Showing posts with label Halls of Ivy (The). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Halls of Ivy (The). Show all posts
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Monday, October 10, 2011
Guest Sarah Cole answers all sorts of OTR questions
I first "met" Sarah Cole via Twitter. I instinctively knew she was someone who appreciated old-time radio and someone from whom I would benefit from "following" on Twitter. Turns out I was correct.
I'm very happy to have her join me in this interview. I'll be you will agree as she explores many various topics dealing with old-time radio.
OTR BUFFET: I'm not going to ask your age but can you tell me how you first got involved in listening to what we now call, "old time radio?"
Sarah Cole: My parents, who were educators, grew up during the Depression, and had many fond associations with dramatic radio broadcasts. In the early 1970s, that venerable powerhouse of the airwaves WGN was broadcasting some short programs of "old time radio" – though the oldest of the programs was barely in its thirties: hardly "old!" – and my family enjoyed them. Later, we bought a number of LPs of the programs, which were just coming out in that format. Finally, in the mid-1980s, we discovered, on one of the local stations, the weekly broadcasts of Radio Hall of Famer Chuck Schaden, which featured four hours of those wonderful programs, along with commentary from him, his guests, and his constant friend and aide, the lovely Ken Alexander – Oops! Just make that Ken Alexander!
From then on, I've been hooked, and an amateur collector of those radio programs.
It occurs to me, though, that my inclination toward audio drama started even earlier. Back before Disney began selling video recordings of its animated features, they sold albums of the films' songs, connected with narration. I think I wore out three Cinderellas, and at least one Finocchio. My brother and I just loved them. (In fact, as far as Cinderella goes, I think I preferred the album to the film!) The point is that I don't recall a time when we DIDN'T have non-visual, audio drama available. So, in a way, a fondness for audio drama was my destiny.
OTR BUFFET: Which real character on Vic and Sade is the most-interesting to you and why? And out of all of the unheard characters, which one do you think is the most intriguing and why?
Sarah Cole: (You may laugh, but when I first read the question, I thought you meant which of the actors interested me the most. That question is harder to answer than the one you are asking: all of the original cast members have surprising twists to their personal and professional lives. Of the actors, I suppose Billy Idleson interested me the most, because of his dramatic intelligence, and his later career in broadcast writing and performing.) As far as the main characters go, it will probably come as no surprise that Rush Gook is the one I look forward to the most. His striving for the respect due the adult he was becoming, his idealistic whimsey in the ways he would try to do it, yet his patience with the status quo is very funny, yet very touching. In one episode, the young man is in a rage at the neighbor boy, who has passed the word among his friends that Rush eats with a baby knife and fork. As it turns out, Rush DOES eat with baby silverware, because that's what Sade has always put by his plate, and he didn't want to make a fuss about it. His struggle is the struggle we all face, or that remind us of what our children are confronting.
As for the unheard characters: pick any of Uncle Fletcher's acquaintances. There's a collection of intriguing people! The funny thing is that the listener DOES know the unheard characters pretty well, after hearing a few of the broadcasts. Well, Rooster and Rotten Davis are an interesting pair. The episode in which a two-story porch falls off a house, and Rotten pretends he tore down the house himself, is strikingly funny, because of the pair's whimsical response to a public nuisance. Rush's Sunday School teacher, who is beefy enough to take the place of a whole road crew, intrigues me, too.
And one does wonder about anyone named Robert and Slobert Hink!
OTR BUFFET: In 2001 I was fortunate enough to be able to read every Damon Runyon story. I feel that the Damon Runyon Theater is one the most-overlooked shows in old-time radio. Have you read Damon Runyon and would you tell me your feelings about the show?
Sarah Cole: I have read many Damon Runyon stories, and just love them! They describe a magnificent, barbaric world, in plain sight, yet virtually unrecognized by the civilized world whose space it shares. The (then) modern adventures are told with a cool directness that force the readers to exercise their imagination to fill in details, and, in doing so, brings them into the stories. Then, when the stories end with a surprise, the readers are knocked free of that fantasy world, yet, because of the splendid shock, not likely to forget that place.
The radio version of the stories are reasonably faithful to Runyon's text. They lack the narrative's directness, which is to be expected when in a drama with multiple characters, but "Broadway" the narrator's stilted grammar and dispassionate observations, help restore the feel of the written stories.
They aren't all happy, but they're memorable. A couple of my favorite episodes are "Lillian" and "A Neat Strip." Oddly enough, one of my favorite Damon Runyon radio plays WASN'T on The Damon Runyon Theater. One Christmas, the series The Whistler dramatized the story "Three Wise Guys." John Brown appeared as the narrating character in that episode, and, later, created the role of "Broadway." While I don't know for sure, I suspect that episode was the inspiration for The Damon Runyon Theater.
OTR BUFFET: Until I found the joys of Vic and Sade, The Six Shooter was easily my favorite show. It's different than any Western on radio (even the so-called 'Kiddie Westerns')
because the show almost always tries to be non-violent. It's even less violent than Frontier Gentleman! Tell me your feelings about the show?
Sarah Cole: I have enjoyed both The Six Shooter and Frontier Gentleman (though, for whatever reason, find myself preferring Have Gun, Will Travel). The Six Shooter, like Gunsmoke, was a "new" Western, in the vein of High Noon. It didn't glamorize violence, though it didn't flee it, either. It wasn't above humor, such as the episode in which Britt Ponset is forced to be judge in a preserve-making contest between two sisters, which has divided their town. (His approach to this problem was inspired!) But the neuroses of the settlers does get a little wearing, so, although a Six Shooter episode or two every so often is always rewarding, a marathon can prove tiresome.
OTR BUFFET: Imagine you were the producer of The Six Shooter and Jimmy Stewart was unable to play the part. You have an unlimited budget and everyone but Stewart is available to you. Who would you cast as The Six Shooter?
Sarah Cole: One of the interesting things about the Six Shooter was that, though the scripts had been written for Stewart, and he was the main draw for listeners, the stories themselves don't rely on any of Stewart's vocal or personal characteristics. Any actor, whose voice was not particularly distinctive and could sound uncluttered, and whose manner was reassuring , could play that part. It doesn't require a big name. Everett Sloan or Ben Wright might give interesting performances.
