Subject: [removed] Digest V2006 #258
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 9/23/2006 2:56 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]

------------------------------


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2006 : Issue 258
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  history of Diary of Fate              [ jim taylor <bettylouson@[removed]; ]
  John Brown's body of work             [ "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed]; ]
  When Radio Was                        [ Radioclass <radioclass@[removed] ]
  Re: Dunning Bk Availablity            [ "Marvin R. Bensman" <mbensman@memph ]
  9-23 births/deaths                    [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
  Korla Pandit / Larry Ferrari          [ "Danica L. Stein" <furrygirl@adelph ]
  "He does just fine, thanks!"          [ Wich2@[removed] ]
  Korla Pandit ????                     [ "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed] ]
  Wrong! no Right.                      [ "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed] ]
  This week in radio history 24-30 Sep  [ "Joe Mackey" <joemackey108@adelphia ]
  Arlene Francis on Radio               [ jack and cathy french <otrpiano@ver ]

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 18:38:26 -0400
From: jim taylor <bettylouson@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  history of Diary of Fate

September 22, 2006

Dear Old Time Radio Digest Readers:

I m writing to inquire about the history of the radio
program "Diary of Fate.

I know the program aired in 47/48 radio season.

The program was syndicated by Larry Finley
syndication, would this program fall into the category
of what Jack French would call "a radio counterfeit of
the whistler". The stories were very similar. Did the
same writers do both programs? How popular was this
poor mans version of the Whistler? How many stations
aired it? What other programs did Larry Finley
syndicate? Also, How was the Voice of Fate?
And, how is this program regarded today among others
collectors, this might be an appropriate question for
Jack and Cathy French.

There was no information about this program in John
Dunning's book "On The Air"

Many Thanks

Jim Taylor

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 22:21:51 -0400
From: "Derek Tague" <derek@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  John Brown's body of work
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

Everybody's favourite young Jack Benny fan Karen Hughes asked for trivia
pertaining to radio's "Damon Runyon Theatre" so as to add some colour to her
upcoming presentation about Runyon to her students. Our man in Virginia, Jack
French, posited

John Brown played "Broadway", who served as narrator for the series.

Well, I cannot add anything further about Damon Runyon, but can say a few
things about John Brown.

Once while doing research about him, I came upon an NBC-Radio press release
for "The Life of Riley"  which contained a biography of Mr. Brown, which said
that radio's most famous mortician--Digby "Digger" O'Dell--actually worked in
a funeral parlour while he was a struggling NYC stage actor. My response was
"No, way! Some publicity flack made that up."

On further inspection of the file folder, I found a background article about
John Brown in connexion with his role as the father on "A Date with Judy" from
a Milwaukee paper Sentinal? Journal? query?) which a[[eared in the edition of
the infamous date, Sunday, December 7th, 1941, which was at a time when
"Riley" didn't even exist. Said Milwaukee article did, indeed, confirm that
Brown actually DID work in a funeral [removed] not just any funeral
parlour, but the still-extant Frank E. Campbell & Sons, known unofficially
here in the NYC-area as the "morticians to the stars." (It does seem that
whenever one hears about a high profile showbiz funeral here in Gotham, nine
times out of ten the arrangements are carried out by Campbell's).

Shoveling off into the ether,

Derek Tague

  *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
  ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 22:22:12 -0400
From: Radioclass <radioclass@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  When Radio Was

Hi

Karen Lerner can you help?  I've been taping When
Radio Was here in the Chicago area and recently, the
schedule on the website has no relation to what is
being heard on the radio show.  I know that Chuck
Schaden will be presenting the show starting some time
in October and I look forward to that.  He's a great
host on his own show "Those Were The Days".  But, I've
been taping the Superman show "Drought in Freeville"
and it looks like I won't be able to copy the rest of
these shows in this story.  What happened?

Thanks.

Anne

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 22:22:50 -0400
From: "Marvin R. Bensman" <mbensman@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Dunning Bk Availablity

A lot of you have wanted to get John Dunning, ON THE AIR: The
Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio (0-19-507678-8).

Oxford University Press is having a Fall Sale. Their catalog with this
offer is distributed to faculty and universities.

Here is your opportunity to get it for $[removed] Plus $[removed] for shipping.
($[removed])

To order Call toll free 1-800-451-7556. Give them PROMO CODE #25443.

Their on line sale catalog is at: [removed]

What a deal for the definitive book on OTR.

