
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 23:14:33 -0500
From: "R. R. King" <kingrr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: SFX: The Lone Ranger, and Location Recording
Now, a question for the group: are there any examples of location
production from the Golden Age? I'm talking about drama or comedy
(not
news!) produced with the actors outside the studio, with mics
picking up
the actual sounds of the place and the players.
Of course, Ted is asking about actors on location, and I got so
carried away quoting that "Empire-Builders-sound-effects-on-the-roof"
stuff that I forgot to mention the one really relevant instance I knew
of where Wyllis Cooper took his actors out of the studio. In 1935-6,
at the same time he was doing "Lights Out" in Chicago, Cooper also did
an afternoon adventure series about aviators. Here's a couple of
blurbs from the Chicago Tribune:
[from August 1, 1935] Realistic sound effects for NBC's radio serial
"Flying Time," will be provided by the roar of the world's fastest
racing planes when the Aug. 30 and Sept. 2 shows are broadcast from
the Cleveland airport during the National Air races. The scripts for
the two broadcasts which will originate from the flying field will be
written at the airport and will be prepared so as to include much of
the action of the air races. They will also bring to the microphone as
guest performers many famous pilots, including Jimmy Doolittle, Roscoe
Turner, Jimmy and May Haislip and Al Williams. ...
[from August 29, 1935]... With other members of the "Flying Time" cast
Cooper left yesterday for Cleveland, where the program will be aired
from the airport during the national air races. Loretta Poynton,
Willard Farnum, Ted Maxwell, and Harold Perry made the trip with him.
...
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 08:42:04 -0500
From: charlie@[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 six years, same time, same channel! Started by Lois Culver, widow
of actor Howard Culver, this is the place to be on Thursday night for
real-time OTR talk!
Our "regulars" include OTR actors, soundmen, collectors, listeners, and
others interested in enjoying OTR from points all over the world. Discussions
range from favorite shows to almost anything else under the sun (sometimes
it's hard for us to stay on-topic)...but even if it isn't always focused,
it's always a good time!
For more info, contact charlie@[removed]. We hope to see you there, this
week and every week!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 08:42:18 -0500
From: jameshburns@[removed] (Jim Burns)
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: More on Zach, [removed] And Chris Steinbrenner
Oh, Lee Munsick, that was ME who provided the Brother Theodore, theatre
[removed]!
:-)
But onto something really [removed]
;-)
One of my oldest friends, gone now, unbelievably, since the summer of
1993, was Chris Steinbrenner--also, I know, a friend to many of you
here. Chris was an OTR buff, historian, and [removed]
Right out of college, in the '50s Chris went to work at WOR, where he
would spend--through its RKO/General Tire incarnation--his entire
professional life. Chris wrote such books as CINEMA OF THE FANTASTIC,
and THE FILMS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, and co-edited the Edgar Award winning
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MYSTERY, a landmark reference book, from the '70s, which
contained much OTR material.
Chris did a monthly column for ELLERY QUEEN's MYSTERY MAGAZINE, and was
a muckety-muck with the Mystery Writers of [removed] If I recall, he
was also at many of the early OTR conventions, and possibly, if I'm
guessing correctly here, helped with some film [removed]
Working at WOR in the 1950s, Chris was a major contributor to the
Zacherly show, helping introduce, so many, to the classic horror movies.
Zacherly, an incredibly nice man, remained a loyal friend to Chris, to
the [removed]
But, also when a young man--Tony Tollin would remember if this had been
based strictly on a spec submission--Steinbrenner wrote one of the last
episodes, of THE [removed]
Nearly three decades later, when Chris was co-producing the 1983 edition
of the annual Bouchercon--the mystery convention presented in a
different city each year--in Manhattan, he booked Walter Gibson, as one
of their main guests.
And it was there, on a dark and shimmering night, that I saw the
Shadow's scribe, and Harry Houdini's one-time ghost writer--
Was Gibson now in his eighties?
Perform his famous, magic [removed]
Best, Jim Burns
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 08:44:56 -0500
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: John & Marsha
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With the pasing of attorney Johnnie Cochran, I'm reminded of this story
involving Stan Freberg.
In 1996, Freberg released his long-awaited sequel album "Stan Freberg
Presents The United States of America, Volume 2," and, at one point,
was the guest on a call-in talk-show on WFMU-FM here in New Jersey.
