------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2005 : Issue 86
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
recastings of Let's pretend & other [ <cooldown3@[removed]; ]
OTR on Cable/dish [ <cooldown3@[removed]; ]
OTR copyright [ JackBenny@[removed] ]
Stella Dallas [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
3-17 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
OTR recreations [ David Loftus <dloft59@[removed] ]
MARE Meeting [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Radio Spirits [ danhughes@[removed] ]
monthly magazines [ Jolt19781@[removed] ]
ABC News Features Arthur Anderson! [ seandd@[removed] ]
Radio Logs additional [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
SCI-FI ON OTR [ "randy story" <hopharrigan@centuryt ]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 12:13:29 -0500
From: <cooldown3@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: recastings of Let's pretend & other shows
Hi All,
It would be nive to be able to purchase the recerations at some time.
I would hope there is not the corporate overhead imposed on the sales price
as is the current practice in the music world.
Cheers,
Patrick
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 12:13:41 -0500
From: <cooldown3@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR on Cable/dish
Hi All,
My local cable company streams about 50 channels of music over it's
facilities here in Bowling Green, Ky.
I cannot see why some enterprising OTR oriented nradio station cannot make a
deal with local or even national cable providers to be carried [gratis at
first] and make some significant revinue because of increased listenership.
All entertainment industries have forgotton how to think outside their
traditional box.
If The moving picture and record industry are feeling the needs for enhanced
revinue why do they not "piggyback" the Movie soundrtack albums to the
theater playing the show and have increased revinues by sales of the album
at the ticket window. A little something extra for everybody concerned. I
spent some time in sales at one point in my life and always found it was a
good thing to offer product when the customer was enthusiastic.
One could presell dvds for the same movie at the same time, giving a pre
pressing signal to the movie industry.
Cheers,
Patrick
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 12:13:46 -0500
From: JackBenny@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR copyright
Rick Keating writes:
Plus, from what I've read, some of the "dealers" who
criticized Amari unfortunately appeared to be upset
about a potential loss of income, rather than any love
of OTR; and also didn't seem to give a damn about the
rights of those who owned the programs. And I put the
word dealers in quotes in those cases, because of
that.
I was once surfing Ebay, and happened to click on one of the CD collections
of MP3 shows. I normally don't do that because I've got so much at my
disposal already with the club, but I noticed a "preview" photo and wanted to
see a
larger version of it. In looking at it, I noticed a disclaimer saying words
to the effect of: "All information contained in this offer is public
domain. If anyone knows this material to not be public domain, please
contact us
at (E-mail address)."
Having researched the copyright of the Benny radio shows with a lawyer and
knowing them not to be public domain, I dropped an E-mail to the indicated
address explaining such. And the response was a bunch of nasty epithets
about
me "picking on" the dealer and "singling [him/her] out for abuse", and
casting
aspersions on my character and the club. I never made any threats or said
that s/he must stop selling the shows, I simply responded to the open
invitation in the text of their listing.
It's a very mixed bag, this copyright question. I'm an author too, and I
believe in the rights of the copyright holders. But there are a lot of
people
who have been exposed to Jack through the illegal sets and shows floating
around. Would as many people be interested in Jack's work without it being
so
readily available? Hard to say.
--Laura Leff
President, IJBFC
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 12:46:15 -0500
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Stella Dallas
New reader Elizabeth Bartz ponders over what type of plots were used to keep
Stella Dallas moving on weekday radio all those years. How about everything
from the ridiculous to the sublime?
In many ways the serial with an overarching dark theme had lighter moments
of mirth as the rather uncouth seamstress of Boston found herself involved
in ludicrous antics. Take for instance the time Mad Ada Dexter, a quite
deranged figure, and her chauffeur Rolfe were headed for the golf course at
the local country club, gunning (literally) for Dick Grosvenor, Stel's
son-in-law and spouse of Lolly-Baby. Unable to locate Dick to warn him of
impending danger, the quick-witted Stella hired a sound truck and merrily
rolled along over the greens, shouting through the PA system: "Dick
Grosvenor, take cover! Dick Grosvenor, take cover!" The normal melodrama
appeared to dissolve into pure comic relief at times, more frequently than
one would anticipate.
