Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West.
The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961, and John Dunning writes that among radio drama enthusiasts "Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time." The television version ran for 20 seasons from 1955 to 1975, and still remains the United States' longest-running prime time, live-action drama with 635 episodes.
One of my favorite You Tube Channels that you might enjoy is "The Gunsmoke Channel"
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I would like to wish all the members and visitors of Times Past a Merry Christmas. It is a wonderful time.
The Bing Crosby Show from December 20, 1953 on CBS sponsored by General Electric. The first tune is, "Adeste Fideles." Bing concludes with "White Christmas and "Silent Night." Bing Crosby, Ken Carpenter (announcer), John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra, Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires, Bill Morrow (producer, transcriber), Murdo McKenzie (producer, transcriber).
He has worked with everyone from Jack Benny to Bing Crosby, but this past Thursday on Dec 2nd, Jon was interviewed on the trivia podcast "Wait, I Know This!". The show interviews a celebrity from the world of TV, music or film and you get the backstage stories. One of my favorite podcast.
Here is the interview.
Download
If you would like to jog your memory before you listen to the interview, watch a few of the Lassie shows with Jon Provost as Timmy.
Rogers of the Gazette aired on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. on CBS Radio starring Will Rogers Jr.(October 20, 1911–July 9, 1993), son of legendary humorist Will Rogers (1879–1935).
Homespun, slow-spoken Will is the friendly editor of a country newspaper who struggles against the pressures and prejudices of small-town life. He drops gems of wisdom in his razzing voice, perhaps in a questioning manner, of his humorist father.
Download more shows in the Times Past OTR Archives
Here is a post I did back in May that ties in quiet well.
The Story of Will Rogers was a 1952 movie biography of humorist and movie star Will Rogers. Starring in the production was Will Rogers, Jr. Jane Wyman.
William Penn Adair "Will" Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was a Cherokee cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer and actor.
By the mid-1930s, Rogers was adored by the American people, and was the top-paid movie star in Hollywood at the time. Rogers died in 1935 with aviator Wiley Post, when their small airplane crashed near Barrow, Alaska Territory.
Below is the original movie trailer, and also the radio version from Hollywood Radio Theater as AFRS called it. But also known as episode 812 of Lux Radio Theater. The radio version has the original stars Will Rogers, Jr. and Jane Wyman.
Kind of interesting to watch the movie trailer, and then listen to the radio version.
You will now find on the bottom Tab Bar a button for Old Radio Times. By clicking on the button you can select to read on-line some of the current issues. So kick back and be entertained with this great publication. Also if you like the publication would like to subscribe, click here. Enjoy and support The OTRR.
Smiley Burnette hosted his own radio show called "The Smiley Burnette Show". It was recorded on large transcription records, which were used in the same manner we use cassette tapes and CD's today. The transcription records were sent to the radio stations to be placed on the airwaves. Smiley produced and transcribed his radio show under the "RadiOzark" recording label.
Smiley Burnett, "the clown prince of Western pictures," throws out jokes and Western music like a real pro in this rare Western radio show. Smiley was the first Western movie musical side-kick. Although a great composer and musical genius (he could play over 105 instruments), he is best known as the sidekick to such greats as Gene Autry, Charles Starrett, Roy Rogers, and Sunset Carson.
However, he hadn't even been in the West when he wrote his first cowboy composition, "The Round-up in Cheyenne," for Gene Autry's recording in 1934. After an inspirational drive through New Mexico and Arizona on his way to LA, Smiley fell in love with the West and went on to write almost all of Gene Autry's movie songs. Smiley performed in many Western movies and was a guest on various Western radio show, such as National Barn Dance.
With all of his fame and several million dollars of fortune, Smiley continued to be a down-to-earth simple man. He loved to cook (although he hated spinach and watermelon). He owned a drive-in chain, "The Checkered Shirt," and lived with his wife in a San Fernando trailer park. (From the Old Time Radio Research Group)
Smiley Burnette Official Web Site
You can find the shows in the Times Past OTR Archives
"Hearts in Harmony” was a five day a week soap opera syndicated in the mid-West from 1941 into the 1950s sponsored by grocery store chain, Kroger. It's the story of a poor young man, Steve Parker, who wants to be a composer and falls in love with a young beautiful singer named Penny from a wealthy family. Drama and heartbreak follow and of course lots of music. A true dramatic soap opera serial.
