how long has this been here?

[Hemingway Jones]

I don't remember being tipped ever. Do you, James?

Tipped Over maybe, if I may answer for Mr. Powers.

 

[jamespowers]

Tipped Over maybe, if I may answer for Mr. Powers.

Tipped over like a canoe. I accept cigars, fifths of good scotch, vintage hat articles and ads, vintage borsalinos and a host of other things.

Regards,

J

 

[Mojave Jack]

Wow! A brand new room and already about 35 threads! Impressive. You bartenders must have been up all night re-arranging.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Tipped over like a canoe.

And Tyler too?

 

[jamespowers]

And Tyler too?

I was wondering if you were going to pick up on that.

Regards,

J

 

[deanglen]

Does anyone here remember CBS Radio Mystery Theatre. I'm thinking it was a mid-seventies live radio style revival but I'll bet I could google it and get the facts. It was carried on WTCM, the station my father still works at. He started at in High School back in 1950. He remembers wire recorders. He loves his work. He did Armed Forces radio back in the 1950s out in Washington state. Here's a link to Wikopedia about his station. It mentions him, Merlin Dumbrille but he won't be 74 until next year:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTCM

dean

 

[K by the bay]

I remember a show called Mystery Theater with the announcer E.G. Marshall. A good show. Here's a radio anecdote from WW11. Found this in my dad's baby book. My Grandma regarded it as my dad's first joke. Another little boy asked him if his dad was with the Army, Navy, or Marines and my dad said " My dad's with the Blue Network". Maybe you had to be there.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I was wondering if you were going to pick up on that.

Regards,

J

It was better than my Annette Funicular joke, I guess. Ya hadda be there.

 

[scotrace]

It was better than my Annette Funicular joke, I guess. Ya hadda be there.

And how.

 

[LizzieMaine]

CBS Radio Mystery Theatre has a genuine Golden Era pedigree - it was produced and directed by Himan Brown, who had created "Inner Sanctum Mysteries" back in the '40s, and the Mystery Theatre reused a lot of his favorite gimmicks, notably the squeaking door at the start of each program.

CBSRMT had a surprisingly long run -- 1974 to 1982 -- and is very fondly remembered by those of us who were kids in those years.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

my best friend's father used to listen to this coming home from work in the big city he said. He hadn't heard it for years until I opened up my laptop and clicked the play button.

 

[deanglen]

Another little boy asked him if his dad was with the Army, Navy, or Marines and my dad said " My dad's with the Blue Network". Maybe you had to be there.

Found this at:
http://www.answers.com/topic/nbc-13

In 1927 NBC formally divided their respective marketing strategies: the NBC Red Network offered entertainment and music programming from their flagship, WEAF New York (660kHz as of 1928); the NBC Blue Network carried many of the "sustaining" or non-sponsored broadcasts, especially news and cultural programs, and originated from WJZ New York (760 hHz in 1928, 770kHz in 1941).[2] Legend has it that the color designations originated from the color of the push-pins early engineers used to designate affiliates of WEAF (red pins) and WJZ (blue pins). A similar two-part/two-color strategy appeared in the recording industry, dividing the market between classical and popular offerings. At various times in the 1930s NBC developed additional color designations, with the NBC White, Gold, and Orange networks operating in various configurations in the South, the Midwest and on the West Coast.

I remember my dad trying to explain this to me when I was a kid.

dean

 

[LizzieMaine]

That's a pretty good summary of the Red/Blue arrangement, and I'd just add a couple of points. The Red Network actually predated the formation of NBC -- it was started by AT&T in 1924, originating from WEAF for special programming, and by 1925 it was running a regular schedule of commercial programming. The "Red Network" name was originated in the AT&T Long Lines department, and referred to the colored pencils used to trace the network circuits on the department's master maps -- the "push pin" legend grew out of that.

The Blue Network grew out of a small network operated by RCA in the pre-NBC years, consisting of WJZ, New York, WBZ/WBZA Boston/Springfield, WGY, Schenectady, and WRC, Washington. When RCA bought out AT&T's radio interests in 1926, the WEAF/Red Network became the nucleus of NBC-Red, and the existing WJZ chain became the Blue. Both networks expanded rapidly after that point.

The programming distinctions between Red and Blue didn't become established until the late thirties, when the FCC began investigating the possibility of monopoly charges against NBC. The company then went out of its way to demonstrate that Red and Blue were actually distinct operations within NBC -- when, in reality, they were not. The idea of putting as much of the "cultural" programming as possible on Blue came about at that time.

Orange and Gold were, as indicated, supplemental West Coast networks that existed until the early '30s, when the completion of nationwide network lines made it possible for them to be fully integrated into the coast-to-coast networks. The White Network was NBC's International Division, which produced special programming for shortwave broadcasting.

 

[deanglen]

Great info, Lizzie! When was the color coding facade finally dropped?

dean

 

[LizzieMaine]

Well, in 1941, the FCC issued a publication called "Report on Chain Broadcasting," which summarized the results of the three-year investigation it began in 1938 -- and concluded that NBC's ownership of two networks *was* a monopolistic practice. The Commission therefore ordered RCA to sell off one of the two networks to an independant operator as soon as possible.

In December 1941, RCA established The Blue Network Co., Inc. as a subsidiary separate from NBC -- and in 1943, this company was sold to Edward J. Noble, the Life Savers Candy magnate, who had purchased the rights to the name "American Broadcasting Company" from a broadcaster who had used that name for a short-lived regional network in the mid-thirties. After a brief transition period, the "Blue Network" name was dropped in 1945, and the network became ABC.

The previous Red Network, meanwhile, continued as NBC from 1942 onward.

Another interesting note -- the AT&T circuit maps traced the CBS network in purple -- and Long Lines staff referred to it as "the Purple Network." For some reason, though, CBS itself never embraced or acknowledged that name...

 

[deanglen]

You must have written a book on this! Terrific command of material! Post more! Anything. Can't come up with another question yet.

dean

 

[Pilgrim]

Lizzie, my hat's off to you! GREAT summary!

And Deanglen, that's a very nice lid in your new avatar.

Has anyone else noticed that on Ebay/OFAS, there are now vendors selling hundreds of old radio programs on CD and DVD in MP3 format? I now have hundreds of Shadow, Sherlock Holmes and other programs that I've picked up from a couple of vendors for peanuts - usually under $10 a disc.