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1998
The Friends of Old-time Radio held its 23rd Annual Convention from October 22 - 24, 1998 at the Holiday Inn - North, Newark, New Jersey. Celebrities who received awards were: Ethel Blume, Frances Chaney, Jill Corey, Shirley Eggleston. Florence Freeman, Toni Gillman, Carmel Quinn, Larry Stevens. Other celebrities present were Mason Adams, Arthur Anderson, George Ansbro, Dick Beals, Jackson Beck, Warren Bryan, Mary Diveny, Dick Dudley, Ray Erlenborn, Harry Fleetwood, Earl George, Bob Hastings, Pat Hosley, Will Hutchins, Ron Lackmann, Ruth Last, Peg Lynch, Bob Mott, Bill Murtough, Bill Owen, Elliott Reid, Clive Rice, Ken Roberts, Adele Ronson, Marlin Swing. The guests socialized with fans, participated in panels and workshops and re- created 7 radio shows.The convention began Wednesday evening with complimentary wine and cheese for the overnight guests. About 80 people attended. On Thursday, many dealers opened at 9 am. There were three afternoon workshops: Toni Gillman presided for an hour relating many experiences; Derek Tague with Dick Beals, Brian Gari and Arthur Anderson talked about Radio into Animation; then we saluted Lee Erwin at 90. We then had cocktails and dinner. 79 fans attended during the day. 179 fans and guests attended in the evening. Joel Senter had his award-winning radio play "Phil Harris and Alice Faye" presented with Barbara Watkins and Bob Hastings. It was directed by Gary Yoggy. The first of a 5-part Superman serial was presented with, at different times, George Ansbro, Jackson Beck, Mason Adams and Dick Beals. This was directed by Anthony Tollin. Arthur Anderson then directed Donald Dortmund's winning play of Our Miss Brooks with Pat Hosley as Constance Brooks.
Friday began at 9:00 with the opening of the dealers room. Sixty-eight dealer tables were active during the convention. 234 people attended dinner with another 153 in the afternoon. Workshops and panels included the following: Howard Blue (World War II Radio Drama); Dave Zwengler (His Wacky Quiz Show); Jack French with Toni Gillman (The Marx Brothers); Gary Yoggy (Remember WENN); George Ansbro, Dick Dudley and Bill Owen (Announcers Panel); Anthony Tollin (Mercury Theater/War of the Worlds); Authors' Panel with many authors including Bill Jaker (with Frank Sulek and Peter Kanze), Martin Grams, Jr., David Siegel, Gerald Nachman, Bobb Lynes, Jordan Young, Gary Yoggy. The Gotham Radio Players, directed by Steve Lewis, then presented an exciting episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade. Then Superman, part 2.
On Friday evening, Arthur Anderson gave a moving tribute to Abby Lewis and Lon Clark. We also had 3 re-creations. Candy Matson with Toni Gillman, produced and directed by Donald Ramlow and Jack French; and Fibber McGee and Molly, directed by and starring Arthur Anderson with Mary Diveny who gave a convincing performance of Molly. Also Superman, Part 3 was presented.
Saturday the panels and workshops included the following: Jordan Young with Kathy O'Connell discussed his book, "The Laugh Crafters; Comedy Writing in Radio and TV's Golden Age;" Jim Widner (Old-time Radio Resources on the Internet); Gordon Payton, Bill Nadel and Dave Siegel (Radio's Finest Horror); Bob Mott, Ray Erlenborn, Bob Hastings and my wife, Karen presented a Sound effects Spoof, "Sunbonnet Sal;" Superman, Part 4 was performed. This led into a Superman panel hosted by Anthony Tollin with Jackson Beck and Mason Adams; Our most attended panel was "Singers and Big Bands" with Carmel Quinn, Jill Corey, Betty Johnson, Larry Stevens and Adam Wade. One of the highlights was the impromptu singing by all of them. Then Pepper Young's Family was presented with Mason Adams, Florence Freeman, Ted Reid, Ron Lackmann and George Ansbro; directed by Bill Nadel.
Saturday's events culminated with cocktails and buffet dinner for 270 people with another 166 coming for the day. After dinner Peg Lynch and Bob Hastings were Ethel and Albert; Superman, part 5 was mostly all sound effects. Ray Erlenborn and Bob Mott never worked so hard. We really appreciated their hard work. Finally Blondie was presented with Will Hutchins and Kathy Gill; directed by Gary Yoggy. Ed Clute supplied the music for this and other re-creations. Besides the awards mentioned earlier, the Allen Rockford Award was presented to Chuck Schaden for his outstanding effort in keeping radio alive, especially in the Chicago area. The Ray Stanich Award was given to John Dunning for all the excellent writing he has done, especially his book "On the Air." Special Florence Williams awards were given to Dick Beals and Ted Reid They have attended our convention for several years and have always been willing to help. Donations were given to the Veteran's Bedside Network, The Stephanie Joyce Kahn Foundation, The Broadcast Pioneers Library, WBAI, The Old-time Radio Digest on the Internet, Yesterday USA, and Heller Memorial Foundation of AFTRA.
I again want to thank all the guests who were very gracious in granting interviews and giving of their time to be with us.
--Jay Hickerson
