RadioGram for October, 2012

00LAST CALL FOR LUNCH WITH THE STARS • SEE PAGES 3 AND 4 FOR DETAILS!00
sperdvac
Volume 36 • Number 8
October 2011
graciously extends its gratitude to these individuals
who have contributed $50 or more to sperdvac during the past
12 months. If you wish to be a sponsor of sperdvac and join this
select group your tax-deductible donation to sperdvac can be
mailed to Dan Haefele, 13720 Jefferson Avenue, Hawthorne,
CA 90250. Thank you!
sperdvac
• ALICE AKINS in memory of Glen Akins
• DAVE AMAREL in memory of Jim
Harmon
• ARTHUR J.M. ANDERSON in memory
of Orson Welles
• ERIC BAELEN
• JUDIE BARTELL in memory of Harry
Bartell, Ben Wright and Vic Perrin
• PAUL M. BENNETT
• FRED BONDY in memory of the whole
Gunsmoke gang
• GEORGE BRECKENRIDGE
• DAVID & LINDA BRENINGER
• BUD BRESNAHAN in memory of Richard Crenna
• RICHARD A. BROCKELMAN
• DENNIS B. BURK in memory of Phil
Harper
• CHRIS M. BUZZARD
• GEROLD M. CLEMENSEN
• WARD L. COCHRAN
• BERT H. COHEN
• RICHARD F. COLAVECHIO in memory
of Bryna Raeburn, Craig McDonnell,
Bill Zuckert and Florence Robinson
• JOHN COLLINS
• THOMAS W. COLLINS in memory of
William Conrad
• TOMMY COOK in memory of Arch
Oboler
• IVAN CURY in memory of Bob Novak
• DIX DAVIS
• LLOYD DE LLAMAS
• ROSEMARY DOBBS
• JUNE FORAY DONAVAN in memory of
Hobart Donavan
• WIL DUFOUR
• BOB DUNCAN, JR.
• HERB ELLIS in memory of Larry Dobkin, Harry Bartell and Parley Baer
• HENRY C. ENGELHARDT III in memory
of Michael Meredith
• CARMEN FINESTRA
• ART FORSTER in memory of Gil Stratton and William Conrad
• JACK FRANCE
• BARBARA FULLER in memory of
John Newland, Peggy Knudsen and
Laughter
• JACK GAGNE
• ROBERT L. GARLAND in memory of
Phyllis Garland Hoffman
• BARRY GERBER
• STANLEY D. GINSBURG
• RICHARD GLASBAND in honor of Bobb
Lynes and Barbara Watkins
• KATHLEEN GRAMS-GIBBS in memory of
Mary Grams
• JOHN F. HALLEY
• HELPING HANDS FOR THE BLIND
• BOB HICKS
• GORDON HIGBEE
• DR. MICHELE HILMES
• STEPHEN E. HOLDEN
• GERALD A. HOLZMAN
• JAMES F. HORNER in memory of The KNX
Radio Drama Hour
• SEAMAN JACOBS in memory of Fred S.
Fox
• ROBERT JANOVICI
• SALLY JANUS
• DENNIS C. JOHNSON
• RALPH M. JOHNSON
• SAM KAMLER
• CASEY KASEM
• GLENDA KELLY in memory of Jim
Harmon
• NILAN L. KINCAID
• ALBERT J. KOPEC
• DENIS KRAY in memory of Glenn, Ray,
Marion, Tex, and all the boys in the band
• RON LANGSETH
• JEFFREY J. LEBRUN in memory of all
departed voice artists
• ALFRED LUCAS
• LON McCARTT in memory of Smilin’ Ed
(Froggy the Gremlin) McConnell
• ROBY & JOYCE McHONE
• ESTHER GEDDES McVEY in memory of
my leading man, Tyler McVey
• JAN MERLIN in memory of Frankie
Thomas and Mona Bruns Thomas
• MILLIE MORSE in memory of Jim Harmon
• BOB MOTT to all the SFX artists when
radio was still radio
• GEORGE (BOB) & VIRGINIA NEWHART in
memory of Bill Quinn
• DR. WAYNE OTT
• FORREST F. OWEN
• GARRY PAPERS
• DAVE PARKER in memory of Fred Foy
• PHIL PROCTOR
• LEE SMITH
• BRIAN E. RAMSEY
• CHESTER RAWSKI in memory of Carolyn
Rawski
• MARIE RAYMOND
N
A
K
H
T
2
RADIOGRAM • OCTOBER 2011
• RONALD M. REISNER, M.D.
