------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2002 : Issue 292
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
RE: OTR on XM Radio and Sirius [ Habegger <amej@[removed]; ]
Tape to new media? [ Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed] ]
Harry Bartell & Bob Bailey [ Mike Ray <MRay@[removed]; ]
T or C [ otrbuff@[removed] ]
Re: Another Sox Announcer [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Boston Red Stockings [ "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed] ]
AMOS and ANDY Christmas show [ "Gary Yoggy" <yoggy@[removed]; ]
baseball on otr during ww2 [ Jer51473@[removed] ]
RIP Buddy Baker [ bloodbleeds@[removed] ]
Re: Formulaized Comedy [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
Re: Oh, for those otr days of baseba [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
Pep, New Mexico [ Bhob <bhob2@[removed]; ]
Ted Williams in WWII [ "Donald Skuce" <donskuce@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 11:24:23 -0400
From: Habegger <amej@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: RE: OTR on XM Radio and Sirius
I'd like to add some comments to Jerry's:
I have XM-Ready receivers in my car and RV (22-ft. Lazy Daze). Both are
Pioneer with the digital input for the XM Tuner. My car unit has a CD Player
which can play mp3 formats. (I reviewed this system in an earlier Digest.)
To add to the usefulness of the XM system, I have setup the tuner to be
easily removed and installed in either vehicle. The XM/Terk antenna is placed
on the dash of my car with Velcro. It works great in that location! I can
pull it down when in sensitive areas. The XM tuner is set under the drivers
seat. My RV has a more permanent installation.
Also, I added a FM-low power transmitter in my RV to repeat the XM signal on
my property in the high desert of California. It allows me to tune the
channel on any of my FM receivers in the local area. I do not recommend using
this method in urban areas, or where there could be interference with any
commercial FM station. The FCC could be knocking at your door! It allows me
to sit outside our RV and listen to the quality of XM.
I find the selection of XM channels to be more than enough for my listening
pleasure. The addition of "real" OTR from XMRS will make it a complete
system. If you cannot find anything to meet your fancy from 100 channels,
than life must be a boring experience> :>)
I think the XM subscription is a must for a long-haul trucker, or interstate
traveler. The only time I could not receive a signal was going through an
overpass and some parking structures. Even there, it is possible to get a
"signal bounce" in the structure when I could not receive local stations.
I hope this will help in your understanding and use of XM. Radio Classics
begins August 26th on Ch. 164.
My best,
Dick
Anaheim
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 11:25:07 -0400
From: Herb Harrison <herbop@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Tape to new media?
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"Ian Grieve" <austotr@[removed]; wrote:
Do many collectors still utilize cassettes? Should I break down and
invest in the advanced tools to keep from being left behind?
If you're happy with cassettes, stay with them. One way to tell if a
particular format is no longer supported is to review the ads in your
Sunday newspaper. CompUSA, OfficeMax & Office Depot are all featuring
cassette players and/or player-recorders in this week's ad inserts, so it
looks like tape ain't dead yet.
Herb Harrison
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Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 11:27:52 -0400
From: Mike Ray <MRay@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Harry Bartell & Bob Bailey
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First, let me say that I have the highest respect and a great deal
of fondness for Harry Bartell. His acting for the many years that
he was in Radio and TV, has been a source of joyful entertainment
for myself and my family, My parents, and Grand parents. However
there are a couple of points that I would like to make regarding
Harry's comments about Bob Bailey.
In digest #287 Harry said:
If Bob Bailey in his lifetime was so famous, why was there no interest
in him then except by personal friends?
Harry, there clearly was interest in Bob Bailey. According to his daughter
Mrs. Roberta Goodwin, Bob had his own fan club that was quite Large,
and that Bob was finding it difficult from time to time to keep up with
responding to his mail, both from the fan club, and from letters coming into
CBS.
Harry also said,
Bob's reputation, his "fame" status, is after the fact. His reputation has
grown and been magnified by the people on this digest and others like
them. By the time Johnny Dollar went off the air no one was interested in
Bob Bailey.
Harry that's an argument from silence. There was no internet in those days.
No News groups, no OTR Digest, so it is a little hard to know for sure just
what the public reaction was. What we DO know for sure was, that Bob (though
not apparently popular with directors and producers after radio went off the
air) was popular with the listening public.
Harry concludes his remarks in digest #287 by saying:
If Mr. Powell's description of "public figure" is correct, every one of the
thousands of faces which have appeared on TV commercials is prone to
investigations. Bob Bailey's voice could hardly be defined in the same
category.
