OTR-CITY https://otr-city.com/ Where adventure of the mind begins. Sun, 20 Jun 2021 12:58:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://otr-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/cropped-favicon-32x32.png OTR-CITY https://otr-city.com/ 32 32 Red Skelton https://otr-city.com/red-skelton/ https://otr-city.com/red-skelton/#respond Sun, 20 Jun 2021 12:58:38 +0000 https://otr-city.com/?p=1169 Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913 – September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio and television, and

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Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913 – September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio and television, and also appeared in burlesque, vaudeville, films, nightclubs, and casinos, all while he pursued an entirely separate career as an artist.

Skelton began developing his comedic and pantomime skills from the age of 10, when he became part of a traveling medicine show. He then spent time on a showboat, worked the burlesque circuit, and then entered into vaudeville in 1934. The “Doughnut Dunkers” pantomime sketch, which he wrote together with his wife, launched a career for him in vaudeville, radio, and films. His radio career began in 1937 with a guest appearance on The Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour, which led to his becoming the host of Avalon Time in 1938. He became the host of The Raleigh Cigarette Program in 1941, on which many of his comedy characters were created, and he had a regularly scheduled radio program until 1957. Skelton made his film debut in 1938 alongside Ginger Rogers and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in Alfred Santell’s Having Wonderful Time, and would appear in numerous musical and comedy films throughout the 1940s and 1950s, with starring roles in 19 films, including Ship Ahoy (1941), I Dood It (1943), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), and The Clown (1953).

Skelton was eager to work in television, even when the medium was in its infancy. The Red Skelton Show made its television premiere on September 30, 1951, on NBC. By 1954, Skelton’s program moved to CBS, where it was expanded to one hour and renamed The Red Skelton Hour in 1962. Despite high ratings, the show was canceled by CBS in 1970, as the network believed that more youth-oriented programs were needed to attract younger viewers and their spending power. Skelton moved his program to NBC, where he completed his last year with a regularly scheduled television show in 1971. He spent his time after that making as many as 125 personal appearances a year and working on his paintings.

Skelton’s paintings of clowns remained a hobby until 1964, when his wife Georgia persuaded him to show them at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas while he was performing there. Sales of his originals were successful, and he also sold prints and lithographs, earning $2.5 million yearly on lithograph sales. At the time of his death, his art dealer said he thought that Skelton had earned more money through his paintings than from his television performances.

Skelton believed that his life’s work was to make people laugh; he wanted to be known as a clown because he defined it as being able to do everything. He had a 70-year-long career as a performer and entertained three generations of Americans. His widow donated many of his personal and professional effects to Vincennes University, including prints of his artwork. They are part of the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy at Vincennes, Indiana.

LINK: Red Skelton/WikiPedia

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Dimension X https://otr-city.com/dimension-x/ https://otr-city.com/dimension-x/#respond Sun, 06 Jun 2021 16:48:09 +0000 https://otr-city.com/?p=1157 Dimension X was first heard on NBC April 8, 1950, and ran until September 29, 1951. Strange that so little good science fiction came out of radio; they seem ideally compatible, both relying heavily on imagination. Some fine isolated science fiction stories were developed on the great anthology shows, Suspense and Escape. Until the premiere

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Dimension X was first heard on NBC April 8, 1950, and ran until September 29, 1951. Strange that so little good science fiction came out of radio; they seem ideally compatible, both relying heavily on imagination. Some fine isolated science fiction stories were developed on the great anthology shows, Suspense and Escape. Until the premiere of Dimension X – a full two decades after network radio was established – there were no major science fiction series of broad appeal to adults. This show dramatized the work of such young writers as Ray Bradbury, Robert (Psycho) Bloch, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Kurt Vonnegut. In-house script writer was Ernest Kinoy, who adapted the master works and contributed occasional storied of his own.

Dimension X was a very effective demonstration of what could be done with science fiction on the air. It came so late that nobody cared, but some of the stories stand as classics of the medium. Bradbury’s “Mars Is Heaven” is as gripping today as when first heard. His “Martian Chronicles” was one of the series’ most impressive offerings.

Dimension X played heavily on an “adventures in time and space, told in future tense” theme. Actors who worked regularly on the show included Joe Di Santis, Wendell Holmes, Santos Ortega, Joseph Julian, Jan Miner, Roger De Koven, John Gibson, Ralph Bell, John Larkin, Les Damon, and Mason Adams. It was directed by Fred Weihe and Edward King. The deep-voiced narrator was Norman Rose.

