Tuesday, December 2, 1997

1) 1998 GEORGE REEVES CALENDAR
2) RADIO SPIRITS (UPDATE)
3) SURE MUST BE NICE TO BE YOUNG
4) THEY'VE GOT THE MOST WONDERFUL EYES IN THE WORLD
5) GEORGE REEVES IN FAMOUS MONSTERS
6) GEORGE REEVES IN MONSTERS IN MOTION
7) NOT EVEN A FACE NOR A VOICE
8) NOEL NEILL'S BIRTHDAY
9) THE FACE AND THE AUTOGRAPH
10) HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE
11) THE END -- PRINTED IN LANCASTER, PA

1) 1998 GEORGE REEVES CALENDAR
I had hoped to have the 1998 George Reeves calenders on their way by December 1, but Randy and I had a small problem with the US Postal System. Obviously they mistook 1935 Fruitville Pike for #2 Plaza del Patio, and delivered the package to me by way of Argonia. But all is well now. Everything in the hands of the printer, and the calendar should be ready for shipment soon.

My budget is small, so I can't afford to print up large numbers of calendars and hope to sell them later. I have told the printer to crank out a few extras, however. So if you'd like to have a calendar, you can still order one. But please send e-mail to reserve your copy first. And once those are gone, there will be no more.

2) RADIO SPIRITS (UPDATE)
In TAC, Jr. #8 I reported that Radio Spirts had recently released a 5-CD or 6-cassette collection of the original Superman radio programs with Bud Collyer. Reader Jesse Groth recently informed me that the nationally syndicated old-time radio anthology program, When Radio Was... broadcasts an episode of the Adventures of Superman 1940s radio serial every Friday. WRW is presenting these in chronological order: the very first Superman show, "Baby From Krypton," originally broadcast in February 1940 aired at the beginning of this month. For more information, check: www.southern.edu/~eahullqu/freberg/text/WRW.html

3) SURE MUST BE NICE TO BE YOUNG
Remember the music that the teenagers played on the jukebox in Tony's Diner in "My Friend, Superman?"

Boy: Go, man, go. Go, man, go. Hi Elaine, hiya Tony. Hey let's have a little noise around here. I'll put some loot in the platter box.

Girl: Yeah, go ahead... Tony looks like he needs a little cheering up.

Tony: I'ma no needa no cheering up. I'ma the most cheerfula man in the world.

Boy: Whadaya wanna hear, Cat?

Girl: Oh, anything. It doesn't matter.

Tony: No, no, no, no. The box, she'sa busted down.

Girl: Why it doesn't look busted down to me, Tony.

Tony: It's too late in the day. It's time to be quiet... relax.

Boy: OK, Tony, I'll play some real relax. Hah?

(Music plays and kids dance until Tony unplugs the jukebox.)

Girl: Wha happened?

Tony: Musta broka froma the noise.

Boy: Maybe I can fix it, Tony, hah?

Tony: No, no... no, no, no, no. I got a better idea. Tony's agonna buy botha somethinga brand new.

Boy: What's new, Tony?

Tony: It'sa... it'sa supera-hamburg.

Girl: Mmmmmm, sounds delish. What are we waiting for?

Boy: Super hamburger, wow!

Tony: You sit down. I'lla maka the hamburg.

Boy: That'll go great with the (unintelligible)...

(Notices the loose plug.)

Boy: Hey, Tony, look. It's just the plug, that's all.

(He plugs the jukebox back in, and he kids resume dancing.)

Jimmy: (To Elaine) Look at those kids. Sure must be nice to be young.

Well, Tom Chenevert reports that the same music can be heard in the movie Hell Drivers which recently ran on AMC or TCM. You might want to listen for it the next time it runs.

4) THEY'VE GOT THE MOST WONDERFUL EYES IN THE WORLD
Readers of The Adventures Continue enjoy spotting little scenes we all missed the first two or three hundred times we watched each episode.

a) It took me a long time to find this one from Bill McCarthy who wrote: "Did you get a chance to watch "The Human Bomb" carefully? When Jimmy looks down from the ledge to the cars below, they are moving backwards!"