As someone who appeared in several movies and hundreds of radio
programs,(Clearly not as many as you Harry), to a certain extent Bob
was absolutely more than a voice.
Best regards,
Mike Ray
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 11:39:41 -0400
From: otrbuff@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: T or C
Just why did they change the name of Hot Springs, New Mexico to Truth or
Consequences? asks A. Joseph Ross.
As the 10th anniversary of Ralph Edwards' extremely popular Saturday
night stunt show approached, someone on his staff suggested--as a
publicity stunt--that they ask if any city in America would be willing to
change its name to honor the program. The values of the townsfolk were
to be taken into consideration before a final decision was announced,
according to literature currently being distributed by the T or C C of C.
Several towns applied. I believe the U. S. had 11 different Hot Springs
cities at the time. A representative from T or C visited Hot Springs, N.
M. and was particularly impressed with the warm mineral waters found
there to which thousands are drawn annually for arthritic and other
ailments, plus the genuine spirit of the people. Edwards agreed that--if
the citizenry voted to change the city's name to T or C--the program
would give it 30 minutes of fame from time to time over a national
hookup. The rest is history.
It's one of only two towns that I can immediately recall that changed
their names to reflect radio shows. The other, Waters, Arkansas, became
Pine Ridge, the ethereal home of Lum 'n' Abner. Pine Ridge's one store
(Jot 'em Down) is a highly commercialized emporium today based on that
show. I'm open to the possibility there were probably other such
changes, although none come to mind.
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 13:23:20 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Another Sox Announcer
On 7/29/02 11:05 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:
I remember as a
child listening to Jim Britt and later Curt Gowdy.
My grandmother used to tell me about Britt, who did both the Red Sox and
the Braves until 1951 -- when he had to choose between one or the other,
and chose the Braves -- only to be left behind when the Braves skipped
town two years later. But she had even stronger memories of Fred Hoey --
Boston's first baseball broadcaster, and the man who helped turn an
entire generation of New England women into baseball fans. Hoey was on
practically every afternoon over the Yankee or Colonial Networks from the
late twenties thru 1938, and his broadcasts were competitive with soap
operas in attracting female listeners.
Hoey did not get along well with Yankee Network management, and they
tried to fire him once in the mid-thirties, only to be forced to reverse
themselves after a barrage of protests. But they finally did cut him
loose after the 1938 season -- and his replacement was basically hounded
out of town after one season because he "wasn't Our Fred." Hoey never
really recovered from the firing, and ended up taking his own life
several years later.
I had heard a lot about Hoey growing up, but it wasn't until a few years
ago that I actually had a chance to hear a recording -- and when I did, I
was amazed at how much he sounded like my grandfather: a gruff voice with
a thick New England dialect, sounding for all the world like some guy
spouting off at a lunch counter while smoking a cigarette and drinking
black coffee. There was nothing slick or "professional" about him -- and
I think that's one of the things that made him so popular: he sounded
like his audience -- ordinary working people for whom baseball was a part
of daily life. When Hoey was invited to broadcast the 1933 World Series,
but had to be removed from the booth because he showed up drunk, the
local reaction wasn't one of outrage that he would be so irresponsible --
it was outrage that "Our Fred" wasn't allowed to broadcast.
You'd never *ever* hear a rough-edged, crude announcer like Hoey on the
air today -- and that's exactly what's wrong with modern radio. Every
team has their own set of sound-alike clones in the booth, with their
identical "Rick Radio" broadcasting-school-graduate voices, who scream on
every long foul ball, and who are clearly being driven by the
marketing-consultant-and-focus-group crowd in the front office. Contrast
this with how Ned Martin once described his own approach to broadcasting
-- "I'm sitting on a bar stool just talking to the person next to me,
just talking about the game." That's the simple, conversational approach
I really miss.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 13:24:00 -0400
From: "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Boston Red Stockings
John Southard commented about the Red Sox announcers doing
[removed]
The Fenway Park announcers were also very memorable voices as were the
organists who performed cute tune segments in between innings for the crowd.
One stadium announcer was the late Sherm Feller who was a popular late
night, talk-show host for years on Boston stations (WVDA, WCOP). Sherm
liked to spoof the home town baseball team on the air calling them the "Red
Stockings", which would, of course, infuriate his listening audience to call
the show.
