Spotlight on Lee Falk - The WWII Years: Difference between revisions

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===Chief of Radio of the Foreign-Language Division===
===Chief of Radio of the Foreign-Language Division===
====Office of Facts and Figures====
====Office of Facts and Figures====
In October 1941, Archibald MacLeish was appointed director of the "Office of Facts and Figures" (OFF), an independent government information agency. To head the "Foreign Language Division" (FLD) within the OFF MacLeish chosed Alan M. Cranston <ref group="footnotes">Lee Falk's friend and collaborator of [[Spotlight on Lee Falk - Other writings|"The Big Story"]]</ref>.  
In October 1941, Archibald MacLeish was appointed director of the OFF<ref group="footnotes">OFF: Office of Facts and Figures</ref>, an independent government information agency. To head the FLD<ref group="footnotes">FLD: Foreign Language Division</ref> within the OFF MacLeish chosed Alan M. Cranston <ref group="footnotes">Lee Falk's friend and collaborator of [[Spotlight on Lee Falk - Other writings|"The Big Story"]]</ref>.  


Cranston wanted Lee Falk<ref group="footnotes">In the newspaper strip of [[Lothar the Champ|June 30, 1942]] there is an interesting real-time connection. Mandrake is talking about a new job, some sort of espionage, in Washington!</ref> to serve as associate chief and handling radio<ref group="footnotes">Lee Falk had some experience with radio from his work for Westheimer & Co., St. Louis agency, in the years 1932 to 1934</ref> issues. In Cranston's letter inducing Falk to take the job, he explained that Falk would: ''compose radio scripts for use in foreign-language broadcast designed to provide information about the war, to boost morale, and to sell the war to the German, Italian, and other groups in this country''.  
Cranston wanted Lee Falk<ref group="footnotes">In the newspaper strip of [[Lothar the Champ|June 30, 1942]] there is an interesting real-time connection. Mandrake is talking about a new job, some sort of espionage, in Washington!</ref> to serve as associate chief and handling radio<ref group="footnotes">Lee Falk had some experience with radio from his work for Westheimer & Co., St. Louis agency, in the years 1932 to 1934</ref> issues. In Cranston's letter<ref>Lees Lorraine M., "Yugoslav-Americans and National Security During World War II", ''( University of Illinois Press)'', 2007, p 42</ref> inducing Falk to take the job, he explained that Falk would: ''compose radio scripts for use in foreign-language broadcast designed to provide information about the war, to boost morale, and to sell the war to the German, Italian, and other groups in this country''.  


Early<ref group="footnotes">January or February</ref> 1942 Lee Falk started his work at FLD in Washington. He established<ref name="BC-420309">"OFF Foreign Language Division Forms Radio Section for Program Exchanges", Broadcasting, 9 March 1942, p 12</ref> a close collaboration with OFF Radio Division, attending their weekly radio conferences with committees of agencies, stations and networks. He also established<ref name="BC-420309">"OFF Foreign Language Division Forms Radio Section for Program Exchanges", Broadcasting, 9 March 1942, p 12</ref> collaboration with the Broadcasters Victory Council, setting up an exchange-of-program-ideas service. A new program ''"Uncle Sam Speaks"'' was scheduled for WOV in New York in Italian, later reproduced in German (and English).  
Early<ref group="footnotes">January or February</ref> 1942 Lee Falk started his work in Washington. He established<ref name="BC-420309">"OFF Foreign Language Division Forms Radio Section for Program Exchanges", Broadcasting, 9 March 1942, p 12</ref> a close collaboration with OFF Radio Division, attending their weekly radio conferences with committees of agencies, stations and networks. He also established<ref name="BC-420309">"OFF Foreign Language Division Forms Radio Section for Program Exchanges", Broadcasting, 9 March 1942, p 12</ref> collaboration with the Broadcasters Victory Council, setting up an exchange-of-program-ideas service. A new program ''"Uncle Sam Speaks"'' was scheduled for WOV in New York in Italian, later to be reproduced in German.  