--
Prof. Emeritus Marvin R. Bensman, [removed],[removed]
Department of Communication
The University of Memphis

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 22:26:20 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  9-23 births/deaths

September 23rd births

09-23-1889 - Don Bestor - Longford, SD - d. 1-13-1970
bandleader: "Nestle Program"; "Jack Benny Program"
09-23-1893 - Louis Sorin - NYC - d. 12-14-1961
actor: Pan Pancho "Cisco Kid"
09-23-1897 - Walter Pidgeon - East St. John, New Brunswick, Canada -
d. 9-25-1984
actor: "Hollywood Calling"; "Screen Guild Theatre"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-23-1901 - Frederick Hazlitt Brennan - d. 6-30-1962
writer: "Shorty Bell" based on Brennan's stories
09-23-1907 - Rudd Weatherwax - Engel, Sierra County, NM - d. 2-25-1985
dog trainer: "Lassie"
09-23-1910 - Elliott Roosevelt - NYC - d. 10-27-1990
commentary for the Mutual Network (Son of FDR) "Information Please"
09-23-1913 - Stanley Kramer - NYC - d. 2-19-2001
film director: "Jack Benny Program"; "Stagestruck"
09-23-1920 - Mickey Rooney - Brooklyn, NY
actor: Andy Hardy "Hardy Family"; Ralph J. 'Shorty' Bell "Shorty Bell"

September 23rd deaths

02-16-1914 - Jimmy Wakely - Mineola, AR - d. 9-23-1982
country singer: "All-Star Western Theatre"; "Hollywood Barn Dance"
02-27-1909 - Carl Frank - Weehawken, NJ - d. 9-23-1972
actor: Jerry Malone "Young Dr. Malone"; Bob Drake "Betty and Bob"
03-30-1858 - DeWolf Hopper - NYC - d. 9-23-1935
host-narrator: (Husband of Hedda Hopper) "Roses and Drums"
04-05-1917 - Robert Bloch - Chicago, IL - d. 9-23-1994
writer: "Stay Tuned for Terror"
04-17-1910 - Ivan Goff - Perth, Australia - d. 9-23-1999
screenwriter: "Lux Radio Theatre"
04-19-1900 - George O'Brien - San Francisco, CA - d. 9-23-1985
actor: "Anchors Aweigh"
05-07-1890 - Billy House - Mankato, MN - d. 9-23-1961
actor, comedian: "Al Pearce and His Gang"; "The Laugh Liner"
06-20-1893 - Edwin Wolfe - d. 9-23-1983
actor: Curt Bradley "Pepper Young's Family"
06-27-1924 - Rosalie Allen - Old Forge, PA - d. 9-23-2003
yodeling cowgirl: "Grand Ole Opry"
09-12-1894 - Billy Gilbert - Louisville, KY - d. 9-23-1971
actor: "NYA Varieties"; "Rudy Vallee Rehearsal"
10-19-1930 - Wally Flaherty - The Bronx, NY - d. 9-23-1998
host: "Open Line"
10-27-1918 - Bill Ballance - Peoria, IL - d. 9-23-2004
talk show host: "Feminine Forum"; "Bill Ballance Show"
12-28-1905 - Cliff Arquette - Toledo, OH - d. 9-23-1974
comedian, actor: Thaddeus Cornfelder, "Myrt and Marge"
xx-xx-1881 - Earl Godwin - Washington, [removed] - d. 9-23-1956
newsman: "Watch the World Go By"
xx-xx-1911 - Murray Bernett - d. 9-23-1997
writer: "True Detectives Mysteries"

Ron Sayles
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2006 09:28:31 -0400
From: "Danica L. Stein" <furrygirl@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Korla Pandit / Larry Ferrari

I didn't know who Korla Pandit was either. I saw and listened to a clip
online. I was immediately reminded of another organist with a similar
schtick. Anyone ever hear of Larry Ferrari ([removed])? I remember my
parents tuning in to Larry's TV show, I think it was on Sundays. I grew
up in the Philadelphia area, and no one I know has ever heard of him,
so maybe Larry was a local Philly guy. He would just play what I
suppose is called "lounge" music as the camera panned over him, and the
viewer saw him, his hands, and the organ from various angles through
the whole show. I don't think he talked much, if at all. I absolutely
loved his show.

Don't know if Larry had a radio presence. I'm guessing he did not, as
this was in the late 60's.

--Danica (emerging from lurk mode), now in beautiful western Vermont

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2006 09:29:03 -0400
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "He does just fine, thanks!"

From: seandd@[removed]

Gary Yoggy's OTR presentation in  Binghamton was flagged in the local
newspaper today

Thanks for the heads-up, Sean!
Way to go, Gary!

