Old-time Radio News and Reviews

Fred Foy

2015-04-04T21:04:00.000-04:00

http://www.fredfoy.com/

Oh, that Leroy!

2015-01-30T20:05:00.000-05:00

NBC Red logo.2

2014-12-08T14:12:00.001-05:00

NBC Red logo

2014-12-07T20:35:00.001-05:00

Mr. Blog's not-so-tepid Review of Fibber McGee and Molly

2014-07-17T00:53:00.003-04:00

http://bmj2k.com/2014/07/17/my-review-of-fibber-mcgee-and-molly/

An interview with PQ Ribber about OTR, Vic and Sade and "entertainiam"

2014-02-27T19:00:00.000-05:00

Here's the guy we all love (or should; his Quaquaversal Satellite podcast is awesome, as are all of the podcasts over at the Overnightscape Underground). PQ has a love for not just old-time radio and Vic and Sade but for all things "entertainiam". He's had a big influence in my life, thanks to his open talk, his wonderful insights on pop culture and his love for music, Vic and Sade and all the other stuff I enjoy! I was lucky enough to get him to do an interview with me and though it's done "transcription style" it worked out quite well, thanks to his editing. {{{ HEAR THE PQ RIBBER INTERVIEW }}}

Jimbo's brief autobiographical sketch

2014-01-12T11:04:00.001-05:00

MEET JIMBO - Jimbo is a tall, svelte, soft-spoken, blonde Russian, weighing 186 pounds and living in Kruesk, Siberia. (Well, close). Actually, I'm Jimbo. I'm not an expert or any of that stuff (especially about old radio). Really. No one can be an expert unless they've heard everything and no one has or ever will. Anyhow, I'm almost 100 years old (it seems) and enjoy listening to various pathos and comedies on the iPod. I'll be the first to tell you there is a lot of OTR that I simply do not like and refuse to listen to.

There is plenty of good stuff that I want to hear and I choose to listen to that, rather than stuff I don't like! I don't like commercials and especially disdain the music of the OTR era. That being said, there are programs that I really, really enjoy. The first would be Vic and Sade. I have spent a great deal of time helping to document, preserve and testify for it. It's a great show that will never get it's due. Another show I really like is The 21st Precinct, a sort of a Naked City-type show which the television show of the same name seemed to walk in the footsteps of. I also really likeThe Six Shooter, I Was a Communist for the FBI, Dragnet, Gunsmoke, You Bet Your Life, Fibber McGee and Molly and a host of others.

When I'm not listening to OTR, I'm off attacking old ladies and getting in trouble making fun of those who enjoy Star Wars films.

Taint Funny McGee

2013-12-29T08:30:00.002-05:00

Daffy and Egghead (Warner Brothers), written in 1937

Clark and Lois = purely platonic!

2013-12-21T22:56:00.001-05:00

June 1947

The one and only Superman

2013-12-21T22:49:00.000-05:00

Not OTR but an ad for the Max Fleischer Superman toons!

2013-12-21T22:36:00.001-05:00

Not radio's Superman but, now we're talkin'

2013-12-21T22:26:00.004-05:00

This is radio's Superman II!?

2013-12-21T22:23:00.001-05:00

This is radio's Superman!?

2013-12-21T22:17:00.002-05:00

1954

Dinah Shore, Dr I.Q. +

2013-11-17T22:49:00.000-05:00

1941 Dr. I.Q., Dinah Shore

Ozzie Nelson - Rutgers' QB in action

2013-11-17T22:40:00.000-05:00

Go man, go!

Superman note...

2013-11-17T21:11:00.003-05:00

I forgot to mention that I cleaned up the sound quite a bit on the Superman story arcs. I think you will be surprised at the sound quality improvement.

Combined Superman arcs are up!

2013-11-17T17:10:00.003-05:00

Finally, I've finished and uploaded a number of combined Adventures of Superman arcs.

A couple of things:

First, not all of the surviving arcs are there. There are four or five not there, simply because the original files wouldn't let me combine them.

Secondly, I combined the early arcs designated by James Lantz at the radio portion of the Superman Homepage. That is, his Origins of Superman, The North Star Mining Company Mystery and The Mystery of Dyerville. Other than the 'Lantz' designations, none of the stand-alone, single episodes are included in this set.

