------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2003 : Issue 375
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Ben Romero, native Californian [ "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@comc ]
Ciro's One more thyme [ Ed Kindred <kindred@[removed]; ]
Accents: we're right, you're wrong [ Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed]; ]
Empire of the Air [ "RBB" <oldradio@[removed]; ]
Re: Thanksgiving twice in 1939? [ "Steve Thoburn" <scthoburn@adelphia ]
HENRY MORGAN [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
Ed Ellers, [removed] [ Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@[removed]; ]
TWO THANKSGIVINGS IN 1939 [ PURKASZ@[removed] ]
One Man's Family [ Jeff Weaver <jweaver@[removed]; ]
Henry Morgan's Last TV Appearance? / [ Tom Kleinschmidt <otr1962@[removed] ]
Antenna Discussion [ "Harry" <hb1379@[removed]; ]
10-17 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Let Me Off and Bag [ "Harry" <hb1379@[removed]; ]
re: MP3 Players? [ "Matthew Bullis" <matthewbullis@run ]
Empire Builders/One Man's Family [ chris chandler <chrischandler84@yah ]
Re: Ed Ellers, [removed] [ Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@[removed]; ]
Shortwave radio reception [ BH <radioguy@[removed]; ]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 13:53:08 -0400
From: "Ivan G. Shreve, Jr." <iscreve@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Ben Romero, native Californian
Mark Kinsler had the floor:
Thus the majority of OTR I have heard has little regional
speech, including the most popular shows: Dragnet, Fibber McGee, Jack Benny,
I'm not sure if the character of Ben Romero (Barton Yarborough) was a native
of [removed] or not, but he sure had one heck of a Texas twang. :-)
Ivan
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 13:54:30 -0400
From: Ed Kindred <kindred@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Ciro's One more thyme
You guys are
bringing in a lotta dough to that Cy-ro's [removed]" This
mis-pronounciation gets a huge laugh from the (Hollywood) studio audience,
but must've gone over the heads of everybody else in America.
Not necessarily. Us old F___ts who were alive then and listened to lotsa
radio
knew the locations of famous rooms because we heard them often. Yep, even
us
provincials in the desert knew of Ciro's, Earl Carrolls, Brown Derby and
Romanov's, not
to mention the Pump Room, Sardi's, Jack Dempsey's and 21. We may not have
known Horn and Hardarts
but we knew their business. Can you imagine my shock when I got to go to an
automat and learned that it really
wasn't automatic? What else about the big Granny Smith was a lie?
Ed Kindred
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 14:55:19 -0400
From: Dan Hughes <danhughes@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Accents: we're right, you're wrong
Mike Biel wrote,
Just yesterday I heard a British comedian on the new David Frost PBS
program "Strategic Comedy Initiative" say that Americans sometimes
comment
on his accent. Actually, he said, I don't have an accent. This is what
it
sounds like when the words are pronounced correctly. (That's a JOKE,
son!)
Which reminds me of a story told by E. Haldeman-Julius (didn't he have an
OTR show? :) ) :
A Chinese man was explaining the different races to his son.
"There is the Indian, the red-colored race; the Negro, the black-colored
race, the Caucasian, the white-colored race; and we Chinese, the
skin-colored race."
---Dan
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 14:56:17 -0400
From: "RBB" <oldradio@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Empire of the Air
<<Ted Welsa asked about "Empire Builder"- a radio show>>
The Tom Lewis book (and it was also a radio broadcast special) called
"Empire Of The Air" (The Men Who Made Radio) published in 1991 might be what
you're asking about.
Then again, since it's World Series time, maybe the inquiry was about the
"Umps"
(Umpires?) or The Empire State's New York Yankees? (Just a thought while
shaving this morning, sorry about the intended puns.)
Russ Butler oldradio@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 14:58:48 -0400
From: "Steve Thoburn" <scthoburn@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Thanksgiving twice in 1939?
From: "Matthew Bullis"
Subject: Thanksgiving twice in 1939?
Hello, two Jack Benny programs mentioned the fact that they don't know
when
Thanksgiving is, because it was twice, or as Mary's poem says, "a double
feature," and as Rochester says in the preceeding program "who knew" when
Thanksgiving is? Was there some question as to when Thanksgiving should be
celebrated in 1939?
Thanks a lot.
Matthew
It was an idea of FDR's, to extend the Christmas shopping season by a week.
"On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1939, Franklin Roosevelt carved the
turkey at the annual Thanksgiving Dinner at Warm Springs, Georgia, and
wished all Americans across the country a Happy Thanksgiving. Unfortunately,
his greeting went unanswered in some states; many Americans were not
observing Thanksgiving on the same day as the President. Instead, they were
waiting to carve their turkeys on the following Thursday because November
30th in many states was the official Thanksgiving Day. Two Thanksgivings?