(I'll be saying, "How DO you DO?!?" in a Russian accent for Gary next month
in Newark; nice to see ink on how HE'S doing!)

Best,
-Craig W.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2006 09:29:12 -0400
From: "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Korla Pandit ????

Frank McGurn has raised an interesting point.  Was Korla Pandit well
known outside the West Coast?  In my original inquiry, I mentioned that
he played the organ during the commercials of "Chandu, the Magician", and
now I am wondering myself if that program was received nationally, or just
on the West Coast?

Frank, the truth of the matter, as I see it, is that the organist on a kids'
show, as it were, did not get much name credit.  As a kid, I did not know
that the organ playing was done by Korla Pandit.  Most people who do
remember him know him from television, where he distinguished himself by
appearing with a turban.

Stuart Lubin

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2006 09:29:36 -0400
From: "Stuart Lubin" <StuartLubin@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Wrong! no Right.

I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to Ron Sayles for his
daily contributions.  The births/deaths section is to me one of the most
important and waited-for sections of the Digest.  I am amazed that, given
the large numbers of personalities covered, more misinformation has not been
given to Ron.  And if there is a mistake, so what?  It will be uncovered by
one or more digesters soon enough.  There are a lot of knowledgeable readers
out there, and when I had questions about Korla Pandit, I received much
information off list.  The important thing to me is that in the column, I
see names of people whom I have not thought of, for years.

Knowing where Korla Pandit was born and to what race he belonged was not
important for its own sake. For years, it had been rumored that he really
was not East Indian. Who can blame him for the deception? There was a lot of
racial discrimination back then.  I am happy that I have a cadre of
knowledgeable readers to whom I can go, to clear up misconceptions.  Thank
you, Ron, for your work and for always being gracious and friendly in
discussing disputed items.  And if there is an error here or there, it is no
big deal.

Stuart Lubin

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2006 09:29:50 -0400
From: "Joe Mackey" <joemackey108@[removed];
To: "otrd" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  This week in radio history 24-30 September

>From Those Were The Days --

9/24

1942 - Glenn Miller ended his Moonlight Serenade series on CBS. It was time
for Miller to go to war. The show had aired three times a week for
Chesterfield Cigarettes.

9/25

1933 - America's favorite cowboy, Tom Mix, was heard for the first time on
NBC. The Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters continued on the air until June
1950.

9/27

1933 - NBC debuted Waltz Time, featuring the orchestra of Abe Lymon. The
program continued on the network until 1948.

1938 - Thanks for the Memory was heard for the first time on The Bob Hope
Show -- on the NBC Red network.

9/28

1936 - Bachelor's Children debuted on CBS (at 9:45 [removed]) in addition to its
schedule on the Mutual Network (at 10:15 [removed]). The show's theme song, Ah,
Sweet Mystery of Life, opened the 15-minute, critically acclaimed, daily
serial. Bachelor's Children became very popular because of its natural
dialogue which made folks think they were hearing a real event. Bachelor's
Children ... brought to you by Old Dutch Cleanser, Palmolive-Peet Soap,
Colgate Toothpaste and Wonder Bread.

1939 - The final broadcast of The Fleischmann Hour was heard. The star of
the show, Rudy Vallee, wrapped things up after a decade of entertaining
radio, but later was host of the Sealtest Show as well as appearing on many
other programs.

9/29

1920 - Radios for 10 bucks! That's what Joseph Horne Company's department
store in Pittsburgh, PA was selling. The radios were advertised in The
Pittsburgh Sun for $10 and up. One could get a ready-made radio in a box
with headphones and tuning knob. This way, one could do away with the Quaker
Oats round box and the cat's whisker wire, which was a pain to tune.  (Of
course with inflation, that would be about $105 in today's money).

1930 - "This is Lowell Thomas." Those words were spoken for the first time
as a young Lowell Thomas made his debut on CBS. He replaced Floyd Gibbons on
the nightly (6:45 [removed]), 15-minute newscast. Thomas, who started as a
reporter for the New York Daily News (at age 19), was heard on the radio for
the next 46 years.

1930 - "Ba, ba, ba, boo. I will, ba ba ba boo ... marry you!" Bing Crosby,
America's premier crooner for decades, married Dixie Lee.

1940 - Double or Nothing was first heard on Mutual. Each time contestants
answered questions correctly, their winnings would double from $20 to $40 to
the big payoff of $80. If they gave an incorrect answer, they were gone!
Nobody bet on long how long the show would last. Good thing. It kept going
for a dozen years. Among the sponsors: Feen-A-Mint, Chooz breath candy and
Campbell's soup.

