Rebroadcasts 55/02/06 same as 53/05/24 you decide

[_bill]

According to the script....
53... Transcribed May 20, 1953
55... Transcribed May 24, 1953


In 55, there is mention of the tv show....

on page 2 of 55, RUBIN's last line is "I haven't been this wrong since I invited my mother-in-law to live with us."
53..."I haven't been this wrong since I gave two to one on Wolcott.


53.. song is I Believe
55... song is Granada
I'm not familiar with either of those sones, but I have files where the songs, and that line... is different

I'm not saying these are the only changes... just a few to perhaps support these are NOT rebroadcasts... just VERY similar.

[Roman]

I agree with Bill. In fact, I've noticed that Jack and his writers often reused the same script with just a few minor changes, particularly in the last years of the radio show. Another example I can think of are the two "I Stand Condemned" shows, one of which starred Peter Lorre and the other Boris Karloff. But for the different guest stars, the scripts were identical.

We're so used to reruns that we take it for granted. But in Jack's time, instead of rerunning a show, they'd simply use the same script again. The first time I heard Jack do this (I think it was from a mid-30s show), I thought it was simply a taped rebroadcast. But then I noticed a few changes here and there that finally convinced me they were doing it live but with an old script. What seems odd to us is just an earlier era's way of doing a rerun without benefit of tape/rebroadcast technology. I don't understand though why Jack continued with this old practice when the technology became available to simply rerun the show. Perhaps it was more complicated (or expensive) to do than we realize.

[LLeff]

We're so used to reruns that we take it for granted. But in Jack's time, instead of rerunning a show, they'd simply use the same script again. The first time I heard Jack do this (I think it was from a mid-30s show), I thought it was simply a taped rebroadcast. But then I noticed a few changes here and there that finally convinced me they were doing it live but with an old script. What seems odd to us is just an earlier era's way of doing a rerun without benefit of tape/rebroadcast technology. I don't understand though why Jack continued with this old practice when the technology became available to simply rerun the show. Perhaps it was more complicated (or expensive) to do than we realize.

The rebroadcasts were done mainly in the last couple of seasons, when they had already started transcribing the shows in advance (and thus were always broadcast from a recorded medium because they were not aired live). As you note, people have been confused back to the Snow White and the Seven Gangsters encore performance. If more of the 30s shows were available, people would likely be confused over the multiple similar performances of Grand Hotel. I had been meaning to track down the two shows where Danny Kaye is cast to play Jack in his life story, but once you're thinking about it while listening, the differences are clear (Phil in one and not the other, one sponsored by Grape Nuts and Lucky Strike the other, etc.). In casual listening, one may think, "Oh, I've heard the show where Kaye is supposed to play Jack."

[_bill]

The Kaye confusion shows are

5/28/44 and 3/6/55

I STILL get files and see posts mixing these up.
Another pair commonly confused with wide gaps are the amos and andy shows finding Rochester. Hopefully, everyone will get your book and never get them wrong again.