Subject: [removed] Digest V2007 #97
From: [removed]@[removed]
Date: 3/26/2007 8:34 PM
To: [removed]@[removed]

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


                            The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                              Volume 2007 : Issue 97
                         A Part of the [removed]!
                             [removed]
                                 ISSN: 1533-9289


                                 Today's Topics:

  3-26 births/deaths                    [ Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed] ]
  Another Plug for OTR                  [ seandd@[removed] ]
  Surprised by Carol Richards' Death    [ Larry Jordan <midtod@[removed] ]
  More on Mics for realism              [ Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed]; ]
  Re: Ampex tape recorder               [ Fred Berney <fsberney@[removed]; ]
  The Birds                             [ JayHick@[removed] ]
  Re: The Birds                         [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
  Martian Mania The True Story of the   [ JayHick@[removed] ]
  "...And now, we take you [removed]"       [ Wich2@[removed] ]
  Re: Shadow episode                    [ Dan <teac35@[removed]; ]
  Walgreen CDs                          [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  Pat McCoy                             [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  The Birds                             [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
  ILAM DISCS                            [ "Barbara Harmon" <jimharmonotr@char ]
  Divestiture City                      [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]
  Boston Blackie Fans                   [ Rentingnow@[removed] ]
  Cartoonist Drew Friedman on his book  [ Bob Andelman <bob@[removed]; ]
  C ... AM .. EL ... S!                 [ <otrbuff@[removed]; ]

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:57:01 -0400
From: Ronald Sayles <bogusotr@[removed];
To: Olde Tyme Radio Digest Digest <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  3-26 births/deaths

March 26th births

03-26-1894 - Will Wright - San Francisco, CA - d. 6-19-1962
actor: Ed Kremer "Fibber McGee and Molly"; George Honeywell "My
Little Margie"
03-26-1900 - Creighton Allen - d. 7-xx-1969
pianist for NBC in 1935
03-26-1907 - Clarence Stroud - Kaufman, TX - d. 8-15-1973
actor: "Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show"
03-26-1907 - Claude Stroud - Kaufman, TX - d. 10-16-1985
actor: "Edgar Bergen/Chaarlie McCarthy Show"
03-26-1907 - Leigh Harline - Salt Lake City, UT - d. 12-10-1969
music: "Eddie Bracken Show"; "Ford Festival of American Music"
03-26-1907 - Phil Rapp - d. 1-23-1996
creator, writer, director: "The Bickersons"; "Baby Snooks"; "Old Gold
Time"
03-26-1908 - Hank Sylvern - Brooklyn, NY - d. 7-4-1964
orchestra leader: "Beyond Tomorrow"
03-26-1911 - Tennessee Williams - Columbus, TN - d. 2-25-1983
author: "Drama Critics Award"; "Lux Radio Theatre"
03-26-1912 - Al Sloey - d. 12-xx-1975
singer: (Riders of the Purple Sage) "Roy Rogers Show"; "Hollywood
Barn Dance"
03-26-1916 - Sterling Hayden - Montclair, NJ - d. 5-23-1986
actor: "We the People"
03-26-1916 - Vic Schoen - Brooklyn, NY - d. 1-5-2000
music: "The Andrews Sisters"
03-26-1918 - William Hardcastle - Newcastle, England - d. 11-10-1975
newscaster: "The World At One"
03-26-1923 - Bob Elliott - Boston, MA
comedian: "Bob and Ray Show"; "Back Bay Matinee"
03-26-1924 - Marcia Van Dyck - Grants Pass, OR
actor: Marcia Barry "It's the Barrys"
03-26-1931 - Leonard Nimoy - Boston, MA
actor: [removed] Theatre Works "War of the Worlds"

