REPS SHOWCASE - TWILIGHT ZONE

REPS SHOWCASE - THREE SKELETON KEY

I'm Just Saying...: DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT THREE MEN, A LIGHTHOUSE...

I'm Just Saying...: DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT THREE MEN, A LIGHTHOUSE...: I recently had I recently had the opportunity to do some acting, some “major role” acting. It’s been a very long time since I had to be responsible for anything more than a one-line character in a short scene. It was a recreation of a famous radio play titled “Three Skeleton Key.” The show was featured on the series “Escape” and starred Vincent Price as Jean, the lighthouse keeper narrating the story. I was asked to take on that role at the REPS Showcase in Seattle,WA.  MORE.

Dialect coach Robert Easton dies

Dialect coach Robert Easton dies
Character actor and Hollywood dialect coach Robert Easton, whose successes include teaching Forest Whitaker to speak like Idi Amin in the 2006 movie "The Last King of Scotland," died of natural causes on Monday, Dec. 16, at his home in the San Fernando Valley. He was 81.
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Radio's Best Years Special

http://classicradio.us/podcast/


All,

I don't normally post podcast announcements to the lists as I figure you can
either grab them from the site (1) or the feed, but since this is a special
episode, I'm posting the announcement here. Enjoy the shows!

Welcome to the first special episode of Radio's Best Years. Special
episodes will not be produced on a regular basis and will not have the usual
length and format of regular episodes. Rather, they'll relate to a specific
aspect of classic radio, a certain show, or a particular date. They will
often go over the usual two hour length.

On this first special episode, we take a look at what was arguably one of
the most influential shows on radio. In October, 1934, a new show came to
New York. It was a dramatic show, mostly adapting Broadway plays and some
novels. While they primarily used New York stars, they might use a
Hollywood star who happened to be passing through New York. Other shows,
like the Cavalcade of America did the same thing, but eventually moved to
Hollywood to get more star talent. That was the case with this show as
well, but with a difference. While most shows which moved to Hollywood
changed very little and often kept almost the same cast such as Fibber McGee
and Molly and This is Your FBI, this show completely changed. It got a new
announcer, a new host, a new musical director and a new format. It was
probably one of the most listened to shows on radio and the most expensive
to produce. It had a weekly budget of $100,000. Instead of having one New
York star, it had two, three and sometimes even four Hollywood movie stars
on each episode. It required a week of rehearsal because the stars weren't
used to doing radio work. During its long Hollywood run, (1936-1955) it
had, at least once, almost every major movie star of the era and even many
minor ones.

Of course the show was Lux Radio Theater. On June 1, 1936, it moved to
Hollywood where it remained until 1955, a very long run indeed. June 1st,
2011 is the 75th anniversary of the first Hollywood show. There were many
programs over the years which copied the same format, some better than
others, but there was only one Lux Radio Theater. Therefore, to celebrate
the 75th anniversary, we will first be hearing the June 1, 1936 show,
episode #83 of the series.

In the second hour, we'll be hearing another special program. This program
was made possible thanks to Jerry Haendiges. I literally couldn't have
produced this podcast without his help. Please visit his web site and
consider buying from him. Also check out his weekly shows at the Vintage Radio Place.
Also browse Jerry's main site. He was a
good friend to me over the years, even when I wasn't a friend to him.

The second special program is the 10th anniversary episode. Both the
rehearsal and complete broadcast exist and I have both. We will hear the
rehearsal due to the better sound quality. Jerry Haendiges sent me both.
Note that the circulating broadcast runs 47:55 and is _NOT_ complete. The
complete broadcast runs 59:53 and seems to be hard to find. The rehearsal
seems to not be in circulation at all. Please don't copy, trade, or pirate
the rehearsal. Please support Jerry and buy it from him instead. It is
episode #454, as originally broadcast on 10-16-44, but we'll be hearing the
10-15-44 rehearsal. The show is Seventh Heaven which was the first show
they did in 1934.

I hope you enjoy the first of what will hopefully be two special episodes
looking at Lux Radio Theater. If all goes well, we'll have two more shows
next week, one from 1942 and one from 1946, also a rehearsal. We'll see
what happens. Your comments and feedback are always appreciated.

"Live" Radio Drama Takes Stage June 11-12 | The Museum of Flight

"Live" Radio Drama Takes Stage June 11-12 | The Museum of Flight

1950s radio broadcast of Ray Bradbury sci-fi reenacted in Museum's theater.
READ MORE.