Added about 450 shows in the here
If you have ever listen to audio recordings of Sherlock Holmes, or any audio book for that matter, the narrator, or what I like to call the storyteller, makes all the difference in how enjoyable the story is. Take for example narrator David Ian Davies from One Voice Recordings. The magnitude of distinctly unique voices he performs of the characters creates a magically ensconce and elegant listening experience. Listen to this sample from Audible.com of "Sherlock Holmes and the Shakespeare Globe Murders" narrated by David Ian Davies: Listen
Whatever has sustained this fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the enduring popularity of Sherlock Holmes will continue no doubt. Is it his savvy logical reasoning, his ability to take on almost any disguise, or his forensic science skills to solve a problematic case. Anyway for all of us Sherlockian enthusiast, it is not just another detective case to be solved, with Holmes it is an adventure.
House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American B movie horror film from Allied Artists. It was directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren. He and his fourth wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house for a "Haunted House" party. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000 each. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.
Cast
* Vincent Price as Frederick Loren, a millionaire whose first three wives all died suspicious deaths
* Carolyn Craig as Nora Manning, a secretary for one of Mr Loren's companies supports her whole family
* Richard Long as Lance Schroeder, a pilot
* Elisha Cook as Watson Pritchard, a man whose sister-in-law and brother were murdered in the house; the owner of the property
* Carol Ohmart as Annabelle Loren, Frederick's fourth wife
* Alan Marshal as Dr. David Trent, a psychiatrist
* Julie Mitchum as Ruth Bridgers, a columnist with a gambling problem
* Leona Anderson as Mrs. Slydes, a housekeeper
* Howard Hoffman as Jonas Slydes, another housekeeper
* Skeleton - Himself
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Test Pilot from Lux Radio Theater aired May 25, 1942 starring Robert Taylor, Rita Hayworth and Robert Preston. The show opens with Cecil B. DeMille and Rita Hayworth giving a message to the armed forces.
An irresponsible test pilot''s wife and best friend try to get him to grow up.
Lux Radio Theater 42-05-25 0353 Test Pilot (HQ)
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The Reformer And The Redhead from Lux Radio Theater aired Jun 25, 1951 srarring in their original role Dick Powell as Andrew Rockton Hale and June Allyson as hot-tempered Kathleen Maguire.
A small-town politician falls for an idealistic zookeeper.
Lux Radio Theater 51-06-25 0753 The Reformer And The Redhead (HQ)
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It’s not very often that I find a Media Center plugin that really gets me excited. Despite the platforms popularity and Microsoft support, it just doesn’t seem the draw the developers. That may have something to do with how complicated development is, but also the appeal of easy-money for smart phone app development. Regardless of that, though, I recently came across one that has me jumping for joy! Kylo is a web browser that integrates itself into the Media Center menu, is full-screen by default, has good Media Center-type features, and sports a home page with links to a plethora of content. In short, it’s what Microsoft should have done long ago.
Latest Version Includes Instant Visual Search Through Integration with Clicker.tv
Now Available for the United Kingdom, with a UK-Centric Kylo Directory
Now Available for the United Kingdom, with a UK-Centric Kylo Directory
There is a massive amount of links such as NFL (which goes straight to the NFL’s video page), MLB, NBA, Yahoo Fantasy Football, Pandora, all of the major (and some of the minor) TV networks, online-only content like Revision3, some games and social networks, and more.
Now let’s take a look at what it does.
During installation you will be prompted to choose shortcuts. Make sure you enable the Media Center menu option.
When you open the browser you will be greeted with an almost overwhelming amount of content links.
There is an on-screen keyboard if you prefer such a thing.
You’ll find a limited, but useful amount of items in the settings.
One thing I found very useful in settings was the ability to manually stretch the screen to match my TV. Perhaps not everyone will need this, but I found Kylo would not open to full-screen until I did this. It remembers the setting so you’ll only need to do this once.
The one problem I have with Kylo is it’s inability to import bookmarks. Previously I was running Firefox on my Media Center PC and I had a sparse, but much needed, set of bookmarks. Some are included, but some are not. It looks as though I will be adding those by hand.
Overall, though, I have found this browser to be just about everything I need in a Media Center browser. It’s a definite add-on to any system I build in the future.
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still repeated world wide.
The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, usually owing to age, and as such the series starred several veterans of British film, television and stage, including Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Arnold Ridley and John Laurie. Relative youngsters in the regular cast were Ian Lavender, Clive Dunn (who was made-up to play the elderly Jones), Frank Williams, James Beck (who died suddenly during production of the programme's sixth series, despite being one of the youngest cast members) and Colin Bean.