Why were Americans celebrating a national holiday on two different days?"
You can read the whole thing here:
[removed]
-Steve
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 14:59:29 -0400
From: PURKASZ@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: HENRY MORGAN
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The latter day sad journeys of Henry Morgan's radio career manifested
themselves in a dream I had, though I realized later it was a [removed]
think.
In 1968 I was part of the format change of CHUM-FM radio in Toronto.
Myself and Murray The K had been included in this attempt to win over the new
FM
audience.
It was not to last for me as I ran into management troubles almost
immediately, especially after breaking the then new group Credence Clearwater
Revival on my show using a pre-vinyl pressing tape made available to me by
Saul
Zaentz of Fantasy records but not vetted by them.
The audience didn't seem to mind nor did the label who went on to
realize they had a number one hit group on their hands from the guys I
remember as
stock boys at Fantasy who I would see when I would visit during my radio
career
in San Francisco in 1966-67, but it was the end for me at that station.
Anyway, management myopia aside, I heard later that they had hired Henry
Morgan to do his show there after I left.
Now I realize my brain is capable of dream/reality confusion so if
anyone can confirm this I would be most appreciative.
Michael C. Gwynne
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 14:59:41 -0400
From: Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Ed Ellers, [removed]
I just received the following email on Thu 16-Oct-2003 even though it
references [removed] forwarded below.
Ed Ellers was a regular participant to several e-lists that many of us are
on, including OTR Digest.
mjc
----- Forwarded message -----
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 14:42:11 -0400
From: Ed Ellers <ed_ellers@[removed];
To: Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@[removed];
This letter is written by Ken Forcht (Ed's uncle).
I'm sorry to tell you that Ed has passed away about 3 PM today Oct. 05,
2003.
I'm going thru his computer to send E-mails to whoever I can find that he
knew &/or corresponded.
If you know of anyone who should know of his death please feel free to
email me (or them). I will check it in a couple of days.
Ken Forcht
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 15:00:54 -0400
From: PURKASZ@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: TWO THANKSGIVINGS IN 1939
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Check this bit of controversy:
[removed]
Gwynne
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 15:24:16 -0400
From: Jeff Weaver <jweaver@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: One Man's Family
One Man's Family is, in my own opinion, the greatest drama show ever
produced. If you listen the surviving run, you will get a taste of
everything imaginable. The show was thoughtful and well produced. I
believe the 1941 show was the one taped in the weeks following Pearl
Harbor and the tone was as dark as ours post 9-11. I am a twenty
eight year old and this series seems as fresh as any produced today.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 15:47:41 -0400
From: Tom Kleinschmidt <otr1962@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Henry Morgan's Last TV Appearance? / Empire
Builders
"His final Letterman appearance in 1982 (8 Feb 1982,
for nitpickers) seems to have been his last national
TV or radio gig"
I don't know if it qualifies as a "National TV
appearance" since it was on cable, but I taped Henry
Morgan on Dick Cavett's CNBC Talk Show on 9/18/92. I
don't know if that was the original broadcast date, or
a rerun, but that's the day I taped it. Morgan was his
usual curmudgeonly self complaining about our new
"Politically Correct" world these days. Apparently he
wanted to do a children's book with an artist who was
going to provide all the drawings for his story, but
the PC Police at the publisher demanded so many
changes that he gave up on the idea altogether. I
haven't watched this show in about 8 or 9 years, but I
don't remember seeing Morgan on another TV show after
1992. I believe Fred Berney sells a videotape with one
of Morgan's Tomorrow Show appearances from 1979 for a
very reasonable fee.
I believe there are about 8-10 Empire Builders
shows circulating in reasonably good quality
considering the age of the program, all are from 1930
and 1931. Jerry Haedenges(sp?) is a good source for
the shows and I believe they are also available from
McCoy's Recordings.
Tom
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 15:49:07 -0400
From: "Harry" <hb1379@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Antenna Discussion
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With the recent comments regarding antenna's I feel compelled to share
with you a portion of the operating instructions which came originally
with a late 1920's radio receiver which proudly sits in my living room.
I refer to it as a radio receiver because its formal name is "Monodic
Receiver Model S-50" manufactured by the Electrical Research
Laboratories of Chicago. Nowhere in these instructions is the word
"radio" used. The three hundred words of operating instructions are
prefaced by the statement "Operating the Erla Monodic Receiver, Model
S050, is simplicity itself.
The third paragraph states "Connect an antenna measuring approximately
75 feet to post A3, for maximum distance and volume. If greater
selectivity is essential, use post A2 or even A1. Be sure the antenna
is well insulated and does not strike adjoining objects. For maximum
selectivity, keep the ground connection as short as possible"
The five dials on the control panel include one for "antenna tuning", as
well as "volume", "filament current", "aligning condenser" and
"amplifier tuning"
Rather than using a kilocycles for tuning the wavelength was used. The
Instructions include a "wavelength scale" for WBBM, KDKA, KOA, WWJ, WLW,
WJZ, WOC and KSD and others less familiar.