REPS SHOWCASE _PREMIERE OLD TIME RADIO EVENT IN SEATTLE JUNE 24-26

It's just a little more than two weeks away and our favorite old time radio personalities will be heading to Bellevue, Washington for the REPS Showcase - A Grand salute to the Golden Days of Radio. Scheduled Guests to Appear-- Tommy Cook, Ben Cooper, Ivan Cury,Bob Hudson,Chuck McCann, Gloria McMillan, Shirley Mitchell, Rosemary Rice, Stuffy Singer, Dick Van Patten,Beverly Washburn and more . . .
Look forward to reenactments of classic shows featuring live music, live sound effects, and a talented cast. Many performers will be re-creating their original roles from the Golden Age.
An opportunity to meet, get the autographs of and befriend the voices of radio's past!
Panel Discussions, Interviews and Presentations
Hear stories of the Golden Age of Radio from those who were there and worked with the biggest names in radio and on the most popular shows! Go to www.repsshowcase.com for more information.

Every night was entertaining with old-time Radio - Woodstock Sentinel Review - Ontario, CA

Every night was entertaining with old-time Radio - Woodstock Sentinel Review - Ontario, CA

Although Sunday was a very good radio night with Jack Benny, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and for a short time L for Lankie on CBC, Tuesday was my preference.

If the 5 p.m. train bringing the papers was not late, I usually got home from my Toronto Star route in time for Amos and Andy at seven.

The show probably would not be politically correct today, but I thought the low-key misadventures of the none-too-bright Andy, his level-headed partner Amos and a storyline that revolved around their business was funny. Somehow these two had come into possession of an open touring car and the Fresh Air Taxi Company was born. The Kingfish, his wife Sapphire, a con artist friend and an inept lawyer named Algonquin J. Calhoun added to their hazards.

Duffy's Tavern came on at eight, with Archie, the bartender, answering the telephone with "Duffy's Tavern, Archie speaking, Duffy ain't here." Duffy was never there, but his ditzy sister, known as Miss Duffy, usually showed up, along with assorted friends, the local beat cop and a celebrity guest who just happened to be in the neighborhood.

READ MORE

Radio Ent Theater Channel Offers Radio's Best Entertainment

We want to remind you that our friends at the Radio ENT Theater Channel offer 12 new hours of radio entertainment programming daily starting at midnight Eastern Time and repeated again at noon. The Radio ENT Youtube channel offers a glimpse of all this station has to offer.

Jennifer Payne at the 2010 REPS Showcase Part 2

It was Saturday,June 26, 2010 and Jennifer Payne was in attendance at the 2010 REPS Showcase. Check out Jennifer's blog where she shares her personal thoughts and experiences of the days events. A must read if you have never been to a REPS Showcase!

Jennifer Payne at the 2010 REPS Showcase Part 1

It was Friday,June 25, 2010 and Jennifer Payne was in attendance at the 2010 REPS Showcase. Check out Jennifer's blog where she shares her personal thoughts and experiences of the days events. A must read if you have never been to a REPS Showcase!

Stacy Keach and Jane Kaczmarek in Arthur Miller's classic Death of a Salesman directed by Eric Simonson 2011/02/25

Stacy Keach and Jane Kaczmarek in Arthur Miller's classic Death of a Salesman directed by Eric Simonson 2011/02/25
LOS ANGELES, CA - February, 2011 - Meet hard-working salesman Willy Loman as he chases the American Dream in Arthur Miller's Pulitzer Prize winning tragedy, Death of a Salesman. Stacy Keach and Jane Kaczmarek head the cast when Academy Award-winning filmmaker Eric Simonson directs one of the most important dramas of all time for L.A. Theatre Works. Five performances will be recorded March 16-20 at the Skirball Cultural Center for future radio broadcast; L.A. Theatre Works' nationally syndicated radio theater series airs locally in Southern California on KPCC 89.3 every Saturday from 10 pm -midnight and can be streamed on demand at www.latw.org.

Read more: http://losangeles.broadwayworld.com/article/Stacy_Keach_and_Jane_Kaczmarek_in_Arthur_Millers_classic_Death_of_a_Salesman_directed_by_Eric_Simonson_20110225##ixzz1qZAD3jDT

Radio Sound Effects with Curtis Takahashi

A video from Seattle TV station KING-TV Channel 5. We get a brief glimpse behind the scenes for the live local Holiday Play "Green and White Christmas" which was aired live last December 2010.
The Sound Effects man interviewed in the video is Curtis Takahashi. He not only does sound effects for for this production but he is also the regular Sound Effects man for the live productions of Jim French's Imagination Theater. You may also recall Curtis form his work at the REPS Showcase.

