------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2004 : Issue 354
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
Robert Merrill [ Richard Pratz <[removed]@[removed]; ]
"Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto" availa [ "HOWARD BLUE" <khovard@[removed]; ]
11-4 births/deaths [ Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed]; ]
Rod Hendrickson [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
Those Dreams? [ Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed] ]
Rocky Jordan [ JimBourg@[removed] ]
Kemosabe [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
Frozen Weenies [ seandd@[removed] ]
Re: Cracked and the National Lampoon [ James Meadows <walthamus@[removed]; ]
Rocky Jordan [ Archie Hunter <y_know_archie@yahoo. ]
The Three Rocky Jordans [ "Tom van der Voort" <tvander4@[removed] ]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 14:03:51 -0500
From: Richard Pratz <[removed]@[removed];
To: "OTR (Plain Text Only)" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Robert Merrill
Unless I missed it, has anyone noted the passing of operatic baritone Robert
Merrill, a veteran of OTR? He died Oct. 23, 2004 in New Rochelle, [removed] at
age 85. Merrill's OTR appearances are many including his own program "The
Robert Merrill Show" 1945/46. His other OTR credits include The Original
Amateur Hour, The Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air, Serenade to
America, An Evening With Romberg, RCA Victor Show, The Metropolitan Opera,
Music For A Summer Evening, Music For Tonight, Encore, The Chicago Theater
of the Air, Best of All, Music America Loves Best and The Woolworth Hour.
Rich
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 14:44:50 -0500
From: "HOWARD BLUE" <khovard@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: "Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto" available for
OTR groups
I had a good time during my short visitto the FOTR convention in Newark.
Unfortunately, I was not able to stay for the Gotham Players' performance of
the "Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto which Steve Lewis and the Gotham Players
presented. But I spoke to several people who saw it and they had great
things to say about it. It's a unique show and deserves the widest possible
circulation.
I am in contact with the family of the author, the late Morton Wishengrad,
and can probably get permission for other groups to do it on a non-profit
basis. Also, if anyone is interested in doing a British World War II related
play, contact me. I have a number of rare scripts and access to the literary
heirs of the writers. But give me early notice, because it will take perhaps
months to get the permission.
Best wishes,
Howard Blue
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 14:52:45 -0500
From: Ron Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio List <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 11-4 births/deaths
November 4th births
11-04-1879 - Will Rogers, Sr. - Oolagah, Oklahoma Territory - d. 8-15-1935
humorist: (America's Greatest Humorist) "Gulf Headliners"
11-04-1893 - Howard Hoffman - OH - d. 6-27-1969
actor: Chandu "Chandu the Magician"
11-04-1896 - Harry Woods - North Chelmsford, MA - d. 1-13-1970
compser: "Great Moments to Music"
11-04-1896 - Ian Wolfe - Canton, IL - d. 1-23-1992
actor: "Suspense"; "Cavalcade of America"; "Escape"
11-04-1906 - Bob Considine - Washington D. C. - d. 9-25-1975
announcer: "Fred Waring Show"; "Sports Broadcasts"
11-04-1910 - Abby Lewis - Mesilla Park, NM - d. 11-27-1997
actress: Telephone Operator "House in the Country"
11-04-1911 - Dixie Lee Crosby - Harriman, TN - d. 11-1-1952
actress: (Wife of Bing) "Shell Chateau"; "Bing Crosby Show"
11-04-1912 - Humphrey Davis - Meriden, CT - d. 5-23-1987
actor: Al Douglas "Life Can Be Beautiful"; Sheriff Jackson "Tennessee Jed"
11-04-1916 - Walter Cronkite - St. Joseph, MO
newscaster, sportscaster: KCMO, Kansas City; WKY, Oklahoma City
11-04-1918 - Art Carney - Mount Vernon, NY - d. 11-9-2003
actor: Billy Oldham "Joe and Ethel Turp"; General Dwight D. Eisenhower
"Living 1948"
11-04-1918 - Cameron Mitchell - Dallastown, PA - d. 7-6-1994
actor: "Crime Does Not Pay"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
11-04-1919 - Martin Balsam - NYC - d. 2-13-1996
actor: "Cloak and Dagger"
11-04-1919 - Shirley Mitchell - Toledo, OH
actress: Alice Darling "Fibber McGee and Molly"; Leila Ranson "Great
Gildersleeve"
November 4th deaths
03-29-1867 - Cy Young - Gilmore, OH - d. 11-4-1955
baseball pitching great: "Feature Project: This Game of Baseball"
11-10-1899 - George Storer - Champaign, IL - d. 11-4-1975
Broadcast Executive
12-01-1913 - Mary Martin - Weatherford, TX - d. 11-4-1990
singer: "Lifebouy Health Soap Program"; "Good News of 1940"; "Kraft Music Hall"
12-27-1893 - Ann Pennington - Camden, NJ - d. 11-4-1971
actress: "Good News of 1938"
--
Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 15:26:55 -0500
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Rod Hendrickson
Cliff Olsen asks if anyone remembers his great uncle, Rod Hendrickson. I
do! His was the appealing, kindhearted, grandfatherly voice we heard for
years as Sam Warren, the father of Wendy Warren (Wendy Warren and the News,
CBS, 1947-58, played by Florence Freeman).