The remaining instructions deal with battery installation and tuning
instructions.
"Take care of these simple but all-important details, and you will have
no occasion to call a service man."
Harry Button
hb1379@[removed]
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 15:49:14 -0400
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 10-17 births/deaths
October 17th births
10-17-1886 - Spring Byington - Colorado Springs, CO - d. 9-7-1971
actress: Lily Ruskin "December Bride"
10-17-1903 - Irene Noblette Ryan - El Paso, TX - d. 4-26-1973
actress: "Tim & Irene Sky Road Show"; "Royal Crown Revue"
10-17-1904 - Jerry Colonna - Boston, MA - d. 11-21-1986
comedian: "Bob Hope Show"
10-17-1905 - Jean Arthur - NYC - d. 6-19-1991
actress: "Ford Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
10-17-1917 - Marsha Hunt - Chicago, IL
actress: Blanche Bickerson "Charlie McCarthy Show"; "Document A/777"
10-17-1918 - Rita Hayworth - Brooklyn, NY - d. 5-14-1987
actress: "Orson Welles Theatre"; "Screen Guild Theatre"
10-17-1920 - Montgomery Clift - Omaha, NE - d. 7-23-1966
actor: "Arthur Hopkins Presents"; "Ford Theatre"
10-17-1926 - Julie Adams - Waterloo, IA
actress: "Lux Radio Theatre"
October 17th deaths
02-13-1919 - "Tennessee" Ernie Ford - Bristol, TN - d. 10-17-1991
singer: "Tennessee Ernie Ford Show"
03-03-1902 - Ruby Dandridge - Memphis, TN - d. 10-17-1987
actress: Mammy Brown "Gallant Heart"; Geranium "Judy Canova Show"
04-10-1902 - Mark Warnow - Monastrischt, Russia - d. 10-17-1949
conductor: "We, the People"; "Your Hit Parade"
06-13-1903 - Jack Fulton - Philipsburg, PA - d. 10-17-1993
singer: "Paul Whiteman"s Painters Show"; "Moon River"
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 15:56:36 -0400
From: "Harry" <hb1379@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Let Me Off and Bag
The terms Bag (vs. sack) and "Let me off" may be regional but certainly
not obsolete.
Have you never heard of anyone bringing their lunch to work or school as
"brown bagging it" or doesn't a community college or other institution
or organization in your community have "brown bag seminars" or "brown
bag concerts" for people to enjoy over their lunch?
As for "let me off" the Gene Krupa jazz classic (and million record
seller) "Let Me Off Uptown" featuring Anita and Roy Eldridge is timeless
and currently available on CD from several sources.
Harry Button
hb1379@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:12:58 -0400
From: "Matthew Bullis" <matthewbullis@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: re: MP3 Players?
Hello, try my audio review at
[removed]
then go to on demand, then Main Menu, then look down the page for my name.
You click on the show date and use the B key in Winamp to skip to my
segment. It reviews the RioVolt SP250 cd player and fm radio. Hope it helps
you.
Thanks a lot.
Matthew
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:14:03 -0400
From: chris chandler <chrischandler84@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Empire Builders/One Man's Family
Couple posts today caught my eye:
Welsa asked about the 'Empire Builders' series. I
suspect Elizabeth might relate a detailed history of
this important early [removed]'ll just say if you get
a chance to check this out, you really should do so.
Some of these shows are great examples of what radio
drama could do before it turned all prudish, and you
don't get many chances to hear something THIS seeped
in early depression-era culture: these are literally
the first existing dramatic series episodes, and
there's material here about World War One veterans,
depression-ruined businessmen, and so forth. You also
hear early production tecnhiques, and several Chicago
radio mainstays early in their broadcast careers.
Definitely worth a listen, and lots of fun--there's
one program from Christmas, 1930 that is about the
sappiest holiday story you ever heard, but danged if
it didn't make me all teary-eyed, anyway.
Richard Carpenter asked about "One Man's Family"
Yesterday and today I listened to two broadcasts
of "One Man's Family," one from 1941 and one from
1950, and was struck by the difference in tone of the
shows. The earlier one consisted of a warm discussion
by an obviously wonderful family. The later, however,
seemed a typical sitcom.
If Richard *meant* to type "sitcom", then no wonder it
sounded so different: OMF was never set to a
laugh-track, and he was listening to the wrong thing!
:) If Richard meant to type "soap", however, and made
a mistake, then he arguably has a point--even though
I'd argue he's wrong.
