------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 40
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Longest running radio program? [ jhcollins@[removed] ]
Question about Announcing [ Shakehip@[removed] ]
Can You Top This, etal [ "rcg" <revrcg@[removed]; ]
Hal and Lillian [ Grbmd@[removed] ]
Comments [ dantrigg422@[removed] ]
Terminology [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
Re: Can You Top This? [ Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
talk radio [ Ronald Staley <mrvintageradio@earth ]
two more Clubs [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
Those "singing" canaries [ Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@erols ]
Today in radio history [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
Radio couples [ "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed] ]
Live performance [ BrianWest2@[removed] ]
"Accents: A Manual for Actors" [ Derek Tague <derek@[removed]; ]
Dec. 8th 1941 / Wrong Voices [ otrdigest@[removed] ]
More couples [ "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed] ]
History of Armed Forces Network [ "parker2" <parker2@[removed]; ]
Pratt Falls [ "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 17:26:39 -0500
From: jhcollins@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Longest running radio program?
Trivia question: What radio program started in 1946 and is still on the
air, with the same host? Does it qualify as being the longest running radio
program? -John Collins
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 18:23:20 -0500
From: Shakehip@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Question about Announcing
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I have a question for Mr. Stone, and some of the other experienced radio
actors/announcers on this list.
In addition to being a huge OTR fan, I'm also a Jazz organist (in the Jimmy
Smith, not Rosa Rio) sense of the word. I do radio interviews now and then,
and I noticed an interesting [removed] when I'm being interviewed I
notice I have a tendency to talk fast and faster as the interview goes on.
In analyzing tapes of these interviews, it seems to me that the faster you
talk on the radio, and the more words you use, the less likely your stories
are to work and your points to get across - - I'm begining to see how
important pausing and phrasing are to convey meaning [removed] things don't get
across without that proper [removed]
I'm curious about what type of training/coaching you guys received when you
first started out or what golden wisdom you could [removed] Were you guys
trained how to pace yourself ? I mean, if you were to read through a
script too quickly, you could end up with a lot of extra time on your hand,
and the material might not work - - too slow and it [removed] Could speeding
up a problem ? Of course, in a radio interview, you're not reading off a
script (even though the schpiel's might be semi rehearsed) but as a general
rule, are there any tricks and rules of thumb to consider when talking on the
radio - - are there also rules of thumb how to talk into the mic. I was
told that to avoid popping and breathing into it, you place the mic to the
side of your head (a couple of inches away) and look straight forward.
Would appreciate the wisdom of the elders !
Ed
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 18:24:46 -0500
From: "rcg" <revrcg@[removed];
To: "Otr Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Can You Top This, etal
Can You Top This was one of my favorite shows. I remember it as being
broadcast on Saturday evenings for most of it's run. The host was Ward
Wilson.
The jokes that listeners submitted were told by Peter Donald (who later
played Ajax Cassidy, a denizen of "Allens' Alley"). Mr Donald was wonderful
at dialects of all types and he did a great job of making the listeners'
joke get as big a laugh as possible.
Although there were occasional fill-in panelists, the main panel consisted
of Joe Lurie Jr., Senator Ed Ford, and Harry Hershfield. Mr. Hershfield also
was very good at dialects.
The show was simple in format but, to me, it was a treasure because it
always provided many laughs and good times.
As for the Hartz Mountain Canaries, I recall their program being broadcast
on Mutual for 15 minutes each Sunday. I believe it was either a late morning
or early afternoon show. I always got a chuckle when the annoucer intoned
"The Hartz Mountain Canaries will now sing "Ah Sweet Mystery Of Life", or
whatever. Of course all the canaries were doing was their usual chirping
while the organist played the song. I remember the opening theme as being
"Tales From The Vienna Woods". While the organist was playing the song the
announcer would be introducing the show. He would always finish his spiel a
few bars before the song ended and a Yodeler would help the organist finish
the theme by intoning, "Hartz Mountain, Hartz Mouintain, Hartz Mountain".
That, my friends, was [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 19:37:03 -0500
From: Grbmd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Hal and Lillian
David said:
I just finished Hal Stone's magnum opus "[removed], Archie! Re-laxx!" and
wanted to go on record as saying I enjoyed every page! It's not every day
that one is given the pleasure of a volume that imparts such a great deal
of
information with such warmth and wit. Great read, Hal!
I too am now going through Hal's book and am enjoying it immensely.
And I'm not jealous. No, not at all. Just because Hal wrote on p. 27 "I was
blessed with the opportunity to work with, and get to know intimately, that
wonderful film and theatre icon, Lillian Gish. Being childless, and never
married, she somehow 'adopted' me as her surrogate son off stage as well."
After all, Hal was too young to appreciate that. Right, Hal? You were too
young to really enjoy her affection "intimately," right? Tell me that you
were too young, Hal. Just because both you and she were unmarried doesn't
mean that you really got too, er, *intimate*, right?
But I'm not jealous. No, not at all.