OTR BUFFET: I haven't listened to much of Henry Morgan, but anyone who knows you from Twitter knows you are a big Henry Morgan Show fan. Tell us what you like about the show and what we are missing?
Sarah Cole: (Between us, I'm not THAT big a Henry Morgan fan, but I do enjoy his radio performances; even the one on Suspense – a real hair-raiser!) I was once told that I have a tendency to look at things sideways: to look at things in a way no one else does. Henry Morgan's humor is that way. In his first broadcast, he featured a demonstration of how a BBC broadcaster unfamiliar with the game might describe a baseball game, and a visit to modern New York as if it were an archaeological expedition.
Another episode made fun of Readers Digest, people who read Readers Digest, the contents of the magazine, the types of features that were condensed, the politics of Georgia, Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado, and the whole process of condensation itself! Henry Morgan didn't let convention and social protocols get in the way of pointing out often uncomfortable truth. But because the truth was presented in a funny way, the listener need not take offense. As W.S. Gilbert said through the inimitable Jack Point, "When they're offered to the world in merry guise, Unpleasant truths are swallowed with a will; For he who'd make his fellow creatures wise Should always gild the philosophic pill!" (The Yeomen of the Guard) Some of Morgan's inspiration may have been bitter, but his humor was always golden.
OTR BUFFET: Where do rank Henry Morgan as far as old-time radio comedians?
Sarah Cole: I don't know. As a humorist of his time, he may not rank high. As a comedian and satirist, period, I'd say he was in the top fifty of the 20th century.
OTR BUFFET: Do you think Jack Benny is special because he's Jack Benny or because he had great casts?
Sarah Cole: Jack Benny's program was special because Jack had wonderful comic sense, and some of the most insightful writers available. He could have been just as funny with a different cast, though it would have funny in different ways. What made the Benny program funny was how well the characters were able to fit with each other, and because their material suited them so perfectly. It is theoretically possible to have done the same with a different cast, but it would have led to a differently-situated program.
OTR BUFFET: Can you tell me why the jack Benny Show is so special to you?
Sarah Cole: At the end of 1945, the program held a contest: "Why I Can't Stand Jack Benny." (A very funny sequence, by the way). In fifty words or less, contestants had to state why they couldn't stand Jack. The winning entry was probably the most deserving winner to any contest of this nature I have ever seen. I have to agree with winner Carroll P. Craig, who wrote: He fills the air with boasts and brags, and obsolete obnoxious gags. The way he plays his violin is music's most obnoxious sin. His cowardice alone, indeed, is matched by his obnoxious greed, And all the things that he portrays show up my own obnoxious ways.
OTR BUFFET: Everyone seems to like Fibber McGee and Molly. Tell me why they are so special to you?
Sarah Cole: The combination of crazy comedy, witty patter, clever music, exaggerated but familiar neighborhood characters, and genuine domestic affection is what made Fibber McGee and Molly the beloved program it is. It, and The Halls of Ivy are the two most romantic radio programs ever written. Anyone in a durable intimate relationship will tell you that love isn't adventure and wild passion: it's having your life partner get sick, and being able to clean up after him or her with a smile. As Molly responds when Fibber expresses surprise that she doesn't tell him everything she thinks, it's because she HASN'T always told him what she thought that they are still married.
OTR BUFFET: Arch Oboler was famous for his horror stories but there was another side of Arch Oboler that was prolific in anti-war and pacifist stories and also strange and humorous fantasy. What do you think of when you think of Arch Oboler?
Sarah Cole: Arch Oboler was the best radio writer the United States ever produced. Carlton E. Morse and Norman Corwin are fine WRITERS – they write well in multiple genres – but Oboler's greatest skill was in writing in innovative ways for audio drama. His script "This Lonely Heart," about the relationship between Tchaikovsky and his patroness, is the finest one I've ever read.
It's odd you should describe him as a pacifist writer. His pre-war, and World War II dramas are exposés of fascism in general, and Nazism in particular. I believe the play is This Precious Freedom (in http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/396573 ), about a man who comes back from a camping trip to find the United States taken over by the Nazis. It is brilliant, and terrifying. Another fine play, set in postwar Europe, features an American family going to one of the military cemeteries to being their son home (I think it might be "V Day"). Oboler was not a saber-rattler, but he clearly loved liberty, and understood that there are things, liberty in particular, worth dying for.
OTR BUFFET: When I first tried listening to the Halls of Ivy, I really didn't like it. Then a friend prodded me into listening again (months later) and I found that Halls of Ivy was a very special show that had a deep, rich meaning - probably a far deeper meaning than any show I had ever come across. I love the show now. What are your feelings on the show?
Sarah Cole: The Halls of Ivy is what you get when you mix Goodbye, Mr. Chips with Fibber McGee and Molly. Don Quinn, one of the writers for Fibber McGee, wrote, then later oversaw, the scripts. The stories use the witty wordplay and distinctive characters of Fibber McGee (though, in this case, the characters are not so exaggerated), to explore the significance of issues that arise among young adults; and to showcase another genuinely affectionate couple (President Hall and Victoria Cromwell-Hall/Ronald Colman and Benito Hume-Colman). Its topics range from the humorous (getting out of a board meeting) to the serious (students afraid of the Draft), but they are approached in a gentle, straightforward, yet non-threatening way. It also used dramatic techniques that only work in audio drama, and integrated them beautifully: flashbacks of President Hall's earlier life were used regularly to explain or illuminate the situation the Halls currently faced. It is the finest comic-drama program of the Golden Age of Radio.
OTR BUFFET: Who do you think are the 5 most important old-time radio figures and why?
Sarah Cole: That question will take a lot of thinking, partly because the important people aren't going to be the 3 [most] famous people. They would be the people who enabled radio drama to become great, and I don't know (or remember) enough about the history of radio to know who they are. Some of the names I think of at this moment are the head of WXYZ, who enabled The Green Hornet, The Lone Ranger, and The Challenge of the Yukon to be produced, Charles Atlas, who oversaw all the work that was done at WGN, General Sarnoff, who understood the progress of broadcasting; and others like them.