Well, I must have watched it three or four times before I spotted it, but sure enough, Bill is right. It's just a short scene, but it definitely shows the traffic and people moving in reverse. Perhaps Prof. Pepperwinkle was testing the beta version of his Topsy Turvy machine at the time. Anyway, the scene shows up immediately after Jimmy goes out on the ledge and looks down for the first time and before Superman captures the two crooks. I love Jimmy's little speech when the action returns to the ledge:

Butler: Get back.

Lois: Jim, for Heaven's sake.

Jimmy: I'm not gonna get back. And... and unless that phony gets himself and you inside the office pronto, I'm going to whack him over the head with this niblick or whatever it is.

b) After that bit of trivia from Bill, I discovered something else for myself. In a recent letter to a reader, I wanted to mention Jimmy's run-in with the law in Ackport. Not sure of the correct spelling of the phantom town, I pulled out my copy of "The Town That Wasn't" to see if I could find the name of the town somewhere on a police car. Oddly enough, the name of the town is not written nowhere, not on the side of their car nor on the shoulder patches on the police uniforms. To my chagrin, the only identification shown there is "Special Officer." I wonder why Jimmy didn't become immediately suspicious. Seems to me that he should have asked to see more positive identification from a police force whose motto is "It's better to be silly than sorry."

5) GEORGE REEVES IN FAMOUS MONSTERS
I've been told that Famous Monsters magazine #219 features a few photos of George Reeves. I haven't yet seen the issues, but I understand there is very little text. Sources tell me there may be more on Reeves in the future. We'll have to keep our eyes open for that.

6) GEORGE REEVES IN MONSTERS IN MOTION
This afternoon, as I was working on this issue of TAC, Jr., I got a phone call from, Tom Rum, a new reader of The Adventures Continue. Tom had been a George Reeves fan for many years, but his interest was really rekindled after he came across my web site. We talked about many things, but he thought readers of TAC, Jr. would especially like to know that there is a life-sized wax bust of George in a Placentia, California store. The store is Monsters In Motion and is located at 330 E. Orangethorpe Avenue (Unit H), Placentia, California. This bust, valued at $2500 was done by Henry Alvarez who worked with John Carpenter on The Thing. If any of you live in that area, I'd surely appreciate a photo of it.You can also visit their web site at www.scifi-gallery.com.

7) NOT EVEN A FACE OR A VOICE
When I took over as editor/publisher of The Adventures Continue in 1989, Don Rhoden gave me his mailing list of a few hundred people. On that list was Ron Vivian of Miami Beach. Ron ordered every issue of The Adventures Continue and occasionally included a short note thanking me for doing a fine job. I never met him, nor did I even talk to him on the telephone. He was simply a name on my list, yet I know we had much in common. I was saddened today when the envelope containing his calendar order form was returned marked "Deceased." I trust he had a happy life and hope that George Reeves and, in some small way, The Adventures Continue contributed to that happiness.

8) NOEL NEILL
By now surely all of you know that Noel Neill's birthday was on November 24. Well, a day or two later I got a surprise phone call from the birthday girl. She was so delighted by all the cards and well wishes and asked me to let you know that she appreciated all your good thoughts. One reader from Australia, Jan Rekas, even sent flowers to Noel.

Now let's not forget Phyllis in January, and Jack in February. We all know that the entire cast and crew of the Adventures of Superman worked hard, for little pay, to give us those great 104 episodes. Now it's our turn to say "Thank You" by picking out a card and writing a short note. I'd surely like to see a whole bunch in the next couple weeks. But please, be sure to affix postage to the cards you want forwarded to Jack and Phyllis.

9) THE FACE AND THE AUTOGRAPH
Last week I received a note from reader Dennis Vogt. Dennis has an autographed photo of George Reeves that he's offering for sale and asked if I knew anybody who might be interested. Yesterday I received a photocopy which I scanned and placed on a special web page. Dennis has a figure of $700 in mind, so if you think this might make a nice holiday gift for yourself or someone you know, you can view it by going to <www.jimnoltenterprises.com/vogt.htm> and then contacting Dennis by e-mail. His address is (photo has been sold). On the web page there is a short description of how Dennis obtained the photo. He'd also like me to tell you that the original has much more contrast than the scanned photocopy indicates. [Note: This photograph has been sold.]

10) HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE
The Adventures Continue magazine is the loosely coordinated effort of many talented people. Most of us have never even met each other, but we can surely all join together in spirit to wish you and yours a joyous holiday season.