As I stated at the end of the first installment in this series, we have many other areas to explore together in this great
hobby of collecting old time radio. Equipment, books, computers,
good programs to collect, clubs, how to catalog, etc., and each
will be expanded upon in future installments.
Let's start with good programs to collect. Everyone will
naturally have various opinions on this subject, as varied as the
number of different programs and the different types of collectors. Some collectors like only westerns, or comedy, or science
fiction, and on and on. And you will find some collectors whose
catalogs will reflect a strong trend in only one direction, such
as drama. Other catalogs you will not be able to make head nor
tails out of, because of the mixed up way programs and reels, or
cassettes are listed. Catalogs that list a program title, but
without a script title, or date. A program listed with only a
date, etc. All of this can be very confusing and you can fall
into the same trap if you're not careful from the beginning with
your collecting and cataloging habits. A little thinking about
this area will save you a lot of time re-doing listings later, or
offering the same type of confusing information to other collectors that we are covering here.
We shall start with sending away for catalogs. You can
receive them from either other collectors, dealers, or clubs. I
would recommend that you take some time to study this literature
carefully. See how complete a certain series is. If you don't
know how to tell if your source has a large amount of programs in
a certain category, or a small amount, compare this catalog
against other source listings. After all, if you're new to the
hobby, you certainly won't know if there are only 27 programs of
HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL, or if there are only 27 programs available
to begin with! In this case I can tell you that totally, there
were 106 broadcasts of HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL between 11/23/58 and
11/27/60. For years, 102 broadcasts were available. Only four
shows were missing. Now all 106 broadcasts are in my collection
since those last four broadcasts have been released.
In any event, by looking through various source material, it
won't take even a new collector very long to see that some collectors have a few titles of a certain series, while others have
a lot of titles of the same series. When building a certain
series that you're interested in, deal with the source that has a
large collection of where your interest is. You save time in
receiving the greatest amount of programs in the least amount of
trading, and you are not spending a lot more money in postage and
tape dealing with collectors all over the country. This will
also cut down on any sound quality problems you could run into
when dealing with many different collectors, providing that the
collector you are trading with takes care of his equipment, and
is as careful as you are about whom he is trading with.
Another advantage in this type of trading is that the larger
collector probably already has a series in chronological order
and you will not be looking from collector to collector for that
one or two programs that you know is available and then once you
receive it to have to re-record your reels so that they are in
order. I might point out also, that when you do this and re-record your reels, you are also dropping the recording generation
of each program one more time, which adds to further quality
deterioration in sound. Remember you always add additional tape
hiss, distortion, etc., every time a program is recorded over and
over again, and you can never remove it. It may not be very
noticeable, but it adds up with each recording and re-recording.
Many of the larger collectors are never the source of the record
ings that you are collecting and therefore, their sound quality
is generally better. More on this area in future installments.
Once you've got a good inventory of one series, you'll find
others coming to you for that series, and you can use this
material to get something that they have a large collection of.
In no time at all, you'll be on your way to establishing a good
collection that you can be proud of.
Now, let's look at what is available in the complete, short
run department. This would be an area that you can collect on
say about six or seven reels, or about 30 to 40 cassettes. There
are several small run series. I'll list a few titles here, and
remember that this is not a complete list of what is available:
Here are a couple of good examples of fairly long running
series that are complete and available:
I will not try to assign the number of episodes available,
as some of these programs go into the hundreds of programs and
are being added to all the time. Here goes:
Several years ago, as an example, that most collectors
wouldn't want to trade for or consider getting a copy of the
SPEED GIBSON OF THE INTERNATIONAL SECRET POLICE series. First
off, episodes #31, 32, 83 and 84 were missing. Secondly, the
sound throughout most of the run of 178 episodes, was at best,
bassy, or weak in volume levels. By pure luck, I was introduced
to a man who called me long distance to ask some questions. He
was also looking for a couple of programs that I had, and I
forwarded them to him. Some weeks later during another telephone
call, he happened to mention having access to several different
series of discs. I asked him which ones and how he had access
to them. He mentioned several titles, including the SPEED GIBSON
series. It seems that he had met a man, who years earlier, had
been a sound engineer at a radio station, and collected the discs
as they were used and then discarded. He died and his widow
didn't care one way or the other about whether copies were made
of the discs.