Easily the best recalled of Stella's adventures over a 17-year NBC run
(1938-55) was when she trailed Arabian sheik Ahmead Ben Akbar, who
controlled an unidentified Middle Eastern empire, all the way to his
continental lair in search of Lolly-Baby, who had been ferreted away from
her palatial Boston digs. (Small digs, compared to the big one in
contemporary times!) He pretended to be his much nicer twin brother, Sheik
Rahshed, when he snatched poor Lolly, but an invincible Stella knew that he
was little more than a wolf in sheik's clothing! The side-splitting account
of what transpired is detailed in my book "The Great Radio Soap Operas"
([removed], 800-253-2187). The program also is referenced
frequently in my book "Frank and Anne Hummert's Radio Factory" (same
publisher).
Elizabeth Bartz observes that when the 1937 Barbara Stanwyck film ended the
audience had the impression that Lolly-Baby and her "Mummy" (Lolly's term)
would go their separate ways. Ah yes, that's true! But the Hummerts
wouldn't have had a yarn to stand on if those characters hadn't intermingled
in radio. Hence, you had a wordy epigraph every day that was far from the
literal truth in the aural rendition: "We give you now Stella Dallas, a
continuation on the air of the true to life story of mother love and
sacrifice in which Stella Dallas saw her beloved daughter Laurel marry into
wealth and society and -- realizing the differences in their tastes and
worlds -- went out of Laurel's life. These episodes in the later life of
Stella Dallas are based on the famous novel of that name by Olive Higgins
Prouty and are written by Anne Hummert." The organ theme fit perfectly:
"How Can I Leave Thee?"
Except, also -- Anne Hummert didn't write it (just took credit; the
installments were penned by legions of nameless wordsmiths on the Hummert
assembly line), and Ms. Prouty wasn't "proud" at all of what the Hummerts
did to her storyline. She even refused to listen to the show!
What else did Stella do? Mix with the mob (in the closing weeks of the long
run it appeared that she and her ex were about to be done in by them) and
interact with plenty of other gangster types across the years. She didn't
fit into the uppercrust society of a proper Boston, hence there were
conflicts between her and Lolly's mother-in-law, Mrs. Grosvenor. But Stel's
son-in-law was a down-to-earth guy who revered her greatly. And her
landlady, Minnie Grady, was always available to discuss the problems
weighing on her. Living near the harbor, she generated a boatload of
issues. "Lolly-Baby, I ain't got no time for nothin' but trouble!" was her
best remembered line, said the sterling actress with the basal voice, Anne
Elstner, who played her all those years.
Lolly couldn't go to the bathroom by herself but thank goodness she had a
mama who could look out for her. It made for a fascinating romp, one nobody
took seriously, and probably left every afternoon chuckling to themselves.
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 15:54:08 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 3-17 births/deaths
March 17th births
03-17-1879 - Sid Grauman - Indianapolis, IN - d. 3-5-1950
theatre owner: Intermission Guest "Lux Radio Theatre"
03-17-1884 - Frank Buck - Gainesville, TX - d. 2-25-1950
wild animal hunter: "Bring 'em Back Alive"
03-17-1892 - Ferde Grofe - NYC - d. 4-3-1972
conductor, composer: (The Grand Canyon Suite) "Florsheim Frolic"
03-17-1901 - Alfred Newman - New Haven, CT - d. 2-17-1970
composer, conductor: "Hollywood Star Time"; "Radio Hall of Fame";
"Silver Theatre"
03-17-1902 - Jimmy Grier - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 6-4-1959
orchestra leader: "Woodbury Soap Show"
03-17-1906 - Michael O'Shea - Hartford, CT - d. 12-3-1973
actor: "Textron Theatre"; "Radio Reader's Digest"; "Philip Morris
Playhouse"
03-17-1910 - Molly Weir - Glasgow, Scotland - d. 12-1-2004
actress: Tattie McIntosh "It's That Man Again"; Aggie "Life with the
Lyons"
03-17-1915 - Joel Cranston - Iowa
actor: "Fort Laramie"; "Gunsmoke"; "Escape"; "Have Gun, Will Travel"
03-17-1916 - Karl Weber - Columbus Junction, IA - d. 7-30-1990
actor: Ray Matson "Dr. Six Gun"; Phil Stanley "When a Girl Marries"
03-17-1918 - Bill Felton - Greenland, MI (Raised: Appleton, WI) - d.
