BARTON YARBOROUGH the Illustraied Rpress
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Old Time Radio Club Established 1975 Number 353 October 2007 BARTON YARBOROUGH The Illustraied rpress Membership Information Club Officers Club Membership: $18.00 per year from January 1 President to December 31. Members receive a tape library list Jerry Collins (716) 683-6199 ing, reference library listing and the monthly 56 Christen Ct. newsletter. Memberships are as follows: If you join Lancaster, NY 14086 January-March, $18.00; April-June, $14; July [email protected] September, $10; October-December, $7. All renewals should be sent in as soon as possible to Vice President & Canadian Branch avoid missing newsletter issues. Please be sure to Richard Simpson (905) 892-4688 notify us if you have a change of address. The Old 960 16 Road R.R. 3 Time Radio Club meets on the first Monday of the Fenwick, Ontario month at 7:30 PM during the months of September through June at St. Aloysius School Hall, Cleveland Canada, LOS 1CO Drive and Century Road, Cheektowaga, NY. There is no meeting during the month of July, and an Treasurer informal meeting is held in the month of August. Dominic Parisi (716) 884-2004 38 Ardmore PI. Anyone interested in the Golden Age of Radio is Buffalo, NY 14213 welcome. The Old Time Radio Club is affiliated with the Old Time Radio Network. Membership Renewals, Change of Address Peter Bellanca (716) 773-2485 Club Mailing Address 1620 Ferry Road Grand Island, NY 14072 Old Time Radio Club [email protected] 56 Christen Ct. Lancaster, NY 14086 Membership Inquires and OTR E-Mail Address Network Related Items otrclub(@localnet.com Richard Olday (716) 684-1604 171 Parwood Trail All Submissions are subject to approval Depew, NY 14043-1071 prior to actual publication. [email protected] Deadline for The Illustrated Press is the Technical Manager 1st of each month prior to publication. Bob McDivitt (716) 681-8073 109 Poinciana Pkwy. The Illustrated Press is the newsletter of the Old Cheektowaga, NY 14225 Time Radio Club, headquartered in Western New [email protected] York State, It is published monthly except for the months of July and August. Contents except where Cassette, CO and Reference Librarian noted are copyright © 2007 by the OTRC. Frank Bork (716) 835-8362 209 Cleveland Drive Send all articles, letters, exchange newsletters, Cheektowaga, NY 14215 etc. to: The Illustrated Press [email protected] c/o Ken Krug, Editor (716) 684-5290 73 Banner Avenue Library Rates: Lancaster, NY 14086-1930 Audio cassettes and CDs are $1.95 each and are E-Mail address:[email protected] recorded on a club supplied cassette or CD which is retained by the member. Rates include postage Web Page Address: and handling and are payable in U.S. funds. members.localnet.coml tv robmcd The Illustrated Pree« starting his acting career with the Eva LeGallienne Company. He did some movies and a little early TV, but radio was his first love. While Doing One Man's Family he worked with some famous actors like Richard Crenna, Rosemary DeCamp, Hans Conried, Howard (Floyd the barber) McNeer. Some of the other actors on the show including Bill Bouchey, Janet Waldo, Virginia Gregg, Vic Perrin and Herb Butterfield would become part of the Jack Webb stable crew that would act on Dragnet. On December 13, 1951 Yarborough starred in the 133rd Episode of Dragnet. It was titled "The Big Overtime." This was Yarborough's last show as Sgt. Ben Romero. The following show on December 20th was a repeat Christmas show "22 Rifle For Christmas". Barton Yarborough died of a heart attack on the evening of Sgt. Ben Romero (Barton Yarborough) and Sgt. Joe Friday December 19,1951 at 8:55 pm at his home in Burbank, (Jack Webb) examining evidence at the scene of the crime. California. Jack Webb cared very deeply for his friend Barton Yarborough and dedicated the next Barton Yarborough episode to him with Sgt. Romero dying of a by Tom Cherre heart attack on that same show. Joe Friday I have no idea why Jack Webb ever picked Barton had three other part. Yarborough to play his partner Ben Romero. OK, I can ners to follow, but out see why he picked him, but why give him the name Ben of respect for Romero? Barton Yarborough, a fine actor he was, but he Yarborough they had that strong Southern twang about him. Hearing never equaled the him talk sounded like one of the "Dukes of Hazzard" rank of Sgt. Romero. from Jackass Junction, Mississippi or some other moon So even with his shine town. He was supposed to play an LA Hispanic accent I still liked cop, but he sounded more like Tennessee Ernie Ford. Dragnet and I really Apparently Webb had the name in mind before he liked Ben Romero, and picked the actor to play the part for his new police show. BARTON YARBOROUGH that's a fact. Maybe it's just me, but I thought it was a poor casting choice. It's like having Barry Fitzgerald play the role of the Godfather. 