Two of the most important were Ed Wynn, who introduced the live audience, and Bing Crosby who normalized pre-recorded programming.
OTR BUFFET: What are your 5 most favorite shows? Which show brings you the most pleasure?
Sarah Cole: A lot depends on how I feel at the time I'm asked, but, at the moment, my favorites are: Jack Benny, The Halls of Ivy, Fred Allen, Vic and Sade and it surprises me to say it, but I think the fifth is Bob and Ray.
The Halls of Ivy is the most satisfying "listen", Jack Benny makes me laugh the most, Fred Allen is the cleverest program, and Vic and Sade and Bob and Ray share a genial absurdity that is refreshing and reassuring. If you ask me again sometime, I may have a different answer; but, at the moment, these are my favorites.
OTR BUFFET: In 20 years, will people still be listening to old time radio?
Sarah Cole: I'm not sure whether they will or not, though it won't be because they aren't listening to narrated art. Podcasts, audiobooks, and recorded speech are more popular now than ever, because people are too busy or impatient to read a lot of text. One problem with vintage radio is the topicality: some of the jokes about events and personalities that were important at that moment are lost on modern listeners.
On the other hand, those references are part of what make the broadcasts valuable. About a year ago, heard someone complaining how we don't know what it was like to live through World War II. We DO know what it was like, because we can hear how the characters in radio serials and series "made do" in those days. We also have the "non-fiction" programs of advice and such, which give more details about what daily life involved. Vintage radio is a time capsule: it brings into the present the lives of the past. To appreciate it as such requires research; but enough of the material speaks to the general human condition that listeners can still enjoy most of it, even without completely understanding the context.
OTR BUFFET: Sarah, I could easily ask you 10 more questions but I don't want to burden you and take up all of your time. Would you join me in the near-future again for another interview?
Sarah Cole: Certainly! It's always delightful to talk about vintage radio! Thank you for the opportunity!
OTR BUFFET: Thanks for answering my questions. I really had fun coming up with things to ask you!
Sarah Cole: My pleasure.
©Jimbo 2010/2011
I'm very happy to have her join me in this interview. I'll be you will agree as she explores many various topics dealing with old-time radio.
OTR BUFFET: I'm not going to ask your age but can you tell me how you first got involved in listening to what we now call, "old time radio?"
Sarah Cole: My parents, who were educators, grew up during the Depression, and had many fond associations with dramatic radio broadcasts. In the early 1970s, that venerable powerhouse of the airwaves WGN was broadcasting some short programs of "old time radio" – though the oldest of the programs was barely in its thirties: hardly "old!" – and my family enjoyed them. Later, we bought a number of LPs of the programs, which were just coming out in that format. Finally, in the mid-1980s, we discovered, on one of the local stations, the weekly broadcasts of Radio Hall of Famer Chuck Schaden, which featured four hours of those wonderful programs, along with commentary from him, his guests, and his constant friend and aide, the lovely Ken Alexander – Oops! Just make that Ken Alexander!
From then on, I've been hooked, and an amateur collector of those radio programs.
It occurs to me, though, that my inclination toward audio drama started even earlier. Back before Disney began selling video recordings of its animated features, they sold albums of the films' songs, connected with narration. I think I wore out three Cinderellas, and at least one Finocchio. My brother and I just loved them. (In fact, as far as Cinderella goes, I think I preferred the album to the film!) The point is that I don't recall a time when we DIDN'T have non-visual, audio drama available. So, in a way, a fondness for audio drama was my destiny.
OTR BUFFET: Which real character on Vic and Sade is the most-interesting to you and why? And out of all of the unheard characters, which one do you think is the most intriguing and why?
Sarah Cole: (You may laugh, but when I first read the question, I thought you meant which of the actors interested me the most. That question is harder to answer than the one you are asking: all of the original cast members have surprising twists to their personal and professional lives. Of the actors, I suppose Billy Idleson interested me the most, because of his dramatic intelligence, and his later career in broadcast writing and performing.) As far as the main characters go, it will probably come as no surprise that Rush Gook is the one I look forward to the most. His striving for the respect due the adult he was becoming, his idealistic whimsey in the ways he would try to do it, yet his patience with the status quo is very funny, yet very touching. In one episode, the young man is in a rage at the neighbor boy, who has passed the word among his friends that Rush eats with a baby knife and fork. As it turns out, Rush DOES eat with baby silverware, because that's what Sade has always put by his plate, and he didn't want to make a fuss about it. His struggle is the struggle we all face, or that remind us of what our children are confronting.
As for the unheard characters: pick any of Uncle Fletcher's acquaintances. There's a collection of intriguing people! The funny thing is that the listener DOES know the unheard characters pretty well, after hearing a few of the broadcasts. Well, Rooster and Rotten Davis are an interesting pair. The episode in which a two-story porch falls off a house, and Rotten pretends he tore down the house himself, is strikingly funny, because of the pair's whimsical response to a public nuisance. Rush's Sunday School teacher, who is beefy enough to take the place of a whole road crew, intrigues me, too.
And one does wonder about anyone named Robert and Slobert Hink!
OTR BUFFET: In 2001 I was fortunate enough to be able to read every Damon Runyon story. I feel that the Damon Runyon Theater is one the most-overlooked shows in old-time radio. Have you read Damon Runyon and would you tell me your feelings about the show?
Sarah Cole: I have read many Damon Runyon stories, and just love them! They describe a magnificent, barbaric world, in plain sight, yet virtually unrecognized by the civilized world whose space it shares. The (then) modern adventures are told with a cool directness that force the readers to exercise their imagination to fill in details, and, in doing so, brings them into the stories. Then, when the stories end with a surprise, the readers are knocked free of that fantasy world, yet, because of the splendid shock, not likely to forget that place.
The radio version of the stories are reasonably faithful to Runyon's text. They lack the narrative's directness, which is to be expected when in a drama with multiple characters, but "Broadway" the narrator's stilted grammar and dispassionate observations, help restore the feel of the written stories.