A Special Slide Presentation featuring THE SHADOW at REPS Meeting Sat Mar 5th

Martin Grams is the author and co-author of more than twenty books about old-time radio, retro television and classic movies. All of his books provide welcome detail about the creation and life of these shows and for the extensive logs that make up the bulk of each volume.

Martin's new book on THE SHADOW has a release date of April 2011. Martin has put together a special slide show presentation about the Shadow. He has sent the presentation to Seattle, which he will narrate via telephone connection, for the next REPS meeting.
For more information go to www.repsonline.org.

Next REPS Meeting Sat March 5th, 2011 2:00 - 4:00 pm
REPS Meetings are held in the Norse Home Social Hall
5311 Phinney Ave North Seattle, WA 98103

What Ever Happened to Arch Oboler?

By Seattle based Matthew Rovner.
(REPS will be presenting an Arch Oboler story at the 2011 REPS Showcase ).
As a filmmaker he was certainly no Orson Welles, but Oboler deserves better than oblivion. In the 1940s, Oboler was one of the highest paid writers in the world and the most successful radio playwright in America. Radio, prior to the advent of television, was the most powerful and influential mass communication medium on the planet. Oboler stood shoulder to shoulder with the two other giants of American radio, Norman Corwin and Orson Welles. READ FULL STORY 

REPS Meeting Saturday March 5th 2010 2:00 - 4:00 pm

We spoke to Martin Grams this afternoon. Martin has authored a new book, due out in April, which many are calling the definitive history of "The Shadow" on radio. The book covers the origin of the Shadow as a mysterious voice narrating several series in the the early 30s and then winding up as the main character in the long running, legendary crime series on Mutual. Martin will join us by telephone to discuss his amazing research and to narrate a special slide presentation featuring rare photos and newspaper advertisements. It's an afternoon we're looking forward to!

REPS Meetings are held in the Norse Home Social Hall
5311 Phinney Ave North Seattle, WA 98103 ( Just across the street from the Woodland Park Zoo ).

Radio: Hollywood Show

Radio: Hollywood Show

For the last six years the nearest thing to super-stupendous on the air has been the Lux Radio Theatre. Its casts have included all varieties of cinema hotshots. Its productions have often been so lavish that they overflowed the stage of CBS's Music Box Theatre in Hollywood. Even its rehearsals are a Hollywood event, with autograph seekers pounding at the doors. This week, after its usual summer pause, Lux Radio Theatre begins a new season with Myrna Loy and William Powell in the aerial version of Manhattan Melodrama.

Consulting wizard of the Radio Theatre is...

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,764693,00.html#ixzz1qZ6kaZlq

Radio: Platters for the Pacific

Radio: Platters for the Pacific

Firmest rule of network broadcasting is "no recordings." Reasons given: 1) when NBC set the style 13 years ago, recordings ("platters") were pretty scratchy; 2) the radio audience likes programs better fresh than canned. Many a recording man retorts that if recorded Jack Bennys, Charlie McCarthys and other big-name shows were centrally recorded and delivered to individual broadcasters for local transmission, they could have higher fidelity to the original than can be attained over the present wire hookups.

Just who would profit by such a system, except for recording companies and some finely trained audience ears, is still problematical, but sure losers...

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762479,00.html#ixzz1qZ65Mi6M

Radio: At This Same Time Tomorrow...

Radio: At This Same Time Tomorrow...

It was a moment that thousands of U.S. moppets would long remember. Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy,* had just leaped, with suitable sound effects, from a plane. The hero wore a suit of armor and two parachutes. But one chute failed to open. Then it developed that something was wrong with the other chute, too. Jack plunged earthward. . . .

By that time it was 6:44 p.m., E.D.T. and the announcer broke in with the standard cliffhanger: tune in tomorrow and hear what happened. Next day, listeners learned that Jack had survived: he..

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,853197,00.html#ixzz1qZ5iyUSL

Radio: Beulah

Radio: Beulah

It was a big week for Beulah, the maid on Fibber McGee & Molly's famed air show (NBC, Tues., 9:30 p.m., E.W.T.). Her sponsor, Johnson's Wax, gave her a fat, new two-year contract.

Few of Fibber McGee & Molly's millions of listeners know that Beulah is neither female nor Negro. She is a husky, 6-ft., 39-year-old radio actor named Marlin Hurt.

