------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2008 : Issue 87
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
4-5 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
Jack Benny on $64,000 Question [ "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross. ]
What's My Line? [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Cincy Convention [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Ev and Charlie Show [ cxm <cxm@[removed]; ]
This week in radio history 6-12 Apri [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
The Bride Came [removed] [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
Re: Cincinnati Convention [ Chargous@[removed] ]
successfully baking reels [ Chargous@[removed] ]
Information on Bob Bailey [ Mike Thomas <thomaspilgrims@[removed] ]
What's My Line [ "Peter H. Vollmann" <vollmann1@yaho ]
Nobody defenestrated himself [ Rentingnow@[removed] ]
4-6 births/deaths [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 09:50:47 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 4-5 births/deaths
April 5th births
04-05-1898 - Everett Crosby - Roslyn, WA - d. 7-13-1966
brother and manager of Bing Crosby
04-05-1900 - Spencer Tracy - Milwaukee, WI - d. 6-10-1967
actor: "Good News of 1938"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
04-05-1901 - Melvyn Douglas - Macon, GA - d. 8-4-1981
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
04-05-1905 - William Andrews - Oakland, CA - d. 5-2-1985
announcer: "One Man's Family"
04-05-1908 - Bette Davis - Lowell, MA - d. 10-6-1989
actor: "Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players"; "Prudential Family Hour of
Stars"
04-05-1910 - Jim Alderman - d. 12-5-1992
newscaster: Dallas, Texas
04-05-1911 - Gordon Jones - Alden, IA - d. 6-20-1963
actor: Pete Thompson "Meet Mr. McNutley"
04-05-1911 - Martin Denny - NYC - d. 3-2-2005
orchestra leader: Live radio show for Alaskan Air Force Command Radio
04-05-1912 - John Le Mesurier - Bedford, England - d. 11-15-1983
actor: Sergeant Arthur Wilson "Dad's Army"
04-05-1914 - Eric Roberts - Winchmore Hill, England
author: "The Manadrins Cat"
04-05-1916 - Gregory Peck - Lo Jolla, CA - d. 6-12-2003
actor: "Doctor Fights"; "Sealtest Variety Hour"
04-05-1917 - Robert Bloch - Chicago, IL - d. 9-23-1994
writer: "Stay Tuned for Terror"
04-05-1919 - Ted Liss - d. 3-3-1992
actor: "Destination Freedom"
04-05-1921 - Barney Beck - d. 1-30-2007
sound effects: "The Shadow"; "I Love A Mystery"; "Bob and Ray"
04-05-1922 - Gale Storm - McDade, TX
actor: Margie Albright "My Little Margie"
04-05-1924 - Lee Stevens - Baltimore, MD
announcer: "Big Sister"
04-05-1926 - Stan Levy - d. 4-19-2005
jazz drummer: "Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra"
04-05-1928 - Michael Bryant - London, England - d. 4-25-2002
character actor: "Bequest to the Nation"
04-05-1929 - Nigel Hawthorne - Coventry, England - d. 12-26-2001
actor: Acted for his college radio station at the University of Cape
Town
April 5th deaths
01-01-1917 - Shelby Storck - Kansas City, MO - d. 4-5-1969
actor: Speed Robertson "The Air Advs. of Jimmie Allen"
01-16-1917 - Brainerd Duffield - Boston, MA - d. 4-5-1979
writer: "The Ford Theatre"
01-26-1880 - Douglas MacArthur - Little Rock, AR - d. 4-5-1964
general: "Special Broadcast from Tokyo"
02-09-1901 - Brian Donlevy - Cleveland, OH - d. 4-5-1972
actor: Steve Mitchell "Dangerous Assignment"
02-17-1941 - Gene Pitney - Hartford, CT - d. 4-5-2006
singer: "Voices of Vista"
04-27-1892 - Marjorie Mills - Waterville, ME - d. 4-5-1979
columnist: "The Girl from Maine"
06-01-1898 - Molly Picon - NYC - d. 4-5-1992
actor: "I Give You My Life"; "Molly Picon's Parade"
07-10-1916 - Dick Carey - Hartford, CT - d. 4-5-1994
jazz pianist: "Louis Armstrong and the Original All-Stars"
07-14-1909 - Isabel Jewell - Shoshone, WY - d. 4-5-1972
actor: "Dr. Kildare"; "NBC Presents: Short Story"
07-28-1901 - Hal Totten - Newark, NJ - d. 4-5-1985
sportscaster: first play-by-play announcer for Chicago Cubs; "Elgin
Campus Review"
07-29-1910 - Joseph Curtin - Cambridge, MA - d. 4-5-1979