During<ref group="footnotes">Lee Falk in the panel, Parlor E. May 13, 1942</ref> the NAB Convention in Cleveland Lee Falk explained how enemy interests were attemting to capitalize on foreign tongue programs The broadcasters set<ref name="BC-420518">"Foreign Language Stations Approve Self-Control Plan", Broadcasting, 18 May 1942, p 14</ref> up a temporary committee to set up a organization of self regulation, where all personnel should be clared through this committee (Foreign Language Broadcasters Wartime Control). Lee Falk agreed<ref name="BC-420608">"Foreign Tonge Group Formed To Contrl Wartime Operation", Broadcasting, 8 June 1942, p 16</ref> to act as liaison between the committee and the various Governmental agencies identiffied with or interested in foreign language broadcasting. Included the Office of Cencorship, Federal Bureau of Investigation, intelligence branche of the Armey and Navy, and OFF.  
During<ref group="footnotes">Lee Falk in the panel, Parlor E. May 13, 1942</ref> the NAB<ref group="footnotes">NAB: The National Association of Broadcasters</ref> Convention in Cleveland Lee Falk explained how enemy interests were attemting to capitalize on foreign tongue programs The broadcasters set<ref name="BC-420518">"Foreign Language Stations Approve Self-Control Plan", Broadcasting, 18 May 1942, p 14</ref> up a temporary committee to set up a organization of self regulation, where all personnel should be clared through this committee.  
 
He headquarter was<ref name="BC-420608">"Foreign Tonge Group Formed to Control Wartime Operation", Broadcasting, 8 June 1942, p 16</ref> set up in Washington and Arthur Simon was elected as the first chairman of FLBWC<ref group="footnotes">FLBWC: Foreign Language Broadcasters Wartime Control</ref> in June 1942, and a voluntary code for the 210 stationes was adopted. During their first meeting Lee Falk agreed to act as liaison between the committee and the various Governmental agencies identified with or interested in foreign language broadcasting, included the Office of Cencorship, Federal Bureau of Investigation, intelligence branche of the Army and Navy, and OFF.  
====Office of War Information====
====Office of War Information====
[[Image:OWI-org-chart.jpg|thumb|OWI: Chart of Organization]]
[[Image:OWI-org-chart.jpg|thumb|OWI: Chart of Organization]]
"Office of War Information" (OWI) was established as a federal agency on June 13 1942, to conduct the government's wartime information and propaganda programs. OWI came into being by integrating several agencies — including the OFF, with the FLD as part<ref>"OWI Starts Direction of Federal News", Broadcasting ''(Washington)'', 20 July 1942, p 14</ref> of the Buerau of Special Operations, headed by Philip Hamblet.
On June 13 1942 OWI<ref group="footnotes">OWI: Office of War Information</ref> was established as a federal agency, to conduct the government's wartime information and propaganda programs. It came into being by integrating several agencies — including the OFF, with the FLD as part<ref>"OWI Starts Direction of Federal News", Broadcasting ''(Washington)'', 20 July 1942, p 14</ref> of the Buerau of Special Operations, headed by Philip Hamblet.
 
From the viewpoint of the war effort employes were found to be undesirable and had lost their positions. FLBWC had asked Lee Falk if his office could help them finding out whetever a person or persons had a ''clean mind''. As a precaution against re-hiring these ''undesirable'' employes Arthur Simon sent out a letter<ref>"Simon Urges Care in Station Hiring", Broadcasting ''(Washington)'', 27 July 1942, p 10</ref> to all foreign-language stationes urging them to contact Lee Falk before hiring new personell. 
 
A questionnairie<ref name="BC421102">"Foreign-Language Control Outlined by Federal Officials", Broadcasting ''(Washington)'', 2 November 1942, p 18</ref> from October 1942 showed that about 7% of the broadcast time was given to public service programs, almost all prepared by OWI. Like for Labor Day 1942 where Lee Falk recorded<ref>"OWI Disc Series in Many Tongues", Broadcasting ''(Washington)'', 31 August 1942, p 20</ref> four transcriptions in Spanish, Polish, Italian and German. The 15-minute transcriptions, ''Free Labor Will Win'', included speeches by many educational civic and labor leaders. In addition OWI recommended that the stations also arranged to have local labor leaders to follow the transcription to round out a half-hour program.
 