• DICK RICHARDS
• D.W. RICHARDSON
• STEPHEN K. SHUTTLEWORTH
• STUART & JANIS SIMON
• CHUCK SIVERTSEN
• LOREN SLAFER
• KENNETH L. SLEEPER
• LEE SMITH
• MICKEY SMITH
• C. W. STAUFENBERG in memory of Paul
Rhymer and members of the “Vic and
Sade” cast
• RICHARD STONE
• ROBERT A. SUMMERS
• RICHARD & MADELENE TEPERSON in
memory of Gil Stratton
• JOAN TREMAYNE in memory of Les
Tremayne
• EDMUND TOTMAN
• EUGENE J. WARD
• WASHINGTON OLD TIME RADIO CLUB
in memory of Jim Harmon
• EDWARD C. WEAVER
• BETSY L. WEINBERG
• LESLIE C. WEST
• JAMES C. WORDEN
U
O
Y
sperdvac
Volume 36 • Number 8 • October 2011
The Society to
Preserve and Encourage
Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
president
Bob Steinmetz
•••
Dan Haefele • Dave Struthers
Rex Quinn • Glenda Kelly
Barbara Harmon
Officers
Treasurer........................................................ Dan Haefele
Secretary........................................................ Glenda Kelly
Activities Chair.................................................Bobb Lynes
Acquisitions Chair.......................................... Dan Haefele
Membership Chair......................................... Barry Opliger
Elections Chair............................................ Neil J. Mitchell
Merchandise...................................................Michael Plett
Catalogs...................................................... Bob Steinmetz
New Members................................................... Rex Quinn
Editor
PATRICK LUCANIO
RADIOGRAM is published monthly except December by
sperdvac, the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio
Drama, Variety and Comedy, a California nonprofit public
benefit corporation, P.O. Box 669, Manhattan Beach, California 90266-0669. Dues are $25 for first year and $15 for
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Annual subscriptions to Radiogram only are $15 in the U.S.,
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resulting from editorial error or omissions. Publisher is not
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forth within. Entire contents are copyright © 2011 by the
Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety
and Comedy. All rights reserved. Nothing contained in this
issue may be reproduced, in whole or in part, by any means,
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EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS should be sent to Radiogram,
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NOVEMBER 5, 2011
BEVERLY GARLAND’S HOLIDAY INN • NORTH HOLLYWOOD
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0MEET THE STARS0
JANET WALDO • DORIS SINGLETON
SHIRLEY MITCHELL • TONY DOW
FRANK BANK • DICK VAN PATTEN
GLORIA McMILLAN • RENI SANTONI
GARY OWENS • HERB ELLIS
PHIL PROCTOR • CHUCK McCANN
TOMMY COOK • IVAN CURY
STUFFY SINGER • JAN MERLIN
MICHAEL C. GWYNNE • MELINDA PETERSON
OCTOBER 2011 • RADIOGRAM
3
RECORD NUMBER OF OTR STARS SET
TO PERFORM AT NOV. 5 LUNCHEON
‘I Love Lucy’ play dramatizes behind-the-scenes
obstacles in moving Lucy from radio to television
by Gregg Oppenheimer
Luncheon Entertainment Chairman
I’m excited to announce more details of
the entertainment at the upcoming Honorary Members Appreciation Luncheon, noon
to 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, November 5, at
Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn in North Hollywood. Tickets are only $50, which includes
a 3-course sit-down luncheon plus four great
shows featuring performances by an unprecedented number of sperdvac honorary
members. Seating is first-come, first-served so
please order your tickets as soon as possible.
A mail-in order form is on page 6 and online
at www.lucylibrary.com/ORDER-FORM.pdf.
The shows include my own radio play, I
Love Lucy: The Untold Story, which had its
successful premiere on August 6th (Lucille
Ball’s 100th birthday) at a beautiful 1,400-seat
theatre in Lucy’s hometown of Jamestown,
NY (broadcast nationwide that same evening
on SiriusXM Radio). It’s a humorous look
behind the scenes at the obstacles that had
to be overcome to move Lucille Ball’s radio
sitcom My Favorite Husband to television as
I Love Lucy, which was based on my dad’s
memoir, Laughs, Luck...and Lucy.
My cast on November 5 will include:
• I Love Lucy and My Favorite Husband
veteran Janet Waldo (Peggy, the bobby-soxer
with the crush on Ricky Ricardo; also radio’s
Corliss Archer and the voice of Judy Jetson);
• I Love Lucy and My Favorite Husband
veteran Doris Singleton (Lucy Ricardo’s girlfriend Carolyn Appleby; Suspense, The Lucy
Show, My Three Sons, Here’s Lucy);
• I Love Lucy and My Favorite Husband
veteran Shirley Mitchell (Lucy Ricardo’s girlfriend Marion Strong; The Great Gildersleeve,
Batchelor Father, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies);
• Leave It to Beaver star Tony Dow (Wally
Cleaver);
• Leave It to Beaver star Frank Bank Wally’s friend Lumpy; The Jack Benny Program);
• Dick Van Patten (Eight Is Enough, I
Remember Mama);
• Gloria McMillan (Principal Conklin’s
[Gale Gordon’s] daughter Harriet on Our
Miss Brooks);
• Reni Santoni (Suspense; Poppy on Seinfeld; co-star (as Clint Eastwood’s partner) of
4
RADIOGRAM • OCTOBER 2011
Dirty Harry);
• Gary Owens (Rowan and Martin’s
Laugh-in, Roger Ramjet);
• Herb Ellis (Dragnet, Gunsmoke, Get
Smart, Bewitched);
• Phil Proctor (The Firesign Theatre, Rugrats, Finding Nemo, Toy Story 2);
• Chuck McCann (Boston Legal, Robin
Hood: Men in Tights, The Heart Is a Lonely
Hunter, The Projectionist);
• Tommy Cook (Blondie, The Lux Radio
Theatre; star of Adventures of Red Ryder);
• Ivan Cury (star of Bobby Benson and the
B-Bar-B Riders);
• Stuffy Singer (The Jack Benny Program,
The Great Gildersleeve, The Patty Duke Show)
• Jan Merlin (star of Tom Corbett, Space
Cadet);
• Michael C. Gwynne (Kojak, Dallas,
Howard Stern’s Private Parts); and
• Melinda Peterson (MacGyver, Twilight
Zone).