In 2004, Dad's Army was voted into fourth place in a BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom. Previously, in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, it was placed thirteenth. The series has had a profound influence on popular culture in the United Kingdom, with the series' catchphrases and characters well known. It is also credited with having highlighted a hitherto forgotten aspect of defence during the Second World War. The Radio Times magazine listed Captain Mainwaring's "You stupid boy!" among the 25 greatest put-downs on TV.
Originally intended to be called The Fighting Tigers, Dad’s Army was based partly on co-writer and creator Jimmy Perry’s real-life experiences in the Local Defence Volunteers (later known as the Home Guard). Perry had been 17 years old when he joined the 10th Hertfordshire Battalion and with a mother who did not like him being out at night and fearing he might catch cold, he bore more than a passing resemblance to the character of Frank Pike. An elderly lance corporal in the outfit often referred to fighting under Kitchener against the "Fuzzy Wuzzies" and proved to be a perfect model for Jones. Other influences were the film Whisky Galore!, and the work of comedians such as Will Hay whose film Oh, Mr Porter! featured a pompous ass, an old man and a young man which gave him Mainwaring, Godfrey and Pike. Another influence was the Lancastrian comedian Robb Wilton, who portrayed a work-shy husband who joined the Home Guard in numerous comic sketches during WW2.
Perry wrote the first script and gave it to David Croft while working as a minor actor in the Croft-produced sitcom Hugh and I, originally intending the role of the spiv, Walker, to be his own. Croft was impressed and sent the script to Michael Mills, Head of Comedy at the BBC. After addressing initial concerns that the programme was making fun of the efforts of the Home Guard, the series was commissioned.
In his book, Dad's Army, Graham McCann explained that the show owes a lot to Michael Mills. It was he who renamed the show Dad's Army. He did not like Brightsea-on-Sea so the location was changed to Walmington-on-Sea. He was happy with the names for the characters Mainwaring, Godfrey and Pike but not with other names and he made suggestions: Private Jim Duck became Frazer, Joe Fish became Joe Walker and Jim Jones became Jack Jones. He also suggested adding a Scot to the mix. Jimmy Perry had produced the original idea but was in need of an experienced man to see it through. Mills suggested David Croft and so the successful partnership began.
The show was set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea, on the south coast of England (the exterior scenes were mostly filmed in and around Thetford, Norfolk). Thus, the Home Guard were on the front line in the eventuality of an invasion by the enemy forces across the English Channel, which formed a backdrop to the series. The first series had a loose narrative thread, with Captain Mainwaring’s platoon being formed and equipped—initially with wooden guns and LDV armbands, and later on full army uniforms; the platoon were part of the The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment.
Explore more of Dad's Army in the Collections Group
Candid Camera, the first and longest running reality-based comedy program, premiered on ABC 10 August 1948 under its original radio title Candid Microphone. The format of the program featured footage taken by a hidden camera of everyday people caught in hoaxes devised by the show's host Allen Funt. In the world of Candid Camera mailboxes talked to passers by, cars rolled along effortlessly without engines, little boys used x-ray glasses, and secretaries were chained to their desks--all to provoke a reaction from unsuspecting mechanics, clerks, customers and passers by. In a 1985 Psychology Today article, Funt explained his move to television by saying that he "wanted to go beyond what people merely said, to record what they did--their gestures, facial expressions, confusions and delights.
The program ultimately changed its name to Candid Camera when it moved to NBC in 1949 but did not gain a permanent time slot until it finally moved to CBS in 1960. For the next seven years it was consistently rated as one of television's top ten shows before it was abruptly canceled. Funt was frequently joined by guest hosts such as Arthur Godfrey, Durward Kirby and Bess Meyerson. A syndicated version of the program containing old and new material aired from 1974-78. Aided by his son Peter, Funt continued to create special theme episodes (e.g.: "Smile, You're on Vacation," "Candid Camera goes to the Doctor," etc.) for CBS until 1990 when The New Candid Camera, advised by Funt and hosted by Dom DeLuise went into syndication. Low ratings finally prevented King Productions from renewing the show for the 1992-93 season.
On the Radio: Candid Microphone
The scenarios designed and recorded by Funt and his crew were unique glimpses into the quirks and foibles of human nature never before deliberately captured on film. The average scenario lasted approximately five minutes and was based on one of five strategies. These "ideas" included reversing normal or anticipated procedures, exposing basic human weaknesses such as ignorance or vanity, fulfilling fantasies, using the element of surprise or placing something in a bizarre or inappropriate setting. As Funt noted: "You have to make lots of adjustments to create viewer believability and really involve the subject. You need the right setting, one in which the whole scenario will fit and make sense to the audience even when it doesn't to the actor." Finding the right setting, and the right people for Candid Camera
stunts was not always an easy task.