As to the SPEED GIBSON OF THE INTERNATIONAL SECRET POLICE,
it seems that all the discs were there except for about seven or
eight episodes. Those seven or eight missing episodes were
available from other sources, but the missing episodes #31, 32,
83 & 84 were among these existing discs. Disc by disc was then
copied and the master reels forwarded to me. I then made up a
master set of reels with the other episodes that weren't in this
collection of discs, and the complete 178 episodes were assembled
in great sound for the first time to collectors since probably
the series originally aired in the late 1930's. You never know
where or when you'll find something new.
As a new collector, it is easier if you trade for, or buy
complete series together on the same reels, or on a series of
cassettes. This will keep the amount of reels and/or cassettes
involved small. This will help you especially if you have any
problems with storing a large amount of reels or cassettes. If
you intend to collect thousands, or tens of thousands of programs, early considerations of keeping the amount of tape to a
minimum will be a wise move on your part. I've seen many catalogs that ramble in several different directions reel by reel.
Probably four or five times the amount of tape needed is used,
and the owner never really knows what he or she has at any one
moment. Collecting a series in chronological order also allows
you to see what you have at a quick glance, but more importantly,
what you're missing and need when something new becomes available.
Another big help, and one that is very rare, is a complete
alphabetical index to the programs in your catalog and the pages
that they can be found on. This is probably the single biggest
help to those collectors that you send your catalog to. It sure
beats searching back and forth, over and over, trying to find
something. This is especially true for yourself. As you get
more and more organized, an index really helps. In my current
reel-to-reel/cassette catalog, I list 18,433 programs contained
on 1,657 reels and 8,561 stock cassettes. Now this is no where
near the total amount in my collection, but for the programs
listed in the catalog, I can find which programs I have, and
which ones I'm missing, and on which reel and page in the catalog that they are located, all within a few seconds using the
index in the front of the catalog. I have received many compliments about this one feature more than anything else. It might
also make other collectors consult your own catalog rather than
catalogs from other collectors that do not have an easy to use
index.
You also end up with a reference guide of logs for the programs broadcast when you collect as completely as possible each
series. Some catalogs can be used as logs to which programs are
available. Indeed, I've seen ads that state this as a benefit to
purchasing this or that catalog from this or that dealer.
So the first question as a new collector that you should ask
yourself is one of what do I want to collect, and where is the
best source. The type of programs can be broken down into a main
category, such as drama/mystery, western, comedy, juvenile, soap
opera, or science-fiction. Professionally, the broadcast
industry breaks these categories down even further into many more
titles. That may make it hard for our purposes in the case where
a program starts out in one category, and ends up in a different
one, such as ROMANCE. But I'm sure you know what I mean.
Here is the listing of what the broadcasting industry used
for categorizing programs that were on the air during the 1947 to
1948 season. I think you'll see what I mean by breaking your
programs down into just five or six categories.
You will have a lot of 3 x 5 card boxes around, or tie up a
large amount of your computer's memory trying to keep up with
which programs you have under which heading if you use these
categories. It is easier just to divide your collection into
four, five, or six main categories and let it go at that.
If you were to choose, for example, to collect westerns, you
could look towards some of these titles to collect:
These are westerns that are available to collectors. Some
of these titles may only have a couple of examples, and others
have hundreds of broadcasts that have been put together and saved
on tape. Most of the rare examples of some of these programs can
be credited to Don Aston for having found them. He is also to be
thanked for his time and years worth of effort in tracking down
and finding all, except for 11, of the 481 GUNSMOKE programs.
That's real dedication to completing a single series. Not only
do the rest of us benefit greatly from Don's efforts, but most
of the collectors in the country do not have the contacts, nor
the equipment to gather and transfer to tape these programs of
the past.
I have spent similar amounts of time in tracking down and
correctly identifying hundreds of THE LONE RANGER programs. THE
LONE RANGER log that I released several years ago, took over
seven years worth of research, and it is still being updated as
little pieces of new information continue to come in. I completed a major update of information for this log in the fall of
1992 when I was given access to all the original scripts and was
able to finally see about 400 scripts that had eluded me for
years. It will take several years for a complete rewrite of this
log. More about this effort in Part 5 of this series. Many LONE
RANGER programs have now been released to collectors that have
not been available before.
The challenge to collecting can really be felt with THE LONE
RANGER program, and other long running broadcasts. More and more
broadcasts keep popping up all of the time. There are already
around 1,100 shows of THE LONE RANGER available. About half of
these are the ABC and NBC rebroadcasts of 1954 through 1956.