A widower, Sam lived just outside New York in Connecticut with his sister,
Dorrie ("Aunt Dorrie" to Wendy, played by genteel-toned actress Tess
Sheehan, who clucked over Sam in typical matronly fashion). Sam was a
retired newspaperman, editor of The Clarion in Elmdale, Conn. He was aging
rapidly, and suffered a major heart attack in the course of events. But he
never lost his ability to view things pretty clearly.
Sam and Dorrie's home provided a haven for Wendy, especially on weekends
when she needed to escape the stress of her dual career as an electronic and
print journalist (she was obviously born with ink in her veins), and--more
importantly--her crusade to rid society of sinister forces from overseas
that were determined to infiltrate and bring down our government. She also
suffered the anguish of romantic tribulations experienced by most daytime
serial heroines, and Sam was there to reassure her without dispensing
overbearing advice. Rod Hendrickson could not have been better suited for
the part.
He also turned up in recurring roles in the casts of several other soap
operas including Backstage Wife and The Second Mrs. Burton. In addition to
the series mentioned by Cliff Olsen, Hendrickson appeared in supporting
roles in a 1950 CBS Friday evening mystery, Up for Parole.
After Wendy Warren was dispatched Rod Hendrickson played the part of Ben
Fraser Sr. in the NBC-TV early daytime serial From These Roots. He started
with it shortly after the series began on June 30, 1958 and remained with it
almost to the end, December 29, 1961, so he was the major actor as that
patriarchal figure.
Those of us who were privileged to hear Hendrickson on a frequent basis
could likely assure Cliff that his great uncle was one of the better
character actors in that era of broadcasting.
Jim Cox
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 18:07:43 -0500
From: Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Those Dreams?
Gordon Gregersen writes to the Digest:
......enjoying the March 9, 1941 issue of the Los [removed]
weekly radio periodical, Radio Life ...... I find Buck Hathaway's
"Discovery" column with an article about ten-year-old Conrad Binyon
who, among other things, wants to marry Dinah Shore and desires to be
an aviator and a comedian. Since Mr. Binyon frequently contributes to
the Digest, I will ask him: did any of these dreams come true, Mr. [removed]
Gordon,
How nice of you your offer and of course I, having had
a doting Mother who saved all of the entertainments
press printings she could find of me possess that copy
of Mr. Hathaway's alleged meeting of which of course I
have no recall. I may have talked to him in some
radio studio passing in the halls for he was correct
in my desires to learn how to fly although Evelyn
Bigsby, wife of Radio Life's publisher, Carl Bigsby,
and Editor of the magazine who did interview me and
knew of my aerial aspirations could have told Hathaway
such. Technically I didn't become an 'aviator' given
those are Naval folks that fly. I spent a twenty year
career as an USAF Pilot retiriing in 1971. George
Montgomery beat me by quite a spell wedding Dinah
Shore, (besides she was too old for me) and the
closest I came to comedian status was authoring and
emceeing several squadron entertainment skits where
for sure I must have cracked some lame jokes.
CAB
=====
---
conradab@[removed] (Conrad A. Binyon)
Encino, CA
Home of the Stars who loved Ranches and Farms
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 18:06:29 -0500
From: JimBourg@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Rocky Jordan
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In a message dated 11/3/2004 11:17:32 AM Central Standard Time,
[removed]@[removed] writes:
1/8/50, "Smoke Screen." the one which begins with Rocky saying "It was
the other side of midnight. . ."
