Thrilling Days of Yesteryear

But wait…there’s more!

2012-01-27T12:00:00.003-05:00

I want to thank everyone who entered Thrilling Days of Yesteryear’s “Burns & Allen Treasury” giveaway, and only wish I had enough of the CD sets to give one to every person who e-mailed an entry (and I would, too, because that’s how I roll). The winner of the 10-CD set (a $39.98 value) is Ellen E. from Undisclosed Location, North Dakota (Ellen didn’t send me a snail-mail when she entered so I’m guessing at the coordinates) and I will get her prize out as soon as I hear back from her.

To temper the disappointment for those who didn’t win, I’d like to announce another TDOY giveaway—this time, it’s the Radio Spirits release Sergeant Preston of the Yukon: Arctic Odyssey. An eight CD set containing sixteen broadcasts, this collection is unique in that the episodes included were previously uncirculated and for many listeners, will be the first time they have been available since their original airing. Paul Sutton stars as the square-jawed, straight-shooting member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who is assisted by his trusty dog King in rounding up the various miscreants, scofflaws and ne’er-do-wells that ran rampant in the Yukon Territory at a time when gold fever was rampant and so were men slightly-less-than-honest.

Sergeant Preston of the Yukon—also known in its early years as Challenge of the Yukon—was sponsored in its half-hour form by Quaker Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice (“The breakfast cereal shot from guns!”), and because the Quaker people’s mission to was to sell as much cereal as possible they would often offer up premiums to younger listeners: nifty little prizes that could be obtained by mailing in boxtops and a small amount of coinage (usually a dime or a quarter back in those days). There’s a story arc in this collection that just does that, offering up five totem pole models to coincide with the events on the show…I’d be curious as to whether or not anyone out there still has these totems as a souvenir.

So you know the drill: if you’re interested in a chance to win this set, just drop me an e-mail at igsjrotr(at)gmail(dot) com before 11:59pm next Friday (February 3) and Saturday morning I will draw a winner from what I’m sure will be a bodaciously large stack of entries. Just make sure you put “Sergeant Preston Giveaway” in the subject header (I thought about using “Arctic Odyssey Giveaway” but that sounds like something that would wind up in my spam e-mailbox) and if you’d rather wait to see if you’re a winner before including a mailing address, that’s fine and dandy with me. This 8-CD set, which retails at $31.95, comes as a courtesy of my splendiferous working arrangement with Radio Spirits, for which I am truly grateful…and having listened to these shows, I think you’ll be pleased with the end result. Thrilling Days of Yesteryear—where the winning tradition continues!

Department of Corrections

2012-01-20T13:15:00.000-05:00

Peggy, a loyal member of the TDOY faithful, e-mailed me this morning to inform me that she kept getting her “Burns & Allen Treasury” contest entry bounced and the reason for this is because I left out part of the e-mail address to send the entries to. It’s igsjrotr(at)gmail(dot)com (I stupidly forgot the “otr” part—irony can be very ironic sometimes), so thanks to her for pointing out the error and good luck to everyone who enters (I’ve also corrected the addy in the original post).

Fabulous prizes…er, prize!

2012-01-19T11:00:00.002-05:00

Things have not been dull here at Rancho Yesteryear, despite the erratic posting schedule—I just finished the notes for a Richard Diamond, Private Detective release that will be coming your way via Radio Spirits in the near future, and am also plugging away on another project that I hope I’ll be able to do a little chest-swelling about soon (I’ve mentioned it to a few of the people in my “inner circle,” aka the people who e-mail me from time to time). Speaking of busting buttons, my Mom fished an Radio Spirits circular out of the mailbox yesterday and noticed that the company has two new releases out that I had a small hand in: a collection of Our Miss Brooks broadcasts that was as fun to write as it was to listen (and is pictured at your left), and a smaller (but just as pretty) set of The Life of Riley. Both of these classic radio comedies are among my all-time favorites, so sometimes it’s like being paid to attend a party.

The collection pictured on your right is one I did last year for RS (and I had planned to do this earlier but things kept getting in the way); it’s a 10-disc set of twenty broadcasts featuring the immortal comedy team of George Burns & Gracie Allen, with a few of these shows making their compact disc debut for the first time since their original broadcast. One of my all-time favorite Burns & Allen shows is on this one, a riotous December 4, 1947 outing with Der Bingle as guest star (I referenced this show in a review I did for the 1933 film College Humor back in April 2011), and the two broadcasts featuring Cary Grant are most enjoyable to listen to as well (Grant was a big George & Gracie fan, and once offered to appear on their show without pay…something that I’m sure went over big with his agent). Among the Hollywood celebrities you can hear in this collection are Brian Donlevy, Ray Milland, Ann Sheridan, Pat O’Brien, Hedy Lamarr (that’s Hedley!), Loretta Young and Ida Lupino.

I say “you can hear” because, yes, I have a set to give away to some lucky member of the Thrilling Days of Yesteryear faithful. All you need to do is shoot me an e-mail at igsjrotr(at)gmail(dot)com with “Treasury giveaway” in the subject header by 11:59pm next Thursday (January 26) and if you want to include your snail mail address, that’s fine (that allows me to send it out quicker) but if you’d rather not divulge that info until you’re certain you’re the winner that’s fine and dandy as well. If you desire, you can even compose something in the e-mail along the lines of “I desperately want to win this set, and if I do not I shall throw myself off from the highest turret.” I will draw a winner Friday morning the 27th using the old reliable random number generator at Random.org and send out the prize with all deliberate speed. The Burns & Allen Treasury CD set (a $39.98 value) would make a nice addition to your OTR library or a nifty gift to the OTR/classic film fan on your list, and I want to thank Radio Spirits for sending this freebie my way. Thrilling Days of Yesteryear…where the winning tradition continues!