They aren't all happy, but they're memorable. A couple of my favorite episodes are "Lillian" and "A Neat Strip." Oddly enough, one of my favorite Damon Runyon radio plays WASN'T on The Damon Runyon Theater. One Christmas, the series The Whistler dramatized the story "Three Wise Guys." John Brown appeared as the narrating character in that episode, and, later, created the role of "Broadway." While I don't know for sure, I suspect that episode was the inspiration for The Damon Runyon Theater.
OTR BUFFET: Until I found the joys of Vic and Sade, The Six Shooter was easily my favorite show. It's different than any Western on radio (even the so-called 'Kiddie Westerns')
because the show almost always tries to be non-violent. It's even less violent than Frontier Gentleman! Tell me your feelings about the show?
Sarah Cole: I have enjoyed both The Six Shooter and Frontier Gentleman (though, for whatever reason, find myself preferring Have Gun, Will Travel). The Six Shooter, like Gunsmoke, was a "new" Western, in the vein of High Noon. It didn't glamorize violence, though it didn't flee it, either. It wasn't above humor, such as the episode in which Britt Ponset is forced to be judge in a preserve-making contest between two sisters, which has divided their town. (His approach to this problem was inspired!) But the neuroses of the settlers does get a little wearing, so, although a Six Shooter episode or two every so often is always rewarding, a marathon can prove tiresome.
OTR BUFFET: Imagine you were the producer of The Six Shooter and Jimmy Stewart was unable to play the part. You have an unlimited budget and everyone but Stewart is available to you. Who would you cast as The Six Shooter?
Sarah Cole: One of the interesting things about the Six Shooter was that, though the scripts had been written for Stewart, and he was the main draw for listeners, the stories themselves don't rely on any of Stewart's vocal or personal characteristics. Any actor, whose voice was not particularly distinctive and could sound uncluttered, and whose manner was reassuring , could play that part. It doesn't require a big name. Everett Sloan or Ben Wright might give interesting performances.
OTR BUFFET: I haven't listened to much of Henry Morgan, but anyone who knows you from Twitter knows you are a big Henry Morgan Show fan. Tell us what you like about the show and what we are missing?
Sarah Cole: (Between us, I'm not THAT big a Henry Morgan fan, but I do enjoy his radio performances; even the one on Suspense – a real hair-raiser!) I was once told that I have a tendency to look at things sideways: to look at things in a way no one else does. Henry Morgan's humor is that way. In his first broadcast, he featured a demonstration of how a BBC broadcaster unfamiliar with the game might describe a baseball game, and a visit to modern New York as if it were an archaeological expedition.
Another episode made fun of Readers Digest, people who read Readers Digest, the contents of the magazine, the types of features that were condensed, the politics of Georgia, Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado, and the whole process of condensation itself! Henry Morgan didn't let convention and social protocols get in the way of pointing out often uncomfortable truth. But because the truth was presented in a funny way, the listener need not take offense. As W.S. Gilbert said through the inimitable Jack Point, "When they're offered to the world in merry guise, Unpleasant truths are swallowed with a will; For he who'd make his fellow creatures wise Should always gild the philosophic pill!" (The Yeomen of the Guard) Some of Morgan's inspiration may have been bitter, but his humor was always golden.
OTR BUFFET: Where do rank Henry Morgan as far as old-time radio comedians?
Sarah Cole: I don't know. As a humorist of his time, he may not rank high. As a comedian and satirist, period, I'd say he was in the top fifty of the 20th century.
OTR BUFFET: Do you think Jack Benny is special because he's Jack Benny or because he had great casts?
Sarah Cole: Jack Benny's program was special because Jack had wonderful comic sense, and some of the most insightful writers available. He could have been just as funny with a different cast, though it would have funny in different ways. What made the Benny program funny was how well the characters were able to fit with each other, and because their material suited them so perfectly. It is theoretically possible to have done the same with a different cast, but it would have led to a differently-situated program.
OTR BUFFET: Can you tell me why the jack Benny Show is so special to you?
Sarah Cole: At the end of 1945, the program held a contest: "Why I Can't Stand Jack Benny." (A very funny sequence, by the way). In fifty words or less, contestants had to state why they couldn't stand Jack. The winning entry was probably the most deserving winner to any contest of this nature I have ever seen. I have to agree with winner Carroll P. Craig, who wrote: He fills the air with boasts and brags, and obsolete obnoxious gags. The way he plays his violin is music's most obnoxious sin. His cowardice alone, indeed, is matched by his obnoxious greed, And all the things that he portrays show up my own obnoxious ways.
OTR BUFFET: Everyone seems to like Fibber McGee and Molly. Tell me why they are so special to you?
Sarah Cole: The combination of crazy comedy, witty patter, clever music, exaggerated but familiar neighborhood characters, and genuine domestic affection is what made Fibber McGee and Molly the beloved program it is. It, and The Halls of Ivy are the two most romantic radio programs ever written. Anyone in a durable intimate relationship will tell you that love isn't adventure and wild passion: it's having your life partner get sick, and being able to clean up after him or her with a smile. As Molly responds when Fibber expresses surprise that she doesn't tell him everything she thinks, it's because she HASN'T always told him what she thought that they are still married.
OTR BUFFET: Arch Oboler was famous for his horror stories but there was another side of Arch Oboler that was prolific in anti-war and pacifist stories and also strange and humorous fantasy. What do you think of when you think of Arch Oboler?
Sarah Cole: Arch Oboler was the best radio writer the United States ever produced. Carlton E. Morse and Norman Corwin are fine WRITERS – they write well in multiple genres – but Oboler's greatest skill was in writing in innovative ways for audio drama. His script "This Lonely Heart," about the relationship between Tchaikovsky and his patroness, is the finest one I've ever read.
It's odd you should describe him as a pacifist writer. His pre-war, and World War II dramas are exposés of fascism in general, and Nazism in particular. I believe the play is This Precious Freedom (in http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/396573 ), about a man who comes back from a camping trip to find the United States taken over by the Nazis. It is brilliant, and terrifying. Another fine play, set in postwar Europe, features an American family going to one of the military cemeteries to being their son home (I think it might be "V Day"). Oboler was not a saber-rattler, but he clearly loved liberty, and understood that there are things, liberty in particular, worth dying for.