The series played heavily on the “X” factor in the title, as did X-Minus One a few years later. The signature was boomed out of and echo chamber as “DIMENSION X X X X X x x x x x . . . “

LINK: Dimension X/WikiPedia

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Mysterious Traveler https://otr-city.com/mysterious-traveler/ https://otr-city.com/mysterious-traveler/#respond Sun, 10 Jan 2021 00:36:56 +0000 https://otr-city.com/?p=1135 The Mysterious Traveler was an anthology radio series, a magazine and a comic book. All three featured stories which ran the gamut from fantasy and science fiction to straight crime dramas of mystery and suspense. Written and directed by Robert Arthur and David Kogan, the radio series was sponsored by Adams Hats. It began on

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The Mysterious Traveler was an anthology radio series, a magazine and a comic book. All three featured stories which ran the gamut from fantasy and science fiction to straight crime dramas of mystery and suspense.

Written and directed by Robert Arthur and David Kogan, the radio series was sponsored by Adams Hats. It began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different time-slots until September 16, 1952. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator (portrayed by Maurice Tarplin), who introduced himself each week in the following manner:
This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable—if you can!
Cast members included Jackson Beck, Lon Clark, Roger DeKoven, Elspeth Eric, Wendell Holmes, Bill Johnstone, Joseph Julian, Jan Miner, Santos Ortega, Bryna Raeburn, Frank Readick, Luis van Rooten, Ann Shepherd, Lawson Zerbe and Bill Zuckert. Sound effects were by Jack Amrhein, Jim Goode, Ron Harper, Walt McDonough and Al Schaffer.
“Behind the Locked Door,” a popular, much-requested episode which took place in total darkness, was repeated several times during the years. Two archaeologists discover a century-old wagon train that had been sealed in a cave following a landslide. When their Native American guide is mysteriously and brutally attacked, the two, now lost in the darkness, conclude that the descendants of the wagon train are still living in the cave.
Only 75 of the original 370 Mysterious Traveler episodes still exist. The popularity of the series spawned other supernatural shows, such as The Sealed Book. With scripts by a Mysterious Traveler writer and Tarplin as host-narrator, The Strange Dr. Weird was a nearly identical program.

Link: Mysterious Traveler:WikiPedia

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The Adventures Of Superman https://otr-city.com/the-adventures-of-superman/ https://otr-city.com/the-adventures-of-superman/#respond Sun, 10 Jan 2021 00:27:59 +0000 https://otr-city.com/?p=1131 Adventures of Superman is a radio show which aired between 1938 and 1951 on Mutual and ABC with Kelloggs as a sponsor. While being aired on Mutual it was a 15 minute show but was increased to a half hour after moving to ABC. “Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able

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Adventures of Superman is a radio show which aired between 1938 and 1951 on Mutual and ABC with Kelloggs as a sponsor. While being aired on Mutual it was a 15 minute show but was increased to a half hour after moving to ABC.

“Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.’
Look! Up in the sky!
It’s a bird!
It’s a plane!
It’s Superman!”

Link: The Adventures Of Superman:WikiPedia

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OTR Weekend Volume 2 https://otr-city.com/otr-weekend-volume-2/ https://otr-city.com/otr-weekend-volume-2/#respond Sun, 03 Jan 2021 00:11:06 +0000 https://otr-city.com/?p=1111 Old Time Radio Weekend is a collection of shows in various formats. You can choose the show that fits your mood as you peruse the collection. Our life today is complicated and stressful, allow old time radio to transport you to a world of carefree wonder. These old-time radio files have been run through an

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Old Time Radio Weekend is a collection of shows in various formats. You can choose the show that fits your mood as you peruse the collection. Our life today is complicated and stressful, allow old time radio to transport you to a world of carefree wonder.