Spence
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 19:37:13 -0500
From: dantrigg422@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Comments
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Have been listening to a series of "The Adventures Of Horatio Hornblower"
which I find Fascinating. Hornblower is portrayed byMicheal Redgrave and we
learn of the strengths, weaknesses, fears, and courage of this man. I don't
think I've listened to a show that went into so much depth of the hero.
As to what is good OTR I have not found a show I would not give a 2nd. or
3rd. listen.
I cannot get enough Amos n Andy, but hey, we are all different, and it would
be a real dull world if we were not.
I finished Hall's book a couple of weeks ago, and it made me feel like this
is a guy who really is good people. Better folks than myself have described
how good it is, so the only thing I will say is Hal, When can we expect the
next one?
Dan
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 19:38:05 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Terminology
Stephen Jansen, speaking of a term for those who aren't "into" OTR,
suggests,
I would probably use the term VIDIOTS ... Maybe something less
derogatory, something <snip> that wouldn't offend the delicate
sensibilities of today's average sheep - er, consumer. How about
IMAGINATION-IMPAIRED? ... Possibly an [removed] pronounced
DoKWoTAM? Don't Know What They Are Missing?
I don't think we should be that ... confrontational. It happens that not
everybody shares our tastes. There are some other interests I have that
might bore others in OTR to tears. I'm certain that there are others who
have other interests that would bore me to tears. As it happens, there
are several television programs I watch regularly. Does that mean that I
like OTR less? No way. I also like reading books, which, if we have to
go down that "theater of the mind" road, take even more imagination than
listening to OTR recordings: there aren't even clues by intonation or
sound effects.
In my opinion, it isn't constructive to use inferentially negative terms
for this classification to those who aren't into OTR. My wife has heard
some episodes of Pat Novak For Hire, but overall, she isn't very
interested in OTR (not even Captain Midnight, though my book is dedicated
in part to her, and she liked it when I flew her places in my Piper
Cherokee). But she isn't glued to the Tube either.
! It is our responsibility to introduce them to our little niche
hobby, to save their brains from the numbing effects of mass-media/lowest
common denominator/"I-guess-that's-good-enough" tripe flowing from
today's radios, televisions, and movie theaters.
Every medium has mediocre stuff, and great stuff, too. Statistics
suggests that there's more mediocre stuff than outstanding stuff,
regardless of medium. Arguing the merits of one medium over another,
IMHO, suggests a less than full understanding of each. To use a
gastronomic example, most people like variety in what they eat: few
people could stand a steady diet of filet mignon, but periodically, it's
a treat.
This is not to suggest that within each medium, there's no variety.
There is. But each medium is different. Jack Benny was at his apex in
OTR; Ernie Kovacs, on television. Media comparison, IMHO, is not
constructive.
I chose as my term, "off-frequency folk," or OFF. They're "tuned in" to
something else.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 19:38:40 -0500
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Can You Top This?
As a young child, I remember listening to Can You Top This? In fact, I even
have a paper back book of the same name with jokes from the program. I can
remember trying to tell these jokes back when I was in high school, and of
course by then the jokes were almost 20 years old. So, the other students
just came out and told me my jokes were stale.
High School was not one of my best times.
"In my house we never use bread, only toast"
The above is a quote from one of the jokes from the program.
Fred
For the best in Old Time Radio Shows [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 19:44:49 -0500
From: Ronald Staley <mrvintageradio@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: talk radio
If you really want to go back, Barry Gray might be considered
one of the
father's of talk radio.
Gray's Supper club and his other shows on WOR, put him in good stead of
being known by some as the "father of Talk Radio."
Of course what is talk radio but in some cases an announcer prattling on
about this or that subject, and as an addition a phonecall or two.
There are many talk radio personalities, Jack Carney being one of them, and
all contributed mightily to the golden days.
If you consider golden days to be from radio's inception to 1962, you cut
off some wonderful years in which "talk" radio was formed.
ron staley
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 20:36:54 -0500
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: two more Clubs
Hi Everybody, I am looking for the email or telephone numbers of the
Chattanooga OTR Club and the Illinois OTR Club. In order to make the offer
of an interview on Yesterday USA. Please email me off list,
take care,
Walden Hughes
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 23:48:17 -0500
From: Jack & Cathy French <otrpiano@[removed];
To: OTRBB <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Those "singing" canaries
Candy Jens writes:
One of the sillier programs, as I recall, was the Hartz Mountain
canaries.
Of course they didn't "sing" to the tunes played - I suspect a mike was
placed in a cage of birds and turned on/off as the organist played. It
must
have been popular, though.
Over the years in the Golden Age of Radio, there were many "singing'
canary shows, although the one sponsored by Hartz lasted the longest.
Under different titles, "Radio Canaries", "American Radio Warblers",
"The Canary Pet Show", and "Master Radio Canaries", it ran on Mutual,
on-and-off, from 1937 to 1956.
On the first singing canaries radio shows was KOIL in Omaha which had
"Canary Beauty Box Review" on the air from 1935, sponsored by the
Geisler Bird Company of Omaha. Another one was "Canary Chorus" from
WGN-Mutual which began Oct 29, 1937, and was sponsored by American Bird
Products of Chicago.