OTR BUFFET: When I first tried listening to the Halls of Ivy, I really didn't like it. Then a friend prodded me into listening again (months later) and I found that Halls of Ivy was a very special show that had a deep, rich meaning - probably a far deeper meaning than any show I had ever come across. I love the show now. What are your feelings on the show?
Sarah Cole: The Halls of Ivy is what you get when you mix Goodbye, Mr. Chips with Fibber McGee and Molly. Don Quinn, one of the writers for Fibber McGee, wrote, then later oversaw, the scripts. The stories use the witty wordplay and distinctive characters of Fibber McGee (though, in this case, the characters are not so exaggerated), to explore the significance of issues that arise among young adults; and to showcase another genuinely affectionate couple (President Hall and Victoria Cromwell-Hall/Ronald Colman and Benito Hume-Colman). Its topics range from the humorous (getting out of a board meeting) to the serious (students afraid of the Draft), but they are approached in a gentle, straightforward, yet non-threatening way. It also used dramatic techniques that only work in audio drama, and integrated them beautifully: flashbacks of President Hall's earlier life were used regularly to explain or illuminate the situation the Halls currently faced. It is the finest comic-drama program of the Golden Age of Radio.
OTR BUFFET: Who do you think are the 5 most important old-time radio figures and why?
Sarah Cole: That question will take a lot of thinking, partly because the important people aren't going to be the 3 [most] famous people. They would be the people who enabled radio drama to become great, and I don't know (or remember) enough about the history of radio to know who they are. Some of the names I think of at this moment are the head of WXYZ, who enabled The Green Hornet, The Lone Ranger, and The Challenge of the Yukon to be produced, Charles Atlas, who oversaw all the work that was done at WGN, General Sarnoff, who understood the progress of broadcasting; and others like them.
Two of the most important were Ed Wynn, who introduced the live audience, and Bing Crosby who normalized pre-recorded programming.
OTR BUFFET: What are your 5 most favorite shows? Which show brings you the most pleasure?
Sarah Cole: A lot depends on how I feel at the time I'm asked, but, at the moment, my favorites are: Jack Benny, The Halls of Ivy, Fred Allen, Vic and Sade and it surprises me to say it, but I think the fifth is Bob and Ray.
The Halls of Ivy is the most satisfying "listen", Jack Benny makes me laugh the most, Fred Allen is the cleverest program, and Vic and Sade and Bob and Ray share a genial absurdity that is refreshing and reassuring. If you ask me again sometime, I may have a different answer; but, at the moment, these are my favorites.
OTR BUFFET: In 20 years, will people still be listening to old time radio?
Sarah Cole: I'm not sure whether they will or not, though it won't be because they aren't listening to narrated art. Podcasts, audiobooks, and recorded speech are more popular now than ever, because people are too busy or impatient to read a lot of text. One problem with vintage radio is the topicality: some of the jokes about events and personalities that were important at that moment are lost on modern listeners.
On the other hand, those references are part of what make the broadcasts valuable. About a year ago, heard someone complaining how we don't know what it was like to live through World War II. We DO know what it was like, because we can hear how the characters in radio serials and series "made do" in those days. We also have the "non-fiction" programs of advice and such, which give more details about what daily life involved. Vintage radio is a time capsule: it brings into the present the lives of the past. To appreciate it as such requires research; but enough of the material speaks to the general human condition that listeners can still enjoy most of it, even without completely understanding the context.
OTR BUFFET: Sarah, I could easily ask you 10 more questions but I don't want to burden you and take up all of your time. Would you join me in the near-future again for another interview?
Sarah Cole: Certainly! It's always delightful to talk about vintage radio! Thank you for the opportunity!
OTR BUFFET: Thanks for answering my questions. I really had fun coming up with things to ask you!
Sarah Cole: My pleasure.
©Jimbo 2010/2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Interviewing my special guest: "Boston Blackie"
"Boston Blackie" and I met on an old-time radio forum more than 6 months ago. Over the past few weeks, we have really got to know each other.
His knowledge and memories of old-time radio run pretty deep and I am most honored to have him here as my special guest today.
OTR Buffet: Please tell us a little something about you and your history of old-time radio. How did it all begin for you?
"Boston Blackie": My early memories of radio are wide. I remember going to my aunt’s house and everyone surrounded the radio to listen to Gabriel Heatter. I seem to recall listening to Louella Parsons as well.
OTR Buffet: You took your radio to the zoo?
OTR Buffet: I know you have told me in the past you like Bill Stern Sports Newsreel and you, like me, are a big sports fan. Could you say a little something about Bill Stern and what comes to your mind when you think about him?
OTR Buffet: What shows keep you going today?
OTR Buffet: Have you ever noticed how similar Nightbeat is with the say, last 35 episodes of Box 13? They could be brothers!
OTR Buffet: What are your favorite Comedies?
OTR Buffet: I love Gildy as well. There is a terrific rapport between Walter Tetley and Harold Peary.
OTR Buffet: Do you have any least favorite Comedies?
OTR Buffet: I love Lum and Abner!
OTR Buffet: What are your favorite Mysteries?
OTR Buffet: If I had one OTR wish it would be great sound for every series. The Tales of the Texas Rangers stuff that we are left with are not re-recorded very well. It's sad.
OTR Buffet: Are there any Mystery programs you don't like?
OTR Buffet: Do you have any least favorite Westerns?
OTR Buffet: Do you like radio Science Fiction?
OTR Buffet: Do you have any favorite that may not fit into the above categories?
OTR Buffet: It was actually you that got me into Halls of Ivy. I'd like for you to explain what you think it is that makes the shows so special...
OTR Buffet: What show do you wish you had more of to listen to?
OTR Buffet: I like Michael Shayne as well and I need to get around and write about that show. Some of those shows are incredibly good - but others aren't so great.
Is there a series that existed once but now there are no known copies, that you would like to hear?
OTR Buffet: By what primary means do you listen to your OTR?
"Boston Blackie": We listen to OTR on our iPod that is docked into our Bose docking machine and speakers. The speakers allows both of us to listen at the same time.