These old-time radio files have been run through an audio editor to remove background noise, pull up volume where needed, and bring the voices of past stars back down to earth, victims of inept compression.  There are two hour-long theatricals and 12 half-hour productions to parse out over a two-day weekend, i.e., six halves topped by one hour-long show. Four comedies (Bold Venture’s dry humor included)  variety shows.  A couple of detective shows. Two sci-fi, one biography, a classic play, and a classic movie, so something for everyone.  I would have put in a western, but so many of those files are in relatively good shape due to the enduring popularity of the genre.  Orson Welles fans rejoice: three of these shows feature his immortal voice. The Bold Venture, Black Museum, and Lux Theater episodes were chipmunked, needing speed decreased to normal, so Ms.’ Bacall & Colbert, and Mrs. Gable, Bogart, and Welles got their natural deeper voices back.  Barrie Craig, Harry Lime, and Dr Kildare suffered low volume.  All tracks got the background noise of old LPs reduced as much as possible. The shows are below.

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OTR Weekend Volume 1 https://otr-city.com/otr-weekend-volume-1/ https://otr-city.com/otr-weekend-volume-1/#respond Sun, 03 Jan 2021 00:10:56 +0000 https://otr-city.com/?p=1123 Old Time Radio Weekend is a collection of shows in various formats. You can choose the show that fits your mood as you peruse the collection. Our life today is complicated and stressful, allow old time radio to transport you to a world of carefree wonder. Below are dozen old-time radio shows with background noise

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Old Time Radio Weekend is a collection of shows in various formats. You can choose the show that fits your mood as you peruse the collection. Our life today is complicated and stressful, allow old time radio to transport you to a world of carefree wonder.

Below are dozen old-time radio shows with background noise removed or reduced, sound adjusted to a more even tone, and in the case of Dinah Shore file slowed down to her normal vocal timbre instead of that of a Munchkin.  Special treat: the Beulah file is all four episodes of Vacation Troubles stitched together as one show!

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Challenge of the Yukon 6 https://otr-city.com/challenge-yukon/ https://otr-city.com/challenge-yukon/#respond Sat, 19 Dec 2020 22:09:39 +0000 https://otr-city.com/?p=1107 Challenge of the Yukon was a radio series that began on Detroit’s station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet), and an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. The title changed from Challenge of the Yukon to Sergeant Preston of the Yukon in

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Challenge of the Yukon was a radio series that began on Detroit’s station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet), and an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. The title changed from Challenge of the Yukon to Sergeant Preston of the Yukon in November 1951, and remained under that name through the end of the series and into television.

The program was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the North-West Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father’s killer, and when he was successful he was promoted to sergeant. Preston worked under the command of Inspector Conrad, and in the early years was often assisted by a French-Canadian guide named Pierre.

Preston’s staunchest ally, who was arguably the true star of the show and indeed often did more work than he did, was the brave Alaskan husky, Yukon King. Typical plots involved the pair helping injured trappers, tracking down smugglers, or saving cabin dwellers from wolverines. Sergeant Preston’s faithful steed was Rex, used primarily in the summer months, but generally Yukon King and his dog team were the key mode of transportation (as signaled by Preston’s cry of “On, King! On, you huskies!).”

There is some confusion regarding King’s actual breed. The writers seemed to use malamute and husky interchangeably. At least once, Preston answered “malamute” to the question from another character. In one radio episode Preston indicates King\’s mother had been a wolf, which would make him a wolfdog. In the early radio shows, the cry of “On, you huskies! ” would alternate with “On, you malamutes” from show to show.

The theme music was Emil von Reznicek’s overture to Donna Diana, a now long-forgotten opera, though the overture remains a concert staple to this day. The show’s episodes ended with the official pronouncement, Well, King, this case is closed.

Link: Challenge of the Yukon:WikiPedia

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Challenge of the Yukon 5 https://otr-city.com/challenge-of-the-yukon-5/ https://otr-city.com/challenge-of-the-yukon-5/#respond Sat, 19 Dec 2020 22:01:57 +0000 https://otr-city.com/?p=1105 Challenge of the Yukon was a radio series that began on Detroit’s station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet), and an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. The title changed from Challenge of the Yukon to Sergeant Preston of the Yukon in

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Challenge of the Yukon was a radio series that began on Detroit’s station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet), and an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. The title changed from Challenge of the Yukon to Sergeant Preston of the Yukon in November 1951, and remained under that name through the end of the series and into television.

The program was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the North-West Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father’s killer, and when he was successful he was promoted to sergeant. Preston worked under the command of Inspector Conrad, and in the early years was often assisted by a French-Canadian guide named Pierre.