I’ll also be directing Janet Waldo in the
classic Suspense thriller “Sorry, Wrong Number,” in which Doris Singleton will recreate
her role in the original 1943 broadcast, plus
Gladys Holland (The Lux Radio Theatre, To
Catch a Thief, The Man Who Knew Too Much)
and special guest star Terry Moore (Academy
Award nominee for Come Back Little Sheba
and star of such films as Daddy Long Legs
and Mighty Joe Young). Rounding out the cast
will be Gloria McMillan, Phil Proctor, Reni
Santoni, Herb Ellis, Tommy Cook, Michael
C. Gwynne, and Melinda Peterson. You won’t
want to miss it.
Also on the program is an entertaining
episode of Jimmy Stewart’s radio western The
Six Shooter starring actor-comedian Chuck
McCann doing an awesome Jimmy Stewart
impression plus Shirley Mitchell and Herb
Ellis, who were on the original Six Shooter
series. Chuck’s such a Jimmy Stewart expert
that if you ask him to do an impression of
Jimmy Stewart, Chuck’s response is, “At
what age do you want him?” Guest-starring
in The Six Shooter will be an actor who’s no
sperdvac
stranger
to Westerns—Ben Cooper (Gunsmoke, The Virginian, Bonanza, Support Your
Local Gunfighter).
One of the things I enjoy most about these
re-creations is something the audience never
gets to see—all the kidding around between
actors that happens during rehearsals. When
one makes a mistake another usually ad-libs
something in an attempt to crack them up,
and before you know it you’ve got a whole
improvised shtick going. Well, this year director Tim Knofler is going to let the audience
in on the fun: The Six Shooter will be done
without any rehearsal, and we’re encouraging
the cast to go ahead have fun with it. With a
cast that includes Chuck McCann, Shirley
Mitchell, Herb Ellis, Ben Cooper and Gary
Owens things might get a little wild.
The final production of the afternoon
will be My Client Curley, a short satirical play
by radio’s greatest playwright, Norman Corwin, directed by Michael Kacey. Corwin, the
Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Lust for Life
and author of such radio masterpieces as On
a Note of Triumph and The Plot to Overthrow
Christmas, will be one of the many celebrities
attending the luncheon. My Client Curley,
which was made into a motion picture, Once
Upon a Time, starring Cary Grant, will star
Continued Page 14
sperdvac
Readers Agree: It’s Don Wilson
In last month’s issue
reader Warren L. Worthington sought the identity of a
KFI announcer in two photographs he had purchased
from the estate of one of
Earl C. Anthony’s personal
photographers.
Pat Moran, of Huntington Beach, CA, wrote: “I
agree that this is a young
Don Wilson. My mother
(originally from NYC) was
playing in an orchestra in
Denver, and Don Wilson was singing in a quartet as part of the
nightly entertainment.
“One night there was a young lady who sang ‘Love Here Is
My Heart’ and she sang every chorus. The quartet was waiting
patiently as they were due to perform next. Don Wilson leaned
over into the orchestra pit and whispered: ‘Love Here Is My Liver
and Bacon.’ Don and my mother continued working there but I
don’t think the young lady was around much longer.
“Anyway, I thought you might be interested in knowing Don
Wilson’s first profession, before he found fame in Hollywood.”
Also, Jack French noted that, “the 2012 calendar of Radio
Spirits has just been released and Don Wilson appears on their
September page. His photo is a dead-ringer for the pix you
published.”
sperdvac
Have your sound recordings, cassettes,
reel-to-reel tapes transcriptions, LPS, 78s
and wire recordings digitized, de-noised
and sweetened professionally with the
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Contact Audiophonic Corporation, Cook
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audiophonic corporation
cook recording laboratory
william s. cook
president
OCTOBER 2011 • RADIOGRAM
5
2nd ANNUAL HONORARY MEMBER APPRECIATION LUNCHEON
November 5, 2011 12:00PM TO 4:00PM
Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn
4222 Vineland Avenue, North Hollywood, CA
BEVERLY GARLAND’S HOLIDAY INN PARKING IS $5.00
SPERDVAC RESERVATION FORM
Name_______________________________________________ Meal_______________________________
Address___________________________________________ Email _________________________________
Day Phone______________________________ Evening Phone____________________________________
Guest ______________________ Meal ___________ Guest _____________________ Meal_____________
Luncheon tickets will be held at the Registration Table starting at 11:00am. This is not a fundraiser and the
full cost of tickets goes to cover costs. Therefore no part of the ticket price is considered a tax deductible
contribution.