March 26th deaths

02-27-1899 - Ian Keith - Boston, MA - d. 3-26-1960
actor "The O'Neill Cycle"
03-04-1904 - Dorothy Page - Northampton, PA - d. 3-26-1961
vocalist: "Paducah Plantation"
04-03-1921 - Jan Sterling - NYC - d. 3-26-2004
actor: "Screen Director's Playhouse"; "[removed] Steel Hour"
05-31-1819 - Walt Whitman - Long Island, NY - d. 3-26-1892
writer: "Against the Storm"
06-06-1898 - Walter Abel - St. Paul, MN - d. 3-26-1987
actor: "Columbia Presents Shakespeare"; "Magic Key"; "Voice of the Army"
06-18-1898 - Francis 'Dink' Trout - Beardstown, IL - d. 3-26-1950
actor: Binney Waldo "Life of Riley"; Mr. Anderson "A Day in the Life
of Dennis Day"
07-23-1888 - Raymond Chandler - Chicago, IL - d. 3-26-1959
detective story author: "Phillip Marlow"
08-13-1909 - Tristram Coffin - Mammoth, UT - d. 3-26-1990
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"
08-18-1896 - Alan Mowbray - London, England - d. 3-26-1969
actor: "Lux Radio Theatre"; "Forecast"; "Hollywood Hotel"; "Screen
Guild Theatre"
09-06-1889 - Louis Silvers - NYC - d. 3-26-1954
music director: "Lux Radio Theatre"
09-26-1897 - William B. Heyne - d. 3-26-1992
choral director: "Lutheran Hour"; "Lutheran Laymen's League"
10-13-1904 - Wilfred Pickles - Halifax, England - d. 3-26-1978
announcer, newsreader: "Have A Go"; "Children's Hour"; "Where Are You
Now?"
10-25-1902 - Eddie Lang - Philadelphia, PA - d. 3-26-1933
jazz guitarest: "Music That Satisfies"
12-09-1912 - Bartlett Robinson - NYC - d. 3-26-1986
actor: Walter Manning "Portia Faces Life"; Perry Mason "Perry Mason"
12-13-1894 - Olin Landick - d. 3-26-1972
actor: Cassandra Drinkwater "Cousin Cassie"
12-16-1899 - Noel Coward - Teddington, Middlesex, England - d. 3-26-1973
actor, playwright: "Stagestruck"

Ron Sayles

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:57:32 -0400
From: seandd@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Another Plug for OTR
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The San Francisco Chronicle mentions [removed] in today's edition.

Sean Dougherty SeanDD@[removed]

[removed];type=tvradio

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 01:43:33 -0400
From: Larry Jordan <midtod@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Surprised by Carol Richards' Death

I too was sorry to hear of Carol Richards' death, and even more than
that, I was surprised by it. The reason is, I wrote to the OTR Digest
a few years ago inquiring about her. I had just discovered her on
some old radio shows and loved her voice. I tried to track down more
info on her but found very little.

Someone on this mailing list responded at that time by saying Ms.
Richards was deceased, and that was that. I had hoped to track her
down and tell her how much I enjoyed her music.

I'm sure this was an innocent mistake on the part of the person who
posted a reply here several years ago, but it's odd that nobody else
on the mailing list corrected the error. You would also think that
somebody would not post a definitive comment about the supposed death
of an artist unless they had the facts in hand to back it up.

I am amazed to learn the woman was alive all this time and I could
have potentially contacted her. Now it really IS too late. I'm really
disappointed by that.

I am wondering if anybody from the OTR community had been in touch
with Carol in recent years, or could fill me in on her activities?

Does anyone at this late date have any suggestion on how I could
contact the family to express my condolences?

Larry Jordan

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 07:50:26 -0400
From: Ken Greenwald <radio@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  More on Mics for realism