actor: Nick Charles "Advs. of the Thin Man"; John Perry "John's Other
Wife"
08-07-1920 - Mel Diamond - NYC - d. 4-5-2002
comedy writer: Kate Smith, Milton Berle, Bob Hope and Mickey Rooney
08-12-1914 - Guy Sorel - d. 4-5-1994
actor: Larry Noble "Backstage Wife"
08-24-1884 - Earl Der Biggers - Warren, OH - d. 4-5-1933
author: Charlie Chan books
09-13-1871 - Alma Kruger - Pittsburgh, PA - d. 4-5-1960
actor: Emily Mayfield "Those We Love"
09-24-1905 - Howard Hughes - Humble, TX - d. 4-5-1976
film producer, bra designer, billionaire: "Howard Hughes Senate
Hearings"
09-27-1898 - Vincent Youmans - NYC - d. 4-5-1946
composer: "Chicago Theatre of the Air"
10-04-1910 - Stanley Farrar - d. 4-5-1974
actor: (Brother of Danny Thomas) Melvyn Foster "A Date with Judy"
10-31-1887 - Chiange Kai-Shek - Hsikow, Chekiang, China - d. 4-5-1975
world leader: "Free World Theatre"
xx-xx-1926 - Larry Stevens - d. 4-5-2000
singer: "The Jack Benny Program"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 09:51:19 -0400
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Jack Benny on $64,000 Question
Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2008 18:16:02 -0400
From: mchone@[removed]
Lately I've been reading the Digest posting about the Jack Benny in
the Groucho sketch on U-Tube. I would like to see it, but
unfortunately I live in an isolated area where high speed internet is
not available.
It also appeared in some documentary about the Marx Brothers on one
of the cable channels. Perhaps you can find it on DVD.
The discussion did jog my memory a little; I remember
(long time ago) watching a $64,000 Question quiz show in which Jack
was a contestant.
Yes, I saw that show. Jack's category was "The Violin." He answered
the first question, about Stradivari. Jack not only answered the
question but offered a lot of other information about Antonio
Stradivari that wasn't asked -- including noting that Hal March, the
quizmaster, was one of the few people who, correctly, didn't call him
"Stradivarius." When Jack was asked if he wanted to go on to the
$128 question, he said, "No Thank You." As I recall it, he then made
them come up with the cash on the spot.
A week or two later, Hal March was guest on Jack's show, and Jack did
his own version of the $64,000 Question, with Hal March as
contestant. One of the features of the $64K Question was that March
would get the questions from someone sitting at a table in a police
uniform from the Burns Detective Agency, emphasizing the security of
the questions (ironic, since the show was one of the ones found to be
rigged in the quiz show scandal of the late 1950s). In Jack's
version, Ben Welden, who regularly played villains on TV shows, was
sitting at the table. He said that nobody knew what was in "da
questions because as soon as da guy wrote da questions, we shot him."
(pointing to the gun on the table in front of him)
The first question Jack asked March was the number of grains of sand
on the east coast of the United States. March asked, "At high tide
or low tide." Jack went to Ben Welden and asked, "When the guy wrote
this question, did he mean high tide or low tide?" Welden patted the
gun on the table and said, "We'll never know." So Jack had to give
Hal that one.
Thre were a few more gags like that one, and in the end, March hadn't
won anything. On the $64K Question, the consolation prize was always
a Caddilac. March's consolation prize was Jack's Maxwell.
--
A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed]
92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax [removed]
Boston, MA 02109-2004 [removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 09:53:16 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: What's My Line?
Evan Torch asked about WHAT'S MY LINE?
Rodney Bowcock's web-site offers "What's My Line?" a DVD with four half-hour
episodes. [removed] also does, [removed] (OTR movies and shows) and
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 09:55:53 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Cincy Convention
Anyone planning to attend the convention in Cincy . . .