Luncheon Event is $50 Per Person
Number Attending = _______
Total Cost = _________
(Optional) Tax-Deductible Donation to Help Defray Luncheon Costs
= ___________
TOTAL
$ ____________
MEAL CHOICES
House Specialty Sherry Wine Pot Roast (Beef)
Chicken Breast Jerusalem (Chicken)
Vegetable Plate (Veggie)
Special Needs: ___________________________________________________________________________
(Vision, Hearing or Walking)
Make Checks payable to SPERDVAC
Mail to Barbara Williams, 381 Table Mountain Bl. Oroville, CA 95965
Phone: 530-990-4214 Email: [email protected]
REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 24, 2011
CHECKS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THIS DATE
6
RADIOGRAM • OCTOBER 2011
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sperdvac
OCTOBER 2011 • RADIOGRAM
7
by
Ed
Dead
8
RADIOGRAM • OCTOBER 2011
sperdvac
That motley drama!—oh, be sure
It shall not be forgot!
With its Phantom chased for evermore,
By a crowd that seize it not,
Through a circle that ever returneth in
To the self-same spot,
And much of Madness and more of Sin
And Horror the Soul of the Plot.
— Edgar Allan Poe
“Ligeia”
hile discussing with a colleague the works of Edgar
Allan Poe I mentioned that
my first exposure to America’s foremost short-story
writer was actually heard and not read. My
seventh grade teacher had played an LP recording of Basil Rathbone reading “The TellTale Heart.” Although the LP had little to do
with old-time radio my friend jumped to that
conclusion and said something very interesting: he likened listening to a radio program
to watching a movie with the projector lamp
Bela Lugosi, unlike fellow horror stars
Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney, was conspicuously absent from radio horror.
His only credit seems to be an epsiode
of Suspense.
sperdvac
off. I wasn’t sure if he were being sarcastic
but the more I thought about his description
the more I liked it. Indeed, when one considers that the best of radio drama incorporated
dialogue, sound effects and music to achieve,
in the words of Poe, a singleness of effect the
more apt my friend’s description; moreover,
when one considers that such aural stimuli is
effected itself in the dark then all the better.
How often have we described our otr experience by citing the “glow of the kilocycle dial”
as the sole illumination of our surroundings?
Poe’s notion of singleness of effect was not
limited to his favorite subject, fear. As noted
in “The Philosophy of Composition,” Poe asserted that a work of art should elicit an emotional response in the reader—listener—and
that the writer should rally everything at his or
her disposal to reach that end. Poe wrote that,
“In the whole composition there should be no
word written, of which the tendency, direct or
indirect, is not to the one pre-established design.” He then asks the writer to consider that,
“Of the innumerable effects, or impressions,
of which the heart or soul is perceptible, what
one shall I, on the present occasion, select?”
As we all know Poe selected, for the most part,
fear, and to that end he assembled every word
and image he could to create a singleness of
effect—fear—in the reader. So, too, did the
many creative talents associated with old-time
radio; they assembled word and image as well
as radio’s aural complements—sound effects
and music—to achieve that special “fear in
the dark” that appeals to us. With that dial
glowing in the dark and the assembled components stimulating the mind’s eye radio was
able to chill us by using our own fears in a
more exciting manner than anything movies
or television could evoke. Movies and TV may
have the
ability to
shock us—
to jump out
of the closet and
scream boo—but
radio had the ability to suggest a milieu of unsettling fear. We were surrounded
by unknown terror and the more we contemplated our fears the more our spines tingled
and the more we thought it prudent to turn
up the lights—well, just a little.
Radio horror was nothing but good oldfashioned storytelling; as mentioned countless
times radio was the electronic equivalent of
gathering around the campfire and listening
to a storyteller, but here our storyteller’s sole
purpose was to give us the creeps. Radio
succeeded so well, too; in the middle of a
“witch’s tale” heard in the half-darkness of a
“hermit’s cave” we just knew that there was
something creeping in the night—something
that was about to get us even though we kept
believing that we’re hearing just a story, that’s
all, just a story.
For Halloween, then, we offer a select
listing of radio’s great horror anthology shows.
We have listed them in no particular order,
and we have used the present tense to describe
their special appeals to suggest that they are,
like ghosts, still with us.
Treat yourself this trick-or-treat season
and select one or two or three and let the glow
of the CD player, the monitor or the iPod illuminate the room. Let Nancy or the Hermit or
Doctor X or Raymond tap into your fears and
guide you through the darkness. It’ll be good
for you; it’ll be good therapy. Who knows?
You might see something in the dark that will
OCTOBER 2011 • RADIOGRAM
9
surprise you; it might be yourself.