In none of these was a mike placed in their cage and turned off when
organist played. The birds would start off chirping and the organ, or a
string trio, would launch into a classical tune, frequently a Strauss
waltz and thus "amplify" the birds' song. To the untrained or unwary
ear, the birds were also "carrying" the tune. And yes, the shows were
very popular.
I can recall my mother, as other neighbors did who owned canaries,
pushing the canary cage closer to the radio so her canary could learn to
"sing a tune" like those talented ones on the radio.
So let's hear it for Tweetie Bird!
Jack French
Editor: RADIO RECALL
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 10:45:11 -0500
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Today in radio history
>From Those Were The Days --
1931 - NBC introduced listeners to Clara, Lu 'n' Em on its Blue network.
The show became the first daytime radio serial when it was moved from
its original nighttime slot.
1948 - Wire Recording Corporation of America announced the first
magnetic tape recorder. The 'Wireway' machine with a built-in oscillator
sold for $[removed]
1956 - The CBS Radio Workshop was heard for the first time. This first
broadcast featured Aldous Huxley narrating his classic, Brave New World.
Joe
--
Visit my home page:
[removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 10:47:14 -0500
From: "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed];
To: "otr message" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Radio couples
The talk of Lucille Fletcher reminded me that she was married to Bernard
Herrmann, the great music man. So, then I started thinking of married folks
who were both in radio:
Cathy and Elliott Lewis, Frank and Anne Hummert, William Spier and June
Havoc,
Virginia Gregg and Jaime del Valle, Georgia Ellis and Antony Ellis, Howard
Duff and Ida Lupino, Burns and Allen, Jack and Mary, Marion and Jim Jordan,
Mary Jane Croft and Elliott Lewis, Joan Banks and Frank Lovejoy, Fred and
Portland, Ronald and Benita Hume Colman, Phil Harris and Alice Faye, Harold
Peary and Gloria Holliday,
Bea Wain and Andre Baruch, Court Benson and Grace Matthews, Jeanette Nolan
and John McIntire, Mercedes McCambridge and Fletcher Markle, Orson Welles
and Rita [removed] me out and name some more.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 10:47:42 -0500
From: BrianWest2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Live performance
Mr. Stone responded to a question posed about live performances which
reminded me of a question that I've been meaning to ask. I listen to a lot of
variety/comedy shows like Jack Benny, Bob Hope, etc and whenever they
introduce someone there is a loud round of applause as if the person just
showed up on stage. Is that what happened on these shows or were the people
on stage and when there name was mentioned the audience just started
applauding? Was there a cue person holding up a sign that read applause?
Brian West
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 10:45:36 -0500
From: Derek Tague <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: "Accents: A Manual for Actors"
Hi Gang:
I really can't add to or say anything pertinent to the on-going
discussion of the development of American accents; but, I would like to
recommend an instructional book on the subject written by Talking Book
actor/reader, & a master dialectician himself, Robert Blumenfeld.
The book is titled "ACCENTS: A Manual for Actors, Revised and Expanded
Edition" by Robert Blumenfeld. It retails for $[removed] and comes with an
instructional CD. [ISBN 0-87910-967-X].
The revised edition was published in 2002. For more info, contact the
publisher Limelight Editions; Phone [NYC]: (212) 532-5525, or visit
<[removed];.
I actually helped out in the preparation for this book. I was partially
responsible for the practice sentence on p. 38 involving variant British
pronunciations.
Enjoy!
Yours in the ether,
Derek Tague
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 10:47:27 -0500
From: otrdigest@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Dec. 8th 1941 / Wrong Voices
1. Is the broadcast day of Dec. 8th, 1941 available
for sale anywhere? (Day after Attack on Pearl Harbor,
not the Day of Attack)
2. Are there any good examples in Amos n Andy or Lum
and Abner, where an actor was playing multiple roles
in a scene and forgot to switch voices?
Andrew Steinberg
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 12:40:01 -0500
From: "Don Frey" <alanladdsr@[removed];
To: "otr message" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: More couples
Thought of some more: Lurene Tuttle and Melville Ruick, Frank Nelson and
Veola
Vonn, Janet Waldo and Robert E. Lee (wrote for radio as well as hit
musicals)
and Don Wilson and Lois Corbet (I think)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 13:54:25 -0500
From: "parker2" <parker2@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: History of Armed Forces Network
I have barely scratched the surface on obtaining information and old audio
of AFRTS, AFN or what ever you knew it as-- I am dedicating a section just
to military radio and the broadcast to the families at home as well--
[removed] directly to the afn info is
[removed]
Please take the time and see if you have nay input for it-- you will also
see I am posting the names of those that contribute info and [removed] I hope
to eventually have all of the audio on line also
respectfully
Paul Kasper
parker2@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 16:20:07 -0500
From: "Walden Hughes" <hughes1@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Pratt Falls
Hi Everybody, Hal was mentioning in his last post about doing Pratt Falls.
I am wondering where there any tricks in doing a Pratt fall from keeping the
chance of hurting your self to a minimum? Take care,
Walden Hughes
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #40
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