Subject: [removed] Digest V2005 #121
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 4/17/2005 10:18 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2005 : Issue 121
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  This week in radio history 17-23 Apr  [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
  howie wing                            [ <cooldown3@[removed]; ]
  mary Pickford                         [ "laurie platt" <laurie1125@hotmail. ]
  Johnny Dollar in 15 mins              [ "bcockrum" <rmc44@[removed]; ]
  Hitchhikers Guide                     [ zbob@[removed] ]
  Law and Order actor                   [ "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed]; ]
  Re: Law and Order actor               [ Thomas Butts <trbutts@[removed] ]
  Johnny Dollar                         [ John Politis <channel1@[removed]; ]
  Mary Pickford                         [ "laurie platt" <laurie1125@hotmail. ]
  4-17 births/deaths                    [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
  Cincinnati Convention                 [ Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; ]
  RE: Dramatic programming for modern   [ "David Ballarotto" <balla@earthlink ]

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Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 00:17:43 +0000
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  This week in radio history 17-23 April

 From Those Were The Days --

4/17

1933 - Backed by the On the Trail portion of the magnificent Grand Canyon 
Suite, Johnny Roventini, pillbox hat and all, uttered the words "Call for 
Philip Morris" for the first time on radio. The famous phrase was said in 
perfect B flat pitch and tone to perfectly match the accompanying music. 
This "Call for Philip Morris" phrase became one of the most famous in all 
of advertising.

1935 - People gathered around to listen for the first time to what would 
become the ultimate horror show on NBC, Lights Out.

4/19

1924 - The WLS Barn Dance began airing on WLS.

4/20

1935 -- Your Hit Parade was first broadcast.

1947 - Fred Allen didn't find things so funny when censors cut him off the 
air during his broadcast. Allen was telling a joke about a mythical network 
vice-president when he was suddenly taken off the air. One moment [removed]

4/21

1940 - Take It or Leave It, was first heard on CBS on this day. Bob Hawk 
offered contestants a top prize of $64. No, there were no lovely parting 
gifts or consolation prizes that we could find. Losers just left.

1949 - The prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for Broadcasting was 
presented to You Bet Your Life star, "The one, the only, Groucho (Marx)." 
This was the first time the honor had been awarded to a comedian.

4/22

1940 - The first all-Chinese commercial radio program was broadcast over 
KSAN in San Francisco, CA.

1946 - Tex McCrary and Jinx Falkenburg arrived at WEAF in New York City 
with an entertaining morning show called, Hi, Jinx.