•••
CCreeps By Night
Prepare yourself for horror as this 1944
Blue Network series delves into the “unknown
darkness of the human mind.” Hosted first
by Hollywood’s premiere bogey man Boris
Karloff and later by the mysterious Dr. X,
Creeps By Night explores themes of revenge,
hatred and fear. Here tormented souls constantly look over their shoulders and attempt
to outrun their pursuers. A funereal world of
darkness and terror awaits the unwary!
CLights Out
This perennial radio favorite defines the
meaning of “Lights Out” when it comes to
radio horror, and remains exemplary of Poe’s
notions. Whether it is the unwelcome visit of a
demon from Hades, a creature emerging from
the depths of a meteor, ghosts, or prehistoric
monsters roaming a department store basement, the superb nightmarish visions of Arch
Oboler still function as intended. So turn out
your lights, everybody—if you dare.
CMurder at Midnight
“Midnight, the witching hour, when the
night is darkest, our fears the strongest, and
our strength at its lowest ebb. Midnight, when
the graves gape open and death strikes!” This
is our invitation to partake of the delicacy of
death dished up each week by this syndicated
series. Nothing subtle here; the faint of heart
should keep their Digitalis close at hand.
CMystery in the Air
Summer 1947 ushered in the distinct scent
of Mystery in the Air. Hosted by the ever sinister Peter Lorre, who frequently appears in this
Bakers Dozen of menace and fear, the series
Hollywood’s master of menace Boris Karloff hosted Creeps by Night before being
replaced by the dreaded Dr. X.
10
RADIOGRAM • OCTOBER 2011
adapted classic tales of dread and despair for
listeners with a discerning ear. Such works
as “The Marvelous Barastro,” “The Horla,”
“The Mask of Medusa,” “The Black Cat” and
The Lodger unfold on the program and you
have a personal invitation from Peter Lorre
to join in the bloodshed.
CNightmare
“From the dark of night, from the shadows
of the senses comes this the fantasy of fear . . .
Nightmare! . . . starring as your exciting guide
to terror, Peter Lorre.” And once again Peter
Lorre’s distinctive deliver appears out of the
darkness to lead listeners through a series
of tales woven around themes drawn from
the archives of fear and dread. This 1953-54
Mutual series, despite its obscurity, retains
the power to provoke and terrorize under the
watchful eye of its iconic host.
CQuiet, Please
In its way, Quiet, Please is a deceptive series. Written, created and directed by Wyllis
Cooper, who created Lights Out, the series
begins without the usual terror inducing devices of sinister voices, screams, thunder and
lightning, howling dogs and creaking doors.
No, just a rather softly spoken voice asking for
“Quiet, please.” Listeners should know better. The most intense horror, the most perfect
examples of fear build softly, inevitably and
without advance fanfare. And suddenly the
listener arrives at the moment of revelation
and is left wondering how it all came about.
CThe Black Castle
Tales of the macabre are the norm for
the old wizard who lives within the walls of
the Black Castle. The mournful tolling of a
single church bell precedes each tale. Then
we are summoned by our announcer to follow
him to meet the old wizard who will then tell
us another of his frightening stories. Interestingly, all parts in each story are played by one
person, the very talented Don Douglas.
CThe Hall of Fantasy
Footsteps approach, echoing along a narrow stone hallway . . . “And now, The Hall of
Fantasy. Welcome to the Hall of Fantasy,
welcome to the series of radio dramas dedicated to the supernatural, the unusual and the
unknown. Come with me, my friends. We
shall descend to the world of the unknown
and forbidden, down to the depths where
the veil of time is lifted and the supernatural
reigns as king. Come with me and listen to
the tale of . . . .” Indeed, the supernatural
does reign supreme in this series. Routinely
the dark forces prevail devouring any poor
soul unwary enough to become entangled in
a confrontation with evil.
CThe Haunting Hour
Ghostly music accompanied by slow,
heavy footsteps coming our direction and then
the admonition “No . . . no . . . stay where you
are. Do not break the stillness of this moment.
The distinct voice of Peter Lorre introduced two series, Mystery in the Air and
Nightmare, and was heard in guest starring roles on several other sinister series.
For this is a time of mystery, a time when
imagination is free and moves forward swiftly,
silently. This is The Haunting Hour.” Edwin
Wolfe directs this syndicated series dedicated
to murder and mayhem, complete with all
the haunting sound effects so inimitable to
old-time radio.
CThe Hermit’s Cave
Old hermits make for great storytellers.
“Ghost stories. Weird Stories. And murders,
too! The Hermit knows them all! Turn out
your lights! Turn
them out!” And
once again listeners are transported
via bone-chilling
sound effects and
morbid accounts
of madness and
murder to the edge
of their chairs. With just the glow from a
kilocycle dial to illuminate the room we sit
spellbound as the Hermit weaves his sorcerer’s magic. “Hee, hee, hee, hee.”
CThe House of Mystery
“This is Roger Elliott, otherwise known as
‘The Mystery Man’ welcoming you to another
storytelling session here at the House of Mystery.” And, thus, we are cordially welcomed
each time to listen to another tale from The
Mystery Man’s files. Unlike other hosts, Elliott avoids a ghoulish persona. Stories of
ghosts and apparitions can all be logically
explained away, according to Elliott. Come
listen as The Mystery Man explains away the
seemingly inexplicable.
