Interviewing an internet friend, Bonnie

I am most-pleased to have Bonnie with me today.  She's an old-time radio fan and she's agreed to answer a few questions regarding your OTR listening habits.



OTR Buffet:  Please tell us a little something about you and your history of old-time radio.  How did it all begin for you?  (I'd like to know your earliest memories/years of old-time radio - and what shows you liked or disliked if you can remember them.)

Bonnie: I was seven when we got our first TV.  Before that it was radio shows.  I remember laying on the floor of my bedroom at night when I was suppose to be sleeping trying to hear the radio show my parents were listening to.   I remember hearing one show that was so scarey I could not sleep for nights.  At supper time every Christmastime my sister and I would be glued by the radio in the kitchen listening to The Cinnamon Bear.

OTR Buffet:  The Cinnamon Bear is available on the internet in several places - I think there about 30 episodes available and I will direct you to them; so now next December you can listen again!  I've never really listened to it.  What do you remember about it?

Bonnie: In the Cinnamon Bear the star for the top of the Christmas tree was stolen so the boy and girl along with the Cinnamon Bear go on a search to find it to return it to the top of the tree before Christmas .  Each day in fifteen minute episodes they had a different adventure on their quest for the star.  I do not specifically remember any of the adventures but I do remember they meet all sorts of special characters along the way.  They were able to find the star and return it to its rightful place at the top of the Christmas tree before Christmas.  The story was our Advent calendar - a countdown to Christmas.

One year quite a while ago we checked out the Cinnamon Bear DVD from the library.  However, the quality was so bad with numerous scratch that we never got past the first few episodes.

OTR Buffet:  I know when I go to sleep listen to OTR I dream vividly.  Is that the case with you as well?

Bonnie: I do not find that the case.  Most of the time I can't remember what I dream.

OTR Buffet:  What are your favorite OTR Comedies?
 
Bonnie: The Great Gildersleeve, Life of Riley and Phil Harris because of the situations they find themselves in.

OTR Buffet:  Are you a fan of Walter Tetley?

Bonnie: I love his work!  He is funny.  Even though he was not a kid, he sure is believable as one.  I have always believed that 90% of comedy is in the delivery not the writing.  What makes Walter Tetley funny is his delivery.  I can say the same for Dennis Day.  His lines could be said by 100 other people and would not be nearly as funny.

OTR Buffet: Do you have any "least favorite" comedies?

Bonnie: Jack Benny Show because it is inconsistent.  Some shows are very funny, others are duds.

OTR Buffet:  What are your favorite OTR Mysteries and why?

Bonnie: Richard Diamond and Boston Blackie because I like their stories.

OTR Buffet:  Any "least favorite" mysteries?

Bonnie: The Whisperer because I don't "dig" the premise of the show.

OTR Buffet:  I agree about The Whistler.  But they had to have agimmick I suppose.  Are you a fan of the Western?  What are you favorite Westerns?

Bonnie: Gunsmoke, The Six Shooter and Frontier Gentleman because they have interesting plots.

OTR Buffet: Are there Westerns you don't like?

Bonnie: Fort Laramie because of the often gruesome nature of the stories and Frontier Town because of the fake sounding voice of the sidekick.

OTR Buffet:  Any favorites that don't fit into those categories?

Bonnie: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar

OTR Buffet: What show do you wish you had more of to listen to?

Bonnie: The Six Shooter and Harry Nile and Nero Wolfe.

OTR Buffet:  Is there a series that existed once but now there are no known copies, that you would like to hear?

Bonnie: Cinnamon Bear

OTR Buffet:  I'll hook you up with some Cinnamon Bear!   How many hours a day and week do you listen to OTR?  Do you have a listening schedule or is it just random? 

Bonnie: I listen at night before falling asleep.  Sometimes that means one half hour show and sometimes it means several hours.  If I wake during the night and cannot get back to sleep, I turn on OTR.

OTR Buffet: By what primary means do you listen to your OTR?  (example - XM, iPod with speakers, IPod with headphones, computer etc..)

Bonnie: iPod docked on a Bose speaker.

You didn't ask but I want to add I hate all Suspense and Whistler stories.  Their endings are all contrived to be a surprise and are truly not surprise endings.

OTR Buffet: Thank you, Bonnie for your time and for doing the interview!

©Jimbo 2010/2011