Early attempts to film Candid Camera were hampered by technical, logistical and censorship difficulties. While they appeared simple, the staged scenes took many hours to prepare and success was far from guaranteed. Approximately fifty recorded sequences were filmed for every four to five aired on the program. Funt and his crew had to contend with burdensome equipment that was difficult to conceal. The cameras were often hidden behind a screen, but the lights needed for them had to be left out in the open. Would-be victims were told that the lights were part of "renovations." Microphones were concealed in boxes, under tables and, in a number of episodes, in a cast worn by Funt himself. In his book Eavesdropping at Large (1952), Funt also described his battles with network censors and sponsors who had never before confronted this type of programming and were often fickle in their decisions about what was and was not acceptable material for television at the time. Funt himself destroyed any material that was off color, or reached too deeply into people's private lives. A hotel gag designed to fool guests placed a "men's room" sign on a closet door. The funniest, but ultimately unaired reaction, came from a gentleman who ignored the obvious lack of accommodations and "used" the closet anyway.
stunts was not always an easy task.
Early attempts to film Candid Camera were hampered by technical, logistical and censorship difficulties. While they appeared simple, the staged scenes took many hours to prepare and success was far from guaranteed. Approximately fifty recorded sequences were filmed for every four to five aired on the program. Funt and his crew had to contend with burdensome equipment that was difficult to conceal. The cameras were often hidden behind a screen, but the lights needed for them had to be left out in the open. Would-be victims were told that the lights were part of "renovations." Microphones were concealed in boxes, under tables and, in a number of episodes, in a cast worn by Funt himself. In his book Eavesdropping at Large (1952), Funt also described his battles with network censors and sponsors who had never before confronted this type of programming and were often fickle in their decisions about what was and was not acceptable material for television at the time. Funt himself destroyed any material that was off color, or reached too deeply into people's private lives. A hotel gag designed to fool guests placed a "men's room" sign on a closet door. The funniest, but ultimately unaired reaction, came from a gentleman who ignored the obvious lack of accommodations and "used" the closet anyway.
"This hard boiled spy drama began as an RKO Radio Pictures theatrical serial in the 1940s, went on radio in 1943, and then came to TV around ten years later in a Syndicated series produced for distribution by NBC
Films; the series was about an American agent whose code name was "Falcon".
The success of the films led to a radio series that premiered on the American Blue Network in April 1943, and aired for the next ten years on various networks. It was here that his transition into a private eye was finalized, with The Falcon, now called Michael Waring working as a hardboiled insurance investigator, with an office and a secretary, Nancy.
Barry Kroeger was the first radio voice of The Falcon, followed by James Meighan, Les Tremayne, George Petrie, and Les Damon. Nearly all the shows were broadcast from New York.
You can find more about the series and shows in the Collections Group
You may not of noticed, but I am bringing content from the old Calfkiller blogs and making part of, or available, to the Times Past community. The content I have posted on the Calfkiller blogs will be easily available here.
Have been asked often about the name Calfkiller. Some even said the name scared them. I am from the Cumberland Mountains area of Tennessee and one of the rivers here is called Calfkiller River. The name was taken from a Cherokee Indian Chief from this area of Tennessee, called Chief Calfkiller.
In the beginning old time radio had always been an interest to me and friends would ask for links to help in finding shows. The Calfkiller web page, or blog, was started just for friends to view links to content when I ran across something of interest. The name Calfkiller was easy to remember for anyone in the area and was just used for simplicity for just a few friends from the area. This was in the late 1990's, about the time Napster appeared.
Over time Old Time Radio started to make a come back, and search engines improved, mp3 players became more and more popular; and so did traffic to the Calfkiller blog. So I guess old Chief Calfkiller's name lives on in reference to Old Time Radio.
I started Times Past here on Ning shortly after they came on board as a platform, actually one of the first to sign up. I knew the interface had the potential to be a perfect place for the hobby of Old Time Radio. A lot better than anything I could ever come up with. It has been hard to move completely away from the Calfkiller blog, it has been a good refer for Time Past.
Now the Times Past community is growing with new members almost every day. Not just Old Time Radio fans, but also admirers of content from the post-era of Old Time Radio. I am thankful for the UK and others keeping the entertainment of radio alive today. There is some very creative and imagative minds writing and producing; as well outstanding actors from the UK keeping us old timers entertained, along with a whole new generation of new listeners.
I would like to thank all the members here at Times Past who have contributed content for all of us to enjoy, as well as contributors of the genre from other web sites who make content available. Whether any of you know or not, you are helping to preserve this content for future generations when we are gone.
Robert