CThe Inner Sanctum
If there is royalty among radio’s hosts of
horror it has to be Raymond, the ghoulish
sperdvac
When The Mysterious Traveler became a
comic book “Tales of” was added to the
title as well as a face.
pun-loving host who ushers us through the
creaking door of The Inner Sanctum week
after week. O’Henry endings with a macabre
twist will frequently define The Inner Sanctum
experience. But the more bizarre the tale the
better from Raymond’s point of view. Who
else but Raymond could
hold his own
against such
luminaries as
Boris Karloff, Peter
Lorre, Vincent Price and Claude Rains? Lon Chaney
appeared in a series of Universal films tagged
“Inner Sanctum Mysteries” with all but one
beginning in a library setting with a disembodied head floating inside a crystal ball upon a
conference table. It was a bizarre image but
it paled to the bizarre wordplay of Raymond.
CThe Mysterious Traveler
The Mysterious Traveler rode the rails,
so to speak, each week arriving as the only
passenger onboard a ghost train with another
of his riveting tales of the weird and the supernatural. His greeting upon arrival each
week defined his mission succinctly: “This is
the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join
me on another journey into the strange and
terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that
it will thrill you a little and chill you a little.
So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves,
and be comfortable—if you can.” The series
was so successful that a comic book was produced that depicted the Mysterious Traveler
in slouch hat and heavy overcoat. All things
sperdvac
considered he was rather nondescript for such
an eerie voice.
CThe Strange Dr. Weird
“Good evening. Come in, won’t you?
Why what’s the matter? You seem a bit
nervous. Perhaps the cemetery outside this
house has upset you?” The sinister Dr. Weird
is played by Maurice Tarplin, who
also performs
double duty as
“The Mysterious
Traveler.” The
stories are similar but shorter in
format. But one
thing listeners
can count on: the scripts from the typewriter
of Robert A. Arthur will be the stuff of nightmares. Incidentally, what a great title!
CSuspense
Radio’s masterpiece and although a
delightful crime drama anthology there are
moments are horrific suspense in much of
the program’s fare. Moreover, it seems to
be the sole appearance of Bela Lugosi in a
radio horror anthology. He portrayed a mad
doctor in “The Doctor Prescribed Death”
opposite Geraldine Fitzgerald. But more
important, few programs exemplify Poe’s
notions of effect better than Suspense. The
stories were, after all, “well-calculated to keep
you in—Suspense.”
CThe Weird Circle
Waves lashing against the rocks . . . an
ancient voice intones: “The Weird Circle! In
this cave by the restless sea we are met to call
from out of the past stories strange and weird.
Bell Keeper, toll the bell so that all may know
we are gathered again in The Weird Circle.”
With that introduction those who have assembled are privileged to hear both classic
and original stories of the haunted and the
horrifying. Sit down, cross your legs and join
“the Weird Circle.”
CThe Witch’s Tale
What is a radio horror show without a
witch? Old Nancy, the witch of Salem, is the
perfect hostess. Accompanied by her black
cat, Satan, Nancy can rival any of radio’s hosts
of horror for sinister intent and malevolence
of spirit. Nancy’s stories may all be true, certainly grisly, but beware! The old witch does
prevaricate when it comes to her age, which
varies with each broadcast, sometimes within
each broadcast. One moment she is celebrating her 110th birthday, another her 122nd
and so it goes. But dispute her stories of the
supernatural at your own risk. Reportedly,
the series was the inspiration for the notorious
E.C. comics of the 1950s (Tales from the Crypt,
The Vault of Horror, The Haunt of Fear, et.al.).
•••
Well, that’s the list for this Halloween.
Turn out the lights and . . . remember, it’s later
than you think![
Inner Sanctum was so popular that Hollywood appropriated the title for, first,
a series that featured Lon Chaney, and
later a single feature that merely took
the name of the radio series.
OCTOBER 2011 • RADIOGRAM
11
OLD NEWS IS BETTER THAN EVER • 63 YEARS AGO • AUGUST 28, 1948
Duck Fellas — It’s Controversial
I
by DON QUINN
N SOME previous presidential election
year—1944, I think—I suggested to Jack
Louis, the advertising account executive
who so astutely has guided the destinies of
Fibber McGee and Molly for 13 years, that
we take advantage of a hot topic and get some
political argument into the program.
My idea was to have one of the secondary
characters carry the guidon for Dewey and
another secondary character ride the tailgate
of the Roosevelt bandwagon, with Fibber and
Molly as neutral referees.
I wanted to burlesque some of the more
vicious statements from both sides (it was a
particularly nasty campaign, as I remember
it) and try to show up some of the unreasoned
and stupid character analyses for the rubbish
they were.
—:—
THE SUGGESTION was turned tactfully
down. So gracefully, in fact, was it shelved
that I cannot for the dull life of me remember
what the advanced argument, if any, was.