Late October 1942 the Goverment and industry plans<ref name="BC421102">"Foreign-Language Control Outlined by Federal Officials", Broadcasting ''(Washington)'', 2 November 1942, p 18</ref> for regulating foreign-language radio plans were explained at a FLRWCC<ref group="footnotes">FLRWCC: Foreign Language Radio Wartime Control Committee</ref> meeting in Washington. The FLRWCC was to be the liaison between official and individual broadcasters. A three-way system of Governmental direction was reviewed:
*Office of Censorship will monitor programs and advise broadcasters of violations of the voluntary censorship code
*FCC will establish a new investigation unit to prepare reports on the background of employes of foreign-language stations
*OWI will intensify its creative programming activities
There was some kind of confusion about responsibility for the investigation of personnel. Theese investigations was carried out voluntarlily by the FLRWCC. Neighter FCC<ref group="footnotes">FCC: Foreign Commerce Committee</ref> or the Office of Censorship had  accepted the responsibility. But when FBI also refused to accepted this responsibility chairman Fly told that FCC would do the investigation themself with a new staff of 25 investigators.
 
Charles Olson described<ref name="TC1991">Clark Tom, "Charles Olson: the allegory of a poet's life", W. W. Norton (NY), 1991, p 77-83</ref> the FLD quartered in the Library of Congress Annex as a big, open office that was crowded, noisy, an bustling with activity as a city room of a large urban newspaper. He described his immediate superior, Lee Falk, as a witty, fast-talking Brodway writer-producer. Olson worked writing press releases and radio speeches on the draft and price controls, war bonds and gas rations.  


By 1943 Congress made a varity of accusations against the OWI, as a political tool, and began its investigation. A more specific accusation involving the work of the Radio Section of the FLD and its head, Lee Falk. The inquiry, chaired by Edward E. Cox, claimed that in addition to the initiated moral- and unit-building foreign-language programs they also removed from the air broadcasters who were considered pro-fascist. The Cox Committee claimed that radio stationes were pressed to ''dismiss personnel by holding the treat of license suspension over their heads'', attendent ''to force upon radiostations a pro-Russian or an arbitrary OWI slant'', and that Falk used the division to ''secure publicity for himself and employment for his friends''. The inquiry started in August (1943) and by the end of the month Lee Falk had quietly quit<ref>Walker Danton, "Unfinished Business", Daily News (New York), 27 August 1943, p 42</ref> his job at OWI.
By 1943 Congress made a varity of accusations against the OWI, as a political tool, and began its investigation. A more specific accusation involving the work of the Radio Section of the FLD and its head, Lee Falk. The inquiry, chaired by Edward E. Cox, claimed that in addition to the initiated moral- and unit-building foreign-language programs they also removed from the air broadcasters who were considered pro-fascist. The Cox Committee claimed that radio stationes were pressed to ''dismiss personnel by holding the treat of license suspension over their heads'', attendent ''to force upon radiostations a pro-Russian or an arbitrary OWI slant'', and that Falk used the division to ''secure publicity for himself and employment for his friends''. The inquiry started in August (1943) and by the end of the month Lee Falk had quietly quit<ref>Walker Danton, "Unfinished Business", Daily News (New York), 27 August 1943, p 42</ref> his job at OWI.


===Private in the United States Army ===
===Private in the United States Army ===
He was enlisted with no branch assignment at Fort Devens ''(Massachusetts)'' on Mars 7, 1944. Lee Falk himself said<ref>Heimer Melvin Leighton, "Famous Artists & Writers", King Features Syndicate (NY), 1949, p Lee Falk</ref> that he promptly was shipped from one end of the country to another. 12 times he was on the verge of going overseas, and 12 times the orders were cancelled and he was sent to some other post. He also said he most of the time as a private and almost all of the time on KP.  
He was enlisted with no branch assignment at Fort Devens ''(Massachusetts)'' on Mars 7, 1944. Lee Falk himself said<ref>Heimer Melvin Leighton, "Famous Artists & Writers", King Features Syndicate (NY), 1949, p Lee Falk</ref> that he promptly was shipped from one end of the country to another. 12 times he was on the verge of going overseas, and 12 times the orders were cancelled and he was sent to some other post. He also said he most of the time as a private and almost all of the time on KP.


==Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom==
==Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom==

Revision as of 17:26, 18 November 2018

Draft Card 1940

This article looks at the WW2 years and which period may contain possible ghosted Mandrake and The Phantom stories.


This article, or section of an article, is very short. You can help MandrakeWiki by expanding it.  


The WWII Years

Chief of Radio of the Foreign-Language Division

Office of Facts and Figures

In October 1941, Archibald MacLeish was appointed director of the OFF[footnotes 1], an independent government information agency. To head the FLD[footnotes 2] within the OFF MacLeish chosed Alan M. Cranston [footnotes 3].

Cranston wanted Lee Falk[footnotes 4] to serve as associate chief and handling radio[footnotes 5] issues. In Cranston's letter[1] inducing Falk to take the job, he explained that Falk would: compose radio scripts for use in foreign-language broadcast designed to provide information about the war, to boost morale, and to sell the war to the German, Italian, and other groups in this country.

Early[footnotes 6] 1942 Lee Falk started his work in Washington. He established[2] a close collaboration with OFF Radio Division, attending their weekly radio conferences with committees of agencies, stations and networks. He also established[2] collaboration with the Broadcasters Victory Council, setting up an exchange-of-program-ideas service. A new program "Uncle Sam Speaks" was scheduled for WOV in New York in Italian, later to be reproduced in German.

During[footnotes 7] the NAB[footnotes 8] Convention in Cleveland Lee Falk explained how enemy interests were attemting to capitalize on foreign tongue programs The broadcasters set[3] up a temporary committee to set up a organization of self regulation, where all personnel should be clared through this committee.

He headquarter was[4] set up in Washington and Arthur Simon was elected as the first chairman of FLBWC[footnotes 9] in June 1942, and a voluntary code for the 210 stationes was adopted. During their first meeting Lee Falk agreed to act as liaison between the committee and the various Governmental agencies identified with or interested in foreign language broadcasting, included the Office of Cencorship, Federal Bureau of Investigation, intelligence branche of the Army and Navy, and OFF.

Office of War Information

OWI: Chart of Organization

On June 13 1942 OWI[footnotes 10] was established as a federal agency, to conduct the government's wartime information and propaganda programs. It came into being by integrating several agencies — including the OFF, with the FLD as part[5] of the Buerau of Special Operations, headed by Philip Hamblet.

From the viewpoint of the war effort employes were found to be undesirable and had lost their positions. FLBWC had asked Lee Falk if his office could help them finding out whetever a person or persons had a clean mind. As a precaution against re-hiring these undesirable employes Arthur Simon sent out a letter[6] to all foreign-language stationes urging them to contact Lee Falk before hiring new personell.

A questionnairie[7] from October 1942 showed that about 7% of the broadcast time was given to public service programs, almost all prepared by OWI. Like for Labor Day 1942 where Lee Falk recorded[8] four transcriptions in Spanish, Polish, Italian and German. The 15-minute transcriptions, Free Labor Will Win, included speeches by many educational civic and labor leaders. In addition OWI recommended that the stations also arranged to have local labor leaders to follow the transcription to round out a half-hour program.

Late October 1942 the Goverment and industry plans[7] for regulating foreign-language radio plans were explained at a FLRWCC[footnotes 11] meeting in Washington. The FLRWCC was to be the liaison between official and individual broadcasters. A three-way system of Governmental direction was reviewed:

  • Office of Censorship will monitor programs and advise broadcasters of violations of the voluntary censorship code
  • FCC will establish a new investigation unit to prepare reports on the background of employes of foreign-language stations
  • OWI will intensify its creative programming activities

There was some kind of confusion about responsibility for the investigation of personnel. Theese investigations was carried out voluntarlily by the FLRWCC. Neighter FCC[footnotes 12] or the Office of Censorship had accepted the responsibility. But when FBI also refused to accepted this responsibility chairman Fly told that FCC would do the investigation themself with a new staff of 25 investigators.