7he]ear 1945in91eview Barton Yarborough had a tremendous radio career. For his relatively short life (he passed away at the age of 51) By JERRY COLLINS he starred in some of the most popular shows of all time. He was Doc Long in I Love A Mystery. He played Clifford The year 1945 proved to be the final year of World War Barbour in the longest running radio show, One Man's II. By years end our vocabulary would include such new Family. Family ran for 27 years including 3,256 episodes terms as: the Manhattan Project, Enola Gay, Big Boy, and that doesn't include reruns. The show I think he Kamikaze, Nuremberg Trials, VE Day, VJ Day etc. The will most be remembered for was Dragnet playing the more significant events of the year included: partner and sidekick of Joe Friday in the role of Ben 1. In January American troops crossed the Siegfried Romero. Again, why on earth did Jack Webb give him Line into Germany. the name of Romero is beyond me. 2. On January 27 the Red Army liberated Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps. William Barton Yarborough was born on October 2, 3. In early March Ann Frank died in the Bergen 1900 in Texas to Patrick and Mollie Yarborough. He had Belsen Concentration Camp. some family problems as a kid and left home to join a 4. Allied leaders, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston vaudeville troupe in the early 1920s. This gave him Churchill and Joseph Stalin met at Yalta on the some on stage experience and he joined the theater Black Sea in early February to decide the fate of Illustrated cFress 3 The Illustrated Press fate of postwar Europe. 19. In 1945 only 5,000 American homes have television 5. Allied troops crossed the Rhine River by using the sets. Remagan Bridge. The last major obstacle to an 20. Rationing came to an end in November of 1945. Allied victory was surmounted. 21. Sir Alexander Fleming, Sir Howard Florey and Dr. 6. Berlin was attacked by 1,250 bombers on March 18. Ernst Chain won the Nobel Prize for their work on 7. Harry Truman assumed the office of President fol penicillin. lowing the sudden death of Franklin D. Roosevelt 22. Ernie Pyle, America's most famous war correspon at Warm Springs, Georgia. dent was killed by enemy fire in the Pacific 8. Two more concentration camps were liberated; Theater. Buchenwald on April 10th and Bergen-Belsen on 23. Beth Myerson of New York City was selected Miss April 15th. America. 9. US and Soviet troops linked up at the Elbe River, 24. Due to the manpower shortage, Pete Gray effectively cutting Germany in half. fromNaticoke, Pennsylvania became a starting out 10. On April 28th Benito Mussolini and his mistress fielder for the St. Louis Browns. He had a very Clara Petacci were captured while fleeing Italy. good minor league career before and after his one They were captured and executed by Italian parti season in the Majors. The one-armed athlete later sans. Their bodies were then hung by their heels in became an accomplished golfer. the Milan's Public Square. 25. In July of 1945 a B-25 bomber crashed into the 11. The German army in Italy finally surrendered on Empire State Building. The 78th and 79th floors May 2nd. In the final days of World War II Hitler were damaged and 13 people were killed. and his mistress committed suicide in their bunker. 26. Jackie Robinson signed with the Montreal Royals, a 12. On May 7th German forces surrendered and the Triple A farm club of the Brooklyn Dodgers. following day would be celebrated as V-E Day. 27. The microwave oven was patented. 13. The United States continued its policy of island 28. The most famous picture of the war is taken in its hopping in the final year of the war. American final year, the flag raising ceremony on Iwo Jima. forces landed on the island of Corrigedor in the 29. Soviet troops liberated prisoners at Auschwitz, the Philippines on February 16th. On that same day most famous of German concentration camps. The the Bataan Penninsula was recaptured. Three days films ofthe prisoners shocked the World. later 30,000 Marines landed on Iwo Jima. Just four 30. The United Nations convened with representatives days later the American flag was raised on Mount from 51 nations. The united States joined the Suribachi. On March 16th the battle of Iwo Jima organization on July 28th. came to a conclusion.