I have a suspicion, however, that the fairly
cogent agency thinking on this score was that
no matter how judiciously we attempted to
equalize the Republican and Democratic
sentiments, the zealots on both sides of the
ballot box would start heaving stink bombs at
us for fancied partisanship.
Also, being well known in my own production centers as a flagrant new dealer and
a liberal Democrat of the type to cause Congressman Thomas and his fellow cauldron
tenders to start joyfully gathering faggots, it might have suspected
that I might load the scales on the Roosevelt side, in a subtle way,
or, in a fair-minded attempt to avoid just such a thing, to lean so far
backward as to give Mr. Dewey the edge.
The upshot of the matter was that political mentions on the Johnson’s Wax (adv.) program were and are—scarcer than monsignors
in Minsk
—:—
.
THE BITTER LESSON to be derived from this is that topics
which are common drug store and street corner subjects are, on most
comedy commercial radio shows, verboten, taboo and on the Index
Expurgatorium.
There is an old saying to the effect that nothing is so timid as a
million dollars.
Maybe if I had a few googles tied up in a 13-year-old high-ranking
radio show, I also might look askance at references which might alien-
ate large solvent groups of listeners with the
inevitable sprinkling of Kluxers, America
Firsters, Communists and race baiters in the
interests of my stockholders, but as I am just
a hack joke writer on a 13-week basis I can
afford to be pretty passionate for the Bill of
Rights.
I still think, however, that for a nation that
was midwife by Old Lady Controversy, this
eternal pussyfooting away from argumentative topics is sort of un-American—a phrase
which I can abuse as well as anybody. How
innocuous can you remain, and be happy?
—:—
THIS IS WHY, in my low moments (and
as a confirmed manic depressive about town
I occasionally reach emotional depths which
would pressurize a Beebe bathysphere into a
metallic jelly), I sometimes wonder why I ever
took up writing for radio instead of playing it
cozy like John Crosby and just writing about
it and against it.
On a newspaper they tell me once can (if
one has a byline) speak out pretty freely on
public problems and national dilemmas with
no more fear of retaliation than a few dirty
letters to the editor, who probably passes
them on to the radio desk with a throaty
chuckle and a $3 raise for stirring up so much
interest.
There was enough material brought forth
by the recent Republican convention to have
kept a comedy writer busily and contentedly
employed for the next 700 years.
Out of these little rooms in Philadelphia emanated, and will emanate, enough ideas for gags to fill a radio show for many seasons. But
they’d be “controversial” on the air.
—:—
But whatever goes
on won’t interest me
professionally. It’s
controversial. Mustn’t
touch. People might
be listening.
THE RICH SPECTACLE of 130,000,000 citizens being systematically sifted for two possible presidential candidates, and not necessarily
the worst two, either, is such a fertile field for comic research that it
hurts me almost physically to see it denied the full comedy treatment
under ether.
At this writing it looks like a race between Dewey and Truman. But
whatever goes on won’t interest me professionally. It’s controversial.
Mustn’t touch. People might be listening.
Ah well, humor is a wonderful weapon, but we don’t want to hurt
anybody, even a poll tax politician, so let’s leave it in the scabbard and
use it for a slapstick.[
With John Crosby on vacation, Don Quinn, celebrated creator/writer of Fibber McGee and Molly, penned his sentiments regarding censorship
in radio comedy. Reprinted from Crosby’s Radio in Review column as published in the Portsmouth (OH) Times, Thursday, August 28, 1948.
12
RADIOGRAM • OCTOBER 2011
sperdvac
I
by
FRED ESSEX
sperdvac
N A RECENT ISSUE of Radiogram in and whose ability transcended many decades.
The Mysterious Traveler column, he/ When he sang, the lyric told a story; the lisshe(?) compared the cultural values tener could follow and his voice embellished
of today to those in the days of otr the lyric.
and found our modern values wantBut singers change over the years until we
ing. True, times have changed but one would have today’s version. Can the older folks conexpect change to be for the better. But in sider it singing? Sammy Cahn once summed
this case we doubt it. While some censored up on TV his disdain for contemporary songs
values in the 40-50s are laughable today, e.g., and their vocal delivery. Cahn was known for
in the early otr-era one
writing such great love
could never use the word
songs as “All the Way,”
“Pregnant” in a drama,
“April in Paris,” “Be My
still there are many plusLove” among countless
es radio had that TV, by
others. He had been chonature of the medium,
sen to present a high
cannot duplicate. Let’s
award (perhaps at the
start with voices.
Grammys, I don’t recall)
Voices? Remember
to Michael Bolton. After
Alice Frost? An attracpresenting him the trotive lovely woman in
phy, Cahn, as he walked
real life, but one would
away, said, not asked,
never recognize her as
“How can anyone shout
one of the characters
a love song!”
she portrayed which had
Radio also provided
been described through
entertainment while indialogue. Yes, Alice was
cluding programming
Mrs. North in Mr. and
directly related to the
Mercedes McCambridge, whom
Mrs. North. They were
on-going World War II.
