5/8/2008 6:59:08 PM

Great idea to get a blog going.. Thats the one downside to having a 'low' priority xm channel, its only one way. How cool would it be to have a call in show once a week!
My wife and friends think I'm nuts but i never listen to anything but 164. I have a rather large OTR library of my own but always rather listen to the 'radio'. As I and lots of others have told you in email my favourite times of the year on 164 are "Christmas in July' and the christmas shows in december. Didn't the december shows used go for two weeks rather than the one week we had last December?
Like Tim said these actors rarely look like what I think the will. But I love watching old movies and 'hearing' a voice i recognize and saying ' THAT'S what they look like???"
that's all for now.

john

5/8/2008 8:23:57 PM

Oh goodness. lets keep politics out of it
I think as Americans, by now we are all very used to the Few influencing and controlling what the Majority get
I think XM Channel 4 does something with the WWI weekend in Reading, PA every june. it would make sense to see if you could 'link' in to that..
As long as the channel doesn't go away or get marginalized like 163 did. I don't know what I'd do with out my daily dose of 164!

John

john

5/8/2008 11:06:07 PM

Great idea for the blog. I have always wanted a little more info than what you have time for in the snippets before and after shows. I drive alot and could not live with out old time radio. My wife also thought I was crazy until she listened to a Suspense episode. She would call me and I told her I could not talk because I had XM164 on. I have always been a big fan of older stuff that was around before my time(35). Can you please have a list of old movies that these radio stars did, I would like to try to find them and watch them. Keep up the good work and thank you for keeping us entertained

Robert

5/9/2008 1:12:35 AM

Love your blog, oh wise and wonderful radio man! You're doing a great job, in spite of the gremlins and glitches. What a great place for old-time radio lovers to meet and greet and be a part of the mix!

Tricia

5/9/2008 1:55:03 AM

John, I am with you. I always have 164 on my car stero, and when I an Bar-B-Q'ing in the summer, my portable XM radio is out there with me. And Christmas in July is my favorite time of the year. I give a christmas gift to each of my family members for puting up with me all year listening to 164 in the car LOL.I always knew what Gerald Mohr loked like ( he is the poor mans Humphrey Bogart LOL), but Parley Baer threw me for a loop. That man looks like a College professor, and Miss Kitty looks like a MOM.

Now Greg, about these X Minus 1 pictures we besides our names, will there be a way in the future for us to upload a pic of ourselves. These icons are cute but every time I see them I want to get the bug spray out.

Take care everyone

Bill

5/9/2008 7:06:04 AM

Hi Greg,

Just a Comment. I like ti listen to you. I love the detective shows, mysteries, and (with the exception of The Lone Ranger and The Cisc Kid - poorly writen) the westerns. I dislike the comedies. Any possibility of having a separate channel for comedies that I won't listen to?

Bob

5/9/2008 9:50:21 AM

Thank god for XM and channel 164. I live in Central California and the only old radio show I could get came from a Salt Lake City radio station. It used to be on every night from 9-10, Fridays for 2 hours and Saturdays for 6 hours. I went into withdrawls when they changed their format and only had on When Radio was for an hour on Friday and 2 on Saturday. Now with XM, thanks to a Christmas present from my wife, I'm free from Salt Lake City. Like others, people think I'm nuts because I listen to these shows whenever I have a chance. It's a great companion when walking the dog. I still find it funny to hear "Frank Cannon" as Matt Dillon and Floyd the barber as Doc Adams. I miss Stan Freeberg as the former host, but Greg, you are doing a fantastic job and I would miss you as well. Unlike some, I love the comedies as well as all the other programs. Well, there are some I could live without, but there is definitely something for everyone. Thanks again.

Bob

5/9/2008 10:02:18 AM

hey greg, well i chased you down didn't i. I couldn't believe it when you said you had got this blog g oing. so great. finally i can get to see what some of my favorite stars look like or rather looked like.do you possibly have a pic of Brace Beemer and John Todd and Bob Baily? Thank you for getting this started.

maggie

5/9/2008 6:21:24 PM

Hey, Greg. Great to see you've got a blog up. Thanks for putting faces to the voices. I'm looking forward to more discussion on OTR.

And, well, if I have to specially open Safari to do it, then I will!

Craig Clarke

5/9/2008 9:53:08 PM

Hi Greg Just wanted you to know how much I enjoy XM 164. I recently filled out a listening survey for XM and had Ch 164 checked in 90% of my listening periods. As a person who was a teenager in the 60's, I'm sorry to say I never realized that they had those kind of shows on. It wasn't until I was about 57 before I started listening to Old Time Radio. Keep up the good work.