I suspect that someone mislabeled another episode that Archie has.
My copy of "Smoke Screen," dated 1/8/50 also, has the "Osirus" opening at
the very beginning before the announcers intro & the naming of the night's
episode. It then has the "other side of midnight" opening afterwards.
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Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 18:09:27 -0500
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Kemosabe
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For an inteesting story about The Lone Ranger & tonto ripped out of today's
headlines, go to:
[removed]
Yours in the ether,
Derek Tague
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Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 02:19:00 -0500
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Frozen Weenies
The absurdity of modern life in Canada is captured in this article on the
government agency responsible for deciding if Tonto demeans the native
peoples of the 49th Paralell.
A must-read if you feel the need to smack your head really hard.
Sean Dougherty
SeanDD@[removed]
[removed]
d-ad99-8e2da1b47c5a
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 02:20:05 -0500
From: James Meadows <walthamus@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Cracked and the National Lampoon
Regarding the National Lampoon, it's still
publishing new material, but only online. Their
website is at [removed]
I've read that Cracked Magazine got its start in
the late 1950s, when Mad was enjoying its first flush
of success. It is the last of the Mad imitators,
outliving publications like Sick, Crazy, and even
Mad's own sister publication, Panic.
Some artists and writers seen in Mad have also
contributed to Cracked, such as the aforementioned
John Severin. Even the late, great Don Martin
published in Cracked at one point. But from my
experience, Cracked has never measured up to the
magazine it imitated.
Plus, Cracked has suffered as Mad's own circulation
has dropped over the years. I've read that Cracked
regularly has a readership about one tenth the size of
Mad's. That could be quite profitable when Mad was it
its peak, with over two million readers. But now that
Mad's circulation is well under a million, Cracked's
circulation has fallen accordingly.
Cracked's sebsite is [removed]
Another OTR connection to Mad: Tom Koch, who wrote
for Bob and Ray, and Fibber McGee and Molly (in its
final years on NBC's "Monitor") has been a frequent
Mad contributor.
Jim Meadows
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 09:04:02 -0500
From: Archie Hunter <y_know_archie@[removed];
To: OTR Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Rocky Jordan
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Arthur Funk speculated that the two Jordan files I commented on in Digest 352
were possibly mislabelled files. They are not - they are the same storyline
(once past the differences in the opening). Both stories are identified by
the announcer as 'Smoke Screen'. Sorru if I didn't make that clear in my
initial post on this subject.
The orchestra version is sponsored (Del Monte Foods) and ends with the
announcer giving us the title of next week's show (The Loomis Affair). The
organ version is unsponsored, and ends with Rocky giving us a preview of next
week's show (also The Loomis Affair).
It has been suggested that possibility these were different broadcasts for
the east and west coast (similar to Escape) with the different music etc.
During the time when this show was broadcast (January 8, 1950), Rocky Jordan
was a CBS West Coast only show (according to the excellent log by Frank
Passage) so I don't know if this explanation is valid.
Any other info?
Thanks
Archie
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Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 11:13:30 -0500
From: "Tom van der Voort" <tvander4@[removed];
To: "old_time_radio" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: The Three Rocky Jordans
Archie and Art Funk commented in recent digests about differing Rocky
Jordan programming. According to a Randy Eidemiller log, there were three
program runs. The first, with Jack Moyles, ran from 10/31/48 to 9/10/50. The
second, starring George Raft, was broadcast from 6/27/51 to 8/29/51 (obviously
a summer replacement series). The third, about which there is very little
information, ran from 7/6/52 to 6/26/53. I suspect this is the iteration with
organ fill that again stared Jack Moyles.
In any event, I have thirteen of the organ music programs in my
collection. They are all AFRTS rebroadcasts. Several are repeats of earlier
programs. To be specific, the repeats are 'Pattern for Revenge', 'Quest for
Tranina', 'The Gum Queen', 'Adventure with Andrea', 'The Word of a Bishop' and
'Memento from Adelaide'. Since I have both versions of these programs I can
say with complete assurance that the scripts are roughly the same but that the
programs are remakes, not rebroadcasts.
Incidentally, I found all of the later broadcasts in the SPERDVAC
Library, a useful resource for those who want to further investigate.
Hope this helps.
Tom van der Voort
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2004 Issue #354
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