Consider the fact that 3,376 original broadcasts were done of THE
LONE RANGER, that 2,603 were recorded, and that about 550 are
currently available of the original MUTUAL Network run to collec
tors. More than double that number are found in restricted
collections around the country. That leads one to the fun of
discovering a new show whenever one becomes available with a lot
of room for growth. SPERDVAC (The Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy) has been given the
permanent loan of all the discs of THE LONE RANGER and CHALLENGE
OF THE YUKON from the current owners. That is close to 4,000
discs of broadcast material from just these two programs. How
long it will take before any of these broadcasts will start
appearing in the collections of OTR buffs is anyone's guess.
Now that we have some kind of an idea on how to start gathering old time radio programs, I will give you some additional
timely tips on getting organized with your growing collection
before it becomes unmanageable. These and other ideas in "Information And Help To The OTR Collector - Part III."
If there is an area of information that you, the new or well
established collector, would like to see in this series, please
feel free to write me. Any questions, comments, or suggestions
will be carefully considered. I can be reached through this
internet web site or the following addresses:
In the first part of this series, I wrote about how I got
started in collecting old time radio (OTR) programs, some of the
publications that were and still are available, some of the
problems you will face with different collectors, and with some
of the commercially available cassettes, and a few of the sources
to gather from. That was a lot of ground to cover, and I could
have written an article on each one of these points.
THE SIX SHOOTER 40 episodes (30 minutes each)
FORT LARAMIE 40 episodes (30 minutes each)
ACADEMY AWARD 39 episodes (30 minutes each)
THE SEALED BOOK 26 episodes (30 minutes each)
ADVENTURES BY MORSE 52 episodes (30 minutes each)
I LOVE ADVENTURE 13 episodes (30 minutes each)
THE LIVES OF HARRY LIME 52 episodes (30 minutes each)
THE CBS RADIO WORKSHOP 85 episodes (30 minutes each)
FRONTIER GENTLEMAN 41 episodes (30 minutes each)
FRONTIER TOWN 47 episodes (30 minutes each)
ADVENTURES OF FRANK RACE 43 episodes (30 minutes each)
BOX 13 52 episodes (30 minutes each)
CBS RADIO WORKSHOP 85 episodes (30 minutes each)
THE DAMON RUNYAN THEATER 52 episodes (30 minutes each)
FLASH GORDON 26 episodes (15 minutes each)
MOON OVER AFRICA 26 episodes (15 minutes each)
THE ADVENTURERS CLUB 32 episodes (15 minutes each)
THE AMERICAN TRAIL 13 episodes (15 minutes each)
THAT WAS THE YEAR 39 episodes (15 minutes each)
POLICE HEADQUARTERS 39 episodes (15 minutes each)
STORY BEHIND THE SONG 39 episodes (15 minutes each)
JERRY AT FAIR OAKS 65 episodes (15 minutes each)
FAMILY DOCTOR 39 episodes (15 minutes each)
FRONTIER FIGHTERS 39 episodes (15 minutes each)
CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY 52 episodes (15 minutes each)
MEMORIES OF HAWAII 13 episodes (15 minutes each)
KOMEDIE KAPERS 75 episodes (15 minutes each)
PINTO PETE IN ARIZONA 78 episodes (15 minutes each)
THE DEERSLAYER 13 episodes (15 minutes each)
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 13 episodes (15 minutes each)
FRANKENSTEIN 13 episodes (15 minutes each)
Now this would give you a pretty good start with some
trading material that is complete with each and every broadcast.
In all fairness, I must confess, that some of the above shows
will probably not be well sought after programs by a lot of
collectors, but you never know. I have all of the above and they
have all been requested at one time or another. I also have
other complete series, but I just want to give you some kind of
an idea that there are complete series that are small and a few
others that are large, but that complete series do exist.
SPEED GIBSON OF THE INTERNATIONAL SECRET POLICE
178 episodes (15 minutes each)
MAGIC ISLAND 130 episodes (15 minutes each)
CHANDU, THE MAGICIAN 154 episodes (15 minutes each)
Now, if you're not interested in only complete series, there
are several long running programs that are fairly complete. The
series may be missing a program here or there, but for the most
part they are just about as completely put together by collectors
over the years as you can get. The ESCAPE series for example, is
missing just 12 shows out of the hundreds that aired. One
missing broadcast in the X MINUS ONE series, and two missing in
the DIMENSION X series, etc.