Charles Olson described[9] the FLD quartered in the Library of Congress Annex as a big, open office that was crowded, noisy, an bustling with activity as a city room of a large urban newspaper. He described his immediate superior, Lee Falk, as a witty, fast-talking Brodway writer-producer. Olson worked writing press releases and radio speeches on the draft and price controls, war bonds and gas rations.

By 1943 Congress made a varity of accusations against the OWI, as a political tool, and began its investigation. A more specific accusation involving the work of the Radio Section of the FLD and its head, Lee Falk. The inquiry, chaired by Edward E. Cox, claimed that in addition to the initiated moral- and unit-building foreign-language programs they also removed from the air broadcasters who were considered pro-fascist. The Cox Committee claimed that radio stationes were pressed to dismiss personnel by holding the treat of license suspension over their heads, attendent to force upon radiostations a pro-Russian or an arbitrary OWI slant, and that Falk used the division to secure publicity for himself and employment for his friends. The inquiry started in August (1943) and by the end of the month Lee Falk had quietly quit[10] his job at OWI.

Private in the United States Army

He was enlisted with no branch assignment at Fort Devens (Massachusetts) on Mars 7, 1944. Lee Falk himself said[11] that he promptly was shipped from one end of the country to another. 12 times he was on the verge of going overseas, and 12 times the orders were cancelled and he was sent to some other post. He also said he most of the time as a private and almost all of the time on KP.

Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom

1942-1943

In Washington Lee Falk was[12] one of several dollar-a-year men, and his income was from his newspaper strips. In 1948, Phil Davis said[13] that Lee Falk did mail two or three months' supply at a time. In 1967, Lee Falk said[12] he created a few weeks of script for both Mandrake and The Phantom at a time, spending eight to ten hours a week on this. Even if Lee Falk probably worked long days in Washington he could continuing writing his script for Mandrake and The Phantom. Also several scripts in this period are about the war theme and intelligence, inspired by his work at OFF/OWI. <timelinetable title="Timeline 1942-1943: Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom Stories" footer="probably no ghosted stories" depth=month headers=Y/M-M-3> 1942-01|1942-06|MD: cont#1942-07|1942-08|The Rumor Factory#1942-09|1943-03|Baron Kord#1943-04|1943-09|The Witch of Kaloon#1943-10|1943-12|The Earthshaker 1942-01|1942-03|MS: cont#1942-04|1942-10|Pacifica#1942-11|1943-02|Mystery of the Girls with Red Hair#1943-03|1943-10|Cloud City#1943-11|1943-12|Gloria Golden 1942-01|1942-01|PD: cont#1942-02|1942-12|The Inexorables#1943-01|1943-04|Bent Beak Broder#1943-05|1943-06|The Phantom's Engagement#1943-07|1943-12|High Seas Highjacker 1942-01|1942-02|PS: cont#1942-03|1942-09|The Impostor#1942-10|1943-03|Castle in the Clouds#1943-04|1943-06|The Ismani Cannibals#1943-07|1943-12|Hamid the Terrible 1942-01|1942-05|Chief of Radio of the Foreign-Language Division|Office of Facts and Figures (OFF)#1942-06|1943-08|Chief of Radio of the Foreign-Language Division|United States Office of War Information (OWI)#1943-09|1943-12|writing </timelinetable> By the end of August 1943 Lee Falk had quit his job in Washington and back in New York he wrote the Passionate Congressman, inspired by his experiences in Washington's political environment. He also worked[12] feverishly plotting and writing an army-term-lenght supply of Mandrake and The Phantom.

