Ok, I didn't know about Livingston Gilberts recording of the Lord of the Rings series. I thought Norman Barrs had recorded his in the seventies though, was wrong again. :) thanks. Curtis Delzer ----- Original Message ----- From: "EVAN REESE" <mentat3@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 2:41 PM Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: NLS narrators A great message, but I have to make one correction: The original narrator of the Lord of the Rings was Livingston Gilbert. I have copies of that one, which was done in 1973. Norman Barrs did a rerecording about ten years later. And, they've been done yet again about five or six years ago I think. Evan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Curtis Delzer" <curtis@xxxxxxxxxx> To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 8:24 PM Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: NLS narrators > Hi Karen, you've amplified, beautifully, so very well, and, indeed, John > Straton, is a fantastic narrator. He read, "Jaws," by Peter Benchly, in > 1974, is quite at home doing a Western like the third of the Callahan > trilogy, "Callahan Goes South," and read number 9, that I remember of the > Wagons West series, "Washington," and many others. The original reading of > the Ring books were done by Norman Barrs, a superlative British narrator, > who did all the parts so wonderfully, not too much and not too little. I > have a recording of him reading a book entitled "salt is leaving," about > an > English physician who finds leaving, not too easy an issue when one of his > patients winds up dead and the perpetrator is after him. :) It starts out > as > a fuss budget type of English narrative, and thank God I was bored one day > and got through that part to find that it was a treasure after all. I > mean > to meet characters like "buzzy," who buzzed about every time he talked, > was > worth the effort. > Airport, as read by Milton Metz, Karl Weber reading Rex Stout > superlatively > as Ralph Bell, Donald Madden reading Moby Dick, (which had to read in high > school), and who read Little Women, Terry Hayes, when she was just 15 > years > old? Mary Jane Higby, married to Guy Sorrelle, another superlative reader, > anything you wanted to read which had French words, Guy Sorrelle was your > man. Original reading of "Where are the Children," by Mary Higgins Clark, > her first book done superlatively and so much better than the re-issue, by > Susanne Torren, Robert Donley reading SF like "A Fall of Moon dust," by > Arthur C. Clark is a treat to behold. > Who can read as distinctively as Alexander Scourby? Authors reading their > own books, always makes me think of "Pearls Kitchen," read by Pearl > herself, > and the funniest thing was that the more she got into her book, the more > she > kind of short cut her way through the actual words, was like she was just > visiting your kitchen and imparting her wisdom, one to another, A > priceless > and never-to-be-gotten-again treasure, most definitely! > How many authors read the "foreword," of their books? One that comes to > mind, is read by Scourby, but the author of "The Secret of Santa Vittoria" > by Robert Crichton, read his own foreword, so is that available any more > except in my collection? No way, which is so sad to me that I can hardly > stand it! I wish I'd been even more busy than I was capturing these > priceless recordings, but, unfortunately, I was not. How about "The > Yearling," as read by Neil Mullens? Another priceless recording! > > I could go on and on, but Karen, I know you know what I mean, and so do > many > of you I am sure! > > > Curtis Delzer > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Karen Lewellen" <klewellen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 5:03 PM > Subject: [bookshare-discuss] Re: NLS narrators > > > This thread is making me cry...and laugh some too. > Frankly one could use a copy of someones personal recording to preserve > it to digital. There is no technical reason for these treasures to be > gone. > I agree hands down on "to kill a mockingbird," I can still hear that one > in > my head. same for the original recording of east of Edan, John straton > I believe? His recordings of everything were so rich. > The first recordings of the Lord of the rings series are far better than > the more recent re-recordings in my book. > And can you imagine that the first recording of the play "who's afraid of > Virgina Woolf was not a single reader, but the original live stage > production. And the first recording of "I know why the caged bird sings," > was read by MIA Angelou herself. > > But what really makes me cry as that none of the folks we are talking of > can read this. > When the American Foundation for the Blind still threw a party as a part > of the Scorby narrator of the year awards, I met Two of the nls readers in > person. Both expressed how much it meant to t person and both expressed > how much it meant to them, connecting with their listeners. Reading is > such an isolated thing. > I think in part one thing that holds me aloof from daisy at least as done > here is that I cannot curl up on my sofa wrap my arms around the player > and > enjoy. or lie on the floor in a patch of sunlight, or snuggle in bed > etc. etc. Headphones are not the same, and the speaker options are > hardly as comfortable. > I look forward to my nls Daisy player, which I understand will have a > speaker...and thankfully our treasured readers too I believe. > Karen > > > > On Wed, 12 Mar 2008, Curtis Delzer wrote: > >> He read "the call of the wild," House Jameson I mean, I happen to have >> that >> one. :) Sometimes he could sound a bit prissy, I suppose, <grin> or if >> you >> want prissy, how about Donald Hotaling? :) I have him reading "report >> from >> engine company 82," again, re-issued by nls read by someone else. Such a >> shame when all it is, is the fact they did not preserve the original >> master >> tapes, so it's all wasted, or mostly so. >> Now, there is a disaster, all that talent, gone, except preserved in >> personal collections, as I have of Ralph Bell and the Rex Stout series >> about >> Nero Wolf, original recordings of Arthur Haileys books except for Wheels >> which I want an audio recording of, and with NLS had recorded >> "Detective," >> his last major work before his death in 2004, etc. How about the original >> recording of "To Kill a Mockingbird," as narrated by Helen Shields, which >> is >> without doubt, the best ever done, as far as I am concerned. >> Too young to remember Helen Shields? See what I mean, out of mind, out of >> sight or unresolved potential, since you have no idea what an absolute >> treasure these narrators were, and are to those of us who, have heard and >> appreciated and still appreciate them in memory. Newest is not better, >> only >> relief from not having. All these narrators, had acting and performing >> experience before microphones, so they had to, "be there," in their >> voices, >> unlike the narrators of today who just narrate. There are many excellent >> readers of today, but anyone who thinks Michelle Schafer is any kind of >> professional compared to being on radio, is lacking in having heard much >> radio when it was as big as TV and CDs are these days. Sorry Michelle, >> but >> you need to go back to school as far as presentation is concerned. She >> can >> read, but so many affected attributes, I couldn't even begin to mention >> them >> all. >> >> Curtis Delzer >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Rick Roderick" <rickrod@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> >> To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> >> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 6:48 AM >> Subject: [bookshare-discuss] NLS narrators >> >> >> Another narrator that was in old-time radio was House Jameson. I believe >> he >> played the father of Henry Aldrich. He did a masterful job with both >> Gone >> with the Wind and All the King's Men. He was quite good at truly >> sounding >> Southern. I suspect he was from the South, but when he did the Aldrich >> character, he did not sound particularly Southern. >> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email to >> bookshare-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx >> Put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the Subject line. To get a list >> of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line. >> >> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email to >> bookshare-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx >> Put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the Subject line. To get a list >> of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line. >> > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email to > bookshare-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the Subject line. To get a list > of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line. > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email to > bookshare-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the Subject line. To get a list > of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line. > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email to bookshare-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the Subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line. To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email to bookshare-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the Subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.