George M

5/10/2008 1:35:42 AM

any pics of

johnny dollor

and the whisler

charles

5/10/2008 3:35:39 AM

Love your show and all the snippets. I especially enjoy the comedy shows and the mysteries. Since listening to OTR (for almost 4 years), I seldom watch television at night. I'd much rather sit and listen to OTR shows. I'd love to continue seeing pictures of actors; some I know by voice but have never seen. Great idea for a blog!

Lee

5/10/2008 5:52:58 PM

Greg
Great blog. I do like to see the people I hear, but a lot of them don't sound like they look, including you. Ok now I have to figure out how to leave comments in the areas.

Glen

5/10/2008 5:58:30 PM

Greg I guess I haven't figured it out, thats why there are two of these. After seeing the pics of people I remember your comment about Johnny Dollar not going to TV because the public wouldn't buy Bob Bailey as the Insurance Investigator. But 20 yrs later we bought William Conrad as Cannon?

Glen

5/10/2008 11:10:22 PM

Greg,
Love the new blog! My husband and I really love your channel on XM. To be honest, I don't think I have ever changed the channel on my home radio to any other. We have started collecting CD's of the old shows too, but there is something about listening to it a radio that just makes it better. There is nothing better than to turn off all lights at night and listen to The Shadow or Suspense. I enjoy your snipitts of the odd info in between the shows too. Keep up the great work!

Patty

5/11/2008 1:03:40 AM

I'm with you all. It would have been amazing to live in the 40s to listen to the great music as POPULAR music and these OTR shows as NEW shows, the great Truman speeches, etc. XM164 and XM4 are my great escapes from the politics and problems of the real world. I'm 39, but still love to listen to these great shows all the time. I listen in my car, on my walks, working in the garden, taking a shower, while I'm knitting, all the time. Some of my faves: YT Johnny Dollar, Nick Carter, I Was a Commie for the FBI, the Six Shooter, Broadway is my Beat, Suspense, anything by Welles, anything with Jimmy Stewart, Lone Ranger, i could go on and on...

Stephanie

5/11/2008 7:31:33 AM

Hi
I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy the shows you do on XM. I have always been a Jack Benny Fan but my new favorite show is Johnny Doller. I use to get tapes from a company called Radio Reruns. my parents still have them in the box I keep them in. I am 37 years old now and have enjoyed the shows since I was in elementry school
Keep up the great work

Duncan McPherson

5/14/2008 3:05:37 AM

Greg,
Do you have any pictures of Bill Johnstone. The man was in so many shows but we have not been able to a good pic on the web. Even tried the soap As the World Turns but no luck there either.

Thanks!

Patty

5/17/2008 1:31:19 PM

I remember William Conrad from his old crime-drama "Cannon". This younger picture of him is much different than I expected. Boy, did he change!

James Cassett

5/20/2008 6:49:14 PM

Thanks Greg for the pictures...It's really great to see the old radio personal in their hay days...
Grew up listening to all those programs...

mahalo mlo

ml ornellas

5/27/2008 11:48:20 PM

Greg, do you still have the website that you sent me when i could not pull up the picture of the guy that played Johnny Dollar? I can't get to the latest pictures for some reason. Thanks, maggie

maggie

8/14/2008 9:22:32 PM

I am happy to see the blog (finally!). I have been an OTR fan since childhood. Back then (70's) I could get the CBS Radio Mystery Theatre on a select few AM radio stations. Ahhh the cold winter nights bundled up under the covers and straining to hear every scratchy delicious word! I LOVE 164 but I have tell you, I hate the christmas shows, especially Christmas in July! One agonizing week of Christmas is more than enough for me! I love the detective, horror sci-fi and westerns!
Keep up the great work Mr Bell. My XM is tuned to 164 and the dial has been broken off to avoid accidental station changing by passengers in my vehicle or guests in my home.

Russ S

10/30/2008 12:51:42 PM

Greg i listen to 164 just about all day and night, i drive truck across country. Sometimes ill hear same story twice a day maybe i missed something and i get to hear the part i missed. I enjoy all the comedys the most.It tickles my moms innerds when I tell her about a show or when i tell her facts about the cast members.Sometimes i listen to storys and almost wish things were as they were back then.As far as matching faces to names,very cool, sometimes they match what you think,oh my goodness but sometimes they dont. Who knew Elliott Lewis was so dreamy,and Gerald Mohr MEOW. Keep up the good work

trish