THE WHISTLER (30 minutes each)
CALLING ALL CARS (30 minutes each)
THE ADVENTURES OF JUNGLE JIM (15 minutes each)
LUKE SLAUGHTER OF TOMBSTONE (30 minutes each)
ESCAPE (30 minutes each)
X MINUS ONE (30 minutes each)
FRONT PAGE DRAMA AMERICAN WEEKLY (15 minutes each)
DIMENSION X (30 minutes each)
THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE (30 minutes each)
SUSPENSE (30 minutes each)
LUX RADIO THEATRE (60 minutes each)
YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR (30 minutes each)
FIBBER MCGEE AND MOLLY (30 minutes each)
THE PHILCO RADIO HALL OF FAME (60 minutes each)
PHILCO RADIO TIME (30 minutes each)
THE CAVALCADE OF AMERICA (30 minutes each)
THE JACK BENNY SHOW (30 minutes each)
THE CISCO KID (30 minutes each)
GUNSMOKE (30 minutes each)
DRAGNET (30 minutes each)
ROMANCE (30 minutes each)
You must also realize that an occasional program or two, here
and there throughout a long running series will be in something
less than great or very good sound. But in the quest of
completing a series, all examples of each broadcast that are
available, should be included, even down to a bad copy if that is
the only known example in existence. We always hope that a great
sound upgrade will be found if the only known copy of a broadcast
has static, scratches, or dropouts as part of the audio. There
are a couple of very poor audio programs in the ESCAPE run, for
the most part, completely unlistenable. Recently, an audio
upgrade made these programs listenable, but are still a long ways
away from the type of sound quality we would like for such a fine
broadcast series. This type of audio problem most collectors
probably wouldn't list in their catalogs, or maybe even keep in
their collection. I keep everything, always hoping for a sound
improvement. In the last several years, a lot of work has been
done with the ESCAPE series. Many of the broadcasts are now
available in much better sound than I ever thought would exist.
Very dedicated collectors are going back to the discs, and while
using newer equipment and techniques, are realizing much better
recordings than were possible before. Some of these programs can
hold their own every bit as good as any broadcast heard today. I
can only state again, many collectors benefit from a few who have
the time, money, equipment, and access to the discs, and then
make these tapes available to all collectors. I have recently
completed a new set of masters for this entire series in much
better sound quality than has ever been available before.
Comedy Variety
General Variety
Amateur or Talent Contest Variety
Hillbilly Programs
Semi-Variety
Concert Music
Musical Variety
Light Music
Quiz Programs
Human Interest Programs
Comedy Audience Participation Programs
Panel Quiz or Comedy Programs
Comedy Talk Programs
Prestige Drama
Informative Drama
Light, Homey or 'Love Interest' Drama
Comedy Drama
Thriller Drama
Sports Broadcasts
News, Commentary
Public Affairs Talk, Forums
Religious Talk Programs
Sports News, Interviews
Broadway and Hollywood Gossip Programs
Miscellaneous Talk Programs
Daytime General Variety
Daytime Hillbilly Shows
Daytime Concert Music
Daytime Musical Variety
Daytime Light Music
Daytime Disc Jockey Program
Daytime Quiz Programs
Daytime Human Interest Programs
Daytime Comedy Audience Participation
Daytime Informative Drama
Daytime Light Drama
Daytime Comedy Drama
Daytime Thriller Drama
Daytime Women's Serial Drama
Daytime Children's Programs
Daytime News Programs
Daytime Public Affairs Talks
Daytime Broadway or Hollywood Gossip
Daytime Homemakers' Programs
Daytime Miscellaneous Talks Programs
THE CISCO KID
THE LONE RANGER
THE ADVENTURES OF RED RYDER
HOPALONG CASSIDY
THE ROY ROGERS SHOW
FRONTIER TOWN
FRONTIER GENTLEMAN
DOCTOR SIXGUN
THE SIX SHOOTER
MELODY RANCH
HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL
LUKE SLAUGHTER OF TOMBSTONE
STRAIGHT ARROW
RIN TIN TIN
THE ADVENTURES OF THE SCARLET CLOAK
RENFREW OF THE MOUNTIES
KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED
HAWK DURANGO
THE SILVER EAGLE
DEATH VALLEY DAYS
THE SHERIFF
SAGA 1954
DARROW OF THE DIAMOND X
SAUNDERS OF THE CIRCLE X
FORT LARAMIE
GUNSMOKE
email: terryotr@ismi.net