1-20-2005
newscaster, disc jockey: "Valley Varieties"; "Recreation Room"
03-17-1919 - Nat "King" Cole - Montgomery, AL - d. 2-15-1965
singer: "King Cole Trio Time"
03-17-1930 - Grover C. Mitchell - Whatley, AL - d. 8-6-2003
big band trombonist: "Count Basie and His Orchestra"; "Bring Back the
Bands"
March 17th deaths
02-21-1880 - Frank Orth - Philadelphia, PA - d. 3-17-1962
actor: Inspector Faraday "Boston Blackie"
04-11-1902 - Quentin Reynolds - NYC - d. 3-17-1965
author: "Britain Speaks"; "Quentin Reynolds"; "Keep 'Em Rolling"
05-31-1894 - Fred Allen - Cambridge, MA - d. 3-17-1956
comedian: "Linit Bath Club"; "Town Hall Tonight"; "Fred Allen Show"
08-16-1862 - Amos Alonzo Stagg - West Orange, NY - d. 3-17-1965
legendary football coach: "We the People"
08-26-1905 - George F. Hicks - Tacoma, WA - d. 3-17-1965
announcer: "Metropolitan Echoes"; "Death Valley Days"; "Seth Parker"
09-28-1919 - Tom Harmon - Rensselar, IN - d. 3-17-1990
sportscaster: "Here Comes Harmon"; "Jimmy Durante Show"
10-10-1900 - Helen Hayes - Washington, [removed] - d. 3-17-1993
actress: "New Penny"; "Electric Theatre"; "O'Neill Cycle"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 15:55:03 -0500
From: David Loftus <dloft59@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: OTR recreations
Stephen Jansen wrote:
I have toyed with the idea of actually turning off ALL of the lights,
Err . . . how would the actors see the scripts?
or turning all of the audience chairs to face the back of the room, so
that the audience ONLY gets to hear the show. Might be good in
concept, probably not so good in real life - I can't hardly picture
anyone paying for a night out to just LISTEN to audio drama.
I would, though.
I might, as well -- although I gotta say there's a special pleasure
in watching actors bring the dialogue and sound alive, right
in front of you, too. Some actors are fairly deadpan and businesslike,
others do a lot of facial and body acting which somehow enlivens
their voice (as I tend to do, and as I understand Daws Butler
insisted was essential).
Sometimes you can be watching sound effects created before
your very eyes and not understand what's going on. I was in my
first live OTR-style extravaganza in January -- an hour-plus-long
adaptation of "The Hobbit" -- and one of my favorites was distant
thunder created by several dry beans inside an inflated pink balloon,
shaken and rubbed close to the mike.
I have to say the audience's interest (save, perhaps, for the squirrely
ones that were a little TOO young) showed in all the ways Stephen
mentioned.
David Loftus
Portland, Oregon
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 15:55:55 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: MARE Meeting
For those who live in the Milwaukee area, Gordon Hinkley will be the
guest speaker at the next open meeting of the Milwaukee Area Radio
Enthusiasts (MARE) on March 20, at 2:00 PM in the Community Room G-110
at the Mayfair Mall (lower level).
Gordon Hinkley was the popular announcer on WTMJ Radio from 1950 until
2001 earning high ratings on his shows over the years. Audiences enjoy
his nostalgic performance of music and humorous tales on his "Road
Show." Look for the sheltered parking on the east side with the big AMC
sign. Upon entering the mall's southeast entrance, stop at the
Community Room G-110 at the end of the hall.
Hinkley is a member of the Broadcast Museum's Hall of Fame.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 16:24:14 -0500
From: danhughes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio Spirits
Here's the story as I understood it:
Radio Spirits sent threats of legal action to other OTR dealers, claiming
to have exclusive rights to some of the programs the dealer was selling,
and demanding that the dealer stop selling them. But Radio Spirits
refused to tell the dealers what shows were involved. So if I dealer had
a catalog of 200 different programs, he had no idea which of those shows
were in violation. So to be safe he would have to stop selling
everything, and many dealers did just that. Further, Radio Spirits
refused to explain how they had acquired exclusive rights.
