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Project Jenny KLIK - 1st Inf Di v Women in Vietnam RELATED-- To AFVN To Saigon To Vietnam Further Afield Index
wFrom: Richard Bugda
Subject: My Gawd...Do I Remember....
While in a small college in Longview, Texas, I worked for KTLI, a radio station owned by R. G. LaTourneau. Every day, I was forced to read a commercial about the River Road Drive In Theater with a fluted aluminum screen. I sweated bullets over that commercial, and knew I was going to be fired for stumbling so badly over words like Fluted Aluminum and "the ah ter" (as opposed to the southern "The A ter. My boss was Jim McClain, the M. C. of Dr. I.Q. of old radio days. He also rode me badly about "Chi Car Go, plus many other southern-isms. I later found out the reason I wasn't chewed out over that spot about the theater was because everyone in Longview used to listen to the station at that time daily just to hear how I was going to screw it up. The drive-in got lots of business because of my mush mouth.
wFrom: Dick Ellis
wtSent: March 26, 2013
Subject: My Gawd...Do I Remember....
Jay... I have been reading this series about "cold copy." I remember the audition at AFVN when I got there. I also remember when I was a 16-year-old announcer at a station in my home town. We very rarely had national ads but a local "chain" auto store sent us copy from an ad agency in Chicago. Opening line was: "Is your car suffering from chuck-hole shake-up?" Well, first of all none on the staff knew what a chuck-hole was. We don't have freezing winters down here that cause the roads to crack and chuck-holes to form. Then second, the wording..."Chuck-hole shake-up!" Two of our jocks refused to read the copy live on the air because each time we did we all broke up! Finally we had just gotten a new gadget called a "cart" machine with these little blue-plastic carts....and they made me record it and put it on tape!!! Yankee's in Chicago talk different than us local hicks!!!
Dickie
wFrom: Roger Carroll
wtSent: March 25, 2013
Subject: My Gawd...Do I Remember....
I would practice reading cold copy. When I was a young ABC staff announcer we shared studios with NBC at Sunset and Vine. I would hear some director or engineer YELLING ANNOUNCER ANNOUNCER. The two big time announcer cold copy was with Louella Parson. Marvin Miller her announcer was in the elevator when it got stuck between floors. I thought I would wet my pants--was handed opening , opening billboard and her introduction. The first commercial came about 6 minutes so I had time to check out the commercial, still thought about making pp in my pants. The next time announcer was for Walter Winchell doing his show from LA I had about 30 seconds to look over the opening and opening billboards. Winchell asked for me every time he was broadcasting from the west coast--I was his announcer .
wFrom: Steve Sevits
wtSent: March 25, 2013
Subject: My Gawd...Do I Remember....
Years ago I was handed cold news copy about the "Pennsylvania Presidential preferential primary." After that I decide a commercial break would allow me to recover - some idiot handed me copy about a "four flue fire brick construction furnace." Not long after that I decided there was more of a future for me in selling used cars. Roger could do that kind of stuff, but not Steve. Steve
wFrom: Mike Scott
wtSent: March 25, 2013
Subject: My Gawd...Do I Remember....
I can't see an attachment, nor can I seem to find the original message. Probably my fault, but I'd love to see this script if it can be posted again somehow.
Thanks,
Mike Scott
wFrom: John Kafka
wtSent: March 25, 2013
Subject: My Gawd...Do I Remember....
Hopefully you can see this one.
wFrom: John Holsomback
wtSent: March 25, 2013
Subject: My Gawd...Do I Remember....
I didn't have the photos atttached. Would love to see them and the voice audition script.
wFrom: John Kafka
wtSent: March 24, 2013
Subject: My Gawd...Do I Remember....
Dang Dick,
Where in the world did you find this? Gosh, memories of being Rundasized. Dr. Rubik (?)
Hang tuff my friend.
wFrom: Richard Bugda
wtSent: March 23, 2013
Subject: My Gawd...DoI Remember....
DINFOS Voice Audition Script
March 2013
AFVN Group Conversations
wtFrom: Mike Scott
wDate: March 25, 2013
Subject: DINFOS Voice Audition
This time, thank you, I received one page of the audition script in my G-mail account, but interestingly enough nothing shows up on my screen when I go to the group's Yahoo site.
I was the guy who administered probably all of the voice auditions at Ft. Harrison from May/June 68 to June 69. For the most part the auditions were given to members of the print journalism classes and those that passed the "audition committee" were asked to join the BSC course. I thought I'd never forget that audition. Seems to me that it was about three pages long including short intros to a recording and a newscast plus a ridiculous commercial for orange juice. The page I got today sure is reminiscent of my time at DINFOS, but I can't decide whether the script is the same or not.
After getting everybody thru the process of reading their audition, it was my job to assemble all the tapes and supporting written documentation and be on hand to see that they were played for the DINFOS audition committee. As a lowly E-4 I was allowed only to sit in the room and push "Play." My 250-watt daytime part-time disc jockey work, time in a fourth rated TV newsroom in a market of three, and a degree in broadcast journalism were irrelevant in the face of my complete lack of AFRTS experience, DINFOS grad notwithstanding. The audition committee was an ad hoc sort of thing but always included Jack Rubak, the educational director; Ed Waddell a MSG who later became SGM at AFVN; Peter Rath, a major from one of the departments; and Colonels Ray Nash and/or Shale Tulin (if memory serves) who also ended up in broadcast assignments in Thailand and RVN.
I did that for a year, was shipped off to RVN, and despite some skid-greasing for a AFVN Saigon job, I almost ended up with Woody [Forrest?] Brandt and Bill Johanson in where? Lai Ke? [KLIK] I still have my farewell present from the two of them and can shout the Big Red One's motto when called upon, which is not really very often. My DINFOS connections did get me to USARV-HQ and a year's worth of recording hometowners.
Jack Rubak is still alive. There is, mostly in name only, a DINFOS Alumni Group which he heads up. I still have nightmares about drinking orange juice. Hearing the same commercial recorded easily 2,000+ times will do that to you. Thanks for sending on the script! Brings back a lot of memories.
Mike Scott