Joe

-- Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed] No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 00:18:15 +0000 From: <cooldown3@[removed]; To: <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: howie wing Hi all, oddly enough a small group of collectors are doi g some research on this show. it seems someone has found and purchased a set of original transcripts which contain 6 eps of this very early adventure series. led by ian grieve [of this list] there has been considerable research into the background of this show which was sponsored by kellogs who hired a person to portray "commander wing' both here, in Canada and in Australia. kellogs further sponsored the first "around the world" freight delivery both to the east and to the west, thereby making it into a high interest race. It is documented here. [removed] Someone should encourage ian to post his research findings here as he and his dedicated group have uncovered a lot of fascinating facts about this series already. I understand the original transcripts have been turned over to a well respected dealer on this list for processing and encoding wo we can all soon hear the shows that launched air freight world wide, unheard for 65 hears now. Exciting stuff for an old fella like me, PAtrick ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 00:18:29 +0000 From: "laurie platt" <laurie1125@[removed]; To: <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: mary Pickford Are there any recordings of Mary Pickford on the radio ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 00:18:45 +0000 From: "bcockrum" <rmc44@[removed]; To: <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: Johnny Dollar in 15 mins Kermyt Anderson wonders about the popularity of the 15-minute/five-nights-a-week Johnny Dollar programs. I have no idea how popular they were with others, but I loved 'em ... I was in the fourth-fifth grades about that time. This was the era of old favorites changing formats and doing anything else they could think of to stave off TV's advance. No problem for my family. We still didn't have a TV set then ... so we were listening to Johnny Dollar, Fibber McGee and Molly and Mr. Keen every Monday through Friday. Well, not quite. In case you hadn't heard, Friday night high school football is big in Texas ... so Dad would drag me off to the local game. I missed a lot of final episodes in which Johnny solved the mystery. I missed a lot of Mr. Keen finales, but even a fourth-grader could figure out whodunit on that show ... and though I wished I could have listened to McGee get completely out of his latest predicament, there were enough laughs along the way Monday-Thursday. Bob Cockrum ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 00:19:02 +0000 From: zbob@[removed] To: <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: Hitchhikers Guide X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain Recent comments by the two Jims regarding the upcoming film version reminds me that I have some HGG material that may be of interest: A. Ultra-Complete Index to the Guide, 1993 - locates subject by Volume and Page (Pam Book edition of 1984) B. HhGG interactive fiction program: MS DOS [removed] or higher computer needed: 5 1/4 disc, includes InvisiClues Booklet C. Restaurant / Universe pocket book version (1980) stories from Milliways. Would like to dispose of as a complete package. -offline please TIA *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear *** *** as the sender intended. *** ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 00:24:18 +0000 From: "Bob Scherago" <rscherago@[removed]; To: <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: Law and Order actor Clif Martin <martbart@[removed]; wrote: > In a "Law and Order" episode earlier this week, a distinguished older fellow with a most > distinctive voice and delivery played the role of crooked attorney Fogg. The actor was Fritz Weaver.
-- Bob Scherago<br> [removed] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 09:34:06 +0000 From: Thomas Butts <trbutts@[removed]; To: <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: Re: Law and Order actor > > > In a "Law and Order" episode earlier this week, a distinguished older > fellow with a most distinctive voice and delivery played the role of > crooked attorney Fogg. I missed the opening credits, but he has to be > either an old time radio actor or from the movies when voices > mattered. The actor is Fritz Weaver who has appeared in both TV and movies since around 1960 and perhaps before. I remember him especially for an appearance on Gunsmoke and in the "Borgia Stick" - one of the first "made for TV" movies. I am not certain whether he made any radio appearances. Tom Butts Dallas, TX > > ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 09:34:17 +0000 From: John Politis <channel1@[removed]; To: <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: Johnny Dollar I listened to the 15 -minute Johnny Dollar show every night for a couple of years when I was about 12 or 13 years old on WDRC Hartford. Eventually, WDRC switched to Top 40 and the DBS programming moved to a station in Manchester, CT, which although it was only about 12 miles from where I lived, we could not pull in,so that was the end of network radio for me. John Politis ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 09:34:27 +0000 From: "laurie platt" <laurie1125@[removed]; To: <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: Mary Pickford I am trying to find a radio broadcast in which Mary Pickford was on. Is there such a show? ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 09:35:11 +0000 From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; To: <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: 4-17 births/deaths April 17th births 04-17-1898 - Howard Claney - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 4-xx-1980 announcer: "American Album of Familiar Music"; "NBC Symphony" 04-17-1903 - Gregor Piatigorsky - Yekaterinoslav, Russia - d. 8-6-1976 cellist: "Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra"; "The Pause that Refreshes . . On the Air" 04-17-1905 - Arthur Lake - Corbin, KY - d. 1-10-1987 actor: (Brother of Florence Lake) Dagwood Bumstead "Blondie" 04-17-1910 - Ivan Goff - Perth, Australia - d. 9-23-1999 screenwriter: "Lux Radio Theatre" 04-17-1911 - George Seaton - South Bend, IN - d. 7-28-1979 actor, film director: Lone Ranger "The Lone Ranger"; "Screen Director's Playhouse" 04-17-1915 - Joe Foss - Sioux Falls, SD - d. 1-1-2003 south dakota governor: "Tops in Sports" 04-17-1918 - Anne Shirley - NYC - d. 7-4-1993 actress: "Lux Radio Theatre" 04-17-1918 - John Hess - Chicago, IL - d. 4-15-2004 writer: "The Human Adventure" 04-17-1918 - William Holden - O'Fallon, IL - d. 11-16-1981 actor: "Hour of Mystery"; "Smiths of Hollywood"; "So Proudly We Hail" 04-17-1923 - Harry Reasoner - Dakota City, IA - d. 8-6-1991 reporter: CBS News Washington 04-17-1926 - Joan Loring (Dellie Ellis) - Hong Kong, China actress: Judy Foster "A Date with Judy" April 17th deaths 01-17-1891 - Marjorie Gateson - Brooklyn, NY - d. 4-17-1977 actress: "Lux Radio Theatre" 02-23-1912 - Thomas L. Thomas - Maesteg, South Wales - d. 4-17-1983 singer: "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round"; "Voice of Firestone" 06-11-1914 - Dudley Manlove - d. 4-17-1996 announcer: "Candy Matson, YU2-8209" 07-06-1892 - Jack Yellen - Razcki, Poland - d. 4-17-1991 lyricist: "Lux Radio Theatre" 07-16-1903 - Carmen Lombardo - d. 4-17-1971 saxophonist: (Guy's brother) "Guy Lombardo and His Orchestra"; "Esso Marketer" 08-06-1900 - Tony Parenti - New Orleans, LA - d. 4-17-1972 jazz clarinetist: "WNYC Jazz Festival" 09-12-1921 - Frank McGee - Monroe. LA - d. 4-17-1974 nbc newsman: "Meet the Press";"The Great Debate" -- Ron Sayles Milwaukee, Wisconsin ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 09:35:20 +0000 From: Jim Widner <widnerj@[removed]; To: <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: Cincinnati Convention Another Cincinnati convention is history and as usual it was good seeing a lot of old friends and digesters who came out. A big thanks to Bob Burchett, Robert Newman and Don Ramlow and all the others involved in putting on this great chance to get together. Chris "Castille" Holms didn't appear at all bruised from the replies to his digest question on Castille Soap and in fact took it all in good humor. A big thanks to Mike Martini for the VOA tour including the look at what his group will be doing with Cincinnati radio history in the coming years. It was a wonderful tour. Also a big thanks to Hal Stone, Rosemary Rice and Esther Geddes for their dedication in supporting the "fan"atics of this hobby. Congratulations to Martin Grams for his awards as well as Ted Davenport and Tom Monroe for theirs in honor of their long time support of the hobby. And finally, I can verify what Charlie was saying about his spending as much time on the floor of the lobby of the hotel trying to keep his servers running as much as it the time he spent leaning against the walls drinking coffee! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 09:35:43 +0000 From: "David Ballarotto" <balla@[removed]; To: <[removed]@[removed]; Subject: RE: Dramatic programming for modern radio To chime in on the issue of stumbling blocks for returning drama on a wide scale basis to American radio, it seems there are a host of factors that need to be taken into consideration. First, far too many of the attempts at revival have tried for a straight dramatic format, either mystery or science fiction or western or so on. The problem with that, is such programming requires a well-trained sense of listening and a willingness to concentrate that modern audiences haven't really been given the chance to acquire. For most modern listeners, the idea of radio being something other than a source of music, news, or talk, is an idea they're not willing to consider if it requires substantial work on their part. As much as most of us would probably agree that the radio version of "Gunsmoke" demonstrates how strong writing, acting, sound effects and so on can produce incomparable drama, for someone who's never listened to radio drama before, it's probably unlikely they're willing to invest the time and mental energy to focus on it. Sure, these programs and revival attempts may appeal to us, but for the general radio listener, they may find them as cold and uninteresting as an untrained ear may find a symphony. So the problem becomes training the ear, which I personally feel could best be done by pursuing radio comedy on a larger scale. Something structured along the lines of CBS-era Jack Benny, with a light plot, an appearance by an established guest star (probably someone who has a film or something to plug), a musical segment, but with a chart-topper in place of Dennis Day, and a strong supporting cast. It would probably, however, take someone such as a Ray Romano or Jerry Seinfeld whose name would generate interest, and it would probably need to be placed on the weekends, perhaps a Saturday, where the television networks have practically written the night off, and there is an interest in entertainment. A Romano or Seinfeld would also work well because if they ever get the itch to return to the airwaves, a weekly radio program is a lot less demanding than a weekly situation comedy. Adding to the fact are the specialized formats, which work under an erroneous belief that someone only wants to listen to Classic Rock or Adult Contemporary or Hot Country, etc. Unfortunately, we're still in the era where the format rules, and if the PD thinks it doesn't fit the format, it's not going to air. It may, however, be easiest to get a scripted comedy show, particularly with a strong rock theme off the ground if someone were willing to pursue it. -------------------------------- End of [removed] Digest V2005 Issue #121 ********************************************* Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved, including republication in any form. 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