Though this isn't exactly the same as telling a radio audience that a
mike is set up to record an actual sound, such as a passing train,
there were times in radio when mikes were used for greater realism.
One time was in the late 30s when, I believe, it was the Columbia
Workshop that was going to present Archibald McLeish's THE CITADEL.
The entire broadcast was played out in an armory that gave the proper
echo of a large city. It was quite impressive.
Also, we can thank Jack Webb for taking the mike outside of the
studio on occasion when he did his DRAGNET show. One time he needed
to get just the right sound of a woman in an apartment many floors
above ground level. He placed a mike in an actual apartment many
floors above ground and then had (Virginia Gregg?) yell down to Jack
Webb, who yelled back. The sound of distance was perfect for the
scene -- a sound that could not be produced in a radio studio. Very
effective for the story. Also, Webb did a scene where he and Barton
Yarbrough were to be walking down the hallway of the LA Court
building on their way to a trial. Webb insisted that the kind of
sound and echo for that scene could not be done in a radio studio.
So, portable equipment was taken to the marbled halls of the LA Court
building and Webb and Yarborough (script in hand) walked down the
hallway reading their lines while the mike and portable equipment
followed them. He got the perfect effect he wanted. Quite a creative
genius that Jack Webb!
Ken Greenwald

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:24:05 -0400
From: Fred Berney <fsberney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Ampex tape recorder

I just re-read what I wrote and before I get deluged with email, let
me clarify my statement about Bill Palmer or Ampex inventing the tape
recorder. We all know the story of how our American troupes found a
tape recorder in Germany after the war. As I understand, that
recorder used metal tape. What Palmer and Ampex did was to create a
recorder that used paper base tape rather than metal.

Magnetic recording was already an invention, Ampex just improved the
system. (I'm sure even this sentence will create letters).

Fred
Check us out for old time radio & TV shows & Movie Serials
[removed]

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:24:50 -0400
From: JayHick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Birds
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As others will probably write, The Lux broadcast of July 20, 1953 was "The
Birds" based on the short story by Daphne de Maurier.   This was a departure
for
Lux since it was not based on the movie, which came out in 1963.   The Lux
story took liberties with the story and the movie followed the Lux broadcast
more than the story.   This was found in "Lux Presents Hollywood" by Connie
Billips and Arthur Pierce.   Jay

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Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:34:40 -0400
From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: The Birds

The Birds couldn't be made in the US today, I trust, due to animal
rights concerns, as many of the shots involved live birds being flung
at the actors by, I suppose, special bird-flinging machines.

 On the other hand, we do have something today Hitchcock never lived to
see: computer animation, which routinely creates even more detailed scenarios
just for TV commercials.  As for the motivation for the birds' behavior,
the movie repeatedly suggests it's all related to the arrival of Tippi
Hedren's character and implies it's even related somehow or another to her
personal life (a device which likely would be more of a Hitchcockian thing
than something from the story).  A remake today would probably single out
some type of environmental theme.
 
 I found one other adaptation of the story from the same era as the Lux
broadcast: an episode of the 1950s TV series "Danger."
 
 Dixon 

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:36:15 -0400
From: JayHick@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Martian Mania The True Story of the War of
 the Worlds
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 Jay  received your newsletter today and as  always very good.  Do you or any
of  your other readers know where or if I could  obtain a copy of the above
TV special aired in 1998 starring Steve Allen and hosted by James Cameron.

 Any help would  be greatly appreciated

 All the Best

 Bob Reynolds
 POB  311
 Lynn NC 28750
 Boblo1@[removed]

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:21:06 -0400
From: Wich2@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  "...And now, we take you [removed]"

Dear Ted & gang-

Great thread, [removed]

From: "Ted Kneebone" _tkneebone1@[removed]_
(mailto:tkneebone1@[removed])

Someone  has asked about the use of "live" real sounds on radio programs.

I have an old compilation-of-aircheck-excerpts lp called "An Operatic
Christmas." It's not w/o flaws (such as switching Barrymore Bros. names!),
but  it's
fun.

One of the cuts ends with "...the chimes of New York's historic Trinity
Church ushering in Christmas [removed]"
>From the ambience, it sounds legit.

In doing some local programs by the students at the SD School for  the Blind,
I found that the best sounds came from the real objects handled by  the
actors themselves!

Often - though sometimes "fake" hand effects sound "realer" than the real
ones!

Best,
-Craig

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:41:01 -0400
From: Dan <teac35@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Shadow episode

Many Thanks to all who responded to my inquire about
The Shadow! It was much appreciated!