Many people felt that Carl Amari had probably obtained signed contracts
from people who had been connnected to the shows--actors, writers, or
musicians. If you had a contract with just one participant who sold you
the exclusive right to reproduce his material, would you then become the
sole legal distributor of all programs that particular person had been a
part of? That's what many people thought Amari was doing. And the only
way he would show what he had was in court--but nobody ever put up the
expense to fight him in court.
What if you had a contract for exclusive use of anything the bandleader
for a show ever did, and I had a contract for exclusive use of anything a
bit player ever did--then would neither of be able to release a show that
both of these people appeared on? I think that's why Amari refused to
show his hand. If I had a VALID claim to exclusive rights to a show, I
would produce all the evidence every chance I had.
---Dan, who will see you in Cincy
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 17:24:00 -0500
From: Jolt19781@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: monthly magazines
Are there any monthly magazines published out there dedicated to old time
radio?
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 17:28:26 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: ABC News Features Arthur Anderson!
[removed] today features a column by reporter Buck Wolf on the carreer of
Arthur Anderson, focusing on his long-term role as the Lucky Charms
Leprechaun but also branching out into his larger carreer. It even mentions
FOTR!
The article is a great tribute to a great actor on one of the widest read
news websites on the Internet!
Very exciting. Buck and Arthur will be guests on the Joey Reynolds Show on
WOR-AM in New York City tomorrow night (St. Pat's, of course) starting around
10:40 [removed]
Enjoy,
Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]
[removed];page=1
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 22:28:37 -0500
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Radio Logs additional
Patrick mentioned:
It matters not how accurate the dates are if multiple broadcasts [recasting,
rebroadcasting] cannot be identified. At some point a reference work must
be usable and practical to the job. I would love to see something like this
offered, perhaps as a looseleaf item,
so the possibility of a subscription update system could keep it current.
Has anyone worked with government regulation updates? [remove page 6,
replace with the new page 6, add page 7a behind page 7] Similar to that.
The reality is that there can be no one source to offer everything you want
to know about OTR. While Dunning's ON THE AIR/TUNE IN YESTERDAY is a great
souce and valuable book, he himself admitted it would have been impossible
to list EVERY radio show and in EVERY detail. Jay Hickerson has a book
entitled THE ULTIMATE HISTORY OF NETWORK RADIO PROGRAMMING AND GUIDE TO ALL
CIRCULATING SHOWS. Jay himself puts out a supplement every year in october
listignt he latest corrections, changes and additions.
In the last two years I have come across three people who all compiled some
sort of reference work that in their opinion, would be a definitive
reference source for OTR, but it's not possible. New information about
various OTR programs is being unearthed every day. Corrections to old
information is constantly being revised. After all, even if you give a
700-page treatment documenting GANGBUSTERS, how thick would any encyclopedia
or reference work or works be when attempting to cover 50,000+ other radio
programs? The only true way to have a one-stop source (publications, not
www) is a massive library of reference books about OTR, whether it be a
biography, a documentary focused on one particular radio program, or another
encyclopedia to add to the dusty book shelf. The truth is, there is WAY too
much to document for one publication, or one series of publications.
Thankfully, there are publishing companies and individuals who prefer to
keep publishing and releasing books about OTR regardless of what the shows
are - each one helps add more insight into the Golden Age of Radio.
Ian Grieve asked:
In Australia the practice was to apply a date stamp on Transcription labels
or sleeves and LPs when they were played. Was that also a practice in the
[removed]
Some radio programs yes, but not all of them. Programs that were syndicated
were certainly labeled individually but in the interest of cataloging,
whether on-air broadcasts or rehearsal recordings. The only catch is
determining whether the recordings are dated with the recording date or the
broadcast date.
Martin
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 23:16:33 -0500
From: "randy story" <hopharrigan@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: SCI-FI ON OTR
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
Hello, Fans!
Just wondering if anyone can recommend any books on radio science fiction?
Histories and descriptive materials would be very helpful, particularly I am
hoping to find some resources to add to my ever growing textbook on using
audio theater/ OTR in the high school/ middle school classroom.
Let me know,
Randy Story
(who is still countng the days to the Cincy Con and hoping to see all of you
there!)
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
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--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #86
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