I was reminded of the difference between the early
Amos & Andy shows and the later ones. I wonder: Was
the decision to jazz up "One Man's Family" made to
save a show that may have been slipping in the
ratings?
The differences are nowhere NEAR this stark. OMF,
like A&A, certainly did undergo a mid-run format
change, switching from a 30-minute weekly broadcast to
a 15-minute five-a-week strip in June, 1950. Richard
very perceptively also picked up a slight change in
voice, as the scripts by this time were being written
by Harlan Ware, who'd previously written 'The Abbotts'
family series, among other things--and not by Morse
himself, though he continued to oversee the series.
This happened more because Morse was busy--trying to
get OMF on TV, reviving 'I Love A Mystery' for
radio--than because the show was losing popularity.
Richard implies the series suffered in this
transition, perhaps becoming more soapy. I
strenuously disagree, and indeed think the change in
tone actually KEPT the series from 'jumping the
shark'. Those long family discussions Richard
describes were indeed a hallmark of the program, and
actually still *were* even in 1950--the final two
30-minute episodes are nothing more than this, for
example, and they are completely charming. But Morse
had seriously run out of creative gas during the
postwar period, and Ware helped him revitalize the
series even before the format changeover, most notably
by subtly aging a couple of the teenage characters a
year or two and moving them to the forefront of the
narrative.
In addition, he brought something central to the
stories that had been lacking for several
years--conflict *within* the Barbour family. Where in
1947 the Barbours had been spread literally across the
world bound up in international intrigue, wondering
about mysterious treasure chests, and entertaining
unfunny comedy-relief relatives, suddenly there was
some long missing 'meat' to the stories--Paul's very
divisive engagement, Joan's rebellious streak causing
real problems. It was a breath of fresh air, and
literally gave the venerable series new life.
As for ratings, they had dipped somewhat after
Standard Brands moved to install Fred Allen in the
Sunday-evening OMF slot in 1945, relegating the
Barbours first to the Blue net, and eventually to
Sunday afternoons, where nothing they did was gonna
get as much attention as it would have in prime time.
Yet the series' fans proved intensely loyal, probably
saving the series when the sponsor dropped it
altogether in 1949. The ratings actually were steady
during this period, and high enough after the format
change to beat newscaster Ed Murrow head-to-head in
the evenings for several years in the early '50s. The
old girl actually proved remarkably stable as the rest
of the medium collapsed around it.
It's probably a matter of personal preference;
personally, I find some of the family's 'long
discussions' to be unbearably self-indulgent and
pointless, particularly during the war years, while
the later material seems fresh and exciting by
comparison. Whatever the case, ALL of this is loads
better than the OMF material from the late '50s, which
is enjoyable but sufficiently problematic to make even
a loyal fan a little wistful for those earlier days.
chris
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:15:51 -0400
From: Mark J Cuccia <mcuccia@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Ed Ellers, [removed]
Re, my earlier post about the passing of Ed Ellers, a frequenst
participant in Old Time Radio Digest, I that knew he lived in the
Louisville KY area. So, I checked the website of the Louisville KY
newspaper, the [removed] and its Obits section, which pointed
to the obituaries "clearinghouse" [removed] and found the following:
[removed];PersonId=1462729
Edward R. "Ed" Ellers, 42, of Louisville, died Sunday, October 5, 2003,
at Norton Hospital. He was a writer, editor and technical advisor for the
City of Prospect. A native of Louisville, he was preceded in death by his
father, William R. Ellers, and grandparents, Rev. [removed] and Mildred Ellers
and Charles and Mary Forcht. He is survived by his mother, Dorothy
Beaulieu, and many aunts, uncles, cousins and special friends. Ed's body
was donated to the University of Louisville School of Medicine for
research, as he wished.
Family and friends are invited to attend a memorial service to be held at
2 [removed] Saturday, October 11, 2003, in the Reading Room at Prospect City
Hall. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Edward R.
Ellers Memorial Fund at any Republic Bank branch, for the benefit of the
Brown Cancer Center and Prospect City Library.
Published in The Courier-Journal from 10/9/2003 - 10/10/2003.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:16:12 -0400
From: BH <radioguy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Shortwave radio reception
"ellsworth o johnson" spoke about shortwave radio:
You will see for yourself that the radio will pull in
virtually nothing in the way of shortwave reception--because it requires a
good outdoor receiving antenna and not just that little pull-up wave rod.
Depends upon the radio, I have several Zenith Transoceanic radios, both
tube type and solid state units. I can pull in foreign broadcast with
the pull up antenna even from my basement. Believe it or not, the model
7G601, the first Transoceanic produced in 1942, will stand up to the
rest of them, even out preforming the ss units. An outdoor antenna will
certainly improve the reception. I can't speak for any of the moden sw
unites being offered today, but I suspect in most cases you are correct.
Bill
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #375
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