Dan

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:41:44 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Walgreen CDs

Regarding the postings previous about the OTR CDs being sold through
Walgreens.  Similar CDs popped up at the dollar stores in the past year,
with cheap cardboard packaging and a single disc with two, half-hour CDs.

Most of the CDs and DVDs you buy for REALLY cheap prices (and we're talking
one-dollar prices) are manufactured overseas in such mass quantities that
the cost to have them produced is extremely cheap.  One company in
California that specializes in DVDs you see sold in the dollar stores have
them made and printed in China.  To have them completely produced including
shrink wrap is something like 21 or 22 cents a piece.  They sell them to the
dollar stores for 50 cents or so, doubling their money.

Complaints about some of the quality of the CDs isn't surprising.  Remember
. . . you are paying a dollar a disc.  I've met people who buy DVDs and CDs
at the dollar stores and complained that the quality was awful on some.
They seem to forget they are not paying the natinal average of $[removed] per CD
and $[removed] per DVD.  If Walgreens is selling OTR shows on CD, they are
selling them to a market that is not OTR-specific, but to the older
generation who remembers listening to some of the shows when they were
children.

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:41:56 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Pat McCoy

Pat McCoy's wife has been ill for some time.  I am saddened to hear that his
wife passed away.

For anyone who wants to send a sympathy card, his address is:

Pat McCoy
Box 1069
Richland, WA 99352

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:39:44 -0400
From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Birds

Ted asked:

I just received a new catalog from Radio Spirits and it is offering a set
called Scariest Shows Ever.  Included in the contents, says the ad, is the
Lux Radio Theatre from July 20, 1953.  The title of the show?  The Birds.
The Lux Logs do show that The Birds was indeed done on that date.  It
starred Herbert Marshall.
What movie was Lux doing in 1953?

LUX wasn't doing an adaptation of any movie version.  LUX offered
adaptations of short stories and novels as well as motion pictures,
especially during the program's first few years and last few years.  The
only other time THE BIRDS was done was in July of 54 on ESCAPE, also adapted
from the story.  I do remember seeing a few mail order catalogs years ago
that used to advertise the LUX version as an adaptation of the Hitchcock
movie, which was inaccurate, but no doubt put to print for the purpose of
making a sale.

MG

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:41:55 -0400
From: "Barbara Harmon" <jimharmonotr@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  ILAM DISCS
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Walden Hughes is a brilliant young man, but one of the problems of youth is
that is newer than age.

            I knew Carlton E. Morse for over thirty years.  Some might
recall he dedicated his first (and only) I Love a Mystery novel to me.

He had me working on another novel in the series, but that did not work out.
However, he authorized me to produce a novelette of ILAM for my book, Radio
Mystery and Adventure.  So I know the story of the transcriptions he had.

            I went up to his place, Seven Stones, in Northern California in
1960 and borrowed what transcriptions he had and copied them to tape.  ALL
he had was the familiar group of "The Thing that Crises in the Night", "The
Richard Curse" (aka "The Million Dollar Mystery"), "Bury Your Dead,
Arizona", the first  seven episodes of "Temple of Vampires" and some misc.
eps. of "Battle of the Century".

Later, Dave Golden found added eps. of "Vampires" and "Battle" to make them
nearly complete at WOR New York.  Morse also had a few random episodes from
New York, and even fewer from Hollywood, mostly random episodes of "Island
of Skulls".   I also found at that time only one disc of "I Love Adventure".
There was also a complete run of "Adventures by Morse", 52 half-hour
episodes.  Aside from the "Adventures" set, I recall there were 67 discs in
all of non-duplicated shows.  There were also a good many duplicate
episodes, sometimes as many as three or four of the same episode.  I
returned the discs to Morse.

            A few years later, Dave Amaral became "the recording engineer"
who copied the same discs for Morse.  (Of course, I supplied Morse copies of
my tapes but there were not of professional quality.)  Dave also discovered
the rest of the "I Love Adventure" discs I had missed in the old barn where
Morse had stored the ETs.