Thirdly, none of the "segues" are included, so there may be cases where the very first 5 minutes of so of the arcs are missing (although, those are rare.)

And lastly, I found (through OTRR) a couple of files that help complete arcs that you can't complete on archive.org. They are designated with the word, "complete."

Coming soon - bundled Superman arcs

2013-11-15T09:38:00.001-05:00

Soon, certainly by the end of the weekend and maybe as early as today, I will upload to archive.org, a set (almost complete) of the Superman radio arcs, bundled up.

I'm not sure that makes any sense, so let me explain. I have taken the story arcs and combined them all together, where each arc is an individual mp3. This will make it impossible for your mp3 player to skip around a Superman arc and will in turn force the player to play an entire arc.

I realize this kind of thing won't be something you all will want to download and that's fine. Feel free to send comments and criticisms.

Shirley Mitchell (Alice Darling) cheesecake photo

2013-11-11T07:05:00.000-05:00

12 year old Walter Tetley

2013-11-10T12:27:00.004-05:00

In 1934...

Rare Hap Hazard advert

2013-11-10T07:04:00.002-05:00

Gildy vs the McGees

2013-11-09T20:43:00.000-05:00

New, fan-edited Superman is awesome!

2013-10-26T07:34:00.001-04:00

The Adventures of Superman was such a great radio show, it's hard to imagine it done any other way. Most fans on the internet don't want people to mess with the original audio files, something I have been known to do myself, despite the many catcalls and negative comments fans often send in my direction.

Even I was skeptical when I recently came across a Tweeter named @BudCollyer. In his Tweets, he told of his fan audio versions of 3 famous Superman arcs, The Scarlet Widow, Atom Man and Atom Man in Metroplis.

After some investigation, I decided to download and give a listen. I downloaded, then went to listen with an open mind.

What I found is some very heavily cut audio. Now, you might shudder at the thought of any OTR being edited, especially The Adventures of Superman, but this is done very tastefully. Almost all the commercials are cut; he leaves what may be the best commercial in the entire arc and pastes it flawless into the middle of the serial. It's done so well that I had to smile. It sounded natural and "live." What remains is audio that is way shorter than the original audio, with 25% or more missing.

Not only has the audio been cut, but lots of audio has been added. To my knowledge, parts of many of the Superman film soundtracks have been employed (again, tastefully and artfully) - so much so that they fit in perfectly with what is going on. If you didn't know what the original Superman radio show sounded like, you'd have no idea that this version wasn't the real thing. There are other surprises in the audio too -- but not bad surprises! The additions are most welcome and I'm glad they were incorporated (including an interview with Superman creator, Jerry Siegal.)

@BudCollyer is an artist with his audio software and obviously he's a devoted fan of The Adventures of Superman. This audio seems like a project of love... that's how well-done it is. If you enjoy the Superman radio serials, you will most-probably enjoy these. He stresses that what he does is "fanedits", so if it's not your cup of tea, then move along. There's nothing wrong with the original series - and there's certainly nothing wrong with this new stuff either. It's worth the listen. He's made a fan out of me!

DOWNLOAD PAGE

©Jimbo 2013

I'd just die without old radio

2013-08-17T07:46:00.001-04:00

The title, "I'd just die without old radio", was uttered to me yesterday. It was not tongue-in-cheek, but rather a true sentiment. I know this becuse the person telling me was my brother.

Here's the short version of a very long story: recently, my long, lost brother knocked on my door. He needed help; worse, he was in a life or death situation (or at least, very close to it.)

Needless to say, I took him in. Better yet, my relationship with my brother, which had been badly damaged over the years, has been repaired.

I've always known my brother enjoyed old radio. I have no television at my house. What can one do for entertainment, especially right before bed? Well, listen to OTR, of course.

I hooked him up a small iPod and 500 random shows. He loved it. Loved it so much that he now goes to bed early to listen to it. It so reminds me of when I was a young teen; I couldn't wait to get under the covers and listen to OTR. He basically told me this yesterday (he's almost 61 years old.) He told me that he'd die if something happened to the iPod or I took it away from him and he wouldn't be able to listen to OTR! He's hopelessly addicted and this is a GOOD addiction.