When he retired from broadcasting, oddly enough, he had the Fenway Park
announcing job for several years before he died telling the crowd which "Red
Stocking" player would be coming up to bat. His replacement, incidentally,
was the first female staduim announcer in Fenway Park history.
Sherm also wrote music, his song "Francesca" names for his wife was recorded
by Stan Kenton with some success in the 1950's.
Russ Butler oldradio@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 13:24:13 -0400
From: "Gary Yoggy" <yoggy@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: AMOS and ANDY Christmas show
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I'm wondering how many listeners or viewers who so dislike the AMOS and ANDY
show have ever heard or seen the 30 minute Christmas show and if so what they
think of it????? An unapologetic admirer of Amos and Andy, Gary Yoggy
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 13:24:22 -0400
From: Jer51473@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: baseball on otr during ww2
Not the same . Most of the players including almost all the stars were in
the service( ted williams wasnt the only one) during these years. The quality
of play was probably not much higher than tripleA baseball. At my young age
though, i didnt know the difference and listened every day and enjoyed. It
was later that i realized the watered down condition of the major leagues
during the war. All of these players stats may have been better if not for
time lost for the war, however, i think ive heard or read that williams and
others have said that if they had played those lost years, whos to say they
wouldnt have been injured and had their careers shortened. Williams in
particular was very fortunate to have played 19 years which is well beyond
the career expected of any player. A lot of luck and good fortune is involved
concerning health and injuries when a player is able to play so long. Barring
injury or worst, three years in the military is not normally nearly as taxing
on the body as three years of major league baseball. The 1944 world series
between the 2 st. louis teams is one that i remember listening to during the
war, not realizing the Browns would never had made it if not for the war.
When you think about it, if not for radio we kids would would have been
isolated from baseball other than our own pickup or street games. There was
no little league and in most cases parents didnt have time to encourage.
Radio was the source of most of our interest.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 13:24:53 -0400
From: bloodbleeds@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: RIP Buddy Baker
I know few otr people will know of Buddy Baker who arranged music on a few shows like Bob
Hope and Kay Kieser, but he was most famous as a Disney composer (Haunted Mansion,
lots of Epcot stuff, and films like Apple Dumpling Gang). I'd been speaking with him for
months, as I'm writing a book on Buddy, and I just found out today that he died on Friday.
He was one of the most wonderful men I've ever spoken with. No ego, friendly, and always
giving of his time. He still worked at USC even though he was 84 this year. It makes me very
sad today. :((((
Ben
The Bickersons Scripts book
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 13:27:34 -0400
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Formulaized Comedy
On 7/29/02 11:05 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:
I used to watch the A&A TV show in the 1950s, and, even as a child, I grew
tired of the
constant repetition of the basic plot of Kingfish hoodwinking Andy.
There's actually a lesson in how this formulaization happened -- it all
ties in with the increasing influence corporate bean-counters had over
the shape of radio programming during the 1940s.
One of the key factors used by advertising agencies during the 1940s in
calculating the effectiveness of radio programming was to measure "cost
per ratings point" -- a statistic which would be calculated by simply
dividing a given program's weekly budget by its Hooperrating. This
allowed the agency to compare the program's results against other
competitive programs to see who was getting the best return on their
dollar. This statistic had a lot to do with the changes A&A went thru in
the years immediately after the conversion from the serial to the sitcom
format.
During the first half-hour season, 1943-44, "The Amos 'n' Andy Show"
tended to alternate between guest-star driven episodes and self-contained
stories focusing on the regular characters. These stories were much
closer in tone to the late years of the serial than they were to the
later years of the sitcom, and tended to have a wider variety of plots.
But Ruthrauff and Ryan, the agency, took a look at the Cost Per Ratings
Point this format was producing and didn't like what it saw -- during the
early months of 1944, A&A had the highest Cost Per Ratings Point of any
situation-comedy program on the air. The edict went down for the
following season: Make it funnier -- get more laughs --- get us a better
ratings return on what we're spending.
This led to an increasing mechanization of the process of putting the
show together -- it became less about consistent characterization and
creative plotting than in ensuring a "funnier show" containing a
sufficient number of laughs per minute -- by doing that, it was hoped to
bring the rating up and bring the Cost Per Ratings point down. The
audiences seemed to react loudest to the Kingfish's Scheme of the Week
episodes -- and, in general, to the spotlighting of the Kingfish as the
program's central character -- so that's what was done.