If you have any items about the house you were meaning to toss away or give
away, consider bringing them to Cincy to donate on the raffle table. As
yearly patrons are aware, there is a table in the hallway with lots of
goodies, and Bob Burchett and his great cast of helpers (including Donna
Kramer, Lennell Herbert-Marshall and Barb Davies) sell the tickets for a
cheap price. The money raised helps out with the expense of the convention.
The hotel costs a certain dollar amount, as does flying the OTR guests and
covering their hotel room, and so on. Without these funds, the convention
might dry up. It helps offset the expense.
A large precentage of the donations on the table have been from vendors who
donate some of their wares to help. Considering one vendor alone pays $180
for his vendor tables, $14 for admission, costs involved to buy the goodies
and wares he sells and other expenses, the donations are extremely generous.
(Locals only pay $8 admission and that's it, no further expense other than
gas to and from their home.) So if you have anything around the house, comic
books, old LP records, radio shows on audio cassettes that you don't need or
want, consider bringing them to the convention to put on the table. Every
little bit helps.
And let's not let Payton (the generous, warm-hearted autistic man who attends
the convention every year as a faithful follower) buy more tickets than
anyone else. He wins so many items that he makes people like us look bad.
(Though I did like my MP3 I won last year, but that was all I won.)
Rodney's posting, by the way, about not supporting vendors who "attempt" to
set up in the parking lot or lure attendees to their homes down the street is
nicely put. If the vendors want to sell something, they SHOULD support the
convention by paying for a vendor table and set up like everyone else. The
sale of the vendor tables helps Bob out greatly.
Don't forget the movie showing 10:30 Friday morning (films shorts of Old-Time
Radio personalities, spoofs, and the shows themselves being performed in
front of a camera while being recorded to the transcription discs), and the
evening dinner banquet Saturday night with radio recreations directed by the
gifted Don Ramlow.
Martin
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 11:15:24 -0400
From: cxm <cxm@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Ev and Charlie Show
This was the tongue-in-cheek name the Washington press corps gave to the
weekly joint press conference held by Everett Dirkson (Republican Senate
minority leader) and Charles Hallak (House minority leader.) It was not
a program per se.
Dirkson was a gravel voice orator of the old style [removed] he had a
good sense of humor and even went so far as to record a "rock" record in
the mid 1960s "Wild Thing." It may have even made him a dollar or
[removed] probably not as much as Mrs Miller's version of "How Gentle is
the Rain."
FWIW
Chuck
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 12:24:31 -0400
From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
To: otrd <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: This week in radio history 6-12 April
From Those Were The Days --
4/6
1931 - Little Orphan Annie, the comic strip character developed by
Harold Gray, came to life on the NBC Blue network.
1942 - We Love and Learn premiered on CBS. The serial featured Frank
Lovejoy as Bill. The program would continue until 1951.
1945 - This is Your FBI debuted on ABC.
4/8
1941 - Earle Graser, the eight-year voice of the The Lone Ranger, died
in an auto accident. Brace Beemer, previously the show's announcer, took
over the title role.
4/11
1921 - The first live sports event on radio took place this day over
KDKA. Pittsburgh sports writer, Florent Gibson, gave an account of the
action in the lightweight boxing match between Johnny Ray and Johnny
Dundee.
1943 - Nick Carter, Master Detective debuted on Mutual.
4/12
1932 - The thrill-comedy, Joe Palooka, which would also be a popular
comic strip, made its debut on CBS.
1935 - "Your Hit Parade" premiered.
Joe
--
Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 12:24:49 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: The Bride Came [removed]
My wife and I were watching THE BRIDE CAME [removed] on TCM today and the
beginning of the movie features a band remote for radio station KFWB. I was
wondering if there was a real KFWB or if the station (I assume) was fictional
and WB might have been an in-joke for Warner Bros., the studio that produced
and released the movie.
Martin
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 15:55:16 -0400
From: Chargous@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Cincinnati Convention
I can't wait!
If any of the dealers have quality lo-gen transfers of The Green Hornet
that I don't have, or quality big band remotes (Ed Carr/FGRA quality),
bring em along and I'll buy them. I'm always looking for FGRA grade
obscure shows on .wav or CD - esp. 1930s mystery serials.
I'm going to try to wear my Reds jersey one day, or the Reds jacket, so
I'll be easy to recognize. Most of the regulars know me anyway, though.