OTR Buffet: How many hours a day and week do you listen to OTR? Do you have a listening schedule or is it just random? (If you have a schedule, tell me about it.)
OTR Buffet: Do you have any favorite actors or actress in radio?
OTR Buffet: No favorite radio actress?
OTR Buffet: Yes, she did. Thanks so much for the time you took to do this with me and as Teeny would say, "Well, so long Mister!"
©Jimbo 2010/2011
His knowledge and memories of old-time radio run pretty deep and I am most honored to have him here as my special guest today.
OTR Buffet: Please tell us a little something about you and your history of old-time radio. How did it all begin for you?
"Boston Blackie": My early memories of radio are wide. I remember going to my aunt’s house and everyone surrounded the radio to listen to Gabriel Heatter. I seem to recall listening to Louella Parsons as well.At home I recall listening to Boston Blackie, People Are Funny, Truth or Consequences, Lux Theater, Little Theater at the Corner (title not sure), My Friend Irma, and Wisconsin Badger basketball. Those programs I remember listening to while upstairs in bed with my brother or my sister.
Downstairs with my parents we listened to Fibber McGee & Molly and Life with Luigi. My mother listened to Bing Crosby.
Coming home from school it was Challenge of the Yukon and after supper it was The Adventures of Superman and the Lone Ranger. In my real early years it was Buster Brown, Terry and the Pirates, Let’s Pretend and some others I don’t recall the names. At Christmas time it was Billie the Brownie on Milwaukee radio.
Somewhere in there I know I listened to Tom Mix. As I had mentioned to you before I had a red and white beany cap with buttons of all the Tom Mix cast. In addition a lot of other radio stars as well like Roy Rogers and such. I also remember specifically listening to The Shadow with my brother and friends while walking down to Lake Michigan. The Green Hornet and the Gene Autry Melody Ranch were popular on our transistor radio while laying around at the Racine Zoo.
I know this is a scatter-about response, but, so are my memories. In my later youth I remember listening to The Fat Man. All these shows soon were bounced out of my life when we got our first TV. As a kid we said - radio is old stuff, we want TV - which was close to having movies right in your home. I sometimes regret that as now I have found so many shows I like that I was never exposed to them, like Gunsmoke or The Falcon and such. TV took over our lives. Radio mainly remained for us for the rock and roll music that was beginning to be played.
My mother used to listen to the soaps while doing her daily routines. While making the beds, she listened to A Queen for a Day. Later afternoon were the day time dramas. Ma Perkins, My Gal Sunday, Stella Dallas and Romance of Helen Trent. I am sure there were others, but, do not come to mind. I heard these shows because my mother had them on and I was home most likely because I was ill and there was no TV to watch. My response to an earlier blog post also mentioned that I recall listening to evening shows by candlelight. Not because we had no electricity, could not have heard radio then, but, it was a continuation of war time saving efforts. Listening to radio and eating popcorn was a popular thing.
The one show my folks listened to in the evening was Life with Luigi. At the time I thought was funny and it still is somewhat funny. But, I am not as crazy about it as I am for Fibber McGee & Molly.
As I got older, TV took over. Besides, the radio was used to hear music, and in my particular interest, rock and roll. That pushed out any old time radio shows for me. The show I listened to was the Howard Miller Show. Howard Miller would present new records and the hits of the day.
Which shows were my favorites? I think all the ones above as those are the ones I will forever remember. Yes, some were more important at different times of my life, but important never-the-less. I should mention the one football game I will never forget, SMU and Notre Dame. It was because Bill Stern was doing the announcing and was pitting the Catholics against the Methodists that only Bill Stern could portray. I also recall the game between Northwestern and California (I think) in the first Rose Bowl that I remember. Wisconsin football games against Michigan were always special because it was special to my dad. We had relatives living in Michigan and thus, we had to beat the crap out of them.
But, when it comes to OTR it is really Boston Blackie that stands out the most for me. Now I know there were better mystery shows on the air, but, back then, that was to me the best show. So its still sticks with me and it is why I use it often as my name.
OTR Buffet: You took your radio to the zoo?
"Boston Blackie": Yes, it that was a big thing back then. It was the advent of the transistor radio. Hey, you did not need to plug it in and it worked on batteries. The Racine Zoo is right off Lake Michigan. We had no air conditioning and so us kids went to the zoo and hung out on blankets and got the lake breeze during hot summer nights. To help entertain us we had our new transistor radio and listened the the shows mentioned above.
OTR Buffet: I know you have told me in the past you like Bill Stern Sports Newsreel and you, like me, are a big sports fan. Could you say a little something about Bill Stern and what comes to your mind when you think about him?"Boston Blackie": Bill Stern was an icon. A great voice and knew how to use it. Yes, he sensationalized his topics, but, it made it entertaining. I do not remember listening to the Bill Stern’s show, but must have. I do recall the Colgate song in his show. When I was a teenager my friends and I played APBA baseball board game and we fantasized about our made up teams. My team, the San Francisco Scarlet Tanagers (at this time there were no west coast teams as St.Louis was the furthest west of any team) and Bill Stern was my announcer. This is all another story for a different audience, but, it did involve Bill Stern and how he crept into my life.
OTR Buffet: What shows keep you going today?
"Boston Blackie": I like Gunsmoke. The sound effects are solid and Matt Dillon portrayed by Bill Conrad is so good. The stories are generally done well and the side characters are good. I am also amazed that every Damon Runyon Theatre is good. This is not a typical show like the westerns or mystery ones, but, most are heart warming. No real big stars in this show, just good stories and usually about simple things. Other shows that I perk up when they come on are: My Friend Irma, Our Miss Brooks, The Falcon, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Amos & Andy, Broadway Is My Beat, Casey Crime Photographer, Gildersleeve, Nero Wolfe, Nightbeat, and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar. Others I like, but rank these ahead of them. I should say I still listen to Boston Blackie out of sentiment.
OTR Buffet: Have you ever noticed how similar Nightbeat is with the say, last 35 episodes of Box 13? They could be brothers!
"Boston Blackie" Blackie": No, we have not heard that many Box 13 shows yet. It is on our listening cue though. What endures us to Nightbeat is that it takes place in Chicago and from time to time mentions certain landmarks.