The highest rating the half-hour series ever received, a 23 in 1947-48,
represented over 36 million listeners for what was the most formulaic
season of its run up to that point.
This was a far cry from the days when Correll and Gosden locked
themselves into their office alone and created their program with no
"advice" or "guidance" from anyone -- and the, for want of a better term,
*soullessness* of the program in its later years is the unavoidable
result of this number-crunching approach.
I think forties radio comedy in general -- and especially postwar radio
comedy -- fell victim to very much the same forces. It's very difficult
to distinguish one postwar "Fibber McGee and Molly" from another, for
example -- and by the early fifties, even the Jack Benny program had
fallen into a deep, deep rut of mechanical running gags repeated way too
often. As soon as comedy becomes something that can become quantfied on a
business chart -- it dies.
I also thought the show
should be called "Kingfish & Andy," since Amos almost never appeared.
I've always felt Amos fell victim to the same trap that claimed Mickey
Mouse -- he became more of an icon than an individual. Amos was a
genuinely beloved figure for radio listeners in the early thirties -- he
was in a lot of ways the symbol of everything they themselves wanted to
be: decent, honest, motivated to succeed, and even sometimes heroic. But
because he was *so* beloved, it became more and more difficult to put him
into any genuinely risky situation -- and without risk there can be no
dramatic conflict.
This was especially true after Amos and Ruby Taylor were married in 1935,
and Arbadella was born in 1936 -- listeners made it clear that they
simply wouldn't tolerate seeing Amos put into any situation where the
stability of his family might be in jeopardy. This naturally forced Andy
and the Kingfish to the center -- and disturbed the delicate balance
between the three characters which had been a essential part of the
program's original framework. Formerly, you had Amos on one side, the
Kingfish on the other, and Andy caught precisely in the middle,
consistently torn between two powerful influences, and listeners never
knew quite what to expect -- but when Amos's role diminished, this whole
fragile structure fell apart.
Once this happened, it became very difficult to find ways to work Amos
into the stories -- he could no longer directly particpate in business
ventures with Andy, since that was considered too much of a risk, and
listeners reacted negatively to stories where Amos's family itself faced
crises -- so after a while the only role for him seemed to be that of a
"Greek Chorus," standing off to one side and commenting on the
proceedings without getting directly involved.
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 14:18:55 -0400
From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Oh, for those otr days of baseball!
I enjoyed Jer51473's memories of working hard to get NY baseball games on
the radio in Virginia.
The 50s were truly a golden age of baseball in NYC until the infamous
departure to the west coast of the Giants and Dodgers in 1958. But when
Jer said "the Yankees were then like now, the most popular [removed]" that
sure got old juices boiling. Giant and Dodger fans sure didn't like the
Yankees, the rich team that got too much attention IMHO.
In fact in the 50s I went to see the broadway musical "Damn Yankees" twice!
I was glad to see the wonderful Russ Hodges mentioned. Yesterday, during a
Giant-Dodger game here in SF they replayed his famous call of the 1951
Giant-Dodger playoff which ended with Bobby Thomson's legendary
playoff-winning homerun. Thomson was here yesterday as an honored guest of
the Giants and was interviewed on both the radio and TV broadcasts of the
game.
My husband and I still turn the TV sound down to listen to the radio
broadcasts of those games where the TV team is strictly Fox Sports
announcers.
As for Sox and Cubs fans they truly have my admiration. It builds
character when one suffers disappointment so much. :))
Irene
IreneTH@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 14:43:15 -0400
From: Bhob <bhob2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Pep, New Mexico
Photo of the Ralph Edwards room at the Geronimo Springs Museum:
[removed]
CHAPARRAL GUIDE (January 2000) article, "How Hot Springs Became Truth or
Consequences": [removed]
Is Pep, New Mexico, named after the breakfast cereal?
[removed]
Same link above for info on Reader's Digest, New Mexico.
Bhob @ Classic Newspaper Comic Strips @
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 14:44:18 -0400
From: "Donald Skuce" <donskuce@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Ted Williams in WWII
Folks,
As earlier posted Ted Williams spent most of WWII as a student pilot and then
a flying instructor in the continental [removed] When the war ended (8/45) Ted
was in Hawaii having received orders to the Pacific as a [removed] Marine Corps
fighter pilot. His combat record in Korea has been well documented since his
death so I won't repeat it here. He spent almost five years in uniform,
nothing he (or anyone else) should have to apologize for.
Don Skuce
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #292
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