Newsletter August 2024

Carl’s Corner

by Carl Amari

THE WHISTLER

by Carl Amari and Martin Grams

“The Whistler” was one of radio’s top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955 sponsored by the Signal Oil Company. The Whistler was an ominous narrator who opened each episode with:  I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak. The opening dialog was heard over the echo of footsteps and Wilbur Hatch’s haunting signature 13-note theme, whistled each week by Dorothy Roberts. The stories followed an effective formula in which a person’s criminal acts were typically undone by their own missteps. The Whistler narrated, often commenting directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective. One of the show’s trademarks was the ironic twist endings that helped serve as a payoff for the listener. Bill Forman had the title role of host and narrator the longest. Others who portrayed the Whistler included: Gale Gordon (Lucille Ball’s future television nemesis), Joseph Kearns (Mr. Wilson on TV series Dennis the Menace), Marvin Miller (soon to be television’s Michael Anthony on The Millionaire), Bill Johnstone (The Shadow on radio from 1938-1943) and Everett Clarke.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM CARL AMARI:  

BOLD VENTURE and BOSTON BLACKIE fans – THANK YOU – we saved both series! 

As most of you know, I have licensed the entire Frederic W. Ziv library of more than 10,000 original radio shows.  Mr. Ziv was one of radio’s premiere radio producers and syndicators.  

The Ziv library contains 41 different radio series including the entire runs of BOLD VENTURE, BOSTON BLACKIE, I WAS A COMMUNIST FOR THE FBI, PHILO VANCE, THE CISCO KID, MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY, FAVORITE STORY and many more.  

Mr. Ziv preserved these radio shows on “unplayed” 16 inch transcription discs, which have been stored in a climate-controlled warehouse for more than 60 years.  If these episodes are not transferred, they will never be heard by the world.  

We launched two Kickstarter campaigns to raise the funds to transfer all 78 BOLD VENTURE and all 218 BOSTON BLACKIE radio shows.  Thanks mostly to YOU the HOLLYWOOD 360 listeners, we were successful in saving both of these series.  We already made the transfers for the 78 BOLD VENTURE shows and are in the process of making the transfers for all 218 BOSTON BLACKIE shows. 

If you were one of the 200+ Kickstarter pledgers for BOLD VENTURE you have your digital downloads or audio CDs by now.  If you pledged toward BOSTON BLACKIE you will receive your digital downloads or audio CDs as soon as we’ve completed the transfer of all 218 episodes, which we expect to be before June 2024.  

If you did NOT pledge and you’d like to receive the complete runs of BOLD VENTURE and BOSTON BLACKIE via digital download or audio CDs, call us at 815-900-7535 and speak to a live operator.  Because BOSTON BLACKIE is 218 episodes, we are offering a 3-pay option.  

Our next Kickstarter is I WAS A COMMUNIST FOR THE F.B.I.  Check for our Kickstarter website by searching “Kickstarter” and “I Was A Communist for the F.B.I.”

LEND ME YOUR EARS by Lisa Wolf

MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA, by Gladys Knight & the Pips

MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA, by Gladys Knight & the Pips

Watch On YouTube

“The song actually came about after a phone call I had with Farrah Fawcett. Lee Majors was a friend of mine. We’d played in the Flag Football League together in L.A. He had just started dating Farrah. One day I called Lee and Farrah answered the phone. We were just talking and she said she was packing. She was gonna take the midnight plane to Houston to visit her folks. So, it just stayed with me. After I got off the phone, I sat down and wrote the song probably in about 30 to 45 minutes. Something like that. Didn’t take me long at all, ’cause I actually used Farrah and Lee as kind of like characters I guess. A girl that comes to L.A. to make it and doesn’t make it and leaves to go back home. The guy goes back with her. Pretty simple little story, but it felt real to me. It felt honest to me. I played it for them and they loved it. I cut it on my first album as Midnight Plane To Houston.”   ~ Jim Weatherly

“Midnight Train to Georgia,” a classic soul song by Gladys Knight & the Pips, was released in 1973. Written by Jim Weatherly, the song narrates the story of a man who gives up his dreams of fame in Los Angeles to return to Georgia. The song achieved commercial success, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus.

The song’s creation has an interesting backstory. Weatherly, originally a quarterback turned songwriter, penned “Midnight Plane to Houston” after a casual conversation with Farrah Fawcett, who mentioned she was taking a midnight plane to Houston to visit her family. When the song was offered to Cissy Houston, she requested the change to “Midnight Train to Georgia,” aligning better with her roots. This version caught the attention of Gladys Knight & the Pips, who recorded it, and their rendition became the definitive hit.

Artists like Neil Diamond, Kelly Clarkson, and Jennifer Hudson have performed their versions, highlighting its influence across different music genres.

Watch On YouTube

In her autobiography, Between Each Line of Pain and Glory, Gladys Knight wrote that she hoped the song was a comfort to the many thousands who come each year from elsewhere to Los Angeles to realize the dream of being in motion pictures, television or music, but then fail to realize that dream and plunge into despair.