Beulah breezed into the show four months ago with an immediately successful trademark — "Love that man!" (meaning Fibber McGee).

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,850967,00.html#ixzz1qZ5CDRIj

July 7th, 1949: Dragnet Premieres on the Radio

By Marie Page, Yahoo! Contributor Network.
Dragnet, created by Jack Webb, a popular detective show of the 1950's actually premiered on the radio, with low expectations.

Jack Webb also played the title character, Joe Friday, in both the radio and television premier.

The origins of the show comes from Webb's role as a forensic scientist, working with police in He Walked by Night, a 1948 film based on the murder of a California Highway Patrol officer. READ MORE

RADIO DRAMA

From Yahoo. A link to 40 individual stories about Radio Drama:
Includes: A Look at Star Wars: The Radio Drama, The Slide: A Classic BBC Sci-fi Radio Drama Serial, Star Trek: The Continuing Mission: Audio Drama Review, Radio Dramas Reborn on the Internet, Vintage Radio Theatre Podcasts Offer Variety, Radio Dramas Reborn on the Internet and more . . . .

The Return of Radio Dramas

By David Finniss, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Mar 4, 2010
Decades ago, before every household had a television, people would gather around the radio and listen to shows that would spark the imagination and keep listeners in suspense. While radio is still a pretty strong media outlet, the entertainment style has faded into a fringe interest. Leonard Nimoy has done his part to keep it alive with his Alien Voices productions and a few come out now and again, but it hasn't caught on.

My roommate brought up his interest and I mentioned that with the prevalence of podcasts, it was odd that someone didn't try to do their own sort of radio drama. READ MORE 

Green Hornet swarm: Four other actors who wore the mask

by Susan King, Los Angeles Times.
The mask of the Green Hornet belongs to Seth Rogen these days — the film opened to a solid $40 million in domestic box office over the weekend — but the role has a history that dates back farther than the debut of  Superman or Batman. The tales of Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher who fights crime as a masked vigilante with a fierce-fighting sidekick named Kato, go back to the mid-1930s, and here’s a look at four other actors who brought the Hornet to life.    READ MORE. 

Mickey Rooney will be the featured guest at the Feb 5th Meeting via special live telephone hookup

Breaking News. The Saturday February 5th REPS meeting will feature a special live phone interview with the legendary Mickey Rooney. If you are in the Seattle area, come join us at 2:00pm for this very special occasion. ( The Archie Andrews presentation which was originally scheduled for this meeting will be rescheduled. The date to be determined ). REPS Meetings are held in the Norse Home Social Hall ( just across the street from the Woodland Park Zoo) at 5311 Phinney Ave North Seattle, WA 98103.

Classic Chandler – The Big Sleep Ep 1/4 Saturday 5 February 2.30-4.00pm BBC RADIO 4

Toby Stephens stars as Raymond Chandler's detective Philip Marlowe
Starting this spring, BBC Radio 4 brings listeners another major series of dramatic adaptations as it broadcasts all of Raymond Chandler's ground-breaking Philip Marlowe novels, starring Toby Stephens as Marlowe.

In 1939, Chandler created a different kind of detective, the fast-talking, trouble-seeking Philip Marlowe, for his great novel, The Big Sleep. This story of Marlowe's entanglement with the Sternwood family kicks off the series.

Dramatised by Robin Brooks, the cast also stars: Kelly Burke as Vivien Sternwood; Barbara Barnes as Agnes Lozelle; Madeleine Potter as Mona Mars; Leah Brotherhead as Carmen Sternwood; Sam Dale as Joe Brody; Sean Baker as General Sternwood; Iain Batchelor as Lash Canino; Henry Devas as Eddie Mars; and Jude Akuwudike as Cronjager.

The other plays in this and the next series include: Farewell My Lovely (1940); The High Window (1942); The Lady In The Lake (1943); The Little Sister (1949); The Long Goodbye (1953); and two lesser-known novels, Playback (1958) and Poodle Springs, unfinished at the time of Chandler's death in 1959.

The second series completing the Classic Chandler collection will be broadcast in the autumn.

The Classic Chandler series follows Radio 4's Complete Smiley broadcast in 2009/10 with Simon Russell Beale as John le Carré's Smiley.

Producer/Claire Grove for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

Television ended it all

By Carol Weimer
People don’t have to think of what they will be doing on these long winter’s nights. Computers and TVs provide lots of entertainment.