Travis
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 15:56:17 -0400
From: Chargous@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: successfully baking reels
If I haven't done so already, I want to thank Ken Greenwald and Joe Salerno
for their advice in baking reels. Both recommended getting a Black and
Decker toaster oven, which I did. The hardest part is calibrating the
machine to a fairly consistent 125 degrees. It took me over an hour plus
to find that point. If the unit is large enough, stack 4-5 reels (out of
the box) with ends secured safely, and bake at 125 for 12 hours, with the
stack directly on the middle rack Make sure the reels are labeled before
mixing them [removed] So far I've had 100 pct. success. Tranfer the reel
within a week of baking. I purchased a candy thermometer, which has a
large, easy to read interface (It goes up to 300-something degrees) and I
keep it in there, making sure the temperature is ok. I had one reel that
still squealed, but after baking it a second time, it worked. 125 degrees
will not warp the plastic hub.
Because it's so hard to find the location where 125 degrees is, I only use
the toaster oven for oxide reels.
Actually, some non-black coated reels squeal too. I don't know what type
of tape it is, but it looks somewhat similar to Ampex 641 (it's not, it's a
bit darker, and an off-brand, probably. I haven't tried baking on these.
I also want to thank Steve Kelez of Radio Showcase for helping me out with
metal takeup reels. I no longer needed them for baking, but they've become
my new takeup reels and are very, very handy.
Travis
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 17:57:26 -0400
From: Mike Thomas <thomaspilgrims@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Information on Bob Bailey
Hello folks,
I am doing research for an upcoming article in an OTR
newsletter. The article will be about Bob Bailey and I
am looking for more information about his life in otr
and beyond, that is not available on the internet. I
have a taped interview of Roberta Goodwin (Bob's
daughter) done by Dunning in 1982 but am wondering if
anyone here can help me find more. I also have a
Dunning and Dave Siegels resource book. If there is
an autobio or bio done that anyone here knows of, I
would appreciate direction.
Also, I am seeking to locate any information or
episodes of a show (otr) Bob Starred in called
"Mortimer Gooch" that had a short run.
Thank you very much!
Mike in Medford
Mike and Ernestine Thomas
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 18:58:04 -0400
From: "Peter H. Vollmann" <vollmann1@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: What's My Line
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain
I remember listening to "What's My Line" on AFN Radio in Berlin, Germany,
where I grew up. They also had the $ 64,000 Question on the radio.
Peter
*** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
*** as the sender intended. ***
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 19:53:02 -0400
From: Rentingnow@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Nobody defenestrated himself
<<Nobody defenestrated himself, no [removed];>
I have never heard of the use of "fenestrate" in this fashion. My
acquaintance with the term has to do with surgical shields. There are
fenestrated -
that is with a hole to work through, and non fenestrated - obviously no hole.
I would be interested in the use of the term used in relation to an
individual hastening his or her terminal event. The term came up in the
cute quiz
program called "Cash Cab". According to the program the term fenestrated
comes from the German meaning hole.
As far as WOTW is concerned I would again recommend listening to the WNYC
radio lab program.
In fact 6 people did die as a consequence of a recreation of the broadcast
in South America. Also there was a broadcast in Buffalo NY in which there
were further problems with the broadcast. While the original was less
problematic than presumed, other recreated broadcasts did create problems.
Here is the link.
[removed]
One of the key questions that was posed on Radio Lab was "What were they
thinking?" I would suggest that they just wanted to entertain and they did
not
truly understand the power of the of the illusion of reality that occurs when
we hear and see (as in the case of theater and TV) productions. We depending
on this suspension when we go to theater or listen to OTR. It should not be
ignored but in fact fostered for quality productions. Obviously there can be
a
danger to this particularly in radio and TV.
In the case of the South American broadcast, the radio station was owned by
a newspaper and they printed fake news items prior to the broadcast to give
validity to events that signaled there was an invasion from Mars. This was
really going over the top on creating the illusion of reality.