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| Main cast of the Great Gildersleeve show |
"Boston Blackie": My Friend Irma, Our Miss Brooks, Amos & Andy, Great Gildersleeve, Jack Benny and Burns and Allen. I always seem to laugh when listening to them, even when I am half a sleep. Of those listed I think I like Gildersleeve the best. He and Leroy are the highlights of the show. The Judge Hooker fits in well too.
OTR Buffet: I love Gildy as well. There is a terrific rapport between Walter Tetley and Harold Peary.
"Boston Blackie": When you think of otr one has to recall Walter Tetley and his voice. He had a voice that seemed authentic. Even though he was older than the kid you picture the voice to be, it was so natural. His delivery was so timely and one would swear it was a teen responding like a kid would. The same could be said when he was on the Phil Harris and Alice Faye Show. He worked so well with Phil Harris and Elliott Lewis. I know that Stan Freeberg really liked him. This was brought numerous times on When Radio Was Show on CBS when Stan was the host.
OTR Buffet: Do you have any least favorite Comedies?
"Boston Blackie": A Date with Judy, The Couple Next Door are ones I listen to but not my favorites. Ones I do not listen to are Milton Berle and Abbott and Costello along with Fred Allen. Fred is my least favorite as it is too corny for me. Easy Aces and Lum and Abner I do not download as well. Why? Good question. All I know I am not motivated to listen to them. Slap stick comedy I no longer like even though it appealed to me as a youngster. I might be prejudiced against Lum and Abner. I knew a guy from where I last worked with that loved that show and I could not stand him. That might have some influence on the show. But, also, to be honest, it never appealed to me as well.
OTR Buffet: I love Lum and Abner!
"Boston Blackie": Oh yes you do. A lot of otr radio buffs love that show along with Fred Allen. I never could get interested in them.
OTR Buffet: What are your favorite Mysteries?
"Boston Blackie": I guess I should include "Boston Blackie" for reason stated above. Also like The Falcon, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Broadway Is My Beat, Casey, Crime Photographer and Nightbeat. I guess Yours Truly Johnny Dollar should be included. The Johnny Dollar is only acceptable to me with Bailey as Johnny. I really like the Tales of the Texas Rangers. Crime is committed and the Rangers are hot on the trail. Stories seem real and it keeps me awake at night to hear the end of the story. I forgot to mention Nero Wolfe. I really like that show as well.
OTR Buffet: If I had one OTR wish it would be great sound for every series. The Tales of the Texas Rangers stuff that we are left with are not re-recorded very well. It's sad.
"Boston Blackie": You are right about that. On the other hand I am thankful with what we do have. I often listen to otr and try to recall it all really sounded when I was young. You know, some stations really did not come in so well either. The advent of FM where sound was really good was not used for otr, but usually opera or classical music. Regarding sports, I was first a St.Louis Browns fan, but, became a Cardinals' fan when the Browns moved to Baltimore. So I listened to Cardinals games at night in Racine via KMOX in St.Louis. Needless to say, the quality of the reception stunk, but, a baseball fan I was and still am, I kept listening to the Cards from old Sportsman's Park in St.Louis.
OTR Buffet: Are there any Mystery programs you don't like?
"Boston Blackie": Ellery Queen, Crime and Peter Chambers, and Barry Craig. Ellery Queen because his solutions seem to be hidden from the listener. I do not mind a guest giving their response, but, usually not too much thought put into it. Chambers and Craig put me to sleep way too soon. Might be do to the quality of the sound of those shows.
OTR Buffet: Do you have any least favorite Westerns?
"Boston Blackie": Frontier Town. I listen and sometimes not too bad. Do not care for the sidekick on the show. His voice is disturbing to me. Sometimes I think he is trying to be W.C. Fields and that ain’t good.
OTR Buffet: Do you like radio Science Fiction?
"Boston Blackie": Do not listen to these shows as my wife does not care for them and since we listen together, I’ll keep our marriage intact. If I were to listen to any of them it would be X-Minus One.
OTR Buffet: Do you have any favorite that may not fit into the above categories?
"Boston Blackie": Did not list these three shows above anywhere, but, like to listen to them. One is Dangerous Assignment and the other one is Halls of Ivy. The third is The Adventures of Rocky Jordan. In addition to these 30 minute shows, I also like I Love a Mystery serial. Good stuff. Regarding serials I listen to Perry Mason and Chandu the Magician. I will be starting the Superman serials with my next queue. Serials are a little tough for us to listen to as we cue up our shows and it takes so long to get through them. So it is easy to forget what happened last. But, they are good and do not want to miss hearing them.
OTR Buffet: It was actually you that got me into Halls of Ivy. I'd like for you to explain what you think it is that makes the shows so special...
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| Halls of Ivy stars: The Colmans |
"Boston Blackie": When I first started to listen to it I thought it was boring and the sound quality was bad. But, I stuck with it and the boring show became one of charm. It had subtle humor and great strength in messages that are good for the soul. One particular show, the one where our college president and his wife are trying to get to an important meeting with a huge donor to the college, stands out. That meeting meant money, big money for the school. On the way there they run into problems with traffic and need to walk there to be on time. But, on the way, a stray dog appears and the adventure that follows is just so good. That dog became more important than the stinking money. It was a great show to illustrate there are things more important than money. Yes, today it may seem silly, but, it is not! One of the many lessons learned from the Halls of Ivy. Other shows relate to cheating, being a friend, honor, along with warm stories about their past life in England. Love that show. At times like this I wish I was better with words to be able to give my feelings about this show justice.
OTR Buffet: What show do you wish you had more of to listen to?
"Boston Blackie": I have more shows than I can possibly listen to now. This is thanks to The Mystery Clubhouse and your helpful downloads. Now with OTRR available I have more than I can deal with. Shows that had short life on radio we can do nothing about, like the Six Shooter. I also like Michael Shayne and my list is not real big as well. But, there is so much I do like and will never get through them all, like Great Gildersleeve and Gunsmoke.
OTR Buffet: I like Michael Shayne as well and I need to get around and write about that show. Some of those shows are incredibly good - but others aren't so great.