Not so as I was growing up. The winter nights really dragged on, but we found ways to amuse ourselves once everything was cleaned up in the kitchen. We always got our homework right after we got home from school. If there was still time before supper, we would go out and play in the snowbanks or go skating on the Erie Canal.

Long winter nights would make my grandpa restless. He would sit in his rocking chair by the radio to Lowell Thomas and H. V. Kaltonborn for the news and commentaries. We kids didn’t like those shows, but they would be followed by the Lone Ranger, Amos ‘n Andy, the Jack Benny Show and Montana Slim, who sang cowboy songs and grandpa liked country songs. READ MORE 

Radio Waves: Parker's passion: 'Remembering Radio'

Radio Waves: Parker's passion: 'Remembering Radio'

The hair is white or gone; the faces are lined with eight decades or more of life. But they break into broad smiles as they recall their adventures on the radio. And, as they tell stories for the new documentary "Remembering Radio," their voices sound like they must have sounded coming out of the speakers of those console sets that were standard furniture in American living rooms of long ago.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/07/PKEG1H137N.DTL#ixzz1qZ0UyM6I

The Green Hornet Inspires: Radio Heroes of Yesteryear That Need Video Games

The Green Hornet Inspires: Radio Heroes of Yesteryear That Need Video Games


Do you know what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Well, you might not know, but The Shadow sure did. Long before the Alec Baldwin movie that I secretly love, The Shadow was the star of pulp novels, comic books, film serials and of course. Radio. In fact, the Shadow was on radio in one form or another from 1930 to 1954! That's 24 years of crimefighting. Orson Welles even provided his voice for part of that run. He inspired heroes like The Green Hornet and Batman, and there were two failed attempts to bring him to television Series. There was a cancelled Super Nintendo title, and a pinball machine from the movie, but you know what this guy needs? A good video game.u know what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Well, you might not know, but The Shadow sure did. Long before the Alec Baldwin movie that I secretly love, The Shadow was the star of pulp novels, comic books, film serials and of course. Radio. In fact, the Shadow was on radio in one form or another from 1930 to 1954! That's 24 years of crimefighting. Orson Welles even provided his voice for part of that run. He inspired heroes like The Green Hornet and Batman,  and there were two failed attempts to bring him to a television Series. There was a cancelled Super Nintendo title, and a pinball machine from the movie, but you know what this guy needs? A good video game.  READ THE FULL STORY

Should NBC finally apologize to Mae West?

January 3rd, 2011 by Matthew Lasar
But I’ve got another condition to consider—asking NBC Universal posthumously apologize to Mae West for banning her from its radio network almost 75 years ago.  READ THE FULL STORY . . . 

‘American Radio Networks’ Disappoints, by James E. O'Neal

‘American Radio Networks’ Disappoints, by James E. O'Neal

One in a series of occasional articles reviewing notable new or recent books about radio.

Jim Cox is a retired college professor who has written a number of books with radio as the subject matter. “American Radio Networks: A History” is his 18th book.

In this 2009 work, published by McFarland and retailing for $45, Cox takes the reader back to the very beginning of time as concerns the interconnecting of radio stations for the purpose of carrying the same program simultaneously.

I was looking forward to reading this one. While there’s a lot of information available in the way of early radio station history, the same isn’t true about the networks that linked many of these stations to the large broadcasting centers in places such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Cox does present a lot of interesting and useful history about stations and networks, but as I continued to read, I began to be a bit disappointed. READ MORE . . . 

Corwin Found the Music in Words, by Vic Cox

Corwin Found the Music in Words, by Vic Cox

On a Sunday evening in New York in October of 1938, Norman Corwin labored over a program he was about to direct in a live broadcast for his new employer, the Columbia Broadcasting System.

It had been six months since CBS hired the former journalist to direct and produce a soap opera and three weekly series of dramatizing science, living history and citizens at work.

The 28-year-old Corwin toiled quietly. However, the floor below his Madison Avenue studio was the scene of a swirl of activity. Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of the Air were broadcasting their pre-Halloween version, as Welles phrased it, of “dressing up in a sheet … and saying ‘Boo!’”  Read More . . . http://radioworld.com/article/corwin-found-the-music-in-words/4540

'The Green Hornet' Tops Weekend Box Office - Speakeasy - WSJ

'The Green Hornet' Tops Weekend Box Office - Speakeasy - WSJ: "‘The Green Hornet’ Tops Weekend Box Office"   “The Green Hornet” topped the weekend box office, pulling in $34  million, according to early estimates from Hollywood.com. Read More . . .