Larry Moore
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 23:15:47 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 4-6 births/deaths
April 6th births
04-06-1883 - Vernon Dalhart - Jefferson, TX - d. 9-14-1948
singer, composer: "Barbasol Ben"
04-06-1884 - Walter Huston - Toronto, Canada - d. 4-7-1950
actor: "Theatre Guild On the Air"; "Cavalcade of America"
04-06-1892 - Lowell Thomas - Woodington, OH - d. 8-29-1981
newscaster, commentator: "Lowell Thomas and the News"; "Man with a
Question"
04-06-1895 - Dudley Nichols - Wapakoneta, OH - d. 1-4-1960
screenwiriter: "Cavalcade of America"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
04-06-1903 - Charles R. Jackson - d. 9-21-1968
writer: "The Columbia Workshop"; "Sweet River"
04-06-1903 - Mickey Cochrane - Bridgewater, MA - d. 6-28-1962
sportscaster: (Member Baseball Hall of Fame) "Mickey Cochrane"
04-06-1909 - Denver Darling - Illinois - d. 4-27-1981
country music: "NBC Thesaurus Library"
04-06-1913 - Don Fedderson - Beresford, SD - d. 12-18-1994
a vice president of palo alto radio station
04-06-1913 - Martha Lipton - NYC - d. 11-28-2006
opera singer: "Music from the House of Squibb"; "Great Days We Honor"
04-06-1913 - Todd Russell - Middleborough, England - d. 4-xx-1974
host: "Double or Nothing"; "Strike It Rich"
04-06-1919 - Paula Kelly - d. 4-12-1992
vocalist: (Modernaires) "Club Fifteen"
04-06-1921 - Arnold Marquis - Dortmund, Germany - d. 11-24-1990
producer, writer: "Pacific Story"; "Unlimited Horizons"
04-06-1922 - Dorothy Donegan - Chicago, IL - d. 5-19-1998
jazz pianist: "Jubilee"; "Radio Hall of Fame"
04-06-1924 - Mimi Benzell - Bridgeport, CT - d. 12-23-1970
singer: "Jack Pearl and Mimi Benzell"; "Railroad Hour"
04-06-1927 - Gerry Mulligan - NYC - d. 1-20-1996
jazz saxophonist: "Sound of Jazz"; "White House Jazz Festival";
"Voice of Vista"
04-06-1929 - Andre Previn - Berlin, Germany
pianist: "Songs by Sinatra"
04-06-1938 - Roy Thinnes - Chicago, IL
actor: "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre"
April 6th deaths
01-02-1920 - Isaac Asimov - Petrovich, Russia - d. 4-6-1992
Author: "I, Robot"; "Nightfall"
01-15-1882 - Henry Burr - St. Stephen, Canada - d. 4-6-1941
singer: "National Barn Dance"; "Uncle Ezra"
01-27-1886 - Bessie Beatty - d. 4-6-1947
hostess: Martha Deane
02-26-1907 - Hal Fimberg - d. 4-6-1974
writer, director, producer: "Abbott and Costello"; "Spike Jones"
03-31-1908 - Red Norvo - Beardstown, IL - d. 4-6-1999
jazz vibraphonist: "Mildred Bailey Show"; "Woody Herman Show"
04-08-1915 - Fred Flowerday - d. 4-6-1989
director: "The Lone Ranger"; "The Green Hornet"; "Challenge of the
Yukon"
06-16-1892 - Al Llewelyn - d. 4-6-1964
comedian, singer: (Brad and Al) Heard over CBS and NBC
06-17-1882 - Igor Stravinsky - Oranienbaum, Russia - d. 4-6-1971
composer: "Columbia Work Shop"; "New York Philharmonic"
07-25-1916 - Barbara Vernon - Inverell, Australia - d. 4-6-1978
writer: "The Gerney"
08-07-1903 - Hilda Hopkins Burke - d. 4-6-1978
soprano: WBAL Baltimore, Maryland
08-26-1934 - Gordon Clough - Salford, England - d. 4-6-1996
radio journalist: "The World at One"; "World This Weekend"; "PM"
09-21-1909 - Nathaniel Curtis - NYC - d. 4-6-1983
writer: "You Can't Take It With You"
09-29-1904 - Greer Garson - County Down, Ireland - d. 4-6-1996
actor: "Arch Oboler's Plays"; "Everything for the Boys"; "Star and
the Story"
10-08-1881 - Oscar O'Shea - Peterboro, Canada - d. 4-6-1960
actor: John Marshall "Those We Love"
11-21-1912 - Ralph Butler - d. 4-6-1987
director: "Bright Horizon"; "Perry Mason"; "Rosemary"
11-25-1919 - Norman Tokar - Newark, NJ - d. 4-6-1979
actor: Henry Aldrich "The Aldrich Family"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2008 Issue #87
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