OTR Club Donates to Habitat for Humanity

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In September of 2022 the Villages Old Time Radio Club donated $400 to support two luncheons for the Wildwood, FL Soup Kitchen. OTR Club Host Ed Williams (on right in the photo below) presented the donation check to Dan Marx, Donations Coordinator for the Wildwood Soup Kitchen (on the left). A certificate (see below) acknowledging the donation was presented to Ed Williams by Dan Marx. For more information about the Wildwood Soup Kitchen, go to: www.wildwoodsoupkitchen.org

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On March 6, 2018, WVLG reporter Skip Willis interviewed OTR Club host Ed Williams in front of the WVLG Sumter Landing studio.  Ed remarked how popular the OTR club has become over the years and is so big now that we've had to relocate to a much larger venue at the Savannah Rec Center.  We entertain in a way that touches a nostalgic nerve in our audience members, some of whom can remember the days when radio was the primary entertainment medium.

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Golden Age East Coast Theater Performs for Old Time Radio Club: The Villages Old-Time Radio Drama club presented a special performance by the Golden Age East Coast Theater from Clearwater. They performed the romantic story of “When Gilhooly was in Flower" by L. Ron Hubbard. The performance was followed by Broadway show songs by Joanie Segal and Tom Godfrey. This special event, the fourth annual by this group, was held in the Carmen Miranda Room of the famous La Hacienda Recreation Center. The audience was very appreciative of the fine performance. The story: Jigsaw Gilhooly has been moping around deciding what to do to get Mary Ann to marry him. The problem is that his actions have her concluding he is just a dumb unromantic bore. Out of desperation she gives him a copy of Ivanhoe to read, which he does. The result of this is a knightly joust with a bull, the conquest of two desperadoes and two crooks that are trying to steal land from honest ranchers - and proving Mary Ann wrong. The original story, When Gilhooly Was in Flower, first appeared in the August 1938 issue of Romantic Range. More about the East Coast Theater – https://galaxypress.com/east-coast-theater/

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Daily Sun Article by Joe Pedersen on October 15,2017: Joe Pedersen of The Daily Sun newspaper wrote a nice article about our club in mid-October.  You can download a hi-res version here. Club leader Ed Williams was surprised yet again when The Daily Sun's Joe Pedersen chose to highlight the Old Time Radio Club for another feature article on October 15, 2017. Ed stated, "We're so delighted that our own Daily Sun has chosen to recognize our small troupe of radio drama players and the fun we all have putting on our mock radio program every month at the Savannah Recreation Center. I hope everyone takes the opportunity to join us at least one time for a real-life experience at how radio was made back in the day, along with our regular features like radio drama trivia and highlights of some old time musical favorites."

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Old Time Radio Drama Club Donates to Leesburg Salvation Army:

On September 7, 2017, the Old-Time Radio Drama Club gave two donations to the Leesburg Salvation Army, one for $1,500 and the other for $500.  Joan Teets representing the Old Time Radio Players (pictured on the left), Ed Williams, head of the Old Time Radio Club (pictured 2nd from the left), and Jerry Meyer, MC of the Old Time Radio Drama Club (pictured on the right), presented the big checks to Major Marie Harris of the Leesburg Salvation Army (pictured 2nd from the right).

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Daily Sun Article by Joe Pedersen on May 14,2017:
Joe Pedersen of The Daily Sun newspaper wrote a nice article about our club in mid-May.  You can download a hi-res version here.