1946 - Mystery fans remember when The Adventures of Sam Spade debuted on CBS
this Sunday night. (It had aired in the summer of 1946 on ABC on Friday
nights.) The Adventures of Sam Spade, with Howard Duff playing Spade, became
a big hit in the Sunday night radio lineup. And now a word from our sponsor:
"Use Wildroot Cream Oil, Charlie ... it keeps your hair in [removed]"

9/30

1930 - Death Valley Days was first heard on the NBC Red network this day and
became one of radio's biggest hits. The 30-minute, Western-adventure series
starred Tim Daniel Frawley as the Old Ranger, Harvey Hays as the Old
Prospector, John White as the Lonesome Cowboy, Edwin Bruce as Bobby Keen,
Robert Haag as Sheriff Mark Chase and Olyn Landick as Cassandra Drinkwater.

The tales heard on Death Valley Days were all based on fact and were human
interest stories revolving around the borax mining town of Death Valley,
California. The show was created by Ruth Woodman, a script writer for a New
York ad agency. She had never seen Death Valley; but had found the vehicle
to sell 20-Mule-Team Borax. As time went on, Ms. Woodman did make a trip to
Death Valley. She went back again and again after that, digging up facts for
her scripts. She even met an honest-to-goodness old ranger, Wash Cahill, who
knew everyone and everything about the mining town.

Death Valley Days was renamed Death Valley Sheriff in 1944 and The Sheriff
in 1945. And Ruth Woodman continued to write the scripts. She even wrote
scripts when Death Valley Days became a TV show. Buy some 20-Mule-Team Borax
in commemoration.

1933 - The theme song was Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here and it opened the
National Barn Dance. The half-hour country music and comedy show, originally
heard on WLS, Chicago since 1924, moved to the NBC Blue network this night.
National Barn Dance was broadcast from the Eighth Street Theater in Chicago,
where the stage was transformed into a hayloft every Saturday night. The
host was Joe Kelly. Uncle Ezra was played by Pat Barrett who was known to
say, "Give me a toot on the tooter, Tommy," as he started dancing. A few of
the other Barn Dance characters were Arkie, the Arkansas Woodchopper; Pokey
Martin; the Hoosier Hotshots; the Prairie Ramblers; cowgirl, Patsy Montana;
Pat Buttram; Lulu Belle and the Cumberland Road Runners. Gene Autry and Red
Foley were heard early in their careers on National Barn Dance. Although
there were plenty of sponsors (Alka Seltzer, One-A-Day vitamins, Phillips
Milk of Magnesia), the National Barn Dance was one of the few radio shows to
charge admission.

1935 - "Calling all [removed]" The Adventures of Dick Tracy came to radio for
the first time -- on the Mutual Radio Network. Based on the comic strip
created by Chester Gould, the 15-minute adventure show was heard Monday thru
Friday at 5:45 [removed] The sponsors were Quaker Puffed Wheat and Quaker Puffed
Rice.

1939 - Captain Midnight was heard on radio for the first time -- on Mutual.
The Captain flew his single-engine plane all over the place fighting crime.
Talk about a popular show: Ovaltine dropped its sponsorship of Little Orphan
Annie to climb on board with Captain Midnight. The show was also sponsored
by Skelly Oil.

Joe

---

Visit my homepage: [removed]~[removed]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2006 16:57:13 -0400
From: jack and cathy french <otrpiano@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Arlene Francis on Radio

I'm assisting a NYC researcher who, with the cooperation of the Arlene
Francis family, is preparing a documentary on her, including radio, TV,
film, and stage. The researcher needs help with the radio portion,
including getting audio copies, since Arlene and her husband retained
almost nothing in this venue.

It's unlikely Arlene will be found in the various soap operas she had
brief roles in, however she was the lead in "Betty and Bob" and I've
provided the researcher with audio copies.

We'd like to find "Hour of Charm" shows with Arlene; there are about 30
copies, but so far we haven't found any in which Arlene appears. Other
shows in which Arlene had a major role (and we'd like to locate) are:
"Daughters of Uncle Sam", "Fun For All", "My Good Wife" and "Star in
Khaki 'n Blue."   Arlene also had a major supporting role on "Mr.
District Attorney." She also had reoccurring roles on an anthology,
"There Was a Woman."

Please advise me if your collection contains any audio material of
Arlene Francis. The researcher is willing to reimburse those who can
supply some of the missing audio for dubbing and shipping.

Jack French

Editor: RADIO RECALL
<[removed]>

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2006 Issue #258
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