Orson Welles called “the greatest
not professional detecOne of the shows in our
living radio actress.”
tives but every week for
shop was Vox Pop, a man12-years they came upon
on-the-street interview
a murder which they resolved on a CBS program that switched topics from the ordiprogram that eventually reached 20-million nary subjects they usually queried random
listeners. However, she also was Ruth on Big people to interviewing military personnel. By
Sister, a daytime soap and sounded far differ- the end of 1945 Parks Johnson and Wally Butent. Remember the name Mercedes McCam- terworth, the key men of Vox Pop, had visited
bridge? Orson Welles called her,”The world’s more than 200 military bases and hospitals
greatest living radio actress.” She voiced so interviewing personnel from all branches
many different characters that the mind of of service helping to maintain the country’s
the listener would never see her as a person morale during the conflict.
but rather the character she was portraying.
A quiz show had a guest designer who
Sound Men provided all necessary noises taught listeners how to make an attractive
required. Even though there might be only corsage from a group of 50-cent War Stamps.
one in a program, such as a door opening, Then there was a half-hour musical show
their union did not permit one of the actors which set aside the last five minutes dedicated
doing it. But there was an exception. If, say, to a GI talking to his family in the States from
the actor was playing a cop who was signal- somewhere in England. And radio broadcast
ing other patrolmen with his whistle, he was war-related songs and lyrics, i.e., “Coming
permitted to blow the whistle since it related in on a Wing and a Prayer” (number one
to his character.
on Your Hit Parade for some time), “I’ll be
How about singers in those years? Bing Home for Christmas” and “I’ll Never Smile
Crosby had his round mellow tones but then Again” (written by a nurse whose fiancé was
came Frank Sinatra whose long phrases and killed in combat).
enunciation of lyrics captured the listener
Radio dramas depended on the interplay
OCTOBER 2011 • RADIOGRAM
13
Those Were the Days, My Friend
of characters which involved the listener—
they had to for in those days families actually
sat by their set listening to the story unfold.
Over the years plot development has been replaced on TV primarily with sex and violence,
probably a reflection of today’s society.
Don’t think of radio prevailing at a time
when all could be interpreted as a sweet
panacea of goody-goody. Rather, consider it
a triumph at the time when thousands were
dying a in a war-to-end-all-wars and millions
were being massacred. Radio provided the
immediacy of the reporter up close to the
front lines to a prayer at the end of a station’s
broadcast day.
At the same time radio still provided entertainment which we recall after six decades
Meet the Stars
Tommy Cook, who appeared in the original
radio production, along with Sean Uminski, Christopher Uminski, Gloria McMillan,
Ron Cocking, Stuffy Singer, Ivan Cury, Phil
Proctor, Melinda Peterson and Michael C.
Gwynne.
This event, organized by Luncheon Chairman Jerry Williams, is sure to be a wonderfully
entertaining afternoon (and the food isn’t
bad, either). Once again, seating is first-come,
first served, so please register early. A mail-in
registration form is on page 6 can and online
at www.lucylibrary.com/ORDER-FORM.pdf.
The Readers Have Their Say
Dear Brain Trust . . .
Was it really necessary to use
over four pages to list Commando
Mary’s broadcast log? There’s so
little space in 16-pages when eight
of them are used up with sperdvac
and Friends, the library order form, a
luncheon reservation form that those
of us not on the west coast will not
possibly get to, two and a half pages
of ads, and a front and back cover.
If you can make room for two and
a half pages of ads, you should consider going to 20-pages so that there
might be some content to each issue.
I read (if that’s the word) the
entire issue in about two and a half
minutes.
Period, end of report,
Joe Cromarty
e-mail
14
RADIOGRAM • OCTOBER 2011
have passed. We remember cast names: Sgt.
Velie on Ellery Queen, Rochester on Jack
Benny and on Archie (“Archie, the manager
speaking”)on Duffy’s Tavern. There were
other singers such as Morton Downey and
Lanny Ross. Orchestra leaders had by-lines,
Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians,
Benny Goodman - King of swing, Tommy
Dorsey - Sentimental gentleman of swing,
Glen Grey and the Casa Loma Orchestra,
and so on.
As someone who enjoyed working in both
mediums, it’s great to recall relatively early
TV when Gene Roddenberry was trying to
interest the networks in Star Trek (after being turned down for a year) to appearing on
one of Tennessee Ernie’s TV programs to
traveling around the world looking for motion
picture locations and appearing on several
interview shows.
Guess that’s progress. But I still remember with great fondness and appreciation the
days of old-time radio and reminisce as if I
had an invisible mirror looking back over my
shoulder.
And that reminds me of another song
lyric, “Those were the days, my friend . . .”[
McGee’s Closet is a free service to our members and honorary
members. Send your wants in OTR-related material to [email protected] (the preferred method) or write to McGee’s
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Please specify desired taping format (cassette, open reel,
recordable CD, or DAT). Also, please include your membership number with your advertisement.
Barry Opliger
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South Pasadena, CA 91030-2241
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