Club leader Ed Williams responded to the article in his usual modest manner, "While it is true that I direct the Old Time Radio Players and Host the Old Time Radio Drama Club, there are several important people that make both groups the success that they are.  Specifically, Jerry Meyer is the main announcer, Trivia master, and contributor of much of the script material.  Joan Teets is a major OTR Player and provides guidance on scripts and club activities.  Steve Schulman provides the sound effects, music, and operates sound and lighting facilities at the club meetings, and shows that the players do for other social clubs.  Dave Polukard, Mike Mendoza, and Ed Carr provide administrative support at the entrance to the club meetings.  Ellie Mendoza is our snack-master for club meetings.  Doug White is the web-master for the OTR Club website.  Bob Galbraith produces the name badges.  Wayne Gorlick manages the OTR Lending Library.  And Greg Peters is the OTR Club's photographer. See the OTR Photo Page for examples of his work. Of course, it is the players (actors and actresses) that make the club and shows so much fun and interesting and that bring back memories of the golden age of radio. So you can see it takes a "village" to make it all work. Thank you."

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Barry Evans of The Villages-News.com Writes Opinion Piece about Our Club:
In the May 5, 2017 edition of The Villages-News.com their opinion writer, Barry Evans, wrote a nice article about our club.  Barry is a regular attendee at our monthly performances and seems to truly enjoy the full experience.  You can download a pdf copy of the article HERE.

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Golden Age East Coast Theater group performs "The Toughest Ranger":
For the March 2, 2017 meeting of The Villages Old Time Radio Drama Club, a special event was presented consisting of actors from the Golden Age East Coast Theater group in Clearwater, Florida, performing a story called "The Toughest Ranger" from the pulp fiction book series by L. Ron Hubbard written during the 1930's and 40's (the golden age).

The club met in the Rohan Recreation Center in the big room with stage which is much larger than the normal meeting room in Seabreeze. Over 200 club members and guests were treated to popcorn, soft drinks (some brought their own snacks and drinks), a fast-paced performance laced with music and sound effects and topped off by some Broadway style singing at the end of the evening. It was the 4th annual visit and performance by East Coast Theater group.

The photo collage shows some of the actors in costume (even though the performance is meant to be audio only) because it helps the audience and the actors identify with the characters in the play. Also shown is the club host accepting an award from the Golden Age East Coast Theater group.

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Old Time Radio Players assist Temple Shalom in their Kristallnacht presentation:
Temple Shalom offered a riveting program commemorating Kristallnacht featuring an old time radio presentation and guest speaker Lisl Shick, a Holocaust survivor from Austria. The program Kristallnacht – the Beginning of the Holocaust, held on Wednesday, Nov. 9 the same date as the actual event in 1938, served to remind and teach people about the event often referred to as the “Night of Broken Glass.”  You can see more information in this article from the November 11, 2016 edition of Villages-News.com HERE.

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Sad news about one of our Radio Players: A longtime member of the Old Time Radio Players, Vincent Maury, passed away suddenly on September 13, 2016.  He will be greatly missed as he was a major player in such programs as Fibber McGee and Molly, My Favorite Husband, Sam Spade, Boston Blackie, Burns and Allen, and many others.  Vince Maury was an active member of St. Georges Episcopal Church and married to Ruth Ann Maury.  May he rest in peace.

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ARTICLES ABOUT THE OTR CLUB

The Villages Old-Time Radio (OTR) Club has been the subject of many articles in the Daily Sun newspaper and Magazines in The Villages.

Feature article from The Daily Sun - Article appeared on page C3, April 26, 2016.  The Villages Old Time Radio Club host, Ed Williams, was interviewed by Michael Fortuna, a Daily Sun staff writer, in "Talking with ....." about the club's activities and how it got started and some of the fun events that take place during club meetings. You can see the artilcle below, or download a hi-res version here.

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"Talking with.....",  a series in The Daily Sun - Article appeared on page C3, August 6, 2016.  The Villages Old Time Radio Club host, Ed Williams, was interviewed by Michael Fortuna, a Daily Sun staff writer, in "Talking with ....." about the club's activities and how it got started and some of the fun events that take place during club meetings.

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An article in The Villages Neighbors magazine, August 2015, mailed to all Villages residents each month.  Sandra Lee Clark interviewed Ed Williams and Stu Sachs about their old time radio and TV clubs.

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