- Playing
- Sounds Like Yesterday
- From
- Aaron Henkin
Gene Leitner is the kind of guy everyone would want to have as a grandpa. I spent a few days hanging out with him at his trailer home outside of Baltimore, and he talked my ear off about his love for the radio dramas of yore, programs that are inseparable from his childhood memories. It turns out that he's started a club called The Golden Radio Buffs for fellow old-timers who love and remember radio the way he does. They get together and perform meticulous 'radio re-enactments' of their favorite shows at senior citizens' homes and VFW halls. Gene Leitner is the director, producer and sound effects man for these productions. This story ends with a pretty hilarious recounting of the scariest sound effect Leitner has ever heard.
This piece is scheduled to air on September 17th on a new WYPR program called "The Signal."
More from Aaron Henkin
Talking to Strangers: Chance Encounters with Fellow Americans
(00:49:30)
From: Aaron Henkin
a modern American road trip...
Nepalese Superstar, American Everyman: Prem Raja Mahat
(00:18:39)
From: Aaron Henkin
Prem traded music superstardom in Nepal for a job waiting tables in America...
Inside the Capoeiristas' Circle
(00:18:30)
From: Aaron Henkin
A profile of a centuries-old martial art with roots that go back to Angola, Africa
Rheb's Candies: A Charm City Holiday Tradition
(00:10:55)
From: Aaron Henkin
a VERY sweet holiday story...
"We Mobin'": Mics, Plus Beats, Minus Walls
(00:13:40)
From: Aaron Henkin
If music is made on the street, why record it in a booth?
enlightenment by shotgun: coping with ALS
(00:20:00)
From: Aaron Henkin
one man's accelerated perspective on life...
The Other End of the Line: Profile of a 911 Operator
(00:08:10)
From: Aaron Henkin
a look at life on the phone at the Baltimore City Police Department's 911 call center
Crime and Redemption: A Wise Guy's Tale
(00:49:36)
From: Aaron Henkin
A gangster-turned-informant reflects on his life of crime and his quest for redemption
Learning to Sing
(00:07:45)
From: Aaron Henkin
a choral program teaches children the universal language of music...
Bluma Shapiro: Portrait of a Holocaust Survivor
(00:15:25)
From: Aaron Henkin
Bluma Shapiro is a grandmother of four... and a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Gene Leitner is the kind of guy everyone would want to have as a grandpa. I spent a few days hanging out with him at his trailer home outside of Baltimore, and he talked my ear off about his love for the radio dramas of yore, programs that are inseparable from his childhood memories. It turns out that he's started a club called The Golden Radio Buffs for fellow old-timers who love and remember radio the way he does. They get together and perform meticulous 'radio re-enactments' of their favorite shows at senior citizens' homes and VFW halls. Gene Leitner is the director, producer and sound effects man for these productions. This story ends with a pretty hilarious recounting of the scariest sound effect Leitner has ever heard. This piece is scheduled to air on September 17th on a new WYPR program called "The Signal."
4 Comments
|
Review of Sounds Like YesterdayThis is a completely charming piece that, more than just being a valentine to the great old radio days, is also a portrait of sixtiesish/seventiesish yearning, a tribute to the power of imagination, as well as a celebration of the magic that happens when a group of like-minded, similarly passioned individuals find each other. So much takes place within these thirteen minutes… you even get a behind the scenes look at how radio sound effects are done. As someone in the story says, when you listened to the old radio shows, you didn’t see what everyone else saw. The selection of old radio clips is great, too. What talent these actors had. The whole thing is a warm, deserving tribute to the beauty of the medium… and as such, it could probably play nicely as a part of a radio pledge drive. |
|
|
Review of Sounds Like YesterdayA great story. Aaron has proved he can successfully produce radio on a variety of subjects. Overall this piece a bit too long for my short attention span, but that's more of a critique of me, not Aaron. This would touch collectors, radio buffs, and anyone who likes interesting stories about interesting people. |
Of 5 purchasers of this piece...
- 4 also bought:
Invisible Ink: Note to Sixth-Grade Self (00:29:00) - 3 also bought:
We Were On Duty (00:53:37) - 3 also bought:
God is Talking to Me (00:09:24) - 3 also bought:A Disturbance in the Force (00:16:00)
- 3 also bought:Invisible Ink: Burn (00:29:00)
Emon Hassan
Posted on May 01, 2005 at 12:43 PM | Permalink
Review of Sounds Like Yesterday
An excellent piece of radio introducing us to Gene Leitner who grew up during the golden age of radio. As a child, Leitner marveled at the 'pictures' radio could paint for him and still finds the medium superior to others. Leitner eventually gets his own show in 1972, playing tapes of recorded old time radio plays, forms a radio drama enthusiasts club, and does re-creation of dramas that had once entertained him. There are some great moments in the piece where Leitner demonstrates how old time radio created sound effects by using simple props. He also recalls moments from one of his favorite radio series 'Lights Out' with excerpts played side by side his recount.
Funny how, in 1972, radio stations weren't keen on broadcasting radio drama, perceiving it 'dead' whereas college students and the younger generation were intrigued by the art form. 33 years later, the perception hasn't changed a bit. While Generation X and onward listen to radio drama and say "If that's radio drama, I like it", radio stations still shy away from the art form.
This piece, thankfully, inspires us to keep those radio plays coming.