When I called, I mentioned how in the previous year when the O. J. Simpson
trial was going full-throttle, John and Larry Gassman dusted off Freberg's
old "John and Marsha" side on their radio show and decicated it to opposing
lawyers Johnnie Cochran and Marcia Clark.
When I brought up the Gassman brothers by qualifying them as being big
names on the "West Coast old-time radio scene," Stan chimed in that
they were "very good friends" of his. Stan then went on to say that other
radio stations around the country picked up on the "John and Marsha"
ploy, going so far as to introduce it as having been recorded by Cochran
& Clark, and that there were some unsuspecting listeners unfamiliar
with the original who actually believed that the latter day "John and
Marcia" recorded [removed] I find this quite implausible.
Ether!
Derek
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 10:27:02 -0500
From: Anthony Tollin <sanctumotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Margot Stevenson and Laurel & Hardy on TCM
OTR fans who know Margot Stevenson from the annual FRIENDS OF OLD-TIME RADIO
CONVENTION might want to set their VCRs to tape one of her 1940 movies.
Margot appears opposite May Robson and Harry Davenport in GRANNIE GET YOUR
GUN, which will be broadcast at 5:00 AM EST this Saturday on TURNER CLASSIC
MOVIES. This airs not long after TCM's day-long April Fool's Day tribute to
Laurel and Hardy which begins at 6:00 AM Friday. Films include MGM's Big
Parade Of Comedy (1964), Pack Up Your Troubles (1932), Beau Hunks (1931),
The Bohemian Girl (1936), Them Thar Hills (1934), Tit For Tat (1935), Pick A
Star (1937), Chicken Come Home (1931), Nothing but Trouble (1944), Air Raid
Wardens (1943), A Chump at Oxford (1940), Swiss Miss (1938), Way Out West
(1937), Sons of the Desert (1933), The Music Box (1932), Block-Heads (1938),
Pardon Us (1931) and Blotto (1930). Margot Stevenson's GRANNIE GET YOUR GUN
will be immediately preceded by a documentaru on the history and influence
of England's Ealing Studios. Hey, I'm programming my VCR. --ANTHONY TOLLIN
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 10:35:32 -0500
From: "William Vest III" <tsukasasan@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: best detective/mystery
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Best detective / mystery show?
In no particular order:
I really like Dragnet. I guess for it's realism. The plainness of it all gives
it excitement (if that makes any sense).
Nightbeat also does it for me. I like Frank Lovejoy. I thought the way the
story was told was done very well. Lovejoy has a fantastic voice. (One of my
favorite episodes he was in [I think it was him] was "The Man Who Stole The
Bible" from Escape!)
Following these would be Box 13 and Richard Diamond. Although Richard Diamond
didn't seem as serious. Maybe that's what appealed to me.
There are so many others great shows but those are the ones that stand out to
me.
I like Escape and Suspense but for me there were only a few episodes I liked.
It wasn't consistent. Especially The early years of Escape.
I dunno. That's my two cents worth.
Wm. Vest III
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 14:30:40 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 3-31 births/death
March 31st births
03-31-1908 - Les Damon - Providence, RI - d. 7-20-1962
actor: Nick Charles "Advs. of the Thin Man"; Michael Waring "The
Falcon"
03-31-1908 - Red Norvo - Beardstown, IL - d. 4-6-1999
jazz vibraphonist: "Bughouse Rhythm"; "Mildred Bailey Show"; "Woody
Herman Show"
03-31-1915 - Henry Morgan - NYC - d. 5-19-1994
comedian: "Here's Morgan"; "Henry Morgan Show"
03-31-1918 - Charles Russell - NYC - d. 1-18-1985
actor: Johnny Dollar "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar"
03-31-1922 - Richard Kiley - Chicago, IL - d. 3-5-1999
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
03-31-1928 - Lefty Frizzell - Corsicana, TX - d. 7-19-1975
singer: "Grand Ole Opry"; "Louisana Hayride"; "Big D Jamboree"
03-31-1933 - Anita Carter - Maces Springs, VA - d. 7-29-1999
singer: (Carter Sisters) "Country Music Time"; "Grand Ole Opry"
03-31-1934 - Shirley Jones - Smithton, PA
singer-actress: "Calling All Hearts"; "Stars for Defense"; "Special
Delivery: Vietnam"
March 31st death
06-19-1928 - Barry Took - London, England - d. 3-31-2002
writer, comedian: "Round the Horne"; "We're In Business"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #102
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