Is there a series that existed once but now there are no known copies, that you would like to hear?
"Boston Blackie": For me it would be old baseball games from the 40's and 50's. Not many exists. Even then, I would not need to listen to many, just a few more. Of course my favorite teams would be more interesting.
OTR Buffet: By what primary means do you listen to your OTR?
"Boston Blackie": We listen to OTR on our iPod that is docked into our Bose docking machine and speakers. The speakers allows both of us to listen at the same time. OTR Buffet: How many hours a day and week do you listen to OTR? Do you have a listening schedule or is it just random? (If you have a schedule, tell me about it.)
"Boston Blackie": My wife and I listen to OTR when we retire to bed. We can get through at least one a night, but, sometimes up to three. If we have a tough night, maybe we wake up in the middle of night and listen to some more. I usually cue about 100 different shows and we listen to all of those. It will take approximately one month to get through them. A couple of the 15 minute serials, I put two of them on so it will be like the regular 30 minute shows. My cue contains all type of shows, mysteries, westerns, serials, comedies and dramas. Some of the shows we will eventually run out of, but, let’s face it, the Gunsmokes and Gildersleeves will last beyond my lifetime.
OTR Buffet: Do you have any favorite actors or actress in radio?
"Boston Blackie": I like James Stewart, Frank Lovejoy and Bob Bailey. I like James Stewart’s delivery, Frank Lovejoy’s voice and Bob Bailey’s performances. I remember James Stewart from the movies as well as Frank Lovejoy. Only Bob Bailey from recent collecting of OTR shows.
OTR Buffet: No favorite radio actress?
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| Cathy Lewis |
"Boston Blackie": I do like Cathy Lewis. In addition to My Friend Irma she played in so many different radio shows. She had a good voice for radio. For some reason though, I have not caught onto On Stage. I like Elliott Lewis as well and I expected more than what I get from On Stage. Have not heard them all yet, but so far disappointed. The ones you mention above are good as well. I was always surprised on how many shows Shirley Mitchell was in. Marian Jordan as Molly is good as well. The combination of Fibber and her are so entertaining. Her playing Teeny visiting them is always funny. Most times we always heard Molly going upstairs or downstairs, anywhere, and then the door bell rings and behold, here is Teeny. Teeny always got the best of Fibber.
OTR Buffet: Yes, she did. Thanks so much for the time you took to do this with me and as Teeny would say, "Well, so long Mister!"
©Jimbo 2010/2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
One of the best: Halls of Ivy
A couple of years ago, I ran across Halls of Ivy and listened to a few episodes. I really didn't like it then; it came across as a 'soap opera' to me and one with moral overtones. While the show was in the comedy genre, I could find nothing funny about it. Basically, I just didn't like the show and moved on.
About six weeks ago, a friend from a forum made the show sound so good (and I trust his judgment about old time radio) that I was persuaded to give the show another go.
30 episodes later, I am very happy I decided to listen to it again. This second stab at the show makes me realize how totally wrong I was about the first go-round and how right my friend was about the show.
The Halls of Ivy is a show about a husband and wife (William "Toddy" and Victoria "Vickie" Hall.) Toddy is the president of Ivy University, a college somewhere in the United States, while Vickie is a dramatics teacher at the school.
My memory of the show the first time revealed that the show was "heavy" and carried a moral message. I realize now that I misunderstood the show; for though the show can be dead serious about issues such as racism, cheating, stealing, ethics and the usual problems associated with college students at that age (except sex, of course) the show is really about the love of Toddy and Vickie.
After all, Toddy and Vickie were Ronald and Benita Colman in real life and there is a chemistry there that you rarely feel on radio. As a matter of fact, I can't think of another husband-wife couple on radio who come anywhere near it.
School problems are just a buffering peripheral to the message of love, understanding and admiration for husband and wife.
Each episode includes a flashback of Toddy's younger days when he found himself falling hopelessly in love with Vickie while on sabbatical in England and she was a rising English stage star. These are well-acted scenes - as is the show in whole.
While this may sound a bit corny or mushy, I assure you, it's not. This may not be a show for the 20-ish year old single male, I'll grant you, but it is a show most can appreciate for it's well-acted, well written value.
Written by Don Quinn (he was the main writer for Fibber McGee and Molly) you might expect a show full of clever puns and word jokes; instead The Halls of Ivy is warm, intelligent humor - the humor of life.
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| Chemistry |
30 episodes later, I am very happy I decided to listen to it again. This second stab at the show makes me realize how totally wrong I was about the first go-round and how right my friend was about the show.
The Halls of Ivy is a show about a husband and wife (William "Toddy" and Victoria "Vickie" Hall.) Toddy is the president of Ivy University, a college somewhere in the United States, while Vickie is a dramatics teacher at the school.
My memory of the show the first time revealed that the show was "heavy" and carried a moral message. I realize now that I misunderstood the show; for though the show can be dead serious about issues such as racism, cheating, stealing, ethics and the usual problems associated with college students at that age (except sex, of course) the show is really about the love of Toddy and Vickie.
After all, Toddy and Vickie were Ronald and Benita Colman in real life and there is a chemistry there that you rarely feel on radio. As a matter of fact, I can't think of another husband-wife couple on radio who come anywhere near it.
School problems are just a buffering peripheral to the message of love, understanding and admiration for husband and wife.
Each episode includes a flashback of Toddy's younger days when he found himself falling hopelessly in love with Vickie while on sabbatical in England and she was a rising English stage star. These are well-acted scenes - as is the show in whole.
While this may sound a bit corny or mushy, I assure you, it's not. This may not be a show for the 20-ish year old single male, I'll grant you, but it is a show most can appreciate for it's well-acted, well written value.
Written by Don Quinn (he was the main writer for Fibber McGee and Molly) you might expect a show full of clever puns and word jokes; instead The Halls of Ivy is warm, intelligent humor - the humor of life.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Ask and you shall receive: Halls of Ivy
I have listened to Halls of Ivy in the past; while I didn't hate the show, it didn't "grab" me.
After looking over the articles below, I'm going to give HOI another chance.
You can find the series here.
After looking over the articles below, I'm going to give HOI another chance.
You can find the series here.
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