Preston’s staunchest ally, who was arguably the true star of the show and indeed often did more work than he did, was the brave Alaskan husky, Yukon King. Typical plots involved the pair helping injured trappers, tracking down smugglers, or saving cabin dwellers from wolverines. Sergeant Preston’s faithful steed was Rex, used primarily in the summer months, but generally Yukon King and his dog team were the key mode of transportation (as signaled by Preston’s cry of “On, King! On, you huskies!).”

There is some confusion regarding King’s actual breed. The writers seemed to use malamute and husky interchangeably. At least once, Preston answered “malamute” to the question from another character. In one radio episode Preston indicates King\’s mother had been a wolf, which would make him a wolfdog. In the early radio shows, the cry of “On, you huskies! ” would alternate with “On, you malamutes” from show to show.

The theme music was Emil von Reznicek’s overture to Donna Diana, a now long-forgotten opera, though the overture remains a concert staple to this day. The show’s episodes ended with the official pronouncement, Well, King, this case is closed.

Link: Challenge of the Yukon:WikiPedia

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Challenge of the Yukon 4 https://otr-city.com/challenge-of-the-yukon-4/ https://otr-city.com/challenge-of-the-yukon-4/#respond Sun, 13 Dec 2020 01:06:44 +0000 https://otr-city.com/?p=1051 Sergeant William Preston of the North-West Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness.

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Challenge of the Yukon was a radio series that began on Detroit’s station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet), and an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. The title changed from Challenge of the Yukon to Sergeant Preston of the Yukon in November 1951, and remained under that name through the end of the series and into television.

The program was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the North-West Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father’s killer, and when he was successful he was promoted to sergeant. Preston worked under the command of Inspector Conrad, and in the early years was often assisted by a French-Canadian guide named Pierre.

Preston’s staunchest ally, who was arguably the true star of the show and indeed often did more work than he did, was the brave Alaskan husky, Yukon King. Typical plots involved the pair helping injured trappers, tracking down smugglers, or saving cabin dwellers from wolverines. Sergeant Preston’s faithful steed was Rex, used primarily in the summer months, but generally Yukon King and his dog team were the key mode of transportation (as signaled by Preston’s cry of “On, King! On, you huskies!).”

There is some confusion regarding King’s actual breed. The writers seemed to use malamute and husky interchangeably. At least once, Preston answered “malamute” to the question from another character. In one radio episode Preston indicates King\’s mother had been a wolf, which would make him a wolfdog. In the early radio shows, the cry of “On, you huskies! ” would alternate with “On, you malamutes” from show to show.

The theme music was Emil von Reznicek’s overture to Donna Diana, a now long-forgotten opera, though the overture remains a concert staple to this day. The show’s episodes ended with the official pronouncement, Well, King, this case is closed.

Link: Challenge of the Yukon:WikiPedia

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Challenge of the Yukon 3 https://otr-city.com/challenge-of-the-yukon-3/ https://otr-city.com/challenge-of-the-yukon-3/#respond Sun, 13 Dec 2020 00:58:13 +0000 https://otr-city.com/?p=1043 Sergeant William Preston of the North-West Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness.

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Challenge of the Yukon was a radio series that began on Detroit’s station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet), and an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. The title changed from Challenge of the Yukon to Sergeant Preston of the Yukon in November 1951, and remained under that name through the end of the series and into television.

The program was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the North-West Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father’s killer, and when he was successful he was promoted to sergeant. Preston worked under the command of Inspector Conrad, and in the early years was often assisted by a French-Canadian guide named Pierre.

Preston’s staunchest ally, who was arguably the true star of the show and indeed often did more work than he did, was the brave Alaskan husky, Yukon King. Typical plots involved the pair helping injured trappers, tracking down smugglers, or saving cabin dwellers from wolverines. Sergeant Preston’s faithful steed was Rex, used primarily in the summer months, but generally Yukon King and his dog team were the key mode of transportation (as signaled by Preston’s cry of “On, King! On, you huskies!).”

There is some confusion regarding King’s actual breed. The writers seemed to use malamute and husky interchangeably. At least once, Preston answered “malamute” to the question from another character. In one radio episode Preston indicates King\’s mother had been a wolf, which would make him a wolfdog. In the early radio shows, the cry of “On, you huskies! ” would alternate with “On, you malamutes” from show to show.

The theme music was Emil von Reznicek’s overture to Donna Diana, a now long-forgotten opera, though the overture remains a concert staple to this day. The show’s episodes ended with the official pronouncement, Well, King, this case is closed.

Link: Challenge of the Yukon:WikiPedia

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