            These 26 discs of "I Love Adventure" plus the 67 discs I had
found earlier, plus the 52 "Adventures by Morse" were ALL - absolutely ALL -
the recordings Carlton E. Morse had of his mysteries programs.  He NEVER had
anything like a complete run of all the treasured stories.

            I also found a private collector, Jerry Stier, who had recorded
"The Hermit of San Felipe Adabopo" off the air, rather poorly, but at least
he did it, and with the help of Skip Craig I obtained those tapes from
Stier, and for years collectors have used every device to try to clean them
up.

            Like many others, I have tried to track down and obtain the
fabled "Becker' lot of ILAM.  I have never had any luck.

It is possible that this is just an "urban legend" and these discs never
existed, at least not in the complete depth wished for by many.

            There is a similar story of a lot of some 300 episodes of "Tom
Mix" that a former employee of Ralston Purina has, and will not release for
fear it might compromise his pension from the company if it were found he
took those recordings.  I can't believe the company would care about the
fate of those discs, since it is known that they deliberately junked what
was left many years ago.  In fact, Ralston Purina no longer exists, although
there is a Ralcorp entity that might retain whatever rights they had to "Tom
Mix".

            If these treasure troves of ILAM and "Tom Mix" exist, I
certainly hope somebody turns them up and releases them to radio fandom
soon.  Coming up on 74, I am not getting any younger and even at my advanced
age I still yearn to hear those great shows again.

            -- JIM HARMON (using Barbara's email domain)

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:42:33 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Divestiture City

Procter & Gamble continues to divest itself of once-revered commodities that
made it the multinational it is.  Today in the supermarket I happened upon
Spic and Span and looked to see if it still had P&G's name on it.  Not any
longer.  Would you believe "the wonderful once-over cleanser for painted
walls, woodwork and linoleum" has joined the ranks of the boatload of ex-P&G
money-makers cut from the mother ship and set afloat?  Spic and Span joins
Lava, Oxydol, Crisco and a handful of others that -- in radio days -- one
could hardly run a household without.  How times have changed!

For part of those series' lives, Spic and Span brought Backstage Wife, Big
Sister, Life Can Be Beautiful and The Right to Happiness on radio.  On
television, it was one of the earliest wares proffered on Search for
Tomorrow.

The more time passes, the more things change.  Will the day come when we can
say, "P&G, we know ye not"?

Jim Cox

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:42:43 -0400
From: Rentingnow@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Boston Blackie Fans

For fans of Boston Blackie, TCN is broadcasting  8 of the films starting on
March 28.

Larry Moore

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

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:29:57 -0400
From: Bob Andelman <bob@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Cartoonist Drew Friedman on his book "Old
 Jewish Comedians"
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If this is too far afield from the standard OTR post, I apologize in
advance. I9ve been on the list for years, always reading, never posting.

Anyway, I recently posted an interview with cartoonist Drew Friedman to my
site, Mr. Media ([removed]). I thought it might be of interest to some
of you because his latest book, 3Old Jewish Comedians,2 features more than
30 caricatures of old comics from the OTR days, including the Marx Brothers,
Jack Benny, Bud Abbott and others. In the interview - which you can read or
listen to online or download to your iPod - Friedman tells several stories
about the comedians in his book, including his meeting with Groucho.

Thanks for your time.

--
[removed]
NEW: MR. MEDIA - [removed] - Subscribe on iTunes!
LinkedIn: [removed]

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Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 21:24:49 -0400
From: <otrbuff@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  C ... AM .. EL ... S!

I found references to the Camel Caravan carrying Glen Gray and His
Orchestra, Connee Boswell, Walter O'Keefe, Bob Crosby and the Bobcats, Lanny
Ross, Herb Shriner, Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra, Ginny Simms, Vaughn
Monroe and His Orchestra, George Bryan, Bill Goodwin, Harry Holcombe, Wayne
Nelson, Ken Niles, Bert Parks, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, Nat Shilkret
and His Orchestra and Eddie Cantor.  Right off the top of your head, can
anybody remember where they were all going?

Jim Cox

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V2007 Issue #97
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