1944-1945

<timelinetable title="Timeline 1944-1945 Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom Stories" footer="possible ghosted stories" depth=month headers=Y/M-M-3> 1944-01|1944-01|MD: cont#1944-02|1944-05|The Dome#1944-06|1944-09|Doctor Congo#1944-10|1944-11|The Mirror People#1944-12|1945-03|The Ice Lady#1945-04|1945-06|The Old Ones#1945-07|1945-09|"he Mystery Prince#1945-10|1945-12|The Sleeping Beauty 1944-01|1944-01|MS: cont#1944-02|1944-04|The Garden of Wuzzu#1944-05|1944-08|The Circus Adventure#1944-09|1944-11|The Santa Claus Pirates#1944-12|1945-02|Fountain of Youth#1945-03|1945-05|Kingdom of the Wind#1945-06|1945-10|The Attalan Deep#1945-11|1945-12|The Twins of Karana 1944-01|1944-01|PD: cont#1944-02|1944-04|Diana#1944-05|1944-07|The Crooner#1944-08|1945-02|The Maharajah's Daughter#1945-03|1945-04|The Blue Gang#1945-05|1945-07|Lago the Lake God#1945-08|1945-10|The Wild Girl#1945-11|1945-12|The Mermaids of Melo Straits 1944-01|1944-06|PS: cont#1944-07|1944-12|The Childhood of the Phantom#1945-01|1945-06|The Golden Princess#1945-07|1945-11|The Strange Fisherman#1945-12|1945-12|Queen Pera the Perfect 1944-01|1944-02|cont#1944-03|1945-12|Fort Devens and other ? </timelinetable>

Note

  1. ↑ OFF: Office of Facts and Figures
  2. ↑ FLD: Foreign Language Division
  3. ↑ Lee Falk's friend and collaborator of "The Big Story"
  4. ↑ In the newspaper strip of June 30, 1942 there is an interesting real-time connection. Mandrake is talking about a new job, some sort of espionage, in Washington!
  5. ↑ Lee Falk had some experience with radio from his work for Westheimer & Co., St. Louis agency, in the years 1932 to 1934
  6. ↑ January or February
  7. ↑ Lee Falk in the panel, Parlor E. May 13, 1942
  8. ↑ NAB: The National Association of Broadcasters
  9. ↑ FLBWC: Foreign Language Broadcasters Wartime Control
  10. ↑ OWI: Office of War Information
  11. ↑ FLRWCC: Foreign Language Radio Wartime Control Committee
  12. ↑ FCC: Foreign Commerce Committee

Sources

  1. ↑ Lees Lorraine M., "Yugoslav-Americans and National Security During World War II", ( University of Illinois Press), 2007, p 42
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "OFF Foreign Language Division Forms Radio Section for Program Exchanges", Broadcasting, 9 March 1942, p 12
  3. ↑ "Foreign Language Stations Approve Self-Control Plan", Broadcasting, 18 May 1942, p 14
  4. ↑ "Foreign Tonge Group Formed to Control Wartime Operation", Broadcasting, 8 June 1942, p 16
  5. ↑ "OWI Starts Direction of Federal News", Broadcasting (Washington), 20 July 1942, p 14
  6. ↑ "Simon Urges Care in Station Hiring", Broadcasting (Washington), 27 July 1942, p 10
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Foreign-Language Control Outlined by Federal Officials", Broadcasting (Washington), 2 November 1942, p 18
  8. ↑ "OWI Disc Series in Many Tongues", Broadcasting (Washington), 31 August 1942, p 20
  9. ↑ Clark Tom, "Charles Olson: the allegory of a poet's life", W. W. Norton (NY), 1991, p 77-83
  10. ↑ Walker Danton, "Unfinished Business", Daily News (New York), 27 August 1943, p 42
  11. ↑ Heimer Melvin Leighton, "Famous Artists & Writers", King Features Syndicate (NY), 1949, p Lee Falk
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Murphy Patricia, "The Toast of Paris, France: Mandrake’s Master, Mr. Lee Falk", Detroit Free Press (Detroit), 4 June 1967, p 44-46
  13. ↑ Dale Bert (1948), Meet Phil Davis, The OPEN ROAD for Boy's, February 1948, 34-36. Copy: Interview - Meet Phil Davis by Dale Bert
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